NFL Pre-Draft Analysis

             Let me begin this annual feature with a reset for any new readers out there.  I like college football, and I watch a lot of college football on TV.  What I have come to do is to keep a notepad next to my seat as I watch games and to make notes about players I see who I believe can be drafted by NFL teams.  There is nothing more to it than that:

  • I am not a scout; I do not have an extensive network of people like me who are feeding me information on players/games that I do not see myself.
  • My comments are a slave to the TV schedule.  I tend to watch major schools much more than minor schools and I do not watch nearly as many “West Coast games” as “Eastern Games” simply because of the time difference.   Ergo there is a bias regarding the players/teams I see more often than not.
  • If a star player is injured when I tune in to see his team play, I obviously will not have any notes on him.
  • Since I do not tune into most games with the intent to watch a specific player, I could easily miss seeing a very good player.  I am hardly infallible.

Before focusing on specific positions and players eligible for this year’s Draft, I have an observation based on my “notepad scrawlings”:

  • I think I watched as much college football last season as I did in the past.  Nevertheless, I have what seems to be a much smaller stack of paper notes than in previous seasons.
  • That means there is a paucity of players who stood out to me over the season.  I don’t know if that means this is a lean year for NFL teams dipping into the draft pool or if it means I was not paying as close attention as in past times.

So, with those caveats and observations out in the open, let me plow ahead and talk about:

Quarterbacks:  Here is an overall observation; I do not think this Draft is top heavy with “Blue Chip/Five-Star QB Prospects”.  I saw 8 QBs that I think could be drafted this year, but this is not like last year where there were at least 3 or 4 QBs that were clearly going to be picked high in the first round.

  • Cam Ward – Miami:  Everyone has him as the overall #1 pick.  My notes are much less flattering.  “Strong arm and good-enough accuracy”  but also “happy feet when rushed” are not the sorts of things I associate with the overall #1 pick.  But I am not a scout or a GM and do not play one on TV.
  • Shedeur Sanders – Colorado:  Most folks have him as the second QB off the board.  My comments were “very accurate on short passes” and “plays the screen game well” and “far less athletic than his genetics would imply”.  He will go in the first round, but I think he is “a project – not a Day One Starter”.
  • Jaxon Dart – Ole Miss: “Big, strong and can throw the deep ball very well”.  Frankly, he might be the best pro QB from this year’s crop.  First round pick.
  • Jalen Milroe – Alabama:  “Threat to run is his biggest weapon” and “needs time to develop touch and accuracy on his passes”.  He’s “a project that could go on Day 2” of the Draft.
  • Dillon Gabriel – Oregon:  There was “lots of hype about hm winning the Heisman – not even close to reality”.  He should be a late round pick as a project for a team with a solid starter.
  • Quinn Ewers – Texas:  “Good in all phases of the passing game but not great in any of them”.  “Mid-round pick”.
  • Riley Leonard – Notre Dame:  “Don’t see his passing talents measuring up in the pros”.  Maybe signed as an undrafted free agent?
  • Will Howard – Ohio State:  “Throws are really accurate” but “his receivers are so open I could hit many of them”.  [Aside: And for the record, I am 81 years old with a sore throwing shoulder…]

Moving on to the Running Backs:

  • Ashton Jeanty – Boise State:  “Runs with power plus excellent speed”.  “Sure-fire first round pick”.  “Not asked to block very often so question mark there”.  First round pick for sure …
  • Cam Skattebo – Arizona State:  “Low-to-the-road power running back” and “his motor never quits”.  Early round pick makes sense here.
  • TreVeyon Henderson – Ohio State:  “Speed – – and more speed”.  Late first round pick?
  • Woody Marks – USC:  “Good runner and good hands as a pass-catcher”  “Mid-round pick.
  • DJ Giddens – Kansas State:  “Tough runner – fights for extra yards after hit”.  “Fast enough but not ‘quick’”.  “Mid-round pick?”
  • Omarion Hampton – UNC:  “Big back, runs hard, yards after contact”.  “Good acceleration for a guy as big as he is”.  “Not much of a blocker.”  “3rd round or later?”

Moving on to the Wide Receivers:

  • Travis Hunter – Colorado:  “Top speed and great hands”.  “Want to play him on offense to get him the ball more often than on defense”.  “Big plays are his thing.”  Should go Top-5.  [Aside:  Hunter has “threatened” to retire from football if he is not allowed to play both ways in the NFL.  It is not clear to me how retiring from football achieves his goal of playing offense and defense in the same game.  What do I know?]
  • Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State:  “Finds open spots all the time” and “very good downfield blocker.”  He may never be a #1 WR in the NFL, but I think he is the second best WR that I saw for this Draft class.  First round pick…
  • Matthew Golden – Texas:  “Speed, speed and some more speed”.  “Stretches the defense”.  “Good hands”.  “Only knock is that he is not very big”.  Second round?
  • Eric Ayomanor – Stanford:  “Big guy and fast enough”  “Makes catches in traffic”.  “Fights for yards after contact”.  Maybe second day?
  • Tre Harris – Ole Miss:  “Screen graphic says 6’2” and 210 lbs.”  I believe it; he is a big WR.  “Good target in contested coverage”.  “Not much of a blocker”.  Possibly 3rd or 4th round.
  • Arian Smith – Georgia:  “Very fast but very small”.  “Worth a late-round flyer”.

