Cody Groth: The Sports Sage

2012 NBA Preview

2011-12-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

Atlanta:

Replaced Jamal Crawford with Jerry Stackhouse and T-Mac. In 2011, that’s not a good thing. They’ve got some depth as long as Jeff Teague can play the way he did in the playoffs last year. Unless they trade Josh Smith for pennies on the dollar, (J-Smoov is owed $25.6 million over the next two years of his contract and doesn’t leave much cap wiggle room for Atlanta) I say ATL is still a top team in the East.

Boston:

Traded Big Baby for Brandon Bass and lost Jeff Green for the year. They’ll be good but might struggle in the regular season with so many games. Interesting to note that the Celts lead the league in salary this year ($88 mill) but are only on the books for $34 mill next year. So, this could be it for Boston unless they re-sign Garnett/Allen/Green/Bass.

Charlotte:

They’re tanking. And that’s all you need to know. Cap hit this year: $52 mill. Next year: $40. They have a lot of wiggle room with the cap but expect them to move their highest paid guy (Maggette) as an amnesty next year to go after 2 big time free agents. A lot of assets on the team, but most are only as role players so drafting well next year and getting those free agents will be huge.

Chicago:

I’m biased and that should be known. I think the Bulls can be very good this year. They go 10 deep and if Jimmy Butler can turn out to be a good pick out of Marquette, they could go 11 deep. My guess is a top-3 seed but it all depends on health. Getting Rip was a very good move for them. I actually said they should do that last summer on this blog…I wonder if Paxson reads this blog…

Cleveland:

They suck. What else do you want to know? Antawn Jamison is an expiring contract and expect him to be bought out and move to a team that needs a four man who can score off the bench. Otherwise, not much to see here other than my boy Ramon Sessions!

Dallas:

Apparently Lamar Odom will play SF for them…not sure how well that will work as Marion was a big part of the team last year with his wing defense. Vince Carter sucks but they still have Jason Terry. Anyway you look at it, this team is not deep but is still good. Expect them to go with a closing line-up of Dirk/Odom/Marion/Terry/Kidd to give other teams with old-school centers a match-up problem.

Denver:

Got screwed with 3 potential starters getting stuck in China. They still have talent but lose a lot of depth without those guys. I actually am one of the few who think Afflalo was overpaid. I think he’s good, but not sure he’s worth that much money. Same with Nene, who’s going to get $13 million for the next five years. They could still be good because of how many assests they have but would need to pull off a trade for a PF who can score (Scola? Pau?).

Detroit:

Why did Prince re-sign with this team? And why did Stuckey? Nothing about this team looks good. They’re a shitty mix of old and young that really doesn’t work well. Brandon Knight will probably be good down the line but when will he play in a backcourt that has Stuckey/Ben Gordon/Will Bynum?

Golden State:

Warriors have talent and can score but aren’t very deep and have a rookie coach. Hard to gage them, but they’ll definitely need a lot out of rookie Klay Thompson as a back-up to Curry and Ellis. Otherwise, those two will have to play a lot. I’m also not sold on their front court as they try to become more defensive minded…

Houston:

Wow. This team could be bad. Or they could get an 8 seed. Hard to know what will happen with them but know that they have a lot of cap wiggle space starting next year when K-Mart becomes an expiring contract worth $13 million. This team could easily be 7-8 new players by this time next year. No real depth, no stars. Not a good combo. But, they have assets (including cap space) to make a trade (Pau?!?!?) and get the team moving towards signing a big time player in free agency. Dalembert is just a fill-in until they make a run at someone this summer…whomever that may be.

Indiana:

This is my surprise team of the year...and apparently everyone else’s as well. They aren’t too deep, but they could be good. A good starting 5, and they have 3 former starters coming off the bench (Dahntay Jones/George Hill/Hansbrough) and that gives them a good 8-man rotation come playoff time. IF David West can be healthy and come back to form of his all-star days, that would be huge for this team. They need a second establish scorer to go with Granger. Watch out, this team could be a top-4 seed if Hibbert turns into a 20-10 guy.

LA Clippers:

My boys, Trey and Trav, need to make the team so I can get some free tickets! Haha. Trey will make it because they’re short on bigs but not sure about Trav. Anyways, on to the talk of the NBA and the acquisition of Chris Paul. To me, this helps them more next year, when they can get a vet player for mid-level, because right now they are thin at the big spots. They really only have 4 bigs unless you count Ryan Gomes as a 4. They are deep on the wings though. They have CP3/Billups/Mo Williams/Eric Bledsoe/Randy Foye/Caron Butler. That’s six players for 3 spots. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them (most likely Foye or Williams) is traded for a veteran big.

LA Lakers:

They really, really should have amnestied Ron Artest. He’s still owed $22 mill over the next 3 years. A lot for a player past his prime and coming off the bench. Or amnesty Walton, who’s owed $12 mill over the next two years and he probably wont even play! Anyways, losing Odom hurts, but they made some good little pick-ups: Josh McRoberts, a young guy who can get you 10 ppg. Troy Murphy, a big who can spread the floor for Kobe to work. Jason Kapono, a sharp-shooter who can spread the floor. Those guys are minor pick-ups but they will all be able to contribute 10-20 minutes a night and score. With that said, they still need Devin Ebanks to step up and make plays and, hopefully for them, become the starter at the 3. He’s their X-factor.

Memphis:

This was a team with a great playoff push and return essentially the same team. The only difference is no Battier and Rudy Gay is back. I like this team but they are really cash strapped and have a big cap number. Randolph ($71 mill over 4 years), Gay ($69 mill over 4 years), Gasol ($58 mill over 4 years) and Conley ($36 mill over 5 years). So, in case you’re wondering, that means in 2014-15, those four will have a cap hit of approximately $64 mill. That’s insane. The one thing I hate is how people keep saying they have depth. What depth?!?! Darrell Arthur is injured and they want to trade OJ Mayo. THAT’S THEIR ENTIRE BENCH!!!!! People need to actually look at who the back-ups are this year and they’ll realize that the team isn’t very good off the bench.

Miami:

Obviously, they’re going to be great. Very hard to beat. Thier bench now includes: Battier, Mike Miller, Haslem, and James Jones. Nothing too great, but remember, last year they didn’t have Battier and Miller and Haslem were injured most of the year. So, with good health, no reason they can’t be the number 1 team. The most important player? Chalmers. He needs to become more valuable, otherwise, expect them to go w/ Battier and Wade at the guard positions down the stretch.

