Redskins Move For RG III Is Worth It

With all the talk about Andrew luck these days it's
easy to forget that many a great quarterback failed
to be drafted with the number one overall pick in the
NFL draft. Not only will this continue to happen as
long as a draft exists, but you can count on it to
happen once again in this years event as well.

Robert Griffin III, or RG III is of course who I'm
speaking of. I not only believe that RG III will turn
into a stellar NFL caliber QB, but I am also quite
confident that he will be a better bet to succeed at
that position than the aforementioned Luck. The trade
for the right to pick #2 overall in the 2012 draft and
ultimately get RG III is probably the only thing that
might get the Colts and Luck off the hook pressure wise
when it comes to the draft, and that's only because the
Redskins gave up so much to get him. First round picks
in three drafts and a second round pick in another are
quite the ransom, but if you really want to be fair
about this, and are willing to concede that not only is
Griffin not a lock to succeed and neither is Luck, then
it's only a small price to pay for the guy you want
RIGHT NOW. Normally when you pick first and your pick
doesn't pan out, he is eventually labeled a bust, but
that does not always apply to the #2 pick, because in
essence you had one less choice, and an excuse as well
if #1 does pan out for the team that picks ahead of you.
This year, that won't be the case, not with this trade,
and not with the price that was paid to move up to #2,
and yet I applaud the Redskins for doing this.

Though Daniel Snyder has never been afraid to pull the
trigger on the player he wants, at least this time he
has two guys who know something about football running
the show for him and playing a big part in this trade
in Bruce Allen, and Mike Shananhan. Though I have never
been a big Shanahan supporter, I can't really argue with
this move. It was brash, bold, aggressive, and the right
thing to do. Even if the Colts wise up and see what many
other people are seeing and change their mind to pick
RG III instead of Luck, the Redskins can always say that
they got the best QB in the draft, and that's what they
were hoping for, and save face.

I was kinda rooting for the Browns to pull this off, and
since they were early favorites in moving up into the Rams
spot, it's probably what drove the price up. Holmgren may
be a bright football mind, but letting this one get away
might prove to be a fatal for football in Cleveland for a
little while longer, and it seems as though the fans there
just knew this wasn't going to be an Eric Couch situation
all over again. Looks like Kyrie Irving is going to have
to not only pick up the slack for the LeBron departure, but
for some bad football for Clevelanders as well unless Colt
McCoy has a resurrection of sorts.

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Mad Stork Sports Podcast For 2-29-12

If you miss the show, here it is. Lots of sports
chatter to keep the brain juices flowing and as
always some off the beaten path stories that you
won't find anywhere else. Enjoy the Show !



Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Are The Rangers & Knicks Ready To Rock MSG This Spring, Or Will This Be An Overhyped False Alarm??

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Chris Trotman/Getty Images

For both the NBA and NHL this is definitely a very
big question, and one that they hope the New York
franchises will answer with a long run deep into
the playoffs if not a Championship in the end.

This is no in depth article that's for sure, but
I can't help but ask out loud, what can the Knicks
do in the post season with this new found success?,
and Are the Rangers really good enough to bring home
the Stanley Cup? I'm not sure I'm the right person
to answer either question outright, but here is my
two cents on this matter.

The Knicks as of this writing are hanging on to the
7th seed in the Eastern conference of the NBA, but
in order to make any waves at all they realistically
need to be 6th seed or better to ensure that they
won't match up against the Heat or the Bulls and get
knocked out in the very first round, and in turn have
to wait for next years playoffs. Their first game
after the All Star break last night was a resounding
win over an over matched Cleveland Cavaliers squad
that is still learning to play together after
a disastrous 2010-11 season and a very short camp
with impressive rookie sensation, #1 overall draft
pick Kyrie Irving. I wasn't very impressed with the
Knicks at all, no matter what the score was.
Cleveland was on the back end of a back to back, and
probably wouldn't have blown a 17 point lead under
normal rest. Couple that with the fact the Knicks
ended the first half with a stinker at Miami, had
extra rest pre and post break, as well as extra
practice time to get their act together as a team.
All of that tells my eyes that they are not ready for
the prime time lights of the Miami Heat and Chicago
Bulls of the East, and if they want to be, they still
have plenty of strides to make in a very short time.

