NFL Draft Top 10 Projection

Just like last year, Joe & Joe Sports is happy to bring you our projections for how the top ten picks in the first round of the NFL draft will play out. Unlike last year, however, we'll be posting this information right here on the blog, rather than in one of our radio shows. It was a confluence of events that made this happen, including unexpectedly long baseball shows, my move from Pennsylvania to Maryland, poor planning, and tax season. But you, the fans, will still enjoy the benefit of our analysis (and wit).

So, without further ado (haha), our top ten picks for the 2008 NFL draft.

#1 Miami Dolphins - Jake Long, OT, Michigan. The Dolphins made this one easy for us, signing Long days before they actually went onto the clock. I think this is the right move; when you've got a team with a lot of holes, you either trade down for more picks (which is more difficult than we often give it credit for) or draft the best lineman available. Long is that lineman in this draft, and he should be an asset for Miami for years to come.

#2 St. Louis Rams - Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State. How funny would it be if players from Michigan and Ohio State went back to back as the first and second picks? Well, I guess not that funny really, but I'm sure there'd be some comments about Michigan finally beating Ohio State at something. Gholston is considered by many to be the best bet for becoming a future superstar in the entire draft, and with as poor as the Rams' pass rush was last year, he makes good sense for St. Louis.

#3 Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College. The consensus number one quarterback in the draft is Ryan, and I project him to go third to the Falcons. While I don't think Ryan is really the best player available at this point (or even the best fit for the Falcons), I think it's important for the Falcons to take a quarterback high in this draft to distance themselves mentally from the Michael Vick era. Ryan can be a solid quarterback, not a special quarterback, but he can give the Atlanta fans a new face to represent their franchise.

#4 Oakland Raiders - Glenn Dorsey, DT, Louisiana State. It'd be something a coup for Dorsey to fall this far in the draft, as he's widely considered the only legitimate #1 overall pick, with regards to talent. But if he does, you can be sure that the Raiders will stop the dropping right there. Dorsey would be a perfect heir to their retiring franchise defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, and he'd be able to step in immediately and have a positive impact on that defensive front. Oakland has got lots of problems, and nobody they draft here could turn them into a playoff team, but Dorsey puts them on the right path.

#5 Kansas City Chiefs - Chris Long, DE, Virginia. The other Long in this draft is the son of former Raider great Howie Long, and while it might take a couple of preseason games for Chiefs fans to warm up to him, his talent will go a long way towards forgetting that fact. Chris Long isn't necessarily a transcendent talent, but he's got great character and seems to be a smart player. He dominated at Virginia, and while he probably won't reach a Michael Strahan or Charles Haley level, most players don't. Long can be a valuable producer and a starter in this league for 12-15 years.

#6 New York Jets - Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas. Let me start by saying this: McFadden is not Adrian Peterson. Peterson dominated every caliber of competition he faced in college; McFadden seemed to have trouble with the better defenses in the SEC. That being said, Larry Johnson had trouble with the better defenses in the Big Ten, and he's turned out pretty well. McFadden would give the Jets three legitimate starting caliber running backs along with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. A two-headed monster of Washington and McFadden for the next three years sounds very appealing to me.

#7 New England Patriots - Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy. The Patriots haven't had a pick this high in the draft for a while, which I think explains why they've tended to not "go after" top tier talent at cornerback. But this is an opportunity that New England won't squander, and they'll take advantage and grab the top defensive back in the draft. Their position of greatest need is probably linebacker, but at this point the best linebacker looks more likely to fall into the 15-20 pick range, and one thing you can count on the Patriots avoiding is wasting the value of this high pick. McKelvin gives them another option to replace Pro-Bowler Asante Samuel.

#8 Baltimore Ravens - Branden Albert, OG, Virginia. There's talk of Albert jumping up the draft board and going as high as fifth to the Chiefs, but this seems to be a more likely value spot. The Ravens would like to see Matt Ryan fall to this point, but if he's not available, you can never have too many offensive linemen. Albert gives them depth, and could give whatever new quarterback ends up starting in Baltimore an extra second or two to deliver the ball to their solid receiving corps. With Steve McNair retired and Kyle Boller having lost his favor with Ravens fans, quarterback is absolutely a position they'll need to address. But Baltimore historically has been too smart with their picks to reach for Brian Brohm or Joe Flacco, who both figure to be second round picks.

#9 Cincinnati Bengals - Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida. The Bengals' draft plans would change mightily if they acquire another first round pick by trading Chad Johnson before the draft, but assuming no trades take place, I see the Bengals going after Harvey here. While he's been playing defensive end, he's got the speed to switch to linebacker, giving Cincinnati the opportunity to evaluate him as a general talent and find a way to get him on the field at different positions for crucial plays. Sedrick Ellis is another player the Bengals are rumored to like, and I really have no reason to say why Ellis or Harvey is a better fit than the other. Basically just flipping a coin.

#10 New Orleans Saints - Sedrick Ellis, DT, Southern California. The trouble with creating mock drafts is that someone always slips through the cracks and falls way later than you'd expect them to go. Ellis is one of those players, a guy that a lot of different teams like enough to take, but who seem to have more evident holes to fill. Ellis could go as high as fourth to the Raiders, but I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that he could also fall to this pick, though certainly not beyond. There's been talk of the Saints trading up to acquire Ellis, so if he falls into their laps, I'd be shocked if they didn't take him. He's a great pass and run defender who has played in big games at USC. Against Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia, and whoever the Falcons run out there at QB, he could be a real disruption and a fantastic piece to help the Saints get back into the playoff picture.

Now, if you want to talk about accuracy, remember that last year each of us Joe's got three picks correct out of our first ten. So when you think about bashing us after we miss half the picks, just remember that the bar was set relatively low. And then feel free to bash us, either in the comments here on the blog (you can comment anonymously if you so choose) or via e-mail at joe.joe.sports@gmail.com.

The Other Joe's NL Award Winners and Playoff Teams

NL Most Valuable Player - Chase Utley: He'll make it three straight Philadelphia NL MVPs. Utley is probably the best pure hitter on the Phillies, and early this season he's really shined. For those of us who are fantasy baseball players, Utley's dominance is old hat, but he'll become widely known this year, owing partly to Rollins and Howard generating buzz from the city of Brotherly Love. Sleeper - Derrek Lee

NL Cy Young - Johan Santana: I've felt he was the best pitcher in baseball despite being in the burlier American League, so his move to the senior circuit should only be beneficial. Realistically though, you're looking at a great Cy Young race in the NL between Santana, Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, and Cole Hamels. Sleeper - Yovani Gallardo

NL Manager of the Year - Joe Torre: I don't think the Dodgers will be among the best teams in the league, but they'll be in the playoff hunt right up until the last week of the season. As I don't expect a surprise team to improve dramatically, and I don't see any of these teams going crazy and winning 100+ games, Torre will be one of the more heart-warming stories in the manager realm. How he handles the logjam in the outfield will prominently affect his potential for this award. Sleeper - Manny Acta

NL Rookie of the Year - Kosuke Fukudome: Whether or not players who have played professionally overseas should be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award is a debate for another time. The fact is, he's a disciplined bat who will be a vital cog for what figures to be a playoff team. His year-end numbers will justify a ROY award. Sleeper - Jay Bruce

NL Playoff Teams
New York Mets - Too much talent to fall apart like last year. Adding Santana gives them a legitimately scary rotation.
Chicago Cubs - I teeter between the Cubs and Brewers, but I believe the Cubs' starting pitchers and defense to be the difference.
Arizona Diamondbacks - The most exciting part of the D'Backs is that they can still get a lot better. Their young talent has room to improve, which could culminate in a 110 win season down the road.
Philadelphia Phillies - They're a pretty typical good team, and come playoff time they could surprise some people. As it is, though, they're looking like a wild card team.

Ikariam

I've been monitoring the progress of a pending MMORTS (massively multiplayer online real-time strategy) game called Beyond Protocol. It seems very interesting, at least in theory, and I've been doing a little pestering of the folks there, re-applying to the beta at least one extra time, I think twice, and reading up on the discussions people are having about the game. The diplomacy portion is what I'm really interested in, as it looks like they're planning on having a galaxy-governing body through which players can actually generate changes to the game. How this actually shakes out remains to be seen, but needless to say, I'm intrigued.

But in the meantime, I've been looking for other MMORTS-style games to quench my thirst. I play the occasional game of WarCraft III online, but it's not really what I'm looking for. I want more of a broad scope interactive game that includes diplomacy, economics, city management, and a civilian aspect of the game. Beyond Protocol may not even be that game, as I haven't seen much as far as the civilian side of things. So I've been looking around.

I did some browsing on Wikipedia and stumbled upon Ikariam. I've created an account (on Lambda world, if anyone else wants to join up), and I'm sort of testing the waters. It's a free system, though there is some kind of enhanced experience that you can get by buying "ambrosia" (using real money) and spending that. I haven't investigated that aspect too much, since for the time being I'm really just looking for a time-killer.

In that vein, one of the most appealing aspects of Ikariam is that it's a browser-based game. This means that, if I like, I can check in on it while I'm at work without having to install a big program or anything. I like the idea of checking in, giving new orders, and then getting back to the business of the day....which for me would probably be looking for more of those kinds of games.

Anyways, I've gotten to play it a little bit, and it seems very Civilization-esque. It's got a few different levels of management, from inside your city to the island that you share with a number of other cities, to the whole world (again, Lambda for me). You allocate resources to different tasks (military, research, resource management, etc.), and try to build your city so that it's strong enough to defend itself from eventual attackers while having the capacity to expand to new territories. Again, I'm very early in the game, and don't know exactly how combat or expansion works, but I know they're in the game somehow, and I'm looking forward to finding out.

All in all, it seems encouraging. I'm not going to declare right now that it's my kind of game, but it's certainly got the tools to be something I'm happy to throw some time into. If you decide to join up, let me know so I can track your town's progress and direct you towards my own.

Things To Do Today...

