I've never partied in this part of the country so I can't speak from experience but the news reports are adding up to this conclusion: professional and college athletes who choose to party in the night life scene of Southern Florida are putting themselves in harm way. Now I know there are numerous other clubs in major citites throughout America that have presented danger for high-profile individuals but harmful incidents, over the last 10 to 12 years, seem to be highest in areas surrounding Miami. I'm sure some of these incidents have been exxagerated and its never as bad as it seems on TV but after Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Lineman Richard Collier was shot several times late Tuesday night while seated in his car, it has become apparent to me that there are a surplus of 'Haters' in South Florida. And there all looking to make a name for themselves by capitalizing on the downfall of rich-popular athletes who play ball (mainly football and basketball) for a collegiate or professional team in the Florida peninsula. What makes these incidents worse are the fact that most go unsolved

Some of the past victims didn't necessarily play on a team from the area but were raised in the area and were back visiting family and friends. Its not enough that these guys are receiving life-threatening injuries but it seems half of these cases are straight murder situations. Luckily Jags lineman Collier was not murdered but he is in a critical state as I write and his agent stated "he's not out of the woods yet"; which can also describe the overall party atmosphere for persons that make a living in the entertainment industry (sports would fall under entertainment). In todays social climate you can't be flambouyant and naive at the same time like u could 15 or 20 years ago, you do that in the 21st century and you might end up in a very uncompromising situation

I'm not sure what can be done about the South Florida Scene but there needs to be some serious safety consideration injected if it hasn't already. To be totally safe maybe we should  do what our parents use to tell us when were young-pups having fun in the neighborhood.."Be home before the street lights come on"

You've read plenty but you haven't read the best!

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens...by injury default Flacco will start at QB, as a rookie, for the Ravens and it looks like he has tremendous upside. Unfortunately his upside won't show until year 2 or 3 in the league and by that time the proud Baltimore defense will be well past its prime and teams will be scoring on them at will

Cincinnati Bengals...they will again score a lot of points, give up a ton of points and Chad 'Ocho-Cinco' Johnson will contine to be a distraction. That equates to another below avg. season and ultimately the firing of coach Marv Lewis. Now if only the Bengal ownership could fire themselves

Cleveland Browns...'reality bites' for the Brownies. With more pressure to win and every team on their schedule not looking past them this season, their destined for a .500 record. Their defense is unproven and Derek Anderson in his 2nd season as starter will have to avoid the predictable sophomore slump. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow have arrived as prime-time players but the rest of the team has yet to mature fully

Pittsburgh Steelers...the toughest schedule on paper of any team in the league doesn't look so good for the Steel-Men but when u have Big Ben anything is possible. Look for Roethlisberger to step up into the class of P.Manning and Tom Brady and be in the running for Leage MVP, if that happens you can pencil in the black&gold for a deep playoff run

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills...Trent Edwards will play well enough to ensure himself the QB of the present and future for the franchise but outside of a few polished offensive and defensive stalwarts the Bills overall don't have much going for themselves. They should squeak out a home win against their hated rival Patriots but they will fall short of a playoff bid; look for them to make real noise in '09

Miami Dolphins...Chad Pennington was a good short term stop-gap for the franchise but they just don't have enough overall talent to be considered a threat. Matter of fact not until they get Henne on the field and he starts learning the NFL ropes will u start to feel like this team is moving in the right direction. The defensive side of the ball is old and inexperienced, not a good mix, the Dolpins have a ways to go before they start putting up above average seasons

N.Y. Jets....Its Brett Favre or bust. By the time Favre gets a real handle on the offense the Jets will be out of playoff contention in the highly competitive AFC. So all the franchise will have done is stunted the growth of future franchise QB K.Clemons. Look for Brett to retire at end of season and hand the key to the city back to Mangini

New England Patriots...16-0 hell no but a 12-4 or 11-5 is reasonable and a 2nd round playoff exit should also be expected. The Pats are old, tired and devoid of any surplus of fresh-young talent. Not to mention still smarting from the fact they caught cheating last year and will forever be remembered for being coached by the legend Bill Belli-cheat

