The Colts Draft

Well, I was disappointed in the Colts draft again. The Colts effort this year didn't seem as bad as some of their drafts in the past, but I still don't feel like they filled the holes that needed filling.

I'm not gonna complain about drafting Anthony Gonzalez. I love the guy and I think he will be the perfect fit as the slot receiver in the Colts offense. There is no doubt that the Colts offense struggled at times last year because they didn't have a slot receiver that could exploit the middle of opposing defenses. Dallas Clark is an exceptional tight end who runs great routes, but he just isn't fast enough to do the things that a healthy Brandon Stokely could do. Unfortunately, Stokely has struggled through injuries the last couple of years and the Colts decided to let him go this offseason. Gonzalez looks to be the perfect replacement.

All of that said, I still wish the Colts had drafted Posluszny with their first pick. Paul was available, but the Colts chose to go with Gonzalez. As much as the Colts needed a slot receiver, I felt they needed a linebacker more.

When the Colts made the trade to move up to the 42nd pick I was convinced they were going to take Harris (LB) from Michigan. I was overwhelmed with joy at the thought of having Harris on the team. Then, Polian surprised everybody by taking Tony Ugoh (OL) from Arkansas. I still do not understand this pick. I can only guess that Polian was looking to have a future replacement for Tarik Glenn. I guess its a nice idea to be planning for the future, but I think the Colts had immediate needs that should have been addressed first (linebacker).

I thought Bill Polian did a nice job with his next two picks. Daymeion Hughes (CB) was a good pick. The guy apparently ran a slow 40 time (4.65) which dropped his status considerably for the draft. But, he was an All-American at Cal and is definitely a play maker. The guy has football speed and is always in the right place. Let's not forget that your cornerbacks don't have to be super fast in a Cover 2 scheme. I'm still not convinced that Hayden, Jackson, or Jennings are that great at corner. Hughes gives the Colts another option if the other three don't work out.

The Colts fourth pick was Quinn Pitcock (DT) from Ohio State. I am really happy with this pick. Pitcock was also an All-American last year. Pitcock is a 300 pound run stopping machine. This guy never takes off a play. He ran a 4.93 40 at the combine and I think he was a steal at the 98th pick. He will be a perfect fit in the Colts defensive line rotation, especially if Corey Simon is not able to return to the field this year.

The Colts took Brannon Condren (S) from Troy with their fifth pick. I don't know anything about this guy, but I think it was a good idea to take a safety since Bob Sanders is always hurt.

The Colts took Clint Sessions (LB) from Pitt with their sixth pick. Sessions played both inside and outside linebacker at Pitt during his four year career. I wish the Colts would have taken a LB with a higher pick, but I can't complain about them taking Sessions. The guy logged a lot of playing time in college and I was impressed with him every time I saw him. He ran a 4.7 40 at the combine and this is another guy who has football speed. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets playing time as a rookie. That's not saying much though because he doesn't exactly have too many stellar linebackers in front of him on the depth chart.

The Colts took Roy Hall (WR, Ohio State), Michael Coe (CB, Alabama State), and Keyunta Dawson (DE, Texas Tech) with their last three picks. I can't say much about any of them because I don't know much about them. I watched a lot of Ohio State games the last few years and I don't remember Hall at all. Coe played his first three years at Alabama before transferring to Alabama State to play for his dad, who was coach there. Coe logged a lot of playing time at Alabama before his transfer and he has a lot of speed (4.5). Playing in the SEC probably has him prepared for the NFL. I can't complain about the Colts picking Coe. I know zero about Dawson.

I was disappointed because the Colts didn't take Posluszny or Harris to fill their linebacker needs. But, overall I thought the Colts did pretty well. I still don't understand the Ugoh pick, though.

NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is tomorrow. I won't be watching the draft on TV because I have to work. I don't normally work on Saturday but I volunteered to work this Saturday before I realized it was Draft Day.

