Filed under: Canucks, Western, NHL Injuries
The Vancouver Canucks spent a lot of cap money to bolster their defensive corps last summer, adding Dan Hamhuis in free agency and Keith Ballard in a trade with Florida.
The Toronto Blue Jays still owed 32-year-old slugger Vernon Wells $86 million through 2014. It was a common opinion that such a rich contract made him untradable.And yet, general manager Alex Anthopoulos pulled off a deal Friday night, doing so while sending barely any offsetting cash — a mere $5 million — to the Los Angeles Angels.
It's not really fair to call Angels' GM Tony Reagins a sucker for sending Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera back to the Blue Jays, because Wells (when he's healthy, as he was in 2010) is a very good hitter. Not many can hit 31 homers and 44 doubles, as Wells did this past season.
But consider this: Combine what the Jays owed Wells with what was due Alex Rios until the White Sox claimed him from waivers in August 2009 and Toronto saves — ready? — $140.7 million.
The Rios move came with J.P. Ricciardi still running the Jays (Anthopoulos was an assistant) but it will be A.A. who's around to reap the benefits.
He's getting what they call a "mulligan" in golf. A do-over. A Peggy Sue Got Married (or did she)?
Saving that money gives the Jays a better chance to compete (from time to time) with the top of the AL East.
The trade has other dimensions that make it look like a win for Toronto.
Most notably: Napoli, a first baseman/catcher who will make at least $5.3 million in 2011 depending on arbitration results, can be just as effective at the plate as Wells. His career adjusted OPS (on-base plus slugging) is 118; Wells' is 108. Napoli is three years younger, too.
Wells also won three Gold Gloves in center, but his defense has been in decline (note his Total Zone rating and UZR/150 rating since 2006). He'll probably be fine in left field in Anaheim.
OK, maybe it IS OK to call Reagins a sucker. The Angels were looking to do something ... anything ... after generally striking in free agency with Carl Crawford and others this offseason. As Yahoo! Sports' own Tim Brown points out, it's been a rough offseason.
This is something, all right.
Follow Dave on Twitter — @AnswerDave
Washington Nationals New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Florida Marlins
DeJuan Blair and Tony Parker look pretty excited, guys. I mean, way more excited than you'd expect, even taking into account that they are well-compensated NBA players whose team, the San Antonio Spurs, has the best record in the whole ding-dong league. Mostly, it's because they're Spurs, who are not normally associated with looking excited. This is what Spurs normally look like:
And yet here these two are, grinnin' and winnin (shouts to Clyde). What's got these two so stoked? Best caption wins some amped-up guidelines for strength, fitness and dealing with haters. Good luck.
In our last adventure: Someone break Ryan Gomes off with a hug real quick.
Runner-up, terminus_000: "My favorite Mahalia Jackson album is the one where she's on the cover all like this ..."
Second runner-up, Big S: Ryan Gomes struggles to identify the 3-D image displayed on the Clippers new "Magic Eye Jumbotron." (It's a sombrero.)
A Special Commendation in Ruling, Never Forget that Donald Sterling is a Creep Division, goes to alka for this funny-sad-not-funny-ha-ha line: Ryan Gomes is saddened to learn that his housing application for Sterling Towers has been rejected again.
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Filed under: NHL All Star Game
Denver Nuggets Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Freshman Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 25 points to help North Carolina beat North Carolina State 84-64 on Saturday.
(Chizik is second from right, in the vest.) Obviously, the future hero of the Plains enjoyed the fruits of Gatorhood, on the field (the '83 Gators finished No. 6 in the final polls, a year before finishing third with the school's first SEC championship in Chizik's senior season, though that title was later negated by NCAA sanctions) and off. And no, in case you're wondering, the girl on his lap here bears no apparent resemblance to the future Mrs. Chizik, Jonna, the daughter of Chizik's high school coach. It's OK: After all, square-jawed frat boys will be square-jawed frat boys, until they're square-jawed coaches more interested in an entirely different kind of 18-year-old talent.
On that note, you should probably ignore the distinctive "Brokeback" vibe given off here by Chizik's anonymous, hayseed-chompin' comrade – not that there's anything wrong with that – whose gentle shoulder touch is just awkward enough to remain well within the bounds of traditional male affections. Instead, speculation is warranted over the mysterious brown spot hovering over Chizik's mouth: A simple blemish on the photo? A folksy pipe of some kind, in keeping with the "woodsy" theme? The world may never know. And if the answer is something other than one of those two things, the world probably doesn't want to know.
