2015 NFL Draft

With the draft only hours away, it's time for some last minute insight. I would say a good 85% of mock drafts have Quarterbacks going 1- 2 this year. But the third pick, well, that's a different story. The Jacksonville Jaguars are sitting in the 3 spot, and everyone is debating about who they are planning to take. But honestly, I am not sure that the draft order will stay intact for very long. A trade with Cleveland could be in order, as both Titans at #2 and the Jaguars at #3 have the means to trade down. If Winston goes #1 (which is the common assumption) then the Titans would be in a position to draft Marcus Mariota. They would also be in a position to make a deal with the Browns for the second pick. Honestly, the Browns could use a stable QB without a constant drama cloud surrounding him.  If the Titans are interested in investing in future picks, and are feeling especially confident in their current Quarterback situation, then I think a trade is very possible. If Tennessee traded down to 12, they would have the possibility to draft DeVante Parker, Breshad Perriman, Danny Shelton, Trae Waynes or even Todd Gurley.  However, if they decide to take Mariota, then Jacksonville will have the same chance to trade. Leonard Williams is also pretty tempting to Cleveland, I'm sure. They do need a defensive lineman, and a guy like Williams could make a difference. Jacksonville, if they trade down, will have the same opportunity to take  Parker, Perriman and the others at 12. So, if the commissioner walks up to the podium tonight and announces a trade in the top 5, don't be too surprised.

 

March Madness Very Bad Calls

Ok, let's get one thing straight before I begin. I am not one to blame the referees for every loss.  I think that, if you lose fair and square, you should own up to it.  However, the referees at this year's NCAA March Madness were so bad that they deserve to be blamed for a few things.  In the past few years, I have noticed a trend of more and more officials making obvious mistakes. There were a few in last year's March Madness. But nothing compared to the endless list of blown calls this season.  Let's have a look at some of the most debated calls, in no particular order, of this years March Madness.

1. SMU vs. UCLA Goaltending

Goaltending itself has an interesting story. Before 6 foot 10 George Mikan came along, everyone thought that reaching up and interfering with a shot was impossible.  Mikan changed that, as he could leap up and stop shots with ease. The definition of goaltending is a violation which involves interfering with a ball while it is on a downwards angle, is above the rim, and has a chance of going into the basket.  In what world does this shot have any chance of going into the basket?



Yanick Moriera reached up and grabbed that clearly missed shot. Period. SMU should have won that game. I will admit, this is a bit of a close call for someone watching in real speed. However, the play was not reviewed, as goaltending is not reviewable.  The ref furthest from the basket made the call in real time, and that was the call that stood.

2.  Providence vs. Dayton Technical

With less than four minutes to go, and Providence trailing Dayton by 8, Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley decided that then was the time for a little motivational speech.  Cooley, in an attempt to fire up his team, slammed an empty chair to the ground. In doing this, Cooley received a pivotal technical foul. Nothing about this was directed towards the official, and the chair did not strike anyone.  Regardless of how harmless this was, the whistle was blown, and so was the call.  This mistake swayed the momentum of the game, and Dayton was able to pull out a victory.

3. Dayton vs. Boise State No-Call

Before Dayton could be on the winning end of the last bad call against Providence, they had to be on the winning end of another blown call in the First Four. With only seconds to go, Boise State was down by one point.  They inbounded near their own basket, and Derrick Marks set himself for a game winning three.  He pump faked, his defender bit, and Marks put up a shot through the contact.  He was hoping for a foul, a foul that never came.  The ball missed by a mile, and Dayton advanced into the tournament. Even though Marks initiated contact, this play is called a foul pretty much every time it happens. Countless times I have seen an offensive player rise up through the outstretched arms of his defender, only to flail up a shot and go to the line.  In this case, a foul would have put a career 79 percent free throw shooter on the line for three with a few seconds left in one point game.  Odds are, Boise State goes to the tourney if the refs make the consistent call. But they didn't.

4. Duke vs. Wisconsin Out of Bounds

During the National Championship, Justise Winslow certainly made a difference for Duke.  However, the referees evidently didn't notice Winslow stepping out of bounds under the basket:



Or touching the ball as it went out of bounds:



Both plays resulted in Duke gaining three points. The final score of the game was 68-63, so the six points that resulted from these two missed calls could have made a huge difference.