I suppose it doesn't really matter, anyway. I already know that the Colts are gonna do something with their first round pick that will piss me off. Most commentators are convinced that the Colts will take Harrell from Tennessee. It wouldn't really make me too mad if they did that, but I would rather see them take a linebacker. Every mock draft I have looked at so far has Paul Posluszny still available when the Colts hit the board. I don't see how they could pass him up if he's still there.

Oh wait. Its the Colts and they always take the best player available even if they don't need anybody at that position. They are in desperate need for a linebacker, cornerback, and defensive lineman. I'm sure they will take a quarterback or an offensive lineman. I agree that they also need a slot receiver, but they shouldn't waste their first pick on one. A couple of the mock drafts I saw had the Colts taking Anthony Gonzalez from Ohio State.

They need to go defense and I think they need to go linebacker first.

UK recruiting news

Alex Legion signed with UK basketball on Tuesday. Alex is Gillespie's first major signing. Legion is a 6'5" Parade All-American guard who averaged 20 points a game last year at Oak Hill Academy. He shot 41 percent from 3 point range and 85 percent from the free throw line. And, he had a 3.8 grade point average!

I think signing Legion signals that Gillespie has given up on signing Jai Lucas.

Kentucky reportedly is in the final three now for recruit Mike Sanchez. UK is competing with Arkansas and Wake Forest for Sanchez.

Pettigrew has apparently decided to sign with either Western Kentucky or Xavier. WKU is reportedly the favorite. I still think UK should have offered him a scholarship.

Pacers make another personnel mistake!

Well, the Pacers fired Rick Carlisle yesterday.

I found this to be very disappointing. I do not feel like Rick was the problem. Carlisle did the best he could with the players he was given. If anybody should have been let go, it should have been Larry Bird. Everybody in the Pacers organization is saying that Carlisle had trouble communicating with the players but I don't remember hearing any complaints about him when he won 61 games with a more cohesive and talented roster a few years ago. The problem with the Pacers wasn't the coach. The problem with the Pacers was that management got rid of the wrong players.

There is a rumor going around that Jermaine Oneal is next. I'm not much of an Oneal fan. In fact, I think he is highly overrated. I wouldn't be sorry to see him go. If the rumor is true, Jermaine could be headed to the Lakers to join Kobe. I think that could be fun to watch because Jermaine always seemed to be jealous of the attention Ron Artest got when he was a Pacer. I can only imagine what Jermaine would be like if he had to play second fiddle to Kobe.

Soccer update

My 8 year old daughter scored one goal in a 7-4 loss on Saturday and scored 3 goals in a 7-3 victory on Sunday. I know I am biased, but I think she is the best girl in the U-8 coed league. There are a lot of girls who show some real talent in the league and I can't wait to see what these girls can accomplish when they get to high school.

I am very impressed with the youth soccer league here. I grew up playing soccer in the 80's and I have to say that the youth leagues are much more impressive now than they used to be. I think it is because there are a lot more coaches with actual soccer playing backgrounds now.

UK recruiting news

Well, it appears that Billy Gillespie has missed the boat on Steffphon Pettigrew and DeAndre Jordan.

Apparently Gillespie didn't want to commit to offering Pettigrew a scholarship until after some of the more highly sought after recruits made up their minds whether they were interested in UK. As a result, it looks like Pettigrew has made up his mind to play basketball elsewhere. I understand that Gillespie is nervous offering a scholarship to a 6'5" low post player, but I think it was a mistake to not go after Pettigrew.

DeAndre Jordan has announced that he will be staying at Texas A & M. He made his decision after meeting with new Aggie coach Mark Turgeon last week.

It appears that Gillespie is putting all his eggs in one basket by attempting to sign Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas. I personally will be surprised if either of these two go to UK, especially after the mass departure to the NBA of all the players from Florida. I would imagine that Billy Donovan is now concentrating heavily on both of these guys. I'll give credit to Gillespie for trying. It is being reported that Gillespie told Patterson that he would be the main offensive threat if he attends UK. Gillespie reportedly also told Patterson that he would average 16-20 shots his freshman year at UK. I don't think those numbers are far fetched because Kentucky doesn't have anybody else on the roster to take the low post shots next year.

