The Post Where I Predict Super Bowl Things

Super Bowl XLIV or Super Bowl 44 for those who hate Roman numerals, is set to take place this Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints have both went through the hype machine, survived media day, was able to fight through all the taping of the video montages sure to take place during the 15-hour pregame. The table is set and they are ready to eat. I'm here to predict some prop bets that you can wager, if that's your cup of tea.

First, let's explain something first, I can't say that I am unbiased when it comes to this Super Bowl. As I am writing this, I am wearing an Indianapolis Colts sweatshirt that I picked up the last time I was in my homeland of Indiana. I can look past it while picking these Super Bowl Prop Bets, but let's start out with predicting the score.

Colts 31 - Saints 21 - As I am writing this, most sportsbooks have the Super Bowl Odds somewhere around 5 points, so you should take the Colts.

Now for the more odd props that you could wager on this Super Bowl.

Heads vs. Tails - I'm more of a Heads man myself, so I'll pick that.

Coin Toss - The Colts have been pretty luck this year, so I'll say that they will win the coin toss

Team To Receive Opening Kickoff - The Colts will win the coin toss and I think that they will defer to the second half, the Saints will get the ball first.

Team To Commit The 1st Penalty - The Saints are favored (-140) and I think that's the smartest bet

Team To Score Last In 1st Half - The Colts are favored (-140) and Peyton Manning loves those last minute 1st half drives

Will There Be A Safety - The sure bet would be No, but at (-1400) odds, you could probably put a few bucks on Yes at (+800) to hedge a few bets.

Will The Team That Scores First Win The Game - Yes is at (-195) and No is at (+155), I actually like NO here.

Total Interceptions Thrown By Both Teams - I like the Under 2.5, which is currently (-200)

First Turnover Of THe Game, Interception vs. Fumble - I like Interception here at (-170), Adrian Peterson isn't playing in this game

Total Number Of Colts Players To Score (Including Kickers) - It's currently at +/- 3.5, I like the Over on this one, a lot.

Longest Touchdown Of The Game +/- 49.5 - I like the over on this one, it's at (-115), I feel that someone will bust at least one big play.

Over/Under Jersey Number Of Player To Score First TD +/- 25.5 - I LOVE the over on this, more of the receivers have a number higher than 26, expect Marques Colston

I'll write another post about more individual prop bets during the Super Bowl

Seantrel Henderson Is A Beast

Seantrel Henderson was the last big name to announce where he was going on National Signing Day for college football. I live in Columbus, OH and I've been hearing about this guy for a few weeks now and all of the local radio hosts were salivating at the chance that he'd be a Buckeye. Well, Henderson threw everyone a curveball tonight and he picked USC.

Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Florida were all in the hunt for the 6'8, 300-pound Offensive Lineman. He's a senior at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. It appeared that the University of Michigan was the early favorite, but he changed his mind more times than you can count on both hands. No one had any idea what college he was going to pick leading up to tonight's live broadcast on CBS College Sports Channel. He is going to be the left-tackle at USC, protecting QB Matt Barkley's blindside for the next few years. I doubt he will redshirt since he already has a professional body and appears to have nice technique. Lane Kiffin has proven that he is a great recruiter, let's see if he can coach all this talent and win championships. Here is the video of Henderson picking USC and another video which is Henderson's junior year highlight reel.

Pete Carroll Is A Smart Hire For Seattle

There are rumors out there that USC's head coach, Pete Carroll, is rumored to be the #1 guy on the list for the Seattle Seahawks head coaching job. It would be a smart move by Seattle and for Carroll, in fact, it could be the perfect situation for both sides. If he takes the job, would it be a sign that USC will be hammered by the NCAA for their multiple infractions?

Pete Carroll isn't new to the NFL, he used to coach the New England Patriots and New York Jets, so you couldn't compare his hire with Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, or Bobby Petrino. Carroll is a known commodity, even though he didn't have a lot of success in the NFL. If Carroll is the next head coach of the Seahawks, I believe that they will be the favorite in the NFC West for years to come. He will probably have general manager duties along with being the head coach, thus he will get to pick his guys. If you ask any player who played for Carroll at USC, they will say that they loved playing for him. He will give the best players a shot to start and will give rookies more of an instant start, if he proves himself in the preseason. Think about all of the great USC players that went to the NFL over the last decade. Don't you think that they might want to play for him again, so Seattle would have an edge in the free agent period. Who knows, maybe they would take less money to play for their former coach.

