Thursday, April 30, 2009

Trying to make sense of Jerry Jones

With the seventh pick of the 2009 draft, the Oakland Raiders select receiver Darius Heyward-Bey????????
With the 47th pick of the 2009 draft, the Raiders select free safety Mike Mitchell???????????????????
With the 101st pick of the 2009 draft, the Dallas Cowboys select quarterback Stephen McGee????????????????????????????????
It is no wonder Oakland and Dallas received the worst grades after this year's draft.
To recap, Heyward-Bey was projected to be taken somewhere in the late first round to the early second round. The Raiders said no, "we want him now. We want him even though Michael Crabtree is still out there."
I can't even begin to rationalize the Mitchell pick. He's some unsung (rightfully so) nobody, who was a seventh round projection out of Ohio (the Bobcats, not the Buckeyes).
Then the Cowboys decided to burn a fourth round pick, their third overall, on a quarterback who could not hack it for an absolutely horrible Texas A&M Aggies team that hit rock bottom in McGee's tenure.
Here is what I imagined happened, and I'm thinking this because it is the only logical assumption that may logically explain the illogical minds of Al Davis and Jerry Jones.
Here goes: I'm guessing before the draft, Davis and Jones decided to make a friendly wager based on which owner could make the most bonehead picks.
Obviously, Davis took an early lead since the Cowboys had no first round pick and then traded their second round pick for two third round picks for which they used to draft Rocky and Bullwinkle (Jason Williamson, a linebacker from Western Illinois, and Robert Brewste, a offensive tackle out of Ball State).
Davis was certainly in the lead until the third round. However, he took a step in the right direction (wrong for the bet) by selecting defensive end Matt Shaughnessy out of Wisconsin. That pick actually made sense, which broke the rules for Davis and Jones game of stupidity.
The game was still very tight heading into the fourth round.
But then Jones went for the knockout punch by taking McGee, a guy who the Cowboys probably could have signed for next to nothing. I'm thinking Jones could have waited two or three weeks after the draft and offered McGee a Wal-Mart gift card and he would have gladly accepted.
In response to the McGee pick, Davis' probably just gave Jones a simple, "Well played sir (Jones). Very well done."
Not to digress too much, but if Heyward-Bey and Mitchell were guys Davis really wanted, why didn't he trade down to get them. They probably could have gotten some team's first and second round picks and still got Heyward-Bey. They could have then traded one of those second round picks for an extra third round pick along with a second seventh round pick — well I just had a brain aneurysm and have no idea where I was going with that.
Moving on, the Cowboys say they want to implement the Wildcat offense that the Dolphins used so well last year. That's great. I don't mind Jones wanting to give that a try. The more Romo is off the field, the better Dallas will likely be. I don't even mind Jones wanting to acquire a quarterback more fitting to play in the Wildcat. But honestly, a fourth round pick for Stephen McGee?????? He was the only quarterback never mentioned in the "Big 12 has the best quarterbacks" discussion last year.
I realize he is a big guy who was one, if not the most coveted quarterback in his class coming out of high school. He has a solid arm, he's mobile and had a very successful prep resume.
None of that worked for him in college, however, so one would have to assume McGee's college career would have been just the tip Jones needed to avoid this illogical decision.
Instead of taking McGee so high, the Cowboys would have been better off drafting the following: a saftey, a defensive lineman, another offensive lineman, a receiver, a GPS specialist for Romo or even a towel boy from the University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

NFL draft is rarely worth watching

Aside from a handful of years, I've never been that interested in the NFL draft, which starts Saturday. In that handful of years, I'm usually only interested in a few players.
This year, I can't think of any compelling player. The quarterbacks are young, inexperienced or had relatively shaky college careers, which makes them completely overhyped. I really don't think this is a very good draft class at any position.
Furthermore, I don't really understand why people would waste a Saturday watching it unless there are invested feelings in a player. For example, it was cool when Port Arthur's Jamaal Charles was in the draft last year.
Otherwise, I don't see the point. It's boring television. It's an all-day affair of commentators arguing about something they will have no real proof of until three or four seasons down the road. I mean as hyped as Darren McFadden was going into the draft last year, he was basically forgotten and will continue to be forgotten until he does something notable.
It also seems the general managers are getting smarter and smarter. Teams seem to be using the top picks for defense, offensive lineman and other big necessities rather than just drafting the high profile names.
I like that teams are doing that but it makes for extra boring television.
Basically, I feel I can read about the draft later and be just as satisfied. And it is important for me to see what players the Cowboys took and even the Texans. Plus, it is never too early to start thinking about Fantasy Football.
I'm sure this short rant on the draft was very heartbreaking for some of you to read. I may have lost more respect from some of you. Then again, if you have been reading since I started this blog, you should have little to no respect for me by now anyway.
I do appreciate the comments and find that part more fun than coming up with the stuff to write each week.

