Sporting Overview

There are a lot of major sporting events happening all at once. NBA Finals, Stanley Cup playoffs, the US Open coming up, MLB season is in full swing, World Cup Qualifying picks back up. June is a great sports month. So I decided to lump them all together to talk about the highlights of every single current event in the world of sports.

We can start with the upcoming US Open. Even with the unexpected cosmic accident that was Tiger Woods finishing twenty, yes 20, shots back of the Memorial Tournament Champion Matt Kuchar (-12), is there really any disputing that he is the favorite to win this major? Although Woods was a dismal +8 and Rory McIlroy, a still disappointing +6, how many golf analysts will ask the question, Tiger and Rory or the field? In my predicting major golf tournaments, despite the fact Tiger hasn't won a major since 2008, and ignoring his uncharacteristically poor play at the Memorial, I have always found it impossible to confidently pick against Tiger when he is in the field. With his regaining of the World Number 1 ranking, it may just be fate that Woods' major drought ends in the same tournament he won his last. 

World Cup Qualifying for the US Men's National Team resumes on June 7th when they travel to Jamaica. A place where they lost their last bout 2-1 in Kingston. A tough place to play for sure. The rule of thumb for WCQ (World Cup Qualifying) is that a team should at least tie on the road and win at home. With the US having 2 of their next 3 games on the homeland, one would say that 2 wins and a draw (7 points) would be a success. But what people may not realize is that 3 days prior to the US playing in Kingston, Mexico travels to Jamaica which may give the US a slight fitness advantage over the Jamaicans. With this in mind the US has a very strong opportunity to snatch all 3 points with a victory come Friday. 

The NBA playoffs have been exciting with no series more riveting than the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat. I will claim the fact I went on record by predicting Miami in 7. This series had blood boiling from the beginning. Both teams traded victories by both notching away victories. Then it came down to defending home court, which Indiana and Miami did as well. The Pacers are a match up nightmare for the Heat down low with Roy Hibbert and David West over powering anyone Miami puts down there. But the funny thing is, every one of the Pacer's wins was because they dominated inside. That shouldn't change as often as it did in these six games. Indiana simply chooses to create havoc in the paint on an every other game basis? No, Miami adjusted and had the one match up in their favor that mattered the most. And that sports fans, was LeBron James. For all his critics throughout his entire career, there is no way James was going to lose to the Pacers. He said it himself, he went back to his Cleveland days and dragged his teammates behind him in Game 5. He did a similar thing in Game 6 last year against the Celtic. The Pacers have no answer for LeBron and he knows that. James and the Heat will not bow out before making it to the Finals and I can't for the life of me see Miami losing two straight games. 

Some unfortunate news coming out the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I shaved my beard. Not because my team (the Pittsburgh Penguins) was knocked off, but because my facial hair was so out of control, it was about to be named. And unless you are James Harden or Brian Wilson, beards must not be named. So I shaved it for the  betterment of my face and overall appearance. This being said, if in this situation in future Stanley Cup playoffs, hockey fans learn this lesson, I will never touch my beard again. As soon as I shaved it, the Penguins lost 3-0 at home to the Boston Bruins. Not a coincidence. The superstition of the beard is real and not to be messed with. In the Western Conference, The Blackhawks took advantage of home ice by staking a 2-0 series lead over the Kings. In both games Chicago seemed just a wee bit too much offensively for Goaltender Jonathan Quick and the Kings defense. Quick was pulled during the 2nd period after giving up 4 goals in Game 2. Look to see if his confidence is wounded at all heading into Game 3. 

Summer baseball is back, and due to the fact I live in St. Louis, its only natural to talk about the Cardinals who are leading the NL Central Division by 2.5 games over the Pirates and the Reds. Not only are they leading their division, the Cards also sport the best record in baseball at 37-19. Some surprises this season would be the fact that the laughing stock of the MLB in the Houston Astros has a chance to sweep the under performing LA Angels. Remember when they had Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo and Jered Weaver and C.J Wilson? They still do. If they were aspiring to the Philadelphia Eagles of baseball bringing in star player after star player and flopping, they would have succeeded and probably outdone the Eagles so far this season. I mean Texas and Oakland are running away with this division at the moment. According to ESPN.com they have a 7.7 percent chance of making the postseason. Clearly things need to change for this ball club and fast before they dig themselves a hole deep enough that they can't crawl out of.  

So there is the summary of June and where we stand in the sporting world for this month. Hope you enjoy!

5 Reasons I love the Stanley Cup

First off, sorry about the lack of a post last week. I had struggled to decide what I wanted to write about. If any readers have any suggestions, please comment and leave those suggestions and I'll see what I can do.

My favorite season is spring. For several reasons. I love the weather of spring. Baseball season is kicked off. NBA playoffs role around. And my favorite, the Stanley Cup. The most grueling playoff setup in all of sports.  The Stanley Cup playoffs never cease to excite. It has the perfect combination of grit, style, superstition, and surprises. I love these playoffs. So I have chosen to give you the 5 reasons why I love playoff hockey more than any other postseason competition. 

5. Intensity. Hockey is fast paced with hardly any breaks. Shifts are 2 minutes at best and then the players are cycled through. People are flying around and hitting each other at full speed. Its like a never ending football play. Like rugby on skates at times. And its twenty minutes straight. Its physical and rough and all at a high speed. All of this is amplified in the postseason just like any other sport. However few other sports have the combination of speed and physicality for a long duration of time that hockey has. And when it gets to the win or go home situations?  The intensity I love so much instantly doubles. 

4. Fights. Oh the fights. In any other sport, suspensions would be doled out accordingly to the guilty parties if a brawl ensued. Case and point in the Dodgers and Padres which started when pitcher Zack Greinke hit batter Carlos Quentin of the Pads? Greinke fractured his collarbone while Quentin suffered (and later appealed) an 8 game suspension. In hockey, you get to sit in a box for 5 minutes and then you come back into the game. Tying into the intensity, fights are more likely to occur in the playoffs as tension is at its highest mark. More skirmishes are due to tempers flaring because of the stakes on the line. Fights are awesome to watch and add to the game an added excitement and the more there are, the happier I am. 

