NFL Draft week is here. The entire Mothership Crew will be headed down to Radio City Music Hall for a first hand account. We’ve analyzed it all here on the show over the past few weeks. You can listen to all the podcasts: Can the Chiefs find a trade partner to get out of that first pick overall? How much concern should execs have over leadership flaws with USC QB Matt Barkley? Why are quarterbacks from elite college programs not getting it done at the next level?
There’s also a number of entertaining prop bets about the NFL draft. Hey, even if your team usually takes enormous busts, or needs a QB and there’s none on the board for you, you can keep the action going. I’m guessing Mraz and Cousin Kenny will be laying some dinero on this on the other side of the glass this week. You know their slogan: “Putting your bet on sports! All day, every day.”
Here’s my favorite picks:
How many WR’s will be selected in the 1st Rd?
Over 3 (-140)
Under 3 (EVEN)
Will the Eagles trade the 4th pick overall?
Yes +170 (17/10)
No -250 (2/5)
Draft Position – Geno Smith
Over/Under 8½
Draft Position – Tavon Austin
Over/Under 13½
2013 NFL Draft – Draft Position – Manti Te’o
Over/Under 25½
Draft Position – Tyrann Mathieu
Over/Under 75½
Mraz took the White Castle Challenge. Could he finish the Crave Case of 30 sliders and 20 chicken rings? Here’s video of our halftime interview. This was the dinner he asked us to buy him for winning Mid-Major Mothership. There’s also a photo gallery if you dare of the carnage.
The events of last week were difficult on just about everyone. And that’s no different for us on the Mothership. We had a night last Monday, where the phones were open to just process, vent and work through the bombings. The following night we looked into the security measures sports organizers would have to take in the wake of the explosions. And on Friday morning we were on the air as the manhunt unfolded in Boston, speaking to one of the Watertown residents locked in their house.
Here’s how it sounded on the show:
Leo Foussekis was at the finish line when the explosions happened, he joined us to describe the awful scene:
Callers from across the nation send their thoughts to Boston and express their emotions:
Legal analyst and Boston trail lawyer Alan Fanger discusses the upcoming changes in sports security:
Sean Thorpe was trapped in his hose in Watertown on lockdown during the manhunt, he joined us during the wild scene:
Not only did Mraz don a generic Texans jersey to finish things off, the Giants actually stepped forward and delivered him a clean authentic one to class up his wardrobe.
The criticisms of Geno Smith continue to rain down. Smith may be one of the most over critiqued draft prospects in recent memory. A lot of the over analyzing stems from the JaMarcus Russell Effect. The other portion comes from some of the scouts and people who are unwilling to change the ways they view what an NFL quarterback should be. The league is rapidly changing and some of the dinosaurs in the game refuse to acknowledge this and evaluate talent based upon the way the league used to be.
Legends SportsBook was busted in a multi-billion dollar gambling ring recently. Check out the names of the people that went down in this ring. It sounds like a rap sheet from a season of The Sopranos.
Friday at approximately 5:40 a.m EST., it’s #TargetDemo Friday. We keep quite the odd hours sp we like to dedicate this segment to you the listeners, Facebookers and Tweeters so that you can let us know what you’re doing. We have the most wide-ranging demographic and we love every last one of you guys.
Today’s Epic Fail came by way of Springfield, Ore. Casey from Springfield called up and was trying to defend Chip Kelly in the NFL. He did a terrible job and he was some different kind of crazy. We throw the old hook, line and sinker and he bites like that 1,000-pound shark those college baseball guys on spring break caught the other day. This guy is a little too jazzed about his Ducks.
Kobe Bryant dropped a cool 47 points in Portland on the Trail Blazers (the most points scored in the Rose Garden). It was throwback night in Portland as Kobe dominated from start to finish, was perfect at the free-throw line and had eight rebounds, five dimes, four blocks and three steals. He’s transformed from egomaniacal, team-busting brat to the old guy who still has some magic up his sleeve.
Geno Smith and E.J. Manuel are two of the hottest names going right now in the draft, and NFL coaches are seeking out Nick Saban on how to stop the spread offense. With the infusion of Chip Kelly into the NFL, RG III’s success along with Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, coaches know they have to get ahead of this freight train bearing down on them. That’s what will make Manual the draft’s quickest riser at QB.
At the Jordan Classic last week, USA Today asked high school players if they could take Michael Jordan 1-on-1. The responses makes you think they have no idea of he game MJ had and why he’s arguably the greatest of all time. Here’s a little look at a few snippets of their thoughts. “Well, I’m feeling a little generous today, so I think he’d get his five points.” -Matt Jones (committed to Duke). Ah, the arrogance of youth. This isn’t the Wizards Jordan we’re talking about guys!