If you live in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, you've got a really lovely Saturday to work with today. Now, most sports radio shows, blogs, and television programs will tell you to get a couple friends, hop in a car, and go watch a baseball game, the weather's great for it. And they're right, the weather is great for watching a ballgame.

But really, what you should do is grab a couple friends, get outside, and play catch. You can watch a ballgame when the temperature climbs up to 85 or 90, but it gets uncomfortable to play catch at around 80. You've got to take advantage of these temperate days while we have them, because you know damn well that come July, we're looking at 90+ every single day.

Unless you don't like baseball. In which case, do whatever you want, we're obviously not friends anyways. I have no friends that don't like baseball.

Carlos Marmol and the Middle Reliever's Fantasy Value

Last year Carlos Marmol established himself as one of the elite middle relievers in the league; posting excellent strikeout rate and ratios. But how valuable is such a player? Pitchers that are drafted tend to be starters which can rack up wins or closer which obviously grab the saves. But what about the middle ground?

A great middle reliever can lower your team's ERA and WHIP. Last year Marmol had an ERA of 1.43 over 69.1 innings. That is about a third of what a very solid starting pitcher will have. These innings will have an effect on your bottom line. It is sometimes difficult to imagine a middle reliever having significant value over the course of the season but there will be times when after a night of baseball one of your starting pitchers will have had a less than stellar game and a solid two innings in relief can help bring all of your final numbers for the night back to respectability.

Additionally Marmol had 96 strikeouts last season or 8 less than Chien-Ming Wang (in 130 less innings). A hard throwing reliever can help to balance out a crafty starter. These solid arms will get brought into close games late leading to more wins than the typical reliever and are the first in line for save opportunity if something were to happen to the closer. The closer situation is typically good to look at when valuing middle relievers. Kerry Wood's injury history makes Marmol a bit more valuable than if he were setting up Nathan. That being said, value picks are what win fantasy leagues. So while I think Marmol is very good pitcher, top- and middle-tier closers should go first. Marmol's value comes from being a contributor on your team that got taken late in a draft and offers mid-draft value.

Inconsistency is an issue with all relievers and pitching in general. Linebrink strung together three very good seasons but has been somewhat mediocre in recent years. Brad Lidge went from being a dominant force to not being able to hold off Dan Wheeler for the closer's job in just a couple of years. Spending a high draft pick on a player that could be relegated to mop-up duty after a bad month is a risky proposition.

My team includes the likes of the suddenly questionable Francisco Rodriguez, the always injury-prone Huston Street, and the incredibly hittable Jose Valverde. So, I'm glad I took Marmol in the 12th round of my draft, as he has already racked up 17 strikeouts in 12.1 innings. But could this end up blowing up in my face?

No, it can't. Did you even read the post?

Race For The MVP

Listen, for those of you who have been on top of the NBA all season, you should really not have any trouble picking the MVP this year. One player really transcended both his own impressive track record and the rest of the NBA to be, without a doubt, the most important player on one of the best teams in its conference. And the team really wasn't expected to be a powerhouse, more of a bottom of the playoff bracket team. So who am I talking about? Well, as I said, if you've had your finger on the pulse of basketball this year, you know. If not, you'll just have to toil through my analysis of the top four contenders: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, and Chris Paul. You like how my description could suit any of those players? That's coincidence, I don't think when I write, I just commentate on my writing afterwards.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was absolutely one of the best players in basketball this year. Despite constant offseason bitterness and demands to be traded off the Lakers, Bryant came to play from day one. He averaged 28 points per game, and played in every single one despite injuring his shooting hand. His performance somehow didn't slip, and he led the Lakers to the #1 seed in the extraordinary Western Conference this season. He's not known as being a terribly mature player or teammate, and he does have that tiny little incident in Colorado from a couple years ago, but on the court, he's among the best of our time. He's as close to Michael Jordan as we've got right now.

Kevin Garnett

The biggest offseason move was the trade of Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves, where he had spent his entire career, to the Celtics, who traded almost the equivalent of a full roster in acquiring Ray Allen and Garnett. The results were a sight for sore eyes for Celtics fans (at least those ones who aren't baseball or football fans). Boston won 66 games this year, a full seven games ahead of the Pistons for the #1 seedd in the Eastern Conference. Garnett's points, rebounds, and assists were actually down from his career averages, but he was more efficient than ever, posting a career high shooting percentage and cutting almost a whole turnover per game off of his stat sheet. The reality of Garnett is that he started to play more like a true point forward, starting the offense, but not being relied upon to make every play. The Celtics would have been better just by adding Ray Allen, but most anybody in basketball will tell you that Garnett is the reason the Celtics are primed for their first NBA finals in a generation.

LeBron James

Ho hum. LeBron quietly averaged 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists per game this season. You wouldn't think that'd be possible, but because of the resurgence of the classic Lakers Celtics rivalry, the 45-37 Cavaliers and their superstar have gone somewhat unappreciated. LeBron took yet another step towards becoming a legend in the sport, increasing his assists, steals, blocks, and rebounds. His free throw percentage is still not what it should be for a player of his caliber, but that will improve as he becomes more committed to good form and follow-through. He had 7 triple-doubles this year, and in only 5 of his 74 starts did he post fewer than 20 points, showing a consistency he lacked in previous seasons. This could be especially valuable in the playoffs, as the Cavaliers are a team that really can't afford for their best player to have an off night. They live and die with James, and at least for the first round against my woeful Wizards, they figure to survive. LeBron has got a killer instinct that seems to be matched only by Kobe Bryant.

Chris Paul

The fire for Chris Paul seems to have died out a little bit, though the Hornets still won by far the toughest division in the NBA, the Southeast, which features four 50-win teams. Paul increased his scoring, assists, and field goal percentage for the second straight year, and was the first guy in a while who wasn't Steve Nash to lead the NBA in assists per game. The Hornets were a real shocker as far as their performance this year, and all of the credit for that has got to go to Paul, who made every clutch play when his team needed it. It's nice when your best player is a young point guard, and the Hornets can be excited about their prospects with Paul at the helm for years to come.

So who's your MVP? Don't make me laugh. Kobe Bryant has got to win this award in a landslide. The two main factors for an MVP award are individual performance and team performance. Garnett's team was exceptional, but his numbers were only very good. LeBron had absurd numbers, but his team was only 8 games over .500. Chris Paul shined along with his team, but he clocks in a tick below Bryant in each of those departments. Ladies and gentlemen, your MVP, Kobe Bryant.

Flight of the Conchords

Alright, it's time. You've probably heard me allude to them on here or my other blog, or make countless references in conversation. But now it's finally time for me to tell you how much I love Flight of the Conchords.

A lot.

There are actually two entities called Flight of the Conchords: the band and the show, starring the band. I like the band, but I'm more impressed with the show. Granted, each episode has at least two songs written by the band, and they're not always perfectly integrated, but their main goal is comedic, and the show has more LPMs (laughs per minute) than any of their songs.

The trouble, of course, is that retelling the jokes in written form is a complete waste. You'll have to get out there and look for yourselves. YouTube has got a lot of clips from the show, but some of them are out of context and may not be as humorous as they could be. In fact, to really show you what the show is all about, it's probably better to tell you to look up the music videos from the show on YouTube. Some of them don't really fit into the storylines, or give you a good idea of what the show is all about, but I've got a few that are particularly funny, and also give you a good sense of the show's sense of humor. I'll link them to their respective videos when I get home; I'm at work right now and YouTube is among the very few restricted websites.

• Business Time
• The Most Beautiful Girl In The Room
• Albi, The Racist Dragon
• Pencils In The Wind

With season one available for $19.99 at Circuit City online, it's a small investment that you can expect to return a lot of laughs. If you enjoy the videos, you'll love the show. Think of the Office, except with characters who are more quirky and less insane.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Rounds 13 & 14

Round 13
145. Mercer AutoWreckers - Jeremy Guthrie, SP, Orioles
146. Vandelay Industries - Chase Headley, 3B, Padres
147. Dunedain Rangers - Jake Westbrook, SP, Indians
148. Those Guys - Raul Ibanez, OF, Mariners
149. Howard's Heroes (from The Usual Suspects) - Boof Bonser, SP, Twins
150. Howard's Heroes - Ryan Theriot, 2B, Cubs
151. Cleveland Enforcers - Joel Zumaya, RP, Tigers
152. DamKnights - Carlos Gomez, OF, Twins
153. Feisty Mosquitos - Jose Guillen, OF, Royals
154. Akron Pronks - Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Red Sox
155. Stewies SexyParties - Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Rockies
156. Vandelay Industries (from Riders of Rohan) - Ryan Spilborghs, OF, Rockies

Round 14
157. Akron Pronks (from Mercer AutoWreckers) - Scott Baker, SP, Twins
158. Vandelay Industries - Gio Gonzalez, SP, Athletics
159. Dunedain Rangers - Willy Mo Pena, Nationals
160. Those Guys - Brian Fuentes, RP, Rockies
161. Howard's Heroes (from The Usual Suspects) - Luke Scott, OF, Orioles
162. Howard's Heroes - Andrew Miller, SP, Marlins
163. Howard's Heroes (from Cleveland Enforcers) - Joe Crede, 3B, White Sox
164. DamKnights - Henry Owens, RP, Marlins
165. Feisty Mosquitos - Scot Shields, RP, Angels
166. Akron Pronks - Bill Hall, OF, Brewers
167. Stewies SexyParties - Bartolo Colon, SP, Red Sox
168. Vandelay Industries (from Riders of Rohan via The Usual Suspects) - David Price, SP, Rays

Best Pick(s) - I'll take this opportunity to highlight the solid job Howard's Heroes did in acquiring solid talent despite trading a lot of earlier picks. Ryan Theriot, Luke Scott, and Joe Crede all figure to be solid producers, with Theriot a speed merchant, and Scott and Crede having decent power potential. Andrew Miller and Boof Bonser are both high caliber pitching prospects, so with five picks in the last two rounds, the Heroes were able to find a lot of valuable pieces.

