Sport Chit Chat

Shawne Merriman with two torn knee ligaments is going to delay the inevitable by not going through with surgery.

Having been newly introduced to the world of knee injuries (total of 10 weeks I will be out - almost 5 and counting now), having two torn knee ligaments with the possibility of suffering a career ending injury is insultingly idiotic. Yeah your tough Shawne but please if you ruin a great career you might as well have surgery. You are likely going to struggle this season, taking snaps off to rest and not being able to go as hard - sure cortisone shots (and perhaps steroids) is up your alley it’s also dumb for a season that will probably end up being a lost cause.

Instead of risking it, just do yourself, the Chargers and most importantly telling people that it is okay to sit out no matter how strong your desire to play, it’s better to be smart then a dumbass at the end of the day. It makes no sense financially for you to play, you’ll still be earning your paycheck on the sidelines.

As a Chargers fan (I love 3 teams), please just go on with surgery. The rest of the blogosphere agrees.

Unlike with the Eastern Conference, where the Wade Redden signing stuck out like a sore thumb as a poor decision, the Western Conference does not seem to have as many stupid off season signings. Or at the very least the stupidity appears to be overshadowed by some smart moves. For that reason I have decided to select three signings that get a large thumbs up and 1 team that receives a “what the hell did you do that for?” thumb to the forehead.

I would like to start with the good signings. First off, top honours goes to the Detroit Red Wings. Hockey Town USA scored yet again by signing Marian Hossa to a one-year, $7.4 million contract. Detroit kept the important pieces of their Stanley Cup winning team and added yet another strong scorer. Hossa had 66 points in 72 games last season and was an important piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff run. A one-year contract could have even be an under sight for the 29-year-old powerhouse. On Detroit’s part, they should have tried to lock in the consistent scorer for a longer period of time. Despite his decrease from 100 points two seasons ago, Hossa remained a formidable force this past season. Hossa himself should have looked for a longer contract from the Red Wings, since their current talent, and great nucleus of young talent put them in good standing to raise Stanley a few more times in years to come. I have no idea who is at fault for making the one-year decision, but kudos to the Red Wings for brining in such a great player none-the-less.

Another thumbs up goes to the Dallas Stars for signing Sean Avery to a 4-year, $15.5 million contract. Avery impressed me this past season with his 33 points and 154 minutes in penalties. I used to consider him to be a pest not worth anyone’s time, but in the middle of the Jason Blake vs. Sean Avery war of words, my good friend the Fantasy Guru Maxmillien pointed out Avery’s worth… he is a pest not worth anyone’s time. Other teams loathe him and goalies want to blocker him in the face. But all of that makes Sean Avery a very valuable commodity. His gritty play and surprising scoring touch during the playoffs made NYR games exciting to watch. Plus, any guy who can date Elisha Cuthbert has to get a thumbs up. Congrats Dallas, you are now home to the NFL’s and NHL’s bad boys.

I would like to now give the Chicago Blackhawks two thumbs up. That’s right, TWO!

The first is for signing Brian Campbell to an 8 year, $56.8 million contract. Campbell is in my opinion one of the foremost offensive-defencemen in the league. Since playing his first full season in 2002-03, Campbell’s point totals have climbed steadily higher. Last season, his 62 points were a career high. The one thing that puts Campbell above his peers is his ability to move the puck. While he only scored 8 goals on 142 shots last season, his 54 assists make him ideal to lead Chicago’s young and talented powerplay. Look for Campbell to have another great season in the windy city.
The second thumb is for signing goaltender Christobal Huet to a 4 year, $22.4 million contract. With Khabibulin finishing up his 4 year contract this season Chicago will be looking for another number one to replace him. Khabibulin has struggled since arriving in Chicago. His 17, 25 and 23 wins in each of the past three seasons respectively, have not made him the Stanley Cup winning goalie that Chicago thought they were signing. Huet on the other hand had an excellent start to the season with Montreal and made Bob Gainey look like a fool for trading him for a 2nd round draft pick at the deadline. Huet can command much more on the open market and Chicago was smart to pay him good wages for the next 4 seasons. He was 21 and 12 while with Montreal last season and was an impressive 11 and 2 after being traded to Washington. The Capitals should have held on to this netminder because there is no doubt in my mind that he will become one of the top goalies in the league by the time his contract expires in Chicago. Maybe Campbell and Huet are the pieces that the Blackhawks need to bring glory back to this ‘original 6’ city.