3. Beards. One of the manliest things in the world is the ability to grow a full beard. It is a symbol of toughness and grit. It's a part of playoff hockey. Every bit as much as the puck. Once the Stanley Cup rolls around, the facial hair grows to a ridiculous level. Every player on every team does it. Some people argue that fighting should be a part of NHL All-Star weekend. I propose that a beard contest be part of the All-Star celebration because some the beards that are on display throughout the playoffs can get wild. Once they lose, the beards are gone. But while they win, the hair remains. No other superstition in any other sport is as prominent as not shaving during these playoffs. The beards truly are a symbol of what it takes to go the distance in the Stanley Cup.

2. Trophy. They have a guy whose job is to take care of the trophy. Honestly? That's awesome. Take the Lombardi Trophy or the World Series Trophy or any trophy in any major sporting event. The Stanley Cup is just simply bigger. It is the largest reward for the most grueling playoffs in all of sports. There are even restrictions for having a player's name engraved on the side of the trophy. Currently a player must have completed 41 regular season games or the players must have played at least one game in the Stanley Cup Final in order to be eligible to have their name inscribed on the Cup. The Stanley Cup is truly something the players must earn. It's not everyone gets a championship ring like in baseball or basketball. For a name to be etched on the silver and nickel alloy trophy, it must be earned by being an integral part of the championship team.

1. Anyone can win. Last year's Stanley Cup final was between (6) seeded New Jersey Devils and (8) seeded Los Angeles Kings. The Kings won. To put into consideration, in this year's NBA playoffs the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference was the Atlanta Hawks with the 8th seed in the Western Conference being the Houston Rockets. The NBA Finals would have been the Rockets and the Hawks with the Rockets winning it all. No NBA fan, or sports fan for that matter, would even fathom that being the case. But in the words of the NHL and NBC, because it's the cup no team is out of the running. One of my favorite lines only  applies to the NHL and March Madness, all that matters is getting in.

So there it is, my five reasons for my love of the Stanley Cup. It has every aspect of every other sports postseason drama throughout it. The tradition of October, the unpredictability of March Madness, the thrill of the NBA playoffs, and the drama of the Super Bowl, all wrapped into the postseason that is the Stanley Cup. Go Pens and go Blues!

US Men's National Team

Now we get to my favorite and most knowledgeable sport, soccer. To my dear friend Mike Rogers, your welcome. I want to write about the US Men's National Team because I have found my opinions and theories about soccer seem to grow in number when talking about this team. So it's time to put them on paper, or blog.

First we can start with the future of the our four starting defenders. It's bright. What once was a massive question mark, Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has turned the tables to make it a strength. I am most excited for our wing backs. Barring injury, which everything in something like this is predicated on, the wing backs that I would start consistently would be twenty one year old Timothy Chandler who plays for Nuremburg in Germany at right back and twenty five year old Fabian Johnson to play at left back. Johnson also plays in Germany for the club Hoffenheim. Both of these players share the German connection with Klinsmann, as both players had to have a change of association with FIFA to play for the United States. It's good they chose the US because they are both phenomenal players. Chandler and Johnson have shown signs of their ability to attack as well as being solid defenders. They provide another dimension to this team being able to fly down the wings getting crosses into the box. This leaves the center backs whom are equally as promising. My ideal starting center backs are Geoff Cameron from Stoke City in the English Premier League and Omar Gonzalez from the LA Galaxy. Gonzalez and Cameron have shown composure and skill in big games. Gonzalez was paired with Sporting KC Defender Matt Besler in an extremely challenging and important World Cup Qualifier in hostile Stadio Azteca against Mexico. And held them scoreless. Let's not forget both Cameron and Johnson helped anchor the back line in Azteca in August of 2012 where the US won 1-0. Again the key is that Mexico was held scoreless. Look for Chandler, Johnson, Cameron, and Gonzalez to play in essential games going forward. 

My preferred formation is a 4-5-1.  We have gone over the ideal back four, so now here are the ideal starting five midfielders. Playing a triangle with the point as the attacking midfielder, the three center midfielders would be as follows: Michael Bradley, Danny Williams, and Clint Dempsey. I am a huge fan of Michael Bradley. He can do it all. He has scored and been a threat offensively, yet can grind it out and be a beast on the defensive end as well. And both at an exceptional level. Danny Williams is another defensive midfielder who can facilitate and keep possession as well. Clint Dempsey is a no-brainer. He is one of our most creative players and to be honest is the only player that consistently scores. He has to be in the lineup due to this consistent scoring, and he won't have too many defensive responsibilities in the attacking midfield role. For the wing midfielders, I would like to think that Sporting KC (United States) Midfielder Graham Zusi has the right side of the midfield locked up. He is my choice going forward in that position. On the left side is one of my favorite players in the US system, Jose Torres. He is very technical, very creative yet sometimes gets lost in the middle of the field. If put on the wing, he can provide excellent service in to the box for our forwards and midfielders to get on the end of. As we reflect on the midfield, I have Bradley, Williams, and Dempsey as the three center midfielders with Torres and Zusi on the flanks.

The forward position is one that I struggle with as a fan. No one player has truly distanced himself from the rest of the competition. Whoever starts is reliant upon, in my mind, the match-up, the game plan, and the formation. The three forwards in rotation would be Jozy Altidore from AZ Alkmaar (The Netherlands), Eddie Johnson from Seattle Sounders FC (United States), and Herculez Gomez from Santos (Mexico). As I mentioned before, the majority of scoring comes from Dempsey, who plays midfield. Until one of these three can consistently produce for the National Team in terms of goals, then I would rotate them based on match-up, game plan, and fit in a given formation. I would label Altidore as a holding forward, Johnson as a speedy forward, and Gomez as the workhorse. Naturally in the 4-5-1 Altidore would be the fit as a holding striker, which, since that's the formation I prefer, that's who would start for me.

