Posts Tagged ‘nfl draft’

STR 2016 NFL 1st round mock draft

Posted: April 26, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

#1 Los Angeles Rams Jared Goff, Quarterback (California). The Rams gave up quite a bit to get the 1st pick in the draft. Goff can be the face of the franchise with their move back to Los Angeles.

#2 Philadelphia Eagles Carson Wentz, Quarterback (North Dakota State). The Eagles also gave up quite a bit to move up and they’re looking for a future starting quarterback. I said future; so someone tell Sam Bradford to shut up.

#3 San Diego Chargers Jalen Ramsey, Cornerback (Florida State). I doubt the Chargers thought they’d be this position. Ramsey may be the the best player in this draft and while he listed as a Cornerback he has the skills to replace Eric Weddle at Safety.

#4 Dallas Cowboys Joey Bosa, Defensive End (Ohio State). The Cowboys let Greg Hardy go and they have a need for an edge rusher. While Bosa’s combine numbers weren’t what people thought they’d be he can get to the quarterback.

#5 Jacksonville Jaquars Laremy Tunsil, Offensive Tackle (Mississippi). There is lot of talk that the Jaquars would like to deal this pick, but I’m not going to try and factor in trades. If they keep this pick why not protect Blake Bortles.

#6 Baltimore Ravens Myles Jack, Linebacker (UCLA). There are a couple of ways the Ravens could go with this pick, but they know defense; so they might as well pick the best defensive player on the board.

#7 San Francisco 49ers Laquon Treadwell, Wide Receiver (Mississippi). Quick; name a 49ers wide receiver. Chip Kelly needs a weapon for his up tempo offense and receiver is a huge need in San Francisco.

#8 Cleveland Browns DeForest Buckner, Defensive Tackle (Oregon). This is another spot in the draft that might be dealt as there where some reports that Cleveland would be willing to make another deal. If they hang on to the pick Buckner is a good player to build a defensive line around.

#9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vernon Hargreaves, Cornerback (Florida). This is a position of need for Tampa Bay; so it makes sense for them to take Hargreaves; he’s the best defensive back on the board.

#10 New York Giants Ronnie Stanley, Offensive Tackle Notre Dame. Eli Manning isn’t getting any younger and the Giants need to keep him upright and healthy. Stanley has slipped down the board and he’s a good value for the Giants here.

#11 Chicago Bears Reggie Ragland, Linebacker (Alabama). The Bears wasted their 1st round pick last season; so let’s hope they’re smart enough to not do that again. Ragland is a classic Bears type of linebacker.

#12 New Orleans Saints Shaq Lawson, Linebacker (Clemson). Lawson can be the good pass rusher for the Saints and it seems as though ever season New Orleans needs defensive help. One of these years they’ll help the defense.

#13 Miami Dolphins Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back (Ohio State). Lamar Miler is gone and they weren’t able to sign the running back they wanted in free agency; so Elliott can fill that void. He’s a 3-down back and those are rare in today’s NFL.

#14 Oakland Raiders Mackensie Alexander, Cornerback (Clemson). It wouldn’t be a surprise if they Raiders try to move this pick, but if they stay here at #14 it’s a solid choice to strengthen the defensive backfield. Alexander will be the best Cornerback on the board.

#15 Tennessee Titans Noah Spence, Defensive End (Eastern Kentucky). The Titans can use another pass rusher and while Spence might not be a 3-down guy he’ll be good in pass rushing situations.

#16 Detroit Lions Corey Coleman, Wide Receiver (Baylor) Calvin Johnson retired and there’s a big hole to be filled  there. While Coleman probably isn’t the next Johnson he’ll be able to help out filling those shoes.

#17 Atlanta Falcons Josh Doctson, Wide Receiver  (TCU). It’s back to back at the wide receiver spot as the Falcons add one to help out Julio Jones. With Jones there it’s a good landing spot for a rookie to step right in and help out.

#18 Indianapolis Colts Leonard Floyd, Linebacker (Georgia). Floyd was a little light when he weighed in at the Combine, but he can still get to the quarterback. Floyd might not be a big help against the run, but pass rushers are important.

#19 Buffalo Bills Robert Nkemdiche, Defensive Tackle (Mississippi). This pick has Rex Ryan written all over it. Nkemdiche has fallen down the draft board after his incident at Mississippi’s bowl game, but before that he was in the Top 10 of a lot of mock drafts.

#20 New York Jets A’Shawn Robinson, Defensive Tackle (Alabama). There are some issues with Muhammed Wilkerson’s contract and if he ends up getting dealt the Robinson will be able to help fill that spot.

#21 Washington Redskins Jack Conklin, Offensive Tackle (Michigan State). Conklin’s stock has been on the rise as of late and the Redskins could always use another line man to help protect quarterback Kirk Cousins.

#22 Houston Texans Will Fuller, Wide Receiver (Notre Dame). Fuller had the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine. Fuller can help the Texans stretch the field for DeAndre Hopkins to get his catches.

#23 Minnesota Vikings Braxton Miller, Wide Receiver (Ohio State) Miller only played 1 season at wide receiver for Ohio State, but as a former quarterback he’ll be able to make the adjustments quickly at the NFL level.

#24 Cincinnati Bengals Darron Lee, Linebacker (Ohio State). Cincinnati has a need at wide receiver, but with 2 of them coming off the board right before their pick I think they’d try to shore up the defense by adding a linebacker here. Lee looks like the best one left.

#25 Pittsburgh Steelers Eli Apple, Cornerback (Ohio State). This is pretty much a need pick for the Steelers. They need to get younger in the defensive backfield and Apple will be the best players on the board here.

#26 Seattle Seahawks Kevin Dodd, Defensive End (Clemson). There may be another need here for the Seahawks, but they like to take pass rushers early in the draft; so that’s where I have them going with this pick. Offensive line wouldn’t surprise me here.

#27 Green Bay Packers Willie Beavers, Offensive Tackle (Western Michigan). Green Bay’s offensive lineman went down right and left lat season; so they need people at almost any spot there. Beavers should be on the radar at this pick.

#28 Kansas City Chiefs Michael Thomas, Wide Receiver (Ohio State). Kansas City seems t be in a good spot here and wide receiver has always been an issue. Thomas has started to move up some draft boards; so there’s a chance he’s not here when the Chiefs pick.

The actual 29th pick was suppose to belong t the New England Patriots, but it was taken away from them as part of the Deflategate penalty

#29 Arizona Cardinals Hunter Henry, Tight End (Arkansas). Henry would plug right in as the best tight end on the Cardinals and will add to the passing game right away. Henry is the only tight end with a 1st round grade and he’d be an upgrade for the Cardinals.

#30 Carolina Panthers Cyrus Jones, Cornerback (Alabama). Josh Norman was allowed to leave as a free agent; so there’s a need for a defensive back. While Norman is going to be tough to replace Jones can help Carolina do that.