Now for the part where I metaphorically flick someone in the forehead for being an idiot. Today’s honour goes to the entire Colorado Avalanche’s front office. Whose bonehead idea was it to bring in Toronto’s trash? Does anyone believe that Andrew Raycroft will win them anything? The only thing Raycroft is good for is picking up the number one overall draft pick, and that is only if you actually decide to play him. I realize that one year at $800,000 is not that big of a deal. However, the fact that Raycroft is still on an NHL team is ridiculous. Andrew Raycroft is truly good at one thing, talking to the press. Therefore, I suggest that the Avalanche move him quickly to the podium after games and let him handle all questions in a humourous way. That is the only way that it will be $800,000 well spent. (Just as a note, other things that you can buy for $800,000: 381 MacBook Pros, 2 2008 Ferrari 612 Scagliettis, 30303 cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon.) The Avalanche also picked up Darcy Tucker for $4.5 million over 2 seasons. Tucker is a huge fan favourite in Toronto but this does not make him worth anyone’s money. Tucker is old, slow and has lost the grit that made him an NHL commodity. While Tucker is still willing to stand up for his team mates suffering from Leukemia, he does not posses the strength or speed necessary to dig the puck out of the corners. Good luck to the avalanche with their new acquisitions, I suppose they have resolved themselves to making this year a rebuilding one.

I would also like to give a pre-emptive flick to the forehead to the Florida Panthers should they decide to accept a trade for Bryan McCabe. McCabe and Raycroft could captain ‘Team Useless’ at the Olympics in 2010.

-Apples

Hello all you fantasy maniacs out there. As many of us are days, if not mere hours away from our NFL fantasy drafts, it is time to do the diligent research and preparation that is needed to come out on top. Sure, you have the classic ways of getting prepared; using magazines, websites and sleeper suggestions. However, I have found a great way to get yourself in the fantasy groove and that strategy is doing a Mock Draft. A mock draft is a draft just for fun, but it helps a lot in getting a feel for where certain marquee players will go, and also, how late your super sleeper will fall. The greatest part is, mock drafts are free as ROTOworld is offering free mock drafts off their website. Click here to access the mock draft home page. The only stipulation is that you don’t time out, this is annoying and Rotoworld will lock you out of the draft. If the draft doesn’t fill, don’t worry as the computer takes the highest ranked player at their pick. This turns out to be goo because if people are staying away from a guy it is nice to see when the rankling system thinks said player should be off the board.

Ok, so I did a mock draft. You can view it by clicking here. Print it and use it as a depth chart or help if you wish. I elected to have last pick to see who would slip to the last pick in a 10 team draft. My team name is “Maxmillien.” The league is QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, K, DEF with standard scoring. The draft was 15 rounds long. My team turned out as follows:

1st Round:WR Terrell Owens (DAL)
2nd: RB Frank Gore (SF)
3rd: RB Brandon Jacobs (NYG)
4th: WR Steve Smith (CAR)
5th: WR Laveranues Coles (NYJ)
6th: WR Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ)
7th: TE Ben Watson (NE)
8th: RB Chester Taylor (MIN)
9th: RB Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG)
10th: QB Brett Favre (NYJ)
11th: Dallas Defense
12th: TE Alge Crumpler (TEN)
13th: QB Aaron Rogers (GB)
14th: WR Devin Hester (CHI)
15th: K Nick Folk (DAL)

If this were my team going into the season I would feel fairly good about the situation. I have two solid running backs as Gore eats up a lot of yards and Jacobs is good because the NYG are a very run defendant team. I grabbed Bradshaw late to avoid injury loss of Jacobs and especially like my nabbing of Chester Taylor in the 8th round as Adrian Peterson is an obvious injury risk. I may be forced to drop one of the back-up running backs at some point but I think there good to go into the season with. I would also dangle Taylor in front the team that chose Adrian Peterson and see what he’d give up to have the RB insurance. I think my faults in the draft may be the WR spot, but not by much. I have a very strong #1 wide out in Terrell Owens and if Steve Smith can gain back any of his previous prowess I’d have a solid #2. In hindsight I probably should have taken New England WR Wes Welker, but having a former 1st rounder available in round 4 was too much to pass on. As for my #3 reciever, I have the chosen to pick from whichever Jet’s receiver becomes Favre’s go to guy. Brett has to throw to someone, and with both Coles and Cotchery I’m guaranteed that production. I also nabbed Hester as a sleeper in the 14th round. Coming off a career year and new contract I think low risk (late round choice) high reward (possible #1 receiver).

