Monday Spread Option 02-17-14

1) Now that the NBA All-Star break has come and gone, which team out of playoff contention right now has the best chance at a second half run into the postseason? 

Ty-

The All-star break is always a turning point in the season where teams start to ratchet up play and effort. To me the West is basically set even though the Memphis Grizzles are hot and is a good enough team to get into the playoffs. But If I’m going to pick a team that can make a playoff run than I think that it is easier in the East. The Pistons might not have played great up until this point but they are only a game behind Charlotte for the 8^th seed in the east. I think having 20 games to make up a 1 game difference should be easy. Also they happen to be the more talented team than Charlotte and what their record would indicate.

Spencer-
I think the New York Knicks have the best chance at a second half run for a playoff spot. Obviously they Knicks have a major disappointment this year and under performed from what people in the off-season thought they were capable of, but you know that team has enough talent in the pitiful eastern conference to at least make the playoffs. Carmelo is a fighter and if what he says about resigning with New York is true we all know he doesn't want to just coast the rest of the season, he wants to prove he likes playing there and that he can be a key to their future. It's going to be important for the Knicks to win the winnable games though, and by that I mean no losing to the Bobcats or the 76ers, and when they are in a game late with a team equal or better than them FINISH! I think if they can do those things they will at least be the eight seed and show their fans that the entire season wasn't a lost cause. Again they are helped by the fact that they play in east so if any team can make it in that conference, they can.

2) Johnny Manziel said last week that if the Texans pass on him with the number one pick, it would be the "worst decision they ever made." Do you agree with Manziel that passing on him would be a huge mistake, or do the Texans need to address other needs with the first pick in the draft? 

Spencer-
I'm one of the biggest Johnny Manziel supporters out there. I think his game will equate to a solid NFL career, I think he is obviously a phenomenal talent and I think he was unjustly victimized by the NCAA. That being said I don't think it would be the "biggest mistake" the Texans ever made if they don't take him with the first overall pick. If the Texans feel they have other needs to address you can't blame them for that entirely. We saw them do that the year Reggie Bush came out and they passed on him to take Mario Williams who had a solid career at Houston before going to the Bills this past season. I think there is a case to be made for the Texans taking Manziel (he makes your offense more dynamic, they had QB troubles last season, he is a Texas guy) but if the Texans decide they are going with Schaub one more year and want to address other areas then that is what has to happen. They know their personnel better than fans of the game do. I think a lot of Manziel's comments are him selling himself to NFL. He wants teams to see a confident guy willing to work hard to be the best. Also what player with Top 10 potential doesn't want to be the number one pick overall? Can't blame him for arguing his case to be the top pick. My bet is no matter what team had the first pick he'd be saying the same thing. Imagine if the Redskins had the first pick? They just drafted RGIII two years ago and have every desire to keep him as their franchise guy...you think they'd be taking Manziel number one? What if the Ravens had the first pick after they just linked a huge extension with Flacco last year....you think they would draft him? Probably not. So that's my point, Manziel would be saying anyone who passed on him is making the "worst decision." If I'm the Texans I stick to my guns and this doesn't play into who I'm taking number one overall. I take who I need.

Ty-

I absolutely loved what Manziel said! I am a big Johnny Football fan because he is so electric. To me now it has to happen that Johnny Football goes to the Jags and balls out against the Texans 2 games a year. But I like it more for the statement than the actual practice. I don’t think Manziel is the clear-cut best quarterback in the draft. I think the Texans would be fine taking Teddy Bridgewater mainly because their team is already good. I don’t think they have that many wholes. They were a season from winning a playoff game. Their main reason for being bad was injuries and quarterback play. So in reality Manziel could play well for the Jaguars and still lose, which would mean it wouldn’t be the worse mistake ever. I love the quote though because it is motivation, he might even be better served to not get drafted with the 1^st pick.

3) There has been a lot of talk about who the top freshman in college basketball is this year. Some were favorites from the preseason while others have performed better than expected. Given their resumes at this point in the season, who of the five is the best freshman in the NCAA this year: Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Tyler Ennis or Joel Embiid?

Ty-

I feel like this is a tricky question because if I had to purely go with the “best” player than I would have to go with Jabari Parker. His numbers have been great and if you watch him play you can see that he can do everything on the court offensively. He can play down low and on the perimeter. He may not be as great on defense but he has showed himself to be the best player. I think that Tyler Ennis has been the freshman with the biggest impact though. Ennis’ numbers don’t really add up to the other freshmen but he has been a major reason for why Syracuse is undefeated. He has been especially great in late game situations, most notably his game winner against Pittsburgh. But I’m taking Jabari Parker because he has been the best player in terms of skill and talent. By the way Andrew Wiggins hasn't been as bad as people might think he has been. He has been such a great player defensively as well but his offensive game isn't as developed as Parker. Joel Embiid has been very impactful too and Kansas plays in a tough conference so Wiggins and Embiid deserve credit to but it's just hard to pick against Parker.

