J where R U?

Well, it's almost been a full month since the Cutler feud started and Cutler is still not in a Broncos uniform. In fact, Cutler has now missed more than 10 percent of the Broncos’ offseason conditioning program, which means he misses out on a $100,000 workout bonus.

Not all the news is bad, though. This Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt relationship might be smoothing out after all. Word surfaced this weekend that Cutler and coach Josh McDaniels have been communicating, which is a good sign if they hope to work together in 2009 and beyond. BUT, they have only been communicated through text message. Now at least they're talking but text messaging? Seriously?? Sending text messages back and forth is a fine way to find your friends when you’re out drinking on a Saturday night but it’s a god awful way to run a professional football team. Perhaps the walls will finally come tumbling down when McDaniels apologizes on Cutlers Facebook wall and Cutler tweets a response. Then the two of them can share a teary I-chat before finally, FINALLY, talking in person. That's wishful thinking though.

Both men, and clearly the term should be used loosely, should be mature enough to just sit down in a room and figure out if they can work together. Maybe they can’t which would be a shame but at least it would enable everyone to start the process of moving on like adults.

Carmelo Anthony

There are times like tonight when I wonder "Why isn't Melo one of the best players in the league?" Take tonights game against the Mavericks for example. He was magnificent. He displayed his full arsenal of shots, moves, athleticism, and just star power that the Mavs couldn't stop. There was a time in the game when I said "Just give the damn ball to Melo. He's going to score." I have preached that Melo has the best mid range game in the NBA and when he exploits this, no one can stop him. You give him room, he splashes the jumper. You press him too tight, he drives around you for the layup. For example:



But unfortunately, this isn't always the case with Carmelo. The fact is, he is lazy and selfish. He can be up their with the NBA elites but he needs to work on his effort. When he wants to, he plays hard defense. When he wants to, he is a willing passer. When he wants to, he is a very good rebounder. When he wants to, he is a good all around player. See the trend? So do I. The problem is that he already believes that he is up there with LeBron and Wade when truthfully, he is nowhere in that ballpark. Those two are up for MVP and Melo couldn't even make the All-Star team. They have both made the NBA Finals and Melo has never even made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Melo needs to get his hed straight though, if we want a serious shot at making a playoff run. It's games like tonight (42, 11, 2 stls) where he reassures faith that he is actually trying to take his game to the next level. I thought maybe all the offseason trade talks and USA Gold Medal would help boost his confidence and motivation to step up but nothing has really changed. His numbers are slightly down from last season (25.7, 7.4, 3.4 last year to 22.8, 6.9, 3.3 for this year) but then again, our team is winning more games... The one thing that Melo has on LeBron (and statistically everyone in the league..) is that Melo is clutch. He thrives under the pressure and loves big games. It's not his fault that the Nuggets haven't made it out of the first round and I think this year is finally the year that the Nuggets make a run in the West. But were going to need a heavy dosage of Anthony.

So with all that, I leave you with a video montage of Carmelo's game winning shots. I also had the pleasure to be at the American Airlines Center in Dallas to watch Melo come through, yet again, on the Mavs to squash there hopes of moving up in the western conference and avoiding the Lakers. I must say there is nothing more gratifying then walking around with your Nuggets jersey on while in a crowded hallway full of Mavs fans, right after your team just stole a last second victory.



Take that, LeBron.

Andre Smith

Andre Smith is falling fast. Usain Bolt fast. Smith was on his way to be the first overall pick in this years upcoming NFL draft and now there is talk about him not even getting drafted at all. If Andre Smith was the stock market, he'd be... well, he'd be a lot like the stock market is right now. It all started at the combine, when Smith did everything he shouldn't have done and then left in the middle of it without telling anyone where he was going. But it was thought that Smith would have a chance to redeem himself, at least partially, at his Pro Day earlier this afternoon. But he screwed that up as well. How much did he screw up?

