A Use For The NBA

I finally found a use for the NBA last night....

I couldn't fall asleep last night so I turned on the playoff game that was on (Denver/New Orleans I believe)....

And I was out in seconds!!!

Thoughts on the NFL Draft

Yesterday I gave you a brief look into my draft thoughts so lets dive a little deeper today.

Detroit Lions:

Aaron Curry has come out and said he would take less money than last years number 1 pick. Detroit...you NEED playmakers AND you NEED cap space. Sign Curry and take him with the #1 pick. Don't touch Stafford. Yes you have nothing to lose but he WILL NOT be your starting quarterback in 5 years. And if he is you will not have won more than 5 games in any of those years.

Anquan Boldin trade:

Why is he still a Cardinal? I mean really. What do the Giants, Eagles, Titans, or anyone else have to lose? The teams have plenty of draft choices so what is the point of hoping you get a guy that MIGHT help your team in a few years when you can trade for a player like Anquan who WILL help your team this year. The Eagles and Giants are probably just an Anquan away from competing for a Super Bowl so for them not to got get him is ridiculous.

Andre Smith:

Who in their right mind would waste a pick on this guy? He is too big a risk in my opinion to take early in the draft. I don't care if he turns into the next Orlando Pace (which he won't) he isn't worth the risk. The best teams in the NFL draft players that are a little safer then what other teams will do. They might pass over a guy like Smith and opt for a different player who might not have the same skill level but might be just a step behind but less of a risk. It isn't surprising that as of now I have heard Bengals or Raiders for this clown as those teams are the jokes of the league usually.

Sanchez vs Stafford:

Now you can take my opinion for what it is worth considering I was a Ryan Leaf over Peyton believer but I like Sanchez much more than Stafford. Stafford never really showed me anything at Georgia. He was much like JaMarcus Russell at LSU, a great talent that doesn't seem able to put it all together. I know the question on Sanchez is has he played enough and he surely wouldn't be rated this high in a year with better quarterbacks available but he has shown more in 1 year than Stafford showed in 3. I would take Sanchez long before Stafford.

NFL Draft Talk and Other Happenings

I have been really busy of late and haven't had a ton of time to post here but with the draft coming up I figured I should say something.

So here it is....the GM Says:

1. Lots of talk lately about who the Lions will (or should) take with the first pick. I heard someone say that they shouldn't take Stafford cause the risk is too big. If he fails it will destroy the franchise. Really? Can it get any worse?

I really hate the idea of taking a quarterback #1 overall because they cost too freaking much and rarely pan out. BUT in this case maybe it makes sense. I mean if he fails is it really that big of a deal....they can't get any worse....

Can they??

2. Baseball is already getting boring. How anyone can sit there and actually watch a game is beyond me. Whether you are there in person or at home watching in HD it is brutal to watch without great conversation....and if you are having great conversation does the game really need to be on?

3. Someone asked me if I saw what was going on in the NBA Playoffs the other day. I responded with, "the NBA is still going on?"

4. But we did talk some NHL playoffs which has to be the best Playoff setup in sports. There are 2 tournaments that are better. 1 is the NCAA tournament (the first weekend at least) and the 2nd is the World Cup. The NHL Playoffs are great and there is so much action that you can't possibly follow it all.

I have watched at least 1 game a day since the start last Wednesday. My Capitals started slowly but are picking up their play lately and can tie up the series with a win tonight. And the Flyers are down 3 games to 1 which is almost like waking up on Christmas morning and seeing the presents under the tree. When they lose on Thursday and head home to Canada eh, it will be like opening the presents!


Is there anything else happening in sports??? I didn't think so.

That's a Great Start but...

The Florida Marlins have started the season 11-1. That sounds great but let's just hold on one quick second. I am not trying to take anything away from this team. I was on their bandwagon before spring training even started but it wasn't because I thought they were going to start the season well, it was because I thought this was a solid team who could definitely compete in this division. Again 11-1 is great but don't forget that 6 of those games have been against the absolutely horrible Washington Nationals. That's half of their wins. Now they also took 2 out of 3 against the Mets and swept the Braves but I just don't want anyone to get too excited about this team and their 11-1 start.

Emilio Bonafacio has been a great surprise for this team at third base but we really can't expect him to keep up the pace that he started the season at. Hanley Ramirez hasn't really got it going yet but he will and Gonzalez is a great manager. Oh and let's not forget, this may be the best young pitching staff is baseball with Nolasco, Johnson, and Volstad. I heard one expert say that Johnson may be the third best starting pitcher in the National League behind Santana and Lincecum. I don't know about you but that got my attention.

