| OCR Text |
Show Page 10 StatesmanSDOrtS Wednesday, April 11, 2009 Renting for Fafy, v University Pines V 400 N. 500 E. Today's Sports Debate $2600 for School Year ^ / y 4 Private Bedrooms, 2 bathrooms FULLY FURNISHED . Price Includes: All Utilites Cable TV Wueless Interret Coin-Op Laundry Facility Matt Sonnenberg is junior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to him at matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.eou. Tim Olsen is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to him at t.olsen© aggiemail.usu.edu. Comments can also be posted on The Statesman Web site: utahstatesman.com OFFICE: 454 N 400 E. 1. Who's the best player in the draft? 435-752-1516 LOGAN, UTAH WEDNESDAY SATURDAY MAY 13-16 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships USU Students receive FREE ADMISSION with ID! Ralph Maughan Track Stadium www.UtahStateAggies.com 1 'THEELMGAGGIK Much like 2007 the best prospect in this years NFL draft, the best overall prospect is a wide receiver. Michael Crabtree is a physical game changer who is capable of helping a team right away - something rare for a rookie at that position. Crabtree has quick feet, great hands and the ability to get physical with defenders or leave them In the dust. As on overall specimen, his athleticism is hard to match. Also, coming off his redshirt sophomore season, he's young and still has a lot of potential. Maybe just as impressive as his ball catching skills is his fearlessness. Crabtree has no problem going over the middle to make the tough catch and a nose for the end zone - see Tech s 2008 win over Texas. I kind of don't feel like there is a clear-cut best player in this draft, but I have a good feeling about Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. Curry has all the physical tools to be a stud in the National Football League to go along with a solid head on his shoulders. That combo leads me to think he can make an immediate impact as a rookie while learning the ropes of the NFL on the fly. As much hype that the top quarterbacks and offensive tackles are getting, those positions always seem to be hit or miss at the top of the draft. Sure, they could end up as home runs for whoever drafts them, but I'd go with Curry. 2. Who should the Lions take No. 1? As high as I am on Crabtree, the Lions should not take him with the No. 1 pick in the draft. QB, LB and offensive tackle are the Lions' most pressing needs, and while Mathew Stafford is the trendy pick, 1 don't think he's the most viable. Dante Culpepper has lost 30 pounds and looks good in spring drills, and even a relative return to form will be more than adequate for the Lions. Left tackle Jason Smith should be the Lions' No. 1 pick. Detroit can take a lesson from the Miami Dolphins who finished the 2007 season with a 1-15 record before taking left tackle Jake Long from Michigan with the No. 1 pick last year. With a solid line and a serviceable QB, the Fins went 11-5 and made the playoffs. Smith is the best tackle in the draft, and should be able to anchor the Lions O-line for years to come. If past history holds up, the Lions will most likely draft the best wide receiver available only to promptly ruin what should have been a very promising young career for said wide receiver. I think the Lions finally break away from that stigma this year and draft Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford. After trading away Jon Kitna and letting Dan Orlovsky depart via free agency, the Lions have a glaring hole at QB that they might as well address with the top player available at that position. Taking a quarterback that high is always a gamble for a team, but having a guy like Calvin Johnson for a young QB to throw to could certainly make the learning process much easier for both Stafford and the Lions. 3. NBA playoffs biggest surprise? 'Choose a Career That Gets You Out of the Office' PRIVATE PILOT SUMMER 9-WEEK PROSRAM For more information 753-4289 or check our website asnaviation.com State Farm Insurance Agent today. Hands down the biggest surprise of the playoffs so far has been the play of the Chicago Bulls. I know KG is out in Boston, but Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the boys should be able to handle the seventh-seeded Bulls in the first round. Instead, rookie Derick Rose tied and NBA record with 36 points in his first playoff game and chipped in 11 assists to lead the Bulls to an overtime upset. There hasa't been this much basketball excitement in Chi-town since No. 23 was doing his thing. Even after that first game wake up call the Bulls gave the Celtics all they could handle in the second game before bowing out 118-115. This should be a great series and I hope it goes to seven games. So far it's got to be the Chicago Bulls. Sure the Celtics are without their best player in Kevin Garnett, but the Bulls are playing without Luol Deng for the playoffs along with having their best player being just a rookie. Chicago is a very inexperienced playoff team going against a veteran Celtics squad who just happen to be the defending champions. I feel it is worth noting that the last time the Bulls were in the playoffs they won their first round series against then defending champs Miami. It's still very much an uphill climb for a young team with a rookie coach, but to come out of Boston tied 1-1 with the Celtics needing late game heroics to pull that win is encouraging for the Bulls. 4. What must the Jazz do to compete? Defense, defense, defense. The Jazz have always been known as a smashmouth team and their ability to score is tops in the NBA, but after winning 12 straight games in February to March, they've looked downright listless. Boozer looks slow, AK looks like he traded in his 47 for some pompoms and random players like the Lakers Trevor Ariza score at will. When Utah is healthy and everyone is on the same page 1 seriously think the Jazz can compete with any team in the NBA. Right now, however, there is something not right in the locker room, and until that problem is resolved I don't see the Jazz going anywhere. There needs to be a serious commitment to defense though, or you can stick a fork in the Jazz. Simply put, the Jazz need to play as a team. The past couple years when the Jazz were making noise in the regular season and playoffs, they did so because they had enough talent and athleticism to be a good team, and their team chemistry made them a playoff contender. That chemistry seems to have fallen apart this season (looking at you Carlos Boozer), and along with it the hopes for another Jazz playoff run. Winning pretty much solves everything, but the Jazz haven't been the same caliber team this year as they were the past couple seasons, and when losses start to pile up, so does blame when you're dealing with NBA-sized egos. I think the Jazz have to take everything they can from what will soon be a playoff series loss. 5. Rant With the NFL draft coming up this weekend I need to vent some serious frustration. Don't get me wrong, I love the draft and I'm stoked to see who my team takes and where my favorite college players go. My problem with the draft is the money. Players selected in the first round make a ridiculous amount of money. As the No. 1 overall selection a year ago Jake Long's contract automatically made him the highest-paid linemen in the NFL - as a rookie. The amount of money - especially guaranteed money - handed to these kids is unbelievable, and something needs to be done about it. A cap needs to be placed on rookie contracts and they should not be allowed to make more than veterans in the league their first year. They need to prove themselves a superstar before being paid super money. Simply put, there is nothing better than playoff hockey. I know most casual sports fans need their fill of drama, scandals and over-inflated egos constantly crying over the disrespect they get from fans and media, and they can get all that with most sports. In hockey, though, they just play hockey. The TV coverage doesn't try to cram endless amounts of marketing down your throat, they just talk about hockey. Each period of play has one, maybe two commercial breaks. They have occasional stoppages in play that last usually about 15 seconds before getting right back to the action. To top it all off, the players play like there is no tomorrow. If there's drama between two players, they actually get to fight each other. Hockey s TV ratings have been skyrocketing each year for the last three years. Tune in and see why. |
