PGA kickoff…Tiger even better

The PGA tour’s first event teed off on Thursday in Hawaii with little fanfare as the college football season had it’s so called championship game (Can I get a Playoff, sorry wrong blog DC has it covered) and the NFL playoffs in full swing. The first event includes only the winners from last year and is routinely skipped by golf’s two biggest names Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Golf’s biggest 4 events, the majors, come in the middle of the year and is what all the great players plan their year around. This year Tiger has a legitimate excuse for skipping the Mercedes-Benz Championship as he is recovering from surgery. After one of the most incredible wins in sports history at the 2008 U.S. Open Tiger had season ending knee surgery. The surgery was a long time coming as he was playing with pain for years and it was gradually getting worse. The knee kept Tiger from being able to post up on his left side and make the swing he wanted to. Being the player that he is Tiger found a work around it and was still able to dominate golf. After the surgery no time frame was set for his return and some were concerned he might miss the masters but now he has said he is on track for a February return. So now the scary part for the other guys on tour is that he says the knee feels better than it has in a very long time. As he proved in the Open he is one of the most mentally strong athletes ever and now that the lingering pain in the knee is gone so what can we expect from Tiger now? Well it is easy to predict greatness from the greatest golfer we have ever seen but I am going to put the bar real high for him this year. Paddy Harrington broke his hold on player of the year when he won the two majors Tiger missed so he pulled on the real superman’s cape. I expect nothing less than the Grand Slam. It also happens he is just four majors short of catching Jack Nicklaus’s record for major wins. Seems everything is set up the way Tiger wants it. Sit back and watch one of the greatest athletes in his prime make a run at history. Better yet go to any tournament he is playing in and see it in person as golf allows you more access to players than any other sport. When I am old I can tell my grandkids that I saw MJ shoot it, Gretzky skate, and Tiger hit it.

JD is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at jdthesportsguy@gmail.com

BCS Championship Game vs Playoffs? (Part One)

Reflecting on Florida's 24-14 win against Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game last night, I wondered how much better this game would have been if Oklahoma and Florida would have beaten Texas and USC, respectively, last week for the right to play in this game. If we had a playoff, we wouldn't have Mack Brown lobbying for votes, Utah saying they're being disrespected since they are the only undefeated FBS (formally 1-A) school, and USC not playing for the championship when they think they are the best team in the country (and they are).


President-Elect Obama, I got this, go ahead and focus on creating those three million jobs. I'll make the proposal for a playoff for college football. Let's list some quick reasons why we don't currently have a playoff system.



1. Tradition of the Bowl Games. Would you want to be the person responsible for killing the Rose Bowl aka "The Granddaddy of Them All"? The first post season bowl game was put on by the Tournament of Roses in 1902. That year Michigan (10-0) defeated Stanford (3-1-2) 49-0, in a game that Stanford gave up in the 3rd quarter. This is biggest reason people give for not changing to a playoff system. Why does the NCAA and member institutions continue to let independent entities control the crowning of the "National Champion" and more importantly THE MONEY?


2. 68 teams participate in the post season (currently 34 bowl games), mostly at destination locations. University presidents, big money alumni, and fans like to travel to watch their teams during the holidays in warm weather locations (minus Motor City Bowl in Detroit and International Bowl in Toronto). It also allows 68 teams to conduct extra practices for their team and to develop younger players. Do we really need over half the teams in the FBS in the post-season?



3. The season would be too long. Currently, most great teams play 14 games (12 regular season games [13 if you play a road game at Hawaii], one conference championship game, one bowl game). If you have a 16 team playoff, the maximum amount of games teams would play in a championship game is 17. The number of games would increase for a "handful" of teams, but you would actually have most teams finish the season before they currently do. There is currently 6-7 weeks between the end of the regular season and the bowl games.



4. It would diminish regular season. Most teams playing in the "National Championship Game" has zero or one loss, so you have no margin for error in the regular season. No margin of error includes no accommodation for injuries, suspensions, etc. during the season. Right now, the most intriguing game is only the "National Championship Game". If we had a playoff, ALL playoff games would be intriguing. The drama of the regular season wouldn't change at all. Do you really think that any fewer viewers would have watched the OU/Texas, Texas/Texas Tech, etc... if we had a playoff system? I got a quick answer for you.... NO!



Part Two of this blog will be posted on Tuesday January 13, 2009.