If Carroll takes the Seattle job, what does that say about the NCAA investigation results for USC? I think it would mean that the NCAA will be laying the hammer down on them. It won't be as bad as the SMU action many years ago, but I would assume that they will vacate wins and more. Also, Joe McKnight declared for the NFL draft today, so bad news keep coming for USC fans.

Seattle Fires Jim Mora

This past Monday was traditionally called "Black Monday," but last Monday was more like a shade of gray. There weren't many firings and many coaches that were in trouble of losing their jobs, held onto them. A coach that flew under the radar this season was Seattle's Jim Mora. He didn't have a good season and today Seattle fired Mora. Did Seattle fire Mora to try and go after Bill Cowher or another big name or was it time for a change?

Seattle Seahawks CEO, Tod Leiweke, announced today that they will fire Jim Mora, even though Leiweke openly endorsed him six weeks ago. The team's general manager, Tim Ruskell, stepped down mid-season so they will be looking to fill both positions. Mora took over the head coach duties once Mike Holmgren stepped down, but he was the "head coach in waiting" for two seasons before taking over as head coach. Seattle has went 9-23 over the last two seasons and it was time for an overhal in Seattle. Although the timing is quite coincidental since Bill Cowher is rumored to be looking to coach in 2010, but with Buffalo being his only option, it was unlikely that he would take the Bills job. The Seattle job seems more likely, since he would have total control. The one reason why it would be unlikely is because of the geographical location of Seattle. Cowher stepped down as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers because he wanted to be closer to his family, who reside in the Carolina region.

It's is unknown who Seattle will target since they could be looking to upgrade every position on the field. They had a long stretch of success with Matt Hasselbeck as the quarterback, but with two injury-plagued seasons, a change at head coach could mean the end of his reign as the starting quarterback. A youth movement needs to happen on offense since the wide receiving corps is getting "long in the tooth" and the offensive line has holes. They do have Justin Forsett and Deon Butler on offense, but they still need grooming. The defense had issues in 2009 stopping the run and doing the little things on the football field. Seattle's offense didn't give their defense very good field position, so the blame falls on both sides of the ball for Seattle.

Jim Mora is a solid secondary coach and he should latch onto a coaching staff very soon. He had a rough go in Seattle with the Michael Vick saga taking place on his watch. Mora didn't inherit a very good team when he took over in Seattle, I don't blame Mora, I blame the former GM Tim Ruskell and Mike Holmgren for leaving him with a bad team.

Bert Blyleven Deserves To Be Hall Of Famer

Blyleven deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, if not only because of that awesome shirt, but he was a very good pitcher. Let's face it, baseball's Hall of Fame has turned into "the hall of very good," and Blyleven deserves in. He fell 5 votes shy today for being an inductee, but he is a sure money bet of making it next year. Andre Dawson is the lone candidate and the entire ceremony will be dedicated to the former great of the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs. In the following article, I try to make my case for Bert Blyleven to be inducted in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Blyleven played during a time, when multi-channel ESPNs and regional Fox Sports Net channels did not exist and MLB Extra Innings packages on DirecTV wasn't even invented, you may not have caught Bert Blyleven's best work. Unless you caught the highlights on Sportscenter where Chris Berman used a nickname of Burt "Be Home" Blyleven, you would just think that he was an average pitcher. His career ERA was 3.90, but his early career was his peak, but he kept a roster spot on small-market teams. His record was 287-250, just 37 games over .500, but from 1982 until the end of his career in '92, his ERA was over 4.00. If a pitcher wins nearly 300 games, it nearly negates this feat once a pitcher reaches his 250th loss, like Blyleven.

An argument that Blyleven has for his induction is that his numbers are measurable to Nolan Ryan's. Blyleven does not have Ryan's no-hitters or his dominance of one-hit games either. Blyleven's win-loss record has a lot to do with Blyleven's teams not scoring many runs, thus having him lose many one-run games. He pitched in a different era than what today's pitchers will be held up to. Middle-relief pitching was approached as need-based, rather than a necessity, Blyleven pitched in almost 300 career complete games.

Let's crunch some numbers, in his 22-year career, Blyleven pitched a complete game in over 40% of the games in which he has started. He has never ranked higher than third in the Cy Young voting and has only played in two All-Star games in his 22-year career.

