Garcon raids combine…

A great story that didn’t get touched on all that much at the NFL combine this weekend, was the top rate athlete’s that were there from small schools.  Pierre Garcon from Mount Union College in Alliance Ohio, was from the smallest school of all. 

Garcon, the all-time leader in receptions for the Purple Raiders, put up some great numbers together.   He put up 20 reps of 225, a 36.5 inch vertical, 10.5 in the long jump and a 4.49 in the 20 yard shuttle.  What that does for him is put him in the top 10 in just about every category in his position.

Garcon shows good speed agility and size, standing at 6 feet, 210 pounds.  He’s been part of a great winning program, and all you have to do is bring up any Mount Union game from the past four years and you’ll see that he makes plays as well. Still don’t believe me, check out this punt return…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzTkNIVEj0

Best of luck Pierre, we are all pulling for you.  Hey the Browns could use another good WR.

Brady, Brady, Brady…

As of right now the Browns don’t have a deal done with Pro-Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson.  It appears that Browns GM Phil Savage has a 3 year, 20 million dollar offer on the table to the Anderson camp.  If DA’s team turns it down, he’ll go out into the free agent pool.  Take the deal Derek.

From there, Anderson can take the deal or work a deal.  The Orange and Brown Review reported that there is definately one team that is willing to give up both a first and third round pick for Anderson.  The team hasn’t been revealed yet, but speculation is that its Carolina. That would make since considering they just released David Carr and the current state of Jake Delhome.  Anderson, could tender a friendlier deal considering he could be a starter there.

Negotiations will continue through the day and well into the night.  One can speculate that while the Browns would hate to see them go, but they do have their 2007 #1 pick Brady Quinn waiting in the wings.  Its not totally out of the realm of reality, that the rest of the front office would  push for Quinn to get between the white lines quickly.  A similar situation just happened in Oakland with JaMarcus Russell.

Surely, the Dawg Pound will be all ears..

Rock-A-Fella center?

“The industry is shady, it needs to be taken over…”

Unfortunately, rap mogul Jay-Z didn’t specify which industry he was talking about.  Its safe to assume he meant the rap industry, but what about the NBA?  Frankly Sports recently covered the trade that the Cleveland Cavaliars did before the trading deadline to move half their active roster so that LeBron James could have a cast to make a run at a title.  The real question is, can it be enough for LBJ to stay in Cleveland in a couple of years if there still isn’t any title ? Or will the “Roc” come calling?

       

Feeding into this story is the relationship with Nets partial owner, Jay-Z.  Hov has been a good friend of Flight #23 since before he was in the league.  James has surrounded himself with people that will help him to become a world-wide icon.  James has aspirations of becoming the first billionare athlete. Currently, LeBron is sponsored by Nike, Sprite, Bubblicious and Cub Cadet. From there he has reached out to Bershire Hathoway CEO Warren Buffet to discuss his business endeavors and give him advice for long term success.  At the end of the day though its the American Gangster that he relies on most. Jay hasn’t been shy when it comes to saying how he feels about James coming to the Nets.  Who are in the midst of trying to work a deal for a new arena in Brooklyn.  Currently that has been met head on by the league and the people of New York and the Nets are still working on approvals.

Then there is the supposed “market clause” in LeBron’s Nike contract.  Stating that he’ll make even more money if he’s in any of the three major markest of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.  Not to mention the constant flirtation there by wearing a Yankees cap and playing in the Rucker Park tournament a few times on Jay’s team.

What pains Clevelander’s the most is that it digs deep into their psyche.  More often then not, Cleveland teams have landed potential huge stars in any of their sports.  From that point on, the clock ticks until they deal them away due to being a smaller market.  Then almost always, said player grows into super stardom.  This goes all the way back to Rocky Colovito. We also know that LeBron fell into the trend of signing a slightly more team friendly 3 year deal.  Only to still hold the trump card because after that the Cavs will basically have to pay him the max dollars and rename the city LeBronland.  If not, off he’ll go in the deal of the century.  Sad we know.  Especially because he’s a hometown boy that everyone loves.  It hurts us everyday we see our King James walk the streets, be on TRL, show up on the red carpet, Indians game, or in his front yard with a Yankees cap.  Why can’t you just love us for who we are, and stay forever. 

Unfortunately, that probably isn’t realistic.  Clevelanders need to hope that the new Cavs team can have success and quickly.  That LeBron can see that we’ve done everything to keep him.  Have Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert give him enough money to not handcuff the team, and then pray.

If not, 2010 could really make Cleveland “Fade To Black…”

What to watch…

Tonight could be a busy night…Not for the faint of heart who might not know how to use the recall button

7:00 ESPN-  Notre Dame @ Louisville-Domers looking to prove they can win tight games against tough teams away from the friendly confines of home. Pitino’s crew has the edge in talent

7:00 ESPN2- St.Louis @ St. Joseph’s-loser has to change their name to just Louis or Joseph

8:00 TNT- Mavs @ Spurs-New look Mavs looking to show off against the Spurs who are quietly having a great year.

9:00 ABC- LOST-The best show on TV, barnone.

