Month: April 2009 (Page 21 of 53)

      ESPN does “Mock for the Ages”

      April 20, 2009 /

      ESPN.com did a cool feature in which they compiled a mock draft using all of the best prospects in the history of the NFL draft, but pretended to not know how those prospects eventually turned out.

      What if we could hop in a time machine and bring back all the best prospects in history for this year’s draft? Of course, professional accomplishments don’t count. This exercise is based strictly on the scouting reports at the conclusion of college careers. Our big board is an amalgam of only the most ballyhooed prospects. With a few exceptions, these are players who were drafted in the top five overall. Players such as Joe Montana and Tom Brady, who were seen as too physically limited by many evaluators, need not apply.

      1. Lions: John Elway, QB, Stanford
      In hopes of landing Detroit’s first franchise quarterback since Bobby Layne more than 50 years ago, the Lions reach for arguably the best college prospect ever with the opening selection. Elway boasts a truly extraordinary combination of arm strength, accuracy and mobility. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder passed for 9,349 yards and 77 touchdowns, completing 62.1 percent of his attempts. Too bad he didn’t play on special teams. Wait … this just in: Elway’s representatives are saying the Stanford star, who played two seasons of college baseball, refuses to play for Detroit and demands his rights be traded. Meantime, he reportedly is negotiating a 10-year deal with the New York Yankees and is willing to pursue a baseball career if the Lions don’t comply. Stay tuned.

      NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert: Luckily, Detroit grabbed the Stanford quarterback before the Colts had a chance. Surely, Elway will have no problem playing for a Lions team that just missed winning (all) 16 games last season.

      Read all 32 picks here.

      I absolutely love the dig at Elway. He’s widely recognized for being one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game (which he was), but everyone conveniently forgets that he pulled one of the biggest crybaby moves in draft history when he said that he would play minor league baseball if the Baltimore Colts (who drafted him with the first overall pick in 1983) didn’t trade him. I know he’s a football god in Denver, but nobody can deny that what he did in ’83 absolutely reeked of douche-baggery.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      What’s wrong with Big Papi?

      April 20, 2009 /

      The Boston Globe tries to dissect what’s wrong with Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.

      The season has not grown long enough for David Ortiz to worry about his statistics, only for him to grow weary about other people asking about them.

      A pack of reporters approached Ortiz after the Red Sox’ 2-1 victory yesterday, and he knew why. “I’ll be fine, bro,” Ortiz said. “That’s it.” He poked a pair of diamond earrings into his lobes and said no more.

      Ortiz and the Red Sox contend 12 games and 47 at-bats is not a large enough sample for there to be any concern over Ortiz’s dismal statistics. He is batting .170 and slugging .191. Of his eight hits, seven are singles and none are home runs. He has struck out 14 times and walked six.

      Hitting coach Dave Magadan diagnosed Ortiz’s issue late last week. Ortiz has been cocking his hands into a hitting position too late, the same problem that has crept up on Ortiz when struggles surfaced in the past, Magadan said.

      Late last week, Magadan showed Ortiz two pictures, one from last year during a hot streak and one from this year. In the first, Ortiz had his hands back, ready to swing, while the ball was halfway to the plate. In the second picture, Ortiz was in an identical position, but the pitch had nearly reached the plate.

      Magadan emphasized that readiness is Ortiz’s main issue. Ortiz has not been hitting the ball to the opposite field and producing familiar Wall Ball doubles, but Magadan said opponents have been pitching him hard and inside. Magadan also said he has witnessed no effects from the wrist injury that plagued Ortiz late last season and in the playoffs. While Magadan had identified the problem, he was not concerned with it. He and Ortiz worked on fixing it Saturday and Magadan is happy with the results.

      Hopefully for BoSox fans, Big Papi’s struggles are a combination mechanical issues and not getting enough at bats to this point. He did eventually find his swing last year after a horrid April, so again hopefully he irons things out. Then again, this could be a byproduct of his age and injury history. It’s tough to tell after just 12 games what kind of hitter Ortiz will be this year, but we should at least let him get through April and part of May before jumping to any conclusions.

      MLB

      Will NFL players go on strike in 2011?

      April 20, 2009 /

      As Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports writes, there’s a very good chance that the NFL could see a work stoppage by 2011.

      What’s the issue? Money. (Surprise, surprise).

      Players now receive 59.5 percent of all money generated by the league. The salary cap for each team is now at $127 million, up from $85.5 million in 2006. Owners say they’re getting soaked. They want a rookie wage scale so they don’t have to hand $40 million in guaranteed money to unproven players. They want players to understand that stadium costs in the current economy are killing them.

