A Rose-y Debate

So last night's game between the Bulls and Blazers left Derrick Rose injured once again. ESPN reported this story, and of course plenty of comments were left on the situation. Now before I get as to why I'm writing this blog, lemme just say a few things. First of all, once Derrick Rose tore his ACL two years ago, I knew he wouldn't last long in the NBA. He plays too hard and his body isn't built for the punishment. Now it looks like he may have torn his other ACL. He sat out for an extended period of time to recover even though he was physically healthy to play. What pisses me off is he comes on an interview saying they should've won and it should've been the Bulls hoisting the Finals trophy. Well Derrick Rose, maybe the Bulls would be holding the trophy if you hadn't decided to waste a year on the bench. But whatever now to my point. 

I left a reply to a message on ESPN.com's board. Here's the original message. 

"He is a wuss, they are better off without this guy. He doesn't have any heart and is always crying about being hurt."

Here's my reply. 

"While I don't agree with much of what was said, I do believe the Bulls are better off without Rose. They did good last year with the talent that's there. Lot of players on contract years anyhow. Maybe nows the time for the Bulls to make some moves"

Nothing wrong with that right? Well, some guy who shall remain nameless started bashing me. Here's what he had to say.

 "i dont understand why ppl are so stupid. Before Derrick Rose got hurt: Bulls had best record in the league. After Derrick Rose got hurt: Bulls were 5th in the east. Why are you so goddamn retarded thinking the bulls are better without derrick?? im sick of you stupid morons continually saying that its so ignorant! Learn the game of basketball before you even think about posting here again. you are an embarrassment to this website"

 I didn't even know where he was going with this at the beginning. But here's my reply to him.

"Lol, I don't care about basketball. All I'm saying is it's not like the Bulls didn't make the playoffs last year and had a terrible record. If he's out for the season or a considerable amount of time, they're going to need some help. 1st to 5th isn't that bad either."


Again, he gets pissed, but here's where it gets interesting. His reply to that is as follows. 

"are you stupid? i bet your one of those kids who was never good at anything sport related. first off why are you commenting here if you dont care about basketball. second who the F_CK wants to be in fifth when they can be in first?? are you really that stupid? our record doesn't mean sh!t unless we win and we will not win without derrick rose! what kind of moron are you saying that its ok to settle for 5th place? god i hate stupid ppl"

Now, before I could reply, ESPN removed the original posting. But, as you can see this guy has skewed his own words. This guy is so caught up on Ricky Bobby's "If you're not 1st, you're last" saying that means he doesn't realize you can be the 5th best team and still win the Finals. He skews his viewpoint because in his first reply he's saying that before Rose got injured they Bulls were ranked #1, but after they ranked #5. He's thinking that rankings actually matter. You can be the 5th ranked team and still win 1st place. Also, records don't mean anything in the playoffs either. I originally said the Bulls were better off without Rose. I still believe that. Rose is too fragile and pushes himself too much. That's why he won't be around in the league in 3-4 years. Look at what the Bulls accomplished last year. They still made it to the playoffs. Made it into the 2nd round and then lost. All without Rose who's mentally disabled mind was keeping him on the bench! The Bulls were not all that great to begin with this season anyways, and I always suspected that Rose didn't want to be in Chicago even though it's his hometown. But the Bulls were not going to compete with the Heat and Pacers this year anyways in 7-game series. Now, the Bulls need to make moves. Nate Robinson powered that team last year in Rose's absence. Now he's in Denver. Bulls don't have anybody they can play now without Rose, so trades are inevitable if Rose has to miss a considerable amount of time. Watch for Boozer to be traded as well as Deng. If Rose has in fact torn his other ACL, it wouldn't surprise me to see him be gone either. Reason I blogged this is because I was not able to respond to this jackass who twisted his own words to make me sound like an idiot. All the while, all I was doing was giving a viewpoint. The guy who originally posted the comment said Rose was a wuss and blah blah blah. This guy is the true idiot because he cant even keep his own story straight. 

If you agree with me or would like some debate to this matter, feel free to comment below. 

Update Time

So little update as I'm just kind of bored and looking for something to do. Baseball has moved to the Conference matchups. The Dodgers and Cardinals play tonight after the Cards squeaked by the Pirates. (I seriously hate the Cardinals!) Dodgers will win the series and move to the World Series. As for the Red Sox and Tigers matchup, I thought the Tigers looked pretty crappy in their game with the A's and I was hoping the A's would win that. So I've got the Red Sox beating the Tigers. That sets up a Red Sox-Dodgers World Series, where honestly, I think the Red Sox will win it all. It really seems like their year. 

As for the NFL. Julio Jones is done for the season which kills so many fantasy hopes. Not that it really kills the Falcons hopes since they are just so out of it. I expected better from this team, but they just downright suck. Tony Gonzalez should've stayed retired. Or he could've followed the pattern of the NFC South and came back next year when the Falcons will win the division. Eli Manning and the Giants are 0-6 which is even more surprising. This team is just completely out of sync and doesn't really seem to have any spirit left in the game. They'll be lucky to finish with 5 wins this season. Meanwhile Peyton Manning and the Broncos are still destroying despite having to fight back against Dallas. 51 points! Geez! Anyways, with that performance from Dallas, they are my favorites to win the division. And also Matt Schaub now holds the record for most consecutive games with a Pick-6. This guy sucks! What I'd like to do now is how I figure the standings will end for the playoffs. *-denotes Bye in Playoffs.

AFC                                                  NFC
*Broncos                                           *Seahawks
*Colts                                               *Saints
Patriots                                              Lions
Ravens                                              Cowboys
Chiefs                                                Bears
Dolphins                                            49ers

The Broncos are the clear favorites to hold the #1 in the AFC. I have the Colts 2nd because I am biased, and hell the Colts are playing really good football right now. Patriots, despite having a shitty core, are still somehow winning games. Amendola and Gronk won't make it to the end of the season unfortunately. Amendola is always injured, and Gronk won't last too long even when he comes back. But since they are still winning, I have them 3rd. And the Ravens 4th. This is actually a division where the Browns could take it all. The Ravens have looked awful and even the Bengals haven't looked great. I'm giving the Ravens the favor because they are a team that can be inspired to win, and somewhere down the line they'll lose a game and then they'll turn it around. Chiefs are 5th because they are a completely different team and look great, but not that great to beat out the Broncos. And the Dolphins have looked good not great, but they look better than just about any other team in the AFC right now. 

As for the NFC, I have the Seahawks #1, for reasons unknown to me. They have the top defense, but their offense looks dreadful. Russell can run, but he's got no one to throw it too. Fortunately, Percy Harvin seems to be up to speed and looks like he might rejoin the team soon. The 5-0 Saints, have to play the Seahawks, and that's where I think the NFC will be crowned really. Lions look good when the have Calvin. So I have them I've already mentioned the Cowboys so keep up. Bears look good, but not great, actually could move them to 6, but I'll keep them at 5. And the 49ers I think will get back on track. They are still winning even though Kaepernick isn't playing great. There are a lot of teams that could steal some of those spots. I think right now the Saints and Seahawks could safely be assured the division. Packers, Eagles, and maybe the Cards and Redskins could fight for a spot somewhere in there. 

Anyways, that's about it for today. Feel like I got something important out there. Thanks everyone! Comment with your picks for the playoffs if you like.

