By the TSB Staff

The first round mock at a glance

http://www.thesportsbank.net/2008/02/22/2008-nfl-mock-draft/

Picks #11-20

http://www.thesportsbank.net/2008/02/27/tsb-nfl-mock-draft-picks-11-20/

Picks #1-10

http://www.thesportsbank.net/2008/02/26/2008-nfl-mock-draft-1-10/

21. Washington Redskins – Early Doucet, WR, LSU
Hopefully for Doucet, Skins owner Daniel Snyder will not go out and overpay again for a mediocre free agent receiver like he has in the past. Doucet was the championship team’s leading receiver, grabbing seven balls in the team’s biggest game. To say that Early will go early amongst the receivers chosen is a little too obvious. I agree with Krusty the Klown that “puns are lazy writing.” Just like during the entire season, Doucet showed in the BCS championship game why teams in need of wideouts will take him in the first round. Oh, and his measurables aren’t too shabby either.
–Paul M. Banks

22. Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland) Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
Felix Jones is a bit like the Matt Cassel of the draft.  Not because he will get drafted late and end up a backup, but he is a guy that has NFL intangibles, and you never saw much of him.  It’s tough to imagine what he would have been like had he been the premier guy on a team.  He’s fairly quick and has good size for the NFL.  Jones and McFadden will most likely turn out to be better than Cadillac and Brown out of Auburn.  Also, when I uploaded the rosters from NCAA Football ’08 to Madden ’08, Jones uploaded at 86 overall as [More …]

By Paul M. Banks

Before the ousting of former coach Kelvin Sampson, Indiana interim head coach Dan Dakich was an assistant. Previously, he was a head coach at Bowling Green University for ten years. He certainly is a Hoosier through and through serving as team Captain his junior and senior seasons under Bob Knight and as an assistant coach under Knight for 12 seasons. What Dakich is most famous for however, is his stellar defensive effort on Michael Jordan in MJ’s last collegiate game. He did a fine job limiting the greatest player in history. Now I’ll be the first to admit that most press conferences can be far from exciting, but Dakich’s first post game presser as the head man was fascinating, exciting, and emotional. It accurately articulates the fallout and aftershocks of THE major national story in college basketball. Here Dakich opens up his heart and soul about a nationally powerful program in extreme turmoil and rough transition, a program he has devoted most of this professional life to.

His opening statement…….. 

I thought this was a heck of a college basketball game. I thought going into the game that this would be an incredibly difficult game for a couple of reasons. One, our circumstances, you go through our last 24-48 hours, kids that you see playing basketball are 18-to-22 year old kids. They’re not robots. They have all kinds of emotions, as do I, as does Ray, as does Jeff. The second reason is I [More …]

By Paul M. Banks

Indiana freshman two guard Eric Gordon is the Big Ten’s leading scorer. (16th nationally) He’s a leading candidate for Big Ten freshman of the year and considered a top 5 NBA Draft pick by every expert across the board. (David K. currently has him 2nd overall in his mock draft) In the preseason, Lindy’s ranked him the nation’s third best freshman, Newcomer of the Year, Most Entertaining and Top NBA Prospect. He made the midseason watch list for both the Naismith and Wooden awards. You get the point: he’s truly “everybody’s All-American,” and will likely receive a very phat paycheck this June.

He’s currently considered public enemy #1 by fans and supporters of the Illinois Fighting Illini for originally giving a verbal commitment to Bruce Weber’s program before he eventually signed with the recently deposed Kelvin Sampson and Indiana. What most members of Illini Nation find particularly loathsome about his recruiting process: Gordon’s infamous “I’m still solid with Illinois” quote, made while he had decided to reopen his recruiting. As Gordon heads into what will likely be the final games of his college career, he plays for a program in crisis. In this interview, following his first game under a new coach, he discusses Kelvin Sampson and how he and his teammates are handling the adversity of transition amid scandal.

On how he and his teammates prepared mentally for the first game after the coaching change…..

Well, coach Dakich explained that we had to [More …]

By Paul M. Banks

-By now you’ve probably noticed the re-design and what a huge upgrade it is. Like Dave K. said (quoting Kanye) “welcome to the good life.” Also, take note that WIR, our signature segment has been moved to Tuesdays.

