It's late and I want to go to sleep but after what I just witnessed in the Jazz - Warriors game (Jazz won, 127-117 in overtime)  I just want to fire off some thoughts about Derek Fisher.  What I witnessed tonight was a true portrait of courage and showed someone who has the heart of a champion and the character of an army.  This was a "Willis Reed" moment and something that will be discussed and remembered for a long time to come.

Just a quick recap for those that may not have seen the game and what happened.  Derek Fisher was excused from the team because his little girl has a rare form of eye cancer and she was having surgery this morning in New York.  According to the ABC affiliate in Salt lake City, she has a tumor behind here eye between her eye and her brain.  After the surgery, he, his wife and his daughter flew back to Salt Lake City.  When they landed, Fisher asked his wife is he could go to the game and she told him to go.  Little did Fisher know when he showed up in the third quarter that Deron Williams was in serious foul trouble and Dee Brown went out with what looked like a very serious neck injury.  So out of the locker room comes Fisher and the crowd just erupts.  Fisher comes on to play a crucial ten minutes, scores five points in overtime, nets three assists but most importantly he hit a huge three point shot, made a big stop on Baron Davis forcing a turnover and he provided such an emotional lift to his team.

 

After the game Fisher spoke about the rare form of cancer that his daughter had, his first public statements describing the illness.  He spoke of the importance of his family and his faith and at times looked like he was going to cry while Pam Oliver interviewed him but he held it together.  It was nice to see his former Warrior teammates come up and embrace him after the game and on the TNT post game show, Charles, Ernie and magic had nothing but good things to say about Derek.  God bless Derek Fisher and his family in their time of need.

 

The bottom line is this.  At a time when rotten, nasty, selfish and surly athletes seem to dominate the sports pages and our national discourse, it's such a refreshing breath of fresh air to see a genuinely good, humble, God fearing, family man have a night like tonight and provide inspiration to all of us that love sport.  As bloggers we spend so much time talking about Bonds and Clemens and Pacman and Moss and Schilling.  We dwell on shortcomings and failure.  We insult each others teams/colleges/conferences and as we are seeing right now on the Fox blogs, sometimes even each other.  Sometimes we go over the top (I know I have and I have an army of Notre Dame fans that will point that out to me) with what we say and what we write because we just don't really have something positive to write about.  I know I feel that way sometimes, I'm sure we all do.  That is why I will not forget anytime soon what I witnessed tonight.  That is why I've never felt this good writing my blog before.  I know my buddy steelerfan writes so eloquently about these types of things and does a much better job then I'm doing right now but if I may be so bold as to borrow a phrase from him...Derek Fisher, my friends, is a beautiful example of the human side of sports.
 

 

 

"Alright now, for all you boppers out there in the big city. All you street people with an ear for the action, I've been asked to relay a request from the Gramercy Riffs. It's a special for The Warriors. That's that real live bunch from Coney, and I do mean The Warriors. Here's a hit with them in mind.  Be looking good Warriors, all the way back to Coney. You hear me babies? Good. Real good. Adios."

The 1979 cult classic The Warriors spins a tale about the impossible journey that a mythical New York City street gang must go through to make it from the Bronx back home to Coney Island after being unfairly accused by rival gang member Luther of killing Cyrus, the leader of the biggest gang in the city who was attempting to unite all New York City street gangs. To make matters worse, the truce has been called off, the Warriors have no weapons and every gang in the city is out looking for them.

 

Fast forward 29 years and we see a similar tale involving an improbable journey of some new Warriors taking shape.  The Golden State Warriors upset of the Dallas Mavericks was one of the greatest upsets in NBA playoff history.  We all have heard by now that the Warriors were the first #8 seed to knock off a #1 seed in a best-of-seven series.  We all know about the bad blood between Don Nelson and Mark Cuban, the modern day Cyrus among NBA owners.  There's no need to look at the past.  Just like the Warriors in 1979 couldn't revel in victory after taking down the Turnbull AC's (especially with The Orphans lurking around the corner), the Golden State Warriors need to look ahead on their struggle to get to Coney Island (Detroit?).