Goalkeeping is simple for this team. When Howard is healthy, its Howard. When not, its Guzan. Guzan is a very capable back-up. Not much debate there. Guzan has been in great form in recent matches and has played well in massive World Cup Qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico so even while Howard is out, goalkeeping will continue to be a strong suit for this team going forward.

Notable back-ups. Beginning with the defense once more. A revival of the career of DaMarcus Beasley has been a welcome sign. While capable, as shown in recent performances, I would prefer Fabian Johnson at the left back spot, however if Beasley remains in form, then it would help the peace of mind for Jurgen to have a solid player to fall back on as Johnson has unfortunately suffered a couple injuries throughout the Klinsmann era. Another couple of back-ups that have proven their worth in the past few games are Matt Besler, who played phenomenal against Mexico, and Clarence Goodson, who played well in the blizzard that was the Costa Rica game, who I see as the . An up and coming winger is Brek Shea who recently transferred to Stoke City (England). I think expectations skyrocketed, and maybe rightfully so, at the dawn of the Klinsmann era. I like him as a substitute to Torres because of these expectations. It's a lot to start while under the scrutiny of thousands of fans. If he can get settled into Stoke's regular lineup and matures just a little more, he can potentially grow into a starter. Another one of my favorite players is Benny Feilhaber. I would love to see him get back in the mix as a midfielder, but seeing as the midfield is stacked, he may fit as a suitable back up for now. But he certainly has the skill to become a seasoned starter as I hope he eventually does.

So there it is. My dream US lineup as of now. You are all welcome (especially you Mike) for my fountain of wisdom regarding the Men's National Team. Feel free to comment with your dream lineups as you read, I will be VERY interested to hear what other fans think. I hope everyone enjoys this bonus article.

NEXT POST PREVIEW: MLB Season 

1st Round NFL Mock Draft 2013

Most people have discredited this draft as not having the star talent that other drafts, especially last year, have had but to me its one of the most interesting. One thing I have noted is that ESPN Draft Experts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. have very different Mock Drafts this year. This means that anything could happen in the Radio City Music Hall on Thursday. Given this year's unpredictability, its made me want to try my hand at constructing a first round Mock Draft for 2013 to see how many times I can match up the right players with the right teams for the first 32 picks. So here goes.

1. Kansas City Chiefs - With the first pick, all eyes are on the Chiefs. After a dismal 2012 season with a league worst 2-14 record, Kansas City has revamped their organization starting with the hiring of former Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid. The other major move was the trade with the San Francisco 49ers to acquire QB Alex Smith. Now that the Chiefs have quarterback, its time to protect him. With the first pick of the 2013 NFL Draft the Kansas City Chiefs select Tackle Luke Joeckel out of Texas A&M. 

2. Jacksonville Jaguars - When I think of Jacksonville, I think defense. The best quarterbacks the Jags have had in the past 12 years were David Garrard and Mark Brunell. With the lack of development of 2011 draft pick Blaine Gabbert, they need a quarterback. But they have always seemingly had a need at quarterback with the aforementioned QB's, and could have gotten one in the quarterback stacked draft last year. An offensive lineman is, in my mind, not in the cards either because of this lack of quarterback. With a former linebacker coach at the helm, the Jags will go defense. So I predict that the Jacksonville Jaguars will select LB Dion Jordan out of Oregon.

3. Oakland Raiders - I initially saw Oakland as going defensive as a lock. But with the excess of offensive tackles in this year's draft, and the fact that Oakland seems to have discovered their quarterback of the future with newly acquired QB and former Seattle Seahawk Matt Flynn, all signs point to an offensive lineman, but the fact that the Raiders were gashed trying to stop the run last year ranking a lowly 18th in the NFL outweighs all of those offensive signs. With this in mind the Raiders will select DT Sharrif Floyd from Florida. 

4. Philadelphia Eagles - With the disaster that was the "dream team" being gutted, Head Coach Chip Kelly has to deal with the rebuilding of this organization. Some connections have been made to West Virginia QB Geno Smith but they already have a quarterback that fits the system in Philadelphia. While Vick has durability issues, let's not forget that the Eagles signed former Oregon and Pittsburgh Steelers QB Dennis Dixon. A backup capable of running Chip Kelly's system. While Alabama CB Dee Milliner would be an upgrade to the depleted secondary in Philadelphia, they were ripped to shreds by the run throughout the entire year in 2012 ranking 23rd overall in run stopping. Therefore with the 4th pick in NFL Draft the Philadelphia Eagles will select DT Star Lotulelei out of Utah. 

5. Detroit Lions - The offense is set. With a relatively reliable running back in Reggie Bush, a QB with one of the strongest arms in the NFL in Matthew Stafford, and the best wide receiver in the NFL in Calvin Johnson, the Detroit offense is a juggernaut. With defense lineman Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley anchoring that line, they can develop into a formidable run stopping team. The secondary is anything but a sure thing. In a pass happy league and facing Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay twice a year as well as Jay Cutler twice a year  along with this generally increasing pass happy league, a secondary needs to be strong. So with the 5th pick the NFL Draft the Detroit Lions will select CB Dee Milliner from Alabama. 

6. Cleveland Browns - This is a toss up. The major acquisition that the Browns made was the signing of former Ravens LB/DE Paul Kruger. This to me signals defense. They seem to be trying to piece a together a formidable pass rush that would rival that of conference foes Pittsburgh and Baltimore. This being the assumed case, with the 6th pick of the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns will select DE Ezekial Ansah from BYU to rush opposite Paul Kruger. 