Milwaukee:

Not a lot to like about this team. I fully expect Skiles to get fired as they find their way to one of the worst records. They have some good assests, like Bogut and Jennings and Stephen Jackson, but really don’t have a very good team. Drew Gooden and beno Udrih are both overpaid. I think they can trade some players and try to build around Jennings, but it’ll mean trading Bogut to dump the dead weight.

Minnesota:

Not sure what to make of this team. They aren’t good, but have some talent. They could surprise some people just because they go 11 deep (not really a good thing in this case) and should get some teams on back-to-back when at home. Biggest thing for them is that every player is on a very tradable contract which could lend itself to a trade for a good player to team at center with Kevin Love.

New Jersey:

Their cap space is INCREDIBLE!! Only two guys are getting paid above $4 mill (Deron Williams and Kris Humphries) and no one, I repeat, NO ONE is signed past next season! This has all the makings of a Dwight and Deron next year and an average FA the following year. Could be kinda like what the Knicks have done (Amare then Melo, then Chandler this off-season). They’ll struggle this year (leading to a top-8 pick) and need to re-sign Brook Lopez at some point but the future look bright for Brooklyn! With the recent Lopez injury, expect Deron to suffer an “injury” and New Jersey to try and get a top-5 pick.

New Orleans:

Not a deep team but have a decent starting five. They’ll go Jarrett Jack, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor, Chris Kaman with Aminu and Carl Landry coming off the bench. Don’t be surprised if they trade Kaman and Landry for picks or young players. Both are in the last year of their deal and it’s unlikely they’d come back, especially Kaman who could go a lot of places like replace Dwight in Orlando.

New York:

They only have 3 players getting paid more than $1.7 million. Kind of crazy. Not sure what’s going to happen with their point guard position but that’s this team’s X-factor. If Baron Davis can be 80% of 2007 Davis? Whoa! Otherwise, not much of a bench, so a lot will be expected out of rookie Iman Shumpert. I like the team but they will wear down as they’ll show the problem with teaming up w/ your buddies when there is no one on the team to back you up when you come off the bench. Amare will get WAY worn down during the year.

Oklahoma City:

This is the same team that looked real good last year. And all of their rotation players are signed through next year…Wow. I mean, Nick Collison, a solid back-up, is due $11 million over the next 4 years. Serge Ibaka, $7 million over the next 3 years. James Harden $18 million over the next 3 years. Well, you get the point. A lot of good contracts for a lot of good players. They’re going to be around for a loooong time.

Orlando:

Aparently they have Larry Hughes…who knew Larry Hughes was still alive?? Anyways, just as puzzling is what happens to this team this year. Do they play good w/ and w/o Dwight (like Denver last year). Or bad w/ Dwight and good w/o (Dwight being a cancer). Or good w/ Dwight and bad w/o (see: Cavaliers, Cleveland). They’re still a good team and if they get a replaceable center for Dwight, they’re still a playoff team. Also, with Gilbert amnestied, expect any team trading for Dwight to have to take Hedo and his $32 mill over 3 years contract. And with Gilbert/Hedo/Dwight off their books, they’ll have a real good chance to turn the team around with great cap space.

Philadelphia:

This team has some talent. May not be a big player in the playoffs, but they should be a playoff team. Cap situation isn’t too good but Elton Brand comes off the books after next year. But, for this season, on their bench they have Evan turner, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and Marreese Speights. That’s a pretty good bench. If Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks can progress, watch out, this team could surprise as a 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs.

Phoenix:

I don’t really like this team. They just seem to not be good anywhere. Nash is in his last year of a deal and the team has a lot of cap space next year, so, this could become a rebuilding project quick if they struggle. The positive? No real bad contracts and a couple of good ones, like Dudley ($21 mill over the next 5 years)

Portland:

This is a tough one for me. They have a real good lineup and a real good bench. But how good will they actually be? There is reason to believe they could get the #1 seed but I don’t buy it. They have a lot of nice pieces, A LOT, but only really have one reliable offensive player down the stretch and that’s Aldridge. Jamal Crawford could be the second guy but that means he’d be playing point at the end of games and that’s not a good thing.

Sacramento:

Has a team ever tried more to be bad? I do not understand how they are trying to build this team. Tyreke and Jimmer like to shoot. A lot. And now they share a backcourt. They’re undersized in the post…and go out and sign a 6’6 center in Chuck Hayes. To sum up, I don’t get it. They’re going to suck and will for a few more years.

San Antonio:

I like this team, but, at the same time, I don’t. No bench and for an old team, that’s rough. I’m honestly not sure who the 6^th best player on this team is…I mean, is Tiago Splitter any good? Will Kawhi Leonard be good? James Anderson? TJ Ford? They may want to trade Tony Parker simply so they can get 2-3 pieces back that can actually help this team.

Toronto:

The Sacramento of the East...only worse. They got a lot of players who like to shoot the ball. They got…a lot of players…and none of them are really any good. I mean, their center, Bargnani, who is seven feet tall by the way, averaged of 5 rebounds last year! YES, FIVE! And he averaged 35 minutes a game! That’s one rebound every 7 minutes of play!!!! I could do that!!! Ok, enough with Toronto…

Utah:

This team has pieces. They really do. The problem, that’s all they’ve got. Pieces. So, until those pieces mature into real players, they’re going to struggle. Expect Al Jefferson to get moved this year. He only has one year left after this year and the Jazz want to go with Kanter and Favors inside. Also, I like Alec Burks, the rookie, a lot.

Washington:

Oof. What a rough looking team. John Wall may want to request a trade…and soon. Look at this team and tell me what they actually have, assets wise? I don’t know if I’d trade for anyone other than Wall. Maybe Jordan Crawford and maybe Nick Young. But how do we know those guys don’t just put up numbers for bad teams? I mean, the Wiz are going to score 95 points a night and lose every night, so somebody’s gotta score. It doesn’t mean that somebody is good though. Pretty easy to score when you’re down 25 entering the fourth quarter.

2 TRADES THAT NEED TO HAPPEN:

1) Dwight/Hedo for Bynum/Ebanks/McRoberts/two-firsts. The magic need to do it because it gets Hedo off the books and Dwight is not coming back. And the 3 guys they get back? All young, and all could start for them in their post-Dwight era. The Lake Show gets a star center and slot Hedo into their aging 3-man rotation at the 3 spot with Barnes and Mr. World Peace.