Moving on to the Tight Ends:

  • Tyler Warren – Penn State:  “Gets open and does not go down easy”.  “Should be a Top-10 pick.”  He is listed at 6’6” and 256 lbs. and still I have a note that says, “Outran two safeties for a TD”.  Top-10 pick.
  • Colston Loveland – Michigan:  “Big guy who glides down the field on his routes”.  “Good hands.”  “So-so blocker”.  Second or third round …
  • Gunnar Helm – Texas:   “Not real fast but real sure hands”.  Late round pick.

            Given that NFL teams move offensive line prospects all around the interior OL positions, I do not differentiate among interior offensive line players.  I will note if a guy looks really good as a center since that position requires a skill that the other positions do not,  Anyway, here are my notes on Offensive Linemen:

  • Kelvin Banks – Texas:  “Big and strong, he is excellent at power run blocking”.  “Good pass blocker but not as good as on the run”.  Second round?
  • Tyler Booker – Alabama:  “Very large man”  “Clears out his area on run plays”.  “Stops bull-rushers on pass plays”.  First or second round pick here …
  • Donovan Jackson – Ohio State:  “Good on run plays and good pass protector”.  “Not very fast”.  Mid-round pick?
  • Jackson Powers-Johnson – Oregon:  “Very large man.”  “Very good pass protector”  “Can play center”  Probably a second-round pick or maybe even late first round.

            Before leaving offensive linemen, let me deviate from the norm here.  Back around Thanksgiving last year, I got an email from a former colleague who has retired to the Williamsburg, VA area and has become a follower of Division 1-AA William and Mary football.  He knows that #1 son went to William and Mary and every once in a while, he sends me a note about the athletic program there.  His note last Fall had this in it:

“Charles Grant is a gigantic offensive tackle for The Tribe [William and Mary] and he was invited to play in the Senior Bowl from this FCS program.  You haven’t seen him here but you might see him in the Senior Bowl and think he is worth a mention when  you talk about the draft next  year.”

I did tune in to the Senior Bowl and I did look for Charles Grant, but I never saw him on the field.  It turns out he did not go to the Senior Bowl, but I don’t know why.  Here is information about him from tribeathletics.com:

  • Charles Grant – William and Mary:  “He is 6’4” and 300 lbs.; he was a three-year starter; he was named as an FCS All-American in his junior year and in his senior year.  He allowed only two sacks in his three years as a starter.”

            Obviously, he did not play against the same level of opponent as did potential draftees from the Big-10 or the SEC.  Nonetheless, Charles Grant was invited to the NFL Combine and the evaluation there says he “will eventually be an average starter” in the NFL.  I will listen to hear his name on Day 3 of the Draft…

            Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, I’ll start inside the defensive line with Defensive Tackles:

  • Walter Nolen – Ole Miss:  “Generates pass rush from inside”  “May need to add weight to make it in the NFL”  “Surprising speed for a DT.”  I think he goes in the first round.
  • Alfred Collins – Texas:  “Huge human being”  “Good run stopper and decent as a pass rusher”.  I think he goes in the second round – – maybe third.
  • Mason Graham – Michigan:  “Never quits on a play”.  “Not as big as others but a good run defender”
  • Kenneth Grant – Michigan:  “Large man but still very quick – – not fast”  “How does anybody run inside on Michigan?”  First round pick?
  • Warren Brinson – Georgia:  “Run stuffer when plays over the center” and “Tall with long arms is an asset in pass rushing”.  “Not fast at all.”
  • DeAndre Jules – South Carolina:  “Big guy who stops run plays inside”  “Not much of a pass rusher so not on the field for every play in NFL.”  Late round pick?
  • Jamaree Caldwell – Oregon:  “Built like a fireplug” and “ Strong run defender” but “Not much inside pressure on pass plays”.  Late round pick …

 Moving outside to defensive ends – – or Edge players as is the current vernacular:

  • Abdul Carter – Penn State:  “Dominant pass rusher but only OK against the run”.  “Gets a great jump on the snap”  “Has to go in the Top-10 next season”
  • Princely Umanmielen – Ole Miss:  “Speed rusher who never gives up on a play”  “Always somewhere in offensive backfield”  First or second round?
  • Jack Sawyer – Ohio State:  “Relentless defender run or pass”  “Strong against run – hard to get outside him”  “Not as athletic as others”  Maybe 3rd round?
  • Jihaad Campbell – Alabama:  “Attacks the run game hard”  “Covers backs out of backfield on wheel routes”  “Might need to add weight for NFL”  Second or third round pick?
  • Oluwafemi Oladejo – UCLA:  “Nothing fancy or attention getting but every time they unpile, he is in the pile.”  “Big enough and quick enough but nothing is outstanding.”  Late round pick  here.
  • Ruke Orhorhoro – Clemson:  “Very big and fast” “Plays the run well taking on blockers”.  Late round pick …

Next are the Linebackers:

  • Jaylon Walker – Georgia:  I was obviously impressed with his speed because my note says, “Why isn’t he a WR?”  The answer is probably contained in two other notes, “Fierce pass rusher” and “Good in pass coverage”. Probably round one or two …
  • Danny Stutsman – Oklahoma:  “A tackling machine” and “Will need to add weight for the pros” were my two notes.  That probably means a Day 3 pick?
  • Jack Kiser – Notre Dame:  “Good speed always has him around the ball”.  “Too small for NFL?”  “Solid pass coverage”.  Another Day 3 pick?

