USC's First "Touchdown" Against the Buckeyes on Saturday Night

Please note the left knee visibly touching the ground at the 1 yard line along with the ball in the same location, OUT of the endzone...

MNF 9.14.09

The oddest moment of tonight's MNF game between Buffalo and New England was at the very end when Suzy Kolber stood next to Tom Brady attempting to interview him. He glanced to his left and distinctly decided NOT to speak to her. Then when he started walking away, she grabbed his arm and the following conversation ensued:

Suzy: After all the time...
Tom: I'm going in.
Suzy: After all the time...
Tom: I'm going in (he starts to jog)
Suzy: (jogging with him) What was it like to lead a dramatic comeback?
Tom: What did you say?
Suzy: After all the time away, what was it like to lead such a dramatic comeback?
Tom: I can't hear a word you're saying...it's that loud in here (he added to save face)...
Suzy: After all the time away what was it like to lead such a dramatic come-back?
Tom: (after realizing he can't shake her he finally stops jogging) well it's not how we drew it up, but I'll take the win. You know, we did a lot of things poorly but I'm glad we got the win.
Suzy: Congratulations...(she walks away, pushes her hair back and doesn't look pleased).

It was pretty amusing to watch. In other news, the best moment of the night was when the Patriots almost lost...and anytime Jon Gruden spoke...

NFL Week 1 Recap (to the extent I care)

Chicago@Green Bay. Jay Cutler had 4 interceptions (a career high) and at one point almost threw three picks in less than 10 seconds. I'm not sure who's fault it is, Cutler's or his receivers or me for jinxing him by drafting him in my fantasy league. But I expect next week to be much better.

New York Jets@Houston. Mark Sanchez looked decent against a team that went 8-8 last year and finished in the bottom third in the league in 8 of the main defensive categories. My point: Don't get too excited Jets fans as he still has a lot to prove. As for Houston, Slaton needs to go sage himself and figure out where his energy is being thrown off...I wonder who he's dating as that could have something to do with it.

Minnesota@Cleveland. Adrian Peterson looked like a beast, Cleveland scored an offensive touchdown (at the point in the game when it didn't actually matter anymore) and someone please explain to me who was behind the wildcat goal line thing that failed miserably? Btw, Brett Favre had his 270th career start. I find that completely unacceptable for someone who has retired twice. If you are going to "retire" you need to at least miss one game so that we believe you are actually genuine and not just doing this for attention.

As for how A Girl's Fantasy feels about the Shawn Merriman incident in light of the fact that there's a $10 fine for domestic violence in our league: 1) He has simply been accused and is innocent until proven guilty; 2) We believe Merriman over Tila Tequila (yeah, that's right, the girl we all used to be friends with on MySpace back when that was almost cool); 3) the only crime we consider him guilty of is bad judgment in dating choices. As a result, we have instituted a new rule that comes long overdue, a $5 fine for dating reality stars.

Week 1 College Football Recap

1. ACC. Best game without a doubt was Miami v. Florida State. Both quarterbacks had career nights and offense was a plenty as neither defense looked quite as "fast" as predicted. Miami's Jacory Harris had 386 passing yards, approximately double the yards he's had in any game to-date. And FSU's QB Christian Ponder looked nothing like he did in 2008, luckily. Although they lost the game, a bright spot for the Seminoles is true freshman Greg Reid who forced the pick-6 of Harris with less than 12 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter and in the final drive of the game gave Florida State field position in Miami territory with his kick return. Luckily an ACC win was guaranteed in this game because it was a rough start for the conference. In non-conference match-ups they went 4-6, including two losses to FCS schools thanks to Duke (v. Richmond) and Viginia (v. William and Mary). Btw, the fact that Duke was upset by Richmond shouldn't be that surprising considering they did the exact same thing to the Blue Devils in 2006. Something to keep an eye on for next week is Clemson's C.J. Spiller. The holder of 10 school records was injured on a punt return in the second quarter last week against Middle Tennessee State and didn't return. Spiller claims his foot/hamstring (conflicting reports) injury is "fine" and it better be as the Tigers play Georgia Tech next week and will need to put up some decent numbers on the ground to compete with a team that had 335 rushing yards last week (albeit against Jacksonville State, but still...)

