Lakers To Retire Shaquille O'Neal's Number

On April 2, 2013, Shaquille O'Neal's number will be retired by the Los Angeles Lakers and rightfully so. O'Neal brought the Laker franchise back to prominence with current Laker all-star Kobe Bryant while playing in LA from 1996-2004. In that span, O'Neal helped the Lakers to 4 NBA Finals, winning 3 consecutive titles and Finals MVP's, before losing the fourth to the Pistons. On a personal note, Shaq also won 2 NBA MVP's in that span, 2 all-star MVP's and averaged 27 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game as a Laker. And yes, he actually averaged those numbers over an 8 year period. It would have been nice to see him in "purple and gold" for the rest of his career, but a dispute with then teammate Kobe Bryant led to a sour and premature ending to his Laker tenure.

Is there a bigger (no pun intended) legend than Shaq? Answer no. Self proclaimed, "Shaq Diesel," "The Big Daddy," "Shaq Fu," "Superman," "The Big Shaqtus," and "The Big Aristotle," Shaq Daddy has always been the center of the media. He has cursed on live TV and not cared, performed on stage ripping Kobe when he won a title in Miami after being traded and not cared, and on top of that, he talked smack and ALWAYS backed it up. Shaq was also arguably one of the more dominant players to ever play the game. Measuring at 7'1" and 325 pounds, he was impossible to move, and despite his large stature, he was also quick. Troubled defenders were hit with his "Black Tornado" (Shaq's nickname for his drop step) and all they could then do was watch him dunk ferociously. This is the first of many honors coming Shaq's way, and it is only a matter of time before we see this "Big Fella" in the Hall of Fame.

One Last Thing: What happens when Kobe retires? The Lakers obviously have to retire his number as well, but which one will they choose? Kobe wore #8 for his first 10 seasons in the league and has worn #24 since. So does he get two jerseys retired? Or like one jersey with two numbers? I haven't read the official rulebook on retired numbers yet even though I keep telling myself that I will. If anyone knows what happens, let me know. Also one final question. When Kobe's jersey goes up, I'm assuming he'll be the next after Shaq, does it go up right next to Shaq's? Awkward.

Top 10 Shaquille O'Neal Quotes

Andre Parker Big Leagues Towson

This right here is something you just can't teach. Andre Parker of Kent State is a in a league of his own. He obviously knew that the rule on a fumbled punt is you CAN'T advance it, so a touchdown is out of the question. So just like any of us would do, he scooped the ball up and ran 58 yards down the field in the wrong direction. Power move here by Parker. He made Towson look silly. They actually chased him down and tackled him, showing Towson clearly didn't know the fumbled punt rule. People can laugh all they want about how Parker "made a fool of himself," but Parker is the one who gets the last laugh when the refs bring the ball all the way back to the Towson 7 yard line. 1st and Goal for Kent State.

Solid Preseason for the Jets...0-4

Jets haven't had a decent QB since Bad Knees Joe here

Well that could be all she wrote. Lock it down, Jets have surpassed the Mets as the saddest team in New York (unless you count the Islanders, which I don't.) One TD all preseason, whole lot of ineptitude and I kind of feel like they all hate each other. Santonio doesn't talk to anyone, Tebow tries to be buddy-buddy with everyone, and Rex is taking shots from Broadway Joe. It's just not a good situation right now in East Rutherford. 

Woody Johnson said you can't have enough Tebow, and of course ESPN laps up anything with that fairy boy. Jets need to lay low for about 3 years and start worrying about winning football games. No more headlines, give Jeter responses to the media, nothing that could get you in hot water, or be shown on Sportscenter or quoted by the Post. I would say the Jets will win a couple of games this year, but that seems too high. Unless Sanchez turns in to Peyton Manning and Shonn Greene becomes Earl Campbell, it's gonna be a long one boys. Not digging the direction of the franchise, but I was so used to mediocrity for most of my life, I guess I can go back to that Ric Meier led team in'99, brutal stuff. 

Our BCS Bowl Predictions

In the last season without a playoff system, this will be the final year that the flawed BCS system will decide who makes the BCS Championship and the rest of the at-large bids in the 5 BCS games. That being said, the season starts tonight and the five of us will give our best bets on who will be playing in early January.

MillMeek22 Predictions

Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Oregon

Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Oklahoma 

Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia vs. Alabama 

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Louisville

National Championship: USC vs. Florida St.

Heisman Winner: Michigan QB Denard Robinson (pictured right)

Heisman Sleeper: Oregon ATH De'Anthony Thomas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CB32 Predictions
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Oregon

My Take:  Denard Robinson's passing ability and health will decide Michigan's fate this season and with the departure of Andrew Luck, Oregon now has even less to worry about in the subpar Pac-12.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan State

My Take: Every year I doubt Nick Saban and Alabama and every year I get burned. It probably will
happen again but I don't trust offenses that can't score no matter how strong it is.

Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia vs. LSU

My Take: Big Play star Tavon Austin and talented QB Geno Smith will have a tougher time in the Big 12 as opposed to the Big East but those two guys will lead them to a BCS game. LSU falls a little bit here but I can't imagine they lose more than 1 game this season and get an at-large bid.

Orange Bowl: Florida St. vs. Louisville

My Take: Both of these teams should win their "basketball minded" conferences pretty easily but this game could include two sleepers.