One last thing about the NFL draft; I am completely against teams being allowed to sign players before draft day. That is absurd and bad business for the NFL.
If you are trying to sell your business for a random day in the spring, trying to top ratings against the NBA playoffs and baseball, why on earth would you allow teams to do this?
It completely takes the mystique out of the first pick, maybe even the second and third picks as well.
I don't care if that first pick is an absolute no-brainer, there is still that small window of speculation. And, if the first pick can be signed, then what about the second and third. There might be some years where the top five are completely gone days before the draft.

In regard to last week's Rockets blog, I hope some of you took notice into how dominate Yao is when the team gets him the ball. In Game One, he played about two quarters and scored 24 points, going 9-for-9 in the field. He had 16 points in the first quarter alone and scored 11 of the Rockets' first 13 points. To put it straight, Houston fed the big fella the ball every time down the court. They built a lead and coasted to a victory.
That was far from the case on Tuesday night. He shot six times. He was 3-for-6 (50 percent is pretty good) from the field and scored just 11 points. WHY? Why would a team only get the ball to its best player six times? Rick Adelman should be removed from the coach-of-the-year discussion immediately. A friend of mine decided it would be good if the Rockets would fine the team for every trip down the floor that Yao does not get the ball. I could not agree more. Doesn't mean he has to shoot but if he doesn't touch the ball, fine them and fine them hard. When the game is within reach of a win and trips are made down the floor without Yao touching the ball, fine the team double, even the bench players. I say fine Yao as well. Maybe he will start demanding for the ball if he is also fined.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Forget the playoffs Houston, go get Lebron

Some are probably disappointed with the Houston Rockets 95-84 loss to Dallas on Wednesday night. I put off blogging on Wednesday so I could talk about the Rockets and the NBA playoffs today. Like most fans, I was hoping Houston could end the season on a winning streak. I was hoping they could become the Southwest Division champs and claim home court advantage through two rounds. All those things would have been extremely nice and encouraging.
But the more I've thought about it, the Rockets fall from the No. 2 seed to the No. 5 seed really won't make a difference, except in the long haul.
Winning Wednesday night would have meant Houston could have avoided the inevitable for two or three weeks. The inevitable is that regardless of what plays out in the first two rounds of the Western bracket, the Lakers will be conference champions.
And as the five seed, the Rockets will meet their doom in the second round instead of the third, which means a lot of good things for the team and its fans.
Here are some positive things to look at:
- They tried their best without their overrated superstar Tracy McGrady, who needs to be traded to whatever team will take him. (Maybe send him to the Astros?)
- Ron Artest has not made a CD or punched anyone since coming to Houston.
- Barring some major upsets, fans won't have to watch Houston have its season ended by the Utah Jazz or the Mavericks for the 38th time this century.
- The Rocket's front office can vacation earlier than expected, which means they can get back to work earlier, which means they can start preparing a plot to take King James, which is an operation to get Lebron before he goes to New York or re-signs with Cleveland. I say Houston should offer Cleveland Yao (as much as he is underrated), Tracy, Battier (as much as I love him), Joey Dorsey, Chuck Hayes and its next eight draft picks for Lebron and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I threw in Ilgauskas as a crowd pleaser for all the fans who love Yao simply because he is Chinese. (I can't say Ilgauskas and I can't speak Chinese, therefore Ilgauskas is from China?)

