Could a professional hockey player also play soccer? Could an NBA legend be force on the football? Sadly for us sports fans, we will never know the answers to these questions but if I had to draft an offensive fantasy football team of only other sport athletes, it would look like this.
QB: Rob Dibble
(6'4", 230 Cincinnati Reds Pitcher)
Dibble is nasty enough to probably be able to also start on the defensive front seven but he seemed too important to our team as the Quarterback. Dibble will be big enought to see over the offensive line and thick enough to take a hit without getting hurt, but its the cannon attached to his right shoulder that will be the most helpful. Any pitcher that can throw a ball 400 feet into the stands hard enough to injury a person will be able to fit a throw into the small windows of the NFL
RB: Allen Iverson
(6'0", 165 Philadelphia 76ers Point Guard)
Iverson's speed, quickness and lateral agility will allow him to be elusive enough to hit holes with speed and the vision as a point guard to make the proper reads off of his blockers. Iverson will also bring a little thug and attitude to the team. Plus he will be a big fan that with the new CBA he will only be forced to practice 1 or 2 times a week.
WR: LeBron James
(6'8", 250 Miami Heat Small Forward)
The All-State Wide Receiver at St. Vincent/St. Mary will be the number one option in an explosive passing game. James has the speed for the deep route while also being big enough to go over the middle and take a pounding. LeBron's real value will show up in the Redzone when Dibble can simply loft the ball high into the air and let The King go up and grab it for 6.
WR: Usain Bolt
(6'5", 190 Olympic Record Sprinter)
Bolt will be lined up opposite of James and be used primarily as a deep threat and on wide receiver screens. Bolt will also come in handy on reverses and in the return game. In the open field, no one can catch him.
Drexler is going to line up in the slot and play a Wes Welker type role. He will use his length to help him against linebackers. His toughness has never been questioned so there is no doubt that he can take hits going over the middle. The combo of James, Bolt and Drexler should be able to find holes in the defense all over the field and exploit many mismatches. TE: Kevin Love
(6'10", 260 Minnesota Timberwolves Power Forward)
Love is another tall receiver for Dibble to locate. Due to his size, he will also be helpful in opening holes for Iverson to run through and can also stay in to pass block as his feet are quicker than normal men his size. Love has shown off his strong hands by leading the league in rebounds and having the ability to throw full court chest passes, so he should be able to haul in any pass thrown his direction.
LT: Kyle Farnsworth (6'4", 230 Tampa Bay Rays Middle Reliever)
Farnsworth is a big tough individual who could start at linebacker for this team as well but it was decided that left tackle was too important to not put possibly the toughest guy. As Paul Wilson learned in this video, you did not want to try to rush Farnsworth or you will pay. This would technically be a hold on Farnsworth but I think the power in which he could block is obvious.
LG: Cecil Fielder
(6'3", 230 First Basemen) Lining Fielder up next to Farnsworth is done on purpose. Farnsworth is the quick athletic tackle to pair with the monsterous Fielder to thwart any pass rushers. The pure mass of Fielder would prevent many defensive players from making an impact, and that is without taking into account the level of athleticism Fielder also possesses. Good luck to any DTs trying to get to Dibble.
C: Robert Tractor Traylor
(6'8", 290 NBA Center)
Traylor, already a center, will not have to adjust to his new role too much. He will bring quickness and athleticism for a near 300 pound individual while also having the ability to knock defenders off the line with ease. The only downside to have Traylor anchor the line is that he has never been confused with a genius, so hopefully he can handle reading the defense.
RG: Mo Vaughn
(6'1", 225 First Basemen)
Bookmarking the First Baseball combo at guards is Mo Vaughn. Vaughn is a little short for a typical lineman but his stocky build will help him drive the defender off the line and be an asset in the running game.
RT: George Foreman
(6'4, 267 Professional Boxer)
The former World Champ will anchor the right side of the line and use his boxing instincts to help protect Dibble. The quick feet and quick hands used to gain the belt will allow Foreman to control the line of scrimmage.
Since last week, the entire landscape of college basketball has once again flipped. The season of upsets and top ranked teams getting beat has continued, and guess what folks: that is excellent for the fans and the game itself! Personally, I can not remember a more exciting college basketball season than this year for the simple fact that each and every night I can turn on the television and watch a great game. In years past there would be maybe 2 or 3 big upsets each season but that is happening weekly this go around. Since Last Week: 3 of my projected number 1 seeds lost! 1 of the projected number 2 seeds and 1 of the projected number 4 seeds also lost once while a second number 2 seed lost TWICE. That means that 6 of the top 16 projected seeds suffered 7 total losses this week, or 38% of the teams. Yes, that could simply mean that I am just terrible at projecting seeds but the real truth is that this season is becoming impossible to project, but I'll keep trying, with that said....