Now for the Defensive Backs.  Note, like with offensive linemen, I lump corner backs and safeties into one group because NFL coaches move them around to fit defensive schemes.

  • Malaki Starks – Georgia:  “Does everything on defense.”  “Really impressive as a blitzer.”  “First rounder for sure.”
  • Xavier Watts – Notre Dame:  “Plays sideline to sideline at safety”  “Good coverage and big hitter”.  Second round?
  • Jacob Parish – Kansas State:  “Plays a physical game but he is a little guy”  “Not sure he can stand up in NFL”.  Late round pick or undrafted free agent?
  • Nick Emmanwori – South Carolina:  “Very big and tall DB” and “Big hitter” are the positive notes.  “Not sure if he has NFL speed” is the negative note.  Third or fourth round?
  • Jabbar Muhammad – Oregon:  “Tight coverage”  “Too small for the pros”  Probably a late round pick or maybe an undrafted free agent?
  • Lathan Ransom – Ohio State:  “Tough defender” and “Good coverage guy” would suggest second or third round.

            As for Placekickers and Punters, I have no notes to inform any comments here; so, I’ll just move on …

Finally, today’s rant has been all about the potential shown by these football players hoping to “move up” and to compete at the highest level of the sport.  Right now, NFL coaches and GMs see these players as having “potential” but as not yet certain they can compete at the highest level.  So, I’ll close today with these words from an athlete – – in a different sport to be  sure – – who faced this same situation of potential, Muggsy Bogues:

“No one knows how big your potential is, how big your heart is, when you start.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Lee Corso Retiring From ESPN

Lee Corso announced his retirement yesterday; he has been an ESPN football analyst for the last 38 years; he will make his final appearance on College Game Day in Week 1 of the college football season.  Prior to becoming an analyst in ESPN, Corso played college football at Florida State and coached at Northern Illinois.  This should be a sad day for college football fans; Lee Corso was an icon of the sport much the same way that John Madden was an icon of NFL football on TV.

Someone pointed out to me about 10 years ago that Corso was the master of “product placement advertising”.  He told me to watch Corso’s hands on College Game Day; when he was not reaching under the table to put on the headgear of his pick of the day, he was always holding a long yellow pencil and it turns out that he then had a job with the company that makes yellow #2 pencils.  I checked it out; indeed, Corso had a pencil in his hand much of the time.

Corso’s headgear gimmick was so “off the wall” that it was entertaining, and people looked forward to that segment of the program.  Unlike recent changes to the program, it never descended into rampant jackassery though it had the potential to do so.

Bonne chance, Lee Corso.  The game of college football that you helped to grow and prosper is entering a new way of life.  With your retirement, so are you.

With the departure of Corso from College Game Day the back-and-forth among the serious voices on the show will likely change a lot.  Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso had a style of banter that was serious and light-hearted/breezy at the same time.  I’m not sure that Herbstreit and Coach Saban can pull off that second characteristic of their interactions.  That is not a knock on Saban at all; that is simply a recognition that change is coming to the program.

And since I brought up Coach Saban and the jackassery element that has seeped into the show:

  • Am I the only one who looks at Saban during a “silly segment” and thinks that he would rather be prepping for a colonoscopy than be part of that silliness?

I know that ESN pays its on-air talent well, but Coach Saban cannot possibly “need the money”.

Moving on …  It was on March 12th when the NY Jets released Aaron Rodgers; that was more than 5 weeks ago.  I am not surprised that he has slow-played his decision as to his playing status for 2025; that keeps his name in the headlines which is something that seems to be of great importance to Rodgers.  Yesterday, he was on Pat McAfee’s program – one of his favorite outlets – and answered some questions that have been hanging fire at least since March 12th and for some folks since about the middle of the 2024 NFL season when the Jets up and fired both their coach and their GM.

In typical Rodgers’ fashion, some of his answers were maximally nuanced:

  • What has taken so long for you to decide if you are going to play again in 2025?  

“I’m open to anything and attached to nothing. So yeah, retirement could still be a possibility. But right now, my focus is on … my personal life.”

There have been rumors about Rodgers signing with the Giants, the Vikings and the Steelers.  Based on the NFL’s schedule rotation, the Steelers and the Jets will play each other in 2025; and that game will be in NY.  Every sports radio talk show host is lighting candles in church and offering up prayers for Rodgers to sign on with the Steelers because that single event can fill up a dozen radio segments the day after the signing and multiple dozens of segments for the week leading up to that Steelers/Jets game.

Switching gears …  With MLB fully engaged, fans at the ballpark will be challenged in 2025 to order up and consume some new culinary concoctions.  Here is one awaiting Arizona D-Backs’ fans for 2025:

  • Start with a heap of Cajun Fries.  Top with thick cut bacon strips and “white cheddar mac and cheese”.  Then garnish with deep fried onion strips.
  • Wash that down with a couple of lagers and you may have had your recommended input of carbohydrates for three days.

Finally, a question to ponder from Steven Wright:

“What’s another word for Thesaurus?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

All Over The Waterfront Today

The Sacramento Kings lost a play-in game to the Dallas Mavericks last night.  That is newsworthy only in the fact that it will be the Mavs and not the Kings taking part in the NBA Western Conference playoffs.  What is different about that game is what happened after the game:

  • The Kings and their GM, “mutually agreed to part company” but the Kings did not fire their coach – – at least for now.

