The Tourney, NFL Update

The first two rounds and half of the Sweet Sixteen are in the books and there have been quite a few surprises thus far. Certainly the most noticeable is the colossal upset of Kansas, the tournaments number one overall seed. Northern Iowa had a great game plan though they had a little trouble towards the end of the game, they held on for the win. it seems that the Presidents good graces did not bear onto the fortune of the Jayhawks as they could not rely on their lorns, which is common place in a tournament where anything can happen.

One team that everyone is calling an underdog, since they play in a mid major conference is Butler. However, I feel that their success was very much to be expected because they were riding a 20 game winning streak coming in to the tournament, the longest in the nation. Syracuse, has struggled in games that they were expected to win so it is safe to say that many orange fans are not too pleased with the Sweet Sixteen defeat. Cornell who was one of the cinderellas has a valiant run with rather impressive wins over Temple and Wisconsin, but ran into a faster, stronger, and more athletic team in Kentucky which became their undoing.

Well it look as if the trade talk with Donovan McNabb has heated up and several teams are showing interest in the Eagles QB. There is not much to take from this story right now but things are bound to intensify as the eagles have laid out their asking price on a top 42 pick. Who will step up and acquire the services of McNabb is now left to who makes the best offer and is willing to part with their draft picks.

March Madness

The NCAA Tournament is now here and as many will say over the next few weeks...let the madness begin. Each team comes in with high hopes of competing for a national championship, with fist time school looking to leave a lasting impression on the nation, and veterans programs in search of adding to their their school folklore. Their are many speculations as to how the tournament will pan out, with so many probabilities it is impossible to pick out the exact scenario that will happen. It is well know that within the field of 65 exists a cinderella who will progress further than anyone thought they would, the only question is who. In at the bracket, teams such as Cornell, Utah State, and Murray State all seem to have been vastly under seeded and could have the potential to make a serious run to the sweet 16, however let us not forget about the Siena Saints who made that for mentioned run last year, knocking off Ohio State in the process. With Purdue's loss of their best player Robbie Hummel, it is safe to believe they are very much in danger of a first round loss to Siena. With those four teams in mind we are now left to wonder, which of them could become this years George Mason and ride a wave of momentum all the way to the Final Four.

Their was big news in the NFL, especially if you're a Jet fan as they have signed Ladanian Tomlinson to a 2 year contract. It is very clear as to the motivation for Tomlinson to go to New York, the Jets had the NFL's top rushing attack and made the AFC Championship game. The career of Tomlinson has compiled many yards and touchdowns, but has significantly slowed down over the past three years with injuries and a weakening offensive line in San Diego. Perhaps the good years for Tomlinson are behind him now and he is just lookiing for the opportunity to play for a team that will potentially contend for a championship. Some thought that he would be better off joinig the Vikings, however should his motivation had been to play with Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson, it would mean that he would be waiting on whether or not Favre will retire and getting limited touches behind Peterson. How muich is left in the tank for Tomlinson? we cannot speculate, but Jet fans hope that their O-Line can provide the push he needs to guide them to a place they have watched the Giants get to four times since 1980.

Baseball is in the Air, NFL FA

Now that spring training has officially begun, it is safe to say that baseball fever is back. Each team comes with high hopes of success and a fresh mindset for what can be accomplished in the upcoming year. For myself this is a time to get a look at what each team can bring to the table and how they stand up to the rest. The Yankees may not look as impressive as some would like to see, but they treat spring training as a way to get into shape for the long season ahead. Many teams use march baseball to establish a new precipice for themselves, we can look at the Rays of 2008 as a great example of this. Nonetheless the are just exhibition games and its not quite the time for worry over games that have no meaning but to get everyone back in baseball shape.

It was quite a beginning to the NFL free agent period indeed, the Chicago Bears signed both Chester Taylor and Julius Peppers to upgrade their team, which makes perfect sense due to the draft picks they surrendered to acquire Jay Cutler. Peppers will make the Bears defense even scarier with a returning Bran Urlacher to captain it, however Taylor could be a more than comparable in the long run. The Giants signing of Antrel Rolle makes a significant upgrade to the secondary that was practically non-existent in 2009. He is going to team up with Kenny Phillips who himself is coming off of knee surgery, but when healthy Philips is one of the best players on the team. There are expectations of the Giants going after a linebacker in free agency, but I doubt they will try and pay a player too much monet to come to New York, so the draft is their best bet. The futures of free agents such as Owens and Joey Porter and many others are up in the air, but it should be quite a free agency period with so much uncertainty looming in the uncapped year. What will Brett Favre decide to do? will the Vikings pursue trading for Donovan McNabb if Favre does retire?, Will the Eagles try and trade Michael Vick? Where will Brandon Marshall end up? These are questions everyone is asking and only time will tell us the answers to what we want to know.