College Football Preview

I got started on my blog last week about my college football predictions and didn’t get a chance to get it out before the season. Tough finding time with a baby on the way, I can’t imagine how it will be when he actually arrives. Below were my predictions:

The Georgia Bulldogs were #1 in most preseason polls, but they aren’t the powerhouse pick as we’ve seen in previous years. I do not think UGA will not be there in the end. They may not even win the SEC. At best, I think UGA is a 10-2 team this year, but more than likely 9-3 (not including bowl game). Their schedule is too tough. If they had last year’s schedule, I’d give them more of a chance. If Stafford and Moreno stay for next year, I like them more next year. I know I may get hammered for my prediction because I’m a Georgia Tech graduate, but I’m being realistic. In case you’re wondering what I think of GT this year, I have no clue. I’m not sure how Paul Johnson’s offensive philosophy will work. GT’s schedule is not favorable either. I predict 7-5 for them. Here are my conference and preseason top 10:

1. Oklahoma 2. Ohio State 3. USC 4. Florida 5. Georgia 6. West Virginia 7. Texas 8. Auburn 9. LSU 10. Florida State

SEC – 1. Florida 2. Georgia 3. Auburn

The SEC is always tough to predict. It’s consistently the best college football conference. Florida has suffered a lot of injuries, but Florida is one of those programs where they can easily reload. As long as Tim Tebow is still there and Urban Meyer directing the team, I like them to win the SEC. I do admit, I’m a big Tim Tebow fan. He’s a great football player, a great leader, and most importantly, a great person. If you’ve know anything about Tim Tebow, you know what I’m talking about. Tim Tebow is about a perfect role model you can have. Florida’s schedule is more favorable than Georgia and it’s been forever since Georgia has beaten Florida 2 years in a row. Florida will have revenge on their mind against Georgia due to the end zone shenanigans UGA pulled last year. Auburn will win the SEC West, but will lose to Florida in the SEC Championship.

ACC – 1. Florida State 2. Clemson 3. Virginia Tech

A lot of the media is picking Clemson this year. Living in ACC country, I’ve seen this story plenty of times. Tommy Bowden is as overrated coach you will find and Clemson will lose 1-2 games every year they aren’t supposed to. I like FSU to bounce back this year. They still consistently recruit the best athletes in the ACC. The ACC is not top heavy this year, but if things are close to even in the ACC, I would always take FSU.

Big 12 – 1. Oklahoma 2. Texas 3. Missouri

I like Oklahoma a lot this year. All their tough games are at home this year and they returned most of their key players last year. It was tough picking between Mizzou and Texas. When in doubt, take Texas talent over Mizzou.

Big 10 – 1. Ohio State 2. Illinois 3. Wisconsin

Ohio State returned a lot of players this year. The also play in a weak Big 10 conference. I like Ohio State to beat USC on the road and then run the table. After Ohio State, it doesn’t matter, but Illinois has been coming on the past few years.

Big East – 1. West Virginia 2. Cincinnati 3. South Florida

West Virginia has a favorable schedule this year and can potentially run the table. Their tough games are at home. Pat White is back, but losing Steve Slayton will affect them in the long run. They will slip up somewhere. Cincinnati is my pick to finish 2^nd. They came on strong late last season and have improved the past few years. This year, they will reap the rewards. Unfortunately they play at WVU.

Pac 10 – 1. USC 2. Arizona State 3. Oregon

This is still USC’s league. They play ASU and Oregon at home this year. However, I will see them struggle offensively against upper tier opponent and lose to Ohio State. Sanchez is their QB. I think he’s a little over-rated. He was the QB when they lost to a 40 point underdog in Stanford last year. It’s a toss-up between ASU and Oregon for 2^nd. ASU plays Oregon at home.

Others – 1. Fresno State 2. Utah 3. BYU

Notice no Notre Dame. They are a 7-5/8-4 team at best. Fresno State has a lot of returning starters. Utah does too. I think Fresno has a better defense, so gave them a nod. I don’t think we’ll see any of them in a BCS bowl this year though.