Epic Fail was “Lady’s Night” (2-for-1 specials on tap). You’ll remember Sam from Houston last night who thought Schwartzo is sexy. There was almost a Mothership Cat Fight when Foxy from Ontario called up and wanted to bash Sam. Then turned into Foxy talking about her life accomplishments winning radio contests. There’s a whole lot of patting herself on the back going on. It’s a train wreck that we couldn’t steer clear of.
The UConn women win another National Championship, but the real question is, can Skylar Diggins, Elena Delle Donne and Brittney Griner become crossover athletes to the male demographic? They can all ball and Diggins and Delle Donne have the looks to go with it. They’ll have endorsers looking to expand their brand. Could they set a new trend upwards for the WNBA and possibly open up some new market avenues? I think so.
JaMarcus Russell is apparently serious about making a comeback to the NFL after being on hiatus since the 2009 season. Not only is he serious, but some NFL scouts believe he will get a second shot after basically eating himself out of the league. Russell was the No. 1 overall pick and needless to say, he didn’t understand the ramifications of the Oakland Raiders committing an enormous amount of money to him and what that entailed on his behalf. I would stay the hell away from J-Russ.
The New York Knicks, on the back of Carmelo Anthony’s 36 points, have won a division title for the first time since 1993. Can the Knicks be legitimate contenders? Melo is the X-factor. No one else in the East has someone as dangerous as him. They can win a few games, but can’t beat Miami in a series.
The show was almost derailed when Sensual Sam from Houston called up. Sam’s interaction started out harmlessly by ripping on Mraz for his disgusting jersey collection, the stains, the smells, etc. Then she proceeded to profess her love for the Schwartzo (basically because she loves his updates and thinks he has a sexy voice). Yes, this is the Mothership.
What a tremendous NCAA National Championship last night. From start to finish the intensity level was exactly what you would have asked for in a game of that magnitude. From Spike Albrecht’s ice cold first half for Michigan to Luke Hancock’s monster run at the end of the first half to get Louisville back in the game after trailing by double digits for most of the half. The game-changing play though, Trey Burke’s block of Peyton Siva that was called a foul. Obviously you never know what’s going to happen, but it looked like the Wolverines were about to get the “big mo” on their side and make a run.
The combination of atrocious quarterbacks between the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills is enough to make your skin crawl. We run down the list from Charlie Frye to J.P Losman to Kelly Holcomb (played for both). It’s not been a pretty scene for either franchise since Bernie Kosar or Jim Kelly respectively retired almost 20 years ago.
The Houston Astros had/have some of the lowest expectations nationally for this season. A week in and it’s gotten worse. Bo Porter told the media after last night’s game to ask outfielder J.D. Martinez why he was pulled from the game. The reason you ask? Because he swung at a first pitch after it was reiterated to the team to try and draw walks and take pitches. Is this the Bad News Bears? What the heck is going on in Houston? Oh, also, we set the number of times the Astros will be nearly no-hit this season at 2.5.
One of the show’s regular callers, Marcus from Detroit, smelled something funny with last night’s game. So he sniffed for about 27 seconds on the show. No, I’m not kidding, so you can’t not replay a caller with constantly sniffing on the show. “Something didn’t smell so good” is tonight’s Epic Fail.
The Clippers sweep the regular-season series from the Lakers, clinching the Pacific Division and assuring a playoff spot. How dangerous of a team are the Clippers? What kind of damage can they do in the playoffs?
Also, the New York Knicks went into Oklahoma City and gave the Thunder a taste of their own medicine. The Knicks are playing with confidence right now that most wouldn’t have expected with Carmelo Anthony’s lingering injuries and some other key veterans going down. But the support group for the Knicks has stepped up and pushed them into the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference as they are playing their best ball of the year.
The Final Four produced some great drama on Saturday night, which I was present for (his first Final Four). Very cool atmosphere with the fan bases descending upon one city for the weekend, rocking their colors proudly and ready for a great night of ball. The dull roar that is constantly echoing throughout the building is a must-do for you bucket-listers. Can Louisville’s high energy defense shut down AP Player of the Year Trey Burke and the rest of the Wolverines?
The “Epic Fail” of the night comes to us from Calvin in St. Petersburg, Fla. Calvin didn’t appreciate the great atmosphere at the Georgia Dome or the fact that games like that are played in arenas of such size. Our pal believes that the games would be better served if they were played at Mercer College. Yeah, that’s right.
LISTEN TO DA RIP NCAA PREZ MARK EMMERT HERE:
Rutgers: Doesn’t surprise me that some players would come out in support. Some players/people respond to those kinds of motivation. But when 5 players transfer in a calendar year, that’s almost half the roster. So it’s not working more than it is. And it’s also not the representation the university wants. So what are ya gonna do?
Auburn: Chizik dismisses allegations. From the “Dept. of You’re Kidding Me.” What else is he going to say. But Auburn gave him exactly 2 years after winning a title before they gave him the zig. So you tell me whether they were all that patient with the accusations.
