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      Will the Lions start Stafford in Week 1?

      June 4, 2009 /

      Even though training camp is still over a month away, the talk in Detroit right now is whether or not the Lions should start rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford in Week 1 of the regular season.

      Before we debate this topic, let’s get something out of the way first because I know there’s a commenter out there who just can’t wait to throw out this boring, overused statement: It’s way too early to know whether or not Stafford should start Week 1 considering it’s only June and we haven’t seen him take one snap against live action (either in practice or preseason).

      But I’m going to throw the topic out there anyway because it takes the sting out of knowing that the NFL season is still light years away. So save all of your, “It’s way too early to tell,” comments and tuck them under your pillow to be used at another time.

      There will be two names that some Lions fans will throw out there when making the argument that Stafford should start as a rookie: Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. If Ryan and Flacco could respectively lead the Falcons and Ravens to the playoffs, why couldn’t Stafford do the same with the Lie-Downs?

      The difference is that Ryan and Flacco had help. The Falcons hit a home run with free agent running back Michael Turner, who carried the ball 376 times and helped take the burden off Ryan by opening up lanes in the passing game. Ryan also benefited from having a solid receiver corps (led by Roddy White), as well as an offensive line that overachieved and stayed healthy. Don’t forget that Ryan was also considered one of the most NFL-ready quarterbacks to come out of college in the past couple years.

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      NFL

      Stallworth formally charged with DUI manslaughter

      June 4, 2009 /

      Browns receiver Donte Stallworth was charged with DUI manslaughter in a Florida courtroom on Thursday morning stemming from an incident a few months ago in which he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car. If he’s found guilty, he would face a mandatory four-year prison sentence.

      The plea was entered at a brief court hearing Thursday by defense attorney Christopher Lyons. The 28-year-old Stallworth did not appear in court. A trial date has not been set.

      Stallworth faces up to 15 years if convicted. Police say Stallworth was driving drunk after a night on the town when he struck and killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes on a Miami Beach causeway.
      Stallworth is free on $200,000 bail and is required to abstain from alcohol, not drive and observe a curfew.

      It’s reported that Stallworth’s defense team will try and argue that the victim was just as much at fault for the accident because he was jaywalking across a busy street. Stallworth has already claimed that tried to flash his lights to warn the pedestrian, but the fact that he was driving while impaired will work against him.

      NFL

      White Sox call up top prospect Gordon Beckham

      June 4, 2009 /

      If you don’t hear from any White Sox fans today, it’s because they’re currently worshiping the baseball gods after the Chi-Sox recalled top prospect Gordon Beckham from Triple-A Charlotte and designated Wilson Betemit for assignment (which could be just as big of a move for fans as the call up of Beckham was).

      Beckham was the eighth overall selection of the ’08 MLB Draft and has been on the fast track to the big leagues ever since. He was promoted to Triple A on May 27 and now he’ll make his major league debut tonight in Chicago against the A’s.

      Baseball America has Beckham rated as the 20th best prospect in baseball at age 22. He can play second, third and short, but he’ll see most of his time at third while batting anywhere 7 through 9 in the order. He’s your typical line drive hitter, although he has good power given his size (6’0”, 185 pounds) and has displayed good instincts on the base paths.

      Every time a top prospect gets called up before spending a fair amount of time in the minors, people are always going to question whether or not he got enough seasoning. But Beckham did play collegiality at Georgia and was crushing the ball in Triple A. Baseball is also reverting back into a young player’s game and prospects like Beckham are the future. Here’s hoping he plays well.

      Fantasy Spin: If you’re in a keeper league, Beckham is worth taking a flier on. He’s considered an impact prospect and the Sox didn’t call him up because of an injury – they called him up in hopes that he can produce right away. If you have a spot on your roster, add him.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Braves acquire Nate McLouth from Pirates

      June 4, 2009 /

      In an effort to try and inject life into their stagnant offense, the Braves acquired outfielder Nate McLouth from the Pirates in exchange for prospects Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez.

      The Braves acquired a speedy slugger who can bat anywhere in the top half of their order, and who they’ll have under contract for three or four more seasons.

      McLouth joins a Braves outfield that was tied for last in the majors with 10 homers through Tuesday, and finished last with 27 homers in 2008. He almost single-handedly matched the Braves’ outfield total with his career-high 26 homers in 2008, when he hit .276.

      He stole 23 bases in 26 attempts in 2008, and he has not been caught stealing this season.
      The Braves paid a hefty price: Morton was 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 starts at Gwinnett, and Hernandez, 21, hit .316 with 11 doubles, two triples, 19 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 52 games at Class AA Mississippi.

      Locke, 21, was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA in 10 starts for Class A Myrtle Beach.
      It may seem like the Braves gave up a lot in this deal, but Hernandez might be the only real loss seeing as how Locke is struggling and Morton might not have cracked the starting rotation anytime soon.

      McLouth is a solid hitter, can play center, is locked up cheap throughout the next couple of years and seeing as how he’s only owed $2 million this season, the Braves still have room to make another move or two.

      As of now, it would appear that the Braves got the better end of this deal, which is no surprise considering their trade partner was the Pirates.

      MLB

      Otis Smith is the real Executive of the Year

      June 3, 2009 /

      All due respect to Denver’s Mark Warkentien, who won the 2009 NBA Executive of the Year Award, but Orlando GM Otis Smith deserves the honor. This is the problem with how the league hands out these awards at the end of the regular season — there’s no way to take the playoffs into account. Granted, it’s a regular season award, but in that case, wouldn’t Danny Ferry deserve it for pulling the trigger on the Mo Williams trade, which led to an All-Star nod for the guard and a 66-win season? Mitch Kupchak also deserves mention for his theft of Pau Gasol (now a year and a half old) along with mining Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown from other team’s benches.

      Of course, Warkentien pulled arguably the best in-season move by sending Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, which gave the Nuggets the toughness and defensive intensity to go from a Western Conference also-ran to a legitimate contender. I didn’t like his decision to give away Marcus Camby last summer in a salary dump, but in his defense, his signing of Chris Andersen offset that loss. Still, it would have been nice to have Camby on the roster against the Lakers, but there probably wouldn’t have been enough minutes for three centers. Warkentien rolled the dice that Nene was ready to explode and that Andersen could bring energy, rebounding and shotblocking off the bench, and it worked out, for the most part. Warkentien also signed Dahntay Jones, who eventually turned into (sort of) a starter for George Karl, and re-signed J.R. Smith.

      Now let’s take a look at the job Otis Smith has done (from HoopsHype):

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      NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals

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