First New Year Take

Friday Special
Super Bowl Picks
Let’s cut through all the fog and pick the Pats to take on Green Bay in Super Bowl XLII.

Why?
It’s hard to pick against an undefeated team and I believe Brett Favre will outplay Tony Romo in the post-season. Part of me is using his head in going with the Pats, and part of me his heart, in choosing the Pack, when making these picks.

I would love to see Favre and Peyton Manning go at it in the Super Bowl, but it is hard going against New England – although, like most of us who know evil when we see it, I will be rooting against the Pats.

I wonder if the NFL will change playoff policy and allow N.E. special sideline camera privileges this month. My guess is no. There’s nothing like having a Super Bowl contender every year and cheating at the same time.

Cavs Backcourt
Mike Brown has gone to the backcourt that helped him win 50 games and got him deep into the post-season in 2007 – with Sasha Pavlovic and Larry Hughes teaming up again as starters. This gives the Cavaliers size, length and athleticism. Brown and company are hoping both players will shake off season-long shooting slumps in the process.

We see Hughes being dealt before the trading deadline. It just has not been a good fit with him in Cleveland. There are numerous reasons why, but the bottom line is the Cavaliers have not gotten their money’s worth with Hughes. He’s been hurt again and again, as is his history, he has played below expectations and he whines, or worse, lets others whine for him. The problem is finding someone to take that huge salary.

His old team – Washington – is a possibility, or an up temp Western Conference team. But dealing him will not be easy. However, think positive - if that franchise was able to dump Shawn Kemp, dealing Hughes should be much easier.
Pavlovic has looked lost since ending his holdout and signing.

He’s a teaser – a player that has the tools you look for in a big guard – size, athleticism, shooting range, etc… But he isn’t consistent enough to be counted on, night in night out. Plus, he has a very low basketball IQ, as we’ve pointed out before. That low basketball IQ is one of the main reasons he’s been unproductive since his return. He came in late and hasn’t caught up yet.

Trade Suggestion
We don’t like making trade proposals here unless they have some merit. So for what it’s worth, we would like to see the Cavaliers go after Shane Battier before the trading deadline. He has a high basketball IQ, is a solid defender who can cover most threes and some fours, and can stretch the defense with his outside shot. He would not come at a high price and would be a good fit with this frontcourt.

The Cavaliers need to improve their overall basketball IQ. Only James and Snow truly understand how to play the game the right way – and Snow is at the tail end of his career. The reason many on the roster are so inconsistent is because they don’t play smart basketball.

Roger The Dodger
Okay, now Roger Clemens admits to being injected, but it wasn’t steroids. And, his first interview will be with 60 Minutes this Sunday, and father time (Mike Wallace) throwing the softballs.

Question - Who will wake Wallace from his sleep during the interview and remind him he is talking to Roger Clemens not Samuel Clements, who Wallace went to school with? That’s a Mark Twain reference for the borderline illiterates in the crowd.

He (Clemens) would be better served if he just admitted it and moved on.

Think about it, the arguably the best position player of the past 30 years (Barry Bonds) and best pitcher from the same era (Roger Clemens) will likely not be first ballot Hall of Famers because of the stigma that surrounds them.

Steelers’ Turf
Can anyone explain why the Steelers, arguably an $850 million franchise or more, have a high school playing surface – and a bad one at that? This has been a problem since they moved from Three Rivers Stadium. Guys, there’s turf available now that looks like grass, plays like grass and doesn’t cause injuries.

For the cost of a decent special teams performer ($1 million), the Steelers can solve the problem. It's amazing how an organization considered a model for what an NFL franchise should look like would be so tone deaf when it comes to this issue. I don't get it.

Getting On Record
A friend recently made contact and reminded me he picked Adrian Peterson to win the Rookie of the Year Award before the '07 draft. Feels good doesn't it when you nail one? Good for you. I reminded him the formula involves having the stones to get on record early and having a high batting average to pack up that spine.

Remember - anyone can state the obvious, or what everyone else sees in the moment. A quality observer of this silliness sees what others don't see and has long-term vision instead of short-term thoughts.

NFL 07 Revisited
Dumbest move of the year - the Raiders not signing the #1 pick early and then compounding the mistake by not playing him more once they were out of it - which was very early (September).

Biggest Surprise - Patriots going 16-0. Let's face it, it's only been done twice in regular season history.

Best Player in '07 - Tom Brady had a regular season for ther ages. Now the pressure mounts even more. Since the 1972 Dolphins, mo team has entered the post-season with more pressure on it than the Pats.

Biggest Flop in '07 - The #1 pick overall in the draft, playing on a team coming off a winless season, should make some sort of impact. For whatever reason, he didn't.

Best moment in '07 - Seeing Ed Reed on thefield pleading with the coaches on the sideline to let the players play and stay out of the way after the defensive coordinator of the Ravens called timeout saving the Pats'perfect season just after the fourth down conversion attempt failed.

Best Game in '07 - See above. It had everything, including old warriors (Ravens' defense) making one last stand in trying to stop perfection.

Biggest Off-season Blunder - The Chiefs dumping Trent Green. That was the start of a downhile cycle.

Best off-season acquisition - No brainer. Moss for a #4.

Luckiest man in the NFL - Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati. His teams don't win and they embarrass the organization and city off the field on a consistent basis. The only thing I can think of is the organization is so cheap, he must have years left on his deal and they don't want to pay him to stay home and golf while paying another coach to fix the mess.

Biggest mystery in 2007 - How the Jaguars can make the post-season, have no player earn Pro Bowl honors and their coach (Jack Del Rio) not be listed in the top tier in Coach of the Year voting.

Most Over-Hyped Team - The Giants. They are a decent team with no pizzazz but they get a ton of air time nationally. Can you say big market/New York bias? Who cares about the Giants. If they were located anywhere else, hardly anyone would notice. The same goes for their quarterback (Ely Manning). Someone remind the New York press, he's not named Peyton.

Worse Draft Move - The woeful Dolphins taking Ted Gynn out of Ohio State. We say this one coming years ago when OSU nation ridiculed us when we stated he was not going to be an impact pro. The Dolphins obviously disagreed.

You have to work hard to go 1-15, including making numerous personnel blunders. Count this one among them -atleast after year one. Gynn gets to show he can play in year #2. The guys who drafted him and coached him don't. Such is the business.