National Championship: Oklahoma over Ohio State

After I wrote this, I saw that Sports Illustrated picked the same National Championship game. However, I picked Oklahoma, while Sports Illustrated picked Ohio State. Reason being is Oklahoma will be more battle tested during the season. Texas, Cincinnati, Missouri will give them big game experience. Ohio State’s only big game will be against USC. The Big Ten will be weak again this year and will hurt Ohio State in the long run in getting their players prepared. It will be a 3-peat of losing for Ohio State.

Quick Hit on the Olympics

Michael Phelps and the Redeem Team has dominated the coverage of the Summer Olympics. It was amazing that Michael Phelps won his 7th gold medal by .01 sec. Initially seeing the replay, I thought no way he won. Sports Illustrated has a frame-by-frame replay on its website that proves Phelps won. Check it out.

I've been intrigued by the Jamaicans dominating the sprints, particularly Usain Bolt. He's dominating and setting World Records with little or no effort. He's only 21, so we'll see him many years to come. He is a physical specimen. Imagine if he grew up in the United States and played football. If I was a college football coach, I'd start getting some connections in Jamaica to recruit some athletes.

Latest Musings - Favre, Olympics, Panthers

A few ramblings from the past week:

Favre - I don't think there was a winner or loser from the Packers-Favre divorce. The Green Bay Packers obviously wanted to move on. Truthfully, I don't blame them. Favre has held them hostage for the past few years. The Packers were ready to move on. I think they were very frustrated. They couldn't plan for their draft, look at potential free agents, and juggle the salary cap because of Favre's waffling the past few years. Favre finally announced he was retiring. The Packers moved on. They drafted Brian Brohm in the second round in case Aaron Rodgers doesn't work out. When Favre changed his mind, AGAIN, the Packers had enough. I really think if Favre would have told them, yes, he was coming back initially, the Packers would have been satisfied and would have accepted him. They could have used their 2nd round draft pick on a position need. Obviously, any team would rather have Favre than Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers felt they were being held hostage. Thompson and McCarthy were satisfied with Rodger's progress and felt satisfied with their team without Favre. I'm not going to question the Packers for this decision. McCarthy and Thompson have been good the past few years in judging young talent. They developed a lot of young players last year and their future looks bright. Grant, Jennings, Hawk all were very young players that contributed heavily to the Packers success last year. I still think they will win the NFC Central this year.

As for Favre and the Jets, this made them from who cares to somewhat interesting. They will definitely be better than 4-12 from last year. They made a lot of FA signings and have drafted well the past 2 years. Favre is an upgrade, but not as significant as a lot of the experts are saying. Sure, he may add a few wins this year. Realistically, how many more years does he have left. Would they be better in letting Kellen Clemens develop or take a flyer on 1 year, 2 max, with Favre? I think this team is a 9-7 team at best. Problem is, this doesn't get you into the playoffs in the AFC. Favre will bring them publicity and excitement temporarily. However, I think the Packers are still in a better situation this year.

Summer Olympics - I really haven't been interested at all in the Summer Olympics since the games were in Atlanta. However, this year's Olympics has a lot of intrigue and NBC has done a great job in presentation. I've heard more buzz about this Olympic Games the past few days from friends, co-workers, media coverage, etc. than I have for the past 2 combined. The USA Basketball team, otherwise known as The Redeem Team, gets the bulk of the coverage. I think they will win the Gold easily. Kobe Bryant has shown a lot of leadership skills this year and on this team. That's what USA Basketball has been missing the past few years. All these basketball superstars really didn't have a leader and we are seeing more team basketball rather than individual agendas. I think the 2nd biggest reason for the buzz of this Olympics are the location. China is the most populated country in the world and just like real estate, location sells. Even though I don't agree with China's political agendas and really don't trust them, they have done a great job being a host country and the athletes seem happy to be competing over there.