I also ended up with a decent TE core of Ben Watson and Alge Crumpler. I didn’t plan on taking another TE, but when Crumpler was still on the board in round 12 I had no other choice. A back-up TE is not necessary but I think with Crumpler there it becomes worth it. When drafting I always think about possible post-draft trades. A motto I always go with is if you’re not sure what you want with a pick, just grab the best player available, you can always trade them later. (For example, in this mock draft two teams picked TE’s very late, 15th and 13th round. I would offer them Crumpler and upgrade another one of my positions in a 2 for 1 swap.)

Finally, the quarterback. QB’s went early and then sporadically with Brady going at 4th pick by the computer and Manning and Romo going in mid to late second round. Brees went in the 3rd round with Big Ben and Palmer going in the 5th. Derek Anderson went next in the 6th and then Garrard fell off the board in the 8th round. Then came the flury. In the next two rounds Hasselbeck, McNabb, Favre, Cutler & Bulger were selected. They were followed by Schaub, Young, Delhomme, Eli Manning, Aaron Rogers, Jason Campbell with Rivers, Kitna and Tavaris Jackson dropping to the last round. From this information one could draw the conclusion that decent to good quarterbacks are available in the late rounds. If you don’t take one of the elite QB’s, Brady, Payton and Romo (in my eyes) then it is worth it to sit on a taking a QB and making the RB and WR positions stronger. I think Romo in round 2 is a large stretch and would stay away from making that pick. I grabbed Favre and Rogers a back-up (fancy them meeting up again). Favre is a risk-reward type guy as he could put up great numbers with the Jets. His INT’s are a bit frustrating so I can understand staying away from Mr. Favre. I also like Rogers as a risk-reward kinda guy. He has tremendous up-side as the Pack could win the division and with wins will come some decent throwing games. Sure the Pack will lean on the run this year but Rogers will have to throw to make the Packer offense effective.

As for Defense and Kicker I went both Dallas. Folk is on a team that will score a lot and so those Extra Points could add up. Additionally, the Dallas defense is nothing to mock at and should not be a hindrance to my team. I did take them high, in round 11 and could have just waited and taken a different defense later. The top ranked Minnesota D went in the 9th round in case anyone gunning for them was interested.

After completing the mock draft I think a solid strategy is to sure up the RB position first, unless T.O. or Moss slips to you in a late first round pick situation. There is more depth at WR and not as much in the starting RB position. Also, QB’s fell and you could consider just holding off and take a late flier on Favre, Bulger, Vince Young or the like as all QB will put up similar numbers from week to week (200 yards, 1-2 TD’s, 1 INT). Young does help in the running yards area so his versatility could be useful.

As for sleepers, I found that Steve Smith in the 4th was a good pick, as well as Michael Turner in a starting role is a good pick in the same round. Marvin Harrison slipped to the 5th round as did Anquan Boldin (although recent trade rumors makes me want to stay from him). Tony Gonzalez was the 8th TE taken and not until the 8th round. Todd Heap also fell to a 9th round pick. Someone grabbed Patrick Crayton (2nd Dallas WR) in round 11 which I think was a fantastic pick. Good Luck with your draft and remember, don’t take a kicker till the last round!

-Fantasy Guru Maxmillien

With teams concluding their preseason games within the next week we can now take a look at the winners and losers of the 2008 NFL season.  Having said this, let’s remember that in no way is the preseason a prediction of what the regular season will hold.  Tom Brady just returned to practice this week after rehabbing a sore ankle and Peyton Manning is still recovering from knee surgery.  With these two power houses unseen since last season, its very hard to predict success based on back ups playing under center.  Here’s who I think you should pick up if they’re still on the board: 

QB - Tom Brady, Alternate: Chad Pennington, Brady Quinn, Jamarcus Russell, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo

Tom Brady is an obvious number 1 pick, take him if your league is heavy on passing yards and TD’s.  Chad is going to do wonders in Miami under the watchful eye of the Big Tuna.  Bill has a way of turning underdog QB’s into something very special. That coupled with Chad’s inner need to show the Jet’s what they’re missing, the Dolphins could have a decent year… at least 5 wins.  In Cleveland Derek Anderson was injured and could be out for a lengthy amount of time.  Look for Brady Quinn, last year’s 23rd pick, to shine.  He was stellar at Notre Dame and look for him to break out this season. The same is the story for Jamarcus Russell.  This QB has the entire Raider Nation on his back and a huge contract to earn.  If he doesn’t perform, look to the end zones in Oakland for the fan’s reactions.  