7. Arizona Cardinals - The links between Cardinals and West Virginia QB Geno Smith are valid however if I were to place myself in the shoes of the Cardinals GM, I just received QB Carson Palmer and RB Rashard Mendenhall. That improves an anemic offense, at least a little bit. While a QB is needed, Palmer can at least get the ball to WR Larry Fitzgerald. Which is always a plus. I think Palmer can hold the Cardinals over until the next star, can't miss QB comes out in the draft. If this theory holds true, we can flip over to the defensive side of the ball, where DE Calais Campbell and DT Darnell Dockett provide the pass rush. With the secondary VERY solid (2nd in the NFL in 2012), they don't need to necessarily to improve that either. This means that with the acquisition of RB Rashard Mendenhall and QB Carson Palmer they can improve the offense by selecting OT Eric Fisher.  

8. Buffalo Bills - Clearly the Bills are looking for QB. Buffalo voiced their draft intentions when they released QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. They had been linked with USC Matt Barkley, but that was assuming West Virginia QB Geno Smith was off the board. But in my mock draft, Smith is still available. Therefore I predict that the Buffalo Bills will draft the 1st QB in the draft in Geno Smith with the 8th pick. 

9. New York Jets - Where to begin? The Jets have needs all over the place. With Rex Ryan still leading the depleted charge, one would think that they would go defense in order to rebuild. Back to when the Jets made back to back AFC Championship games, their defense was tops in the league. However offense has been their most glaring downfall. They need to get back to ground and pound. With that in mind, I predict the New York Jets will patch that offensive line up by selecting OT Lane Johnson from the University of Oklahoma

10. Tennessee Titans - The Titans as well could go a lot of places. They recently signed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who would appear to be the starter heading into training camp. With a strong running game it would appear that in this draft of strong offensive lineman prospects, the Titans would surely take advantage. I think this would hold true. They seem to be wanting to rely on this running game with the acquisition of former Jets running back Shonn Greene as a backup to Chris Johnson. With this signal of reliance on the ground attack, I predict the Tennessee Titans will draft OG Jonathan Cooper from the University of North Carolina.

11. San Diego Chargers - The San Diego Chargers continue to puzzle me. There QB seems to have gone backwards in his development, they have young, talented wide receivers, and their defense is pretty decent. Yet they have under performed for the past few years. I look at the protection of QB Philip Rivers as a major issue which would point to the Chargers using their 11th pick on OG Chance Warmack from Alabama.

12. Miami Dolphins - With the release of Left Tackle Jake Long and LB Karlos Dansby, the Dolphins have huge holes to replace. They need to address this loss of Long. In order to do this, they will select D.J. Fluker out of Alabama with the 12th pick in the draft.

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Welp. They traded this pick for CB Darrelle Revis from the New York Jets. This secondary now looks extremely formidable with the acquisition CB Revis and safeties Dashon Goldson and second year man Mark Barron. Look out.

14. Carolina Panthers - With the outbreak of LB Luke Kuechly, Carolina may feel as though their defense is okay for the future. Looking at the offensive side of the ball, with QB Cam Newton looking to a run option type offense, a small, quick, slot wide receiver could be a deadly weapon for the Panthers. Analyzing this year's draft, the guy who fits this mold is Tavon Austin who is the WR out of West Virginia. This is who the Panthers might draft to add another threat in their offense.

15. New Orleans Saints - The Saints had the worst defense in the NFL ranking 31st in pass defense and dead last in run defense. They could fix anything on that side of the ball. I think they will address the run in this case because with this "changing of the guard" in the style of offenses, teams have shown they can be successful and have a poor pass defense. Its the teams that can't stop the run that have the issue. The Saints will realize this and will draft DT Sheldon Richardson from Missouri (MIZ-ZOU) with the 15th pick to attempt to sew together the wounds that were caused by being run over during the 2012 season.

16. St. Louis Rams - The Rams were a surprising team last year. Being from St. Louis, I certainly didn't expect them to have this pick in the draft. But their improved defense led to some big wins. Keep this in mind. They didn't lose to the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. And they played them twice. While the departure of Stephen Jackson will hurt, the Rams have a huge pool of young, promising running backs and wide receivers. They addressed the offensive line with the addition of OT Jake Long, therefore I believe they will look to improve their secondary by using the 16th pick on the Texas Safety Kenny Vaccaro.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers - My Steelers. Being born there and having been a fan of all Pittsburgh teams my entire life, last year was disappointing. Unfortunately, I was hoping we would make a big off season move or trade but instead we lost WR Mike Wallace, LB James Harrison, and RB Rashard Mendenhall to free agency. The Steelers are another team that may be looking to trade up the draft board to land an elite offensive lineman (a position that seems to always be deficient in Pittsburgh of late), but I don't expect them to do that. However I do see a possibility to draft OLB Jarvis Jones out of Georgia to replace LB James Harrison. This is my prediction although it is more hope than anything. Crossing my fingers that with the 17th pick in the draft the Pittsburgh Steelers will draft OLB Jarvis Jones.

18. Dallas Cowboys - The Cowboys always seem to flounder under expectations. Romo seems to never show up in big games as the always "so talented" rest of the team continues to not have an idea of how to use that talent. Their defense was average at best in 2012. With the 22nd ranked rush defense, owner Jerry Jones has to address this chink in their armor. He and Cowboys can do that by drafting DT Sylvester Williams from UNC to plug up the middle and aid in slowing down the opponents run game down.

19. New York Giants - The Giants were last year's favorite to make it back to the Super Bowl from the NFC. But Eli Manning and the Giants defense did not perform up to par in 2012. The Giants ranked 28th in pass defense and not much better 25th in rush defense. I know they had injuries to key players on defense but if they want depth and improvements to that secondary, CB Desmond Trufant out of Washington would be a fine option and who I predict the Giants will draft with the 19th pick.

