Catching Up

As I've been gone for over a week a lot has happened in the world of sports so here are some quick stories to get me up to date:

Strasburg Dazzles in First Major League Starts
Stephen Strasburg made his highly anticipated MLB debut on June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and put together a performance that left Nationals' fans excited more than ever about their young franchise. He pitched 7 innings allowing only 4 hits and striking out 14. In his second start against Cleveland on Sunday, he put together what many analysts consider to be an even more impressive outing. Strasburg battled a hostile crowd and a disintegrating pitcher's mound for 8 strikeouts and 2 hits in over 5 innings. The Nationals may have something really special in this kid and they need to start building around him. Excitement in the team has not been this high since they moved to Washington from Montreal, and it won't last forever. If the Nationals hope to build on the current interest, they will have to build a team around Strasburg sooner rather than later.

Nationals Select Harper with Top Overall Pick in the Draft
With all the excitement over Strasburg, it is easy to forget that there are other things happening in baseball, but the draft did take place the Nationals hope they have just taken another step forward by selecting Bryce Harper. Harper is the first junior college player ever selected number one overall in the MLB draft, but his talent and performance last season makes this no real surprise. In 66 games he has hit 98 RBIs and 31 home runs, breaking the previous school record of 12. The league in which he played, the Scenic West Athletic Conference, uses wooden bats so there is no issue of inflated batting stats as you see with players in division one baseball who use aluminum bats. There are questions, however, about Harper's character. Harper was ejected twice in 2010, including during the National Junior College World Series. After being struck out, Harper drew a line in the dirt with his bat indicating where he thought the pitch actually was and was ejected. As this was his second ejection of the year he was suspended for two games and his team lost the series. Many have described Harper as an arrogant jerk and scouts have reported he has a disturbingly high sense of entitlement. Well, that will happen when your parents allow you to get your GED after two years of high school so you can start your professional career sooner and you get drafted number one overall at the age of 17. That's right, 17. Harper may have some growing up to do before he shows up in the Nationals' lineup.

USA Manages a 1-1 Draw with Favored England
USA opened up the 2010 World Cup with their highly anticipated game against England on Saturday and managed an impressive 1-1 draw. England always comes into the World Cup with high expectations and talent to match, but remain dreadfully inconsistent in international play (they failed to qualify for the last Euro Cup). USA came into the tournament with high hopes after an impressive second place finish in the Confederation's Cup a year ago, but also with the cloud of the last World Cup's terrible finish (0-2-1, including a loss to Ghana) and the daunting task of facing England to start. Four minutes in, England embarrassed the US team with a goal from captain Steven Garrard which made the defense look outmatched, unprepared, and just plain sloppy. The US really picked things up after that and matched England step for step. What many no doubt remember from this game, is goalie Robert Green's failure to corrale Clint Dempsy's innocent shot which tied the game at 1. Most would say the US was lucky to walk away with a tie, but after England's quick start, the US looked much better and even had the better chances. Late in the second half, Jozy Altidore burned England's defensemen and banged a shot off the post that would have given the Yanks the lead. Tim Howard, who was just cleared to play in Friday's game against Slovenia, looked very solid in net and US looked every bit England's equal late in the game.

What is important now is for USA not to have any feelings of "mission accomplished." True, they walked away with a point against the best team in their group, but the pressure is on after Slovenia's win over Algeria. In the last World Cup, the US managed to tie eventual champion Italy 1-1, but then lost to Ghana 2-1 in a game that could have earned them a spot in the second round. A 1-1 draw against England means little if the USA cannot follow up against Slovenia and Algeria.

College Shake Ups
When I left, there was talk of Big 10 expansion. When I came back, all of the sudden college conferences seemed to be breaking at the seams. While there seems to be a new story everyday, here is what has happened so far: Colorado is leaving the Big 12 for the Pac 10, Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 for the Big 10, and Boise State is leaving the WAC for the Mountain West. The Texas shakeup has been avoided for the time being, keeping Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12. I was surprised by how deep this story went. When I heard the Big 10 extended offers to Nebraska, Notre Dame, Missouri, and Rutgers, the only team I thought would consider the move was Rutgers. I was very surprised not only that Nebraska accepted, but that they did so because most of the conference was considering moving as well. The Big 12 is considered second only to the SEC in college football and I was shocked that so many were considering leaving the conference. Silly me, I forgot what drives all these decisions: money. In the end, the Big 10 Network and the money it brings is what won Nebraska over.