National Championship: Oklahoma vs. USC

My Take: The two big offenses come out firing in this barn burner. USC's Matt Barkley and OU's Landry Jones are probably the top two quarterbacks in the nation and both are equipped with an arsenal of playmakers.

Heisman Winner: USC QB Matt Barkley

Heisman Sleeper: West Virginia: WR Tavon Austin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
nasm30's Predictions

That moment when I wish I watched more college football...

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Oregon

My Take: I am expecting really big things from Montee Ball and because of that I give Wisconsin the edge over Michigan. Those teams will probably meet in the Big Ten Championship game and if Michigan earns a berth to the Rose Bowl, MillMeek will never let me live it down.

Sugar Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma 

My Take: LSU takes a little bit of a step back this year, but still manages to pull a really good bowl game against a tough Oklahoma team. Classic matchup here that would be a really fun one to watch. A really great offense in OU vs. the hard hitting defense of LSU.

Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh

My Take: West Virginia caps off an impressive season with a run to the Fiesta Bowl, against Pitt. Pitt is a strong team and has a real shot at winning the weak Big East. West Virginia has one of the most explosive offenses in the nation and this game would really make a great matchup.

Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Michigan 

My Take: Denard Robinson and the Wolverines head to Sun Life stadium to face off against the Clemson Tigers. Clemson surprises the nation here, and wins the ACC instead of Florida State. Who will have a disappointing season despite being considered a National Title dark horse. 

National Championship: USC vs. Alabama 

My Take: Alabama returns and Nick Saban adds to his legacy. USC is definitely one of the best teams in the NCAA headed into this season, and I would be surprised if I didn't see them playing in this year's big game. However, I hope Silas Redd falls off a roller coaster and breaks every bone in his body.

Heisman Winner: Matt Barkley QB USC

My Take: Barkley is bound to put up ridiculous numbers with all of the weapons he has around him. Robert Woods is one of the best wide receivers in the game and stud sophomore Marqis Lee opposite Woods only makes Barkley's job so much easier.

Heisman Sleeper: Sammy Watkins WR Clemson

My Take: All I remember is this dude putting up absolutely ridiculous numbers in his freshman season, and now he's got another year of experience. He may be a little bit to young to get the honors as I feel like the NCAA typically awards this trophy to the older crop.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AF's Predictions

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. USC

Sugar Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma

Fiesta Bowl: South Carolina vs. West Virginia

Orange Bowl: Louisville vs. Clemson

National Championship: Oregon vs. Alabama

Heisman Winner: Marcus Lattimore RB South Carolina (pictured right)

Heisman Sleeper: De'Anthony Thomas RB/ATH Oregon

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beardface's Predictions

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Stanford

Sugar Bowl: South Carolina vs. Texas

Fiesta Bowl: LSU vs. West Virginia

Orange Bowl: Florida St. vs. Louisville

National Championship: Oklahoma vs. USC

Heisman Winner: Matt Barkley QB USC (pictured right)

Heisman Sleeper: Tavon Austin WR West Virginia

The Replacements

Mike Carey and Ed Hochuli, where are you?

The NFL announced today that the league will go into week 1 without a deal in place with the National Football League Referee Association (NFLRA). This means that the replacement referees that have been running the show throughout the preseason, will now be officiating real games that will count towards team's records. Oh boy.

How can this be possible? Well in fact, the referees have way more leverage with the NFL than the players did last offseason when they were involved in their own lockout with the NFL. The reason is because the real NFL referees have jobs outside of refereeing. In fact, the jobs range from a whole bunch of professions, like police officer and ski and snowboard manufacturer to name a few. The most well-known NFL referee, Ed Hoculi, is actually a successful trial lawyer and partner for Jones, Skelton & Hochuli P.L.C.!  (http://www.jshfirm.com/EdwardGHochuli) So these referees are in no rush to get back onto the field.

This is a very scary situation here for everyone involved in the NFL. The players, coaches, organizations, and fans, will all have to put up with the stresses that come along with any call made by a replacement official. "He has no idea what he's doing!" and "This is what happens when you have replacement refs," will be said all over the country multiple times. Now even though these cynical comments will be annoying, they may also be true. The referees that are being called in are not qualified for the NFL referee job, even if the NFL adds an extra official onto the field (which has been suggested.) This is because, before being asked to be an NFL replacement referee, these guys were retired college officials, current college referees from the smaller non BCS conferences and even the Arena League!

The worst part of it all, is that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is very stubborn and hardheaded. By letting all of the teams know that the replacements will start the season, is Goodell's way of flexing his muscles. I understand Goodell is trying to get some bargaining chips in a situation where he has nothing and the referees have other ways to make money, but he has to think about the the integrity of the game and "empire" that the NFL has become over the past few years. Goodell remains obstinate on his fight against the raise that the referees are asking for, but why do we, who live and die by the games each and every Sunday, have to be the ones to pay the price?

One Last Thing: You can expect a lot of this until Ed Hochuli and the crew come save us all. (P.S. I'm convinced every time Joe Buck makes a terrible joke and laughs, a kitten dies.)

 

NFL 2012 Predictions

Ok so it may be a little early for this but I have no idea what to write about so this is what you guys are getting. Fair warning, I am very, very biased when it comes to the Giants, so keep that in mind.

