Over the past few months, story after story has come out about sexual abuse in the world of entertainment. It started in Hollywood and in politics, and eventually it surfaced in the world of sports. The stories are sad and shameful in a multitude of ways and it has come to the point where we should not be surprised if they continue to come out. I don't want to focus on the stories as a whole, but I do want to focus on one in the sports world. However, I only want to talk about the effects that it will have on the world of football, and not the individual details that are, like I said, both sad and shameful.
Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers, was named as one of the offenders, and it made him and his franchise look so bad that he is now putting the team up for sale. While the sale has not taken place yet, and is most likely far from taking place since we are talking about a $2.3 billion investment that someone, or more likely, some group of people will have to make, it will have an impact on the NFL. In all likelihood, the new owners will be people that are unknown in the world of sports but just have a whole lot of money. And by a whole lot of money, I don't mean millions of dollars, I mean billions of dollars.
Stephen Curry is a known Panthers fan. Sean "Puffy" Combs is known for his musical career as well as a very successful line of clothing. Both of them have claimed to have interest in joining together to buy the team. And today, the most popular NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. threw his name into the ring as willing to go into part ownership of the team. Even Colin Kaepernick, the exiled NFL quarterback, has said he would like to be part of this ownership group. It's nice that these guys are showing interest in breaking into the world of sports business as a team, but I have a sad thing to say to them. I'm sorry, but you guys have no chance of actually making this happen. It isn't even worth giving it a second thought either.
Curry is worth about $77 million. Kaepernick is reportedly worth about $39 million. Combs is by far the wealthiest of the three men, being worth over $800 million. Earnhardt is worth around $300 million. While these values are far from chump change, I hate to break it to these guys, but they are numbers that make them nowhere near owning an NFL franchise.
Paul Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks. His net worth is almost $18 billion. That is billion with a B. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, is worth about $7.5 billion. The owners of the Oakland Raiders, the children of Al Davis, are the LEAST valued owners, and they are worth about $500 million. And these two are only the owners because they took over the team when their father died, but his net worth was over $500 million. The Green Bay Packers are the outlier here because they are a publicly owned team by over 360,000 stockholders, but the estimated value of the franchise is over $1 billion.
What these numbers all mean are that the world of NFL owners is a world that not many people can be a part of. If you are not a billionaire, or your father did not pass a team onto you when he died, you are not getting into that club. And that is the reality of what Curry, Combs, Earnhardt, and Kaepernick are claiming they can make happen. If they all combined every penny that they reportedly owned, they would be worth just over $1 billion. The Panthers are supposedly on sale for over double that value. I'm sorry to break the news to those men, but this dream they have is nothing more than that: a dream. But this dream will never come true. And that isn't even taking into account the most preposterous part of this proposition.
Colin Kaepernick is seemingly going to end up being remembered as a pariah in the football world. Some believe that he was blackballed from the league because of his political stances, but I don't believe that is true. I do not believe that 32 owners colluded to keep Kaepernick out of the league. I believe that 32 owners came to that decision on their own and did not need to be convinced by anyone else. Say what you want about him, but he currently is unemployed and cannot even get a job as a backup quarterback in a league where simply competent quarterbacks are hard to come by. If he can't get a job as a backup QB, do you think that at least 24 of the 32 owners (that is the number needed for approval to become even part of the owner of any given team) would grant him the chance to be even a minority owner of the Panthers? There is absolutely no chance that would happen. If there was a percentage lower than zero, that would be how likely it would be that Kaepernick would be granted permission to own any percentage of any NFL team.
You can think whatever you want about Kaepernick and realize that this idea has no chance at all of working. I happen to think he is certainly at least a backup level quarterback, and he did take a team to the Super Bowl, even though the 49ers ultimately lost to the Ravens. Can he kneel during the singing of the national anthem? Sure, I have absolutely no problem with that. It is totally harmless, and in my opinion anyone who somehow takes offense to it has a pre-conceived agenda against Kaepernick for whatever reason they might choose to use. But that doesn't change the fact that the owners of these teams have clearly shown they do not want any part of employing Kaepernick.
It is nice that Combs and Curry and Earnhardt have aspirations to one day own a team. It is not every day that we know the owners of any sports franchise, and that is because most of us do not live in a world where millionaires are considered to be close to nothing in terms of value. Whoever ultimately buys the Carolina Panthers is going to be another one of those billionaires that have hardly any connection to the world of sports. And that is why this idea of these guys is far-fetched just like I claimed. In fact, it is even more than far-fetched. It is about as possible as a human civilization on Neptune. We have not even gotten to Mars yet, so I guarantee you that the idea of getting to Neptune is not going to happen in the lifetime of anyone reading this. It is just as realistic as Combs, Curry, Earnhardt, and Kaepernick owning the Carolina Panthers. The percent chance of it happening is clearly and absolutely zero.
Daily Giants Update: Whenever the Minnesota Vikings season ends, it seems like a given that Pat Shurmur will be the new head coach of the Giants. Whether or not this hire works out is unknown, but one thing that surely is known is that the Giants are behind the 8-ball when it comes to offseason improvement. Shurmur has yet to even meet the players on the team let alone begin thoroughly examining the roster going into the draft. Here is to selfishly hoping that the Vikings season ends on Sunday so the Giants can put all of their focus on improving the team going into next year.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers put in a nice effort in beating the Flyers 5-1 today, ending a three game losing streak. There are still 37 games left to play, and at this point the Rangers sit in the 8th and final spot for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Next up is a home game with the Sabres on Thursday.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Nothing new to report here as the roster is pretty much set for the 2018 season. We still have a long way to go until the games actually count, but we know who will be vying for the 25 roster spots that will be available.
Daily NBA Update: It was a light night in the NBA, as only four games were on the schedule. Anthony Davis stood out, going for 45 points and 16 rebounds in a win for New Orleans over the Boston Celtics. Boston still remains 3.5 games clear of the field in the East, while it seems likely the Pelicans will be vying for a playoff spot, but destined to lose in the first round even if they do make it to the postseason.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
The gift and the curse of social media in sports
Baseball has walk off home runs. Basketball has buzzer beating shots. However, this past Sunday football gave us a buzzer beating, walk off play that we very rarely see. We do get field goals to win the game as time expires, but the Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints to advance to the NFC Championship game in a way that surely is not a common occurrence.
When Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs connected for a 61 yard touchdown pass as the clock ran out, I can say that it was arguably the most improbable ending to a game I have ever seen. I'll still say that the Tennessee Titans beating the Buffalo Bills thanks to the "Music City Miracle" is the most unfathomable ending to a game that I have ever seen, but if you wanted to argue that Sunday's game takes over that top spot, you would have a damn good rebuttal to my argument.
As Stefon Diggs was on his way to the end zone and time was expiring, I could not believe what I was seeing. Fans in Minnesota were going wild, and fans in New Orleans were stunned with disbelief. It was a true example of why sports is the best reality television that there is. Diggs breaking down in tears during an interview only minutes after he scored the biggest touchdown of his life was proof of just how great the game of football can be. However, there were two teams out there on the field, and with the elation of the Vikings came absolute heartbreak and devastation for the Saints, and in particular for Marcus Williams.
I didn't truly realize how much devastation that play would cause for Williams until I saw the replay of what had just happened. In real time I was focused so closely on Diggs making the unbelievable catch and run that I didn't really realize what Williams had done, or more frankly, failed to do.
Former athletes lament the way that their sports are currently played all the time. The "get off my lawn" and "back in my day" complaints get old very quickly, but on Sunday, I'm sure there were a whole lot of former defensive backs stunned and ashamed by what Williams did, and they were right to make that assumption.
All the Saints had to do was not get beat on a deep pass. There was likely not enough time for the Vikings to get two plays off, so New Orleans just needed to make one stop. But it didn't happen. And who was to blame for it not happening? It was Marcus Williams. He put his head down and dove for Diggs' legs, completely missed, and that was it. A still shot of Diggs going up to make the catch, and Williams not even looking at him while trying to throw a shoulder and make the tackle will be a picture that lives on forever in the minds of everyone who saw it.
I know that games are not won and lost on one single play. New Orleans played bad in the first half. They were down 17-0 at halftime, so Williams' missed tackle didn't play into that terrible start for the Saints. However, his missed tackle was what ended the game, and when epic games like that end, we tend to try to put the blame on one player when in reality football is the ultimate team sport. The Vikings didn't beat Marcus Williams. They beat the New Orleans Saints. But that isn't what many fans wanted to focus on. They wanted to focus on one person to blame for the loss, and Williams was the person they chose.
I'm sure there were probably plenty of expletives hurled his way by Saints fans all over the country, but what I want to focus on is what was hurled his way on social media. Following the game, Williams disabled his comments sections on Instagram and Twitter because he was getting nothing but hate from Saints fans. All you have to do is Google search the messages people were sending him before he disabled those comments and you can read what was being said to him and about him. What all of those comments did was show how social media can sometimes be a gift or sometimes be a curse.
The gift is all of the positive messages that Stefon Diggs received after the game. The gift is all of the positive messages that Ryan Shazier received after he was injured in front of millions of people on national television. However, the curse of what social media can be was exemplified by the messages that Marcus Williams received. Hiding behind a computer screen and a keyboard can enable people to believe that they have a whole lot of muscle that in reality they do not have.
Out of all the hateful messages that Williams received, I'm sure that at maximum about one percent of those people would have the guts to confront him face to face. It is the exact reason that social media and the intimacy it provides is often times unbelievably bad. While there were some messages of support for his mistake, the overwhelming majority of the messages were extremely negative, and reason for him to disable all comments on his accounts.
Did Williams make a bad play? Yes. In all honesty, it was a terrible play. However, does it warrant death threats by angry fans? No. It absolutely does not. What it was though, is a chilling example of how the age of social media has changed the way that fans look at, and interact with, the people we watch on television and often times aspire to be.