Number 1 Seeds (Listed in order of overall ranking) [Previous ranking] Gonzaga [4]
Duke [5]
Indiana [1]
Michigan [7]
Number 3 Seeds
Louisville [10]
Michigan St [6]
Georgetown [13]
New Mexico [12]
Number 4 Seeds
Oklahoma St. [14]
Syracuse [8]
Kansas St. [16]
Ohio St. [NR]
Fit that Glass Slipper (Possible Cinderellas)
Creighton - McDermott is the best offensive player in the nation, remember what happen when Steph Curry was the best offensive player in the nation?
Illinois - They will probably end up at an 8 or 9 seed which may make them a little high for a Cinderella but John Groce knows how to coach in a tournament and the Illini have a lot of talent.
Davidson- Always tough in the tourney. 3 of 7 losses are against Gonzaga, Duke and New Mexico. Teams Bound to be Seeding Too High and Have High Upset Potential
Marquette
Colorado St
Oregon
Bubble Watch Resumes Ole Miss (20-7, 9-5) RPI: 58 BPI: 24 SOS: 156 Good Wins: Missouri (H), Tennessee (Twice) Bad Losses: South Carolina
Record vs RPI: 1-25: 0-1 26-50: 1-3 51:100: 3-2 101+ : 16-1 Ole Miss is currently the last team in the field accoding to Joe Lunardi and ESPN Bracketology, which blows my mind. While Ole Miss does not currently have many bad losses, the fact that their best wins are against Missouri and Tennessee shows you how little they have accomplished this season. The combined record of 1-4 against top 50 RPI squads does not help the Rebels prove that they can beat teams that would be playing against them in the tournament. Lunardi is normally spot on with his predictions, but this is a bit of a head shaker. In or Out? I see no way, short of winning the conference tournament, that Ole Miss goes dancing this season. An SOS of 156 is way to high to be able to argue that you belong with the most elite teams in the nation while you have not proven that you can beat anyone of substance. Villanova (17-11, 9-7) RPI: 55 BPI: 62 SOS: 37 Good Wins: Louisville (H), Syracuse (H), @ UCONN, Marquette Bad Losses: @ Seton Hall, Columbia (H) Record vs RPI: 1-25: 3-1 26-50: 1-5 51-100: 2-3 101+: 11-2 Battling night after night in the Big East or the Big Ten is what allows teams with double digit loses to get into the Big Dance. Villanova is trying to be this years example of such a team by posting double digit loses already to this point but at the same time setting themselves up to be right in tournament discussions. Being over .500 in one of the toughest conferences in the nation is a certain plus as are big wins over Louisville and Syracuse. The question with Nova is the whether they can overcome the terrible loss to Columbia. In or Out? If it were Selection Sunday today, I'm thinking that Villanova is in the tourney as a number 12 seed but not in a playoff game. If they can manage a win either at Pitt or against Georgetown to end the season, then they are certainly in but if not then they might be forced to win one Big East Championship game if they want to feel secure on March 17.
So your team just finished the baseball season with a dismal 72-90 record, while finishing 5th in their division and 13 games out of 1st place. They haven't posted a winning record in 7 seasons and the future does not look bright as your lineup consists of multiple aging players and an unproductive minor league system. This leads to the hiring of a new manager.
Now speed ahead 5 years and your team has finished with their second division title in those five seasons, two 90 plus win seasons, and a bright future thanks to a solid core group of young players just entering their prime. In the last five seasons, your team has compiled a record of 419-391. The typical baseball fan would be ecstatic about such a turnaround and most likely would be declaring their manager, "The Best in Baseball". True or not these declarations would be heard in almost any city in Major League Baseball, except Cincinnati.
Johnnie B. Baker was hired by the Reds in after the 2007 season in order to bring some experience and success to Cincinnati. Mostly remembered for the failure of the Cubs to reach the World Series, thanks in large part to Steve Bartman, actually that is not true. Moises Alou had no shot at catching that fly ball and if he had simply jogged back to his position like a normal player then Bartman's life would not have been ruined. Sorry got off topic. Where was I? Oh yeah, Baker is remembered as the manager of the Cubs team that should have made the World Series, but did not. The fact that he was very successful the first three years of his stint in Chicago tends to be overlooked. Baker was 26 games over .500 as the manager of the Cubs before they gave him a AAA team to put on the field in 2006 which resulted in a 66-96 record.