#31 Denver Broncos Paxton Lynch, Quarterback (Memphis). There’s is just Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian on the Broncos roster at the quarterback position. Lynch could be the future quarterback of this team. If the defense is still good Lynch could end up being the starter.

Listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

 

 

Advertisement

The NFL Draft in 2011

Posted: April 24, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
0

The draft is a way to build your franchise; so we like to look back 5 years and see who your favorite team selected in the 1st round and how that player turned out for your favorite team.

With the 1st pick in the draft the Carolina Panthers selected quarterback Cam Newton (Auburn). The Panthers where looking for a franchise quarterback and they found one in Newton. Newton has started 78 out of a possible 80 games since 2011. He had his best season on 2015 throwing for 35 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions. Carolina went 15-1 and made it to the Super Bowl last season.

The Denver Broncos had the 2nd pick and took defensive lineman Von Miller (Texas A&M). Miller has turned into a premier pass rusher for the Broncos. He has 60 career sacks with his high being 18 1/2 in 2012. Miller was the 2015 Super Bowl M.V.P. as his Broncos defeated Newton’s Panthers.

The Buffalo Bills had the 3rd pick and selected Marcel Dareus (Alabama). Dareus has been an anchor for the Bills interior defensive line. As a defensive tackle Dareus has recorded 30 1/2 career sacks with 10 of those sacks coming in 2015. Dareus has made the Pro Bowl twice.

The Cincinnati Bengals had the #4 pick and they selected wide receiver A.J. Green (Georgia). Green stepped right in and has been a top receiver in the NFL since being drafted. He has totaled 1000+ receiving yards every season with a high of 1426 yards in 2013. Green also has 415 career receptions, 6171 career yards and has scored 45 touchdowns in his 5 seasons.

The Arizona Cardinals had the 5th pick and they took defensive back Patrick Peterson (LSU). Peterson is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and has started every game (80) since being drafted. Peterson has 17 career interceptions wit a high 7 in 2012. Peterson is also a dangerous punt returner. As a rookie he returned 4 punt for touchdowns.

The Atlanta Falcons gave up 2 1st round picks, a 2nd round pick and 2 4th round picks to move up to the 6th spot in the draft and take wide receiver Julio Jones (Alabama). Was it worth it? Jones has 414 career receptions, but 136 of those came last season. He has scored 34 career touchdowns and has 6201 career yards. Last season Jones led the NFL with 1871 receiving yards and tied for the league lead in receptions.

With the 7th pick in the draft the San Francisco 49ers selected linebacker Aldon Smith (Missouri). Smith’s first two seasons with San Francisco where great. He notched 14 sacks as a rookie and followed that up with 19 1/2 his 2nd season and even though he only appeared in 11 games his 3rd season he still recorded 8 sacks. After some injuries and suspension issues Smith is now a member of the Oakland Raiders.

The Tennessee Titans had the 6th pick in the draft and they selected quarterback Jake Locker (Washington). Tennessee was looking for a franchise quarterback, but sadly Locker wasn’t it. He appeared in 30 career games starting 23 of them. His record as a starter was 9-14. He threw for 4967 yards with 27 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in his career. Locker retired after the 2014 season.

With the 9th pick in the draft the Dallas Cowboys selected offensive lineman Tyron Smith (USC). Since being drafted Smith has playing in and started 79 out of a possible 80 games for the Cowboys. Smith has made 3 Pro Bowls and the Cowboys have had one of the top rushing attacks in the NFL since he was drafted.

The Jacksonville Jaquars had the 10th pick and they took quarterback Blaine Gabbert (Missouri). Gabbert spent 3 seasons with the Jaquars; starting 27 games for them. As a starter he had a 5-22 record. He threw for 4357 yards with 22 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Gabbert has been with the San Francisco 49ers the last 3 seasons.

The Houston Texans had the 11th pick in the draft and they selected defensive lineman J.J. Watt (Wisconsin). Watt has turned into the best defensive lineman in the NFL. Watt has started every game (80) since being drafted and has led the NFL in sacks twice; 2012 and 2015. He has 74 1/2 career sacks. Watt has 1 career interceptions, but returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. He has also found his way to the offensive side of the football where he has 4 career receptions with 3 of them going for touchdowns.

The Minnesota Vikings had the 12th pick and they selected quarterback Christian Ponder (Florida St.) I remember this being a bit of a surprise pick. Ponder had success in his 2nd year as he led the Vikings to a 10-6 record. In his career Ponder played in 38 games starting 36 of them and had a career record of 14-21-1 as a starter. He threw for 6658 career yards with 38 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Ponder did score 7 rushing touchdowns in his career.

Lucky pick number 13 belong to the Detroit Lions and they used it on defensive lineman Nick Fairley (Auburn). Fairley spent 4 seasons in Detroit playing in 46 games and starting 31 of them. He totaled 14 sacks with Detroit. His season high was 6 in 2013. Fairley spend the 2015 season with the St. Louis Rams. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints this off season.

With the 14th pick the St. Louis rams selected defensive lineman Robert Quinn (North Carolina) Quinn is a two-time Pro Bowler who has 50 career sacks. He had a career high 19 sacks in 2013. He’s played in 71 games for St. Louis starting 54 of them. Quinn was limited to just 8 games last season.He did have 5 sacks in those 8 games.

At #15 the Miami Dolphins selected offensive lineman Mike Pouncey (Florida). Pouncey has played in and started 72 out of a possible 80 games. He has started 60 at center and 12 at right guard for the Dolphins. Pouncey has been a Pro Bowl selection the last 3 seasons.

With the 16th pick the Washington Redskins selected defensive lineman Ryan Kerrigan (Purdue). Kerrigan has started every game (80) since being draft by the Redskins. He has 47 1/2 career sacks with his career high of 13 1/2 coming in 2014. Kerrigan has forced 17 fumbles in his career has 2 fumble recoveries as well as 2 career interceptions.

With the 17th pick the New England Patriots selected offensive lineman Nate Solder (Colorado). Solder has played in 67 games starting 64 of them since being drafted. He battled injuries last season as he played in just 4 games. New England acquired this pick by trading defensive lineman Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders.

The San Diego Chargers had the 18th pick and they used it to select defensive lineman Corey Liuget (Illinois). Liuget has played in 74 games since being drafted starting 71 of them. He had an injury last season that caused him to miss 5 games. Liuget has 21 career sacks with his career high of 7 coming in 2012.

With the 19th pick the New York Giants selected defensive back Prince Amukamara (Nebraska). Amukamara has only played in all 16 games 1 season (2013) because of injuries. He’s appeared in 55 out of a possible 80 games. Amukamara has 7 career interceptions with a career high of 3 coming in 2014.

At #20 the Tampa bay Buccaneers selected defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn (Iowa). Clayborn spent 4 seasons with Tampa Bay. He started all 16 games as a rookie and posted his single season high for sacks with 7 1/2. Clayborn had 13 sacks while with the Buccaneers. He played in just 36 games in his 4 seasons with Tampa Bay. He spent the 2015 season with the Atlanta Falcons.