And let's not forget Boise State who has gotten lost in all the speculation over Texas. The Pac 10 really dropped the ball by not getting Boise State. I do not know all the details of how this happened, but if the Pac 10 did not do absolutely everything they could to bring Boise State in, then they messed up. Boise State is a major competitor in college football and seemingly the only thing keeping them out of the National Championship game was their non BCS conference. Boise State would have brought a lot of interest, media coverage, and revenue to a conference who's traditional powerhouse has now been banned from postseason play for 2 years. It may have turned out that the Pac 10 did pursue Boise State and they chose the Mountain West anyway to help out fellow "ignored by the BCS" contenders TCU, BYU, and Utah. If that's the case, then you cannot fault the Pac 10, but this really seemed like a good fit to me and they must be kicking themselves now for not getting it done. What this means for the Mountain West is that they are going to push hard for a BCS bid and no doubt, because the BCS is run by morons, they will be ignored until conference expansion destroys the Big 12 or the Big East. Still, the Mountain West is now poised to become a power conference very soon.

Wizards Win Draft Lottery, Face Choice

Representing the Washington Wizards and her late husband, Irene Pollin's jaw dropped as she discovered the team had won the NBA draft lottery. Despite only a 10.3% chance, the Wizards will now have their choice of stars John Wall and Evan Turner, a good problem to have.

"I think it's the culmination of my husband's dream because he wanted another ring and maybe this will get us another ring," Pollin said. Wall and Turner are widely considered as the top two prospects. Wall played one year for the University of Kentucky and dazzled in his time there averaging 16.9 points per game and 6.4 assist per game. He also plays point guard which is considered the most important position in basketball. Turner is a shooting guard and was perhaps the best college player in the country averaging 20.3 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game at Ohio State. Wall is considered by most as the best pro prospect in the draft and expected to turn into a superstar player, but there is one thing standing in the way, Gilbert Arenas.

Arenas' mere presence continues to hurt the Wizards and now he has turned what looks like a no-brainer into a tough decision. The problem is that Arenas is the Wizards' current point guard. In order to rebuild this team, the Wizards need a starter and a possible star in the making from the draft. This is John Wall. Turner is a great player, but Wall is clear number one choice this draft. If the team is committed to keeping Arenas, as they claim to be, then unfortunately they will consider passing Wall for Turner who can start along side Arenas.

This is just stupid. Arenas has tainted the Wizards for too long and needs to go. They now have the opportunity to bring in a probable star at point guard and they cannot afford to pass that up. I am not down on Turner, but it is agreed among almost all NBA analysts that Wall should be the top pick. This is the team's chance to replace Arenas. They have cap space. With Wall and another superstar free agent pickup, you could see a new team next season. The Arenas era needs to come to an end because it has failed. I trust new owner, Ted Leonsis, who turned the Capitals organization around, to recognize what needs to happen and somehow push Arenas out the door.

As with all NBA stories these days, I also have to mention the possible impact this will have on Lebron's decision. The New Jersey Nets are named as one of the possible destinations for Lebron, but I feel the chances of that are now over. What New Jersey had to offer was a shot by winning the draft, but as they fell to number three I feel that is too low. Most likely the Nets will not get either Wall or Turner and so the appeal of New Jersey has now dropped tremendously. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov will do what he can to stay in the Lebron sweepstakes, but I think New Jersey's stock has now plummeted in Lebron's eyes because of the lottery.

Not Enough for the Redskins

After wrapping up the draft last weekend, the Redskins appear to have achieved a complete transformation from their 2009 team. They now head into the summer with a new general manager, head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, new quarterback, and many new players as they attempt to rebound from a dismal 4-12 season. The Redskins, however, have barley addressed their offensive line. This was by far their biggest weakness from last season and, while they have made some changes, it will take more to fix a line that allowed their quarterback to be hit 97 times and sacked 46 times.

Heading into the offseason, the Redskins seemed committed to changing their ways and developing a team rather than just bringing in big name players. They then proceeded to bring in big name players and ignore the offensive line. To add depth on offense, the Redskins signed running backs Larry Johnson and Willie Parker. This will allow some rushing flexibility for a team that seemed lost whenever Clinton Portis went out with an injury. Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, and Quinton Ganther performed admirably in relief, but just did not provide much of a threat.

Of course the biggest moves came at quarterback. The Redskins looked ready to give Jason Campbell a short leash this season replacing backup Todd Collins with Rex Grossman, but then shocked the NFL with a trade for Donovan McNabb. While many questioned this move, I felt it was a welcome change. Yes, I have always been vocal in my criticism of Campbell, but the move allowed for the Redskins to focus squarely on the offensive line during the draft. Without trading for McNabb, the Redskins most likely would have had to take quarterback Jimmy Clausen with their first round pick. While we know now that Clausen fell considerably in the draft going midway in the second round, it is unlikely the Redskins would have risked losing him. This would mean not getting an lineman until the beginning of the second round, the best of which available was Zane Beadles from Utah, who in his four years at Utah played primarily from a two point stance. This was not a player you could guarantee would be ready to start in the NFL right away. With McNabb, the Redskins were free to draft Trent Williams who will be a starter come week 1 against the Cowboys.