2. The Big Ten. They escaped with some extremely close wins over formidable opponents such as Navy, Syracuse and Iowa State (obviously joking) and once again primed the media for discussions regarding how over-rated and slow they are. As I always do, I will reiterate how this first week generally means nothing as long as you win. The only team that shocked me was Illinois and how terrible they were again Missouri. The latter lost Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin and still put up 37 points against a team that finished in the top-20 in total defense last year. And speaking of 2008, in this contest last year, Illinois passed for 451 yards and 5 touchdowns and scored 52 points compared to 179 yards and zero touchdowns through the air and just 9 points this year. Perhaps injuries may have been a small excuse for the Illini though... Arrelious Benn and Jason Ford left early with ankle sprains while Daniel Dufrene sat out with...you can guess...an ankle injury. And at least for week 1, Shonn Greene's absense was noteable. As a team Iowa had a total of 87 yards rushing, while Greene had at least 100 yards on the ground in every single game in 2008. He was second in the nation only to UConn's Donald Brown and somehow I have both of them on my fantasy team this year (I'll explain later but having two rookies isn't exactly a good thing and that's not even the half of it).

3. The Pac-10. There was nothing to learn about this conference this week other than the fact that Oregon has some issues. We'll see how SC handles losing 11 players to the NFL Draft next week when they visit the Horseshoe. Cal's 52-13 win over Maryland was somewhat unexpected but I suppose the Terrapins couldn't handle losing 4 of their top 5 tacklers and having one of the most inexperienced O-lines in the nation. Cal went 9-4 in 2008 and one would expect them to improve upon that in 2009 given the talent returning, the emergence of Jahvid Best, hopefully not having to deal with the injury problems from last year and the fact that the dizzying alternation between Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley at quarterback is a moot concern. But even with a certain starter in Riley, given that Jeff Tedford seems to hit 9 or 10 wins only every other year, I wouldn't be surprised if this team somehow ends up stepping down a notch.

4. The Big 12. The offense we saw from Oklahoma this weekend had practically nothing in common with the record-setting one of 2008. With Jermaine Gresham out due to injury and Sam Bradford going down with a shoulder sprain, the only familiar faces out there were at tailback and left tackle. And having 9 guys back from a defense that ranked 99th last year against the pass didn't help, especially going against Max Hall.

5. The Big East. Let's go UC. I tried to pick Cincinnati against the spread in the pool I'm in but the guys running it forgot to tell me that the rules require me to pick a team playing on Saturday only. Bummer.

6. The SEC. I really look forward to watching Alabama this year...and can't wait to find out which regular season game Florida loses : )

According to my Nonna...

Derek Anderson, or D.A. as the local Cleveland announcers apparently are calling him...still looks quite hesitant. And Cleveland still can't throw a touchdown in the redzone, but beggers can't be choosers and if the Browns are winning, I won't complain (too much).

Brett Favre: A Study in Narcissism

And just when we thought we were going to finally have a season free from the incessant and vapid Brett Favre discussions, Favre did it to us again and un-retired to play with Minnesota.

While Gene Wojciechowski writes in the column linked to above that Green Bay didn't want Favre, I don't believe that's entirely accurate. They just didn't want it to be ALL about Favre. But Favre is a narcissist and he doesn't love football nearly as much as he loves hearing and talking about himself.

Then there's the matter of Wojciecowski's comparison of Favre to Fredo Corleone:

...the nanosecond he signed that two-year, $25 million contract with the Vikings was the nanosecond he burned the last few remaining wooden bridges between him and Packers fans. He became Fredo Corleone in "The Godfather: Part II" -- the one who betrays the family. Packers fans became Michael Corleone, who tells his older brother, "Fredo, you're nothing to me now."