"The situation has gone from bad to worse for Andre Smith. His bench press results were a pitiful 19-reps. His position work was also very mediocre. One scout has told us is it the "worst workout he ever saw" and a number of scouts are cranky that they made the long trip to Alabama to watch the pitiful workout. A second scout has told us "Smith lost millions of dollars."" - ESPN.com

"To put Smith’s workout in perspective, he did not post a single number that would have placed him in the top performers at his position at the combine and many of his numbers were not even close to the top 10 at his position at the combine." - NFL.com

Those are some pretty rough comments from some pretty credible sources. The king of hairspray himself, Mel Kiper, even threw out the notion of Andre Smith not even getting drafted. NOT GETTING DRAFTED?!?!?! How do you go from first overall to not drafted??? I haven't seen this big of a letdown since McDonald's took away the Shamrock shake for St. Patrick's Day. Smith's life has taken a major downturn. Just about a month ago, he was on track to become a big time name, had won just about every major award for which he was eligible, and was set to become one of the wealthiest people in the league, but now he's a guy without a college degree (he left Alabama after his junior season) who might not even have a future in the game. Ouch.

The good news about all of this that the Broncos have a serious, serious shot of landing him. Bad combine, 40 time, work out, etc. Smith was about as dominant as it gets this past year. Okay, maybe he only could rep 225 pounds 19 times (even though a punter did 25 times....) but there is no question that Andre Smith dominated defenders and kept John Parker Wilson bleach clean. That merits a 7th, even 6th, round pick selection in my book.
Man, now I get why Smith couldn't rep 225 more then 20 times. With man boobs like that I can't believe he could even lift the bar at all. Is there even any muscle in there? Shit.

Rockies 2009 Season Outlook

The Spring sun is shining and it's time for the Rockies prospects to shine themselves. Spring cleaning is in order and Clint Hurdle has some cleaning out to do in the Rockies locker room. Arizona is getting hot and if these young guns don't get hot then they will see themselves back in the Springs. If their bats don't get warm then they will be bench - warmers. Alright, enough of these cheesy play-on-words lines. It's that time of year when we get a good look at all the young players that the Rockies have been developing in their farm systems over the past few years. Let's take a sneak peek of who's doing what lately:

Eric Young - had a solid season in Double A and hit .290/.391/.392 with 46 stolen bases in 403 at-bats. He also walked 61 times (13.1 BB%). That's pretty sweet but that's also in Double A. Anything below .300 versus Double A pitchers is pretty bad but he can steal a lot of bases. I think the only reason we drafted him was because he shared the same name of his father and his father did a lot of great things for us back in the Blake Street Bombers days. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Monforts still think this Eric Young is the same as Eric Young Sr. The Monforts are very dumb and probably got very excited when they heard Eric Young was coming back to baseball. I bet they think Andres Galarraga, Vinny Castillo, and Daunte Bichette was making a comeback as well...

Omar Quintanilla - This guy just doesn't go away does he? He's like those beaten up, ugly looking slippers that you want to stop wearing but are too comfy to give up. May not have a lot of pop in his bat but he's consistent (hit over.300 last year) and is a great defender. Solid player to have around if Tulo or Barmes start getting dinged up.

Casey Weathers - the eighth overall selection in the 2007 draft. The right-handed closer prospect was having a solid 2008 minor league season before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the off-season. He’ll miss all of 2009, but "should" be ready to go in 2010 when he could make his MLB debut. Last season in Double-A, Weathers allowed 34 hits in 44.1 innings and posted rates of 5.68 BB/9 and 10.96 K/9. Obviously the control needs to improve and the time off will not help. Tommy John surgery is one of the worst surgeries that any player in any sport can have. It's death to pitchers. I am optimistic that Weathers can even make a comeback at all. The good thing is that he is still really young but it's going to take at least all of 2010 to get his groove back. Could this be another busted draft pick from the Rockies?? Let's hope not.

Dexter Fowler - the switch hitter had a breakout season in Double-A last year when he hit .335/.431/.515 with 20 stolen bases in 421 at-bats. He also made his MLB debut in 2008 and hit just .154 in 13 games with no extra base hits or walks. Some time in Triple-A will likely do him good. After stealing just 20 bases in each of the past two seasons, he could stand to run more until his power develops further (only nine homers in 2008). I hope he steals more because this kid can flat out fly. I was hoping he could have come in and replace Willy Taveras late last year but he disappointed me with his .154 average. Willy T is gone and now's his chance to show the wheels and make the roster. He's a dark horse to make the opening day lineup but you never know. Unless Podsednik or Gonzalez have a good first half, it's very likely that Fowler will be in a Rockies uniform by mid-season.