Pac-12 head of officiating resigns: Ed Rush “coordinator of officials”. Rush resigned following comments during internal meetings before the league tournament that appeared to target Arizona’s Sean Miller, including perceived accusations that he placed a bounty on the Wildcats coach. All about perception. Just a joke. An investigation done by the Pac-12′s head of enforcement, Ron Barker, found that every official interviewed confirmed “nobody thought they were getting a reward,” But Rush couldn’t survive the constant swarm of criticism from fans and media this week once the comments became public in a CBSSports.com report.
NCAA Prez Mark Emmert gets killed at Final Four: Emmert took various levels of shots at national reporters, saving his choicest barbs for CBSSports.com’s Dennis Dodd, who has written previously calling for Emmert’s job. In the middle of responding to a question from Dodd about whether Emmert feels like a lightning rod for criticism of the NCAA, Emmert interjected “By the way, thanks for the career advice. [I] kept my job anyway.” Oddly, that retort was edited out of the official transcript released afterward. You think this might be a little snippet into why no one trusts college athletics?
Miami calls NCAA investigation corrupt: So you have corruption calling out corruption? I mean, we know Nevin Shapiro’s hooker yachts were surreal. But now we’re into the theater of the absurd.
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Rutgers: Let’s be frank, Eric Murdock is no saint here. Asking for $1M? Nice. But Rutgers clearly didn’t want to make waves with move to B1G. Again, the college scandals are becoming more interesting than the games. Boy wonder how that happens when you combine huge $$$ with education.
Auburn: It’s funny to me that people would debate whether this stuff is outrageous. Grade-changing? Greasing palms for recruiting visits? Enticing players to stay and not enter the draft? I believe all of it because these are run of the mill stories in big time college athletics. Now maybe the kids were lying. Maybe they got scared once they saw the fallout from their school. But this isn’t that surprising.
Ravens: There seems to be a lot of truth in the fact there was a rift between Harbaugh and these vets. I find it amazing that they could win a SB like that. Harbaugh seems very even handed and reasonable compared to his brother. But if he can rub these guys the wrong way, maybe I’m wrong. Personal problems should never get in the way of business.
Cuban: He might talk about drafting Griner, but I highly doubt his basketball people would ever let him waste a draft pick (when you only get two) on her. She also would never actually play in the NBA. She knows it wouldn’t work. The women’s game has been transformed over the last decade, but this would merely be a PR stunt.
T.O. 39 y/o. Working out with Brady, I mean let’s give this a rest. Pats work out everybody. But this is a joke. He hasn’t had a job since ’10. Go away T.O.
Rutgers has to fire Mike Rice soon. This disaster is too much for him to survive. The problem is when RU finally gives him the zig, it’ll only be because of public pressure. In December it wasn’t a fireable offense. Today it is only because of the outcry.
No one looks good coming out of this. Eric Murdock was quoted in December as saying more would be coming out later. Guess what? Yeah, he had the tapes. He was angry at the way he was fired, and used this as leverage. Where exactly is the concern for the athletes? Seemed like no one at RU actually cared.
Could the players have retaliated? Come on. What are they supposed to do? Take a swing at their head coach? Five players transferred in the last year. That says it all. Tim Pernetti never asked why all these players were leaving? No assistants said anything? The school holds their future playing time, scholarship and more in its hands. Players can’t do much except leave – which they did in droves.
Opening Day in the MLB. Forget the Sox and Yanks. That game had almost no juice nationally. This isn’t ’03 anymore. Now the stories are the Nats (Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg put on a clinic), the Angels absurd lineup, and the Dodgers going glitz in LA-LA vs. the Giants.
Kevin Baxter of the LA Times drops by to discuss the Hollywood Opening Day at Chavez. Magic Johnson, Orel Hershiser, Don Mattingly and Sandy Koufax laying it on THICK. Kevin also was down at Estadio Azteca last week for the USA vs Mexico World Cup Qualifier, and why Landon and Juergen are not on the same page.
Mid-Major Mothership bet, dinner for the winner. Never in our wildest dreams did we believe Mraz would win.Now we’re stuck footing the bill for his chowdown. The callers/facebookers/twitterers weigh in. It’s outstanding.
Epic Fail is Sam in Cleveland. Not pleased with my apparent bashing of Cleveland. Sam had the potential to be another Pain Killer Pat, so there’s some of P.K.P. sprinkled into today’s Epic Fail.
Final Four is set. Got a nice field. Wichita State takes Ohio State to the woodshed, Syracuse dismantled Marquette like it was a DII warm up game, Michigan’s unreal comeback Friday night and shellacking of Florida on Sunday and Louisville’s game Sunday which is impossible to put into words.