Fredo got popped on a fishing boat in the middle of Lake Tahoe. Favre could get his on national television in the middle of the Metrodome. Or he could lead the team with the league's best running back and one of the league's best defensive lines to Super Bowl XLIV.

But that's not exactly an accurate or fair comparison for Favre. Fredo was always an idiot--never the chosen son--so for him to end up dead in a lake at the end of it all wasn't just somewhat expected, it was also a relief. Favre may have betrayed his team, but he's with another family now that will at least attempt to protect him. Fredo never left his family (on his own accord at least). But the Favre situation is nothing like the mafia. It's more like a guy stringing his girlfriend along at the end of the relationship. The guy, let's call him Brett, can't decide whether or not he wants to be in a relationship and finally the girl, who we'll call Cheesy, has had enough. She moves on and starts dating Aaron, despite the fact that she still loves Brett and would want to be with him. However, that's when Brett decides he can actually be in a relationship and ends up dating someone else seriously for a year. They break up and instead of taking time to be by himself and do the spiritual and emotional healing he so desperately needs, he jumps into bed with Cheesy's sister and they start dating! And if women ran the mafia, he would have ended up dead in a lake at the end also.

Speaking of women, the ladies of A Girl's Fantasy feel that the showdown at the Metrodome isn't necessarily going to happen. They're sensing a season-ending-injury on the horizon.

MNF Reborn

I don't know if anyone else had a chance to watch the Carolina Panthers @ NY Giants pre-season game tonight, but if you didn't, you missed out on Jon Gruden's refreshing debut in the booth. The more he speaks the happier I am. He even keeps the discussions on point by not talking about non-football topics, which I don't want to hear from the guys in the booth (including non-football topics disguised as football-related topics). He may not be the hottest head football coach anymore, but he's definitely the hottest broadcaster. This is the best thing that's happened to me all summer (and no don't take that personally because I'm not including that).

The Rick Pitino Saga: Blonde Devils takes a break from tanning to comment

Sex: the act of sexual intercourse (...between two people who know each other really well?)

According to ESPN's article on the Rick Pitino saga by Jemele Hill, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino should resign. She wonders:

How can parents trust Pitino to guide their son correctly after reading he had sex with a woman he barely knew?

What?!?

So, I'm just confused a teeny bit on the subject (seriously, ESPN, seriously). Is having sex with someone you barely know now considered immoral and unethical? Don't get me wrong, I agree that in Pitino's case it constituted cheating, but that's a direct quote above--she's not even talking about cheating. I'm also curious as to how in the name of all that is holy that recruiting trips fall under the category or moral and ethical? Jemele further suggests that paying for an abortion and calling it "health insurance" is somehow reprehensible.

Pitino should resign. Spare his university further embarrassment. Spare his family continued humiliation. Save himself from being questioned by unsure parents who, when sizing up Pitino, will wonder whether they really want to entrust the care of their son to a man who, according to some reports, forked over $3,000 to Sypher for an abortion. Oops, I mean "health insurance."

First, I like that he isn't confirming whether or not this woman had an abortion because it's not his business to share. And second, that's absolutely what their sons should be learning to do! Could you imagine how wonderful it would be if these boys actually were taught to take responsibility and pay for their mistakes? That should be the first thing they learn at college: if you get a girl pregnant because you're too stupid to wear a condom, you better pay for it. Which brings me to my final point, and the real issue which ESPN completely misses here. The concern shouldn't be that Pitino stepped up and potentially paid for to fix a problem he caused, but why oh why was he not wearing a condom? I would expect most Kentucky restaurants come equipped with condom machines in their bathrooms (sorry for the joke, Kentucky, but I couldn't resist), which would have been very convenient given Pitino's preferences. It is one thing to have sex with someone you barely know (again, according to Jemele most of us are going to hell), but doing it in a restaurant bathroom (yuck) without a condom is just completely irresponsible. (I realize that if you're a guy you're probably a little confused by my previous sentence, so please just ignore the logic as you usually do and proceed to the next paragraph.)