DC is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at dcthesportsguy@gmail.com

The QB Quandary

With Matthew Stafford declaring for the NFL draft yesterday and the college bowl season coming to an end tonight, one of the most interesting questions that still looms from the college ranks is which of this year’s star college quarterbacks who will enter the NFL Draft and picked in the first round will be a bust? The debate is centered on whether it will be Sam Bradford, Stafford, Colt McCoy, Mark Sanchez, or some other lesser known prospect. With most of these verdicts based on projections of these players’ skills at the next level, but even with the trained eye it is very difficult to accurately project their NFL successes or lack there of success. The only semi accurate barometer of success for most young NFL quarterback prospect is how early in their career they are forced into extensive action. For those who are unfortunately forced into action in their rookie year, usually does not fare as well as those players who are given time to mature, and learn.

From 1983 to 2003 63.2% of the quarterbacks who saw significant action (25% of their team’s games) during their rookie season have turned out to be bust (Chuck Long, Jim Everett, Vinny Testeverde, Kelley Stoufer, Jeff George, and Rick Mirer Heath Shuler, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Akili Smith David Carr, and Joey Harrington). During the same time period 26.3% of the rookie quarterbacks that have seen significant time during their first season are considered all time greats (John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Troy Aikman, and Peyton Manning) , and 10.5% of the signal callers are considered either good or decent quarterbacks (Donovan McNabb, and Drew Bledsoe). After watching the group of possible first round draft picks for the upcoming draft, I predict that the trend of the majority of first round quarterbacks who are rushed to play a significant amount of time in their first year, who become busts will continue just as it has in the past.

It is believed by many that the percentage of first year quarterbacks who will forced into early action will greatly increase in the coming seasons because of the success this season of super rookies Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. In the copycat world of the NFL, many GMs will ask the question, “Why am I paying a rookie tens of millions of real and more importantly salary cap dollars to sit on the bench and learn when Ryan and Flacco were able to come right into the league and play at a high level”. What many of these GMs will not realize are the shortcomings of their team’s defense and running games. They also will not take into account that these quarterback were asked to be game manager and not saviors of the franchise. There is a major difference between being a game manager with a stout defense behind you, and a running game that churns out yards like a Keebler Elf churns out cookies, and a quarterback who is asked to come into a situation like the Detroit Lions and be the savior of the franchise. The pressure that is put on a young kid who is put in this type of position with the dearth of talent that a team like the Lions has is overwhelming for even a seasoned quarterback such as John Kitna.

When a young quarterback is put into a situation where it is nearly impossible for him to succeed because of the lack of talent around him four things can happen, one he can get hurt from taking such a beating from opposing teams, two he can lose confidence in himself because he has never had to struggle like he currently is, three he can get cut because the team that drafted him thinks that they over evaluated his talent, or four he can become a unmotivated disinterested cancer on the team which will only perpetuate the losing atmosphere. With none of these outcomes being positive, it is senseless to put a young quarterback in a position in which he will not find success, especially since he is more than likely not equipped to deal with the harsh failures that he is bound to face in the NFL. The ultimate outcome of their rushed progression into the position of being a starting quarterback will ultimately lead the young star to being what many people have termed as a first round bust. In general the quarterback washout level of first round pick is approximately 50%, so with that being said, why not nurture your investment, or even better yet do not make the investment in a first round QB pick. I would personally prefer if my favorite team were to invest in a later round draft choice to lead the team. There have been many late round picks which have been turned out to be great pickups (Joe Montana, Tom Brady, or Matt Cassel), while at the same time there have been many first round flops in the history of the NFL (Andre Ware, Todd Blackledge, or Dan McGuire). This type of thinking still allows a team to possibly find a hidden gem, and have significant salary cap flexibility to sign other players.