Individual Awards

MVP: Tom Brady; Dude can flat out ball and I respect him for that.

Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning; Best of all time.

Defensive Player of the Year: Jared Allen; Only bright spot on the Vikings defense. Almost picked Von Miller by the way,

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck; He already won. The media is all over this guy.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Luke Kuechly; Good Player headed into a good situation.

Coach of the Year: Jeff Fisher; He's going to change the whole culture in St. Louis.

Team that Will Undoubtedly be Awful this Season

First things first I need to go out right now and dispute everything MillMeek said a week or so ago about the Bills. They are going to be awful. Just awful. No shot in hell they make the playoffs. They are weak at Quarterback, average at wide out, and they don't do a whole lot of the fundamentals. Average special teams, average coaching, and stuff like that. However what they do have is this new and improved defensive line. Headed by former first rounders Marcell Dareus, and Mario Williams, apparently the Bills have the "best defensive line" in the NFL. Ha. I mean it's alright, but if they are going to seriously rely on it, guys like Mark Anderson, and Kyle Williams shouldn't be the other two guys you give most of the snaps too. But hey, prove me wrong. I really wouldn't mind seeing the Omish Rifle (actually once heard a Bills fan call Fitzpatrick that once) lead them to the playoffs.

Teams Nobody is Respecting

Could this honestly have been any other teams? I obviously choose the Denver Broncos and New York Giants for this. On the one hand you have the defending Super Bowl Champions, who have been projected by almost every major analyst to not even sniff the playoffs, and on the other hand you have the best quarterback of all time cast off by the team he built, and coming off of injury trying to make a comeback. The Manning brothers are being seriously underestimated during this offseason. You have ESPN running these stories about how "Peyton can't throw to his right." Are you kidding me? How dumb do you think that the Broncos are. They have one of the best quarterbacks of all time in John Elway working in the Front Office. Do people really think he didn't evaluate Manning before signing him? It shocks me they can run these stories. Then you turn to Eli. Getting some of the highest praise he has received in his career, yet now the team on a whole is being disrespected. The fact still remains, they have a great quarterback, two elite wideouts, and the best defensive line in the game. In all
fairness, the Giants to have the hardest schedule in the NFL, but I say it's manageable. 11-5. Mark it down. 11-5.

Ok so 12 teams. What 12 teams will still be standing in January. Here we go I guess.

 Hey, why not? Told you I'm biased. So the Manning brothers meet in the Superbowl, and Archie has a heart attack. Eli walks away with another win and another Superbowl MVP, cementing himself as one of the all time greats. All of the Eagles fans in the world want to die, and I continue to walk around campus wearing Giants jerseys, soaking up all of the dirty looks.

Wayne Hunter traded for Jason Smith..Let's celebrate

peace..

The pain and anguish is over. Wayne Hunter is no longer on the Jets and we don't have to worry about him getting pushed around and rag dolled anymore. The Rams acquire Hunter by sending Jason Smith, a former highly touted 1st round pick outta Baylor. I mean literally anything is better than Wayne Hunter at this point, they could have pulled a Jackie Moon and traded him for a washing machine and that might have been a steal on the Rams end. As it stands I think this is a pretty good trade for the Jets, I think being moved will wake Smith up and renew that potential he showed in Waco. My one question is why would the Rams even take Wayne Hunter in return? If they're thinking about plugging him into their O-line, ESPN The Magazine's prediction that they'll go 0-16 is probably spot on. Dude's probably a real nice guy, but he was piss poor on the right side of the line and that stuff doesn't fly in New York (or New Jersey if you wanna get real technical). But honestly, the Jets need to score a touchdown and its gotta be soon. Field Goals don't win games unless you're Rob Bironas but he's not wearing green and white. Tebow is not the savior for this team, not by a long shot. They need to run the ball and keep Mother Teresa on the bench praying for some scores. I'm thinking 10-6, so that means 8-8 and no playoffs but i'm a glass half full guy, we'll see what happens.

Magic Making Magic

(From left to right) Gonzalez, Beckett, and Crawford

When Magic Johnson and his crew bid for the ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team was headed in the wrong direction. The previous owner had driven the organization to bankruptcy and on top of that the team hadn't made the playoffs in the past two seasons. When Magic and his team were finally awarded the Dodgers in March 2012, everything changed.

The team unexpectedly got off to a great start and haven't looked back since. They currently are 2 games out of first place to the San Francisco Giants, but the team has recently just made their third blockbuster deal of the season. The first occurred at the trade deadline when Magic traded for Miami Marlins' Hanley Ramirez. The guy was a big time player a few years ago and still has many great years ahead of him, but the Marlins and Ramirez's relationship was fading. Since that trade, Ramirez has gone from a .246 hitter to a .296 hitter and in 29 games already has 31 RBI's.

The second trade was made on the day of the trade deadline, when the Dodgers acquired outfielder Shane Victorino from the Philadelphia Phillies. Victorino is a very solid player, who covers a lot of range in the outfield, while also being a good hitter that gives pitchers nightmares on the base paths.

Legend.