Jemele does make an excellent point though when she observes that if Pitino "were a .500 coach with no titles or just another University employee, he'd be gone already." She's right. But the question is, do these schools and communities really care about the morality of their coaches or is it just business? Perhaps these morality clauses are just a "Get Out of Contract Free Card" for schools. Does anyone really care if Rick Pitino cheats on his wife? The problem lies not in the school or the person, but in society.

The idea many people have is that if you have the opportunity you take it. But they should keep in mind that the opportunists will do the same (see example, Ben Roethlisberger). And perhaps it's not a morality issue at all, but an intelligence one. Maybe we need smarter sports/public figures? And maybe these men/people should just stop getting married and committing themselves in relationships if they don't want to commit themselves in relationships. I know, rocket science...

And finally, I would like to point out that the most sympathetic character in this entire saga, Rick Pitino's wife, is only going to suffer if her husband loses his job. The reason for sticking it out through these ordeals is to reap the benefits of the IFU gift (i.e., I f-ed up and I still love you and more importantly, this costs an entire year's salary so I'm hoping you'll forgive me). Yes, I know that's not the only reason, but my point is that she and her children all suffer if the main income-earner in the household is out of a job.

In the end, not only is this entire saga ridiculous, but what Pitino did was stupid and mean to his family and the fact that we're even discussing this (whether you're Louisville, Karen Cunagin Sypher or Rick Pitino) is all about money. Because there are so many more important issues in the world than where Rick Pitino likes to ejaculate.

Pre-NBA Draft Events

On Wednesday (6/24), Panini held an event at the NBA Store to announce their signing exclusive trading card deals with Blake Griffin, Tyler Hansbrough, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill and Brandon Jennings (I use that order because that is the order they consistently used when discussing the five players). Despite the fact that Griffin is widely known to be the first overall pick in the draft today, Thabeet walked in like he owned the place. Not to mention, he was clearly the best dressed and the most personable. He had a huge grin and a huge presence (and I'm not just making the clear observation that he's 7'3). Hansbrough had his usual uncomfortable expression and at times looked visibly irritated. Perhaps that's because at Griffin's EA Sports event on Tuesday night that he must have been forced to go to (apparently he and Griffin share the same agent) I explained to him that I went to Duke and that Gerald Henderson was my favorite player. I went on to explain to him that he became my favorite player after the 2007 Duke@Carolina game. Okay so I'm lying about everything I said after "I went to Duke" but I'm not lying that Henderson really did become my favorite player that night.


The event was shown live on NBA TV and was actually one of the more interesting events I've attended. They gave quick bios and only asked each player one or two questions (short and sweet). There were only two mics and the guys had this seamless routine of passing the mics to each other so there wasn't a break in the conversation flow. It was impressive and definitely had the markings of a basketball drill, which I would know nothing about from first-hand experience. Finally, each of them were asked to come up to the camera, look right into it and give their best trading card pose. Hansbrough actually looked alive at that point and as uncomfortable as I thought it was going to be, it ended up being pretty hilarious. It's tough to descirbe though without pictures and the only one I have is this little one from my mobile and it's of them sitting down, not posing.


If I had to pick someone I would most likely want to hang out with it would have to be Jordan Hill. When talking to him after the show, he actually said he was a little bit overwhelmed and wished he were a little bit taller. Uhm...he's 6'10 and by the way, definitely taller than Griffin (who also claims to be 6'10). Brandon Jennings seemed cool too and at 6'2 you wouldn't really know if he were there as a player or an agent. Especially later that night at Thabeet's party, I could not identify him in the crowd to save my life.