Worst Pick(s) - Jake Westbrook seems to have reached his ceiling, and it's not impressive. Joel Zumaya seems to be the heir apparent to Jeff Kent in finding weird ways to get himself hurt, and wouldn't you know it, he started the season on the DL. But really, in the last two rounds, half of these guys are going to be on waivers before the season anyways, so the "bad" picks here are merely guys ready to be dropped for whoever starts hot.

Riders' Pick(s) - No picks.

Overall Analysis - I enjoyed this draft, but I think I prefer to have more of a standard draft, rather than shifting all around the board. With my picks bunched together, I couldn't really do any "best available" picks; I had to grab what I needed because I wasn't going to be picking for a couple rounds. A lot of the guys taken in the last two rounds were very intriguing, but because of my situation, I wasn't really in a position to pick a guy like David Price, Carlos Gomez, or Bartolo Colon. It'll be very interesting to see in the middle of the season how that has affected the standings.

That's the last of the draft analysis, so I'll start getting back to regular professional sports commentary. But don't worry; there'll be plenty of fantasy discussion mixed in.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Rounds 11 & 12

Round 11
121. Mercer AutoWreckers - Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox
122. Vandelay Industries - Bob Howry, RP, Cubs
123. Dunedain Rangers - Melky Cabrera, OF, Yankees
124. Those Guys - Kazuo Matsui, 2B, Astros
125. Riders of Rohan (from The Usual Suspects) - Jeff Kent, 2B, Dodgers
126. Howard's Heroes - Aaron Rowand, OF, Giants
127. Cleveland Enforcers - Mark Beuhrle, SP, White Sox
128. DamKnights - Kevin Slowey, SP, Twins
129. Feisty Mosquitos - Ian Kennedy, SP, Yankees
130. Akron Pronks - Hideki Okajima, RP, Red Sox
131. Stewies SexyParties - Ryan Garko, 1B, Indians
132. Riders of Rohan - Jason Schmidt, SP, Dodgers

Round 12
133. Mercer AutoWreckers - Bronson Arroyo, SP, Reds
134. Vandelay Industries - Andy Pettitte, SP, Yankees
135. Dunedain Rangers - Felix Pie, OF, Cubs
136. Those Guys - Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals
137. The Usual Suspects - Jay Bruce, OF, Reds
138. The Usual Suspects (from Howard's Heroes) - Pat Neshek, RP, Twins
139. Cleveland Enforcers - Stephen Drew, SS, Diamondbacks
140. DamKnights - Conor Jackson, 1B, Diamondbacks
141. Feisty Mosquitos - Nick Johnson, 1B, Nationals
142. Akron Pronks - Curt Schilling, SP, Red Sox
143. Stewies SexyParties - Cameron Maybin, OF, Marlins
144. Vandelay Industries (from Riders of Rohan) - Matt Garza, SP, Rays

Best Pick(s) - Stephen Drew is still considered a can't-miss prospect, so getting him this late seems like a worthy acquisition. Jeff Kent and Aaron Rowand could be very solid producers, and the kind of guys that competitive owners should target at low cost in keeper leagues.

Worst Pick(s) - Even at the time of the draft, Schmidt and Schilling were expected to miss substantial time. While it's late enough in the draft that the risk is minimal, it's still a pick used on a guy who simply can't be a big producer.

Riders' Pick(s) - As you might've guessed, I really liked my Kent pick, and wasn't as keen on my Schmidt acquisition. But it did complete the unholy trinity of injured pitchers (Prior, Carpenter, Schmidt), so I've at least got that going for me.

Overall Analysis - As I said about the last two rounds, most of the guys here are being taken where they ought to be taken. Role players, sleepers, and youngsters highlight these later rounds, and those that work out tend to be integral parts of the teams in the top half of the standings.

New NFL Rules

The NFL passed a few new rules into law this week, most of which seem like a good idea:

• Field goals are now reviewable, which seems like the kind of thing that should have always been reviewable, so I'm in favor of that.
• Teams can elect to "defer" the coin toss to the opposing team, rather than choosing to receive or kick off. That's fine, though I really don't care, and I imagine most coaches don't care either. Possession seems much more important than direction.
• The 5-yard variety of facemask penalties was eliminated. My hope with this rule change is that, while the total number of facemask penalties will go down, the number of 15-yard facemask penalties will go up. Any level of twisting or pulling should now be a 15-yard personal foul. This rule change seems to be closer to the spirit of football, where sometimes you're going to get your hand on somebody's facemask.
• Defensive players can now also wear radio helmets, just like the offense has with the quarterback. Though I didn't see any specifics, I assume they mean just one player on defense. This seems like a direct response to the Patriots' spying scandal, and a way to even the playing field a little bit. I'm in favor.

But there's one rule that, at least at first glance, seems like a bad idea:

• The concept of a "force out" on the sidelines was eliminated with regards to pass completions. I could maybe see this being a good idea if you go with the "one foot in bounds" rule that college uses, but all signs point to it still being a two feet league. That means that defensive backs are all going to be trying to force receivers out of bounds, and we're going to get a lot less passes near the sidelines. In case you can't put two and two together, this means that late game drives are going to be a lot more difficult, which is a shame, because late game drives are really the most entertaining part of football. I'll need more concrete information on this rule to know for sure, but at first glance, it doesn't look good.

I do like that the NFL, as a league that relies heavily on its rules to define the game, is willing to make changes from year to year in the hopes of creating a better package, a safer and fairer sport. Kudos on the effort, just make sure you get that sideline catch rule right.

NL Delay

We apologize to all of our loyal fans for our delay in getting National League preview shows recorded and available for download, but a few mitigating factors this weekend/week have created some difficulties, not the least of which is my own relocation from Altoona, PA to Gaithersburg, MD. We apologize for the delay and hope to get at least one show up later this week. As my living situation stabilizes, we'll figure to get back into our normal groove of a show every 1-2 weeks.

Thanks for keeping up with Joe & Joe Sports, and we look forward to giving you our often entertaining and occasionally correct analysis very soon!

NL Preview Shows

Our National League preview shows will be this weekend. We're going to do back-to-back shows on Saturday, covering the East and Central divisions, then wrap up with our favorite division, the West, on Sunday evening. It's going to be a mad dash to the end of spring training, and we're happy that you're coming along with us for the ride.

As always, past shows are available for listening through the widget at the top right of this blog page, or on our TalkShoe home page. So if you missed the American League preview shows, or just never got around to our Super Bowl wrap-up episode, feel free to check it out at your leisure. You can even download the mp3 files and put them on your iPod or on a CD and listen to them while you drive, jog, work, whatever!

Tournament "Home" Games

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a Georgetown fan. The collapse on Sunday against Davidson was brutal, but to those of us who watched the Big East championship game against Pittsburgh, not altogether unpredictable. Also, as a Minnesota Vikings fan, I'm used to my favorite teams coming up short in important games.

But I do have a problem with (at least) one aspect of the NCAA tournament committee and their rules. There's this idea that teams can't play on their own home court, regardless of seed. That's lovely, and I get that you shouldn't have most teams play on their home courts. But #1 and #2 seeds have earned the right to play some games in "their house." With at least one set of games almost always in North Carolina (one first round and second round set this year), it's obvious that Duke or UNC is going to get what essentially constitutes a home game if they grab a #1 seed. Nobody has really questioned the fact that UNC doesn't have to leave the state of North Carolina until the Final Four, but Georgetown and Duke played on courts substantially closer to their opponents' schools.

Davdison is just over 100 miles from Raleigh, where they faced Georgetown. Georgetown's campus, meanwhile, is 250 miles away. And the "in-state" versus "out-of-state" difference is more substantial than you might think. When #15 Coppin State defeated #2 South Carolina in 1997, I didn't care where in Maryland Coppin State was located, just that a Maryland team had pulled a big upset. At these games, where the underdogs already get extra cheers, an in-state team will get even more support, and the only people cheering for Georgetown on Sunday were students, alumni, and people who had a lot of money riding on the Hoyas.

I include Duke in this argument because I really hate Duke, and I hope their inclusion will give some merit to my point of view. Duke is only about 80 miles farther from Washington, D.C. than West Virginia, but DC happens to be very close to College Park, where the University of Maryland takes residence. You'll be hard-pressed to find a Maryland fan who wouldn't cheer for a North Korean team against Duke.

But then where should these #2 seeds played? How about at each other's locations? Put Georgetown on their home floor in DC, and let Duke play down the street from their campus at N.C. State's gym in Raleigh. The "pod" system from a few years ago that has apparently been scrapped wasn't a bad idea. Giving the top 4 seeds in the tournament the opportunity to play in front of friendly crowds was a reasonable goal, and generally an attainable one. I get that the logistics behind scheduling true home games for these teams on 2-4 days notice is daunting, but when you've already got the locations booked, I think the tournament committee should do their best to put those top seeds in their local regions.

Would it have made a difference if Sunday's game was played in DC? Maybe, maybe not. Stephen Curry is obviously a tremendous talent, and it seemed like he became unstoppable when he figured out Georgetown's defense in the second half. And even in DC, you'd find a lot of those classic underdog fans, so Davidson would still get plenty of cheers. So maybe I'd still be lamenting the Hoyas' lack of second half defense and frustratingly frequent turnovers today. And it certainly looked like West Virginia was simply the better team against Duke.

But as it stands, #1 and #2 seeds are only marginally valuable in that you get a very winnable first round matchup. An entire season of extremely high caliber performance should warrant a little bit of accommodation in the championship tournament. And make no mistake, your #2 seeds were all tremendous teams this season. Georgetown, Texas, and Tennessee all won at least a share of their conference's regular season titles, and Duke won 27 games and finished the ACC regular season behind only the overall #1 seed in North Carolina.

In most other sports, you get to play at least your early postseason games in your own gym/stadium. It's not unreasonable that NCAA basketball go in a similar direction.

Looking Forward

We won't be having an NCAA Hoops show this week. Our hope is to try to do a brief one sometime next week or next weekend, but the reality is that we may not get to it until Final Four weekend, as baseball has got most of our focus right now.

Our American League preview shows are available for download on TalkShoe, so you can listen to them at your leisure. You can also use the widget to the right to listen right on this web page; just remember that if you leave the page, the show stops playing. :)

National League preview shows will be next week, and we'll post a message here when we set the dates and times.

