Quick Hits: 8/19/09

Favre in Minnesota Purple and Gold

This is a surprise to no one and to be honest, it is a great move all around.  Here is some Quick Hits reasoning to why this is a good move.  

For the MN Vikings – They get a legit QB on a team many people believe were a legit QB away from the Super Bowl.

Ziggy Wilf– Financially this is a win-win.  The media coverage and the ticket/jersey sales is going to be awesome.

Adrian Peterson – Teams will not be able to stack the box as much.

Viking Receivers – You get a QB who can throw the ball into the ocean.

Brett Favre – No matter what he says, the Packers ran Favre out of town.  They did – and now he has a chance to shut them up.

Michael Vick – We moved off this topic for a couple days.

The NFL – They get another story line that is not highlighting some criminal act.  Unless you talk to the Packer Fans – they might view this as a misdemeanor at least!  

I have never been a Favre fan, but I have always respected him and enjoyed watching him play.  And I can understand that if a team offers you a chance to play and compete at a high level, $12 Million a year, and an opportunity to go back to Green Bay and stick it to Ted Thompson – you tell me why he doesn’t sign. 

One thing I would like to say to Brett – because I am sure he checks out the blogs:  Remember – this was a good team without you with a great running back and defense, stay within the system.  Please – it worked in Green bay your last year – just let it happen and don’t force the issue unless necessary.

Former Duke PG Greg Paulus to Start at QB for Syracuse

Someone would have to prove it, but I am not sure this has ever happened before.  An athlete that goes from being a starting point guard at one school to becoming the starting quarterback at another school.

Just like the Favre story, this will be an interesting ride.  Click here for the ESPN write-up and video.

MN Timberwolves Head Coach – Kurt Rambis 

The Rambis signing is one that I understand and I “ok” with.  This is a young team that needs to grow together and why not have a new coach that willl grow with them.  Mark Jackson would have been fine, but I do think Rambis is more ready to lead a team.

Ben Woodside Update

NDSU’s All-Time leading scorer is going to play over in France.  After playing on the Timberwolves summer squad, the 5’10” point guard has picked his bags and will follow former teammate Brett Winkelman to Europe.  Winkelman will  play with Edimes Pavia in Italy.

“Woodside signed a contract to play professionally with BCM Gravelines Dunkerque, a team that placed sixth last year in the 16-team Pro A League — the highest league in France. Woodside would not disclose his salary but said he has an option until early September to sign with another team.”  *Taken from Dickinson Press 8/12/09.

Good Luck Guys – have fun.

Quick Hits 5/21/09

Sometimes those things called “responsibilities” get in the way of blogging and watching games.  Stupid work and parenting…just kidding, so don’t call social services.    But I still have opinions about things that have happened in the sports world.

Draft Lottery

I believe in Karma – the idea that good will come to those who do good and bad to those who do bad.  But the Clippers getting the number one pick in the draft is not very Karma-like and it drives me nuts.  Even the Timberwolves couldn’t the first pick, Blake Griffin, then I was hoping Oklahoma City would.  Like LeBron to Cleavland, this would be another example of the hometown hero playing for the local NBA team – even if it is hasn’t been in Oklahoma as long as Griffin has been a Sooner.

Now that the lottery is over, Matthew and I are going to a break of the picks the teams will makes and the picks they should make.

The T’Wolves have a new GM and I hope he is able to make the right pick, which is the freshmen out of USC – JUST LIKE LAST YEAR.  DeMar DeRozan is everything the T’Wolves don’t have: an athletic, tall, slasher that is atheltic enough to make plays until his basketball skills catch-up.

It will be an interesting draft, becuase don’t the Clippers to keep the pick.  But I do expect them them to mess it up.

NBA Playoffs

EAST

I was impressed the Magic’s last three games.  But I do not expect them to beat the Cavs.  the LeBrons were just a little sleepy from the time off.  I did say before the end of the Celtics/Magic series that I though the Magic would give the Cavs a better series than the Celtics – I also did not want to see anymore shots of KG on the bench.

The Cavs get so scared in late game situations.  They get out of the way of the King and wait for him to create.  That is tough when you have a good defensive team like Magic.  When the ball sits in LeBrons hands too long, it doesn’t work.  The ball has to move and make the defense shift to get shooters open.  But the high pick and roll did not work last night and LeBron held the ball for 18 seconds and the defense knows what he is going straight to the rim and then kick out to the open shooters.

WEST

Chauncey Billups makes the Nuggets less hateable, so I guess I am routing for Denver in the West.  I thought Carmelo Anthony was amazing the first game.  He battled Kobe and it was a great match-up.  The question is if Carmelo can keep that level of intesity.

Each series could get flipped on it’s ear with one game.  But the NBA title will come down to Kobe vs. LeBron and battle of the benches.

Very Quick Hits

• The MN Twins beat the Chicago White Soxs 20-1,scoring more points than the MN Vikings did in most games.  Joe Mauer has 8 homeruns this season after missing the first 30 games.
• Kevin McHale is expected to step down as head coach of the T’wolves.  I think he is a better coach then GM, but it took seven losing seasons to get him out o f the front office.  So, who knows what will happen.
• Greg Paulus is heading to Syracuse and will be competing for the starting QB spot.  Probably will get more playing time than he did at Duke this season.
• What the hell happened to David Ortiz?  I think we all know, but we just don’t want to talk about the big-ripped, muscular, steroid using elephant in the room.
• The No. 1 player on some lists, signed with Kentucky.  I think Kansas and Kentucky will be locks for the Final Four.

Quick Hits 4/15/09

Paulus to Put on a Helmet

Former Duke starting point guard, Greg Paulus, has been visting with the Green Bay Packers and the University of Michigan about playing football.  Yes football. 

Paulus was a highly recruited player out of Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, New York.  The former Gaterade football player of the year had scholarship offers from Notre Dame and Miami but choose to play got Coach K at Duke. 

Paulus lost his starting job this season to sophomore Nolen Smith, but continued to be ready when called upon.  Paulus acted like an assistant coach as his minutes continued to get cut, he averaged on six minutes in the teams final seven games.

Here is the write-up at ESPN.com.

Draft Declarers

Only one.   Junior center out of UConn, Hasheem Thabeet.  Hire an agent my friend.  Get out of Storrs, CT before it gets ugly and make a ton of money. 

It is being reported that Thabeet has not yet hired an agent, giving himself until June 15th to withdraw his name from the draft.

Rock, Chalk, Stay a Jayhawk

Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are coming back to Kansas for another season.  The best inside-outside tandem in the Big 12, will lead an experienced and talented team that is predicted by experts to be the No. 1 team next season.     

With the possibility of signing McDonald’s All-American’s Xavier Henry and Lance Stephenson, Bill Self will have four top-100 recruits and an exciting team that will have little competition in grabbing the Big 12 crown and make a deep run in March.

Top Recruiting Classes

 With all the coaching changes and releasing of players from the letters of intent, ESPN.com has updated their rankings for the top recruiting classes of 2009.

NBA Playoffs

Once the seedings are set for the East and West conference, Matthew and I will do a little break down of the match-ups.

Plus, we will announce our choices for the NBA Award winners: MVP, Sixth Man, etc.

Isiah Thomas Gets Another Job

Isiah Thomas’ resume must not be that bad, or the AD at Florida International was a huge “Bad Boys” fan.

I would like to revisit this story in about 26 months.  I don’t have a lot of faith, but you never know.