Now on top of those trade, the Dodgers just made another move with the dwindling Red Sox (check out MillMeek22's article on Sox.) This was another "win now" move by Magic by acquiring stud first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, ace Josh Beckett, and a beat up Carl Crawford. I love this trade for them. Gonzalez is one of the premier first basemen in the league and if they can keep Beckett motivated I believe he will go back to his old dominating form. Crawford on the other hand, used to be an amazing player in Tampa Bay a few years ago but has been injury-riddled in his time with Boston. Even though Crawford is still young, he hasn't shown anything in the past 2 seasons and had recently been shut down for the season before the trade with Tommy John surgery.

Either way, the Dodgers still have a deadly lineup if you add in Matt Kemp who is arguably the best hitter in the league and Andre Eithier. Their one through five in Victorino, Eithier, Kemp, Gonzalez, Ramirez, is arguably the best in the league. Also, their pitching staff of reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, Beckett, Chad Billingsley, and Chris Capuano is not bad if they make it into the playoffs. That being said, they still have to get there.

One Last Thing: Could Magic be any more of the man? He dominated the basketball court for a number of years, racking up triple doubles like nobody's business. He then gets HIV but not AIDS, simply because he doesn't want it. After that, he retires but still gets selected to the All Star game and the Olympics and wins MVP and a gold medal respectively. Finally, just for something to spend money on, he buys the Dodgers, gets great players and is leading them toward the playoffs. Boss.

The Orioles and Their Improbable Run

What is going on in Baltimore? These guys just find ways to win, and it is baffling to me. A team made up of outcasts. Players contenders didn't want, a manager people had forgotten about, and a city where baseball hasn't been relevant in over a decade. Baltimore has admittedly become a city known more for its football and it's crime than its baseball. This organization hasn't reached the playoffs since they won the East in '97. But that is seemingly all about to change.

The Orioles currently control the second wild card spot, and are a month away from playing in October. But who is responsible? Who is to be congratulated for this feat? Well, everyone really.

This team was built though the front office. They drafted well, they went out and got the guy they envisioned being their manager, and they signed and traded for players that would work well playing their style of baseball.

First the front office. These guys deserve a serious pat on the back for the job that they have done. Getting Showalter to leave his cushy job at ESPN for the stresses of being not only an MLB manager, but the manager of the Orioles. I mean they didn't have a whole lot to sell to him but I guess it was enough, and boy has it payed off.

Next in line for praise has to be Buck Showalter. And Walter, what a show he has put on. The Orioles won all of 69 games last year. They have won 68 already this year. Those kind of numbers speak for themselves. This team is winning not only because of Showalter's guidance and coaching but because of the moves he has made with his roster. His baseball mind combined with the front office have put a winning team on the field. That team however improbable and however unlikely has found ways to do just that, win.

The Orioles as a team have to be one of the biggest bands of castoffs and misfits I have ever seen. Probably the biggest one since Major League. I would actually probably prefer Pedro Cerrano to some of these guys. Theyre like AF's fantasy team. Just a bunch of guys nobody wants that somehow win games. I mean take Chris Davis for example. This guy was basically given to the Orioles for nothing, and despite last nights three homer performance he probably shouldn't be playing anywhere. Then go to the other side of the diamond and you have Mark Reynolds. A guy, like Davis, who has really great power but shouldn't be starting on any team. These two guys strikeout as much, if not more then most players in the league, yet they start. Other castoffs that are the stars of the Orioles team include JJ Hardy, Kevin Gregg, Omar Quintanilla, and Matt Lindstrom, all of them accept for Gregg were acquired via trade.

The point off all this is I guess the Orioles are living proof you don't have to have a lot of star power. Just guys who can do a job and contribute to the win in some way.

Join The Official Couch Brotatoes Football Pick Em' Now

http://games.espn.go.com/nfl-pigskin-pickem/en/frontpage

So we got the idea to reward some of you readers by having a free NFL Pick Em' league for everyone to join and to get a chance to win some prizes.

The good news is it's super easy to enter. All you have to do is go to ESPN.com and click on the Fantasy tab, and underneath that you should see the Pigskin Pick Em' tab. Then click on it and go to the Game Home, and click on create or join group. Then search for the group Couch Brotatoes. It's free to join, and we have some pretty mediocre prizes set up for you guys.

Obviously we are all college kids so giving you guys money is pretty much not an option. However for each weeks top picker each blogger will give you a twitter shout out. I know, I know who cares, but the grand prize is actually pretty serious. Just to be clear, the person who ends up with the best record at the end of the regular season wins the grand prize.

The winner of the grand prize will get to choose one of three options for a costume for Beardface to wear and walk around wearing in some public location we will pick. We will then film it and post it to the webpage. The options are a nurse costume, a pregnant lady costume, or a boxer costume. Beardface will walk around and talk to people and stuff, I'm not really sure yet, but we promise he's going to look stupid doing it.

Just know you have to have an ESPN account to be in the league. It's like the easiest thing in the world to make so there are really no excuses. Also I know some of you may be discouraged because I am probably going to win this but don't let it bring you down, there's always a chance.

Lance Armstrong...dude

Hero or Zero?

Total shocker out of the sports world today, Lance Armstrong, the inspiration for millions of people worldwide, has been banned for life from cycling and stripped of all 7 of his Tour De France titles. That's a real shot to the nut here I gotta say, guy thought he was bullet proof, should have hired Clemens' lawyer. In all fairness, he did stop the appeal himself. Still you have to fight for your livelihood, now he's just an ex-cyclist like Floyd Landis (another doper, probably injected each other, much safer that way). 