Mraz had quite the day of eating for Easter Sunday. It’s not pretty, they’re are pictures on the Facebook page. It’s quite obscene actually. But he was only full for a few hours. Wait until you hear his rationale behind smashing so much food – and then topping it off with a slice of pizza in studio.
Eric Prisbell of the USA Today joins us to run through all the happenings of this weekend in the Sweet 16/Elite 8. How are the dynamics of college hoops different now with the rise of mid-majors like Wichita State.
Our Epic Fail is Mike from New Castle, Delaware who recklessly defended the Tony Romo contract. But what would happen if Romo and the Cowboys went 5-11 this year. He jumped shipped rather quickly.
Night One of the Sweet 16 match ups is in the books. There was only one close game from the night, with Ohio State hitting another GW 3-pointer with 2.0 seconds left on the clock vs Arizona. The cardiac Buckeyes do it for the second straight game. There’s a talent to pulling out games late. SU looked quite crisp in a route of the Indiana Hooisers tonight. Marquette handles Miami, the Eagles will know the SU zone well.
Brandon Triche of the victorious ‘Cuse took some time out after the win to join us. Everything changed for this team when Jim Boeheim challenged them before the Big East Tourney.
Doug Gottlieb of the CBS Sports Radio Network (3-6pm EST) hopped on with us after Doug’s tournament coverage to talk about the four games that went down. Who’s the better March coach: K or Izzo?
Wanna relive Pain Killer Pat from Arizona? Today was the one week anniversary since his call, and we wanted to pay tribute to someone who was so nutso. We took a “Best Of Pain Killer Pat” and replayed it. There has never been – and may never be – anyone who tops his quota of crazy.
The Bruins thought they had traded for Jerome Iginla, but the Penguins swoop in. Huge coup for the Pens, and if it was Iggy who was the tie-breaking vote b/c he wants to win a Cup, you can’t really blame him.
The Miami Heat’s winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. This works out well for the Heat. They have time to rest, but also now the experience of having the target on their back each night just a month until the NBA playoffs.
FGCU is dancing into the Sweet 16. My former colleague and play-by-play man for FGCU hoops team Dave Moulton dropped by and discussed how they recruit. The basketball players dorms over look the beach. Oh my.
The Epic Fail was Eddie from Boston. He was blasted. He claims I made him drink. Now I’m a lot of things, but I’m no peer pressurer!
Why is James Harrison still available on the Free Agency market? He was cut from the Steelers on March 9th, and one would think he would be snatched up rather quickly. What’s the holdup?
Dwight Howard’s beef with David Lee. “I will remember” is Dwight’s quote about possible revenge against DLee. Is Dwight an enforcer? I don’t see it. Empty threat.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports joins is to discuss the Yankees off season moves, including Vernon Wells and his ridiculous contract. The guys also talked about the Panda Bear – Pablo Sandoval and the Giants possible concerns with his weight issues, should the Red Sox keep Jackie Bradley Jr. on the Opening Day roster, and the urinal gaming decision put in by the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Florida Gulf Coast University has swept the nation with their run into the Sweet 16 as the 15 seed. There is a rap that has come to the surface, actually has over 500,000 views on YouTube, its a parody song on Tyga’s – Rack City titled “Dunk City”. FGCU had to issue an apology from their pep rally which was televised by another four letter network because of profanity’s that were belted out by the student section. The apology is “SO Florida”.
LeBron James and the Miami Heat just keep on keepin’ on. 27 straight wins. LeBron messed around and was one rebound shy of a triple double as the Heat took the Orlando Magic to the woodshed. The only Achilles Heel is Miami’s rebounding. Last in the league. Can the Pacers take advantage if they matchup in the ECF? They’d be the only ones in the East.
Bart Hubbach, NFL Writer for the New York Post, discussed possible collusion in the NFL. It’s a weird offseason when Dwight Freeney and Victor Cruz still don’t have resolutions. Interesting theories abound, and Bart makes you scratch your head about why it’s happening.
The Epic Fail, is of course, Mraz related. Darryl in Texas called up the show and tried to vehemently defend Mraz and his jerseys. It did not help the cause. Plus, the CBS Sports Radio Network Morning Show (TBD in the AM) – Dana Jacobson and Brandon Tierney – hopped on a few minutes early to get their comments in about the now infamous Harlem Shake clip. One of the funniest segments we have had yet to date on the show.
The first weekend of the NCAA tourney taught us a few things: Never trust Gonzaga. Ever again. Ohio State moves on thanks to the late-game heroics of Aaron Craft, the guy always seems to make the right play at the right time. FGCU is the most improbable 15-seed to ever dance for two wins. I was the sideline reporter a lifetime ago in Ft. Myers, FL for Eagles broadcasts when they were D-2. In ’02 in front of 170 fans, never would’ve thought they’d be in the Sweet 16 a decade later.
