Bleacher Report - Articles by JR DeLaney

NCAA Tournament: Who Cares?

JR DeLaney — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:53:31 -0400

Who cares about the NCAA tournament?

That’s right, I believe that the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament are as exciting as watching paint dry. And the later rounds are not all that great either.

Sure, it can be exciting for those of you who go to Drake, Western Kentucky, BYU, or one of the other schools that have no hope of reaching the Final Four. But what is that saying about a blind squirrel finding a nut every now and then?

As the college basketball season winds down, I cannot understand the millions of people who will be constantly glued to their televisions, radios, Blackberries, computers, or even telephones calling up Aunt Sally for score updates.

The only explanation is infatuation. An infatuation for hopes that will never come to light.

Everyone likes to make fun of that "other" tournament, for those infatuated with mediocre teams that do not want their miserable seasons to end too early. The NIT even holds a selection drawing and so on and so on, just to make it seem real.

But let’s face it, you can't name last year’s NIT winner. Anyone? Didn’t think so.

Then again, who can name all of last year's Elite Eight teams? Anyone? Didn’t think so either.

So as much as you all hate me right now, let’s face reality. Only one team wins the NCAA tournament. The NCAA losers are just as forgettable as the NIT participants, even if you, the infatuated, like to think otherwise.

No matter how much you obsess this March, most of your teams' seasons will end in disappointment, but in five years, or even next year, no one will remember.

But you will continue to obsess. And don’t worry, I will be on the Internet, watching my big screen television and "DVRing" the games along with you.

Everyone deserves a sinful indulgence every now and then.

Kansas City Royals: 2008, the Year of the Whipper-Snappers?

JR DeLaney — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:15:03 -0400

Ah, the smell of cheap hot dogs (that sell for $4) and the laughter of fans who witness a poor soul dump nachos (for $7) all over the front of their lap as they try to sit back in their seat. Yes, it’s that time of year again when stadiums begin to rev up for the oncoming mobs of die hard fans (and your local celebrity appearance – Ben Affleck for the BoSox) in anticipation that their team will be World Series Champions for the ’08 season. (If you’re a fan of the Devil Rays, Marlins, or *gasps* Royals, you don’t have this issue).

But, as much as I want to gasp and stand in the shadows, I am a Kansas City Royals fan. I will now be accepting donations to allow my team to actually afford the talent they bring up in the minors. (Beltran, Dye, Damon, etc. etc. etc.)

Enough of the desperation thoughts of what “could have been” and the glory days of Brett, White, and Saberhagen, let’s get it on with the 2008 Kansas City Royals! Let's look at what rookie manager Trey Hillman has to work with, especially when talking to his team around home plate after a game.

2008 Outlook: Young. Talented. Unproven. That sums up what this years version of the Royals represent. Outstanding talent lines the roster, enough to make a good southern boy drool at the thought of fried chicken and cornbread. (And yes, it is noon time here, and I’m hungry!) Hochevar is a stud as is Gordon. With a pitching staff that can keep them in the game, the offense is the only aspect that really needs dramatic improvement from the 2007 roster. With a big name signee (Guillen) that is outside the norm for Glass to pursue and sign, that improvement seems to be coming sooner rather than later. I can actually state, with confidence, my prediction for the 2008 Kansas City Royals… *drum roll*… 4th place in the AL Central. They play in a tough division, possibly the toughest in regards to true competition and not a 2 man show (Boston – New York) or a 1 trick pony (Angels). Their record will reflect their improvement, as it won’t quite touch upon .500, but it’ll hover there most of the season, possibly over for a bit, until the season takes its toll upon the youth. Prediction: 80-82 (+/- 3 games)

Position Analysis:
1B: Maybe the toughest battle on the roster. Todd Shealy, having come over from the Rockies two years ago, suffered a terrible season last year, plagued by injuries. Now healthy, he’s a hoss, able to put up 20+ homers a year and drive in 80+ ribbies. The question here is, CAN he stay healthy? Thus enters the competition. Billy Butler. More than likely, Butler will move to the OF or primarily serve as DH (now that the slot is open minus Sweeney… finally) and offer quite the punch in his role there. His play last year was good, but once he is used to the pitching staffs of major league rosters, watch out, as he could become another beast able to pop over 25 homers and just maybe, *fingers crossed*, stay with the Royals past a break out year.

2B: Grudzielanek. That’s all that needs said. Gold glove winner and veteran leadership for this young team. He might be nearing the end of his career, but he can still play.