What is Lance's legacy now? He was world renowned for being a 7 time Tour De France winner, now the records will say he won zero. By the way, are there any other major biking tourneys? Is there a Tour  De Rome or something or is France the capital of the cycling world? I feel like there is a major underbelly of cycling where they race on the back streets of Rio De Janeiro and try to avoid the hookers and meth before the finish line in order to win. Who knows.  

Anyways back to Lance, real life changer here. No longer the greatest cyclist ever, just some hack who juiced up. Obviously he's a symbol of strength through Livestrong, but how does that still continue when he was a cheater? It can't, can it? I mean, I always liked Lance. He was cocky AF before he got diagnosed, and then afterwards was a beacon of hope for millions of people and that is amazing. It's just sad to see it end like this. What kind of world do we live in where Clemens gets acquitted when he's still slinging 93 mph at 45 and Lance gets the can because he gave up on his own court case. Lance has said all the right things here: from ESPN.com,

"I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today -- finished with this nonsense."

I just don't know if this is enough to save face in front of the American public. I honestly hope it is because who else can survive cancer and then cameo in Dodgeball without missing a beat? I hope the powers at be for cycling, (who signed up for that job? Kids at Career Day definitely didn't show up going, "Oh, can I be the lead investigator on doping in world cycling, that sounds rewarding,") decide that they have insufficient evidence and overturn this ruling on Lancey-lance. If not, then boom goes the dynamite. This guy's incredible rep is damaged, and so is the cycling world (if there are people who follow it). 

P.S. Despite this ruling, Lance Armstrong has to be a top 10 athlete of all time, right? Most grueling race  on the planet besides the Iditarod, but no one keeps track of killing wolves in Alaska. He won 7 Tour De France's never been done before, won't be done since, Joe Dimaggio of Cycling, just hope he gets the recognition he deserves. 

The Younger The Better

Matt Saracen Knows About Being QB1

Aside from the replacement referee dilemma, the most interesting thing about this NFL preseason has been all of the quarterback competitions going on in many camps. Many teams are caught in between picking a guy with experience or going with a guy they recently drafted. Guys like Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are rookies, but don't have anyone competing with them for the job and have walked into camp as the starter. Elsewhere, it is now starting to creep closer and closer to the regular season, and many coaches are also deciding to take a shot with the young guns.

Miami Dolphins: This competition is an interesting one for two reasons. One, it involves last season's starter Matt Moore, a proven quarterback David Garrard and a top 10 pick in this year's draft Ryan Tannehill. The other interesting thing about this battle, is that you can actually watch it go on each week on HBO's "Hard Knocks." Along with many other people across America, I also watch this show, and in the latest episode coach Joe Philbin named the rookie Tannehill the starter. This wasn't too much of a shock being that Garrard got hurt, taking him out of the running, but Moore made it very hard for Philbin. Moore knows the guys in the locker room, they respect him, and he has the experience factor. Even with all of those things, Tannehill has shown enough to be named starter and will now have to hit the ground running in week 1.

Tennessee Titans: The Titans also recently named their starter this past week. Their competition was between a former Super Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and a top 10 pick in last year's draft Jake Locker. This doesn't seem like a terrible problem to have, on one hand you have a winner and on the other you have a guy with a huge upside waiting in the wings. And once again, the younger of the two was named the starter. Locker steps in with way more weapons than Tannehill in Miami, but stud wideout Kenny Britt is coming off of knee surgery. Either way, running back Chris Johnson will take a ton of pressure off of Locker, who can really sling it.

Cleveland Browns: This quarterback dilemma was probably the weirdest one out of the bunch simply because the rookie they drafted is actually older than the veteran on their team. Brandon Weeden is a 28 year old rookie out of Oklahoma State that threw for almost 5,000 yards last season. The reasoning behind his obscure situation is he was drafted to the MLB and failed to make his way through the ranks to the majors and gave it up to pursue his football career. Colt McCoy had been the starter for the Browns for the past season and a half but never really did anything specia. Despite McCoy being only 25 years old, the Browns are already going in a new direction with Weeden. I guess Weeden is the older option here but the Browns are still going with the rookie and unexperienced option.

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks are still yet to name their week 1 starter, but rookie Russell Wilson has impressed coach Pete Carroll so much that he has earned himself the starting job in this week's upcoming preseason game. That being said, newly signed QB Matt Flynn is not out of the running, and this may be an attempt to see Wilson with the first team for once. I expect the highly paid Flynn to win this job back before week 1.

Arizona Cardinals: Poor Kevin Kolb. The guy gets traded to a team with the chance to be the franchise guy and got paid a ton of money but has totally underachieved. Now the younger option and more successful John Skelton, who took the job from Kolb last season, looks like he will fully take control of the team come week 1. Either way both haven't done enough to officially be named starter, but Kolb never impresses when put on the spot.

The State of the MLB: Code Red

Right when it seemed America’s past time was disassociating itself from the "Steroid Era," another storm hits.  This time, I’m afraid it may be a much larger blitz on the integrity of the game.

Over the past week, two Dominican born players, Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera and Athletics pitcher Bartolo Colon, have been suspended 50 games for steroid use. Hate to bring it up, but baseball is on the verge of another Mitchell Report scandal. This one may be called the Dominican Dilemma. I say that because Cabrera and his dose of ‘roids have been linked to his home country. The MLB must be cringing right now. The Dominican is not only a fountain of talent for its league, but the homeland to many of its stars. If they’re handing out steroids like candy in the land of Pujols, Cano, and Reyes to name a few, the MLB has a major problem on their hands.