The Kings have hardly been a stalwart franchise in the NBA for the last decade or so, but someone there decided that the loss last night was at least equally due to roster construction as it was to coaching strategy and tactics.  Have the Kings broken new ground here?

Moving on …  The Atlanta Braves have to be pleased to see Sencer Strider back on the mound.  Strider missed all of the 2024 season following elbow surgery and he had been working his way back in minor league games.  He appeared in 3 games with the Gwinnett Stripers in the Triple-A International League; his performance there was very positive:

  • He threw 13 2/3 innings in those games and struck out 27 hitters.

Yesterday, Strider made his first start for the Braves facing the Blue Jays.  Although the Braves lost the game, Strider’s inaugural appearance was encouraging:

  • He went 5 innings yielding 2 runs and 5 hits while striking out 5 batters.

The Atlanta Braves are off to a miserable start in 2025; if they are going to right the ship and make a run at the division title, they are going to need to have Strider performing well for the rest of 2025 and to get Ronald Acuña, Jr. back from his ACL injury.  Recent reports on Acuña’s status are promising.  According to a report at SI.com Acuña has been cleared to take at bats but is not yet ready to run out of the batter’s box.  He is “cleared to ramp up activities” and the hope is that he could be back in the Braves’ lineup “next month”.

Sticking with baseball and rehab assignments …  Late last season, Dodgers’ starter Clayton Kershaw had to leave a game due to pain in his left big toe.  He never returned to the mound for the rest of the season or for the playoffs and then had surgery on that toe and on his knee around Thanksgiving.  Yesterday, Kershaw had a minor league rehab start for the Oklahoma City Comets of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.  Rehab from surgery is a series of small steps and Kershaw took a small first step yesterday with these stats:

  • He threw 3 scoreless innings, gave up 2 hits and struck out 2 batters.
  • He threw 30 pitches and 22 were for strikes.

According to a report in the LA Times, the Dodgers hope that Kershaw can be back in the big leagues in mid-to-late May.  That timetable would give him four or five more rehab appearances in Oklahoma City.  Kershaw has been with the Dodgers for his entire career dating back to 2008; his career accomplishments point him to the Hall of Fame soon after he retires:

  • 10-time All-Star
  • 3 Cy Young Awards
  • 1 NL MVP Award

Switching gears …  Recently, I noted here that all was not well in the Kent St. football program.  With Spring Practice about to begin, the school put head coach Kenni Burns on administrative leave with pay while it investigated some unspecified issues.  I pointed out then that Burns’ two-year coaching record at Kent State (1-23) was not going to provide him with much cover during that investigation.  Indeed, it did not.

Kent St. fired Kenni Burns last week after the investigation turned up “multiple violations of his contract, including how he  used a personal credit card”.  It is more than a bit late in the game for Kent St. to hire a new coach for the 2025 season so the former offensive coordinator, Mark Carney, will be the interim head coach as a coaching search develops over the next season.  Carney has his work cut out for him; Kent St. was 0-12 last year; their defense won my “Brothel Defense Award” for giving up the most points per game in college football last year.  Here is what the first half of the schedule looks like for 2025:

  • Vs. Merrimack – – a Division 1-AA team – – a winnable game at home
  • At Texas Tech – – Probably a 2 TD underdog against an 8-win team from the Big-12.
  • Vs. Buffalo – – A conference game against an opponent that won 9 games last  year
  • At Florida St. – – Seminoles were really bad last  year, nevertheless …
  • At Oklahoma – – Sooners were disappointing last year, nevertheless …
  • Vs. UMass – – Could be a race to the bottom in this contest.

Finally, these words from Dave Barry:

“Camping is nature’s way of promoting the motel business.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

The UFL And the NFL – – By The Numbers

I think it’s time to check in on the UFL in its second season.  The eight teams have played three games apiece; the regular season is 10 games in length and the post season adds another two weekends.  When the UFL season ended last year, folks involved in the league could point to some positive signs for the fledgling spring football league.

On the surface, things are not looking quite as rosy as might have been predicted.

  • Last year, TV audiences on the various networks that carried UFL games were around 800,000.  That is not a “knock your socks off” number, but it is a respectable number for a new league trying to sell a product that has not sold well in the past.
  • This year, TV audiences are down in the early season to about 650,000.  That is still not a terrible showing, but it is down in the vicinity of 20%.
  • The St. Louis franchise was the bellwether of the league last year; for the home opener of last year’s season, the Battlehawks played in front of 40,000 fans; this year, the crowd was 32,000 – – another 20% drop.

True, this is a part of the sporting calendar that provides stiff competition for the UFL.  March Madness and the MLB Opening Day excitement surely took some of the air out of the UFL balloon.  Now those things are in the past along with The Masters so perhaps the UFL can regain some of the eyeballs that it has “lost” so far in Season Two.  We shall see …

One of the cornerstones of the NFL’s dominant place in US sports is the widespread interest in betting on NFL games.  I do not get any sense that gambling on UFL games is taking hold and growing a fanbase motivated to focus attention on the product.  This could be a long haul for the UFL.

Meanwhile, the NFL just chugs along generating revenue.  According to a report in Sports Business Journal, the NFL’s revenue for its last fiscal year (ended in March 2025) was more than $23B.  About 20 years ago, the NFL said its objective was to be a $25B a year business by the middle of this decade.  It certainly looks as if they are on-target to meet that objective.