2) Steve Nash/Josh Childress/Channing Frye to Portland for Marcus Camby/Ray Felton/Greg Oden. This gives Phoenix expiring contracts of decent players they can try to resign if they’d like. Also, it gets Childress and Frye off their cap because their contracts SUCK! Biggest reason to do it though, a chance to resurrect the career of Greg Oden. Image what that medical staff could do! For Portland, it’s obvious, you get Nash. He leads this team all the way to the Championship. And yes, I think they could get there with this trade. Plus, Frye can be a player for them spreading the floor. Just think about the deal. It’s a doozy.

Here’s How I See It:

East

1 – Heat

2 – Bulls

3 – Pacers

4 – Knicks

5 – Magic

6 – Hawks

7 – Celtics

8 – Philly

West

1 – Thunder

2 – Portland

3 – Clippers

4 – Dallas

5 – Memphis

6 – Lakers

7 – Spurs

8 – Denver

I say Bulls and Heat in East finals with Bulls winning. Then, heat will sign a good pg in the offseason and they’ll win about 4 straight. I see Thunder over the Clippers in the West Finals. Thunder have a better constructed team than the Clippers. Then, Thunder over Bulls in the Finals. Kills me to say it, but not sure the Bulls can score with them.

Ranking the NFL Quarterbacks

2011-09-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here are my rankings of the NFL quarterbacks. We'll use 36 so we can add Carson Palmer/Peyton Manning/David Garrard/Vince Young

1) Tom Brady
2) Peyton Manning
3) Aaron Rodgers
4) Drew Brees
5) Ben Roethlisberger
6) Philip Rivers
7) Mike Vick
8) Eli Manning
9) Tony Romo
10) Matt Ryan
11) Joe Flacco
12) Jay Cutler
13) Kyle Orton
14) Carson Palmer
15) Matt Hasselback
16) David Garrard
17) Mark Sanchez
18) Matt Schaub (zero playoffs experience)
19) Matt Cassel
20) Josh Freeman
21) Kerry Collins
22) Ryan Fitzpatrick
23) Mathew Stafford
24) Sam Bradford
25) Vince Young
26) Jason Campbell
27) Kevin Kolb
28) Chad Henne
29) Colt McCoy
30) Donovan McNabb
31) Tarvaris Jackson
32) Rex Grossman (only because he led a team to the super bowl, otherwise, 37th)
33) Cam Newton
34) Andy Dalton
35) Luke McCown
36) Alex Smith

8-20 are pretty bunched for me. Not a huge difference between them. I based this mostly off the past but somewhat off current play.

NFL Picks 2011 season

2011-09-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

AFC East:
Patriots -- 12-4
Jets -- 11-5*
Bills -- 7-9
Dolphins -- 6-10

AFC North:
Ravens -- 12-4
Steelers -- 10-6
Browns -- 9-7
Bengals -- 4-12

AFC South:
Titans -- 9-7
Jaguars -- 9-7
Texans -- 8-8
Colts -- 5-11

AFC West:
Broncos -- 10-6
Chargers -- 10-6*
Chiefs -- 7-9
Raiders -- 3-13

Jets over Titans / Chargers over Broncos
Ravens over Jets / Patriots over Chargers
Patriots over Ravens

NFC East:
Eagles -- 10-6
Giants -- 9-7*
Cowboys -- 9-7
Redskins -- 6-10

NFC North:
Packers -- 11-5
Bears -- 8-8
Vikings -- 7-9
Lions -- 7-9

NFC South:
Saints -- 11-5
Falcons -- 10-6*
Panthers -- 8-8
Bucs -- 6-10

NFC West:
Cardinals -- 9-7
Rams -- 8-8
Seahawks -- 6-10
49ers -- 5-11

Falcons over Cardinals / Eagles over Giants
Packers over Falcons / Eagles over Saints
Eagles over Packers

Patriots defeat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

C.C. Sabathia will opt out!!...

2011-06-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

....Or at least that's my opinion. It's just a feeling but I think he will.

My guess, CC goes to San Fran. He joins a very good rotation and makes it great. They would be able to rival the Phillies. Biggest problem would still be offense but it would be a very good team. Plus, they just won the world series. And CC is from California.

So, it's just my guess, but I say in 2012, CC Sabathia is a Giant. I'm not sure he goes to SF, but I'm sure he opts out. Baseball will begin to follow basketball where friends are joining up to make super groups of players and leave via free agency more often to play somewhere they want to live.

What the Bulls should do this off-season.

2010-06-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

I wrote back in early November that LeBron should go to Chicago...and then everyone started agreeing with me in the media. This is true.

So, if the Bulls get LeBron, they're fine. We don't need to talk about that. Let's talk about plan B....

FIRST...3-way trade: Luol Deng to the Knicks, Rip Hamilton to Chicago, and Eddy Curry to Detroit. Detroit is eager to shed cap space and are more than willing to trade Hamilton. The Knicks do not need cap space next year (because in the second year of max deals, the numbers go up 10%, so NY would only get about $7 million under the cap) so why not talk them into taking Deng to be the sixth man on the team? Finally, for Chicago, it gives them a good shooter to play with D-Rose. It's a better match for Rose than what Deng is because Deng needs the ball in his hands.

SECOND...sign either JJ Redick or Kyle Korver. Either one will work. They need a spot up shooter from the outside to help stretch the floor. Plus, both guys can come for relatively cheap.

THIRD...sign either Dirk to a 3-year max deal or Rudy Gay to a 3-year deal for less than the max (but more than what Memphis would match). Dirk is the better option but Rudy is young. Both guys have shown they can play within a system and can be a good player off the ball. If the Bulls go with Dirk, then they need to sign probably both Korvery and Redick and start one of them. If they go with Rudy, they'll have more money for other players. They'll need a big man and possible solutions are: Brendan Haywood, Craig Smith (underrated worker), Udonis Haslem (can probably offer more than Miami can), David Lee (same situation as Haslem), or Carlos Boozer (who'd probably mean that they couldn't sign JJ or Kyle).

FOURTH...sign a veteran free agent PG for the minimum. Without Kirk, they'll need one. How about Steve Blake? He's good for 8-15 minutes a night.