This may seem like an overreaction, but I’m pretty nervous about this. Bud Selig should be too. In this day and age, I’m sure there are ways around random drug tests. Who's to say the Dominican players don’t know about these cover ups? In a country where it’s so easy to needle up and associate your self with a different alias, nothing will shock me. Selig better hope Cabrera and Colon are the only ones. If they aren’t, his reputation will be severely tarnished. He was the guy at the realm the first time steroids came into baseball. He would be the same guy to not do everything he could to stop it, and allow it to occur yet again.

Courtesy: inquistr.com

Bud Selig needs to make a sharper penalty
for steroid usage, but will he?

Something has to change with the MLB and its enforcement of not allowing steroids. Players should not be able to sleep knowing they took something that is simply not allowed in the game. A 50 game suspension isn’t cutting it. Why not a year ban? Experts say the MLBPA would never allow it, but it shouldn’t be a topic for debate. Baseball can’t handle another Mitchell Report. It would lose too many fans. It would be the joke of the big four sports. That’s a good enough reason to comply. If not, then let there be a lockout.

Saving the integrity of the game should be a priority of the MLB, and right now, it's not.

Top 5 Sports Movies

Ok, so we're talking about great sports movies and I think I've come to a definitive list with the help of nasm30, our resident film nerd and Rain Man-esque loser. We'll get right into it here with a quick top 5.

Al Michaels, classic.

5. Miracle: Absolute classic flick featuring Kurt Russell with a crazy nice hair piece. Russell plays the US men's Olympic hockey coach for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. This is also where the USA shocked USSR in the semi-finals now known as the "Miracle on Ice." Great accents and stash's galore. "Why do you play cawllege hawkey?" "Isn't obvious, for the girls." Really inspiring movie, and Kurt Russell kills it as Herb Brooks, must watch everytime its on. (Check Out Coach Brooks' Hyped Speech) 

Bill Murray, legend

4. Space Jam: Michael Jordan's acting debut and thankfully he hasn't been in anything since. But in all honesty, it's a dope movie with Looney Tunes and Bill Murray. What more could you ask for? The Monstars are great villains and how about a Shawn Bradley sighting, dude is 7'6" but he got posterized more than anybody living. Did he really deserve to have his non talent taken and given to the blue Monstar? I think they should have taken Shaq's talents because he was a skinny and mobile big man. Totally would have ran house on Jordan and the Tune Squad. Just saying, poor decision by the Monstars. (He's Fixing A Divot!)

Our Comer?

3. Friday Night Lights: Permian Panthers, Boobie Miles, that's really all that needs to be said. Billy Bob Thornton throwing his "Bad Santa" persona to the side, in order to be head coach of a 5A high school in Texas where football is king. Derek Winchell, Brian Chavez and Ivory Christian are all legendary characters. How awesome is Ivory's Speech in the locker room at half time of the state title game? A legitimately great movie and probably the best football movie of all time, just slightly ahead of Necessary Roughness with Scott Bakula. 

Big State

2. He Got Game: A Spike Lee Joint and one of his best. I mean who is a better actor than Denzel Washington? He rocks a fresh afro and an ankle brace. Great movie on so many levels, Ray Allen when he was Ray Allen. An absolute stud all around player instead of the spot up shooter he is now. Rick Fox has a nice little cameo at Tech as a player, showing him around and leading him to his menage trois with some ball bunnies. Classic scene is the 1 on 1 at the end between  Denzel and Ray, just real emotional stuff and classic chirps from Denzel, gotta love it.  

Run the Picket Fence at 'em

1. Hoosiers: Gotta be number 1, all arguments are invalid. Gene Hackman as Norman Dale inspires a group of rednecks from Hickory, Indiana to a State title in the most improbable fashion ever. Yet it's a true story and you have to root for Dennis Hopper as Shooter, the lovable drunk basketball savant. And I think Jimmy Chitwood hit every shot he took from anywhere on the floor, with people on him and hands in his face. Every, single, time. I also love Ollie the last man on the bench for a 6 man squad. Shooting those underhand free throws to seal that victory in the state tourney, "I had it all the way." ("I'll Make It")

Honorable Mentions: Field of Dreams, Major League, D2: Mighty Ducks, Blue Chips

Sanctions in Kentucky's future?

A probe of Kentucky's recruitment of Nerlens Noel, the top high school player for the class of 2012, is being launched by the NCAA. This comes just days after news broke of a similar investigation of UCLA's recruitment of number two recruit Shabazz Muhammad. Kentucky coach John Calipari stated after last season's championship run, that he has no intention of leaving the school. He also sail that Kentucky was his dream job, and that was where he belonged. In the pas,t there have been recruiting violations associated with Calipari. However, he conveniently left both universities, UMass and Memphis, just before a punishment was dealt. This would be the third time something of this nature has happened under Calipari's guidance, and based on what he stated a few months ago, he should be sitting this one through. 