Gillespie also seems to be going after prized recruit Alex Legion. Legion had originally signed a letter of intent to play at Michigan, but the school has released him from his commitment. Alex is a Parade All-American who is also being recruited by Kansas, UCLA, and Uconn.

UK may also be interested in Springdale, ARK, forward Mike Sanchez. Sanchez is also considering Texas A & M and Arkansas.

In the state of Kentucky, Billy Gillespie has told Mason County coach Chris O'Hearn that UK is seriously interested in junior Darius Miller. Miller is a 6'7" swing man. Also, Pleasure Ridge Park's Kerry Benson has announced that he has accepted an offer to walk on at Kentucky next year. Benson is a 6'6" forward who averaged 15.5 points and and 8.1 rebounds in his senior season. It is being reported that Kerry turned down scholarship offers from Iona and Morehead State.

Stern Sucks, and so does the NBA!

Well, the Reds aren't in first place anymore. If they don't start hitting the ball they won't be in first place ever again.

If David Stern is smart (which I don't think he is) he will never let Joey Crawford officiate an NBA game again. Joey is the worst sports referee I have ever seen. I used to think Joey was just biased against certain teams, but I've finally come to the conclusion that Joey has to be a gambler. He has to have money riding on the games he is officiating. There is no other way to explain the calls that idiot makes, or doesn't make depending on the circumstances.

I also think that Dick Bevatta (sp?) and Steve Jaffe (sp?) are gambling men. Those three guys are the only three refs I can name off the top of my head in the NBA. I've always said that when a game is over you shouldn't have any idea who the refs were. If you noticed who was reffing the game, then they were probably doing a poor job. Like I said, those are the only three guys I can name off the top of my head. I can name them because they always do a piss poor job.

It doesn't matter anyway. I'm convinced that the NBA is no longer a sport. The NBA is now just "entertainment." I put the NBA in the same category I put the WWF. Its fun to watch occasionally, but I just can't take it serious anymore. David Stern is a joke and he has made the league a joke. Stern rode on the coattails of Bird, Magic, and Jordan. He got all the credit for growing the league, but now that the popular superstars are gone the TV ratings are slumping. Today's poll on ESPN.com showed that 78% of the people who watched NBA games thought that the refs had too much control over the outcome of the game. WOW! 78% of people think that the refs decide who wins or loses NBA games. That's a problem. That is what David Stern has created.

I think Stern created this problem on purpose. He thought that if he had the refs give the league's stars the benefit of all the calls, then those same stars would put up phenomenal statistics as a result of the unfair advantage. If those stars could put up numbers equivalent to Bird, Magic, and Jordan then Stern thought the fans would worship the stars the same as they did Jordan, Bird, and Magic. In Stern's mind, I think he thought the popularity of the league would continue as it had in the 80's if only the league had stars like it did in the 80's. King David wasn't apparently smart enough to realize that true sports fans want to see their teams win, but they also want to see a fair competition. And let's face it, there isn't a player in the league today with the personality of Bird, Magic, or Jordan.

So, if the fans don't like the majority of the players, and 78% of the fans think the games are fixed, what do you think is gonna happen? TV ratings are gonna drop.

If TV ratings drop what do you think is gonna happen? NBA games will start losing sponsors.

If NBA games lose all their sponsors what do you think is gonna happen? TV networks will quit showing games.

If TV networks stop showing NBA games what do you think is gonna happen? The league will die.

If your still an NBA fan you can thank David Stern for the death of your league.

Reds still in first place

The Reds haven't looked that great, but they are still in first place.

Adam Dunn is the exception. He is absolutely on fire. He has 4 home runs, and leads the team with a .353 batting average after 10 games. In fact, Dunn leads the team in every major offensive category except stolen bases. Josh Hamilton also has made the most of his playing time. Josh already has 2 home runs and 5 RBI's in only 13 at bats. I think Narron is going to have to give Josh some more playing time. The pitching staff has looked pretty good at times with Matt Belisle performing above expectations so far.