With the 21st pick the Cleveland Browns selected defensive lineman Phil Taylor (Baylor). Taylor started off by playing and starting all 16 games for the Browns as a rookie. He record 4 sacks (his career high) to go along with 37 tackles and 22 assists. Since his rookie year Taylor has played in 28 games totaling 3 sacks, 32 tackles and 18 assists.

With the 22nd pick the Indianapolis Colts selected offensive lineman Anthony Castonzo (Boston College). Castonzo has played in and started 73 out of a possible 80 games since being drafted. He’s the Colts left tackle and has the job of protecting Andrew Luck’s blind side. Castonzo does have 1 career touchdown catch.

The Philadelphia Eagles had the 23rd and they used it to select offensive lineman Danny Watkins (Baylor). Watkins played just 2 seasons in Philadelphia and spent just 3 season total in the NFL. He played in 23 games for Philadelphia starting 18 of them. He played in 1 game for the Miami Dolphins in 2013.

At #24 the New Orleans Saints selected defensive lineman Cameron Jordan. Jordan has played in every game (80) since being drafted and has started all but 1 one them. He has 39 career sacks and his career high of 12 1/2 came in the 2013 season. Jordan is a two-time Pro Bowl selection (2013 & 2015) and has 1 career interception.

With the 25th pick in the draft the Seattle Seahawks selected offensive lineman James Carpenter (Alabama). Carpenter spent 4 season with the Seahawks. He played in 45 games and started 39 of them. Last season Carpenter stated all 16 games for the New York Giants.

With the 26th pick in the draft the Kansas City Chiefs selected wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin (Pittsburgh). Baldwin played just 2 season wit the Chiefs. He appeared in 26 games and started 10 of them. he had 41 catches for 579 and 2 touchdowns while in Kansas City. The Chiefs traded Baldwin to the San Francisco 49ers for wide receiver A.J. Jenkins before the 2013 season.

The Baltimore Ravens had the 27th pick and they used it to selected defensive back Jimmy Smith (Colorado). Smith has had some injury issues in his career. He has played in 63 games for the Ravens starting 45 of them. He has 8 career interceptions and has returned 1 for a touchdown. He did post his career high in interceptions (3) last season while playing in every game.

At #28 the New Orleans Saints selected running back Mark Ingram (Alabama). Ingram has 3195 yards and 26 touchdowns in 62 career games for New Orleans. His 964 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2014 are career highs. Ingram made his only Pro Bowl after the 2014 season. He also has 103 career receptions for 693 yards.

With the 29th pick the Chicago Bears selected offensive Lineman Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin). Carimi wasn’t the anchor to the offensive line that the Bears had hoped for. He lasted 2 season with Chicago. He played in 18 games; starting 16. He played in 14 games (starting 3) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013 and in 2014 he appeared in 16 games (starting 7) for the Atlanta Falcons.

With the 30th pick the New York Jets selected defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple). Wilkerson was quite the find for the Jets at the end of the 1st round. He has played in 77 out of a possible 80 games and has started 75 of them. Wilkerson has 36 1/2 career sacks with his high of 12 coming just last season. After his 2015 season Wilkerson was elected to his 1st Pro Bowl.

At #31 the Pittsburgh Steelers selected defensive lineman Cameron Heyward (Ohio St.) Heyward has appeared in all 80 games for Pittsburgh since he was drafted. He started 45 of those games. He has 22 career sacks, 132 tackles and 68 assists. Heyward had a career high 7 sacks last season for the Steelers.

The Green Bay Packers had the 32nd and final pick of the 1st round and they used it to take offensive lineman Derek Sherrod (Mississippi St.). Sherrod spent 4 seasons with the Packers. He appeared in 20 games for Green bay, but only made 1 career start.

There’s the 2011 1st round. How did your team do? Did they get a franchise player? a solid role player? or did they end up with a draft bust?

@burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: April 20, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

NFL

Last week the Tennessee Titans sent the #1 overall pick in next weeks NFL draft to the Los Angeles Rams for multiple draft choices. It appears as tough Los Angeles will use that pick on a quarterback either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. Now there are reports that multiple teams have contacted the Cleveland Browns in hopes that they would be interested in dealing the #2 pick in the draft. Is there a team out there that wants t move up and make sure they get the quarterback that Los Angeles doesn’t take? It appears as they may be more than one team. Now this is exactly what Cleveland needs. They signed Robert Griffin III (RG III) this off season to be their quarterback; so taking another quarterback with that #2 pick might not be the smartest move. Looking at Cleveland no matter who they would end up taking with that #2 pick is going to turn this team into a contender; they are a few years away from that. What Cleveland needs is players; so if they can deal the #2 pick in the draft for more draft picks it may be the best thing to happen to Cleveland. While multiple draft picks still won;t make Cleveland a contender this season it gives them a chance to rebuild a team that hasn’t made a playoff appearance since 2002 and haven’t won a playoff game since 1994. The difficult part in all of this is it’s Cleveland we’re talking about here and it seems as though they don’t do what’s best for the  organization; so will see how they handle that 2nd pick. It’s doubtful Cleveland would get as much for that #2 pick as Tennessee did for the #1 pick, but even if they moved down in the 1st round and where able to add the extra draft picks; it would seem like the right move for Cleveland. Tennessee received 6 draft picks for the #1 pick; so if Cleveland could get 4 or 5 draft picks to deal the #2 pick; should they take that?

Teams that are still in the market for a quarterback had a new name added to the market as the Houston Texans cut Brian Hoyer yesterday. Hoyer started 9 regular season games for Houston last season and appeared in 11 games total. Hoyer threw for 2606 yards last season with 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. I’m sure what most people remember about Hoyer’s 2015 season was the terrible playoff game he had against the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City won that game 30-0. Hoyer was 15 for 34 for 136 yards and he threw 4 interceptions. The playoff game aside Hoyer has made 26 career starts and has a winning record at 15-11. With the late addition of Hoyer to the off season quarterback market you have to wonder how this will affect the contract demands of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick was the top quarterback left on the market and it appeared as though his contract demands reflected that. Hoyer and Fitzpatrick are very comparable quarterbacks; so will see if the teams that Fitzpatrick turned down or couldn’t come to a contract agreement with contact Hoyer. It didn’t take Fitzpatrick’s former team long to meet with Hoyer as the New York Jets had him in for a visit on Tuesday. It seemed as though Hoyer’s time in Houston was over when they signed quarterback Brock Osweiler to a 4-year $72 million dollar free agent deal this off season. Houston was Hoyer’s fourth career stop. He spent 3 seasons with the New England Patriots, a year with the Arizona Cardinals, 2 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and last season with the Texans. We’ll see where Hoyer’s next stop is and if he’s brought in there as a starter or if he ends up being a back up. On a side note the Texans also cut Hoyer’s back up on Tuesday as they released quarterback B.J. Daniels.

