FanNation

This one is early this week, but I actually have some time, so I thought I'd do it anyway. This is the third post of my new blog, and I'd love if you could tell me what you think, thanks.

What Could Have Been

Recently, the Memphis Tigers had their third and fourth starters declare for the NBA Draft. Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier decided to follow Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts to the NBA, and showcase their talents at the next level. Now, it is not uncommon to see guys leave early, but four guys on a Final Four team leaving at the same time? Then, more news came; Josh Shipp decided to leave the UCLA Bruins. Now, this is not that big of a deal by itself, but Shipp was also the fourth Bruin to leave, following Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Mute.

Kansas and North Carolina also lost players, but it wasn't on the level of Memphis and UCLA. Four starters leave, and suddenly a team with experience and a legitimate chance to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, is now a team that is not even a lock for the NCAA Tournament. 80% of the guys are done, and both teams look like they won't have nearly the success that they had last year.

Now, imagine all of the implications that these teams could have had. There could have been a huge rivalry brewing over the course of a season. Memphis would be out looking to show that last year wasn't a fluke, and UCLA would be out for revenge after losing to Memphis in the Final Four. There could have been a Player of the Year Race between Love, Douglas-Roberts, and Rose. Westbrook would have been out to show that he really was a solid player. Dozier and Anderson would be looking for the spotlight.

Of course, there is also the obvious question: why are all of these guys leaving? Out of all of them, the only one who is legitimately justified is Rose. Love is good, but he isn't great on defense or rebounding, and he could use another year of seasoning. Westbrook has really come a long way, but is he good enough as a sophomore? There are plenty of guards out there, and he really would have benefited from another year. Josh Shipp? Personally, I like him as a player. But the guy was the fourth option on his own team! What sets him apart from a bona fide superstar? I really don't know, but coming back and proving himself definitely would have helped. 

Then there are the Memphis players. Douglas-Roberts was coming off a great year. He could have come back as a Player of the Year candidate, and gone for the NCAA championship. Instead, he is banking on a good season to bring him into the lottery, but is he a lottery pick? Antonio Anderson was a great defensive player, and a bery underrated guy. He can pass, rebound, score, and play defense. Unfortunately, he was the fourth option on his own team, and he passed up the chance to come back and prove himself, same with Robert Dozier.

Instead of all of the potential storylines of this, NCAA basketball fans will be left to wonder about what could have happened.

A Plus-One is a Definite Plus

As many of you know, the BCS is not the greatest way to end the NCAA football season. In fact, the BCS is garbage. However, a plus-one would be a tremendous asset to the BCS, and it would make things far more interesting. Not to mention, it would actually find a true champion of college football. Recently, it was being discussed, and it looked like there was a small chance to accomplish something, but it was rejected. I am definitely in favor of a plus-one, but I also have some opinions on the meetings.

The main problem is that the commissioners won't agree to it, and it is mostly the PacTen and BigTen commissioners won't agree to it. Why won't they do it? As usual, it is all about the money. The Pac10 and Big10 would be losing too much money by switching to a plus-one, and those millionaires just can't have that now, can they? I feel that the Big10 should be in favor of a plus-one, because really, they don't have all that much to lose (Other than the money, of course). If the Big10 winner goes to the BCS, a plus-one helps them greatly. They would most likely get in one of the semifinals, thus allowing them to show that they do belong, and that the Big10 is a legitimate conference. Plus, this game would give the team a chance to improve the overall perception of the conference. After OSU got trounced back-to-back years, people feel that the Big10 is soft, and not nearly as good. A win here would prove things, and provide much more opportunity.

For the meetings, all 11 conference commissioners were invited, as was the Athletic Director from Notre Dame, which shows how much power Notre Dame has. After a 3-9 season, the Irish get to vote on the biggest proposal in all of college football. Can you say 'Too Much Power'? Then, Jim Delaney, the commish of the Big10 was quoted as saying 'If it wags it's tail, barks and chases cats, it is a dog. If it seeds teams and the winners play later, it is a playoff'. Great analogy, Jim! Just another reason to show the MidWest some love, the comissioner of the biggest college conference is openly disagreeing with the thought of changing the BCS. Why would the BCS need to be changed?

Finally, this is my favorite part of it all. The new plus-one, if it was approved, it wouldn't have been able to start until the 2010 season. Why? TV rights with FOX, duh! But here is the kicker, guess how much FOX pays the NCAA for the BCS? 420 million dollars! Yes, you read that right, $420,000,000 to show some college football. Then the NCAA claims that they are a non-profit? The NCAA is about one thing, and that is money, which is really too bad, for everyone.

Steals of the 2008 NFL Draft

There were many big stories of the 2008 NFL Draft, but arguably the biggest one was the wide recievers getting drafted, or rather, the lack of. For the first time in a while, no wide recievers were drafted in the first round. There are many reasons for this, including lack of talent, lack of ability to contribute, and the fact that no one player was a can't miss player. However, I still am not quite sure why this happened.

A main reason for this is the money factor. With teams throwing around money on WR's, and with Bernard Berrian getting 42 million dollars, Javon Walker getting 55 million dollars, and Jerry Porter getting 30 million dollars, all this off-season, isn't there a cheaper alternative? A draft pick late in the first round averages just over 4.5 million dollars guaranteed, if there can ever be just 4.5 million dollars thrown around. My point is that there is a way to get good production, and not have to pay a ton of money for it, simply by taking a chance on a WR late in the first round, and I still am surprised that no team did this.