For some reason, unknown to me, this one bad season led to Baker being labeled as a poor manager and as someone that ruins young players and prefers veterans even if they are not as talented (I'll get to this later). This label is outrageous and Baker is forced to put up with way more scrutiny than any successful manger ever should.
Let's start by debunking some of the myths that follow Baker around.
Firstly, the idea that Baker "ruined" the career of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood is simply an excuse that Cubs fan use in order to cope with the heartbreak. For starters, anyone vaguely familiar with baseball could have told you that Wood would experience arm problems simply because of the herky jerky motion in which he pitches. As for Prior and his "can't miss" abilities, he fell victim to the injury bug as well but not by any doing of Baker's overuse (as claimed by those who are anti-Baker). Early is his career Prior suffered injuries while running the bases, getting hit by a line drive and an unrelated Achilles Tendon injury. Prior did go on to suffer arm and shoulder injuries later in his career but they have been attributed to his delivery and not to the amount of innings that Baker asked him to pitch as a young starter.
The second outlandish myth is that Baker would rather play a veteran over a rookie regardless of ability. This is simply untrue. By all accounts, Dusty Baker is a great "player or locker room" manager who knows exactly what is important to the flow and energy of the team. He goes out of his way to speak Spanish with any Spanish speaking players, learning hunting techniques to be able to communicate with players better (Homer Bailey), and is apparently a very avid listener of all types of music which allows him to connect better with the young guys. What does this have to do with playing a veteran over a rookie you ask? Well Dusty has been excellent at pinpointing veterans who's simple presence on the field help the team even if they are struggling a bit while playing, and he is incredibly loyal to players that in his mind have earned the right to have his loyalty. What this allows is an environment that all players want to play in and an environment where a player will run through a wall for their manager. Yes, last season Scott Rolen was given a long leash even when everyone else wanted Todd Frazier to start every day, but Baker stuck with Rolen as a method of protecting Frazier. Multiple times Baker would point out that Frazier was sitting because the Reds were facing a pitcher that threw a lot of off speed pitches and those simply would not Frazier's strong point so he would rather play him against teams in which he can have success. So in response to all of those naysayers who claim that Baker never plays younger guys, they apparently overlook Zach Cozart last season, Jay Bruce early in his career, Joey Votto playing nearly every day once called up, and even Todd Frazier last season, maybe if you step back and stop looking for reasons to complain about Baker and instead recognize that he does things that will help his younger guys in the long run - such as protecting their confidence and putting them in better situations to succeed.
Day in and day out in Cincinnati there are large masses of "fans" that want to argue and complain about every lineup that Baker puts on the field. Number 1: If he was not good at his job, he would not have been awarded Manager of the Year on three occasions. Also, you do not know more about baseball or managing a team than Baker does and if you think you do, please refer yourself to my recent post about annoying fans because it may have been written indirectly about you. Last year, every Joe Reds fan wanted to move Ryan Hanigan up to the number two hole or even lead off simply because of his on base percentage. What most of those fans did not take into account is that fact that Hanigan's OBP was greatly helped by being an #8 hole hitting on an NL team which results in pitchers pitching around him to get to the pitcher on deck. These are the types of things that Dusty Baker gets paid millions of dollars to consider and judging by his team winning 97 of their games, he is doing his job well.
I am imploring the Reds fan base this season to rather than complaining and nitpicking on every move that Baker makes, let's instead celebrate the fact that we have a very successful manager leading our team. If you ever start to waver on the fact that he is a top flight manager and great for this city and the Reds, just think back to the days of Bob Boone or Jerry Narron and then remember that Baker is at the helm of a squad searching for their third NL Central crown in in 4 years.
For every Corey Patterson in Baker's career there is also a Zach Cozart and for every Mark Prior there is also a Johnny Cueto. Have faith and trust in the man leading your team this season. Let's spend the summer cheering and supporting the Reds rather than trying as hard as possible to find reasons to whine and complain. In Dusty we Trusty!