Before Twitter and Instagram, fans could write handwritten letters to these people and only hope to get a response weeks later. Now, we can instantly connect with them, and even if we don't get a response, we know that at least they have the ability to see what we say to them and think of them.
Williams is only a rookie, and his season overall was pretty good for such a young player. However, it is going to be hard for him to overcome such a huge failure in the eyes of the football public. Maybe it will happen, and maybe it won't. As of today though, Williams has quite a mountain to climb in order to gain redemption and erase that missed tackle from the minds of football fans everywhere.
I could not comprehend sending the hateful messages that he received to any athlete ever, but I do know that if I were a Saints fan, I would not be happy with Marcus Williams today. Here is to hoping that he can re-write his legacy in the eyes of Saints fans everywhere, because right now that game-winning touchdown on Sunday will go down in history, and every time it is shown, people will wonder how he could make that mistake on that play in that game.
Daily Giants Update: It isn't official yet, but all signs point to Pat Shurmur becoming the next head coach of the Giants. I am not exactly thrilled with this hire, but I am more than willing to give him a chance to prove he deserves the job. His previous head coaching experience was with the Cleveland Browns, and all you need to do is ask Hue Jackson how unreasonable it is to expect any sort of success coaching that team.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers followed up and ugly 7-2 loss to the Islanders with another ugly 5-2 loss to the Penguins. After two home games, the team will head out west for a stretch of six of seven games against Western Conference teams, so here is to hoping that the Rangers can make it to the All-Star break still within shouting distance of a somewhat good seed in the playoffs.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Arizona was able to reach arbitration deals with multiple important pieces of a team that made the playoffs last season including Jake Lamb and Robbie Ray. Spring training is getting closer and closer, and expectations will surely be higher than they were going into last season. The NL West is going to be very tough this year, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds to loftier expectations in what I believe to be the best division from top to bottom in all of baseball.
Daily NBA Update: The defending champion Warriors beat the Cavaliers last night and the Cavs are in the midseason crisis mode that they seem to go through every year before righting the ship and reaching the Finals once the playoffs roll around. Russell Westbrook is also putting up big numbers again on an Oklahoma City team that has not met expectations up to this point in the season. I like Westbrook, but my opinion of him is changing a bit watching him and his team this year, and I will have to get in to that some time in the near future.
When Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs connected for a 61 yard touchdown pass as the clock ran out, I can say that it was arguably the most improbable ending to a game I have ever seen. I'll still say that the Tennessee Titans beating the Buffalo Bills thanks to the "Music City Miracle" is the most unfathomable ending to a game that I have ever seen, but if you wanted to argue that Sunday's game takes over that top spot, you would have a damn good rebuttal to my argument.
As Stefon Diggs was on his way to the end zone and time was expiring, I could not believe what I was seeing. Fans in Minnesota were going wild, and fans in New Orleans were stunned with disbelief. It was a true example of why sports is the best reality television that there is. Diggs breaking down in tears during an interview only minutes after he scored the biggest touchdown of his life was proof of just how great the game of football can be. However, there were two teams out there on the field, and with the elation of the Vikings came absolute heartbreak and devastation for the Saints, and in particular for Marcus Williams.
I didn't truly realize how much devastation that play would cause for Williams until I saw the replay of what had just happened. In real time I was focused so closely on Diggs making the unbelievable catch and run that I didn't really realize what Williams had done, or more frankly, failed to do.
Former athletes lament the way that their sports are currently played all the time. The "get off my lawn" and "back in my day" complaints get old very quickly, but on Sunday, I'm sure there were a whole lot of former defensive backs stunned and ashamed by what Williams did, and they were right to make that assumption.
All the Saints had to do was not get beat on a deep pass. There was likely not enough time for the Vikings to get two plays off, so New Orleans just needed to make one stop. But it didn't happen. And who was to blame for it not happening? It was Marcus Williams. He put his head down and dove for Diggs' legs, completely missed, and that was it. A still shot of Diggs going up to make the catch, and Williams not even looking at him while trying to throw a shoulder and make the tackle will be a picture that lives on forever in the minds of everyone who saw it.
I know that games are not won and lost on one single play. New Orleans played bad in the first half. They were down 17-0 at halftime, so Williams' missed tackle didn't play into that terrible start for the Saints. However, his missed tackle was what ended the game, and when epic games like that end, we tend to try to put the blame on one player when in reality football is the ultimate team sport. The Vikings didn't beat Marcus Williams. They beat the New Orleans Saints. But that isn't what many fans wanted to focus on. They wanted to focus on one person to blame for the loss, and Williams was the person they chose.
I'm sure there were probably plenty of expletives hurled his way by Saints fans all over the country, but what I want to focus on is what was hurled his way on social media. Following the game, Williams disabled his comments sections on Instagram and Twitter because he was getting nothing but hate from Saints fans. All you have to do is Google search the messages people were sending him before he disabled those comments and you can read what was being said to him and about him. What all of those comments did was show how social media can sometimes be a gift or sometimes be a curse.
The gift is all of the positive messages that Stefon Diggs received after the game. The gift is all of the positive messages that Ryan Shazier received after he was injured in front of millions of people on national television. However, the curse of what social media can be was exemplified by the messages that Marcus Williams received. Hiding behind a computer screen and a keyboard can enable people to believe that they have a whole lot of muscle that in reality they do not have.
Out of all the hateful messages that Williams received, I'm sure that at maximum about one percent of those people would have the guts to confront him face to face. It is the exact reason that social media and the intimacy it provides is often times unbelievably bad. While there were some messages of support for his mistake, the overwhelming majority of the messages were extremely negative, and reason for him to disable all comments on his accounts.
Did Williams make a bad play? Yes. In all honesty, it was a terrible play. However, does it warrant death threats by angry fans? No. It absolutely does not. What it was though, is a chilling example of how the age of social media has changed the way that fans look at, and interact with, the people we watch on television and often times aspire to be.
Before Twitter and Instagram, fans could write handwritten letters to these people and only hope to get a response weeks later. Now, we can instantly connect with them, and even if we don't get a response, we know that at least they have the ability to see what we say to them and think of them.
Williams is only a rookie, and his season overall was pretty good for such a young player. However, it is going to be hard for him to overcome such a huge failure in the eyes of the football public. Maybe it will happen, and maybe it won't. As of today though, Williams has quite a mountain to climb in order to gain redemption and erase that missed tackle from the minds of football fans everywhere.
I could not comprehend sending the hateful messages that he received to any athlete ever, but I do know that if I were a Saints fan, I would not be happy with Marcus Williams today. Here is to hoping that he can re-write his legacy in the eyes of Saints fans everywhere, because right now that game-winning touchdown on Sunday will go down in history, and every time it is shown, people will wonder how he could make that mistake on that play in that game.
Daily Giants Update: It isn't official yet, but all signs point to Pat Shurmur becoming the next head coach of the Giants. I am not exactly thrilled with this hire, but I am more than willing to give him a chance to prove he deserves the job. His previous head coaching experience was with the Cleveland Browns, and all you need to do is ask Hue Jackson how unreasonable it is to expect any sort of success coaching that team.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers followed up and ugly 7-2 loss to the Islanders with another ugly 5-2 loss to the Penguins. After two home games, the team will head out west for a stretch of six of seven games against Western Conference teams, so here is to hoping that the Rangers can make it to the All-Star break still within shouting distance of a somewhat good seed in the playoffs.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Arizona was able to reach arbitration deals with multiple important pieces of a team that made the playoffs last season including Jake Lamb and Robbie Ray. Spring training is getting closer and closer, and expectations will surely be higher than they were going into last season. The NL West is going to be very tough this year, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds to loftier expectations in what I believe to be the best division from top to bottom in all of baseball.
Daily NBA Update: The defending champion Warriors beat the Cavaliers last night and the Cavs are in the midseason crisis mode that they seem to go through every year before righting the ship and reaching the Finals once the playoffs roll around. Russell Westbrook is also putting up big numbers again on an Oklahoma City team that has not met expectations up to this point in the season. I like Westbrook, but my opinion of him is changing a bit watching him and his team this year, and I will have to get in to that some time in the near future.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
2017 NFL Predictions, Part I
AFC East
This division has become one of the easiest things to predict in all of sports since the dawn of the new millennium. The Patriots were always at the top and everyone else lagged far behind. Last year, the Patriots were at the top, the Dolphins surprised many of us and also made the playoffs, but New England still won the Super Bowl. So looking ahead to the 2017 season, let's start here. The schedules this year will be tough for these four teams, as they draw two strong divisions in the NFC South and the AFC West. In the end though, the conclusion this year is pretty much identical to what it has been here for almost two decades. All signs point to the New England Patriots winning the AFC East. Again.
New England Patriots
Ever since Bill Belichick and Tom Brady took this team over, it has been the same story year in and year out. And now that Brady is 40 years old, it still doesn't matter. The Patriots seem to be the clear favorites to win this division once again in 2017. The offense added Brandin Cooks, Mike Gillislee, Dwayne Allen, and a few other pieces, and with Brady at the helm, you know the Patriots are going to put a lot of points up on the scoreboard. One thing I do want to say about this offense is that I think we are nearing a point where Rob Gronkowski is getting very close to becoming overrated. The guy is entertaining and he is a great player when he is on the field, but he just gets injured too much. He hasn't played all 16 games since 2011, and he missed eight games last year. The Patriots have proven that they can win without him, so this isn't really a shot at their team, but I do think that anyone out there calling him easily the best tight end in the game and a future Hall of Famer need to take a step back for the time being.
On the defensive side of the ball, I like what New England has in place. Adding Stephon Gilmore and Kony Ealy will help a lot, and while guys like Trey Flowers and Malcolm Brown might not be household names right now, they should be solid pieces on this defensive front. Dont'a Hightower is a very good linebacker, and the secondary is really good as well.
