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Unfitting End To A National Landmark

In Stanley Talouis on December 28, 2009 at 12:04 AM

As I woke up to watch my Giants take on the Carolina Panthers today in what would be their final game at Giants Stadium, (woke up isn’t accurate since I hadn’t slept since the previous afternoon) I was overcome with a sense of excitement. Excitement because the Giants clearly controlled their own playoff destiny and had every reason to be fired up. But thats just it. The problem was that the Giants controlled their own playoff destiny. You would think that with the Packers taking on an underachieving Seahawks team and the Cowboys facing the woeful Redskins that the Giants wouldn’t take any chances. You would think that they’d come out with some intensity that carried over from the Washington game. You would think that having former Giant greats like Joe Morris, Harry Carson, and Lawrence Taylor in attendance would give them some sort of pride and maybe they’d come out and lay the wood to the Carolina Panthers.  Of course, none of this actually came true.

The Giants showed promise in their first drive completing passes and converting third downs with ease. But once Madison Hedgecock was called for holding, the game was over. And if there was any doubt that the game wasn’t over,  all that doubt went out the window when Mario Manningham fumbled a perfect pass. It was just going to be one of those days. One of those days when nothing is intended to go their way.  Where can we cast the blame of Sunday’s debacle?

Can we blame the defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan, for his lackluster and oh-so-vanilla defense? Absolutely, we can. Can we blame the linebackers for forgetting how to tackle and allowing Jonathan Stewart to have his way with the defense for over 200 yards? Yes, yes we can. Can we blame the secondary for letting Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammed play like the Carolina Panthers of 2003? Most definitely we can.  Hell, we can even blame Plaxico Burress for being an idiot. Since he shot himself at Latin Quarters last year, the Giants are 10-11.

This is what it comes down to. With all that was at stake for the G-Men, there are no excuses. A playoff berth on the line at the last game at Giants Stadium. What more needs to be said? Brandon Jacobs had 1 yard. One. If thats not embarassing enough for him, maybe he should pull a Tommy Kelly and go pants-less next week in Minnesota. The Giants were flat out made a fool of. They don’t deserve to make the playoffs. If they needed any more reasons to be inspired and fired up, then they don’t deserve to be in that locker room wearing those uniforms. I spent a decent amount of time over the weekend thinking about the great moments at Giants Stadium in my lifetime. The 41-0 shellacking of the Vikings in the 2000 NFC Championship game. The Wellington Mara game.  The Eagles-Giants game where Jason Sehorn bobbled an interception and still returned it for a touchdown. And then all the games I wasn’t around to see or too young to remember. The game where George Martin ran back an interception. The game where Joe Montana was sent to the hospital.  This is how the Giants let their stadium close?

At this point there’s only one way to close out the season. Only one thing that give me some kind of solace at the end of this season. They have to go into Minnesota and take homefield advantage away from the Vikings. Thats it. Its really simple. Go into Minnesota and knock Brett Favre around. Force Brad Childress to take him out. Cast some doubt on that team and Brett’s legacy. If the Giants finish this season 8-8 and let Minnesota dominate them, there are going to be a lot of angry Giants fans expecting some changes. Changes along the linebacking corps and in the secondary. Changes along the offensive and defensive lines. Changes in the coaching staff. Inconsistency. Thats been the name of this season. With one week left in the season, the Giants have to show their fans that this is just a one year thing and will return to dominance.  If not, we’ll be sounding a lot like that other New York team – Same O’ Giants.


2009-10 NBA Eastern Conference Preview

In Stanley Talouis on October 1, 2009 at 6:34 PM

Depending on what team you root for, you’re either looking forward to the upcoming NBA season, or you’re just so entrenched into football season that you don’t really care. And if you’re from North Carolina, you’ve always got the Tar Heels. For the rest of you, here’s a breakdown of what you can look forward to for fantasy basketball, or just the NBA in general.

The Atlanta Hawks seem poised to make another run at the postseason. That said, there are a few questions fantasy owners will have to ponder. Will the Hawks trade Mike Bibby if Jeff Teague, the rookie from Wake Forest has an immediate impact? Will Al Horford put up the same numbers he did last year? Is this going to be the breakout year for Marvin Williams? Even if the Hawks keep Bibby for the whole season, don’t expect him to put up the same numbers he did last season. His assists may increase a bit but with Joe Johnson, Horford, and Jamal Crawford sharing the court, Bibby won’t be looked at to score. Since the Hawks didn’t do the conventional thing in drafting or signing another big man, Al Horford should take advantage and put up nearly a double double like he did last season. While I don’t think that Marvin Williams will ever live up to his draft hype, he’ll be a decent pickup for fantasy owners, provided he’s drafted late. Sleeper- Jeff Teague

The Celtics will continue to be the Celtics. Unselfish, intense, and a 50-plus win team. That said, I wouldn’t personally draft anyone on that team except for Pierce and Rondo. KG is still trying to come back from that knee injury, and Ray Allen isn’t the same player he once was. Adding Rasheed Wallace makes sense from a team standpoint because they need someone to bolster that frontcourt, but he won’t make much of an impact for fantasy owners. Sleeper – Rasheed Wallace

The Charlotte Bobcats are another one of those teams that are hard to decipher for fantasy owners. Larry Brown can never really make up his mind about his lineup and the only go-to scorer on the team is Gerald Wallace, who I expect to be a middle round pick. Fantasy owners who liked Tyson Chandler’s production last season shouldn’t expect him to duplicate those numbers. Chandler benefited from playing with a borderline MVP in Chris Paul and the last time I checked, neither Ray Felton nor DJ Augustin was Chris Paul.  Sleeper- DJ Augustin

Chicago, like Charlotte, has a lot of different people that play their own roles. The offense runs through Derrick Rose with Luol Deng as his scoring option, and a lot of guys with question marks. Now that Ben Gordon is gone, this is Rose’s team, and his production should reflect that. Sleeper – Kirk Heinrich

Any fantasy owner that had Lebron James last season (like me) will tell you that LBJ can win you a league. King James will lead his team in points, assists, rebounds, and blocks… which is exactly what Bron-Bron did. Danny Ferry did a good job bringing in another option for Lebron in Danny Green. Plus, he’s a native New Yorker and I like that. Mo Williams should have another good season and may average close to 20 points a game again. Also Shaq and Leon Powe make this Cavs team very balanced to make Lebron happy. And a happy Lebron, is a productive Lebron. Sleeper- Danny Green

The Pistons are an intriguing team because they went out and brought in the pieces they needed to reclaim their place at the top of the Eastern Conference. At the same time, those very pieces could make the Pistons a very potent offensive team. Richard Hamilton is a model of consistency and Rodney Stuckey should have one of those “I’m finally coming into my own” seasons. Throw in Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva with a little bit of Dajuan Summers, and you’ve got a recipe for fantasy success. Sleeper – Rodney Stuckey

When it comes to the Pacers and Danny Granger, there are only three necessary words. Poor. Man’s. Lebron. Danny Granger has the capability to lead his team in most categories and can be an integral part of any fantasy team. His numbers have increased every year since he was drafted and he may even come close to averaging 30 points a game. There aren’t too many other scoring options, so that helps too. Sleeper – AJ Price

Consider this the last hoorah for the Miami Heat. If this team doesn’t make a serious run at the playoffs, there’s a good chance Dwayne Wade is going to skip town when his contract is up. But fear not fantasy owners, Flash will put up his MVP-type numbers. Jermaine O’Neal won’t put up his career numbers, which is sad considering he’s only 30. Michael Beasley fresh out of rehab should be focused enough to have an increase in production but only time will tell. Wade will be a top five pick, and might even be enough to carry a team ala Lebron. Sleeper- Mario Chalmers

I’m apologizing ahead of time if you happen to be a Bucks fan. You’re asking yourself, “Why Stan? Why are you apologizing?” Well, the Bucks aren’t very good, they have no scoring threat along the perimeter and there isn’t one player worth drafting before the sixth round. The lone bright spot on the team is Brandon Jennings, and that, my friends, is a stretch. Michael Redd is coming off of knee surgery and there’s no indication that he’ll be the same player he once was. One thing to consider is that Redd is a jump shooter and without knees, it’ll be hard to jump. Joe Alexander

The Nets’ Brook Lopez had a surprisingly good season for a rookie.big man. His production should definitely increase from his averages of 13 points and 8 rebounds a game. The Nets are still a team in transition getting ready for the Sweepstakes Summer of Lebron… as I like to call it. Alston could emerge as a statistical leader on this team, but he’ll struggle for playing time behind Devin Harris and Courtney Lee. As far as Harris goes, he’ll still put up his 20 points a game, and Lee’s value as a scoring option will increase. Sleeper – Sean Williams

I may be a little biased here, but the Knicks… who am I kidding? They’re so inconsistent, there’s no one worth drafting outside of David Lee. Lee was among the league leaders in double doubles and might consider showcasing himself for another team. He’s one of the hardest working players in the league and his point totals are going to show it. Wilson Chandler is another player with a similar skill set to a Danny Granger. He can shoot, he can get to the rim and he can finish when he gets there. Chandler averaged 14 points a game last season but over the last few months consistently scored 20 points or more. Sleeper- Eddy Curry… yeah I know, but he lost like 50 pounds.

The Orlando Magic took a step back when they let Hedo Turkoglu go to Toronto. They’ll have to try to replace him with an aging Vince Carter but I don’t think it’s going to work because Hedo’s versatility and the mismatches he caused made him a valuable asset. Vince Carter’s value will increase because of the double teams that Dwight Howard demands and Mickael Pietrus’ perimeter shooting. Sleeper – Matt Barnes

The Sixers have a new logo and new uniforms, but the same team. Jrue Holiday was pretty underwhelming at times at UCLA, and I have a feeling he’ll slip through the cracks in the NBA. The question to ponder is whether or not the Sixers will finally play at the slow pace they said they’d play at since before last season. If they do, Elton Brand should put up the same kind of numbers he put up in LA. If not, it should be another subpar season for the Sixers. Either way, Andre Igoudala should maintain an average of 20-25 points a game. Sleeper – Sean Singletary

The Toronto Raptors will… I repeat… WILL underachieve once again this season. Jose Calderon will shoulder the load as the best guard on the team, unless you count Marcus Banks. The forward-heavy Raptors signed Hedo Turkoglu (forward), gave Andrea Bargnani (forward) a huge deal, and drafted, you guessed it… another forward in DeMar DeRozan. Bosh’s numbers won’t waver, and he’ll have some help in Hedo, whose value should stay the same because essentially, Bosh = Dwight. Sleeper – Marco Belinelli

The Wizards look good on paper so I’ll crown them my Eastern Conference Paper Champions. They have good perimeter shooters in Mike Miller, Deshawn Stevenson and Randy Foye. They have a guy ready to make the leap to superstardom in Caron Butler, they have a young project in JaVale McGee, and a legitimate scoring threat in Gilbert Arenas despite his injury. I think Arenas is going to want to prove that he’s hasn’t lost a step and will try to put up the same kind of numbers he was able to put up a few seasons ago. Sleeper – Caron Butler

So there you have it. There’s a little preview of the upcoming NBA season for the Eastern Conference. If you have the first overall pick there isn’t anyone you should draft outside of Lebron James. If you don’t have the first overall pick, good luck to you. Lebron’s pretty good. Happy drafting.

Some People Are Just Plain Stupid

In Stanley Talouis on May 6, 2009 at 7:44 PM

I don’t hate authority. In fact, I think authority is vital to the fabric of our society. However, some people just shouldn’t have any authority at all. These people are stupid and should be relegated to mopping up the floor of the peep show booth in an adult film store. Am I just an angry person? Yes I am. But allow me to explain.

A few nights ago, a few friends and I traveled to our local Applebee’s to enjoy some of their finest wings, nachos, and shrimp. This Applebee’s trip has become something of a tradition among our circle of friends and at this point, we’ve become familiar faces. After all, their slogan is in fact, “Eating good in the neighborhood” and we’re just taking advantage. Now, for for those unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Applebee’s franchise, after 10pm, a customer has the option to order appetizers for half price and order two alcoholic drinks for the price of one. This isn’t the first time we’ve taken part in such a deal because, as I stated before, we do this quite often.

On the night in question, it was a relatively small group of us. We sat down and ordered drinks. Those of us (me) who were required to show identification for alcohol did so and we went about the night, enjoying a rousing playoff basketball game between the Lakers of Los Angeles and the Rockets of Houston. The drinks came and we ordered our food. As always, we ordered appetizers and those who hadn’t ordered enjoyed a plethora of different items. It seemed like a good night. After we ate, we sat around, watched the end of the game and had a good time. It was nearly closing time and the game was almost ending. As the game came to an end, we got up and headed to the door. Thats when our night to an odd turn. As we were leaving, we were approached by our waitress, who stopped two of us, including myself. Apparently, the waitress felt that we took advantage of her by sitting down, only ordering $36 worth of food and drinks, and getting up without leaving an appropriate tip. Granted, her tip was rather minimal, but since when is a tip mandatory? Since when is a waiter/waitress supposed to demand a tip? Now, I’m not that cold-hearted to deny someone a tip regardless of service. And if a waiter/waitress accidentally lets it slip that he or she has a child to feed, that may have an affect on my decision on whether or not to tip. But on the night in question, our waitress not only chastised us because everyone at our table didn’t order, but she went as far as to say that this is the third time we’ve “stiffed” her and that the next time she would refuse to serve us. She continued by pointing to a sign that said after 10pm all patrons must order at least one item. I didn’t know that such a policy existed and perhaps it would have been a smart idea to inform us (the patrons) of this policy prior to ordering. Again, that would have been the smart idea. Which brings me to my next question. What if someone goes to Applebee’s and doesn’t want to eat or drink, but to enjoy the company of his or her peers? Is that a crime? Is said person supposed to wait in the waiting area, or worse yet, the parking lot?

So after being scolded by our waitress with the 4 year old child at home, we left and decided the only logical thing to do would be to go back and do it all over again, this time making sure everyone has exact change in coins. That should teach that loathsome bag of gorilla shit.

Seriously, are you telling me that our table was the deciding factor on whether or not your kid eats? Bring the kid some goddamn mozzarella sticks if its that bad. You’re working a crappy shift on a Monday night. Face it, toots… tips are gonna be few and far between. And I’m not going to make this a race thing. Because its not. I don’t believe that it is. I do believe that its one mongoloid who felt the need to say something that shouldn’t have been said. Tips are not mandatory. You want a tip? Look both ways before crossing the street. Here’s another tip. Always look people in the eye when you shake their hand.

So the next time I go to Applebee’s, I’m going to order boneless wings and two beers, and when the bill comes up to about $8.11, thats what I’m leaving on the table, pennies and all. Not because I’m cheap, but because I can.

Fast forward about twenty minutes. you thought the story was over, didn’t you? No sir. There’s more. Upon arrival at my alma mater to drop some people off, we approached the security gate and on duty was Officer Martinez. Officer Martinez and I have a bit of history. One night, Officer Martinez told us that we had ten minutes to drop off some friends and leave the premises. Now, I had been a student since 2002 and I’m well versed in all of the rules and regulations. We took a little longer than ten minutes to return and Officer Martinez took it upon himself to be SuperCop (with a square badge, no less) and wrote us up. Officer Martinez went on to threaten us with arrest if it happened again. But you know what, thats water under the bridge. I don’t particularly like him, but thats in the past.

On the night in question, Officer Martinez saw that there were six people piled into my 2005 Honda Civic, four of them sitting uncomfortably in the back. Officer Martinez informed us that he couldn’t allow us on campus with four people in the back of the car. Because everyone knows that if you have four people in the back of your car, you’re up to no good. Officer Douchebag said one of us would have to wait at the bus stop. Can someone please tell me what would have happened if we had gone onto the campus with four people in the back seat? Would we hit a pothole, and due to the weight distribution, tumble into the woods and die? Would we have smuggled pure heroin into the school to distribute amongst our peers? Would Osama Bin Laden himself be hidden in the trunk and bomb the so-called “Harvard of Long Island”??? I would love Officer Dickface to give me a legitimate answer to these questions. What if five of the six people in the car required a ride back onto the campus? Would Officer Dickless make someone wait at the bus stop and force the driver to make two trips to the dorms? Some people have waaaaaaaaay too much authority. Officer Colostomy Bag needs to get off of his high horse and leave the police work to actual police.

Author’s note: A few months later Officer Martinez realized that I’m cool with his boss, his asshole unclenched a little. Haven’t had an issue since.

2009 NFL Draft… Grades

In Stanley Talouis on April 27, 2009 at 1:07 PM

You know that feeling after Christmas comes and goes, and you’re just having fun with your gifts?  Thats feeling I have right now. Being a Giants fan, I’m just relishing in the idea of all these draft picks contributing to another Giants postseason run. Thats right people. Get used to hearing “Manning to Hicks” for the next few seasons. But enough about my team, I want to talk to about all the teams and how they did in this year’s draft. My grades are always fair. In my eyes, if a team met every need, then thats at least a C depending on the quality of the players at the position of need. For example, the Raiders needed a strong safety in the second round and took someone that should not have been selected until the 5th round. That kind of stuff gets you an F, whereas the Browns very shrewdly traded down three times to get Alex Mack, a position of need. So here we go.  Let the grading begin.

Arizona Cardinals – The Cards really didn’t address all their needs and could have drafted an outside linebacker or two. I don’t know if they really needed to take two defensive backs in the third and fourth rounds. Chris Wells is a great pickup at 31 and he’ll be a good replacement for Edgerrin James. C-

Atlanta Falcons – Mike Smith knows defense and he did a great job in the draft securing players that the team really needed. Peria Jerry was a great pickup along the defensive line and William Moore should add some depth to the secondary. B

Baltimore Ravens – Ozzie Newsome doesn’t like to address his team’s needs in the draft so its hard to judge what he’s been able to do in the draft. I would’ve liked him to take a wide receiver because Derrick Mason is getting up there in age and their other receivers aren’t really gamebreakers. Michael Oher is a great player with a great story, and they got great value in Cedric Peerman in the sixth round. B-

Buffalo Bills – The Bills had a lot of needs and they didn’t address them all. I liked the fact that they got Aaron Maybin and traded back into the first round to take Eric Wood but what I like the most is that they drafted Nic Harris, who could become a very good linebacker with the right coaching. They could have taken a running back because Marshawn Lynch is suspended for the first three games of the season. C+

Carolina  Panthers – The Panthers didn’t address their need at backup quarterback and they need depth at wide receiver but for a team without a first round pick, I thought they did well. They got great value in the fourth and fifth rounds by taking Mike Goodson from Texas A&M and Duke Robinson from Oklahoma (who happens to be related to Smokey Robinson). C+

Chicago Bears – I really like what the Bears did in the draft because they didn’t have a day one pick at all. Juaquin Iglesias is one of the best route runners in college football, Marcus Freeman is very versatile and DJ Moore is an above average defensive back. B+

Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals got a little lucky but took advantage of everyone passing on Rey Maualuga. Rey Rey is going to be good playing alongside his former Trojan teammate, Keith Rivers. I think Andre Smith is a better run blocker but will pick up the slack quickly. Outside of Chase Coffman, I don’t think any of their other picks will have huge impacts for a while. B-

Cleveland Browns – The Browns had a smart draft. They didn’t address all their needs, but they tried to and they got some smart players. Kaluka Maiava flew under the radar at USC with all their linebackers and he comes from a great pedigree. His uncle is The Rock. Brian Robiskie and Mohammed Massaquoi were solid picks at wide receiver, which leads me to believe the Browns are still trying to trade Braylon Edwards. B+

Dallas Cowboys – I hate Dallas as much any other team but I have to admit, they draft well. A lot of their starters have been drafted in the later rounds including Tashard Choice, Marion Barber, Patrick Crayton, just to name a few. We may not be able to name a lot of the guys they drafted (all of whom were taken in the 3rd round or later) but they met all their needs and I wouldn’t be surprised if those players turned out to be important parts of the Cowboys organization. A

Denver Broncos – I will continue to say it. The Broncos are stupid for taking Knowshon Moreno. They didn’t even need a running back but they took one anyway. What they needed was a pass rusher and they let Everette Brown pass by them several times. They didn’t address their needs at safety and on special teams. I will give them credit for Alphonso Smith, Robert Ayers and Kenny McKinley, but not too much credit. C-

Detroit Lions – Its hard not to like what the Lions did. I don’t think the Brandon Pettigrew pick was smart, but they don’t really have a threat at tight end. I would have gone with a pass rusher in that spot. Derrick Williams wasa  good pickup and he should have some success the way other young receivers have had in Denver. B

Green Bay Packers – The Packers didn’t have too many needs but they went above and beyond expectations. BJ Raji was a no-brainer but trading back into the first round to take Clay Matthews was very smart. Matthews comes from a strong football background and could be a cornerstone for that franchise for years. B+

Houston Texans – I understand why the Texans wouldn’t want to take a running back early on, but to not take one at all bothers me because they do need someone to split carries with Steve Slaton. Also they aren’t very deep at wide receiver and they didn’t take one. C-

Indianapolis Colts – The Colts needed a linebacker and didn’t take one. Donald Brown was a good pick up but Rey Maualuga was there and he doesn’t really fit into that Tony Dungy style of defense but Jim Caldwell is calling the shots now. Fili Moala was also a solid pick because it gives them a different look up the middle on defense. Moala could help free up some blockers from Freeney and Mathis. B-

Jacksonville Jaguars – For a team that seemed to be interested in taking Mark Sanchez, they didn’t address any need at quarterback. I also like the value they’d be getting from Tiquan Underwood from Rutgers. Not too many people hear about him because of Kenny Britt but he’s talented. C

Kansas City Chiefs – In my mind, the Chiefs blew a chance to take a really good player in Aaron Curry. I can understand why they would want to take a pass rusher but Tyson Jackson is not a top five pick, and you don’t waste the third overall pick on a guy who’s not top five material. Jackson’s good, but not that good. If you can trade down and still get him, do it. The Chiefs also neglected to take a linebacker or a safety, two positions they needed to address. D

Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins did well, bringing in Vontae Davis late in the first round and getting Pat White in the second. The Dolphins used that Wildcat formation well and will be adding a new look with White. I also think that getting some depth at wide receiver was a good idea with Brian Hartline. I think they could have taken a defensive end to replace Vonnie Holliday, but they might be able to bring back Jason Taylor. A

Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings addressed all their needs, they brought in Percy Harvin, who can be great if he stays out of trouble. I like Jasper Brinkley, and Phil loadholt wll join his former Sooner teammate Adrian Peterson. Good draft. B+
New England Patriots – I think Patrick Chung might have been taken a little too early, but thats my only issue. Darius Butler was a solid pick and Bill Belichick always finds guys that are versatile. B+