The Other Joe's AL Award Winners and Playoff Teams

AL Most Valuable Player - Miguel Cabrera - The guy tore up National League pitching for five years in a wholly unexciting lineup. Now he moves to the Tigers who could have five guys get 200 hits this year. Sleeper: Travis Hafner

AL Cy Young - Justin Verlander - With the improvements to the lineup, Detroit could win a hundred games this year. Verlander was already a great pitcher, but with this team, he could rack up 22-24 wins to go with great averages and strikeouts. Sleeper: Francisco Liriano

AL Manager of the Year - Ron Gardenhire - For years he's gone unnoticed because the Twins had Johan Santana anchoring the staff. He'll finally get credit this year, despite a likely .500 finish. Sleeper: John Gibbons

AL Rookie of the Year - Jacoby Ellsbury - He's already got a high profile because of his performance at the end of last year and in the playoffs. That media exposure coupled with his talent and a very good team figure to result in back-to-back ROYs from the Red Sox. Sleeper: Joba Chamberlain

AL Playoff Teams
New York Yankees - The young pitching will grow up fast, and the lineup is as strong as ever.
Detroit Tigers - Their second worst hitter is a future Hall of Fame catcher.
Seattle Mariners - The injuries to Lackey and Escobar open the door, and the acquisition of Bedard will help Seattle saunter into the playoffs.
Boston Red Sox - They'll be disappointed to be only the wild card team, but in the playoffs, Beckett doesn't lose, and they'll be right back in the World Series.

American League Award Winners and Playoff Teams

AL MVP - Alex Rodriguez - A-Rod can have a drop off from last year's huge stats (.315, 54 hr, 156 rbi, 143 runs, 24 sb) and still be better than the numbers that last year's MVP runner up (Magglio Ordonez with .363, 28 hr, 139 rbi, 117 runs and 4 sb). Sleeper: Carlos Pena

AL Cy Young - C.C. Sabathia - Sabathia proved last year that he is finally a pitcher and an ace, expect him to put up better numbers this year with a HUGE contract on the line. Sleeper: Erik Bedard

AL Manager of the Year - Joe Maddon - The young and exciting Rays should continue to grow up and will probably flirt with .500 this year. Not too bad for the lowest payroll in baseball. Sleeper: John Gibbons

AL Rookie of the Year - Evan Longoria - Expected to be this year's version of Ryan Braun, which sets the bar very, very high. Sleeper: Clay Buchholz

AL Playoff Teams -
Boston - Simply the most well rounded team in the AL.
Detroit - The lineup is too good to be denied.
Los Angeles - Seattle just isn't ready to unseat the Angels out west.
New York - Bronx Bombers will make up for a thin pitching staff and outlast the Indians.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Rounds 9 & 10

Round 9
97. Mercer AutoWreckers - Pat Burrell, OF, Phillies
98. Vandelay Industries - Jeremy Accardo, RP, Blue Jays
99. Dunedain Rangers - Rocco Baldelli, OF, Rays
100. Those Guys - Rafael Betancourt, RP, Indians
101. Mercer AutoWreckers (from The Usual Suspects) - Yunel Escobar, SS, Braves
102. Howard's Heroes - Tony Pena, RP, Diamondbacks
103. Cleveland Enforcers - Billy Butler, OF, Royals
104. DamKnights - Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, Reds
105. Feisty Mosquitos - Hiroki Kuroda, SP, Dodgers
106. Akron Pronks - Heath Bell, RP, Padres
107. Stewies SexyParties - Jarod Saltalamacchia, C, Rangers
108. The Usual Suspects (from Riders of Rohan) - Geovany Soto, C, Cubs

Round 10
109. Mercer AutoWreckers - Adam Jones, OF, Orioles
110. Vandelay Industries - Rick Ankiel, OF, Cardinals
111. Dunedain Rangers - Dontrelle Willis, SP, Tigers
112. Those Guys - Bengie Molina, C, Giants
113. The Usual Suspects - Kerry Wood, RP, Cubs
114. Howard's Heroes - J.R. Towles, C, Astros
115. Cleveland Enforcers - Ken Griffey Jr., OF, Reds
116. DamKnights - Kelly Johnson, 2B, Braves
117. Feisty Mosquitos - Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks
118. Akron Pronks - Josh Fields, 3B, White Sox
119. Stewies SexyParties - Ivan Rodriguez, C, Tigers
120. The Usual Suspects (from Riders of Rohan) - Barry Zito, SP, Giants

Best Pick(s) - If Willis can recapture some of his previous magic, he'll look like a steal at this point, but generally the players taken in the 9th and 10th rounds were 9th and 10th round caliber players.

Worst Pick(s) - Shortly after our draft, it came out that Rocco Baldelli apparently won't be unable to play baseball ever again, so that pick turned out to be worthless. Individually the two SexyParties picks were fine, but taking two catchers back to back in a league that only starts one seems like a waste of at least one pick.

Riders' Pick(s) - No picks again.

Overall Analysis - Like I said, these guys were mostly about the caliber of player expected at this point in the draft. A bunch of catchers went between these two rounds, which prompted me to decide that the Riders can start the year without one on the roster. There were no good catchers left by the time I got back on the clock.

Shane Battier and the Houston Rockets

So at the time of this post, the Houston Rockets have won 22 games in a row. This is an amazing feat. Even more impressive, they have done it without their 7'6" 20+ point, 10+ rebound All Star, Yao Ming, who will miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. The Rockets have gone from being on the fringe of making the playoffs to having the best record in a brutal Western Conference. Sunday's game against the Lakers exemplified how Houston has become the team that everybody is rooting for.

A look at the box score reveals that Rafer Alston had a career day. "Skip to my Lou" hit eight triples en route to 31 points. Bobby Jackson came off the bench to efficiently add 19 points (on 7-9 shooting) in 20 minutes, while Tracy McGrady struggled, shooting 4-16, and added only 11 points. While Alston and Jackson unquestionably had great games, the box score doesn't do any justice to the most dominant player of the game. Shane Battier had rather meager numbers, (14 points on 5-12, three rebounds and two assists) but absolutely controlled the game.

On further review, Battier's effort did show up in the box score. However, it showed next to Kobe Bryant's name. Battier drew the less-than-envious role of defending one of the NBA's most dynamic players and responded in heroic fashion. Kobe's numbers were down everywhere, he scored 24 points (-4 from his season average) on 11-33 shooting (13% below his season average). Kobe missed all four of his attempted three pointers and only added two assists (3 assists below his season average). While that sort of defensive effort is very impressive, Battier was even better when the game was on the line.

With 7:10 remaining in the game, the Rockets led the Lakers by three points. It was crunch time. This is when a superstar is supposed to take over the game and, despite the lack of a huge shoe deal, Battier proved to be that superstar by absolutely destroying Kobe Bryant. From the 7:10 mark on, Bryant shot 1-7. Kobe tried taking the ball to the rim, but Battier was always one step ahead, refusing to allow Bryant to turn the corner. As Kobe grew noticeably frustrated, he decided to step outside, but missed both three point attempts he took because Battier's hand was inches from Bryant's face as the ball was released. Battier also forced Kobe into a turnover and fought through a pick to block a Bryant 15 footer. Not impressive enough? Battier shot 2-3 over the last 7:10, including burying a three pointer from the left corner to extend the Rockets lead to seven.

Shane Battier's effort against the Lakers reflects the mindset of the Houston Rockets. Despite losing one of their leaders, the Rockets have simply outworked their opponents. Rick Adelman's players have accepted their roles, have committed to playing tough defense and are playing smart, unselfish baseketball. If they keep doing that there is no telling how long they can keep this winning streak going.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Rounds 7 & 8

Note: I'm going to post 2 rounds at a time the rest of the way. These picks are less important to each team's eventual fate, so I figure it's better to get it out there quickly and skimp a little on the analysis. Deal with it.

Round 7
73. Mercer AutoWreckers - Joey Votto, 1B, Reds
74. Vandelay Industries - Joe Borowski, RP, Indians
75. Dunedain Rangers - Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B, Padres
76. Those Guys - Jeff Francis, SP, Rockies
77. Howard's Heroes (from The Usual Suspects) - B.J. Ryan, RP, Blue Jays
78. Howard's Heroes - Eric Gagne, RP, Brewers
79. Stewies SexyParties (from Cleveland Enforcers) - C.J. Wilson, RP, Rangers
80. DamKnights - Zack Greinke, SP, Royals
81. Feisty Mosquitos - Brian Wilson, RP, Giants
82. Akron Pronks - Johnny Damon, OF, Yankees
83. Stewies SexyParties - Tom Gorzelanny, SP, Pirates
84. Riders of Rohan - Joe Blanton, SP, Athletics

Round 8
85. Mercer AutoWreckers (from Mercer AutoWreckers via Akron Pronks) - Michael Cuddyer, OF, Twins
86. Riders of Rohan (from Vandelay Industries) - George Sherrill, RP, Orioles
87. Dunedain Rangers - Khalil Greene, SS, Padres
88. Those Guys - Derek Lowe, SP, Dodgers
89. Riders of Rohan (from The Usual Suspects) - Chris Carpenter, SP, Cardinals
90. Howard's Heroes - Jon Lester, SP, Red Sox
91. Riders of Rohan (from Cleveland Enforcers) - Mark Prior, SP, Padres
92. DamKnights - Brandon Lyon, RP, Diamondbacks
93. Feisty Mosquitos - Jonathan Broxton, RP, Dodgers
94. Akron Pronks - Troy Percival, RP, Rays
95. Stewies SexyParties - Homer Bailey, SP, Reds
96. Riders of Rohan - Gil Meche, SP, Royals

Best Pick(s) - No great picks, but Votto and Kouzmanoff figure to be legitimate producers. They both fetch good value in the 7th round (which after you add in keepers calculates out to our 15th round).

Worst Pick(s) - Joe Borowski. Both of the Wilsons got taken later in the round, along with B.J. Ryan and Eric Gagne, all of whom are more likely to still be the closer in their respective cities when the season ends. Borowski is a single-category producer, and he's apt to lose that production at some point this season.