Either way, the Rockets have a solid backcourt that resembles a lot of what Lebron has at Cleveland. What I think the Cavs are missing (if anything) are guys like Artest and Luis Scola, which Houston has. So I'm thinking we can bring the Cavs, Artest and Scola together by having Cleveland give Houston Lebron.
As far as the NBA playoffs playing out, I think the Rockets take down Portland in seven and then lose a 'closer than the experts think' series with L.A., which should easily move onto the Finals.
In the Eastern Conference, Boston head coach Doc Rivers said Kevin Garnett won't be available for the playoffs so that leaves Orlando as the only other candidate to beat Cleveland, which means the Cavs and Lakers will likely be matched in the Finals.
However, I will be rooting for Kendrick Perkins to emerge as a powerhouse this postseason so that the Celtics will return to the Finals and be forced to make a new deal for Ozen's finest.
If that plays out, Lebron will be discouraged about Cleveland, making him more interested for a trade. Houston is a big city and very marketable. We don't have Jay Z but we do have Beyonce, so it is pretty much the same city. If my plan works, Boston will have to pony up to keep Perkins, who I'm hoping will be homesick and want to play for the Rockets.

So my 2009-10 Rockets look like this:
starters:
PG - Aaron Brooks
SG - Lebron James
SF - Ron Artest
PF - Luis Scola
C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas

second squad:
PG - Kyle Lowry
SG - Von Wafer
SF - Lebron James
PF - Carl Landry
C - Kendrick Perkins

third squad:
PG - Lebron James
SG - Brent Barry
SF - James White
PF - Brian Cook
C - Dikembe Mutombo

What a team!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Still not an Astros believer

After a weak start, the Astros rebounded Tuesday night and are 1-1, which is good enough for a share of first place in the NL Cental. So maybe this season can still be salvaged after all?
I tried staying optimistic going into opening day, but the wind in my sails was sucked dry within the first minute of the season.
Roy Oswalt's second pitch of Monday night was absolutely destroyed by Alfonso Soriano.

Soriano, gently touching home plate after smashing out a Roy Oswalt fastball Monday evening at Minute Maid Park

(As a sidenote, DON'T THROW SORIANO FASTBALLS. Same rule of thumb was used against Pedro Cerrano in the movie Major League. He could not hit a curve ball and because of that he was demoted to a role as president in some TV series and now he sells insurance for State Farm.)
I was devastated by Soriano's homer. The little hamsters operating my brain went to work immediately because I was hoping to find out how many home runs Oswalt and the team were on pace to give up if every other pitch left the yard. Before I could do the math, the second inning started with a first pitch homer by Aramis Ramirez.
At that point, I had to start breathing into an Astros souvenir bag. I've seen people do this before, hoping to avoid panic attacks.
Anyway, the Astros only lost 4-2. Oswalt ended up doing okay but the team hardly looked promising. I was thinking if the Cubs got to Oswalt that easily, what will the rest of our rotation do?
Pudge Rodriguez looked awful in the first game. Hunter Pence was just as bad at the plate. Houston had zero extra base hits. There were baserunning errors and coaching blunders. It just looked like the start of a long spring and even longer summer for the Astros.
But then they battled Chicago to a walk-off, 3-2, 10-inning victory, which featured a solid outing from Wandy Rodriguez, a homer by Pence, a hit from Pudge and a game-winning pinch hit from Jeff Keppinger. (As a sidenote, Houston was up 2-1 through seven innings but Latroy Hawkins threw SORIANO A FASTBALL in the eighth inning that tied the game at 2-2. DON'T THROW SORIANO FASTBALLS!)
My expectations for this season?
I have none. I try to stay even keel with everything in life. I was the same way in school. That's why I never studied for tests. Without studying, I found, that I was never disappointed with whatever grade I got. Same thing applies here. If I build up hope for the Astros 2009 season, there is a great chance I will have to deal with a lot of emotional baggage later this summer.
A former professor of mine, who thinks I am an idiot 99 percent of the time, did agree with me on this issue of hopes and dreams regarding teams you love.
For instance, he and I pretend the Astros don't exist. When we want to talk about said nonexistent team, we use code words such as "the team that plays in the big city 90 miles to our west."
What do I really think about the 2009 Astros?
I think Houston has a spotty lineup, a questionable starting rotation and a solid bullpen. My hamsters have not completely passed judgment on the starting rotation, but they are pretty annoyed about the prospects of Geoff Blum being a regular starter all season. Houston is one of the only Major League teams that constantly tries to convert average bench players into every day starters. It bothers me tremendously and he spells Jeff wrong.
The Astros lineup has some solid hitters but I'm not sold on Cecil Cooper's starting order. Pence usually can't hit anything but an inside fastball and Cooper has him in the seventh hole where he will rarely get a decent pitch to hit. Pence has good power and speed, and the only place in the order where he will get a larger dose of heaters is near the top. I say put Pence in the second spot and move Pudge down to six. And for the love of all things sacred, move Blum to seventh. I know Cooper wants a lefty after Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada. I know Blum is 3-for-7 so far this season. I also know Michael Bourn has three hits and two RBIs. But more than likely both of those guys are going to struggle to hit .250.
I don't have as much a problem with Bourn because he is fast and whatever offense he can give us is a bonus. For Houston to be a serious contender, however, a legit third baseman has to be found. Keppinger and Blum are bench guys and will be great for the team starting on the bench and not on the field. (As a sidenote, I would probably like Blum more if he had not hit that go-ahead homer for the White Sox in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series against the Astros. And unless he does the same for Houston, I will not forgive him. I'm sure he is a great guy though.)
Rest of my thoughts on the Astros:
Baseball is a great sport. It's my favorite. You don't always have to be the fastest and the strongest to be good, which means Houston could be a contender with the players it has now. But I'm not going to get excited. (As a sidenote, DON'T THROW SORIANO FASTBALLS! Throw him sliders,splitfingers, curveballs, screwballs, golfballs, boudin balls, malt balls and anything else. Just don't throw him FASTBALLS!)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