New York Jets – The Jets were the talk of the draft. Sanchez is a great pick for them. He’s marketable, he’s a great player, and he’s a leader. I don’t know if that’s going to translate into wins, but he’ll work out. The Jets’ aggressiveness didn’t allow them to draft a wide receiver, which is what they really needed, but I like what they did to get Shonn Greene, even though it might have been a bit much. A+

New York Giants – Hakeem Nicks is a great pick. Rhett Bomar might have been unncessary but he was once one of the best high school quarterbacks in the country, and his own stupidity cost him his position at Oklahoma. He’ll develop into a very good backup. The Giants filled all their needs. Clint Sintim reminds me of Mathius Kiwanuka because he’s a linebacker that could also play on the line. William Beatty could develop into a good right tackle to eventually replace McKenzie, Ramses Barden is a project but he’s 6′6″ and Stoney Woodson got rave reviews from his old coach, Steve Spurrier.  A

Oakland Raiders – I think Al Davis forgets that he owns a football team and thinks its track and field. I don’t care if Darius Heyward-Bey ran a 3.62 40 yard dash, Michael Crabtree was the best receiver in this year’s draft and they passed on him. And then to make matters worse, they drafted some safety no one knows. F

Philadelphia Eagles – I have to hand it to the Eagles. They know how to draft. They got valuable players all throughout the draft. LeSean McCoy is like another Brian Westbrook, Victor Harris is a very good defensive back and can play both corner and safety, and Cornelius Ingram could have very well been a first round pick, or at least the first tight end taken if he had been completely healthy. A+

Pittsburgh Steelers – Its hard to stay on top when a team is usually drafting in the late first round. The Steelers needed corners and receivers to replace Bryant McFadden and Nate Washington and they got guys to put in those spots. A

San Diego Chargers – The Charfers passed on a special player in Rey Maualuga but so did everyone else. Between Larry English, Demetrius Byrd, and Kevin Ellison, the Chargers had a solid draft. B

San Francisco 49ers – The Niners got the steal of the draft with Crabtree at 10. I think Nate Davis is a good pick because it gives them someone to develop if Shaun Hill goes south and Alex Smith continues to underachieve. Ricky Jean-Francois is a very good defensive tackle even though I think he should have stayed in school for another year, and Glen Coffee is another one of those Alabama running backs like Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. B+

Seattle Seahawks – Even though the Seahawks didn’t necessarily need Aaron Curry, it was a good pick and now they have a very good linebacking corps. Mike Teel was a good pickup and he’ll learn well behind Matt Hasselbeck. Max Unger can play both center and tackle, so that should be fun for the team, and Deon Butler is a speedster. B-

St. Louis Rams – Outside of Jason Smith and James Laurinaitis, the Rams draft was pretty average. C+

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Josh Freeman was what they needed but I don’t like the fact that they didn’t get anyone to replace Warrick Dunn or Derrick Brooks… not that it would be easy to do. B-

Tennessee Titans – Kenny Britt was a great pick for them, and they took another Rutgers product in Jason McCourty. I’ve seen Jared Cook in action and I like what I see from him. B

Washington Redskins – The Redskins were patient and got a steal in Brian Orakpo. He should have been a top five pick but I guess the Chiefs like Jackson better. The Browns valued a center more and traded down and it ended up becoming the perfect storm for the Skins. They address their need at linebacker and the Skins defense should be very solid. B

There were a few guys I’m surprised didn’t get drafted. Rudy Carpenter, Cullen Harper, Chase Daniel, Graham Harrel, Brian Hoyer, and John Parker Wilson are all solid quarterbacks. Some of them were Heisman candidates at one point. PJ Hill, Marlon Lucky, Ian Johnson, Brandon Ore, and Kory Sheets were very productive running backs. Lucky had a great week at the Senior Bowl. Quan Cosby, Jon Cooper, and Alex Boone are all names we’ve heard. Darry Beckwith, Dannell Ellerbe, and Worrell Williams were productive and could produce in the NFL on special teams. Kevin Ogletree was a guy I watched throughout high school and college, I really hope he gets a look and maybe signs on somewhere as undrafted free agent. Maybe all of these guys can catch on somewhere. Some of the NFL’s best players have been undrafted free agents.

Mock Draft 4.0

In Stanley Talouis on April 23, 2009 at 8:14 AM

It seems like every time I think I’m done doing a mock draft, something happens and I’m left with no choice but to update it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I love football to the point where the NFL Draft is my own personal Christmas.  I have to work the night before the draft this year so I won’t be attending it, but I’m still considering going to Day 2 of the draft. Thats really where the action is. Guys slipping farther than you thought they would, teams jockeying for position, players you might have watched for four or five years getting a look. Sometimes the story isn’t the big time prospect slipping from 4th to 14th, but its the redshirt junior wide receiver that went to your high school that you’d love to see get drafted. But I digress, the Eagles went out and traded their 28th overall pick (among other picks) to Buffalo for Jason Peters, the “best left tackle in football”. So who is Buffalo going to draft with that pick? Well, that’s what you’re here to find out. There also may be a few other changes I make to my mock draft that I wouldn’t have made before because I’m so damn stubborn. So here we go.

1. Detroit Lions – Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia – This is the constant. This pick will never change. Even if the Lions decide to take someone else, I’ll still have this pick here. And just to prove a point, I’ll say it again. You don’t pass on a franchise quarterback… especially after an 0-16 season.

2. St. Louis Rams – Jason Smith, OT, Baylor – Another constant, however there is some talk of Mark Sanchez possibly going this early. Someone said that Marc Bulger is declining and the Rams could opt to take a quarterback here. I disagree because there’s a lot of money invested in Bulger and putting a lot of money into another quarterback that won’t play doesn’t make sense. Good try though.

3. Kansas City Chiefs – Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest - I look at Curry as almost a Patrick Willis type of player. He’s going to make an immediate impact but I don’t know if his impact alone is going to make the team any better.

4. Seattle Seahawks - Mark Sanchez, QB, USC - I was trying to convince myself that the Seahawks wouldn’t take Sanchez here and that he’d fall to the Jets. I’m not even a Jets fan. But you know what? Hasselbeck is 34 years old and he’s been banged up the past few seasons. Maybe he has a few years left in him. Or maybe he doesn’t. The Seahawks don’t normally draft this high so they might as well pull the trigger on a future franchise quarterback while they can.

5. Cleveland Browns – Brian Orakpo, LB/DE, Texas - I think the idea is that Orakpo is looking to play more linebacker than defensive end so that he can fit into that Demarcus Ware/James Harrison mold where he’ll get a good amount of sacks. I like this for Orakpo. That kid has a motor.

6. Cincinnati Bengals – Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia -Its funny that a somewhat prolific aerial offense would take a guy that seems to be a better run blocker than pass blocker, but hey they need help along the offensive line.

7. Oakland Raiders – Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech – The Raiders offense would be pretty fun to watch with Jamarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, Michael Crabtree, and Johnny Lee Higgins. Like playing pitch and catch really.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars - Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri – Even though the Jaguars picked up Torry Holt, Maclin would be a solid pick here.

9. Green Bay Packers – B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College – This pick would be just as good of a defensive pick as taking AJ Hawk a few years back. Maybe the Packers should only take players who have initialed first names.

10. San Francisco 49ers – Everette Brown, DE, Florida St – The Niners don’t appear willing to trade up to take Sanchez especially since they’d have to trade into the top three to take him so they should stay right here and take a defensive end. Now, some people can make the argument that the Niners already have two good pass rushers, but if you look at what the Giants did two seasons ago by adding depth along the defensive line, this is a good idea.

11. Buffalo Bills – Andre Smith, OT, Alabama – The Bills were going to go offensive line here no matter what. It just so happens that they traded Jason Peters.

12. Denver Broncos – Brian Cushing, LB, USC – I wouldn’t put it past Denver to trade down here and maybe take a defensive tackle which is really what they need but Cushing is a decent value pick right here.

13. Washington Redskins – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU – I like Jackson going to Denver because they also have a need for pass rushers but I think that Denver has to rebuild the defense on all three levels, which will allow Jackson to fall here to the Deadskins.

14. New Orleans Saints – Chris “Beanie” Wells, RB, Ohio St – Reggie Bush is going to benefit the most from Wells being on the team. Reggie’s best year statistically came when Deuce McAllister was in the backfield with him.

15. Houston Texans – Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois – Lately the knock on Davis has been his technique, but I think he’s a better corner prospect than Malcolm Jenkins. Does that make him a better defensive back? Not at all. In fact, I think if Jenkins were mainly a safety, he’d be a top 10 pick.

16. San Diego Chargers – Rey Maualuga, LB, USC – I’m personally starting a movement for his nickname to be changed to KO Rey Mo. Especially considering he’ll need a nickname to rival his soon to be teammate, Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman.

17. New York Jets – Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas St. – I think the Jets would be helping themselves a bit by trading up to take Mark Sanchez. The only problem is that with Sanchez likely landing in Seattle, it would take a lot to trade up to get him. So if the Jets don’t mind settling for Josh Freeman, they’ll take him. The good news is that Freeman is mobile, he has a strong arm, he’s big, and he’s used to making something out of nothing because he barely had an offense around him… kinda like Joe Flacco.

18. Denver Broncos – Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn St. – In one swoop, the Denver Broncos can change their defenses culture. They already went out and signed Brian Dawkins and even though he’s getting up there in age, he’s one of the league’s smartest defenders and he’s a leader. They can draft a really smart linebacker at 12, and take a very good pass rusher here at 18. They could take Tyson Jackson at 12, and then take James Laurinitis here. Who knows maybe they could even trade down to take Laurinitis.

19. Tampa Bay Bucanneers – Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee – The Bucs would have to trade up to take a quarterback because the “big three” won’t be available to them. Ayers is a good value pick here, and maybe they could look to draft a quarterback in the second round like Pat White.

20. Detroit Lions – Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss – A pass rusher would work well for the Lions but they any help along the offensive line would be appreciated by Matthew Stafford and Kevin Smith.

21. Philadelphia Eagles – Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia – This is a no-brainer, and Moreno is going to be close to home.

22. Minnesota Vikings – Eben Britton, OT, Arizona – Since the Eagles won’t need to take this guy at 28, the Vikings can take him. Percy Harvin’s stock dropped when people found out that he tested positive for marijuana at the combine. That, combined with his attitude, might scare the Vikings away.

23. New England Patriots – Malcolm Jenkins, CB/S, Ohio St. – Jenkins is a definate upgrade at either corner or safety for the Pats.

24. Atlanta Falcons – Clay Matthews, LB, USC – Clay Matthews is versatile and the Falcons have to address their need at linebacker.

25. Miami Dolphins – Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland – The Dolphins lack of depth at wide reciever is an obvious hole. I thought Heyward-Bey at one point could have been a top 15 pick, and he’d be good here.

26. Baltimore Ravens – Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina – At this point, its hit or miss. Nicks is higher on most draft boards than Kenny Britt is, and Harvin went down because of his durability and attitude. Either way, the Ravens go wideout here, whether its Nicks or Britt.

27. Indianapolis Colts – Evander “Ziggy” Hood, DT, Missouri – This is a smart pick and Bill Polian is a notoriously good evaluator of talent.

28. Buffalo Bills – Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois – This late in the first round, there might not be too many offensive line prospects for the Bills to look at. I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded up to get a guy like Britton.

29. New York Giants – Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers – If the Giants don’t make that trade for Braylon Edwards, Britt could be a possibility. As a matter of fact, they can get both. There are no other teams looking to trade with the Browns so the Giants could take advantage of that by offering a 2nd round pick and a 5th round pick. Edwards is coming off of a down year where he had a lot of drops. Combine that with the lack of suitors and the Giants could land a Pro Bowl caliber player and a kid with a lot of potential and still have 8 picks to work with.

30. Tennessee Titans – James Laurinitis, LB, Ohio St. – The Titans have a good defense but lack depth at linebacker. This would be a good pick to keep their guys fresh. This kid is tough, smart, and really instinctive.

31. Arizona Cardinals – LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh – The Cards might want to cut Edgerrin James, and McCoy is a touchdown machine. He’s a bit similar to Tim Hightower but the Cards are a passing team anyway. The only problem would be his pass blocking ability.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers – Percy Harvin, WR, Florida – Pittsburgh seems like an odd place for Harvin to land before they’re a tough, gritty no-nonsense organization, but Harvin would be coming from one winning program to another, and the Steelers have taken guys with questionable backgrounds before like Santonio Holmes. Plus, Harvin’s talent speaks for itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Steelers work on some gadget plays with Harvin in mind.

So there you have it. My final mock draft. Its now 3:22 am on Thursday morning. Here are a few things on my mind.

– The Lions are pretty close to signing Matthew Stafford, but stop the presses… Aaron Curry says he’ll take a pay cut to play in Detroit. Thats a first for me. He wants to take less money to play for a team that won zero games last season. Curry says he’d like to line up in between Julian Peterson, Ernie Sims and Demarcus Tyler, his high school teammate. I like the initiative, Aaron. He’s also a really nice guy. He invited a leukemia patient from Alabama as his personal guest at the NFL Draft. These are the stories I like to hear about. This are the things that make sports so great. I have a good friend of mine that barely cares about sports anymore because of athlete’s attitudes and I don’t blame him. I hope Aaron Curry is the first of many athletes that are genuinely good people.

Aaron Curry with Bryson Merriweather, a cancer patient from Alabama.

Aaron Curry with Bryson Merriweather, a cancer patient from Alabama.

– A lot of times you hear stories about high school basketball players that don’t care about going to college and last year there was Brandon Jennings that didn’t want to go to college and instead chose to play basketball overseas until his was eligible to play in the NBA. Time will tell if his experiment worked but here’s a story thats a little different.  Jeremy Tyler is a high school junior thats deciding to skip his senior year of high school to play in Europe. Apparently, the competition isn’t up to his level and instead of transferring schools to play against tougher players, he’s skipping his senior year and college to play overseas. Personally, I look at these situations in case by case fashion because in some cases, college doesn’t help. Lebron James would not have gained anything from college, and the NCAA would have reaped all the benefits without Lebron seeing any of it. I like the way the NBA has it where players have to be one year removed from high school. It makes the college game so much better. In fact, I think that the NBA should employ the MLB’s way of doing things. If a player chooses to enter the draft, its up to that player. But if they go to college, they have to stay for at least three seasons. That way, the college game doesn’t suffer and the NBA gets quality players.  As far as Tyler goes, I’ve seen highlights of him and he’s NBA-ready right now. If playing against grown men helps him, then more power to him. Playing in Europe will be a learning experience and he can always go back to school.  I just hope some other kid that isn’t as good doesn’t try the same stunt and end up throwing away an education as well as a career.

Jeremy Tyler

Jeremy Tyler

– I hate catch-22’s. For example, I like Lebron James and he deserves every penny of his next contract. The problem is, his next contract won’t be coming from the Knicks. I’ve come to terms with that. Now, the Knicks are desperate to get under the cap to sign either Lebron (who will likely stay with his Eastern Conference powerhouse Cavaliers), Wade (who will either go to his hometown Bulls or stay in Miami), or Bosh (who shouldn’t be a number one go-to player). The Knicks are risking losing one or two players in David Lee and Nate Robinson to have a low payroll and have an opportunity to sign a big time free agent. What if they get way under the cap and don’t bring in any free agents? Then where are we?

– All I can say about my Mets is that the season is only 14 games old and there’s plenty of time for them to right the ship. This team is too talented to be playing the way they have been. On the bright side, at least they haven’t given up 22 runs, including 14 in the second inning.

– Lance Stephenson is starting to annoy me. At this point, is he really going to St. John’s or is that just a ploy to keep people interested? Just commit already and stop teasing fans the way Bryce Brown did to Miami fans!!!

– And finally, I think that everyone should take time to read about any pay homage to the 1936 Long Island University basketball team for standing up for what they felt was right and upholding their convictions as a team. They declined to play int he 1936 Olympics in Berlin because of Hitler’s oppression of the Jews, even though they would have been an easy favorite to win a gold medal. The team is being inducted into the Jewish Hall of Fame this Sunday on April 26th.

LIUs 1936 starting five.

LIU's 1936 starting five.

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com. You can also listen to me on Keeping It Real Sports on Mondays from 7pm-9pm. For information, visit www.kirsnow.com and also visit www.showoffradio.net.


Mock Draft 1.0

In Stanley Talouis, Uncategorized on February 16, 2009 at 12:19 PM

Yes, people. That’s right. Now that I just watched the Pro Bowl, I’ve come to grips with the fact that the NFL season is over. Luckily, I get to watch the NFL Network and get myself ready for the NFL draft, which in essence is like a season by itself with all the pro days, combines, and workouts. So, technically, the season hasn’t really ended. Score one for Stan.

Now before I  get on with my first (of many) mock draft of the year, I want to put a few things out there.

1. I met Scott Steiner at Target the other day.

2. This mock draft will not take into consideration trades. I’m only human people.

3. I met Scott Steiner at Target the other day.

4. This mock draft will change over the coming weeks and months, so expect some changes.

So here we go. Oh… by the way, did I mention that I met Scott Steiner at Target the other day? I’m a huge fan.

1. Detroit Lions- Matthew Stafford QB, Georgia- If they don’t take Matthew Stafford here, then I really believe that Matt Millen is secretly still working for the organization ala Isaiah Thomas. The one thing you can point to as the reason for the Lions continued crappiness (besides horrible defense, bad coaching, and abysmal front office moves) is quarterback play. At one point, their starting quarterback was Dan Orlovsky. Yeah, that Dan Orlovsky. They could also go offensive line here, but I think if they’re going to fix the line, they should trade down.

2. St. Louis Rams- Andre Smith, OT, Alabama- The Rams have really been lacking a presence along the offensive line since the days of Orlando Pace. Part of me feels like they’ll go for a defensive guy since Steve Spagnuolo is the new head coach but they need a lot more than defense. What they need is consistency on offense. Later on in the year, the Rams found a threat in Donnie Avery but if they can keep Marc Bulger off his back and maybe clear some lanes for Steven Jackson, they’ll be fine.

3. Kansas City Chiefs- Mark Sanchez, QB, USC- Again, I’m not completely sold on Sanchez. I think he came out a bit early, I think he’s a little above average and he’ll be exposed on a talentless team. Granted, there’s Dwayne Bowe, but with Larry Johnson possibly on his way out and Tony Gonzalez looking for a trade, that offense isn’t going to be that great. Don’t be surprised if the Chiefs trade down here.

4. Seattle Seahawks- Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech – I was conflicted here because I think the Seahawks could take a running back here but it would be almost impossible for them to pass up on a guy like Crabtree. I still wouldn’t be surprised if they traded down to take a running back. They have the wideouts, they just couldn’t stay healthy this past season.

5. Cleveland Browns- Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn St. – The Browns need an impact pass rusher and I think the difference between Florida St’s Everette Brown and Maybin is very slight. That said, I like Maybin more and I think he’ll play well for Eric Mangini.

6. Cincinnati Bengals- Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest – The Bengals could go offensive line here but I think they still have issues on the defense. With the continued development of Keith Rivers, Aaron Curry could flourish with the Bengals. I also could have gone with Everette Brown here.

7. Oakland Raiders- Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia – The Raiders took Darren McFadden last year and he did absolutely nothing. Needless to say, the Raiders may want to consider drafting someone to actually block for him. But hey, what do I know?

8. Jacksonville Jaguars- Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri – The Jaguars have had issues at wide reciever for a while and I think Maclin is a perfect fit. He doubles as a returner and he could help that not-so-dynamic offense of the Jaguars.

9. Green Bay Packers- B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College – The Packers would be smart to take the best available player here and I think Raji is that player. The Packers offense is set with what they have in place and the defense is starting to come together. If they bring a big defensive tackle that could plug up some holes up front, it would allow their linebackers to do some good things.

10. San Francisco 49ers- Jason Smith, OT, Baylor – I think the 49ers could go a number of directions here, especially with Mike Singletary staying as head coach. But, I think they should have an offense built around Frank Gore and Jason Smith is a pretty good run blocker and will be an even better pass blocker for Alex Smith.

11. Buffalo Bills- Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma St. – The Bills’ defense kept them in a lot of games last season and their offense is starting to come together. With some consistency at quarterback and a guy like Pettigrew as a safety net for Trent Edwards/JP Losman, the Bills will be a factor in the AFC East.

12. Denver Broncos- Everette Brown, DE, Florida St. – The Broncos really get on my nerves. They never take anyone great on defense. They always bring in defensive players as free agents. They can’t pass up on Brown.

13. Washington Redskins- Rey Maualuga, LB, USC – This actually scares me because I’ve seen a lot of what a healthy Rey-Rey can do. Hell, Rey-Rey at 75% scares me. As much as I’d like to see him as a Giant, it’s not going to happen and I have to be stuck with him in the division.

14. New Orleans Saints- Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas – The Saints took Sedrick Ellis last year and they need to keep adding on to that defense. They can also go cornerback here but I think the more pressing matter is along the line.

15. Houston Texans- Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio St. – As much as I think the Texans would be willing to go offense here, I think they’re satisfied with Steve Slaton getting the majority of the snaps and they could always grab a back later on in the draft. What they should address here is their lack of an impact cornerback.

16. San Diego Chargers- Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland – Do you really think the Chargers are dumb enough to get rid of the best running back in the NFL? With LT and Sproles, where are the Chargers going to put a guy like Beanie Wells or Knowshon Moreno? They should get another target for Rivers and bring in Heyward-Bey to spread the defense and keep guys out of the box for LT.

17. New York Jets – Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas St. – With the recent retirement of Brett Favre, the Jets can’t possibly go into next season with Brett Radcliffe as the projected starting quarterback. Josh Freeman is a big, strong-armed quarterback. He’s been getting a lot of comparisons to Joe Flacco and we all know what happened there. I think with Rex Ryan as the new head coach, he’ll be willing to give Freeman a “baptism by fire” the way Flacco was handled last year.

18. Chicago Bears- Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois – The Bears lack depth in the secondary and Davis is considered to be one of the top corners in college football. Plus, it helps that he’s sort of a hometown guy and has a good football pedigree as his older brother is Vernon Davis.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Percy Harvin, WR, Florida – Tampa Bay needs a quarterback, there’s no doubt about that. However, I don’t know if I’d use a first round pick on a guy like Nate Davis. Harvin would probably be the best available prospect on the board at this point, so I’d definately take him here.

20. Detroit Lions- Chris Wells, RB, Ohio St. – The Lions at this point will have already taken a quarterback. Now they need to address more needs on offense. Most teams have implemented the two-back system. With Kevin Smith and Beanie Wells in the same backfield, the Lions may have some sort of consistency on offense.