None of the other players are performing that well yet, but the Reds are still winning more than anybody else in the Central.

UK basketball update

The Lexington Herald is reporting that Texas A & M signee DeAndre Jordan will wait and see what A & M's new coaching staff looks like before deciding whether he will still honor his letter of intent with the school. Jordan's high school coach says that DeAndre still plans on attending A & M. But, DeAndre has not said that publicly.

Billy Gillespie has invited Steffphon Pettigrew to workout with the UK basketball team next week. All indications are that if Pettigrew performs well in the workout that Gillespie will offer him a scholarship. Unfortunately, Pettigrew doesn't seem to excited about the offer and may be leaning toward not attending the workout. Steffphon has said that his mother is advising him to choose between the schools who have already made offers to him.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Well, it looks like the Duke Lacrosse case is over. Or is it?

Those of you who know me, know how much I hate Duke University. But, I thought from day one that the lacrosse players were innocent. I have been totally appalled at how this whole thing was handled by the police, the prosecutor's office, Duke University, and by the media. These boys were convicted by everybody before they even went to trial. I am damn glad that I was not in their shoes. I can't even begin to imagine what they have gone through and what they will have to endure for the rest of their lives.

Mike Nifong should not only be disbarred, he should be criminally prosecuted. I hope that the families of these wrongfully persecuted boys sue him for everything he has. The man should spend the rest of his life in shame and poverty (after he gets out of jail).

I can't believe that the State of North Carolina isn't planning on pressing charges against the accuser. I'm sure she has mental problems, but given her criminal history and her history of lying to police I think she deserves to be prosecuted. She has ruined the lives of three young men. In my opinion she should have to serve the same prison sentence that these young men would have faced if they were convicted of the crimes she accused them of committing. At the very least she should be prosecuted for the original public intoxication charge that she was facing before she concocted this fabulous story. It is quite obvious to me that she made up the story to avoid being arrested.

Let's not forget that this woman had previously accused three other men of raping her in 1993. She also accused her ex-husband of trying to kill her in 1998 and then failed to show up in court when the case went to trial. Those charges were dropped against her ex-husband becuase of her failure to appear. In 2002 she stole a taxi cab and led police on a high speed chase. She then tried to run over a police officer with the taxi cab and instead hit his patrol car. In the end, the accuser had racked up 10 charges, including driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license (her license has been suspended three times), eluding police, reckless driving, failure to heed a siren and lights, assault on an officer and larceny of a motor vehicle. In 2003, she pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors: larceny, speeding to elude arrest, assault on a government official and DWI. She served three weekends in jail, was placed on two years' probation and paid $4,200 in restitution and court fees. That's it. That's all she got. If they let her go again without any charges being filed I think it will just be a matter of time before she does something heinous again.

I also hope that the families of the Duke players sue Duke University. The University clearly found these players guilty before they heard all the evidence. They kicked them out of school, canceled the lacrosse season, and fired the lacrosse coach. They did all of this without any reasonable evidence that a crime had been committed. I feel that the president of Duke University should issue an apology and then resign. The Duke faculty that persecuted these boys should also be held accountable.

I'm not even going to comment on the things that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson did and said related to this case. I'm just going to say that I feel both of these gentlemen should issue public apologies. I doubt very much that this will happen, though. I don't think either of these men really care about innocent people being persecuted. I think they only care about the personal publicity that they can gain by showing up and running their mouths.

Whatever happened to being innocent until proven guilty?

UK recruiting news

Steffphon Pettigrew was named Mr. Basketball for the State of Kentucky and apparently Billy Gillespie has taken notice. The Lexington Herald is reporting that Jeremy Cox (who was an assistant under Gillespie at A&M) has contacted Pettigrew on behalf of UK. This would make it appear that Gillespie has brought Cox with him to UK and that Gillespie is interested in Pettigrew.

The Herald is also reporting that Gillespie has recieved a commitment from G.J. Vilarino. Vilarino is a 6'1" point guard from McKinney, Texas. He averaged 20.5 points and 4.5 assists last season while in high school.

