Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 25 of 1503)

      Let it go, Les Miles…

      April 7, 2012 /

      Remember Gunner Kiel? He’s the quarterback recruit from Indiana that spurned Les Miles and LSU for Notre Dame back in January. While speaking at an LSU national signing day banquet shortly after Kiel changed his mind, Miles publicly questioned whether Kiel even had the “chest” to lead the Tigers.

      And now Miles is opening his mouth again.

      From CBS Sports.com’s Dennis Dodd:

      “I’m not bitter. I’m glad he stayed there. I really mean it. Here’s the truth: If you don’t have some swagger to you and you can step into this stadium and be able to know the advantage that you’re playing with the Tigers and you’re leading the program that has some real weight and clout, then you really need to stay home with your brothers.

      “I don’t mean that [negatively]. I’m for him. He gets a chance to come in here and compete and start on a team that is a great team. I really meant what I said. I was talking more about the confidence and swagger. I was not demeaning. If he shows up, it means he has all those things …

      “I mean it honestly, if it’s more about family for him, if it’s more being close to home … he would have never been successful as he needed to be. I mean it very respectfully …

      “The guy we got now [Zach Mettenberger], he’s a confident son of a buck. He’s a throwin’, tough kid. If he continues to develop and learn and grow as a leader, no question.”

      If you want to take Miles at his most literal word (and I know some will), go right ahead. But those comments reek of a man who is still bitter that a kid inevitably left him, the all mighty Les Miles, standing at the altar. When you have to say things like “I’m not bitter” and then go into a diatribe explaining yourself, guess what? You’re still bitter.

      Recruits change their minds all the time. It’s just part of the business. After all, they’re kids, and they get swept up in the emotion and excitement of being recruited by big-time universities. Eventually their true feelings come to the surface and Kiel clearly wanted to stay close to his family in the end.

      Miles should respect that but clearly he can’t. I’m not suggesting that Miles doesn’t believe what he says but it just looks like he’s trying too hard here. It’s like watching a guy get dumped by his girlfriend and then telling his friends that he’s better off because he never liked her much anyway. The whole thing is just sad for Miles.

      College Football, External Sports

      Gregg Williams’ bounty program is the problem – not his locker room speech

      April 6, 2012 /

      Imagine for a moment that you knew nothing about the Saints’ “bounty program” or the fact that players and coaches were providing monetary motivation to injure opponents.

      Does Gregg Williams’ locker room speech still sound horrifying to you?

      One of Kyle Williams’ brothers is a friend of mine so when Gregg Williams started talking about testing “little No. 10’s” concussion, I cringed. My heart dropped. The specific manner in which Williams was discussing the Niners’ players and their injuries was downright disturbing.

      But most of what Williams said can probably be heard in football locker rooms around the country every Saturday and Sunday. (Maybe even on Friday nights, where prep action dominants the newspapers.) Right or wrong, fair or unfair, just or unjust, a lot of Williams’ speech can be chalked up as “football talk.”

      What Williams said about Frank Gore was hardly unnerving. “Kill the head and the body will die” is a phrase. When he says, “We’ve got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore’s head,” he might as well said, “We’ve got to take Gore out of the game,” which nobody would have had a problem with. (And most people would have understood, seeing as how Gore was the key to San Francisco’s success on offense.)

      “We want him running sideways,” and “We want his head sideways” are hardly shocking statements either when you keep it in the context of a football coach telling his football players to make sure the opposing running back runs east and west instead of north and south. Again, had Williams used different phrases to get the same message across, then his speech wouldn’t have been as jarring to people.

      My problem isn’t so much with Williams’ poor choice of words but with his actual bounty program. Players get paid enough money to go out and inflict pain on one another – it’s unnecessary and almost cruel for a coach to be offering monetary motivation to target their opponents’ specific injuries. It’s ridiculous to pony up extra cash in order to motivate a grown man in the best shape of his life to go onto a field with the sole purpose of targeting an opponents’ knee or head. That’s not football. That’s not sport. That’s not playing for the love of the game or in the spirit of competition. That’s just inhumane.

      That’s when I feel for Kyle Williams, Michael Crabtree and the rest of Gregg Williams’ bounty program victims. That’s where I draw the line and say, hey, what’s going on here isn’t right. Could Williams not have delivered such an unsettling speech? Sure, but that’s simply a matter of semantics.