Bert Blyleven will be immortalized into the Hall of Fame. Sometimes players start racking up statistics just cause longevity and not exactly superb play. Blyleven's 3701 strikeouts are amazing, but his K/9 statistic of 7.4 per 9 innings isn't super spectacular, but nothing about Blyleven really is. It's a solid number and Blyleven was a solid pitcher and long-term performance needs to be rewarded with an induction in Cooperstown.

It's Official: Dawson Is in Hall Of Fame

The verdict is in and Andre Dawson will be the lone inductee into baseball's Hall of Fame. It was his 9th year on the ballot and the publicity campaign worked for "The Hawk." Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were close, but weren't able to get 75% of the votes to join Dawson.

I have been a huge fan of Andre Dawson since I was about seven years of age. When he appeared on the Cubs, I was unaware where he came from. I was very young and I only kept tabs on the Cubs since I watched them every day on WGN. It wasn't until later that I found out that he was a star in Montreal for many years. When he arrived in Chicago, he was a home run machine and the clean-up hitter that Chicago needed to finally win a pennant in 1989. He was a nice player to lineup near Ryne Sandberg, but he turned out to be much more for Chicago, since he won the NL MVP in 1987 and lead the league in home runs.

Dawson was clearly a shell of himself later in his career because he played on the very bad turf in Montreal that messed up his knees. He used to have a lot of speed and stole a lot of bases with teammate Tim Raines leading the league many seasons. The Expos were a very fast team, but after playing so many years there, players were plagued with various knee problems. The turf was basically carpet on top of cement.

I will surely be watching the induction of "The Hawk" as I did when Ryne Sandberg was inducted. When you think about the 1987 season for the Cubs, they had Dawson, Sandberg, Rafael Palmeiro, Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer, and Lee Smith. They had six players that will either be in the Hall of Fame or will be very close. It's hard to believe that the team finished last place in the NL East that year with a record of 76-85.

It was a shame that Bert Blyleven fell 5 votes of getting into the Hall of Fame. Every pitcher who gets near 300 wins, even if he had nearly as many losses, deserves to get in. He has two more years of eligibility and he should get in next season. Roberto Alomar also fell short in his first year of eligibility. He is another player that should get in and they both faired well in a year with not many stars becoming eligible. Jack Morris also saw an increase in votes, but he still has a long way to go, his name was on about 50% of the ballots.

Re-Do: 1999 NBA Draft

The 1999 NBA Draft is considered one of the deepest drafts in in history. There are nine All-Stars from this draft and players like Lamar Odom and James Posey who were cornerstones in helping their teams win an NBA Championship. Who goes #1 if this draft was redone today? Who would pick the same players if everyone is reshuffled? Here is the 1999 NBA Draft redone if it happened today.

1. Richard Hamilton – Chicago Bulls - I think Hamilton gets the edge over the rest of the class because he is a winner and has been very productive for years. Elton Brand was originally picked here, which was a decent pick. (Hamilton was picked #8 to Washington)

2. Baron Davis – Vancouver Grizzlies – Maybe if the Grizz drafted Baron "The Beard" Davis, the team would have stayed in Vancouver instead of moving to Memphis. Steve Francis was drafted by them, but promptly traded to the Rockets. (Davis went #3 to Charlotte)

3. Manu Ginobli – Charlotte Hornets - Maybe the Spurs wouldn't have been so dominate the last 5-7 years without Ginobli. He would have been #1 or #2, but he has been a sixth man for most of his career in San Antonio. Baron Davis went here in the real 1999 NBA Draft. (Ginobli went #57 to San Antonio)

4. Ron Artest – Los Angeles Clippers – I love playing revisionist history because L.A. is really where Artest wanted to be nearly his entire career. Maybe if they pick Artest here instead of Lamar Odom, he would have stayed with the Clippers and they would have been much better of a team for the past decade. (Artest went #16 to Chicago)

5. Elton Brand – Indiana Pacers - He would have been a much better pick here than Jonathan Bender was at this pick. The Pacers have been searching for a post-man during this time, they could have had a franchise player in Brand at #5. (Brand went #1 to Chicago)

6. Lamar Odom - Minnesota Timberwolves - Odom has been lucky because he has played his entire career either in L.A. or Miami, so thinking that he would do well in Minnesota would be ridiculous, but he would have been a nice compliment to Kevin Garnett during this time. They ended up picking Wally Szczerbiak here, who was a nice player for them. (Odom was picked #4 by L.A. Clippers)