Riders' Pick(s) - I wasn't crazy about taking Blanton or Meche when I did, but in looking at them further, I'm fine with it. Sherrill will hopefully be the closer at least most of the season, and thus prevent me from having to trade draft picks like last year to fill that statistic. Prior and Carpenter constitute 2/3 of my "injured pitcher" contingent. Number three is on the way, stay tuned.

Overall Analysis - Lots of need-based picks here, which is why you see closers and starters getting taken by most teams; there were a lot of weak pitching staffs at this point in the draft. It's around this point when people start to just take guys they like (or that they'll feel comfortable waiving if they don't produce within the first two weeks of the season).

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Round 6

Round 6
61. Mercer AutoWreckers - Todd Jones, RP, Tigers
62. Vandelay Industries - Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins
63. Dunedain Rangers - Jeremy Bonderman, SP, Tigers
64. Those Guys - Kevin Gregg, RP, Marlins
65. The Usual Suspects - Tim Hudson, SP, Braves
66. The Usual Suspects (from Howard's Heroes) - Kelvim Escobar, SP, Angels
67. Cleveland Enforcers - Andruw Jones, OF, Dodgers
68. DamKnights - Jeremy Hermida, OF, Marlins
69. Feisty Mosquitos - Hank Blalock, 3B, Rangers
70. Akron Pronks - Brad Penny, SP, Dodgers
71. Stewies SexyParties - Willy Tavares, OF, Rockies
72. Cleveland Enforcers (from Riders of Rohan) - Randy Johnson, SP, Diamondbacks

Best Pick(s) - Dan Uggla, he should've been taken by about seven other teams by this point. Vandelay got a steal. Brad Penny was good value.

Worst Pick(s) - No real bad picks this round. I'd have let Escobar slide another round or two, but it's not a bad pick.

Riders' Pick(s) - No picks again. Don't worry, they're coming.

Overall Analysis - Because so many people opted to take a chance on young players early in the draft, a number of reliable options fell a bit farther than they ought to have. The result is a lot of good, conservative selections this round. Everybody's team got better (except mine and Howard's Heroes, who didn't have picks).

Is This How Rivalries Start?

As many of you saw a couple days ago, the Tampa Bay Rays' (sans "Devil" these days) Elliot Johnson barreled into Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli in a play at home plate, breaking Cervelli's wrist. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the play was uncalled for, which I disagree with whole-heartedly.

This Johnson guy is trying to make the team, I can't imagine that the talent evaluators for the Rays are going to be mad that he was going full steam. And as Tony Kornheiser said on Pardon The Interruption, if you don't gear up in spring training, you're going to run the risk of not gearing it up during the regular season. Most fans have no trouble telling the difference, but with 162 games during the season, it's all about creating the right habits for your players. That means in spring training, you go all out.

But of course, it didn't stop there. Before last night's game between the Yankees and Rays, Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan said, "They showed what is acceptable to them and how they're going to play the game, so we're going to go out there to match their intensity - or exceed it." When you accuse the other team of playing dirty, then talk about "exceeding" their "intensity," people are going to start thinking that you're planning to retaliate.

Fast forward to inning one of the game last night, where after two runs had been scored already, Yankees pitcher Heath Phillips skimmed Rays starting third baseman Evan Longoria with a pitch. Phillips was immediately ejected, and warnings were issued to both dugouts. A sensible person would say, "Alright, that's about enough of that, we don't really want to hurt anybody, we're just trying to protect our pride." But ballplayers have never been accused of being sensible.

On a quirky play in the second inning, Shelley Duncan hit a liner off of the third baseman's hand that trickled into foul territory. The third baseman grabbed the ball and threw it to second, where Duncan was fast approaching Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura. Just before reaching the base and the waiting Iwamura, Duncan dropped to his buttocks and kicked his legs up in the air, sliding hard into Iwamura's legs. Iwamura thankfully didn't appear to be injured, and Duncan was ejected on the spot. Jonny Gomes flew in from off camera and tackled Duncan, no doubt saying something like "I don't approve of the level of intensity you're bringing to this game!" Benches cleared, no punches were thrown, and a couple of other folks were ejected, including Gomes.

At first, my Yankee-hating blood made me think that Duncan was being an asshole and should be suspended for his actions, but remembering the shoulder tackle by Elliot Johnson that I supported a few days ago, I tried to figure out why I thought this was different. I came up with two reasons.

First, sliding in spikes up is a no-no regardless of the game situation or if you're trying to make a team. It's a dirty slide anywhere, whereas barreling into a catcher, while obviously violent, is considered a reasonable attempt to reach home plate within baseball circles.

Second, Duncan has plenty of warning beforehand that he shouldn't do it. His own manager said he didn't approve of that intensity of play. Then, he was stupid enough to open his mouth beforehand. If you're gonna talk trash, you'd better not do anything, because you're going to get the hook. Finally, both teams had already received warnings. I don't know how many different ways you can tell someone not to make a dirty play, but that seems like it should've been enough. Duncan is an idiot.

Now, regarding the rivalry question I asked in the title of the post, I think short-term yes, long-term no. The first few games of the season between these two teams will probably be pretty heated, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some brush back pitches and hard slides, if the situation allows for it. But over the course of this season, and the next five, ten, twenty seasons, these recent exchanges don't have enough gusto to perpetuate a rivalry.

Look at the great rivalries (or even just the good ones) throughout sports, and they all have one thing in common: they involve a lot of games with high stakes. Red Sox/Yankees, Ohio State/Michigan, Duke/UNC, Redskins/Cowboys. The reason those are all great rivalries, producing emotionally-charged games, is because the teams involved have played (and will continue to play) so many games with something on the line. When Ohio State and Michigan play at the end of the regular season in college football, it's almost always for a trip to the Rose Bowl (or more recently, a BCS bowl). The Rays and Yankees won't be playing for playoff spots or a trip to the World Series anytime soon.

This can be how rivalries start, but the way rivalries stay is through playing games that matter. Until then, we'll just have to hope that someone can get through to Shelley Duncan and ask him to take control of his rage-filled life.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Round 5

Round 5
49. Riders of Rohan (from Mercer AutoWreckers via The Usual Suspects) - Joakim Soria, RP, Royals
50. Vandelay Industries - Adam Wainwright, SP, Cardinals
51. Dunedain Rangers - Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Cubs
52. Those Guys - Placido Polanco, 2B, Tigers
53. Riders of Rohan (from The Usual Suspects) - Jason Isringhousen, RP, Cardinals
54. The Usual Suspects (from Howard's Heroes) - Rich Harden, SP, Athletics
55. Riders of Rohan (from Cleveland Enforcers) - Chien-Ming Wang, SP, Yankees
56. DamKnights - Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies
57. Feisty Mosquitos - Kenji Johjima, C, Mariners
58. Akron Pronks - Chad Cordero, RP, Nationals
59. Cleveland Enforcers (from Stewies SexyParties) - Carlos Marmol, RP, Cubs
60. Riders of Rohan - Michael Bourn, OF, Astros

Best Pick(s) - Polanco should put up very nice runs and batting average, and won't really hurt you anywhere else.

Worst Pick(s) - Rich Harden hasn't had a full season of pitching in three years, and has disappointed multiple teams in our league, including the Suspects themselves. I'm surprised that they'd take a chance on him again this early, with more proven commodities out there like Brad Penny and Tim Hudson.

Riders' Pick(s) - Everything came to a head for me in this round. I love Soria, and Isringhousen seemed to be the best bet to hold the job among remaining closers. Wang will pick up wins with fine peripherals, but he won't strike anybody out. I know that. Bourn is less of a risk for me, as I'm not actually counting on him to fill statistics for me. I think he'll produce well, either becoming trade bait or allowing me to trade someone else and move him in.

Overall Analysis - More closers flying off the board, and we're getting down to the nitty gritty. Teams who haven't filled at least two RP spots are starting to sweat. Polanco, Wang, Helton, and Johjima are four of the most reliable producers in fantasy baseball, a perfect complement to the speculative picks of Marmol, Wainwright, Harden, and Bourn.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Round 4

Round 4
37. Akron Pronks (from Mercer AutoWreckers) - J.J. Hardy, SS, Brewers
38. Vandelay Industries - James Loney, 1B, Dodgers
39. Dunedain Rangers - Brad Lidge, RP, Phillies
40. Those Guys - Orlando Cabrera, SS, Angels
41. The Usual Suspects - Oliver Perez, SP, Mets
42. The Usual Suspects (from Howard's Heroes) - Rafael Soriano, RP, Braves
43. Cleveland Enforcers - Jermaine Dye, OF, White Sox
44. DamKnights - Joba Chamberlain, P, Yankees
45. Feisty Mosquitos - Clay Buchholz, SP, Red Sox
46. Mercer AutoWreckers (from Akron Pronks) - Ian Snell, SP, Pirates
47. Stewies SexyParties - Pedro Martinez, SP, Mets
48. Cleveland Enforcers (from Riders of Rohan) - Ted Lilly, SP, Cubs

Best Pick(s) - If Lilly can repeat last year's performance, he'll appear to be a steal at this point in the draft. But generally this was an unexciting round.

Worst Pick(s) - Jermaine Dye didn't appear to be any better than the bevy of other outfielders still available at this point. Better value may have been available at other positions. Chamberlain, Loney, and Buchholz seem a little too green, but the later you get in the draft, the less of a risk these young guys become. And Mercer went for another starting pitcher in Snell; Snell should be a fine player, but he was Mercer's sixth SP, while many hitting positions remained open, to be filled later by weaker options.

Riders' Pick(s) - No picks, traded during last season.

Overall Analysis - More of a standard-looking draft round, with a variety of veterans like Dye and Pedro, and prospects like Loney and Buccholz. Eight total pitchers taken, thinning out the pool right before my slew of picks in the fifth round.