 

"Okay, let's get down to it boppers. We're gonna have to do better out there. Our friends just made it past one of the minor league teams. Remember boppers, be lookin' good."

So the immediate question at hand is "can the Warriors get past Utah?"  While I think the series will be close, I do think the Warriors may have an edge.  First of all, the Warriors are better warmed up because they are just coming off of a series with a much tougher opponent than what the Jazz faced in round 1.  Comparing the Mavs to the Rockets is like comparing The Lizzies to the Baseball Furies.  It's no contest.  The Mavs are a much more athletic team than the Rockets so the Warriors have shown they can hang with an athletic team.  The jury is still out on the Jazz.  Second of all, while some teams suffer a "hangover" effect after a tough emotional series I don't  think a veteran squad like Golden State will have a problem with that.  The fact that their series did not go seven games benefits them down the road.  Plus, it's not like the Jazz had a cake walk in their series.  They had to go to game 7 and their close out game was a lot closer than the Mavs close out game.  Lastly, the season series is tied at two wins apiece and while both teams enjoyed 24 point routs of the other during the regular season (Utah beat Golden State 106-82 in their first matchup while Golden State beat Utah 126-102 in their last matchup), Utah got their rout on November 4th and Golden State got their rout on April 9th which tells me that the Warriors beat down of the Jazz is probably fresher in both teams minds and the Warriors were on the upswing late in the season while the Jazz started strong this past season but played with increased mediocrity as the season went on.  The Jazz will have a hard time matching up with Baron Davis, Steven Jackson and Jason Richardson.  My prediction: Warriors in 6.

"Latest sports news off the street boppers. The Baseball Furies dropped the ball, made an error. Our friends are on second base and trying to make it all the way home. But the inside word is that the odds are against them. Stay tuned boppers. Stay tuned."

If the Warriors manage to get past the Jazz they will face the winner of the Spurs-Suns series.  The Spurs lead that series 1-0 and I think they to will win in six.  Assuming the Spurs advance, do the Warriors have a chance against a strong defense oriented team like the Spurs?  The Warriors will have their work cut out for them.  They were 1-3 against the Spurs this season and down the stretch, the Spurs were the only team to beat the Warriors in the last 10 games of the regular season.  The best hope that the Warriors have is that the Suns take more out of the Spurs than the Jazz take out of the Warriors, which is at least plausible.  If Baron Davis is 100% when this series rolls around the Warriors at least have a fighting chance, just as the Warriors in 1979 did against the Riffs.

I can't even begin to predict what will happen in the Eastern Conference although the Pistons have to be considered the odds on favorite.  If the Warriors get through the Jazz and Spurs I'm sure I'll revisit this blog.  But until then, I leave you with this...

"Good news boppers, the big alert has been called off. It turns out that the early reports were wrong, all wrong. Now for that group out there that had such a hard time getting home, sorry about that. I guess the only thing we can do is play you a song."

As a fan of SEC football, I do not hide the fact that I firmly believe that top to bottom the SEC is the strongest conference in all of college football.  The NFL draft this weekend seemed to validate that belief and it showed  that many in the NFL also believe in the strength of the SEC.  Consider the number of SEC first round picks relative to other conferences: 

First Round Picks by Conference

SEC                        11

Big 10                     6

Big East                  5

Big 12                    4

ACC                       3

Pac 10                    1

Independent           1

Mid-American          1                 

35% of the first round picks came from the SEC and the SEC accounted for as many first round picks as the Big 10 and Big East combined. 