20. Chicago Bears - The Bears need to bolster their pass protection. Especially with the Cutler - Marshall marriage. Alshon Jeffery also showed signs of a capable 2nd wide receiver. They ranked a disappointing 29th in pass offense but with the weapons Cutler has to throw the ball, this low number has to be chalked up to, in part, failure to protect Cutler. However while this was the primary goal going in to this draft, the absence of LB Brian Urlacher has made the middle linebacker position the top priority. This means that the Chicago Bears will draft ILB Alec Ogletree out of the University of Georgia.

21. Cincinnati Bengals - The Bengals are a much improved team. With superstar wide receiver A.J. Green dominating defenses, it wouldn't hurt to have a strong prominent wide receiver opposite side of him. Due to his stellar play, defenses will show Green more coverage and more double teams. Their next best pass catcher is tide end Jermaine Gresham. I look for the Bengals to address the number 2 wide receiver in selecting WR Keenan Allen from California with the 21st pick.

22. St. Louis Rams (from Washington) - I look for the St. Louis Rams to try and find a way to trade this pick for a top 5, top 10 pick. This would be the one to trade away. If they don't get Kenny Vaccaro with their 16th pick then they may try add to their secondary by drafting DB Jamar Taylor from Boise St.

23. Minnesota Vikings - The Vikes somewhat addressed the wide receiver by signing former Packer WR Greg Jennings. They may attempt to trade up to get WR Tavon Austin to have another multifaceted player to replace what they lost in WR Percy Harvin. If they remain at twenty three, I believe they could get lucky enough to have Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert to fall into their lap which would be a great pickup for them. Imagine a two tide end attack with Rudolph and Eifert, and Peterson at running back. Lookout. The Minnesota Vikings, I predict, will draft TE Tyler Eifert come Thursday with the 23rd pick.

24. Indianapolis Colts - They hit the jackpot in last year's draft through QB Andrew Luck. They will look to They can really go two routes with this pick either plugging up the interior with a defensive tackle or protecting the franchise. I think that their offensive line is relatively solid for the upcoming year, however they ranked 29th against the run. With the elite lineman not dropping to the 24th pick, I think they will elect to draft DT Johnathan Jenkins from the University of Georgia.

25. Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings have a situation similar to the St. Louis Rams where they could trade up to draft a better player due to having two picks in the first round. However there is a need at the middle linebacker position for this team. I know there are skeptics but I see Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o being selected with the 25th pick in order to fill this defensive gap.

26. Green Bay Packers - The biggest need for the Pack is at running back. Even QB Aaron Rodgers stated that they need more of a presence in the running game to balance their electrifying pass attack. The best fit, in my opinion, would be Eddie Lacy the running back from the University of Alabama in order to provide some toughness to the finesse of the pass attack.

27. Houston Texans - The Texans, while boasting the best record for much of the year in 2012, they appeared to stall at the end of the year losing three out of their last four heading into the playoffs. Their offense lacked the flare that had been so prevalent in the beginning of the year. In order to keep this spark across the entire season, they will select WR Robert Woods from USC.

28. Denver Broncos - The biggest gap in the Broncos is replacing DE/LB Elvis Dumervil. While they will probably end up signing free agent Dwight Freeney or John Abraham, I see them providing depth to their secondary in an attempt to erase the atrocious mistake that cost the Broncos a trip to the Super Bowl. You know exactly what play I'm talking about. They will select DB D.J. Hayden from Houston.

29. New England Patriots - Again the Patriots were one of the worst in pass defense ranking 29th in the league. That's bad. They will have to address that issue come draft time and with the 29th pick in this year's draft, I predict that the New England Patriots will select Florida State CB Xavier Rhodes.

30. Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons lost RB Michael Turner and DE John Abraham. Abraham was responsible for almost a third of the entire team's sacks. This is extremely hard to replace. Atlanta was also only 21st in run defense too. This illustrates a clear need anywhere on the defensive line I predict that with the 30th pick in the draft, Atlanta will select DE Cornellius Carradine.

31. San Francisco 49ers - The 49ers really don't have any glaring needs. To be honest I will admit I have no idea who the 49ers will draft. But since I have to make a prediction I will say the 49ers will pick DE Marcus Hunt from SMU

32. Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens need to address the middle linebacker position with the retirement of Ray Lewis. I predict they will look at LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter and use their 32nd on him.

There is my first mock draft ever but I looked at an almost ideal draft based on what I think the team needs and what is available. I treated this as though I was the GM of each individual team. Watch the first round of the NFL Draft live at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Thursday April 25th to see how close I get to selecting the correct draft picks.

Special thanks to ESPN.com for the stats and rankings of each team.

NEXT POST PREVIEW: US Men's National Team World Cup Qualifying Outlook.  ** This article will be posted on Friday, April 26th so be watching for this bonus article!

Masters in Review

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi. Aussie Adam Scott had his name written in the history books Sunday afternoon becoming the first Australian born player to win at Augusta and notching himself his first victory at a major in his career defeating former Masters Champion Angel Cabrera in a two hole playoff. A sweet victory nonetheless but for Adam Scott, it even more so.

Flashback to July 22, 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's Golf Club during the 2012 Open Championship. Scott opened the tournament with a course record first round six under par 64. He tacked on a second round score of 67 and shot a third round score of 68 to lead the field heading into Sunday. A shaky start in the final round, bogeying 2 of the first 3 holes was but a mere shadow of what was to eventually be one of the hardest in Adam Scott's life. Scott had a four stroke advantage heading to the 15th tee. It was all downhill from there. The day ended with Ernie Els inheriting his second Claret Jug, and Adam Scott in disbelief as he had given away his best chance at his first major victory by bogeying the last 4 holes. This collapse was to be in the ranks of the worst in PGA history. 