Middle Earth Draft Anaylsis - Round 3

Round 3
25. Mercer AutoWreckers - Francisco Cordero, RP, Reds
26. Vandelay Industries - Jeff Francoeur, OF, Braves
27. Dunedain Rangers - Trevor Hoffman, RP, Padres
28. Those Guys - Shane Victorino, OF, Phillies
29. The Usual Suspects - Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays
30. Howard's Heroes - Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox
31. Cleveland Enforcers - Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers
32. DamKnights - Manny Corpas, RP, Rockies
33. Feisty Mosquitos - Jered Weaver, SP, Angels
34. Mercer AutoWreckers (from Akron Pronks) - Jhonny Peralta, SS, Indians
35. Stewies SexyParties - Philip Hughes, SP, Yankees
36. Riders of Rohan - Dustin McGowan, SP, Blue Jays

Best Pick(s) - Francoeur should be a very solid producer, and if he takes another step forward he's keeper quality. Everyone loves Corpas as the next big closer, so you gotta like that pick.

Worst Pick(s) - Peralta goes undrafted in a lot of drafts, so I wonder how smart a pick he is this early in the draft. Weaver is going to have to take a big step to be worth this high a pick.

Riders' Pick(s) - I love McGowan. Good strikeout rate, good WHIP, very good opponents' batting average. I had tried to trade up to the second round to take him, so I was delighted when he lasted to my pick in the third round.

Overall Analysis - There was a lot of youth taken in round three, indicative of a change of ideals throughout our league over the past four seasons. The future rounds and drafts in Middle Earth baseball figure to take after this round, with substantial investments in prospects and young players. We may see a correction for this during the season, where some of the less impressive prospects get waived for more proven commodities.

Middle Earth Draft Anaylsis - Round 2

Round 2
13. Mercer AutoWreckers - John Maine, SP, Mets
14. The Usual Suspects (from Vandelay Industries via Riders of Rohan) - Rafael Furcal, SS, Dodgers
15. Dunedain Rangers - Brian McCann, C, Braves
16. Those Guys - Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox
17. Riders of Rohan (from The Usual Suspects) - Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers
18. Cleveland Enforcers (from Howard's Heroes) - Huston Street, RP, Athletics
19. Cleveland Enforcers - Jose Valverde, RP, Astros
20. DamKnights - Nick Swisher, OF, White Sox
21. Feisty Mosquitos - Bobby Jenks, RP, White Sox
22. Akron Pronks - Jorge Posada, C, Yankees
23. Stewies SexyParties - Matt Capps, RP, Pirates
24. Howard's Heroes ((from Riders of Rohan via The Usual Suspects) - Edgar Renteria, SS, Tigers

Supplemental Round 2
D. Dunedain Rangers - Vernon Wells, OF, Blue Jays

Best Pick(s) - Vernon Wells seems like a near-keeper talent, but that's how things go in a keeper league. The stud prospects who haven't proven anything are more desirable than the former stud prospects who have had some less than exceptional seasons.

Worst Pick(s) - John Maine was the AutoWreckers' 5th starting pitcher (after 4 keepers); it was probably too early to take another when other holes could be filled. Posada is unlikely to repeat any of last year's numbers, and has no chance of becoming a keeper, which you'd like out of your early picks in a keeper league.

Riders' Pick(s) - I looked at Wells and Jenks with this pick, but I'm just like everyone else in keeper leagues. Kemp has power and speed potential, and hit .342 in a platoon situation last year. If he can get playing time, he should develop into an invaluable (and potentially long-term) member of my team.

Overall Analysis - A little less glamorous than the first round, but every team other than Mercer, Those Guys, and my own filled a distinct team need, so most teams got a lot stronger this round.

Middle Earth Draft Analysis - Round 1

I've decided, for nobody's benefit, that I'll be offering a round-by-round commentary of the pre-draft in our baseball keeper league. Some background information for those of you not in the league:

• The league contains twelve teams, each of which has the option of keeping up to 8 players from the previous season. There are no limitations on which players can be kept.
• If an owner chooses to keep fewer than 8 players, they receive a supplemental pick after every round, starting at the first, for each empty keeper spot.
• The league uses standard 5x5 rotisserie rules (runs, HR, RBI, SB, batting average, wins, saves, K, ERA, WHIP).
• You can view the keeper lists here, but I won't be going over them.
• My team is Riders of Rohan. I'll be making comments on my picks along with other highlights.
  

Alright, here we go, the results from round 1:

Round 1
1. Mercer AutoWreckers - Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Padres
2. The Usual Suspects (from Vandelay Industries) - Francisco Liriano, SP, Twins
3. Dunedain Rangers - Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Nationals
4. Those Guys - Javier Vazquez, SP, White Sox
5. Riders of Rohan (from The Usual Suspects) - Delmon Young, OF, Twins
6. Howard's Heroes - Gary Sheffield, OF, Tigers
7. Cleveland Enforcers - Chad Billingsley, SP, Dodgers
8. DamKnights - Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners
9. Feisty Mosquitos - Takashi Saito, RP, Dodgers
10. Akron Pronks - James Shields, SP, Rays
11. Stewies SexyParties - Jason Bay, OF, Pirates
12. The Usual Suspects (from Riders of Rohan) - Rickie Weeks, 2B, Brewers

Supplemental Round 1
A. Vandelay Industries - Fausto Carmona, SP, Indians
B. Dunedain Rangers - Howie Kendrick, 2B, Angels
C. Cleveland Enforcers - A.J. Burnett, SP, Blue Jays

Best Pick(s) - Gonzalez was a no-brainer #1 overall, he's good and young, and has already proven himself to be a consistent power hitter. Beltre may end up as the most valuable player taken in the first round.

Worst Pick(s) - Sheffield is a puzzling pick in the first round of a keeper league draft, with so much young talent still available. Liriano is exciting, but is awfully risky.

Riders' Pick(s) - I traded up to get Delmon Young, and in retrospect I believe I paid too high a price. Still, his upside is enticing, and even if he only matches last year's statistics, he'll be a solid producer.

Overall Analysis - Listen, with plenty of time to pick and a thick pool of talented players to choose from, it's tough to make a mistake in the first round of a draft, even when it's after eight rounds worth of players have been removed from the draft pool. Even the "worst picks" have merit, and could turn out plenty good. Will the second round offer the same results? Stay tuned.

Pizza Hut Online Is A Joke

Alright, the basic idea behind ordering a pizza online is twofold, at least to my understanding:

1. Ordering online prevents the customer from having to actually talk to another human being, reducing potential interpersonal tension from the equation (if you don't think this can be a problem, the next time you're hanging out, nominate someone else to order the food, and you see if they don't squirm just a little bit).
2. Ordering online creates a digital ticket that should result in fewer problems resulting from human error, miscommunication, or general malaise by the order taker.

That's why you order online; you don't have to talk to anyone and the place is more likely to get your order exactly correct. I'm a fan of ordering online. I think most businesses should offer online ordering, especially food delivery places. If I didn't have to call up for Chinese food and could instead order it online, I'd be up to my eyeballs in General Tso's chicken.

But Pizza Hut seems to miss a piece of this puzzle. Allow me to elaborate.

I have ordered from the local Altoona, PA Pizza Hut near me a number of times, almost always through their website. If my memory serves me correctly, the first few times were pleasantly uneventful and involved approximately zero effort on my part. Then, one time, I placed the order online and received a phone call soon after from my local Pizza Hut. They were wondering where I found the coupon that I had used for my order. I explained that it was on the PizzaHut.com website, and that seemed to satisfy their inquiry. Though not exactly. When the driver arrived, he said, "That'll be $16.41 and a coupon." I explained that it was one of the coupons available to click on the website, and whether by the merit of my explanation or his own distaste for human interaction (which I certainly share), he accepted it and left.

My hope was that my experience was a result of a kink in the Pizza Hut online ordering system that would be worked out on the corporate side. Bzzzt! Incorrect.

I received another phone call after my next online purchase, this time asking me to print out the coupon I used. What? Just print it out and give it to the driver. I don't understand that, but again, I believed the problem to be a system-based problem that would get worked out soon enough.

Months later, after a hiatus from pizza, I ordered from Pizza Hut again, just recently. No call this time, thankfully, and I waited with baited breath for my warm Stuffed Crust pizza and boneless buffalo wings. The driver arrived at the door, and said what I ought to have expected: "There's your receipt to sign, and you have a coupon?" No, sir, I ordered it online and do not have a coupon. "Okay, they'd like you to print out the coupon and give it to the driver in the future." Really? "Yeah, just print it out and give it to the driver." Okay, I'll do that the next time I order from you guys.

I will never order from them again.

What exactly is the point of a complex online ordering system if not to eliminate the need for paper coupons? When you order stuff on sale at Amazon, do they make you give the USPS guy a printout of the item description from the day you ordered it? I mean, the coupon is on your site and in your computer system. I clicked it and the system already knew what I was ordering, and took me to a page to make whatever decisions I needed to make concerning this dish. Your system told you that the pizza was ordered online, and gave you a total price for the order. I didn't hack your damn system to save four bucks on a large pizza.

I haven't decided yet how much swearing I'm going to do on this blog, but rest assured, if I had decided to go all out, this post would've been chock full of expletives. More than anything else, I hate when people make me waste my time or my resources; Pizza Hut was asking me to do both.

In fairness, I've ordered Pizza Hut pizza online at my mother's house and had no such problems. It's possible that the Altoona branch isn't sophisticated enough to fully integrate itself into the online ordering system. But if that's the case, then just don't offer online orders. Papa John's has never even suggested that I provide a coupon for my online order. They've got a fully integrated system, and they understand that if you're going to allow online ordering, you'd better do it right. I prefer Pizza Hut pizza, and I believe Pizza Hut pizza is generally less expensive. But that little tweak of convenience is worth it to me to downgrade to Papa John's for the foreseeable future.

I should write Pizza Hut a letter, or at least an email. But I'd rather just complain about it.

Basketball (not Base-ketball)

This week's episode of Joe & Joe Sports will focus on hoops in America, and we'll get into both professional and college basketball. But not women's basketball. Come on.