SEC 1st Round Selections (11)
#1 Oakland JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
#6 Washington LaRon Landry, S, LSU
#8 Atlanta Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
#11 San Francisco Patrick Willis, LB, Ole Miss
#16 Green Bay Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee
#17 Denver Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida
#21 Jacksonville Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
#23 Kansas City Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU
#27 New Orleans Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee
#29 Baltimore Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn
#30 San Diego Craig Davis, WR, LSU

The dominance seemed to extend beyond the first round.  Consider the following:

- The SEC had the No. 1 pick in the draft for the fourth time in the last 10 years

- Three of the first five defensive players taken were from the SEC

- Three of the first eight players taken were from the SEC

- The SEC had 11 first round selections, which was the most of any conference.

- The 11 first round draft picks were the most ever by the SEC. In 1998 and 2005, the SEC had 10 first round draft selections.

- The SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 were tied with the most selections in the second round with six each. The Big 12, WAC and Mountain West each had three selections.

- After two rounds, the SEC led with 17 selections, followed by the Big Ten with 13, Big 12 and the ACC with seven each.

- During the first day (three rounds of the NFL Draft), the SEC led with 21 selections, followed by the Big Ten with 18, ACC with 14, Big 12 with nine and the WAC with seven selections.

- The SEC finished the draft with a total of 41 players selected

 
This folks, is yet another example of Southeastern Conference football Dominance! 

 

SEC Players in the 2007 NFL Draft

PK (OVR) NFL TEAM PLAYER POS. SCHOOL FIRST ROUND #1 Oakland JaMarcus Russell QB LSU #6 Washington LaRon Landry S LSU #8 Atlanta Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas #11 San Francisco Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss #16 Green Bay Justin Harrell DT Tennessee #17 Denver Jarvis Moss DE Florida #21 Jacksonville Reggie Nelson S Florida #23 Kansas City Dwayne Bowe WR LSU #27 New Orleans Robert Meachem WR Tennessee #29 Baltimore Ben Grubbs OG Auburn #30 San Diego Craig Davis WR LSU SECOND ROUND #3 (35) Tampa Bay Arron Sears OG Tennessee #9 (41) Atlanta Chris Houston CB Arkansas #10 (42) Indianapolis Tony Ugoh OT Arkansas #12 (44) Minnesota Sidney Rice WR South Carolina #17 (49) Cincinnati Kenny Irons RB Auburn #22 (54) Kansas City Turk McBride DT Tennessee THIRD ROUND #1 (65) Oakland Quentin Moses DE Georgia #20 (83) Carolina Charles Johnson DE Georgia #21 (84) St. Louis Jonathan Wade CB Tennessee #34 (97) San Francisco Ray McDonald DT Florida FOURTH ROUND #22 (121) Denver Marcus Thomas DT Florida #24 (123) Houston Fred Bennett CB South Carolina #34 (133) Atlanta Martrez Milner TE Georgia #36 (135) San Francisco Joe Cohen DE Florida #38 (137) Baltimore Le'Ron McClain FB Alabama FIFTH ROUND #15 (152) Tennessee Antonio Johnson DT Mississippi State #24 (161) Seattle Will Herring OLB Auburn SIXTH ROUND #16 (190) St. Louis Kendrick Shackleford OT Georgia #20 (194) Atlanta David Irons CB Auburn #23 (197) Seattle Courtney Taylor WR Auburn #32 (206) Tennessee Ryan Smith CB Florida SEVENTH ROUND #3 (213) Cleveland Chase Pittman DE LSU #10 (220) New Orleans Marvin Mitchell ILB Tennessee #11 (221) Chicago Trumaine McBride CB Ole Miss #17 (227) Pittsburgh Dallas Baker WR Florida #18 (228) Green Bay Deshawn Wynn RB Florida #30 (240) San Diego Brandon Siler ILB Florida #36 (246) Tampa Bay Ken Darby RB Alabama #38 (248) St. Louis Keith Jackson DT Arkansas #45 (255) Detroit Ramzee Robinson CB Alabama

 

 