21. Philadelphia Eagles- Brian Cushing, OLB, USC – The Eagles were 4th last season in rushing defense. What they need is an instinctive, tough linebacker to keep that trend going. Cushing has great instincts and is as tough as they come.

22. Minnesota Vikings- Cornelius Ingram, TE, Florida- The Vikings have never addressed their needs at tight end and I think this is as good of a time as any. Ingram is coming off of a national championship and despite not having great numbers, its simply because he was on a team with a number of different playmakers.

23. New England Patriots- Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan – The Patriots are going to be looking to replace Rodney Harrison. Unfortunately, Taylor Mays went back to school, so they’ll have to settle for Delmas, who isn’t exactly a gamebreaker.

24. Atlanta Falcons- Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois – With John Abraham having health issues, English might not be his replacement but it’ll be more of an insurance policy. The Falcons already have a good offense that led them to the playoffs and under Mike Smith, English could prosper.

25. Miami Dolphins- Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU – The Dolphins defense is still aging and Vonnie Holliday is on his way out of the league. Jackson is one of those guys that flew under the radar at LSU with Glenn Dorsey being the star two seasons ago and Ricky Jean-Francois getting all the attention this past season.

26. Baltimore Ravens- Clay Matthews, OLB, USC – The Ravens are going to have a tough time bringing back Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, and Terrell Suggs. Don’t be surprised if Lewis leaves and the Ravens have Scott fill in his spot and take a guy like Matthews to come in and be another piece to that defense.

27. Indianapolis Colts- Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss – The Colts will finally be completely healthy on offense and they need a run stopping defensive tackle on defense. With Foster and Dawson still developing, the Colts are going to have to rotate guys into the defensive line.

28. Philadelphia Eagles- Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma – The Eagles were 22nd last year in rushing offense. Robinson was part of an offensive line that blocked for two 1,000 yard rushers.

29. New York Giants- James Laurinitis, LB, Ohio St. – The Giants seemed to lack intensity from the defensive side of the ball late in the season. Whether it was because Justin Tuck was being triple-teamed while fighting the flu, or if it was because of whatever may have been distracting Antonio Pierce, the Giants couldn’t get it done against an inferior Eagles team that could barely run the ball.  Laurinitis, as well as the return of Osi Umenyiora should help those matters.

30. Tennessee Titans- Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers – Personally, I don’t think Britt is a first round caliber talent, and I think the Titans would be better off trading up for a wide receiver. Unfortunately, I’m not a fortune teller so this pick will have to do.

31. Arizona Cardinals- Fili Moala, DT, USC – The Cardinals were horrible on defense and their offense literally carried them to the playoffs. Even with the possible departure of Anquan Boldin and Kurt Warner, the Cardinals still have a playoff caliber team because they play in the NFC West. The Cards will have to fix that defense and they should start with Moala.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers- DJ Moore, CB, Vanderbilt – The Steelers have no major holes. They’re bringing everyone back on both sides of the ball, and there’s no reason to believe the defense won’t be as good as it was before. At this point, all they can do is add some depth along the offensive line or in the secondary.

Now, I know what you’re thinking and I agree. How can I have a mock draft with Knowshon Moreno? You know what? This is the first of several mock drafts. Until I’m convinced that the Chargers are going to get rid of LT, I can’t see them taking another running back. I also thought they Lions could have taken him, but then that leaves Wells out of the mix. You see what I’m saying? This isn’t easy.

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What a difference a few months can make…

In Stanley Talouis on December 11, 2008 at 2:58 PM

The last time I made the effort to sit down and work on one of these, it was week 1 in the NFL, and the Mets were playing relevent baseball. Since then, the Mets suffered their second straight collapse, the Giants and Jets have emerged as legitimate NFL contenders, and the Knicks look like a halfway decent team with promise down the road.

Now, fast forward to this week. The MLB Winter Meetings started off slow. The big offseason stories were Sabathia, Teixeira, and K-Rod for the most part. The Yankees offered CC Sabathia an initial six year, $140 million contract well before Thanksgiving, which was about $40 million more than the next highest offer from the Brewers. I, like many other people, felt like Sabathia didn’t want to be a Yankee because the Yankee deal was on the table for weeks, and Sabathia never made any indication that he was interested. It seems Mr. Sabathia made liars out of a lot of people.

There were so many reasons not to sign with the Yankees. He likes to hit, therefore a National League team would be a better fit. He’s originally from northern California, so a west coast team would be the likely choice. So based on what we knew of Sabathia, his options would include the Giants, Dodgers, and LA Angels. But let’s not be so quick to judge Sabathia and say he’s money hungry. The Giants, as interested as they might have been, had already invested a $126 million in Barry Zito, who is doing absolutely nothing to show that he deserves it. The Giants simply wouldn’t be able to afford CC. The Dodgers also showed interest but were more focused on bringing Manny Ramirez back. Of course its a mistake and they’re stupid… I’m glad we’re on the same page here. Finally, the LA Angels of Anaheim stated they were focused on bringing back Mark Teixeira. Not a bad move. He hits over .300, going back to 2006, his OBP is always around .400, and his slugging percentage is always above .500. Basically, he hits home runs, he drives in runs, and he gets on base. Maybe most importantly, he plays great defense at first base. If the Angels were to pass on Teixeira, they’d have a gaping hole at first base and left field after they declined the option on Garret Anderson.

And, we’re forgetting something very important. The players’ union. The players’ union represents the best interests of the players. If Sabathia were to turn down 140 million bucks to play somewhere else for far less money, the union wouldn’t be doing its job. What they do is put enormous pressure on players to take the higher contract, no matter who offers it.  Its easy to sit here and say that Sabathia should stand by what he wants and stop letting people persuade him, but we’re not in his shoes. Personally, I like Sabathia as a player and I don’t know how he’ll respond to New York. Historically, he’s a great regular season pitcher, but he’s horrible in the playoffs. In five postseason appearances, he’s 2-3 with an ERA of 7.92. He’s never pitched more than six innings in any postseason game, and his two wins came against Seattle in 2001, and the Yankees in 2007.

Its amazing how easily people forget things. Sabathia had a horrible start to the season this past year. He started out 0-3 and was 6-8 by the time he was traded to the Brewers. He went 11-2 down the stretch, uncluding some very clutch performances to help the Brewers get into the playoffs. But, let’s not forget that it was a contract year, and he was coming over from the American League. I’m not saying he’s not great, because he is. I’m saying we shouldn’t be so quick to say he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. He’s a sub-par postseason pitcher, and based on his numbers before the All-Star break this year, he’s no Superman. Now, he’s the highest paid pitcher in history with his 7 year, $161 million contract. I just hope he lives up to it and doesn’t become an albatross like Zito.

The Yankees reportedly have offered AJ Burnett a five year, $85 million contract. Burnett is coming off of an 18-10 year with an ERA of 4.07. Not exactly lights out. If the Yanks don’t land Burnett, there’s still Derek Lowe (14-11, 3.74 ERA)  and Ben Sheets (13-9, 3.09 ERA).  Lowe is a gutty, durable guy who’s used to playing in the AL East. The only knock on him is the fact that he’s already 35. Ben Sheets is a good pitcher but his health issues won’t help him.  Potentially, the Yankees could have a rotation including Sabathia, Wang, Burnett, Sheets, and Joba… or it could be Sabathia, Wang, Joba, Hughes, and Kennedy. Either way, there are some holes to fill.

So how about those Mets? The Mets’ biggest issue going into the offseason was the condition of the bullpen. From the beginning, as a Mets fan, I wasn’t convinced that Francisco Rodriguez was the answer. Yes, we needed a replacement for Billy Wagner. And by no means did I want Brian Fuentes in Flushing for the money he was asking for. So, Omar Minaya went out and pulled off a great signing by getting K-Rod for less than what was expected. The general consensus was that K-Rod would probably recieve a five year deal worth over $75 million, but Minaya was able to get him for three years and $37 million.

Even then, I wasn’t so comfortable with what we had. Hours later, Minaya managed to pull off a 3 team, 12 player trade with the Mariners and the Indians. The Mets sent Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, and three minor leaguers to the Mariners for JJ Putz, Jeremy Reed, and Sean Green. They also sent Joe Smith to the Indians. The Indians sent Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners for a minor leaguer as well. I hate the fact that the Mets had to give up Smith, Mike Carp, and Chavez, but we didn’t have to give up any top tier prospects and Putz is a very good closer who’s going to be a setup man for K-Rod. I’m still not completely satisfied with the bullpen, and I think the Mets are going to have to find some more starting pitching.  Right now, the only guarantees in the rotation are Santana, Maine and Pelfrey.  With such a thin possible rotation, I wouldn’t be against the Mets bringing back Oliver Perez. Despite being inconsistent, he had a pretty good year and was very good down the stretch. Bringing back Perez would give the Mets some leeway because they don’t appear to be pursuing AJ Burnett or Derek Lowe. But there are options. Jon Garland is a quality pitcher under 30. His ERA numbers are a bit on the high side, but this is a guy who had back to back 18 win seasons with the White Sox, including an 8-0 stretch in 2005. Randy Wolf is another name that the Mets have been associated with. Its no secret that the Mets were after Wolf a few years ago when he was with the Phillies and they like what he can bring to the rotation. Wolf is an average left handed pitcher who has done well in the National League. He’s had a few down years, so his market value should be relatively low.

Whether the Mets decide to trade for Randy Wolf, sign Jon Garland, or bring back Perez and/or Pedro, these are all cheaper alternatives to signing either Burnett or Lowe. Then throw in the idea of having prospects like Jonathan Niese and Bobby Parnell on the major league roster, suddenly the Mets pitching staff is significantly better than last season.

So let’s recap. The Mets rotation could look like this by April: Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, Garland. There are possibilities with Niese, Wolf, and Pedro. The Mets rotation could also look like this by April:  Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Niese, Pedro/Parnell. Obviously, the first one is the better option, but for now, the bullpen (that blew over 30 saves last season) is in way better shape.

As always, here are a few things going on in the sports world that have piqued my interest.

– There’s no way anyone can deny what the Knicks have been able to do with what they have. They’re 10-11, but for a while now they’ve been playing short-handed. As far as Stephon Marbury goes, I think both sides are responsible. The Knicks messed up by telling Marbury to get into shape and playing him in the preseason, only to deactivate him once the season actually started. If thats the case, just buy him out and let him move on. On the other hand, Marbury hurt himself by refusing to play when they needed him. In that situation, its less about pride and its more about putting himself in the right position to get a contract with another team. No one wants a locker room distraction or a bad teammate, no matter how talented he might be.

– A lot of Giants fans are saying that they’d rather lose without Plaxico Burress than win with him. Screw that. I’m being honest. I don’t care who he shot. I want him on the team. If anyone thinks the Giants are better without him, they are sorely mistaken. Shockey was one thing, this is different.

– Well, get ready for the big whoofer, Yankee fans. Your beloved Bombers are about to trade Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron. Yeah, the same Mike Cameron that annually is among the top 10 in strikeouts.

– Cuttino Mobley is going to retire because of a heart condition. Not only is he retiring, he’s retiring as a Knick. How about that? And this frees up a roster spot for Patrick Ewing Jr.

– So the Suns traded Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary to the Bobcats for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, and a 2010 second round pick. Suddenly, the Suns are dangerous again. Shaq, Amare, Nash, and now J-Rich? Thats scary.

– Kevin Garnett reduces Big Baby Davis to tears the other night when the bench players almost blew a huge lead in the fourth quarter. People forget easily how young some of these guys are.  Same situation happened Nick Saban chastised Manny Wright in Miami and made him cry. By the way, Kevin Garnett, since winning a title… has lost his godamn mind. He’s taunting guards and just being an all around douche. I hope he comes to his senses because he’s usually one of the NBA’s good guys.

– Tim Tebow is going to win another Heisman. Then, he’s going to win the National Championship. Then, he’s going to come back for his senior season and do it all over again. Why? Because Tebow is more than human. There has never been anyone as motivated as Tim Tebow. He’s literally been carrying his team since their loss to Ole Miss.

– Every year, its the same argument. BCS vs. playoff system. I think Nick Saban and Alabama deserve a shot at the National Championship. Its not their fault that they won all their games up until the end of the regular season. Had they lost in September, it’d be a different situation. But hey, until there’s a way to generate money from a playoff system -and I mean BCS money- it’s going to stay this way.

– Personally, I don’t like Sean Avery because he’s a douche and he played for the Rangers. But if all he said was “sloppy seconds”, why is the NHL making a big deal about it? At least he didn’t shoot himself, punch a woman in the face, or start a brawl in the stands.

– I really hope Pacquiao’s win convinces Floyd Mayweather Jr. to come out of retirement… so the Mexicutioner can take out “Money” Mayweather too. Maybe deflate that ego of his.

Any questions or comments can be directed to my email at s_talouis@yahoo.com or sh0tsofeverclear@aim.com.


Week 1 picks

In Stanley Talouis on September 4, 2008 at 3:22 AM

Every year, I claim to be quite the prognosticator. I know that barring any huge collapses, I can pick nearly 80% of the week’s game correctly. Thats right. 80%. Ever seen that movie, “Two For the Money” with Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino? I’m like Matthew McConaughey except I don’t take my shirt off at any given chance, and I’m not a giant douche. Okay, fine. I probably would take my shirt off whenever I get a chance… but I’m still not a giant douche.

The point is, I know football, and every week, I’m going to post my picks along with a little analysis. Don’t be scared by the crazy terminology like “point spread” and “margin of victory” and “the.” I’ll keep things simple. Home team in caps. Winner in bol. And please, don’t use me to try to get rich, pay your way through college, or get out of debt. I’m only human, I make mistakes and I don’t want to be the reason for your “accident” down that flight of stairs.

GIANTS over Redskins- Do you really expect Jim Zorn to win this opener? Especially with his defense? Too much pressure. A rookie head coach against the defending Super Bowl Champs? Plus Jason Taylor is a game time decision. I’d pick the Giants even if I wasn’t a fan. Its a new offense for Jason Campbell, those recievers are still learning, and the Redskins defense hasn’t done much.

Lions over FALCONS- I think Matt Ryan is good but he’ll struggle like all rookie quarterbacks do. I don’t think the Lions defense is all that great but it’ll be just enough for keep the Falcons down. And besides, Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams are both healthy, and Jon Kitna can play, whether he’s sane or not.

BILLS over Seahawks- If I had to pick one upset to pick this week, this would be the one. I like the Bills defense, and their offense isn’t so bad either. I’m not saying it’ll be a decisive win, but I like Buffalo’s chances.

Jaguars over TITANS- The Titans had one job to do in the offseason- get Vince Young some wide receivers. Did they do it? Not so much. They didn’t draft a receiver until
the 4th round, and in this past draft, thats saying something. The Jaguars defense is significantly better than it was last season. I like the Jags here.

Jets over DOLPHINS- I’m actually hoping the Dolphins make another bid for 0-16. They aren’t that much better on either side of the ball, and somehow they managed to get worse on defense. The Jets spent over 100 million dollars in the offseason before trading for Brett Favre. The Jets want to win now, and this game is a good start.

PATRIOTS over Chiefs- The Chiefs have improved this offseason, but the Pats offense is still intact. As long as Moss and Brady are healthy, that team is scary.

SAINTS over Buccanneers- The Saints were missing a few pieces and they filled both those gaps. They needed an impact player on defense, and they traded for Jonathan Vilma. Then they got an underrated player in Randall Gay. They needed an impact player on offense, and they got Jeremy Shockey. Believe me, the combination of Sean Payton and Jeremy Shockey is going to be good for the Saints. I’ll even go as far as to say they’ll win the NFC South.

EAGLES over Rams- I like the Rams offense, but not that defense. At least not the entire defense. Basically, I like Leonard Little and Chris Long. But thats it. They barely have a linebacking corps and a secondary. McNabb should have a field day.

STEELERS over Texans- I think this game could be closer than most people think. The Texans defense is pretty good but the Steelers have home field advantage here.

Bengals over RAVENS- As good as Joe Flacco might have looked in preseason, Carson Palmer knows how to win in this league. If anyone can find a way to score on the Ravens, its him.

CHARGERS over Panthers- The Panthers will be without Steve Smith… lets be real. Even with him, the Panthers would have trouble against one of the best secondary units in football.

Cardinals over 49ERS- Did you hear that J.T. O’Sullivan is starting for the Niners? Yeah. Thats all I have to say.

Cowboys over BROWNS- I think this is going to be a high scoring game but the Cowboys are going to come out on top. The Cowboys are the most improved team among those that won more than 12 games. The Browns look good, but I don’t know if it’s going going to be enough. Deep down, I’m hoping Shaun Rogers breaks through the line and puts Romo on the shelf for the season. That should ensure my Giants the division.

COLTS over Bears- The Bears can’t decide on a quarterback or an identity. I like the Colts.

Vikings over PACKERS- No more Brett, no more easy wins in the NFC North. AP= All Day.

Broncos over RAIDERS- I think Jay Cutler is finally ready to take the Broncos to the next level. He’s matured in the offseason and he’s got a good team around him.

As always, here’s a few thoughts about what’s going on in the sports world.

- So Tatum Bell got cut to make room for Rudi Johnson, and then Johnson accused Bell of stealing his luggage. First off, who the hell steals luggage? Second, talk about adding insult to injury. Not only do you get cut for a player at the same position, but then he accuses you of stealing his underwear? Wow.

- Did Yankee fans really think that the Yanks would never miss the playoffs? Look at it this way, the next time they do win a World Series, it’ll be that much sweeter.

- Met fans… do us real fans a favor and stop caring about what the Yankees do. They’re in another league. We don’t play them that often. We won’t play against them until next May. Let’s focus on our team.

- I really thought CC Sabathia threw a no-hitter against the Pirates, but I will say this- the ump made a really good point about it being a one-hitter instead.

- As a baseball fan, I can’t wait for David Price to come up to the majors. I have a feeling he’s going to be a fantasy stud. Imagine a fantasy baseball rotation with him and Joba. That’d be sick.

- I’m tired of people comparing Venus and Serena. I say we fuse them into one uber-tennis player.

- Finally, I was thinking the other night about how much I despise Dustin Pedroia… mostly because he’s in Boston and not Flushing. But then I thought about how much some Red Sox fan must hate Jose Reyes because he’s a Met. For a quick second, I almost stopped hating Pedroia. Key word? Almost.


Everything you need to know about fantasy football in 2008… and more.

In Stanley Talouis on August 25, 2008 at 4:22 AM

Every year, I join about four or five different fantasy football leagues. There’s always a few guys who say I take it a bit too seriously. But do I? I don’t think I do. I mean, I don’t let it cloud my judgement too much. If I have Brian Westbrook going against the Giants, I’m rooting for the Giants, but I don’t mind if Westbrook has an amazing game simply because losses don’t count in fantasy football. So, if Terrell Owens gets 11 receptions, 204 yards, and three touchdowns in a Cowboys loss, thats a win-win for me.

Sure, there are times in fantasy sports where you’ll feel conflicted. But there are ways around that. For instance, I try not to draft any National League pitchers so that I don’t have a huge problem if they face the Mets. Maybe I’ll take a chance on Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, or Ben Sheets, but for the most part, I go after the AL guys.

The same thing holds true in fantasy football. If you hate when Tom Brady rips apart your Jets, don’t draft him. Take Tony Romo instead. If it bothers you when LaDanian Tomlinson runs around your Raider defense, take Adrian Peterson.

So, I broke down this season into the top five at each position, with the exception of individual defenders and offensive linemen. That would just be silly.

Top 5 Fantasy Quarterbacks- Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Farve.
Analysis- I would have included Derek Anderson but he has a mild concussion thanks to my staggering Giants defense. Also, I usually include Manning at 1 or 2, but I don’t know how his knee is going to hold up all season. Brady’s offense hasn’t changed since last season, meaning the Pats are returning with the most prolific offense in NFL history. Romo can put up big numbers, and since wins don’t matter… Romo’s your guy. Brees has two new targets with Shockey and Robert Meacham coming back from injury. I think he’ll have a big year. Favre is gonna be Favre, no matter what. At the very least, he’ll give you over 3,000 yards and 25+ touchdowns. Unless that Madden curse catches up to him. A few other guys to consider- Matt Leinart, Donovan McNabb, Phillip Rivers, and Matt Hasselbeck.

Top 5 Fantasy Runningbacks- LaDanian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Steven Jackson, Maurice Jones-Drew.
Analysis- Drafting runningbacks is getting harder because of the changing trends in the NFL. If you draft one of these guys, you almost have to find another top-tier runningback immediately because almost everyone splits carries now. The only runningback that can definately get 400+ carries is LT and maybe Steven Jackson. Peterson can still put up big numbers despite sharing the backfield because of his yards per carry numbers. Frank Gore is coming off of a down year so he’ll try to turn it up. Maurice Jones-Drew is an interesting pickup because of his special teams numbers. A few others to consider- Larry Johnson, Darren McFadden, Brian Westbrook, and Michael Turner.

Top 5 Fantasy Wide Recievers- Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss
Analysis- This is usually the deepest position in fantasy football because there are 25-30 number 1 wideouts in the NFL so in a 10 man league, you can probably get 2 or 3 guys that can consistently get over six catches, over a hundred yards and maybe a touchdown per game. Then factor in all the number 2 and slot recievers, and some of the guys that play in West Coast offenses, and wideout can be the difference between winning and losing some weeks. I like Reggie Wayne even though Peyton Manning isnt at 100% because he’s still gonna get the ball. He’ll see less catches than last season because Marvin Harrison is back and Anthony Gonzales is getting better. Owens put up big numbers last year and should continue that trend. Larry Fitzgerald is playing happy because he got a new contract. He’s going to want to justify the deal. Braylon Edwards is still mad about missing the playoffs, despite winning 10 games last year. He’s motivated. Randy Moss is always going to put up big numbers. A few others to consider- Wes Welker, Plaxico Burress, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, and Santonio Holmes.

Top 5 Fantasy Tight Ends- Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Antonio Gates, Jeremy Shockey, Tony Gonzalez.
Analysis- In most leagues, everybody gets one. So pick smart. It helps to take a tight end that can block well because he’ll be less likely to be subbed out for an extra blocker. Witten seems to be Romo’s second favorite target so he’ll get opportunities. Dallas Clark played hurt for most of the season, and still had a good year. Antonio Gates should finally be at 100%, and Shockey is out to prove he’s still one of the best. Now, Tony Gonzalez was a bit of a stretch. His touchdown numbers are down from two seasons ago, but he still gets the yards. When Damon Huard plays, Gonzalez does pretty well. So the question really is… who’s the starting quarterback for the Chiefs? Damon Huard or Brodie Croyle? In the land of Herm, you never know. A few others to consider- Dustin Keller, Todd Heap, Kellen Winslow Jr.