Seth Smith - after being the unsung hero in the Rockies 2007 World series run (5-for-8 in seven games) the Rockies outfielder lost his stride when called up last season (.258/.350/.435) in the 108 at-bats he posted. Now, I have never been really high on Seth Smith but he did show some potential at times. Seth Smith is that really unatheltic guy that just seems to make plays. You know that short, fat, balding guy at the gym that hits all the three pointers when you play a game of pickup. Yeah, that's Seth. I think his unathelticism will get overlooked and Hurdle will turn to the athletic studs of Gonzalez, Spilly, Fowler, and Young for opening day but you never know what's going on in the mind of Hurdle.

Carlos Gonzalez - A highly talked about prospect who has been the center peice to a lot of big trades (Holliday and Haren) but has yet to really do much. Supposedly, he can do a bit of everything and could be a 5 - tool star in this league but he looks a bit to raw right now. He has a shot at starting because our center and left field are still technically up for grabs but I don't see him beating out Spilly, Pod or Dex for palying just yet.

Jorge De La Rosa - Much like Morales, DLR has some flat filthy pitches. But can he put it together? Just like a box of chocolates, you jsut never know what your going to get. One night Jorge is throwing a gem with 10 strikeouts a no runs given up and then the next night Jorge is giving up 10 runs with no strike outs. The talent is clearly there but he needs to prove consistent.

Some intriguing prospects, none the less, but let's take a look on some players that can either make it or break it for the Rockies season:

Jason Marquis - A journey man pitcher who has had some nice years with the Cardinals and Cubs but never got passed the 3rd starter in the rotation. Looks like that's where he will slotted out this year which is fine considering we don't have much after Cookie and U-Ball. Apparently, his fast ball is sinking harder than the Titanic which would be a really nice surprised considering out Bull Pen is spotty yet again this year.

Ian Stewart - The kid can swing the bat. No doubt, but it's his defense that might merit him more playing time this year. As big as Stewart is, he can move like a short stop - big arm, quick feet, cat like instincts. The Rockies might have the most athletic infielders for their size in the league. Sure, Stewart is the future but Atkins is too consistent to bench and on a Holliday-less team, you can't afford to sit a player that has a .300+ career average and has averaged over 100 RBI's the past 4 seasons. Unless, Atkins gets traded than I see Stewart getting a number of reps at second as well.

Manny Corpas - Will he ever return to his magical '07 form? The guy went to lights out to syke out in the past year. He's just mentally not where he once was. His confidence is shot and acquiring Huston Street to be this years closer probably doesn't help him out either. The movements and velocity seems to still be there at times but he needs to prove he can stay consistent this season.

Huston Street - If his health was as consistent as his slider than he could be an All Star. He's got some filthy pitches and he has always had a low ERA but his only problem is whether the Rockies are riding him to finish games or if he is riding the pine while watching the Rockies finish games. Let's hope he can stay healthy because he would bring a much needed boost to the beatin' up bullpen.

Ryan Spilbourghs - It's time for Spilly to put down the jokes and put up some numbers. He's a good, athletic defender and a reliable hitter but I would like to see him take the next step in his hitting. Given some consistent time and a lack of true cleanup hitters, Spilly has the opportunity to break out and drive in some runs.

Clint Barmes - Much like Spilbourghs, Barmes is going to start and have a shot at proving why he deserves every day playing time. Clint isn't sexy but he's a damn good ballplayer. Very underrated defensive second baseman and a consistent hitter with a little bit of pop. Not gonna drive in 100 rune or jack 30 long balls but he can be a realiable 2-hole hitter and help out the guys who hit behind him. Clint was playing All Star caliber baseball before he got injured last year and he's going to need to revive that mentality if he doesn't want to split time with Stewart.