I for one hope there are no violations. I am not sure if this is about the recruiting process itself, or if it has to do with Noel receiving benefits from an outside source. I'm not a fan of coach Cal or Kentucky, but I'd hate to see something happen that could possibly tarnish what he and his players have done of late. Remember, Memphis had to vacate their Final Four berth in 2009 after the illegal recruitment process of Derrick Rose. At the same time, if coach Cal did violate the rules, I believe he should be penalized pretty harshly in order to ensure this doesn't happen again. If this is an issue of Noel taking money from boosters or something of that sort, then I think this whole thing is bologna. The kid's got a family to feed. Keep doin' you youngin. 

Bartolo Colon: The Latest PED User

What a Handsome Guy

Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics is the latest Major League Baseball player to be caught using a performance enhancing drug. This is the second player to be caught using a PED this week. Colon and San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, both tested positive for the banned substance, testosterone. (See more about Cabrera here.)

This is not good for the league and it also is a big blow to another contending team. The Oakland Athletics are currently tied for first in the wild card hunt with the Orioles and Rays. They are all battling for just two extra spots. Colon was also just hitting his stride to with a 3-1 record and 1.88 ERA in August, so the Athletics now have a huge void to fill in their rotation down the stretch.

You have to feel for Colon. He has had a successful Major League career, and in fact he won the AL Cy Young Award in 2005 with the Angels. Either way, cheating is cheating, and his whole career will be questioned. Colon has already been under investigation by the MLB once during his career in 2010. This was when he received a stem cell transplant that had never been performed on a professional baseball player before. The treatment did however allow Colon's bum shoulder to perform as a 38 and 39 year old over the past two seasons. I'm not sure if the transplant is related at all to the new accusations, but it would be strange if Colon would mess with MLB more than once.

One Last Thing: The two most recent suspensions of Cabrera and Colon may be hinting at a crackdown by the MLB on steroid users. If so, don't be surprised if more guys on contending teams get suspended. Also, I guess I'm the steroid reporter on this blog?

What Ever Happened To...

In 2004, the Michigan State Spartans, fresh off a first round NCAA tournament exit, recruited a young point guard out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Spartans new six-foot tall point guard played in all 33 games that season and ended up starting 14 of the teams final 15 games. He led the Big Ten freshmen class in assists, and was second on the team with 97. The team ended up making it all the way to the Final Four, but ended up losing to the soon to be champ, North Carolina. This player ended up starting for the next three seasons at Michigan State, leading the team to the Dance every year, but they never got further than the Sweet Sixteen. This Michigan State star was also 3-time All Big Ten first teamer, and a 2-time Second Team All American. This player declared for the 2008 NBA Draft, but no team selected him, despite finishing his career with over 1,500 points, and 500 assists. So, who is this player you ask?

The answer, is Drew Neitzel. Neitzel was one of the most exciting players to watch in basketball during his college years. He was a lights out three point shooter, and a winner. He found ways to keep MSU in it ever year, and was really the leader of that squad. For years I've been asking CB32 and MillMeek22, what ever happened to Drew Neitzel? Well, now we'll know for sure.

Probably Went in

Neitzel got a look with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and played on their summer league team, but it didn't lead to any NBA offers. So after Neitzel's failed attempt in the NBA, he took his career overseas to play in a European league. Neitzel signed with a German team, the Artland Dragons, and played out the 2008 season with them. He only averaged 5.3 points per game and 2.7 assists over a 34 game span.

In 2009 he returned to the US and played for the Portland Trailblazers in the summer league. Again that led to no NBA offers, and again Netizel returned overseas. This time Neitzel played with a French professional team, Élan Sportif Chalonnais. He averaged 12 ppg over 12 games, before moving to TBB Trier for 14 more games, and averaged 7.4 ppg over those 14.

In 2011, he played in 16 games with BBC Bayreuth, and averaged 7.7 points per game. His play was obviously impressive to some people in the states because it led to him landing a deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Today, Neitzel is still affiliated with the team, as a player on the NBA D-league squad the Texas Legends. Neitzel played in 30 games averaging 5 points and 4 assist per game in 20 minutes. An underwhelming story to say the least, as it looks like the highlight of Neitzel's career is behind him. But who knows? Maybe something crazy will happen and we'll see Old Drew reach the big show someday, but for now all we have are the memories.

Wow...

I was in the middle of writing this week's "What Ever Happened To..." and I had "First Take" on in the background. While listening, I overheard Skip Bayless actually suggest that Derek Jeter is using steroids, and that's why he's leading the MLB in hits this year. Is there anyone dumber then Skip Bayless? He literally just goes out there on a daily basis, and says the first thing comes to his mind. The worst thing is, he does this with literally no thought behind any of the stuff he says.

Biggest Clown in the Media

Now I realize a big part of his job is to get people pissed off and talking, and I guess by me writing this I am just contributing to his horrible career and life. Anyways, "First Take" has changed so much over the last year, because people have actually started watching since Stephen A. Smith became a regular. That's not because Smith has intelligent, well thought out, or even accurate arguments, but because he and Bayless argue like AF and his sister. 

Ever since Smith's arrival, Bayless has taken being unintelligent to a whole new level. I don't even know if it's possible to narrow down all of the dumb things Bayless and Smith have talked about this year....but I'm going to try. 

