The Dance is here!!!

I'm a little disappointed that Saint Mary's didn't get in but honestly it hurts to have your #1 player get injured for that amount of time. 

Michigan State got a 2 seed? Come on! Michigan State lost to Maryland (when they weren't winning) by 18 and lost to North Carolina by 35. Was beating Kansas and Oklahoma State (The only impressive out of conference games, unless you count Idaho or Alcorn State) justification for the two loses I mentioned? And losing to Ohio State by 12 means that they have momentum? I don't understand why everyone loves the Big Ten soooo much. If you ask me, the Big Ten was as pitiful as the Pac-10 this year and their top seed (Washington) got a 4 seed. 

Some small complaints about what has happened but overall I have to be happy that we don't do college basketball like football. (THANK YOU!) We know now that it is dance time that there will be many cinderellas in different seeds and conferences. 

Manny Ramirez was a cancer!

"It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that's exactly what was happening. Once we saw that, we weren't afraid to get rid of him. It's like cancer.... blah... blah... blah..." Most of this is a quote of relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon in Esquire magazine.

I guess that getting rid of him wasn't enough and Papelbon believed that he needed to get this off of his chest. Maybe he wants everyone to know that Manny brought the entire team down and that every mistake the Red Sox made was a result of Manny being on the team at that time.

Didn't the Red Sox lose to the Devil Rays with all of the weight gone in Los Angeles? Papelbon did blow a save while Manny was gone, just look it up. I'm just saying that the Red Sox weren't a bad team and that Manny didn't make them any worse than they were without him. If anything Manny at the age of 36 was a vital part of the team regardless of the gimmicks he was trying to pull.

Here is a look at what Manny did during his last 'season' with the Sox vs. what Bay did when he was brought to the Sox:

Head to Head - Games AVG SLG OPS

Manny Ramirez 100 .299 .529 .927

Jason Bay - - *49 .293 .527 .897

What Manny has done for the Red Sox over the course of his career will help put him in the Hall of Fame. He was by far the biggest face of the franchise other than Big Papi but things obviously got sour when his deal wasn't restructured. Even when Manny was supposedly sabotaging the Sox, he had better stats than Bay who was trying to prove himself in a new place. 

Papelbon don't try and blame the Red Sox choking to the Devil Rays on Manny. I'm pretty sure that he had nothing to do with the fact that you weren't able to make it to the World Series. My final question is: Manny is an LA Dodger and no longer affecting the Boston Red Sox, who is bringing up a dead topic and distracting the Red Sox now?

- D-Rae

Jerry is just getting started

Free agency has been in session and we hadn't heard anything from Jerry Jones.

I don't know about other NFL fans but this scared me. But thanks to the last couple days we can pretend that he has been here all along. Dropping Terrell Owens and Roy Williams (the safety) and  signing DT Igor Olshansky.

The media has commended Jones and the Cowboys for dropping Owens. Maybe I'm missing something but I wouldn't want to get rid of a WR of his caliber and have the chance that another contender could sign him. Over the course of three years, Owens caught 235 passes for 3,587 yards and 38 touchdowns. We all know that he was the secondary target for much of this period too.

I'm not trying to write off Roy Williams but his stats in 10 games last year are not comforting. In his time, he caught 19 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown. I understand that T.O. and Witten were ahead of him on the totem pole but I would hope that he would've showed a little more for 1st, 3rd and 6th round picks.

What was Jones thinking for releasing him this late? Popular belief is that T.O. tore the Cowboys locker room apart and just doesn't help chemistry. But I really think that its just his reputation talking. Regardless, he is gone now and I wonder why Jones didn't attempt to cut him earlier so he could go after Ray Lewis or some other bigger name free agents.

Whoever decides to take the "risk" will end up with a player with as much impact on a single side of the football as Albert Haynesworth. The Cowboys just hope that the rest of the NFC East has run out of money because god knows that their secondary couldn't cover him.

-D-Rae

Kevin Durant's Jersey Retired....really?

No more #35 for the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team, since that number is now retired from a one-and-done player.

What a shame!

When I first heard the story about Kevin Durant's jersey being retired my first thought was, wow! What a great topic to argue about for the next few days, maybe it will get our minds off of steroids for a bit.

It amazes me that they are retiring a jersey from a player who went one year. It shows the standard the Texas has. Do you want your future prospects to see the fame they get from a university just for showing up freshman year? It makes retiring jerseys seem like a weekly award. Now listen, I have nothing against Kevin Durant and I am a big fan and think he is a great basketball player and he is for real in the NBA as well. But the fact of the matter is, he is not a "hang your jersey up in the rafters" kind of player. He only stayed one year and got his team to the Sweet Sixteen.