Flash forward to Wednesday April 10th. The 2 headlines that were dominating news stands prior to the first round of the 2013 Masters Tournament were 1) Tiger Woods was back and ready to lay claim to his 5th green jacket (first since 2005) and 2) 14 year old Tianlang Guan who had qualified for this years Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Some analysts were predicting Rory McIlroy would win due to his recent performance at the Texas Open just before traveling to Augusta. Others debated how three time winner Phil Mickelson would fair. No one mentioned Adam Scott. 

When Sunday rolled around, Tiger was three under and in contention. However his 2 stroke penalty assessed to his second round score held him back from what would have been tied for fourth. Tianlang Guan had managed to miraculously make the cut and was the low amateur of the tournament. Rory was out of contention due to a score of 79 the round before. Mickelson was having one of his worst Masters performances and Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker were co leaders at seven under with the Aussie Adam Scott quietly sitting in third place at six under. 

The beauty in this was that Australian players Jason Day and Marc Leishman had been the Aussie names on top of the leader board on Thursday and Friday. Heading into the weekend, an Aussie victory seemed almost imminent with those two dominating the course. Yet when the Aussie victory came, it was from neither. 

Adam Scott had quietly worked his way up the leader board to one back of the leaders facing Sunday. Sunday. The day that was made for golf's finest, most historic moments. Sunday. The day that had conquered Scott less than a year ago at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's Golf Club. Sunday. The day that Scott would have to wrestle to the ground in order to earn his first major title. And wrestle to the ground he did.

Justice was done as Scott holed his birdie putt at the 18th to take sole possession of the lead of the Masters on Sunday with one group out on the course. But much the Adam's dismay, he hadn't won quite yet. Cabrera also had a clutch birdie to force Scott into a playoff at the Masters on Sunday (can you feel the pressure?). However this time fortune favored the Aussie as it only took him two playoff holes to defeat the Argentinian Cabrera. Scott knocked down a 12 foot birdie putt on the 10th hole to win his first major championship. Justice had been served, and the monkey on his back was replaced with golf's greatest prize as the green jacket, for the first time in history, had gone down under.  

NEXT POST PREVIEW: Mock First Round NFL Draft 

What we learned from the 2013 NCAA Tourney

My bracket was one of two things this year. Crazy enough to be close to perfect or crazy enough to be the worst bracket I have put together in my 18 years. First round upsets like 14 seeded Harvard over 3 seeded New Mexico and 15 seeded Florida Gulf Coast over 2 seeded (and my Champion) Georgetown had my bracket gasping for air early. It never recovered. Those two games were enough to make my bracket be the worst in 18 years. Other hopeful but not laughably unlikely picks like the promising 4 seed from the Midwest region Saint Louis University to knock off the top seed Louisville or thinking that Gonzaga would come in with a chip on their shoulder and make it to Atlanta, firmly put the nails in the coffin in my bracket.  But maybe by reviewing my bracket's performance and the history of the teams selected into 68 squad field of the 2013 tourney, I can give my (and your) bracket a fighting chance for next year and years to come.

Lets first look at the Midwest Region. The seeds were as follows. (1) Louisville, (2) Duke, (3) Michigan State, (4) Saint Louis, (5) Oklahoma State, (6) Memphis, (7) Creighton, (8) Colorado St., (9) Missouri, (10) Cincinnati, (11) St. Mary's, (12) Oregon, (13) New Mexico State, (14) Valparaiso, (15) Albany, (16) North Carolina A&T. The only "surprise" was (12) Oregon advancing to the Sweet Sixteen by beating first (5) Oklahoma State and then (4) Saint Louis. But it really wasn't that much of a surprise. In last year's bracket, two (12) seeds advanced; VCU and South Florida beat Wichita State and Temple respectively. Oregon was hot too. They had just won three straight to win the PAC-12 Tournament Championship. Oklahoma State lost to an overrated Kansas State team in their Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys had extreme talent in Marcus Smart, Le'Bryan Nash, and Markel Brown but had lost to Kansas St. twice. Although beating Kansas in Lawrence was a great win, that was really the only big win that they had. They lost a lot of games that a team with this talent should have won like at Virginia Tech, where they lost by ten, on December 1st and then later January 12th against Oklahoma and once more on the 21st of January against Baylor. This coupled with the fact that Oregon was a hot team made this 12 over 5 pick a relatively easy one. The more surprising victory (and disheartening) was (12) Oregon's victory over (4) Saint Louis. The guard play was really the story. Damyean Dotson went 5-6 from 3 point range with a total of 23 points for the Ducks. Dotson's stellar performance coupled with the fact that, again, Oregon was hot, makes the Ducks' Sweet Sixteen campaign easier to understand. Lessons learned from the Midwest Region: 1) Look for a (12) seed to advance into the Sweet Sixteen from now on. 