Spencer-

To answer this question I'm not looking at stats really. I think each player plays different positions and have different roles on their team. Some are dominant rebounders, some the focus of the offense and some dish out assists so their stats are just too different to base it all of stats alone. For me I'm looking at who has meant the most to their respective team and helped make the team better as a whole. With that as the focus I'm going with Tyler Ennis. People knew this kid was going to be good coming into college but I don't know if they expected him to be this good. Looking at Cuse at the beginning of the year you see a team that lost an NBA caliber point guard in Michael Carter-Williams. You had a forward returning in CJ Fair who was voted the ACC preseason player of the year and had great leadership and basketball experience, but he was never a guy who could run the offense himself. Fair always needed a guy to be the administrator for his game. Thus came along Ennis. He fits that 2-3 zone perfectly with a 6'5 wingspan and he has unbelievable floor vision offensively. He has stepped up to be the general of the offense averaging 5.6 assists per game but also knows when he needs to take the shot himself instead passing it off. His confidence has also been stellar particularly down the stretch in close game. When his team has needed him to make a play in crunch time he as risen to the occasion time and time again, and that goes beyond just the three point buzzer beater against Pittsburgh last week. The biggest thing that differentiates him from his predecessor MCW is that he doesn't give up costly turnovers, as he is only averaging 1.6 a game for the season. That is an important stat for a point guard to have. When you put all that together with a team of guys that buy into the system they play in, its no wonder why Syracuse is 25-0. I believe Ennis' play has been more important to the success of his team than any of the other guys on this list. Parker is obviously a force for Duke and the offense runs through him, the combination of Wiggins and Embiid is scary and those guys can ball and of course Randle is statistically the best averaging a double double, but I just don't see those guys as bigger individual impacts to their team especially in close games, as Ennis has been in guiding the Orange to a 25-0 start.

4) Team USA's eight shootout win over Russia on Saturday was one of the most talked about finishes in Olympic history and made Twitter feeds everywhere fill with American pride. How did that finish compare to the 1980 Miracle on Ice win over Russia? Also with the Olympic playoff picture set, are we more excited to see a potential meeting with Canada in the semi-final round or a potential rematch with Russia for the gold medal? 

Spencer-
Let me start by saying this game was awesome! That was exactly what the Olympics are supposed to be about and not only did that game live up to the hype but it united us around cheering for this team to get gold and hope for a rematch. Still though, I don't think it can quite trump the 1980 Olympics Miracle on Ice win over Russia. I obviously wasn't alive then but seeing the highlights and hearing people talk about it, you can just tell what a moment it was for Olympic Hockey and the U.S.A. Nowadays the two teams are more evenly matched then they were back then since it's not amateurs playing on team U.S.A. anymore but professionals. Also you don't have all the historic meaning to it with Cold War going on back then so the impact of the win wasn't as big. Either way I am more excited for a potential rematch of Saturdays game with Russia for gold then for a semi-final game with Canada. The stakes of winning gold against the host country, a "rival" if you will and a shot at redemption after losing the gold medal game in 2010 trumps a rematch with the defending champs (Canada) in the semis for me. All I know is this tournament is gonna be wild! This time next week I hope I'm posting a blog about my thoughts on winning that gold medal over Russia! U-S-A!

Ty-

I don’t think that this really compares to the 1980’s team because that 1980’s team beat the Russians in a more important game. Although it wasn’t tournament style like it is today it was an important round robin game with Medal importance. This year’s game was more about qualifying for the single elimination portion. Also that American team in the 80’s was way more of an underdog because Russia had won the gold medal in 6 of the 7 times prior to that Olympics. That game was great but it would be better if the U.S. team beat Canada in the semis and then beat Russia again. But I would much rather prefer to play Canada in the final but I still want to see them beat Canada more because of the revenge factor. 

5) What did we learn? 

Spencer- The Mount Rushmore metaphor for sports, sucks. 

Nothing bothered me more last week then Lebron James sending the sports world in a frenzy with his naming of who would be on the Mount Rushmore of NBA greats, because it did more than start debates on if his four player were right but then became the standard for comparing players in all sports. I heard people saying it was okay to have more than four people on their Mount Rushmore first of all, which is the first ridiculous part about this. Look Mount Rushmore has four heads on it. If you can't pick just four people for any Mount Rushmore metaphor you shouldn't be using that standard! That doesn't make any sense. Oh Mount Rushmore has four people on it but lets make an exception and add five other heads because I think they deserve it too. Come on man. Secondly four is such a stupid number to compare. What happened to top 10 lists? Even top five lists? Now we gotta do four!? Four? Really? That just doesn't add up to me and is another reason why it should never be used as a standard for measuring the greatest players in a respective sport.