There is no question that this team should be focused on winning the Super Bowl again this year, and as of today, I think the Patriots are certainly the favorites to win it all. In reality, maybe they don't repeat as champions, but at the very least, this is still one of the best teams in the entire NFL.
Miami Dolphins
*Ryan Tannehill went down in practice this morning, and we are still waiting for the results of tests on his knee that he injured last year but did not have surgically repaired. Any 2017 forecasts of the Miami Dolphins hinge largely on his health*
Miami finished a surprising 10-6 last year and made the playoffs, although they did lose their first game to the Steelers once they got there. However, I do like some of the pieces that this team has in place and they could actually have the building blocks in place for a nice little run of sustained success.
With Ryan Tannehill, Jay Ajayi, Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry, and DeVante Parker, I think this Miami offense has the potential to be pretty good. Thanks to one of the weirdest draft day scenarios ever in any sport, Miami was able to grab Laremy Tunsil lower than expected, and he seems like he could be an anchor at left tackle, but I do still have some concerns about this offensive line as a whole.
They addressed the defense in free agency and the draft, and I think that mix of youth and experience should be pretty good this year.
The schedules in the AFC East look tough on paper this year, and with Tannehill going down this morning, it is really tough to predict what is going to happen with the Dolphins right now. They are just not as good as the Patriots, and I find it hard to believe that two teams from this division will make the playoffs this year, so technically that means Miami will regress in 2017. However, they do have a lot of very young talent at key positions, so this still will most likely be an average to above-average team this season, and the fans should have an optimistic view going forward.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills went from 9-7 three years ago, to 8-8 two years ago, and 7-9 last year. Could the trend continue in 2017 and Buffalo end up at 6-10? Honestly, it is certainly possible. They brought in a new head coach in Sean McDermott and also made a ton of moves in free agency as well, but their quarterback is still Tyrod Taylor, and that is the problem. I will admit that I probably have underrated him based on numbers alone. He is a capable NFL quarterback, but I still refuse to be sold on the fact that he is an NFL quarterback capable of winning anything significant.
Buffalo is similar to Miami in that they do have some very young and talented players on their roster, but I think that Miami has more talented players at more important positions than Buffalo. Could Buffalo be an 8-8 team in 2017? It's possible, but if I had to bet on it, I would take the under there. I would expect another mediocre season from the Bills again.
New York Jets
In all likelihood, this is going to be a tough year for the Jets. Their Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterback experience last year did not turn out well, and the bar is going to be set even lower this year with Josh McCown currently penciled in as the Week 1 starter. I have said this for a while now, but I don't understand how or why the team seems to have already given up on Christian Hackenberg at the QB position. Bryce Petty got some playing time last season and wasn't too great, but it was almost as if the team was afraid to even put Hackenberg on the field. Maybe he was that bad in practice, I'm not sure. However, they did spend a second round draft pick on him so I think this year the Jets need to at least see what they have with him no matter what he looks like during the week.
On the defensive side of the ball, I thought going into this draft that Jamal Adams was the best player on the board, and he fell to the Jets and should start right away. Darron Lee could also potentially be a breakout candidate in his second season. The bright spots are few and far between here though.
Until the Jets get any sort of order at their quarterback position, this team is going nowhere. The offensive line is only about average and the skill positions are below-average, so with all of that surrounding a totally unproven QB position, the Jets are looking at a rough season. The defense has a few nice, young bright spots, but they are not nearly bright enough to outshine the dark holes at so many other spots on the field. This is probably a last place team in 2017.
This division has become one of the easiest things to predict in all of sports since the dawn of the new millennium. The Patriots were always at the top and everyone else lagged far behind. Last year, the Patriots were at the top, the Dolphins surprised many of us and also made the playoffs, but New England still won the Super Bowl. So looking ahead to the 2017 season, let's start here. The schedules this year will be tough for these four teams, as they draw two strong divisions in the NFC South and the AFC West. In the end though, the conclusion this year is pretty much identical to what it has been here for almost two decades. All signs point to the New England Patriots winning the AFC East. Again.
New England Patriots
Ever since Bill Belichick and Tom Brady took this team over, it has been the same story year in and year out. And now that Brady is 40 years old, it still doesn't matter. The Patriots seem to be the clear favorites to win this division once again in 2017. The offense added Brandin Cooks, Mike Gillislee, Dwayne Allen, and a few other pieces, and with Brady at the helm, you know the Patriots are going to put a lot of points up on the scoreboard. One thing I do want to say about this offense is that I think we are nearing a point where Rob Gronkowski is getting very close to becoming overrated. The guy is entertaining and he is a great player when he is on the field, but he just gets injured too much. He hasn't played all 16 games since 2011, and he missed eight games last year. The Patriots have proven that they can win without him, so this isn't really a shot at their team, but I do think that anyone out there calling him easily the best tight end in the game and a future Hall of Famer need to take a step back for the time being.
On the defensive side of the ball, I like what New England has in place. Adding Stephon Gilmore and Kony Ealy will help a lot, and while guys like Trey Flowers and Malcolm Brown might not be household names right now, they should be solid pieces on this defensive front. Dont'a Hightower is a very good linebacker, and the secondary is really good as well.
There is no question that this team should be focused on winning the Super Bowl again this year, and as of today, I think the Patriots are certainly the favorites to win it all. In reality, maybe they don't repeat as champions, but at the very least, this is still one of the best teams in the entire NFL.
Miami Dolphins
*Ryan Tannehill went down in practice this morning, and we are still waiting for the results of tests on his knee that he injured last year but did not have surgically repaired. Any 2017 forecasts of the Miami Dolphins hinge largely on his health*
Miami finished a surprising 10-6 last year and made the playoffs, although they did lose their first game to the Steelers once they got there. However, I do like some of the pieces that this team has in place and they could actually have the building blocks in place for a nice little run of sustained success.
With Ryan Tannehill, Jay Ajayi, Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry, and DeVante Parker, I think this Miami offense has the potential to be pretty good. Thanks to one of the weirdest draft day scenarios ever in any sport, Miami was able to grab Laremy Tunsil lower than expected, and he seems like he could be an anchor at left tackle, but I do still have some concerns about this offensive line as a whole.
They addressed the defense in free agency and the draft, and I think that mix of youth and experience should be pretty good this year.
The schedules in the AFC East look tough on paper this year, and with Tannehill going down this morning, it is really tough to predict what is going to happen with the Dolphins right now. They are just not as good as the Patriots, and I find it hard to believe that two teams from this division will make the playoffs this year, so technically that means Miami will regress in 2017. However, they do have a lot of very young talent at key positions, so this still will most likely be an average to above-average team this season, and the fans should have an optimistic view going forward.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills went from 9-7 three years ago, to 8-8 two years ago, and 7-9 last year. Could the trend continue in 2017 and Buffalo end up at 6-10? Honestly, it is certainly possible. They brought in a new head coach in Sean McDermott and also made a ton of moves in free agency as well, but their quarterback is still Tyrod Taylor, and that is the problem. I will admit that I probably have underrated him based on numbers alone. He is a capable NFL quarterback, but I still refuse to be sold on the fact that he is an NFL quarterback capable of winning anything significant.
Buffalo is similar to Miami in that they do have some very young and talented players on their roster, but I think that Miami has more talented players at more important positions than Buffalo. Could Buffalo be an 8-8 team in 2017? It's possible, but if I had to bet on it, I would take the under there. I would expect another mediocre season from the Bills again.
New York Jets
In all likelihood, this is going to be a tough year for the Jets. Their Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterback experience last year did not turn out well, and the bar is going to be set even lower this year with Josh McCown currently penciled in as the Week 1 starter. I have said this for a while now, but I don't understand how or why the team seems to have already given up on Christian Hackenberg at the QB position. Bryce Petty got some playing time last season and wasn't too great, but it was almost as if the team was afraid to even put Hackenberg on the field. Maybe he was that bad in practice, I'm not sure. However, they did spend a second round draft pick on him so I think this year the Jets need to at least see what they have with him no matter what he looks like during the week.
On the defensive side of the ball, I thought going into this draft that Jamal Adams was the best player on the board, and he fell to the Jets and should start right away. Darron Lee could also potentially be a breakout candidate in his second season. The bright spots are few and far between here though.
Until the Jets get any sort of order at their quarterback position, this team is going nowhere. The offensive line is only about average and the skill positions are below-average, so with all of that surrounding a totally unproven QB position, the Jets are looking at a rough season. The defense has a few nice, young bright spots, but they are not nearly bright enough to outshine the dark holes at so many other spots on the field. This is probably a last place team in 2017.
Friday, June 30, 2017
A message for New York Knicks fans
With the recent firing of Phil Jackson, the New York Knicks have been in the news this past week for what seems to be the only thing they are ever in the news for, and that is being a disaster of a franchise. Along with firing Jackson, they also just took Frank Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick of the draft. I would like to criticize that pick, but that would only be because I have never seen Ntilikina play, and the last time the Knicks drafted someone that high from overseas, it worked out pretty well in the name of Kristaps Porzingis. However, aside from Porzingis, the Knicks have done pretty much nothing right for at least a decade.
Free agency opens tonight, and relatively big names like Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap, and Gordon Hayward will be out there to be had. And I am here to tell you that it would be absolutely shocking if the Knicks somehow were able to even get a meeting with any of those guys, let alone sign them to a contract. The Knicks are much more likely to lose a superstar name (Carmelo Anthony) than they are to add any kind of big name player. The biggest addition they could possibly make at this point seems to be David Griffin, and that would be to replace Phil Jackson. And no matter who they bring in to replace Jackson is going to have a tough time cleaning up the mess that they will inherit.