Let another Longhorn #35 do the same, don't ruin a good number.

I guess next will be A.J. Abrams #3 if we are going at this speed.

-J.J.

Recent Releases could make "Free" Agency interesting

Well we only have a couple of days until free agency finally starts and it looks like it could be a pretty interesting period. There are quite a few established (and recently released) veterans hitting the market and the only questions with a lot of them will be age.

------------------------------------------------

The recently released:

RB

Warrick Dunn: He will be a veteran back who knows how to hit the hole but I think he hasn't been the Dunn of old in several years. 

Fred Taylor: If the Bills end up with Taylor, and they are rumored to, this will be a good acquisition. He doesn't have the normal wear and tear because of the rest he has had based on injuries and Mojo Drew sharing carries. 

Deuce McAllister: In the right situation (a shared backfield), I think that he could be a good pick up. I think the release is more of a situation of Pierre Thomas being a cheaper, younger replacement than McAllister hitting the 30 year old wall.

WR

Marvin Harrison: He deserves his own paragraph. This man definitely hasn't been the same since the injury. But if I was a coach looking to make the next step offensively I would pick him up and move him to the slot. With decent receivers on the outside I think he would be a great spread offense option on quick slants. Not going to break it for much more than 10 yards but who needs that in a dink and dunk system.

Joey Galloway: Galloway seems to have lost a step with Bryant being the bigger receiver last year. Is that really him losing the step or the lack of offense to back him?

Laveranues Coles: Kind of in the same boat as Galloway.

Mike Furrey: Great number three wideout.

LB

Cato June: I think that the person with the most upside is LB Cato June. The former Colts standout didn't quite fit in with the Bucs and I think that if he could find the right situation he could really surprise some people.

Derrick Brooks: Derrick Brooks is interesting here. I think that he has a lot to give to the team that goes after him. He may not be a game changer but I think he will be a solid player.

CB

Dre' Bly: This may just be the product of a new administration in town (they cut five other defensive players already). Even with some years in the tank I think that Bly wouldn't be a bad number two corner.

Chris McAlister: My question is how bad was the injury? This might not be worth the risk.

S

Gibril Wilson: Poor guy was the MVP of the Raiders defense last year and gets cut. He will make some defensive coordinator really happy. Update: Dolphins just signed Wilson.

- D-Rae

Manning to Harri....Nope, Not Anymore

It was just released today that the Colts have released WR Marvin Harrison, who is second all-time with 1,102 catches.

Harrison wanted out, and he got his wish. I have to admit that it will be weird seeing #88 no longer in the blue and white, catching bombs from Manning. But we all realized that with every year Reggie Wayne was becoming the Colts #1 guy, and after the Harrison controversy with the shooting outside his Philadelphia bar, there needed to be some change.

The biggest question that we now have to answer is...where will Harrison go? Many think Philadelphia, where Mcnabb has been begging for a number one receiver, which could be found with Harrison. It a perfect match. Harrison does not have a big personality, (which we saw the problems Mcnabb had with big personalities...T.O. to say the least) He doesn't complain when he doesn't get enough throws (yet again, T.O.). And last but not least Deshaun Jackson looks like a string bean, the kid is tiny!

I personally would love to see #88 with the Eagles, I think it would make the NFC East THAT much better, it would bring the Eagles to a point with no more excuses about losing the big game. Last but not least it would be more exciting football.

It is a bitter sweet goodbye for Marvin Harrison, but it will be a great story to see where he lands this next season.

-J.J.

A-Rod and Combine Comments

(same pic, new news)

Ok, I retract my statements about T.O. following A-Rod to regain favor. With more information coming out about A-Rod I definitely don't think his image will make a comeback anytime soon. Taking drugs that were illegal even in the Dominican Republic and working with trainers that were banned by the league are just a couple of the new things that have come out about the former golden child.

On a side note, QB Matthew Stafford won't throw at the combine and WR Crabtree won't run either. I hate when these guys don't perform at the combine or even at their pro days. I know that some of these things are pointless but I think that it is all part of the process. I think that both are making financially good decisions because I don't think that Stafford will put on a show and I really am starting to question how fast Crabtree is in straight line speed. He's a fantastic player but I won't be surprised to see a +4.5 40 which would definitely hurt his stock.

-D-Rae