"......., Joe Thomas, Offensive Tackle, University of Wisconsin."  Now I know I said the same thing last year about the Texans selecting D'Brickashaw Ferguson with the first pick and in reality I'm not expecting to hear these words uttered by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on April 28 at approximately 12:18 pm when he introduces the first pick in the draft.  Most likely, we will hear the name "Russell" or "Quinn," or "Johnson" along with the first pick (although I think JaMarcus Russell is almost a lock.)  Much of the debate in cyberspace as well as on the radio and television revolves around Russell, I'm here to tell you that even though the analysts and commentators are paid to give their opinions (while your humble scribe works for free) that doesn't mean they are making the right call.  Most analysts believe Russell will go to the Raiders thus creating a modern day "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (Al Davis, Lane Kiffin, Randy Moss, and JaMarcus Russell).  Now I agree that this is how things will probably turn out but I'm here to tell you why I think things should turn out differently.  The following are the top five reasons that the Oakland Raiders should select Joe Thomas with the first pick in the draft:

 

#5 - You must solidify the protection for the quarterback before you find the quarterback.  In 2005, David Carr suffered through 68 sacks, 424 yards lost, 17 fumbles, six fumbles lost.  It was a rough season for the former number one pick in 2002 NFL Draft.  He received an $8 million roster bonus which seemed to lock him up as the franchise quarterback through the 2008 season but he never got there because the Texans did not overhaul their offensive line.  Mario Williams couldn't protect Carr and now Carr is gone.  Four years of quarterback development and an $8 million dollar roster bonus last season down the tubes.  Maybe a pick like D'Brickashaw Ferguson could have helped salvage Carr's career by providing better pass protection for Carr.  Now it's 2007 and the same scenario seems to be building.  The Raiders are set to grab Russell, a big armed and slow footed quarterback that seems to be more in the Byron Leftwich mold than the Donovan McNabb mold.  Now I'm not saying that to be an NFL Quarterback you have to be a running quarterback (although you will probably need to run for your life as a Raiders quarterback). What I am saying is that when you play behind the worst Offensive Line in football, you have to be able to move in and out of the pocket. To be able to use the arm that can chuck a football 50 yards down the field, you need pass protection that will hold up while your receiver gets 50 yards down the filed. The Raiders O-Line is the worst in football. Statistically speaking they were the worst rated offense in the NFL in 2006. They gave up a league leading 72 sacks. The Lions gave up the second most at 63 sacks. That's nine sacks worse over 16 games. They were the only team in the NFL to lose over 400 yards from sacks. Do you really think it matters whether Russell can throw the ball 15 yards or 50 yards? Do you really think a rookie QB with a questionable work ethic, an inability to read defenses and is slow of foot can win in a situation like this? No way. Just check out the following image. This is what will happen to Russell about 80 times next year.

 

 

 

A pick like Joe Thomas would solidify the offensive line at the crucial left tackle spot.  The left tackle spot has emerged as one of the most crucial positions for a football team.  Michael Lewis, author of the critically acclaimed Moneyball, also penned The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, in which he contends that in the evolution of football "first came the modern, meticulously choreographed passing offense, then the ferocious defensive pass rusher whose bone-crunching quarterback sacks demolished the best-laid passing game, and finally the rise of the left tackle-the offensive lineman tasked with protecting the quarterback from the pass rusher-whose presence is felt only through the game-deciding absence of said sacks. A rare creature combining 300 pounds of bulk with 'the body control of a ballerina,' the anonymous left tackle who is now often a team's highest-paid player."  The importance of the left tackle position can not be over stated so if you have an opportunity to land a franchise offensive tackle, as many scouts believe Thomas will be, then you land him.

Now some will say that the Raiders already wasted a pick on a "franchise" left tackle by drafting Robert Gallery in 2004.  First of all, Thomas is a much better left tackle than Robert Gallery.  While there are some similarities, there are also crucial differences.  Like Gallery, Thomas is huge. He checked in at the combine at 6-6