Internet reports suggest Gillispie hit the recruiting ground running. He's offered a scholarship to Shawn Williams, a 6-foot-6 sophomore swingman from Duncanville, Texas, and made contact with Willie Warren, a 6-2 junior shooting guard from Fort Worth, Texas. The Prep Stars recruiting service rated Warren at No. 33 nationally in the high school junior class and Williams at No. 21 in the sophomore class.

It is also being reported that Gillespie has contacted Jai Lucas and plans on contacting Patrick Patterson. It looks like Billy is doing a pretty good job so far.

Pelphrey to Arkansas

It is being reported by Andy Katz that Arkansas has hired John Pelphrey to be the new head basketball coach for the Razorbacks. I think this could be a very good hire for Arkansas. I thought the same thing years ago when Florida hired Billy Donovan. Let's hope that UK doesn't regret passing on Pelphrey. Let's also hope that Pelphrey doesn't recruit Kentucky better than Gillespie does.

I wish the best for John at Arkansas. I just hope he never beats Kentucky. If John is successful at Arkansas, I would think that job would be a pretty good boost for his resume should the UK job come open in the next 5-10 years.

Gillespie is the man

Its official. Billy Gillespie has been named the head men's basketball coach at UK.

I hadn't been too excited about Gillespie until I did some further research on the guy this morning. After reading about his history I have to say that Mitch hiring him does make some sense. Gillespie doesn't have a long proven track record, but he does have a history of turning programs around rather quickly. He was also the primary guy responsible for the recruiting that made Bill Self successful at Illinois.

Also of note, I found a story this morning that stated that DeAndre Jordan would consider following Gillespie to another school if he left A & M. I'm not saying it is gonna happen, but it does appear to be a possibility.

I say we all give Gillespie 4 or 5 years to see what he can do. If he isn't successful after 5 years, then I think Kentucky should take a hard look at Travis Ford or John Pelphrey. I'm hoping that Gillespie is successful and it doesn't come to that.

Maybe I was wrong!

I just received an email that said Billy Gillespie could be named the new UK basketball coach as early as tomorrow. I'm not sure this is a good hire, but I'd rather have him than Few, Crean, or Thompson III. Mitch just better hope that Gillespie does something quick before the fans and alumni turn sour on them both.

If Gillespie is named coach, he better hope he can land either Patterson or Lucas. He's gonna need all the help he can get. I also wonder if there will be any chance that DeAndre Jordan (who has verbally committed to A & M) will possibly follow Gillespie to Kentucky. UK had previously offered Jordan a scholarship but he turned it down. Jordan is from Houston and is rated as one of the top high school big men in the country. He was also offered a scholarship at Kansas, Florida, Indiana, Texas, and LSU. I would be ecstatic if Gillespie could deliver Patterson, Lucas, and Jordan.

For the record, I'm predicting that Tennessee will win the SEC next year in basketball. You heard it here first.

Kentucky's list just got shorter

The list of potential candidates for the open head coaching position for men's basketball at the University of Kentucky got noticeably shorter today. Billy Donovan announced that he is staying at Florida and Rick Barnes announced he is staying at Texas. The only recognizable names that are still being mentioned are Tom Izzo, Tom Crean, Mark Few, Billy Gillespie, Mike Brey, and John Thompson III. I'm sure there are some other coaches being considered, but nobody else's name seems to be getting any public mention. Mitch's job just got harder.

I still think that Mitch is going to offer the job to Mark Few or Tom Crean. I'm also sure that he will take considerable heat from the fans and alumni if he hires either one of them. John Thompson III will also never be a fan favorite and his selection would also cause Mitch some trouble. If Mitch were to choose Brey or Gillespie he would have to hope they could produce wins in a hurry because neither one of them would be as popular with the fans as Few or Crean. This would leave Izzo as the only choice among the previously mentioned candidates (in my opinion) that the fans and alumni would accept as a worthy replacement for Tubby. I'm just not sure Izzo would want the job. So, where does that leave Mitch?