Brad Hawpe - What's Hawpe doing on this list? Well, he's not on this list because his playing time in in jeopardy, he's on this list because it could be a make it or break it season for Hawpe. He showed last year that he actually CAN hit against lefties and he finished the season really strong. So now with Holliday gone, he becomes the power bat in the lineup and our go to guy. I have never felt Helton or Atkins should be the 3-4 hitters and I hope Hawpe can break through because if he doesn't than our hitting might be really, really bad.

U-Ball - I think he will turn into our Ace by the end of the year. He's having a great offseason and looks to breakout. Want more? Click to the right where I already blogged about him :)

Thoughts going into the season:

The Rockies have a lot of young guys that are looking to prove themselves. The loss of Holliday hurts real bad but from the lead off to the 8th hole, the Rockies have guys that can swing the bat. Unfortunetly, their pitching is probably the worst in the division so another long season is ahead of us. Good thing Colorado has some warm summer nights in store at Coors because the wins column will be pretty cold. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Johan Petro

All I have to say is "I told you so." Like I expected, Johan "butterfingers" Petro was a bad trade and has contributed nothing this basketball team except for maybe a few extra jersey sales in the popular basketball country of France. If there not selling then maybe we should do what the Rockets did with Yao and design our jerseys to suit the local Paris fashion districts and culture a bit better. Maybe Stan Kroenke should get in contact with Dolce and Gabbana or Louis Vuitton and work out some sort of business deal to make "designer" jerseys. Actually nevermind, jersey's only sell if a player is actually good and Petro is not good. Pheww, the last thing I wanted to see was the Nuggets warming-up in tear-away capri pants and cashmere V-neck windbreakers.

Back to Petro. All he does is foul and turn the ball over. That's it. Hell, I’ll suit up and do that for the small price of locker room concessions and a few autographs. Petro leads the league in fouls per minute and averages a staggering 9.7 fouls per 36 minutes. That means he is barely capable of playing more than one half of basketball before fouling out. Cheikh Samb is better than Petro and we let him walk away for nothing. Everyone used the excuse "Petro has more game experience." Sure, Petro has PLAY-ED more NBA games then Samb but Samb is a better PLAY-ER. Games played doesn't mean anything when you just plain suck. Mark Warkentein, Nuggets VP of Operations, brought in Petro because we needed size (Petro being the only 7 footer on our roster) and a shot blocking/rebounding defensive big man to back up Nene and Birdman. Well, Petro has been none of that except for the fact that he's a 7 footer. Samb could have been all that plus more. Samb is 7 feet tall, younger, cheaper, and more productive. But yet again, the Nuggets front office fucked up and let Samb go in order to trade for a less productive Petro. Here are the stat lines for both players per 36 minutes in a Nuggets unifrom:

Johan Petro: 9.5 pts, 10.7 reb, 1.9 blks, 9.7 fouls

Cheikh Samb: 6 pts, 13.5 reb, 7.5 blks (No, this is not a typo), 2.1 fouls

Of course these stats are skewed because both players don't get signficant and consistent minutes but it's pretty clear who is the more productive player. Samb has a 7.5 (!) blocks to 2.1 foul ratio while Petro has a 1.9 blocks to 9.7 fouls ratio. I got laughed at when I said Samb was better then Petro and look who is laughing now. Sigh* Good luck Samb. You were a baller and I hope you eventually get good minutes with another team.

Back to my original point, WHY DID WE TRADE FOR THIS GUY??? Not only did we trade Chucky Atkins, who was a better PG then Carter and a 6th Man of the Year candidate 2 years ago, but we also gave Oklahoma City our 2009 first round pick for there 2nd round pick! Oklahoma must having jumped to joy when they heard that proposed to them. Here is how I picture the phone conversation going:

Sam Presti (Thunder VP of Basketball Operations and GM)"Wait... So your going to give me a better player AND a 1st round pick for our bad player and a 2nd??"

Mark Warkentein - "Yes, that isindeed what we are proposing."

Sam Presti - "Umm..... well, yeah. Of course I'll accept that. Why wouldn't I?"

Mark Warkentein -"Okay, deal. Thanks for all your cooperation Sam. We plan on doing businesss with you in the future."