Carolina Panthers - Final musing is about my hometown team, the Carolina Panthers. Their 1st pre-season game has come and gone. The 1st string, for those that played, looked good. Peppers looked like the old Peppers, the O-line looks like the real deal, and the Defensive Line as a whole looked better than I thought they would. Coming into this season, I thought the Defensive Line would be their weakness. I would have liked to see Delhomme play a longer series. He played mostly short series thanks to the defense. It was just the 1st pre-season game though. The Colts had a lot of key players out, including Peyton Manning, so who know if this game really gauges anything for the Panthers. A better Eagles team looms this week. Let's see if we see promise again this week or if we got the classic Carolina Panthers tease.

Fantasy Football Draft Board

It's almost time for fantasy football. The first thing is the fantasy draft. I'm in like 6 leagues. How will I keep up with them with a baby on the way? I don't know, but we will see. Of course you should draft base on your league scoring and settings. My rankings are your basic rankings.

A lot of publications have their fantasy rankings now. I have my own set of rankings. I think this year will be one of the toughest years to draft. I don't think you should follow fantasy rule #1, which is value RB's the most. There are too many mediocre backs and teams are starting to use the 2 back system wisely. This is my philosophy and I almost always profit in my fantasy leagues with this philosophy. I'd rather have QB's or WR that I know will put up numbers than have RB's that could potentially put up great numbers, but have lots of question marks.

I'm only going to rank my Top 24 players. That should get you through the 1st 2 rounds.

1. LaDainian Tomlinson - Still #1, although not by the wide margin he's been in years past. Also, not 100% confident he will be one of the top players at the end of the season. Injuries may finally catch up to him this year.

2. Adrian Peterson - Potential to put up monster numbers. Showed last year how explosive he could be. However, his running style is prone for an injury. If you're in a keeper league, I would rank AP ahead of LT. Otherwise, I'm comfortable ranking LT then AP.

3. Brian Westbrook - Finally had a healthy year last year and his fantasy numbers showed it. A very versatile back. May not have the rushing numbers LT and AP has, but will boost his numbers in the West Coast offense with lots of receiving yards.

4. Tom Brady - Put up monster numbers last year. Probably one of the greatest QB numbers of all time. He carried a lot of fantasy teams by himself last year. Probably won't have the numbers like last year, but should still put up great numbers. Patriots play in a weak division, still has lots of weapons, and the Pats may have more to proove with their Super Bowl loss last year.

5. Joseph Addai - This is where I see the first slight drop off in player value. I like Addai and his production but he's also suffered injuries some. Also, it seems the Colts defense has gotten a lot more conservative the past few years. However, with Peyton Manning as his QB, his still one of the most dangerous back.

6. Tony Romo - This is where my philosophy probably doesn't coincide with the experts or differ from the expert fantasy sites. Romo put up monster numbers some games and carried a lot of teams last year. Unlike Brady, Romo was probably drafted rounds 4-6 last year and owners got lots of value because he definitely had 1st round numbers. He still has all of his weapons and it helps when your offensive coordinator has the freedom to call whatever he wants and is a former QB.

7. Steven Jackson - Even if he wasn't holding out right now, I would still have him ranked at this position. A lot of boards has him 4th or 5th. My concern with SJax is his weak offensive line. Also, Bulger seems to be on the decline. I like the way SJax plays. I can see him getting the yards, however, I don't see the TD's from him to boost his value.

8. Marion Barber III - Finally he is a #1 back, and about 2 years too late. He's always been a TD beast. However, the Cowboys philosophy is to split carries. Case in point with them drafting Felix Jones in the 1st round.

9. Peyton Manning - His surgery in the off-season had no effect on my ranking with him. Like I said earlier, it seems the Colts offense has gotten more conservative. Marvin Harrison is on the decline. Colts defense is good now, so they don't need their offense to put up big numbers. His consistency is too good to pass up at this position.

10. Randy Moss - He's really come full circle. Just when you think he's done, he comes back. Much thanks to Tom Brady though. He had outstanding numbers last year. I don't think he will match it this year, but the Brady-Moss combo is the most lethal combo in the NFL.

11. Terrell Owens - The Romo-TO combo is the 2nd best combo in the NFL. The league has gotten pass happy and the rules are more geared towards the passing game nowadays. Having Randy Moss and TO ranked this high is probably not the classic philosophy.

