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      Curry believes the Lions will sign Stafford

      April 24, 2009 /

      Aaron Curry believes that the Lions will get a deal done with quarterback Matthew Stafford.

      Aaron CurryCurry, though, doesn’t believe Detroit will pick him. Curry also swears he won’t be bitter even though he will lose millions in guaranteed dollars the deeper he slides in the draft.

      “In my heart, I think (the Lions) are going to get it done with Stafford,” Curry said. “I know they have faith in both of us to become great players. They can’t go wrong. They’re really making their decision on a need basis. Quarterback for them is a more important need. I understand that.”

      Curry said he didn’t have a “gut feeling” about where he will be drafted but would love to be reunited with a high school teammate. Coincidentally, defensive tackle Tank Tyler plays for the Chiefs.

      “Kansas City would be the perfect scenario,” Curry said. “I think it would be God’s blessing that he put both of us back together again. When we were in high school, we made each other better every day in the weight room and on the practice field.”

      Curry is certainly endearing himself to a lot of people around the NFL and hopefully, a lot of fans as well. His decision to bring a 12-year old leukemia survivor with him to the draft is heartwarming and speaks to his character. Whether it’s Detroit, Kansas City, Cleveland or whomever, I’m sure the team that lands Curry in the first round is going to be very, very happy.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      UNIforms – Not So Much

      April 23, 2009 /

      pierre

      From Merriam-Webster.com…

      uniform

      adj.

      1 : having always the same form, manner, or degree : not varying or variable

      n.

      1. : dress of a distinctive design or fashion worn by members of a particular group and serving as a means of identification ; broadly : distinctive or characteristic clothing

      Juan Pierre is my hero. I instantly regret having that thought as I neither believe it nor do I want to lose any credibility as a writer. It’s just that, for the purposes of this piece, Pierre exemplifies what I feel is the perfect uniform attire. In his ten years as a professional baseball player, Pierre has been on five clubs yet always dressed exactly the same despite working with different material, jersey cuts, and color combinations. We’ll use his style with his current team, the Dodgers, as an example. Given the Dodgers white/blue combination, Pierre chooses to wear blue gloves, blue cleats, and blue socks, which I might add, he fully displays by hiking his pants up to his knees. Perhaps I get a kick out of Pierre so much because he dresses like my teams used to do in little league — but what purer form of baseball is there than that? Not only does he look like an anxious pre-teen out on the field, but he usually wears his cap under his helmet when he bats, which little leaguers must do because of the awkward size and feel of the helmets.

      Pierre’s style harkens back to an earlier baseball era, when uniforms made the player look trim and clean cut, not sloppy and careless. The only thing Pierre’s getup is missing is a pair of stirrups, but I think Jamie Moyer is the only one advanced enough to pull those off. Point is, Pierre dresses in a classy and non-distracting manner that would make a manager like Tony La Russa or Joe Torre proud. Nowadays, players make so many adjustments to their attire that a team’s uniform is anything but, and quite frankly, it’s irritating.

      Continue reading »

      MLB

      The NBA’s Top 10 Franchise Players

      April 23, 2009 /

      Every so often, I’ll be sitting at a bar, throwing back a few adult beverages with a buddy or two and I’ll pose the following question:

      If you could have one current NBA player to build your franchise around, with the goal of winning a NBA title in the next five years – who would it be?

      Since the 2009 NBA Playoffs are in their infancy, it seems to be as good of a time as any to kick around this question. My criteria are simple – a franchise player has to be able to carry his team, while being reasonably young and injury-free.

      We’ll count down from #10 to #1. My top nine guys were pretty easy to list, but #10 was a bitch. Maybe you can help me decide. Feel free to provide your own top 10.

      HONORABLE MENTION

      Yao Ming, Rockets (28 years-old)
      I love Yao’s post up game, and he is a skilled passer, but the chances are only 60/40 that he’ll be healthy for any given playoffs and those odds are only going to decrease as time wears on. He’s like Robert Downey, Jr. — he’s great at what he does, but you just don’t know if he’s going to be there when you need him.