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans...this should be the year the Texans finally turn the corner and win a bid to the playoff round. But with no sound running game, only 1 receiver who can seriously threaten d-backs and a defense that has a hard time covering receivers I don't see Houston in the playoffs at all, matter of fact they'll be out of contention by mid-november

Indianapolis Colts...is Manning starting to show his age and 11 years of wear and tear? Can the same be said for M.Harrison? I think u can put down yes for both of those questions. Plus Freeney and Sanders on the defensive side of the ball have yet to prove their 100% healthy. This season might be the changing of the guard for this division. Although it will still be a 'rock-em sock'em' fight to the end with the Colts barely holding on to the division champ title. Colts make the playoffs but will be bounced in the first round

Jacksonville Jaguars...Garrard emerged last year, a few of their receivers stepped up as well and to go along with a great defensive backfield I can see the Jags running away with this division. But at the same time I can see them struggling all year to stay in front of the Colts and getting bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs. Garrard is entering just his second full year as a starter and this is typically the year most QB's have trouble because defenses start to figure out their nuances and bad habits..also the Jags d-line isn't close to what it use to be and their LB's don't create pressure like they did in previous years. The Jags will be in there share of low to mid-scoring games this season where defense will be the biggest key 

Tennessee Titans...Another team where defense will have to win games for them. Despite what Fisher says about Vince Young growth, he still looks confused and erratic when he's on the field not to mention they haven't been able to develop any solid 'go to receivers' because Vince completion pct. is low and he still has a tendency to take off and run instead of giving his receivers a lil more time to get open. They'll make the playoffs but don't expect the Titans to hang around too long, they have a very good defense but they won't put up enough points to be a real threat

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos...Jay Cutler looks like the real deal but he's still turning the perverbial 'star-qb' corner and outside of that there's not much to talk about in Denver. There #1 receiever is a huge distraction off the field and coach Shanahan hasn't won a playoff game since the legend Elway grazed the old Mile-High Stadium. Shanahan has slowly eased his way into being an ineffective game-day coach and poor talent evaluator in the draft and free-agency. The Broncos will take a few more steps backwards this year and might finish below the Raiders

Kansas City Chiefs...it seems like the Chiefs had 50 draft picks in this years draft and from that u would have expected to hear more praise coming out of their training camp from at least a few of those picks but bottom line is this: The Chiefs will definitely be the worse team in the division and could contend with the likes of the Atlanta Falcons as the worse team in the NFL. Brody Coyle is nothing to 'write home about', LB Derrick Johnson had a superb rookie year but has since fallen into 'no-man's land' and Larry Johnson is a big physical back who takes way to many hits and seems to be married to the IR list every year. The rest of the team is a bunch of young inexperienced players still wet behind the ears. Oh yeah, their coach Herman Edwards is a good motivator but horrible in-game decision-maker

Oakland Raiders...can somebody check the pulse of owner Al Davis and see if he's still breathing and cognizant. He gave a ton of money to a bunch of overrated free agents this off-season then turned around and shelled out the big-bucks for RB rookie sensation D-McFadden; the latter he had to do. But everything else the Raiders do are confusing  and unexplainable. But just like every team in the NFL the buck starts and stops with a quality QB and right now the Raiders don't have one. Last years #1 pick Russell is just now getting used to be a starter in the NFL and most of the time the play-calling is simplified so he's not to overwhelmed in the huddle. It's a shame the Raiders offense is so plain and vanilla (McFadden and Fargis will be the only bright light) because they have a quality playoff defense but won't matter much this year because the whole organization will be at home watching the playoffs this January figuring out a way to fire coach Kiffin without actually telling him

San Diego Chargers....the only team in this division that will make the playoffs and deservedly so, they have a ton of talent and experienced and they've been there before. The only thing in their way is a rash of consistent injuries and the horrible playoff record of their head coach. But even with all of that they can still make the playoffs and get to the AFC Championship game...making it to the Super Bowl will fall on the relatively young shoulders of their qb Phillip Rivers, if he can turn into a top-shelf elite qb this year then the Chargers should be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl

1. It's that time of year again where everybody is calling for the cancellation of the NFL preseason or at least the reducing of some games. And of course the final conclusion is always 'no' or 'we'll think about it' from the owners. This is a ad-nauseam discussion that should be put to rest and never brought up again. I know there are key players from most teams each year that are loss for the year from pre-season but this is a violent game and injuries are going to occur, period. If it happens during game 1 of the preseason or game 1 of the regular season doesn't make much of a difference. Most teams would rather an injury happen during preseason than the regualar season because they can then have more time to address the situation with replacement playerz. We might see the preseason reduced by 1 game but thats about it, owners make too much money during those games not to mention the most important part of preseason--'player evaluation'. Coaches get to make critical decisions on young players that will be key components to the team during the regular season. Plus I'd rather see sloppy mistake ridden play during 3 preseason games than see it spil over into the first two weeks of regular season as players get re-acclimated to the new season

2. Olympic phenom swimmer Michael Phelps might not be the best athlete of all time (although one can put a good argument for him) but he is the best Olympian of all time and he will shut the door on that debate with authority during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where he is predicted to compete in 5 disciplines which would give him a possible total of 19 Gold Medals, the most ever by any athlete

3. The NFL's Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith was suspended for the first 2 games of the year by the team for his physical attack on defensive teammate Ken Lucas during training camp. Smith gave Lucas facial damage and 2 weeks on the injured reserve list. I have a huge problem with a guy like Steve who's been a great receiver on the field, when healthy, but at the same time been an arrogant self-hyped player that has a history of fighting and injuring teammates dating back to his first couple of years in the league. Instead of suspending Steve for 2 regular season games (expect the Panthers to go 0-2 in those games) they should of maintained his playing status but in turn his punishment would of been a 'self-contained cage match fight' with several key defensive players where Smith would have had to fight 3 or 4 teammates in a row without intermission. Of course he would of taken a major ####-beaten and only then do I think he would of learned his lesson, the hard old-skool fashion way, and started to control his anger mgt and respect his fellow teammates

4. The L.A. Dodgers newest addition Manny Ramirez has played well since his trade to the team in late July but lets be honest Manny is looking for another mega-contract (his agent is nemesis and universally-hated Scott Boras) at the end of year when he'll be a unrestricted free-agent. Here's hoping the Dodger brass plays this situation smart and doesn't fall for the 'Okey-Doke' and re-sign him for the $15-$20 mil per year he's expected to ask for. Let another big market team not named the Boston Red Sox's over-pay for Manny. I can't think of a more over-rated so-called star player in the history of MLB. He's a great hitter--some say the best right handed hitter of all-time--and because he consistently puts up great numbers at the plate analyst predict he will be a sure fire hall of famer but in mind those accolades are a bit short-sided for warranting Hall of Famer induction. Ramirez is a serious liability as an outfielder and has been for most of his prime years, he's disruptive force with coaches, mgt and ownership and he doesn't play hard night in and night out; doesn't run out ground balls and is easily distracted by off the field influences when he's playing defense. Being a 1-dimensional player shouldn't grant a player access to the H.O.F.. For that reason alone I recommend to the Dodgers they let Manny Ramirez walk at the end of the year and use that money to sign younger more all-around skilled set players that are in there farm system or on the free- agent market. Because Manny will continue to be Manny no matter what and that only benefits one person...Manny

5. Brett Favre in New York, playing for the Jets, I've never seemed Brett look more uncomfortable and out of place. To me it should of been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Retirement...only in Tampa did he have a chance to contend for a Super Bowl appearance. In N.Y. he'll be contending for a 8-8, 9-7 record and early exit to his off-season Mississippi home. Next off-season Favre should be able to make a more definitive retirement decision because returning to New York to play for the Jets in '09 will be a NO-NO. The John Madden game cover jinx lives on