From reports in Sports Business Journal you might conclude that it would take an utter moron to own an NFL team and lose money.  Consider these two numbers:

  1. Each NFL team will share equally in the TV revenue, the national sponsorships and the NFL licensing revenue.  For this fiscal year, that share will be about $415M per team.
  2. The largest single expenditure for a team is the salaries they pay to the players.  For the upcoming 2025 season, that number is capped at $279.2M.

So, before a team sells its first game ticket and before it collects its first parking fee and before it sells local broadcast rights and before it gets a piece of the concessions, the owners have at least a surplus of almost $136M.  Cue Sonny and Cher:

“And the beat goes on …”

It is the recognition of those sorts of revenues and costs that makes people like us stop and take a deep breath when team owners ask for – – and receive – – public subsidies for stadiums and practice facilities.  I am not talking about government expenditures for things like roads around the stadium; I mean owners asking for the various levels of government to pay to build the facility itself.  Right now, the focus of that sort of posturing and negotiating is in the State of Ohio where the Browns want to build a new facility in suburban Cleveland and the Bengals say they need an upgrade to their facility.

Without going into detail, the Browns would like about $600M in bonds from the State and another $600M in bonds from the County to cover about half of the cost of a new playpen.  The Bengals say they need $380M from wherever the source for their needed renovations.  Recently, those dealings got some ice water thrown on them when the Governor of Ohio – – Mike DeWine (R) – – said in a radio interview that he opposed such an expenditure.  It’s never a good idea to ask for money from the State and to have the Governor oppose the idea but, in this case, it was a bit more pointed.  That radio interview was aired right after the Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill to authorize such a bond issue.

DeWine’s term as Governor runs through 2026; he is term-limited and must be replaced in January 2027.  Perhaps we will see a classic game of “kick the can down the road” there so that the Browns and Bengals can try to coopt whoever is the new Governor of Ohio two years from now.

Finally, I think it is appropriate to close today with these words from Mark Twain:

“We have the best government that money can buy.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

First The NBA And Then MLB …

I mentioned yesterday that Mike Budenholzer might be fired as coach of the Phoenx Suns after the team significantly underperformed expectations in 2024/25.  Well, that happened overnight; and Budenholzer is now looking for work having an NBA Championship on his résumé.  He coached the Bucks to the title in 2021.  Meanwhile, the Suns will be hiring their third coach since May 2023 when they fired Monty Williams.

Let me give you some facts about the Suns’ recent coaches:

  • Monty Williams was NBA Coach of the Year in 2022 as the coach of the Suns
  • Frank Vogel won the NBA Championship in 2020
  • Mike Budenholzer won the NBA Championship in 2021.

            I am beginning to think that it might it be the case that “the problem” with the Phoenix Suns is centered elsewhere in the organization.  You make the call …

Sticking with the NBA, the play-in round of the Playoffs starts tonight.  The NBA now has 20 teams out of 30  that qualify for the Playoffs and, frankly, that is too many.  Consider this data:

  • Of the 4 play-in teams in the East, none posted a winning record in the regular season.
  • The 7th seed in the East (Orlando) is a “Playoff team” with a record of 41-41.
  • The 10th seed in the East (Miami) is a “Playoff team” with a record of 37-45.
  • Adding in the 4 play-in teams in the West, there are two more teams with records below .500.

Theoretically, the next two nights should be dramatic in the NBA.  The play-in round is single elimination; there should be energy and anticipation for these games.  Well, if there is any such energy, I don’t sense it at all.  In fact, I know I will not be watching both games in full tonight because I really do not care who wins and loses in this playoff round.

Moving on to MLB …  The Rockies lost to the Dodgers last night by a score of 5-3.  By scoring those 3 runs, the Rockies broke a scoreless streak of 31 innings which set a club record.  While that sounds amazingly inept, it is not even close to the MLB record for consecutives scoreless innings; that record stands at 48 scoreless innings, and it was done by two teams:

  1. The Philadelphia A’s in 1906
  2. The Chicago Cubs in 1968

The Colorado Rockies are off to a miserable start in 2025; their record of 3-13 is the worst in MLB – – even worse than the White Sox.  Their run differential is minus-46; a negative figure is to be expected with a 3-13 overall record, but the Rockies are outpacing the other bottom dwellers in that category too.  The next worst run differential belongs to the A’s at minus-24.

And this morning, the Rockies got another piece of bad news.  Outfielder Kris Bryant was put on the IL with “lumbar degenerative disk disease”.  I am not going to pretend to be an orthopedist, but that sounds extremely ominous.  Bryant has been with the Rockies since signing on there as a free agent in 2022, but his time there has been spent on the Injured List more than it has on the field.

  • Since he signed on in Colorado, the Rockies have played 502 games.
  • Bryant has appeared in only 170 of those games.

Kris Bryant is a former Rookie of the Year and a former NL MVP and a four-time All-Star.   His future does not seem nearly as bright as his past …

In other baseball “news”, the NL West standings this morning have the Dodgers in third place which is odd because some had speculated that the Dodgers might go 162-0 this season with its star-studded lineup.  Both the Padres and the Giants hold small leads over the Dodgers as of this morning and the Padres have an interesting twist to their record:

  • The Padres are 3-3 on the road.
  • The Padres are 11-0 at home.