Sam Presti - "Definitely! My phone line is ALWAYS open. Actually, you should probably go ahead and take my cell and put it on your speed dial."

Now I'm not a big fan of the French anyways and this certainly doesn't help their case but it sucks that of all the good French players in the league (Parker, Diaw, Pietrus, etc) we have the worst one. Why can't NBA GM's realize that European big men never pan out? You would think the Nuggets of all teams would have learned since they took Nikoloz Tskitishvilli over Amare Stoudamire in 2002 but apparently they felt that a "talent" like Petro, who couldn't even get minutes for the worse team in the league, was a player that would fill the much needed void. Now the Nuggets are limping into the playoffs with a weak front court that will get trampled by a team like the Lakers - especially if Andrew Bynum is back because Bynum will do stuff like this to Petro:

This whole Jay Cutler saga has turned into a classic 90's soap opera that keeps viewers tuned in every week. It's like Beverly Hills 90210 but out goes Tory Spelling and Shannen Doherty and in comes Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels. The blame of this goes back and forth every day with the whole "He Said - She Said" elementary game. First the blame was aimed toward McDaniels for trying to trade our future, then it was to Cutler for not growing up and showing up to meet with McD, then it was back to Josh for not working it out with Cutler when he actually did come in, then it was redirected to Cutler for putting his house on sale, etc. etc. etc. HBO needs to land a deal with the two and make a show called Dove Valley 80110. "Lies, deception, botrayal. Will this be the final episode? All new this week on Dove Valley 80110." Alright, I'm going too far. Sorry.

Anyways, let's disect these past weeks events:

March 1 - Josh McDaniels entertains trade talks with his former team the Patriots in order to work a deal out that would send Jay Cutler to Tampa Bay for Matt Cassel and a draft pick. - Now, this is the first big mistake. McDaniels opened up Pandora's box by letting trade talks get to far and not only that but he originally denied it and then later admitted it. Cutler finds out and refused to make any contact with the McDaniels or Pat Bowlen. Cutler skipped a scheduled meeting and said he felt betrayed by the organization. Now he's more pissed then Geraldo Rivera when he opened Al Capone's vault.

March 2 - McDaniels says that he had no intentions on trading Cutler and that he was merely listening to offers. Because as a coach, that's what you do. NO player in the league is untouchable. NO ONE. If McDaniels got offered Tom Brady and two 1st round picks for Cutler then you would obviously take it. Cutler needs to understand that EVERY quarterback in the league gets trade offers. Even Peyton Manning, even Tom Brady, even Drew Brees, and even you Cutler. This is just the name of the game. Take some notes from Donovan McNabb. McNabb is contently is trade talks and he even got benched from the team this year. Did he bitch and whine like a girl?? NO. He went out to practice the next week and won his job back.

March 3 - Trade rumors start to swirl like the Boulder Chinook winds. Cutler to Detroit, to Tampa, to Cleveland, to San Francisco, to Minnesota, blah, blah blah. None of which are worth the trade and McDaniels keeps saying that he will not trade Cutler.

March 14 - Cutler officially puts his 7500 square foot home up for sale. Apparently Jay's parents (who lived down the street) also put their home up for sale. I guess Mommy and Daddy were upset too. Boo hoo. That whole family is a bunch of whiny wimps. The Cutlers are the family that loses the family softball game to the cooler family at the neighborhood picnic (and then moves out of the neighborhood). BUT! Apparently this house was not Cutler's primary residence and he has been trying to sell it for months....

March 15 - Cutler finally meets with McDaniels but nothing is resolved. In fact, everything just gets worst and now Cutler has demanded a trade.

Now originally I put a big portion of the blame on Cutler for being a whiny baby (which is still partly true) but now I have transferred the a large burden of the blame to McDaniels. Why does he hate about Cutler? Josh, aren't you supposed to be a QB guru that makes untalented quarterbacks into good ones? Well, what can you do with a QB that actually does have talent??? Because last time you worked with a QB that had real talent (Tom Brady) you orchestrated the best offense in NFL history and Brady broke all the single season records. Hum..... Now why would you trade a talent like Cutler for a less talented QB in Cassel? I guess I just don't see you logic Joshy.