7. Shawn Marion – Washington Wizards - I'm not sure if Marion would have done well in Washington during the 1999 period. He did well in Phoenix because there weren't any real plays set up for him. He was the garbage man and Washington was better off with their actual pick of Richard Hamilton (Marion was picked #9 to Phoenix)

8. Andre Miller – Cleveland Cavaliers - This was the one of two picks in this re-do that was the actual pick by the team. Although he only spent three seasons in Cleveland, if he would have stayed there, he would have been a nice role player with Lebron James. (Miller was picked #8 to Cleveland)

9. James Posey - Phoenix Suns - No matter where James Posey plays, he is well-liked by his teammates and completely over-achieves. If he were on the Suns, maybe they would have won a Championship, but Phoenix can't complain, Shawn Marion did a great job with them with this actual pick. (Posey was picked #18 to Denver)

10. Jason Terry – Atlanta Hawks - This is the other pick during this re-do that actually happened in the 1999 NBA Draft. During Terry's stretch in Atlanta, he spent his time in and out of the doghouse. His most productive years have come as a member of the Dallas Mavericks (Terry was picked #10 by Atlanta)

11. Corey Magette – Cleveland Cavaliers - Maggette would have been a very in compliment to Lebron James and Andre Miller, if those players were still on the Cavs. Cleveland's actual pick was a swing and a miss. They took Trajan Langdon also out of Duke, but couldn't stick in the league. (Maggette was picked #13 by Seattle)

12. Andrei Kirilenko – Toronto Raptors - Kirilenko has the potential to be a triple-double machine and he plays stout defense for Utah. He would probably have seen more playing time in Toronto and would have been a better pick for them than Aleksander Radojevic, who they picked at this spot in 1999. (Kirilenko was picked #24 by Utah)

13. Wally Szczerbiak – Seattle Supersonics - No one was hotter coming off an amazing NCAA tournament in this draft than Szczerbiak. He was a scoring machine for Miami of Ohio. In his prime, he was one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, but the Sonics actually picked Maggette with this pick, but didn't stick with the Sonics. (Szczerbiak was picked #6 by Minnesota)

14. Jeff Foster – Minnesota Timberwolves - I put Foster in this slot over Steve Francis because of longevity of career, plus Foster is a very under-rated basketball players. He can play both Center and Power Forward effectively and is very durable. Minnesota could have used a guy like that and would have gave Garnett another big man in the paint. Their actual pick, William Avery, didn't last in the NBA very long. (Foster was picked #21 by Atlanta)

How To Fix The Chicago Bears

At the beginning of the year, I predicted that the Bears would win the NFC North and the Bears would finish 11-5. I was way off and many experts are left with pie on their face. What went wrong with the Bears? How could this team possibly have trouble scoring points? What happened to Matt Forte? Is Jay Cutler a turnover machine the next Jim McMahon? Does Lance Briggs love McRibs? I answer these important questions.

When the Bears traded for Jay Cutler, it was the greatest day in Chicago since Michael Jordan was wearing the number #23. You didn't hear anyone thinking that this was a mistake. You heard things like "Chicago has never had a great quarterback" and "Chicago is a lock to win the NFC North." You didn't hear things like, "Chicago still haven't had a great quarterback" and "Chicago looks just awful out there." The Bears paid a great price for Cutler and they don't have a #1 pick for the next couple years to help replenish their aging roster.

Why has Jay Cutler looked so bad this year? It's easy, he has no one to throw it to. It seemed like he was getting a groove with TE Greg Olson, but defenses made note and stopped that from happening. Cutler had to try and make things happen out there with receivers that can't get open. It's as simple as that. Cutler was so used to Brandon Marshall, who could get open in a gaggle of geese, to these receivers that couldn't get open against Verne Troyer. If the Bears can get a few veteran receivers or maybe even Brandon Marshall, Cutler will go back to his "golden boy" status.

I know it's not as simple as I'm describing it. The Bears are clealy one-dimensional right now. Cutler has to face seven dropping back in coverage because Matt Forte went from stud rookie to old sophomore in a matter of one off-season. Forte hasn't really had that one great game to help us forget how mediocre he has been this season. I don't want to blame him completely, because the offensive line hasn't given him much to run through. It's a clear collapse of the entire offense, it's a hard thing to watch.

