Detroit Lions: Playoffsssss, Just Maybe

Last year was the first year in the Jim Schwartz era and there were already changes with in the Organization. Starting with Kettle ball Training during training camp and open competitions all the way around. Through the 2009 season and there was progression through Scott Linehans offense and from Matthew Stafford as well as fast rising linebacker DeAndre Levy as well as the emergence of rookie safety Louis Delmas. Fast forward to the off-season and you can see the out with the old and in with the new continues with the acquisition of defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and wide receiver Nate Burleson who had a sub-par couple years in Seattle and a solid draft with the picks of Ndamukong Suh, Jahvid Best, and what Could be the steal of the draft in Amari Spivey. This is not your Detroit Lions teams of the early 2000s, its a new day in Lion Land and a new buzz is generated, just ask safety Louis Delmas who said " It's no surprise if we come out and get eight wins, I won't be surprised at all. We know we can do it." With that said, I'm going to get on the Lions bandwagon or at least put one leg in because Jim Schwartz has put new life into the Detroit Lions.

Raider Nations Revival

For a very long time fans of the Oakland Raiders have had a lot to put up with when it comes to the off season. Whether it is the head scratching free agent pickups (i.e Javon Walker) or poor draft decisions (i.e Tyler Brayton, Slade Norris and more). But I must applaud GM Al Davis and the front office for all the moves it has made in getting rid of dead weight players, bringing in guys who want to play football and making smarter and needed drafts unlike other drafts where they went for the flashy picks. The addition of Jason Campbell gives them stability under center and a proven quarterback which, is something they have not had since Rich Gannon. On defense, they made improvements as well with the additions of Kamerion Wimbley and Quentin Groves and the draft pick of former Alabama standout linebacker Rolando McClain.Last but not least, the hiring of Hue Jackson to call the offense will be very solid because he has proven he can develop wide receivers as well as quarterbacks giving Jason Campbell the consistency he has never had as an NFL quarterback. Finally the powers that be in Oakland have given fans something to cheer about and to be excited about this upcoming season, So I can say proudly "Just Win Baby"

Paid For Plays: Shoud College Athletes Get Paid

The quest for greater revenues and T.V exposure to a seismic shift in college football with top programs Texas and Oklahoma possibly on the move to the Pac-10 to create a mega conference and to bring in mega dollars for those institutions have re-opened the discussion of whether students athletes should be provided compensation for competing in sports. The reason why this topic been re-opened is simple, there are some people who think that with all the money that these schools bring in during the season they should be able to provide the players with some form of spending to pay for things they may need. I myself would wonder if you can pay athletes, why not pay the medical students a stipend because they struggle just as much as student-athletes and spend just as much time making themselves better as a student athlete does. But ere are the pros and cons to this theory of paying athletes.
Pros:
The positives to providing athletes with a stipend is that it would provide less opportunity for boosters to come in and make an offer for easy money to your player. Coaches wouldn't have to worry about their players getting work-study jobs to make a little money during the off-season, players can give a better effort with incentive and will also be more rested and have more time to be in the weight room.
Cons
With every positive, there is a negative. For example, paying a player will create a jealousy factor among students who are not athletes and then you have to figure in what athletes get paid because it would be difficult to pay every athlete because most schools have a multitude of different sports. Then do you pay the upperclassmen only.
I understand that some people think its a job and they should be paid but isn't a free education enough, is free apparel not enough. Athletes in the past never got paid (at least legally) so why change the rule. The NCAA has always been a "If it ain't broke don't fix it" type of organization and I would not expect them to change their stance or be deterred in any way to to this conference shifting that is going on in college football.

Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Analysis

Cleveland

*Has to find support off their bench because only 5 points will not give you the win..
* Delonte West played 47 minutes and Mo Williams logged 42, a little breather can help their shots.
* Lebron needs a compliment to help ease the defensive pressure in the 4th quarter
* There big men need to step up and not be afraid to play on both sides of the floor

Orlando

* Cannot wait until the 2nd Half to turn up the intensity..

* Dwight Howard has to stay out of foul trouble
* Keep Mikael Pietrus guarding Lebron because he makes Lebron work for his buckets
* Rashard Lewis is a matchup problem for Cleveland and Orlando has to take advantage of that by streching the defense because Joe Smith will not extend to the three and no one will help out due to fear of the Alley to Dwight..

Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Summary

Tonight marked the start of the NBA's Eastern Conference final between the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers.. All in all it was it very good which went own to the wire, only to see a missed shot by Cavs guard Mo Williams.. From the start it was all Cleveland jumping out to an 11-4 lead but by the 3rd quarter the Magic decided to wake up, led by an attack of Mikael Pietrus, Dwight Howard, and Rashard Lewis. In the 4th quarter Cleveland was threatening after a three by Delonte West gave them a two point lead at 106-104.. After a timeout Orlando did what they do best which was shoot the three ball and Hedo Turkoglu foud Rashard Lewis for what turned out to be the game winning shot.. Friday will be the next time these two teams play and we'll see if the Cavs can even the series at one game a piece...

cutler traded to the bears

Its Finally over, Jay Cutler has been traded to the Chicago Bears from the Denver Broncos.. The broncos receive the bears 1st rounder this year and next year as well as another pick and Kyle Orton... Maybe now Cutler will feel "wanted" in Chicago.

A word of advice for Jay, Chicago is not Denver and the leash is alot shorter to work with because it is a win first mentality and all the complaining and avoiding of phone call that supposedly happened will not work there.

Maybe now Chicago wont have to suffer through Rex Grossman again *cross your fingers Chicago*

Lebron Drops Triple Double on Knicks

LeBron James couldn't catch Kobe Bryant, so he settled for matching Michael Jordan.

James scored a season-high 52 points in his 21st career triple-double, joined Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the present Madison Square Garden, and led Cleveland to a 107-102 victory over New York on Wednesday night.Two nights after Bryant set a record at the present building with 61 points, James was on pace to break it after scoring 20 in the first quarter. His scoring eventually tailed off a bit, especially after he briefly left the game in the fourth quarter after cramping up, but the skills that make him perhaps the NBA's premier all-around player remained throughout.James added 11 assists and 10 rebounds, becoming the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to have a triple-double in a 50-point game. James grabbed his final rebound with under 2 seconds left, then tumbled out of bounds as time expired.

I gotta tip my hat to the performance of LeBron but also Al Harrington of the Knicks as well in a losing effort as he finished with 39 points and 12 rebounds