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17th March, 2010 - 9:42 pm
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| Current Features |
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STANDING 10: LeBron's Physical Gifts Not Matched By Mental Toughness
The dominant seven-year rule of LeBron James suddenly transformed into an ordinary citizen deferentially serving in Miami-Wade County. He had chosen to go from king to underling.
MOCK DRAFT: 2010 NBA Mock Draft, Version 5.0
An interesting week of prevalent deception is nearly over and the actual picks are hours away. Hundreds of hours have been spent watching the 60 players that 30 teams hope will improve their club in the coming years.
TEAM RANKINGS: Final NBA Power Rankings For 09-10
The Cavaliers were ranked first in the regular season for the second consecutive season. Following them in the top-five were the Magic, Jazz, Celtics and Spurs, while the Lakers were a surprising 11th.
PLAYER RANKINGS: 2009-10 Individual Awards
While the MVP, DPOY and ROY voting should be easy, the All-NBA teams and the other awards are more difficult to correctly determine.
LOCKER TALK: Nash, Cleveland, & Orlando
Steve Nash could draw trade interest this summer and Cleveland isn’t overlooking Orlando…
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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By Jeff Risdon
--Tim Tebow provided St. Patrick’s Day entertainment for some 10,000 at Florida’s Pro Day. The reviews were mixed, which is expected given the highly polarized opinions on Tebow. I still commend Tebow for being relentlessly positive and handling all comers with self-aware humor and respect, though I’m not sure I like the new throwing motion.
He wasn’t the only big-time player on stage in Gainesville. Cornerback Joe Haden needed to flash the jets after running poorly in Indy, and he did not disappoint. He clocked in a 4.39 40 on a wet field and looked comfortable doing so. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap also showed some amazing athleticism, running two sub 4.6 40s at 6’6” and 280 pounds. I still remain skeptical about his desire and football IQ, but numbers like that pretty much guarantee 1st round draft status.
One Gator who did not have a good day was LB Brandon Spikes, who could not break the 5 second mark in the 40 immediately after all those teammates clocked so well. It’s hard to say those bad times were unexpected, as Spikes often looks late to the party on game film. Intensity and power can only go so far, and they’re of little value if he can’t ever get to the ball on time. I have a real hard time seeing Spikes selected before day three of the draft now.
--Arizona signed recently deposed Browns QB Derek Anderson to a 2 year deal. He should find the setting a little familiar, as he goes from competing with underachieving 1st round Golden Boy Brady Quinn to underwhelming 1st round Golden God Matt Leinart. For the record, I still find Anderson’s 2007 Pro Bowl run one of the freakiest athletic anomalies in pro sports history, akin to Willie Burton’s 50-point explosion and Hard Hittin’ Mark Whiten hitting 4 home runs in a game.
One of the reasons they signed Anderson was that they lost out on the Charlie Whitehurst sweepstakes. That’s right, there was a bit of a bidding war for San Diego’s third-stringer, won by the Seattle Seahawks for a swap of 3rd round spots this year and a 3rd round pick next year. To put that in perspective, that’s more than what Denver gave up to get Brady Quinn, and Whitehurst has never taken an NFL snap in four seasons. I liked Whitehurst coming out of Clemson, but this seems a bit ridiculous. Or genius!
--Philadelphia and Seattle made a seemingly minor trade that just might make a big impact down the road. Philly acquires DE Darryl Tapp from Seattle for Chris Clemons and a 4th round pick, and then gave Tapp a nice contract extension. Tapp forever earned my admiration during his Virginia Tech days, when he chased down Vernon Davis some 30 yards downfield and tackled the stunned Under Armor poster boy. He brings more pass rush balance to a front where anyone not named Trent Cole really struggled to apply pressure as the season wore on.
Clemons is a good example of the perils of free agency signings. He never came close to his Oakland production, failing to notch a sack in two seasons and spending most of 2009 in a very limited role. He should fit a little better in the Seahawks scheme, but they probably value the draft pick just as much as Clemons.
--Another new ex-Eagle is tackle Shawn Andrews, who was unexpectedly released Wednesday. Back problems have limited Andrews to two games in two seasons, but prior to that he was a Pro Bowl tackle and a staunch building block of one of the league’s better O-lines. Andrews reacted by spewing out some incoherent (to anyone over 25) Twitter messages that seem to indicate he still thinks he can play.
--JaMarcus Russell continues to cement his role as the epitome of why veteran NFL players desperately want a rookie wage scale, skipping “voluntary” workouts. Those workouts are voluntary only if you are an established veteran with great job security and a good reason for not attending. Someone fighting for a starting position, or at this point even a roster spot, is expected to be there showing great enthusiasm and good physical condition. Alas, neither is a trait for the former #1 overall pick, who would have a hard time beating out Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye if the season started today.
The Raiders quickly protected their asset on Wed., releasing a statement that Russell was in fact excused. He arrived in camp lighter and ready for work, according to the report, but we’ve all heard that song before...
--The Washington Redskins have signed Rex Grossman, reuniting Sexy Rexy with his former OC, Kyle Shanahan. That moves Dan Orlovsky one spot up the depth chart in Houston. It also does nothing to change Washington’s pressing need for a franchise QB that Coach Mike Shanahan and the rest of the team trusts.
--Miami has signed noted butthead OL Richie Incognito to a low-risk, 1-year deal. Incognito is a devastating run blocker but also a devastating penalty machine, leading the league in personal foul flags over the last 3 years. The OL-desperate Rams gave up on him, though he redeemed himself a little in a late-season stint in Buffalo. Here’s hoping the shock of being released and symbolizing all that was wrong with the woebegone Rams brings about some maturity and anger control in Incognito, who can be a very good starting guard if he gets his head right.
Speaking of those Rams, they signed former Browns G/C Hank Fraley to a three-year deal that I very much like. Fraley saved the Browns’ bacon when LeCharles Bentley got hurt, playing quite well and even being elected team captain. He’s the consummate savvy veteran that will help rudder a ship with some talent that just hasn’t sailed well.
--In other “football” news, the one soccer player I could actually pick out of a police lineup of two people, David Beckham, tore his Achilles while nearly standing still and will miss the World Cup. I do watch the World Cup with some interest, just because it’s more exciting than baseball and FX stopped showing “King of the Hill” reruns every afternoon.
--Good luck to my beloved alma mater, Ohio University, which stunned everyone by winning the MAC basketball tournament. The 14 seed almost certainly condemns them to a 1st round loss, but that’s what everyone thought about the 9 seed in the MAC tourney, too. Go Cats!
--Because I know you want to know, my Final Four picks are Ohio State, BYU, West Virginia, and Duke, with Ohio State winning it all. I would point out two things here. First, I watch very little college basketball; the further I get from my college years, the less I care. Secondly, my wife (who abhors college basketball) has beaten me 7 years running in March Madness pools and has in fact won her company’s pool three times in that span. Her picks this year: Kansas, Butler, West Virginia, and Duke, with Duke winning. |