5. U.C. Irvine vs. Louisville Reach

At the end of the game between U.C. Irvine and Louisville, both teams were in the game.  U.C. Irvine was down, however, and needed to take a last second shot.  The ball was inbounded to Alex Young, but he was bumped by Terry Rozier and time expired as both teams scrambled for possession. If you ask me, and many other people, Rozier clearly hit Young way too hard for it not to be a foul.  Louisville had two fouls to give, but this one would have given the Anteaters another chance to get a possible game winning shot up. However, Louisville got the benefit of the doubt and U.C. Irvine was sent packing.

Hopefully, in the future, exciting games like these will not be stained with what can only be described as screw ups by the officials.

March Madness Bracket Tips

If you are like a lot of people, you are filling out a bracket this year for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Also, if you are like a lot of people, you may be waiting until the final day to submit said bracket,  in the hopes that you will get the most up to date inside information.  So, without further adieu, my Bracket Busting tips for 2015!  In this tourney, there are quite a few match ups that look quite straightforward.  Like Wisconsin vs. Coastal Carolina.  A 1 seed vs. a 16 looks like an easy pick, but if you dive deeper, you see that Coastal Carolina may be the finest 16 seed in recent history.  I say they have the skill to beat Wisconsin.  Now, I'm not saying it will happen, but this game may not be as clear cut as it first looks.  This tourney is also filled with match ups between low seeded, high octane offensive teams versus all around solid high seeds.  Take Davidson vs. Iowa. Davidson is an incredible scoring team, and that's pretty much all they are incredible at.  Their defense is not super solid, and that could cause a problem.  Iowa is a well rounded team, with solid play on pretty much all fronts.  You might me tempted to pick the fast, shooting team.  But the other side of you is saying to go with the safe, higher seed.  Well, in this case, I do like Davidson in this match up. However, I don't recommend simply choosing the high offense, low defense teams.  You need to research the match up on both sides of the ball.  Will Iowa be able to take advantage of the Davidson defense, or will they miss the opportunity? If you ask me, I would say Davidson is poised to make a first round upset this year.  Two games I really feel are split almost evenly are VCU vs. Ohio State and Baylor vs. Georgia State.  VCU caused, well, havoc on defense this year. They swipe the ball away at a large clip and play lots of transition offense.  Ohio State has some of the top players in the country, led by Guard D'Angelo Russell.  Ohio State is a very dangerous team, and could pose a problem for VCU. However, the pressure of VCU caused me to lean ever so slightly to the VCU side.  Baylor and Georgia State are so close, I looked at this game longer than any other.  The slight statistical advantage of Baylor was the tie breaker, but look into this one.  Good luck and check back for more!

NBA2K Soundtrack

Today, I am going to talk about the lighter, more low pressure side of sports.  The 2k franchise has been making high level sports video games for a long time, and they are often the best on the market. However, recently a very important part of any game has come into question, the soundtrack.  When Nba2k13 came out, it was announced that musician Jay-Z had worked on the game, and the soundtrack.  Coincidentally, that soundtrack included no less than 6 Jay-Z songs.  2k changed it up in 2014, letting NBA All-Star and cover athlete LeBron James choose the soundtrack.  It was a good mix of modern and classic music, which had a great flow and worked perfect in a basketball game.  Good job, LeBron.  So, the 2015 soundtrack should have been chosen by cover athlete Kevin Durant, right? Well, I guess 2k didn't think so.  Musician Pharrell Williams chose the most recent soundtrack, and I have to say it is a serious step down from last year.  Also, in a second coincidence, the soundtrack included 5 songs that were either by Pharrell or featuring Pharrell. So, 2k, if you are reading this, go back to the days when athletes chose the music that played behind their picture. Or, hold a contest, like in 2012.

Check back for more posts and be sure to share your thoughts on any posts, or something you would like me to look into. Thanks!