So, let's look at these two rosters:

PG - D-Rose
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Korver
PF - Dirk
C - Noah
6th - J.J. Redick
7th - Taj Gibson
8th - Steve Blake

Or

PG - D-Rose

SG - Rip Hamilton

SF - Rudy Gay

PF - Brendan Haywood / David Lee / Udonis Haslem

C - Noah

6th - J.J. Redick

7th - Taj Gibson

8th - Steve Blake

9th - Korver

Both look pretty good, huh? And, in case you're wondering, this is all completely feasible.

World Cup Preview

2010-06-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here are my picks for the World Cup on ESPN.

I picked this about 3 weeks ago but I'm still very happy with it. So, I have Germany winning it all. This bracket was chosen before Ballack went out but I will still go with the Germans. I know that going forward they are a bit suspect. However, they are still solid along the back line and in midfield.

I like England in the final 4 only because of their lack of competition in the knockout stages. Argentina are very suspect in the back and their coach is a disaster. Those reasons are why I chose Greece to win the group. It's a competitive group that has 3 top-notch countries and Greece is the only one that knows what type of team they are. They're very defensive and play a lot of 5-3-2 formation. But, this is the same coach that won with Greece in Euro 2004 and performed well in qualifying (only losing to the Swiss, twice).

Other surprises are Ivory Coast over Portugal. This one is easy for me. Portugal barely made the World Cup. In their qualification playoff, Portugal got to play Bosnia and only won 2-0 on aggregate. The Ivory Coast is better even without Drogba.

My dark horse in this tournament is the Netherlands. I don't like them having to face Brazil in the final 8 but they dominated in qualification getting max points. They can score with the best of them.

In the end, I feel Brazil will struggle to score against Germany and their organization in the back. In my bracket, the first team with a good back line that Brazil will face is Germany in the final. Brazil may lack creativity but not skill. However, creativity is what helps a side beat a team like Germany.

My Golden Boot winner: David Villa, Spain. Approximately 5 goals.

Fandom

2010-01-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

Many people over the years have asked me how I became a fan of the teams I’m a fan of. Well, many of the stories are complex and I have (finally) decided to chronicle everything for all you wondering minds.

FOOTBALL

New England Patriots – I became a Pats fan from a very young age. I don’t remember exactly when it started but I was a fan before they played the Packers in the 1996 Super Bowl. I remember when Ty Law and Terry Glenn were rookies. I remember when Vincent Brisby was our #1 receiver. Here is a picture of me from 3^rd grade to prove my point.

Chicago Bears – I’m more of a pessimist than a fan. I more follow them than root for them. I do enjoy watching them, as I watched many of their games with my brother and father. However, I wouldn’t ever call myself a Bear fan, but they are my #2 team.

University of Texas – This one is a bit strange. In the summer of 1997, before 4^th grade, my Aunt Linda gave me a “Texas Longhorns” shirt. This is how I became a fan. Stupid, I know. The funny thing is, she gave my brother a “Texas A&M” shirt. That could have changed a lot of things. Here is a picture of me with Ricky Williams’ Heisman year jersey that I got from Laura Scott for Christmas during 5^th grade.

University of Nevada – I go to Nevada and it will become my Alma Mater. But, Texas will always be my #1.

Northern Illinois University – My aunt was the AD and I went to a ton of games. I will always be a fan, but without Joe Novak coaching, it seems a little too weird for me.

BASKETBALL

Shane Battier – He is my favorite player. I used to love Duke but they drifted from me during the past couple of years but I still love Battier. So, currently, I love watching the Rockets and have become attached to a few of the players (Chuck Hayes, Aaron Brooks, etc). If Shane moves on, I will move on with him. When Shane was on the Grizzlies, I watched as many of their games as possible.

Chicago Bulls – I grew up in Illinois in the 1990’s. What else would you expect? I became disenfranchised with them for about 5 or so years after Jordan left because it felt like they gave up and didn’t care and came to work every day hoping Michael would come back. I’ve followed them all my life and will continue to do so. This is not a Chicago Bears situation because I would call myself a fan. With that said, right now I’m more engaged with Houston because of Battier.

Duke – R.I.P. to my Dukie fandom. It lived from 1997 until 2005. I don’t even follow them anymore. The biggest reason for that is this…

University of Nevada – My #1 team. My school. I go to as many games as possible. I love this basketball program. I go to the press conferences to get a better feel of the players. I know the former coach. I know the current coach. This is my team.

BASEBALL

Chicago White Sox – The only baseball team I care about. I’ve been an avid fan since 2000. I was a fan before but never really got into baseball but I really like Big Frank and Robin Ventura. I had pictures of The Big Hurt in my room growing up. I remember being little and sitting in the upper deck watching the games.

HOCKEY

Buffalo Sabres – This was a bandwagon choice of mine way back during the 1999 playoffs. I hated the Blackhawks and still kind of do. They blacked out all home games. How was a 11 year old kid supposed to be a fan when I could only see a couple games a year? (Remember, they play in the Western Conference so a lot of games start at 9 pm Chicago time) So, I like Dominick Hasek a lot and started watching the playoffs and adopted the Sabres as my team. I’ve been a fan ever since. So I started off as a bandwagon fan but have stuck with them through thick and thin, since. (Mostly thin)

EUROPEAN SOCCER

Everton – I became a fan almost solely because of U.S. goalie Tim Howard. I started following Everton in the spring of 2007 and really got into full swing with the team in the spring of 2008. I am a big time fan, but it’s still early, so I don’t know much history of the club.

MMA

Brock Lesnar – Been a fan since he announced he was fighting K-1. Which means I’ve been a fan since the beginning; literally. (Just ask my friend Mike Hanson, he’ll tell you)

Where LeBron should go this summer

2009-11-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, so LeBron wants 2 things:

1 – A Championship ring
2 – Become a global icon (aka large market)

So when taking these into consideration, we can eliminate many teams. Obviously, with LeBron on your team, you are a championship contender, so let us go to number 2 and figure out what teams and markets can make him a global icon. Here’s my list: LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Houston, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Dallas. Let’s examine these and then talk about Cleveland as well. (In parentheses are the chances it could happen that LeBron goes to that team)

Lakers: There is relatively no chance LeBron goes to the Lakers. They are 30 million over the cap next year; so good luck getting LeBron to take a mid-level exception or veteran minimum salary when the Clippers can give him a max deal. (1 out of 10)

