Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Sports Blog Net

Sports Blog Net

Trade Rumors and How Players Handle Them

Posted: 21 Feb 2012 02:50 PM PST

It's coming up on the time of year where there could be some blockbuster trades happening before the NBA's trade deadline passes. We've seen players handle things in different ways in terms of how they discuss trade rumors. Some players don't say anything about it and just let things happen as they come, while others go through the media and demand to be traded. My thoughts on this issue comes after the episode that has happened with the Los Angeles Lakers. After the Lakers got housed by the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, Kobe Bryant, the Lakers' franchise player, went on a rant about all the trade rumors involving teammate and forward Pau Gasol. Bryant pretty much said that the team needs to either come out and trade Gasol or not do anything at all with him, but also stressed that he wants Gasol to stay in Los Angeles. In my opinion, Gasol has been the model for class and professionalism when it comes to handling these trade rumors. Keep in mind that this man was actually traded to the Houston Rockets in the Chris Paul deal that would have had Paul playing for the Lakers. Lamar Odom (now playing in Dallas) was also dealt by the Lakers to the New Orleans Hornets in the same deal. We all know that the trade was vetoed by commissioner David Stern, who is the default owner of the league-owned Hornets. Gasol showed up at Lakers camp the next day ready to play like business as usual, while Odom got his feelings hurt and demanded to be traded for good. I understand that there are feelings involved with executive decisions. Once you find a place you like, it's hard for you to leave, especially if you're being forced out. But there is a business side as there is with all organizations. I think Gasol understands both of those aspects and has handled everything well. It seems to me that Gasol understands that he may or may not get traded, but he also understands that he has a job to do. Maybe the trade rumors are getting to Gasol a little bit, but he's still been pretty solid this year. He's averaging 16.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. This is coming from a guy who doesn't look like he's comfortable in the new system being put in place by new head coach Mike Brown. So if you were to ask me, I think Gasol has been a class act during all of these rumors (I guess you better be a class act if you're making millions of dollars). So you have the way Gasol handles the traded rumors, and then you have the way Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has handled trade rumors swirling around him. Every time Howard and the Magic play a game, it seems like you here a story on how he has a new team he would like to get traded to. Every team Howard is asked about potentially going to, he says it could be a good fit. It's always constant back and forth with Howard. One minute he's happy in Orlando. The next minute he goes back to voicing his trade demands. Maybe Howard can learn something from Gasol on how to handle things with class. Don't get me wrong, he's been a beast out on the court, averaging 20.1 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. But the way he's handled things off the court has been bad in my opinion. You could say the same thing about New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony from last year. It was always a different story each day with Anthony during his last season in Denver. All I'm saying is I like the way Gasol has handled the trade rumors a lot more than how Howard and Anthony handled it. All this is open for debate, because we all have our own opinions on how things should be handled. But I prefer the classy way. Gasol has handled this with class, and I for one give him props for it. By Charles Taylor

My upset picks for tonights big games

Posted: 21 Feb 2012 06:57 AM PST

  #1 Kentucky vs. Miss. St. at 9:00 PM ET ESPN2/ESPN3 - My Pick: Miss St. wins in last final minutes Kansas State vs. #3 Missouri at 7:00 PM ET ESPN2/ESPN3 - Missouri pays Kansas St back for what happen in Manhattan #7 North Carolina vs. N Carolina St. at 8:00 PM ET ESPN3 - N Carolina St wins barely and pulls a bid for the tournament #8 Gerogetown vs. Seton Hall at 7:00 PM ET ESPN3 - Otto Porter controls the game and Georgetown wins #13 Michigan vs. Northwestern at 8:00 PM ET BTN - Northwestern needs this win, but I'll go with Michigan Illinois vs. #9 Ohio State at 7:00 PM ET ESPN/ESPN3 - Ohio State takes care of Illinois by 15 or 20 #21 New Mexico vs. Colorado St. at 10;00 PM ET MTN - Tough game, but New Mexico wins Virginia vs. Virginia Tech at 9:00 PM ET ESPNU - Virginia Tech wins and helps ruin Virginia's chances of a bid

Baylor rises, Texas falls in last final minutes

Posted: 21 Feb 2012 06:47 AM PST

Quincy Act scores 22 points with 16 rebounds and 2 blocks as he helps Baylor pass Texas.  J. Brown had 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Baylor still has Oklahoma, Texas Tech and ends the year at Iowa State while Texas goes to Texas Tech, home to Oklahoma and at Kansas.  Can Baylor win the next three?  Can Texas beat Kansas in Lawrence?  The remainder of the season will be interesting.