With the development of a quarterback being so sensitive, it is even more risky to draft one high this year or next because of potential labor strife in the NFL in the 2010-11 season. If in that season, there is a long term lock out of the players by the owners as suggested by many, this could severely retard the progression of a potential franchise quarterback. The reason that the development of this key piece of a franchise could be stunted is because a QB’s steps in the developmental process are very regimented. The lack of practice time and even more importantly reps with the coaches critiquing the QBs every move will be missed and bad technique and poor mechanics could creep into his delivery and throwing motion during the lockout period. With this risk and the enormous amount of money that will be tied into this one player, is it really worth the risk of handcuffing your franchise with a first round quarterback for five to seven years? The lack of flexibility that this player will create may hinder a team from picking up a key free agent, who could eventually contribute to a Super Bowl championship. Because of this reason and the potential for flameout, it is more important to invest in a high powered scouting department who finds stud players in the later rounds who may be from smaller schools, a tough General Manager who has the guts to draft a borderline player who could turn out to be a stud because he fits the team’s mold, a Capologist who signs players to reasonable and flexible contracts, and a coach who put the players in a position to succeed more than a perceived potential high powered quarterback who has a 50-50 chance to be a decent player in the league for 5 years.




Weekly Picks
Pittsburgh
Carolina
Giants

****UPSET Alert Pick****

Baltimore

Johnson is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com

NBA fans really this clueless???

First let me say that the NBA all star game / weekend is my favorite in all of pro sports and I have some great memories of it. Magic and Isiah playing anything you can do I can do better. The slam dunk contests between Michael and Nique. Guys free wheelin for three quarters then the competitive juices taking over in the fourth quarter and everyone wanting to win. Now I know this is an exhibition for the fans and that is the justification for letting them vote but COME ON. T-Mac leading Chris Paul. Has everyone seen Chris Paul play? T-Mac is a great player but Paul is MVP worthy.

Quit voting by names and vote for what a guy has done on the court this year. If that were the only one I could have let it go but Yi over anyone who plays forward in the East (except Beasley). I know Stern wants the game to draw fans everywhere but if he passes Garnett and starts how would that be good for the game? It would turn it into a joke. Joe Johnson should be starting over Iverson and he is in 11th place. Agent zero hasn’t even suited up this year and he is in 6th. I want to start a big money fantasy league with everyone who voted Luke Ridnour over Johnson. Watch a Hawks game someone. Bunch of young studs getting no love nationally. Give Marcus Camby his due. He only is tied with Howard for the rebounding lead and is second in blocks and all I ever hear is he is busted all the time. How can he have fewer votes than Nick Collison, NICK COLLISON?

Even though the game is an exhibition the honor that comes from being an all star is not. When your career is up people talk about your accolades and making an all star team multiple times gives you a different status.

Since Stern won’t fix this travesty get all your friends to vote for Yi. Just like the BCS they won’t fix it until it hits rock bottom.

Listed below is the voting as of Jan 1st. Just read the order the names are in and tell me this madness can continue.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

FORWARDS: LeBron James, Cleveland, 1,521,272; Kevin Garnett, Boston, 1,101,541; Yi Jianlian, New Jersey, 959,324; Chris Bosh, Toronto, 601,204; Paul Pierce, Boston, 387,105; Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando, 236,360; Shawn Marion, Miami, 230,119; Danny Granger, Indiana, 155,484; Josh Smith, Atlanta, 131,281; Michael Beasley, Miami, 121,632; Tayshaun Prince, Detroit, 114,869.

GUARDS: Dwyane Wade, Miami, 1,473,225; Allen Iverson, Detroit, 1,027,153; Vince Carter, New Jersey, 708,699; Ray Allen, Boston, 435,945; Devin Harris, New Jersey, 359,442; Gilbert Arenas, Washington, 283,030; Luke Ridnour, Milwaukee, 276,009; Derrick Rose, Chicago, 242,740; Jose Calderon, Toronto, 221,946; Jameer Nelson, Orlando, 198,050; Joe Johnson, Atlanta, 189,343.

CENTERS: Dwight Howard, Orlando, 1,709,088; Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia, 239,089; Rasheed Wallace, Detroit, 197,785; Jermaine O’Neal, Toronto, 177,121; Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee, 151,043; Al Horford, Atlanta, 140,637; Ben Wallace, Cleveland, 112,014; Emeka Okafor, Charlotte, 100,114; Brendan Haywood, Washington, 89,664; Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland, 78,035; Kendrick Perkins, Boston, 68,513.

WESTERN CONFERENCE


FORWARDS: Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 1,132,095; Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix, 743,639; Carmelo Anthony, Denver, 725,411; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 673,720; Ron Artest, Houston, 662,510; Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers, 495,835; Bruce Bowen, San Antonio, 375,079; Shane Battier, Houston, 374,413; Luis Scola, Houston, 228,598; Josh Howard, Dallas, 228,157; LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland, 170,056.

