Mock Draft 2.0

With the NFL Draft under 24 hours away, the last mock drafts are coming in. There have been movers and shakers in the first round; whether it’s prospects that have draft stocks that are rising or falling, there are changes being made. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is the projected number one pick but after that, picks 2-224, are anyone’s guess. If Winston doesn’t go number one could it be Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota? Maybe USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams? There are plenty of questions to be answered starting tomorrow night in Chicago, for now we look at just a few more mock drafts.

1. Tampa Bay- Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2. Tennessee (trade with Phil) Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3. Jacksonville- Leonard Williams, DL, USC
4. Oakland- Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
5. Washington- Donte Fowler, DL, Florida
6. New York Jets- Alvin Dupree, OLB, Kentucky
7. Chicago- Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
8. Atlanta- Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
9. New York Giants- La’el Collins, OL, LSU
10. St. Louis- Brandon, Scherff, OL, Iowa
11. Minnesota- Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
12. Cleveland- DaVante Parker, WR, Louisville
13. New Orleans- Randy Gregory, DL, Nebraska
14. Miami- Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
15. San Francisco- Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
16. Houston- Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami
17. San Diego- Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
18. Kansas City- Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
19. Cleveland (from Buffalo)- Danny Shelton, DL, Washington
20. Philadelphia (trade with Tennessee)- Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
21. Cincinnati- T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
22. Pittsburgh- Landon Collins, Safety, Alabama
23. Detroit- Eddie Goldman, DL, Florida State
24. Arizona- Andrus Peat, OL, Stanford
25. Carolina- D.J. Humphries, OL, Florida
26. Baltimore- Beshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida
27. Dallas- Shane Ray, DL, Missouri
28. Denver- Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
29. Indianapolis- Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut
30. Green Bay- Malcolm Brown, DL, Texas
31. New Orleans (from Seattle)- Arik Armstead, DL, Oregon
32. New England- Cameron Irving, C, Florida State

There are definitely some names that are up in the air; Missouri defensive end Shane Ray and Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory have off the field issues that are a red flag for teams. Gregory, a potential top 10 pick, who failed a drug test at the NFL Combine, admitted to teams that he had smoked while in college. Ray, another potential top 10 pick, was pulled over by police in Missouri and charged with marijuana possession. It remains to be seen if these players' issues will cost them money but don't be surprised if they do slip. 

Another name to watch is Georgia running back Todd Gurley. A former Heisman candidate and what many to considered a lock for the top 5, tore his ACL last November and has been rehabbing since. While he hasn't done any workouts with teams or at the Combine, Gurley's name has beeb creeping up the draft boards. Don't be surprised if his name is called before the end of the first round. 

Former Oklahoma and Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham hasn't played football in nearly two years because of his own off the field issues. Green-Beckham has the size (6'5" 235) and the ability to be a first round pick but those off the field issues can hold him back to the second round. If a team in the first round is in need a wide receiver and he is the next available, it's likely his name will be called. 

GOAT

With the NBA Playoffs in full swing, it’s always fun to look back in NBA history and find your starting five. The possibilities are endless; do you start Magic Johnson or John Stockton at point guard? Is Michael Jordan the only lock? Who’s your starting center, Kareem? Shaq? Bill Russell?  What about Oscar Robertson’s triple-double season? Like I said, the possibilities are endless. I know I have my own starting five as well as every other basketball fan. You’re always going to stir up debate no matter who you is in your starting five, so here’s what I got, let the debate go on.

A side note before I continue, I don’t look at rings as much as everyone else, probably another thing that’s going to cause debate.

Point Guard: John Stockton. Best season: 17.2 PPG, 14.5 APG, 2.9 STL.

Right off the bat I know this one is going to cause debate. I would bet that 99% of NBA fans would take Magic Johnson as their point guard; I guess I’m in that 1% that wouldn’t. I’m not saying Magic is a bad choice, but I like to have some defense, Stockton was named to an NBA All-Defensive team five times. He was the NBA’s assist leader in 9 of his 19 seasons. Granted he didn’t win any titles during 19-year career, but when you mention the top point guards of all-time, John Stockton is certainly at the beginning of the conversation.

Career totals: 19,711 points, 15,805 assists (NBA Leader), 3,265 steals (NBA Leader.) 2 Finals appearances, 0 titles.