      The players want to see every detail to find out just how badly owners are getting hurt. Their rallying cry is “Open your books…” which they say more often than a seventh-grade English teacher.

      And while Smith’s recent election will be used as an excuse for that, it’s clear the sides are currently more interested in digging in than rolling up their sleeves and finding resolution.

      Meanwhile, checkpoints are being passed without pause. When the next league year begins in a little more than 10 months, there will be no salary cap in place. In 2006, prompted in part by a fear of a no-cap 2007, the two sides worked furiously to get the new deal done.

      But the urgency isn’t there this time. It’s a staring contest. And while both sides will try to curry the favor of fans — Smith has already shown a penchant for talking about the stadium workers who’ll be impacted by a lockout — neither side is going to get much sympathy.

      It never ceases to amaze me how greedy everyone is in professional sports. The owners are making millions of dollars off the players, yet they don’t want to give them a cent more than they have to. And the players are making millions of dollars, yet want more regardless of if they perform well or not. It’s a vicious cycle and one that doesn’t make sense outside of the sports realm.

      Something that has always been ironic to me about the NFL is that players always seem to perform their best when money is on the line (i.e. during their contract years). Then once they get paid, their play often drops off immensely, so in essence, owners get the best out of players on the cheap and often a lackluster effort from them when they’re most expensive. (I should also note that not all players are like this.)

      But getting back on topic, could you image the backlash the NFL will receive from fans if the players go on strike? How about the millions of dollars oddsmakers and sports books would lose without any NFL played for a year? I shudder to think about the absolute hell that would ensue.

      NFL

      Housh: ‘Chad Johnson crying to get out of Cincinnati’

      April 20, 2009 /

      As Peter King writes in his latest addition of “Monday Morning Quarterback”, Chad Johnson desperately wants out of Cincinnati and recently cried on the phone to former teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh about it.

      “Chad Johnson called me today. Crying. He wonders why everyone can get traded but him.”

      — Former Johnson teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh, now with Seattle, on NFL Network Friday night.

      Ocho Cinco wasn’t crying when the Bengals signed him to a six-year, $35.5 million contract in 2006 was he?

      I know Cincinnati is one of the black holes in the NFL, but just once I would like to hear a player that is stuck on a bad team say that he’s going to do everything in his power to get his club to win. I have no idea what Johnson is going through, so maybe I should just shut my mouth, but why can’t he say, “Hey, with Carson Palmer back to full health and Laveranues Coles next to me, we’re really going to do things next year”? And then go out and prove it by showing up to all the offseason workouts and training his ass off.

      But no, instead, players like Johnson cries (literarily) and throws a hissy fit until their team finally gives in and trades them for less than they’re ultimately worth. It’s ridiculous.

      NFL

      Boldin still an option for Eagles

      April 20, 2009 /

      Team president Joe Banner says that trading for Cardinals’ receiver Anquan Boldin is still an option for the Eagles.

      Anquan Boldin“We’re always looking for players that we think can make us better,” Banner said. “I think we’ve proven many times that we’d be willing to do what it takes, whether it be a trade or do something with somebody’s contract in order to get them here.”

      Given that the Eagles surrendered a first-round draft pick – the 28th overall – and a fourth-round pick to get Peters, they have less trade ammunition than they did a few days ago, but Banner said the team would not rule out dealing its remaining first-round pick, the 21st overall.

      “There are teams that start the year with only one first-round draft pick and they’ve traded them,” Banner said. “If we made another trade with a first-round draft pick, we’d just be in the same position as them. I think we’ll do whatever we evaluate to be the best move with any of the available players. . . . Some of the evaluation is about the quality of what we have at certain positions.”

      It would seem that the Eagles’ biggest decision right now is whether to go after one of the top running backs in the first round of Saturday’s draft or try to trade for Boldin or one of the other star receivers that could be available. Both Cincinnati’s Chad Ocho Cinco (Chad Johnson) and Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards also are on the trade market.

      This is one of those times when a team official says something without really saying anything. Philly GM Tom Heckert has said all along that the receiving corps is set, although I could see the Eagles adding a wideout in the later rounds come draft day.

      The Eagles are in “win now” mode, so adding a dynamic piece like Boldin is certainly still a possibility, but I just can’t see them giving up two first round picks and possibly a third before the draft even starts on Saturday. That’s just not the Eagles’ style.

      NFL, NFL Draft

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