Indianapolis Colts Predictions

Coming off a Super Bowl victory last season, a lot of things are expected from the Colts, and despite some roster losses, they still have the talent to deliver on these big expectations.

For one thing, they still have Peyton Manning. He is the best QB in the game today and slowly moving up the ranks as one of the best QBs ever. He makes everyone in the offense better. Teamed up with perhaps the best set of receivers in the NFL (with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and rookie Anthony Gonzalez), the passing attack should be as good as any in the game.

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Denver Broncos Predictions

The 2007 Denver Broncos look to be a very successful team, at least on paper. They have a strong and balanced offense to go along with one of the best defenses in the NFL. With these these ingredients, they will be contenders with San Diego to win the AFC West, and might even be able to compete for the AFC Title.

But everything starts with 2nd year QB Jay Cutler. He is extremely talented, but only played in 5 games in his rookie season. If he matures quickly, the sky is the limit both in terms of his potential, and of the potential of the 2007 Broncos. He has all of the physical tools that you look for in a QB... arm strength, accuracy, athleticism, etc... he just has to put it all together. He has a solid receiving corps, led by Javon Walker, which should help his maturity as an NFL Quarterback.

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Will LeBron James be better than Michael Jordan

I'm not sure if LeBron will be better than MJ when it's all said and done (certainly WAY too early to tell), however, there certainly are some indications that he could eclipse Jordan. Some reasons:

- LeBron is more athletic than Jordan - LeBron is almost certainly one of, if not the most athletic players ever. Frankly, he's a freak. He's 6'8'', 240 pounds, can touch the top of the backboard jumping, is one of the fastest players in the NBA, and has great stamina (plays 40+ minutes a night). Jordan was certainly no slouch as an athlete, but LeBron is almost in a different stratosphere from everyone else.

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Should Barry Bonds be in the Hall of Fame?

Yes, and there should be no question about it.

Even before any of the steroid allegations came up he was a no doubt Hall of Famer. Bonds was the best player in the 1990s... the best combination of power and speed and the history of baseball. He is the only player in MLB history with over 500 HR and over 500 SBs... heck, he's the only guy in MLB history with at least 400 HR and 400 SBs.

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Baseball's All-Time Team

It's always difficult to compare different players from different eras, just because of the contexts and surroundings of their game. Still, through statistical analysis and other factors, we can do this and make things reasonably accurate. So here's my crack at, the best players ever from each position:

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Tony Kornheiser as Monday Night Football Announcer

I think the skills and legitimacy of Tony Kornheiser as a Monday Night Football commentator are greatly hampered by the fact that he is in the booth with Joe Theismann. In short, Theismann is one of the worst color men in NFL broadcasting today, and is just not a good fit at all to work with Tony Kornheiser.

Kornheiser obviously is not a guy that is going to give you a lot of analysis and insight into the game... that's just not what he does best and that's not what he's there for. What he is supposed to be doing is keeping the broadcast light and entertaining with humor, as well as using his newspaper and talk show skills to keep things engaging with the other hosts and harbor good discussion (in effect, playing off the role of the Play-by-play man).


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Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl

I think Manning will do just fine in the Super Bowl. The Bears certainly have one of the toughest defenses in the League, but I think Manning will be able to exploit some holes.

The thing you have to understand about Manning is that he may be the hardest worker in the NFL. I guarantee you that with the extra week between the conference championship and the Super Bowl the guy will be watching an insane amount of film. He'll watch film until his eyes bleed.

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NFL Draft Predictions

My first prediction is that I think JaMarcus Russell will go #1 in the Draft to the Oakland Raiders. He has a big arm (which Al Davis loves in QBs) and just has all the physical tools to be a special player... he really is a physical speciment.

Another prediction is that I think Calvin Johnson will be the best player from the Draft. He's the safest WR prospect in the draft in a while... he's fast, he's got great hands, great leaping ability, great anticipation, and (from all accounts), a great work ethic. He's going to be a stud for a long time.

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Thoughts on Drew Brees

Drew Brees has been a great addition for the New Orleans Saints and was one of the top 3 players in the NFL this season.

There were some concerns on how Brees would be able to come back from a shoulder injury, but from the looks of things, he's doing just fine.