GUARDS: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, 1,534,020; Tracy McGrady, Houston, 961,852; Chris Paul, New Orleans, 867,889; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio, 500,158; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 459,718; Steve Nash, Phoenix, 345,948; Jason Kidd, Dallas, 331,203; Rafer Alston, Houston, 282,767; Jason Terry, Dallas, 265,521; Brandon Roy, Portland, 210,755; Chauncey Billups, Denver, 205,554.

CENTERS: Yao Ming, Houston, 1,396,126; Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix, 727,975; Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers, 294,381; Mehmet Okur, Utah, 256,902; Greg Oden, Portland, 162,299; Andris Biedrins, Golden State, 129,488; Tyson Chandler, New Orleans, 112,949; Al Jefferson, Minnesota, 100,480; Nick Collison, Oklahoma City, 69,039; Marcus Camby, L.A. Clippers, 57,474; Chris Kaman, L.A. Clippers, 21,814.

JD is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at jdthesportsguy@gmail.com

After the Bowl Losses: The Big Ten on the Rise?

After Ohio State’s loss to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl last night, you’ll probably see articles suggesting that the Big Ten is terrible because of their 1-6 bowl record. Or the Big Ten needs to give back their automatic BCS spot because of their recent woes in the BCS games. Or the Big Ten Champion should play the MAC Champion in the Motor City Bowl. People, please stop over-reacting!

We know that people typically remember the last thing that they see. For the Big Ten, the lasting impression from the last three Bowl Seasons are two “National Championship Game” losses from Ohio State and two BCS losses this season (Penn State losing to USC in the Rose Bowl, and Ohio State losing to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl). Ohio State lost that first “National Championship Game” to Florida, although people forget that they probably should have been playing conference arch-rival Michigan instead.

In case you’ve forgotten, that season both Ohio State and Michigan were 11-0 and ranked #1 and #2 respectively, going into their season ending classic. Ohio State won that game 42-39, and the voters deemed that they were still the #1 and #2 teams in the country in the polls and in the BCS after the game. They were on a collision course for a “National Championship Game” rematch, until media groupthink came into play. The sentiment was that people didn’t want to see a rematch, or Michigan shouldn’t be in the game because they didn’t win their conference. Subsequently, Michigan was jumped by Florida when the Gators won the SEC Championship Game. Voters who changed their vote should feel ashamed. (BTW… Voters were sure to put Texas into the Title Game this season without a Big 12 Title, had Oklahoma lost to Missouri in the Big 12 Title Game). Had Michigan played in that game (and guaranteed Big Ten National Champion), would the Big Ten be looked at differently? Absolutely!

I can’t fault Penn State losing to a pro team in USC by two touchdowns. Nor can I fault Ohio State’s three point lost to Texas with 16 seconds left. Ohio State definitely had opportunities to “seal the deal” during the Longhorn’s last drive if they didn’t commit the personal foul penalty, or if they made the stop on the 4th down attempt. They lost to a great Texas team, who had public sentiment to play in this year’s “National Championship Game” instead of Oklahoma.

As far as the other Big Ten Bowl Teams, in the conference’s only victory Iowa dominated South Carolina. If Michigan State put touchdowns on the board in the 1st half against pre-season #1 Georgia instead of field goals, Michigan State should have won. Northwestern should have beaten Missouri, in its overtime loss. Wisconsin and Minnesota were both overmatched in their bowl games.

Match-ups are the reason the Big Ten didn’t do as well this year. All told, out of the 6 Big Ten losses in bowl games, three teams were ranked #1 at one point during the season (Georgia, USC, and Texas), one team was ranked as high as #2 (Missouri), and two teams were ranked as high as #15 (Kansas and Florida State). Although you never like to lose, they didn’t lose to slouches either.

The Big Ten isn’t that far away from being considered an “elite” conference. Ohio State will contend for National Championships the next 2-3 years with Terrelle Pryor leading them. Penn State will be competitive on the national scene. Michigan State is a team to look for in the future (as early as 2009, but definitely 2010), due to Mark Dantonio’s coaching and the good recruiting classes he is accumulating. Any of these three teams can and will win BCS games or the BCS Title.