Early Season Predictions and MLB Post-Season

I'll be honest, I have pretty much forgotten about this blog. Way too much going on with me right now to write about sports. But here I am too catch up :) Let's start with the MLB since that'll be quicker to finish. The NL has all but been wrapped up. Every team has clinched a spot. The Dodgers are NL West Champs, the Braves are NL East Champs. The Cards, Reds, and Pirates are still fighting for the NL Central, but all 3 have clinched spots. Don't quite understand why MLB doesn't move to 12 teams in the postseason, but whatever. The A's have clinched the AL West, The Red Sox have clinched the AL East, and Detroit is close enough to being crowned the AL Central champs, but haven't yet. The Indians and Rays are the wildcard teams right now, but that could change easily. However, I don't see it mattering much for those teams in the AL Wildcard. Red Sox will beat whoever they end up playing from that game. As for the A's and Detroit, I see the A's coming out on top. Leaving a matchup between the Red Sox and A's. Have no clue how that'll go, but too be honet, I'll be rooting for Oakland. Now to the NL. It'll be a Central matchup in the wildcard regardless of who wins the division. And the Reds will lose. Again, regardless. Because it's not officially set, I'll call Pirates and Braves in the next round. I like the Pirates, so I give them the nod to the next round, and the Dodgers over the Cardinals, simply because I despise the Cardinals. So between the Pirates and Dodgers, I've got the Dodgers. Better pitching on their team, and slightly better hitters I think. So that leaves a California staged World Series. Could go either way, but I'll be rooting for the Dodgers the whole way. 

Now to talk about what I enjoy :) Football! So through 3 weeks, we have a couple unbeatens who look good, but some not so good. I'm gonna run down each division and predict who I think will win the division and the teams to get wildcard. 

NFC East: What a god awful division right now. Giants are crap, Redskins aren't back on track following RGIII's injury, Eagles were phenomenal in the opening game, but have stunk since, and the Cowboys, well have found some luck to have a 2-1 record. I'm riding the Cowboys in this division. They are the team that has looked the worst. Redskins I think will come back and take 2nd. Eagles 3rd. Giants finish with a 5-11 record.

NFC North: Bears are undefeated by some luck. Packers aren't looking sharp, Vikings have had the worst of luck, and Lions actually look pretty good. Now the Bears, the Bengals beat themselves in the 1st game with that stupid move in the final minute with the Bears forced to punt. And then it was blown coverage by the Vikings, and then the Steelers (I'll get to the Steelers). So they are in luck with where they are at right now, but this is a team that went like 7-1 last year before being completely dismantled and missing the playoffs. So I'm not convinced on the Bears yet. The Vikings, losing the Browns, they're done. Last in the division for them. Lions look good, but not convinced yet on them either. And the Packers just keep shooting themselves in the foot. I expect them to bounce back and claim the division going 6-0 against the division will get them that spot. Bears maybe get a wildcard. 

NFC South: Saints are 3-0, Bucs 0-3. Falcons and Panthers 1-2. Saints have gotten back in the groove and I love it. I expect an 12-4 record and the division. Falcons in 2nd at 10-6. Panthers in 3rd and Bucs in last at 4-12. Not much more to say, I like the turnaround from the Saints, and they look good. 

NFC West: A division that has quickly crumbled. Seahawks are 3-0 and my favorites for the division. Everyone else is 1-2. 49ers haven't looked good since Week 1. And the Cards and Rams aren't playing at the level I expected from them. Seahawks claim the division. 49ers could still claim 2nd wildcard spot, but right now, I am leaving that spot to the Falcons. 

AFC East: Patriots and Dolphins are 3-0. Patriots are fools right now. They believe that since they are 3-0 they don't have much to worry about, but they do. Their offense is still horrible, they've just had easy matchups. Jets are 2-1, but that's nothing, and Bills are 1-2. Again nothing. Dolphins win the division at 10-6. Pats also 10-6, but lose key division games against Miami. Patriots do claim the wildcard though.

AFC North: Bengals and Ravens, love how they've been playing. Both at 2-1 right now and have beaten some good teams. Steelers and Browns, don't get me started. Browns, congrats on the win yesterday, but still a lot of issues, especially if they are looking to trade their 2 top receivers. Cameron is now the best player on that team (Thanks btw!) As for the Steelers. I have never seen a more slow-paced and unmotivated team. They look like they are walking down the field. What a poor excuse for a team! Bengals win the division. Ravens don't make playoffs. Offense hasn't proven anything to me yet, sorry. 

AFC South: OMG The Colts! What a great victory over the 49ers yesterday! The addition of Trent Richardson has completely changed the dynamic of this team! Bradshaw is playing with purpose, Luck is playing incredibly smart, and Reggie Wayne and Heyward-Bey are making big plays. The Defense could still use some work, but they'll get there. The Texans look good too, but with the amount of injuries, they don't look like last years Texans. Even the defense doesn't look as good. The Titans are surprising with the 2-1 record, but that's not realistic yet. They'll crash at some point. And then there's that other team. Colts win the division at 11-5. Texans take the wildcard. 

AFC West: Broncos. Need I say more? Chiefs look really good. Vastly improved. And looking great. They said that the AFC was depleted and easy to get a playoff spot. I don't know about that anymore. Chiefs could easily get a playoff spot the way they've played. But I am leaving them off for now. A victory over the Jags and Cowboys and self-imploding Eagles team isn't much yet. And then the Raiders and Chargers. Chargers looked good, but run out of gas easy. Raiders, what'd you expect? At least Pryor looks good. But Peyton Manning and that offense, is unstoppable. I expect a 14-2 record. 

So here's my Postseason predictions:

Bye Week- Broncos & Colts. Surprising ain't it?     Bye Week- Seahawks & Saints
Wildcard- Bengals v. Texans, Dolphins v. Patriots.  Wildcard- Packers v. 49ers, Cowboys v. Bears.
Divsional- Broncos v. Texans, Colts v. Dolphins.     Divisional-Seahawks v. Bears, Saints v. Packers
Conference- Colts @ Broncos                                Conference- Packers @ Seahawks

2 classic matches. I truly believe the Colts could make it that far. But not Super Bowl far. My SuperBowl faves are the Broncos and Seahawks, but how often does that happen? Anyways, after going over this, I could see the Ravens taking the division. Bengals don't make wildcard. I just need to see more of their offense. Defense has been doing all the work. And I do hate leaving off the Chiefs who look really good. And in the NFC, I don't like leaving off the Falcons, but they haven't looked as good. Maybe when Roddy White is healthy they will, but not right now. Broncos are SuperBowl champs. Again, like I said, they're unstoppable! But I would love to see the Colts and Broncos go that far, and am looking forward to week 8 when Peyton comes back to Indy. That'll be a match for the ages. 

I'm done here tonight. Not much left to say. Maybe when basketball season starts, I'll update this playoff scenario, but not go into depth like here. Comments are appreciated. Thanks!

Trade deadline and other news

So yesterday the trade deadline in baseball came and went. Very little happened. Expected moves didn't happen, and moves that did, didn't really dazzle. So here are the moves that occured. Also, if the trade involved minor leaguers or picks, I am not including them here. 

• Detroit Tigers acquired RP Jose Veras from Houston Astros
• Atlanta Braves acquired RP Scott Downs from LA Angels
• Tampa Bay Rays acquired RP Jesse Crain from White Sox
• Kansas City Royals acquired OF Justin Maxwell from Houston Astros, Astros acquire minor league pitcher Kyle Smith from Royals
• Baltimore Orioles acquired SP Bud Norris from Houston Astros, Astros acquire OF L.J. Hoes, pick, and minor leaguer in the deal
• San Diego Padres acquire SP Ian Kennedy from Arizona Diamondbacks, D-Backs acquire RP Joe Thatcher from Padres. 
• Boston Red Sox acquire Jake Peavy from Chicago White Sox and Brayan Villareal from Detroit Tigers. Tigers acquire Jose Iglesias from Red Sox, and White Sox acquire Avisail Garcia from Tigers in 3-Team trade.
• Oakland A's acquire IF Alberto Callaspo from LA Angels, Angels acquire Grant Green from A's
• Cleveland Indians acquire RP Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis Cardinals
• LA Dodgers sign former San Francisco Giant closer Brian Wilson

That is the majority of the moves made before the deadline. There were other trades of course, before the deadline, but I won't get into those. Now for a last bit of news here.

The Detroit Pistons have traded away Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton, and Savla Kravtsov to the Milwaukee Bucks for Brandon Jennings. Really like this move, and look forward to seeing what Detriot bring to the table next year now that they have Jennings and Josh Smith. 

The NFL Pro Bowl, is dropping the AFC-NFC format in exchange for a player draft. Co-Captains Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will draft their teams with the highest vote-getters. There were more changes to the Pro Bowl, but the other big one was kickoffs will be removed from the game. The ball will be placed on the 25-yard line after each score. Also each quarter will now have a 2-minute warning, and the ball will change possession after each quarter. Kick return specialist will no longer be selected to the Pro Bowl, and will instead be replaced with an extra defender.

Stupid changes if you ask me. The draft type thing might be fun to watch. But other than that, this will just be another boring game. If the NFL really wants to look at rejuvenating the Pro Bowl they need to bring back the skills competitions. When I watch the NBA All-Star Weekend, I could care less about the All-Star Game. I watch for the Skills competition and the Dunk contest. All the mini-games they have leading up to it. Just like the All-Star game in Baseball. I could care less about the actual game. I'm more interested in the Home Run Derby and the Celebrity Softball game. The NFL doesn't have anything like that anymore. And that's why the Pro Bowl is so disinteresting to watch. 

Lastly here, Percy Harvin will undergo hip surgery and is slated to be out 3-4 months. Sidney Rice has also left the Seahawks camp to seek medical advice in Switzerland on his leg. This drops Harvin's stock on my list greatly, as well as Rice's. Meanwhile, Golden Tate's stock increases, but not much. If you're league has 3 WR's he should be a solid #3 receiver. And can be grabbed in the late rounds. 

That's it for today folks. Football is just right around the corner! HOF Game this Sunday between the Cowboys and Dolphins! Very excited for that!

Defense Rankings and other news

I debated whether or not I'd put up a defense rankings list or not. Truth be told I'm not. I'm just going to list the top 5 defenses for this upcoming season. 

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Houston Texans
5. Cincinatti Bengals

Can't go wrong with either of those defenses. Now, some people speculate the Rams will have a powerful defense this year. I don't doubt that. It's just when I look at defenses, I look at teams that will win games. Rams offense, I just don't see it being that great. They have a new string of receivers and running backs, and even the tight end is new. Their is little chemistry with that team right now. But we'll see. In fantasy football, for defenses I look at winning teams. That way I know my defense won't be destroyed in the points and yardage category. That's just me though. Side note: It never hurts to pick up the Colts defense when they play the Jaguars. Picked them up last season because my defense was on bye, Colts played the Jags on Thursday night, got me around 40 points. Good deal there :D

So now for other news. Of course, training camp has gotten underway for all 32 teams. Heck, the Hall of Fame game between the Cowboys and Dolphins takes place this Sunday! But with the start of training camp, always comes injury. Jeremy Maclin of the Philadelphia Eagles, Dennis Pitta of the Baltimore Ravens, and Dan Koppen of the Denver Broncos are already done for the season. So mark Maclin off your draft boards, Pitta I don't even think I included in my Tight End rankings and had Ed Dickson instead, and Koppen hurts Mannings stock oh so slightly, but not by much at all. Ravens signed Visanthe Shiancoe in Pitta's absence, and I've always liked Shiancoe, so put him in Dickson's place on my rankings board. 

Now, on Wednesday, July 31st the trade deadline for baseball will be up. I will follow along with all those moves and see what happens. Always one of my favorite days of the year. Especially after last year, watching the Cubs play a night game and seeing 3 players having to leave the game because they were traded. Now the Cubs have already traded Feldman, Garza, and Soriano this season. Schierholtz would be my next guess, but Cubs look like they might be done. And surprisingly, have gotten better. Now only 7 games back of .500 ball.

Lastly here, before I forget, the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns have had a trade that sends Luis Scola to the Pacers, and Miles Plumlee, Gerald Green, and a draft pick to the Suns. Suns lucked out there, because I don't believe Scola is as good anymore, and certainly not worth all that they gave up for him. That's it for today folks! Probably post again Thursday headlining the trades in the MLB.

Fantasy Football Rankings 2013 Tight Ends

So everyone, I realize I am late with the post, but does it really matter? Anyways, there have been some new developments across the football league that I will get to after the rankings. So let's take a look and then I'll explain. 

Tight End Rankings of 2013

1. Jimmy Graham-New Orleans Saints
2. Tony Gonzalez-Atlanta Falcons
3. Jason Witten-Dallas Cowboys
4. Rob Gronkowski-New England Patriots
5. Kyle Rudolph-Minnesota Vikings
6. Vernon Davis-San Francisco 49ers
7. Brandon Meyers-New York Giants
8. Greg Olsen-Carolina Panthers
9. Dustin Keller-Miami Dolphins
10. Fred Davis-Washington Redskins
11. Antonio Gates-San Diego Chargers
12. Brandon Pettigrew-Detroit Lions
13. Martellus Bennett-Chicago Bears
14. Heath Miller-Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Jared Cook-St. Louis Rams
16. Ed Dickson-Baltimore Ravens
17. Brent Celek-Philadelphia Eagles
18. Owen Daniels-Houston Texans
19. Jacob Tamme-Denver Broncos
20. Tony Moeaki-Kansas City Chiefs
21. Luke Stocker-Tampa Bay Buccanneers
22. Jermichael Finley-Green Bay Packers
23. Jermaine Gresham-Cincinnatti Bengals
24. Delanie Walker-Tennessee Titans
25. Dwayne Allen-Indianapolis Colts
26. Zach Miller-Seattle Seahawks
27. Marcedes Lewis-Jacksonville Jaguars
28. Rob Housler-Arizona Cardinals
29. Jordan Cameron-Cleveland Browns
30. Scott Chandler-Buffalo Bills
31. Kellen Winslow-New York Jets
32. Nick Kasa-Oakland Raiders

Now obviously, with Gronkowski in doubt to start immediately, I had to drop him a few spots. But once he's back in the game I expect Brady to throw to him quite a lot. There are some other tights ends I failed to mention in this list, so let's get them in real quick. 