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Hat tip: War Blog Eagle.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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Duk's Dozen, a selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items, has returned in 2011 to start your baseball news day off right. Got links? Send 'em here or via Twitter. 1. Hey, hey! It's not even the first of February and we already have rumors of an offseason weight gain. According to Paul Ladewski of Pirates Report, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez packed on 15 pounds this offseason when he was off getting married to a marathon runner.
Losing 15 pounds is nothing when you're 23 years old, but there's no doubt that Pirates fans would rather see the report of a player ready for his breakout season. You know, rather than someone who's prepping to be Pittsburgh's version of Pablo Sandoval. Rum Bunter
2. "It hurts like hell": Dallas Green grants his first interview after the tragic shooting of his granddaughter in Tucson earlier this month. Chicago Tribune
3. Adam Kennedy called up some Seattle Mariners beat writers to say that getting tabbed for a DUI probably isn't the best way to ingratiate yourself to a new set of fans. Seattle Times
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4. Middle-aged Mets fans beware: Sandy Alderson says he expects Francisco Rodriguez to be 100 percent by the start of spring training. Mets Blog
5. Suddenly flush with cash, a Toronto Blue Jays fan weighs the prospects of Yu Darvish becoming a very expensive Blue Jay in 2012. Jays Journal
6. Nick Swisher never wants to leave the New York Yankees. LoHud Yankees
7. "Nothing to see here folks, nothing at all": Hal Steinbrenner comes out to say that Brian Cashman has his support and that he even blessed Cashman's behavior at the Rafael Soriano press conference. Lisa Swan isn't buying it, though. Subway Squawkers
8. We're currently drowning in review of the Royals top prospects, but there's one notable absence that might be getting close to a total writeoff: Pitcher Aaron Crow, the team's top pick in the 2009 draft. Royals Review
9. Andrew Simon selects the 10-worst seasons posted by good players. Hitting The Cutoff Man
10. Death, taxes and the Chicago White Sox looking at Freddy Garcia as a No. 5 starter. FanHouse
11. Just when I thought I was the only one who would tab Daniel Hudson as a fantasy sleeper, two dudes over at Razzball say they own the copyright. Ah, the fine line between a sleeper and a steal. Razzball
12. How long must I wait before the Tampa Bay Rays cut their prices and I'm able to carpet the entire BLS office in old turf from Tropicana Field? Rays ReportThe Charlotte Bobcats are 9-6 since Paul Silas took the terrible coaching job in the Queen City, which is pretty good, considering they were 9-19 when he replaced Larry Brown. But even when things are mostly good, bad stuff can happen. You can lose Tyrus Thomas for two months, or see D.J. Augustin hit the deck with an ankle injury, or watch Boris Diaw imperiously devour a whole roasted wild boar. And when it all gets to be too much, coach Silas just has to smile, laugh it off and get his Taio Cruz on. Just like the rest of us.
What has coach Silas tossing his hands up this time? Best caption wins the gentle smile and firm guidance of a trusted mentor. Good luck.
In our last adventure: President Basketball and Vice President Glassman discuss directions.
Michael Beasley: "OK, well, even if that's true, you gotta admit, I got the E.T. look DOWN."
Love: "Yeah, you definitely got some alien thing going on there. More Predator than E.T., I'd say."
Beasley: "Beasley phone hoooommeee."
Runner-up, derosco inyoface: We know you're our representative and all, Miss Bachmann, but the camera isn't over there. NOTE: Topical zing that's less about politics than it is about glances!
Second runner-up, Russell F: Beasley: "All I gotta do is go over to that table and they'll let me back in the game?"
Love: "That's the secret, Mike. Just go right over there. Don't talk to anyone. And don't tell Coach where you learned this secret."
Pittsburgh Pirates Houston Astros Cincinnati Reds San Diego Padres
I know you don't have time for like, reflection, this being the 21st Century and all. I'm aware that we don't really do that anymore. But before we get off and running on the important business of 2011 – i.e. crucial offensive coordinator hires and the infallible "pre-preseason" polls – it's worth putting into perspective the season just capped by the champions of the actual polls, the ones we spend so many months poring over, and exactly where it triumph fits into the growing annals of BCS history.