3B: Alex! Gordon! Stud extraordinaire. Yes, he started out shaky last year, reaching nomad land in the sub .200 batting average, but boy did he come on later in the year. He will have a break out season, possible All-Star (hey, someone needs to replace Rodriguez at 3B sometime…) and prove to Glass that sometimes, when you spend money on your team, you can actually get a good player in return. Now, Alex, just don’t ask for the farm when it comes time to sign a long term deal.

SS: Tony Pena. No, not the All-Star catcher and former manager, his son. After completing a season under his belt as a starter, he shows some excellent play in the field. Now, yes, he is absent from the mindset of being a belter of balls over the far away fence, but his average is not so bad. His base running will get better, and if he can get on base, he will be an excellent 2 or 7 hole batter in the lineup.

Utility: Esteban German filled this role quite a bit last year, and did a decent job. He did get looked at a bit by other teams, but he has yet to prove that he could be a full time starter at a single position. He is one of those good “jack of all trades, master at none” type of players.

C: John Buck will start, and had a good year last year as he continues to develop into a top-tier everyday starter. Miguel Olivo has been a stud in spring training and was brought in to back up Buck, but if he slips, you could see Olivo starting more so than just giving a day off here or there to the man.

OF: Teahen, Guillen, and DeJesús will be your starters, with Costa and Gathright getting considerable playing time. Guillen starts purely for his bat, though he may shift to DH if Shealy has a bad spring session and Butler takes over 1B. If so, that’ll open up a spot for Gathright and his pure speed that needs to be unleashed at will upon the opposition. Teahen is going to continue to be an offensive threat (one of the few) and DeJesús might just be biding his time in Kansas City as Gathright is a centerfielder as well. Don’t be surprised to see DeJesús on the move near the trading deadline if the Royals are completely out of any sort of playoff race (stop laughing) and if another team needs a good plug in centerfield to bring them a championship. Let’s face it… the Royals can’t keep centerfields (Beltran, Damon).

SP: Meche will continue to prove to the masses that he is indeed a worthy ace for a staff. Beyond that, it gets kind of muddy as to what the production will be. Bannister will try to keep the doubters muted by having a good sophomore year after a break out year last year as he came over from the Mets. Greinke is a hit or miss, and if he misses too much, he will drop to the bull pen to work on his control… again… Tomko is a veteran, but is a wild card. He might eat up innings, but might not stop giving up runs for the other team. For the last starter position, look at Luke Hochevar, the rookie, to possibly fill in here as the stud pick from 2006 (1st rd, 1st pick) has been showing quite the stuff in Sunrise, Arizona. He might not start here at the beginning of the year, but he’ll be there by mid-season. In the mean time, De La Rosa or Maroth might fill in during the “pre-Luke” era.

RP: Soria was a surprise at getting 17 saves last year and, while not having one or two pitches that dominate batters, he does provide a plethora of pitches that are all average-above average that can get people out. The bullpen is full of players, young (Gobble, Peralta), full of veterans (Mahay, Bale) newcomers (Yabuta) and then, possibly the “I thought he retired” one (Nomo) that will keep things interesting leading up to the closer. Here’s hoping that the starters can pitch the innings needed to give this bullpen time to develop and identity of “let’s try not to give up 3 or more runs per inning”.

So, in a nutshell, it can be said that a lot of optimism surrounds the 2008 Kansas City Royals, as they have the talent and the backing of the ownership to finally spend money and get some proven talent in here. Whether they develop a bond or not remains in question, but I think they are at least stepping in the right direction. If Glass keeps the young talent, look at the Royals to start competing at least for a wild card position in 2010.

You're Not A Man Unless You're A "Man"-gino!

JR DeLaney — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:01:36 -0500

You've seen pictures of him. You've seen parodies of him. But, in the end, he was the national coach of the year of the upstart, Orange Bowl champion Kansas Jayhawks. However, can lightning strike twice for this man-beast?

So, what is next for this former "oft-ridiculed" coach? Will he bring Kansas football back to national prominence (as if it ever was)?

Or, are they destined to remain in the basement of the Big 12 north? (Note: The Big 12 North is slowly, yet surely, climbing from the basement of the Big 12 conference...aka Big 12 North = child, Big 12 South = parent)

Let's look at what the Jayhawks have done since winning a BCS bowl for the first time in its history (okay... laugh now, as the BCS has only been around for what, seveb years?).