Coby Fleener-IND, James Casey-PHI, Tyler Eifert-CIN

Actually that's all that comes to mind. Either one of those guys I would take before getting to #27 on the list. Now tights ends aren't of great importance in fantasy, but they can, and will, make or break a game for you. The 1st 6 names on this list, try and draft when the opportunity comes. Never hurts to draft a tight end who plays more like a receiver. Everyone else can be had in the later rounds. Heck, most of these guys will linger on the board until the far later rounds. Now, if you want some advice, here are some guys I expect to be pretty big for their teams. Greg Olsen, have always liked him, and he brings in points. With Carolina not having too much in the pass game, expect Olsen to be a redzone threat. Martellus Bennett, picked him up last year with the Giants. Did NOT disappoint! And I expect him to be even better in an offense that already has so little to work with. Heath Miller, always a great option and has great chemistry with Roethlisberger. Delanie Walker, was really great with the 49ers, but overshadowed by Vernon Davis. Could have a great year with the Titans. Lastly, Jared Cook. Rams don't have much in the passing game, and Cook has been teaming up with Bradford already this summer. Expect Cook to be Bradford's go-to guy. 

Now a couple guys to look out for. Dustin Keller, still not sure how that new Miami offense will work. Ed Dickson, will be great for a couple games, but don't expect too much out of him. Then again, with the Ravens offense being somewhat depleted, he may have a decent year. Brent Celek, Eagles are looking at using a 2 tight end set, he could lose receptions because of this, and it's not like he was getting many to begin with. Jacob Tamme, with the addition of Wes Welker, Peyton has too many options to throw too, and I doubt Tamme will be a heavily relied upon option. He did not produce as well as I thought he would last year with Manning. Jermaine Gresham, could be out done by Eifert and I expect that to happen. And Kellen Winslow, would be a good option if Geno Smith takes over, otherwise avoid him. 

Now that's all said a done, there are a few notes I'd like to throw in. First off, Ahmad Bradshaw failed his conditioning test and was put on the PUP list. I expect him to start the season, but this could result in Vick Ballard seeing more time. Bradshaw drops a few spots on my list. Percy Harvin also on the PUP list, may even require surgery. Still a great option, but keep a close eye on him in the coming weeks. Drops several spots on my draft board, but not too far down. 

That's really all I have today folks. I may put up the Defense list next week, but I've covered the major important positions of fantasy football. So if any other big news pops up, I'll be sure to blog it. Until then, happy hunting everyone!

Fantasy Football 2013 Wide Receiver Rankings

Okay gang. This was a tough group to rank as there are so many. What I did for this group was take the 2 wideouts for each team, and sometimes even the 3rd or 4th wideouts from a team. Though I think San Diego is the only team I took 4 from. But besides that, I went down the list multiple times and kept thinking, "whose the next best receiver left? Who would I take next?" Well this list of 75, yes 75, is how I went about it. Not much explanation needed afterwards. So I'll just get with the list now.

Wide Receiver Rankings of 2013
1. Calvin Johnson-DET 2. Percy Harvin-SEA
3. Larry Fitzgerald-ARZ 4. Brandon Marshall-CHI
5. AJ Green-CIN         6. Roddy White-ATL
7. Dez Bryant-DAL         8. Demaryius Thomas-DEN
9. Andre Johnson-HOU 10. Victor Cruz-NYG
11. Vincent Jackson-TB 12. Mike Wallace-MIA
13. Julio Jones-ATL         14. Jordy Nelson-GB
15. Eric Decker-DEN 16. Reggie Wayne-IND
17. Dwayne Bowe-KC 18. Greg Jennings-MIN
19. Miles Austin-DAL 20. Wes Welker-DEN
21. Danny Amendola-NE         22. Torrey Smith-BAL
22. Steve Smith-CAR 23. James Jones-GB
23. Marques Colston-NO         24. Randall Cobb-GB
25. Pierre Garcon-WAS 26. Antonio Brown-PIT
27. Jeremy Maclin-PHI 28. Danario Alexander-SD
29. Hakeem Nicks-NYG 30. Anquan Boldin-SF
31. DeSean Jackson-PHI         32. Mike Williams-TB
33. Kenny Britt-TEN 34. Stevie Johnson-BUF
35. Cordarrelle Patterson-MIN 36. Sidney Rice-SEA
37. TY Hilton-IND         38. Santonio Holmes-NYJ
39. Emmanuel Sanders-PIT 40. Micheal Floyd-ARZ
41. Johnny Knox-CHI 42. Lance Moore-NO
43. Santana Moss-WAS 44. Tavon Austin-STL
45. Josh Gordon-CLE 46. Julian Edelman-NE
47. Nate Washington-TEN 48. Cecil Shorts-JAX
49. Brandon LaFell-CAR 50. Jacoby Jones-BAL
51. Greg Little-CLE         52. Mike Thomas-DET
53. Rod Streater-OAK 54. Brandon LaFell-CAR
55. Malcolm Floyd-SD 56. Donnie Avery-KC
57. Brian Hartline-MIA 58. Justin Blackmon-JAX
59. Denarius Moore-OAK 60. Robert Meachem-SD
61. Mario Manningham-SF 62. Chris Givens-STL
63. DeAndre Hopkins-HOU 64. Golden Tate-SEA
65. Darrius Heyward-Bey-IND 66. Jeremy Kerley-NYJ
67. Andrew Hawkins-CIN 68. Brian Quick-STL
69. Nate Burleson-DET 70. Leonard Hankerson-WAS
71. Dexter McCluster-KC 72. Davone Bess-CLE
73. Brad Smith-BUF

I realize I had a bit of a goof. And instead of going through and correcting the whole numbers I just listed 22 and 23 twice. The list still contains 75 receivers, just a little out of order. Anyways, of course Calvin Johnson is going to be the 1st wide receiver selected, but from there it actually gets a bit tricky. Percy could be switched with Larry, AJ, Brandon, Roddy, Dez, or Demaryius in my opinion. There is a good crop of receivers out there. So my tip would be draft a running back first. Unless you draft 6th or later and Megatron is still available. Calvin, Larry, and Percy will most likely be taken in the 1st. Everyone else comes later. Now, in my leagues I have a 3 WR set. Most just have 2. So drafting a Rb first is priority, unless I can grab Rodgers or P.Manning (which P.Manning is most likely a 2nd round pick anyways). Now if Percy is still available in the 2nd grab him! Larry Fitzgerald is going to be a monster this season now that he finally has a reliable Qb to throw him passes. Micheal Floyd could also so a big boost. If I had to pick a couple surprises this season, I'd go with, Micheal Floyd, Brandon LaFell, and Antonio Brown. Pierre Garcon is another receiver I have a ton of faith in! Grab him if you can in the 4th or 5th rounds!

Of course there are always cautious picks. Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and James Jones to name a few. Because these are great receivers with an even greater Qb, don't expect one to carry the load the whole season. One game Jones might have 150yds an 2tds while the other maybe get 50yds each. Same goes with Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and Wes Welker. If you can handcuff 2 of these guys together you'll be in a terrific state! Especially when these teams face punching-bag opponents. Now I'd grab any one of the Broncos receivers, and Jordy Nelson, but Cobb and Jones, though they are really good, I don't have as much faith in. 

Lastly, I selected Julian Edelman as the #2 receiver for the Patriots. I don't know this to be true, but whoever is the #2 receiver for them either takes his place or would drop a few slots. Couple guys in this list could be tossed around. Problem with evaluating receivers now is training camp hasn't started yet. Don't know who will emerge and who will flop. So this list is concrete. It's far too early to tell, this is just a mock of what I would select in fantasy football now.