As the names fade into myth and obscurity, this is Auburn's legacy in the list:
• The Underdog Champ. Auburn opened the season ranked 22nd in the initial Associated Press poll, the longest trek to No. 1 of any of the 13 BCS champions. It also ended the longest drought between national championships at a single school – 53 years, from 1957 to 2010 – in the history of the polls.
• The Bipolar Champ. By far, the Tigers are the most one-sided BCS champion, ending the 12-year reign of teams with some semblance of "balance" with a run that leaned overwhelmingly on the offense. Auburn is only the fourth BCS winner to exceed 40 points per game for the season, only the third to finish in the top 10 nationally in total offense and, after dropping 519 yards on Oregon in the finale, was less than one yard away (499.2) from joining the 2005 Texas Longhorns as the only champs to average 500 yards per game. It hardly needs to be said after months of deserving accolades for Cam Newton and his supporting cast, but this was a legitimately dominant offense for the ages.
On the other hand, Auburn is also an extreme outlier on defense. Nine of the previous dozen BCS champs finished in the top 10 nationally in total defense (yards per game allowed), and none finished outside of the top 25; Auburn's defense was No. 60. No other BCS champ had ever allowed more than 20 points per game for the season; Auburn allowed just over 24 – a full touchdown per game more than any other champ, in fact, except the 2007 LSU Tigers, who gave up 19.9 per game thanks to a pair of triple-overtime losses that inflated the offensive stats.
Four previous champions, including Alabama in 2009, held opponents to half what Auburn allowed on the scoreboard in 2010. It helped than their crowning triumph came at the expense of another relatively mediocre D, but for the season, the Tigers basically rewrote the existing guidelines for what a championship defense looks like.
That's mostly due to their awful secondary, always a strong point for previous winners – only Ohio State in 2002 finished outside of the top 20 in pass efficiency defense (No. 32), and the previous five champions from 2005-09 all finished in the top five. Auburn finished 76th. (Good thing the offense led the nation in pass efficiency on the other side, I guess.)
• The Comeback Champ. It's fitting that the championship was decided on the final drive, considering the Tigers won six games in the regular season in which they trailed or were tied in the fourth quarter, including two – against Clemson and Kentucky – decided by game-winning field goals by senior kicker Wes Byrum on the final snap. The incredible rally from 24-0 down at Alabama on Nov. 26 is the largest comeback by any eventual BCS champ, by far.
What they delivered in drama, though, they lacked in dominance: Thanks to the relatively generous defense and a meh turnover margin, the Tigers' average margin of victory was only 17.1 points per game, barely edging out the 2002 Buckeyes and the 2006 Florida Gators (+16.2 points per game apiece) for the smallest margin in the championship club.
• The Survivor Champ. The other side of that coin is the killer schedule: Thanks to the general dominance of the rest of the SEC West – except for whipping boy Ole Miss, the entire division finished in the top 17 of both major polls – and a rematch with East Division champ South Carolina in the SEC title game, Auburn notched seven wins over teams that finished in the final Associated Press poll, eclipsing the 2001 Miami Hurricanes' record of six.
It still couldn't stop anybody. But with all due respect to the noble pollsters that cast protest votes for TCU at No. 1, the Tigers' title is going to hold up pretty well in the long run:
• The Disputed Champ. Of couse. Time will tell what becomes of the investigation into Cecil Newton and his crooked meddling in his spectacular son's recruitment, and what it portends for the fate of Auburn's long-awaited crystal ball. In the minds of most fans, the cloud that hung over the second half of the Tigers' season will never be lifted, regardless of the NCAA's eventual verdict (or lack thereof). But that's for the NCAA in due course. And considering that course will probably take five years to run, minimum, even the worst case leaves plenty of time to revel in the triumph. It's been long enough in coming.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
Filed under: Florida, Mississippi State, SEC
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Dee Bost scored 24 points, Kodi Augustus and Renardo Sidney each added 16, and Mississippi State beat No. 24 Florida 71-64 Saturday.