Cutler now seems like the good guy, though. "I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco." Cutler said. " I figured we’d hash things out, shake hands, laugh a little and move forward. What happened [Saturday] was the last thing I expected. If I didn’t think it could be fixed, I never would have come back to Denver." See, now I'ma back on Cutlers side. How would you feel if you went to work and your boss said "Hey, so were looking at other people to replace you but don't worry, you can still keep your job for the time being. We just don't feel that your a long term solution." Yeah I would be be pissed too.

Now St. Patty's day is tomorrow and I'm really sick of hearing about all this drama. I don't want to here McDaniels name for at least 24 hours. The only Irish name I want to associate myself with tomorrow is Guinness and Baileys. Maybe the luck of the Irish will flow McDaniels way and Cutler will come to camp and ready to play because McDaniels can't afford to lose Cutler. McDaniels needs Cutler because he can’t afford to start from scratch with a new QB and not make the playoffs in the next couple of seasons. If McDaniels trades away the future franchise QB and also doesn’t make the playoffs with another QB then he will get canned too. Then he will be looked at as another product of Bilichick’s system and it will be hard for him to get another coaching job.

This could end ugly ladies and gentlemen. Shit's about to hit the fan and I told you this would make for some good television. Get your popcorn ready.

Rockies flame-thrower Ubaldo Jimenez set a World Baseball Classic record on Tuesday by striking out 10 batters in only four innings of work, the most ever by a starting pitcher in tournament history. Now, I have seen U-Ball get hot but not this hot. I mean, were talking Bar Rafaeli hot. He was consistently clocked at 97 and 98 mph while making the Nederland squad look like your typical 40 year old, beer drinking, knee brace wearing, company softball team. U-Ball surpassed the old record (8) for strikeouts by a starting pitcher in the WBC by two, needing only 65 pitches to accomplish the feat. The funny thing is Jimenez left the game in a scoreless tie due to pitch count rules, and his Dominican Republic teammates were shocked by the Netherlands, who upset them for a second time, knocking the Dominicans out of the WBC.

Now I know Nederland doesn't exactly have lineup to drool over (only 1 current MLB player) but they still have a quality baseball team. Knocking off the highly favored Dominican Republic team (10 MLB players, 8 of which have been All Stars) is damn impressive. Ubaldo straight up embarassed them and I hope this is a nice indication of what the Rockies can expect from him this season. It's hard to get excited about anything is Rockies country these days but Ubaldo is a splash of hope from a franchise that is too cheap to keep a winning team. Ubaldo had a killer second half of the season last year and surpassed Aaron Cook as the number 1. I think Jimenez has finally arrived as an elite pitcher and he is no longer just a "prospect" or a "talent." I see his numbers this year looking like 12-6 with a 3.2 ERA. These numbers could (and should) yield a All Star roster ballet but due to the fact that he won't have the wins to back up his numbers (weak hitting, shaky bullpen) he will most likely be watching the Mid Summer Classic from his living room. None the less, Rockies fans are in for a real treat for the next few years. At least until 2013 when the club options are $5.75 million and $8 million in 2014. So, basically we have no chance of seeing him in a Rockies uniform past the 2012 trade deadline.

Renaldo Balkman is officially my favorite player in the NBA. Not only does he have dreads, look like a pirate, cheer louder for his team than the Nuggets dancers but he can flat out play. Balkman is an energetic, game changing defender that can guard anyone on the floor - from PG to C. He is quick enough to play the perimeter yet, tall enough to cover bigs. He reminds me of a skinnier version of Kenyon Martin. His offensive rebounding is unmatched by ANYONE on the Nuggets. We are among the worst offensive rebounding teams in the league and Balk changes all that when he is in. The Nuggets outrebounded the Clipper 17 to 5 tonight and I'll tell you that it wasn't because of luck. I saw the Pirate out dual Camby THREE times for an offensive board and we all know Camby is one of the leagues best defensive rebounders. That's saying something. Per 36 minutes, Renaldo averages around five offense boards..... He's not a shooter by any means but for some reason he is very sneaky on offense. He constantly gets wide open lay ups due to the fact that his defender loses or forgets about him. Pirates were always known to be sneaky....