Well okay gang, that does it for this list. Stay tuned next week for the Tight End rankings! (Thank god there aren't as many of those to rank!)

Fantasy Football Rankings 2013 Running Backs

Hello once again everyone. Time to unveil my top 50, that's right 50!, running backs of the 2013 season. Now of course, no matter what happens in your league, Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster are going to 1 & 2. After that, it's anyone's game to play. So here the list of the Top 50 Running backs you should hunt down! 

Running Back Rankings 2013

1. Adrian Peterson- Minnesota Vikings                   26. Montee Ball- Denver Broncos*
2. Arian Foster- Houston Texans                            27. Rashard Mendenhall- Arizona
3. Doug Martin- Tampa Bay Buccanneers              28. Ahmad Bradshaw- Indianapolis Colts
4. Ray Rice- Baltimore Ravens                               29. Eddie Lacy- Green Bay Packers*
5. Jamaal Charles- Kansas City Chiefs                   30. BenJarvus Green-Ellis- Cincinnatti 
6. Marshawn Lynch- Seattle Seahawks                  31. DeAngelo Williams- Carolina*
7. Alfred Morris- Washington Redskins                  32. Jonathon Stewart- Carolina Panthers*
8. C.J. Spiller- Buffalo Bills                                    33. Jacquizz Rodgers- Atlanta Falcons
9. Matt Forte- Chicago Bears                                34. Shonn Greene- Tennessee Titans
10. LeSean McCoy- Philadelphia Eagles                  35. Isaiah Pead- St. Louis Rams"
11. Reggie Bush- Detroit Lions                                36. Andre Brown- New York Giants*
12. Maurice Jones-Drew- Jacksonville Jaguars         37. Shane Vereen- New England Patriots
13. Trent Richardson- Cleveland Browns                 38. Vick Ballard- Indianapolis Colts
14. Stevan Ridley- New England Patriots                 39. Mark Ingram- New Orleans Saints
15. DeMarco Murray- Dallas Cowboys                   40. Mikel LeShoure- Detroit Lions
16. Frank Gore- San Francisco 49ers                      41. Michael Bush- Chicago Bears
17. Lamar Miller- Miami Dolphins                           42. Knowshow Moreno- Denver Broncos*
18. Steven Jackson- Atlanta Falcons                       43. Daryl Richardson- St. Louis Rams*
19. David Wilson- New York Giants                       44. Jonathon Franklin- Green Bay Packers*
20. Chris Ivory- New York Jets                              45. Giovani Bernard- Cincinatti Bengals
21. Darren Sproles- New Orleans Saints                 46. Ben Tate- Houston Texans
22. Ryan Mathews- San Diego Chargers                 47. LaRod Stephens-Howling- Pittsburgh
23. Darren McFadden- Oakland Raiders                 48. Danny Woodhead- San Diego Chargers
24. Le'Veon Bell- Pittsburgh Steelers                       49. Pierre Thomas- New Orleans Saints
25. Chris Johnson- Tennessee Titans                        50. Bilal Powell- New York Jets

*-denotes not yet confirmed as starter or backup

So okay there you have it. There is no, "also these guys" but if you think there is somebody who should have been mentioned on this list feel free to comment. Now, I gotta say, in all my years of playing fantasy football, I have never had Marshawn Lynch. Last year I avoided him because of his police encounter. But I won't that get in the way again. Only avoid injured players. Now I have a few mentions I'd live to give. First off, I think Chris Ivory with the Jets will be a huge star. It's not like they have a good Qb, and if if Geno Smith becomes the starter for the Jets, they still don't have any other offensive weapons. Second, if you have a chance and are looking for above decent back-up running back, you can't go wrong with Jacquizz Rodgers. Steven Jackson is often injured, and Rodgers is explosive. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes some starts this season. Third, Shonn Greene could be another viable option as a backup. Look Chris Johnson just plain sucks.That's why he's ranked low everywhere. He has maybe one huge game the entire season. As for Greene, he'll see plenty of carries and possibly get goal-line duty. Speaking of goal-line duty, if you want a vulture, Michael Bush can do you no wrong. Fifth, Danny Woodhead is a great fit for the Chargers and could even steal some snaps from Mathews since the fans don't seem to care for him too much. Lastly, as a Colts fan, I love that Ahmad Bradshaw is with the team. However, Ballard is still going to be used in the system. Now Ballard is not an every down back, and is more like a 3rd down guy. But he's a vulture too. I would suggest drafting Bradshaw if your need somewhere along the 6th or 7th rounds, and maybe handcuff Ballard. I wouldn't use Ballard, but at least nobody else is getting his points. And I'd only play him against a team where I knew they would score a lot, or at least use him in the endzone. So that's all for now folks, stick around for next week when I bring out the Top 50 Wide Receivers!

Fantasy Football Rankings 2013 Quarterbacks

Hey everyone, sorry I'm a day late, just completely forget yesterday. So here are my top 2013 Qb's for this upcoming season. I'll explain some things after the list.


Quarterback Rankings of 2013

1. Aaron Rodgers- Green Bay Packers
2. Peyton Manning- Denver Broncos
3. Drew Brees- New Orleans Saints
4. Tom Brady- New England Patriots
5. Matt Ryan- Atlanta Falcons
6. Cam Newton- Carolina Panthers
7. Andrew Luck- Indianapolis Colts
8. Russell Wilson- Seattle Seahawks
9. Colin Kaepernick- San Francisco 49ers
10. Robert Griffin III- Washington Redskins
11. Matthew Stafford- Detroit Lions
12. Joe Flacco- Baltimore Ravens
13. Matt Schaub- Houston Texans
14. Jay Cutler- Chicago Bears 
15. Ben Roethlisberger- Pittsburgh Steelers
16. Eli Manning- New York Giants
17. Tony Romo- Dallas Cowboys
18. Andy Dalton- Cincinatti Bengals
19. Phillip Rivers- San Diego Chargers
20. Josh Freeman- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21. Carson Palmer- Arizona Cardinals
22. Ryan Tannehill- Miami Dolphins
23. Michael Vick- Philadelphia Eagles
24. Christian Ponder- Minnesota Vikings
25. Alex Smith- Kansas City Chiefs
26. Sam Bradford- St. Louis Rams
27. Geno Smith- New York Jets
28. Matt Flynn- Oakland Raiders
29. Jake Locker- Tennessee Titans
30. Brandon Weeden- Cleveland Browns
31. Kevin Kolb- Buffalo Bills
32. Chad Henne- Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterbacks to Consider
EJ Manuel- Buffalo Bills
Mark Sanchez- New York Jets
Matt Hasselbeck- Indianapolis Colts
Ryan Fitzpatrick- Tennessee Titans
Matt Barkely- Philadelphia Eagles
Kirk Cousins- Washington Redskins
Matt Cassel- Minnesota Vikings
Terrelle Pryor- Oakland Raiders
Tyler Wilson- Oakland Raiders

Now lemme explain some things first. First off, in green, those are obviously the ones you want to draft. Unless there's a running back that's for sure a good thing, take one of those guys. Rodgers and P.Manning will most assuredly go quick. In blue, those are the guys you could probably wait to get in the 3rd or 4th round. In orange, those are the ones where if you got screwed in the early rounds they are still nice picks for starter and great picks for backup. In purple, those are you're backups. Draft them in the late rounds. And in red, try and avoid these guys altogether. 