      Chauncey Billups, Nuggets (32)
      He seems to be more responsible than ‘Melo for the Nuggets’ great play this season, but he’s 32 years old. Still, his effectiveness depends more on strength, steady play and good shooting than it does his (somewhat limited) athleticism, so he should be able to play into his late thirties.

      Al Jefferson, Timberwolves (24)
      Jefferson is one of the few young, back-to-the-basket post players in the league. He averaged 23/11 on a bad team, which leads me to believe he could post 19/10 on a playoff team, and should only get better with age.

      Amare Stoudemire, Suns (26)
      He’s four years younger than our next guy, but he’s already had two serious injuries in his career so one wonders if this is a trend. He also seems to be a little bit on the selfish side and has a rep for being a bad defensive player.

      Continue reading »

      NBA

      Ty Lawson to enter NBA Draft; Ellington too

      April 23, 2009 /

      It’s official: Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington are forgoing their remaining college eligibility and declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft.

      Lawson was arguably the best point guard in the country this season and was named ACC Player of the Year. He gutted through a swollen toe in the NCAA tournament, guiding the Tar Heels to a national championship (and f——g my bracket in the process). NBADraft.net has Lawson going #15 (to Detroit, which seems odd considering Joe Dumars has hitched his wagon to Rodney Stuckey), while DraftExpress has him slated for the 11th pick (New Jersey — another odd pairing, considering Devin Harris’ stellar play this season). Both mocks have Lawson behind Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings amongst point guards. Jonny Flynn, Tyreke Evans, Eric Maynor and Stephen Curry are ranked ahead of Lawson in one mock or the other.

      I haven’t seen much of Jennings, but I think I’d favor Lawson over the other five right now. He has everything you want in a point guard — good vision, quickness, speed, strength, shooting — except for size, and Chris Paul (and others) have proved that you don’t need to be tall to succeed in today’s NBA.

      As for Ellington, I’m surprised to see that NBADraft.net has him going 11th to New Jersey. Draft Express projects him to go with the 30th pick to the Cavs. When I first heard the news that he was going pro, my assumption was that he’d be a second round pick that might sneak into the first round with a series of good workouts. He shot the ball brilliantly in the NCAA tournament and that kind of clutch performance can really boost a player’s stock, but I’d be shocked if he becomes a lottery pick. Wings that can score are a dime a dozen in the NBA, so unless a player has a quality that really makes him stand out — i.e. Gerald Henderson’s athletic ability — they usually end up being late-first round or second round picks. We’ll see.

      College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, News

      Panthers sign Delhomme to five-year extension

      April 23, 2009 /

      According to the Charlotte Observer, the Panthers have signed quarterback Jake Delhomme to a five-year, $42.5 million contract extension through 2014.

      Jake DelhommeThe Panthers announced they have agreed to extend the contract of quarterback Jake Delhomme, which secures their long-term commitment to him at the all-important position and also provides some salary-cap relief. Delhomme was in the final year of his contract and was scheduled to count more than $11 million against the cap, but now has a new five-year deal that agent Rick Smith said is worth $42.5 million with $20 million in guarantees. Smith said the contract’s structure was “extremely complicated” but will save the Panthers at least a couple million in 2009 cap space.

      Whaa? They created cap space, which was nice, but $8-plus mil a year over the next five years? For Jake Delhomme? Like, for real?

      This move essentially tells me that the Panthers are dedicated to Delhomme for at least the next two to three years and probably won’t draft a quarterback high in the next two drafts because they won’t be able to sink that much money into one position. (Especially the quarterback position.)

      Delhomme has certainly done more good than bad in Carolina over the years (after all, he did lead them to the Super Bowl), but this is a player that is definitely on the decline. And if his performance in last year’s home playoff loss to the Cardinals is any indication of how his play will be from here on out, the Panthers will learn to regret this decision.

      NFL

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