Houston: Interesting here because this only makes sense if T-Mac leaves and Yao doesn’t opt out. As long as Yao can come back healthy, he can help make LeBron huge in China, as he did with T-Mac. If that doesn’t happen, then this point is mute. (3 out of 10)

Dallas: Dallas has an owner who would make him huge, plus they already have a star from Europe that could help LeBron build his Euro image. This only happens if they trade Dampier and Marion and then let Howard go. Not too likely but there is a chance. (Interesting to note, Dirk has a player option for next year and if he walked, would LeBron sign with relatively the same group Dirk had?) (4 out of 10)

New York: This is what has been prophesized for over a year. -- “LeBron and Friends” directed by Mike D’Antoni and Produced by Donnie Walsh. -- Well, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. The Knicks have a coach and a stadium and a city to offer LeBron…and that’s it. The biggest obstacle is Eddy Curry. He has a player option for $11.2 million for the 2011 season. If he picks it up (why wouldn’t he?) then the Knicks have $27 million in the books and can sign LeBron plus one other really good player. The problem is they are coming to a team with no help at all. Here are the players under contract next year with the Knicks: Eddy Curry ($11.2), Jared Jefferies ($6.9 [player option]), Danilo Gallinari ($3.3), Jordan Hill ($2.7), Wilson Chandler ($2.1) and Toney Douglas ($1.1). Yep…not much there, huh? Now, if Jefferies and Curry are stupid enough to decline their options and walk, the Knicks are in business. That would leave the Knicks with only $9 million in salaries. You can do a lot with that amount of room. Hell, they could almost sign Wade, LeBron and Bosh, all to max contracts. That won’t happen and LeBron will not go there (most likely). (5 out of 10)

Miami: Have a lot of cap room but this only happens if Wade stays and they can resign at least Haslem. Right now, only 5 guys are under contract and none of them are PFs or Cs. However, this does have some chance of happening because Beasley is there and so is Chalmers. Also, after signing LeBron, Miami would still have about $14 million in open cap space. Combine that with a mid-level guy and South Beach, you could have a real winner. (6 out of 10)

New Jersey: So this just got interesting with this new Russian owner. He has a lot of money and can single-handedly make the move to Brooklyn happen. Jay-Z remains a minority investor and good friends with LeBron. Maybe the most recognizable city in the world; everything is in New York. This transition would make him huge. The Nets will lose no good players (Harris-Lee-Lopez are signed through at least 2001) and they have Yi who could help gain LeBron exposure in China. (The most watched NBA game ever was in Yi’s rookie year with Milwaukee and it was a regular season game against Houston; 200+ million viewers.) This scenario has legs and could go somewhere but Jay-Z would have to make a big sell because they really aren’t that good of a team even with LeBron. (7 out of 10)

Chicago: On the books for $38 mill next year. However, if they’re able to trade Deng for an expiring contract, they’d only have $26 mill on the books for next year, meaning they could have a legit shot at LeBron and another good player. If they salary cap goes to $55 million, which some believe it will, that gives Chicago $29 million in cap room. LeBron will take about $16 million from any team (other than Cleveland) and that would leave approximately $13 million. I think you could see a guy like Wade sign for a little less for 3 years at 13-14-15 mill and then go for a max contract with the Bulls. He grew up in Chicago and he could play on a great team. They could sign LeBron and Bosh. Even if they keep Deng, LeBron could still come in under cap because he can only sign for $13.5 million in year one with any team other than Cleveland. (8 out of 10)

Clippers: A lot of people like this, including myself. They could have a six man rotation of Griffin-LeBron-Baron-Gordon-Kaman-Thornton. Pretty good rotation plus it’s a large market that can help his stature grow. I could see LeBron loving the idea of taking a team with talent and winning with them, all the while, shooting TV cameos and making movies in LA. We all saw the ESPYs; we know he wants fame of all types. He would be all over TMZ and would love it. That’s the biggest reason for him to go to LA. And if it seems like the team would struggle because of lack of depth, they still have their draft pick from this year (probably lottery) and will have a mid-level exception to use on a vet. (9 out of 10)

Cleveland: The Cavs have a chance at keeping LeBron. However, they have a lot of cap space used up and even if LeBron only picks up his player option (leaving him a free agent in the summer of 2011), they still would have only $3 million in open cap space. Shaq and Big Z are the only guys not under contract. So, if he was to stay, say one more year, and they could bring in a good big man on the mid-level this makes sense. I don’t see how that happens. If anything, he signs a max deal and then Cleveland either resigns Shaq or Z to a mid-level for a year or trades a few guys for another big. They have Mo Williams at $9 mill a year average and Varejao at $8 million a year average. Not much of an enticing combo. He’s spent his whole life in the greater Cleveland area. He wants to be global and Cleveland (the city) only has about 450,000 people living there. Now, the metro area of Cleveland is about 3 million but still, it’s a small city in comparison to a Chicago (2.8 city, 9.8 metro), LA (3.8 city, 12.9 metro) or NY (8.4 city, 18.2 metro). So, he’s going to want to move, it’s in the cards. We can all tell. (Chances he stays in Cleveland 5 out of 10)

To sum up, I say if LeBron only cares about the global icon thing, you’ll see him in one of 3 spots: Knicks, Nets or Clippers. If Cares about winning Championships, Chicago is the place to go (don’t forget, MJ was a pretty big global celeb pre-internet and satellite TV, all in Chicago). I’m biased, but I say go to Chicago. It’s a great fit. They can resign a lot of the young guys when the time comes and they will be a really good team when it’s all said and done (especially with LeBron)

NBA Preview

2009-10-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Predictions

Wizards – My darkhorse team. They’re pretty deep at guard and have a good starting front court. 2 things are important for the Wizards: Health and the development of a 3rd frontcourt player. I think the latter can be filled by Andray Blatche. If they stay healthy, they could win the East. Arenas is very good and Butler and Jamison have really played well the last couple of years.

Power Distance – The West and the East will have a large power distance. I think the Bulls and Heat will finish 5-6 in the East and yet I don’t see either team approaching 50 wins, while I think the Wiz, Celts, Cavs, and Magic will all have 50+. In the West, the record might not separate the Spurs and the Lakers from the pack too much but, it will be evident that talent wise, those two are the best.

Hornets – I think the Hornets miss the playoffs. They struggled last year and I think the Okafor is not the type of player for their offense (FYI – Tyson Chandler was and still is that type of player). I think they try to trade some of their players like Peja and Posey. Right now, the Hornets are on the books for $73 million this year and next year. Unless they are playing great, they will not want to keep this team around for a second straight year.