The Padres are scoring runs this  year.  As of today, the Padres run differential is +36 which is second in MLB to the Cubs who are at +37.  Can the Padres – – and/or the Giants for that matter – – keep this up and make it a race in the NL West?  There is still a whole lot of baseball to be played …

Finally, I’ll close today with this observation by Oscar Wilde:

“Some cause happiness everywhere they go, others wherever they go.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

The NBA Playoffs Are Set To Kickoff

The NBA regular season which began back in November of last year is over; the playoffs are set; frankly there are only two real surprises to me in the final standings:

  1. The Phoenix Suns will not be part of the playoffs at all.
  2. The Detroit Pistons are not only in the playoffs but are above the “play-in zone”.

So, let the playoffs begin …  but before we focus on those events, allow me to present you with some data from a completely meaningless game last Friday between the Oklahoma City Thunder (best record in the league) and the Utah Jazz (worst record in the league).  Per the box score in the Washington Post:

  • The Thunder attempted 53 three-point shots.  (They made 24 of them.)
  • The Jazz attempted 63 three-point shots.  (They made only 17 of them.)
  • In 48 minutes of game time, the teams combined for 116 three-point shots which is 2.4 attempts per minute, or one three-point shot every 25 seconds of game time.
  • Attendance at the game was listed as 18,175; I sure hope those fans enjoyed that action.

This was an NBA regular season with several head-scratching events.  In fact, about the only NBA news that I shrugged off as “business as usual” was the fact that Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard were injured, and both missed a lot of games.  Here are four of the “abnormalities” of the regular season in no particular order:

  1. The Mavs traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.  Since the Mavs braintrust thought trading Doncic was a good idea in the first place, it makes a modicum of sense that they would also think Anthony Davis was sufficient return on investment as a trade.  No one else did.  [Aside:  Unsurprisingly, Davis suffered an injury in his first game with the Mavs that kept him out for a couple of weeks.]
  2. The Kings fired their coach, Mike Brown.  It was only two seasons ago that Brown was the NBA Coach of the Year, and it is not as if the Kings have a long history of dominance in the league that Brown’s team failed to uphold.  At least the Kings made the playoffs this year limping into the “play-in round” as the ninth seed in the West.
  3. The Grizzlies fired their coach late in the regular season.  Why is that strange?  Well, at the time of the firing, the Grizzlies’ record was 44-29 (winning percentage = .603) and the team was solidly in position to make the playoffs.  In the wake of that coaching change, the Grizzlies are still in the playoffs, but their record is 4-5.
  4. Not to be outdone, the Nuggets fired their coach even later in the regular season – – with only 3 games left on the regular season schedule.  The Nuggets are seeded fourth in the West for the playoffs and finished the season with 50 wins.  And yet, they fired their coach who only two seasons ago won the NBA Finals with the Nuggets.

Given that it seems like winning games is not a good enough reason to retain coaches in the NBA anymore, might there be a coaching bloodbath in the near future?

  • I mentioned above that the Suns somehow missed the playoffs surprisingly.  Their coach is Mike Budenholzer, who incidentally coached the Bucks to the NBA Championship a few years ago, and you have to wonder if he can/will survive the Suns’ 36-46 record this year.  How did he forget his winning ways so quickly?
  • The Sixers obviously thought that getting Paul George to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey would make them contenders.  Embiid and George each missed a lot of games; Maxey missed fewer games; the Sixers not only failed to make the playoffs, they finished the season with a dismal record of 24-58.  Their coach is Nick Nurse, who incidentally coached the Raptors to the NBA Championship a few years ago.  How did he forget his winning ways so quickly?

There is at least one island of coaching stability in the NBA at the end of this regular season.  The Trailblazers have extended the contract of coach, Chauncey Billups despite the fact that the Blazers missed the playoffs and had a 36-46 regular season record – – same as the Suns by the way.

Finally, since today has been mostly about coaching, I’ll close with this from Tom Landry – – the longtime coach of the Dallas Cowboys:

“Really, coaching is simplicity. It’s getting players to play better than they think that they can.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Baseball And Basketball Today …

Yesterday, I marveled at a minor league baseball game where pitchers could not find home plate if  you game them a radar; that game saw 32 batters reach base with a walk.  Today, I want to report on another oddball happenstance in a minor league game.  Today’s focus is on the Midwest League and a game between the Beloit Sky Carp and the Cedar Rapid Kernels.  Emaarion Boyd is an outfielder for the Sky Carp; in yesterday’s game, Boyd stole 6 bases which is impressive by itself.  What makes it just a tad unusual is this:

  • He did not have a hit in the game.

He was walked once, hit by a pitch in another at-bat and reached first on a fielder’s choice.  On those three occasions, he stole second and third base.  Boyd is 21 years old and has been in pro baseball for three seasons; in 2023 he played in 91 games for Clearwater in the Florida League and stole 56 bases there.  Boyd is in the Marlins’ minor-league system for now and has appeared in 6 games for the Sky Carp this season with 7 stolen bases as of today.

Sticking with baseball …  The Atlanta Braves have gotten off to a miserable start to the 2025 season; this morning they are dead last in the NL East with a 3-9 record.  However, they did get a bit of good news yesterday in the performance of Spencer Strider in a rehab start.  Strider had an alternative to Tommy John surgery last year to repair a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and last night was his third rehab start as he prepares to return to the Braves.

Last night, Strider threw 5 1/3 innings and struck out 13 batters in a Triple-A game between the Gwinnett Stripers and the Norfolk Tides.  The Braves’ awful start can be attributed to their lack of offense; the Braves have scored a total of 38 runs in 12 games this year; only the woebegone White Sox have scored fewer runs (35 in 12 games).  If Strider returns to the Braves’ rotation and pitches to his previous standard, that would be a blessing for the Braves as they wait for their bats to wake up.