Top 5 Fantasy Defenses- Chargers, Giants, Cowboys, Vikings, Ravens.
Analysis- As hyped as the Bears or Pats defense might be, especially after last season, their time is over. The Bears look pretty plain, and the Pats are pretty old on defense… not to mention they lost some key members of the secondary. These five defenses were not only in the top 10 last season, but they’ve gotten better since. The Chargers went out and drafted a few players to add to their secondary. The Giants may have lost Osi Umeniyiora for the season but defensive end is their deepest position. The Cowboys added Pacman… I mean Adam Jones. The Vikings traded for Jared Allen, and the Ravens added Fabian Washington. I like the Jets as a sleeper pick with all their new players.

Top 5 Fantasy Kickers- Neil Rackers, Rod Bironas, Mason Crosby, Matt Stover, Mike Nugent.
Analysis- I shouldn’t even be doing this one because you shouldn’t draft a kicker before the last three rounds. Outside of one Titans game where Rod Bironas had eight field goals, or when Neil Rackers had five, a kicker will never have a huge impact on your team. Never. A few other guys to think about- Robbie Gould, and Stephen Gostkowski.

Here are some fantasy football rules I came up with.

1- Never, ever, ever draft a rookie quarterback unless his name is either Dan Marino or Peyton Manning. Even then, he better not be picked early.

2- Don’t take any reciever too high. Wideouts are a dime a dozen. If you try take Randy Moss high in the first, you’ll miss out on a lot more.

3- Winning the Super Bowl is great, but it doesn’t make anyone a fantasy stud. Eli Manning is not yet the fantasy producer that his brother is.

4- If you draft Brian Griese and call it your “sleeper special”, kill yourself. You know who you are.

5- If you take a kicker before the final three rounds, just stop playing.

I’d come up with a few more, but I should probably go to sleep soon. As always, here are few things brewing in my crazy mind.

- I said it before but I’m not concerned with Osi going down. Justin Tuck had 10 sacks last year, Mathias Kiwanuka can still play defensive end, and we have a ton of backups.

- With all the injuries in preseason,(Osi, Jason Taylor, Shawn Merriman, etc) I wonder who’s going to pull a Hank Steinbrenner and speak out agianst these somewhat meaningless games?

- Its hard to believe the impact that one person can have on an entire sport, but Gene Upshaw really did transcend the NFL. He seems like one of those people that would have been influential in an era, but he was specifically designed to be around when he was.

- I don’t think that K-Rod is worthy of the Cy Young. He’s really good, and he’ll probably break the saves record, but to this day he’s only pitched 54 innings while Cliff Lee has pitched 177… all while posting a 2.43 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. K-Rod’s ERA and WHIP are both higher and he’s only given up four less homers than Lee.

- While losing John Maine might hurt, I really think this Mets team is going to find ways to win. The big thing around the trade deadline was that the Mets don’t have enough in the farm system to make a big trade. But if you look at it, without the farm system, the Mets wouldn’t be where they are. And mind you, there’s still Fernando Martinez, Jonathan Niese, Brandon Knight, Mike Carp, and Eddie Kunz in the minors.

- You see what happens when people take basketball seriously instead of throwing together of team of guys that have no chemistry? They win gold medals.

- Darius Miles just got signed by the Celtics. That should be fun.

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


Lets not get ahead of ourselves…

In Stanley Talouis on August 7, 2008 at 6:57 AM

Its no secret that I’m a Giants fan. And by no means am I switching from Big Blue to Gang Green. However, I’ve never hated the Jets and now that Brett Favre is a Jet, I have to be honest… I’m rooting for them more than usual. The Jets have already begun to have one of their best offseasons in recent memory and one of the best in the league. Acquiring Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, and all their draft picks looks good for them. (Except for trading back into the first round to take another tight end, of course.)

Now they’ve pulled off a trade for a first ballot Hall of Famer. A first ballot Hall of Famer at arguably the most important position in football. Are they the favorite in the AFC. Of course not. I don’t even think they’re the favorite in the AFC East. The Patriots still have the best offense in football, and as good as Vernon Gholston might look in practice, we’ve yet to see what he can do in an actual game. I think the Jets have a great chance to secure one of the wildcard spots, but its only preseason… lets not get ahead of ourselves. There are a few things about this trade that I see as red flags.

1) Brett Favre is older than his new head coach, his offensive coordinator, and his quarterbacks coach. Favre has done it all, and then some. What’s it going to be like when Brian Schottenheimer calls a play, Brett checks off, and tries to gamble… and in turn throws an interception to lose the game. That sounds familiar. That sounds a lot like the NFC Championship game. I’m not saying Favre isn’t good. I’m saying he’s been known to make a bad decision or two.

2) Brett Favre isn’t going to have as good of recieving corps in New York. Laveranues Coles and Jericho Cotchery are good, but they’re not known for making big plays like Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Maybe with a new quarterback, things will change. One thing is for sure, they’ll actually have a reason to run farther than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage.

3) Favre has never played in a West Coast offense. Every step of the way, it’s always some sort of spread formation. Three wide, two back sets, double tight end sets… thats what he’s used to. Are Jets fans expecting Favre to come in the day of the Jets’ first preseason game and master the offense? Unless they tailor the offense to Favre and his abilities, its going to take some time. The question is, how much time?

Moving forward, what do the Jets do with Chad Pennington? They can trade him to the Vikings. They already have a game manager throwing to sub-par recievers. Now the Vikings can bring in a game manager that’s taken a team to the AFC Championship and had a league high passer rating for an entire season. The Jets could trade him to Chicago. His arm isn’t as strong as Rex Grossman’s, but do you think Bears fans care? They just want to be relevant again.

Furthermore, will this trade ruin the future of either of these two franchises. Like it or not, they’re forever linked. The Jets wanted Favre in 1991 and because they didn’t have a first round pick that year, they missed out on a franchise quarterback. Now, seventeen years later, they got their man. The better he plays for the Jets, the higher the compensation for the Packers. Who knows? Maybe the pick from the Jets becomes yet the next great Packer. As for the Jets, will this offseason be the first of many that turns them into the football version of the Mets in the 90s? Free spending, trading away young talent and picks for washed up, big name stars?

And finally, what does this do to Favre? Is his image tarnished? I think not. If you poll 100 people and ask them what team Joe Montana played for, how many will say the Chiefs? Or if you ask them what team Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, or Emmitt Smith played for, how many will say the Chargers, the Browns, or the Cardinals? My guess is very few. Because when it comes down to it, its not how you start or how you finish. Its the career as a whole and Brett Favre will always be a Packer.

Looks like one of the Triplets left home.


The Deadline’s Passed… now the season begins.

In Stanley Talouis on August 4, 2008 at 4:41 AM

I’m actually glad the Mets didn’t make a move. Part of me was afraid the Omar Minaya was gonna think he was in the World Series of Poker and go all in to get Manny when we really don’t need him. As good as Manny is, he’s 36 and it’s not worth trading a 19 year old outfielder with a bright future to get him. Fernando Tatis is a good enough outfielder and Ryan Church is coming back, so I think we’ll be fine. Sure, the Mets just got swept by the Astros and currently sit at third in the division, but its only August 3rd.

While I’m on the subject of the Mets, I’ll bring up Johan Santana. There is no one in baseball more frustrated than Johan Santana. He comes over from the American League, where he absolutely dominated, and you think that without having to face a DH, he’d continue his string of success. Especially since the Mets offense is pretty potent. But no. Its like he’s on Punk’d. I bet after every game, he’s wondering where Ashton Kutcher is gonna pop out from and tell him its all a big joke and he’s actually got 14 wins rather than 9. He’s going to have to pitch complete game shutouts for the rest of the season to see some wins. This Mets offense seems to take a day off when he pitches. And I can understand that since he’s the ace of the staff, he can shut down most teams. But score at least two runs, guys. Just one run, and then another one for insurance. He’ll do the rest. And when the offense does come through, when Johan leaves the game, how about the bullpen? I used to make excuses for Duaner Sanchez because of his car accident in 2006. Its been two years. Its time to pitch well again. Aaron Heilman was pitching pretty well earlier in the season and I was starting to think he didn’t deserve to be 1-5. I’m second guessing myself. Joe Smith has his good days, Pedro Feliciano used to be lights out, and I can’t even count on Billy Wagner anymore. Still, I think they can win the division because the Phillies and the Marlins don’t have the pitching necessary to do so. The Marlins are one of the worst fielding teams in baseball and they hit way too many balls in the air. The Phillies have a good offense but all the only pitcher they have that puts any fear in me is Cole Hamels.

The last thing about the Mets is the young guys. Nick Evans has come up from AA and the kid can hit. Today, they brought up Daniel Murphy to replace Marlon Anderson, and Eddie Kunz made his major league debut. All the analysts say that the Mets’ farm system isn’t that good, but Argenis Reyes, Kunz, Murphy, Evans, and Robinson Cancel have all come up to help. We’ve had Nelson Figueroa pitch for us, Jonathon Niese may be up at the majors at some point, and Mets fans are waiting for the arrival of Mike Carp and Fernando Martinez. So, yeah maybe we don’t have the prospects to give up for Manny, but I like our chances without him.

So, as always, here are few stories around the sports world that intrigue me.

- Talk about having a Napoleon complex. Steve Smith got suspended for two games after he broke Ken Lucas’ nose in practice. Good job, Mighty Mouse. The Panthers have you to blame if they start out 0-2.

- I understand that Ryan Grant felt like he deserved more money after last season. I mean, he rushed for almost 1,000 yards in about 8 or 9 games, and helped the team get to the NFC Championship… where to they lost to my New York Giants. But Grant must have forgotten how lucky he is to be even be in the league. He wasn’t drafted. He barely got playing time with the Giants, and he barely got playing time in Green Bay in the beginning of the season. If I’m not mistaken, Selvin Young got the majority of the carries early on before he got hurt. If I were the Packers, I’d wait until after next season to pay Grant the kind of money he got. Or at least make a lot of it incentive based.

- Did anyone catch Colt Brennan’s two touchdowns in the Hall of Fame game? He’s not going to start, and I don’t really he’s all that great, but its a nice little story for people that sympathize with third string quarterbacks.

- How about Aaron Ross’ fiancee in the Olympics running the 400 meter relay? Just another reason to watch the Olympics. Sanya Richards, look her up.

- Some guy in one of my fantasy baseball leagues had Francisco Liriano since the beginning of the season, and now he gets to reap the benefits of having a Cy Young caliber pitcher for the rest of the season. I’ll be honest, I’m just upset because he beat me to the punch.

- Yet another NBA roleplayer has decided to go play overseas. Carlos Arroyo (who would have been awesome playing with the Knicks under Mike D’Antoni.) signed a deal to play in Israel. Great. Note to David Stern: DO SOMETHING!!

- Finally, Chris Paul replaced Jason Kidd in the starting lineup on the USA team. Quite frankly, I’m not surprised.

Questions or comments, email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


Current State of Affairs

In Stanley Talouis on July 31, 2008 at 12:28 AM

Sometimes all these thoughts just pile up in my head and after a while, I just forget a lot of them. These days, I’ve been having a lot of thoughts and I can’t afford to forget them, so I thought it would be a great idea if I just threw everything out there. About everything. So here are my thoughts on the current state of affairs… in sports.

 

First, lets start with baseball. I’m starting with baseball simply because thats the hottest topic that matters. So with the trade deadline 24 hours away (I’ll be back tomorrow if the Mets make a move) there’s been a few intriguing moves and a lot more talk. No one had really answered Milwaukee and Chicago’s trades to get Sabathia and Harden up until a few days ago. Granted, some of the moves weren’t as flashy but they certainly made an impact. The Yankees trading away prospects to get Xavier Nady helped pave the way for them to deal Kyle Farnsworth for Pudge Rodriguez. Obviously, Posada’s injury had a lot to do with it too. I don’t know about a lot of other people, but I like this move. Pudge is a good defensive catcher and he might not put up the kind of numbers he did in Texas and Florida but he can still hit. And as for Detroit, certain people (cough Ed cough) thought they were the team to beat after bringing in Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. I think this pretty much seals the deal for them.

Another big story surrounding baseball is Manny Ramirez and his desire to just be himself. Boston doesn’t want Manny being Manny. At least not Manny with 20 homers and 70 or so rbi. They want Manny being Manny with a .330 avg, 45 homers and 130 rbi. So what should they do? Trade him for prospects, platoon left field, have no protection in the lineup for Ortiz and not pursue the playoffs? Or should they keep him for the next few months, hope he shows up in time for their parade through Bahstin Yahd? Personally, I could care less. I hate that city. And as a Mets fan, I saw they trade him to the Mets for a single-A prospect with no potential at all. What better way for Theo Upstein to show him ManRam than to trade him for basically nothing? And then the Mets get an angry Manny hellbent on showing Boston what they lost. The other night I heard someone on WFAN say the Mets should trade Beltran for Ellsbury and Manny. Clearly, this person wasn’t thinking hard enough.

Why is it that every year at the trade deadline, small market teams get rid of their good players? I know they want to get some value for the guy they won’t re-sign anyway, but some teams do it every year and it never helps. Look at Oakland. Every season, it seems like they’re dumping salary and playing what Billy Beane calls Money Ball. And sure, they’re usually in contention but why not hang on to your guys and see what happens? Imagine if the A’s had Mulder, Zito, Hudson, Harden, and Duchsherer. And then you’d look at the bullpen with guys like Dana Eveland, Joe Blanton, Huston Street, etc. Thats the best pitching team in baseball easily. How does that team NOT win the World Series. Hell, they could trade off some of those guys if they want for some hitting. The best example of what to do is Tampa Bay. Ten years ago, the DEVIL Rays put together the “Hit Show” with Fred McGriff, Jose Canseco, Wade Boggs, and a lot of other guys that were past their prime. Now they’re leading the AL East. Thats right, the same AL East with the Yankees and the Red Sox. Now, I don’t think they’re going to win the division, but they’ve got a shot, which is more than I can say for Oakland.

So I guess thats it on baseball… for now.

I know its been gone over and reviewed and talked about, but is Brett Favre serious right now? Is he serious? An itch? Come on. He’s what? 38 years old? He’s got almost every statistical career record for a quarterback. He’s the Cal Ripken of football. He’s beloved. And now he wants to pull a Joe Montana and show up in a different uniform? I can understand both sides, but at the same time, both sides are wrong. The Packers were wrong for announcing Aaron Rodgers would be the starter. Now they don’t want to look stupid. Favre was wrong for retiring so early without being 100% sure. Now he wants to play and he’s putting Green Bay is a tough spot. There are only two ways to solve this. Either Green Bay brings in Brett and he starts, thereby throwing the finishing blow to Aaron Rodgers and the slim confidence he’s got left… or they release him and let him play somewhere else. Anywhere else. How many people really remember Joe Montana in Kansas City? Unless Brett Favre breaks the single season records for passing yards and touchdowns, leads his team (whichever team it might be) to an undefeated record and a Super Bowl win, Favre will always be a Packer… or in some cases a Falcon… or in even less cases, a Jet. Hmm. Browning Nagle or Brett Favre? Tough choice.

In less Brett Favre-related news, I can’t wait for the season to start so I can finally start making picks and being absolutely right about more than half of them.

Now, onto the NBA. With the Olympics starting soon, its nice to see that USA Basketball is beginning to take these games seriously and may just be able to get past teams countries like Lithuania. Its no secret that basketball has become widely globalized, but is the globalization of basketball come back to bite the United States? If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m highly upset that a few of our good players are going overseas to play in Europe. I can understand Juan Carlos Navarro, an All-Rookie Second Team player, going to play in Barcelona. He’s from Spain. Or Bostjan Nachbar going to play in Russia. But Josh Childress going to play in Greece? Thats right. Josh Childress. 6th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was on the cover of College Hoops 2k5, dammit? How could the Hawks… how could the NBA let this happen? The fact that bench warmers or guys that couldn’t land a team go overseas is understood. These guys get an opportunity to play and get paid. Trajan Langdon was a star at Duke, played for Cleveland, and most recently he was named MVP of the Euroleague Finals. But how can we allow decent role players to leave? Maybe if bums like Jerome James weren’t tying up so much salary cap space, guys like Childress could get more money. Why are NBA salaries guaranteed anyway? Why aren’t there more incentive based contracts? And if you think this isn’t going to have a huge impact, whats going to happen when higher caliber players decide they can get more money in Europe? Don’t think it’ll happen? Well, Ben Gordon is currently considering going overseas. That could be just the beginning.

And it doesnt end there. Brandon Jennings is going to play in Italy because his SAT scores weren’t high enough for him to qualify and play at Arizona. So, rather than study a little harder and score higher on the test… or maybe try to attend a college with slightly lower academic standards, he chose to play professionally in Italy until he’s eligible to enter the NBA draft. Mark my words, Jennings is playing with fire right now. He won’t be the last high school player to do this. Guys that coast through high school are going to opt out of going to college so that they can go play in Europe for a year. This is going to ruin the college game, and there are going to be a lot of high school guys going to Europe to make some money before becoming eligible for the draft.

Which brings me back to an idea I’ve had for some time now. Why doesn’t the NBA do what Major League Baseball does? If a player decides to enter the NBA draft out of high school, let him. But if he goes to college, he has to stay for at least three seasons. The college game doesn’t suffer, NBA teams get a better idea of what kind of prospect they’re seeing, and I think it makes for a more efficient system.

So thats the current state of affairs as of right now. With the way things are going with Brett Favre, Manny Ramirez, and the NBA, its hard to see when there might be any change.


Mid-year assessment… or is it?

In Stanley Talouis on July 8, 2008 at 9:31 AM

So we’ve hit the midpoint of the year and what do we have to show for it? I’d say a lot. As a sports fan, I’m not completely satisfied with my teams, but I’m as happy as I can be considering where they could be. As I think back to the past few months, overall this has been as good of a first half of the year for sports as I’ve ever remembered.

The Giants were double digit underdogs and held the most prolific offense in the history of the game to 14 en route to a remarkable Super Bowl win. We watched as a hobbled Tiger Woods pushed his body to the limit and won the US Open. We saw Sid the Kid become a man in the playoffs, and were treated to a Celtics win that meant vindication for one man- Kevin Garnett. Personally, I got to see the Knicks gamble with the franchise by taking an international star. The Kansas Jayhawks provided us with a amazing national championship win. Even this past weekend, we watched the Williams’ sisters battle for what eventually became Venus’ fifth Wimbledon title, and Rafael Nadal’s first. I’m sure winning his first Wimbledon title over Roger Federer the way he did makes it even better.

Don’t be fooled, however. This isn’t just about the year that was. There are several things on my mind right now and what better place to air out these issues?

Lets start with the NFL. Why are the Packers even letting Brett Favre push them around like this? I’m not saying that Favre is doing this intentionally but at some point he has to realize that this “i’m want to come back” drama isn’t helping the locker room. For the past three years, the Packers have had to deal with this “will he or won’t he” stuff. At this rate, Aaron Rodgers is going to have to move on to another team so that he can get some playing time. I can understand Favre having “the itch” to come back but at his age, what else can he contribute? He had his shot last season. He led his team to a 13-3 record and took them to the NFC Championship game. Its not exactly retiring on top but its as close as anyone’s going to get. And besides, lets look at the big picture here. Imagine a Hall of Fame class in 2013 with Brett Favre, Warren Sapp, and Michael Strahan all being on the ballot. Brett, if you happen to be browsing the internet and come across this… heed my words. Stop thinking about yourself. You’re a legend in Wisconsin and Mississippi. Stop being so selfish. Think about the big picture. You, Mike, and Warren all going into the Hall together. Thats the stuff movies are made of.

Now, onto some baseball. It took a little while but the Mets are above .500 again. Now, they’re only two and a half games out in the division and have to play the Giants and the Rockies before the All-Star break. If they can win four of their next six games, they can take a a lead in the division as well as some confidence. Johan Santana has always been a better pitcher in the second half of the season. All he needs is some run support and the Mets should be alright down the stretch.

How about those Tampa Bay Rays? Not only do they have the best home record in the majors, they have the best record altogether. Their pitching has been stellar, they play great defense, they have an amazing rookie in Evan Longoria. Judging by the way they swept the Red Sox last week, I’d say these guys are ready to finally get some respect. It wasn’t too long ago that they were the laughingstock of the American League. Now they’ve put it all together and could make a run for the division. With Ortiz still hurting, and the Yankees so far back, who’s going to stop them?

Last thing on baseball. The All-Star Committee or whoever it is that decides on who makes it to the All-Star Game really messed up this year.Why isn’t Jermaine Dye on the team. Not only should he be on the team, he should be starting. Why is Jason Varitek or David Ortiz on the team. Ortiz started off the season batting .070. And then he got hurt. Why is he in the game over a guy like Jason Giambi… who happens to be happens a monster season. Varitek is batting .219 and he’s in the game over a guy like AJ Pierzynski, who’s batting .296. Maybe the American League roster is crowded. But there are guys who deserve to be on the roster like Evan Longoria. And there are guys who don’t deserve to be there like Joe Crede. As far as the National League roster goes, why is Kosuke Fukodome starting over a guy like Nate McLouth? And they got the wrong guy to represent the Mets. They should have picked David Wright, not Billy Wagner. Wagner has been blowing saves left and right… and he almost blew another tonight against the Phillies. I hope Wright gets voted in. He’s one of the few that actually deserves it. To be honest, I hope the fact that Beltran, Delgado, Reyes, and the rest realize that they’ve been snubbed because they’ve been playing sub-par ball all season. Maybe this will light a fire underneath them and they’ll start playing up to their potential.

Next up, basketball. I think it should be fairly obvious how I feel about the hype over a summer league game between the Bulls and the Heat. There are rumors that the Sixers want Elton Brand. In order to create cap space, they’re willing to trade away Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth. Now, maybe I’m bitter but didn’t I suggest a trade between the Knicks and the Sixers that would bring Carney and Booth or Carney and Andre Miller for Zach Randolph? The Sixers would get the low post presence they want that could complement Sammy Dalembert. I hate being right all the time. By the way, kudos to the Knicks for signing Chris Duhon. Thats the kind of smart acquisition that could turn the team around. He works hard and plays defense. Thats all you could ask for.

And kudos to both the Celtics and Corey Maggette. If they work out a deal, its perfect for both sides. Maggette is willing to take a cut in minutes and money to play for Doc Rivers. All I have to say is Umbutu.

So here are a few things I’ve been thinking about lately.

- I was watching Mars Attacks! the other night, and I had completely forgotten that Ray J was in it. And he was really young. I almost spilled my beer… oops, I mean my iced tea when he yells, “What are you guys gawking at?? Get the President outta here!!” Yes, people… that guy had sex with Kim Kardashian.