NHL

The St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks last night 4-3 to take a 3 games to 1 lead in the opening round playoff series. The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions; so you have to think that if a team could comeback from a 3 games to 1 hole it would be the Blackhawks. If the Blackhawks are going to comeback in this series they might have to do it without Andrew Shaw. Shaw was sent off for interference at 17:56 of the third period. While sitting in the penalty box; Shaw pounded on the glass with his stick and then yelled what looked like a slur toward someone on the ice.  Shaw scored a goal in the second period and had two assists in the game, but when he was asked about the incident Shaw said he “didn’t remember”. The NHL said they are investigating the incident. The NHL has a working relationship with the You Can Play Project. The Project aims to ensure equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. The You Can Play Project immediately reached out to the NHL. Coincidently the Blackhawks highlighted its partnership with the You Can Play Project. Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and goaltender Scott Darling participated in a video supporting the group’s mission. The nest game in this series is on the schedule for Thursday night in St. Louis; so you’d expect the NHL to rule quickly on the Shaw incident. If there’s a suspension involved with this and the Blackhawks just one loss away from elimination Shaw may have played his last game for the 2015-16 season.

NBA

Do the Golden State Warriors need Stephen Curry to win their 1st round series against the Houston Rockets? The Warriors did win Game 2 of the series as Curry sat out with an injured ankle. Curry had an MRI on Tuesday and the test didn’t show anything of concern. Curry is listed as questionable for Thursday nights Game 3, but should he play is the question. Golden State is up 2 games to none on the Rockets; so there is a bit of a cushion right now for Golden State to rest Curry. Even without Curry I don’t think Golden State would lose a 1st round series to the Rockets, but they’re going to need him down the road in the playoffs. It seems to make sense to rest him and not bring him back until he’s 100%, but that will be Golden State’s head coach Steve Kerr’s decision. Curry did try to warm up before Game 2; so you think he might try the same thing before Game 3 and then Kerr will make his decision on Curry’s game status.

Listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: April 16, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in Auto Racing, basketball, football, NASCAR, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

NFL

The 1st round of the NFL draft is 12 days away. This week the Tennessee Titans traded the #1 overall pick in the draft to the Los Angeles Rams. What did the Titans get for that pick? Tennessee got the Rams 1st round pick this season which is the 15th pick. Tennessee also got two 2nd round picks; the 43rd and 45th pick of this draft as well as a 3rd round pick; 76th pick in this draft. Wait there’s more as Tennessee will also receive the Rams 1st round draft pick in the 2017 draft along with a 2nd rd round pick in next years draft. Besides the #1 overall pick the Rams will also receive the Titans 4th round pick; at 113th and Tennessee’s 6th round pick which is 177th pick in this years draft. So Tennessee gave up 3 draft picks and moved back 14 spots in the 1st round while Los Angeles gave up 6 draft picks to move up to the top spot in the draft. Was it too much for Los Angeles to give up?

It appears as though the Rams made the trade so they could select their franchise quarterback be it Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. There was even a report saying the Rams wanted to make this deal as early as they did so they would have the time to decide between the two quarterbacks. It’s doubtful that the Rams could’ve stayed at pick #15 and been able to draft one of these two quarterbacks; so if they wanted one they had to move up. Did they have to move up to #1 is the question. Now all off season long the experts have been saying there not sure if there’s a franchise quarterback in this draft. Do the Rams see something in Goff or Wentz that makes them think that they’ll be that franchise guy or was Tennessee the only team they could work out a trade with pre-draft?

Just a few seasons ago in 2012 the Rams where on the opposite end of a deal similar to this. In 2012 the Rams sent the #2 pick in the draft to the Washington Redskins in return for 4 draft picks. The Rams received Washington’s 1st round pick in 2012 which was 6th overall as well as a 2012 2nd round pick which was the 39th pick. The Rams also received the Redskins 1st round picks in 2013 and 2014. Washington traded up to select a quarterback as well. They took Robert  Griffin III with that 2nd pick. The Rams drafted Morris Claireborne at #6 and Janoris Jenkins at #39 in 2012. The 2013 1st round pick they aqcuired ended up in another trade as it was sent with a 2015 7th round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for 3 draft picks. The Rams picked up the Falcons 2013 1st round pick which was #30 and they selected Alec Ogletree. The other 2 draft picks the Rams got where a 3rd rounder (#92) and a 6th (#198) in the 2013 draft.The other 1st round draft pick the Rams got from the Redskins ended up being the #2 pick in the 2014 draft and the Rams used it to select offensive lineman Greg Robinson. Now that the Rams are the team giving up multiple draft picks it will be interesting to see who Tennessee ends up drafting with them.

The NFL also released it’s schedule for the upcoming 2016 season. As they like to do the opening Thursday night game is a Super Bowl rematch as the Denver Broncos host the Carolina Panthers. If you’re interested in looking at the NFL schedule here’s a link for you to check it out. 

NBS

The first round of the NBA playoffs start today (Saturday) with 4 games. There are two Eastern Conference match ups and two Western Conference match ups on the schedule. The 7th seeded Indiana Pacers  at the 2nd seeded Toronto Raptors  tip-off their Game 1 at 11:30 a.m. Central Standard Time (cst) that’s followed by the 8th seeded Houston Rockets  at the #1 seeded Golden State Warriors are at 2:30 c.s.t. The third game of the day has the 5th seeded Boston Celtics at the 4th seeded Atlanta Hawks and the night wraps up with the 6th seeded Dallas Mavericks at the 3rd seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.  On Sunday the NBA action tips off at 2:00 p.m. cst with the 8th seeded Detroit Pistons taking on the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Game two has the 6th seeded Charlotte Hornets facing off against the 3rd seeded Miami Heat. Game 3 has the 7th seeded Memphis Grizzlies at the #2 seeded San Antonio Spurs and the night cap has the 5th seeded Portland Trail Blazers at the 4th seeded Los Angeles Clippers.

On yesterday’s Sports Time Radio podcast Dan the Man made his picks for the series winners in the NBA. Starting in the Eastern Conference he has the #1 Cleveland Cavaliers over the #8 Detroit Pistons. Dan likes the #7 Indiana Paces over the #2 Toronto Raptors. He went with the #3 Miami heat over the Charlotte Hornets and Dan also likes the #5 Boston Celtics over the #4 Atlanta Hawks. Over in the Western Conference Dan has the #1 Golden State Warriors over the #8 Houston Rockets. Dan also mentioned that he thins this series will be a sweep for the Warriors. Dan likes #2 San Antonio Spurs over the #7 Memphis Grizzlies. He also likes #3 Oklahoma City Thunder over the #6 Dallas Mavericks and he also has the #5 Portland Trail Blazers over the #4 Los Angeles Clippers. Feel free to leave your picks here in the comments or reach out to Dan on Twitter @SportsTimeRadio or @DanZeeeMan and let him know what you think about his picks.