Nowitzki, Mavericks Crush Shorthanded Celtics

Posted: 21 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST

[caption id="attachment_1954" align="alignleft" width="220" caption="Dirk Nowitzki takes a shot against Chris Wilcox during Monday's Celtics-Mavericks game in Dallas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)"][/caption] Hmm... let's see. The Celtics struggled badly with rebounds Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks. They also couldn't move the ball offensively, find open shots or accomplish anything in the paint. The Celtics played the Mavericks without Kevin Garnett (family matter), Brandon Bass (knee) and Rajon Rondo (two-game suspension). They lost to the Mavericks, 89-73. For some reason, I can't help but think the two previous paragraphs are related.

Nowitzki's Double-Double Highlights Celtics Struggles

Without Garnett or Bass, the Celtics had few options for defending Dirk Nowitzki. Whoever Boston sent at Nowitzki, he made that defender look silly. It didn't matter if Nowitzki was in the low post, high post, top of the key, whatever. Nowitzki scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the first half, including a run of 10 consecutive points in the second quarter. A particularly abusive move on Jermaine O'Neal highlighted that run. Along with all those points came 16 rebounds and two blocks. The Mavericks out-rebounded the Celtics eight, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds to the Celtics' five. They also out-scored the Celtics 32-18 in the paint, getting a solid nine points from reserve power forward Brandan Wright. Wright scored an alley-oop bucket from reserve guard Jason Terry (16 points on 6-of-11 shooting) in the second, then added an emphatic dunk in the fourth. He also grabbed two offensive rebounds in the same possession, eventually kicking it out to Terry for a three-pointer that put the Mavericks up 40-26 in the second. The Celtics showed moments of offensive consistency that led to moves in the paint, in particular a fast-break dunk by Ray Allen followed by a dribble-penetration from Paul Pierce that made it 44-34 late in the second. But overall the Celtics never looked in rhythm, throwing up crazy shots in the lanes or running anemically into defenders for easy blocks. Pierce (20 points), Allen (15) and Avery Bradley (12) did their best, but with Bradley running the offense the Celtics lose most of the fluidity Rondo typically brings. And with so few second-chance scoring opportunities, the Celtics' stiff, disjointed offense just meant more minutes on defense. The Celtics didn't lead at any point during Monday's game. Their five-point deficit after one quarter became 10 after two and 17 after three.

Nowitzki Leaves in Fourth, Celtics Try Going Deep

Nowitzki exited the game with just over six minutes left in the fourth and his team up 85-61. The Celtics played the fourth quarter with desperation, going all-or-nothing with three-point shots. Of the 24 shots the Celtics took from behind the arch Monday, 12 came in the fourth quarter, and only four went in. The Celtics knocked down seven total treys. The Celtics gave away far, far more possessions with this strategy than with their earlier "run around aimlessly and hope we get lucky" strategy, shooting 44 percent from two-point range but under 30 percent from downtown. And the Mavericks matched the Celtics' three-point output, swishing seven of their own, including four from Terry. E'Twaun Moore and Mickael Pietrus each scored two three-pointers for the Celtics. Pietrus drained his second from 29 feet away with a minute left in the third to make it 68-51 Mavericks. The Celtics got two more on a tip-shot from JaJuan Johnson, but Wright canceled it with a tip-shot of his own with 0.6 seconds left in the quarter.

Celtics' Losing Streak Continues With No End in Sight

The Celtics have now lost their last four games, and six of their last seven. Between Garnett's and Bass' injuries that never seem to heal – recalling Shaquille O'Neal's situation last year – and Rondo's suspension further derailing his return to form, the Celtics have lost much of what made them at least competitive, if not actually good. The Celtics can't rebound. They can't pass. They can't score in the paint. They can defend, but only at the guard positions, and only for a little while. The bench barely exists (24 points on 29 percent shooting). And all the people best-suited to fix this are currently on the sidelines, leaving nothing but gaping holes for players like Nowitzki to slash through with ease. Boston holds a two-game lead over Cleveland for the final playoff spot. The Cavaliers are 6-7 since their own four-game losing streak ended back in January, but they next play the Pistons and Hornets – two of the worst teams in the NBA. The Celtics, meanwhile, will conclude the first half of the season against Kevin Durant and the Thunder Wednesday. They begin the second half against the Cavaliers, who if nothing changes could very well knock the Celtics out of the top eight.