What I am trying to say is this team is good, very good but let's not overreact to this start because 6 of this wins are against the Nats.

Speaking of those Nats. How bad is this team really? I think they are really bad. We just had the worst team in NFL history this past season and I think we have a legitimate shot at having the worst team in Major League Baseball history this year in Washington. The quandary that I have though about this team is that I don't really know why they are so bad. I mean Ryan Zimmerman is good and young and is probably still getting better. Adam Dunn can hit the ball a mile and I know he strikes out a lot but he also walks a lot too. Guzman is a solid shortstop and a good leadoff man. The starting pitching is probably the root of the problem. John Lannan is definitely not a number 1 guy and probably at best should be a number 3. Sharon Martis and Jordan Zimmerman are both young and good but I don't think they should be up with the big club quite yet and the bullpen is probably the biggest problem with this team. The reliever with the best ERA is Mike Hinkley at 3.38.

I guess I just figured out the major problems because after those 3 guys Elijah Dukes is the only other guy worth mentioning and really the pitching is just down right awful. Like I said above, I would not surprise me, if this team ends up with the worst record in the history of baseball. As a fan of their AA club, I really hope I'm not right but sometimes it just is what it is.

From the New York Knicks to...

I was going to do a review of the first week or so of the baseball season but really, has there been anything to write home about? Maybe how the Marlins are playing but honestly, I thought they were going to be good. Cleveland has been bad and that's surprising but I am a positive guy so I don't think I am going to point that out with a whole post. Other then that it's been a pretty ho-hum start to the season.

So, I heard another story yesterday that really surprised me and I really don't know what to think about it. Florida International announced yesterday that they had hired Isiah Thomas as their head basketball coach. At first I was like what? That's ridiculous, why would either parties agree to this? I thought about it and I realized it may not be a lose lose.

First, for FIU, this is a splash. This is a way to give themselves some sort of edge against they teams they may play. Isiah is a huge name but I'm worried that it was a huge name back in the 80's and 90's and the players he is going to be recruiting aren't really going to know what is in front of them. He will be able to sell to the parents but again, its FIU, so really what is he going to be going after.

For Isiah, however, there is much more risk. I know he wanted to get out of New York because of EVERYTHING that happened but it's FIU. You aren't going to have good players and if you fail, where do you go next? You have never coached college kids and even though you were horrible in the NBA, college is a whole different animal. If you were going to take a college job, why would it be this one?

I just don't know if it was the smartest move for Isiah and I know he will have a chance to answer all my questions. I guess this is what we should've expected from him and I wish him all the best but I would advise him to not expect much!

NHL Playoffs Start Wednesday

Surely many of you don't care about the NHL. Although I don't understand how people think hockey is boring and yet they watch a basketball or baseball game but either way...

The NHL playoffs start Wednesday and it is going to be great. If you live near a hockey team (minor or pro) and that team is in the playoffs...GO TO A GAME!!

NOTHING is better than playoff hockey. Hell there are some regular season games that I can't even watch but I can watch just about any game in the playoffs.

The intensity, the desire, the tradition, it is all there in the postseason. In Washington you will have playoff mohawks and most other teams will have playoff beards.

You get Philly vs Pittsburgh in the first round! Are you kidding me!! This is going to be a physical hate filled series.

Oh and Montreal vs Boston....HUGE!!

Really all of the series have some intrigue in my opinion. And I don't see a single series that will be a sweep.

Surely most of you out there won't tune in for a minute unless it is a famous player doing something like Alexander Ovechkin scoring some amazing goal but you will be missing out.

There is NO BETTER playoff in sports and absolutely no better trophy than Lord Stanley's Cup!

Read This!!

If you read nothing else today at least read this!

From Matt Clapp over at Sharapovas Thigh

Remembering the Best Friend I Ever Had


And for everyone out there please keep in mind that if you drink and drive you are risking everyone's life around you. It isn't you anyone is worried about...it's the car full of strangers that you could run into that people are worried about.

PLEASE PLEASE don't drink and drive....call a friend, walk, take a taxi, or just don't drink if you have to drive. There is absolutely no reason for this kind of thing to happen.

American League Preview

Ok, I know you are all going to say, "How can you put your preview up after the season has started?" Let's be honest with ourselves, it's at most two games into a 162 game season. Really, does me watching the first game of the season really give me an edge in making my prediction, I don't think so! I mean really, there has already been a game in Chicago postponed because of snow. The Orioles actually beat the Yankees and well, the Rangers blew out the Indians. If you really think the first two games have given me an advantage, you're crazy!