NASCAR

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is at Bristol Motor Speedway this week for the Food City 500 and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) started off the weekend about as good as you can. Not only did JGR driver Carl Edwards win the pole with a speed of 127.997 mph but 4 of the Top 5 starting spots in the race went to JGR drivers. Edwards teammate Matt Kenseth will start next to Edwards in 2nd while JGR’s Denny Hamlin starts 4th and final JGR driver in the race Kyle Busch goes off 5th. The only non-JGR driver in the Top is Joey Logano from Penske Motorsports. Will qualifying success lead to victory lane you never know, but it’s better to start up front at Bristol than in the rear. Just a side note Dan the Man’s favorite driver Clint Bowyer will start 36th for Sunday’s race.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

How was your Week?

Posted: May 2, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, Boxing, football, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

The 1st round of the NBA playoffs will wrap up tonight when the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers play Game 7 of their series tonight in Los Angeles. This has been the only interesting series of the first round. Even though the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets found ways to win a couple games against their higher seeded opponents there was never any real doubt who would win those series. Even though the Washington Wizards where the #5 seed in their series against the Toronto Raptors; Washington was playing better basketball coming into the playoffs and it showed when they swept the series. The majority of these series were boring and uninteresting with the exception of the Spurs/Clippers series. As the NBA playoffs start the 2nd round let’s hope the games get better and more interesting.

Now the NHL has started the 2nd round of their playoffs and 3 out of the 4 games were great to start these series off. The Anaheim Ducks did have an easy time in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames winning 6-2. The Washington Capitals won Game 1 of their series against the New York rangers by scoring a goal in the final seconds of the 3rd period to steal a 2-1 victory. It took double overtime to settle Game 1 of the Montreal Canadiens/Tampa Bay Lighting series.. Nikita Kucherov scored in the 2nd overtime to win the game for Tampa Bay 2-1. The Chicago Blackhawks jumped out to a 3 goal lead in Game 1 of their series against the Minnesota Wild and looked like they would cruise to a victory. Minnesota turned around and scored the next 3 goals to even the game, but the Blackhawks managed to out 1 more puck in the net and take Game 1, 4-3. The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs got off to a great start and hopefully they’ll carry it on through these series.

I’ve always enjoyed watching the NFL draft, but this may be the last season I take the time to do that. I’ve tried watching the coverage on ESPN and the NFL Network and they both stink. They’ve spent way too much time just doing nothing. The picks get backed up 3 or 4 teams and it’s like neither network has never covered a draft before. Now I have no issue when things slow down to salute the military or have someone from a charity the NFL works with come out. It’s nice to see a former player like Jim Kelly or Rick Upchurch get the applause from the crowd for the battles they’re fighting. It’s even funny to see Ickey Woods announce a Cincinnati Bengals draft pick and “Shuffle” for the fans, but the NFL and the networks need to find a way to speed up the announcement of the picks. Rounds 4-7 start in about 4 hours and they are outside today, but luckily they’re going to get some good weather in Chicago for it. They also mentioned that the picks will be announced from the teams war rooms; so I’m interested to see how this works out and if it might speed things up a little.

On the Sports Time Radio podcast yesterday (Friday) we had Zach Alapi from http://www.TheLivingDaylights.co on with us to talk about the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao boxing match that takes place tonight. Zach has Mayweather winning this fight by decision, but his staff was split on who would win. 3 of the writers on his website had Mayweather winning, but there where 2 writers who picked Pacquiao to win. On the podcast Dan the Man, Mr. Fantasy and I all have Mayweather winning tonight and just like Zach we see the fight going to distance. On one of the sports networks I get they were actually announcing which celebrities were sitting ringside and all I could fins myself asking was; who cares. This is a fight boxing fans have been waiting for and why does it matter at all who’s sitting ringside. With the price of tickets who else did they think would be in those seats.

The other big event happening today is the Kentucky Derby. It’s the first race in the Triple Crown from Churchhill Downs. I made my pick on Wednesday and I’m sticking with Mubtaahji. Mr. Fantasy likes Danzig Moon and Dan the Man has Firing Line to win. I will caution people not to take our advise on horse racing as we know little to nothing about the sport and I’m pretty sure we all just took a name we liked. I actually do watch the derby, but I’m just interested in the actual race and I can do without all of the pre-race stuff. There are some experts who will tell you that horse racing and boxing are dying sports. Isn’t it interesting that they both ended up having huge events on the same day.

Last night in Fenway Park Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays on the all-time home run list with hitting his 660th home run. While this should be a celebrated event for baseball I could care less about it. There’s a pretty good chance that Rodriguez has been using some type of performance enhancing drug his entire baseball career and there were even some reports about him using P.E.D.’s in high school. The high school rumors were never proven, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all. 660 home runs is a great accomplishment for a player who didn’t cheat the game. Is there anyone out there who even cares about this that’s not a New York Yankees fan. It was no real surprise that the Boston Red Sox fans booed Rodriguez when he was announced as a pinch hitter. Mike Shuster is the Red Sox fan who was sitting on top of the Green monster and caught Rodriguez’s 660th home run. Shuster has told the New York Post that he won’t be giving the baseball to Rodriguez. It is being reported to “stay tuned” to this story as Shuster might have a price. A Hall of Fame spokesman said they would accept Rodriquez’s 660th home run ball or “milestone” as the spokesman put it. Maybe they could put a side note on the ball explaining how Rodriguez got to this number, but I doubt they actually would.

Listen to Sports Time Radio on http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com

Follow me on Twitter @Burketime

S.T.R. 1st round grades.

Posted: May 1, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

#1 Jameis Winston, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Is Winston a franchise quarterback? and will he be under center for the Buccaneers for the next 10-15 seasons? Off field issues are there as well; a lot of questions with this pick. C-

#2 Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans. A bit of a surprise here especially after seeing what they where offered to trade out of this spot. Hasn’t taken a snap from under center in quite a few years. He’ll need some time to adjust to the pro game. C

#3 Dante Fowler Jr. Defensive Line, Jacksonville Jaquars. They needed help rushing the quarterback and Fowler should help in that area. He’s a high motor guy who’ll have to be better against the run at the pro level. B

#4 Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Oakland Raiders. Derek Carr needs weapons and Cooper was the best receiver in the draft. He can be the #1 receiver the Raiders don’t currently have on their roster. B+

#5 Brandon Scherff, Offensive Line, Washington Redskins. They needed to protect their quarterback; so they drafted the best offensive lineman. A pick like this might help keep Robert Griffin III healthy and that’s a key for this team. B

#6 Leonard Williams, Defensive Line, New York Jets. I doubt the Jets would’ve believed that the best defensive player would be their for them with this pick. While it wasn’t the biggest need they had’ he was to good to pass up. Maybe they’ll deal one of their veteran defensive lineman. B