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Filed under: Bruins, Predators, NHL All Star Game, NHL Fans, NHL Videos
Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is the biggest player in the NHL, and his 6-foot-9, 255-pound frame is capable of putting some jaw-dropping power behind a slap shot. He's owned the hardest shot competition at the All Star weekend, winning it three times entering Saturday night in Raleigh. He also owned the all time record for hardest shot, a mark he managed to beat on Saturday with a blistering 105.9 MPH blast. His previous best was 105.4 MPH which he set during the 2009 contest in Montreal.
It's a good thing that you got to vote in the All-Star game starters.
It's good to have a piece, however tenuous, of the game you love. A connection to something real. A voice, in what counts.
It's just that ... some of you don't have League Pass.
And some of you haven't wasted your lives moving through stats and archived games and all manner of influence that might tell you that the most popular player at the position you're considering might not be the best choice.
Who were the best choices for next month's All-Star game? Gee, really? Well, thanks for asking.
In the American tradition, I didn't vote, but I sure can complain. Onto the West ...
CENTER
Fans picked: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
They should have picked: Nene, Denver Nuggets
They shouldn't have had to pick Nene.
Or Tim Duncan, were he listed as a center. Or Tyson Chandler. All three are All-Star worthy, but this is a bogus selection at a bogus position that was shoe-horned down the fans' throats for no good reason. And, hopefully, this is the last year of an All-Star ballot that reads "guards, forwards, and centers" instead of "come on, you're smart, pick five good ones."
Nene has had a terrific year, but I don't think he should make the team even as a reserve. And yet he's had the best year of any center in his conference. This says less about the West, and more about the ridiculousness of the stringent position-based voting process. Hopefully David Stern does right in handing Pau Gasol the starting nod next month, even if he was listed as a forward on the All-Star ballot.
Wait, that means ...
FORWARDS
Fans picked: Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
They should have picked: Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
This is clearly the busiest order of the whole mess, and while Anthony has had a good enough year, there's no way he's had a more impactful year than Love, Blake Griffin, Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Zach Randolph or Lamar Odom. Odom's minutes might be lower than Carmelo's, and his per-minute production about the same, but I'd much prefer his help defense this season than Anthony's.
Love's the guy, though; 21.6 points and 15.7 rebounds? Shooting 45 percent from long range? This guy isn't just an All-Star. He's a candidate for the All NBA-Team.
Listen, there are always four or five beyond-terrible teams in an NBA seasons, squads that you watch and wonder how they'll ever make it to 10 wins. And yet, these squads never seem to produce players averaging 37 combined points and rebounds. If it were all about, "he's on a terrible team, that's why he puts up such great numbers," then why haven't we seen numbers like this in 30 years of terrible teams? Seems to me these terrible teams have had about 150 chances, in that time.
Also, Kevin Durant is the absolute business.
GUARDS
Fans picked: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets; Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
They should have picked: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Both selections are spot on. Paul is the best point guard this league has to offer. And it's not just that Kobe's the best shooting guard out West, he's the second-best guard in the conference. This isn't me choosing by position.
What worries here is the guard play left to the NBA's assistant coaches. Because Russell Westbrook, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash and Deron Williams have been just as good as both Paul and Kobe.
And Tony Parker hasn't been. Same with Monta Ellis.
Sorry, but there's a clear step in between the lot listed above, and the two players listed below them. Once you factor in pace, and efficiency, and work on the other side of the ball (that, apologies for pointing out, is one-half the game of basketball), Parker and Ellis just don't hold up. And yet, there's a groundswell.
Mainly because Ellis has been fantastic this season, keeping his team in games, and deserving of an All-Star nod in just about any other year. And Parker has been better, even if the per-game stats don't show it, on the league's best team.
But there are four guards who have been better. Hopefully the assistant coaches do the research necessary to seek this out, instead of dodging their responsibilities.
Stop laughing.
Minnesota Timberwolves New Jersey Nets New Orleans Hornets New York Knicks
Filed under: Titans
Jeff Fisher won the battle. He could not win the war.
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Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves New Jersey Nets New Orleans Hornets
Now you see them ... uh, now you dont? The San Diego Padres unveiled their new camouflage jerseys on Tuesday and there's already some speculation that the team's attention to detail might prove to be a little too effective in 2011.