Let's get on with what I think or maybe hope is going to happen this year in the DH league!

AL East:

1. Boston Red Sox - 96-66
2. Tampa Bay Rays - 95-67
3. New York Yankees - 93-69
4. Toronto Blue Jays - 72-90
5. Baltimore Orioles - 62-100


The AL East may have 3 of the top 4 teams in baseball, but if not they are 3 of the top 5 teams are worst. This race is going to go down to the last weekend of the season. I really put the Yankees in third just because I think there is too many new faces and too many distractions for this team to win the division. I say that but I only predict them to lose the division by 3 games. The Red Sox, in my opinion, have the best rotation and arguably the best bullpen in the division. All three teams can hit so I think that will make the difference in the division win. I think the Rays will be serious again this year with all that talent and another year under their belt. David Price may be the difference maker in this division because if he comes up and is incredible like he was last year, they will have a top pitcher with less innings on his arm. As much as I hate it, I don't really think the other two teams are worth talking about. I hate it because I grew up a huge Cal Ripken Jr. fan and I would love for the Orioles to be good again.

AL Central:

1. Chicago White Sox - 85-77
2. Cleveland Indians - 84-78
3. Minnesota Twins - 82-80
4. Kansas City Royals - 76-86
5. Detroit Tigers - 72-90

This is the hardest division to predict. Like one the ESPN guys said, I could have this totally backwards and it wouldn't surprise anyone. I wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't even take 85 wins to win this division. Every team has a big question going into the season. For the White Sox its the starting Rotation. Oh wait, that is the question for every team in this division. I am really picking the Sox because I think with Jenks at the back end of the pen, I think they have the best bullpen. They also in my opinion have the best coach. Ozzie may be controversial but he gets the job done. Kansas City is a popular pick this year but really, I don't see it. The pitching staff is still really shaky, the lineup is still unproven and well the Soria is solid but that's about it for the pen. Jim Leyland may be the first coach to get fired this year unfortunately.

AL West:

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or whatever their name is - 98-64
2. Texas Rangers - 85-77
3. Oakland A's - 84-76
4. Seattle Mariners - 63-99

As a Rangers fan I would love to say this division is now wide open. Again, let's be honest with ourselves here. The Rangers may start off fast but they will fade at the end of the season. If the A's get off to a good start they may be able to compete but their pitchers are soooo young. The Mariners may actually be worse then they were last year so let's forget about them right now. The Angels lost big Tex and K-Rod but they added Abreu and Fuentes to fill in. I know that's at least one step back but they could afford to take a step back or two and still win the division convincingly. I would love for this division to come down to the last week but I really don't see it happening in the next year or two.

MLB Ridiculous Blackout Rules

I have hated MLB's television blackout rules for a while now. In my area we are blacked out of Nationals, Phillies, Pirates, and Orioles.

Now honestly that isn't the worst since I don't really like any of those teams and 3 of them suck. BUT I am a Mets fan. Which means if Mets/Nationals is on ESPN at some point this season (unlikely I know) then I don't get it.

Why? I am not sure. Do they think I am going to drive my happy ass to NY or DC to watch one game? HELL NO!

Do they think I get all Nationals games on TV? I don't. Actually I don't get any.

But I understand that the chances of that happening are slim anyway. Mets/Pirates and Mets/Nationals is not going to be on TV very often.

What really bothers me about it is that I would love to watch an Orioles game every once in a while. And since they play the almighty Red Sox and Yankees they actually do appear on TV from time to time.

But guess what...I don't get to see those games. Why? Why can't I see Orioles games? I don't get a channel that shows them, so why not show them on ESPN?

See MLB just doesn't get it. Families aren't paying to go the ball games as much anymore which means there are kids that don't get to see teams play because they don't get their local station and they don't get to see them on ESPN.

MLB is not necessarily losing fans with the blackout rules but they sure aren't gaining new ones either.

National Championship Game Starts TOO DAMN LATE!

Okay I will admit that I didn't really care about last night's game anyway so it probably wouldn't have mattered but a 9:21 tip off? That is ridiculous.

I understand that CBS wants their west coast viewers to be able to see the whole game but the game was UNC vs MSU....how many west coast people really cared? The only people as a whole who watched that game were people who had UNC in their brackets. Fortunately for CBS that was probably over half the freaking country.

But either way having a game that ends well after 11...I didn't watch so I don't know what time it ended....is not helping the game. It is hurting it.