#7 Kevin White, Wide Receiver, Chicago Bears. A team with one of the worst defenses in the NFL took a receiver; interesting. White was a big hit at the scouting combine, but that doesn’t always translate to the pro level. D

#8 Vic Beasley, Defensive Line, Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta did just what they needed to do. They looked at their draft board and took the best defensive player they had on it. They’ll have to decide if Beasley will be a linebacker or a pass rush end in the pros. B-

#9 Ereck Flowers, Offensive Line, New York Giants. The Giants have weapons on offense; so it was a good move on their part to try and find a guy to help protect Eli Manning. Some experts had Flowers as the top offensive lineman in this draft. B

#10 Todd Gurley, Running Back, St. Louis Rams. This was the first real surprise for me. I thought Tre Mason had proved himself last season, but the Rams felt different. Gurley was injury prone in college and will have to hope that trend doesn’t follow him into the NFL. C-

#11 Tre Waynes, Defensive Back, Minnesota Vikings. This was the only cornerback compared to Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman. He was left in man to man situations in college against the other teams best receiver. To good of a player to pass up on here. A

#12 Danny Shelton, Defensive Line, Cleveland Browns. Cleveland hung on to their two 1st round picks and used this one to address their defensive line. Shelton is a big, big man and should fit well as a nose tackle in a 3-4 system. B-

#13 Andrus Peat, Offensive Line. New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees is getting older and it’s never a bad pick to get him more protection. Peat could develop into a left tackle for the Saints for many, many years. B

#14 DeVante Parker, Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have revamped their receiving core this off season and Parker is the next piece to that. Parker did miss some time last season with a knee injury, but was a good choice here for Miami. B

#15 Melvin Gordon, Running Back, San Diego Chargers. San Diego gave up the #17 pick along with the #117th pick (4th round) along with a 2016 5th round pick to move up 2 spots to draft Gordon. With Gurley gone San Diego felt the need to move up and get their guy, but they gave up quite a bit to do that. C

#16 Kevin Johnson, Cornerback, Houston Texans. Johnson is a taller defensive back and that’s a trend NFL teams look for. A solid cover guy with good speed and it fit the Texans need with some rumor that they may be looking to deal one of their veteran defensive backs. C+

#17 Arik Armstead, Defensive Line, San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers moved back two spots and still got the defensive lineman they wanted. It was a good deal for the 49ers and this pick should add to their defense that was weakened by retirements. B+

#18 Marcus Peters, Defensive Back, Kansas City Chiefs. Was this pick some insurance if Eric Berry isn;t ready to go at the start of the season. I think everyone had the Chiefs taking a wide receiver here, but instead the shore up the defensive backfield. C

#19 Cameron Erving, Offensive Line, Cleveland Browns. It was the defensive line help with the first #1 now the Browns add to the offensive line here. Erving is the utility man of offensive lineman as he can play any position along the line. B-

#20 Nelson Agholor, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles. Since the Eagles couldn’t trade up to get Mariota they selected a replacement for the wide receiver they lost in free agency. They could’ve went defense here, but this pick fits a need for them. C

#21 Cedric Ogbuehi, Offensive Line, Cincinnati Bengals. Another team that was thought to be going wide receiver, but instead decided to help protect their quarterback. Ogbuehi had a knee injury last season and as long as he’s over that he has a chance to be  in the NFL a long time. C+

#22 Bud Dupree, Linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers. Some experts had Dupree as the best pass rushing linebacker in this draft and I bet the Steelers where thrilled when he was there when their pick came up. They need defensive help and they found it. A

#23 Shane Ray, Linebacker, Denver Broncos. Denver traded the 28th pick, the 143rd pick (5th round) in this draft. A 5th round pick in 2016 and veteran offensive lineman Manny Ramirez to move up 5 spots to draft Ray. I’ve heard Ray being compared to Von Miller, but remember he couldn’t get on the field in college as a junior because of Michael Sam. C

#24 D.J. Humphries, Offensive Line, Arizona Cardinals. Arizona’s downward spiral stared when Carson Palmer got hurt. They added a player to help protect him, but there is some question if they took the best offensive lineman on the board. D+

#25 Shaq Thompson, Linebacker, Carolina Panthers. This may have been the first reach in the 1st round. Thompson has shown to be a great athlete, but could Carolina have gotten him in the 2nd round. He does however fit their defensive system. C-

#26 Breshad Perriman, Wide Receiver, Baltimore Ravens. With Torrey Smith gone in free agency this was the pick a lot of experts expected Baltimore to make. Perriman did have some issues with dropped balls last season, but he’ll get to work with Steve Smith as he develops. C

#27 Byron Jones, Defensive Back, Dallas Cowboys. You have to think the Cowboys were hoping that one of the running backs would fall to this pick, but they did a smart thing and filled a need here. The Cowboys defense was better than expected last season and Jones will have to help them continue that this season. C+

#28 Laken Tomlinson, Offensive Line, Detroit Lions. The Lions may have been another team looking for a running back to fall and it was a bit of a surprise they took a offensive lineman after they got one in the deal to move back to this pick. There was a lot of talk they would take a defensive lineman here, but they didn’t. B

#29 Phillip Dorsett, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts. I’m guessing no one had this pick right. Dorsett will factor into the return game right away and if he struggles as a receiver the Colts can give him time to learn. He is a true speed, stretch the field receiver. C-

#30 Damarious Randall, Defensive Back, Green Bay Packers. You could almost call Randall a cover safety. He was left to play quite a bit of man to man in college and that will be a big plus at the pro level. The Packers lost a lot in the defensive backfield this off season; so this was a logical pick. B

#31 Stephone Anthony, Linebacker, New Orleans Saints. This was the first inside linebacker to come off the board. This was also the Saints second 1st round pick. This is the pick they acquired in the Jimmy Graham trade. Anthony is a faster then most players at his position and should help the Saints defense right out of the gate. B

#32 Malcom Brown, Defensive Line, New England Patriots. I’m always surprised when the Patriots keep a 1st round pick; especially when it’s the last one of the round. They have to find a way to replace Vince Wolfork and Brown has the size New England likes to play that spot. B+

Let’s call it Wednesday.