- Why is everyone so concerned about A-Rod’s marriage? I never really got a great look at his wife anyway. How hot can she possibly be?

A-Rod and Ex-wife Number 1

Okay fine. I guess she’s pretty hot. Jesus. A-Rod’s hands are huge. Those things are like oven mitts.

- I’m actually surprised that Forrest Griffin beat Quentin “Rampage” Jackson. In my opinion, Chuck Liddell is awesome, and the Iceman could take out Griffin. So if Jackson can beat Liddell, I figured he’d have no problem with Griffin. Guess I was wrong.

Somebody needs a band-aid.

Yeah, he’s the lightheavyweight champ now… but with a face like that, who’s the real winner here?

- Floyd Mayweather Jr came out and said that HBO is racially biased. He says that HBO praises Kelly Pavlik and Manny Pacquiao, but none of the black fighters like himself. To be honest, I can’t speak for HBO, but I dont praise Mayweather because he talks too much and he’s too cocky.

- CC Sabathia just got traded to the Brewers for some minor leaguers. Everyone on ESPN is now drinking the Milwaukee Kool-Aid. I’m not. One extra pitcher won’t make the difference for them this year. The Brewers would not only have to catch the Cardinals, but the Cubs as well. Does this mean either one of those teams is going to try to get Rich Harden or AJ Burnett? (Personally, I’d like the Mets to try to make a move for those guys… as long as they don’t give up any good prospects.) If I’m the Brewers, why would I give up prospects to get CC when I know I can’t afford to sign him at the end of the season? Maybe they’re desperate to win a World Series since they know Ben Sheets isn’t coming back either.

Questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


I’ve had time to recover…

In Stanley Talouis on July 2, 2008 at 1:39 AM

Don’t worry folks. I’m alive. I know a lot of you thought I’d jump off a bridge after the Knicks chose not to go after a point guard in the draft, but you know what? I’m not upset at the pick. Danilo Gallinari wasn’t my first choice but he was picked and nothing I can say is going to bring DJ Augustin to the Knicks. But before I completely immerse myself in the Knicks’ offseason plans, I have to talk about the draft itself.

The first two picks were as predictable as they could be. In fact, Andy Katz reported that the Bulls would take Derrick Rose with the first pick well before the draft had already begun. With that out of the way, the first surprise of the night was Russell Westbrook going to Seattle. After that, the draft went as everyone thought it would. Guys like Jason Thompson from Rider were taken too high. Guys like Darrell Arthur from Kansas fell too low. You had feel good stories, like the Lopez twins. You had head-scratching picks, like Seattle taking Serge Ibaka from Congo, who basically said don’t draft me… I’m staying in Spain. What was Seattle thinking on that one? Thats a wasted pick, I don’t care if they had six of them.

Now, as far as the Knicks are concerned, the motivation here is to make this Knicks team appealing for Lebron James, Chris Bosh,or Dwayne Wade. Thats it in a nutshell. I didn’t agree with Danilo Gallinari for several reasons.

1) He can score, but can he defend? His dad was known as a defensive player in Italy, but thats no indication of Danilo’s game.

2) He can fit into D’Antoni’s system but when will he play? If he plays small forward, there’s also Quentin Richardson and Renaldo Balkman to share time with. He can cause matchup problems if he plays power forward but they already have Zach Randolph and David Lee. I’ve heard rumblings of his ability to play some guard. If thats the case, he’ll have to share minutes with Jamal Crawford.

3) Like so many others have said, this is a big risk because Gallinari can blossom into an MVP like Dirk Nowitzki or be a dud like Frederick Weis. At this point, all we as Knicks fans know is that he’s a guy they called “Cock” in Italy. Wonderful.

As we speak, there are rumors that the Knicks are pursuing Chris Duhon. Personally, I like the idea. He’s a hard worker, he plays defense, he hustles, and he’s talented. What the Knicks have to do is avoid over-paying him like they’ve done with all their over free agents in the past.

Clearing up cap space is pretty important at this point, and with Lebron James’ recent comments about New York, the Knicks should have a sense of urgency. However. its not just about cap space with Lebron. He wants to win multiple championships. And when it comes down to it, cap space and friendship isn’t going to be enough to lure Lebron James away from Cleveland. For everyone in Brooklyn, calm down. Jay-Z is only a part owner of the Nets. He has no influence over day to day operations in the front office.

With everyone worried about the summer of 20010, how can we overlook this summer? Gilbert Arenas has come out and pretty much said he wouldn’t re-sign with the Wizards if they hadn’t brought back Antawn Jamison. That not only shows a new trend in the NBA with players opting for team chemistry over more money, but it also shows the committment Arenas is showing to his teammates and organization. Elton Brand opted out of his deal but plans to re-sign with the Clippers. With Baron Davis possibly leaving the Warriors for the Clippers, it seems like more and players are more concerned with playing for a championship and for less money. The Celtics put together a championship team in one offseason because the players bought into a system and played well in that system. The Clippers with Baron Davis could be an interesting team to watch next season.

As always, here are a few things around the sports world I’ve been thinking about.

- How can Gene Upshaw be serious about not even talking about lowering rookie salaries? How can it help player morale to know that a guy who’s never stepped foot on the football field can make more than a guy who’s paid his dues and earned his paychecks. Since Upshaw is a former player, he should understand. Rookies making $30 million is absolutely ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong. I think NFL players get the raw end of the deal, but I’m all about earning the cash.

- If I were Shawn Chacon, I’d cut my losses and really try to play somewhere else. He threw the GM to the ground. Its hard to see who else would pick him up.

- Ron Artest regrets not opting out. I wasn’t aware that he couldn’t change his mind and opt out. Regardless, he’ll probably be traded between now and February.

- Baron Davis has officially signed with the Clippers. An impact point guard, a very good power forward, a sensational rookie shooting guard… I like the Clippers next season. I don’t know if they’ll challenge the Lakers but they’ll make it interesting in the Western Conference.

- Manny Pacquiao beat David Diaz over the weekend, put him in strong consideration for one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing. I’d like to see him face the winner of Marquez vs. Casamayor.
Any comments or questions? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


I love the holidays.

In Stanley Talouis on June 26, 2008 at 3:17 PM

For those of you who have come to know me, you know that I love football. And to me, the NFL Draft is like Christmas for a guy like me. But I also enjoy the NBA Draft. So if the NFL Draft is Christmas, does that make the NBA Draft Easter? Or if we ignore chronological order, would that make it Thanksgiving?

Makes sense. Just like on Thanksgiving, the day starts off with me thinking about all the good things that could happen. “Man, that turkey’s gonna be awesome.” is pretty similar to “Man, the Knicks are gonna draft a franchise player tonight.” The difference is that the latter usually doesn’t happen. And I know what you’re thinking. “Stan, you said you weren’t going to do an NBA mock draft.” Yeah, well I lied. You and I both know I couldn’t resist. I’m a prognosticator. How could I stay away from predicting the unpredictable? Its like gambling or eating Pringles. Once you start, you can’t stop. I think I have a problem. Is there a program for people like me? Anyway, before I get too far from the topic, I’ll lay down some ground rules.

1) I’m doing this based on the information thats already out.

2) I’m doing this on the chance that there won’t be any trades. (But we all know there will be.)

With all that said, here we go.

 

Chicago Bulls- Derrick Rose, G Memphis: Rose is the clear cut choice here. He’s the hometown guy, he’s an impact point guard coming into a league where point guard are changing the game. Personally, I’d try to package Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Heinrich and try to acquire another pick. I don’t see how they’ll work two guards like Heinrich and Rose together into the rotation. Can’t put either one of them on the bench.

Miami Heat- Michael Beasley, F Kansas St: I’m not saying they’ll keep him, but they’ll probably draft him and wait to see who wants to trade for him. Seattle is a possibility but neither him nor Durant play defense. Besides, I can see Durant playing the 4 if he puts on some weight. I think Minnesota or Memphis would be smart to trade up here to take Beasley. Then Miami can still take a guy like OJ Mayo or Jerryd Bayless.

Minnesota Timberwolves- OJ Mayo, G USC: Remember the last temperamental freshman phenom that got drafted by Minnesota. Goes by the moniker, ”Starbury”?? Yeah, that guy. I don’t know if Mayo is even going to Minnesota with all the trade possibilities, but I know he won’t be there for too long. I could totally see him leaving after his rookie contract expires.

Seattle Supersonics- Jerryd Bayless, G Arizona: Someone’s gotta be the guy to get the ball to Durant. Bayless is a bit of a shoot first type player but I think he’s smart enough to adapt his game around playing with Durant. Personally, I think Seattle (like several other teams) would benefit from trading up to take Mayo. Imagine it. Durant is a big time, crunch time scorer and Mayo would be the best sidekick in the league. He plays defense, he can play three positions, and he can score at will.

Memphis Grizzlies- Kevin Love, F/C UCLA: I originally didn’t think that Kevin Love would be a top 10 pick because of his issues with athleticism but his work ethic is pretty good and rumor has it he’s lost 15 pounds and put on some muscle. Memphis clearly lacks an inside game and if they refuse to send Mike Miller, Mike Conley and this pick to Miami in order to take Beasley, this is a decent backup plan.

New York Knicks- Russell Westbrook, G UCLA: I had to stop myself from wanting Danilo Gallinari here. Gallinari is unlike many European prospects. He’s not soft. He loves contact, he’s tall, quick, and very athletic. Plus he can shoot. My issue is that too many people are calling him an Italian version of Toni Kukoc. I’m no expert but the last time I checked, Kukoc was far from a franchise player. I’m not completely sold on Westbrook but the kid has a motor man. Plus, he’s got crazy hops and he plays tenacious defense. Thats right. Levitation homes. (Tenacious D… look ‘em up)

LA Clippers- Eric Gordon, G Indiana: I was thinking Joe Alexander here, but he’s got absolutely no basketball IQ and looks lost out there sometimes. I don’t know how close Livingston is to coming back so I’d say go with a guard. (Side note: When are the Clippers gonna finally put it together and stop teasing their fans in the beginning of the season. Furthermore, the Clippers could possibly trade Elton Brand and this pick to Miami and take Mayo. Yeah, they’d have no inside game, but its the Clippers. Who cares?)

Milwaukee Bucks- Danilo Gallinari, F Italy: Remember that Mastercard commercial with Don Nelson coaching the Mavericks and he was speaking all the different languages? Could you imagine Scott Skiles having to do that with Yi Jianlian and Gallinari? It’d be like the UN on that team. I just think that’d be funny. To be honest with you, the Bucks are better of taking Joe Alexander. He fits into the Scott Skiles mold.

Charlotte Bobcats- Joe Alexander, F West Virginia: The guy with no basketball IQ would get to play for one of the greatest basketball minds in the world. Works out well. If Alexander is gone by the time the Bobcats are on the clock, I could see Gallinari going here.  

New Jersey Nets- Brook Lopez, F/C Stanford: He works hard and he’s smart. The Nets lack depth in the low post and Lopez would help solidify that frontcourt with Josh Boone and Krystic.

Indiana Pacers- Kosta Koufos, F/C Ohio St: This is quite the downgrade from Jermaine O’Neal, but they can afford to take the risk since they got TJ Ford in the deal. I think Koufos doesn’t look like he’s completely into it. Just my opinion.

Sacramento Kings- DJ Augustin, G Texas: I didn’t think that Augustin would slip this far, but the Kings do need a guard and they’ll luck out if he falls this far. I also like the chance of the Knicks trading Eddy Curry and the 6th pick to the Kings for an expiring contract and this pick. The Knicks could still get a valuable guard here and they’d send that albatross packing.

Portland Trailblazers- Anthony Randolph, F/C LSU: You know the Blazers are going to do something crazy and you can’t miss it. Its like that episode of the Simpsons where the Italian mob was fighting the Japanese yakuza on the front lawn. The little one is just standing there and you know he’s gonna do something cool. The Blazers are the little Japanese dude.

Golden St Warriors- Robin Lopez, F/C Stanford: The other Lopez twin gets to stay closer to home. They might be a little overloaded in the frontcourt with this pick but they can probably use it to trade up.

Phoenix Suns- Mario Chalmers, G Kansas: Seriously, if Robert Sarver trades this pick, I’ll officially become a Suns fan so I can boo him and get him removed from the entire state of Arizona. I know people are still pissed off that he passed on Rajon Rondo for some cash that ended up going to Marcus Banks. MARCUS BANKS!!!!

Philadelphia 76ers- DeAndre Jordan, F/C Texas A&M: The Sixers need help on the inside and like I’ve been saying… why don’t the Knicks trade Zach Randolph to the Sixers with the 6th pick for Andre Miller, Rodney Carney, and the 16th pick? That way Philly gets the guy on the inside they lack, the Knicks get a younger, cheaper replacement, a good swingman, and a veteran point guard.

Indiana Pacers (from Toronto)- Brandon Rush, G Kansas: I really like this kid’s game. He’s a good defender on the perimeter, he good shooter and he attacks the basket. Do the Pacers even have a shooting guard? Holy crap… I just realized. Kareem Rush is on the Pacers. How funny would it be if the Pacers drafted his younger brother and gave him more minutes. Talk about sibling rivalry.

Washington Wizards- Donte Green, F Syracuse: A lineup with Arenas, Jamison, Butler, Green and Haywood would be pretty impressive on the offensive end. They all have to learn how to pass though.

Cleveland Cavaliers- Darrell Arthur, F Kansas: Varejao’s gone. Write that down. He’s not going to be in Cleveland for long. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you his replacement. I could also see Roy Hibbert going here.

Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver)- Roy Hibbert, C Georgetown: Okafor needs some help. I think Hibbert can help. Especially on the defensive end.

New Jersey Nets- JJ Hickson, F NC State: Honestly, I have no clue why Hickson would be good here. I ran out of ideas after Philly.

Orlando Magic- Courtney Lee, G Western Kentucky: The general consensus has Lee going here to the Magic because of their needs at the 2 guard spot. And these are the same people that drafted and barely gave playing time to JJ Redick. Go figure.

I’m gonna be honest with you… nothing else interests me here. Unless there are some insane trades, there isn’t much else that would surprise or intrigue me. However, I will say this. I’d like to see where Joey Dorsey and Chris Douglas-Roberts land. I can see either one of them falling to Memphis at 28. CDR could also end up in Boston to back up Ray Allen. Who better for him to learn from?

Last season, we saw the most draft day trades in the history of the NBA draft. Could we see more? I’d like to see more. That’d be awesome. Also, if Zach Randolph does get traded, would he be the first player in NBA history to be traded on consecutive draft nights? And if that’s the case, whatever team he ends up on officially has the dumbest GM in the history of the planet. Well, here’s hoping for a great night at the Garden. Oops, excuse me. I mean a great night at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Man, I love the holidays.


Just when you thought it was over…

In Stanley Talouis on June 24, 2008 at 2:01 AM


Just a few thoughts on this.

- I like this. Just when you thought things weren’t going to get interesting, they do. This is just when everyone needs. And I mean everyone. The media needs a little more to talk about over the next few days before the draft. Shaq needs to remain relevant after doing nothing in the second half of the season and in the postseason. Kobe needs to go to Beijing with a colossal chip on his shoulder. Can you imagine what a motivated Kobe Bryant would do in these international games? He’s already pissed off after losing to the Celtics. And if losing wasn’t enough, the Lakers were completely obliterated in the last game. Now, Shaq pretty much verbally smacked him and its all over the internet. Whether Shaq was joking or not, its all about perception and an angry Kobe is a force to be reckoned with. We should officially call this summer, The Return of Black Mamba. No more joking in the press conferences. No more smiles. Just hard work and motivation. I can taste that Olympic gold already.

- Why did Shaq have to bring Patrick Ewing into this. Its not all Patrick’s fault the Knicks didn’t win any titles with him around. If you’re going to blame anyone, blame Hakeem Olajuwon, or Michael Jordan, or John Starks. Or for that matter, blame Pat Riley for leaving Rolando Blackmon on the bench and letting Starks go 2 for 18… million.

-


I’m so conflicted.

In Stanley Talouis on June 23, 2008 at 4:06 PM

Game 6 NBA Diary
When the Knicks played the Spurs in the 98-99 NBA Finals, I was at the barbershop getting a haircut during Game 5. Subsequently, it wasn’t my best haircut. Tonight, without even realizing the error in ways, I ended up at the barbershop once again during a Finals clinching game. Luckily for me, I was done by the end of the first quarter. No drama, no bad haircuts. Its just too bad that this NBA diary begins several minutes into the second quarter. Before I begin, there are a few things I noticed while at the barbershop.

- Rajon Rondo is redeeming himself for Game 5. He’s got three steals already. He might just beat out Chris Mihm for T-Mobile Player of the Game. Oh yeah, and Robert Sarver? Remember when you traded the draft rights for Rondo to the Celtics for basically nothing? Joke’s on you, huh?

- Holy crap, its Big Baby Davis. Doc Rivers never ceases to amaze me with his rotations.

- Did Kobe make a bet with someone that he could outscore his teammates in the first quarter of every game?

9:55pm- James Posey just hit an open three to take a six point lead. And then a steal, followed by another three from Eddie House. Maybe defense really does win championships.

10:00pm- Ray Allen is still in the locker room after getting poked in the eye. Oh wait, here he comes. Is this going to be another Willis Reed comparison?

10:02pm- How am I supposed to find the balance between watching this great game and watching The Office on TBS? More or less importantly, I want to order chinese food before halftime but I dont know what I want.

10:14pm- Kobe just split the defense and kicked it out to a semi-wide open Jordan Farmar, who eventually turned it over. He may not be back after halftime

10:16pm- Personally, I like the Celtics’ chances tonight. Dick Bavetta isn’t calling the game so at the very least, it’ll be a decisive win with no conspiracies.

10:19pm- Halftime stats. Celtics have a 23 point lead. Paul Pierce is insanely close to a triple double. And I think Mike Breen has mentioned Ray Allen’s kid like 10 times already. Mike, we get it. Its on his mind. Side note: I sometimes wonder what players think about on the free throw line.
10:29pm- Crabmeat fried rice with fried crabsticks. Yeah, I know. I like crab.

10:44pm- According to Mike Breen, the Lakers might not be able to come back because “it can be so deflating, especially when the crowd is so loud”. Thats some damn good analysis.

10:48pm- This game is over. It really is. It feels like the Celtics just want it more. And I know that sounds so cliche, but they’re playing like the world is going to end tomorrow. And Ray Allen just hit a wide open three after a steal by Rondo. Come on. Seriously?

10:56pm- So far this game, outside of Kobe’s 3 3-pointers in the first quarter, I haven’t seen Black Mamba check in.

11:01pm- As much as I hate the city of Boston, you have to give it to them. Chanting MVP while Paul Pierce is shooting free throws is sort of a double entendre. Not only are they saying that Paul Pierce is worthy of the NBA Finals MVP award, but in a way they’re mocking the Lakers crowd, who obviously don’t understand the rules of chanting “MVP”.

11:03pm- By the way, I did pick the Lakers to win this series. I admit it. I was wrong about the Celtics. But could you blame me? The Celtics were barely winning games against Atlanta and Cleveland. However, I’m going to go with my original preseason pick. Yes, thats right. Before the season started, I picked the Celtics to win the title. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad Boston is about to win. Kevin Garnett deserves a title. Paul Pierce and his 11 stab wounds deserve a title. Ray Allen a.k.a Jesus Shuttlesworth deserves a ring. How else is Denzel going to be able to get out of jail early in “He Got Game 2: Papa’s Coming Home”??

11:11pm- God I can’t wait for this game to end so I can start hating the entire New England area again.

11:17pm- You know a game is over when Trevor Ariza is in the game in the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals.

11:19pm- T-Mobile Player of the Game? You guessed it. Chris Mihm. On a more serious note: Its Rajon Rondo. But wouldn’t it be funny if Chris Mihm was a choice?

11:29pm- I cant even think of anything funny to say right now. I might as well just stop now and start studying for my test tomorrow.

11:31pm- The Celtics just broke the record for most steals in an NBA Finals game. Next up, the record for most lop-sided victory. That record is 42 points. The Celtics are currently up by 36. Ray Allen also just tied the record for most three pointers in an NBA Finals game at 7.

11:39pm- Thats a damn good “Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye” from the Boston crowd. In unison, loud, and clear. Kudos to them.

11:49pm- They might be able to break the point differential record right here… never mind.

11:51pm- Was that the first ever NBA Gatorade bath? Now that floor is going to be sticky. And I don’t know if that huge circle mop is gonna do the job.

11:55pm- I knew Garnett was going to cry.

11:58pm- Apparenty, Kevin Garnett thinks that anything’s possible.

 

So, now that the Celtics have finally won it, I can go back to hating the entire city of Boston. But first, I have to say that there aren’t too many people in sports that I can say deserve a championship more than Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Three men that anyone can say they truly admire in sports. They give everything they have to their teams. When Kevin Garnett was trying year after year to get out of the first round, he stayed loyal to his organization. To this day, as we just saw, he holds Minnesota in high regard. Ray Allen would probably have never left Milwaukee if he hadn’t been traded and he’s always been a loyal, respectable guy. Paul Pierce stuck around in Boston when he could have left several times. And how about Doc Rivers going from lame duck coach to NBA champ.

As a Knicks fan, there’s so much to hate about this Boston team. PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, the city of Boston itself, and in some cases… the color green. Thats right. I said it. That city makes me hate the color green. However, for the very limited time span involving the NBA Playoffs, I put aside my hate for everything New England related and rooted for the Celtics. Not because I don’t like Kobe. Not because I don’t think Phil Jackson is that great of a coach. (Side note: I think he’s a hell of a coach and I think Red Auerbach was wrong to say that Phil Jackson has always had great players to win him championships. Red Auerbach may be a legend, but he’s wrong. The way I see it, Red had as many good players as Jackson had, if not more.) My reasons for wanting the Celtics to win this year goes beyond words. Primal screams are necessary to explain my thoughts on it. When Kevin Garnett screamed at the top of his lungs, thats what I wanted them to win for. When Doc Rivers was doused in Gatorade, thats what I wanted them to win for. When Paul Pierce held that trophy up for the crowd, thats what I wanted them to win for. The Celtics winning the championship not only solidified the careers of three hardworking individuals, but it also shows that there’s something to be said about sacrificing and winning as a team.

As always, here are a few things going around the sports world that have piqued my interest.

- Pacman Jones doesn’t want to be called “Pacman” anymore. Instead he wants to be called by his given name, Adam. Personally, I’d have picked a better video game character. “Niko Bellic” Jones, anyone?

- How about George Martin walking across the country for 9/11 workers… what a guy.

- How about that new Giambi mustache. He looks like the second coming of John Holmes. No pun intended.