2009 NCAA Tournament has led me to fasting

Sports writers use professional insight and, typically, correct grammar. That's what sets reporters apart from regular fans. And journalist get paid to watch the games and then give that professional insight to readers. It's not as simple as it seems, however. It takes years of couch time, watching sports, talking sports, playing sports until you realize you aren't good enough, and then you continue part of this routine into college where most will spend four years (some six). Then in college, a sports writer will learn to read and write and open a can of soup without slicing my foot wide open.
Point is, this job isn't just for anyone.
For instance, I use a strict process every week to come up with the detailed and factual opinions I give to this blog. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that process is and because of the NCAA basketball tournament, I haven't wanted to think about sports of any kind. The rest of my bracket kicked the bucket last week. I put my heart into my picks and not one team cared enough to love me back. They are all gone.
My pride has nothing left in the tank. I feel defeated, uninspired and lost. My misery has led me to fasting twice a day (in between breakfast and lunch and in between lunch and dinner). I haven't shaved since Sunday (I usually don't shave that often anyway, but figured saying that would help create the mood).
Today, I tried watching SportsCenter for the first time since my Final Four was brutally plucked from the field. Watching ESPN just hurt me more. I had to turn it off. I had some breakfast and went back to bed for an hour or so.
It was good sleep. It was good for the soul because when I woke up, I could see the light (because it was shining in my window) and the light gave me hope.
And I needed to run some errands, take care of some work stuff and blog, so I sprung from my slumber to the computer, ready to start fresh.
It was like a brand new beginning to the same day. That's what napping after breakfast will give you and I strongly encourage doing this.
Anyway, I knew it was time to put my 2009 March Madness bracket behind me. I was ready to blog.
But then I realized I had no idea what to write.
At first, I thought I could blog about the Astros since opening day is Monday. I figured I could break the team down and tell you why Houston won't make the playoffs. But, I have six months to feel bad about the Astros. I have six months to wonder how it's possible that a Major League Baseball team plans to start Geoff Blum everyday at third base. I have all season to wonder why Geoff spells his name wrong.
So I crossed the Astros off the list. I'll do that next week.
So in search of blogging inspiration, I decided to go to ESPN.com, which was a monumental mistake that forced me into a relapse of my pitiful mood.
Why?
John Calipari. Kentucky. John Calipari. College basketball. Memphis. Arizona. Oklahoma. Missouri. UMass. Calipari. Billy Gillespie. College basketball. NCAA tournament. Final Four. Marcus Camby. UConn. Michigan State. Indiana State. North Carolina. Jeff Capel. Patt Forde. Larry Bird. Tom Izzo. Villanova. 1985. Magic Johnson. Jud Heathcote. 1979. Expected Kentucky roster. Expected Memphis roster. Whose going where because there is one recruit, who has a brother, who might have a cousin, who might be dating this girl, who has another brother from an aunt with a different mother and she said they wanted the one kid to go to Kansas anyway.
We'll try this again next week.
Good luck to those of you who still have an incentive for caring about college basketball this season.