Browns need a franchise qb

The Cleveland Browns have struggled to be competitive since returning to the league in 1999 for a couple of reasons, imo. The first is that since returning they have failed to significantly upgrade their team through the draft or free agency. More importantly, however, I feel that they have not found themselves a 'franchise quarterback.' That could all change next week, if the Browns make an offer to trade up with the St. Louis Rams for the first pick and select Sam Bradford.  Team president Mike Holmgren obviously believes that Bradford has the potential. And he should know, having coached two pro bowl quarterbacks himself in Brett Favre(who also help him win a Super Bowl and is more than likely a first ballot hall of famer) and Matt Hasselbeck. It is apparent that Jake Delhomme is just a short term solution. The Browns could get Bradford, and they should not have to give up the proverbial 'kitchen sink' to swap picks with St. Louis. In my estimation, they could offer St. Louis NT Shawn Rogers, the number 7 pick, and a third and fifth round pick in next year's draft. If the Rams balk at that offer(or something similar), then the Browns should stay pat at 7 and select someone like S Eric Berry of Tennessee, but they should be ready to select Texas QB Colt McCoy in the second round if he falls that far. The Browns have many needs, but becoming a playoff contender won't happen unless they solidify the qb spot. One only has to look at last year's playoffs for proof.

2010 NBA Playoffs: Cavs best chance for a title?

With the 2010 NBA Playoffs to start tomorrow afternoon, there has been a lot of discussion regarding first round matchups/the resting of team's superstars as they get ready for the playoffs. And while there are certainly interesting storylines around the league as the first round begins, such as the matchup between the Spurs and Mavericks as an example, I would like to take this opportunity to go on record as saying that this season represents the best opportunity that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have had to win it all. General Manager Danny Ferry went out in the offseason and signed Shaquille O'Neal to add some depth at center, where Zydrunas Ilgauskas has performed admirably but often gets fatigued or into foul trouble come playoff time. If Shaq is even back to 90% healthy, the minutes that he and Ilgauskas share in the paint will be gravy for the Cavs and a potential matchup nightmare for any team that has to face them. Ferry was not done adding to the team, and, after the all-star break signed forward Antwan Jamison, whose scoring should mean that James will not have to have a hot hand every night in order for the Cavs to win. Combine those additions with the pleasantly surprising play of forwards JJ Hickson and Jamario Moon and you have a very deep roster indeed. That depth should allow them to easily defeat the Bulls on the way to beating an aging Celtics squad for a return to the Eastern Conference Championship. The Orlando Magic, the Cavs biggest threat in the East, have gotten slightly worse in my estimation, giving up the verstaile Hedo Turkgolu for the otherwise one-dimensional Vince Carter. And should the Cavs make it to the finals I believe they will be playing the Denver Nuggets, not the Lakers, for the title. The Lakers have been too inconsistent as the season comes to a close; unlike Phil Jackson's Chicago Bulls I do not believe the Lakers under Jackson can just flip a switch and get back to the finals. So, in the end, I believe it will be an epic battle between LeBron's Cavs and Carmelo's Nuggets which will go the full seven games, with the home team Cavs winning game seven and bringing the city of Cleveland its first ever NBA Championship.

New York Yankees a class act all the way

Whether you love or hate the New York Yankees, the fact remains they are one of the classiest organizations in all of sports. Yesterday's ring ceremony only furthered my opinion on this matter. As many of you were aware, before yesterday's game between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels. the Yankees were presented with their 2009 World Series rings. Hideki Matsui, on the Yankees roster last year, but playing for the Angels this year, was also presented with a ring. When Matsui's name was called, he was greeted with a standing ovation by the Yankee crowd, and all of the current Yankees (who received a ring) went out to embrace their former teammate. Say what you want about the Yankees, that the organization buys World Series, that they are the evil empire, but you cannot deny they are a class act. If yesterday's actions are indication, they are still acting with the same class that made them 'America's Team' all those years ago.

Arguments for a college football playoff system

As university presidents and chancellors get ready to vote on the expansion of the NCAA men's basketball tournament from 64 to 96 teams, it is worth revisiting the issue of expanding the BCS into a playoff system.  The same university presidents and chancellors who are dead set against creating a playoff system, ostensibly for monetary reasons, are going to vote for expansion of the basketball tournament, again for monetary reasons.  And while I am against the expansion of the basketball tournament(you can read about it in my post dated February 4th, 2010), today I would like to address the issue of why the universities and colleges should be in favor of a football playoff and how they can make it work in the short term.  The biggest argument for a college football playoff system would again have to be monetary.  Major conferences such as the Big Ten are losing so much money currently that they have been forced to seek other schools to join their conference.  Opponents of a playoff system would argue that there is no way that a college football playoff system could bring in more money than the current bowl system.  But I will have more on that in a bit.  The next reason why universities should make the move to a football playoff system would be to allow the national champion to be decided on the field, rather than by some computer or human poll.  Playoff detractors would say that a plus one or playoff system would be no more objective than the current BCS system, and they may have a point.  But I will tackle that issue as well shortly.   So without further ado, here is my proposal for a college football playoff system:

• maintain the current bowl system minus the BCS championship game, with the winners of the four BCS bowl games (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange) playing in the National Semifinal, with the winners of those two games then going on to compete for the National Championship.  The 25+ other bowl games would be virtually unchanged, and payouts for these games would be the same as well.  This would then eliminate the need for a BCS championship game; payouts for the BCS bowl games would remain the same, and teams that participated in the National Semifinal and National Championship games would then receive additional payouts.  If university presidents and chancellors don't believe that this simple expansion format would bring in more money than the current system, they shouldn't expect that a 6 seed versus a 22 seed in basketball will bring in more money, either.
• the six BCS conference champions (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, PAC-10, and SEC) will receive automatic berths into the four qualifying bowls, with the remaining two at large bids going to the highest remaining teams ranked in the BCS top 12 who also happen to have the best record.  Opponents of this plan would argue that a 1 loss Florida team should be included in the playoff before an undefeated Boise State or TCU because they have a better strength of schedule.  I would argue two points: a) Florida could have played its way into this playoff by beating Alabama in the SEC championship, and b) a team like Boise or TCU should be rewarded rather than punished for completing a perfect season.
• the four BCS bowl games will take place on January 1st, with the National Semifinals taking place the following Friday.  All other bowl games will take place according to however the networks and conferences choose to schedule them before or after Jan 1.   The National Championship game will then be played on the Saturday before the pro football Conference Championship games.  This will allow for complete broadcast of the National Championship without disrupting the NFL's schedule.  University presidents who argue that this is too long to wait to determine a national champion should have never agreed to have the BCS title game January 8th, either.
• there may be concerns that a playoff will cut into the student athletes exam time, but let's get real, it's not as if the university heads currently care to much about the well being of the student anyway.  If that's the case then what about the notion that expansion of the basketball tourney to 96 teams will cut into mid term exams? And we're only talking four schools here, not 32, so I am sure some exceptions can be made.

The time has come for university presidents to act and disband the BCS as we currently know it.  Adopting a playoff system like the one I have described not only settles things on the field, but it would also bring in more money than the BCS does today.

One and done? The new NCAA crave

Think your college basketball team has what it takes to win it all? Well, if recent trends hold up, they had better win now, or you might be looking at an NIT championship the following season. There is a new fad among the college ranks called one and done, whereby an athlete enrolls at a university for his freshman year, plays one season of ball for the university team, and after the season is over declare himself eligible for the NBA draft. This is a direct result of the NBA's recent collective bargaining agreement that states an individual must be at least one year out of high school before he can enter the draft. The league and David Stern created this rule to encourage players to stay in school; the results have been mixed so far, with many players taking advantage of this one and done philosophy. This year Kentucky was the winner(or perhaps the loser) in the one and done sweepstakes: freshmen John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and Erik Bledsoe all declared themselves eligible for the June draft and will likely be lottery picks. Even a storied program such as Ohio State has not been exempt from this phenomenon. A year after they lost to Florida in the final, the 2006-2007 OSU freshman class lost Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook to the NBA the following season. Centers Kosta Koufos and BJ Mullens would follow suit for OSU and become one and dones as well. This has put pressure on many programs such as OSU and Kentucky to in some cases overrecruit in the hopes that one or two of the players they have an eye on will sign a letter of intent. The effect it has on fans could not be more polarizing, however. On the one hand, you have many fans such as those rooting for Kentucky(or OSU in 2007 for that matter) who are just glad to have even one season of success. When a player such as a BJ Mullens leaves early and struggles, however, many fans are quick to dismiss that player as even having attended their school. In fact, in Columbus, a couple of sportsradio dj's have even gone so far as to say that if Mullens had returned to OSU, the Buckeyes might have been worse off, an interesting point but one will never truly know the answer to.(They also believe that Mullens won't make it in the NBA; try to guess what they said he'll be doing). This phenomenon is not limited to college basketball, either. At my place of employment, the Cardinal Health National Logistics Center in Groveport, Ohio, we are not exempt from the one and done fad either. In fact, one of our star performers (a guy we nicknamed Ken-rod, in part because he called me J-rod and then proceeded to add -rod to everyone else's name as well) had only spent six months with the company and now he is headed off to corporate. And how can you blame him? I mean he's guaranteed thousands more than he would make at the NLC (I mean he probably does, I never really asked him), he gets to sit in a nice comfy chair all day, and can come and go as he pleases. What's not to like? In my opinion, this one and done fad is far from over, and recent failures of players such as Koufos and Mullens will do little to deter future college prospects from repeating the same mistake. This one and done will not stop until the NBA realizes that the risk with such players might be more than the reward that comes from drafting them. And the real losers in this battle are not the players themselves but the fans, who will continue to go these guys' games hoping they bring home a championship, only to leave the game with a sense of "what if' when they fail to win it all and then leave for the NBA. For that reason, my hat goes off to Duke University, whose team not only won it all, but more than likely every player will graduate with some type of degree and do something more than make three pointers in Tulsa, Oklahoma before applying to work at Citgo.