"Digitial camouflage," it's often called.
While these jerseys probably won't play major visual tricks on our eyes — it's not like the players are going to completely disappear from sight when framed against green grass — a few Marines say the Padres' tribute to the military won't be as easy to recognize as it has been in the past (see past examples below).
In other words, this is camouflage in its truest sense. From a distance, these new uniforms might simply look brown or green or whatever color the fabric has morphed into at that moment.
From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
The digital pattern creates no solid lines or edges and blurs the outline of the human profile. Even the seams have soft edges.
As a Marine wearing a MARPAT uniform moves around, the colors mesh with the background.
"Up close, they look great," said Jack Ensch, the Padres' retiring director of military affairs. "But they are going to blend in more on television and from the stands. Many fans aren't going to be able to tell that these are camouflage uniforms paying tribute to the military."
The Marines quoted in that article above say they're still honored that the Padres have adopted their pattern, but not everyone likes the continued use of camouflage on uniforms. Uni Watch's Paul Lukas made his case against the practice a few years ago and the Padres' alternates were recently named the third-worst uniform in sports.
While I haven't liked the Chicago White Sox or Cincinnati Reds donning copycat camo uniforms in recent years, the Padres' tribute has always seemed top notch to me. It's actually one of the better community outreach efforts by a team, considering the city's military history and the composition of its fan base.
What's even cooler is that the team made the effort to recognize a third branch with these new tops. The authenticity of the Marines' uniforms might cause problems, sure, but it's that commitment to realism that keeps it a tribute that is rooted in honor and respect.
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These counter-intuitive insights into sports are among the revelations in "Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played And Games Are Won," by Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim and his childhood friend, University of Chicago professor Tobias Moskowitz. Billed as a "Freakonomics" for the sporting set, "Scorecasting" analyzes data from each of the major sports leagues to counter long-held sporting beliefs and confirm some others. Defense doesn't win championships. The strike-zone changes based on the count. Home-field advantage has little to do with the screaming fans.
Wertheim does a great job of distilling the mathematical research into a book that's relatable to folks like myself who barely passed statistics in college. It's a highly readable tome that'll help settle barroom discussions and may start a few more.
On the day of the book's release, I spoke with Jon Wertheim about what his book revealed about the NFL. We touch on the overvaluation of draft picks, how variables make statistical analysis of football difficult and why coaches don't go for it more on fourth down. We also manage to sneak some Australian Open talk into the final minute.
Click on the link to listen or right click and select "save as" to download:
Shutdown Corner's Chris Chase talks with "Scorecasting" author L. Jon Wertheim
Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors
Filed under: BYU, San Diego State
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State's first loss of the basketball season isn't without potential benefits, for either me or the Aztecs.
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Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins Detroit Tigers Boston Red Sox
Ask any kid who wore Rec Specs to play youth roller hockey, Dwyane Wade; we'll tell you what's up. Pull our coats and we'll let you know that you've got to be prepared for those joints to fog up on you during the game. It's a fact of vision-corrected life, and that's word to Mindy Cohn.
When it happens to your special migraine glasses — and, as you found out midway through the third quarter of Thursday night's prime-time contest between your Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, it will happen — you've got to remain poised. No more of this trying to defog them in the middle of the play, pulling a spin move, losing your handle and turning the ball over. That's not how a smooth superhero/secret agent/whatever operates.
The turnover was one of Wade's six in the game, which saw the newly named All-Star starter display both his customary brilliance — he spent most of the first three quarters devouring the New York defense en route to 34 points (on 14-for-22 shooting), 16 rebounds and five assists — and, at times, some discomfort. Wade missed eight of his 14 free-throw attempts and all seven of his field-goal tries in the fourth quarter, opening the door for the Knicks to rally late and put away the Heat to seal a 93-88 victory at a raucous Madison Square Garden.
How much the glasses affected Wade's stroke from the line and during his late-game cold snap remains unclear, but for one play, at least, they contributed directly to a (pretty funny) change of possession. And hey, Dwyane? If you're reading this, and you almost definitely are, please accept this crowd-sourced message-board collection of prospective anti-fogging solutions with my compliments. No need to thank me. Us GlassesBros have to stick together, you know?