In every professional sport there are more than four greats without a doubt in my mind, which brings me to my next point. Why are we so hung up on comparing greats to begin with!? Why can't one guy be great in his own right and another great on theirs. Its like the Lebron vs. Jordan thing. It's impossible to compare them in my opinion because they are different players, played different positions, played with different styles and who played in different eras. This is the time of year when sports networks get so bored that they feel the need to compare everyone. I heard people talking about if Derrek Jeter belongs on the Yankees Mount Rushmore after he announced his retirement. First of all the Yankees retire just about everyone who has worn a jersey so if all those guys were great they would need 20 Mount Rushmore's to fit them all. This whole idea of Mount Rushmore is ridiculous so lets just drop it. That is my challenge to all the sports networks out there. Move on from Mount Rusmore's and lets talk about some actual sports news. For how long these sports have been played, there are too many greats to pick just four to have their heads etched in stone. That's why we have Hall of Fames, because they fit everyone.

(Ty Butting in- LeBron only brought this up because everybody was talking about Kevin Durant. He basically was like, "Hey stop saying Durant is catching up because I'm going to be among greats!" I'm not mad at it but it seems like LeBron brought this up out of the blue.)

NBA All-Star Weekend the best.

I know there are a lot of NBA haters out there. There are the people who don't like basketball so their hate is understandable. The people that like College but not the NBA makes less sense to me. I understand if you went to a college and loved the school and basketball team that way. But if you are a basketball fan how can you like college more? The NBA play is obviously better, because the NBA gets it's players from the college game.But thats a debate for another day. The thing that people really can't deny is that the NBA All-Star game is the best of all the sports.

Let me just say that All-star games are flawed in general because it is hard to get people to play an exhibition game hard due to fear of injury. The Pro-bowl is a joke, only because lazy football just looks terrible. I don't blame the players because football is a game where it is rare for a team to come out of a game fully healthy. The Baseball all-star game has weight to it but it is usually boring for fans besides die hard fans. Also making it decide the home team of the World Series is stupid, half the players know by then that they probably wont play in the playoffs. It also makes a monotonous season of 162 games less meaningful. The Hockey All-star game is ok but it's hard to give the fans what they want all the time and it's the least watched of the 4.

The NBA All-Star weekend because there are better events because basketball allows you to play different kinds of events. The game in itself is better because people love seeing these guys dunk all over the place and shooting 3's. Yes they don't play defense in the first 3 quarters but who cares? I think people are just lying to themselves if they love seeing great defense and missed shots all over the place. In every single sport people love a shoot out. Defense is great for winning championships but not for entertainment. But they play defense when the game is on the line like it was yesterday.

 All-star games are still flawed but I would rater watch the NBA All-star game than any of the other options by a ridiculously wide margin and many people would probably agree

Wednesday Read Option 01-08-14

Johnny Manziel

    This is the first day I'm doing this, so let me take this chance to explain what's going on. The Wednesday Read Option will look at the the latest random sports topics of the day.

I will choose these topics at random and there might be 5 or 6 or even 7 different topics depending on what topics I fell like writing a paragraph on. This post will have an emphasis on the options (meaning I choose what I want to do basically). Now let's move on to the topics!

1. Johnny Football is NFL bound!

If you haven't heard for some reason, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has declared that he is going to enter the NFL draft in May. I'm sure most people--including me-- are not surprised that he came out. I mean there was a report that Manziel couldn't even attend regular classes because of how popular he has become on campus.

He won the Heisman trophy his freshman year, so he has already achieved a height that most college football players never attain. The only thing Johnny Football (Or J-Mula, the nickname I just made up for him) had left to do was win a National Championship, which wasn't going to happen soon unless A&M drastically improved their defense which ranked 96th in the nation in points against.

The real question now is how Manziel will translate to the NFL. This question has come up alot because of his size and frame. Manziel is listed at 6'1'' and 210 pounds which really seem like generous estimations. I do believe that he can succeed in the NFL if his future team adapts to what makes J-Mula great. He probably shouldn't run as much as he does now but if he uses his magic to scramble and find open receivers like Russell Wilson does than size shouldn't matter. If I am the Browns or the Jaguars I take him in the first round.

Frank Thomas

2. Only 3 Players made it into the Baseball Hall of fame.

Last year the sports writers didn't vote anybody into the hall of fame. There was only 3 people inducted by the pre-integration committee but none of them where living.

This year there is only 3 (Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux) and there has been backlash to the process that decides inductees. Basically sportswriters, most of whom haven't played baseball, decide who makes it into the hall of fame. I'm not saying that sports writers don't know what they are talking about but man are they stingy with who they induct.

