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Tebow given a third round grade by scouts

According to the Florida Times Union (via NFL Network’s Mike Mayock), Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has been given a third round grade by NFL scouts.

What Tebow does during the week is probably more important than what happens in the game because Mayock said the practices are set up by the NFL coaches to expose weaknesses in individual and one-on-one drills. Do well and Tebow’s stock will rise from a third-round pick — which is where Mayock said most NFL scouts have projected Tebow — into the second and possibly first round.

Struggle, and Tebow would have to have outstanding individual works to repair that damage.

“Most people think that he’s risking the most of any player coming to play in this game,” Mayock said. “I think it’s a brilliant move. Here’s a guy who’s arguably the best player to ever play college football, yet most NFL scouts will probably put him in the third round.

Tebow said following the SEC Championship Game that he wants an opportunity to prove that he can play quarterback at the next level. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said something to the effective that he wants to show teams that he can play quarterback and if he can’t, he’ll be willing to play any position the club wants.

I have my own doubts about his long delivery, his slow windup and his ability to play under center in a prostyle system, but it’s hard not to love Tebow’s attitude. If any player was going to put in the work necessary to succeed in the pros, it’s him and I can’t wait to see how he performs over the next couple months.


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Angels rid themselves of Gary Matthews Jr.

The Angels traded outfielder Gay Matthews Jr. to the Mets in exchange for right-hander Brian Stokes. As part of the deal, the Angels will eat $21.5 million on the two years and $23.5 million that still remain on Matthew’s contract.

Since signing a five-year, $50 million offer with the Angels in 2006, he has hit .248 and had just 316 at-bats last season. With Carlos Beltran expected to be out until at least May following knee surgery, Matthews will add some insurance to the Mets’ outfield.

But general manager Omar Minaya following the trade, Matthews isn’t guaranteed playing time. Angel Pagan hit .306 with six home runs in 88 games last season and will have the opportunity to earn more playing time in spring training. If Matthews wants to play, he better hit in the spring.

Even though they acquired Stokes, this trade was largely about the Halos ridding themselves of Matthews, who turned out to be a massive free agent bust. Stokes, 30, isn’t expected to make much of an impact in L.A. this season after posting a 1.56 WHIP last season for the Mets.


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Migraines could sideline Harvin for NFC title game

Vikings’ rookie receiver Percy Harvin missed practice for the second straight day due to migraine headaches and now there’s some question about whether or not he’ll be able to play in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

Migraines are no joke, which is why Harvin hasn’t even been able to go through a light practice. They almost feel like someone is repeatedly driving a stake through one of your eyes, while any noise or light adds to the pain. In extreme cases, some people even have to be on suicide watch because the pain is so intense. (I’m not an expert on the subject, but I suffer from migraines myself and have gained some knowledge on them throughout the years from multiple doctors.)

This isn’t a situation in which Harvin would be able to tough out the pain. Migraines can affect your vision, focus and concentration, and therefore if Harvin wakes up with pain on Sunday then there’s zero chance that he will play.

This of course, is bad news for the Vikings. Harvin has game-changing speed and would be a viable asset on a fast track like the Superdome. Here’s hoping for Minnesota’s sake that he’s able to go and is pain free.


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Salisbury admits to taking photo of his junk

Former NFL clipboard holder and horrendous ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury recently admitted to taking photos of his private parts and sending them to people, which he believes was his undoing at “The Worldwide Leader.”

From the USA Today:

“I was ashamed, and I didn’t want to say anything,” says Salisbury, who was an NFL quarterback for eight years and an ESPN NFL analyst for 12. “I thought it would go away and let my ego get in the way. Since then, I’ve beat myself up about it more than 10 baseball bats could. A stupid mistake can cost you, and this has really cost me. I should have been having this conversation a long time ago.”

“It was stupid —dumb!— but not malicious,” he says. “How can it ruin a good career? … I’ve gone from being on six days a week to disappearing. And it’s not like I wanted to disappear. … But it feels good getting it off my chest.”

This is just one man’s opinion, but I don’t think the cell phone photos did his career in – I think it was his talent (or lack thereof). He and Mark Schlereth formed a duo that mastered the art of saying as much as possible without really saying anything at all. Whenever they gave their opinion, I was reminded of that old SNL Monday Night Football skit when Will Ferrell impersonated Dan Fouts and just said obvious things throughout the sketch.

Al Michaels: Dan, it seems to me that the Buccaneers and the Vikings are serious Super Bowl favorites.

Dan Fouts: That’s right, Al. Tampa Bay is an excellent, excellent football team. But the Vikings have a great football team too. Al, my prediction is that whoever puts the most points on the scoreboard will probably win tonight’s football game.

Al Michaels: Dan, quarterback Shaun King, your take.

Dan Fouts: Al, Shaun King knows how to throw the football. Okay, and a quarterback is able to take that football up into the air into the hands of the receiver as he’s running down the field, really that’ll help this team score a touchdown, and that’s what this game’s all about.

I think I speak for all of us when I say that we can do without Salisbury’s take on things, and we can do even less without cell phone shots of his junk floating around the web.

One way to make basketball more entertaining

In this morning’s post, TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott laments about something that is very wrong with the game of basketball…

You know what’s wrong with basketball? Not guns, not gambling, not any of that. The biggest problem in basketball is free throws. If there was some way to severely reduce the amount of standing around in games, I think games would be a lot more fun to watch in TV or in person.

Here’s a suggestion: On a shooting foul, instead of a player getting two shots and a live rebound, the player gets one shot and his team gets the ball. This would reduce the number of times a player is fouled going to the hole because there would be very little upside to making a player “earn it” from the line if his team retains possession after the free throw attempt. It would also eliminate the tired/boring Hack-a-Shaq approach for the same reason.

The only time when this wouldn’t work would be at the end of games. If a team is trailing by two points, it could be to the defense’s advantage to intentionally foul with very little time remaining thinking that, after the free throw, it would be tough for the offense to get a shot off to win the game. How about in the final minute of each quarter, the rule would revert back to the current system — two free throws for each foul? That way, the end-of-game situations wouldn’t drastically change from what we know now, and end-of-game fouling would be reduced (at least up until the final minute) as teams are forced to play defense instead of hoping that the opponent misses some free throws.

Thoughts?


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