And, yes, my final stop on this NBA Event tour, ironically for a sport I really don't care much about unless Lebron is playing, was the 2009 NBA Draft Event for Hasheem Thabeet. Tanzania had a great showing for the event and Hill and Jennings were right there as well. I didn't see Griffin or Hansbrough, but I really didn't last that long. By midnight I was out of there. It was really, really, really crowded with people all dying to see these players in person. They're all quite sweet I suppose, but seriously? These oddly-obsessed creatures should have come to the event at the NBA Store today. That was much better lit and the great thing was that if you got bored you could just go shopping. But, back to my point, this party was held at Pranna and despite the fact that they like to hold events for athletes there, I think it's way too small of a space. Plus the VIP area is up the stairs and it just seemed dangerous. One good thing about the night was that I did further investigate my theory (purely from observing girls in the crowd much shorter than I am) that Thabeet's crotch hits around where a woman's head does and it turns out I was completely and utterly wrong...by more than a foot.

The Best Quarterback Who Ever Lived...

It's not even close to college football season yet and the analysts are already gushing over how wonderful Tim Tebow is. I'm embarrassed for them. Sam Bradford is a better quarterback, he just didn't have the better coach when it mattered in the national championship game. But neither of them will be playing in that game next year in my opinion. Early picks are Alabama and Texas.

Notre Dame, President Obama and the Anti-Choice Debacle

Notre Dame….the school that gave us Knute Rockne, the Four Horseman, “Win one for the Gipper”, one of the greatest sports movies of all time in Rudy, Touchdown Jesus, “Onward to Victory” and Play Like a Champion Today. That is what people should think of when they talk about Notre Dame, not the limited group of people who wish to push their small-minded opinions on the rest of the Notre Dame community. As an alumna I am personally offended by what ND Response is doing and want to make it clear that their opinion does not reflect that of Notre Dame or its alumni. This group has been brainwashed by the anti-choice movement and perhaps the church, not Notre Dame. That type of brainwashing is what puts women in burkas and beats them when they leave home without a male relative. They are all arbitrary rules used to control people and suppress women.

Although raised Catholic, I do not agree with the Catholic Church. And yet I attended Notre Dame and had the most amazing four years of my life. Religion on campus was based on spirituality rather than a corporate driven monster pretending to be God. As someone who personally had been boycotting church since 8^th grade, I actually found that attending the dorm masses every so often was actually a cool way to hang out, sing and bond with my friends. Religion at Notre Dame never held the same meaning for me as religion in the church, the one that makes a living selling superstitions to those looking for some sense of control in a confusing and sometimes seemingly arbitrary world. But what I am witnessing in this anti-choice disgrace makes me embarrassed. As a school that opened up so many doors for me and gave me so many choices on what I could do with my career and my life, I’m shocked to see the way a small group of people there want to remove choice. Pro-choice…this is your problem with the world? This is what is wrong with society? Open your eyes, leave campus and travel around South Bend, look at the injustices in society and look at the wrong doings in the world. Your ignorance astounds me. Why don’t you protest something that actually hurts people rather than choice, which allows people to healthily and productively live their lives? Furthermore, shall we assume that every single one of you as well as every single person who has given a commencement speech does not swear, has never lied, has never had premarital sex, has never used contraception and most importantly has never judged thy neighbor?

I didn’t vote for President Obama as I think he’s a socialist. However, I join most of the Notre Dame community in being honored to have him give the commencement speech. Regardless of my political beliefs I respect what he’s accomplished and what he symbolizes. And I'm impressed by Notre Dame's decision to recognize him and expand the Notre Dame community.

NFL Draft Grades (Teams A-K)

Arizona. (A) With their first two picks, the Cardinals addressed their two biggest needs. First, they chose running back Beanie Wells in hopes that he can help improve the worst rushing game in the entire NFL. When healthy, Wells is an absolute game changer. Next order of business was outside linebacker and they selected Cody Brown, who played defensive end at Connecticut but has the skills to play OLB in the 3-4. I like the OG out of Cincinnati, Trevor Canfield. While he blocked for a Bearcats’ offense that might have taken a step back in 2008, their 2007 numbers were pretty impressive. I also think Arizona found excellent value in Herman Johnson. But the best value of all was selecting Safety Rashad Johnson at the end of the third round. Alabama’s defense looked solid almost all year (see eg., Utah game) and the first-team All-American had a lot to do with that.

