The NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is now over and it was quite the interesting follow with so much talent lingering for each team to pluck from the board. Sam Bradford is now the new face of the Ram Franchise just as Matthew Stafford is for the Lions, it will be a tough road for Bradford as it is almost certain he will take his lumps right away even though some may disagree. It is imperative that the Rams get this young quarterbacks feet wet or he will gain the experience that is needed to develop into a top line quarterback in the NFL. Perhaps the Biggest Surprise is the Draft of Tim Tebow in the first round by the Denver Broncos, It is puzzling as to why Coach Josh McDaniels, the scout team and management would take a quarterback who seems to lack the basic skills to last as an average quarterback. Perhaps the resume that Tebow racked up as the QB for the Florida Gators that included 2 national championships made his stock rise even as he was projected to fall very far. With more skilled and fine tuned quarterbacks like Tony Pike, Colt McCoy, and Jimmy Clausen fall ins= as much as two and three rounds behind him there will be wonder as to why the Broncos chose not to draft either of them. As far as Tim Tebows NFL future goes, we cannot predict the future so only time will tell whether or not it was a good or bad decision.

Opening Day, NFL Trades

It was a momentous day in New York as the Yankees opened up their home season by receiving their championship rings and raising the 27th championship banner. It was nice to see Jerry Hairston and especially Hideki Matsui be greeted so warmly by the New York faithful for all they did to help in the championship effort last season. Watching the ring ceremony was a reminder to all Yankees fans of the rich tradition and respect that the team brings to the city and all of baseball and why in part they are so liked and hated across America. Pettite pitched another good game and looks poised to have a nice campaign this season and it was nice to see Nick Johnson get his first home run since he seemed to be struggling to hit for the first few games. Opening Day has always been special to the Yankees and with a ceremony to commemorate a wonderful season, there was something extra special in the air and it seemed to inspire the team as it so often has over the years.

The NFL trade waves have busy this week, with the Jets acquiring Santonio Holmes from the Steelers and the Dolphins acquiring Brandon Marshall from the Broncos. The moving of these two top flight receivers definitely makes things interesting in the AFC East as the Patriots strangle hold on the division is sure to be tested. The Jets have made many moves to make the team a Super Bowl contender, but one has to wonder if the Jets are banking on a potential lockout in 2011 in order to avoid having to give long term contracts to the players they brought in, or if it is just the benefits of the uncapped year. Whatever the reasoning Jets fans are certainly pleased with the effort of the Jets management to put the best team possible on the field after almost making the Superbowl in 2009. The Dolphins are looking to not be left out in the mix with their offensive talent, there is still a possibility in their minds that the division is theirs for the taking since they defeated the Patriots in both division match-ups last year. The Eastern conference in the AFC and NFC is expected to be most competitive in the 2010 season with the talent on each team it is safe to say the it's up for grabs for eastern supremacy in the NFL.

A Great Game

As opposed to opening night C.C. Sabathia was stellar in his second start of the season, taking a no hitter into the eighth inning. He certainly nullified any problems doubters may have had regarding his overall stamina afters such a heavy work load last postseason. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that Cervelli was behind the plate calling the game and not Posada. For some this is probably a shock that Francisco Cervelli caught a near no hitter in his first start on the season, but he has done this before with Sabathia. Last year he caught the Yankees only complete game shutout against the Orioles with C.C. on the mound,so many feel his ability as a catcher is very underrated. Sabathia had everything working on the mound and baffled the Rays lineup which had just roughed up Javier Vasquez the previous night. With great defensive plays by Texieria, Cano, and Rodriguez, C.C. was able to keep his no hit bid in tact through the seventh inning, until Kelly Shoppach got the Rays first hit with two outs in the eighth. Though he could not seal the deal, he gave Yankees a reason the feel that he will be just fine in the 2010 season..

MLB Umpire Joe West made a surprising comment this week about the length of Yankee-Red Sox games calling the "pathetic and embarrassing" and a "disgrace to the league". I am sure there are many who completely disagree with his statement including both the Yankees and Red Sox. The length of the games has become an issue over the the past year, however when two quality teams that pride themselves on taking pitches and waiting out at bats get together the games a most certainly going to be longer, that is what makes the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry so entertaining. These games are not like games between lesser tiered teams such as the Pirates or Nationals who will have faster games because their players are not going to have long at bats so therefore you can expect the games to be shorter. West's comments certainly show how he does not care for the integrity of the game, he could start calling a wider strike zone during Yankees-Red Sox games just to prevent the game from pulling too much TV overtime, but then again the Yankees and Red Sox have their own TV networks and am sure ESPN is not going to complain about one of sports greatest rivalries staying on air past the 3 hours allotted to it. If the MLB is truly worried about the length of games they will make fair adjustments for every team to respect and not listen to one umpire complaining about one game which has no effect on the whole.

Final Four

Last night Duke and Butler solidified slots in the national championship game with wins in their respected Final Four games. Butler handled themselves as they have all tournament against a very formidable Michigan State team whom went to the National title game last year. It is m ost impressive what third year coach Brad Stevens has done with this team over his last 3 years of service, and perhaps the most astounding thing about him...he is only 33 years old. Butler has a highly cohesive unit who understand the game of basketball and how it is played. Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack have been essential to the teams success as they lead the offensive attack that the Bulldogs have used to push through to the final game.

Dukes convincing victory over West Virginia proves that they will be a daunting task for Butler to overcome. With players like John Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith leading the team in scoring as the big three, it is safe to believe that the National title will rest on their shoulders. Mike Krzyzewski will most definitely have the Blue Devils ready for Butler like they are for any other team, his legend as a coach has grown exponentially over the years and his tactics as a coach have him and his team always prepared for the situation at hand. Butler will be a daunting task however, though some feel that with their similar playing styles this game plays right into the hands of Krzyzewski, but don't tell Duke that, because everyone should know that in this tournament, no one has the safe-ground and anything is possible, even in the last game.

This past week the NCAA announced that they will be soon put forth a vote on expanding the tournament to 96 teams. NCAA vice President Gary Shaheen feel that this would be the best fit and have a positive result on the overall outlook of the tournament. This is not a popular decision amongst many fans and schools alike due to the reasoning behind possibly making such a change. Should expansion happen it would completely wipe out the NIT Tournament which has been held since 1938, and had a greater meaning in college basketball until the Division I tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The executive committee says that this idea was spurred on by the complaints that not every good team gets the chance to make it to the tournament because of limited spots, however the novelty of making the field of 65 would be taken away due the uselessness of conference tournaments to decide automatic bids. The news of possible expansion should come as great news to school such as William & Mary, Chicago State, and the 34 other teams that have never had the chance to play in the big dance, but terrible news for any team that could potentially have their chances ruined of ever making another tournament if conference tournaments a rendered obsolete. This most definitely spurred on by the financial gain the NCAA and sponsors would get with a bigger tournament. More teams means more games and larger broadcasting ranges, this gives the selection committee the freedom to choose teams that will grab the biggest market and implant them into the field though they may not deserve to make it. For the last 10 years people have been calling for changes in college football to make it fairer to the little guys who do not get a chance Instead the wanted change could come in the sport which already had a fair process in deciding a national champion.