International readers ("Int'l read'rs"): If the clip above isn't rocking for you, please feel free to peruse the eyewear-malfunction-induced turnover courtesy of our man @Jose3030.
Filed under: Australian Open, ATP
Minnesota Twins Detroit Tigers Boston Red Sox New York Yankees
Filed under: Utah, Pac 10, Coaching
Norm Chow is returning to his roots.
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Minnesota Twins Detroit Tigers Boston Red Sox New York Yankees
Filed under: Blues, Canucks, Flames, Predators, Stars
Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors
The Milwaukee Bucks have had a hard time putting the ball in the hole, all season long. The team is 29th in offensive efficiency (the big one), 30th in points per game (the one Mark Jackson would use), and tied for last in the NBA in field-goal percentage with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nobody should be tied for anything with the Cavaliers.
But this? This is ridiculous. No ball should have to struggle like this, in order to find its way in:
Earl Boykins could have counted out his height in inches (to 65) by the time his shot eventually went down.
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The NFL's final, official list of underclassmen declaring for the upcoming draft contains 56 names, a record number of early entrants in one draft class despite the looming lockout that threatens to put the 2011 season at risk. Some of them are certain first or second-rounders, guaranteed millions with long careers in front of them; some have nothing to gain by coming back; some are driven by other motives entirely. And at least eight of them make no apparent sense whatsoever:• DeAndre Brown, WR, Southern Miss. Brown was a mega-hyped, five-star recruit in 2008, and looked every bit the NFL-bound star that fall as 6-foot-5, 225-pound freshman All-American with 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns to his name. But if Brown ever fully recovered from the grisly broken leg he suffered in the '08 New Orleans Bowl, he still hasn't demonstrated it in a game. He missed all of seven games in 2010 to some combination of injuries and extended stays in the coaches' doghouse, and was largely absent from most of the others, finishing with just 19 catches on an offense that did just fine without him. If the pros are still willing to take a chance on his size and potential, he's going to have to deliver some face-melting workouts to move into first five rounds.
• Nick Claytor, OL, Georgia Tech. Claytor started 10 games at tackle in his first season as a regular starter for an option offense, and, well, there you go. His "drive to be great" may earn Claytor a phone call at some point in the final round, but probably not any sooner.
• Tori Gurley, WR, South Carolina. Gurley's towering, 6-4, 235-pound frame may get him picked in the sixth round or so, but he only played for two years after redshirting in 2008 and was vastly overshadowed by teammate Alshon Jeffery in both of them.
• Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh. Lewis is not only well below the NFL standard at 5-7, 195 pounds: After a breakout season as the nation's leading rusher in 2009, he was already showing signs of significantly diminished returns in '10 in his second season as the Panthers' top back. In fact, he didn't even qualify for that title for the vast majority of the year – it took about three weeks for everybody's All-American to begin yielding the majority of carries to fellow sophomore Ray Graham, who outrushed his more celebrated backfield mate 492 yards to 143 in September, with three straight 100-yard efforts. Graham, not Lewis, was still the Panthers' leading rusher entering the regular season finale at Cincinnati, on almost two full yards more per carry than their forgotten star.
Lewis finished strong with a career day against the Bearcats and another 100-yard effort against Kentucky in the bowl game to push him over 1,000 for the season, but that's not likely to get him into the top four rounds.
• Zane Parr, DE, Virginia. At least Parr was a key cog for one of the ACC's most porous defense, starting every game as a junior with two exciting sacks at Duke. But he will be very, very lucky to be selected at all in the draft.
• Stevan Ridley, RB, LSU. Ridley was a first-team All-SEC pick by conference coaches, one of only two backs (not including Auburn quarterback Cam Newton) over 1,000 yards on the ground in the regular season and may have some academic issues. But LSU tried in vain to persuade him to stay for a central role in an SEC and possible BCS championship run under a new offensive coordinator in the fall, and his subpar speed is likely to drop Ridley out of the first three rounds, at best. Assuming he'd be eligible, he could have set his sights on a championship and still been the 14th running back off the board a year from now.
• Sealver Siliga, DT, Utah. Siliga was a nondescript plugger on a generally nondescript defense, ending his three-year career on the Ute defensive line with 2.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He picked up a vote of two last year for the All-Mountain West team. He'd probably headed for free agency. Godspeed.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.
