By David J. Cohen
The NBA draft is extremely crucial toward building success and ultimately championships. Every team is one great pick away from possible glory. However, this year the draft shook out in an order that hurts many of the teams. If trades don’t happen early and often a lot of square pegs could find themselves in round holes. Here is a mock draft rundown of what the teams should do, and then what I think they will end up doing if they are picking at their respective spots.
By David J. Cohen
The Bulls lucked into another great draft spot. They’ve made a habit of this since MJ left the building. History shows that the Bulls have the luckiest ping pong ball in the draft lottery of late when it comes to getting high draft picks:
By David J. Cohen
It’s official. Operation Keep Isiah As Far Away From the Knicks As Possible is finally under way. New Knicks President Donnie Walsh has sent Isiah on a scouting mission.
By David J. Cohen
It’s time for the NBA playoffs. This year is especially good, with storylines all over the place. I can’t remember a playoff year in the NBA with so much intrigue in the opening round.
Here’s how the Eastern Conference should play out.
By David J. Cohen
It’s the greatest journey in all of sports. It’s a time when George Mason’s can be made and Duke’s can be broken. A time when buzzer-beaters become cooler talk. A time when that sure-fire team leaves you scratching your head as the secretary wins the office pool for the 10th year in a row.
March Madness is here. It’s a long journey, so you’ll need a good map. I’ll be your guide for what lies ahead.
By David J. Cohen
The playoffs have a different feel this year than in recent years. In those years there were clearly defined contenders and pretenders for the championship. However, this year the playoffs seem truly wide open. This year the playoffs are centered on three inexperienced quarterbacks: Tony Romo of the Cowboys, Rex Grossman of the Bears, and Philip Rivers of the Chargers. If they can rise to the occasion their teams will make the runs expected of them. If they falter, proven veterans will seize the day.
The NFC is the perfect example of what parity has done to the league. It has made teams competitive which have been awful the year before. With parity, you can go through Hurricane Katrina one year and earn a bye the next. Parity has also made mediocrity a premium. The 8-8 Giants are in the playoffs, and teams like Green Bay were still in it going into the last week of the regular season. The playoff picture in the NFC is murky, with no clear cut choice. With that said, here is how it should play out.
By David J. Cohen
It’s the last week of the regular season in big time college football. This means the BCS controversy is approaching full tilt. This year the controversy is over who plays Ohio State for the national championship. Michigan is waiting in the wings if USC collapses against arch-rival UCLA. Then there’s Florida, the team on top of arguably the toughest conference in the country and the team every analyst outside of CBS wants out of the picture. Then there’s the issue over whether Notre Dame will get a bid despite being outside of the top eight in the BCS standings because they are Notre Dame, will generate an audience, and would be paid less by the BCS then a representative from a BCS conference. The Irish would receive $4.5 million. When the winner of a conference makes a BCS game this year, the conference gets between $14 million and $17 million to split among the teams. The other rotten apple this year, which is being overlooked, is the fact that an ACC team will get a bid despite the mediocrity of the conference this year. The highest ranked team is 14th ranked Virginia Tech, who isn’t in the conference championship game.
By David J. Cohen
Coming into the NBA season several teams have received a lot of publicity. Out west the Suns are everyone’s favorites if F Amare Stoudemire is healthy. The Spurs and Mavericks are the other top contenders out west. And the biggest surprise last year, the Los Angeles Clippers, return stronger and with more experience.
In the Eastern Conference analysts and commentators would make you believe only two teams exist. The Miami Heat will try to defend the title with an aging core mixed with the possible arrival of several young players. The Chicago Bulls add C Ben Wallace to the best defense in the league and hope it is enough to win a championship. Everyone else in the east is pretty much invisible. However, like the Clippers last season, there is a team ready to make a huge step forward on their road to a possible title in the future. It started after the all-star break last year and will continue this year. It’s the NBA’s biggest sleeper team: The Orlando Magic.
By David J. Cohen
Yesterday Cowboys WR Terrell Owens attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on prescription pain killers. According to sources, 35 of the 40 pills remaining in the prescription were still remaining before yesterday. The medication was intended to help Owens deal with his recent injury, a broken bone involving his right ring finger.
By David J. Cohen
The Patriots have given disgruntled WR Deion Branch permission to seek a trade with another team. This comes after weeks of failed contract negotiations between the Pats and Branch. This includes two denied offers from the Patriots: the first, a 3-year deal worth $18.75 million with $8 million guaranteed; the second, a 5-year extension worth $31 million. Branch has until September 1st to find a deal elsewhere.