Baltimore. (C+). With 34 wide receivers selected, I’m surprised that Baltimore wasn’t a recipient of a single one of them with Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton as their only real options. But this draft seemed to be more about value than need for the Ravens. I do agree with the Michael Oher selection as he’s one of my favorite players in the draft. When interviewed about waiting to be drafted until 23^rd he explained that he didn’t care if he was drafted in the 7^th round—he’s just happy to be a part of the NFL. I also think Cedric Peerman was a good value. He was leading Virginia in rushing before he went down with an injury in 2007, although that didn’t seem to impact the teams standing in terms of rushing. There are other running backs I would have liked here, including Marlon Lucky.

Buffalo. (B+). Buffalo’s number one area of concern was at DE/OLB and they put their faith in yet another Nittany Lion to fill that role. For a team that got to the quarterback just 24 times last year, Maybin’s 12 sacks had to be appealing. With Jason Peters out of the line-up this year and a questionable quarterback, I liked the choice of Center Eric Wood out of Louisville as a solid pass-protection investment. With their 3^rd Day one selection Buffalo took CB Jairus Byrd out of Oregon. Turnover differential was an area of concern for Buffalo in 2007 and a good place to start is becoming more opportunistic. Byrd’s 5 INTs, 14 deflections, 1 forced fumble and 83 total tackles at Oregon last year are a testament to his ability to find the ball. They may have jumped a bit for Andy Levitre but he was the top rated Guard in the draft and again, addressing the offensive line was a smart move by the Bills since that unit was definitely on the decline in 2008.

Carolina. (B). This draft was all about value. DE Everette Brown was a great value with the 43^rd overall pick. The Panthers have a decent defense, but it would be nice if they had a pass rusher other than Julius Peppers. And RB Mike Goodson was also a good value. I just found it surprising that a team whos’ rushing game was impressive in 2007 (3^rd in rushing, 1^st in rushing TDs) and who’s biggest offensive weakness was it’s passing game would chose to focus on the running game with their 4^th round picks in Goodson and FB Tony Fiammetta. Again, Fiammetta was a great value at that pick. And I think Goodson is going to be a great NFL player. His stock dropped substantially in 2008 due to the debacle that’s called Mike Shearman. I would’ve liked to see the Panthers pick up a back-up QB in there, but I can’t fault them when they executed a strategy well just because I don’t agree with it.

Chicago. (B+/A-). The Bears did their heavy duty work in the off-season with the acquisition of Jay Cutler. And when it came to the draft they shifted focus to wide receiver and defense. With the 99^th pick they took receiver Juaquin Iglesias from Oklahoma—a choice I happen to love and with the 140^th pick they selected Johnny Know. Other than that they picked up 5 defensive players including Henry Melton, Jarron Gilbert and DJ Moore.

Cincinnati. (B). Supposedly Andre Smith and Rey Maualuga could have gone even higher based on their skill levels, but it just turns out some teams aren’t in love with their personalities. That is exactly what makes them a great fit on the Bengals. All they have to do is not be arrested down in Cincy to be considered a success. With that said, I do believe the Bengals got several amazing players. In addition to the first two, they were also lucky to get DE Michael Johnson (Georgia Tech) and TE Chase Coffman (Missouri) in the third round. Coffman was very productive in the spread offense and showed that he has tremendous value as a receiver (he better be in a receiver role as his blocking leaves a lot to be desired). And C Jonathan Luigs was part of an Arkansas offensive line that paved the way for running backs like Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Michael Smith over the years. (Just don’t pay attention to where the Razorbacks ranked last year in rushing though).