Well, in my opinion the safest hire for Mitch would be Travis Ford or John Pelphrey. I'm not sure either one is ready for this big of a job, but I think the fans and alumni would happily accept either one. I just wonder how long the fans would be willing to wait for either one to return Kentucky to glory, so to speak. The bigger question is whether either one would accept the job if it was offered.

RIP

I was saddened today to read of the passing of Darryl Stingley. For those who don't remember, Darryl was the wide receiver for the Patriots who was paralyzed in a 1978 preseason game against the Raiders.

1978 was the first year that I played organized football as a child. We didn't wear pads and it was flag football. But, the Darryl Stingley injury still affected me and I never forgot what happened to Darryl.

I played tight end in high school and I often found myself going over the middle to catch passes. I never got seriously hurt, but I did break my collarbone once when I went up to catch a pass and had my feet taken out from under me while I was in the air. I landed hard on my head and left shoulder. I still remember laying on the field, looking up at the night sky, and feeling a numb sensation in my shoulder. I also remember moving my fingers and toes as I lay there just to make sure that I wasn't paralyzed. I didn't think about Darryl at that specific moment, but I did think about him later that night as I was having the x-rays taken at the hospital. I got up after that hit and went back to the huddle. I finished the game that night and I didn't think I was seriously hurt until after I took off my pads in the locker room and saw the swelling in the mirror. The worst part of the story was that we were playing a preseason intrasquad game and the guy who hit me was a friend of mine. You might recognize his name if I told you who it was because he went on to play for several years in the NFL. I'm not going to tell you so you'll just have to guess.

Anyway, enough about me. Darryl was a good guy who got hurt playing the game he loved. It could happen to anybody and it was a sobering reminder of how dangerous the game of football can be. I followed Darryl's story over the years and was amazed at all he accomplished after his injury. Darryl will be in my prayers tonight and I hope he will be in yours as well. RIP, Darryl.

Colts lose another

The Colts let another defender leave. This time it was Mike Doss to the Vikings. I guess they felt they offset this loss by signing offensive lineman Rick Demulling. The last time I checked the Colts defense was pretty bad and their offensive line was pretty good. I guess it made sense to someone to sign players to improve the offense since the defense doesn't need any help. Duh!

So far, so good for Adam Dunn. Adam has been working with new hitting coach Brook Jacoby this year to try to cut down on his strikeouts. Most people thought this would also cut down on Adam's power production. In case you missed the game yesterday, Adam hit two powerful home runs off of Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Griffey also looked good going 2 for 3 with a walk. The Cubs played Griffey as a dead pull hitter and both of his hits went to left field. Its only one game, but it looks like Jacoby may be making a difference.

Aaron Harang also had a good day. Its usually hit or miss with Harang (get it?) and yesterday was a good performance for him.

Don't look now, but the Reds are in first place!

Lickliter to Iowa

It was announced yesterday that Butler coach (and current coach of the year in the NCAA) has been named the new head coach at Iowa.

I'm not going to give this too much attention, but I think this was a great hire for Iowa. I'm just not too sure why Lickliter took this job. Todd is originally from Indianapolis, is a Butler graduate, and a former player for the Bulldogs. He was just named the "NABC Coach of the Year," and he goes to Iowa?

Given the recent history of both programs I'm not even sure you can call this a lateral move. I would have thought that the "Coach of the Year" honors would have moved Todd up the list for some bigger jobs. When I say bigger, I mean something a little more prestigious than Iowa. I'm not saying Todd Lickliter was in line for the Kentucky job, but I think he would have more deserving of the UK job than some of the potential names I have heard mentioned. I think this is a huge hire for Iowa and their Athletic Director deserves a pat on the back. I didn't see this coming in a million years.

Iowa must have offered Lickliter a ton of money and a sweet contract. Either that, or Todd really likes cornfields.

Actually I think Iowa is a pretty state. I travel through Iowa every summer and I've often said that Iowa seems like it would be a nice place to live. I wish Todd Lickliter the best and I hope he finds what he was looking for.