Every major sport with the exception of the NFL struggles with their scheduling. Baseball starts World Series games around 9 and NBA and NHL playoff games start after 8. The advantage for the NBA and NHL is that their games only last 2.5 hours so it is easier to work with.

But has anyone learned from the success of the NFL? The Super Bowl starts at 6:30 on a Sunday night. EVERYONE CAN WATCH.

The NCAA and CBS actually have a simple solution.

Play the Final Four games on Friday night and have the National Championship game tip off at 6:30 or 7 on Sunday night.

I GUARANTEE you the ratings would be better. People would be partying the entire day like they do for the Super Bowl. Parents would actually let their kids watch if they wanted.


Hell I would watch.

National League Preview

The Major League Baseball season starts on Sunday with the Phillies starting their World Series title defense against division rival Atlanta. I was going to try to do each division or each team or something but I decided that the best way for me to do the baseball preview would to just be each league with giving my predictions for the playoffs and the awards. Some of the interesting story lines are how the Phillies are going to do with all the pressure on them, whether the Cubs can repeat their regular season dominance and whether Manny can hit the way he did for the Dodgers for the whole season like he did for the last 50 games last year.

NL East:

Verb's Predicted order of finish:

1. New York Mets - 92-70
2. Philadelphia Phillies - 90-72
3. Florida Marlins - 82-80
4. Atlanta Braves -72-90
5. Washington Nationals - 69-93

I think the Mets would have won the division each of the last two years if they had at least a decent closer in the bullpen. I know Billy Wagner came in with a lot of expectations but K-Rod is different. The guy can just flat out pitch and blow guys away. 63 saves last year, remember? I'm pretty sure that's a solid guy at the back end. Don't forget they added JJ Putz as a setup guy. He may be as huge as K-Rod. The offense is still great.

The Phillies will obviously still be a very good team but I think it will come down to the last week of the season again but I get a gut feeling that the Phillies will be the ones who choke this time. The offense is really good and they will score a lot of runs but I just can't see the pitching staff holding up the way it did last year. They just named Chan Ho Park the 5th starter. Doesn't that say enough?

The Marlins are a team on the rise and I suspect they will be right around .500 all season. Anything better will be a huge surprise. Hanley Ramirez put on 25 muscle pounds and has now been moved to the 3rd spot in the lineup. He has the talent to be the NL MVP.

Atlanta could be getting better but I don't think adding Derrick Lowe and Javier Vasquez will make that much of a different. The bullpen is a big question and I really don't think the offense is good enough to carry this team.

Washington added Adam Dunn and that's about it. Their is some buzz around some young pitchers they are adding to the rotation but really without some more pop in the lineup this team will struggle to win. I think Ryan Zimmerman is going to have a break out year but that doesn't mean this team gets out of the dump of the division.

NL Central:

Verb's Predicted Order of Finish:

1. Chicago Cubs - 99-61
2. St. Louis Cardinals -88-64
3. Cincinnati Reds - 83-79
4. Houston Astros -81-81
5. Milwaukee Brewers - 76-86
6. Pittsburgh Pirates - 61-101

This may be the deepest division in baseball. I think that the Cubs are the definitive favorite then the next 4 could all finish second with the Pirates still being very very bad. I know I predicted there to be a 12 game difference between the Cards and the Brewers but it would not surprise me if those two records switch.

The Cubs are the best team in the National League on paper. They have the lineup, the rotation depth and the bullpen to be a great team. The recently named Kevin Gregg the closer which may have also sured up the setup spot because Carlos Marmol was excellent in that spot last year. I really don't think this team will have a problem winning this division.

The next 4 are all really close. Albert Pujols is probably the best hitter in baseball and one of the best ever. The Astros still have some great hitters but they are getting up there in age and really Oswalt is the only really good pitcher on the entire staff. It wouldn't surprise me if his name is a name you hear around the trade deadline. The Reds are good and they are young. They have some solid young pitchers with the lineup to stay competitive. The Brewers have the Prince still but their story is who they lost. C.C. Sabathia went to some team in the AL and Ben Sheets is now gone too. Yovani Gallardo is the ace of the staff and that makes me nervous if I am a Brewers fan. Either way, this is going be an awesome race for second, but that's the problem, it's for second.

Oh and the Pirates. Ummmmmm...they have a nice ballpark.