Warriors – The Warriors will make the playoffs. It will be a close race for the bottom of the West and I think the Rockets and Warriors will emerge above the Suns, Clippers, Hornets, and Thunder. The Warriors have a pretty good team and a good offense. Don’t expect them to win 50, maybe a little closer to .500 like 42 wins.

McGrady – I think McGrady will come back at the end of December and will be traded before the end of the year. This is completely dependent upon McGrady coming back. If he doesn’t, then the Rockets will use his open salary number this summer to go after a free agent. I think they’d rather trade him though and bring in someone because they are going to have to pay Scola a lot.

Heat – The Heat are only on the books for 25 million next year and that includes 17 million of a player option for Dwayne Wade. So, they have two choices, one, trade an expiring contract or two for some big time players and try to win or two, keep the expiring deals and go after Lebron. I think they’ll stay pat and most likely lose Wade.

Cavs – The Cavs will struggle on defense. Big Z and Shaq are liabilities against teams that can spread the floor and do a lot of pick n rolls. Think if KG and Rasheed as the 4-5, you have to bench Shaq and Z right?

Thunder - They’ll take a big step forward. Won’t make the playoffs but will do well enough to push for .500. (Don’t forget they only won 23 last year)

Bulls – They’ll have a really good year….at home. They are going to struggle on the road (just like last year) but at home, they may win 34 games.

Raptors – I think the Raptors are the only team that will challenge for a playoff spot but I don’t see them being that good of a team this year. They still lack a good bench and if they struggle, they might trade Bosh if they can get a first and 1-2 good players in return.

Spurs – They will win it all because they have depth and have a finishing 5 (Parker – Ginobili – Jefferson – McDyess – Duncan) that cannot be matched by anybody. Plus, their bench is really, really good.

Spurs over Lakers in the West Finals. Celtics over Wizards in East Finals. Spurs over Celtics in Finals.

East Playoffs (In Order)
Cavs – Celtics – Magic – Wiz – Bulls – Heat – Hawks – Pistons
West Playoffs (In Order)
Lakers – Spurs – Mavs– Nuggets – Jazz – Blazers – Rockets – Warriors

AFC East Preview

2009-08-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

AFC EAST

Opponents - (NFC South, AFC South) - NE (BAL, DEN) - BUF (KC, CLE) - MIA (SD, PIT) - NYJ (OAK, CIN)

(1 - Every division plays one division from the other conference. 2 - Every division plays one division from the same conference. 3 - The remaining eight teams in the conference are split amongst the divisional teams [referred to as variable games])

New England Patriots

Offense: They return the same offensive line for the 3^rd consecutive year, helping the continuity of the offense. They also added depth to the position by drafting 6 foot 8 Sebastian Vollmer, who can play guard and tackle, in the second round of this past year’s draft. Also returning are Randy Moss and Wes Welker to the receiver positions and they are added to this year by Joey Galloway (TB) and Greg Lewis (PHI). They will miss Jabar Gaffney, an underrated 3^rd receiver. Gaffney had built a solid chemistry with Brady since joining the Pats in the middle of the 2006 season. In the 07 season, Gaffney had 24 receptions and 4 touchdowns between weeks 11 and 16. Also, 2006 season’s playoffs, Gaffney had 18 catches in the first two games. The tight end position welcomes two new veteran additions to the mix, Chris Baker (NYJ) and Alex Smith (TB). Both guys, and fourth year man David Thomas, will compete, presumably, for the number 2 TE position behind Benjamin Watson. At running back, the Pats added one new guy to the mix, Fred Taylor (JAX). It’s unclear who will start and most likely, all the guys (Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, Laurence Maroney, and Taylor) will get playing time. The biggest news is the return of Tom Brady. Brady looks healthy so far this offseason. He backed up by Andrew Walter (OAK) and second year man Kevin O’Connell.

Look for the offense to continue to put up numbers, even with the loss of Josh McDaniel’s. The offense will be the same, spread style of attack, so expect Faulk to receive the bulk of the plays as he’s the receiving/third down back. The Pats will need either Galloway or Lewis to step up as defenses key on Moss and Welker; if neither can, Julian Edelman and Mathew Slater seemed to be their only competition, with neither have real professional experience.

Defense: For the sixth straight year, the Pats will have the same 3 starting on the defense line. Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork (all first round picks) have been constants on an otherwise revolving-door-of-players defense. Wilfork is in negotiations with the Pats about extending his deal, and although it is unlikely, if he were to be traded, expect Ron Brace to replace him at nose tackle. At linebacker, the Pats have 2 sure things, 2^nd year man Jerod Mayo and Adalius Thomas. Tedy Bruschi will most likely share time with second year man Gary Guyton at MLB as Bruschi continues to age. The other outside linebacker is a crap shoot. The Pats just got Derrick Burgess (OAK) and are apparently interested in Kevin Carter (TEN). They also have Tully Banta-Cain (SF) who’s been with New England before and young guys Pierre Woods and Shawn Crable. Expect Burgess to emerge and Woods to receive time at the position as well. The Secondary returns one starter from last year, James Sanders, and will replace Rodney Harrison with third year man Brandon Meriweather. The corner positions will most likely be filled by Leigh Bodden (DET) and Shawn Springs (WAS). Also in the mix is Jonathan Wilhite and rookie Darius Butler.

The defense should be a top-10 defense, but the stats will be a little skewed if the Pats have a good offense, forcing their opponents to throw more than normal. Look for rookie Pat Chung to get a lot of playing time at SS in the nickel with Meriweather moving to nickel back in those packages, something he played the last two years. The biggest thing will be who emerges as the other OLB from Thomas. I think Woods will be the normal guy with Burgess playing in pass rush situations.

Outlook: The Pats are poised to return to the Playoffs. If Brady is healthy look for an 11-14 win season. The key stretch in New England’s schedule will be weeks 9-15. Following a week 8 bye, the Pats have 4 of their 6 divisional games in this 7 game stretch and will have to go to Indy and New Orleans.

