Day: March 10, 2006 (Page 1 of 2)

      Bottom line: Young is a risk

      March 10, 2006 /

      Vince Young, the superstar college quarterback, led Texas to a National Championship with his quickness, skills and ability to gain yards on broken plays. He now is facing numerous questions about his ability to understand football with his “record setting” low score of 6 on the Wonderlic test. At the beginning of this year, I had my doubts about Young and continually questioned his arm. At the end of the season, he proved most people wrong with his ability to come up with big plays for the Longhorns.

      The NFL is a complex and fast paced game. The first word from a rookie’s mouth when describing the NFL is speed. The players will then discuss how there are twice as many plays in NFL than when they were in college. I once again have raised my doubts about Vince Young and his understanding of the game. I don’t believe you can live on “broken” plays in the NFL. A player, to be successful in the NFL, has to demonstrate quickness and knowledge of the game. At this point, I believe Vince Young has shown the scouts that he is “average” in both. Teams considering selecting Vince Young high in the draft better evaluate this “disrespectful” test, because I believe it’s pretty important at the quarterback position. If I were a GM, I would list Young as the next Randle El and not the next Michael Vick.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Top seeds survive

      March 10, 2006 /

      A day after top-seeded Connecticut lost to Syracuse in the second round of the Big East Tournament, three #1 seeds around the country survived close games.

      LaMarcus Aldridge helped Texas defeat Texas Tech, 77-70, in the Big 12 Tournament. The Texas win sealed Bobby Knight’s first losing season in 25 years. Aldridge scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the victory.

      Duke avoided their first three-game losing streak in ten years, beating Miami, 80-76, in the ACC quarterfinals. The Blue Devils didn’t play terribly well, but J.J. Redick emerged from his shooting slump, hitting 9 of 17 shots from the field, including a dagger with less than thirty seconds left in the game.

      Ohio State, who found out today that they have been put on three years probation, was down 12 in the second half before coming back to beat Penn State, 63-56, in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Ron Lewis led the way with 17 points while Big Ten player of the year Terence Dials added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

      College Basketball

      Team USA enters the Matrix

      March 10, 2006 /

      Neo wishes he could dodge bullets the way that Team USA did last night. While pundits analyzed the rules of the World Baseball Classic, and determined that Team USA would be eliminated if Mexico won by a score of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, no one seemed to consider the possibility that Mexico might beat the ever-loving snot out of Canada (which they did, 9-1), and that that would put Team USA back in control of its own destiny. All they have to do is beat a South African team that gave up 10 runs against Canada and 11 runs against Mexico. Oh, and South Africa has to face Roger Clemens. Seems like a done deal, right?

      Not so fast, punk. South Africa has absolutely nothing to lose, while Team USA has everything to lose, which means the American hitters could press too much and psyche themselves out while the South Africans just go in a hackin’, and whatever happens happens. Now, I’m not saying that I think South Africa is going to pull the mother of all upsets, but you know, even the Royals win sometimes. Team USA would be wise to adopt Ben Stein’s tactic of taking all challenges seriously, because if they lose to South Africa, they will look seriously bad.

      Update: After two innings, Team USA is winning 10-0. Whew.

      MLB

      Riley says Wade has the ‘best package’

      March 10, 2006 /

      We’re not going “Brokeback” on you. Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley can’t think of another player that he has coached that has a better package of skills than Dwayne Wade.

      ”[Wade’s] athleticism and quickness in combination with his overall skill level is probably the best package,” Riley said, speaking of all the players he has coached. “James Worthy would probably be the other guy. . . . [Magic Johnson] doesn’t come close to doing what Dwyane can do physically, athletically.”

      Wade’s play has earned him another fan, who was once a critic.

      In September 2004, Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas said he doesn’t think Wade ”can carry a team” and said Wade “proved that he couldn’t shoot in the Olympics.” Wade’s jumper has improved considerably since, and after watching Wade torch his team again Wednesday, Arenas said he’s amazed at how good he has become.

      But Arenas said Wade doesn’t ”need” to shoot jumpers. “He’s so quick and his change of direction is so, so fast that he’s going to get to that rim no matter what. He has that floater, which usually a dunker doesn’t have. I don’t have it.

      “And he’s developed that, so he doesn’t really need the shot I’m shooting. You could see in college he had explosiveness, and when you take that and bring that to the NBA, it’s easier for him, because you don’t have that zone [or] the trap.”

      Every time I read an article like this, I can hear Joe Dumars grinding his teeth. (Dumars selected Darko Milicic over Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh in the 2003 NBA Draft.)

      NBA

      Walker wants to be traded

      March 10, 2006 /

      Green Bay WR Javon Walker’s contract dispute with the franchise resurfaced Thursday when he told ESPN that he doesn’t want to play for the Packers any longer.

      “I just don’t feel like this is the best place for me to be right now,” said Walker, whose relationship with the organization remains fractured following the team’s refusal last summer to renegotiate his contract and public criticism at his expense by Favre. “I really have no interest in being in a Green Bay Packers uniform or playing for Green Bay again.”

      Walker added, “I just don’t like the way the organization runs itself. They want players to come up there and play hard and work hard, but when it comes time to be compensated, it’s like, ‘We forgot what you’ve done.'”

      Walker is the team’s best receiver and is probably the best WR in the division, so this is a big blow to the franchise. When disgruntled players demand a trade, it is rare that the team gets equal value in return. They could have reworked his contract before the knee injury, but other than keeping him happy, they had no incentive to do so.

      NFL

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