The Good

Well, what can you say about the draft/recruiting class of the Jayhawks? Again, Mangino looks to have gotten a few starters (Crawford and D'Cunha) as well as some "mystery" 3 star talent that, let's face it, Mangino has a way of developing. (See Aqib Talib, Anthony Collins, and a LONG list of others).

He has been compared to the Billy Beanes of the world in finding talent from cities such as Waxahoochie and Tallequah, Wichita Falls and McPherson. He's gotten Kansas to be looked at first now by some potential prime-time talent instead of having to feed off of leftovers from the rest of the Big 12 schools (aka Texas, Oklahoma). So, here's to you, Mr. Mangino, a nice frosty brew as you've got the Crimson and the Blue finally looked up at in means of talent, rather than eating scraps.

The Bad

With prosperous times come perilous times. But, look at it this way, at least other teams are looking at Kansas' talent, especially in the coaching ranks. Gone is Coach Bill Young, to teach at the fledgling University of Miami (not of Ohio) and show them how to play defense again at that once good school. What does that mean for the Mighty Manginos? Well, not much, as the assistant defensive head coach, who has been around for a bit, will step up to fill the gap. I don't believe any major scheme changes are going to take place this year, so the same rock-solid defense that was there before should still be there. And there are some new coaches up and coming in the ranks, but let's face it, Mangino is still there, and he's pure genius (not the Val Kilmer kind though).

However, the biggest blow is in recruiting. They lost a top recruiter in the Texas area as he left to join the Bo Pellini staff at Nebraska (bring it on!). While losing a recruiter that knows an area is bad, losing that person to a fellow conference school stinks even more.

The Buffet Closes

Okay, so, in wrapping up these buffet of knowledge I have bestowed upon each of you fellow avid readers, a list. Yes, what kind of sports afficionado would I be if I didn't offer up some sort of list. This one, however, is a safe one, as my hiatus from writing needs to let me knock some rust off before I parlay in the much more controversial lists that I have envisioned. *pondering as I bring out a crystal ball for my reading*

The Big 12 North Standings (circa 12/1/08)

1. Kansas
Why? Because they have the talent and can finally make a splash by facing some of the big boys of the Big 12 South. They lost some great players to the NFL (or will, I should say) and to graduation, but they are bringing in some impact players that should make a difference rather soon in their careers. And, let's face it, I'm a bit prejudiced. But, let's look at their schedule. South Florida is the only non-conference game that will be a challenge, but, with USF, it's either going to be a close game, or a blowout for KU, as USF is a hot/cold team (from history view point). Going to Norman will be tough, especially with the Sooners primed for a good year after their miserable showing in the Fiesta bowl, so Stoops will have them ready to play. The Longhorns come to Lawrence in November, but remember what happened last time they were here? Vince Young escaped with his life and the win, but Kansas SHOULD have won that game. And of course, the Border Battle on 11/29 in Kansas City. KU gets revenge. Final record: 9-3 or 10-2 (Big 12 North champs, possible BCS again)

2. Missouri
Why? They have an easier schedule this year. They play Texas. That's it. The Big 12 North has 2 teams that are top tier at the moment (Kansas, Missouri) and some upstarts that will be good in a few years (Nebraska, K-State). Other than that, the Black and Gold play: Nevada, Buffalo, Baylor, and the rest of the northern conference. However, they lose, somehow, to Texas, Oklahoma State, and Kansas, and finish behind the Jayhawks at 9-3.

3. Kansas State
Why? They've got the talent. They finally have a coach that cares about their program since Coach Snyder. Coach Prince will bring them back to prominence... just not this year. They make a bowl game, probably mid-tier like the Alamo Bowl, but they've got a ways to go.

4. Nebraska
Why? Bo Pellini. That's it. This team goes from a disaster (who would have thought they went from contending with USC early in 2007 for a showdown to total mediocrity so quickly) to a respectable stature once more. Yes, Coach Pellini has a ways to go to bring the talent back to Nebraska-of-ole standards, but it'll get there in 2-3 years.

5. Colorado
Why? They're hurting for talent. Yes, they have a few P-T-P'ers (prime time players, for those of you that don't live/breath/eat Dick Vitale) but they'll still make it back to 6-6, or 5-7. Either way, they'll be sitting home during the bowl season. They just need talent (but hey, don't we all?!?)

6. Iowa State
Why? They recruit against the Big 10 (see Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin). They'll never win against them. I'm sure they're slogan might be "At least we got a football stadium!" Let's face it, as long as the Cyclones have to shop the same market as these nationally prominent programs, they'll always lose. But hey, at least Cyclone fans can say "remember Seneca Wallace?"

And, I'm out.