Cleveland. (A/B). Cleveland also must be given credit for sticking to their plan. It seems like the Browns have been battling issues with their skill players for years now between William Green and his drug problems (not to mention getting stabbed by his girlfriend), Kellen Winslow and his undisclosed illness leading to one of my favorite rumors of all time (what do you expect from a player who only cares about “this U”) and Braylon Edwards and his ball-dropping-get-me-out-of-Cleveland Diva-tude. So this year the focus was on solid, reliable, non-issue guys. And despite the level of skill the issue-guys bring to the table (see eg. above, Cincinnati), I must admit, I love a few of these picks, including Brian Robiskie, Mohamed Massaquoi and James Davis. Now for those out there who don’t actually watch the games, much like the voters who decide our champions year after year, if you were to simply look at Robiskie’s numbers you might not be impressed. However, this guy is clutch and came up with amazing catches for Terrelle Pryor, especially in the Fiesta Bowl against Texas. As for Massaquoi, despite the fact that he is blamed for having the same issue as Edwards (ball dropping), I personally think his issue was more of Matt Stafford trying to do too much. He also is an excellent tackler when circumstances have required such skills and coming to an offense that ranked 29^th in interceptions last year, he’ll unfortunately have the opportunity to show it. I like Davis because he is a great runner with more than a handful of excuses as to why Clemson wasn’t successful in 2008. Finally, supposedly the Browns are really high on Alex Mack and I’m taking their word for it.

Dallas. (C-). I think this draft was all about quantity not quality. No one really stands out. Furthermore, three of Dallas’s biggest needs entering the draft were receiver, safety and corner back and I hardly feel that those needs were adequately addressed.

Denver. (D). This team added three running backs in free agency and then proceeded to draft Knowshon Moreno with their first pick. Make up your mind. And then after losing Jay Cutler, they waited until the 174^th pick to take a quarterback--Tom Brandstater. I can’t figure out what this team is focused on. They didn’t adequately address possibly their two biggest concerns (NT, OLB) and I don’t think they got value in DE Robert Ayers (Tennessee) or DB Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest). They are both good players, but they went exactly where they should have gone, if not higher.

Detroit. (C-). They waited until the 7^th round to draft an offensive lineman?? Matthew Stafford, may you rest in peace.

Green Bay Packers. (B). I would have raised the grade higher if they would have chosen at least one skill player I believed in, but they chose just one and it was RB Quinn Johnson out of LSU. I think B.J. Raji at 9 and Clay Matthews at 26 are both solid picks that will substantially impact their defense. And that’s good, because their defense was pretty awful in 2008. They need improvement in just about every category. As for their offense, their line had issues staying healthy and together in 2008 so the Packers took OT’s T.J. Lang and Jamon Meredith just in case that happens again.

Houston. (B-). With the 15^th pick it was smart to pick up Brian Cushing, the next best OLB in a draft where OLB was one of the biggest primary needs going into the selection process. Plus their projected OLB’s for 2009 are Zac Diles and Xavier Adibi who combined for one sack, one interception and one forced fumble in 2008. Their second pick, Connor Barwin, is a versatile defensive end out of Cincinnati. Houston also drafted two players at tight end, a position I wasn’t aware they were is such dire need to fill.

Indianapolis. (B-). The Colts had the second worst rushing offense in the league last year. This year they lost essentially half of their 2008 production on the ground with Dominic Rhodes’ move to Buffalo. So the decision to take RB Donald Brown with the 27^th pick was definitely a wise one. Despite the lack of a passing offense to detract his attackers, Brown impressively led the nation in rushing and helped UConn to an 8-5 finish. And even though Indianapolis didn’t focus on receiver after the loss of Marvin Harrison, it’s not exactly a pressing need considering Harrison was just 4^th on the team in receiving yards in 2008. Instead they waited until the 4^th round and took the 19^th wide receiver selected in the draft. What surprised me, however, was that they didn’t take a single LB. This unit failed to register a single sack or interception in 2008. They added Adam Seward from the Panthers in the off-season, but I guess the new regime doesn’t agree with the middle round LB theory of the old one.