Besides, the conference with the best overall record is the Pac-10 with a 5-0 record. Does anybody think any team other than USC is any good? USC’s only loss was to Oregon State, who was dominated by Penn State and lost to Utah. Oregon State won its bowl game against Pitt by the score of 3-0. That is not a typo. 3-0.

Talk to me in two years, and let’s see if we’ll be having this discussion. We probably will, but it won’t be in reference to the Big Ten.

DC is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at dcthesportsguy@gmail.com

Surprise Pink Slip

There were four head coaches fired in the NFL after last week’s final regular season game. The coaches of the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns coaches were expected to be fired, while the New York Jets coach was fired after it was suspected that he would receive a contract extension on Saturday evening. The final firing of the week left many asking the question how does a coach who has become too big for an organization in his own mind, come crashing back down to earth. In the case of the Denver Broncos it was last Tuesday, when Mike Shanahan the “Offensive Genius” was fired by owner Pat Bowlen during a brief 5 minute meeting. During this meeting in Bowlen’s office, it was explained to the face of the zone blocking scheme that the team was simply going in a different direction after 14 years. According to many sources the meeting only took five minuets because Bowlen had been contemplating this move for more than a year, which may also come as a shock to many.

While the majority of people are calling the Shanahan’s firing a surprise move, I have to ask the question was it really a surprise? Let’s just look at Shanahan’s record DE (During Elway) and AE (After Elway).

1995- 1998 1999-2008

W-L 47-17 91-69

Win pct. .734 .569

Division titles 2 1

Playoff W-L 7-1 1-4

Since John Elway left the Broncos franchise after the 1999 Super Bowl Mike Shanahan has lost much of his luster to all but fantasy football GMs who are searching for suitable Running Backs because of the prolific yardage gained by any back in the Zone blocking Scheme. Mike Shanahan has essentially become a mediocre coach who was riding the reputation of his sterling past. Gone is the magic of all those 4^th quarter comebacks, and Super Bowl victories. In the place of all of his early success in Denver is the reality of Shanahan’s most recent coaching performances, which was this December’s collapse because of his lack of ability to get consistent play out of the Quarterback position. The expectation of missing the playoffs has also begun to set into this proud franchise because of their pronounced absence for the past three postseasons.

Many casual observers may ask, what was Mike Shanahan’s true down fall in Denver? The informed fan will surmise that he just simply lost his magic, but I will tell you that the issues in Denver were much deeper than that. When a team takes Detroit Lions (0-16) rejects Boss Bailey, and Dre Bly’and insert them into their starting lineup they are not changing the culture in their organization of accepting not making the playoffs for the past three years, they are only perpetuating that culture. When a team has a Quarterback who has done nothing in the NFL but throw for a ton of yards and interceptions, who thinks he has a better arm than John Elway and is out to prove this point on a consistent basis, all he is doing for said team is providing wins only if they are playing fantasy football. Oh, and lets not even talk about the defense which allow 375 yards a game, 44 percent conversion rate on third down, and gave up an average of 28 points a game. These are the real reasons that Shanahan got canned in Denver. With all that being said Shanahan should thank Jay “I AM THE MAN” Cutler and Bob Slowik the teams Defensive Coordinator for the past four years for his unexpected departure in Denver.

Who should be Shanahan’s replacement in Denver for the 2009 season? The answer is a dual answer since Shanahan acted as Coach and General Manager; Bill Parcells AKA The Tuna should be brought in to be the GM, while Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys should be the coach. The Tuna should be begged in as GM by Bowlen because of his strong eye for talent and his desire to win now. The Tuna as we all know has some form of A.D.D. when it comes to winning and with the foundation currently in place the Broncos are set up to win now with a few tweaks to the roster. Jason Garrett should be brought in to be the coach of the Broncos because he has worked with the Tuna previously in Dallas, and with that being said we must also remember the T.O. factor. What is the T.O. factor you ask? The answer is any coach who can lead an offense and put up with T.O. without going mad can handle the adversity of following a coaching icon. Garrett is also a good young, bright coach with the intelligence to allow his Defensive Coordinator to come in and coach that side of the ball up, while maintaining enough control to hold that coach accountable. Garrett’s influence on the young Cutler which will surely make him more efficient and effective will truly be a welcome sight for ownership, fans and fantasy owners alike. I predict Garrett would have Denver back in the playoffs in a weakened AFC West in 2009, but it will certainly diminish the value of running backs in fantasy leagues.