Right now, assuming Ntilikina signs with the team, the Knicks have nine players under contract for the upcoming season. Carmelo Anthony will make $26 million, and the next highest paid player on the team will be Joakim Noah. Noah will make $17 million next season. Last year, he played in just over half of the team's games and averaged 5 points per game. It gets worse though. Noah will also miss the first 12 games of next season due to a drug suspension. The third highest paid player on the team is Courtney Lee. He will make $11 million and averaged 10 points per game last year. That is $28 million for two players the combined to average 15 points per game.
The only thing the Knicks have going for them right now is Kristaps Porzingis. I was one of the many people that laughed at the team selecting him in the 2015 draft, but so far he has proven me wrong. Aside from that though, the Knicks are a wasteland, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.
Despite this mess, the Knicks franchise is worth over $3 billion. Their owner, James Dolan, is sitting back and watching his bank account grow with no concern whatsoever for the way his team plays. Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is in my opinion the most unlikeable owner in the NBA. His idiotic letter he wrote to Cavs fans when LeBron James signed with the Miami Heat was a joke, and the only reason he has had any success as an owner is that the best basketball player in the world happened to be born and raised in the state that his team plays in. James returned to Cleveland because of his love for his home town and the fans of the Cavaliers. He did not return because of Dan Gilbert. However, despite that, since James did return to Cleveland, Gilbert has been more than willing to spend a ton of money to improve the team, and it paid off when they won a title two seasons ago. That is the difference between Gilbert and Dolan. They both might be totally unlikeable as owners, but at least Gilbert is willing to open his checkbook to put a winning team on the floor. Dolan only cares about making a profit, and he doesn't care what kind of team he sees on the court.
So why is it then that the Knicks continue to be the most valuable franchise in the NBA? This should not be breaking news, but some people just cannot accept the answer. The reason they continue to be so valuable is the fans. Knicks fans keep spending their money on the team, and the team just continues to be a laughingstock. And James Dolan is laughing loudest.
I understand fan loyalty. I understand that it can cloud the vision of people. But I also understand that there needs to be a point where reality comes before loyalty. As a New York Giants fan, I am fully satisfied with the investment of the ownership of the team. It has paid off with two Super Bowl championships in the past decade, and the team went on a spending spree last offseason to try to improve the defense, and it has turned out pretty well so far, as the Giants' defense was one of the best in the NFL last year.
The Diamondbacks have been through some tough times in the past decade, but they opened the checkbook for Zack Greinke, brought him to Arizona, and it showed me as a fan that the team was trying to win. Last season was disappointing, but this year has been great so far. And even if it wasn't great, just the fact that the team was willing to go for the home run and get Greinke made me feel like the front office was at least going all out to do their best to give the fans a winning team.
That has not been the case with the Knicks. Yes, they did spend a lot of money this past offseason, but anyone in their right mind could have told you that spending it on Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose were horrible decisions. Nonetheless, the Knicks continue to make money while the team continues to lose. So while I am not a Knicks fan at all, in fact I think they are a total joke of a franchise and love to see them lose, I do have two suggestions for Knicks fans to try to help them get a realistic grip on their team, and here they are:
First and foremost, Knicks fans need to come to grips with something. The Knicks are not a storied NBA franchise with a place at the top of the history of the NBA mountain. Just because the team plays in New York does not instantaneously make them historically relevant. The Knicks have won the NBA championship twice. The last time that happened was 1973. 1973 is 44 years ago. If you ask most Knicks fans now about the "glory days" of the franchise, they will tell you about the teams of the 1990's. I don't care how many times those teams reached the second round of the playoffs, they won zero. They won nothing. "Epic battles" with the Pacers and the Heat in the 1990's do not mean anything in the NBA record books. Knicks fans for some reason delude themselves into thinking that their team has some sort of rich history of winning, but they really do not. The Knicks were founded in 1946 and have won two titles. The Miami Heat were founded in 1988 and have won three titles.
Just because a team has been around for years and years does not make them historically relevant. Any casual sports fan knows that the Islanders and the Mets are the "second-fiddle" franchises in New York. The Mets were founded in 1962 and have won the World Series twice. So with a 16 year head start, the Knicks have only been able to match the total number of championships that the Mets have won. The New York Islanders were founded in 1972 and have won four Stanley Cups. So the during the real "glory days" of the Knicks, the Islanders were hardly even a real franchise, yet they still have won more titles than the Knicks.
I hate the fact that people refer to the Knicks as a historic franchise. In 2010, when LeBron James was going to be a free agent and possibly leave Cleveland, Knicks fans talked glowingly about how great their organization was and how LeBron would never be able to turn down the lore of playing for such a historically great team. The only problem was, the Knicks are anything but a historically great team. I'm sure there were many other reasons that James decided to sign with the Heat, but that delusional image that Knicks fans had of themselves certainly was one reason.
So, with that rant out of the way, I would like to try to provide a solution to the problems of Knicks fans. Some people have suggested that commissioner Adam Silver needs to step in and take control of the team, but I'm sorry, that is a ludicrous idea. Unless James Dolan and Donald Sterling had some racist and bigoted conversations that were secretly recorded, Dolan is going to remain the owner of the Knicks for as long as he wants to. That means that the only recourse Knicks fans have is to hit Dolan in the wallet, because he has shown over the course of over a decade that that is the only place he cares about.
Like I said before, I understand the concept of loyalty to one's team. It is unrealistic to think that enough Knicks fans will stop spending money on the team to force Dolan to put in any sort of effort. But the fans need to start somewhere. Supposedly, prior to the hiring of Phil Jackson, Knicks fans were planning to protest outside of Madison Square Garden in an attempt to get Dolan's attention. Maybe that would have happened, or maybe it would not. It is a start though.
I am not a supporter of foul language at pro sports games, but if fans could connect with one another on message boards or prior to games or any way they could, try to get chants of "Dolan sucks" or something like that going at as many home games as possible.
I will give Max Kellerman credit on this one, but if somehow fans at any game could organize some sort of walk out during the game, then do that. You don't have to walk out of your seats for the entire game. You purchased a ticket, so you shouldn't waste your money. Coordinate some sort of walk out to begin the second quarter or the second half or something like that. If enough fans got up and walked out of their seats, even if it were only for 10 minutes or so, it could make people notice.
If anyone reads this and wants the Knicks to change their ways, then go to a game next season and pass out fliers to every fan you see at the game. Walk out of your seats at the beginning of the second quarter so Dolan can see all the seats emptying. Maybe you miss a few minutes of the game, but if the fans could somehow come together and do something like that, then maybe it could have some sort of impact. If you want to try to make the people that really matter notice your dissatisfaction, then why not give it a shot?
Some NBA owners are in it to win, and some are in it only to make money, and Dolan is clearly in it only to make money. That means the only way he could be forced to make significant changes is for him to start losing money. Right now, that is not happening. And until that starts to happen, Dolan will continue to put zero effort into putting a contending team on the court. The players and the coaches are doing the best they can to go out there and win every night, but the fans need to realize that they are the ones that truly have the most power in this situation. Until that happens, they will just be disappointed again and again and James Dolan will keep laughing on the way to the bank.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: A blowout loss yesterday to St. Louis was only a blip on the radar, as the Diamondbacks have been on fire pretty much all season. With the All-Star break only about a week and a half away, they open a very big series with the Rockies tonight. Taking two out of the next three games would be huge.
Free agency opens tonight, and relatively big names like Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap, and Gordon Hayward will be out there to be had. And I am here to tell you that it would be absolutely shocking if the Knicks somehow were able to even get a meeting with any of those guys, let alone sign them to a contract. The Knicks are much more likely to lose a superstar name (Carmelo Anthony) than they are to add any kind of big name player. The biggest addition they could possibly make at this point seems to be David Griffin, and that would be to replace Phil Jackson. And no matter who they bring in to replace Jackson is going to have a tough time cleaning up the mess that they will inherit.
Right now, assuming Ntilikina signs with the team, the Knicks have nine players under contract for the upcoming season. Carmelo Anthony will make $26 million, and the next highest paid player on the team will be Joakim Noah. Noah will make $17 million next season. Last year, he played in just over half of the team's games and averaged 5 points per game. It gets worse though. Noah will also miss the first 12 games of next season due to a drug suspension. The third highest paid player on the team is Courtney Lee. He will make $11 million and averaged 10 points per game last year. That is $28 million for two players the combined to average 15 points per game.
The only thing the Knicks have going for them right now is Kristaps Porzingis. I was one of the many people that laughed at the team selecting him in the 2015 draft, but so far he has proven me wrong. Aside from that though, the Knicks are a wasteland, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.
Despite this mess, the Knicks franchise is worth over $3 billion. Their owner, James Dolan, is sitting back and watching his bank account grow with no concern whatsoever for the way his team plays. Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is in my opinion the most unlikeable owner in the NBA. His idiotic letter he wrote to Cavs fans when LeBron James signed with the Miami Heat was a joke, and the only reason he has had any success as an owner is that the best basketball player in the world happened to be born and raised in the state that his team plays in. James returned to Cleveland because of his love for his home town and the fans of the Cavaliers. He did not return because of Dan Gilbert. However, despite that, since James did return to Cleveland, Gilbert has been more than willing to spend a ton of money to improve the team, and it paid off when they won a title two seasons ago. That is the difference between Gilbert and Dolan. They both might be totally unlikeable as owners, but at least Gilbert is willing to open his checkbook to put a winning team on the floor. Dolan only cares about making a profit, and he doesn't care what kind of team he sees on the court.
So why is it then that the Knicks continue to be the most valuable franchise in the NBA? This should not be breaking news, but some people just cannot accept the answer. The reason they continue to be so valuable is the fans. Knicks fans keep spending their money on the team, and the team just continues to be a laughingstock. And James Dolan is laughing loudest.