By now, no doubt, you've heard the questions surrounding the decision to take Williams over Russell Okung, who many thought was the safer pick, but Williams made a lot more sense for the scheme Mike Shanahan wants to run. This is not the problem I have. In a recent interview, Chris Foerster, new offensive line coach for the team, gave his projected starting line: LT Trent Williams, LG Derrick Dockery, C Casey Rabach, RG Mike Williams, and RT Artis Hicks. Looking at this lineup have the Redskins really done enough to fix the problems on the offensive line? Trent Williams replaces the now retired Chris Samuels, the best lineman the Redskins had. Artis Hicks comes from Minnesota to take over the right tackle position and Mike Williams is switching over to right guard. Otherwise, we see a very similar offensive line. The Redskins have a rookie playing in place of their best player, a solid lineman from Minnesota, and three starters from last season. Is that really enough?

The offensive line was a huge factor last season, but with McNabb it could prove disastrous. The constant pressure on the quarterback really hurt Campbell's performance. Granted, McNabb is a much better quarterback, but he is also injury prone. Injuries have plagued him his entire career. I may not have liked Campbell, but the man could take a beating. McNabb is more mobile, but he can't take nearly the same pounding Campbell took last season or he'll be out really quickly. Isn't bringing in one seasoned veteran and one rookie starter to replace your best player and to fix the offensive line like trying to fix the Titanic with duct tape? What good is a new offense if you can't protect it? I sure hope Shanahan has a few tricks up his sleeve.

After Months of Nonsense, Time for Crabtree to Prove He's Worth It

On October 7 Michael Crabtree finally agreed to terms with the San Francisco 49ers after a very long holdout. The 49ers have a bye week this week and will then face the Houston Texans. After Crabtree's stubborn negotiations, the game against Houston will be his first chance to prove that he can make an impact on this team and is worth his six-year $32 million contract. While expectations for many rookies are usually low, many expect an immediate impact from Crabtree after his ridiculous holdout.


Heading into the 2009 NFL Draft, the clear top two receivers were Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin from Missouri. When it came time for the number seven Oakland Raiders to make their pick, they shocked fans and NFL analysts by picking Maryland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. Crabtree was later selected 10th overall by San Francisco. Rather than be thankful he avoided Oakland and crazy owner Al Davis, Crabtree seemed to take exception and demanded more money from the 49ers. Many sources close to Crabtree stated that he was willing to sit out the entire 2009 season if the 49ers did not offer him more. Deion Sanders, Crabtree's counselor, told the press he was not in dire need of money and would re-enter the draft next season if need be. Crabtree became the longest hold out in franchise history until October 7 when both parties finally reached an agreement.

The stupidity and selfishness of this situation completely astounds me and highlights a disturbing trend among NFL rookies. Despite never playing a single down in the NFL, Crabtree felt he was worth more than the millions the 49ers offered him and held out reportedly for "seventh pick money" a blatant knock against Heyward-Bey. What Crabtree will make in a single season is enough for most people to live off of their entire lives and yet Crabtree felt the need to hold out for more. The simple fact of the matter is that until you play in the NFL, there is no guarantee that you will have any success. For players to come out of college and demand obscene amounts of money is just unbelievable. What was even more shocking was the fact that Crabtree was willing to sit out this season and re-enter the draft. Some may say he was bluffing to try and force the 49ers' hand, but this seems unlikely as it was not his agent making this threat, but sources close to Crabtree that were coming out and saying this was how he felt. How would that have worked out for him? Crabtree would have enetered next year's draft having sat out a full year and with an enormous red flag hanging over him. He would have been drafted much lower than 10th over all, perhaps as low as in the second round, and his salary would have dropped accordingly. Would it have been worth it? He would have held out for less money and the 49ers, who currently have a 3-2 record without Crabtree, would be free of an overpriced headache.

While we can't say for sure what Crabtree was thinking during all of this, he now has to face the consequences. Yes, he got most of the money he wanted, but he certainly did not make any friends in the 49ers' locker room or within San Francisco's fan base. Despite being a rookie, Crabtree hasn't left himself much leeway for growing time. If he wants to be paid like a superstar and whine like a superstar, he better perform like one before the fans run him out of town. Let's hope other rookies take this lesson to heart as well. I know if someone offered me a few million dollars to play a sport I'd jump at the chance rather than complain about how much other people were getting paid. Sorry kids, but I have no sympathy for you if your $30 million lifestyle has to wait because your team is only offering you $20 million. Maybe you should earn your salary before you begin complaining.