Now lemme explain some other things here. First off, I have Geno Smith ranked and Mark Sanchez unranked. Wouldn't you? I'm banking on Smith getting the start at some point, and he could be worthwhile if the Jets had someone for him to throw too. Also, Kolb/Manuel, Flynn/Wilson/Pryor, and Vick/Barkely those are your Qb competition type guys. Who knows who will end up being the long-term starter. They aren't guys I'd draft at all, but keep an eye on during bye weeks. Hasselbeck, Cousins, Cassel, and Fitzpatrick are guys who shouldn't count on, but again keep an eye on. Especially Cousins if RGIII isn't ready or gets injured. He's a viable starter in case that happens. Hasselbeck could be nice if Luck were to go down. As would Cassel if Ponder goes down. Obviously, anyone listed in the "Other" category should not be drafter unless you're in a 20 man league of that sort.

That's all for this listing. Next week I'll post the Running back rankings!

NHL Championship

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks your 2013 Stanley Cup Champions!

The Blackhawks won their series over the Boston Bruins in 6 games and scored twice in a span of 17 seconds and with just over a minute to play in regulation, winning 3-2. 

I am a good sport, so I will congratulate the Blackhawks once again. But I was rooting for the Bruins. Living so close to Indiana I am surrounded by Chicago fans. And just from my own experience, Chicago fans are some of the rudest and arrogant fans around. Plus I have a strained relationship with my dad which has been getting worse over the years, and I pretty much hate any team he roots for. But I really hate when these Chicago fans bash the other team. Last night I read posts like "Suck it Boston" or "Boston Crybabies" I let them know that they are assholes. 

The Boston Bruins were playing for their city. A city that experienced a tragic horror months ago. What Boston accomplished is truly inspiring. Much more so that what the Blackhawks did. I admire the Blackhawks win streak they had earlier, and frankly they are a really good team. But sports fans need to learn to be good sports as well. I always prefer the phrase "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". Teams and players show respect for one another. Look at the Stanley Cup, once the team has won, both teams line up and shake hands. That's true sportsmanship. Fans wouldn't do that. And after the NBA Finals, The Heat and Spurs met at halfcourt, hugged, shook hands, and congratulated both teams on a great series. All I'm saying is, show some respect. 

In other news, Doc Rivers and the Clippers are finalizing the contract that would send Doc to the Clippers, and a 1st round pick to the Celtics. Personally, I find it quite odd that they are trading for a coach. Just doesn't seem like that should be allowed to happen. The Nuggets have hired Brian Shaw to be their new head coach, and the Memphis Grizzlies have hired Dave Joerger as their new coach. 

Lastly, I have compiled my list of the Top Qb's this season for any fantasy fanatics out there. I will be releasing this list on July 1st, and then every Monday after that I will release the next list. That's all for now folks!

NBA Championship

Congratulations to the 2013 NBA Champions the Miami Heat!

Miami down 3-2 in the Championship series, stormed back after being down double-digits in game 6, and ended up tying the series 3-3 in a 103-100 OT victory. In game 7, Miami and San Antonio played tough for much of the game, but you could see how exhausted the Spurs were. Miami ended up winning 95-88 in game 7 to become back-to-back Champions. Duncan missed a crucial shot with the game 90-88 and that was really the difference maker. Manu Ginobili forced far too many turnovers and that was another thing that bit the Spurs in the butt. 

I've been saying it before, but the key to beating the Spurs is to tire them out. I believed that because the Spurs swept the Grizzlies in 4 games, and Miami had to play 7 against the Pacers, that the Spurs would be your new champion. But because Miami was able to continuously battle back in crucial games, they forced a Game 7, and you could see the exhaustion in the faces of the Spurs players. 

Now we wait and see what happens. Come July 1st, NBA Free agency will begin. Tim Duncan looks like he'll be coming back for the Spurs, but Manu is a different story. He is a free agent, so it's questionable if he'll retire or go somewhere else. Just watching him in this last series tells me he is no longer starter material. He had too many dumb errors and turnovers, and really just doesn't have 'it' anymore. 

As for next season. Heat, Bulls, Knicks, and Pacers will undoubtedly be your Eastern contenders. Brooklyn too most likely. Atlanta is trying to lure in Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. I think Paul will stick with the Clippers. Dwight, however, has already built a negative report with the staff for the Lakers, and though the players and fans want him to stay, the organization may not want to put up with his garbage. In the West, I expect to see the Thunder, Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors, and Grizzlies be your real contenders. Spurs maybe too depending on what they do this offseason. But in the end, I'll count on the Heat and Thunder to once again be playing for the title. 

In Aaron Hernandez news, don't be planning on drafting him for your fantasy team this season. Signs are pointing to him being the one who pulled the trigger. He destroyed his home security cameras which means 1 of 2 things. 1) He did it or 2) he's covering for the person who did it. Either way, he'll be facing charges if he is found to be withholding information. 

With fantasy season rolling along here, coming July 1st I'll start rolling out my fantasy picks. (Don't expect to see Hernandez on the list) So there's that to look forward to. 

The Blackhawks and Bruins are tied 2-2 in the NHL Stanley Cup series. I'm still riding on the Bruins winning, since they have been the more consistent team throughout this series so far. 

That's all I have to say folks! See ya next time!

NBA/NHL Finals

Well it's been a while. Gotta say I haven't been really following the Sports world lately except for the Cubs. So let's just move right onto the Finals shall we?

The San Antonio Spurs lead the Miami Heat 2-1 in the NBA Finals. The Spurs held on to win in Game 1, go blown out in Game 2, and then blew out the Heat in Game 3. Now the Heat have never lost back-to-back and with every loss they ended up winning by 10+ the next game. I figure them to alter some things in Game 4 and take the game. Curiously, the Heat swept the Bucks in 4, beat the Bulls in 5, beat the Pacers in 6, so let's see if they take this to a Game 7. 

The Bruins and Blackhawks will start their quest for the cup tonight in Game 1 of the NHL Finals. The Bruins swept my Penguins, and the Blackhawks battled around with the Kings, but took it in 5. I expect the Bruins to win just because they are playing on pure emotion. And also because too many people around here are annoying as well when a Chicago team does well. Hence my reason for liking the Cubs, they never do well. 

In Football news, Tim Tebow has signed with the Patriots. So expect him to do absolutely nothing once again. Ahmad Bradshaw has signed a 1-year deal with the Colts. He's now a 2nd tier running back for me. He'll most likely start, but Ballard will take away some carries. The Ravens have released fullback Vonta Leach. Chad Johnson, formerly Ochocinco, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for assault on his wife. It's really ridiculous if you have seen the video of his court hearing. 

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers looks to be on his way out, saying he is not fully committed to a return. Meanwhile Nuggets coach George Karl was fired, so hey there's an opening. Jason Kidd retired from basketball and then immediately went an inquired about the head coaching job for the Brooklyn Nets. 

The U.S. Open begins tomorrow and there are concerns about the heavy rainfall that the course has seen. Rafael Nadal won his unprecedented 8th French Open. Only player to do so. 

And lastly, Fantasy Football season is upon us. I'll be doing research, and shortly I'll come out with my top players at each position. So stay tuned for that!