Jacksonvlle. (C-). Whether it was their biggest need or not, Jacksonville acquired two top five offensive tackles. They eventually addressed their receiver issue (you have to have sympathy for a team whose leading receiver was Matt Jones last year) in the fourth and fifth rounds and right now have 6 rookie wide out on their roster so it’s not like they didn’t realize it was a problem. The Jaquars biggest defensive issue last year was the passing game, yet they chose a defensive tackle who probably won’t ever be a great pass rusher. I like the players they selected; I just don’t necessarily like them for this team.

Kansas City. (B+). They bought into the hype and took Tyson Jackson with the 3^rd overall pick. A slight jump there, but with the way Jackson’s stock continued to rise during the weeks preceding the draft, I’m not surprised. I think DT Alex Magee out of Purdue is a great athlete and a great pick. CB Donald Washington out of Ohio State has some weaknesses which is why he went in the 4^th round, but it’s nothing that can’t be improved (i.e., footwork, lack of physicality and baggage).

NFL Draft 2009

So I finally had a chance to sit down and do my top 10 draft pics and I only have 3 minutes to get it in so I barely even have time to type right now...but here are my initial thoughts.

1. Matt Stafford
2. Jason Smith
3. BJ Raji
4. Aaron Curry
5. Cleveland--trade
6. Eugene Monroe
7. Andre Smith
8. Michael Crabtree
9. Tyson Jackson
10. Michael Oher

...standing by (to the left of the stage at the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall), Stephanie Taylor...

At least the MVP was a Buckeye

There are not many positive adjectives I can use to describe the finish to tonight's Super Bowl in light of the fact that the Browns' mortal enemy has now made NFL history with six Championships. Okay so it was one hell of a game...and the one thing I can take from this game is that the game-winning catch was made by an Ohio State guy, Santonio Holmes. Holmes is why the Steelers won the game and at least those with an official opinion agreed with me and named him the MVP as a result. But, I believe that the key to this game was at the end of the first half when Kurt Warner made a huge mental error, leading to James Harrison's record-setting-longest-play in Super Bowl History and a turnaround of 10 to 14 points in favor of Pittsburgh. Other factors included penalties, Arizona's inability to use Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethlisberger's knack for avoiding sacks. One note on Fitzgerald is that throughout the playoffs, Todd Haley (Arizona's offensive coordinator) had been targeting Fitzgerald regardless of whether or not he was double-teamed (ranked 2nd overall in the league in targets in each week of the playoffs) and yet today he (or they or Warner) let the Steelers' defense intimidate them from throwing to their best weapon until the very end when they had no choice. In the end, Arizona ran out of time or just scored way too quickly at the end and now the really annoying thing is that despite the fact that Roethlisberger's best skill is not passing the ball, but running away from defenders, I'm now going to have to hear from those wearing terrible towels that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame one day. Ugh.

One more small positive: at least for those betting (which is who I'm obviously writing this for), at least you won if you took the Cardinals.

Finally, for those of you, like Snoop Dog, who like to point out that this is the second victory to a black head coach (he was on ESPN's pre-game show and I was really bored earlier today), you are definitely missing the point of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech...but perhaps you actually don't care.

SBXLIII: Arizona vs. (or should I say at) Pittsburgh...

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and it's almost like Christmas for me. I've heard from everyone--my dad, mom, grandmother, old friends, new friends, people that generally harass me (you know who you are) and finally some of my best friends who I wish I were with right now in Tampa. So you all want to know who I'm picking...I like the Cardinals.

Betting on this game is almost ridiculous because it's not predictable. It just depends on who woke up ready to play today. I've liked Arizona since the playoffs began, with the exception of a strange vision I had at the gym of #7 when I was trying to think about who would win. After all, it is a home game for the Steelers. But, I do have one question? What happened to Brenda Warner-- Kurt's wife? That is not what she looked like the last time her husband played in a super bowl. Anyway, one more interesting tidbit...the last time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl and the game was on ABC, the same person who produced the game then is also producing the game tonight on NBC.

And sorry Mel, Ben, Ira, etc., but go Cardinals!