Mid-Major? No longer

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus. Many of you probably thought that I was taking a break since my NCAA bracket was busted last weekend. No, that is not the reason, even though my bracket has been busted, and I have a greater chance of winning mega millions than I do of winning my work pool. Others probably think that I needed time to recover after the defeat of my favorite team, Ohio State. While that loss to Tennessee in was disheartening, especially considering that despite their horrendous play throughout the Buckeyes still had a chance to win, that too was not the reason I have not chosen to write. No, after last weekend I am suffering from a little writer's block-but I believe that I finally found something worth writing about-the use of the term 'Mid Major Conference'-and its subsequent death.

For years we(media and fans across the nation) have used the term 'Mid-Major Conference' to refer to a team that belongs to a conference that is not considered a traditional power. The conferences that make up the traditional powers are the ACC, the Big East, the Big 12, the Big Ten, the Pac 10, and the SEC. Any school that is from a conference other than the aforementioned is considered a 'Mid Major" school, simply for the fact that in the past it has been believed they could not attract the athletes to compete with such schools. But if recent history has taught us anything, it is that these schools can compete with the big boys. In football, Boise State, a school from the Mid Major Western Athletic Conference has made it to the Bowl Championship series twice in the last four years-their first appearance being a victory over Big 12 powerhouse Oklahoma. Schools like Boise State have also produced more picks in the NFL draft that have become starters, the most notorious example recently being Delaware's Joe Flacco starting at quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. And in basketball, the most teams from non-traditional power confereences received at-large bids--13 I believe it was-with six teams from non traditional power conferences making the sweet sixteen. All culminating with the Horizon Conference's Butler making its first final four appearance. Butler's road to the final four included wins over basketball powers such as Syracuse, Kansas State, Ohio State, Xavier, Georgetown, and St. John's. I believe that we will be seeing this type of trend continue in both Divison I NCAA football and men's basketball, and with the arrival of teams from schools that do not belong to the traditional powers, we must reevalute the use of the term Mid Major. Nay, I say we should abandon the use of the term altoghether.

This weekend's final four should bring us some exciting games. My head says that West Virginia has the best chance to win it all, although as a fan I wouldn't mind either Duke or Butler winning it all. Regardless of the outcome, however, I believe that this tournament should be the death of the term ' Mid Major' when referring to NCAA Divison I conferences.

March is almost over so that means...

Well, its that time of year again. For many sports fans, it is the most exciting time of year. Where something magical happens. No, I am not talking about the Masters. Nor am I talking about the NCAA basketball tournament, which is already more than halfway over. I am talking about the start of Major League Baseball, opening day being a little more than a week away, with the Yankees and Red Sox playing on April 4th. THE EXPERTS (I put that term in allcaps because I believe that when it comes down to it they(baseball media) are no smarter than you or I when it comes to making predictions) are predicting that the Red Sox will thwart the Yankees attempt to become the first team since, well, the Yankees to repeat as world champion. I have to respectfully disagree with THE EXPERTS. I believe that this year's version of the Yankees might actually be better than last year's, especially if Phil Hughes can settle into the fifth starting position as expected, and Joba Chamberlain returns to the setup man for Mo Rivera as he once was. The Red Sox have added pitching, but in doing so they might have cost themselves some key hitting. And the Mariners think that by adding Cliff Lee to the rotation they will become instant contenders, sort of like the Phillies did last year. Well I have a news flash. The Phillies were already good before they added Lee, Lee just put them over the hump. I am not so sure about the Mariners. No, I think Yankees will face a tougher challenge in their quest to repeat from the NL, where I see the Cards and Phillies duking it out again. The Cardinals always have a tough lineup, and the Phillies just added the best pitcher in baseball in Roy Halladay to an already dangerous lineup. I think we just might be seeing you again in October, Yankees and Phillies.

The start of the 2010 baseball season also brings another phenomenon that I have recently latched onto: fantasy baseball. As you are all aware, I have an unhealthy obsession for stats. It's to the point that I have even taken that obsession with me to work, where I am constantly checking my productivity and quality numbers. I probably have driven a couple of the warehouse leads crazy agonizing over averaging around 150 labels per hr per dc(distribution center) for a day means that I was averaging 90 labels per hr for the whole day. That obsession may take on a whole new meaning when it comes to fantasy baseball, for I have just drafted my fifth (that's right fifth) free team the other day. Some may think that this is bordering on the level of The Fan, starring Robert DeNiro. I would like to think that I am more on the level of Pedro Cerrano in Major League when he gives homage to Jobu. But hey, I had three leagues last season, and seeing as how I didn't really know anything about fantasy baseball going in, and not really paying attention to it until after the all-star break, I ended up 2nd out of 10, 3rd out of 10, and 6th out of 10 respectively. I will probably drop a couple of teams, of course the one that has Albert Pujols and CC Sabathia on them won't be one of them. But hey, as long as they are free, what's the harm? Nothing really, but between you and me, it's probably good i am not paying to join these fantasy leagues because then my interest in them would force me to do a Cleveland Indians to this blog.