UCONN's Shabazz Napier nails three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:23 PM PST

What a game for both teams but Villanova couldn't finish it in the end.  UCONN needed this win on the road because they still have a tough season ahead. Top performers: UCONN: J. Lamb 32 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast Villanova: D. Cheek 23 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl Final OT - UCONN 73 Villanova 70

A Grizzly Future Lurking in Chicago.

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:08 PM PST

For my money, this year's incoming draft class is as talent loaded as any I have seen. Top to bottom, there will be no litter runts or rejects come your respective team's turn to pick. Every need has a legitimate prospect, and, unless your name is Andrew Luck, you are all but certain to see immediate playing time. Also more than any recent memory, there are more teams with more riding on these draft hopefuls than we are probably aware of.

There aren't many teams with a balanced roster that don't have a gaping hole and dire need in at least one position. Who out there, legitimate competitor or not, has a roster that has no weakest link, and instead is just "not very good," or in the process of "gelling?" We could certainly make an argument for the balance of the Giants, whose Super Bowl run would have been derailed long before the post season even started had all the elements of superb and cohesive team play at least not existed on the same roster. Sure, they could have made the move to fire on all cylinders together down the middle stretch of the season and in turn made their lives a little easier, but that's all water under the Brooklyn Bridge now.

Desperation is around the bend for most teams in at least one position, for those we consider title contenders, but for bottom feeders as well. The Patriots have a dire need for someone to stretch the vertical limits of their passing game. We all know Brady has the pop in his arm to make those throws, but Welker plays small ball (very effectively), Gronkowski makes his money on yards after the catch, and Deion Branch is on the exiting horizon of his career. They also need pass rushers, perhaps more than anything, as do the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars; merely the most needy among the herd.

Every year, the endless speculation surrounding the top 10 picks is just too much fun to avoid. By the end of the 1st round, the discussion weight shifts completely to "how did 'this guy' fall so far in the first round?" Somewhere in there, the middle of the road first round draft picks get lost in translation. Before we look at a said mid-round picker this coming year, weigh the swing that some of the following factors on both sides of the professional fence will play in the decision making process: the unstable future of Peyton Manning. The need for a quarterback attack and the limited free agency pass rushers -Mario Williams, John Abraham, Cliff Avril, Robert Mathis- that rocket the stock and value of Quinton Coples from UNC. The wildcard in RG3. The Great Walls of Matt Kalil, Jonathan Martin, Mike Adams and Reilly Reiff to protect those franchise triggermen.

Are we forgetting something? Anyone for a wide receiver?

St. Louis is going to draft Justin Blackmon. I have a hard time seeing it any other way. He is entirely too gifted for the Rams front office to pass on, speaking both literally and figuratively, especially since they have committed their future to Sam Bradford. Other than that, who is certain to take a wide receiver in the first round? Well, who needs one? Cleveland, absolutely. But the future of that offense needs to ride the wheels of the latest make and model of Alabama Hammers, and with the depth at the wide out position in this draft, wait until your second pick in the first round to make that acquisition. Jacksonville could use something, and I mean ANY-thing to help Blaine Gabbert out, but with the freak of an athlete named Coples at your disposal, there's no decision to be made. And if it's not Coples, pick up one of the many Juggernauts of offensive lineman that will help your young quarterback not get so flustered and shutter at pocket pressure.

If you comb the draft board and look at teams' most desperate needs, it's really not until you hit the 19th pick and the Chicago Bears where we find a team who absolutely must pick some downfield talent, and midway through the first round, their potential options are nothing short of theft in terms of talent, value, and immediate impact. With Blackmon spoken for, and no one even remotely close to 2nd in line for need at this position like Chicago, the Bears can expect, with a reasonable amount of certainty, to have either Michael Floyd from Notre Dame or Alshon Jeffrey from South Carolina available for harvesting.

Are you kidding me? If you even scrape the surface of their college careers you can see why these young men are such potential steals.

While Alshon Jeffrey is certainly nothing to scoff at and will become a formidable weapon for wherever he finds a home in the league, Chicago included, let's be honest: if he's available, the Bears will draft Michael Floyd. Floyd is a big bodied possession talent at 6'3" and 224 lbs. He maintains remarkable quickness given his size that turns into separation from defenders, presents a redzone threat, and finding a corner who is both big and strong enough to contain him in bump and run coverage is a task too tall for the majority of backs who lined up opposite him in college. He's big enough to effectively hold onto quick slants with NFL linebackers awaiting his arrival behind the defensive line, and what he does perhaps better than any other receiving talent in this class is leap with outstanding timing to play the ball at its highest possible receiving point. This was a guy who split receptions from the likes of Tommy Rees and Dayne Crist, and still caught 100 passes for 1147 yards and 9 scores. If Irish coach Brian Kelly had not flip flopped with his starter in the early goings of the season and given committed snaps to either one or the other, Floyd may have been able to find better rhythm with his quarterback and develop a more effective chemistry than what he was dealt in his time at South Bend.