NBA Finals and a bit more

First off, Congrats to the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat on beating the Indiana Pacers in 7 games. I'd rather the Heat have lost to the Pacers so people wouldn't bash them for too long, but I am still thrilled they made it. Though I will standby my last post and say that because the Heat and Pacers went to game 7, the Spurs got too much rest and will win the Finals. Duncan will hoist the trophy one last time and retire. Parker will be named MVP. And the Spurs will win the championship in 6. Only way I see the Heat winning, is if they win the 1st two games. But we'll see starting Thursday.

In hockey, The Blackhawks are 2-0 against the Kings, and the Bruins are 2-0 against the Penguins. But this is hockey, and anything can happen. 

In football, fantasy season is now officially underway! I'll do a separate blog with my rankings after the playoffs have ended. And RIP to Deacon Jones, a legend in the football world. 

And in baseball, the MLB is looking to suspend over 20 players for their PED use. This includes Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, and others. The suspensions will be appealed, but I guarantee their will still be some steep fines and suspensions for some of these big name players. And congrats to the Chicago Cubs on winning the Crosstown Classic by destroying the White Sox in 3 games. The make-up game has been scheduled, and I look forward to the Cubs crushing the Sox again! 

That's it for now Sports fans! Until next time!

Playoffs and More

Well, I've been away for a little while. And in my absence plenty has happened. So let's start with the NBA and move right along from there. 

The San Antonio Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies in 4 games to advance to the NBA Finals. They will take on the winner of the Miami Heat/Indiana Pacers matchup where the Heat lead 2-1. The Spurs last appeared in the Finals in 2007 where they went home Champions after taken out the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat & Pacers kick off game 4 tonight, and whoever is going to end up taking this series, needs to do so as fast as possible to not allow the Spurs to get any rest. Should this matchup go into Game 7, well then my money is on the Spurs. 

In the NHL, the Penguins and Bruins have advanced and will play each other in the Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile the Sharks and Blackhawks have forced Game 7's with the Kings and Red Wings respectively. Kings & Sharks will play tonight. Red Wings & Blackhawks will play tomorrow. 

Briefly, Congrats to Tony Kanaan for winning his first Indianapolis 500 race. It was quite a race, but a crappy way to end the race for the fans under a caution flag. 

And I'll cover this just because it intrigues me the most, the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox kicked off last night where the Cubs crushed the Sox 7-0 under Jeff Samardzija's complete game 2 hit shutout. Cubs are now 20-30, White Sox are 24-25. 

Notre Dame Qb Everett Gholson is no longer enrolled at Notre Dame for his failing grades. The Qb hopes to be able to return to Notre Dame in December. 

The NFL Season kicks off in 100 days, and I for one am ready for Fantasy Football! Like I said last time, once the Fantasy season begins to kick off, I'll be giving my rankings on each position to better help you with managing your team. 

NBA Playoffs Conference Finals

With the Pacers beating the Knicks yesterday, the Conference Finals are all set up. 

EAST                                               WEST
Pacers vs Heat                                  Grizzlies vs Spurs

The Spurs will host the Grizzlies later today. The Heat will host the Pacers on Wednesday. The Spurs have looked lackadaisical in their series with the Warriors, but with the sudden emergence of Tony Parker, they could make a run. And though the Grizzlies' Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol have been the best front-court duo in these playoffs, I'm not impressed with them yet. Their series with the Clippers, well was expected. They beat them last year, and the Clippers really have been up and down all season. And the Grizzlies match with the Thunder was unimpressive. Though they did have to come back and pull ahead in a few of those games, I think that series says more about the Thunder's inability to maintain a lead especially without Russell Westbrook, than it says about the Grizzlies ability to come back. So I have the Spurs winning that match. 

Now the Heat-Pacers is a matchup I am heavily looking forward to. My two favorite teams! The Pacers have not lost at home this post-season, but the Heat have only lost once. The Heat can play without Dwyane Wade, but Game 5 against the Knicks showed the Pacers do struggle without key players. If the Pacers can come in and beat the Heat in either Game 1 or Game 2 and keep up the home-crowd momentum, I would definitely give them this series. The Heat won't make past mistakes though, I look for this series to go to Game 6. The Pacers need to win Game 1 to discourage the Heat. If not, I expect the Heat to go onto the Finals. 

In other news, Oxbow is the winner of the Preakness derby. Orb finished 4th. Soccer-star David Beckham announced his retirement and had an assist in his final game. Dwight Freeney has finally found a new home. The former Colt, has agreed to terms with the San Diego Chargers following their loss of Melvin Ingram. I can't wait for those two Chargers-Broncos games where we will see Freeney face off against Manning for the first time. What will be even more interesting is how well Freeney will be able to read Manning, and vice versa. 

And in fantasy football news, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is set to have yet another surgery. The way he's been going, I have to knock him down on my draft list. But once fantasy football really starts moving, I'll do a list of the Top-5 or 10 for each position. 

NBA Playoffs Round 2 Games 3 & 4 NHL Playoffs Round 2

We're at that point in the NBA Playoffs where you can really tell which teams are just running out of steam and don't have much more of what it takes to get them to the next round. Games 3 and 4 proved that for many of the teams, and not just the losers. The Knicks and Pacers haven't played Game 4 yet, but both teams are running out of steam. The Bulls in Game 4 were just horrific, and even the Heat seems to be running out of gas. The Spurs always start falling in the later rounds because of the teams age, and the Thunder, without Westbrook, clearly don't have enough to push them over the edge. Here are the results from games 3 & 4. 

Game 3                                                                  Game 4
Heat-104                                                                Heat-88
Bulls-94                                                                  Bulls-65

Spurs-102                                                              Spurs-87
Warriors-92                                                           Warriors-97

Thunder-81                                                             Thunder-97
Grizzlies-87                                                            Grizzlies-103

Knicks-71                                                              Knicks-(tbd)
Pacers-82                                                               Pacers-(tbd)

The Heat and Grizzlies lead their series 3-1. Spurs and Warriors tied 2-2. Pacers lead the Knicks 2-1. Miami held Chicago last night to its franchises worst ever shooting percentage and amount of points. Nate Robinson went 0-12 from the field. Thunder also have showing how weak they have become down the stretch and not being able to maintain games. Grizzlies and Warriors look like they still have a lot of energy left and are ready to go. I'm rooting for Pacers-Heat conference game so I can really just root for both teams. We'll see how things play out in these last couple games.

NHL Playoffs has moved to Round 2. Many of the games took an exciting turn and went in Game 7. 

• Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1
• Detroit Red Wings beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3
• San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0
• LA Kings beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2
• Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders 4-2
• Ottawa Senators beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1
• New York Rangers beat the Washington Capitols 4-3
• Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3

So that leaves the matchups as. 

East                                                                  West

Penguins vs Senators                                         Blackhawks vs Red Wings

Bruins vs Rangers                                              Kings vs Sharks

Some really good matchups in this round. Especially the Blackhawks and Red Wings. Should be an exciting round of hockey!

In other news, the top high school recruit Andrew Wiggins has committed to playing for Kansas. Former Lions receiver Titus Young was once again arrested. Charles Woodson is meeting with the Denver Broncos. Running back Felix Jones has signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia. I hate to mention him at all, but Tim Tebow was offered a job with the Philadelphia Soul. The Arena league football team. Tiger Woods outlasted Sergio Garcia and won the Players Championship. 