Moving on …  The oddsmakers had the NBA’s Phoenix Suns as one of the favorites to win the NBA Championship this year with futures odds at +650.  As a point of reference, the co-favorites on the futures board were the Celtics and the Nuggets at odds of +450.  Talk about underachieving, the Suns have been eliminated from the playoffs – – let alone the NBA Finals and will finish the season with a record below .500.

I think there are two components to this underachievement that could get less scrutiny than they deserve:

  1. There is more to winning than just scoring; it helps to be able to keep the other guys from scoring at will.  The Suns signed/acquired three star players – – Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.  All of them are proven scorers; none of them are more than average defenders.  I recall a chat I had with a friend back at the beginning of the NBA season; he is into wagering on NBA games – – among other events – – and he said that whenever he thinks about the Suns he immediately thinks, “Take the OVER.”
  2. Maybe the “problem” isn’t always the coach.  Maybe what a winning team needs is some consistency on the bench and some time for the coach to get his “system” ingrained in the roster.  The Suns fired Monty Willians who had amassed win percentage of .628 with the team; they hired and then fired Frank Vogel whose win percentage with the Suns was .598.  Mike Budenholzer is the current coach and given the disappointing performance of the Suns this year, I would suggest that he is not a shoo-in to continue in that position.  Here’s the thing; all three of those coaches have been successful NBA coaches and two of them were successful in Phoenix.  And yet, they are gone.

Switching gears – – but staying with basketball …  JT Toppin was an important part of Texas Tech’s run to the Elite Eight in this year’s March Madness.  Demonstrating how college athletics have changed over the past year or two, Toppin announced that he will not enter the NBA Draft this year and that he will not enter the Transfer Portal either.  He will stay at Texas Tech for another year and will get an NIL deal that reports say will be worth $4M.

Toppin has played two years of college basketball so he has “eligibility” left – – whatever “eligibility” might mean these days.  Just suppose Toppin really likes living and playing in Lubbock, TX; if he were to stay there next season and the one after that for $4M a year, what would be wrong with him continuing to play basketball for Texas Tech beyond that?  The whole idea behind “eligibility” was to try to prevent colleges from amassing a set of “ringers” who were not students but were there as “hired hands” to win games.  And that is exactly the situation now in college athletics and Toppin’s decision simply brings the details of such a deal out of the shadows and into the open.

Finally, in support of my suggestion that defense is part of winning basketball, let me close with this from Tom Glavine:

“There is no second baseman in the game who can turn the double play better than [Mark Lemke].  Why are people always looking for offense at that position? What’s more important is getting outs, and turning the double is a huge factor in getting outs.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Strange Baseball Happenings …

They say that when you go out to see a baseball game, there is always a chance you will see something you have never seen before.  Well, that was certainly true for the 327 people who attended a Florida State League game between the Dunedin Blue Jays and the Jupiter Hammerheads.  The final score was 19-5 in favor of the Jays but that is not the story by a long shot.  Here is the deal:

  • Seven pitchers for the Hammerheads gave up 22 walks in the game.

Not only is that a Florida State League record; it is a record for all of full-season minor league baseball and it eclipses the MLB record for walks in a game by 3.  In MLB, the Washington Senators had pitchers issue 19 bases on balls in a game in 1971.  Let me give you a smattering of highlights from the box score of the Dunedin Blue Jays’ victory here:

  1. The Jays’ pitchers got into the spirit of the game by walking 10 Hammerhead batters – – including 5 walks for the Hammerheads’ leadoff batter.
  2. It was just not a day for hitters; in addition to the 32 walks issued by all the pitchers, there were a total of 24 strikeouts in the game.
  3. One Jupiter pitcher worked one third of an inning.  He walked 3 batters and struck out one.
  4. Another Jupiter pitcher worked 1 1/3 innings walking 3 batters and striking out 3 other batters.  He also found a way to give up 6 earned runs in that short stint on the mound.
  5. On top of all this, four players were hit by pitches in the game.
  6. Oh yes, there were also 3 wild pitches and a balk.
  7. The time of the game was 3 hours and 39 minutes.

Here is the stat I would want to know that will never appear in the box score:

  • How many cold lagers did the home plate umpire quaff after that bit of torture?

Earlier this week, there was another unusual baseball happening.

  • Yeshiva University beat Lehman College 9-5, and three huge losing streaks were ended on that day.

The two schools had a double-header scheduled.  When the two teams took the field in Game One, Lehman had a 42-game losing streak working.  Lehman won the first game 7-6 and ended that losing streak.

Yeshiva started the day with a 99-game losing streak and by losing the first game it moved into triple-digit territory without a win.  However, in Game Two, Yeshiva finally emerged victorious by a score of 9-5.  Losing streak #2 went down the drain …

Since Lehman was working on a 42-game losing streak that day, I have to assume that Lehman is not a college baseball powerhouse.  Nevertheless, the third losing streak to be broken on that day involves Lehman’s dominance of Yeshiva over the  years.  Until that win in Game Two earlier this week, Yeshiva had never beaten Lehman in a baseball game.  When Yeshiva won that second game, they ended an all-time 18-game losing streak to Lehman.

If ever there were a reason to storm a college baseball field, I think this would be it.

Last year, the White Sox lost 121 baseball games, and they have opened this year losing 9 of their first 11 games.  In order to lose that many times, you would think that teams would need to invent ways to fend off victory.  Well, the White Sox did that this week.