Buffalo Bills

Offense: Offensive line is the opposite of New England’s. They return 2 starters, Langston Walker and Brad Butler, but neither is playing the same position. Walker is moving from LT to RT, Butler from RG to RT. They are starting two rookies, at RG Eric Wood (28^th pick), and at LG, Andy Levitre (51^st pick). At center they bring in Geoff Hangartner (CAR) who started at the position 4 games last year for Carolina. Look for veteran Seth McKinney (CLE), who has 45 career starts at G to replace one of the rookies unless they perform well. Marshawn Lynch will miss the first 3 games of the year for a suspension. The Bills have Dominic Rhodes (IND) and Fred Jackson to grab most of the carries, with young guy Xavier Omon as a dark horse in the competition. At tight end, look for three guys (Derek Schoumann, Derek Fine, and Shawn Nelson) to see playing time; with third year man Schoumann starting. Wide receiver is going to be interesting to see who gets playing time. Most likely, Buffalo will go with 3 wide and that presumably leaves Roscoe Parrish as the fourth man. With Terrell Owens (DAL), Josh Reed, and Lee Evans, the Bills will have a very good receiving core. At quarterback, the Bills need Trent Edwards to step up if they want to be a winning team. Edwards is most likely going to have an inconsistent offensive line in front of him and it will be up to him to get the ball out to his receivers before a constant rush. They are backing him up with Ryan Fitzpatrick (CIN) but the job is Edward’s.

The development of the offensive line will be huge. They need a running game to take the pressure of the offensive line in the passing game but without Lynch for the first three games, that may be a struggle. I don’t see T.O. being a distraction, but more of an afterthought. Think Randy Moss in 2006 with Oakland when he had 42 receptions. I say this because if the offensive line can’t protect Edwards, the Bills will have to resort to a short passing game. Terrell could get a lot of receptions in a system like that but not a lot of yards or touchdowns.

Defense: The D-Line returns all 4 starters including Pro-Bowler Aaron Schobel who only played 5 games last year before going out to injury. Look for Ryan Denney, who replaced Schobel after his injury, to also work in as a 3 man rotation at DE. The three starting linebackers return this year as well. Paul Posluszny enters his third season in the league at middle linebacker. Look for him to make a jump to over 100 tackles this year. At safety, Bryan Scott, who started 7 games at SS and FS last year, will replace Ko Simpson as the starting SS this year. Terrence McGee returns at Corner and Leodis Mckelvin will start this season at the other corner spot.

The defense has 11 guys who all started last year at least 5 games on their team. There should be a good chemistry with the defense. Donte Whitner is young and talented and the Bills will need him to produce. Buffalo’s first round pick, DE Aaron Maybin is still unsigned and may not have much playing time this year. To me, Maybin is a 3-4 outside linebacker, not a 4-3 DE, but he will most likely work into the rotation next year.

Outlook: The Bills look like a good team right now if the offensive line can gain chemistry fast. The Bills were 14^th in yards allowed last year, look for an improvement on that with almost everyone back and a season with 6-9 wins. The key part of the Bills schedule is weeks 1-3. To New England, then home against Tampa and New Orleans and they don’t have their #1 running back. Buffalo can’t get off to a bad start because 5 of their next 7 games are on the road.

Miami Dolphins

Offense: The offensive line returns two good tackles, Vernon Carey and Jake Long. The LG, Justin Smiley, also returns but the Dolphins brought in Jake Grove (OAK) to play center and are using second year man Shawn Murphy at RG. Look for teams to key on the right side of the line trying to force Murphy into mistakes. Miami has Anthony Fasano and David Martin returning at TE but also have Ernest Wilford as their fifth TE. This team is looking for wide outs and it would seem someone like Wilford would work because he did it in Jacksonville, grabbing 140 receptions in his first four years in the league. With that said, last year, in his first year with Miami, Wilford only had 3 receptions. At WR the Dolphins drafted Patrick Turner and Brian Hartline; look for Hartline to emerge as a top receiver on the team. Right now their top 4 receivers are Devone Bess, Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo and Hartline. A lot of speed but look for the TE position to be the go to receiver in the red zone as Hartline being the tallest of the bunch at 6’2”. At running back, the Dolphins return one of the best 1-2 combos in the league, in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. The combo had 1,600 yards last year and look for that to remain the same this year. At quarterback, the Dolphins still have Chad Pennington but are backing him up with Chad Henne and rookie Pat White. If Pennington suffers an injury, look for them to try and add someone like Cleo Lemon rather than go with Henne. Pat White is appealing because he can be their wild cat quarterback or he can play receiver or he can play running back; how they use him will be interesting.

The offense is good and I think Hartline can be a real good receiver. The key to this offense is how Pennington plays. Pennington has never started more than 9 games in an odd year. He is injury prone and it seems to bite him the worst in odd numbered years. Look at his games played stats: ‘02 – 15, ‘03 – 10, ‘04 – 13, ‘05 – 3, ‘06 – 16, ‘07 – 9, ‘08 – 16. If he goes down or plays poorly, look for this offense to struggle bad. Pennington led the league in completion percentage last year. This team needs him.

Defense: The defensive line is average in Miami. They like second year DE Kendall Langford. But this team only needs its D line to fill up gaps because they now have Jason Taylor (WAS) returning to the team as an outside linebacker. If Taylor stays healthy, he and Joey Porter could dominate, combing for 25+ sacks this year. Their MLBs Akin Ayodele and Channing Crowder are very solid players. This team will force opposing offenses to keep a TE or RB in the back field to help with Porter and Taylor. They start Will Allen, a sure tackler but gets beat a lot for a #1 CB, and Eric Green (ARZ) who only has 2 career picks in 4 seasons. They drafted Vontae Davis and I like him a lot. He’s physical but he’s the same as Will Allen, a good tackler for a corner but gets beat a lot. Davis can probably beat out Green sometime this year but also look for second round pick Sean Smith to get some playing time and for the two to be starters next year. At safety, the Dolphins have a great combo. Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson (OAK) are both excellent safeties. The only downside is both guys are better at strong safety and playing near the line but look for Wilson to make an easy adjustment to FS.

Bringing back Taylor was a big addition and so was Wilson. If the defense stays healthy, they should have a good year. They were 9^th last year in defensive points per game and they could jump into the top 5 this year. (interesting note, one would think with Taylor’s age, that he’d only play about 60% of the plays but the starter at OLB last year, Matt Roth, is listed as the #7 OLB right now.)