Jesus Walks

-What would Jesus do on myspace? Here’s your answer.
Whether you’ve ‘found Jesus’ or not, at least you can find him on the net where he has 117,101 myspace friends. Which is significantly less than Tila Tequila’s 3 million. Yes, this world is indeed ready for rapture when a C-list celebrity skank has 30 times as many myspace friends as the son of man. Although I’m sure Kanye West has him in his myspace top 8.

-Second place in this week’s myspace page of the week (although finishing second to a guy who could walk on water is nothing to be ashamed of) goes to http://myspace.com/ihatenotredame The best anti-Notre Dame website that I’ve ever seen.

-On Friday night, I went to Morgan’s, a sports bar in the University Village area of the city to experience a Soxman public appearance. I’ll let him describe it…. “Overall, we signed 75+ autographs and posed for a ton of photos, while meeting some great people.  As I’ve said before, I’m completely humbled every time, I’m asked to sign my name.  You are all the best fans and more importantly friends any hero could ask for.”

-You knew a parody of the Obama “Yes We Can [More …]

By Paul M. Banks

As I walked into the McGaw Hall Fieldhouse for the Indiana-Northwestern post game press conference, I said out loud to myself, “Wow! I’ve never seen it THIS crowded before!” Immediately to my left was ESPN’s Wendy Nix who nodded and smiled. She is even more gorgeous, with her sultry and husky voice, in real life. Her smile could light up the gloomiest North Shore February day. She’s also probably the only woman on this planet who can tell me something I don’t know about the New England Patriots. Her husband Ben, the Boston Red Sox VP of player personnel, is one lucky man. When I found my seat for the press conference, I also noticed Jay Mariotti from ESPN’s “Around the Horn” and more video and audio equipment than I’ve ever seen at a presser. When the speaking began, there was a shutterbug soundtrack usually reserved for the press conferences that television stations break into live.

This was an entirely different animal from the Northwestern-University of Chicago preseason contest, (a game I dubbed the “Intellectual Invitational” because it’s a dream match-up for grad students in pretty much any academic program) where I was joined by just a small cadre of journalists. It also verified the arguments I made against my friends a couple weeks ago in a Wrigleyville pub. They seem to be amused by my presence at Welsh-Ryan Arena’s press row. Not sure if my buddies were making fun of me or [More …]

By David K.

2/25/08

In my last Ring Out Ahoya article, I correctly prophesized that maybe it was a good thing Marquette hit a rough stretch in the middle of the season.  After back to back losses to Louisville and at Notre Dame, the Golden Eagles seemed as if they were fading fast in the Big East.  But MU has responded in a big way, destroying their competition in their last four games by an average of more than twenty points per game, and seemingly peaking at the perfect time as March is right around the corner.

Yes, their wins at Seton Hall, vs. Pitt, at St. John’s, and vs. Rutgers were all games Marquette should have won.  However, what really makes these past two weeks impressive is the convincing fashion in which the Golden Eagles have been victorious.  Defense has been the catalyst in all four wins as Tom Crean’s crew turned up their ball pressure forcing 76 turnovers.  Everything seems to be clicking as the entire roster is making contributions and the starting five is living up to the lofty expectations set for them at the beginning of the season. That is vitally important with four games remaining in the regular season.  Big Monday puts Marquette on the national stage visiting a Villanova squad that has risen from the dead.  After dropping five straight and falling to 4-7 in conference, the Wildcats have been on a role as of late, winning four of their last five. Their [More …]

By Peter Christian

Another question going into the season is how this lineup is going to differ from the lineup of years past. One thing is certain; the Twins of 2008 are much more streamlined for one common purpose: Find pitches to hit, put them in play and run around the bases. Over the past two seasons the Twins tried to fool the league, their fans and themselves into thinking that they were a power team. In the middle of the lineup guys like Morneau and Hunter cranked out 30 HR seasons and we expected 20+ from Cuddyer and Mauer. That is not Twins baseball. The Twins will have much more success if they get back to the style of hitting that got them back into the winning ways in 2001 and 2002. Getting men on base and utilizing their speed and contact skills to move them around the diamond, occasionally putting the pressure on their opponent’s defense to make a play. Ladies might love the long ball, but enthusiasts love 5-6 hitter rallies. I’ve heard it said that the Twins outfielders (Cuddyer, Young, Monroe and Kubel) should combine for anywhere from 80-100 Home Runs this year. It is possible, but I’d much rather watch the four of them combine for 180 doubles and 360 RBI. Manager Ron Gardenhire knows that he cannot allow his team to get into a bunch of slug fests (especially within the division) and expect to win. First, that isn’t how the [More …]

