Month: April 2008 (Page 17 of 30)

      Ford to Oklahoma State

      April 16, 2008 /

      After dalliances with LSU and Providence, Travis Ford (UMass) pulled the trigger today by accepting the Oklahoma State head coaching position. His run at UMass combined with the rebuffs by Bill Self and Billy Gillespie led Mike Holder (Cowboy AD) to hire Ford.

      On the surface it is a strange hire. Ford’s run at UMass only got his team into the NIT which is something that the fired Sean Sutton did. Also, his ties are to the East Coast and a more sensible hire would have been Chris Lowery from S. Illinois or even Tim Jankovich (Illinois State), who know the Big 12 and led the Redbirds to the NCAA tournament this year. Just another bizarre hire this year. Not quite as much of a reach as Craig Robinson at Oregon State or Rex Walters at San Francisco.

      Providence nabs Keno Davis. One and done is not only for players. Drake head coach Keno Davis took the Providence job after a once and a lifetime year this past season. Time will tell if he is a “one hit wonder.”

      This new round of hirings means there are only three sizable jobs still open. Drake could bump up the other Davis assistant (Chris). Stanford is looking for the right fit and UMass could go after Fran McCaffrey, who led Siena to the NCAA tournament this year. McCaffrey would be a great choice seeing he is the only coach to take three different non-bcs schools to the big dance.

      College Basketball

      Kids go crazy for Kiprusoff

      April 16, 2008 /

      Larry Brown Sports downloads a gem from YouTube of a kid who is completely infatuated with Calgary Flames’ goalie Mikka Kiprusoff. Like, completely infatuated.

      Can you imagine when this kid is 50 and living in his parents’ basement still? Mikka Kiprusoff (long retired) jerseys, posters and pictures cover the walls and the now adult is still in full goalie equipment, rocking back and forth and every now and again shouting, “Mikka!” for no reason. By then he should have a restraining order or two out and all he does with his time is watch old Kiprusoff save highlights. Oh man, what a site.

      General Sports, NHL

      Helpful hints for a healthy mock

      April 16, 2008 /

      Michael Lombardi of SI.com discusses six rules that should be applied while making a NFL mock draft.

      1. With one week before the draft, never believe any team officials’ quotes, especially what direction they may be headed with their selection…

      2. As you do your research, if the team and the player are always the same, then the chances of that player going there are not very good…

      3. Running backs tend to slip. Backs have a short career in the NFL, so picking one high in the first round is a huge investment…

      4. If the mock you’re reading does not have six defensive linemen in the first round, stop reading it…

      5. After the 10th pick in the first round, it is all about how well you know what each team needs…

      6. The Giants, Raiders, Dolphins, Jaguars, Cowboys and Packers are size/speed teams…

      These are good, but I’d like to throw out some more:

      7. As long as Matt Millen is still employed by the Detroit Lions, make sure you have them taking a wide receiver. You’ll be right more times than not.

      8. Have the Bears drafting an offensive player with a high bust factor in the first round.

      9. Even though they’re completely loaded at the position, make sure you have the Raiders taking a defensive back.

      Any others?

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Patriots to move up for Dorsey?

      April 16, 2008 /

      Citing a source close to the team as well as the player, YAHOO Sports is reporting that the Patriots might trade up in order to nab LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey in the first round.

      …In fact, the emphasis on speed rushers is so strong that New England, which has the No. 7 overall pick via last year’s draft trade with the San Francisco 49ers, has had Dorsey in for a personal workout and is contemplating a trade up for him, according to a source close to the team and another close to the player. The last time New England used a pick in the top 10, it selected versatile defensive lineman Richard Seymour with the sixth pick in the 2001 draft.

      Personally, I think New England is going to have to get as high as No. 2 in order to draft Dorsey, because it’s a good bet the Falcons want him at No. 3. A lot of people think Atlanta will go Matt Ryan, but they have three second round picks that they could leverage to move back into the first round to nab Louisville signal caller Brian Brohm if they wanted to. Regardless, is Dorsey even a good fit for the Pats’ 3-4 defensive front?

      Photo Courtesy of Flickr

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Will Kobe benefit from a three-way MVP race?

      April 16, 2008 /

      I’m not sure why I’m spending so much time thinking about the MVP race. Maybe deep down I just don’t want to see Kobe rewarded for his tumultuous offseason. Something irks me about a player being rewarded with such an honor after throwing his teammate and GM under the bus and then taking credit for his team’s turnaround when an All-Star is gift wrapped and dropped at his doorstep before the trade deadline.

      Something occurred to me as I was eating my oatmeal this morning – since, by most accounts, it’s a three-way race, could KG and CP3 split the “good teammate” vote allowing the Kobe die-hards to win it for their guy?

      Let’s assume that 40% of the voters intend to vote for Kobe, and that 60% are going to vote non-Kobe. If that anti-Kobe vote splits 50/50 between Paul and Garnett, Kobe would win with a 40/30/30 ratio.

      Of course, voters have a five-person ballot and points are awarded based on a player’s position in the ballot – 10 points for first, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth, so it’s not so simple. But if that ratio translates to the entire ballot, it’s conceivable that Kobe (or another player) could win the award with less than half the first place votes.

      One thing’s for sure – now that Kobe is on a team with 50+ wins, the MVP race is far more interesting.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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