Outlook: I think the Dolphins will have a good defense but will struggle offensively because I see Pennington getting injured or struggling. I see them staying in a lot of games and winning 5-9 games this year. The Dolphins have a very hard schedule. For their two variable games, they got SD and PIT. I would like to point to one spot of the schedule that’s important, but it’s all important. They start out with 3 playoffs teams (@ATL, vsIND, @SD) then get two home games, but it’s against divisional opponents Buffalo and New York. Then from week 8 to week 15, they have 6 road games. In addition, one of their two home games during that stretch is against New England. Also, they got Pittsburgh in week 17 and they better hope Pitt has already secured a playoff spot or that could be rough.

New York Jets

Offense: Return all 5 offensive line starters and expect the O Line to be even better this year. The offensive line has a combined 480 starts between the 5 of them. I don’t have the numbers but that has to be one of the highest amounts of starts in the NFL. Also, every guy has at least 48 starts and they combine for 10 pro bowl selections. Dustin Keller remains the teams #1 tight end but their depth chart has recently converted DE Kareem Brown as the number 2. The other 3 tight ends are all undrafted rookies. Look for Keller to get almost all of the minutes in this group. Chansi Stuckey and Jericho Cotchery are the numbers 1 and 2 WRs for the Jets. Brad Smith is their #3 but after him it’s a very thin group. Look for Wallace Wright to be the #4 receiver there. At running back, New York goes three deep including rookie Shonn Greene, who has been impressing people in camp. Thomas Jones is still the #1 and Leon Washington the number two, but Greene should be getting a good amount of carries by the middle of the season. Quarterback is a very interesting spot with the Jets. It’s a two way competition with Kellen Clemons and rookie Mark Sanchez.

The offense has good running backs and a great O Line. With that said, their receivers are underwhelming and if Sanchez does start, as most people think will happen, you don’t know how he’ll respond. The AFC East is filled with talented defenses. This team should do a lot of running because Greene is ready now.

Defense: Marques Douglas (BAL) is the new DE starter for this team, joining Shaun Ellis and Kris Jenkins on the D Line. Douglas is a good, solid player who is very durable. He’s played all 16 games the last 6 years of his career. The Jets added Bart Scott (BAL) to anchor the defense this year. He and Douglas come over with Rex Ryan. The other 3 linebackers, Calvin Pace, David Harris and Bryan Thomas all return as starters from last year. At corner the Jets added Lito Sheppard (PHI) and have moved second year man Dwight Lowery to the nickel corner. Darrelle Revis still starts at the other corner spot. Kerry Rhodes returns to start at FS but SS is an open competition between Jim Leonhard and Eric Smith. Smith started 6 games last year but look for Leonhard to win the competition as he is currently in the lead.

It’s hard to say how good this defense will be since it’s a new system with Rex Ryan compared to Eric Mangini’s. I like Lito Sheppard and they now have corner depth in case of injury but SS worries me because neither Smith nor Leonhard is a great player. Their line backing crew will be asked to do a lot, like Baltimore’s is, but only Bart Scott seems ready for that. Look for them to struggle a bit unless they only run a skeleton defense of what the Ravens run, which is pretty complex.

Outlook: I think this team takes a step back. A new coach and a new regime; they don’t have a quarterback and their receivers aren’t very good. Look for them to win around 5-8 games. The key stretch in the Jets schedule is weeks 2-6. They host New England and Tennessee and then go to New Orleans and Miami before returning home to face the Bills. This stretch is all the more important if Sanchez is the starting QB; he has to face the Pats D and the Titans D in weeks 2 and 3.

A New Beginning

2009-08-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

Well, here's my blog. I'm going to talk about sports on here because...well...that's all I really know. First, I wanted to post an article I wrote for the website bleacherreport.com back in August of 2008. It's a Brady v Manning article.

The Time Is Now

In golf, everyone wants to find the equal to Tiger Woods. Our newest candidate: Padraig Harrington. As a society, we always want to have those natural rivalries between two greats going head-to-head.

However, if we had an equal for Tiger, how much would we really enjoy it?

In the NFL, we have two Tiger Woods. We have the natural rivalry of two equals who are above and beyond the rest.

Of course I’m talking about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

Both can put up eye popping numbers with great players around them, but more importantly, both win. That’s all they do is win. Cris Carter caught Touchdowns. Manning and Brady win.

This year will be Brady’s 8^th year as the Patriots starter. In his first 7 years, he has 6 playoff appearances, 5 AFC Championship appearances, and one MVP.

Manning will be entering into his 11^th season starting for the Colts. In Peyton’s first 10 years, he’s has 8 playoff appearances, 2 AFC Championship appearances, and two MVPs.

Most people forget that both players started on pretty poor teams. The Colts had a brief two year stint in which the went to the playoffs twice in 95 and 96 but then had a 3-13 year and decided to rebuild. That’s when Manning stepped in. Number one overall pick, he led his team to a 13 win season in just his second year.

After Pete Carroll left New England, the Pats were in a rebuilding mode. They hired Belichick and had a 5 win season. The next year, Super Bowl, and since then the Patriots have been at least tied for first place in the division every single year.

The success of the two teams has made for some very memorable games. McGinnest stops Edgerrin James on the one in 2003. Manning out-dueling Brady in the 2007 AFC Championship Game and the 03 AFC Championship game where Ty Law intercepted Manning 3 times.

Now, as a football community, a lot of people really take it for granted that we have this great rivalry. I do understand that this isn’t a natural rivalry like the Bears and Packers but it’s better than that because every year it’s two great, great teams. And for the most part, the games have been very good and very closely played. As a Patriots fan, this is the game I look forward to every year. I have an extreme dislike for the Colts but if the Pats were to blow them out in a game, I would be disappointed. I want it to be a good game because to me, it’s almost like a super bowl.

This year, the NFL did the smart thing and put this game on Sunday night in week 9. Now, I’d prefer to have this game closer to week 12 or 13 but 9 is good. Both teams will probably enter the game with at least 5-2 records. And putting it on primetime was great as well.

However, I worry that too many people will just view this as just another game, like it wouldn’t matter if this was San Fran vs Philadelphia or Colts vs Pats. And that is where the problem is. 30 years from now, people are going to remember the Manning and Brady era. They’re going to show highlights of their games and everyone will say “Yeah! I saw that game” as if it was some sort of an accomplishment.

However, too many of those people will just watch the game with only half interest. In the moment, people don’t realize how great it is. We don’t realize how great Nadal vs Federer really is until it’s gone. The same can be said for the Colts vs Pats.

And with both QB’s in the early 30’s, it may soon be gone sooner than we think.