At least Balkman is (gasp!) finally logging the minutes he deserves. If it wasn't for the pig not knowing what talent is then Balkman would be a Denver Metro household name by now. George Karl has to be one of the worst personnell coaches in the league. I mean how you start Johan Petro over Balkman? Petro statistically has the worst fouls per minute ratio in the league and doesn't offer anything on offense. Balkman brings the energy and toughness that gets the team going. It's funny because Balkman is better than Najera and yet, Karl used to give Eddie Naj 25 minutes per game. Pathetic. If Karl can't find a way to log him minutes then he isn't doing his job. Here's an idea George - how about you play Jones and Kleiza less and play RB more? Wow that was hard to figure out.

It was a Balk party tonight folks! Here's Balkmans stat line: 22 pts, 11 rebs, 2 stls. It's his intangibles that allowed us to win tonight. The Clippers are the slowest team in the league and Balkman burned through the team with his speed. He made the Clippers play into our game and they struggled to keep up. With Melo and Chauncey not shooting well tonight, we could have easily lost to the Clippers without Balkmans presence.

If this team wants to go deep into the playoffs then were going to need a healthy dosage of the Pirate.

So apparently Donte Stallworth is in a bit of hot water after he allegedly killed a man with his Bentley early this morning. There were no indications that Stallworth was drunk and/or influenced by some other substance but that's usually the case with these rich, young, high profile athletes. Now I'm not a forensic investigator but by looking at the evidence on hand (downtown Miami, 7 am on a Saturday, NFL offseason) I would assume that Stallworth was probably coming back from a late night out on the town and he wasn't exactly sober.


I really like Stallworth. I do. For one, he has long dreads and any athlete with dreads get an automatic bonus point in my book. Donte gets even more points because he looks a lot like Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne is currently my favorite rapper so any resemblence to him is a plus.

I was hoping that their was a chance that Donte could land with the Broncos. It's clearly not working out with the Browns and bringing Donte back to McDaniels system where he thrived would benefit us a lot. A burner like Stallworth paired with a bruiser like Marshall would open up a lot of touches for Eddie "Casino" Royal. Eddie will be used a lot like Wes Welker was used in McDaniels scheme but in order for Eddie to get the touches he needs to have room to work with. Stallworth's wheels will keep the DB's honest and Marshall will draw a lot of attention down low from the linebackers. That leaves Royal in single coverage with a corner and there isn't a CB in the league (outside of Nnamdi Asomugha) that can cover Royal one on one. The Raiders tried it with DeAngelo Hall and you can see for yourself how that turned out (2:20 and specifically 4:20 mark):

Don't you like how I was just talking about Lil Wayne and then he randomly appears in that Eddie Royal highlight mix right at the 2:20 mark? Man I'm having a good day.

Anyways back to Stallworth, he is a speed wide out that runs good routes and has good hands. If we want to utilize Cutler's arm strength then were going to need a legitimate deep threat. Marshall is too slow and Royal is too short. Stallworth would be a guy that could fill that hole. I have always felt that Stallworth has been underrated and over looked due to the elite wide outs that he has lined up along side with - Randy Moss, Joe Horn, and Braylon Edwards to name a few. The one season where he was "the guy" was in '06 with Philly. He tore it up that year and single handedly won me my fantasy league. Another reason why I love the guy ;) The only downside to Donte (besides this latest incident) is that he is injury prone. He is just one of "those" athletes that just can't manage to play a full game without getting banged up. You know the Marcus Camby, Clinton Portis, and Chipper Jones' of the sports world. But I am more than willing to put up with annoying day-to-day (DTD) tag that will come with his health status every week as long as he hits the gridiron on Sundays.

My dream situation would be that this incident actually play's into our advantage. The Browns are not happy with Stallworth's production and an incident like this (especially at this point in the offseason) is a great excuse to cut the receiver. Assuming he was not intoxicated, I would hope that the legal issues could be resolved through a nice compensation check thus eliminating any chance of Donte serving a legthy jail sentence. Then, McDaniels and the Broncos bring him in for a veterans minimum with backloaded incentives based of production and games played.