Month: June 2011 (Page 7 of 18)

Chris Johnson to holdout once lockout lifts?

June 19, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean does not expect Titans running back Chris Johnson to report to training camp without a new contract once the lockout is lifted.

Last year Johnson received what amounted to a $1.5 million raise. The Titans moved money he’d earned in escalators from 2012 to 2010, and added some incentives. When he finally reported for training camp, Johnson – who had $30 million guaranteed in mind — said it wouldn’t happen again. And I believe him.
Indications are Johnson’s not going to budge this time. I’ve heard it from too many sources to think otherwise. And after three straight Pro Bowl seasons and the most yardage of any back in the NFL during that time, it’s not hard to understand why.
Right now, the Titans can’t do anything about his deal. When the lockout is lifted, it’s going to be interesting to see if the Titans will budge this time around, because I don’t get the sense Johnson will.

If Wyatt’s projections turn out to be correct, then the Titans might as well break out a huge pros vs. cons list and make a decision about this situation once and for all. Because they can’t keep doing this dance with Johnson every offseason.

If there were one player to break the bank on, Johnson would be it. He’s far and away the Titans best player and the team will need him when they usher in the Jake Locker era either this season or next. Thirty million is a lot but it’s not like Johnson is in the twilight of his career. He’s 25 and barring injury, he has plenty of productive seasons ahead of him.

On the flip side, no team wants to set a precedent for allowing players to holdout in order to receive a new contract – even if it’s their best player. Plus, what happens the next time Johnson thinks he has outperformed his deal? Will he force the Titans’ hand again? If the team gives in now, what’s stopping Johnson from holding out again down the road if he wants even more? Besides, Johnson still has two years left on his current deal and he just received a $1.5 million raise last season. The Titans aren’t financially obligated to give him anything more than what he previously signed for.

Again, the Titans will eventually have to choose the lesser of two evils and make a decision once and for all. Either give into Johnson, forego the huge distraction that a holdout would cause and reap the benefits of having a happy CJ on the field, or stand firm, don’t award players for holding out and risk not having their best performer on the field come September. No matter how you slice it, Johnson is putting the Titans in a tough spot and I’m glad I’m not the one who has to make any decisions on this issue. But Tennessee will have to settle on something at some point.

As Wyatt points out in his report, this situation could get messy when training camp begins.

External Sports, NFL

Anthony Stalter Chris Johnson Chris Johnson contract Chris Johnson holdout Chris Johnson rumors Tennessee Titans

Dirk Nowitzki sings at championship parade [video]

June 18, 2011 / John Paulsen

Dirk did David Hasselhoff proud with his rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”

External Sports, Humor, NBA, Video

2011 NBA Finals Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki

NBA Draft: Consensus Mock Draft

June 17, 2011 / John Paulsen

Below you’ll find the consensus mock draft from NBA.com. Click here to read the rest of the article.

Guys like Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris are familiar to most U.S. readers, but what about Enes Kanter and Jan Vesely?

Here’s a look at the four lesser-known prospects currently projected to go in the lottery.

Enes Kanter, Turkey (C)
6-11, 260 lbs, 19-years-old
NBADraft.net said “Bigman with excellent size, strength and polish … Combines brute strength with a high skill level … ” but that “One of the big concerns scouts have with Kanter is his physical health. He has had a history of knee problems and there are concerns about his knees not checking out 100% when he has NBA physicals.” DraftExpress says “Kanter has soft hands and displays good touch on his shots, both around the basket and from the perimeter. He’s a reliable finisher who can score in multiple ways in the paint — with a soft turnaround jumper for example” but that his “lack of experience shows up first and foremost on the defensive end, where Kanter was incredibly ineffective in the film we watched. His fundamentals, instincts and positioning leave a lot to be desired.”

Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania (C)
6-11, 240 lbs, 19-years-old
NBADraft.net says Valanciunas “uses all of his physical skills to the fullest when attacking the glass … Extremely aggressive rebounder both offensively and defensively …” while DraftExpress notes that “he’s an incredibly intense competitor, a boundlessly energetic player who never stops working for a moment and whose presence is constantly felt on the court” and that “Valanciunas’ most important source of scoring comes from his ability to finish plays created for him by teammates around the basket.” In other words, he’ll fare well in the pick-and-roll.

Jan Vesley, Czech Republic (F)
6-11, 240 lbs, 21-years-old
DraftExpress says that he “has terrific size and length for a small forward at 6-11 and couples that with incredible explosiveness. He looks a lot more confident in trying to utilize his athleticism as of late, as he’s been responsible for a number of unbelievable dunks this season.” However “watching him handle the ball in the open floor is definitely not a pretty sight.” NBADraft.net notes that “as a shooter he improved since last year and feels more confident taking shots outside the 3pt line and creating off the dribble; his mechanics and follow-through look fluid; good elevation on his shot” but that he “needs to continue improving his offensive skills.”

Bismack Biyombo, Congo (PF/C)
6-9, 240 lbs, 18-years-old
DraftExpress says that “his combination of length, strength agility and explosiveness is almost unheard of, causing many to marvel at his physical gifts despite the low-skill level he displayed” and compared him to a 6-9 version of Dwight Howard. NBADraft.net thinks that “Biyombo is a player who likes to play above the rim. Additionally he has nice skills in the low post to attack the basket, using fakes, spin moves and jump hooks.” However his “offensive game is a long ways from being NBA ready.”

External Sports, NBA, NBA Draft

2011 NBA Draft

ESPN releases “Ultimate Team Rankings” – Packers rank first, Bengals dead last

June 17, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

ESPN just released their “Ultimate Team Rankings,” where they rank the 122 professional sports franchises using eight categories: Bang For The Buck, Fan Relations, Ownership, Affordability, Stadium Experience, Players, Coaching and Title Track. (Click on the link above for more details on what these categories mean.)

The Top 10:

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Bottom Five:

118. Minnesota Timberwolves
119. Sacramento Kings
120. Toronto Maple Leafs
121. Washington Redskins
122. Cincinnati Bengals

Check out the full rankings.

I’m not going to dive too deep into these rankings because I think they’re kind of silly. Are they fun to look at? Yeah, but so are pinwheels and I don’t want to break them down either. If you spend enough time, you can find a gripe about any team outside of the Packers. (It’s kind of hard to argue that they’re not the best franchise in sports right now across those eight categories, although somebody probably will – if they haven’t already, that is.)

Take the Bengals for example. You look at the Bengals and there’s a reason why they’re ranked so low. Their ownership sucks, they haven’t won a playoff game in two decades and their quarterback just quit on them. But in the “Affordability” category, they dropped from 80th last year to 114th this year, yet their ticket prices didn’t change. Their coaches dropped from 60th to 114th, which seems excessive even given Brad Bratkowski’s failures as offensive coordinator last year. And their players (which is a category based on effort on the field and liability off it) are 122 out of 122? Once again I’m splitting hairs because they’re ranked No. 121, but how are the Pistons not 122 after they quit on their head coach last year?

You get my point. These rankings are fun and they’re meant to be argued and debated, but I wouldn’t get too invested into the final numbers. I know there’s a lot of number-crunching that goes into some of the categories, but on a whole there’s a lot to be left up to interpretation.

That said, I’ll bite: What teams do you think should be ranked higher or lower? No surprise, I think my SF Giants deserve to be higher. No. 32 seems a tad low for a World Series champion with a beautiful stadium and players that are extremely well liked by fans. San Francisco is an expensive city so the Giants lose a little ground in “Bang For The Buck” and “Affordability,” but I was surprised to see them ranked in the 30s. (Especially considering the Rockies are ranked eighth – eighth!)

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