The New York Rangers on the other hand have the best
regular season record in the NHL, period. So what's
the problem? Well they have the players, but are
they are they battle tested enough to get by teams
that have been there and done that? Henrik Lundqvist
is not only a front runner for the Vezina trophy, but
also likely to pull a Justin Verlander and win the MVP
of the league as well if he keeps up his current pace.
Yet the second seed in the East right now are the
defending Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, and though the
Rangers have had no issues with them in recent history,
you can't help but realize that playoff hockey is a
different animal altogether, and with the Bruins being
well beyond battle tested, this is a concern.
Most teams would love to be in this position for sure,
it just doesn't necessarily add up to a trophy though.

Though it's fair to say the the Rangers have far less
to worry about than the Knicks, let me put it to you
this way, if this were the NFL the Knicks would more
likely be compared to the NY Giants at this point in
the season, where the Rangers would be more comparable
to the Green bay Packers, and we know how that turned
out, don't we? No two situations are the same so that
was purely an example, and I do not foresee a similar
outcome, but I'm sure Jim Dolan, David Stern, and Gary
Bettman wouldn't mind little NY Giants type drama of
their own this year "In the World's Most Famous Arena"

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

The NBA Is Making Noise? It's About Time

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

All the talk lately has been about one guy, and one
team, Jeremy Lin and the NY Knicks, but for the NBA
it's been more than just that. Last year was marked
with all the talk of the Miami "Dream Team" the ugly
break up of LeBron, the Cleveland Cavaliers, their
owner and their fans, certainly not a way you want
your league to be remembered. Though it's often been
said that no publicity is bad publicity, this type of
publicity wasn't always so good.

Enter the 2012 NBA season, wait, what 2012 NBA season?
Lockout, public indifference, bickering among the ranks,
and the owners with a stranglehold around the players
neck. Not a very good start. Fortunately for the
league and it's fans their has been a little bit of a
turnaround even while it struggles to justify why it's
trying to squeeze in 66 games in so few days other than
to admit and be honest about the fact that all they are
really concerned about how much money they can make.
OK, enough negativity. Truth is there are a few nice
things going on in the league right now that are making
it appealing to more people than usual.

Like I said at the start, Jeremy Lin has made quite a
few headlines, and if you're on Twitter the one thing
you notice is that it's not just NBA people. Everyone
from Adam Schefter who covers the NFL for ESPN to fellow
MSG mates on the NY Rangers are constantly Tweeting about
this guy. The nicknames don't stop coming, Lin-derella,
Just Lin Baby, Lin-ing, and yesterdays favorite was
appropriately "Be My Va-LIN-Tine". As long as he and the
Knicks keep winning, don't expect it to stop.

Then of course their are the aforementioned Cleveland
Cavaliers who have found that their is "LAL", or Life
After Lebron. Stinking it up in the 2010/11 season put
them in a position to get a good draft pick and though
that doesn't always pan out (LA Clippers past 20 years),
it has so far for them. They have already won more than
half as many games as they did all of last year, and Kyrie
Irving has been anything but a bust with 18ppg and 5.1ast.
Until he had his concussion it was clear they were doing
much better with him in the lineup, and he returns tonight.
Believe it or not they are only two and a half games out
of the final playoff spot in the east, and there are still
forty games remaining for them. Cleveland can be relevant
again, and you better believe that their owner will try and
lock up this young talent before he hits the free agency in
a few years. And oh yeah, by the way, he's Australian.

How about those Sixers? 20-9 as of this writing and leading
the Atlantic division. David Stern has to be loving that!

The Oklahoma City Thunder leading the West at 22-6 is another
feather in the NBA's cap. Young vibrant starts ready to make
noise, and bring some of middle America into the mix. Gotta
Love it if your ready to negotiate new TV rights for the NBA.

The LA Clippers in 1st in the Pacific division ahead of the
Lakers? That's a double LA TV boom for the Stern. Shhhhhh

So many more stories that are worth mentioning, but I will
leave you with the Minnesota Timberwolves who finally got
their Ricky Rubio, and along with Kevin Love are only two
games out of a playoff spot out West. With Rick Adeleman
at the helm there, it's only a matter of time before they
compete, and make some noise as well as be fun to watch.

And don't forget the trade deadline that is right around the
corner. Will Dwight Howard be traded?, and if so where?
Does he make the Nets respectable? Put the Clippers over the
top? Change places with Amare Stoudimire? So many scenarios,
and so many more headlines for the league to capitalize on.
Difference is, this time they can smile a bit.


Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis