Prospects on the rise

NBA prospects are still jockeying for position to move up in the draft. North Carolina's Reggie Bullock, and Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr are making enormous stride to improve their draft stocks. Details on scrappyscript.com

Oden's last opportunity

It's been a while since we've seen the former first overall draft pick Greg Oden dunk a basketball. It's been over three years, since we have seen him on the court. His absence hasn't kept teams from inquiring about his possible services.

Broner not ready yet

Last nights Adrien Broner was less impressive in his split decision victory over then champion Paul Malignaggi. Yes, Broner jumped two classes to obtain the WBC welterweight championship, but his lack of dominance showed that he isn't ready for the pound for pound best, Floyd Mayweather. I say this, because Malignaggi lasted all 12 rounds and still had enough in the tank to throw several combination throughout the fight. Broner defensive stance, instantly makes you think of "The Money Teams CEO" Floyd Mayweather. That's where the comparison end, because Mayweather has shown the ability to adapt during fights which leave opponents clueless. Malignaggi was more active in their fight, but connected on far fewer punches agains Broner. This couldn't be said about Floyd Mayweather's most recent opponent Robert Guerrero. Guerrero wasn't able to hit Floyd on a consistent basis during their May 4th fight. It became comical; watching Guerrero swing at air hoping to hit Mayweather. The joke in Broners fight was his attempts at punching Malignaggi from behind his back wasn't impressive and made him look like a immature fool. Mayweather displayed the speed and quickness that made him untouchable early in his career.  Broner is as quick, as Mayweather, but doesn't show the intelligence and ring savvy as his older counterpart. At this time, Broner needs to study the "fight game" before he becomes just another victory for Mayweather.

Battle in Brooklyn

Okay fight fans we have another opportunity to witness a super star in the making. Adrien "The Problem" Broner moves up to the welterweight division to challenge champion Paulie Malignaggi tonight. More on scrappyscript.com

The Fallen Angel.

Michael Phelps has done the country and his fans injustice and he is getting a pass on it. Phelps has "Peed in the Pool" so to speak with his juvenile antics at The University of South Carolina. Marion Jones was stripped of her gold medals because of drugs so why shouldn't Phelps. Drugs are drugs no matter what drugs that you use. What is good goose is good for the gander isn't it. NFL Players can be suspended for a year for using a over the counter drug. So how many counter can you get weed from. What is he doing at a party in South Carolina anyway? We cut Joakim Noah head off for doing this last summer when he was hanging out in Gator nations with a joint. We all said this is the reason that he isn't living up to his hype. Chris Duhon was made into the "bad guy" Chicago when he was late for the Chicago Bulls shoot around. So why do we let our golden boy off with three months suspension with no pay. He makes more with Rosetta Stone and other endorsements. Phelps was the story in the Olympics, not the Redeem Team, not the High speed runner from the land of Marijuana, it was the medals that Phelps earned for his country. How many people could tell you every member on the Redeem Team? I bet you a person who doesn't watch sports knows how many Gold medals Phelps won last summer. He had the Two Biggest stars in the NBA(Kobe Bryant and Lebron James) attending his meets. Mainstream media knew nothing about Lil Wayne, until Phelps told the world that he listens to the best rapper alive. Now Lil Wayne has a rock album coming out, he is the voice of the new Gatorade commercials, he was on ESPN's First and Ten battling Skip Bayless thanks to Phelps and his endorsements. So tell me how important Phelps mistakes are to this countries fabrics. He should be stripped like Marion Jones it's only fair.

Rules Are Made To Be Broken, Or slanted

I have never watched a Superbowl where I felt that the official decided the outcome of the game. Two calls on Pittsburgh's last drive made it clear who was suppose to win. Both teams fought back and forth until the final whistle. Unfortunately the whistles were blowing in favor of a particular team all game long."The roughing the passer" on Karlos Dansby and the "Running over the holder" by Adrian Wilson was the end of a remarkable season for the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals. I neglected to mention that Kurt Warners (the fumble) last play was a questionable call; that should have been reviewed by the officials. I thought that any questionable call within the last two minutes of a game will be review by the booth. The roughing the passer by Dansby was a horrible call because the defender was one step away from getting the sack when Ben Roethlisberger released the ball. What is expected of the defender, when Roethlisberger was breaking their tackles all game? WHAT ABOUT INTENTIONAL GROUNDING that the refs so convently didn't call against the Steelers on the last drive. The officials stated that the quarterback was outside of the pocket area well, that is not totally true. The Pocket Area: Applies from a point two yards outside of either offensive tackle and includes the tight end if he drops off the line of scrimmage to pass protect. Pocket extends longitudinally behind the line back to offensive team’s own end line. Ben was not outside of the tightend and no flag was thrown. It may seem as if I am not a Steelers fan by my rant and this is true, I'm a Football fan that wants to see a fair contest between the best teams. The NFL should really take a close look at their officiating for next season because, you can rest assured that millions of others felt the same way that I did about the game we love.

Fly Higher Than His Eagles

If anyone said that they predicted this NFC Championship Game, they are lying. The two teams(Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles) with only nine victories on the season battling to represent the NFC in the Superbowl , I guess Kevin Garnett was right when he said, "ANYTHINGS POSSIBLE"! So, if that is true what is the possibility of Donovan McNabb retuning to the Eagles next season? Slim...really slim. His relationship with the people of Philly has been more of a love me, hate me, thing instead of the brother love which is the cities motto. Starting with the Boo Birds on Draft night of 1999 (Hate me). He's also lead the Eagles to five NFC title games... (Love me). The Superbowl birth in 2005...(Love me). Feud with Terrell Owens in 2006 (Hate me). The Drafting of Kevin Klobb in 2007 to eventually replace McNabb (Hate me). Second half benching against the Baltimore Ravens , which he had to learn of this from a janitor (Hate me). The 48 to 20 victory over the Cardinals( Love me), who they will face in this weekends title game. I forgot to mention that McNabb didn't know the overtime rule (really Hate me). The Hate me's outnumbered the love me 5 to 3. So do you really think he will continue his career in the same city where they chucked snowballs at Santa Claus? I believe that McNabb has to do what every superstar has done in Philly...leave. Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson loved the city but the fans didn't always feel the same way about them. Barkley and Iverson received more brotherly love once they were gone but, back to McNabb. He has won 41 more regular season games than he has lost in his career as the Eagles Quarterback. McNabb has never thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in a season either. Does anyone remember that he was the Eagle Offense in 2000 by leading the team in rushing with 629 yards while completing more than 58 percent of his passes? Donovan has 104 more touchdowns than interceptions in his career. If Donovan McNabb takes the Eagles to the Superbowl he should look for a new team to finish his career with, because he would never be truly loved more in the city. The only place he could go in Philly is down after his 10 year run. Despite the many critics of McNabb he has lead this team to the conference title game and they arguably the hottest team in the NFL. His stock hasn't been higher in his career so he should take full advantage of it and leave.

Johnson and Johnson

Recently Larry Johnson has voice his disapproval of the Kansas City Chief organization and has stated that he would like to leave. That is easier said than done, with the recent coaching vacancies in the league he has to wait his turn to be dealt with. Since I have nothing else better to do I will help Larry find a new home. First, we have to take in consideration of what kind of Running back Larry Johnson is and that is a good one. He has rushed for 1700 yards twice in his career when he was healthy, caught 30 or more passes in three of his six years in the league. So we have solidified that he is multi talented with the ability to run and catch out of the backfield. Now, who needs a player of his caliber in their backfield and will give him the touches he needs. Well, everyone would want to have him but, their are few that can give him what he needs (the ball). The teams with the worst rushing yards per game this season are the Cincinnati Bengals; Detroit Lions; Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Cardinals. I believe that the Cincinnati Bengals are the best fit for Larry Johnson. Yes I said it, they are the same team that has had on and off the field issues from several players. The Lions need an makeover and He'll be in the same position all over again; he wont get the ball in Indianapolis or in Arizona because of the offensive systems and their current backs (Joseph Addai and Edgerian James) so, Cincinnati is the choice.We all know that the Bengals coach's job has been in jeporady for several year and they have another Johnson that gets more attention for his off the field comments and occasional touchdown celebrations than his play on the field. A Johnson and Johnson tandem might be what the doctor ordered for both Larry and Chad. Larry can teach Chad to shut up and Chad can help Larry be more productive by showing his child like enthusiam for the game. If Larry Johnson goes to Cincinnati their opponents will have a difficult time picking who to try to stop. You can't stack the line because of the receiving core, you can't double team any receiving because of Larry Johnson. It would be heaven for Coach Marv Lewis, Quarterback Carson Palmer and leading receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh on the field. It would be a drastic upgrade from Cedric Benson and his 3.5 yards per carry. The addition of Larry Johnson will give the Bengals a one thousand yard back that has been missing from the team since another Johnson received the boot out of town.

What Have You Done For Me Lately??

The firing spree continues, with the dismissal of a two time Superbowl winning coach in Mike Shanahan. This came to the surprise of many people around the country, because Shanahans Broncos were leading their division and in the drivers seats until the San Diego Chargers defeated them in the seasons finally. In a league where the motto is "What have you done for me lately, Shanahans biggest problems were his playoff record after winning the Superbowl twice(one and four) and missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. His last appearance was in 05 where he beat the Patriots and lost to the eventual champion Pittsburg Steelers 34 to 17. In Shanahan defense, I must stay that his record (24 and 24) over the last three season are equivalent or better than Tampa Bays Jon Gruden (22and 26), The Seahawks Mike Holmgren (23 and 25)and Brad Childress (24 and 24)of the Vikings. Gruden only Superbowl victory was in 2002 with a championship calibar team that had already made the playoffs in previous seasons. Holmgern record in the Superbowl isn't one to brag about (one-and-two) with one lost to Shanahan in 97 and the last in 05 to the Steelers as the Seahawks coach. So, what have they done for you lately, Holmgren is going to take a year away from the sidelines; Gruden is still has on the visor and headset as well as looking for a Defensive Coordinator; Brad Childress will appear in the playoffs for the first time as a NFL coach. Does Shanahan really have to be stripped of his sideline duties. Their are only two coaches that have not made a Superbowl with a better record than Mike Shanahan (Sean Payton and Mike McCarthy). What the Broncos needed was a good Defensive Coordinator (not Bob Slowik)who can get the best out of the Baily Brothers and someone to make more than 71 tackles in a season.

Coach needed.... Please

Three more jobs were made available for Americas unemployed today and CBS analyst Bill Cowher turned one of them down. Former Pittsburg Steeler coach Bill Cowher stated that he would be interested in talking to the Jets about their coaching position and doesn't want to be considered for the Cleveland Browns job. Well, I'm not so sure that New York is the best place to be, with Brett Favre not sure about his playing status. The other quarterbacks on the teams have a total of four years of experience between the three of them. Other than Lavernaus Coles, who are their pass catchers? NFL runningbacks start their decline at the ag of 30 and Thomas Jones will be turning 31 at the beginning of the regular season; Leon Washington was a pleasant surprise,but no sure thing. So why the Big Apple over the Dog Pound? I can't see the blue collar Cowher on Broadway drinking Champagne. His style fits Cleveland where he played for three seasons and where he started his coaching career at the age of 28. I believe the job in Cleveland is a far better looking, because of the young talent they possess. The Browns have to Pro-bowl caliber quarterbacks in Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. These two QB's have Kellen Winslow Jr as a pass catching tightend a promising wideout in Braylon Edwards and Jamal Lewis who rushed for one thousand yards again. The issues with the Cleveland Browns were injuries to key player such as Winslow; Anderson; Quinn; Stallworth and Shaun Rodgers. I don't know of any team that can withstand year long injuries to such quality players. If I was Bill Cower I would seriously think about the statement that he recently made.

D-Day in Green Bay

Today we put to rest another great NFL regular season. This season has been filled with some outstanding plays by rookies, such as Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Matt Forte . We have also seen veterans relive their youth in new places (Bret Farve with the Jets and Kurt Warner in Arizona). But the story of the year is the D-day ....December 28,2008 for the Detroit Lions, because we could possibly see the Detroit Lions go down in history as a winless team in the regular season. The "D" could stand for devastation, dysfunctional and dismal, because all of these words could describe the Lions season. Detroit was devastated when they were dominated by the Titan lost 47-10 on Thanksgiving. The teams showed its dysfunction under Matt Millen also while the recently departed receiver Roy Williams roamed the sidelines crying for the ball and when Jon Kitna complained on the same sidelines about play-calling. Those two D's equal the dismal season that the Lions are having going into the final game of the year. The last team to that had a winless regular season was the expansion Tampa Bay Buc 32 years ago. This will be the first time in NFL history that a team can finish the regular season record of 0-16. The Lions already set a record for being the first team to remain win less after 15 weeks so they should just finish the job off. Hey, like old saying states "no one likes a quitter."

Greatest Gifts of All.

First of all I want to say, Merry Christmas, Happy Hoildays to all. With all that being said, I was thinking about the best gifts some of the most successful Sport Franchises have received over the years. In gifts I mean players they never thought would make a huge impact on their teams and change the culture of their Franchises. I think of the 49ers in the 80s; Bulls of the 90s; Patriots and the San Antonio Spurs during this decade. Instantly, everyone thinks of Jerry Rice or Joe Montana of the Niners; Michael Jordan of the Bulls, Tim Duncan of the Spurs, are the greatest gifts of all, I agree, but also disagree. I'm not saying theses individuals are not important to their sports and teams; I'm saying that their was a bow missing on the gift wrappers before these gentlemen joined their teams.

For example, the San Francisco 49er were amazing when Roger Craig rushed for over one-thousand yards and receiving for more than one-thousand yards. This was unheard of before Craig accomplished the task in 1985. Craig and his high knee running style was unusual and impressive for the second round pick from Nebraska. In college he wasn't the feature back. Roger Craig and his versatility was the greatest gift to the 49ers.The Chicago Bulls already had a superstar before this gentleman arrived in the Windy City. He wasn't even drafted by the Bulls, the person that everyone likes to call Micheal Jordans "Robin" Scottie Pippen. He was a seven time all star; two time gold medalist, and the key to slowing down Magic Johnson in the Championship series. Pippen lead the league in steals one year and the most important thing Pip did was wear those horrible red shoes in the 1994 all star game on he way the the MVP award that day. This gift gave the city of Chicago six NBA titles.Our next gift, blessed his team with their first Title and left the formula for them to get back to the promise land. Avery Johnson bounced around the league several times before he stuck with the Spurs in order to help them become champs. The funny part about his story is that he played for the Spurs twice before he was their point guard. His numbers are not spectacular in any stretch of the imagination, what he brought to the table was leadership. That leadership Johnson possesses has also lead the Mavericks to the finals as a coach. The last gift, is still proving his point and making everyone in the NFL sick. Tom Brady hasn't looked back since taking over for Drew Bledsoe. Brady has won three Super Bowls for the Patriots and broke the record for the most touchdowns in a season with 50. He has one blemish that hurts his career when he led his team to a 16-0 record before they lost in the Superbowl. Other than that Brady has been one of the most successful players that has put on cleats. These gifts have made their team some of the most memorable franchises ever. They are gifts that will be cherished forever.

Why Not Chad?