4. Bayless vs. Cuban - So Skip Bayless and "First Take" had Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban on the show to talk about the NBA Finals. Skip starts off on his usual rant about how bad LeBron   is, and Cuban proceeds to just destroy him on every level. Cuban talks about how Bayless only really talks in generalities (a complete and utter fact), and Bayless defends himself...by talking only in generalities. For example, "Was LeBron James collapse in the finals last season not the worst we have ever seen?" Or, "LeBron played harder then Kevin Durant." Cuban continues ripping Bayless until he finally shuts up, and let's Stephen A. bail him out. 

3. Bayless vs. Suggs - For some unexplainable reason, one of the more regular guests on "First Take," is Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs. Bayless should be thankful for his presence, but instead he tries to piss him off all the time. Whether it is by suggesting that the Patriots got home town calls, or claim Suggs is from "Fall So Hard" University (clever). Bayless puts all kinds of words in Suggs' mouth, but Suggs refuses to play along by telling Bayless to stop, and to, "be an analyst, not a deuchebag." This one comes in higher on the list because why would you ever want to piss of a professional linebacker? I mean Suggs could kill him in about 14 seconds. 

2. Bayless vs. Jeter - I know this just happened today, but this was just so, so stupid. I had no choice but to rank it pretty high up on the list. Making Mark Cuban proud, Bayless decides to make a general statement. A conspiracy theory. No facts, no accusations, nothing. Just saying dumb stuff to get people going. Not going to lie, this made me pretty mad too. Never thought I would say this, but thank God for Stephen A. Smith, because otherwise Bayless would just have started talking and Jeter would have had nobody to defend him. Even Stephen A., who is borderline retarded, thought this was stupid and out of bounds. 

1. Bayless vs. Jalen Rose - By far the runaway number one here. Jalen and Skip got into a debate about basketball and specifically the position of point guard. Skip makes all of his normal non-fact based statements, and later tweets about how he was a star point guard in High School, but his coach didn't like him and what not. The next day, in another debate Rose rips Skip to shreds. Calling him out as a liar, and Skip has no choice but to admit that everything Jalen was saying was true. In fact, Bayless didn't even play on varsity as a junior! "Water Pistol Pete Jr." 

Oakland A's Turn Triple Play

This is my favorite version of the triple play. Right around the horn, from third to second to first. This is much harder to do because the situation has to be perfect. There needs to be no one out, with runners on first and second, while also having a slower runner at the plate that hits the ball hard toward the third base bag. Then on top of all that, you then have to execute. Awesome play.

P.S. What about the legends that turned this triple play? Josh Donaldson, Adam Rosales, and Chris Carter. Just 3 average bro(tatoe)s. You all saw what I did there.

The Rocket's Return?

Clemens Rookie Card (1984)

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens is pitching Saturday for the Sugar Land Skeeters, an independent league team in Texas. Clemens, who is now 50 years old, is taking a cautious approach to all interviews about the subject, stating that he's pitching Saturday, and that is as far as he is looking for now. He never said that he is making a run at returning to the majors, but he also didn't put off that idea either, even though the last time Clemens pitched professionally was in 2007 as a New York Yankee, when he was just a brisk 45 year old.

Ok, so 45 is old, but 50?! That is outrageous. Clemens is said to have been clocked at 87 MPH on his fastball, but still, the toll that one outing on the mound will take on his body will be a lot different than even five years ago. Only six career people have ever even played in the majors past the" half-century mark," and only two were pitchers, Satchel Paige and Jack Quinn. Both of these guys played many moons ago and the game is completely different now. That being said, pitcher Jamie Moyer is the oldest player to play of late. At the age of 49, Moyer started a game for the Colorado Rockies at the beginning of this season, but Moyer was later released by them in June and has also had two short stints in the minors. He is currently a free agent.

I don't know if Clemens is or isn't thinking about the pros, but Moyer, is coming fresh off of Tommy John surgery, displaying the wear and tear pitching has on an old arm. If only there was something Clemens could take to enhance his performance and help him stay healthy. Hmmm.....I got nothing.

One Last Thing: Honestly if anyone were to do this it would be Clemens. The guy is already above the law in America, so after defeating America, he probably just needs a new challenge.

Public Enemy #1: Anthony Davis' Unibrow

Polyphemus.. look it up.

There are no plausible reasons for Anthony Davis to have a unibrow. Zero. Why does he have that caterpillar across his forehead? Dude is the Number 1 draft pick, Olympic Gold medalist, National Champion, and the money's starting to flow in. But there is no shot he pulls because of that thing on his face, it's just such a buzz kill. Like did Kobe and LeBron bring him aside and were like, "bro, you gotta have 2 eyebrows, this isn't Greece." At this point his Brow has become like an icon, which is disturbing on so many levels. He can't think it's cool or looks good, can he? You think he wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says "I look decent enough to walk out of the door"? I know for a fact he can afford a razor, you don't even need shaving cream, just wet the razor and take to that patch above your nose. What does his mother say? There is no way his mom is like, "Anthony, you're so handsome, why don't you have a girlfriend?" She has eyes like the rest of the world and knows that unibrows are in no way sexy. I guess it could be that he really doesn't care what people think and he's trying to show that it doesn't matter how many eyebrows you have if you can ball, but that's stupid and I would hate to think that's reasonable. It's just disappointing, kids a ballplayer, maybe a once in a generation big man defensively, and he has to have a unibrow just because. Hopefully for his sake someone shaves it off in his sleep, that guy would be a hero.