I understand fan loyalty. I understand that it can cloud the vision of people. But I also understand that there needs to be a point where reality comes before loyalty. As a New York Giants fan, I am fully satisfied with the investment of the ownership of the team. It has paid off with two Super Bowl championships in the past decade, and the team went on a spending spree last offseason to try to improve the defense, and it has turned out pretty well so far, as the Giants' defense was one of the best in the NFL last year.
The Diamondbacks have been through some tough times in the past decade, but they opened the checkbook for Zack Greinke, brought him to Arizona, and it showed me as a fan that the team was trying to win. Last season was disappointing, but this year has been great so far. And even if it wasn't great, just the fact that the team was willing to go for the home run and get Greinke made me feel like the front office was at least going all out to do their best to give the fans a winning team.
That has not been the case with the Knicks. Yes, they did spend a lot of money this past offseason, but anyone in their right mind could have told you that spending it on Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose were horrible decisions. Nonetheless, the Knicks continue to make money while the team continues to lose. So while I am not a Knicks fan at all, in fact I think they are a total joke of a franchise and love to see them lose, I do have two suggestions for Knicks fans to try to help them get a realistic grip on their team, and here they are:
First and foremost, Knicks fans need to come to grips with something. The Knicks are not a storied NBA franchise with a place at the top of the history of the NBA mountain. Just because the team plays in New York does not instantaneously make them historically relevant. The Knicks have won the NBA championship twice. The last time that happened was 1973. 1973 is 44 years ago. If you ask most Knicks fans now about the "glory days" of the franchise, they will tell you about the teams of the 1990's. I don't care how many times those teams reached the second round of the playoffs, they won zero. They won nothing. "Epic battles" with the Pacers and the Heat in the 1990's do not mean anything in the NBA record books. Knicks fans for some reason delude themselves into thinking that their team has some sort of rich history of winning, but they really do not. The Knicks were founded in 1946 and have won two titles. The Miami Heat were founded in 1988 and have won three titles.
Just because a team has been around for years and years does not make them historically relevant. Any casual sports fan knows that the Islanders and the Mets are the "second-fiddle" franchises in New York. The Mets were founded in 1962 and have won the World Series twice. So with a 16 year head start, the Knicks have only been able to match the total number of championships that the Mets have won. The New York Islanders were founded in 1972 and have won four Stanley Cups. So the during the real "glory days" of the Knicks, the Islanders were hardly even a real franchise, yet they still have won more titles than the Knicks.
I hate the fact that people refer to the Knicks as a historic franchise. In 2010, when LeBron James was going to be a free agent and possibly leave Cleveland, Knicks fans talked glowingly about how great their organization was and how LeBron would never be able to turn down the lore of playing for such a historically great team. The only problem was, the Knicks are anything but a historically great team. I'm sure there were many other reasons that James decided to sign with the Heat, but that delusional image that Knicks fans had of themselves certainly was one reason.
So, with that rant out of the way, I would like to try to provide a solution to the problems of Knicks fans. Some people have suggested that commissioner Adam Silver needs to step in and take control of the team, but I'm sorry, that is a ludicrous idea. Unless James Dolan and Donald Sterling had some racist and bigoted conversations that were secretly recorded, Dolan is going to remain the owner of the Knicks for as long as he wants to. That means that the only recourse Knicks fans have is to hit Dolan in the wallet, because he has shown over the course of over a decade that that is the only place he cares about.
Like I said before, I understand the concept of loyalty to one's team. It is unrealistic to think that enough Knicks fans will stop spending money on the team to force Dolan to put in any sort of effort. But the fans need to start somewhere. Supposedly, prior to the hiring of Phil Jackson, Knicks fans were planning to protest outside of Madison Square Garden in an attempt to get Dolan's attention. Maybe that would have happened, or maybe it would not. It is a start though.
I am not a supporter of foul language at pro sports games, but if fans could connect with one another on message boards or prior to games or any way they could, try to get chants of "Dolan sucks" or something like that going at as many home games as possible.
I will give Max Kellerman credit on this one, but if somehow fans at any game could organize some sort of walk out during the game, then do that. You don't have to walk out of your seats for the entire game. You purchased a ticket, so you shouldn't waste your money. Coordinate some sort of walk out to begin the second quarter or the second half or something like that. If enough fans got up and walked out of their seats, even if it were only for 10 minutes or so, it could make people notice.
If anyone reads this and wants the Knicks to change their ways, then go to a game next season and pass out fliers to every fan you see at the game. Walk out of your seats at the beginning of the second quarter so Dolan can see all the seats emptying. Maybe you miss a few minutes of the game, but if the fans could somehow come together and do something like that, then maybe it could have some sort of impact. If you want to try to make the people that really matter notice your dissatisfaction, then why not give it a shot?
Some NBA owners are in it to win, and some are in it only to make money, and Dolan is clearly in it only to make money. That means the only way he could be forced to make significant changes is for him to start losing money. Right now, that is not happening. And until that starts to happen, Dolan will continue to put zero effort into putting a contending team on the court. The players and the coaches are doing the best they can to go out there and win every night, but the fans need to realize that they are the ones that truly have the most power in this situation. Until that happens, they will just be disappointed again and again and James Dolan will keep laughing on the way to the bank.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: A blowout loss yesterday to St. Louis was only a blip on the radar, as the Diamondbacks have been on fire pretty much all season. With the All-Star break only about a week and a half away, they open a very big series with the Rockies tonight. Taking two out of the next three games would be huge.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
The Kardashians of the sports world
With the NCAA tournament now winding down, college basketball has been at the forefront of the sports world, and that has brought about the rise of the Ball family. Lonzo Ball was the superstar point guard of UCLA this year, and following his team's loss in the Elite Eight, he officially declared that he would be entering the upcoming NBA Draft. I think that many people, myself included, do not pay much attention to college basketball prior to the month of March. Yes, I knew what teams are good and I had a vague knowledge of who the top players are, but I think that if you asked most sports fans who De'Aaron Fox or Sindarius Thornwell were a month ago, they wouldn't know. Lonzo Ball was somewhat more known than those other two, but he never really made the front pages of sports news outlets until the tournament started. However, I think that from now on, Lonzo Ball and his family, for better or worse, are going to be impossible to ignore.
In the year 2017, there are all sorts of ways to become famous. YouTube has become one outlet in which anyone can broadcast themselves to the world, and apparently Lonzo Ball and his two younger brothers had become YouTube sensations as high school basketball players. One of his younger brothers scored 92 points in a game earlier this year, and we got to actually watch Lonzo at UCLA. It is pretty evident that Lonzo Ball will be one of the top picks in the upcoming draft, and from what I have seen of him, I think he has the talent and potential to be a good NBA player. However, with his ascension to fame, the world has also been introduced to his father, and that is the biggest reason for all of this news about Lonzo and the rest of his family.
Let me get this out of the way right now. Lonzo Ball's father is named LaVar. LaVar Ball is one of many people that never got to live out their dream of becoming a superstar athlete, and he is using his kids to shine the spotlight on himself that he always wished he could have had. There are thousands and thousands of people who played sports in high school, thought they were great, and then for any type of reason were never actually able to become great. It isn't their fault, but somewhere along the way, their greatness was denied because of someone or something else. These people can't face the fact that they just were not good enough to be a professional athlete, and they will spend the rest of their life telling people about how good they should have been. The only difference between those thousands of people and LaVar Ball is that he has at least one kid that is probably going to be able to become the star athlete he always wanted to become. I have no problem with that. Great for him, his children, and his family. What I do have a problem with though, is that he is clearly using his children to try to shine the spotlight on himself.
Parents live vicariously through their kids all the time. It happens a lot in the sports world, but it happens in all types of other walks of life as well. Maybe Bill Gates' father thought he should have been richer than his son but someone or something sabotaged that from happening. Maybe John Lennon's father believed that if he had just gotten one break that he could be even more famous than his son. I don't know, but there are parents all over the world that have successful children but deep down inside envy their children for gaining the stature that they always wished they could have had. That is clearly what is happening now with Lonzo Ball and his father.
LaVar Ball has made claims that he could beat NBA legends in a game of one-on-one basketball because "back in his day," he was better than everyone else. Really? Back in my day I played soccer. No matter how great I ever thought I was, I would never be stupid enough to say that I "could have been" better than Pele or Cristiano Ronaldo. This guy is delusional, and while I do feel bad for Lonzo for having to answer questions about his father, I have to admit that his father is also making me cheer against Lonzo.
LaVar Ball was on First Take last week as they were broadcasting from Los Angeles and said that L.A. stood for "LaVar's Awesome." It's sad that he thinks that because if anything, it should stand for "Lonzo's Awesome." He was on the show with his son and was the loudest person on the set while his son sat next to him seemingly ashamed to be associated with the guy. Instead of appreciating the fact that the only reason anyone knows him is because of his children, LaVar Ball is making daily appearances in front of cameras and acting like he has finally become the basketball superstar that he always wanted to be but never was, and I think that his ridiculous behavior is making a whole lot of people turn against his children.
Is all of this idiocy going to hurt Lonzo Ball's draft stock? No. I have heard people compare him to Jason Kidd, and while those are lofty expectations, I do think he has many of the same skills as Kidd. He sees the floor extremely well and makes everyone around him better because of his all-around game. He definitely needs to get bigger, but put him with an NBA training staff in a weight room for months at a time, and he will surely be able to add a lot of muscle. Some people believe that his father's big mouth might be something that an NBA franchise would worry about, but I don't think that is the case. All 30 NBA franchises are used to facing distractions, and in the grand scheme of things, I think an overbearing parent is far easier to deal with than some rookie that comes into the league with a criminal record or any type of injury history.