NL West:

Verb's Predicted Order of Finish:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers - 91-61
2. Arizona Diamondbacks - 85-77
3. San Francisco Giants - 83-79
4. Colorado Rockies - 79-83
5. San Diego Padres -77-85

This division is so up and down and every year you never know what is going to happen. If I remember correctly, last year I picked the Padres to win the division and I think they finished last. This year I am picking them last so don't be surprised if they win the thing. I obviously think that other then the Dodgers this division will be very even. I think my biggest surprise pick is the Giants to be an above .500 team.

The Dodgers have Manny and he could definitely win MVP. I still think he is one of the top 3 hitters in the league. The starting pitching will be the biggest question as they are going to have to rely on young pitchers like Clayton Kershaw much more then they had in the past. The bullpen will be solid even with first year closer Jonathan Broxton as the anchor. The biggest difference will be the offense and the Dodgers have such a huge advantage in this division.

The Diamondbacks are an X-factor in this division in my opinion. Stephen Drew is going to be great as is Justin Upton. But how soon? If it's this year this team could give the Dodgers a run for the division. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren could be the top 1-2 punch in the majors. The could both be 20 game winners which would go a long way towards a division championship.

The Giants, Rockies and Padres could surprise but also could be huge let downs. Randy Johnson is now pitching in San Fran and could be a stud for a dud. The Rockies can hit with anyone but what if they can't pitch. The usually can't and I would beat on more the same this year. The Padres have Peavy at the top but not much after that and have a new closer in Heath Bell. I don't believe they have the offense to carry a bad pitching staff. Those are way too many questions for me to feel confident about any of these teams.

Playoff Predictions:

Cubs over Phillies
Mets over Dodgers

Cubs over Mets

Postseason Awards:

MVP: Albert Pujols
Cy Young: Brandon Webb
Rookie of the Year: Jordan Zimmerman
Manager of the Year: Joe Torre

College Basketball that isn't the Final Four

There are three things going on in college basketball that I want to talk about that aren't the final four. I will get to the final four later this week but for now there are three developing stories that I would love to bring up and share my wonderful, expansive wealth of knowledge with you on.

First, John Calipari signed an 8 year, $31.65 million contract to become Kentucky's head coach this morning. It seemed to imminent for a couple of days but its official now. I think this is great for Kentucky. They needed to make a splash and they did. They needed to do it quickly and they did. They picked out the guy they wanted, they went after him and they got him. There was a lot of talk about Kentucky being a top 5 job in college basketball and I do still agree with that to a certain degree but if they wouldn't have gotten Calipari or another big name, that reputation would have taken a serious hit in my mind.

Do I think Calipari is the right man for the job? I am not sold on this yet. I think Calipari is great! He is a great recruiter and is a great coach! But remember fans, he has never coached at a big school. So far on his resume is Massachusetts, the New Jersey Nets and Memphis. He put UMass and Memphis on the map, but Kentucky is a whole different world. I do believe he can handle and will do a good job but people will need to be patient here and this is a whole new experience for Calipari. He will have the talent to win in 2 years or sooner but a school like Kentucky has so much BS and politics outside of the gym that the coach has to deal with that it will be interesting to see how coach Cal deals with it. I think the Cats will be back and will be back soon with the team that is there and potentially the freshmen that Calipari may bring with him. Everyone just needs to give him a LITTLE bit of time.

The second issue that has come up is the recruiting scandal of Nate Miles at Connecticut. I have a couple of things to say about this. First, I suspect this is something that happens more often then we as fans hear about. I am not saying that every major program does it because I truly don't believe that but I suspect that some do. Even if its not the huge programs, I am sure its out there and we don't hear about it. Jim Calhoun and Connecticut were just stupid enough and not cautious enough to get caught. I suspect there will be some probation. I think it should be one NCAA tournament only because the kid in question doesn't even go to Connecticut anymore. They broke the rules and they should have a penalty for that but you are hurting the players more then the people who committed the violations and that's not cool.

Colin Cowherd brought up a great point on ESPN Radio the other day. For all the fans out there who really honestly think Calhoun didn't know about this, YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS! Of course he knew about this and he probably was on the other end of some of the illegal calls and messages. Calhoun is a great coach and all but he screwed this one up and he deserves to be punished for it. Just because he is the coach of you're favorite team doesn't make him Mr. Innocent. You all know that if it were Boeheim or Coach K or Roy Williams you would all be crucifying the guy right now but because its Calhoun you think he did nothing wrong. Wake up!

Just as an interesting quick little third note, all the experts and most fans for that matter, myself included all said that the Big Ten was down this year and was a weak conference but if you look fans, the Big Ten has a legitimate shot at winning both post season tournaments with Penn State in the NIT and Michigan State in the big dance. Wouldn't that be something!