I can't fully blame the offense, because the Bears defense have looked just as pedestrian as the offense this season. You can point to the season-ending injury of Brian Urlacher as a possbile blame for their insufficient play. There's talk that if the Bears keep Lovie Smith as the head coach, they could strip his defensive play-calling, since he has done for the past few seasons. If you had Urlacher this season, it still wouldn't helped the pass coverage much. You could see this team start to decline defensively last year, but if you need another excuse for the Bears, the offense has left them with horrible defensive field position.

Here is how you would fix the Chicago Bears. It starts with the head coach. The Bears offense had one good season under Lovie Smith, they went to the Super Bowl that year. They had a reckless quarterback, Rex Grossman, and a stout defense. They still have a reckless quarterback, but not the defense or offensive production to match. You hire a big name ex-coach like Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan to fix everything and give them full control of personnel. You have to get rid of Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, as well.

The next step, since you don't have first-round picks for the next few years, you have to trade a couple pieces to get younger and more athletic. You would have to trade a player like Brian Urlacher for a young left tackle or a high first round pick. You can fix your receiving corps by signing a veteran receiver and using a 2nd-round pick on a possession receiver. You can also get steals in the late rounds to help your secondary. These are steps that need to happen for the Bears to rebuild in a hurry. You have to build your team around Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, and Lance Briggs, those are immovable pieces that you can use as building blocks.

If the Bears want to make a change, just do it. Don't go in the Washington Redskins route and start stripping the head coach of duties. You need to rip the band-aid off in one motion, don't make it slow and painful. The Bears have a good quarterback and that isn't something that Chicago fans are used to. A complete change in philosophy needs to happen and it starts with the head coach and trading Brian Urlacher and move this team in a new direction. Sometimes it's better this way, even if you know that it will hurt.

Greg Oden Out For Season

Greg Oden, the former #1 overall pick, will miss another season to injury. He collided knees with Aaron Brooks while driving to the basket. He suffered a broken kneecap on his left knee, which will end his season. Is Oden injury-prone or was this a freak injury? It's hard to say, but I try to explain in the following article.

The world was Greg Oden's just two seasons ago when he was the #1 overall pick of the Trailblazers and he was coming off a season where he lead Ohio State to the NCAA Championship game. A lot was going for him, but then he had to miss his first season in the league due to micro-fracture surgery on his right knee. If you add his wrist injury that plagued him during his only season in college, people think Oden might be fragile like Samuel L. Jackson in "Unbreakable."

I agree with the consensus for the most part, the list is very long of guys who are near 7 feet tall that play basketball. These kinds of injuries are a work-related hazard for anyone playing in the NBA, no matter the size. If a guy as speedy as Aaron Brooks slashes towards you and your kneecap is in the way, I would say that it's a 99% chance that your kneecap is going to break. Even if he didn't have the previous injuries, this was a freak accident.

The long-term prognosis for players coming back from this injury should be good. As long as the kneecap didn't shatter and do any damage to the ligaments and tendons in the knee. Oden should be back next season, but how much longer can Portland wait for all of their weapons to be on the court at the same time? Travis Outlaw is due to be out awhile with a foot injury and even their coach, Nate McMillan ruptured his Achilles tendon in practice. Portland is getting hit with freak injuries, if I am a player on the Trailblazers, I would watch my step.

Kimbo Slice Wins In UFC Debut (Kind Of)

Kimbo Slice made his official UFC debut tonight against UFC veteran, Houston Alexander. It was billed to be a knock-out, no-holds-barred brawl, but it was more like an episode of "Dancing With The Stars." See who won the fight and see how Kimbo won this less-than-impressive fight.

Mixed-martial art purists dislike Kimbo Slice and everything that he stands for. He is an internet sensation and they dislike him for not having a ground game. Kimbo has been training with guys to improve his ground attack. In the fight against Alexander, Slice looks much improved with his ground attack. At one point in the 2nd round, he nearly had a rear-naked choke, but was barely out of position and couldn't lock it in.

The match started off very slow, Alexander was circling the ring and Slice was not looking to make a mistake early. Nearly half of the first round went by and Slice didn't even throw a punch and Alexander only landed one leg kick. The crowd was booing off and on throughout the fight.

The second round started out very slow again, but a lot of action started when Alexander missed a leg kick and Slice countered with a jab. The jab knocked Alexander off-balance and Slice slammed him to the ground. This is where Slice almost got a rear-naked choke, but he got front mount and did some ground & pound.