- To all the people that thought the Mets were finished because they were four games under .500 and seven games back in the division, I say to you… eat it. The Mets have won three of their last four games and are about to start a series against the worst team in baseball. Oh yeah, and they’re three and a half games back in the division. Its never over til its over.

- In a new mock draft, Chad Ford has the Knicks taking Russell Westbrook from UCLA… over DJ Augustin. I don’t see it, but hey, thats why he’s Chad Ford and I’m not. Furthermore, I don’t think I’ll be doing a mock draft this year. It gets harder and harder every year with stupid general managers, trades, and international players.

- Although its incredibly old news, as a Mets fan I have to throw in my two cents on the firing of Willie Randolph. First off, I dont think he should have been fired due to the fact that he’s had to deal with injuries and a short bench. He’s also had to deal with the pressure of a front office that doesn’t support him and a general manager willing to throw him under the bus at any given moment. In my opinion, its as much the players fault, and its as much Omar Minaya’s fault, as it is Willie’s. If you give your manager a 41 year old outfielder with a history of injuries, what are you expecting to happen. When you give an overrated second baseman a 4 year deal on the downside of his career, what do you expect to happen? I’ve said this time and time again. I think Omar Minaya feels that he missed out on winning a championship with the 1994 Expos and trying to bring back as many of those guys as possible. Don’t be surprised to see Rondell White in a Mets uniform. Don’t believe me? Then why are there two members of the ‘94 Expos on this current Mets roster? As if Cliff Floyd has stayed, there would be three. Also, take into consideration that managers don’t play the games. It wasn’t Willie that made Billy Wagner blow those three saves. It wasn’t Willie that made all those errors. It wasn’t even Willie that signed all these washed up veterans. The point is that firing him was a bad idea, and it makes the Mets front office look stupid for firing him on a road trip… after a win. If you wanted to fire him after the 2006 NLCS (when Beltran didn’t even swing), then do it. If you wanted him gone after the collapse last season, pull the trigger. If you wanted to fire him before they went on the road trip, go right ahead. But don’t fire the guy at 3am in the hotel after his team beat a very good offensive team.

Any questions or comments, email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


This Could Be It…

In Stanley Talouis on June 16, 2008 at 4:39 AM

This time, I thought I’d take a page from the book of Bill Simmons… my idol. Unlike him, I’m not a Celtics fan, nor do I live in Los Angeles. I’m merely a basketball fan. And as a basketball fan, I’d like my readers to delve into the mind of a basketball fan. Therefore, this is going to be my very first NBA diary. For those not familiar with an NBA diary, I’m going to watch the entire game and chronicle my thoughts throughout the game. So here we go. Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

9:09pm- I have a weird feeling that Kobe’s going to try to score all the points in this game.

9:11pm- Some bump on Fisher. Looks like a phantom push to me. Maybe if a politician was shot in the crowd, we could see Fisher’s reaction time like that boxer in Snake Eyes. By the way, Snake eyes = awesome movie.

9:12pm- Nice shot from Garnett, followed by a really wide open shot by Fisher. Like I said, some bump, huh?

9:20pm- Maybe the Celtics are baiting the Lakers into another huge lead and then coming back again.

9:22pm- I told you Kobe was gonna try to score all the points.

9:23pm- 14 of the Lakers’ 24 points. He’s already outscored both the Celtics and his own teammates!!!

9:24pm- Thats it. Kobe’s left the game. Black Mamba just checked in. And will someone let the Lakers fans know that you’re not supposed to chant MVP after your player has already won it. Thanks to Jeff Van Gundy for pointing that out as I was typing this.

9:26pm- What a pass from Kobe… oops I mean Black Mamba to Gasol. After Odom’s lucky lay-up, its 31-15 and here comes a timeout. Now I can go do my taxes.

9:31pm- Garnett just got called for his second foul. And Kendrick Perkins is already not playing. Hmmm… is Dick Bavetta here. Yup, found him.

9:33pm- Is Sasha Vujacic in a contract year? His playoff performance reminds me of what Jerome James did to parlay his $30 million contract. Thank God for Donnie Walsh.

9:34pm- I wish I had a laptop. I’d be a lot more comfortable.

9:36pm- End of the first quarter. 39-21 and Kobe has 15. Umm… Doc? You might want to tell your guys to play some defense.

9:43pm- Wow. Chris Mihm is alive. How obscure of him.

9:45pm- Back to back fouls on Chris Mihm. Thats gotta be the highlight of his season.

9:46pm- Stupid Tony Allen. Wait for your team to come back after you make a good play. Don’t spoil your one good play of the year. Here comes another tv timeout. I’m gonna go rotate someone’s tires.

9:52pm- Interesting play there. Ronny Turiaf called for a charge and no one helps him up.

9:54pm- Garnett picked up his third foul. Looked like all ball to me. Here’s a thought. If the Celtics win the title tonight without Garnett’s help, would he feel good about the win?

9:56pm- The Lakers have been outscored 18-8 this quarter and haven’t scored in the last 5 minutes. 18 points already for Paul Pierce and Kobe just shot a “you shoulda had that” look to Pau Gasol. NBA… I love this game.

10:03pm- Maybe Cassell should just stop shooting. Holy crap, Odom just scored. Its because he’s from Queens.

10:09pm- For some reason, Tony Allen has been in the game almost the entire second quarter. I wonder if Doc got confused and didn’t realize that Tony Allen wasn’t Ray Allen. Wait, now they’re both in. Thats gotta be really confusing.

10:12pm- What a move by Odom. Should’ve been a foul.

10:14pm- If I were Dick Bavetta, I’d avoid any controversial calls. I mean, Tim Donaghy just came out and threw you under the bus last week, and he makes a great point, despite being a liar.

10:15pm- End of the second quarter, 55-52. Kobe had no points in the second quarter. He’s relatively calm at halftime talking to Michelle Tafoya. I wonder which one of his teammates he’s going to kill in the locker room.

10:40pm- Ray Allen just tied the game. How about that Jesus Shuttlesworth?

10:41pm- Celtics take their first lead of the game with Paul Pierce’s free throws. Kobe’s back in. Black Mamba fell alseep on the bench.

10:42pm- Never mind. Mamba’s back. He chased down a loose ball and put it back up for the points and the foul.

10:54PM- Celtics just took a timeout after a surprisingly clutch three pointer from Radmanovic. Maybe Doc would feel more comfortable winning in Boston. On a side note, Dark Knight looks awesome and I can’t wait until that movie comes out. Even farther side note, why is Wendy’s saying that their food is better than fast food when its actually fast food? Frankly, I thought the whole “good food, fast” promotion was cool.

10:58pm- Christ, Sly Stallone can’t even smile anymore. Can’t Congress step in and regulate the use of Botox? I think thats more of a threat to human life than steroids are.

11:01pm- Holy crap. Its Brian Shaw. Almost forgot he was an assistant coach in LA.

11:04pm- Doesn’t PJ Brown always looks like he smells something bad? Kinda like the way Kurt Thomas always looks angry, and Sam Cassell always looks surprised.

11:05pm- I’m telling you, Cassell should just stop shooting.

11:07pm- Thats the third time Dick Bavetta has called someone out of bounds in virtually the same spot. The fix is in. Thats right, I said it. Furthermore, (tangent time) why don’t more coaches just try to get the oppposing team’s best player fouled out? Worked for me in NBA Live and to a lesser extent, NBA 2K. Kobe has four fouls in the third quarter. I’d make him work.

11:10pm- Horrible pass by Eddie House after he had the open lane. I think Mike Breen is legitimately excited about this 18 hole playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate tomorrow. He keeps bringing it up. Even more than he might have to.

11:12pm- End of the third quarter, Lakers up 79-70. On the bright side, if the Lakers win, I get a little more practice at this NBA diary thing.

11:17pm- I dont know what the hell is going on, but three different cops cars just sped past my house. That can’t be good.

11:20pm- I kinda want that new Samsung phone. And apparently, Mars is still stuck in the 1970s. My vote for T-Mobile Player of the Game? Definately Chris Mihm.

11:26pm- Wow… Sam Cassell just threw Vujacic to the ground. Really hard.

11:27pm- Smart play by the wily veteran Cassell. Contact and the foul.

11:37pm- EVeryone keeps bringing up the Celtics turnaround from last season. Technically, if the Knicks were to win 66 games or more next season, that would be the largest turnaround in NBA history. I’m not saying its going to happen, but a man can dream, right? oh yeah, the Celtics just tied the game with about four minutes left.

11:46pm- What did Paul Pierce just yell out when Lamar Odom was at the line? Sounded like he said porn.

11:50pm- I think one of the best part about sports is reading the players’ lips when they’re upset. Makes you remember how human they are.

11:51pm- I’m convinced that Laker fans didn’t get the memo that Kobe won the MVP. Either that or they’re hellbent on reminding him every time he shoots free throws. I hope this doesn’t become a trend in the NBA.

11:55pm- A steal followed by a wide open dunk that caused Mark Jackson to say, “Mama, there go that man!” I’m calling MSG as we speak. Gus Johnson and Mark Jackson together in the booth? Magical.

11:58pm- Get ready for the longest 26.8 seconds of your life. Garnett should’ve just dunked that. Or at least pulled it down to try and draw the foul.

12:00pm- Why is Rondo still on the bench? He hasn’t played the entire fourth quarter.

12:02pm- Ouch. Thats a bad miss by House.

12:05pm- House redeemed himself but its too little, too late. Thats the game. Lakers win, 103-98.

12:09pm- Kobe wins T-Mobile Player of the Game. There goes my vote for Chris Mihm.

So, I guess its on to the “Final Four” for Kobe. This sucks though. I was hoping this series would end tonight. I like watching The Office re-runs on Tuesday nights. Now I have to flip back and forth. Sounds like a lot of work to me. Anyway, after watching this game, I’m taking a few things from it.

1) Chris Mihm needs to play. Seriously. Why not? Its Chris Mihm, candidate for T-Mobile Player of the Game.

2) Doc Rivers has to come up with a better plan with who he’s going to play. I don’t see how Rajon Rondo could miss the entire fourth quarter. I know Tony Allen played well, and Sam Cassell did alright late in the game, but I think Rondo gives them the best chance to win.

3) Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe need to step up in Game 6 because without them, things like this happen.

As always, here are a few things I’ve been thinking about.

- I don’t know how long Jeremy Shockey is going to be on the team but having a shouting match with the general manager isn’t a good sign. People keep saying, “Well, they won the Super Bowl without Shockey so they must be better without him.” Has anyone ever considered the fact that other NFL teams hadn’t had time or enough information on Kevin Boss to gameplan against him? Or how about the fact that the Giants average one yard per carry more when Shockey plays? Its only one yard, but it matters. You can’t subtract a guy like Shockey and be better. Thats not how it works.

- I keep saying it but I don’t blame Willie Randolph for the team’s problems. He’s not out there with Billy Wagner blowing saves. Three blown saves in the past week or so. Thats three more wins they have had.

- Is Ken Griffey Jr. serious about waiving his no-trade clause to go to Tampa Bay? Oh wait… they’re a contender. Almost forgot.

- I went to the store today to buy some yogurt and it was 3 for 2 bucks. Thats almost 70 cents each. Eventually, I’m going to have to take out a second mortgage to have some godamn dairy!


Don’t Worry, There’s Time

In Stanley Talouis on June 10, 2008 at 12:16 AM

Here’s a quick disclaimer:

To Laker fans, get down from that ledge. Don’t be so shocked. The Celtics are actually not that bad. That is to say, they’re damn good. But remember, they’ve been here before… against the Hawks… and the Cavaliers. So calm down. You have the current MVP and he hasn’t shifted into “I’m going to kill everyone on this team if we don’t win” mode.

To Celtic fans, calm the hell down. Remember Atlanta and Cleveland. I’m not saying luck had a lot to do with it but you guys are damn lucky to have home court advantage with that atrocious playoff road record. These next three games are the real test.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can begin. Obviously, unless you’re suffering a power outage too, the Celtics have gone up by two games against the Lakers. I said the Lakers would win in seven games and I stand by that statement. The Lakers are (usually) a deeper team and have more offensive weapons for the Celtics to deal with. However, you wouldn’t know it by the last two games. Kobe simply isn’t Kobe, and no one else is really stepping up. Pau has taken a step back and is having trouble dealing with KG. The Celtics bench has come alive and their younger players are playing like seasoned vets. Leon Powe’s Game 2 performance has to go down as one of the most efficient NBA Finals games for an under-25 player. 21 points and 2 rebounds (6-7 shooting, 9-13FT) in only 15 minutes. If he can keep that up, my prediction’s going to be wrong. The one knock on the Celtics is Doc Rivers. I still don’t think he can manage a rotation well. Sam Cassell did absolutely nothing in six minutes and there was no reason for Rajon Rondo to play 42 minutes when you have Eddie House and Tony Allen on the bench. And with PJ Brown being as old as he is, why not give “Big Baby” Davis some run, especially when you’re up by more than 15?? PJ Brown is one of the oldest players in the league at 38 and he contributed six points and three boards in 23 minutes.

Umm... Doc, there's actually 12 guys on the team.

Another thing I’ve noticed and everyone else should have is the difference in foul shooting. How could David Stern sit there and watch the Celtics take 28 more free throws? Had the difference is foul shots not been so huge, Game 2 might have gone a different way. While I can’t really speculate on what might have happened, the Lakers only lost by six.

So now what happens? The Lakers go back home for three games… unless they get swept, then its actually two games. If the end of Game 2 was any indication, Kobe won’t show up… but I think Black Mamba might. I don’t know what he said to his teammates but it looked like it worked. Sasha Vujacic hit a three, then Vladimir Radmanovic made a steal and took five steps on his way to a dunk that cut the Celtics’ lead to four. Kobe hit a couple of clutch free throws to cut the lead to two after a Rajon Rondo missed jumper. Posey was fouled on the other end and calmly hit his free throws to extend the lead and eventually put away the game.

If the Lakers can play an entire game the way they played the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, this should be a hell of a series. History isn’t on their side, though. The Lakers have never come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals, and the Celtics are 7-0 all time when they lead 2-0 in the Finals.

Like I have done in the past blogs, here’s how I feel about a few things going on in the sports world.

- The Bears cut Cedric Benson. He’s had two DUIs in the past few months and its not like he ever made an impact on the field, so goodbye Benson, hello either Shaun Alexander or Matt Forte.

- Ken Stabler got arrested for a DUI too. Isn’t he a little old for things like this? I guess once a Raider, always a Raider.

- My guy Michael Strahan finally decided to call it quits. I’m happy for him. The 7-time Pro Bowler is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s fifth all-time in sacks, holds the single season record, and he won a championship. May he be as successful in all future endeavors as he was on the field.

Michael Strahan shows off the hardware.

- Terrell Owens was placed in the reasonable clause testing program for performance enhancing substances. Dude, this would all be averted if you would pick up your phone.
Maybe Rosenhaus can get TO a cellphone plan with more anytime minutes.

- Ken Griffey Jr has finally hit his 600th home run. One can only watch Griffey and wonder what he could have accomplished if he was always healthy.
Sweetest swing in baseball.

- The Mets finished a series against the Giants and things were looking up. They had won 7 of their last 9. Then they got swept in a four game series to the Padres for the first time since 1990. The Padres. A team they should have and could have swept. But no. They got swept. Wanna know the scores? 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, and 8-6. History was made. Yeah, thats right. The first time a team has won 4 straight games by a score of 2-1. Obviously, the first 2-1 win wasn’t against the Mets, but if it had been, would you be surprised? That said, I still don’t think Willie Randolph should be fired. I think the baseball gods had something to do with this.
I respectfully disagree.

- In a recent wave of coaching changes, Flip Saunders was fired and Michael Curry was promoted, Vinny Del Negro is about to accept the Bulls coaching job, and Terry Porter is the new coach of the Suns. No love for Avery Johnson?
A winning percentage over 70% and no job?

- Floyd Mayweather Jr has decided to hang up the gloves at 31. Is this just his way of going out on top or is he afraid of Oscar De La Hoya? Personally, I’d go with the latter. Do you really think he’d pass on making over $20 million? I mean, he doesn’t really need it, but more money is still more money.
Goodbye boxing, hello WWE.

- Kelly Pavlik beat the snot out of some Welshman in three rounds. Man he’s good.
This is the next great middleweight.

- Now that the Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup, Dominik Hasek retired again. This time, I’m pretty sure he won’t be back.
I owned him in NHL 2002.

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


Its a ratings bonanza!!

In Stanley Talouis on June 1, 2008 at 7:54 PM

The stage is set and its official. The Lakers and the Celtics are going back to the NBA Finals together for the first time since 1987. I don’t know if anyone out there is surprised or even if they should be. Both the Lakers and the Celtics had the best records in their respective conferences. And its no secret that this is the matchup that the league desperately wanted to see. Do you honestly believe that David Stern was going to sit around and let the Spurs play the Pistons again? Outside of the basketball purists, and the fundamentalists, who would watch Borefest ‘08? I know I wouldn’t. I’d rather watch Major League Badminton on ESPN8.

How can I possibly ignore this? This is the first time I’ve been anticipating watching the NBA Finals since that ‘99 Knicks debacle against the Spurs. This matchup has all the storylines. Can Kobe finally win a ring without Shaq? Can Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce finally get their own rings? Can Phil Jackson become the new Red Auerbach?  Its all enough to give anyone a sports boner. The only question left to ask is whether or not this series is going to live up to the hype. I can answer that right now. Its an emphatic no.  There’s no way this series can live up to the standards set by these teams in the late 80s.

There were a combined seven future Hall of Famers in this series, not including the two Hall of Fame coaches in K.C. Jones and Pat Riley. In this 2008 series, I count 5… four of them are definite. The only difference I can find in this ‘08 series is that there’s no clear cut favorite. Back in ‘87, the Lakers were well-rested, healthy, and had home-court advantage. The Celtics were coming off of a hard-fought conference finals win over Detroit and they had some injury issues that entire season. It wasn’t going to be a sweep, but it was a foregone conclusion that the Lakers would win. These days, there’s no one with any clear advantage. The Lakers are younger, they play an uptempo style, and Kobe has the ability to take over games whenever he chooses. The Celtics play aggressive defense, they’ve only lost once at home and I really think that Kevin Garnett is going on a killing spree if the Celtics dont win.

As a New Yorker, I despise Boston and everything it stands for. As a basketball fan, I’d like Kevin Garnett to win a championship. He truly is one of the more loyal and hardworking players in the league. On the other side, I think Kobe deserves to win a ring without Shaq, despite his attitude over the past few years. So what it comes down to is that like so many other people getting ready to watch this ratings bonanza, I’m waiting to see a great series between two of the best teams in the NBA. For once, this is something that David Stern can admit to orchestrating.

Here’s a few things going on in the sports world that I’ve been thinking about.

- ManRam has hit his 500th homer and Junior is on his way to 600. Its good to see milestones for players who deserve it.

- Kimbo Slice beat the ear off that Thomson dude on primetime television. Its amazing what Youtube can do for people’s careers. Who knows where Kimbo would’ve ended up if Hurricane Andrew didn’t take everything he had.

- Did anyone really take Vince Young seriously when he said he thought about retiring after his rookie year? He plays the most glamorous position in the NFL, he’s only 24, and there’s millions of dollars left to be made. I don’t think he’s that stupid.

- Jason Taylor knows the Dolphins aren’t going to trade him because when they could have, they didn’t. And believe me, they could’ve gotten a lot out of Jacksonville. Maybe they have a lot in store for him in Miami.

- Literally two weeks ago, the Mets were six and a half games back in the division and everyone was calling for Willie Randolph’s head. Since the Coloradio series, the Mets have won 4 of their last 5 games (5-5 in their last 10) and they’re only 4 games out of first place. A little patience and who knows what might happen.

- The Yankees are almost 100% healthy again and Joba’s about to move to the rotation. Things are looking up for the Bombers. 

- in a country that prides itself on free speech, why was Rasheed Wallace fined 25 grand for criticizing the refs? Sports writers don’t get fined when they criticize players, do they? Refs and umpires have been doing a crappy job all over the place. In the NBA, they don’t call fouls. In Major League Baseball, they don’t call home runs. Sheed was right. Why fine him?

 

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com


Its Scenario Time!

In Stanley Talouis on May 23, 2008 at 7:34 PM

Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed.  The Knicks were expected to have the 5th pick in the draft at worst. I guess its just the way their luck has gone that makes it possible for them to have the 6th pick. But I’m not completely upset. Its the Knicks highest pick since they drafted Patrick Ewing first overall. And it gives me an opportunity to come up with likely and unlike scenarios that make like better in any way for the Knicks.

With Chicago having the number one overall pick (pfft, like they need it) its hard to say where they’ll go. It safe to say that Michael Beasley will end up in Chicago based on the fact that they already have a good point guard in Kirk Heinrich and what they lacked last season was a presence in the low post. That means Derrick Rose will be drafted at number to in Miami. That alleviates two issues. The Heat finally have a good point guard that would allow Dwayne Wade to focus on being just a shooting guard, and if Wade decides to opt out of his contract in the summer of 2010, the Heat will already have a good replacement. The Minnesota Timberwolves may want to go after the best available player at three which would happen to be OJ Mayo. That should be fun. The last time the Timberwolves drafted a 19 year old temperamental point guard, it was Stephon Marbury.

The Sonics could go point guard at four, but they have a decent player in Luke Ridnour so why not take someone who could be a valuable addition like Brook Lopez. Rumor has it that Memphis isn’t so satisfied with Mike Conley Jr at point guard so they might draft Jerryd Bayless from Arizona. Which brings me to the Knicks. The Knicks are an interesting bunch. An enigma. On the surface, they have a team capable of winning 41 games. But these players haven’t proven to be able to want to win, much less live up to their potential. Whomever the Knicks draft wouldn’t appear to crack the starting lineup because the incumbent would make too much money to come off the bench. I like Eric Gordon but he isn’t the true point guard the Knicks need. There’s a lot of speculation that the Knicks would draft Danilo Gallinari. I haven’t seen much of him although he seems to have ties to Mike D’Antoni.

Here’s where the scenarios come into play. What if the Knicks dont use the pick? What if they use it as bait to get rid of some of the dead weight on the team. Consider these possible offseason tranactions that may lead to very good things in the Knicks future.

Scenario #1: The Knicks trade Zach Randolph and the 6th pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Andre Miller, Rodney Carney, the 16th pick and a possible second round pick. 