"Chemistry" can be an abused and misunderstood term in professional football, but when we see it played out the way it's meant to be applied in thrower-receiver pairs, we see connections like Tom Brady to Deion Branch. Branch, a nobody upon arrival who developed an intuitive relationship with one of the great quarterbacks of all time to the tune and label of significant contributor to multiple Super Bowls. That being said, how would Floyd fare lining up to the left or right of Jay Cutler?

Cutler is a guy who has received more than his share, both due and unfair, of bad rap in the past. Either because of his indifferent attitude on the field, or his questioned toughness after his knee injury sidelined him in the NFC Championship game against the arch rival Packers a couple of years ago. I don't know because it wasn't my knee, but any questions about his grit for me were answered when he played a good deal of the second half with a broken throwing hand against the Chargers last season. If you look at Cutler, raw and by the numbers, he is an outstanding pocket passer… when he has time. Until he had time, he was hit in some fashion at one extended point in his Chicago tenure every 3 drop backs. Unacceptable.

The Mike Martz offense was at it again, this time on Cutler, before him on Kurt Warner. But the sudden and unavoidable need to account for Matt Forte, as well as the excellent blocking application of the Bears tight ends, actually remedied Cutler's woes of being harassed in the pocket, and when he had time to throw, he has proven quite impressive. His arm strength is outstanding and he has the accuracy to make that strength useful. The issue here, as we have seen, is that he has no one with the complimentary talent at wide receiver to throw it to. He made due with guys like Johnny Knox and Roy Williams, and though fast, they lack positioning ability on the deep ball and that is simply not going to get it done. If your offensive line is going to leave you subject to getting blasted from time to time, you need a guy who can get open quick with a physical break on his defender and the athletic superiority to get the ball at its highest point; things Michael Floyd does very well.

Fact is both of these men will have a new offense to learn under former offensive line coach Mike Tice, now the promoted offensive coordinator in Chicago, though Floyd's abilities seem to be exactly what Cutler needs to run a more effective passing game. With all the changes in the windy city's front office, the most drastic of makeover moves may not be anybody's hiring, firing, or promotion, but simply the inability to stave off father time any longer. The number of years left on the tickets of some of these Bears team pillars is debatable, and for now, it appears as though the new GM and Coach Lovie Smith are giving the crux of this team one more year to finally get over the top. It seems ridiculous upon initial evaluation to say such a thing of the Bears, but before injuries crippled the team on both sides of the ball last season, the Bears were very respectable wildcard contenders. There's no point in wondering how it would or could have turned out, but with everyone healthy next season (particularly on the offensive line), look at the guys you will have back next year: Urlacher, Forte, Peppers, Tillman, Cutler, Hester, Briggs. You will have them all back this coming season, though nothing beyond that is guaranteed.

That has to be  the reason the Bears are going to stay so far under the salary cap (roughly $20M) for this offseason, and likely the reason they will franchise tag Matt Forte. There is no reason to bring Forte back in the long term picture when you have Marion Barber and an explosive young gun in Khalil Bell; runners who could give your offense a stable ground attack for many years for a much cheaper price. Rebuilding is inevitable because of the avalanche of age that will hit the organization over such a short period of time, and with the new floor for the salary cap spending not taking effect until next year, it only adds to the idea that the Bears are giving this corps one more chance to win it all before they go on a free agency shopping spree.

All things considered, is it really so ridiculous to put so much hope in a rookie wide receiver? Why not? And if you're the Bears, what choice do you have? It is of course every team's goal to win a championship every year, and it should be. In Chicago, the window isn't closing, the window has already tried to slam itself shut, but the aging hands of this team are pinched in the sill keeping it open for one last ditch effort. If Michael Floyd, Alshon Jeffrey, Nick Toon (Wisconsin), Kendall Wright (Baylor), or any other receiver they take does not become the be-all-end-all answer, the offensive line and line backing corps will soon cave to wear and tear, and Bears faithful can book a rebuilding period of hibernating years where the only team they are sure to finish ahead of in their division is the Vikings.

Wake up hungry, Bears. Now or never.
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