From 1-15 to 10-5 with one game left to go. That should be enough to carve the Dolphins Chad Pennington name on the Most Valuable Player of the year award. I understand the sexiness of picking the rookie from Boston College Matt Ryan as the Most Valuable Player of the year, but we all knew that Ryan was going to be an outstanding Pro Quarterback with his strong arm and accuracy. Yes, it is true that Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons have an identical record to the Pennington lead Dolphins. And we all know Pennington has never had the physical tools of Ryan, but he gets more out of his teammates than Ryan. Pennington doesn't have a receiver with more than 55 catches or more than five years of experience in the league. Their are no one-thousand yard runners or receivers. So, this is why Pennington gets the slight edge over Ryan.

Politic as Usual...In the NFL?

The first Tuesday of November the American public choose our new president; the second to last Wednesday of the year the NFL players selected the pro bowlers. These are the best of the best of 2008 NFL season. Well, that is what the NFL fans thought. Reported in the Chicago "Suntimes" Brian Urlacher stated'' If people like you, they're going to vote for you,'' Urlacher said. ''That's all there is to it. As a player, I vote for guys I like, not necessarily guys who have good years. If there's a center who's going to keep Olin Kreutz out of the Pro Bowl, I won't vote for him. I don't know if all teams do that, but that's the way I do it.'' That explains the usual politics in the NFL and why Phillip Rivers who leads the league in quarterback rating isn't going to Honolulu. I understand that his team doesn't have a winning record but, he is tied with Drew Brees (A Pro Bowler) for the lead the league in touchdowns with 28. Brett Farve is eleven interceptions away from that number. Rivers is the only quarterback with a rating over 100, Did I mention that he has thrown only 11 picks this season. The other backup for the AFC (Jay Cutler) only has 24 TD's and 14 picks; Neither stat compares to Rivers. Cutler's team record is 8-6 opposed to Rivers 6-8 record with two games left. This could change with Rivers team making the playoffs. If the Chargers make the post season does this mean that Rivers replaces Cutler in Honolulu. I guess that "POLITICS AS USUAL."

Where are the true marksman in the NBA???

Their was a time when all NBA coaches had a player who did one thing....shoot the basketball. In the 80's every team had it's own long distance shooter that everyone in the stadiums knew was shooting once he touched the ball. Names like Trent Tucker; Eddie Johnson(who has a blog with some of the all time great shooters; click the title); Dale Ellis and later Tim Legler and Steve Kerr held the position as the long distance shooters. These shooters made a good percentage of their shots and and didn't take an abundance of them. In today's game I can count on one had of the players that stand in that one position on the floor and shoots with success. Who can we say in today's game is a "TRUE MARKSMAN" in the NBA.

The criteria that the previously mentioned players possessed was range (with accuracy) and no conscience. Now,lets look around the league and find our shooters. Predrag Stojakovic; Vladimir Radmanovic; Hdayet Turkoglu and maybe Wally Szczerbiak are the players that everyone knows are on the court to shoot. Wally was once a all-star and no longer gets the minutes, so he is in jeopardy of being pulled off of the list. I know J.J. Redick is a name on every one's mind when they think of shooters but, he hasn't had the time to prove it and he hasn't done it in the league. Steve Nash is another one that I thought of but I look at him as a player maker and he looks for everyone else to be that "TRUE MARKSMAN". Dirk Nowitzki hasn't shown the killer instinct since he won the MVP award and what happened to his distances, so he is eliminated. Daniel Gibson of the Cav's doesn't have the body of work to be mentioned. Jason Kapono doesn't get enough time to be considered. So where are the true Marksman in the NBA?

Is Robin better than Batman???

Here we go again, another NFL season coming to an end with yet another botched Pro Bowl selection. The players selected the wrong Patriot receiver to represent them in the end of the season classic. I understand that Welker has 36 more catches than Moss but, tell me the last time the most catches won a game. We still play to win the game don't we? I believe that Welker should do something special for Moss, like give him a car. Maybe something like the Batmobile because Welker has surely been playing the hell out of the Robin character for the past two seasons. While in Miami Welker never caught more than 67 balls in a season, but he has recorded 214 grabs in 30 games with the Patriots. These receptions are due to Moss's ability to stretch the field and the double teams he recieves. So I believe that 15 catches of Welkers should be credited to Randy Moss. With so many catches one might think that Welker should have more than two touchdowns on the season with two games left to go. If we divided the total number of catches(102) by the total of touchdowns(2) Welker would get a TD after every 51st catch. Now if we did that same equation with Moss every sixth catch will result in a touchdown(66/10). So, with all that being said, Is Robin truely better than Batman?