 Explanation: Coach Maurice Cheeks has openly expressed his interest in reuniting with Zach Randolph. Cheeks coached Randolph in Portland and the Sixers are in need of a presence in the low post. The Knicks wouldn’t have to draft a point guard and Andre Miller would fill the void for the next two seasons before his contract expires. Gallinari could slip to 16 and if not there’s also Anthony Randolph from LSU, who is being compared to Chris Bosh, and DeAndre Jordan who is being compared to Amare Stoudamire. The Knicks would clear up some cap room by getting rid of Zach Randolph and if they could also get a second round pick in such a deep draft, it would work out on both sides. The Sixers could use the 6th pick to take Eric Gordon or DJ Augustin.

Problems: Its unclear what the Knicks would do with a backcourt including Andre Miller and Stephon Marbury, however it couldn’t be worse than a backup of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury.

Scenario #2: According to recent reports, Baron Davis has considered opting out of his $16 million contract to come to the Knicks. Obviously the Knicks are in no condition cap-wise to make a deal of this magnitude. The only deal I would make involving Davis is to trade Jared Jeffries, Zach Randolph, and the 6th pick to the Warriors for Davis and the 14th pick. Basically the same as the other scenario, except the Knicks could also drop another $5 million from the books, while bringing in Davis’ expiring contract. That would mean that after this coming season, the Knicks would be shedding close to $47 million from the payroll. They could definately grab DeAndre Jordan with the 14th pick. I’d also try to get rid of Curry to replace future picks Isiah Thomas traded away to get Curry in the first place.

In two separate scenarios, the Knicks have the capabilty to bring in a quality player from this year’s draft that can develop into a great player in the future, while getting under the cap. Are these moves really that far-fetched? Of course not. This time last year, no one would have expected the Celtics to pull off moves that would send Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston. You never know until you try.

Here’s a few things I’ve been thinking about lately…

- Met fans need to forget about what happened with the Mets at the end of last season. Last season was last season. Its not Willie Randolph’s fault that the players didn’t capitalize on some cupcake teams late in the schedule. Its not Willie’s fault that the players are underachieving this season. All these people calling for Willie Randolph’s job are the same people that have no idea who the Mets could bring in to replace him. Its 46 games into the season. If you fire Randolph, who are you going to bring in? Lee Mazilli? Howard Johnson? And for that matter, if you dont like a player on the team, its understandable. But where are the Mets going to find a reasonable replacement? I understand Oliver Perez is inconsistent, but there must not be anything better out there if he’s still around. I know Moises Alou is old, but take a look at some of the free agent left fielders.

- I don’t care if the Celtics lost their first game at home in the playoffs. I still think they’re more talented than the Pistons. The Pistons are a great team but this is the same team that went down 2-1 to the Sixers. The same team that was down 20. And yes, I know the Celtics lost big to the Hawks. But Ray Allen looks like he’s playing well again, and I really believe that Kevin Garnett might kill someone if they lose.

- Would anyone like to explain to me why the only two quarterbacks in the NFL that make more money than Matt Ryan are Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning? Matt Ryan… the same guy who hasn’t played an NFL down yet makes more money than Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, three time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, and basically 27 other starting quarterbacks in the league. The owners need to fix this huge flaw in the collective bargaining agreement. Take a page from the NBA. A rookie pay scale is the best way to go.

- While we’re on the subject of rookies, I think the NBA should implement a system similar to Major League Baseball where if a player wants to go to the NBA straight out of high school, let it happen. But if they choose to go to college, the player has to stay at least three seasons. The college game still gets good players. The NBA will always benefit. I think this would alleviate this growing issue with money and agents in the college game. Hell, if a high school player doesn’t get drafted, grant him status as an undrafted free agent. Let him pay his way through college if he wants but he’d no longer be eligible to play college basketball.

 

Email all questions and comments to s_talouis@yahoo.com.


This could be the beginning.

In Stanley Talouis on May 20, 2008 at 6:14 AM

First of all, I’d like to start this off by saying, I wish nothing but the worst for the San Antonio Spurs. I hate them and everything they represent. They’re boring and I hope the Lakers wipe the floor with them in the Western Conference Finals. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can continue.

Tomorrow night is the NBA draft lottery. Obviously, as a Knicks fan I want to see my team get as high a pick as possible. That said, the Knicks have a 7.6% chance of getting the top overall pick. They haven’t had the top spot in the draft since 1985. If the Knicks can land a pick in the top three, they may be able to get a guy that can turn around the franchise. A guy like Derrick Rose. Of course, one guy cant turn around a franchise. It takes good management, a good coach, and a team of players committed to working together. We may have the piece in management with Donnie Walsh. He has a proven track record and definately knows the game.  He’s a shrewd general manager in Indiana and has proven that when he traded Dale Davis to the Blazers for Jermaine O’Neal and when he traded Jalen Rose and Travis Best for Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Kevin Ollie and Ron Mercer.

I believe we also have a good coach in Mike D’Antoni. Whether or not his style fits the roster remains to be seen. One thing people seem to be overlooking the fact that D’Antoni may just decide to tweak his run and gun style of play to accomodate some of the slower players. Or maybe Walsh will clean house and bring in some players that not only come from winning programs and organizations, but those that fit in D’Antoni’s scheme.

A year ago, the Boston Celtics were one of the worst teams in the league. In one season, they went from 24-58 to 66-16. Of course to think that the Knicks can do the same is naive. It took a lot more than one offseason to build what the Celtics have now. It took a major overhaul to make it happen. The Knicks dont have the personnel to trade away for superstars like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. The Knicks dont have the cap room to sign veteran players. There are too many things that the Knicks have to do in order to replicate what the Celtics have done.

However, this can be where everything turns around. This could be the beginning. If the Knicks can land a guy like Derrick Rose, they’d be acquiring the true point guard that the Knicks have been looking for. Rose’s skillset definately fits into D’Antoni’s scheme. Even a player like O.J. Mayo could change the culture of New York basketball provided his issues off the court don’t follow him. For the Knicks, having a good draft is extremely important because the margin of error is so slim. Without a second round pick, they dont have a chance to bring in a “diamond in the rough”.  In this situation, the options for the Knicks are limited. If they don’t get a pick in the top 2 or 3, and can’t take Derrick Rose, they can trade down to the 9th or 10th pick to take a guy like D.J. Augustin. In doing that, maybe they can aquire some more picks. A second rounder or two in a draft as deep as this one is a good way to rebuild a team.

Another option they have is to trade up to take Rose. Its no secret that the Heat are looking to take a big man. Why not give them either Eddy Curry or Zach Randolph along with the first round pick for Miami’s first round pick? Donnie Walsh has made it no secret that he wants to get this team under the salary cap. The only way they can do that is by letting contracts expire and trade away some of these albatross deals. After this coming season, there’s about $30 million coming off the books. With some smart moves and some sacrifice over the next few years, this may be a completely different Knicks team. There’s an old saying that goes, “It never rains every day.” This could be the beginning of a few sunny days for the Knicks.


What makes a fan?

In Stanley Talouis on May 12, 2008 at 4:21 AM

Recently, my fanhood has come into question. People, I’ll be honest with you. Questioning my fanhood can only lead to arguments and yelling. While I was thinking about how great a fan I am, I started thinking about what it is about me that makes me such a great fan. One thing that sticks out is my love for my favorite teams. I dont care how bad they are… I can’t hate them. Then I wouldn’t be a fan would I?

For example, the Knicks are horrendous. Absolutely horrible. At this point, things couldn’t get worse. If they did, I think the entire city block that MSG is on would implode. I grew up watching a good Knicks team. I grew up watching Ewing, Starks, Harper, and Oakley. A perennial playoff team. Now I have to watch Eddy Curry, Renaldo Balkman, and Marbury. And as I’m typing this, the Knicks have hired Mike D’Antoni. WHY!!! He’s an innovative coach, an offensive guru and thats good, but he’s got no one that runs on the team outside of the younger players. Coaches dont win games, players do. The coach has to fit the situation. By the way, Tom Thibodeau and Mark Jackson would be perfect for the Knicks.

But why should anyone still support the Knicks or any other bad team? One simple reason. Because being a fan means supporting your team through the ups and downs. Now, I’m not saying that I’m going to become a season ticket holder to Knicks games. I can’t afford it and I’m not about to sit through 41 home losses. But at the same time I can’t ignore them.  Essentially, wouldn’t I be lying to myself if I just all of a sudden started rooting for some other team?

Now,  you don’t have to be hardcore to be a fan. You don’t have to know everything about your team’s players. But is it wrong to be? Is it wrong if I know that Julio Lugo’s brother is a pitcher in the Mets minor league system? Is it wrong to know that Nate Robinson was an exceptional cornerback at the University of Washington? Is it wrong to know that Chris Snee is Tom Coughlin’s son in law. I say no. Its all part of the mystique of the sports world. Its what makes sports so great.  Being a fan isn’t just about supporting a team, because all it is, is laundry. Being a fan means being part of a collective, a brotherhood. Being a part of something thats way bigger than one individual. What good is home field advantage without the fans? Can Texas A&M or the Seattle Seahawks have the 12th Man without people in the stands? Of course not.

So the next time you notice that your team is teetering around .500 a month or two into the season, reconsider. Defend your fanhood.


2008 NFL Draft Review

In Stanley Talouis on April 28, 2008 at 11:04 PM

This year, more than a few things stood out to me with the draft. There were a lot of trades, a lot of good players dropping, and more than a lot of teams reaching and taking a player too high. With that said, here’s my team by team analysis of the draft.

Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals had a great first three rounds by taking Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Calais Campbell, and Early Doucet. The one thing on offense that the Cards lacked was an impact slot reciever. Cromartie had a great combine and ran a 4.33 and should help Arizona’s secondary with Antrel Rolle moving to safety. Brandon Keith will add depth to their offensive line and Tim Hightower is comparable to Marion Barber and may be a complement to Edgerrin James. I give them a B.

Atlanta Falcons The Falcons did themselves a huge favor by being smart and taking Matt Ryan here. They now have a franchise quarterback that can help them in the future and possibly forget about Vick. They traded back into the first round to get Sam Baker from USC when they didn’t have to and that wasn’t smart since they lost a pick or two in the process. I think they waited too long to address their needs in the secondary but they did draft Chevis Jackson from LSU.  Robert James from Arizona St should help that linebacking corps and the local kid from Georgia Thomas Brown will give them some depth at running back. A

Baltimore Ravens As good as Joe Flacco might be, he wasn’t looked at as first round pick. The Ravens might have taken him a bit early especially with Chad Henne, John David Booty, and Brian Brohm still on the board. Ray Rice is a great running back and he’ll make life easier for Willis McGahee. With an aging defense, they also helped themselves out by taking Tavares Gooden from Miami and Tom Zbikowski from Notre Dame. I also like Haruki Nakamura. He had a great senior year at Cincinnati and he doubles as a kick returner. C+

Buffalo Bills The Bills first three picks will most likely end up being starters in the NFL. Leodis McElvin is the right replacement for Nate Clements,  James Hardy is going to be a quality reciever in the NFL opposite Lee Evans, and Chris Ellis can be a great pass rusher if he can stay consistent. B-

Carolina Panthers I thought the Panthers took Jonathan Stewart a little too early because I thought that Rashard Mendenhall was a better back, but it wasn’t a bad pick. Jeff Otah was a smart pick by the Panthers considering they had 4 starting quarterbacks last season. It all starts with the offensive line.  The Panthers also hit the lottery with Dan Connor in the third round. B-

Chicago Bears I thought that Chris Williams was perfect for the Bears to help them on the offensive line, especially with run blocking. I thought taking Matt Forte from Tulane was a reach considering there were other running backs available. The defense needed some help after a subpar year and Craig Steltz is a good enough safety to help the Bears right away. The Bears best pick may have been taking Marcus Monk in the seventh round. Before injuring his knee and having two surgeries, he was an impact receiver at Arkansas. C+

Cincinnati Bengals Could it be some foreshadowing that the Bengals took Andre Caldwell. Jerome Simpson,  and Harry Douglas? If they really do trade Chad Johnson, they have plenty of guys to help replace him. Keith Rivers should also be the first of many high character guys the Bengals bring in. B+

Cleveland Browns Its hart to rate a teams draft when they dont have any picks before the 4th round. I’ve seen Beau Bell play and he’s good. Very instinctive. The Browns traded some of their picks last year to get Brady Quinn so I guess it worked out for them. D+

Dallas Cowboys I think the Cowboys could have benefited from drafting a wide reciever to provide some help for Patrick Crayton and Terrell Owens. Jerry Jones is confident that Terry Glenn can still be productive.  Speaking of Jerry Jones, he got his running back in Felix Jones and also upgraded a very good secondary with Mike Jenkins from South Florida. B+

Denver Broncos With Ryan Clady and Eddie Royal, the Broncos have a great tackle that fits into their zone blocking system and a guy that doubles as a reciever and a return man which is what they sorely needed. Scouts say that Royal could become a Steve Smith type player. Picking up Ryan Torain will also help. A-

Detroit Lions The Lions took Gosder Cherilus a little early and they’re getting good value with Kevin Smith out of Central Florida. I think it was great of Rod Marinelli to pick up Caleb Campbell from Army. I also think the Lions could have helped themselves out by taking a cornerback somewhere in this draft. C

Green Bay Packers The Packers took a good reciever when they really didn’t need one but they did address all their other needs so consider Jordy Nelson a bonus. I’d like to see if either Brian Brohm or Matt Flynn will end up challenging Aaron Rodgers. A

Houston Texans The Texans addressed all their needs and got great value all throughout the draft. Duane Brown will sure up that offensive line for Matt Shaub,  Steve Slaton will give them added depth at running back and may eventually become a Warrick Dunn type player, and Xavier Adibi is a great linebacker that can play well in pass coverage. Frank Okam can also come in and help on defense. A+

Indianapolis Colts The Colts traded this year’s first round pick last yeat to draft their offensive tackle Ugoh, who’s currently starting and being productive so that worked out for them. They were able to draft Georgia Tech linebacker Phillip Wheeler. Wheeler brings a different dynamic to this team because he’s less of the coverage type linebacker and more of a bruising blitzer. In college he had over 250 tackles and 16 sacks. The Colts also got tremendous value in Mike Hart, who despite a slow 40 time at the combine and being undersized, he’s very durable and a high character guy who plays well against blitzes. Tony Dungy got a steal this late in the draft. Hart may end up being the back to complement Joseph Addai. I also like them picking Tom Santi from Virginia. After the departure of Ben Utecht to Cincy, Santi could fill that void as Dallas Clark’s backup. A

Jacksonville Jaguars he Jaguars had a simple task this offseason and they didn’t do it. They needed help on the defensive interior and they drafted back to back defensive ends. They needed a safety to replace Sammy Knight, and they didnt draft one.  They needed help on the offensive line, and they didnt draft one. I do like Chauncey Washington that late in the draft but it wasnt what they needed.  For that, they get a big whopping F.

Kansas City Chiefs Where do I begin. These guys had the best draft. Between Glenn Dorsey, Branden Albert, and Brandon Flowers, the Chiefs have three starters for years to come. Throw in Jamaal Charles as a productive backup to LJ, and you have someone very valuable in the third round. Brad Cottam from Tennessee  might be groomed to be the eventual backup to Tony Gonzalez, and Will Franklin from Missouri gives the Chiefs some added depth at reciever. I would have like to see them take a shot at a quarterback but they seem sold on Brodie Croyle. A+

Miami Dolphins You gotta give Bill Parcells credit, he knows how to build a team. Did it with the Giants in the 80s, the Jets and the Pats in the 90s, the Cowboys a few years ago and now the Dolphins. The question is whether head coach Tony Sparano can put it all together. Jake Long is this year’s Joe Thomas. Phillip Merling could be the eventually successor to Jason Taylor. There is some speculation that Henne could start right away. Many believe he’s a better prospect than John Beck was coming out of BYU. A+

Minnesota Vikings The Vikings already have a good defense after making the trade for Jared Allen and they addressed all their needs in the draft. Getting John David Booty in the 5th round is a steal and he’ll challenge Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job. B-

New England Patriots The Patriots made a great move by draft Jerrod Mayo from Tennessee because they have to get younger in the linebacking corps. Mayo might replace Junior Seau if he decides to retire. The Pats needed to improve their secondary and they added a cornerback from Colorado. Bo Ruud is a linebacker and brother of Tampa Bay’s middle linebacker Barrett Ruud. He’s not as good as his brother but linebacker is in his blood. B+

New Orleans Saints The Saints traded up to get Sedrick Ellis, and I’m not convinced that they had to. With the talent at linebacker, I’m disappointed that they didn’t pull the trigger on anyone, especially in the later rounds. They also relied too much on trying to trade for Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey and they didn’t go after one themselves in the draft. The Saints havent had a good starting tight end in several years with Boo Williams. C-

New York Giants The Giants addressed their need at safety by drafting Kenny Phillips in the first round. If Phillips can return to the player he was during his junior year, he’ll be just as effective as Gibril Wilson was. The Giants also got great value at wide reciever with Mario Manningham in the third round. He’ll learn under Amani Toomer, another Michigan reciever, and I believe he’ll contribute right away. They added depth at cornerback with Terell Thomas from USC, and got tremendous value in Andre Woodson in the sixth round. Woodson was a Heisman candidate at one point. The Giants could have helped themselves by taking an offensive lineman. A-

New York Jets The Jets could have helped themselves by moving up to take Darren McFadden and this marks the second time in three years, they didn’t pull the trigger to take an impact running back. I don’t understand why they traded back into the first round to take Dustin Keller when they just acquired Bubba Franks and gave an extension to starting tight end Chris Baker. Baker is already upset at what the team has done during the season and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the same outcome as last year’s dispute with Pete Kendall. The Jets didn’t address their needs at running back and linebacker, but they did draft Erik Ainge, who has all the talent and intangibles to succeed in the NFL. B-

Oakland Raiders  The Raiders have tons of talent but does it all come together? The Raiders have dumped a lot of money in players coming off of injuries. The trade for DeAngelo Hall makes them better but how does it make Nnamdi Asomugha feel now that he’s been slapped with the franchise tag? The Raiders made one great pick, in my opinion. Hopefully, their later picks will pan out. C+

Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles addressed all their needs and got great talent and versatility out of DeSean Jackson. At one point, Jackson was the highest rated reciever in this year’s draft class. Quintin Demps adds depth to their secondary and can play special teams. He may eventually take over for Brian Dawkins. C+

Pittsburgh Steelers The Steelers added depth in the running game with Rashard Mendenhall and also got a huge target for Big Ben with Limas Sweed. Look for Dennis Dixon, a former Heismna candidate, to play different positions. The Steelers have a history of getting good value out of their athletes like Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle-El, and Kordell Stewart. B+

San Diego Chargers The Chargers didn’t address their needs on the defensive line nor in the secondary. Drafting LSU fullback was smart and Antoine Cason will add some depth to the cornerback. C-

San Francisco 49ers The Niners added a quality defensive lineman as well as a good enough guard. I dont know if they added much else to their offense. C-

Seattle Seahawks The Seahawks just added Patrick Kerney, but Lawrence Jackson from USC could one day replace him. The Seahawks could have benefited from taking a better tight end, but  John Carlson could end up being a decent tight end. C

St. Louis Rams The Rams can move Adam Carriker to defensive tackle and Chris Long could benefit from the attention Carriker will recieve. Justin King has great value in the fourth round and may evolve into a starting cornerback. B+

Tampa Bay Bucanneers  Aqib Talib is a perfect Cover 2 cornerback, Dexter Jackson gives them depth a wideout for an aging Joey Galloway. Cory Boyd is actually a very good back and could have gone earlier in the draft. B+

Tennessee Titans The Titans dropped the ball here. The one thing that the Titans needed is a wide reciever and they didn’t get one until the fourth round. Lavelle Hawkins is not the answer. For messing up their team, the Titans get an F

Washington Redskins The Redskins sorely needed help with recievers and they got some. Malcolm Kelly had a bad combine but he’s a great player. Devin Thomas may have been a one year wonder but he’s worth the pick in the second round. Their most intriguing pick may have been Colt Brennan. If he can stay healthy and put on some weight, he might evolve into a decent backup. B+

 

 

 

 


2008 NFL Mock Draft Version 3.0

In Stanley Talouis on April 24, 2008 at 6:06 AM

I knew there’d be trades. Never fails. So here’s an updated version of my mock draft. Its basically the same as version 2 except a little different.

Miami Dolphins Jake Long OT Michigan They already signed the deal. Its done. And I was right.

St. Louis Rams Chris Long DE Virginia I keep hearing that the Rams might want Glenn Dorsey. But with Adam Carriker, their first round pick from last season, up at around 300 pounds, thats more like a defensive tackle than a defensive end. With that said, why not draft the best defensive end in the draft?

Atlanta Falcons Glenn Dorsey DT LSU I completely disagree with this pick but it could happen. For a team that had Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich starting during the season, I think quarterback is their biggest need. Not taking Matt Ryan here probably won’t kill them but it won’t help either. I just hope they wise up and take a quarterback in the second round.

Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden RB Arkansas After they said that Justin Fargas would be their starting back, I thought they were insane to pass on a talent like McFadden. But everyone knows how this works. You act like you don’t want the guy you really want, and you act like you want to draft someone you dont so that another team will trade up with you to get him. So all this talk about Justin Fargas being their main running back is crazy. Besides, with the way the league is now, they’re going to want another guy to share the backfield with. It worked for Minnesota last year.

Kansas City Chiefs Brandon Albert OG Virginia There arent any wide recievers worth taking this early. I thought they’d be willing to take Devin Thomas out of Michigan St but he’s not worth a top five pick. They need to upgrade an offensive line that has lost two premiere linemen in consecutive years.

New York Jets Vernon Gholston DE/LB Ohio St The Jets definately want McFadden. They’d be retarded for not wanting him. But unless they trade up, or they get extremely lucky, its not happening. With that said, they could definately use help on defense after losing Victor Hobson to the Patriots and trading away Jonathan Vilma to the Saints.

New England Patriots Aqib Talib CB Kansas They lost Asante Samuel and Randall Gay to free agency. They have to help out that secondary.

Baltimore Ravens Matt Ryan QB Boston College Steve McNair just retired this week after 13 seasons. Kyle Boller is not the answer. Matt Ryan can take them back to the Super Bowl in a few years. He’s that good. If you dont believe me, look back to that Boston College- Virginia Tech game when he led his team to a win in thrilling fashion against a very good defense.

Cincinatti Bengals Sedrick Ellis DT USC I honestly think Dorsey is over-rated and I thought he could slip here to the Bengals. If he’s drafted where everyone thinks he will be, Ellis would be the way to go here. He’s the second best defensive tackle in this draft.

New Orleans Saints Dustin Keller TE Purdue Time will tell if this is where Keller will land. The Saints are interested in trading for Jeremy Shockey. If they do land Shockey, obviously this pick wont happen. i dont think the Giants will give up Shockey for anything less than a secound round pick.