RB - Marion Barbar III, Alternate: Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Clinton Portis 

I know what you’re thinking, where is LT??? I’ll tell you where he is, the two time Rushing yards leader is going to be sitting behind an aging Lorenzo Neal.  I’m well aware of the controversy this is stirring up but I saw glimpses of LT studdering last season on the run.  Also, Michael Turner is not backing up anymore and this will result in more downs for LT, which means more punishment on the field.  Marion Barbar is now the #1 back in Dallas and has rookie Felix Jones supporting him.  Both compliment each other very well, as Barbar will steam roll and Jones an elusive talent.  Look for this tandem to eat up the field.  Steven Jackson was plagued with injuries last season, now that he’s healthy watch the Rams actually do some bucking on the field.  

WR - Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Braylon Edwards Alternates - Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Harrison, Tedd Ginn Jr, Calvin Johnson, Wes Welker, Marques Colston

I’ve already said why i think these should be your top receivers.  For a more detailed explanation, find my other post on WR’s of this years draft.  Basically, it comes down to a balance between deep threats and over the middle yards. If your league values Total yards of receptions, take the deep threats. If it’s the other way around, take a slot back like Wes and you’ll be laughing this season. 

TE - Jason Witten, Alternate - Antonio Gates, Alge Crumpler, Dallas Clark, Jeremy Shockey 

TE’s are a very sneaky position.  Depending on a team’s offensive scheme, your TE may not break 400 yards receiving, but could be getting a huge number of pancakes every game.  It really depends on your leagues set up.  If your looking at an offensive savvy league, yards and receptions, take Witten, Clark and Gates.  If not Shockey is your man. 

Defense - Vikings, Alternate - Cowboys, Eagles, Colts

The Vikings added DE Jared Allen to the roster and he will be deadly rushing off the end.  The Vikings have added the missing link to their defense this off season and look to them for some unreal stats.  The Cowboys have also done some remodelling this off season with the addition of Adam Jones.  The once hard hitting, intercepting CB is now in Dallas trying to start off fresh.  Jones will be a welcome addition to any package that Wade puts together.  I like the Eagles because of Asante Samuels, he was basically the only reason why the Patriots had any interceptions last season.  And the Colts have always been strong when they are healthy.  So hopefully they can stay healthy.  If some of you are asking where are the Giants on this list? Breaking news has it that Osi Umenyiora will need season ending knee surgery and with Michael Strathan retiring, who do the Giants really have to put pressure on opposing QB’s?  The answer is no one.

I hope this helps shed some light on this year’s fantasy draft.  When in doubt pick players who’s name you can pronounce and who you’ve seen on sportscenter, anyone else and you’ll probably get laughed at.  Trying to pick sleepers is like trying to pick the Giants to win the superbowl… you get my point.  Oh one other point, for those of you that purchase fantasy draft magazines, good luck with those!

QUANSTRONG

p.s.  Sorry no pics. I’m in Montreal and this computer stinks.

I got lazy with this article. There isn’t that much to say other then the USA Olympic Committee is a bunch of whiners. Don’t you have enough medals already?

You don’t need to tell me, those girls are NOT 16-years old, not even close. Sure they’re tiny and probably haven’t gone through puberty but here’s a simple way of thinking. (It may be entirely offensive but it’s a good analogy). Think of the age of consent laws. In Canada, the age of consent was moved up to 16 from 14 (thank god really) so if these Chinese gymnasts are 16…you could ask the proverbial question of would you hit it? (if you were single etc etc). If you say yes, please: a) Don’t tell me B) Don’t hang around parks.

Yes Asians are small but these girls look like they’re 7 even with the “asian” factor of the lack of hormones/height we sometimes seem to have.

