Thursday, April 5, 2012

Ranting and raving on the sports world.....

                                                           Look! Its Jared Sullinger, the man who
                                                           the Jazz will NOT draft this year!



    A lot on my mind today.....hope you enjoy it!

   First of all, as a Jazz fan, I enjoy reading what others are saying about my team.  I frequently check out nbadraft.net to see the latest projections of who they think the Jazz will take in this summer's draft.

    I had to laugh when I saw that they had projected the Jazz to take Jared Sullinger in their mock draft last week.  Really? Jared Sullinger?  Anyone who even remotely follows the Jazz knows that the Jazz have a real problem in their front court.  They have two established veterans who start and play big minutes.  They have two immensely talented young big men who are going to be very good someday.  They have more people who deserve minutes than they can find time for on the court. 

     So these draft "experts" think that the Jazz are going to use a top 10 pick on ANOTHER front court player?  Really?  With the long term uncertainty at point guard, and the log-jam up front, the Jazz are going to draft Jared Sullinger?  

     The only way the Jazz draft a big man in the lottery is if Lew Alcindor is there.  And he is not.  And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.  And my teachers in school always told me that you can't start a sentence with "and" and I have now done it three sentences in a row!  IN YO FACE!

     These internet hacks ought to do some research before they make these projections.  They sure look awfully foolish. 

    Speaking of the NBA draft......there is some talk out there of changing the requirements to come into the league.  I want to propose my own way of changing things. 

    As it is now, players have to be one year removed from high school to enter the NBA.  You can play college ball or in Europe for a year, but you can't go "preps to pros" anymore. 

    If it was up to me, I would change it to be similar to the MLB model.  There are a few players in the NBA who have nothing to gain by playing college ball.  They are as ready as they can be for the league and they should be able to jump right in.  Currently playing in the leauge, I can think of only a few.  LeBron, Kevin Durrant, Derrick Rose, and Kobe Bryant.  Every single player in the NBA not in this group should have gone to college.  So basically, in my model, when that rare player comes along, they can be drafted right out of high school.

     I realize that a lot of kids out there think they are LeBron James, because everyone has told them so.  To prevent owners from taking every kid out of high school, I would propose that owners be required to pay a tax if they draft a high school player.  Maybe 5 million.  That way, only the truly elite get drafted.  Otherwise, you go play college ball.

    Now, once you are in college, you have to stay for at least three years.  For my examples of why, I refer you to Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes, and Jared Sullinger.   All were considered top five picks last year after their freshman year.  Feeling that the lockout might not end, they chose to come back to school. 

     In each case, their stock has fallen.  Which means less money for them.  BUT, there are advantages to being taken later.  Look, scouts have had an extra year to find their weaknesses and aren't as excited about them.  Being taken lower in the draft will decrease the pressure on them.  They go to a team that is more ready to compete. 
 
    And their stock dropping is artificial as well.  They haven't regressed in terms of playing, its just that the scouts see less upside than before.  In reality, they are more mature, and better skilled players who are more ready to compete in the NBA.

     Look at Perry Jones.  Last year, he probably gets taken top 3.  Top 5 minimum.  But he just wasn't ready.  He would have been barbecued.  Now, he will be a later lottery pick.  The spotlight won't be as bright, and he can develop at a more natural rate. 

   Forcing these guys to stay in college will help NBA owners make better decisions.  It will also help the quality of college basketball......which leads me to my next point.

    Can we please stop the "Kentucky could beat Team X in the NBA!"  No they couldn't.  They would lose to any NBA team by 30+ 10 out of 10 times. 

    I just love the argument that "Kentucky has four NBA players! They could compete!"  That is cute.  Each NBA team has 13 NBA players.  Good luck to Kentucky! 

    With the "one and done" rule, college basketball has become less competitive.  You don't see the elite teams anymore.  Kentucky is good, but they would have a hard time beating any champ from the 90's.  In fact, if this Kentucky team had played during the 90's, I don't see them even reaching the final four. 

     On to the gridiron now.....

    I have rambled on far longer than I intended, so let me simply say that Roger Goddell needs to bring the hammer down on this bounty scandal.  He needs to make a statement so that players and coaches understand that this is not acceptable.  Yes, football is a violent game.  People will get hurt.  But to give incentives to hurt someone permanently is deplorable.   Heads need to roll on this.  I would even consider lifetime bans.  This HAS to stop. 

   BOZO OF THE WEEK:

    Dwight Howard.  This guy has held his team hostage for a long time now.  Recently, the news broke that he has asked management to fire coach Stan Van Gundy.  The Magic should have shipped this loser off a long time ago.  This isn't your team Dwight.  You don't call the shots.  You are a spoiled brat with an ego the size of Disneyworld.  Why don't you shut up and play ball?  If you want to win so badly, why don't you cut your salary in half so the team can sign some other good players?  But nope.  Dwight is a beans for brains buffoon. 

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