With March quickly approaching and the college basketball season rapidly coming to a close, it is almost time for the greatest month of the year: March. And with March comes all the glory of brackets, bubble teams, snubs and Cinderellas along with upsets, anger, and calling in sick to work. Locally, there are multiple teams that are, at most, bubble teams and mostly having down seasons. Cincinnati and Kentucky are staring the bubble right in the eye while Xavier seems destined to be watching the entire tournament on TV. The normal strength of this region in the tournament will be a weakness this year unless someone makes a surprise run in their conference tournament. Nationally, the fight for the overall number 1 seed has not been settled as there are multiple teams vying for the 1 seeds. This is the case because of the lack of a single dominate team in the nation. While it is only February and a lot of things can and will change between now and Selection Sunday, here is my Pre-March Tournament Preview and Predictions.
Number 1 Seeds (overall seed in parenthesis)
Indiana (1)
Florida (2)
Miami (3)
Gonzaga (4)
Number 2 Seeds
Duke (5)
Michigan St. (6)
Michigan (7)
Syracuse (8)
Number 3 Seeds
Kansas (9)
Louisville (10)
Arizona (11)
New Mexico (12)
Number 4 Seeds
Georgetown (13)
Oklahoma St.(14)
Butler (15)
Kansas St (16)
All Tournament Team
G: Trey Burke
G: Shane Larkin
G: Victor Oladipo
F: Doug McDermott
C: Cody Zeller National Champion
Indiana
Bubble Watch Resumes Cincinnati (19-8, 7-7) RPI: 40 BPI: 24 SOS: 28 Good Wins: Oregon (N), @ Pittsburgh, Marquette (H), Alabama (H) Bad Losses: St. Johns (H), @ Providence
Record vs RPI: 1-25: 1-3 26-50: 3-3 51:100: 5-2 101+ : 10-0 Cincinnati started the season out very strong against a sub par level of competition which included the likes of Tennessee Martin, North Carolina A&T, and Campbell. Despite the lack of top flight competition UC began the season on a 12 game winning streak that included three neutral site victories over Oregon, Iowa St., and Xavier. The problems for this team began in Big East play and due to some untimely injuries. Since Big East play has began, UC has struggled to get that big win to put them over the top and their offense has been abysmal as they currently sit at 272nd in college basketball in field goal percent (41%) and 121st in points (69.7). Staying with tradition, Cincinnati stays in games thanks to tough defense and being the 6th best rebounding team in the nation. They still have the possibility of making a late season run because their defense keeps them in all games (they have lost 8 games by a total of 38 points). In or Out? I think at this point UC is in at about an 8 seed but if they continue to lose games at their current pace, then they may find themselves in a "needing to win 2 Big East tourney games" situation. Their SOS,RPI, and BPI are far too high to keep them out. Kentucky (18-8, 9-4) RPI: 48 BPI: 43 SOS: 69 Good Wins: @ Ole Miss, Bad Losses: @ Tennessee (By 30 pts) Record vs RPI: 1-25: 0-3 26-50: 0-1 51-100: 4-4 101+: 14-0 Pounded by the departure of many play makers from last season's Wildcat team, Kentucky knew that they would not be the dominate force that they had been the past few season, but they did not expect this. Kentucky has managed to stay afloat in the bubble talk by beating pretty much everyone that they are supposed to beat, but also have not beat anyone they should not have, Old Miss excluded. The argument for Kentucky to be in the NCAA tournament was shaky before the injury to Nerlens Noel but it becomes even more shaky with the loss of the Freshman phenom. Unfortunately for Kentucky, their remaining schedule does not allow for many big wins the remainder of the year with the exception of the March 9 match up with Florida. Their schedule does allow for some bad losses. My guess would be that the Wildcats will win all their remaining games except Florida which would bring their record to 22-9 but still lacking any big win. In or Out? At this point, I believe that UK will be headlining the NIT if something drastic does not occur between now and the end of the season, ie advancing to the SEC tourney championship. Being 0-4 vs RPI top 100 and a SOS as low as 69, it appears unlikely that UK could make the tourney without improving this profile drastically.
Dibble is nasty enough to probably be able to also start on the defensive front seven but he seemed too important to our team as the Quarterback. Dibble will be big enought to see over the offensive line and thick enough to take a hit without getting hurt, but its the cannon attached to his right shoulder that will be the most helpful. Any pitcher that can throw a ball 400 feet into the stands hard enough to injury a person will be able to fit a throw into the small windows of the NFL
Lining Fielder up next to Farnsworth is done on purpose. Farnsworth is the quick athletic tackle to pair with the monsterous Fielder to thwart any pass rushers. The pure mass of Fielder would prevent many defensive players from making an impact, and that is without taking into account the level of athleticism Fielder also possesses. Good luck to any DTs trying to get to Dibble. 