The third round was a joke and both fighters were very tired. Alexander did land a leg kick on Slice that looked like it may have re-injured his left knee, the knee that was causing him trouble in the Ultimate Fighter house.

The fight went to decision and Slice won in unanimous decision. This is the outcome that Slice needed, but he would have liked a knockout much more. Dana White has to be drooling for Slice to come out a winner. Expect Slice to start to jump up the ranks in the heavyweight division now that Brock Lesnar is out for awhile with an abdominal condition.

This Week In Hot Stove: December 4th

Hot Stove season has started and it could be a wild off-season for many teams. The economy took a dive this year, but will salaries? Who won the trades this week? Who signed with a new team? I'm here to help talk about the significant trades and signings the week before the Winter Meetings take place in Indianapolis.

Mets sign SS Alex Cora to a one-year deal - I don't see the significance to this signing, if anything it's a weak security blanket in case Jose Reyes doesn't come back or re-injures himself.

Phillies sign C Brian Schnieder to a two-year deal - It's no secret that the Phillies are looking to upgrade this position, but Schneider could be a nice platoon option at catcher.

Cleveland trade C Kelly Shoppach to Tampa Bay Rays for player to be named later - I believe Tampa Bay won this trade hands-down. Shoppach had a rough '09 season, but if you look at his '08 totals, they were great. Cleveland has a lot of young catching talent, so he was expendable. I look for him to be a nice player for the Rays going forward.

A's re-sign RHP Joey Devine - Devin is often injured and has never reached his potential. I don't think he is going to get there with as many injuries he has suffered in his short career.

Atlanta Braves sign LHP Billy Wagner to a one-year deal - The Braves had trouble closing games out and they really didn't have one solid closer for the last couple seasons. If Wagner can stay healthy, he could have a nice season for Atlanta.

Phillies sign 2B Placido Polanco to a three-year deal - This signing is a little weird. They are wanting Polanco to play third-base, so this signing means that Pedro Feliz will be on another team next season. Polanco is a nice player, but I'm not sure what he gives you at third-base.

Oakland trades RHP Jeff Gray and two minor-leaguers for C/3B/LF Jake Fox, 2B Aaron Miles, and cash considerations - You can see my take on this trade by reading this story.

Mets sign C Chris Coste and Henry Blanco to one-year contracts - The Phillies basically trade catchers with Schneider signing with Philadelphia. This signing proves that the Mets are looking to platoon this position.

Braves sign RHP Takashi Saito to a one-year contract - I really like this signing since they have added Bill Wagner to the pen. Saito can be a nice setup guy and with their starting rotation, Atlanta is building a bullpen to match.

Red Sox sign Marco Scutaro to a two-year contract - It looks like Boston may have cured its search for an able shortstop. I like this signing, it's not flashy, but he's good defensively.

Mariners sign Chone Figgins to a three-year contract - Figgins is a nice player, but they are signing him for $9 million per year. I like him, but I'm not sure if I like him that much. I look at the Mariners roster and I don't see where the power will come from. Figgins can get on base, but who will drive him home?

Look for a lot of activity to happen next week....

Notre Dame Should Go To A Bowl Game

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish decided to forgo a bowl game this season. They finished 6-6 and would have gone to a decent bowl game, since they are Notre Dame. I don't see why they would pass up the chance to recoup some of the money that they paid Charlie Weis to get out of town. I know that the Fighting Irish don't look like they have much fight in them, but they made a big mistake by passing up their bowl game.

Remember Notre Dame's bowl game last year? They beat Hawaii 49-21, which was one of the biggest highlights of a dim season. If it wasn't for that game, many people wouldn't have been so high on the Irish this season. It looks like a few of the players are going to forgo their senior year and head to the NFL, wouldn't it be good for them to have one last showcase before the combines? I just don't get the reasoning behind this decision.

Notre Dame said that they spoke to their assistant coaches and team leaders to make their decision. I understand that the players were behind Charlie Weis and didn't want to see him go. This could be one last moment of standing up for their coach. I can understand that, but as the University, in these economic times, I don't care if you are Notre Dame, you need the money. South Bend, Indiana isn't exactly Manhattan, they are hit just as bad as any other place in the Midwest. You should have taken the money, even if it meant that you stand the chance of finishing the season under .500.

I don't see the reasoning behind this decision and I probably never will, but hey I wouldn't have been accepted to Notre Dame, even if I could afford it.