Super Bowl Preview

Its about time to bust out the foam fingers and the assorted dips, because Super Bowl season is here again!  So, its time to make the all-important Super Bowl predictions. Who will be victorious in a battle between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots? Let's find out.  For starters, the Seahawks are coming off what could be the greatest comeback in playoff history, and the Patriots are coming off a controversial and disputed win against the Colts. Deflate-gate has been the hot topic ever since the story of cheating broke. Unfortunately, the NFL didn't really do anything about it, but the media has been bugging every Patriot they can find about it endlessly.  This could prove to be an advantage for the Seahawks, as while they were preparing for the game, the Patriots were preparing one denial speech after another.  However, moving away from that and focusing on the actual game, the Seahawks appear to have a good shot at repeating.  They have Marshawn Lynch who, despite being (unfairly, I think) roasted by the media for not really answering their questions, is really "All about that action". The Pats have a whole bench full of backs, but none of them are of Lynch's skill or quality.  The Quarterback battle is an interesting thing, as you have the young, fast, talented Russell Wilson on one side, and the older but still talented Tom Brady on the other.  This is played in Arizona, so the air pressure should be on a level playing field. Mobility is really an advantage for Wilson, as he can run and jump in and around the solid rush of the Patriots.  Brady is pretty mobile in the pocket, but he has gone down a bit more of late and certainly can't get outside the pocket like Wilson.  Now, let's talk about the Wide Receivers. This is another tough one, with Amendola, LaFell, Edelman, and other good wide outs on the Pats side.  The Seahawks have some big play receivers of their own, with Doug Baldwin hauling in pretty much everything he can see, and Jermaine Kearse coming up big in the clutch.  However, these strong offenses may not be scoring a ton of points with these two defenses on the other side of the ball.  Both the Patriots and Seahawks have good defensive lines, with strong pass rushers that can get to the Quarterback fast.  However, if Wilson can throw on the run, he could burn the rush by hitting the open receiver.  But if Brady can get off his passes fast, the Pats could do the same thing.  However, throwing passes against these defenses may not be so easy.  Both have great secondaries, with at least one great corner back to shut down the opponent's top receivers.  So, after one receiver is neutralized by Richard Sherman, and the other is stuck on Revis island, where does the ball go? Well, both teams have a dynamic Tight End that could do some real damage.  Luke Wilson and Rob Gronkowski will both see some action, and they will be hard to stop.  Seattle has Kam Chancellor, who is obviously incredibly athletic, but will they put him on Gronk?  Who will the Patriots find to stop the sleeper Luke Wilson from exploding? Well, let's watch the game and find out.  Also, while your at it, enjoy the halftime show and the commercials.  And finally, my prediction for the game... Seahawks victory!

MLB Free Agency Update 2014 #3

Hi, Hoover here. I am back to let my readers know that Aaron Harang, the 36 year old pitcher whom I mentioned in earlier posts, recently signed a 1 year, $5,000,000 deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Harang could make even more than the 5 million this year, as his contract also includes some performance bonuses and awards.  Even though Harang is getting up there in age, his crafty arm still commands a contract worth 5 plus times the one he played on last season.  Don't be surprised, however, if he isn't in Philly for too long. The Phillies are looking like a team that is investing in the future, and Harang could be worth a prospect or two to a team that needs a stable pitcher in their rotation. 

NBA Rookies

For the record, I am not too sure that Andrew Wiggins is the future of the NBA.  Honestly, I never was.  No offense to Wiggins, he is a good player and I never doubted his skills.  However, if I was looking for the next NBA great, I would be looking more at Nikola Mirotic.  This Chicago forward has all the skill needed to make it big in the NBA. He can currently play the 3 or 4 position, although he may be more suited to the 4 because of his size and the fact that he is a step slower than other 3s.  However, in the future, he may play more of a Mehmet Okur role, playing both the power forward and center.  Of course, Mirotic has the potential to be much greater than Okur, with a shooting stroke from long range that is exceptional for a 6 foot 10 inch player.  If you compare Wiggins with Mirotic using NBA stats, it looks something like this.  Mirotic has Wiggins bested in all of the field goal percentage stats, including True Shooting%, Effective Shooting%, Three-point Shooting% and traditional Field Goal%.  Wiggins, however, has more points per game. This is mainly because Wiggins plays for the Timberwolves, a team that is in real need of a productive star after the Kevin Love trade.  In Chicago, there is less of a need for a rookie forward to play big minutes and score points.  Then, if you get into Player Efficiency Rating, which by the way I am still not sure about, but is the gold standard currently, Mirotic wins again.  So, Minnesota has a talented scorer with many skills and a large amount of potential in Wiggins, but Chicago may have hit the jackpot with Nikola Mirotic.