Preview: Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. EST. The top team in the Western Conference vs. the top team in the Pacific Division. The Canucks have lost four in a row, but the last three in either overtime or the shootout. Dallas is on a 7-1-1 roll this month to counteract that fact that they've lost six of seven to Vancouver. The key tonight, according to Defending Big D: Special teams, which have been stellar this month. "In January they've scored on 12 of their 29 power plays opportunities (41.4%) and killed 24 of 26 penalties (92.3%)." Watch the Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!
Preview: New York Rangers at Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m. EST. Your VERSUS game of the night. Times have changed for the Capitals since their 7-0 loss at the Rangers on Dec. 12. First off, they've turned their fortunes around since that sixth defeat in an eight-game losing streak. But they're also out of the Southeast Division top spot, chasing the Tampa Bay Lightning. Said defenseman Karl Alzner: "We need to keep pace and we need to string a few together. We haven't had a really good group of games where we can get to seven, eight wins in a row." Holtby vs. Biron tonight.
Preview: Boston Bruins at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m. EST. The Kings have lost 10 of 13 and are 0-for-22 on the power play in their last seven games. The Bruins are 6-0-3 in their last nine road games. According to Bruins Blog, "the former No. 1 line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton will be reunited" with Marc Savard out of the lineup again. Positive sign for the Kings: The defensemen have started picking up the offense.
Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock.
Download or listen to today's episode of Puck Daddy Radio.
Reader Comment of the Day: From Vincent on the Evgeni Nabokov/Islanders issue:
Sorry but the Conventional Wisdom here is just dead wrong.
There's a huge drawback to Nabokov coming in and playing well for a bad Islanders team and that is should the Isles look to trade him, he has to get through waivers first. The Islanders were pretty high on the waiver list the first time around with and the odds of Nabokov, coming off a good showing on Long Island, getting through the second time around would be even worse because you can now pick up a goaltender who is playing well for just a waiver claim.
Which is also why any team looking to make a trade to acquire Nabokov from the Islanders would be foolish. He has to clear waivers and you could just put in a claim to get him and not have to give up anything.
By refusing to report Nabokov forces the Islanders to either suspend him or place him back on the waiver wire (where he can repeat this process until he lands with a team he wants to play for or gets suspended). Yes, he looks like a diva but what did he look like running off to Russia after not getting what he wanted in the NHL in the first place?
Bold Prediction: Markham, Ontario native Jeff Skinner scores the game-winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I know! I'm excited, too, because online movements are always so awesome and effective.
Today is #LETUSPLAY Day, because the NFLPA has declared it so. #LETUSPLAY Day is a special day in which you, the loyal NFL fan, are asked to change your Facebook status, post #LETUSPLAY messages on Twitter and to sign an online petition, which, like all other online petitions, will be very important and consequential.
If you're so inclined, you can read more about what the NFLPA wants you to do here.
Myself, I'm saying no. No, I'm sorry, you don't get to have a #LETUSPLAY day. Instead, how about every day be declared #SHUTUPANDWORKITOUTDAY until you people can decide on the best way to divide up your billions?
How dare you ask people to "do [their] part as a fan," as if it's the fans who aren't doing enough here. You know what a fan's job is? It's to watch and enjoy this game. To spend money on tickets, television packages and merchandise. To submit our eyeballs to commercials before and after every single kickoff in a game.
You know that gigantic pile of money you guys can't decide how to divide? That came from us. That was us, doing our part. It is not our part to take a side in your petty battle over who gets to roll around in more of that money.
This is not me taking a side in the lockout. This is me resenting even being asked to take a side. My side is "shut up, work it out, and play football." I don't care what you do or how you do it. I don't even want to know. Quit trying to win sympathy and just figure it out.
Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets
Portland 108, Los Angeles Clippers 93
This is where you wonder about Vinny Del Negro.
The players play the game. Teams only go as far as the talent and smarts of the players on the court allow. Vinny has a very talented team that, for the better part of the first two months of the season, scuttled away wins because they didn't play smart basketball. Mostly the kids' fault, because the three rotation rookies didn't know what they were doing. So it's quite possible VDN had these guys well versed on how to handle LaMarcus Aldridge last night, and the team (Blake Griffin, especially) didn't listen.