Now to the upset ridden West Region. The seeds are as follows: (1) Gonzaga, (2) Ohio State, (3) New Mexico, (4) Kansas State, (5) Wisconsin, (6) Arizona, (7) Notre Dame, (8) Pittsburgh, (9) Wichita St., (10) Iowa State, (11) Belmont, (12) Ole Miss, (13) La Salle, (14) Harvard, (15) Iona, (16) Southern. Upsets were all over this region. (12) Ole Miss over (5) Wisconsin and (13) La Salle over (4) Kansas St. But the bracket buster of them all, at least for me, was (14) Harvard over (3) New Mexico. Ignore the fact that BPI said that the Mountain West Conference was the best conference. That's ludicrous. It was the Big 10 and Big East all the way this year. As its been in recent years. Looking back I realized that the New Mexico Lobos were Gonzaga with a worse record. Meaning that they were by far the best team in their conference and cushioned their record by beating everyone in their conference. They didn't play anybody! The best teams they played were Saint Louis, who they lost to by 14, Colorado State, who they did beat twice, and UNLV, who they were 2-1 against. They also beat Cincinnati who was a tournament team. For a three seed, that's an unimpressive 5-2 record against good to average teams. The fact they didn't play anybody was compounded by the fact that New Mexico was 172nd in the NCAA in scoring with 67.4 points per game. They struggled to score! This upset was clearly more about the fact that New Mexico was overrated rather than Harvard playing well. Another upset was (12) Ole Miss over (5) Wisconsin. This game was decided by who was the hotter team. (12) Ole Miss just came off three straight victories to win the SEC Championship over Florida. (5) Wisconsin had just lost to Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship. Simple as that. (12) Ole Miss was hotter. The other Cinderella candidate was (13) La Salle. In the three years since the First Four, a play-in winner has gone on to advance into the third round and one into the Final Four. In 2011 VCU won the play-in game and eventually went on to wear the glass slipper as Cinderella advanced all the way to the Final Four.  Also in 2012 it was South Florida beating California in the First Four and then going on to beat Temple. This year it was (13) La Salle. They advanced to the Sweet Sixteen based on their guard play. Ramon Galloway led this team in scoring with 17.1 points per game and also had 3.8 assists per game. While (12) Ole Miss was hot, (13) La Salle had developed a small streak of their own which, with better guard play, was able to propel to an eventual loss to the surprising (9) Wichita State who staked their claim in this year's tournament by demolishing (8) Pittsburgh in the first round. They, unlike (3) New Mexico, could score consistently to match their "Play Angry" defense. Especially when they hit from behind the arch. Lessons learned from this year's South Region: 1) Look for good experienced guard play. 2) Look for a play-in winner to advance. 3) Great defense means little if you can't score. 

While the West Region put a lot of strain on my bracket, the South Region busted my bracket's back. The seeds were as follows: (1) Kansas, (2) Georgetown, (3) Florida, (4) Michigan, (5) VCU, (6) UCLA, (7) San Diego St., (8) UNC, (9) Villanova, (10) Oklahoma, (11) Minnesota, (12) Akron, (13) South Dakota State, (14) Northwestern State, (15) Florida Gulf Coast, (16) Western Kentucky. I would like to personally thank (15) FGCU coach Andy Enfield and players Sherwood Brown, Bernard Thompson, Brett Comer, and the rest of "Dunk City" for two things. One part of my thanks goes for now making it harder to pick brackets because suddenly a 15 seed beating a 2 seed is becoming the norm as three such upsets have occurred in the past two tournaments. Secondly, I want to thank you for knocking off my, very outrageous yet individually warranted, champion, (2) Georgetown. But I should have seen it coming. Earlier in the season they beat an eventual 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, Miami (FL). And they could score the ball. And they were led by three talented guards in Brown, Thompson, and Comer. A recurring theme. (2) Georgetown had their own faults too. Since 2008, (2) Georgetown hadn't made it past the second round losing to Davidson in '08 in the second round, not making the tournament in '09, Ohio in '10 in the first round, VCU in the first round of '11, NC State in the second round of the '12 tournament, and this year in the first round to (15) Florida Gulf Coast. Factoring in the win over Miami earlier in the year, the outstanding guard play, and a team's recent history, it doesn't seem that far fetched (15) Florida Gulf Coast advanced. With three 15 over 2 upsets in the past two years, be looking for match-ups that may show a 2 seed is weak. A predictable upset was (11) Minnesota over (6) UCLA. Like a 12 seed over a 5 seed match up, a 11 over a 6 is pretty regular every year. In 2012 NC State beat San Diego St. and Colorado beat UNLV. This year was no different. (6) UCLA's weakness was its rebounding. They were 97th in the country in rebounding. (11) Minnesota was ranked 17th in the country in rebounding. A statistic like this shows the difference of physicality between the two teams. (11) Minnesota won by 20 and were the more physical team. Lessons learned from the South Region: 1) A 15 beating a 2 may not be as crazy as we have grown up thinking. 2) Rebounding shows the physicality difference between the two teams, the more physical team usually fairs better. 

Finally we have reached the East Region. The seeds are as follows: (1) Indiana, (2) Miami, (3) Marquette, (4) Syracuse, (5) UNLV, (6) Butler, (7) Illinois, (8) NC State, (9) Temple, (10) Colorado, (11) Bucknell, (12) California, (13) Montana, (14) Davidson, (15) Pacific, (16) James Madison. The only major upset was (12) California over (5) UNLV. This game had the recurring theme of guard play. Alan Crabbe led (12) California with a game high 19 points while UNLV star forward Mike Moser was almost non-existent with only 5 points. This is another twelve five match up that was all due to guard play. One side note. ALWAYS from now on look for Butler to advance. Unless the match up is exceedingly difficult, then you should look more carefully at that match up. But Brad Stevens is becoming the younger Tom Izzo of March. Butler is now, consistently, a really tough out. VCU is also throwing their name in that mix as well. Shaka Smart's style of play is taxing on the opponent and he is quickly building his program into another consistent, tough out in the NCAA Tourney. Lessons from the East Region: 1) Almost always look for Butler and/or VCU to advance. 

The Final Four this year was comprised of (1) Louisville, (9) Wichita State, (4) Michigan, and (4) Syracuse. As I beat the dead horse once more, guard play resonates throughout all of these teams. (1) Louisville and (4) Michigan have arguably the two best back courts in the game with Siva and Smith for the Cardinals and Burke and Hardaway Jr. for the Wolverines. Russ Smith has paced the scoring for (1) Louisville by scoring over 20 points in their 5 games placing them in the championship game. Peyton Siva (4) Michigan was criticized by their lack of an inside game but Freshman Mitch McGary has answered that question by having the month of his life and becoming my new favorite college basketball player in the process. Nevertheless while the emerging presence of McGary has been huge, let's remember their point GUARD. Wooden Player of the Year Winner Trey Burke. Burke has been the heart and soul of this Michigan team all year averaging 18.8 points per game with 6.8 assists per game and has continued his stellar play in the tournament capping it off by playing a phenomenal Championship game by scoring 24 points. However (1) Louisville guard Peyton Siva and Luke Hancock were too much as they combined for 40 points to lead  the Cardinals to victory Notice how these two teams have the best two back courts in the country? Yeah, they also played in the National Championship last night. Coincidence? I think not. 