Cubs Trade Jake Fox To Oakland

The Cubs received a gift this year, their prospect Jake Fox, a converted catcher, began lighting up the minor leagues. He was hitting the cover off the ball for power and average. A few injuries happened and the Cubs brought him up, but he has no real position on the team since Alfonso Soriano plays in left field. The Cubs had to trade him this off-season, did they get value for Jake Fox?

The deal was that Oakland sent RHP Jeff Gray, minor leaguer OF Matt Spender, and minor leaguer RHP Ronny Morla to the Cubs for Jake Fox, 2B Aaron Miles and cash. If you just look at the trade, this yields nothing instantly for the Cubs. This trade is addition by subtraction. Miles was very bad last year and they can get him off the books, which saves a roster spot and cash for a possible off-season second baseman signing. A lot of people think that they might go after a guy like Orlando Hudson or maybe going after Mark DeRosa again.

Jake Fox fits into what Billy Beane is all about, he's a guy who will walk and hit for a high average. His ceiling could be Jack Cust with a better average. Jeff Gray is a player that the Cubs will use instantly, he was in 20 games last year for Oakland and had an ERA around 3.50. Morla is a very young prospect that could turn into something in a few seasons and Spencer is a nice prospect that could end up being a nice outfield prospect in a year or so, his highest minor league level is currently AA.

I think this is a nice trade, but not a trade that most Cubs fans would want. They are used to huge splashes in free agency and trades. They hated the Mark DeRosa trade last year, but the Cubs got three very good pitching prospects in the deal and time could favor the Cubs in that trade. Jake Fox was one of the trade pieces that Cubs had in a very small prospect pool. Chicago doesn't have many prospects to trade, so they are a bad trading partner for most teams. I think the Cubs needed to get rid of Miles and the only way they could was to include Fox in the deal.

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I don't usually write reviews about products, but since they carry products that have sports teams logos on them, I couldn't resist. I received a great bluetooth headset, a Ohio State laptop cover, and a car charger for my Motorola phone. The bluetooth headset gets great reception, the Ohio State cover is made of very good material, and the phone charger does its job.

They carry a large variety of sports teams cell phone cases. You are nearly guaranteed to find your favorite team on their website. They are running a great promotion where my readers get a 50% off with the code of 38whiteboy982.

They are currently offering 20% off of their products right now and free shipping of orders more than $35 dollars. You can get cell phone cases or laptop cases of your favorite NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and even some green gear at foneGEAR.com. While you are their picking out your cell phone cover of your favorite team, check out their other products. They carry phone chargers, GPS cases, cell phone holsters.

Lastly, don't forget to enter our contest to get their own foneGEAR. Anyone can enter by following @foneGEAR on Twitter and Tweeting out a message containing your favorite NFL or NCAA team with the hashtag #foneGEAR and a link back to this post! (Full contest rules here: CONTEST RULES)

Go over to foneGEAR and check them out for being a friend of America's White Boy.

Lebron Shouldn't Change His Number To #6

After Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers bear the Miami Heat, he said something rather insane. I don't know if he is trying to change the subject about if he's staying in Cleveland next year with another landmark decision, but it may work short term. He said that he would not wear the number 23 next season and he'll change his number to 6. It is to honor Michael Jordan, which he believes if the greatest player of all-time. He may think that, but why would you change your number for Michael Jordan and change it to the number that Julius Erving and Bill Russell wore? It's a stupid remark, but is Nike behind the move?

The 25th anniversary of the Michael Jordan shoe is about to debut. Lebron is a big part of Nike's marketing campaign and this may be a publicity stunt. When Kobe changed his number, his jersey was the highest selling jersey the next year. It's not because his publicity increased, but fans don't want to be perceived as "behind the time." It's like sporting a Michael Jordan #45 jersey after he changed his number back to #23.

Secondly, Bill Russell and Julius Erving were more important to people in the two generations before Lebron James. I know he never watched them live, but it would be a shame that he would change his number just because of Michael Jordan and to change it to a number when you can argue that those two players could be considered in some groups as more important to basketball than Jordan. If this is some ploy by Nike to get publicity or a way for Lebron to change the "Is he going to sign with the Knicks" questions in post-game interviews, it would be a travesty. I can just see all the males from 40-90 starting to picket games at Q Arena.