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant. Best season: 35.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.5 APG.

Again I’m going to cause debate; how could I not have Michael Jordan as my starting 2 guard, this makes me such a horrible person. If you look at it Kobe made the All-Defensive team the same number as Jordan (9 times), and he was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times which was one more than His Airness. I mean really, is it that big of a crime that I would take Kobe over MJ? Am I really the only person that would do such a terrible thing? I’d like to think the answer is no, but then again, I like to say bold things (very bold) at times.

Career total: 32,482 points (3^rd all-time), 6,800 rebounds, 6,122 assists. 7 NBA Finals appearances, 5 titles.

Small Forward: LeBron James. Best season: 30.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 7.2 APG.

This is an easy one for me, you could put LeBron anywhere on the floor and he could guard anywhere on the floor. LeBron might be on his way to being one of, if not the greatest player of all time. (Cue the LeBron haters out there.) There hasn’t been a player like him and there might not ever be. He is the combination of all the greats mixed into one; he is the best player on the planet and continues to show us why. There are a lot of players in NBA history I’d take over LeBron to take the last shot, but not many I’d take to guard the last shot.

Career totals: 24,913 points, 6,502 rebounds, 6,301 assists. 5 NBA Finals appearances, 2 titles.

Power Forward: Tim Duncan. Best season: 25.6 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 2.5 BPG.

Father time sometimes catches up on athletes but not Tim Duncan. If Duncan can capture his 6^th NBA title, he would quietly be building the resume of one of the all-time greats. In his 19^th NBA season, Duncan, aka the ‘Big Fundamental’, is as consistent as they come both offensively and defensively. Duncan was named to an All-Defensive 14 times throughout his career. A career 19 and 11 player, Duncan has been the cornerstone for a Spurs franchise that has been at the top of the NBA year in and year out. It’ll be a tough day when Father Time decides to hang it up.

Career totals: 25,974 points, 14,644 rebounds, 2,941. 6 NBA Finals appearances, 5 titles.

Center: Shaquille O’Neal. Best season: 29.7 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG

Quite possibly the most dominant player in NBA history, Shaq simply could not be stopped. The argument against him is that there was a lack of ‘true centers’ during his run, but nonetheless, when he would get the ball in the post the chances of someone stopping him were slim to none. The same can be said for the Diesel on the defensive end; at 7’1”, 325lbs, there weren’t too many players who could go through him and there aren’t many players that will ever be as dominant.

Career totals: 28,596 points, 13,099 rebounds, 2,732 blocks. 5 NBA Finals appearances, 4 titles.

Twitter Landscape: The Trolls

The way the social media landscape goes about its business is entertaining to say the least. Every day, probably every hour, there is something new for Twitter to sound off about. The sports media is by far one of the funniest groups of people on the Internet. One of the more recent sports media people who used his platform and blue checkmark to call out an athlete was CBSSports.com sports writer Dennis Dodd. After Wisconsin’s Elite Eight win over Arizona, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was on the floor celebrating with the Badgers when Dodd tried to get an interview with the MVP who “ignored” the reporter and said, “I’m not doing interviews”.

Dodd then went on a Twitter rant, which are the best rants, and he was visibly upset, I didn’t actually see him but I could see it in his tweets, and during that rant he was saying how the media had to stand behind the three point line while the Badger players cut down the nets. Meanwhile, Rodgers was inside the three-point line, probably inside the paint, while the celebration happened. Dodd made it seem like Rodgers was cutting down the net. He went on to complain that Rodgers didn’t have credentials to be there and it was “unfair” that the NFL MVP was closer to the action than he was. OF COURSE HE WAS. IT’S AARON FREAKIN’ RODGERS DUDE. Do you have a Super Bowl MVP? I didn't think so. (you can see the rant here, here, here, here, and here,) 

There are two types of people on Twitter, people who care and people who don’t. Dennis Dodd is one of those who care. Then you have someone like Bomani Jones (definitely give him a follow @bomani_jones) who doesn’t care. The people who care are also called “trolls”; those are the people who like to argue with people for the sole purpose of starting an argument. If you’re a TV personality, athlete, actor/actress, musician, or anyone who has celebrity status you’re going to have to deal with those trolls, that’s just part of it. You can ignore it completely, respond to it and stoop to their level by saying something that can get you in trouble, or, have fun with it. Bomani Jones is someone that has fun with it, and it’s very entertaining.