Or, we could fall back on what we've seen about VDN teams for the last three seasons. About how they don't exactly seem well versed in what the rest of the league is doing.
Sacramento nearly pulled out a win over the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night by loading up on LaMarcus Aldridge's left shoulder, and sending strong side help every time he tried to turn over his right shoulder for a turnaround jumper. But mainly they kept it close by taking away that jump hook over his left shoulder.
And then LMA dominated the Clippers by going over his left shoulder, all night on Thursday.
Now, this could be Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan forgetting things, or not listening to the scouting report, or plain getting fooled in the midst of a tough game on the second night of a back to back. They could be telling themselves "jump hook, jump hook, jump hook" 32 times in their head, but when LMA flinches the other way, the tired body tends to ignore the loquacious mind.
But because Vinny Del Negro is at the helm, you have to wonder.
Fans that watched this game might want you to know that this wasn't a 15-point game throughout, and that the final score might not reflect how close this was at times in the fourth quarter. But I think the final score is apt. Portland got a few breaks here and there, but they sustained that purpose and drive that we've seen from them since Brandon Roy went down, and made this game their own. LMA was brilliant, 28 points and eight rebounds, Wesley Matthews had 28 points and five assists with no turnovers, and the whole team combined for 125 points per 100 possessions.
For the Clippers? Good and bad. Good to see Eric Gordon drop 35 points and have his outside shot flowing (seven three-pointers) a day after we all worried about the torn ligament in the ring finger on his shooting hand. Bad to see that this team is still struggling, mightily, on the road.
***
Awful offensive game. Derrick Rose took in player of the game plaudits, but the guy shot 28 times and only scored 26 points, and it's not like he was being double-teamed throughout. He was just dead tired, as were all these Bulls, from having to constantly work through injuries and through the heart of a tough, demanding schedule. Dallas played last night, and it met the buzzsaw that is the Chicago defense, so their offense fell apart as well.
And what we got was, again, an awful offensive game. You still expected things to turn at some point, I'm sure Mavericks fans were fearful of Rose's shots down the stretch, even if he shot 4-12 in the fourth quarter, and I fully expected Jason Terry to nail that three-pointer in transition even before the Mavs found him on the break with less than a minute left. But nothing dropped. And Chicago won because they just cover the waterfront without hesitation.
While Rose was off with his shot down the stretch (a few went in and out), his penetration put Chicago over the top. It influenced a pell-mell style that had the Bulls crashing the offensive glass and finding open 38-year olds for 18-footers.
***
I don't think I've ever seen an NBA team get farther and do more based on bad shots than the Charlotte Bobcats of the last two seasons. Flat-footed threes, long twos, pull-ups in transition; this team is like the opposite of one of those Kobe Bryant runs.
You know the type. People seem to forget Kobe's long misses and low percentage failures, and only remember the impossible shots that go in that he shouldn't be taking, because they look so damn cool. With the Bobcats, it's the other way around. All I reflect up on are misses, they keep winning, and it really looks far from cool.
Gerald Henderson put this game away last night by hitting a series of 20-foot jumpers. They're terrible shots, this might be the high point of his NBA career, and yet it gave the Bobcats a win. And all they've done recently is win, bucking all sorts of trends and pulling out the close ones. History and percentages tell you that those close wins will even out after a while, but this team doesn't seem to fall victim to the same percentages and historical this-is-how-we-do-its that other teams have to work through, so expect things at your own peril.
This was a good offensive game, despite bad offensive shots. Some chunks went wonky on me because my dish feed was going in and out due to dodgy weather in the Midwest, but the Sixers had very good spacing throughout, and the Bobcats earned this win. This team is obviously playing for a purpose, and Paul Silas is squeezing absolutely everything out of this roster.
Also, the rebirth of D.J. Augustin has been such a warming thing. This was a guy who was kicked to the curb by a disinterested Larry Brown, while the whole of the NBA wanted to know why Michael Jordan didn't select Brook Lopez instead. Not to say the Augustin pick was the right one, even as Lopez struggles, but it's good to see this guy keep his wits about him and contribute when called upon. Thirty-one points and eight assists in the win for the third-year guard.
![do [their] part as a fan](http://www.nfllockout.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/BTC_stadium_600X338.jpg){kind=link}