Pete Thamel of SI drops by to discuss the juiciest matchup of Sweet 16 weekend (Michigan State-Duke). He also analyzes if we could’ve ever seen the FGCU freight train coming, and how Ben Howland got the zig in UCLA.
Producer Mraz is wearing the worst disaster of the 30-in-30: Rueben Droughns. It truly defies logic that he purchased this uniform. And worst of all, it cost him $70. We absolutely obliterated him. Schwartz called it a disgrace.
The Epic Fail was in the books pretty early tonight. Psycho Jeff, Joker Jeff, Jeff the Jamoke. Jeff from Baltimore made ridiculous after ridiculous comments about the Joe Flacco deal. This was a hook, line, and sinker – nabbed us a marlin.
(14) Harvard pulls off a massive upset, (3) New Mexico goes down. UNM coach Steve Alford signed a restructured, lucrative 10-year deal earlier this week, is now 5-7 in the NCAA tournament and has never reached the second weekend. He’s also lost as coach of No. 3 Iowa to Northwestern State in 2006. Tommy Ammaker has built a nice Ivy League program. 1st two trips to the dance since ’46. UNM had beef down low but NO guard production. They won the regular season and conf. tourneys. That’s bad. You know Harvard is legit b/c The team lost its two co-captains before the season began because of an academic scandal that involved more than 100 students.
How about the finish in the Marquette game and the Memphis games? Both survive. The (6) Tigers got no respect from the committee, and seemed to be cruising over (11) St. Marys. Then Dellavadova missed the three at the buzzer. But the bank 3, and then the turnover was crazy. Marquette survives 54-48 deficit with 1:10 to go. Thought Davidson would win the whole 2nd H. Marquette was great up close at the Big East Tourney, surprised they struggled so much.
Ravens make an offer to Elvis Dumerville. Are they really pushing hard to pursue him or is this a smoke screen in light of their fan base questioning the off season thus far. It would make sense to spend on Elvis. He’s still young enough, and they need help at LB in a big way. This would be a nice replacement for losing Kruger and Ellerbe (and Ray).
Revis to Bucs Deal in Holdup: The Jets are unsure if they would be willing to take a 1st and 2nd rounder in next years draft for Revis. I cant believe its the Jets holding this thing up. The Jets are crazy if they think there’s more value than this out there for Revis. Come on. If you get a #1 any year, you should be thrilled.
I’m putting my money where my mouth is. I’ve been gas bagging all month about how many upsets and chaos would wash over this bracket. This season was absurd, with top teams being knocked off on a nightly basis. So how can I go with the chalk? With that in mind, I chose at least one 14, 13, 12, 11, and 10-seed to all pull first round upsets. I avoided the 1/16 shocker because it’s still never happened, and I’m hedging my bets on a 2/15 since I went with upsets in the rest of the field.
Here’s my Round of 32 matchups:
Midwest: Louisville vs. Mizzou
Oklahoma State vs. SLU
Memphis vs. Michigan State
Creighton vs. Duke
West: Gonzaga vs. Pitt
Ole Miss vs. KSU
Belmont vs. New Mexico
Iowa State vs. Ohio State
South: Kansas vs. UNC
VCU vs. South Dakota State
Minnesota vs. Northwestern State
San Diego State vs. Georgetown
East: Indiana vs. NC State
UNLV vs. Syracuse
Butler vs. Marquette
Colorado vs. Miami
Sweet 16: Louisville vs. SLU
Michigan State vs. Creighton
Zags vs. Ole Miss
New Mexico vs. Ohio State
UNC vs. VCU
NW State vs. San Diego State
Indiana vs. UNLV
Marquette vs. Miami
Elite 8: SLU vs. Michigan State
Zags vs. New Mexico
VCU vs. San Diego State
Indiana vs. Marquette
Final Four: Michigan State vs. New Mexico, VCU vs. Indiana
Title Game: Michigan State over Indiana 68-63
I love coaching in a tourney as wide open as this one. The margin for error between teams is so slim, the guys on the sideline will make the difference. Well prepared, solid X’s and O’s teams, ones that catch fire and play with confidence will advance. That’s why I’m taking Tom Izzo to cut down the nets once again. Look at my Final Four: Strong coaching. Izzo, Crean, Shaka, Alford (Editor’s Note: What was I thinking?). My Syracuse Orange will bow out in the R.32, Florida is shocked in the R.64, I have a silly Sweet 16 of Northwestern State vs. San Diego State, and Duke bows out in the R.32 to McDermott Magic. The South region gets absolutely sloppy with (11) Gophers, (13) Jackrabbits and (14) NW State all advancing. Ol’ Roy gets the best of his old Jayhawks, and Ole Miss will be the 12-seed to pull the upset. The Big 10 has been the best conference in America, and it’ll send two teams to the F4, to face off in the title game.
Now just don’t blame me if you lose money in your office pool by using my picks.