The argument for this is that for a high draft pick, you don't get the production that you are looking for. However, this is not true. Last year, at pick 23, Dwayne Bowe had 70 receptions for 995 yards and 5 TD's. At pick 32, Anthony Gonzalez had 37 receptions for 567 yards and 3 TD's. At pick 44, Sidney Rice 31 receptions for 396 yards and 4 TD's. At pick 51, after hardly playing during the regular season, Steve Smith picked up 14 receptions in the playoffs, and played a key part in the Super Bowl. What do these four guys show? As low first round picks and second round picks, you can come in and contribute right away.

Another argument is that a rookie WR doesn't do much now, because teams are building for the futre. However, whether it is true or not, the majority of NFL teams think that they can compete for the playoffs right now. So, why not take a chance on a WR? It isn't like the guys in the draft were terrible. Devin Thomas had a monster season, and has tons of potential. DeSean Jackson was one of the most dynamic players in all of NCAA football last year, and he can make an impact on special teams, too. Limas Sweed and Malcolm Kelly consistentely performed well in the Big12, and showed that they are good players. Sweed had one of the better catches I have seen against Ohio State a few years back, and he played very well in the 2006 Rose bowl against USC.

Those were just four of the guys who could compete right away, and the list also includes James Hardy, Early Doucet, Jordy Nelson and Lavelle Hawkins, among others. As the season plays out, I will bet that some NFL teams will be wanting their picks back, and will know once again what a rookie WR can do.

They Are No Fluke

Much like the team in my pervious entry, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Atlanta Hawks are a very good, young team that nobody really knows about. They have a great nucleus of players, and many of them are or have potential to be All-Stars one day. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Acie Law, Josh Childress. All of them are good, but as a team, they have the potential to be one of the best in the Eastern Conference, if they can lock up Josh Smith.

However, the Hawks are making noise already. They have tied the Boston Celtics in the first round, and are looking as if they have a serious chance to keep the series alive, and even (gasp!) make it a contest. Thanks to great play from Johnson and Smith among others, then Hawks are looking like a true playoff team, and a very, very good eight seed.

Realisitically, the Hawks have a lot of pieces in place, if Smith signs. They have a PG in Bibby who is aging, but can still get the job done. He can pass, score, and is showing that he still has ability by stepping up in the playoffs. Joe Johnson is a legitimate scorer who can get 20 every night, and can pass, too. He is the leader of the team, and plays underrated defense. Smith is the complete player. He can score, rebound, pass, play defense, and is one of the best shot blockers in the league. I won't even go into his dunks, lol.

After the big three of Atlanta, the other two starters can hold their own, too. Marvin Williams might have had expectations too high after being drafted second overall, and over Chris Paul, but he is starting to come into his own. He averaged nearly 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. This doesn't seem like much, but it is very good considering that he is arguably the fifth option on his won team. Then, there is that rookie guy, some big man from Florida.

Al Horford is the rookie, and he nearly averaged a double-double, and has been stepping it up in the playoffs. The biggest thing he has done so far, was yelling at Paul Pierce. Now, this was kind of ridicolus, but I can see some positive out of it. He hit a huge shot, then didn't go quietly about it. I really don't like cockiness and celebration, but Horford has made a genuine impact. How many rookies would do that to an established veteran All-Star in the playoffs? It was not the right thing to do, but it does show that he isn't intimidated, and can succeed in the NBA, which I feel strongly that he will do.

Now, let's not forget that the Hawks had the third overall pick in last year's draft. Now, they have a very bright future, and are giving the Celtics a run for the money. Up until recently, the Hawks had garnished almost no attention, but that will surely change over time, and it could be sooner rather than later.

Just Another Scapegoat

After a first round exit in the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Avery Johnson became the latest scapegoat of the NBA. When a team like Dallas goes down early, someone needs to be held accountable. Unfortunately, in this case, it happened to be Avery Johnson, and I feel that this definitely was not a good decision.

Lots of coaches have coached many games in the NBA, and the coach with the best winning percentage after coaching at least 250 games is...Avery Johnson. In just four years, he won 194 games! He went 194-70 in the regular season, and was a Coach of the Year candidate multiple times. His downfall was his playoff record, a sub .500 record of 23-24. This can be looked at many ways, but I focus on the wins. 23 playoffs in just four years? By comparrison, the Timberwolves have not won 23 playoff games in the history of their franchise. Too bad the Timberwolves won't hire Avery Johnson.

The decision to fire Johnson came from Mark Cuban, and his primary reason for the firing was that Johnson couldn't win in the playoffs with Kidd, and this was the last straw. Well, guess who pulled off the trade for Kidd? Who brought in an aging player, who caused a hit in team chemistry and a 17-17 record? Yes, as you might have guessed, it was Mark Cuban. Kidd is an excellent player, but he isn't what he once was. As Cuban found out, you can't bring in an All-Star to a contending team and expect the team to respond, and go on a tear. The odds are that it just won't work. Unfortunetely, in the process of acquiring Kidd, Cuban also traded away the Mavericks future. They were 35-18 with Devin Harris, and including the playoffs, 17-17 with Kidd.

He might have traded away the roster of the future in the Kidd deal, and now he let go of the coach of the future. Remember, Johnson is just 43 years old, which is very young for an NBA coach. It is highly likely that he will be hired before the start of next season, and some team will have found themself a very good NBA coach. It is too bad that he couldn't please the Mavericks, but that is life. People move on, and only time will tell if Dallas made the right call.