The Best NBA Team Blogs

I'm going to post a series that highlights the best team blogs out there. You have a lot of blog networks popping up and it's hard to differentiate between the good and the bad. Some of the guys that run them only post a few times a week and some sites go out of their way to inform the team's fanbase. I tried to pick a few for each team, so you will have an option or find out even more information on your favorite NBA team. Here are the best NBA team blogs on the internet.


Atlanta Hawks
Peach Tree Hoops
Hoopion Blog
Human Highlight Blog

Boston Celtics
Red's Army
Hardwood Houdini

Charlotte Bobcats
Rufus On Fire
Queen City Hoops

Chicago Bulls
Blog A Bull
Pippen Ain't Easy

Cleveland Cavaliers
King James Gospel
Cavs the Blog

Dallas Mavericks
Mavs Ball
The Man Game

Detroit Pistons
Life On Dumars
Motown String Music
Need 4 Sheed

Denver Nuggets
Dunking Nuggets
Roundball Mining Company

Golden State Warriors
Golden State Of Mind
Warriors World

Houston Rockets
Rockets Buzz

Indiana Pacers
Pacers Place
Indy Cornrows
Always Miller Time
8 Points 9 Seconds

Los Angeles Clippers
Clippers Chat
Clippers Blog

Los Angeles Lakers
Lake Show Life
With Malice

Memphis Grizzlies
3 Shades Of Blue

Miami Heat
All U Can Heat
Peninsula Is Mightier

Milwaukee Bucks
Brew Hoop
Bucksketball

Minnesota Timberwolves
Twolves Blog
Howlin Twolf

New Jersey Nets
Scorching Nets
Nets Are Scorching

New Orleans Hornets
Hornets Hype
Hornets 24/7

New York Knicks
Posting And Toasting
Knicks Fanatics Blog
Knickerblogger

Oklahoma City Thunder
Hoops Of Thunder
Blue Blitz
Daily Thunder

Orlando Magic
Howard The Dunk
Third Quarter Collapse

Philadelphia 76ers
Sixers Court
Liberty Ballers

Phoenix Suns
Valley Of The Suns

Portland Trailblazers
Blaze Of Love
Rip City Project
Beyond The Beat

Sacramento Kings
Sactown Royalty
Kings Kingdom

San Antonio Spurs
Project Spurs
Pounding The Rock
Spurs Of The Moment

Toronto Raptors
Raptors Republic
Raptors Talk
Jurassic Hoops

Utah Jazz
Salt City Hoops

Washington Wizards
Bullets Forever
Truth About It

Brewers Trade J.J. Hardy To Twins

The Alcides Escobar era has officially begun. The Brewers clear the way for their young phenom by trading J.J. Hardy to the Minnesota Twins for speedy center-fielder Carlos Gomez. Does this trade mean that Mike Cameron's option won't be picked up by the Brewers?

J.J. Hardy had to be traded to make room for Alcides Escobar, but was Carlos Gomez enough in return? Hardy has some power in his bat, he has hit a total of 75 homers in just over 500 career games. His average hit a career low last season, he was hovering around the Mendoza line all year, but Gomez doesn't give you much of anything offensively. He is only a career .246 hitter and 12 career home-runs in over 1000 at-bats. Gomez is a nice defensive center-fielder, but with the pitching problems that the Brewers have had, maybe a player with more offensive abilities would be a better match in center-field. Mike Cameron has a $10-million dollar option that they can pick up, I think that they should still pick that up to give Gomez another year of maturing before giving him the job permanently.

I have owned both J.J. Hardy and Carlos Gomez in fantasy baseball leagues over the last two seasons. Hardy is a much better player, but he had a bad year last season. Gomez hasn't showed that he has the ability to hit for average in the Majors. He has speed, but if he can't get on base, it doesn't help the team much.

Who won in this trade? An instant judgment would be that the Twins were the winners in this deal. They can let Orlando Cabrera walk and Nick Punto will be a nice platoon player for them. With all the hitters on the Twins, Hardy will be protected and he should have a very nice season for Minnesota.

Carlos Gomez has the tools to be a lead-off hitter, but with his low batting average and his horrible strikeout-to-walk ratio, he is more likely to be projected as a #9 hitter or pinch-runner.

Time will tell who is the winner, but the Twins have a way to get the most out of their players. J.J. Hardy landed in the perfect place, but I'm not sure if Carlos Gomez can do much to help out the Brewers.