The Heat do it again, this time down by 27 in the third quarter. Miami extends its winning streak to 24 games after an amazing comeback. Just how good is this Heat team? It’s learning how to win in all types of situations, and during this streak has beaten OKC, LAC, IND and MEM.
The NFL needs a Legends Clause: Ed Reed signs with the Texans, and Brian Urlacher is basically forced out in Chicago. How teams can keep the faces of their franchises? Legends Clause. Teams should be given the opportunity to keep players who have been with them for “x” amount of years, and are over “x” age without penalty to the salary cap or at a lesser value. Far too often we see legends of a particular team, towards the end of their careers, have to leave the team they are connected to. This would allow these players, organizations and fan bases the opportunity to “end things the right way.”
NCAA Tournament Day 1. Hopefully you have your hooky story already in the works so you can be home for that 12:15 EST tip for Michigan State vs Valparaiso. Here’s my picks for the tourney, and it’s not all chalk. I’ve got Indiana, Michigan State, VCU and New Mexico to dance to ATL.
Robert Morris’ historic upset in the NIT of reigning National Champion Kentucky. What a terrific environment, what a tremendous March moment. UK was never emotionally invested.
Rumors are swirling about a contract extension for Tony Romo coming down the pike from the Cowboys. Why would you resign Romo to a big contract? Why would you reward him for never winning a big game like that? You sit on this thing, let him prove himself this season, and draft a QB with either the 2nd or 3rd round pick. Maybe you hit. Maybe you wait out the QB situation across the league for next offseason. But you don’t lock him up now.
B1G Commissioner Jim Delaney speaks out against a lawsuit where a student-athlete would be paid to play. Delaney references moving down to a D-III system, where there would not be scholarships for players. Yeah there’s no chance of that happening. It is interesting to see Delaney posturing against the current lawsuit though, because it means there’s some teeth to it.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE (PAIN KILLER PAT AT 18:00 MARK):
The Cold Open: The Heat do it again. LeBron James’ ridiculous dunk on Jason Terry highlights Miami’s win over Boston and the streak is up to 23. This is the evolution of a franchise from an overhyped team two years ago, to a confident champion.
Bob Nightengale from USA Today talks World Baseball Classic. Can the WBC succeed without the U.S. being a legit contender? Nope. It can surge in other parts of the world, but we’re still apathetic. Is the captain a PR stunt in baseball? Yes. Why do you need to announce these things? And can Tito win in Cleveland? Yep. See how comfortable he is outside of the Red Sox brass?
And the big bag of crazy. Straight jacket worthy. Pain Killer Pat from Arizona called up to talk about LBJ’s dunk. The rest was just complete utter random, bizarre, scary talk. Michael the “Arch-Angel”, it’s been about “1,000 beers” since N.C. State won the National Championship in ’83. He’s unemployed but his strengths are “strong back and big mouth.” Pain Killer Pat is our segment du jour and undoubtedly our Epic Fail of the night.
Bracket Bustology: In tonight’s Cold Open, D.A. gives a synopsis of how the selection committee fared and some intriguing match-ups to look for in the first weekend of the NCAA’s.
Elvis Dumervil had the worst… weekend… ever. A Kinko’s snafu cost him $8 million because a fax did not go through before 4pm. Could you imagine? Because the NFL still requires the use of the archaic, out-dated mode of sending in paperwork, Dumervil is now a Free Agent and looking for work. What a disaster.
Selection Sunday means Jeff Borzello joins D.A. to discuss the brackets: What it means going into the start of the tourney. Which #1 seed is most vulnerable? Why did Miami get a 2-seed? What’s the tastiest first round matchup?
Our Epic Fail of the night comes to us via Tennessee. Our man Brandon was down at Bristol all day, soaking up the sun, watching races and (we think) enjoying a few Bud-heavies (Budweiser for the common person). He bounced all over the place while his friend sporadically hooted and hollered in the background.
Chiefs sign CB Sean Smith: They say good bye to their favorite whipping boy Matt Cassel, who ends up in Minnesota. How can you not like the offseason of the Chiefs? Two good CBs, a QB, a WR, #1 draft pick. Watch out.
Falcons sign Steven Jackson: Love this signing. Combine him in the backfield with Jacquizz, I like that move. I wonder about him another 8 games on turf, but hey you take that shot. For the Packers, I think they should look at Ahmad Bradshaw. He’d be a nice compliment in the backfield.
Patriots add Leon Washington: Could help on Special Teams, but they just signed Jeff Demps last year. So they need WR help, not out of the backfield help. They have Shane Vereen. But could the Pats be signing John Abraham? Laverneus Coles lets the cat out of the bag. Be a decent pickup to bring pressure off the edge, but he’s OLD.