To recap, let's look at the 7 things to remember when filling out future brackets. 1) Look for a 12 seed to sneak into the Sweet Sixteen. 2) Look for a potential play in winners to advance. 3) Great defense is limited in upside if you can't score. 4) Use history and match-up to spot 15 seeds upsetting 2 seeds. 5) Rebounding shows physicality. The more physical team usually wins in closely seeded games. 6) Butler and VCU are almost automatic first round picks. 7) Last and most important but certainly not least, guard play is essential in order for a team to make a run. Keep these in mind when filling out future brackets, as all of us bracketeers continue to strive for perfection. 

All stats from ESPN.com

NEXT POST PREVIEW: The 2013 Masters in Review

NCAA Paying Division 1 Athletes

I would first like to thank my parents for encouraging me to actually start this blog. And thank my mother for coming up with the name Scooch Talks Sports. So thanks.

The first topic is about the NCAA paying Division 1 Athletes. To be honest I chose this due to the fact that 9 days ago I gave a speech in my freshman Oral Communication class and am familiar with this topic. I know a March Madness topic would be appropriate but I'm not one for cliches. When I started looking into whether the NCAA should pay these athletes we fans see on various networks like ESPN, CBS, NBC to name a few, I had the notion that they shouldn't pay these athletes. I thought it would lead to more off the field issues than already occur. I thought that combined with academic and athletic scholarships that those were enough. But those scholarships don't cover the everyday necessities that life asks of people. They don't cover money for gas or rent or food. These athletes don't have time to get a job and still fully participate in sports and school. So they are not able to earn money for these things, which in my head is at least one reason they are enticed by agents and impermissible benefits. Its obscene to think of an NFL or NBA player not being paid for their work. So why shouldn't an athlete who must deal with college classes as well as the "job" of entertaining millions of sports fans throughout the country?

The central idea that fuels this debate is the simple fact that the principle of fairness has been disregarded by the NCAA. As an intelligent college student, its very hard to remain in tact with the curriculum even if a couple of classes are missed or, in some cases, a week of class entirely is missed. In the case of college basketball. Look at UCLA's schedule. They played 31 games in the 2012-2013 season not including postseason. They had 18 conference games and finished 13-5. That leaves 13 non-conference games. On November 19th, they traveled to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to play Georgetown. A day later on the 20th they played Georgia in the same Barclays Center in Brooklyn. These games were played on a Monday and Tuesday of a week where classes were in session. Meaning these players missed those classes for basketball. This happens amongst a multitude of programs throughout the country. Players miss class when their teams play in their respective conference tournaments or the postseason tournaments. This culture, to me, illustrates that academics are not the forefront for these athletes. So the NCAA can quit harping on the whole "student-athlete" label.With these athletes traveling as the professionals, athletic scholarships should be done away with at the Division 1 level. Don't freak out. Instead athletes should be handled on a contract basis. Like the professionals. The money generated from these contracts would, in a sense, be the same as an athletic scholarship but with cash. If the athlete wants to put the money towards their tuition then go ahead. If they want to buy tattoos, or a car, or whatever then they can because it doesn't give the individual a competitive advantage over another. A model contract could be signing a basketball or football player to a 3 year contract for $90,000 with an option to stay for his senior year. This way, a player may actually finish his college education before risking it at the next level with nothing to fall back on. Imagine the stardom and hype that college basketball would get if players like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had stayed all 4 years.

This stardom can be controlled in more ways than one. A salary cap. This way the students who are not involved in athletics are not punished because tuition rises due to the fact his/her school wants the number 1 recruit. The theory is that each sport takes care of itself. Say the salary cap for football is $20 million. Keeping that in mind, Georgia football made over $52 million in profits simply in football. With a salary cap of $20 million for football, Georgia would still have over $30 million of profit. This $20 million would be rationed to incoming recruits or seasoned players. These profits would become the makeup of these contracts. In basketball, the top profiting programs for the 2010-2011 season were Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals and Coach K's Duke Blue Devils. Louisville maxed out at $40.9 million while Duke generated a solid $28.9 million. Like football these schools could have a $5 million salary cap and have ample enough to pay for their recruits.

The part that will be hard to swallow for some people is the capitalistic view of paying these athletes. Bottom line, only profiteering schools would be able to afford higher level players. The Louisville's and Duke's of the college basketball world are the teams that are watched constantly on television and constantly play in Conference Championships and National Championships as well as the Oregon's and Alabama's of the college football world. These schools are mainly responsible for providing the NCAA with 92% of its revenues which comes from the entertainment from watching these teams play. This is why they make the most profits in their respective sports and why the higher level recruits will be paid by these schools.

Now for the mid major fans for basketball out there don't worry. This is because the players that a Butler and VCU attract are not the same level of players that are going to be recruited by the powerhouses of basketball like Kansas, UNC, Kentucky, and Duke. These smaller schools would still be competitive against these bigger schools even with those athletes being paid because those athletes being paid were not going to go to those mid major schools anyways.

The final piece to this puzzle would be the installment of a players union which oversees the contracts and agreements between schools and players. A standard contract, as stated before, would be for 3 years with a chance to opt for a 4th year. If a coach leaves a school, the player should be allowed to renegotiate his contract and potentially transfer. The athlete would be allowed one transfer per 4 years but would have to renegotiate their contract with the school they are transferring to. This player's union would also provide agents and consultants to help the athletes handle potential draft status and advisers to help manage the money they are receiving. This prevents athletes from blowing it on useless luxury items.

Final Statement: The more these athletes are watched by fans like you and me, the more pressure the NCAA will feel due to the blatantness that the NCAA takes advantage of these athletes with.

Scooch