      Outside of the specific comments about Williams’ head or Crabtree’s ACL, it’s not Williams’ words that are so much the problem, but the manner in which he tried to execute them.

      External Sports, NFL

      Low Wonderlic score shouldn’t affect Morris Claiborne’s draft stock

      April 5, 2012 /

      If a quarterback scores a four on the Wonderlic Test then we’ve got a problem.

      A cornerback? Eh, not so much.

      The cornerback position is about reading and reacting, which are two things that LSU’s Morris Claiborne does very well. NFL teams know this and thus, his draft stock shouldn’t take a hit in light of his low Wonderlic score, which reportedly was a four.

      Apparently Claiborne has a learning disability that makes it difficult for him to take written tests. But that shouldn’t matter in this discussion either. He’s not a quarterback, a middle linebacker or a free safety. He doesn’t need to be able to diagnose plays at the line of scrimmage, rely information to his teammates on the go, or make key adjustments like a center would. He needs to be able to line up across from a receiver and then turn into a blanket as soon as the ball is snapped.

      It’s a shame that Claiborne’s test score was released to the public. It’s even more of a shame that people have overacted to the situation by suggesting the talented cornerback could fall in this month’s draft. If by “fall” they mean fall on the way up to the podium after hearing his named called in the top 10, then yeah, I could see that happening. (Those stairs can be steep at Radio City Music Hall.) But I highly doubt that Claiborne’s low Wonderlic will affect his draft stock in the way some are suggesting.

      Let’s not forget that the public is months behind the NFL in terms of information. Interested parties were already aware of Claiborne’s learning habits and probably tested his knowledge at the scouting combine or in private meeting sessions. It’s common that teams will have a prospect write plays or schemes out on a chalkboard one day, and then have him come back a few days later to see what he retained. Any red flags would have been discovered during this process – not when Claiborne’s Wonderlic score was revealed.

      The bottom line is that Morris Claiborne is one hell of a football player and doesn’t play a position that requires him to be a Havard Law graduate. I like him to go No. 5 to the Bucs but if he doesn’t, he won’t fall much further than that.

      His Wonderlic score be damned.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      2012 MLB Season Preview & Predictions

      April 3, 2012 /

      Will the Tigers run away with things in the American League after acquiring Prince Fielder? Or will the Angels make a trip to the World Series after adding Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson this winter?

      Are the Phillies due for a major letdown? Are the Giants ready to bounce back with a healthy Buster Posey back in their lineup? Who is the team to beat in the National League this year?

      Below are our predictions for the 2012 MLB Season. Don’t like them? Then tell us who you’re picking, tough guy. All comments are welcome and this is meant to be fun, so enjoy the read and enjoy another season of baseball bliss!

      NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

      1. Braves
      2. Phillies
      3. Marlins
      4. Nationals
      5. Mets

      I’m so used to sliding the Phillies into the No. 1 spot in the NL East that I nearly did it again this year. But even though Philly has the best starting rotation in the division, I like the Braves to ultimately take advantage of the Phillies’ injury problems. Losing Chase Utley and Ryan Howard for the first part of the year will cause the Phillies to start out slow and they could potentially miss the playoffs altogether if Roy Halladay carries his poor spring into the regular season. Atlanta’s starting rotation is solid and its bullpen is very good as well. There’s a good chance that no Brave will hit over .300 this year but they have speed in Michael Bourn, power in Dan Uggla, Brian McCann and Jason Heyward, and a couple of guys that can get on base. Assuming they don’t choke in pressure moments like in each of the last two seasons, I like the Braves to overtake the Phillies in this division… There’s too much talent on the Marlins’ roster for them not to be in the thick of things this year in the NL East. That said, what a combustible situation. Does anyone not think problems will arise with Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Logan Morrison and Carlos Zambrano in the same clubhouse? And with Ozzie Guillen leading them, no less? Maybe Guillen is the right manager to ensure the club stays unified and I do like the additions of veterans Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell to the pitching staff. But I just can’t see this team crossing the finish line before imploding first…I really liked what the Nationals did this offseason in adding Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson to their starting rotation. Assuming Stephen Strasburg rebounds from his Tommy John surgery, the Nats won’t be pushovers thanks to an excellent rotation and a solid bullpen. I just don’t like the offense. There’s not a hitter in that lineup that’s projected to hit over .300 and there’s not a lot of speed past Ian Desmond at the top of the order. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nationals challenged for one of the two Wild Card spots but I think they’re still another hitter away (unless Jayson Werth somehow surprises)…The Mets remain in a hell of their own making. Until they get some of their bad contracts off the books, this team will struggle to compete in a good division. Of course, if Johan Santana and Andres Torres bounce back to what they were a couple of years ago, the Mets could surprise. But that would mean David Wright, Ike Davis and Jason Bay would have to produce big seasons and I just don’t see it happening. When stacked up against the rest of the division the Mets are the clear doormats.

      NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

      1. Cardinals
      2. Reds
      3. Brewers
      4. Cubs
      5. Pirates
      6. Astros

      Why the Cardinals? Because they always find a way to compete and despite losing Albert Pujols, their roster remains balanced. Matt Holliday is the key to whether or not this team will make another World Series run but he’ll have help thanks to Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman, David Freese and Yadier Molina. This team also has a couple of complementary pieces in Jon Jay, Rafael Furcal and Allen Craig as well. The starting rotation took a hit when Chris Carpenter was shelved this spring with nerve damage in his back/shoulder. But if Adam Wainwright (who has had a tremendous spring) bounces back from Tommy John surgery, the rotation should be fine. (Kyle Lohse remains underrated, Jake Westbrook is coming off a nice spring, Jaime Garcia has very good stuff and the club is high on youngster Lance Lynn.) The question is: Can the Cards stay healthy all year? World Series teams tend to break down the year after appearing in the Fall Classic and the Cards already have a ton of injury questions heading into the year…The Reds are viewed by most pundits as the favorites to win this division and I can’t argue too much with that line of thinking. Landing Mat Latos in a trade with the Padres was a massive upgrade to their starting rotation and you know Joey Votto will mash again this year. But I just think the Cardinals have more balance from top to bottom and if they stay healthy, they’ll win the Central. That said, if St. Louis breaks down, then Cincinnati should run away with the division…Even though the starting rotation is very good (especially the 1-2 punch of Yovani Gallardo and Zack Greinke), the Brewers are poised to take a step back without Prince Fielder in the middle of their lineup. Ryan Braun will still be Ryan Braun but he doesn’t have Fielder protecting him in the order and who knows how he’ll handle playing on the road in the wake of his PED fiasco this past offeason. Still, Aramis Ramirez was a nice get if he can stay healthy and this lineup has plenty of pop. I just think the Brew Crew will eventually fade down the stretch…If Cubs fans can stay patient, new GM Theo Epstein will bring a winner to the Windy City (although I use the term “winner” very loosely). Until then, they’ll need to enjoy watching youngster Starlin Castro play because that’s about all the 2012 Chicago team will offer. It was huge of Epstein to unload Carlos Zambrano and get a promising young pitcher in Chris Volstad in return, and landing Anthony Rizzo in a deal with the Padres was solid as well. But this team is devoid of talent right now and it’s going to take Epstein a few offseasons to beef up the roster…The Pirates were a feel good story before the All-Star Break last season but their youth and lack of overall talent eventually caught up to them. I love Andrew McCutchen and their lineup features some nice players in Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and Garrett Jones. But the starting pitching is weak and McCutchen can’t carry the team by himself. Maybe Pittsburgh will make things interesting for its fans again this year but eventually, the Cardinals, Reds or Brewers will overtake them in the division…It’s downright cruel of the Astros to ask their fans to pay for tickets, parking and concessions. The games should be free given what kind of product management will put on the field this year. There’s not a 20-plus home run player in their lineup and their starting rotation is weak outside of Wandy Rodriguez. Even in a weak division Houston doesn’t have enough to compete and I can’t envision a scenario in which the Astros surprise. They’ll be out of it by the All-Star Break.

      NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

      1. Giants
      2. Diamondbacks
      3. Dodgers
      4. Rockies
      5. Padres

      I don’t agree with some of the decisions that Brian Sabean made this offseason (or in prior offseasons for that matter), and I remain perplexed as to why the Giants are so hesitant to start Brandon Belt when they’re a club in desperate need of offense. But I like the Giants to re-claim the NL West this season. Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval have never been healthy and productive in the same season but I think that all changes this year. Melky Cabrera was a nice addition to the lineup and once he’s healthy, having Freddy Sanchez back in the mix at second base will be huge as well. Of course, the Giants will win because of their pitching. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Volgelsong are fantastic and will cover up the weaknesses of the offense (and Barry Zito, who is horrifyingly bad). Assuming they don’t suffer any big injuries, I like the Giants to make a run this year…That said, if the Giants slip then the Diamondbacks will be there again when they fall.Arizona was very good last season and it went out and improved its pitching staff with the additions of Trevor Cahill and Takashi Saito this offseason. The lineup also offers plenty of power thanks to Justin Upton, Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Young, so why am I not picking the D-Backs to repeat as NL West champs? Because I think they’ll have more competition this season than they did last year. The Giants are healthy again, while the Rockies, Dodgers and Padres all improved in some areas. I see a slip coming for Arizona, although I do like the Snakes to claim one of the Wild Card spots…The Dodgers have been a mess off the field the past couple of years but their on-field product isn’t as bad as some think. Led by ace Clayton Kershaw, the starting rotation is underrated and the lineup features star Matt Kemp. That said, the Dodgers have a tendency to underachieve and while I firmly believe that they have enough to compete, I think they’ll eventually slide to the middle of the pack in the National League…Some folks are high on the Rockies’ potential and I can see why looking at their lineup. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki are studs, and the additions of Michael Cuddyer, Marco Scutaro and Ramon Hernandez will only help an offense that also features nice complementary pieces in Dexter Fowler and Todd Helton. But their pitching scares me. They don’t have that bona fide ace that will go out and stop the bleeding in the middle of a losing streak and I think over time, their bats will be silenced by teams like the Giants and Diamondbacks, who do have the arms to make a postseason run…I like what the Padres are doing but they just don’t have enough weapons to compete this year. Trading Mat Latos and Anthony Rizzo may help this club in the future, but for now San Diego will have to make due with what it has. And outside of Jesus Guzman and Yonder Alonso, “what it has” simply won’t be good enough.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

      Top 5 Small-School 2012 NFL Draft Prospects

      April 2, 2012 /

      Here are my top 5 small-school prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft.

      1. Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama
      Jenkins is technically a small-school prospect because he finished his collegiate career at North Alabama. But he’s a former Florida Gator that was booted from the team last April following his arrest on misdemeanor marijuana charges. Assuming he can stay out of trouble off the field, Jenkins is a solid cover corner with the ability to play in multiple schemes. At 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds, he doesn’t have the best size but receivers will have a tough time separating from Jenkins once he gets a feel for the pro game. Even despite his off-field problems, he should go somewhere in the first round.

      2. Amini Silatolu, OG, Midwestern State
      Silatolu continues to draw more and more attention as the draft nears. About a month ago he was projected to go in the late second or early third, but now he’s being projected as an early second or late first-round pick. Like most small-school prospects, Silatolu has some technique flaws to his game that need to be ironed out. But he has the size (6’3”, 324 pounds), the explosion, and the foot quickness to be a quality starting guard at the next level. I love the guard class in this year’s draft and Silatolu has as much upside as any other prospect.

      3. Josh Norman, CB, Coastal Carolina
      Norman has some character concerns that will drop him into the third or fourth round, but the kid doesn’t lack confidence and he was a playmaker in college. He had a very good performance at the East-West Shrine game and just like Jenkins, is scheme-versatile. He takes too many risks at times and he ran in the 4.5-range at his Pro Day, but that was also reportedly on wet grass. Again, there are character concerns but Norman has the talent to be a steal in the middle rounds.

      4. Brian Quick, WR, Appalachian State
      Quick is a natural athlete for a big man (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), and he has some upside to his game. He’ll never be a receiver that separates because he doesn’t have great speed, but he’s highly coordinated despite not picking up the game until his senior year in high school. He’s a former prep basketball star so a team might fall in love with him in the second round. I think he’s a better value in the third, but there’s no question he’s an intriguing athlete that would be a fit for any team because of his route running ability.

      5. Trumaine Johnson, DB, Montana
      Yet another corner with some character concerns attached to his name (although he was reportedly arrested for trying to break up a fight, so I’m not sure if he’s really a concern or just a victim of some bad luck), Johnson has great size at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, and could turn out to be a very good press corner at the next level. What’s most attractive about Johnson is that some list him as a cornerback, while others see him as a free safety. His ability to play either position at the next level will only make him more attractive on draft day and could be a great fit for scheme-versatile teams like the Bears, Vikings or Falcons. He’ll go somewhere in the second or third round.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

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