The Sox trailed the Guardians 3-1 in the ninth inning, but they had the bases loaded with two out.  No, Casey did not strike out there; the Sox found a better way to lose.  Miguel Vargas singled to left scoring the runner on third and the runner on second – – Mike Tauchmnan – – went steaming around third base intending to tie the score.  And then Tauchman pulled up lame and was tagged as an easy third out.  It seems that for the White Sox, when it rains, it pours.

Sticking with baseball – – but on a more positive note now – – the first two “Players of the Week” for 2025 have been named.

  • In the National League, it is Kyle Tucker of the Cubs
  • In the American League, it is Alex Bregman of the Red Sox
  • Bregman was signed as a free agent this winter; Tucker was acquired by a trade this winter.
  • Both were longtime Astros – – Tucker for 7 years and Bregman for 9 years.

Finally, since today was about baseball, let me close with this from Tommy Lasorda:

“There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

A Tale Of Two QBs

Presumably, this will be my final comment on this year’s March Madness.  Yesterday, the following headline appeared at CBSSports.com:

  • 2025 NCAA Tournament: Florida vs. Houston was most-watched national championship since 2019

The game averaged 18.1 million viewers and in the final minutes 21.1 million folks were watching.  That average figure for audience size was up 22% as compared to last year and was the largest audience for a Final Game since 2019 (Virginia over Texas Tech).  The presence of all four teams seeded at the top of their bracket probably increased the focus in the Final Four this year resulting in the “audience bump” on Monday night.

Moving on …  Today looks like it will be a tale of two quarterbacks.  The first one is Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders.  The Raiders traded a draft pick to acquire Smith from the Seahawks last month and the team has now given him an extension on his contract.  Reports say that the extension will keep Smith under contract with the Raiders through the 2027 season for $85.5M and $65M of that total is guaranteed money.  Personally, I think that is a lot of money devoted to a 35-year-old QB who is not a “Top Ten Guy” at the position.  So, why the extension and the expense?

  • The Raiders have a new coach – – Pete Carroll – – who is 72 years old.  I suspect that he is not remotely interested in a “five-year plan” or a “tear-down and rebuild” modus operandi.  Smith may not be an All-Pro QB, but Carroll knows what he can and cannot do from the time they were together in Seattle.  I think there is a comfort-factor at work here.
  • Also, it is not as if the Raiders have budding talent at the position on the roster.  There are two QBs on the roster this morning in addition to Geno Smith.  Aiden O’Connell is presumably the #2 guy given that he has started a bunch of games for the team over the last two seasons.  Yes, he has some experience; no, he has not had unbridled success.  The other QB on the roster is Carter Bradley who never saw the field in his rookie season out of South Alabama.
  • The Raiders have the sixth pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.  This is projected to be a “lean year” for QBs coming out of college.  Even if Pete Carroll were interested in developing a young QB – – which I doubt is the case – – this is not the sort of QB crop that might excite him sitting at #6 in the Draft.

The Raiders are coming off a 2024 season with a record of 4-13-0.  That team had several roster holes and QB was among them.  Geno Smith may not be a great QB, but he is a competent starting QB which means that Raiders can devote attention to other roster deficiencies in the Draft and in considering other free agents.

The other quarterback today is Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson.  Last week, the Browns’ owner, Jimmy Haslam said in an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the team “took a big swing and miss with Deshaun”.  In case you do not remember, here is what the Browns traded away to the Texans to acquire Watson:

  • 2022 Draft:  A first-round pick and a fourth-round pick
  • 2023 Draft:  A first-round pick and a third-round pick
  • 2024 Draft:  A first-round pick and a fourth-round pick

            On top of that steep price, the Browns then gave Watson a 5-year contract worth $230M and they fully guaranteed the deal.  The average annual salary of $46M was high at the time and the idea of fully guaranteeing the deal was considered to be outrageous by other owners.  Oh, there was one other detail overhanging the whole transaction; Watson had been accused of sexual harassment/misconduct by a couple of dozen women and he faced discipline by the NFL that could have involved a year’s suspension.

So, that was the big swing.  To understand the “miss” you have to see what the Browns got for their trouble.

  • Watson was suspended for 11 games in his first season with the Browns by the NFL the misconduct.
  • For the Browns, Watson has started 19 games in 3 seasons; he has had serious injuries in the last two seasons.  In those 19 games with Watson at QB, the team has a record of 9-10-0.
  • At the moment, Watson is suffering from a major injury.  In a game last October, he tore his Achilles tendon.  In working to rehab that injury he suffered another team of the tendon in January 2025 and underwent another surgery then.  Given the typical recovery time from that sort of surgery, Watson is doubtful for most if not all of the 2025 season.

Watson’s contract runs through the end of the 2026 season and the Browns owe him a little over $50M over the next two seasons – – fully guaranteed, remember.  He will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2026 season; but absent a visitation by his Fairy Godmother, he should not expect any contract offers then that bear any resemblance to his current deal.

The Browns “took a big swing and a miss”; the Raiders did not take nearly such a big swing, but if they miss as badly as did the Browns, it could be a serious situation out there in the desert …

Finally, there is a line in Michael Lewis’ book, The Blind Side that seems pertinent here:

“When a star running back or wide receiver is injured, the coaches worry about their game plans. When a star quarterback gets hurt, the coaches worry about their jobs.

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………