Supposedly Lonzo's two younger brothers are also planning to attend UCLA, so I think that university should be more worried about the father than whatever team ends up drafting Lonzo. Lonzo has let his play do the talking this year, and despite not winning an NCAA championship, he clearly cemented his status as one of the best college players in the country. The stupidity espoused by his father will most likely be white noise to any NBA franchise. However, LaVar Ball should at least try to consider the fact that he is clearly riding the coat tails of his kids to put himself into the spotlight that he always wished he could have had. If he realizes that, then that is fine. At the same time though, he needs to realize that he is making people cheer for his kids to fail based solely on his behavior, and that is really something that a parent should not do to their children.
Daily Giants Update: Johnathan Hankins remains unsigned, but I think the closer and closer we get to the draft, the better that is for the Giants. Other teams are going to focus more and more on the draft, and that means that Hankins is likely to accept the Giants offer and be back for the 2017-18 season.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers are on the brink of clinching a playoff berth with five games left to play in the regular season. The first round opponent is still unknown, but I do like the fact that Dan Girardi and Henrik Lundqvist both are back from injuries, and the Rangers should be at full strength heading into the postseason.
Daily NBA Update: Apparently the sky is falling in Cleveland, as the Cavaliers have struggled over the past few weeks, but they will still be in contention as the playoffs wind down. Kevin Durant's return is imminent, so the Warriors will be looking good, but let me say this right now: Go ahead and continue to overlook the San Antonio Spurs. They are the best team in the NBA.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: We are now only days away from the beginning of the 2017 season, and Zack Greinke will be on the mound against Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants. Arizona still may not have the best team, but at this point that doesn't matter. Right now, we should be shooting for a record of 162-0!
In the year 2017, there are all sorts of ways to become famous. YouTube has become one outlet in which anyone can broadcast themselves to the world, and apparently Lonzo Ball and his two younger brothers had become YouTube sensations as high school basketball players. One of his younger brothers scored 92 points in a game earlier this year, and we got to actually watch Lonzo at UCLA. It is pretty evident that Lonzo Ball will be one of the top picks in the upcoming draft, and from what I have seen of him, I think he has the talent and potential to be a good NBA player. However, with his ascension to fame, the world has also been introduced to his father, and that is the biggest reason for all of this news about Lonzo and the rest of his family.
Let me get this out of the way right now. Lonzo Ball's father is named LaVar. LaVar Ball is one of many people that never got to live out their dream of becoming a superstar athlete, and he is using his kids to shine the spotlight on himself that he always wished he could have had. There are thousands and thousands of people who played sports in high school, thought they were great, and then for any type of reason were never actually able to become great. It isn't their fault, but somewhere along the way, their greatness was denied because of someone or something else. These people can't face the fact that they just were not good enough to be a professional athlete, and they will spend the rest of their life telling people about how good they should have been. The only difference between those thousands of people and LaVar Ball is that he has at least one kid that is probably going to be able to become the star athlete he always wanted to become. I have no problem with that. Great for him, his children, and his family. What I do have a problem with though, is that he is clearly using his children to try to shine the spotlight on himself.
Parents live vicariously through their kids all the time. It happens a lot in the sports world, but it happens in all types of other walks of life as well. Maybe Bill Gates' father thought he should have been richer than his son but someone or something sabotaged that from happening. Maybe John Lennon's father believed that if he had just gotten one break that he could be even more famous than his son. I don't know, but there are parents all over the world that have successful children but deep down inside envy their children for gaining the stature that they always wished they could have had. That is clearly what is happening now with Lonzo Ball and his father.
LaVar Ball has made claims that he could beat NBA legends in a game of one-on-one basketball because "back in his day," he was better than everyone else. Really? Back in my day I played soccer. No matter how great I ever thought I was, I would never be stupid enough to say that I "could have been" better than Pele or Cristiano Ronaldo. This guy is delusional, and while I do feel bad for Lonzo for having to answer questions about his father, I have to admit that his father is also making me cheer against Lonzo.
LaVar Ball was on First Take last week as they were broadcasting from Los Angeles and said that L.A. stood for "LaVar's Awesome." It's sad that he thinks that because if anything, it should stand for "Lonzo's Awesome." He was on the show with his son and was the loudest person on the set while his son sat next to him seemingly ashamed to be associated with the guy. Instead of appreciating the fact that the only reason anyone knows him is because of his children, LaVar Ball is making daily appearances in front of cameras and acting like he has finally become the basketball superstar that he always wanted to be but never was, and I think that his ridiculous behavior is making a whole lot of people turn against his children.
Is all of this idiocy going to hurt Lonzo Ball's draft stock? No. I have heard people compare him to Jason Kidd, and while those are lofty expectations, I do think he has many of the same skills as Kidd. He sees the floor extremely well and makes everyone around him better because of his all-around game. He definitely needs to get bigger, but put him with an NBA training staff in a weight room for months at a time, and he will surely be able to add a lot of muscle. Some people believe that his father's big mouth might be something that an NBA franchise would worry about, but I don't think that is the case. All 30 NBA franchises are used to facing distractions, and in the grand scheme of things, I think an overbearing parent is far easier to deal with than some rookie that comes into the league with a criminal record or any type of injury history.
Supposedly Lonzo's two younger brothers are also planning to attend UCLA, so I think that university should be more worried about the father than whatever team ends up drafting Lonzo. Lonzo has let his play do the talking this year, and despite not winning an NCAA championship, he clearly cemented his status as one of the best college players in the country. The stupidity espoused by his father will most likely be white noise to any NBA franchise. However, LaVar Ball should at least try to consider the fact that he is clearly riding the coat tails of his kids to put himself into the spotlight that he always wished he could have had. If he realizes that, then that is fine. At the same time though, he needs to realize that he is making people cheer for his kids to fail based solely on his behavior, and that is really something that a parent should not do to their children.
Daily Giants Update: Johnathan Hankins remains unsigned, but I think the closer and closer we get to the draft, the better that is for the Giants. Other teams are going to focus more and more on the draft, and that means that Hankins is likely to accept the Giants offer and be back for the 2017-18 season.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers are on the brink of clinching a playoff berth with five games left to play in the regular season. The first round opponent is still unknown, but I do like the fact that Dan Girardi and Henrik Lundqvist both are back from injuries, and the Rangers should be at full strength heading into the postseason.
Daily NBA Update: Apparently the sky is falling in Cleveland, as the Cavaliers have struggled over the past few weeks, but they will still be in contention as the playoffs wind down. Kevin Durant's return is imminent, so the Warriors will be looking good, but let me say this right now: Go ahead and continue to overlook the San Antonio Spurs. They are the best team in the NBA.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: We are now only days away from the beginning of the 2017 season, and Zack Greinke will be on the mound against Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants. Arizona still may not have the best team, but at this point that doesn't matter. Right now, we should be shooting for a record of 162-0!
Friday, March 24, 2017
Give it a rest
So one of the biggest topics of the past few weeks in the sports world has been the new trend of teams playing games without their star players under the guise of resting them for the postseason. While this has been going on for a few years now, the topic seems to have been especially newsworthy recently because ABC has a new deal with the NBA to broadcast primetime games on Saturday nights, and obviously, since these are marquee games, they have featured the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. Those teams have responded to recent broadcasts by playing without LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala. The decisions by those teams, as well as many other contending teams, to rest their best players has brought about a ton of criticism and a call for something to be done.
First, let's focus on what the league is about in 2017. You can judge a player based on statistics, style of play, MVP awards, and all types of other things. But in 2017, as the league markets its star players before even its own teams, these guys are playing for one thing. They are playing for championships. Stephen Curry and LeBron James are two of the biggest names in the sport. They both have won multiple league MVP awards. In the world we live in today though, those awards mean nothing. All that matters is how many rings these guys have. Curry has one. James has three. Ask any NBA fan to put those guys in historical perspective and the first thing that will be mentioned is how many titles they won. If you don't believe that, then just ask Kevin Durant. Scoring titles? MVP awards? Those things mean nothing because he has never won a title. NBA superstars are like NFL quarterbacks. Their legacies begin with the amount of rings they have, and it is by far the most important part of how they are viewed in comparison to players of the past. So then why are these guys being hammered for resting here and there with the bigger goal of winning a championship in mind? It's because the fans and the media can never be satisfied.
Resting players started years and years ago with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. The best players on his teams were aging guys, and they were given games off here and there with the bigger goal of an NBA championship in mind. How did that work out? Popovich has five championship rings to show for it. Not bad, right? When he was doing it, he was praised. An 82 game regular season was grueling, and all that matters in the NBA is the postseason. Therefore, sacrificing a few games here and there in the regular season is totally fine. However, in 2017, that state of mind is completely wrong, and it is a hindrance to the sport. People can say that all they want, but until I get any legitimate proof otherwise, then those people are wrong.
I have heard people say that the teams and players owe it to the game to put forth their best effort every night. That seems totally logical. If a Warriors fan pays for a ticket to a game and then ends up going and watching a team led by James Michael McAdoo and JaVale McGee, I understand why they would feel disappointed. NBA tickets cost a lot of money, and fans expect to see their teams at full strength each and every night. However, would that same fan sacrifice one regular season game for the chance to see his or her team win another NBA title? I bet they would. Would a Los Angeles Clippers fan love to sit down on a Saturday night and watch their team face off against a Cleveland Cavaliers team that was playing its top players? Of course they would. But would that same fan rather change the channel that night and then sit down one night in June and watch the Clippers beat the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals? I bet they would. This is just another example of sports fans having the real power but refusing to exercise that power.
If resting players here and there during the regular season made no difference, then why are so many teams doing it? It is a question that could have been asked to baseball players two decades ago. If taking steroids didn't make you hit more home runs, then why are you taking them? The guys took them for a reason. These teams are sitting these players for a reason. People smarter than you and I use all kinds of analytics to study these things, and if teams pay them to make such decisions, then who are we to question them? If organizations wanted our opinions, they would have hired us. But they didn't. They hired people who say that resting players periodically will benefit a team in the long run.