9:00 Discovery-Mega-Tsunami’s-no its not about that chic or dude you made a mistake with in college.

9:00 ESPN-USC @ Arizona-Athlete’s, everywhere.  Check out O.J. Mayo, he’s good.

9:00 ESPN2-Michigan St @ Wisconsin-Badgers trying to solidify a lead in the Big 10.

10:00 ESPN-Sportscenter-Just in case you missed anything.

Death to morning people…

Ok, this has bothered me for a long time.  What’s up with morning people?  They are astonished when they find out that there are people in the world that aren’t like them.  Whatdo  you  mean your not totally addicted to low fat, non-fat, double shot, mocha, vanilla, frappuccino’s?  How do you live?  Rrrriiiiggghhtt.

If your like me, you just take a little time to get warmed up. If someone says good morning, I’ll very happily send a good morning back to them, however if its not up to their standards of voice inflection, I’m automatically dubbed grumpy and an non-morning person. Ridiculous.  Perhaps, I just enjoy sleep, and would like to live as long as possible and not digest any additional empty calories then I already do.  Yeah, that’s it, I’m just a health conscious guy. Science has connected the amount of sleep you get to how long you live.  So, since I’m a god fearing man, who wants to live to be 110, I get my 8 hours as best as I can.

Someone even had the stones to indict my college life.  They said, “how did you ever get through college?”  Then followed it up with,”You must not have done much in college, because what student isn’t sleep deprived and drinks coffee?” So in response to this, I’m going to allow my friends to stick up for me here. While I may not have been Van Wilder, I certainly tear it up. The person that said this, has also said that they won’t watch Anchorman because its “to crass.”  Crass?  I think my 87 year old grandpa doesn’t even use that word.  This from the townie that barely knows the state geography, and only leaves to visit her boyfriend.

So what I’m saying is, how about we just “live and let live.” What if everytime I saw someone drinking coffee, I said, “Oh my gosh, you drink coffee? I heard that Hitler used to drink coffee before he turned the ovens on.”  Do you think people would stop?  No, they’d probably just continue to call me creative names like: Oscar the Grouch, poopie pants, and Grumps McGrumperson.

My best work is done after 11 a.m.  I’m a night owl, who loves to sleep in.  So, while I’m staying up to watch that game winning drive, The Godfather II, or reruns of Real World, your probably asleep, getting ready to wake up with the sun and annoy the world with your chippiness. Just remember this, your very annoying, people can only take you in small doses, and If most people had a chance to, they’d shove your 72 oz. Starbucks mug down your throat…

Now I need a nap…

Classin’ it up part two…

As the Frank-ly Sports blog continues to evolve and crash in to unchartered territory, we can’t be afraid to ask for help(insert sappy music here).

So, to paraphrase the Beatles, we be getting “a little help from my friends…”

I have enlisted the help of a childhood friend of mine, who is actually a journalist.  He currently is working for a newspaper in Ohio, and has done such for about 9 months.  His has worked is way up through the ranks to finally receive a column there.  Like all of us who frequent FS, he loves sports.  So from time to time I have asked him to submit some “op ed’s” for us.  I hope you welcome him to our world. Oh and guys, go easy on him at first, let him get his feet wet before you drop the hammer. 

I’m expecting his first submission in the next few weeks.  Hopefully you enjoy it!

What to watch-Because its 9 degrees out…

7:30 Fox Sports Ohio- Cleveland @ Boston-Could be a play off match up preview. New look Cavs looking for some synergies

8:00 AMC-Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon-Come on really, its Bruce F@#$ing Lee man, just watch it

9:00 ESPN-Ga.Tech @ Duke-Dukies looking to make some headway after all the shake ups this week

9:00 ESPN2-West Virginia @ DePaul-Hopefully huggie Bear will wear another ugly yellow suit. WVU is battling for a tourney invite.

 10:00 Discovery-Smash Lab-A great life long friend of mine is working on this show.  Think Mythbusters, only on steroids, and without the hokie dude hosts.  When was the last time the Mythbuster guys tried to hurricane proof a house. Smash lab did, by backing up a Boeing 747 to their model and blowing it over.  Watch it, you’ll love it.

10:00 AMC-Karate Kid-Ok, so if your not into enriching yourself on the scientific level, classic karate story has your name on it Danielson…

NCAA needs to drop the Mallett…

Ryan Mallett was looking for a change.  When Rich Rodriguez came to Ann Arbor, the writing was on the wall.  So Ryan did what lots of kids do when their former coaches leave and the new guy comes in and changes everything.  However, he’s now looking to try to open a can of worms that could turn college football on its head.

Ryan is asking the NCAA to waive the sit out rule for him to be able to play immediately at Arkansas this season.  The rule states that the player needs to sit out one season in order to become eligible again for Division 1-A football.  The only exception that allows for a student athlete to no miss a year is if they go to a Division 1-AA or smaller school.  Recently, the NCAA has allowed that senior transfers to play that same year.  Many of those players are virtually ready to leave school scholastically, and probably have a little less on their plate.  These rules are in place so that players don’t jump from team to team like free agents in the NFL.