NBA Playoffs Round 2 Games 1 & 2

Because Games 1 & 2 were fairly closely scheduled, I waited until now to post about the games. Things are really getting tense on the floor and you can sure tell that every team out there is fighting for this Championship. So Here are the results from games 1 & 2. 

Game 1                                                      Game 2
Bulls-93                                                      Bulls-78
Heat-86                                                      Heat-115

Pacers-102                                                 Pacers-79
Knicks-95                                                   Knicks-105

Warriors-127                                              Warriors-100
Spurs-129                                                   Spurs-91

Grizzlies-91                                                  Grizzlies-99
Thunder-93                                                  Thunder-93

So amazingly enough, every matchup is tied at 1-1. Bulls and Heat are getting fierce. And while I think the Thunder will hold off the Grizzlies, the Warriors are the team to watch in the West. This young squad is outgunning the aged Spurs. They are making every game a must-watch. I'm rooting for the Heat and Pacers in the East Finals. Thunder and Warriors in the West. 

Not much in the NHL Playoffs yet. A couple teams have a chance to clinch into the next round tonight. 

Couple of other things. Red Sox DH David Ortiz has been accused of using PED's and Red Sox pitcher Clay Bucholz was accused of throwing a spitter. So it goes without saying that the Red Sox have many eyes on them now. 

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Conclusion

The first round of the NBA playoffs ended yesterday. And while we had 6 games 6's, only one of those went to Game 7. So let's get the final tallies of each game and then we're off to Round 2. 

Game 6

Nets-95                                                               Nuggets-88
Bulls-92                                                               Warriors-92

Knicks-88                                                           Clippers-105    
Celtics-80                                                            Grizzlies-118

Pacers-81                                                            Thunder-103 
Hawks-73                                                            Rockets-94

Game 7

Bulls-99
Nets-93

So the Warriors, Knicks, Grizzlies, Thunder, Pacers, and Bulls have all now advanced. Here are the Round 2 matchups. 

Bulls vs Heat                    Grizzlies vs Thunder
Pacers bs Knicks             Warriors vs Spurs

After seeing how the first round played out, Heat and Spurs go some much needed rest. And I think both those teams will meet in the Finals. 

In other news, Orb won the 139th Kentucky Derby. LeBron James has won his 4th MVP award, missing only 1 vote to be unanimous. Only other person to be off 1 vote was Shaquille O'Neal. The NHL Playoffs are in full swing, but because they are off schedule with the NBA Playoffs, I won't get into the details. 

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 5

Game 5 has come and gone, and surprisingly, no one else has advanced yet. So while the Heat and Spurs are getting some much needed rest and relaxation, everyone else is working their butts off just to stay alive. Now, because the NBA and NHL playoffs are slightly off, I won't be doing a Game-by-Game recap for the NHL. I'll just post on here when a team advances. So with that, here are the results of Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs. 

Bulls-91                                         Warriors-100
Nets-110                                       Nuggets-107

Celtics-92                                      Grizzlies-103
Knicks-86                                      LA Clippers-93

Hawks-83                                      Rockets-107
Pacers-106                                    Thunder-100

The Pacers, Bulls, Warriors, Grizzlies, Thunder, and Knicks all lead the series 3-2. Really looks like the loss of Westbrook is killing the Thunder. Tonight the Bulls and Nets and Warriors and Nuggets square off. I predict the Bulls will advance, and the Warriors-Nuggets will go to Game 7. Tomorrow everyone else plays, and I think the Knicks, Grizzlies, and Thunder will advance. Hawks and Pacers go to 7. 

The Trailblazers Damion Lillard was voted as Rookie of the Year. Chris Paul with a finger injury is likely to play tomorrow, Blake Griffin is still in question with a leg injury. 

And if you want some funny news, teams in the Canadien Football League don't even consider Tim Tebow a viable option at starting quarterback. 

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 4 and NHL Playoffs

Game 4 has officially come to an end tonight. Some teams survived, others were knocked out and humiliated. Here's the recap from game 4 of the NBA Playoffs. 

Brooklyn-134                                             Denver-101                                       
Chicago-142                                              Golden State-115

New York-90                                            San Antonio-103
Boston-97                                                  LA Lakers-82

Miami-88                                                   LA Clippers-83
Milwaukee-77                                            Memphis-104

Indiana-91                                                  Oklahoma City-103
Atlanta-102                                                 Houston-105

Miami and San Antonio both swept their series and will await their next opponent. Chicago, Golden State, Oklahoma City, and New York lead their series 3-1. While Atlanta-Indiana and LA Clippers-Memphis are tied at 2-2. Things will get really interesting from here on out. 

Meanwhile the NHL Playoffs gets underway tonight. Here are the current Matchups.

East                                                                                West
#1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #8 New York Islanders            #1 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #8 Minnesota Wild

#2 Montreal Canadiens vs #7 Ottawa Senators                #2 Anaheim Ducks vs #7 Detroit Red Wings

#3 Washington Capitols vs #6 New York Rangers           #3 Vancouver Canucks vs #6 San Jose Sharks

#4 Boston Bruins vs #5 Toronto Maple Leafs                   #4 St. Louis Blues vs #5 Los Angeles Kings

Well, I'm a Pittsburgh fan, so I'll take them winning the East. Especially should Sidney Crosby come back. And in the West, I'll take it coming down to the Blackhawks and Ducks. And I'd stick money on the Ducks.


In other news, the New York Jets have released Qb Tim Tebow. Not many teams have shown interest in him, and it looks more likely he'll head to the CFL, where even there he's not likely to be a starting Qb. 

Also, Jason Collins, former center for the Wizards, has come out as gay and is now the first openly gay player to play in a major sport. However, since he's a free agent it remains to be seen if he'll actually be the 1st current professional who is openly gay. Will be interesting to see if any teams sign him because of this, or how many teams pass on him because of this. But the doors are now open, and no longer will players need to feel afraid of coming out. I imagine that we will hear more names come out as openly gay within the next few months. But what Jason did was an incredibly daring thing to do and I applaud him for that.

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 3

Round 3 games have all come to an end. And though some games have already started Game 4, we're here focusing on round 3. So here's the latest. 

Miami-104                                               San Antonio-120
Milwaukee-91                                         LA Lakers-89

Brooklyn-76                                            Denver-108
Chicago-79                                              Golden State-110

New York-90                                           LA Clippers-82
Boston-76                                                Memphis-94

Indiana-69                                                Oklahoma City-104
Atlanta-90                                                Houston-101


Miami, New York, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City all remain at 3-0 in the series. Chicago, Indiana, LA Clippers, and Golden State all lead 2-1. 

The Thunder have lost Russell Westbrook for the remainder of the playoffs with a torn meniscus. Could hamper the Thunder's chances. Definitely gives San Antonio extra incentive. 

The NFL draft has come to a close. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Eric Fisher #1, the Jacksonville Jaguars took Luke Joeckel #2. Qb Geno Smith was taken by the New York Jets in the 2nd round, really adds to the Qb troubles that they are having. And right before Geno, Manti Te'o was taken by the San Diego Chargers. Qb Matt Barkley, highly touted last year before deciding to stay one more year, was selected in the 4th round by Philadelphia. It really wasn't a draft to write home about that's for sure.