Old, hard-headed men say that resting players wouldn't be accepted "back in the day." Well do you know what was being said about those same guys when they were playing? Those same guys were being viewed as a bunch of babies just like the players of today are being viewed.
Wilt Chamberlain played in the league from 1959 through 1973. Do you know how many minutes per game he averaged for his entire career? 45.8. Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing recently said that they don't believe in resting players and were hailed by thousands as tough guys who had an old-school mentality. Do you know how many minutes those guys averaged per game in their careers? Jordan averaged 38.3 and Ewing averaged 34.3. Over the course of an 82 game regular season, that means Chamberlain played 3,755 minutes, Jordan played 3,140 and Ewing played 2,812. You know what that means? Jordan and Ewing were soft compared to Chamberlain. Sitting out for 10 minutes each game? Step it up guys, you've got nothing on Wilt.
We watch baseball now and are used to things like long relievers and closers. During this past World Series, it was almost like the Indians and Royals were racing to which team could get to their bullpen fastest. Do you know what Walter Johnson or Cy Young would say about something like that? They would be appalled at how soft modern day starting pitchers were. When they played, there was no such thing as a relief pitcher. If you started a game, you ended it as well.
The point here is that while the game of basketball still is based around putting a round ball through a round hoop, there are a ton of things that change from year to year, and especially from generation to generation. So for anyone complaining about teams resting players here and there, then stop buying tickets or stop watching the games on television. Until fans start doing that en masse, no one is going to remember the Cavaliers playing shorthanded against the Clippers last Saturday. 10 years from now, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James are going to be judged, first and foremost, based on how many titles they won. No one is going to remember them sitting out one game in the middle of March. Fans and media have made the NBA about nothing but winning championships, and if this is part of that process, then they just need to deal with it. Maybe Patrick Ewing doesn't approve of it, but when someone mentions Patrick Ewing in terms of his historical impact on the sport, what is the first thing that they bring up? It's that he never won a title. If he took a few games off here and there during the regular season, then maybe he wouldn't be known as someone who never won a ring. Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry might have taken some games off, but I bet that Ewing would love to have traded places with them when they were polishing their championship rings and he was spending his summer wishing that he could have accomplished what they did.
Daily NBA Update: Golden State and Cleveland are the clear favorites to reach the NBA Finals, but they have both been unspectacular in recent weeks. I still fully expect those two teams to be the last two standing, but the Celtics, Spurs, Rockets, and Wizards are not exactly going to roll over in the playoffs.
Daily Rangers Update: Henrik Lundqvist missing time may hopefully end up as a blessing in disguise, but this team is in the same position it has been in for years now. Anything less than a Stanley Cup will be unacceptable, and at this point I just don't see that happening.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The regular season is getting closer and closer, and this is, sadly, probably the best time of the year for Arizona. Hopefully when the calendar turns to June we will still be within shouting distance of the top of the division, but I am not setting my expectations very high.
Daily Giants Update: The draft is about a month away, and I like what the team has done thus far in free agency. The addition of Brandon Marshall makes our receiving corps one of the best in the entire NFL, and I liked the signing of D.J. Fluker, who can play multiple positions on the offensive line. I still think that adding another offensive lineman would get great, and any depth we can get on the defensive side of the ball will be great as well. We are still months away from mini camp, but I like how the team looks right now.
First, let's focus on what the league is about in 2017. You can judge a player based on statistics, style of play, MVP awards, and all types of other things. But in 2017, as the league markets its star players before even its own teams, these guys are playing for one thing. They are playing for championships. Stephen Curry and LeBron James are two of the biggest names in the sport. They both have won multiple league MVP awards. In the world we live in today though, those awards mean nothing. All that matters is how many rings these guys have. Curry has one. James has three. Ask any NBA fan to put those guys in historical perspective and the first thing that will be mentioned is how many titles they won. If you don't believe that, then just ask Kevin Durant. Scoring titles? MVP awards? Those things mean nothing because he has never won a title. NBA superstars are like NFL quarterbacks. Their legacies begin with the amount of rings they have, and it is by far the most important part of how they are viewed in comparison to players of the past. So then why are these guys being hammered for resting here and there with the bigger goal of winning a championship in mind? It's because the fans and the media can never be satisfied.
Resting players started years and years ago with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. The best players on his teams were aging guys, and they were given games off here and there with the bigger goal of an NBA championship in mind. How did that work out? Popovich has five championship rings to show for it. Not bad, right? When he was doing it, he was praised. An 82 game regular season was grueling, and all that matters in the NBA is the postseason. Therefore, sacrificing a few games here and there in the regular season is totally fine. However, in 2017, that state of mind is completely wrong, and it is a hindrance to the sport. People can say that all they want, but until I get any legitimate proof otherwise, then those people are wrong.
I have heard people say that the teams and players owe it to the game to put forth their best effort every night. That seems totally logical. If a Warriors fan pays for a ticket to a game and then ends up going and watching a team led by James Michael McAdoo and JaVale McGee, I understand why they would feel disappointed. NBA tickets cost a lot of money, and fans expect to see their teams at full strength each and every night. However, would that same fan sacrifice one regular season game for the chance to see his or her team win another NBA title? I bet they would. Would a Los Angeles Clippers fan love to sit down on a Saturday night and watch their team face off against a Cleveland Cavaliers team that was playing its top players? Of course they would. But would that same fan rather change the channel that night and then sit down one night in June and watch the Clippers beat the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals? I bet they would. This is just another example of sports fans having the real power but refusing to exercise that power.
If resting players here and there during the regular season made no difference, then why are so many teams doing it? It is a question that could have been asked to baseball players two decades ago. If taking steroids didn't make you hit more home runs, then why are you taking them? The guys took them for a reason. These teams are sitting these players for a reason. People smarter than you and I use all kinds of analytics to study these things, and if teams pay them to make such decisions, then who are we to question them? If organizations wanted our opinions, they would have hired us. But they didn't. They hired people who say that resting players periodically will benefit a team in the long run.
Old, hard-headed men say that resting players wouldn't be accepted "back in the day." Well do you know what was being said about those same guys when they were playing? Those same guys were being viewed as a bunch of babies just like the players of today are being viewed.
Wilt Chamberlain played in the league from 1959 through 1973. Do you know how many minutes per game he averaged for his entire career? 45.8. Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing recently said that they don't believe in resting players and were hailed by thousands as tough guys who had an old-school mentality. Do you know how many minutes those guys averaged per game in their careers? Jordan averaged 38.3 and Ewing averaged 34.3. Over the course of an 82 game regular season, that means Chamberlain played 3,755 minutes, Jordan played 3,140 and Ewing played 2,812. You know what that means? Jordan and Ewing were soft compared to Chamberlain. Sitting out for 10 minutes each game? Step it up guys, you've got nothing on Wilt.
We watch baseball now and are used to things like long relievers and closers. During this past World Series, it was almost like the Indians and Royals were racing to which team could get to their bullpen fastest. Do you know what Walter Johnson or Cy Young would say about something like that? They would be appalled at how soft modern day starting pitchers were. When they played, there was no such thing as a relief pitcher. If you started a game, you ended it as well.
The point here is that while the game of basketball still is based around putting a round ball through a round hoop, there are a ton of things that change from year to year, and especially from generation to generation. So for anyone complaining about teams resting players here and there, then stop buying tickets or stop watching the games on television. Until fans start doing that en masse, no one is going to remember the Cavaliers playing shorthanded against the Clippers last Saturday. 10 years from now, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James are going to be judged, first and foremost, based on how many titles they won. No one is going to remember them sitting out one game in the middle of March. Fans and media have made the NBA about nothing but winning championships, and if this is part of that process, then they just need to deal with it. Maybe Patrick Ewing doesn't approve of it, but when someone mentions Patrick Ewing in terms of his historical impact on the sport, what is the first thing that they bring up? It's that he never won a title. If he took a few games off here and there during the regular season, then maybe he wouldn't be known as someone who never won a ring. Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry might have taken some games off, but I bet that Ewing would love to have traded places with them when they were polishing their championship rings and he was spending his summer wishing that he could have accomplished what they did.
Daily NBA Update: Golden State and Cleveland are the clear favorites to reach the NBA Finals, but they have both been unspectacular in recent weeks. I still fully expect those two teams to be the last two standing, but the Celtics, Spurs, Rockets, and Wizards are not exactly going to roll over in the playoffs.
Daily Rangers Update: Henrik Lundqvist missing time may hopefully end up as a blessing in disguise, but this team is in the same position it has been in for years now. Anything less than a Stanley Cup will be unacceptable, and at this point I just don't see that happening.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The regular season is getting closer and closer, and this is, sadly, probably the best time of the year for Arizona. Hopefully when the calendar turns to June we will still be within shouting distance of the top of the division, but I am not setting my expectations very high.
Daily Giants Update: The draft is about a month away, and I like what the team has done thus far in free agency. The addition of Brandon Marshall makes our receiving corps one of the best in the entire NFL, and I liked the signing of D.J. Fluker, who can play multiple positions on the offensive line. I still think that adding another offensive lineman would get great, and any depth we can get on the defensive side of the ball will be great as well. We are still months away from mini camp, but I like how the team looks right now.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Spring is (I think) in the air
Despite the mounds of snow outside my window, Spring Training is well underway, and that means it is time for more predictions that are sure to go wrong. As usual, this is the time of year when fans of all 30 teams are optimistic, and I feel that way about my Arizona Diamondbacks. Just like with my NFL predictions, I will recuse myself from previewing the Diamondbacks because my preview will be completely biased, but as for all of the other teams, here we go. I'll start in the American League.
AL East
This was pretty much without question the best division in all of baseball last season, and I think it will be tough again, but one team seems destined to distance themselves from the pack in 2017.
Boston Red Sox
AL East
This was pretty much without question the best division in all of baseball last season, and I think it will be tough again, but one team seems destined to distance themselves from the pack in 2017.