Ryan needs to stick it out, and realize that he’s not bigger then the game.  Your a sophomore QB that played half the year.  He’s not a legend, and he certainly isn’t a proven quarterback.  Don’t even think about saying your a special case.  This stuff happens all the time.

The NCAA needs to make sure that this doesn’t happen.  It would be bad for the game, programs, and fans.  How would teams build programs, how would coaches avoid the controversy each season?  It doesn’t make sense, sorry Ryan.  You obviously didn’t do your homework, and now your stuck.  Hog nation will love you next year just as much.  Hey look at the brightside, you could always transfer to Grand Valley State, and Michigan still doesn’t have a quarterback.

Newbies prove it early…

Ok, so it was only one game. Sometime’s that is enough.  I am hoping that this is the case with the Cleveland Cavaliars recent trade before the trading deadline.  After one odd game in which the Cavs only had eight players, two of which were signed from the D-league.  Thankfully, they have LBJ.

After a day off, the new guys reported for duty.  Who are they you ask?  Ben Wallace, Josh Smith, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak.  It wasn’t the Mike Bibby or Jason Kidd that LeBron asked for, but you can’t give your favorite kid EVERYTHING they ask for.  Especially after they make a special addition shoe that has pinstripes on it for the New York Yankees(LBJ’s favorite team as a child).  What the Cavs got was shooters.  Dead eye shooters plain and simple.  They also added some great size and defense underneath adding Wallace and Smith.  After Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic come back healthy, they will have a nice corp to play some defense and rebound.  Improving an already good rebounding team.

Smith is averaging more points this year at around 13, then he has the previous 6 seasons.  He’s great around the rim, can expand the defense and play both small forwards and power forwards defensively.

Wallace has been playing under a rain cloud for some reason this year.  It appears, granted after one game, that the lights have gone on for Big Ben.  Defensively he showed a lot of prowess, a la his Pistons days.  He was able to get a double double, including one heads up play after a bucket where he denied the ball, and was able to sneak a five second call and get the ball back for the Cavs.

Szczerbiak can straight out stroke the ball.  The Miami University stand-out can hit it from anywhere, with very little space, and gives LeBron James, and the other  Cavs guards a great dependable shooter on the perimeter.  His outside game has always been there, but his improved inside game has helped him become even more valuable.  Defensively he’s a bit of a liability, but its not because of lack of effort.  Mostly because of foot spead.  Wally challenges shots and works extremely hard, but he doesn’t always get the job done.

Delonte West is the first pure point guard that the Cavs have had since Mark Price.  West is a shifty shooter, but handles the ball extremely well.  He’ll be able to handle it late in games, and allow James, Szczerbiak, Damon Jones, Josh Smith and Daniel Gibson to roll of screens set by Ilgauskas, Verajao, and Wallce.  West needs to look to penetrate and kick a lot on this team.  From there he’ll get some shots to open up as well.

Overall, this move puts the Cavs in the championship conversation.  The Suns and Lakers are tops in the West, but the Celtics, Pistons and Cavaliars are now the top teams in the East. 

More NFL combine

I was able to catch a fair amount of NFL combine stuff over the weekend.  God Bless the DVR!  I must say, there is something special about watching finely tuned athletes do what they do best.

 www.nfl.com

OL-Group two was far more enthusiastic, and had fun with their drills…Here are some standouts:

Jake Long-38 reps at 225, and 7.44 in the 10 yard cone was pretty impressive. I think the most fun was watching him down block and pull  in the “pull drill.”  Jake has great feet, and looks a lot like Joe Thomas did last year.  He’s in control, and stays under his base.  He’ll be playing in Hawaii soon.

Kory Lichtensteiger-Kory had a solid day, but he looked his best in his drills.  His effort is always great and so is his motor.  Did a great job in the pull drill, as well as the pass pro drill.  He’s still probably a second day guy, but overall his stock is rising.

Mike Pollack-This Sun Devil burned it up in the 40, posting a 4.9.  He’s great in closed spaces, and uses his leverage to is advantage. He’ll probably play guard in the NFL, but center is probably an option as well with the trend of center’s pulling now.

TE-

Dustin Keller-Its a alittle unfair to even call him a TE since he played flexed out in the Purdue spread most of the time, but he’s well built, and has all the athletic pieces that people want in an NFL tight end.  I’m anxious to see how he looks in pads and having to block someone though.  Keller is oozing with talent though, he’ll be a weapon there is no doubt.

Joseph Haynos-is REALLY, REALLY tall…

RB-

Darren McFadden-Quick message to the Tuna and the dolphins, your probably not going to take RUN DMc, but if you decide to trade the pick away, you better get a truck load of talent, because Darren is one bad ass SOB.

Rashard Mendenhall-another beast that put up a great number in the 40 in 4.45 as well as 26 reps on the bench.  His build and numbers show that he could probably be a solid NFL running back.

Kelvin McCrae-Being a MAC guy, I’m probably to easy on him.  He looked quick in the change of direction drill, has good size, but I’m sure NFL scouts are gonna question his speed a little.

I’m really looking forward to the DB’s in the next few days.  At the end of the day the NFL combine has a lot of hype behind it, but if you get a chance it gives you a nice look inside the NFL.