Astros Owner with a message to fans: “It doesn’t bother me that people want us to spend more money. But it’s not their money. This is a private company, even though it’s got a public flair to it. If they want to write a check for 10 million bucks, they can give me a call.” There’s gotta be a better way to get this message across. It’s $10M. That’s a month in revenue sharing. That’s a boat to this guy. What is this compared to his net worth?
Welker gets 2 years/$12M from Denver. I’m shocked that’s his value on the open market. Others must believe he’s a system producer. I think he’s terrific. Durable. Worked hard to come back from ACL. Blocks downfield. Dependable.
Despite Danny being my fake doppleganger, I don’t really like Amendola being called a “Younger Welker.” He’s not durable, and he’s also not as successful as Welker. He’s good, but he’s not quite Welker. I can’t believe they want to take this risk with such a small window for championships with Brady at his peak.
I’m not quite sure why they wanted to nickel and dime Welker, then pay that much for Amendola: Is Amendola worth that much money (guaranteed). $10M. Welker got $12M guaranteed. While Danny is younger, they seemed to jump at the chance to sign anyone but Wes.
Is Brady totally ticked off? How can he not be? His window is so small now, how can he be okay with NOT bringing back his favorite WR for $2M? Isn’t that exactly why he saved them money? It’s a very tough sell to TB to only bring back Amendola, unless they spend it on Asomugha, Reed or other studs.
This is Kenny Brock, Assistant Producer/Man on the Wheels of Steel. I’m going to keep you informed when feeling inspired, giving you a behind the scenes look on what happens on the show (on and off the air). We thought this would be an added dimension to the show, another way to interact with the show’s listeners. As D.A. has reiterated many times, without you guys we wouldn’t be where we are, doing what we’re doing. Ya’ll are the best. I don’t give out compliments easily, so take it and store that in your back pocket for a rainy day.
Thursday’s show escalated quickly. We found out that Producer Shaun Morash (aka Mraz) has no idea who the 80′s rock group the Bangles are. (He thought they were spelled The Bengals – like Cincinnati). His Bryan Kehl shir-sey was also a farce (he needs to be wearing jerseys not t-shirts) and Schwartz took his attempt to pass it off in the 30 in 30 as a direct shot at integrity. So now the rest of us must suffer through an extra day of 30 in 30 because Mraz thought we all fell off the turnip truck yesterday. Bad job outta him.
So while waiting to do our interview with Coach Dan Monson of the Long Beach State 49ers for Mid-Major Mothership, we wanted to make sure we had the correct pronunciation of his last name. Mraz asked Coach off air to be sure. What we got next was the gift that keeps on giving. Mraz tells D.A. “He said its pronounced MAHN-sin like MAHN-day (as in the first day of the work week). Who in their right mind pronounces Monday like that? I don’t, D.A. doesn’t and we couldn’t find a single person in the building that did either. This was followed up by endless ragging of Mraz for his bizarre reference.
What can be taken from all this? Mraz is illiterate. I question the validity of not his college degree and the high school diploma is now under investigation. By the way, correct pronunciation for Coach Monson: Mun-Sin, like Thurman.
Mid-Major Mothership Magic has me all sorts of ready for conference tourneys and the Big Dance to get started.
NFL: Free agency is way better in the NFL than in MLB. The frantic pace that happens at 4p makes for great theater. Better than a three-month drawn out soap opera. Seeing all the names come down the ticker, making sure you’re tuned into NFL Network is way more exciting than baseball.
Dolphins were VERY aggressive, will it make a difference? I understand wanting to give a young QB two nice targets, so they spend money on Wallace and Hartline. What needs to also happen though is the o-line and a RB. I’m not sure Tannehill can just air it out and they can win. I like Ellerbe, but would I have given him $35M? No. You also have to wonder if Stephen Ross gave the go-ahead to help his bid to get funding for a canopy roof to get the SB?
Bills GM burned by prank call taping, then releases Fiztpatrick. Fitz needed to go. That contract was awful. But whats the QB situation looks like now? They gonna draft Ryan Nassib and have him battle Tavaris Jackson? That means the other QBs in the AFC East will be A) rookie/Tavaris B) Sanchez/Garrard C) Tannehill. I mean, what a group. Woof.
Should the Ravens be worried about how Day 1 of free agency went? How can you blame the Ravens for not giving $40M for a P/T in Kruger – or $35M for Ellerbe. But now they should use that money to re-sign McKinnie and Reed. Because you cant lose all those guys – Boldin and Lewis – and not bring back some of the guys.
Asomugha released by the Eagles, does he still have anything left? I would take Namdi in a heartbeat. He’ll be 32 so he’s not young, but he’s still better than a lot of CBs. The offseason “Dream Team” of ’11 is now basically all gone. Namdi, Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin, Vince Young and DRC is prob. gone.