12. Larry Johnson - This point of the draft is the toughest part to rank. There a lot of RB's that you could potentially rank at this spot. Draw picks 12 thru 15 in a hat and you would probably have as much skill as ranking yourself. I put LJ at this spot because I think an early nagging injury kept his production down last year. He should be 100% this year and we could perhaps see the LJ of old and get value at this spot. Even though KC still has QB problems, LJ is still the man in KC.

13. Clinton Portis - Portis is the anomaly back that you think is going to be a beast and have a monster year, but it never happens. He had the beast year in Denver and never came close to match it. The year he busted loose in Denver, he wasn't highly ranked. Seems every year since, owners draft him too high thinking he will do it again. Washington's scheme is very conservative and they've never been consistent at QB. This year may be a little different with Campbell giving them some stability.

14. Reggie Wayne - I have 3 QB's in the 1st round. Their #1 target each should be highly valued. Harrison seems to be on the decline. Wayne has been very consistent and even when he was #2 to Harrison, he put up #1 numbers. This slot is usually a 2nd round slot. If you drafted a QB or WR with your 1st round pick, I'd consider taking the next highest RB instead and sliding Wayne down. If you picked an RB with your 1st round pick, I think Wayne is the best pick here.

15. Frank Gore - I have Gore ranked a lot lower than most of the experts. He put up great numbers 2 years ago. Last year, he slipped a bit and was very inconsistent. This was mainly due to the inconsistent QB play. Mike Martz is there now, so maybe they will get more offensive consistency. However, consistency starts at QB.

16. Marshawn Lynch - As a rookie last year, he showed he had great potential. He was the main man in Buffalo early in the season, which is tough for a rookie. Let's see how he does knowing he will be the man this year. Buffalo at times show they can play with the big boys, but then they lose by 35 to the Patriots and practically give a game to the Giants last year. Cold weather backs are tough to rank as they usually slide in the 2nd half of the year.

17. Ryan Grant - Didn't get a lot of accolades last year, but earned the starting job. With Aaron Rodgers at QB now, he could see a lot of stacked lines. However, I think the Packers have too many great receiver for teams to do this. Grant will get his. I think at most all he will ever be is a 2nd round fantasy back.

18. Willis McGahee - Baltimore's pourous offense doesn't do McGahee justice. Put him on a good team, I think he's a first rounder. I am very wary to put him at this high. If you took an RB in the 1st round, I'd probably take a WR at this slot.

19. Braylon Edwards - Edwards showed he was a premier receiver last year. He always had been, he just need a QB to get him the ball.

20. TJ Houshmanzadeh - This is the year Housh surpasses Chad Johnson. I think Palmer and the Bengals realize Housh is the man and is tired of Chad Johnson's antics. Production wise, he has more yards per reception than CJ. With him getting more looks than CJ this year, I can see him being a top tier receiver in the league.

21. Andre Johnson - If AJ wouldn't have gotten hurt last year, he would have been a top 5 receiver last year. His points per game was up there. Matt Schaub gave them a little more consistent play at QB last year. Even when David Carr was there, he still put up decent numbers. We all know how awful Carr is.

22. Larry Fitzgerald - I know a lot of boards have Fitz ranked ahead of AJ, Housh, and maybe even Edwards. I just don't like the fact Arizona was talking about trading him in the off-season. Arizona is going more towards the conservative approach with their coach's Pittsburgh Steelers philosophy.

23. Jamal Lewis - He had been a bust for so many years, he finally had a comeback season last year. It's hard to trust drafting him. However, Cleveland has too many offensive weapons to not rank him here.

24. Maurice Jones Drew - If he can ever get the bulk of carries in Jacksonville, he can put up good numbers. He's always gotten a good number of TD's considering he doesn't get the bulk of carries. His size has always been the worry for everyone, but he plays hard and has a great attitude.

Here are the best of the rest which may not be ranked as high, but can potentially have the numbers:

Reggie Bush - More weapons in NO (Shockey) should mean more offensive numbers for that offense. Their schedule is not very tough either.

Drew Brees - See above with more weapons in NO.

Darren McFadden - May be worth overdrafting in a keeper league. Downside is Oakland is still in chaos.

Calvin Johnson - Receivers seem to break out in year 2. Why not take a flyer on the best rookie receiver from last year.

When my big money fantasy drafts, I'll will post my draft picks.

Fantasy Baseball Preview

Its a few weeks before the start of baseball, which brings us to Fantasy Baseball. Most Fantasy Baseball drafts are in full gear right around now. My money league draft was last night. I won this money league last year. More through luck, than my shear genius. Fantasy Baseball is very tough. A lot more tougher than Fantasy Football. You really have to keep up with it a few times a week and most leagues allow roster changes daily. Also, in baseball, the middle tier players are basically even and there are a lot more to select from than with from football. Fantasy Baseball probably has 5 tiers of players as opposed to football with 4 tiers of players. In baseball, 1/2 the players fall into Tier 3, football you won't find such a majority in one tier. The head-to-head leagues are more fun than the classic roto-style or points leagues. You can have a runaway leader in these types of leagues by August and everyone loses interest the last 2 months of the league. Head-to-Head, most teams are in it at the end. I finished 5th in the regular season last year and ended up strategizing my way to winning the season ending tournament.

Most years, you have the runaway or consensus top picks. This year, it's different. The difference between the 1st round players is not much different than the 2nd round players. ARod is #1 on most boards as is mine. Even though an Ortiz or Vlad will put up similar or better numbers than Arod, his 3B position makes him more valuable because of the premium at the position. Here are my Tier 1 rankings. By Tier 1, all these players should be gone the 1st 2 rounds.

Starting Pitching:
Johan Santana - He's in a class by himself. Only thing that I am skeptical of is how he handles the change in leagues.

Relief Pitching: You should not take an RP the 1st 2 rounds. A lot of boards have JJ Putz as the #1 reliever. I have Papelbon as #1.

1B: Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard
Ortiz is the safest pick. Pujols has injury concerns this off-season. Howard strikes out a ton. Fielder has had 1 good year. Will he go through a sophomore jinx? If Pujols didn't have injury concerns, he's the clear #1 at this position.

2B: Chase Utley - No other player in his class. Put up unusual monster numbers for a player at this position. Alfonso Soriano is the only other player to put up great numbers this decade, but his strikeouts were very high and have since switched positions.

SS: Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins - Unusually a lot of top tier players at this position. Shortstop and catcher are the 2 most premium positions to have if there is a star at the position. The drop-off is very significant at this position. I kind of question Hanley due to Cabrera leaving the Marlins. I think this will affect his production. Most boards put Reyes ahead of Rollins due to the # of steals and runs. I would agree, but you can't go wrong with either. I would go Reyes, Rollins, Hanley.

3B: Alex Rodriquez, David Wright, Miguel Cabrera - ARod is probably the consensus #1 player in Fantasy Baseball. Consistently puts up good numbers at all the categories and at a premium position. The older he gets, the less steals he will get. He's not a runaway #1. David Wright has been a rising star the past few years and now can be deemed in superstar status. His numbers potential can be as good as or better than Arod. He needs someone hitting behind him. If Delgado can have a comeback season hitting behind him, I see MVP numbers. His number of steals caught me by surprise. I'm not sure if he will consistently be a 30-30 man, but more power to him if he does. Cabrera is expected to put up huge numbers in Detroit's loaded lineup. If he can do it in Florida, he definitely can in Detroit, assuming he keeps himself in shape. I would put him at the tail end of Tier 1 though. Some boards put Ryan Braun in the Tier 1 category, but I do not. You have to have some consistency before I put him in Tier 1.

Catcher: Victor Martinez - I'm not sure if I would put any catcher in Tier 1. Victor Martinez is clearly the best fantasy catcher, but I would say he's a late 3rd/4th round pick at best. Unless a catcher puts up prime Piazza numbers, catchers are a low premium. The grind is too much and a catcher rarely makes or breaks your team. Some H2H leagues, you can get away with put 0's at catcher to get better stats.

Outfield: Matt Holliday, Vladimir Guerrero - Outfield is usually the most loaded position. You almost find the best numbers in Outfield, but because there are so many players at this position a stud IF gets top billing in fantasy. However, the field is thin this year. Holliday and Guerrero's numbers do not even match up to any of the top IF players. At best these guys are late 1st round/2nd round guys.

Synopsis

If you did your math, I put 14 guys in Tier 1. Obviously it means you're better off drafting late than early. Here is my Mock draft for the 1st 2 rounds:

1 - Arod, 2 - Reyes, 3 - Rollins, 4 - Utley, 5 - Hanley, 6 - Wright, 7 - Santana, 8 - Pujols, 9 - Ortiz, 10 - Howard, 11 - Fielder, 12 - Cabrera, 13 - Holliday, 14 - Vlad

Tier 2 Players

Tier 2 Players are where most of the mistakes are. You will see a lot of owners reach at this level. Tier 1 and Tier 2 Players should make up the first 4 rounds of your draft. Here are my Tier 2 Players.

Starting Pitching: Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, CC Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Justin Verlander - These 6 pitchers are just barely a notch below Santana. If you include Santana, you've have 7 players in Tiers 1 and 2. Obviously, in a 12 team league, at least 5 owners will not get a Tier 1 or 2 SP. If you are one of them, go pitching heavy in Round 5 thru 8. The order I listed the pitchers are the order I rank them. With Beckett's injury, I thought about moving him behind Verlander, but he could be a Tier 1 pitcher if he was healthy. I was kind of wary of Bedard, but he possibly can shine on a playoff contender rather than the woeful Orioles. I still cannot believe the Orioles traded him.

Relief Pitching: Papelbon, JJ Putz - These are the only 2 relievers I would rank Tier 2. Remember, I did not put a reliever in Tier 1. Nathan and Krod almost fell into this tier. However, I see Nathan's Save Opps decreasing, and KRod lost some swagger last year.

First Base: Berkman, Texiera - I rated Berkman ahead of Tex b/c he's eligible for OF in some leagues. Tex is in a contract year, but my only concern is Atlanta's stadium in not the soap box Texas was.

Second Base: Brandon Phillips - I would rank him at the very bottom of Tier 2. I had a hard time putting him here, but the Reds are good offensively with Dunn and Griffey in the lineup. I almost ranked Cano here but there are several other 2B's that can put up similar number.

Short Stop: Troy Tulowitzki - Playing in Colorado helps. With Matt Holliday and Helton in the lineup with him, he should get opportunities. I did not put Jeter in Tier 2. He's not the stolen base threat he use to be and his offensive numbers have slipped the past few years.

Third Base: Ryan Braun - He put up huge numbers in Milwaukee's lineup last year. Like I said with Prince Fielder, his teammate, I would like to see more consistency. He has potential to be a Tier 1 player. Personally, I would put Aramis Ramirez in this tier. I think he will have a monster year with the Cubs this year. However, I cannot state facts supporting my argument, so I left him out to be objective.

Catcher: Victor Martinez - As stated earlier, there are no Tier 1 catchers. Victor is the clear #1 catcher, but at Tier 2.

Outfield: Carlos Beltran, Carlos Lee, Grady Sizemore, Carl Crawford, Alfonso Soriano - These are your next tier of OFs. I list Berkman as a 1B, but he would fall into the Tier 2 OF category. Which of these OFs you pick in your draft depends who you picked beforehand. Take the power numbers if you chose someone like Reyes, Santana in the 1st round. Crawford or Sizemore if you took someone like Ortiz, Fielder, Pujols in the early round. You can make up steals in the later rounds with your lower tier players. If you take Crawford or Sizemore, make sure to take the power numbers with your Tier 3-4 players. The 82 Cardinals may have won the World Series on defense and speed, but it will get you the cellar in Fantasy baseball.

Synopsis

Should have counted 19 players in Tier 2, totaling 33 for Tiers 1-2. Since Santana was the only Tier 1 pitcher, do not draft a Tier 2 pitcher with your next pick. You balance out your team with your Tier 2 selection. I'd probably go with the pitching with the Tier 2 selections. After the pitching is gone, go with the OFs or 1Bs, depending on #s/needs. Brandon Phillips and Victor Martinez would probably me my last 2 players in Tier 2.

In case you were wondering, here were my round-by-round selections for the first few rounds. I may have made 1 or 2 drafting mistakes, but I think my Tier system balanced my team very well. I picked 8th by-the-way:

Round 1 - David Wright, 2 - David Ortiz, 3 - Brandon Webb, 4 - CC Sabathia, 5 - Saito, 6 - Verlander, 7 - Torii Hunter, 8 - Posada, 9 - Rivera, 10 - Carmona

I may have went too high on Saito, but got steals with Verlander and Carmona. I've got a deep bench and back-ups at every position but Catcher, which is not that important anyways. Hopefully I can defend my crown.

State of the Carolina Panthers

Some NFL teams made some moves this week and the Carolina Panthers were one of them. The Carolina Panthers are my adopted NFL team. I grew up in Georgia, so naturally I rooted for the Atlanta Falcons growing up. I'm now a Carolina Panthers PSL owner and go to as many games as I can.

This week they cut Dan Morgan and Mike Wahle. Morgan has been hurt for most of his tenure and it was a complete shock when the Panthers gave him an extension 2 years ago. Wahle was cut due to salary cap reason. The Panthers need a lot of help this off-season. They are a .500 team at best right now and their record the past 2 years have shown it. Poor drafting, injuries, and poor player personnel decisions have caused their demise from NFC contender to pretender. The NFC is not as stacked as the AFC, so one good off-season can put almost any NFC team back into title contention.

This may be one of the biggest off-seasons ever for the Panthers. How is Delhomme's rehab going? Was Julius Peppers under-achieving season a sign of things to come? How do the Panthers handle his contract, which is set to expire? How do they handle the aging Jenkins and Rucker on the defensive line? With the release of Wahle, there is not much depth at OL. Ken Lucas has declined every year since he got here. What to do about DeShaun Foster? Will the Panthers ever get a good 2nd receiver?

I expect the Panthers to cut Colbert and Foster this off-season. Just makes sense. Colbert is obvious. Foster is aging and declining and could use the cap space. DeAngelo Williams is ready to take on full-time role. The toughest thing is deciding on how much to give Peppers. I don't think he should get Top 5 money. He is reminding me of Jevon Kearse. Kearse was defined as 'The Freak' in Tennessee his rookie year. Had a good first few years. Then, the Philadelphia Eagles got him for big bucks at about the same stage Peppers is at now and has under achieved. This year's draft will make or break the team. Their biggest needs are DL and Secondary help. They desperately need a #2 receiver, but maybe Jarrett can live up to his potential. I'm sure they'll signed a veteran receiver in the off-season. If this year's draft turns out to be a bust, we can say bye-bye to Fox and Hurney.

Numero UNO the Underdog

Normally I don't watch the Westminster Dog Show, but this year there is a big buzz about a Beagle named Uno. We have a beagle name Poker. No, I didn't name him. We adopted him from the pound at 8 months old about 4 years ago. My wife has always loved beagles and I thought it was fate that we adopt a dog named Poker. A beagle has never won Best In Show, which is the top prize at the dog show. He will be the true Underdog (A Beagle was used as Underdog last year, the superhero dog). Beagles are great dogs. Very fun-loving, very loyal, can be stubborn at times due to his nose getting in trouble. They are not big, so they can't get over aggressive. Kids love beagles because they are playful. Women love beagles because they are very good looking dogs, mainly due to their color scheme. Of course, Snoopy was a beagle. As a lot of the media outlets are saying, it would be great that an All-American dog wins rather than the fluffy fru-fru dogs. Myself, my wife and Poker will be rooting for Uno tonight.

Picks for Tonight:

UNC -8.5 (UVA is in a big time funk)
Butler -6 (Recommended by a friend)