Show me the money!!!

We all have said, at one time that these "athletes are being paid too much for playing a game". We'll I don't believe that they are paid too much because, of their longevity in their sports are not as long as our career with our companies. Can a person really play football for 30 years; how about basketball; people have come close to playing baseball for that amount of time. The money that athletes make in such a short amount of time is worth it because they will not be able to function as easily as most people after their careers. It's not our fought but, most athlete don't posses the knowledge to balance their own check books. The reason being most of their life has been spent on the practice fields. After the cameras microphones and reporters are finished interviewing; the athletes are lost. I forgot to mention the beating their bodies take and the pains they go threw; a prime example is Earl Campbell of the Houston Oilers. He is close to 50 years old and has a hard time getting out of bed. Phil Jackson has had hip replacement, knee troubles and he was never an all-star. For the money athletes make it is worth it because life after sports is filled with pain.

Worst NBA Draft

The 2004 NBA draft class has been the most disappointing in terms of players making the all-star game. It has been four years and only one player has made the mid season extravaganza (Superman the second) Dwight Howard. Superman might have a side kick in terms of a peer from the 04 class. This player should have made the all-star game last year and should be a lock for this season "Al Jefferson".Their have been productive players in that years draft, like Josh and J.R Smith, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Emeka Okafor, Kelvin Martin all fell short of the all- star game. Josh Smith has won the Dunk contest if you consider that to be an award; Ben Gordon has won the sixth-man of the year as a rookie, but other than those three...nothing. The 2006 draft class only has Brandon Roy who's made the all-star game but it is too early for this class to be judged.

Flopping Champion returns to the NBA

The NBA season has officially begun for the referees now that Manu Ginobli has returned to action. Ginobli forces the NBA officials to make calls based on his long arms flying everywhere even if their wasn't a foul. In last seasons playoffs he threw his arms in the air more than a women in church. During the off season the league has developed a new flopping rule so, now lets see if it will be enforced or how often Manu is guilty of flopping. Video reviewers are advised to report to the league if he or she sees someone theatrically flop. Manu watch out, the league will fine players for these theatrics. These rules should make Rasheed Wallace happier because he accused the Celtics of flopping in their 2007 conference championship series. Hey didn't the Pistons get blown out by the Celtics last week. So much for a happier and quieter Rasheed.

Life after Brady

Is it too early to think of life after Tom Brady? I don't believe so because, I have totally forgot about him due to the stellar performances by Cassel. Matt has thrown for815 and 6 touchdown in two weeks. Cassel has shown the NFL world that New Englands system is superior to every other team in the league and, Bill Belichick is a genius. Cleveland is now sorry Belichick is no longer their coach. Everyone knows the story of Cassel not starting in college, sitting behind Matt Leinart and rarely taking a snap. This is what makes him even better because, he has a fresh arm and he has no pressure to preform. If the Patriots rid themselves of t Brady it would further prove Belichicks Hall of Fame status, actually he should get a yellow jacket while his is coaching. Why not trade Brady; they have replaced everyone from Lawer Milloy, Troy Brown and Drew Bledsoe the same quarterback that Brady has replaced. and one thing remain consistence.. WINNING. Are we sure that Tom Brady will come back in the same shape and the same leader he was before his injury. He made a costly mistake in he judgement as far as going to his own doctor instead of the one provided by the team. He is clearly thinking about himself and not the team, so the teams has to think about their future and saving on the big Brady contract will enable them to get stronger and younger on defense.