Boston Red Sox
Coming off a 93 win season in 2016, I think Boston is in position to be just as good in 2017, and maybe even better. Rick Porcello won the American League Cy Young award last year, and Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts look like up and coming superstars. As if that weren't enough, Boston added Chris Sale in the offseason, and youngsters like Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley could join forces with Betts and become the best young outfield in all of baseball.
Losing David Ortiz will obviously hurt for reasons both on and off the field, but the Red Sox still have a group of veterans that can most likely make up for that. The only problem I see here is that the health of David Price is already in jeopardy, although after initially expecting to hear the terrifying words of "Tommy John surgery," I think Boston dodged that bullet. Instead, Price is probably going to miss the early part of the season, but the pitching staff can make up for his absence for the time being. The Red Sox are without question a team to be reckoned with in 2017.
Ceiling: It is pretty simple here. Fans in Boston should have their sights set on the World Series.
Floor: This team is too talented to fall off completely. If Price is unable to get healthy and some of the youngsters struggle, it will put a dent in Boston's plans, but I really think that at worst, Boston will only just miss out on a Wild Card berth.
Reality: Like I said, there is too much talent here for this team to be anything worse than above average. When October rolls around, I expect to see the Red Sox in the playoffs.
Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto is coming off of an ALCS appearance last year, and this team is still very formidable. However, Edwin Encarnacion left Toronto to sign with the Cleveland Indians, and that will be an enormous blow to what was (and still might be) one of the best offenses in the game. The lineup is still strong though, and while the pitching staff is not full of Cy Young contending names, they will not have to be throwing shutouts left and right in order to win games thanks to guys like Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, and Troy Tulowitzki.
Ceiling: Despite the huge loss of Encarnacion, I certainly think Toronto can still make the playoffs. Guys like Aaron Sanchez and Marco Estrada and Marcus Stroman might not be household names quite yet, but they all have the potential to win 15 games, so I think the staff can be good enough to at least earn a playoff berth.
Floor: The only way that this team will not score a lot of runs is if some of their big bats get hurt, although none of them have any sort of severe injury history. I am far more worried about the pitching staff here when it comes to failing to reach expectations. I don't think that Toronto could be abysmal, but if they don't get some breaks, they will not be playing in October.
Reality: Losing Encarnacion is a hug blow to this lineup. However, they still will score a lot of runs. Everything here will hinge on how good the pitching can be, and I think it should be at least good enough to put the team in playoff contention, but I doubt they will be able to return to the ALCS.
Baltimore Orioles
Buck Showalter will never live down his decision not to use Zach Britton in Baltimore's Wild Card game last year against Toronto after the spectacular year that Britton had, but there is nothing that can be done about that now. This team is a lot like the Blue Jays in many ways, although their lineup does not have the same explosive potential. Britton had a historically great season as the closer last year, and it is just unfair to expect him to repeat that, although he should still be one of the best in the business. The AL East is tough though, so Baltimore will be challenged throughout the season.
Ceiling: Manny Machado is an up and coming superstar, and Baltimore still has multiple guys in the middle of the order that can hit a whole lot of home runs. The rotation is made up of guys who were formerly potential aces, have not lived up to that potential yet, but are still pretty good. If Machado can play at an MVP level (which is possible), the guys in the middle of the order can offset their strikeouts with a lot of home runs, and names like Gausman, Tillman, and Bundy become known throughout the baseball world, Baltimore could potentially challenge for a Wild Card spot.
Floor: Camden Yards is a hitter friendly park, and when Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo are your big bats, that is a good thing. However, those guys are also likely to strike out a bunch. If their batting order is more bust than boom, and their young rotation does not develop, Baltimore could potentially be out of the division race by August.
Reality: The one thing that seems almost certain in Baltimore is how good Manny Machado can be. Not only can he pick it at third base, but he can hit it all over the ballpark. Aside from him though, the team is filled with solid but unspectacular names. The chances of Zach Britton equaling what he did in 2016 are pretty much zero, although he should still be a top closer. However, much of their rotation and much of their lineup is still too inconsistent for my liking. One day Chris Davis might hit three home runs and Chris Tillman might throw a shutout, but the next day Davis might strike out four times and Kevin Gausman might get lit up. Maybe Baltimore challenges for a playoff berth, but I think that is about as optimistic as their fans should be.
New York Yankees
Talk about unfamiliar territory. For pretty much the past 20 years, the Yankees have been willing to spend endless amounts of money to win at all costs. However, it seems like that trend may have finally ended. While it might not provide Yankee fans with the immediate satisfaction they have come to expect, it may be the start of a new kind of outlook for the franchise. There are still older players on the roster, but the all or nothing mentality seems to be gone, as there are a bunch of fresh faces as well. We may not see the Yankees in the playoffs this year, but their fans still should be interested in the team they will put out on the field.
Ceiling: For the first time in years and years, the Yankees are somewhat centering their fortunes around youth. Gary Sanchez was spectacular in his abridged debut in 2016, and he now has a full season to live up to the high standard that he set. Other young names like Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorious can hopefully become mainstays in New York's lineup. If this mix of young players can continue to improve, I think it is possible that the Yankees get somewhat close to a playoff berth, but the American League is just too good for that to happen yet. The Yankees need to focus on building a young core in 2017, and it will bring about a lot of optimism going into 2018.
Floor: The floor here is all about the pitching staff. C.C. Sabathia is well past his prime and Michael Pineda seems to have proven himself to be more of a wasted talent than the potential ace many once considered him to be. The back end of the rotation is full of youth but also full of question marks. The Yankees offense should be pretty good, but if their rotation is hit by injuries, inconsistency, or both, the Yankees will have no shot to compete in this division.
Reality: Sanchez is the up and coming star here, but guys like Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Matt Holliday, Aroldis Chapman, and Masahiro Tanaka are still on this team. While I doubt we will ever see the Yankees in full rebuilding mode like we saw the Houston Astros or the Philadelphia 76ers, this year will be pretty much as close as it gets for the Yankees. With a full season to work, I think 2017 will be a great glimpse into the future for this team. Can Gary Sanchez be a mainstay in the middle of the order? Can the guys at the back end of the rotation now eventually become solid starters? Will Dellin Betances, Aaron Judge, and Aaron Hicks become household names? This could be the year that we find out the answers to all of those questions. I highly doubt this team is in playoff contention as the season winds down.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays finished last year 25 games out of first place in the AL East, and they return a roster that is mostly similar to that one. Some players did under achieve in 2016 (Chris Archer lost 19 games), so maybe Tampa Bay won't find themselves 25 games out of first place, but I still don't think they will be able to come close to the top of this division.
Ceiling: Chris Archer was supposed to be their up and coming ace last year, and he ended up losing 19 games. Evan Longoria remains the mainstay in the middle of this lineup, and I do not expect that to change in 2017. He is surrounded with a cast of boom or bust types, as well as middling names that have been let go by other teams for various reasons. Just like the lineup, the pitching staff remains mostly the same, but it is time for guys like Jake Odorizzi and Alex Cobb to produce and not just be mediocre guys eating innings as part of an average rotation. I will not expect that anymore until I see it happen, and therefore I think that the best this team can hope for is to avoid the basement of the AL East and maybe get within shouting distance of third place.
Floor: Like I said, it is about time for many of the guys on this team to either put up or shut up. Logan Forsythe, Steven Souza, Kevin Kiermaier, Alex Colome, Drew Smyly, Tim Beckham, and multiple others need to either prove that they are worthy of the big leagues or the organization needs to move on without them. This team could easily finish last in the division.
Reality: Archer still has a ton of talent and despite his bad record in 2016, he still struck out a lot of guys. I doubt he will lose 19 games again this year. Longoria should be good again in the middle of the order, and they do have some other guys that can drive in some runs. However, the pitching staff still has a ton of untapped potential and a lot of these guys are running out of time to live up to expectations. I don't expect this team to be anywhere close to the top of the AL East in 2017.
Daily Rangers Update: Despite Henrik Lundqvist suffering what seems to be a minor injury, the team still has one of the best records in the Eastern Conference. With 12 games left to play, 100 points is still within reach, and 100 points means your team has had a highly successful regular season. If they can keep pace with the teams above them in the conference, this time off might be a blessing in disguise for Lundqvist, as well as for Dan Girardi, who has been out but should be back.
Daily NBA Update: As the regular season winds down, all that seems to be in question now is who will win the MVP and who will be playing in the NBA Finals. Russell Westbrook got his 33rd triple-double of the season last night, so that means he needs eight more to tie Oscar Robertson's single season record. Westbrook is also still averaging a triple-double, something that has not been done since Robertson did it decades ago. Oklahoma City currently sits in the 6th spot in the Western Conference standings, but I think that is about where most people expected them to be. It seems as though the entire team is playing for Westbrook right now, and I really do believe that he is going to finish the season averaging a triple-double, and if he does that I think it will be impossible to give the MVP award to anyone but him.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The team has been hitting a bunch over the past couple of days, which is nice to see, but we all know that Spring Training numbers mean absolutely nothing once the regular season begins. The spots at the back end of the rotation are still up for grabs, but I do like what Taijuan Walker has shown thus far. If he can provide a boost for the rotation, that would be a huge plus.
Daily Giants Update: The draft is getting closer and closer, and in my opinion the biggest area of need is the offensive line. The team signed D.J. Fluker, who can play both guard and tackle. I like that move, but I still think it would be nice to add another piece to the line, and I would love for that piece to be Ryan Ramczyk, but I'm not sure he will be available when the Giants pick at #23. A versatile defensive lineman would also be great if Jonathan Hankins leaves, and while it does seem likely that he will be gone, the further we get into the offseason, the closer we get to him returning, so maybe the team will be fortunate enough to bring back Hankins while also shoring up the offensive line in the draft as well.
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