Buffalo Bills Devin Thomas WR Michigan St I thought that Thomas would be off the board by now but I’m just not that impressed by thsi year’s recievers. I don’t think any of them is really worth being taken in the top 10.

Denver Broncos Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh I figured they’d go wide receiver her and take a guy like Limas Sweed to get a replacement for Javon Walker, but after some thought, they do need some help on the offensive line. Especially given the fact that the jury is still out on Limas Sweed after a sub-par season at Texas.

Carolina Panthers Ryan Clady OT Boise St They could also go quarterback or running back here with guys like Joe Flacco, John David Booty, and Rashard Mendenhall still on the board. To be honest with you, its really a toss up between Clady and Mendenhall because the Panthers did part ways with DeShaun Foster.

Chicago Bears Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt These guys really do need a quarterback and there was widespread specualation that they were going to trade for a guy like McNabb instead of going with Rex Grossman again. But they seeem sold on Grossman and they hope that he’ll finally live up to his potential. Maybe getting a one year deal with no guarantee of playing time is just what he needs to wake up. If so, Williams is a good enough blocker for him.

Detroit Lions Leodis McElvin CB Troy The Lions need help on defense after losing Shaun Rogers, and Boss Bailey. They could also use some help on the interior offensive line after losing Damien Woody but drafting a cornerback here would be useful and one of the few smart moves General Manager Matt Millen could make.

Arizona Cardinals Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee St You know what they say. Defense wins championships. And in this case, defense wins divisions. Thats what the Cardinals need to do. Win the NFC West.

Kansas City Chiefs Derrick Harvey Florida The Chiefs just traded away their best defensive player (who can also play tight end) to the Vikings for picks. I can see them taking a defensive end to replace him.

Houston Texans Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois The Texans need an impact runner to pair up with whoever is still in that backfield. I think Ron Dayne might be on their roster, so that should be a clue.

Philadelphia Eagles Kenny Phillips S Miami Now that Brian Westbrook has come out and become a leader on that offense, they need to establish some stability on defense. Brian Dawkins isn’t getting any younger and that secondary could use some help.

Tampa Bay Bucanneers James Hardy WR Indiana The Bucanneers need to find a replacement for the aging Joey Galloway. My only concern with Hardy is his ability to be effective in double coverage as well as his ability to get open.

Washington Redskins Keith Rivers LB USC The Redskins have never had a dominant linebacking corps and Rivers could be the focal point of a developing defense.

Dallas Cowboys Felix Jones RB Arkansas Jerry Jones really wants this guy to be a complement for Marion Barber and he’d make a perfect change of pace back.

Pittsburgh Steelers Phillip Merling DE Clemson I thought about the Steelers taking a chance with Jonathan Stewart here but he’s the same kind of back that Willie Parker is. So they should go defense here. You can never go wrong with defense. Another possible pick here is Brandon Flowers from Virginia Tech.

Tennessee Titans Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma The Titans have to get some help for Vince Young. I dont care about Kelly’s 40 time. This guy can play.

Seattle Seahawks Fred Davis TE USC This year’s tight end class isn’t great but Fred Davis is what the Seahawks have been missing. Jeremy Stevens has never been and never will be the answer at tight end. Davis can block, catch, and run decent routes.

Jacksonville Jaguars Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina The Jaguars traded Marcus Stroud to the Buffalo Bills so they’ll have a huge gap on the defensive line. Balmer would be a big addition and help them immediately.

San Diego Chargers Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon The Chargers lost Michael Turner to free agency. The definately need a change of pace back for LT.

Dallas Cowboys DeSean Jackson WR California Cant argue with the experts. I don’t think Jackson is all that great. He reminds me of Ted Ginn, Jr. However, this late in the first round, he’s worth the gamble.

San Francisco 49ers Mike Jenkins CB South Florida A good complement for Nate Clements. This guy can hit as well as play well in coverage.

Green Bay Packers Chad Henne QB Michigan I find it hard to believe that this guy wont go in the first round and who better to draft him than the Packers. They get a backup and an insurance policy for Aaron Rodgers.

New York Giants Jerrod Mayo LB Tennessee The Giants can go in different directions here. They can also take Kenny Phillips to fill the gap at safety left when Gibril Wilson went to Oakland. They can also take Mario Manningham here since both Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress are well into their 30s. Taking a linebacker here makes the most sense because they not only lost Kawika Mitchell to the Saints, but they can move Mathias Kiwanuka to his more natural position at DE if Michael Strahan retires.

So thats it… I’d throw in that 32nd pick but the Pats are cheaters and lost it. Nuff said.


2008 NFL Mock Draft Version 2.0

In Stanley Talouis on April 21, 2008 at 10:11 PM

Since I wrote the last mock draft, there’s been a lot of rumbling about who’s stock has risen and fallen. And after going over what I had, I realized I’m leaving a lot of talented players out. So I thought I’d revise it a bit. So here we go.

 

Miami Dolphins Jake Long OT Michigan New General Manager Jeff Ireland had a slip of the tongue and gave away the fact that the team would draft a defensive player. I dont think they will for two reasons. 1) No defensively player would impact that team as much as an offensive player would. Lets remember how horrendous that offense was last year. 2) An offensive player, a lineman especially would be the anchor of that team for years.

St. Louis Rams Chris Long DE Virginia The Rams have the most to gain by trading down here. They need to upgrade that defense and could acquire some more picks if they trade down. More picks could lead to drafting players that will impact their secondary and linebacking corps. If not Chris Long is a good pick here.

Atlanta Falcons Glenn Dorsey DT LSU I completely disagree with this pick but it could happen. For a team that had Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich starting during the season, I think quarterback is their biggest need. Not taking Matt Ryan here probably won’t kill them but it won’t help either. I just hope they wise up and take a quarterback in the second round.

Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden RB Arkansas After they said that Justin Fargas would be their starting back, I thought they were insane to pass on a talent like McFadden. But everyone knows how this works. You act like you don’t want the guy you really want, and you act like you want to draft someone you dont so that another team will trade up with you to get him. So all this talk about Justin Fargas being their main running back is crazy. Besides, with the way the league is now, they’re going to want another guy to share the backfield with. It worked for Minnesota last year.

Kansas City Chiefs Brandon Albert OG Virginia There arent any wide recievers worth taking this early. I thought they’d be willing to take Devin Thomas out of Michigan St but he’s not worth a top five pick. They need to upgrade an offensive line that has lost two premiere linemen in consecutive years.

New York Jets Vernon Gholston DE/LB Ohio St The Jets definately want McFadden. They’d be retarded for not wanting him. But unless they trade up, or they get extremely lucky, its not happening. With that said, they could definately use help on defense after losing Victor Hobson to the Patriots and trading away Jonathan Vilma to the Saints.

New England Patriots Aqib Talib CB Kansas They lost Asante Samuel and Randall Gay to free agency. They have to help out that secondary.

Baltimore Ravens Matt Ryan QB Boston College Steve McNair just retired this week after 13 seasons. Kyle Boller is not the answer. Matt Ryan can take them back to the Super Bowl in a few years. He’s that good. If you dont believe me, look back to that Boston College- Virginia Tech game when he led his team to a win in thrilling fashion against a very good defense.

Cincinatti Bengals Sedrick Ellis DT USC I honestly think Dorsey is over-rated and I thought he could slip here to the Bengals. If he’s drafted where everyone thinks he will be, Ellis would be the way to go here. He’s the second best defensive tackle in this draft.

New Orleans Saints Dustin Keller TE Purdue Time will tell if this is where Keller will land. The Saints are interested in trading for Jeremy Shockey. If they do land Shockey, obviously this pick wont happen. i dont think the Giants will give up Shockey for anything less than a secound round pick.

Buffalo Bills Devin Thomas WR Michigan St I thought that Thomas would be off the board by now but I’m just not that impressed by thsi year’s recievers. I don’t think any of them is really worth being taken in the top 10.

Denver Broncos Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh I figured they’d go wide receiver her and take a guy like Limas Sweed to get a replacement for Javon Walker, but after some thought, they do need some help on the offensive line. Especially given the fact that the jury is still out on Limas Sweed after a sub-par season at Texas.

Carolina Panthers Ryan Clady OT Boise St They could also go quarterback or running back here with guys like Joe Flacco, John David Booty, and Rashard Mendenhall still on the board. To be honest with you, its really a toss up between Clady and Mendenhall because the Panthers did part ways with DeShaun Foster.

Chicago Bears Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt These guys really do need a quarterback and there was widespread specualation that they were going to trade for a guy like McNabb instead of going with Rex Grossman again. But they seeem sold on Grossman and they hope that he’ll finally live up to his potential. Maybe getting a one year deal with no guarantee of playing time is just what he needs to wake up. If so, Williams is a good enough blocker for him.

Detroit Lions Leodis McElvin CB Troy The Lions need help on defense after losing Shaun Rogers, and Boss Bailey. They could also use some help on the interior offensive line after losing Damien Woody but drafting a cornerback here would be useful and one of the few smart moves General Manager Matt Millen could make.

Arizona Cardinals Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee St You know what they say. Defense wins championships. And in this case, defense wins divisions. Thats what the Cardinals need to do. Win the NFC West.

Minnesota Vikings Limas Sweed WR Texas The Vikings need to get Tarvaris Jackson some help. He’s got Sidney Rice, Chester Taylor, and Adrian Peterson. Get him another deep threat.

Houston Texans Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois The Texans need an impact runner to pair up with whoever is still in that backfield. I think Ron Dayne might be on their roster, so that should be a clue.

Philadelphia Eagles Derrick Harvey DE Florida Now that Brian Westbrook has come out and become a leader on that offense, they need to establish some stability on defense. That starts with the defensive line. The more pressure you put on the opposing team’s quarterback, the better it makes the overall defense.

Tampa Bay Bucanneers James Hardy WR Indiana The Bucanneers need to find a replacement for the aging Joey Galloway. My only concern with Hardy is his ability to be effective in double coverage as well as his ability to get open.

Washington Redskins Keith Rivers LB USC The Redskins have never had a dominant linebacking corps and Rivers could be the focal point of a developing defense.

Dallas Cowboys Felix Jones RB Arkansas Jerry Jones really wants this guy to be a complement for Marion Barber and he’d make a perfect change of pace back.

Pittsburgh Steelers Phillip Merling DE Clemson I thought about the Steelers taking a chance with Jonathan Stewart here but he’s the same kind of back that Willie Parker is. So they should go defense here. You can never go wrong with defense. Another possible pick here is Brandon Flowers from Virginia Tech.

Tennessee Titans Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma The Titans have to get some help for Vince Young. I dont care about Kelly’s 40 time. This guy can play.

Seattle Seahawks Fred Davis TE USC This year’s tight end class isn’t great but Fred Davis is what the Seahawks have been missing. Jeremy Stevens has never been and never will be the answer at tight end. Davis can block, catch, and run decent routes.

Jacksonville Jaguars Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina The Jaguars traded Marcus Stroud to the Buffalo Bills so they’ll have a huge gap on the defensive line. Balmer would be a big addition and help them immediately.

San Diego Chargers Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon The Chargers lost Michael Turner to free agency. The definately need a change of pace back for LT.

Dallas Cowboys DeSean Jackson WR California Cant argue with the experts. I don’t think Jackson is all that great. He reminds me of Ted Ginn, Jr. However, this late in the first round, he’s worth the gamble.

San Francisco 49ers Mike Jenkins CB South Florida A good complement for Nate Clements. This guy can hit as well as play well in coverage.

Green Bay Packers Chad Henne QB Michigan I find it hard to believe that this guy wont go in the first round and who better to draft him than the Packers. They get a backup and an insurance policy for Aaron Rodgers.

New York Giants Jerrod Mayo LB Tennessee The Giants can go in different directions here. They can also take Kenny Phillips to fill the gap at safety left when Gibril Wilson went to Oakland. They can also take Mario Manningham here since both Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress are well into their 30s. Taking a linebacker here makes the most sense because they not only lost Kawika Mitchell to the Saints, but they can move Mathias Kiwanuka to his more natural position at DE if Michael Strahan retires.

So thats it… I’d throw in that 32nd pick but the Pats are cheaters and lost it. Nuff said.


2008 NFL Mock Draft… Version 1.0

In Stanley Talouis on April 17, 2008 at 8:30 PM

If you’re like me, you probably spend hours and hours watching draft coverage just to see if you can decipher any type of clear picture of what the draft might look like. Personally, I like to think that I can predict the draft just as easily as Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay.  Sometimes its easy. Like two years ago, when the one thing that didn’t go as planned was Matt Leinart falling to the Cardinals. I know, I know. You’re probably thinking… what about the Texans taking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush? Honestly, if you were Charlie Casserly and your job depended on taking the sexy choice and go with Reggie Bush, or taking someone who would eventually be the leader of a very underrated defensive line… what would you do? Personally, I would’ve gone with Vince Young. Hometown hero, doesn’t need an offensive line, and he finds ways to win without putting up insane numbers.  But enough about the past. Lets talk about this year’s draft. For those that know me, this is like Christmas time for me. I always look forward to the draft and this year is no different.

If you haven’t heard it before, this might either be the year of the running back or the year of the offensive lineman. Regardless, its a pretty deep draft. In this mock draft, some things might make a lot of sense, and other things might not make sense at all so don’t be surprised if you see a few changes here and there between now and April 26th. Without further delay, your 2008 NFL Draft.

With the first pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select…

1. Michigan OT Jake Long with a side of dignity. This is the same team that took Ted Ginn Jr last year at number 9. I mean, seriously? He’s a good wideout with less than stellar lateral movement and decent change of direction skills. But I digress. Jake Long should provide some consistency along that miserable offensive line. The Dolphins ranked 23rd overall last season in rushing offense. Part of that was due to injuries to Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. I think the Dolphins benefit from having Long here because he can be the anchor that they build around for the next ten years. Its happened before. Orlando Pace helped turn the Rams into the “greatest show on turf”, Walter Jones has been a solid member of that Seahawks running game for years. Need I remind you that Joe Thomas helped the Browns win 10 games and made the Pro Bowl? If you need more proof, look at next season’s schedule. The Browns have 3 Monday Night games. They haven’t had any in the past three years. With that said, offensive linemen are the unsung heroes. Bill Parcells isn’t stupid. He’s going to take Jake Long. Besides, no one else is going to trade up that far.

2. Chris Long, DE University of VirginiaThere’s speculation that the Rams want to trade out of this spot and the Saints are interested. Regardless of who is picking here, a defensice lineman will be selected. Lets assume there are no trades. If thats the case, Chris Long goes the Rams to form a strong young defensive line with Adam Carriker and Chris Long on both sides. In fact, Chris Long is already my pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year. If the Saints pick here, I could see them passing on Long to take Glenn Dorsey which would mean that Long would end up where his dad played with the Raiders. Hows that for pressure?

3. Matt Ryan QB Boston College The Falcons need to move on and help themselves by taking a franchise quarterback. Matt Ryan is a no-brainer. Sure, they could take Glenn Dorsey but I’m not sure if thats the direction they need to go. I think this is a smart pick in terms of public relations after the Michael Vick fiasco. 

4. Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St The Raiders just gave Tommy Kelly a new contract worth $50 million a few weeks ago. Before then, I had no idea who Tommy Kelly was. And thats saying a lot. He had 30 tackles and 1 sack last season. He only has 13 career sacks. They need help on the defensive line. With that said, the Raiders are going to be looking to get some help on the line. Vernon Gholston is an absolute animal. The only knock on him is whether he gives 100% on every play. If he does, then they’ve got a great player coming in.

5. Ryan Clady OT Boise St. At first I was thinking that Glenn Dorsey would go here but after the year that Jared Allen just had, why draft another defensive lineman? Instead, draft someone who can take the pressure off of Brodie Croyle.

6. Darren McFadden RB, Arkansas Could the Jets really be dumb enough to pass on Run DMC? Seriously, the one thing they’ve lacked since Curtis Martin’s knees went AWOL is a running back and they’ve been trying to platoon it since. Yeah, Thomas Jones did well in Chicago but guess what? He had an offensive line. Leon Washington is a nice change of pace back but he’s not your starter. McFadden is an exceptional talent who can be productive for many years. He’s no Adrian Peterson but he’s talented.

7. Aqib Talib, CB Kansas I was thinking that the Pats could go offensive line or linebacker here with either Jeff Otah or Keith Rivers but they lost so much in the secondary with Asante Samuel and Randall Gay. Knowing the way the Pats work, they can find someone later in the draft to fill their needs on the offensive line, and there are plenty of good linebackers to be had in the second and third rounds.

8. Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh If the Falcons have a lapse in judgement, and pass on Matt Ryan for Glenn Dorsey, Matt Ryan would be ideal here with the Ravens because Kyle Boller isn’t cutting it and Steve McNair just retired. If the Ravens decide to keep Boller they better get him some protection with Jeff Otah.

9. Glenn Dorsey, DT LSU The Bengals have a working offense with or without Ocho Cinco and they need to do something about that defense. Why not go after the best prospect at his position, Glenn Dorsey. Most draft gurus would probably want my head on a platter for having Glenn Dorsey so far down, but I really think that if teams wanted to draft intelligently, it would go this way.

10. Sedrick Ellis DT, USC Honestly, I think the Saints could go tight end here and take Dustin Keller but if they want a defensive tackle so badly, unless they trade up, taking Sedrick Ellis is their best bet.

11. Devin Thomas WR Michigan St They have Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish. I think Trent Edwards would appreciate another target. They could go tight end here but I’m not sold on any of this year’s tight end prospects.

12. Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois The Broncos say they want a back to complement Travis Henry and/or Selvin Young. Mendenhall is the best answer here and he’s what they’ve lacked since they traded Clinton Portis to the Redskins.

13. Brandon Albert OG Virginia The Panthers would be smart to draft either an offensive lineman or a quarterback here as an insurance policy for Jake Delhomme. A big bruising guard like Albert would help open up holes for DeAngelo Williams, who’s going to be getting a lot more snaps now that DeShaun Foster is gone.

14. Chad Henne QB Michigan The Bears need a quarterback… nuff said.

15. Keith Rivers LB USC The Lions have a good offense and could benefit from taking a quarterback here but they have more pressing needs on the defensive side of the ball. The Lions were dead last in total defense last season.

16. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee St. Its hard to believe he’ll fall this far to the Cardinals but at this point, he’s the best player available at his position.

17. Malcolm Kelly WR, Oklahoma The Vikings need another reciever to stretch the field on the other side of Sidney Rice. Malcolm Kelly may be disputing his 40 time but I think he’s a great fit here in Minnesota.

18. Leodis McElvin CB, Troy The Texans would really improve their pass defense with a corner here. Up until a few weeks ago, this guy was a projected to be in the top 10.

19. Kenny Phillips S Miami Brian Dawkins isn’t going to be around forever.

20. DeSean Jackson WR California I’d hate to sound repetitive but Joey Galloway isn’t going to be around forever. And remember how up until last year, The Buccaneers had gone over 1,800 attempts without a kick returned for a touchdown? Jackson is a good returner, so there you go Tampa.

21. Limas Sweed WR Texas Its hard to believe the Redskins would get another wide reciever but this one can actually catch and is taller than 5′10″. The only knock on him is his durability.

22. Felix Jones RB Arkansas There’s no way Jerry Jones misses out on a complementary back for Marion Barber… that also went to his alma mater.

23. Derrick Harvey DE Florida The Steelers need another impact defensive lineman to rush the passer.

24. James Hardy WR Indiana Seriously, is Vince Young on Punk’d? He’s got no recievers… at all. Go ahead. Name one. See? I told you.

25. Dustin Keller TE Purdue The one thing that the Seahawks lacked has been a pass catching tight end. Its just too bad they dont have the impact running back to get that offense over the hump.

26. Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt Absolute beast. Remember when David Garrard ran on that 4th and long play in the playoffs against the Steelers? He wouldn’t have had to with this guy on the line.

27. Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech With this guy and Cromartie on both sides, the Chargers pass defense will be way better.

28. Andre Caldwell WR Florida With DeSean Jackson off the board, the Cowboys need a replacement for Terry Glenn.

29. Gosder Cherilus OT Boston College Finally some protection for Alex Smith.

30. Dan Connor LB Penn St.  This is a smart pick for anyone, especially this late in the draft. The Packers could also draft a quarterback like Joe Flacco or Brian Brohm here if they’re not sold on Aaron Rodgers.

31. Xavier Adibi LB Virginia Tech I think the Giants would like to draft a linebacker here so they can move Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end.  This might change if Strahan decides to come back.

32. There is no 32 because the Pats decided they wanted to steal signals and be cheaters. Dumbasses.


We gotta get outta this place…

In Stanley Talouis on March 17, 2008 at 1:26 AM

Its not just a song that William Shatner resurrected. Its a sentence that many inner-city people utter every day of their lives. Its a way of life. My co-host Edmond Easton recently wrote an article about the death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor that detailed the tragedy. Its been analyzed and gone over hundreds of times. What most people can chalk it up to is jealousy. Those kids went into Taylor’s house to rob him, not knowing he was home. They were shocked to see him there and shot two bullets blindly into Taylor. Some say Taylor’s death is a product of his fame and his environment. But what was he supposed to do? Not be so great at football? Don’t make it the NFL?

Normally, its not my style to beat a dead horse, so to speak. Sean Taylor’s death really made me think about other situations that happened that didn’t get as much attention. One situation in particular is what happened with the prized high school running back from California, Jamiel Andre Shaw, or Jas for short. Shaw was an exciting young prospect who was gunned down a few yards from his home. Shaw, who was described as “a Houdini on the football field” was being recruited by Arizona and Stanford. Jamiel rushed for over 1,000 yards, with an average of 14 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns. Off the field, he was just a regular high school student. Not a gang member, just a regular kid who one day dreamt of becoming a sports agent. What did he do to deserve getting shot? Absolutely nothing. Two latino gangmembers in a car asked him where he was from, to find out if he had any gang affiliation, and they shot him when he didn’t answer. Blocks away from his house.

These two unrelated deaths are signs of what the world has become. A world where 24 year old man can die because of who he is and what he has. A world where a 17 year old kid can die because of where he lives. Shaw’s parents, Jamiel Sr. and Anita Shaw, tried all they could to get Jamiel through high school and into college. They kept him safe for as long as they could. His father was quoted in the news, asking the public for help. “This is not Iraq; this is L.A., you should be able to walk down the damn street — you should be able to walk the street without getting killed. Somebody’s seen what happened: Somebody knows. Please help us.”

In reality, there is nothing we can do to stop it. Its one of those things where people who aren’t directly affected will see these stories, feel bad for a little while and go back to their lives. The police can’t do much more than suppress it as much as they can. The government can’t do much more than try to make stricter gun laws. In the end, its all just a lesson in futility.

Jamiel Andre Shaw