Here’s the most important thing though. At 14, 12, 10 or so, these are the best athletes out there. They won gold, sure you can throw in “mental health” being a factor but it’s not. For a foreign country like the USA to complain - their intentions are set out for getting gold and more medals - not about the spirit of the law. So they can go screw themselves.

Thanks to the Olympics for making news and blogs an absolutely snore.

It went as expected, USA won the most medals, China the most gold and Canada doing okay.

USA basketball won and the Team Korea pulled off a surprising victory behind stellar pitching performances.

Some surprises, some controversy, some idiocy or the freaky. Good performances by Bolt and Phelps but I don’t care that much. Hopefully it’s back to covering normal sports so we can continue with our snarky commentary.

At least it gave something to watch during the night while I battled painkiller induced sleeping disorders.

After some initial hesitation, MLB Umpires have agreed to use instant replay to help them make home run calls. As Tim Kurkjian of ESPN writes, “The era of instant replay will represent a fundamental shift in the way the game is called.” Baseball, through the use of the strike zone is grounded in the idea that the umpires make the calls, even if they are subjective. Now this has changed slightly. With the addition of computers to make the calls on home runs the subjectivity of umpiring has decreased. This is similar to the use of computers in tennis that track the landing of a ball to decide if it is out or not. The difference here is that it is not challenge based, the upms can just use the computers.

I see this as a good step for the MLB, the only league without instant replay. What would hockey be if refs had to make the call for pucks crossing the goal line, or if basketball refs had to just guess if the last second shot went in. I know that instant replays can be anti-climactic as decisions are made well after celebrations, but is it not better to have the true and right decision made as opposed to the one that suites the moment. It’s good to know that when I watch a ball game, I’ll know that the right call is made.

My one reservation to the whole idea is that I hope this does not spread to the rest of baseball. Home runs are a hard-fast type of thing. Either it went over or it didn’t. Things like the strike zone are more subjective as each player has a different strike zone dependent on height and stance. I hope the day never comes when the strike zone is automated or replays are used on base stealing. Those things need to be the umps call not only to preserve the purity of the game, but to keep the game moving. Baseball is a game that takes time and surly does not need even more long pauses for replay checks. I’m excited to see how this pans out and I hope Derek Jeter can have some solace in his called back dinger.

-Maxmillien

EliteXC is in some deep water despite making it on primetime TV. With their cancellation of their September 20th event, and their poor attendence in Stockton, CA being roughly 50%, they now have a champion and a potential prospect to be out for a year.

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (11-1) and Elite XC HW champ (whatever that’s worth)tested positive for Boldenone and has had his license suspended for 1 year. He’ll obviously appeal it but his reputation will no longer be the same.

If you looked at his picture, it screams HGH use:

The real question is how long do you give Elite XC to survive?

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Talk about insane. 47 strides in 100 metres. Usain Bolt is Barry Allen in disguise . He’s just 21, only ran the 100M for 1 year. The last 10 feet or so he coasted to a 9.69 world record. That’s right…he coasted by pulling up early to show off to the crowd a little.

He could probably pull off a lower 9.6 word record if he actually tries fully and has more experience running the 100M. I’ve got nothing else to say.

Videos are louder then words:

Bien hund - MyVideo

It’s not a news story with me if a draft pick signs as they are expected to. Coverage is more geared toward prospects not signed as all is generally forgotten when they do in fact sign the dotted line even if it happens at the last minute.

Aaron Crow the 9th overall pick didn’t sign. The kicker? Only 700k. This is bad move by the Nationals. You just can’t lose out on prospects especially one like Aaron Crow. They do get back the 10th overall pick (9a) and Crow was looking for a deal better then the #4 overall pick in Brian Matusz. Still though, the Nationals would have to move their budget over to next year. They can still get the same quality of picks at #10 and they’ll have another pick around the same area. It’s never good business not signing a 1st rounder though. What do some Nats fan think? Check out the comments at Federal Baseball. Either way we may have to see how this plays out for all parties as Crow heads back into the 09 draft. Bowden should be fired though.

Gerritt Cole didn’t sign with the Yankees. He opted for living the high life with the hot girls at UCLA. Not as much reaction or not many people believing it until the deadline passes. Apparently Cole refused to listen to any offers period. It may or may not work out for him. Yanks receive the 28A pick in the draft. Which will be 30th. At least prospects dropping to the Yankees finally doesn’t pay off and for that I can smile as a Jays fan.