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Tips for teaching kids to play basketball

The first thing to teach them is to have fun. If they're having fun they're going to like playing, be more eager to learn, and just remain in good health because they're getting physical exercise. So that's the most important thing for a young child just starting out.

If you want to teach them to be successful, you have to start out with the fundamentals. Kids want to go right out and just shoot 3-pointers and do a bunch of fancy moves, but they're never going to learn and really be successful if that's all that they're working on.

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Will Brady Quinn be good?

I don't think there's any question that Brady Quinn can succeed at the next level. Consider:

1) He's been playing in a pro-style offense under Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis for the past 2 years.
2) He'll be a high draft pick so he will absolutely be given every opportunity to succeed.
3) He has a strong and accurate arm.

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Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

No, he should not be in the Hall of Fame.

After 15 years or so of publicly denying he ever bet on baseball, he wrote a book saying that he did. Yes, that's a lot of remorse. He also gave an interview with Jim Gray in 1999, where he clearly showed remorse [sarcasm]:

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Are football players paid too much?

Absolutely not.

You are worth what the market dictates your worth. Does an NFL player bring more "value" to society than an elementary teacher? No. But am I going to pay to watch a teacher teach a class? No.

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Best NBA Player

So far this season Dwyane Wade has been the best player in the NBA, slightly edging out Dirk Nowitski. Wade has almost no help in Miami with Shaq out... the rest of the team is aging and don't appear to be trying all that hard at this point. Wade is shooting the ball well, scoring, passing, and doing all he can to keep the Heat in ballgames. Without Wade, Miami is the worst team in the NBA.

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Bill Cowher Leaving the Steelers

According to reports the Steelers will be hiring former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin to be their head coach.

As a Vikings fan, this sucks for me because Tomlin did some great things in his 1 year in Minnesota and is really a bright, young guy. I think he'll fit in well with Pittsburgh because he's young, energetic, very smart, and defensive-minded.

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Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings

1) Peyton Manning. Still gotta go with Peyton here because of his long-term and consistent success. He'll throw for lots of yards, lots of TDs, and not a lot of INTs. Still the best fantasy QB out there.

2) Drew Brees. With another year like he had this year he can replace Manning as the top QB. He spread the ball around, was very accurate, and got the ball downfield. It didn't take him any time to pick up the Saints offense.

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Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

The Cavs have all the pieces in place to make a run at the Eastern Conference title, such as...

LeBron James. He's the most talented player in the NBA and has a great all-around game. He can get to the basket at a will, shoot from the midrange, rebound well, and is a great passer. He's the most athletic player in the NBA and can carry a team to victories.

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Why Bert Blyleven Should be in the Hall of Fame

Just for giggles, I'm going to give you the stats of 2 pitchers... one is in the Hall of Fame and generally regarded by sportswriters as one of the best pitchers of all time. The other is not in the Hall of Fame.

Player A: 324-292 overall record (.524 winning %), 3.19 ERA (3.57 was the League ERA over the same time period), 112 ERA+, 1.25 WHIP, 5714 K in 5386 IP, 2.04 K/BB ratio, 3.07 postseason ERA

Player B: 287-50 overall record (.534 winning %), 3.31 ERA (3.90 was the League ERA over the same time period), 118 ERA+, 1.20 WHIP, 3701 K in 4970 IP, 2.80 K/BB ratio, 2.47 postseason ERA

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Best NBA Players Ever

I'll give my Top 50 players ever with a short comment for the top 8.

1. Michael Jordan - great offensive player, great defensive player, and always seemed to be in control late in the game.
2. Larry Bird - one of the best shooters ever, unbelievable passer, good rebounder and defender. Great all-around player.
3. Magic Johnson - maybe the best passer of all-time, and just made everyone around him better.

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2007 Super Bowl Predictions

In the NFC, It's a classic offense vs. defense matchup. The Saints have a potent, well balanced attack that will be countered by a fast, smart Bears defense. But as has been the case with the Bears this year, this game will really come down to Rex Grossman. As long as he's average the Bears have a great shot to just rely on the defense and special teams. However, average has sometimes been a tough task for Rex this year. In over a quarter of the Bears games this year Grossman has posted a QB rating under 40 do that again, and New Orleans will be the team advancing to the Super Bowl. He put together an average performance last week, but can he do it again?

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