Posted: April 29, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

Max Scherzer signed a gigantic free agent contract this off season with the Washington Nationals and then must’ve forgotten that they where in the National League. Scherzer thinks the fans would like to see the DH in the National League instead of a pitcher swing a “wet newspaper” and that “both leagues need to be on the same set of rules.”. Then after San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner took Scherzer to task for his comments Scherzer took to his Twitter account and said that his comments were “In jest” and “taken out of context” in order to fit “a story with a specific agenda.”. I’m not sure I’m buying Scherzer’s defense here especially since these comments came out after he had to miss a start because he injured a thumb while batting. While Scherzer may have been the only player who mentioned he’d like to see the DH through out baseball there where quite a few experts and analyst who’d like to see this happen as well. All the DH talk really got rolling after St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright got injured in the batter’s box in his last start. St. Louis announced yesterday that Adam Wainwright would miss the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles in his left foot. Wainwright will have surgery this week, and is expected to miss between 9-12 months. I’ve seen the highlight of the at bat Wainwright got injured in and my question was did he get hurt hitting or did he get hurt as he was trying to run out of the batters box? For obvious reasons this hasn’t been mentioned by anyone who wants to see the DH adopted by the National League, but if Wainwright had a weak Achilles as it was would this injury had happened the next inning when he took the mound? While the injury occurred while he was hitting it’s easy to point fingers and say that’s why it happened and maybe it did, but there’s also a chance he injured it pushing off trying to run to 1st base. Of course if there was a DH in the National League the only way this injury would’ve happened to Wainwright was if it did happen while he was pitching because he wouldn’t of been near the batters box.

For me baseball was the first sports I ever played. There where no youth football leagues or basketball leagues when I was growing up; now there were a few hockey leagues, but they were very expensive not only to join the league, but to buy the equipment for as well. Of course there was Little League; which I only needed my baseball glove and a bat if my parents would buy one for me. Little League supplied the teams with bats, helmets and of course baseballs along with uniforms. Which I wore to my teams first practice game even though we weren’t suppose to. Now as I got older and learned more and more about the other sports what I liked about baseball was each league didn’t play each other and had a one different rule. Now in the NFL the AFC and NFC play by the same set of rules. In the NBA and the NHL the have an Eastern and Western conference, but they use the same set of rules. Then there was baseball were in the American League the pitcher didn’t hit, but in the National League just like my Little League team the pitcher batted. Now if you’re a little older than I am you will remember the pitchers hitting all the time; since the DH wasn’t adopted by the American League until 1973. Oddly though while playing Little League and moving through that system and into high school and college baseball the pitcher was always one of if not the best hitter on the team. I’m guessing since the DH is used through almost every minor league system a pitcher doesn’t work on his hitting at all while working his way top the big leagues. I’m sure there are some leagues that don’t use the DH, but the only other league I can think of that people might know that doesn’t use a DH is the .Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League in Japan.

I understand that baseball wants a younger demographic and they believe that offense will bring in a younger group; so I fully expect to see the DH used in both leagues very soon, but I hope they don’t do it. Baseball already took some of the luster off of the World Series for me by doing inter-league play. I didn’t mind inter-league play at first, but now with an inter-league series every week it ruined it for me very quickly. I’m really hoping that baseball sees that having a DH in just one league makes them interesting and different from any other professional sport, but sadly I think I’m on the losing end of that argument.

Are you ready for the NFL draft to start tomorrow? The draft is now a 3 days event as just the 1st round will tale place on Thursday..Rounds 2 and 3 take place Friday night and then rounds 4 through 7 are done on Saturday afternoon. Now there are a ton of smoke and mirrors going on with teams right now as they try to hide their interest in certain players. That’s why I was a little surprised when Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman came out and said the Vikings were more than interested in trading the 11th pick in the 1st round. Of course trades happen all the time during the draft with teams looking to move up or down to get their guy, but nomally a general manager doesn’t advertise it like Speilman did. Then I’m sure not to be out done Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones came out and said he expects the Cowboys to trade their 1st round pick. I’m sure no one is surprised at all that Jones found a way to get some press.

We have quite a interesting sports weekend coming up. There’s the NFL draft and baseball as I wrote about above, but there is also the NBA and the NHL playoffs going on; which may be in the 2nd round. There has been some talk about this Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match, but don’t forget the Kentucky Derby is also this Saturday. I’ll be the first to tell you I know nothing about horse racing, but if I was betting on the race I’d be putting my money on  Mubtaahij to win the Derby. .

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: April 15, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , , ,
0

The NFL draft is just 15 days away. Remember it starts on Thursday now and runs through Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the #1 pick and they should take a quarterback. It still appears that they’re leaning towards Jameis Winston the former Florida State quarterback. There has been a couple of reports that Tampa Bay may go with the Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota over Winston, but I think they’ll take Winston #1. While there is no question at all that Tampa Bay is keeping and using there pick the same can’t be said about the #2 pick in the draft. That #2 pick belongs to the Tennessee Titans and the  rumors are beginning to fly on who wants that pick and what they might give up to get it. Let’s just work our way down the draft order and try to cover who might move up to #2. The New York Jets have the #6 pick and I heard a report that the Jets would deal that pick along with a 2nd rounder and a couple of their defensive players to move up to the 2nd pick. The Chicago Bears have the #7 pick and there have been reports that the Bears would trade that pick along with quarterback Jay Cutler and a 3rd round draft pick to move up to the 2nd pick. The St. Louis Rams have been mentioned, but I haven’t seen any reports on what the Rams might have to give up to move up to #2 in the draft. The Rams own the #10 pick in the 1st round, but did acquire Nick Foles from the Philadelphia Eagles this off season; so I don’t know why they’d be interested in moving up to #2. The Cleveland Browns have two 1st round picks; the 12th and the 19th pick. I heard a report that the Browns might be willing to deal those two 1st round picks plus a 2nd round pick in 2016 too move up to #2. The San Diego Chargers have the 17th pick in the 1st round and I heard yesterday that Phillip Rivers may be on the trading block. You’d guess the Chargers would have to send Rivers, the 17th pick and maybe another draft pick to Tennessee if they wanted to move up to #2. Then we get to the Eagles who have the 20th pick in the 1st round, but I heard a report that Chip Kelly may be willing to give up 3 1st round draft picks to move up to #2. That’s quite a few rumors and if Tennessee is interested in trading the #2 pick it doesn’t look like they’ll have any trouble finding a trade partner. I guess the question would then become are Winston or Mariota worth that price tag and would they turn into the franchise quarterback that a team would be moving up to get. There is good reason not to be sold on either of these guys; so I’m not at all sure why a team would give up that abundance of picks to move up to get one of these guys. Instead of dealing away a boat load of draft picks to move up teams might be better off sitting tight and see if a quarterback like Brett Hundley from UCLA, Bryce Petty from Baylor, or Garrett Grayson from Colorado State is your draft board come the 2nd or 3rd round. I’ve even heard some draft experts say that Sean Mannion out of Oregon State may turn into a good pro quarterback and he should be on the most teams draft boards in the 4th or 5th round. I guess if your advanced scouting has Winston and Mariota as franchise type quarterbacks then it would make sense to give up the draft picks you’d have to give up to move up in the draft and get your guy. I actually think the team that doesn’t make that deal might be just as well off drafting a quarterback in one of the later rounds. Whatever happens come April 30th the big winner here is Tennessee.