As a treat, we've got a guest expert to talk about NCAA basketball, which is good because neither of us Joe's are experts on that topic....or any topic, really. Anyways, it's a step in a positive direction for our show. Speaking of positive steps for the show, don't forget you can e-mail the show any questions or comments at joe.joe.sports@gmail.com, and in all likelihood, we'll respond to your e-mail on the air, since we don't really have any independent thoughts.

And remember, you can always listen to any old episodes by using the link to the right.

We actually shot a satellite out of the sky?

Listen, I've always had all the respect in the world for the United States when it comes to science and military operations. Part of that I'm sure comes from a "home field" bias, a standard feeling of patriotism, but I've always felt pretty confident in the ability of Americans to execute plans.

But I've got to say, this business about the satellite has got me really wowed about where we are scientifically. Word is, we've successfully targeted and destroyed the fuel tank on the satellite, which had posed something of a threat to life were it to come crashing down to Earth. Now, granted, these satellites are pretty large, but the main body of the device was a paltry 15 feet long. This object, with a decaying orbit, was targeted by an SM-3 missile and, according to all reports thus far, successfully destroyed to the point that the debris poses no immediate threat.

If it were a stationary object, it'd be pretty impressive to hit the fuel component squarely from hundreds of miles away. But we're talking about shooting a moving satellite out of the sky whose orbit is decaying. Out of the sky! Do you know how ridiculously large the sky is?

Alright, that's enough gushing for now, especially since there's still a chance that the mission was a failure. But it looks good, and I think that speaks volumes towards what science can accomplish. So be nice to your local nerds; they may be able to pinpoint your bedroom from a missile silo.

N

I'm sure a lot of you have already played this game, as I remember playing it way back when I was a 25-year-old in the dorm in Altoona (which was perhaps the most awful experience I've ever had). Anyways, it's called N, where you're a ninja hopping around, grabbing gold coins, flipping switches, and trying to escape levels or something. There's a story, but really, it's just a puzzle game. Anyways, it's sweet ass fun, so check it out if you're bored and want to kill some time.

Spring Training and the Mild Insanity of the Fantasy Baseball Fan

The 6 weeks from the middle of February through the end of March make up an exciting time for the baseball fan and player alike. Everyone's got a shot (yes, even Kansas City), everybody's got reason to be hopeful, and it's not all about the Red Sox and Yankees...yet. You get to hear about all the little position battles throughout the league between the grizzled veterans and the cocky youngsters. You learn the names of some of your team's young up-and-coming hurlers who are getting a shot at the bullpen (but will probably start in triple-A), and you get to look at some statistics that mean absolutely nothing, but will get you reaching for the stars.

Yep, it's great to be a baseball fan during spring training...well, unless you're into fantasy baseball. For a fantasy baseball fan, spring training makes you feel like Santa Claus, marking your lists with "nices" and "naughties." And every day brings a new story about that guy you were watching, or a guy you didn't realize you should be watching. It's hell. You can read a hundred things a day every day from February 15th through March 30th and still not know half of the ups and downs from the baseball exhibition season.

So here's my recommendation: Don't. Listen, the stuff that happens in spring training tends to have only a minimal impact on fantasy baseball. 95% of all starting lineup spots are already set, as well as 80% of starting rotations. And really, do you think you should be that concerned about who the Reds' fifth starter is going to be? Is that the guy you want on your fantasy team? Keeper leagues obviously rely a little more on these battles, as they will sometimes involve stud prospects, but if he's truly a stud prospect, he'll get to the majors eventually anyways. And come on, keeper leagues are more serious on all levels, so you should be used to this kind of stuff.

The one exception, of course, is each team's closer situation. Every year there are a few bullpens whose hierarchy remains undetermined until midway through spring training or later. Remember? Jonathan Papelbon was supposed to be in the rotation last year. But that information can change daily anyways. Your best bet is to check out all the closer battles during the days leading up to your draft and head into your draft with the most current data you can get your hands on. They're mostly a crapshoot anyways (think Joel Pineiro from last year), but as long as you don't use an early pick on someone in a questionable situation, you won't come away looking like a fool. That, of course, is the value of the high end guys (Putz, Papelbon, Nathan, K-Rod); you can draft them with the confidence that they won't get shelved in spring training.

But if you can afford it, if you can delay your fantasy baseball research just a little while, you really should. It's a great time of year to be a fan of baseball. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go update Josh Fogg on my list. He just signed with the Reds, and will be competing for that 5th starter spot.

Joe & Joe Sports

I know this blog doesn't get a ton of traffic, but for those of you who happen upon this page, I want to inform/remind you that we've been publishing episodes of the Joe & Joe Sports radio show (through TalkShoe.com) at a torrid pace (two in the past month). We've got another episode scheduled for tomorrow night (Thursday the 31st), and we'd love to have some more live listeners. At this point we don't have a mechanism for involving our listeners in the broadcast, but we do have an e-mail address (joe.joe.sports@gmail.com), and we love hearing from our listeners. Also, depending on the quantity and quality of emails, we're looking at adding a small segment during which we read and respond to emails on the show, so for the time being, that's your best shot to have some input on the show.

TalkShoe also has all of our previous shows archived (there's a direct link to our show's archive to the right), so feel free to reach back into the past and have a listen. Mostly we talk about football, but we do touch on a few other topics, and since the football season will be coming to a close shortly, we'll have to start looking elsewhere to generate content for our shows.

Also, I'm working with a few of my fellow sports junkies on production of another show. It's still in the formative stages, but it would be in the vein of a certain ESPN show. I'll leave it to you to think about which show that might be.

Are The Colts Actually Any Good?

I mean, of course they're good, but are they really an elite team? Historically, up until last year, they had been a disappointment with regards to the postseason, frequently being upset by lower-seeded teams, from a 41-0 drubbing against the Jets in wild card weekend in 2002 to the mistake-laden game against the Steelers in the 2005 divisional round. They won the Super Bowl last year, but do you really remember them getting anybody's best shot? The Ravens managed to win 13 games in the regular season but then couldn't do anything against a mediocre Colts defense. The Colts/Patriots game from the playoffs last year was one for the ages, but neither team played particularly well; the game was entertaining because of its back-and-forth nature.

Listen, I slurp the Colts as much as most people. I think Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in football, and it's obvious that Reggie Wayne and Joseph Addai are superstars. While my buddy Lu (and countless others) are more impressed with Bob Sanders than I am, there's no question he's a difference-maker for that defense. And though I didn't give him credit a few years ago, Tony Dungy is a hell of a football coach, leading his teams to the playoffs in 10 of the past 12 years. That's Cowher-esque.

But go talk to a Colts fan, and you'll find that they've endured the football equivalent of a generation of disappointment. After yesterday's loss to a depleted Chargers team, there can be little doubt that, despite "exorcising the demons" last year, this Colts team is not a playoff juggernaut. They are the same team they've been for the past 6+ years: a great regular season team.

Don't get me wrong, they fooled me, too. I thought the Colts were the real deal after last year, and agonized over whether or not to pick them to win the Super Bowl prior to the most recent iteration of Joe & Joe Sports (which you can listen to by clicking the link on the right). But I'm done with them. Last year was an anomaly, and we can expect them to continue to disappoint in the playoffs going forward.

Sorry Sam, but empirical data doesn't lie. And the data says the Colts are no Super Bowl team.

Star Trek Online

Listen, I'm gonna go ahead and come right out and say it: I'm a nerd. I like all the stuff nerds like: Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, computers, video games, and the like. So when I heard that there would be a massive online multiplayer Star Trek game, I was obviously delighted. The concept of crewing a starship in the Star Trek universe was very appealing, and, barring some foul-up, should be a lot of fun.

See this article:
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50065

For those of you who aren't fans of reading, the article says that a new company has taken over the development of the game, and is planning on setting it up to be a more casual (their word, not mine) experience.

Vomit.

Are you kidding me? The most enjoyable games are those that are in fact too complex. I don't want a game that has been dumbed down for the masses; I want the game that every gaming company wants to make: easy to learn, hard to master. When I hear that they want to make it a "casual" game, I'm thinking it's going to be more like the Sims online or something.

Also mentioned in the article is that the company is exploring a different payment structure, where there wouldn't be a month-to-month fee, but you would have to pay for extra features inside the game. Apparently this strategy has been very successful in Korea. Well that's great, except this isn't Korea. What exactly am I going to have to pay for inside the game? Flight school? Engineering lessons? Transportation? Food? I don't like this, not one bit.

I play World of Warcraft. I've tried out Star Wars: Galaxies, Final Fantasy XI, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Lord of the Rings online, and I found all of them to be seriously lacking when compared to WoW. I was disappointed, but not surprised. The Star Wars universe has its own flaws and foibles, so it's only fitting that its video game counterparts have some of the same problems.

But when it comes to complexities and fanship, Star Trek blows Star Wars out of the water. You can't give "Trekkies" a subpar effort; they'll lose their shit. The one thing I like about that is that, in those vehement supporters of the Star Trek universe, I've got a group of dedicated advocates who will do their best to ensure the game lives up to the standard of Star Trek. Many previous Star Trek games have disappointed, but an MMO should be held to a higher standard. You're not just creating an adventure. You're regenerating the entire Star Trek universe that thousands of people already know cover-to-cover, so to speak. You can't mess this up; they won't stand for it.

The main difference is that the average Star Wars fan is a casual fan, often young, and not necessarily a critical thinker. The average Star Trek fan expects a high level of discourse when they talk about their show, and certainly will expect a genuine representation of their universe from a game purported to offer gamers the true "Trek" experience.

Maybe this is all for nothing, and it'll end up being awesome, and everyone will go home happy. But I'm not holding out hope.

Beowulf: The Game

GameStop has Beowulf: The Game on a massive price drop from $59.99 down to $19.99 for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. I've heard good things about it so far in limited reviews, and for twenty bucks, it's not that much of a risk to take a chance on it.

Hawaii Isn't So Sunny These Days

What a load of crap. As you might have guessed, I'm talking about the BCS system that has produced a title game of Ohio State versus Louisiana State.