Seahawks get bold and trade for Percy Harvin: I love the arms race in the NFC West. I like giving a young QB like Russell Wilson another weapon. I like the game breaking ability of Harvin. But you have to wonder if it’s smart to add a potential headache like Harvin to a team that seemed to have such good mojo AND give up a 1st rounder to do it. But maybe the college atmosphere in SEA is the kind of place he’ll be happy, since he seems to act like a college kid a little too much.Finally, the debut of the vest-oodie on Night 20 of the 30-for-30 streak. An absolute abomination.
- March Madness heats up, 20-loss Liberty Team makes NCAA Tournament. There’s 68 bids. Almost all of the at-larges go to power conferences. Some are bothered a team like this could take away a spot. But if one bid goes to a 20-loss team, I’m cool with that.
- Chiefs sign CB Dunta Robinson: I really like the KC offseason. They listened to fans. They’ve added a QB, brought back Bowe, franchised Albert, brought in a real coach. Now Dunta. Solid so far, and still have their #1 pick.
- Did the brawl rope you into the WBC? There shouldn’t be any suspensions by MLB. It was a good night of action, and that’s two countries I wouldn’t want to step in the middle of a brawl between. But I’m not any more emotionally invested in this than I was before the weekend. Especially because the US plays in PHX and the entire upper bowl is empty. How can I take this seriously? If it was rocking and sold out then maybe. (But they pit in 19,000 and 22,000 for the US games this weekend, that’s just bad.)
- USC hoops team gets into it in Spokane after roadie to Wazoo. They were speaking “anti-Spokane” rhetoric. Now what exactly is anti-Spokane rhetoric? And anytime you’re ending your night at a Marquee Lounge and Satellite Diner, it’s going to finish badly. http://deadspin.com/5989824/
reports-usc-basketball- players-involved-in-fight-in- downtown-spokane-following- loss-to-washington-state
Mariano Rivera will retire after this year. I hope he gets the royal treatment from fans. I think he will. It’s a little different in baseball with a pitcher or closer. You don’t get the “farewell tour” like a position player would (think Ripken) getting standing ovations everywhere when he takes the field. But it would be worth going to see him close this year. He’s a class act.
NCAA New Ejection Rule: I understand the thinking. You also don’t want to be susceptible to the same lawsuits as the NFL. But this is dicey. Kicking players out for a game for leading with the head? This is pretty drastic. And with how shaky college officiating is anyway? You’re really going to leave this in the hands of the refs?
Steven Jackson is looking to play for a contender: I think a ton of solid teams should be looking long and hard at him. Dallas and Pittsburgh come to mind. He’s still got carries left in him. He’s got to be energized heading to a winner. I’d absolutely give him a call.
The 30-for-30 is coming to its brutal final third. We are 18 nights in, and it feels like this will never end. Mraz is now trying to prove he can still fit into all of them by doing calisthenics in the newsroom. Schwartzo is not happy. All around a bad deal. Plus Mraz told the story of the Double Meat NARC at Chipotle today. Take a listen above.
Dwight Howard says he took a group of guys that nobody wanted and led them with a smile on his face. This guy will never get it. Is he a bad guy because he smiles? No. Shaq won four rings smiling. Magic was kissing Isiaah before games. But how can you believe he’s not an insanely self-absorbed prima donna when he takes a shot at former teammates – while propping himself up.
He’s right that not everyone has to be Kobe, and that his style has worked. But you also run a dangerous line when you compare yourself to Kobe when he has 5 rings and you don’t have any.
Vince Young send a letter of apology to Jeff Fisher. Look everyone is allowed to make mistakes in their lives and learn from them. Try better. You get 2nd chances. And maybe he really has learned lessons. Problem is the window in which you can afford to make mistakes is VERY small in sports. You can’t wait until your even 30 to make all the requisite changes.
Coach Dan Monson, Head Coach of the Long Beach State 49ers, got Mid-Major Mothership II kicked off. Coach Monson brought the noise tonight and talked about the new generation of kids, and his epic run to the Elite 8 with Gonzaga in ’99.
Mark Teixera hurts hand. Why would anyone play in this? It doesnt have the same cache as the World Cup (obviously). It’s not the Olympics. It’s right before the season. Guys don’t want to play – and then have to be ready for a six month season. This is a disaster.
Shawne Merriman retires. Is this the best example of steroids are absolutely a big factor in NFL success? Look at his career after he was busted. Never even close to the same guy. These guys can blow up, then crash and burn with the PEDs. 39.5 sacks in first 3. Suspended in 2nd year. Next 5 years he had total 6 total sacks.
Jets say Tebow will start. My ass. They’re desperate to get some trade value for him. That’s a joke. He is not going to start. he will not be on the team. The Jets are such bad liars. What’s next? We’re going to build the next dynasty! Sanchez is going to become the next Joe Montana! What is this, Mantei Teo?
Texas A&M recruit Instagrams him with a stack of money. Nice job. That wouldn’t set off any alarms in the SEC.