I’m on Twitter, probably too much, but that’s not the point. I love Twitter because it gives me a platform to essentially say anything I want and say what’s on my mind. I like to say some bold things and people will respond accordingly with their opinion. Here’s the key, none of our opinions matter. They have no bearing on the grand scheme of things. Do you think that LeBron cares when someone Tweets at him, “Damn LeBron, why the hell did you shoot that?? You suck, leave Cleveland”. Answer, no. He doesn’t even see that tweet from some 45-year old guy who has 25 followers and follows 500 people from his parent’s basement.

Then are the stories like the one Curt Schilling was involved in. You can read the full story here, but in short, Schilling’s daughter got accepted to college where she will play softball. He tweeted out a congratulatory tweet to her then things went downhill fast, real fast. I won’t get into the whole thing on here but you can read it for yourself. I must warn you though; most of the tweets are extremely offensive.

In closing, to the Twitter trolls who wake up every day hoping to see something that will spark an argument, troll on. In a weird way you make the Twitter world amusing until you start going at someone for the sake of getting retweets, favorites, or to getting your mentions up. Don’t do that. Have some sort of decency.

Tweet on!

Follow me on Twitter: @Stephen_Springs  

NBA Playoff Picture

The NBA Playoffs are just around the corner and there is still some seeding to be finalized in both conferences. With roughly 10 games left for all teams, here’s how the current match-ups are shaping up.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

(1)  Atlanta Hawks (55-17) vs. (8) Boston Celtics (32-40)

·      Atlanta leads season series 2-1

(2)  Cleveland Cavaliers (47-27) vs. (7) Miami Heat (33-39)

·      Miami leads season series 2-1

(3)  Chicago Bulls (44-29) vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks (36-36)

·      Chicago leads season series 3-0

(4)  Toronto Raptors (43-30) vs. (5) Washington Wizards (41-32)

·      Toronto leads season series 3-0

The most intriguing matchup in this first round would obviously be Cleveland and Miami. The Heat seemed to play their best against LeBron and the Cavs, and why not. LeBron left Miami to go back to Cleveland and help lead his hometown team back to the playoffs and the ultimately the Finals. In three games against the Cavs this season, the Heat averaged 100 points; in their other 69 games they averaged 94 points. Dwyane Wade on the season averaged 21.5 points a game but in the two games he played in against the Cavs his average went up by 10 points. It’s also an intriguing matchup because the crowd in Miami will be louder than any of those four Finals runs. I expect Cleveland to win the series but I also expect it to go seven games.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

       (1) Golden State Warriors (59-13) vs. (8) Oklahoma City Thunder (41-31)

·      Golden State leads season series 3-1

       (2) Memphis Grizzlies (50-23) vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks (45-28)

·      Memphis leads season series 3-1

       (3) Houston Rockets (49-23) vs. (6) San Antonio Spurs (46-26)

·      Season series tied at 1-1

(5)  Portland Trailblazers (46-25) vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers (48-25)

·      Los Angeles leads season series 2-1

The Western Conference Playoffs are always fun to watch. The winner always comes out with some bruises. The matchup I would most be looking forward is Golden State and Oklahoma City. Even with Kevin Durant being out the rest of the season having to undergo foot surgery, the Thunder can still give the Warriors problems. Russell Westbrook is putting up numbers we haven’t seen since Michael Jordan, and Westbrook’s numbers might be better during his current stretch. In the month of March he’s averaging 30 points, 10 assists and 8.5 rebounds; along with the four triple-doubles he’s had. The Warriors haven’t had to face many hurdles this season, but the Thunder are a team that could give them a scare and it would be interesting to see how they would react to potentially losing a game at home (they’re 34-2 at Oracle Arena). Stephen Curry looks poised to bring home the MVP trophy this season and he would need to have MVP numbers to ensure his team doesn’t get bounced early.

Another potential matchup to keep an eye on is Houston and San Antonio. The Rockets got Dwight Howard back after having not played since January 23^rd and are easing him back into game speed so he’s ready to play a full game. If the two teams got matched up, Dwight could be the factor in the series.

Keep checking back for updates on matchups.