There are 14 games on the NBA schedule tonight and it’s also the last day of the regular season. Now 14 of the 16 playoff spots are locked up, but there are 4 teams in contention for those last 2 playoff spots. In the Eastern conference the Indiana Pacers are 38-43 and hold a 1 game lead over the Brooklyn Nets who are 37-44. Indiana won 99-95 over the Washington Wizards last night in double overtime and now they have to turn around and play Memphis Grizzlies. The Nets have an earlier game against the Orlando Magic; so the Pacers will know that outcome before they take the court tonight. Of course the team that ends up with the 8th seed draws the Atlanta hawks in the 1st round of the playoffs. Over in the Western conference it’s the New Orleans Pelicans who are holding onto the 8th spot right now. New Orleans and the Oklahoma City Thunder have the same record of 44-37, but New Orleans owns the tiebreaker and would take the 8th seed if both teams end the season with the same record. Oklahoma City is playing the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. The Timberwolves have the worst record in the NBA at 16-66; so it’s a game Oklahoma City should win. New Orleans on the other hand is matched up against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs tonight. San Antonio is currently in the 3rd spot in the Western conference and you have to wonder if it is important to them to even move up to the 2nd spot. There is a chance that San Antonio will rest it’s starters and just get ready for the playoffs. The Oklahoma City and New Orleans games tip off at the same time; so neither team will know the outcome of the others game until they’re done. Should make for an interesting night of basketball for some NBA teams.

The NHL playoffs get started tonight (Wednesday) with 4 games on the ice. Here’s the match ups for tonight it’s the  Montreal Canadiens vs. the Ottawa Senators. The New York Islanders vs. the Washington Capitals. The Chicago Blackhawks vs. the Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames vs. the Vancouver Canucks. The rest of the series get started tomorrow (Thursday with the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the New York Rangers. The Detroit Red Wings vs. the Tampa Bay Lighting. The Winnipeg Jets vs. the Anaheim Ducks and the Minnesota Wild vs. the St. Louis Blues. The NHL always seems to have some upsets in the 1st round; so which top seeds may fall? While my predictions haven’t been all that great as of late I’m going to give it another shot here. I’ll take the Tampa Bay Lighting in the Eastern conference and even though it’s a huge homer pick I’ll take the Chicago Blackhawks out of the Western conference. Who’s going to hoist Lord Stanley’s cup at the end of the playoffs well I have to go with the Blackhawks to bring the cup bacl to Chicago.

I’m the Big Jack and you can follow me on Twitter @burketime

.

5/10/14 How was your Week?

Posted: May 10, 2014 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

20140510-205858.jpg

So the NFL draft has pretty much taken over the sports world with round 1 starting Thursday night and rounds 2 & 3 following up on Friday night. This is the first year that I’ve had the NFL network during a draft, so i was interested to watch it on that channel. I have to tell you I thought their coverage was terrible. I get it that they have more or less 10 minutes to fill between first round picks, but that wasn’t an issue. They almost seemed unprepared to cover the draft and they did a lot of stalling for no real reason. They some how even managed to get behind on picks even though there was the 10 minute gap. Maybe I expected to much, but since it is the network that just covers pro football I thought the coverage would be better.

I think everybody’s mock draft was shot after the Jacksonville Jaguar’s selected quarterback Blake Bortles at #3. I read quite a few mock drafts and no one I read, had Bortles going to Jacksonville. I give Jacksonville a ton of credit for being able to hide their interest in Bortles for this long. I even heard a report that said Jacksonville had been targeting Bortles when they 0 – 8 last season. I’m not going to go over the draft, pick by pick as there will be enough of that from every other blog out there. I was surprised to see the quarterbacks drop like they did, but three did go in the 1st round like most experts thought. Johnny Manziel went #22 to the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings traded for the last pick in the 1st round (#32) and took Teddy Bridgewater. No running backs were taken in the 1st round as the position has pretty much been devalued by the new rules favoring throwing the football. There was a run on running backs in the 2nd round as three went in four picks. Rounds 4 through 7 are held today as teams fill out there rosters.

I did find it weird that the NFL draft did better ratings wise than playoff games in the NHL and the NBA. I saw a report that said the only place a playoff game beat out the NFL draft in the ratings was Miami. I know Heat fans arrive late and leave early during Heat games, but they did support their team on television. The NFL draft also beat out all of the baseball games that it was up against, but that’s no surprise as it;s still very early in the baseball season. What did you watch?

You can find Sports Time Radio on BlogTalk Radio and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime.

So how was your week?

How was Your Week? 5/3/14

Posted: May 3, 2014 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

20140510-204548.jpg

The playoffs are rolling along in the NBA and the NHL. I guess slowly rolling along in the NBA would be the way to put it as they’re still in the 1st round. Not that the NHL is a whole lot faster as they just got their 2nd round started. As much as I enjoy watching playoff games the way they have them schedule is terrible. I believe that there was only one back to back set of games and that was in the NHL. I know they do these schedules for television, but by the time the finals come around I get to the point where I almost don’t car who wins the championship. Now I don’t expect these guys to play seven in seven days or anything like that, but would one set of back to back games hurt a series.

If you like game 7’s you’ll have a few to watch in the NBA. There are three on Saturday for starters. The Indiana Pacers have managed to hang around and take the Atlanta Hawks to a game 7. They’re the first game on television today. That’s followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Memphis Grizzlies. Of course the Grizzlies will be without one of their top 3 as Zach Randolph has been suspended by the league for this game. Randolph threw a punch at the Thunder’s Stephen Adams. After seeing the video it looked more like a shove to me, but the NBA decided that it was a punch and it will cost Randolph a game and could cost his team the series with him watching. The final game 7 on Saturday has the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. A lot of experts I’ve heard talk about this series have said that they thought it would’ve been over by now if not for the Donald Sterling comments that came to light earlier in the week. I’m not sure about that, but either way the series ends tonight. You’ll have two more game 7’s on Sunday as the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors are the early game with the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Dallas Mavericks as the late afternoon game.

I mentioned the NHL 2nd round of the playoffs kicked off with a great double overtime game. P. K. Subban scored the game winning goal for the Montreal Canadians as they got a win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their series. Sadly a great hockey game was marred by stupid Bruins fans going on social media and making racial comments about Subban. I went into a long. long commentary about this situation on Friday’s show; so I’m not going to go over it all again other to remark how stupid these people are. In some other NHL 2nd round playoff action from last night the New York Rangers got an overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks won game 1 against the Minnesota Wild. The last 2nd round series gets started today featuring the Anaheim Ducks vs. the Los Angeles Kings.

The NFL draft starts this Thursday with the 1st round taking place. I did a sort of kind of mock draft on Friday’s show just for fun. Who knows which players will end up going to which teams, but it’ fun to guess. Who do you want your favorite team to pick? I don’t mind the three day NFL draft television coverage, but now they’ve talked about going to four days. You have to wonder if the NFL is getting greedy and if it will cost them sooner or later. There’s already talk of playing more games on weekdays. Also talk of expanding the playoffs. How long before fans say enough and stop tuning in. How much football could you or would you watch?

You can find Sports Time Radio on BlogTalk Radio and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime.

So how was your week?

Older Entries