Month: April 2009 (Page 38 of 53)

      Athlete Profile: Brian Orakpo

      April 9, 2009 /

      265

      I remember back in high school when I discovered Final Fantasy 7 and my life changed forever. 10 years later I’m better than all my friends at riding chocobos and using potions. Hooray. I suppose we could compare my gargantuan accomplishment with Brian Orakpo’s if I try really hard. Seems Orakpo started as a mere basketball star, and by the time he matriculated, had discovered he was in fact one of the best defensive football players in the country. Big whoop.

      Facetiousness aside, it takes a hell of a lot of work to reach the level that Orakpo has, especially in so short a time. According to Orakpo’s high school teammate Drew Kelson in an article on Inside Texas.com:

      “Freshman football was merely about playing in front of all your classmates right on the campus football field. Simply having a uniform and getting a chance to play was cool.”

      That is not the kind of atmosphere I have been led to expect from Texas high school football. Shame on you Friday Night Lights. No, I take it back; I can’t stay mad at you.

      So Orakpo spent his first couple of seasons at Lamar High School in Houston impressing the ladies and looking good. Not too shabby. But there came a time for the young Orakpo when he realized that he could actually make something out of this football thing, perhaps a big something. By the time high school was over, Orakpo had been recognized throughout the country as a defensive prospect and had been recruited to play for the University of Texas.

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      College Football, Fantasy Football, General Sports, News, NFL, NFL Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Five things that need to change about college basketball

      April 9, 2009 /

      Despite the rather lackluster 2009 NCAA tournament, March Madness is – historically speaking – the most exciting sporting event in the country. Still, as I watched the games this year, I noticed that a few things need changing. Here are my top five gripes about college basketball:

      1. No more one-and-dones.
      I understand why the NBA wants an age limit, but the one-year-out-of-high-school rule is hurting the college game. Amongst the major programs, there is little continuity season to season and it has thrown blue-chip recruiting on its head. Some of the best coaches in the college ranks are reluctant to recruit the top players because they know they’re just going to have a hole to fill the following summer.

      Players should be able to declare for the draft directly out of high school. But if they decide to enroll in college, they must stay a minimum of two seasons. Typically, high schoolers that are good enough to be drafted are good enough to stick in the league. If a high schooler enters the draft (but doesn’t hire an agent), he can always pull out and enroll in school if it doesn’t look like he’s going to be drafted in the first round. This is the same rule that college players have to follow. (And yes, I realize that this is the NBA’s fault, but it’s still a problem for college basketball.)

      Roy, back up three feet. Your guys will be able to hear you just fine.

      2. Get the coaches off the court.
      One thing that drives me nuts about college basketball is the leeway that the officials give head coaches. They’re allowed to stomp around the sidelines like petulant children, throwing hissy fits anytime a call doesn’t go their way. Okay, so maybe the refs are instructed to give the coaches some slack on the proverbial leash, but that doesn’t mean that head coaches should be running onto the court to shout instructions to their teams. It seems like every game there is a near-collision between an official running downcourt and a head coach that is stepping on the sideline (or is on the court all together). I’d like to see the official call an automatic technical if he sees the coach step on the sideline – that would clean this up really quickly.

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      College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft

      Jason Taylor takes a shot at the J-E-T-S

      April 9, 2009 /

      According to the New York Post, the Jets have contacted Jason Taylor to gauge his interest in coming to the Big Apple, but apparently the free agent defensive end would rather urinate glass than wear green and white.

      Jason Taylor“It’d be very, very, very difficult,” Taylor said about signing with the Jets. “At the end of the day, if I couldn’t find a job anywhere else and the Jets called, I guess I’d have to retire or go play.”

      The Jets reportedly have contacted Taylor, who played 11 seasons for the Dolphins before joining the Redskins last season.

      During his time in Miami, the six-time Pro Bowler ripped the Jets repeatedly and threw gas on the rivalry between the two teams. The Patriots also are looking at Taylor, and yesterday Taylor admitted he has been talking to the Dolphins about a possible return.

      “I never said it wouldn’t be difficult to play for either, but the Jets are the Jets,” Taylor said. “I’ve had a lot of history saying bad things about Jets fans. The fireman hat guy and all of those people in New York that are Jets fans aren’t the ones working on Wall Street. I’ve said all of those things, so I’ve got to leave it at that.”

      Taylor is referring to comments he made in 2004 before the Jets played in Miami. He referenced how he expected many Jets fans to be at the game, “a bunch of them chanting their [dumb-bleep] chant and all that other stuff, being the ignorant fans they are. I said it. I don’t care if they get mad at me or not. They don’t like me anyway. Quite frankly, I don’t care . . . I’m just being real. I’m telling the truth.”

      Okay, a simple “no I would not like to play for the Jets” would have done just fine but all right…

      NFL

      Bengals’ Hall arrested and charged with DUI

      April 9, 2009 /

      Fearing that his team’s bad reputation would be questioned if they didn’t have another legal issue again soon, Bengals’ cornerback Leon Hall was arrested and charged with driving under the influence while traveling in Ohio on Sunday.

      Leon HallThe Ohio State Patrol said Hall’s blood-alcohol level was .149, nearly twice the legal limit. Hall was charged with driving under the influence and driving left of center.

      “You would think they would get someone to drive them with the cash they got. Why not?” witness Brian Rogers said.

      Neither the team nor Hall have commented about the issue, but fans are already chiming in.

      “It’s unbelievable how people can keep getting in trouble there — it really, it blows my mind,” Brett Mentzel said.

      This news comes just one day after the Bengals signed defensive tackle Tank Johnson, so it’s clear that the team is committed to having plenty of off field incidents in 2009.

      NFL

      Angels’ starter Nick Adenhart killed in car crash

      April 9, 2009 /

      In saddening news, Los Angeles Angels’ young starting pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car crash last night according to TMZ.com.

      Cops say someone driving a minivan blew through a red light, causing the Mitsubishi that Adenhart and three others were riding in to hit a light pole. Three of the four people in the Mitsubishi were killed in the crash — Nick, another man and a woman — while the fourth person remains in the hospital.

      Cops say the person driving the van fled the scene — but was later caught and charged with felony hit-and-run. The suspect is also being treated for injuries in a local hospital.

      We’re told one of the other men killed in the crash was also affiliated with the Angels organization.

      Nick was 22 years old.

      FYI — Nick pitched his ass off last night, striking out 5 guys in 6 scoreless innings. His performance was hailed by sportswriters as a “brilliant effort by a 22-year-old right-hander making his fourth Major League start.”

      This is such a tragedy. Adenhart was one of the better young arms in baseball and he had a bright career ahead of him. I feel for his family, as well as the families of all the victims involved in the crash.

      MLB

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