Now, I have no problem with those two teams going head-to-head, and in fact, I'd probably venture to say that they're the two best teams in the country, at least based on the limited information I have, as a casual NCAA football fan. Sure, Hawaii is undefeated, but their schedule very weak, having only played one team viewed as a top 25 team this year (last year's Cinderella Boise State). Georgia looks to be on fire, but the fact is they aren't the champion of their conference. Virginia Tech is the ACC champion, but they lost (handily) to LSU earlier in the year, so it seems silly to send them to the title game ahead of LSU.

But hang on a second. Why does it seem silly to send VT over LSU? Could it be because we think that, when two teams "settle it on the field," the team that won is the better team? Doesn't that capture the entire idea behind a playoff system? And doesn't a system that fails to give a championship opportunity to an undefeated team seem to miss the whole goddamn point? Every chance Hawaii has had to "settle it on the field," they've come out on top. I know it doesn't look good if you put a team with such a weak schedule into the championship game, and the pressure on Hawaii (and on everyone who picked them to play in that game) would be immense, since it'd be an unconventional pick. But sometimes you've got to go with what makes sense. I applaud the few voters who gave Hawaii their first-place vote.

Here's my biggest problem. Was there any way Hawaii could've played its way into the title game? Last year's Boise State team was dominant and went undefeated, but didn't play any ranked teams. They were left out of the championship talk. Hawaii defeated a ranked Boise State team this year, but still didn't get any serious consideration for the BCS championship game.

I'm not someone who tends to think that playing fields should be leveled. I'm not crazy about affirmative action or quotas, or the concept that you can improve your stock when applying to colleges if you're able to legitimately classify yourself as Black, Hispanic, or Native American. But the reason I don't like those things is because we've got lots of examples of minorities who have achieved. Certainly not enough to be able to say that we, as a nation and as a species, have grown beyond the stigmas based on color, creed, or anything else, but enough to say that most everybody has a shot.

But that's not the case for non-BCS schools. They simply have zero chance of being able to play for the championship of their own league. That's insane. It's one thing to say, "We know we're not good enough to win the title, but we're going to go out there and play our hearts out and try to win some games." But that's entirely different from, "We're as talented as anybody, and we can win every game on our schedule. But even if we do, we won't be given the opportunity to play for our championship." If I were anyone of influence at any of those schools, I'd start telling people that we need to try to get sent back down to 1AA, so that we can have a shot at a title.

This year was like a perfect storm for a non-BCS conference team to sneak into the title game. Everybody relevant lost at least 2 games except for Ohio State, who had a notoriously weak out of conference schedule and played in a Big Ten that endured a down year. Nobody looks all that good, but Hawaii still gets no "dap." What would it take? Would a team like Hawaii, Boise State, or Utah need to schedule multiple out of conference big time BCS teams? Say something like playing Arizona, North Carolina, and Texas A&M? Oh, you mean like the Utes DID in 2004, and then they went on to wipe the floor with Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.

How do we not learn from that? Or from Boise State/Oklahoma last year? Do people really think that the best team can only be one of the 65 teams in BCS conferences? And do we really think that, by picking teams only from those conferences, we're assuring ourselves of a great, competitive, memorable championship game? Let's explore the history of BCS title games, shall we? To make things easier, I've bolded the games that were won by 17 points or more:

• 2000 - Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
• 2001 - Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
• 2002 - Miami 37, Nebraska 14
• 2003 - Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (2OT)
• 2004 - LSU 21, Oklahoma 14
  
• 2005 - USC 55, Oklahoma 19
• 2006 - Texas 41, USC 38
• 2007 - Florida 41, Ohio State 14

That's four out of eight that were blowouts. And I'd venture to say that a 13-2 game tends to not be particularly entertaining.

I'm not going to argue that there haven't been a couple of tremendous games. Ohio State/Miami was a classic, and Texas/USC was perhaps the greatest college football game I've ever seen. But it is by no means a guarantee that, when you match up two BCS teams, you'll have a highly competitive, down-to-the-wire game. So why not give Hawaii a chance?

I'll tell you why. Because nobody gives a shit about Hawaii. Hawaii doesn't have the storied history of LSU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, and on and on. So when you poll coaches to figure out who the best teams in football are, is it any surprise that they go with the big name programs? As a matter of fact, why in the hell are we asking NCAA coaches, 95% of whom have their jobs on the line for the entire season, to make objective evaluations of every other college football team in the country? Steve Spurrier makes no secret of the fact that he votes for Duke as the #25 team in his poll until they lose. Granted, that's usually week one, but the fact that that's even possible is evidence of how flawed the system is. Whatever happened between the colleges and sports writers to cleave the writers from the evaluation process has got to be buried in the interest of a more perfect system.

Is a playoff system the answer? Probably. It's worked for every other sport I've ever watched or cared about. There isn't a playoff system out there that I've ever seen or heard of that hasn't worked, that hasn't accomplished its precise goal of making sure that the team it declares as champion had to go through the other contenders.

Cheap Jerseys

ESPN Shop has a bunch of deals on football and basketball jerseys under $25. I'm hoping that link takes you directly to the lists of jerseys, but if not, I'll try to post better links later tonight/tomorrow.

Expansion Packs

When I was a kid, I hated expansion packs. I felt like the game company was robbing me, asking for more money just so that I could have a few more levels, a few more features, a little more functionality. And as a video game kid, I couldn't help but comply. Thirty dollars more for the Lord of Destruction expansion for Diablo II? You're an ass, Blizzard. Why didn't you just include this in the original game?

But I was wrong. Dead wrong, in fact, 95% of the time. It's true, a lot of the stuff included in the Diablo II expansion probably could've been included in the original game, though it obviously would've taken some time to get it resolved and programmed and tested and produced. But hey, what's a few more months when you're talking about thirty whole dollars? Well, it's time for the next game to come out, like Dungeon Siege for example.

But more than that, how about the fact that it is thirty dollars? Expansion packs very rarely rival the original game in price, and often, shortly after the expansion comes out, a full package include the game, expansion, and occasionally a strategy guide becomes available for $50. The "Battle Chest," as it's sometimes called. Take that into consideration the next time you pay full price for the newest Tiger Woods, or Madden, or 2K game. Expansion packs offer about the same amount of new content as the annual iteration of the popular sports games, but are available for substantially less money than the original game.

Let's cite a few examples of particularly impressive expansion franchises (Blizzard will dominate the list, but they dominate gaming, so it's reasonable).

World of Warcraft - The Burning Crusade expansion offered a brand new continent, two new races, a new profession, hundreds of new items, monsters, and skills, and a few more "instances," or dungeons, to those unfamiliar with the game. The next expansion, set for this winter, will add another continent, another new profession, a new class (far more interesting than a new race), siege weapons and destructible buildings, and another bevy of new items, monsters, skills, etc. The new expansion, in fact, is the main reason I'm continuing to play and pay for World of Warcraft. I've always wanted to be a death knight.

Starcraft - The Brood War expansion was one of the earliest expansions in my gaming career. It offered a few new units (not too impressive), but also offered completely new campaigns, with a full compliment of missions to undertake that rivaled and perhaps even surpassed the original campaigns, at least in terms of difficulty. That shit was hard.

Half-Life - Not along the same conventional expansion pack lines, but Half-Life spawned a number of expansions, such as Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Team Fortress. On top of that is the immensely popular Counter-Strike, which started as an independent mod of Half-Life, but was developed into an official release. All of these games were relative successes on some level, and they're all built on the same framework of the original Half-Life. Chip, I promise, someday I'll play that set you bought me for my birthday a few years ago.

However, to be completely fair, there is one game franchise that has completely murdered the concept of an expansion pack to the point of obscenity: The Sims. The Sims came out with seven total expansion packs from August 2000 to October 2003, and while each was available for a reasonable price of $20-$30, the rapidity with which they were released suggests that they were not delayed by coding or testing constraints, but rather in an attempt to generate as much revenue as possible from each set of added features. While Maxis and Electronic Arts are entitled to take whatever path they choose to released their product, it has made me wary of purchasing new games, knowing that the potential for several expansion packs in the near future exists.

But The Sims is the exception and not the rule. For the most part, expansion packs offer game companies the opportunity to respond to requests and suggestions from their respective gaming communities, and expand and enhance their video game experiences. As a sincere gamer, I'm all for the production of top-quality titles, and I like the idea that, if enough people think a certain new feature or game change is a good idea, the company has the chance to integrate it into the game through an expansion pack.

And now you know part of the reason I refuse to buy brand new sports games.

Sorry Shula, No Champagne this Year

Now that the "Game of the Century" is over and everyone is looking forward to the rest of the season, its time to take a brief look back at the game and a look into what is coming. The Pats/Colts game came with a lot of hype and a lot of action. Both teams played extremely well and, as we usually see in the NFL, a turnover is the play that seals the deal.

Its all over now with the Patriots leaping over their last true hurdle in what will end up being a spectacular season. Watching and hearing about what the Patriots have been up to all year, there should be little doubt that they are going to push that gas-peddle even more.

The Patriots remaining schedule starts with a Bye Week this weekend, three (3) away games, and four (4) home games. The away games are at Buffalo, at Baltimore, and at NY Giants. The furthest is Buffalo at 458 miles away. Their home games, which should all be easy wins, come against Philadelphia having an off year, Pittsburgh, who will be the only chance of a loss, the NY Jets, who can't decide which QB is best for them right now, and the 0-7 Miami Dolphins.

At this point in time (week 9 before the Monday Night game between Pittsburgh & Baltimore), New England's opponents have a combined record of 23-32, and its probably a safe bet that it'll be 24-33 after this evening's match up.

There's talk that the Ravens will give them trouble in Baltimore during their Monday night showdown. As a fan, "Any given Sunday" drops into my head, but this Ravens team has had an inconsistent year. I don't see this being nearly as tough of a match-up for Brady and his Boys as Pittsburgh will, and with that game at home, New England will have the home-field advantage.

The green light is on. Belichick has not shown any signs during games of slowing down, so why start slowing down now?

Sorry Shula and the rest of the 1972 Dolphins, you will have to save that champagne for another celebration.