I don't pretend to know a lot about baseball but I do know that guys like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire deserve a little more consideration at least for what they have done for baseball. Even if you don't want to let McGwire in Bonds should be. Even before the steroids speculations Bonds had the numbers to warrant being in the hall of fame.

It was called the "Steroids Era" so most likely those guys where hitting home runs from guys who were on steroids as well. I say just except that era of baseball and move on from it. That being said, I can't really blame people who are hesitant to reward somebody who they think was cheating.

Smith Untying Marion's shoe laces.

3. New York Knicks Reportedly put J.R. Smith on the trading block.

The Knicks continue to be the Knicks as usual. Not that putting Smith on the trading block is a dumb move. It is probably the right move but it seems like they are doing it because J.R. Smith tried to untied or tried to untie opponents shoes.

Smith probably should have been on the trading block a month ago when it was apparent that he was having a terrible season. Smith is shooting career worst 34% from the field and 33% from 3. His offseason back surgery has definitely affected his playing ability. He has been reduced to just jacking up 3's and long 2's.

I doubt the Knicks will get any serious return for Smith but there might be a few contending teams willing to take a flier on a scorer off the bench. But teams will shy away from taking on a guy known for jacking up shots. Specially one that is shooting so terrible from the field.

Update:

According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, J.R. Smith trade talks are a scare tactic. This is because to no one's surprise, there isn't a market to trade him.

4. Jay Gruden is the Redskins leading HC' Candidate.

Bengal's OC Jay Gruden

According to multiple sources Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden is the leading candidate to replace Shanahan as the Redskins coach. It has also been reported that he prefers the Titans head coaching job. I don't blame him for not wanting to be apart of the chaos in D.C.

That being said I also don't know if Jay Gruden is the right candidate because I can't decide if he has done a great job making Andy Dalton a lot better than he is. Or if we should credit Gruden for some of Daltons faults. Let's mind the fact that most of the Bengals offense was predicated on throwing the ball up to the talented A.J. Green.

The force feeding of their offense to green has to be a big reason that they have burnt out in the playoffs where teams try to take away your best options the most. Gruden could vary well be a good fit but based off of his resume I don't see why he would be the front runner. The Redskins might be best served to go with a more innovative offensive coordinator like Seattle's Darrell Bevell or The Broncos' Adam Gase. I also think a defensive minded coach wouldn't be bad as well but there are other coaches that have good resumes. Also James Franklin from Vanderbilt might be a great candidate.

I will say it does seem like the Redskins are doing their due diligence and interviewing a bunch of different head coaching candidates. The reason they might be thorough in the search may also be some of the hesitation for coaches to want to work for the organization. Many probably have reservations about the disfunction that surrounds Washington's owner Dan Snyder.

5.  RGIII Character Continues to be Assaulted.

Robert Griffin III

I know this is two posts but I have become irked by the amount of reports that have come out about Robert Griffin since the season has gone down the tank. The first crazy report was that Griffin asked to not watch his own mistakes during film study. The report has proven to be false, which honestly if believed that somebody in the NFL didn't want to watch his mistakes in order to learn from them unlike every football player since freshman year of football, you have to be pretty gullible.

There is no way anybody would even seriously entertain that idea. All the people that attack Griffin for being a madonna are ignoring a lot of key facts about the redskins season. First, where did all this nonsense about Griffin not being able to read defenses, poor work ethic, and attitude come from? The guy graduated from college early, was a proficient passer in college, not a runner like a Tim Tebow and was regarded for having great character coming out of college.

Yet there has been many reports about teammates having rifts with Griffin because of a relationship with the owner Dan Snyder. Santana Moss was quoted as saying Griffin needed to take more responsibility but I don't remember a press conference where he didn't. I do see Griffin speaking to the media after losses while some Redskins players let him take the blame for the season.

Last season Griffin had a whole offseason to work and healthiness, which led to him playing well in the season. People forget that the Redskins started 3-6 mainly due to a poor defense and questionable game management by the coaches. Mike Shanahan actually gave up on the season at that point and then the Redskins went on a 7 game winning streak that heavily featured Griffin and some improvements by the defense.

This year the Skins where predicted to be better because of Griffin but also because an improved defense. Yet the defense was last in the league in points allowed and the special teams was one of the worst in NFL history. Yes Griffin played a lot worse but putting that much pressure on a 2nd year QB coming off of an injury is unrealistic for a team this bad.

Anybody who believes otherwise must not have watched the games or the last 3 games where the same problems with the defense and special teams occurred under Kirk Cousins as QB.  The Redskins were terrible in every aspect of the team. Including coaching which is why Shanahan was fired after having losing seasons in 3 of the 4 years.