By Seth Grunlode 

Last night at 9:05pm central time my phone almost blew up from the number of calls and texts I received, everyone was debating… Is that Claire’s baby Aaron or did Kate actually have a baby and name him Aaron? I am going to take a pretty hard line stance on this one. It’s Claire’s baby. Kate is raising Claire’s baby. Let’s just think about it in terms of a timeline. It’s late December 2004 on the Island. If Kate were to get pregnant right now (and she said that she is not currently pregnant) that would make the baby being born roughly September 2005. Jack’s flash-forward last season was April 5th, 2007. We know that from a freeze frame of the newspaper he was reading. From seeing Jack in Kate’s flash-forward last night we know that those events happened well before Jack hit his downward spiral and developed a strong desire for returning to the island. It’s hard to definitively say when Kate’s flash-forward was, but at the latest it was in 2006. There is no way she could have had her own baby, and that child be as old as he was in this episode. It’s Claire’s baby. I also point to the obvious foreshadowing: the scene where Claire and Kate are doing laundry and Kate is unwilling to even pick Aaron up. Her subsequent character comparison to future Kate being the loving mother definitely conforms to the ‘Lost’ theme of polar opposites.
 

By the TSB Staff

Here’s our “at a glance” NFL mock draft. Later this week, we will have synopsis and analysis for every pick.

 1. Miami Dolphins- Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
 2. St. Louis Rams-Chris Long, DE, Virginia
3. Atlanta Falcons – Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

4. Oakland Raiders– Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs– Jake Long, OT, Michigan
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston, DE 
7. New England Patriots (from 49ers)- Dan Connor, LB, Penn State
8. Baltimore Ravens- Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
9. Cincinnati Bengals- Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
10. New Orleans Saints– Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
11. Buffalo Bills– Mike Jenkins, CB South Florida
12. Denver Broncos– Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State
13. Carolina Panthers- Sam Baker, OT, USC
14. Chicago Bears– Jeff Otah, OT Pitt
15. Detroit Lions– Calais Campbell, DE, Miami(FL)
16. Arizona Cardinals– Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy
17. Minnesota Vikings– DeSean Jackson, WR, Cal
18. Houston Texans – Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan
21. Washington Redskins- Early Doucet, WR, LSU
22. Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland)- Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers– Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
24. Tennessee Titans– Malcom Kelly, WR, Oklahoma
25. Seattle Seahawks– Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
26. Jacksonville Jaguars– Limas Sweed WR, Texas
27. [More …]

By Peter Christian

As both a resident of the State of Minnesota and a Twins fan, the last 30 days have been unusually difficult. I’ve forged through more below zero temperature days than I have in the previous 5 winters combined, plus I watched the Twins give up Johan Santana for four players that are not expected to play a significant role in the 2008 season. Whether the Twins front office wants to admit it or not, they took a competitive step backwards for the 2008 season by letting Santana go. Not only was Santana the Twins’ ace, Opening Day Starter and the most talented pitcher they’ve ever had, but he is also the best pitcher in baseball. Instead of trotting him out to the mound every five games they have a young outfielder who will hopefully become a household name and an All-Star along with three young pitchers that are all at different levels in their learning curve. While Santana is definitely the most memorable loss of the off-season, the Twins also bid adieu to perennial Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter, the inning eating Carlos Silva, the young power pitching prospect Matt Garza, the up-and-down Jason Bartlett and the former power house Rondell White. They also have welcomed the new faces of Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, Adam Everett, Mike Lamb, Jacob Pridie, Craig Monroe and Livan Hernandez to the squad (in addition to the four players acquired in the Santana trade who will now be referred to [More …]