I said it before and I'll say it again, the USA Mens Olympic team is in more jeopardy of coming up short on a Gold Medal than most people and journalist are willing to admit. The Americans have a lack of on-court continuity not to mention a scarcity of frontline tall bodies to compete with the elite European teams. Don't be surprised if Spain and Greece, respectively, finish in front of America when its all said and done

The NFL Training Camp sessions are here...YEAH! Which means the season is not to far off, to bad we all have to be witness to this ugly love/hate war between Brett Favre and the Green Packers. I'm like most of you, I'm sick and tired of hearing about it. I don't get the uproar thats being massaged each and every day. The Packers have decided to move on without Favre, so what, for all the great accomplishments Brett has had on the field wearing the green and gold he's also been responsible for a ton of heartache and headache. For every touchdown and wacky/amazing play he's orchestrated (in particular the last 5 plus years) he's turned around the following week and thrown 3 or 4 interceptions that cost the team dearly during the regular and/or early playoff exit.  I'm sure the Packer front office has made there share of communication mistakes along the way but I can't help but side with mgt/ownership because of their willingness the last 4 years to hang at the mercy of Favre's ego and wait to hear till the last minute if he decided he wanted to retire or not. This year mgt said enough is enough, your retired, good--happy trails, we're moving on with our potential qb of the future Aaron Rodgers...see you in 5 years at the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The best out of conference football rivalry in the history of the NFL will resume this season, in December, when the Dallas Cowboys visit Heinz Field and the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time ever. Expect a lot of fireworks and Fan-Nation Ego thumping. The Cowboys continue to hold the AMERICA'S TEAM banner but 'Burgh fanz will tell you, even if u don't ask, that there's no deeper fan base in America professional sports than the Steelers Steel-Nation base. This might be the the first of 2 meetings for the teams, they might meet again during the first weekend of February '09 for the rights to earn their 6th Super Bowl championship

Chicago Bears finally wised up and paid their only true offensive talent on the team when they gave pk/kr Devin Hester a 4 yr. extension and a nice signing bonus. It was well deserved for a player that's already considered, after only 2 years in the league, the best return guy to ever play in the NFL. The Bears sheepishly backed down and re-worked the contract of out-dated and over-rated LB Brian Urlacher, after he complained and moaned all summer about wanting new money. They should of let Urlacher hang out to dry and forced him to honor the mega contract extension he signed 3 years ago (when he was actually an effective player on the field) and then focused their monies and attention on the one and only player people watch Bears game to see 'Fast-Flash Hester'...he's worth the contract extension and 2 prices of game-day admission

The panic in Steeler Nation over the potential sale of the storied Pittsbugh Steelers is greatly exxagerated. Even if the Rooneys have to give up majority ownership of the club they will continue to be the front crew for the team and will continue to code of excellence on and off the field. New Steeler ownership might be good for the team long-term, they could potentially have more monies to pull from when it comes time to re-sign their own players

I applaud Annika Sorenstam for once again dissing/criticizing fellow ladies golfer Michelle Wie. Wie has decided to enter another Men's PGA tournament this weekend instead of play in the more celebrated and gender correct Womens British Open. Annika pointed out that Wie continues to apply for PGA tourny's when she's yet to make the cut at any of seven PGA's she entered and on top of that for every LPGA tourney she has entered she's yet to come close to winning one of them. Michelle Wie is an average golfer who gets the attention from the media for all the wrong reasons, the notoriety should be about her yet to be discovered winning accomplishments, but instead its always about her brave attitude of taking on the mens golfers even as she continues to be overwhelmed by the courses. She might be highly talented but thats where the buck stops, she has nothing going for herself, she's not even the best lady golfer in her age class

I guess when u got it like that, u can spend it like that. Jerry Jones, owner and dictator of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, has spent money this offseason like his life depended on it, and maybe it does. Jerry is in his late 60's and his team hasn't won a playoff game since 1996 which means they've been no closer to a Super Bowl ring than the worst team in the NFL during that stretch, the Arizona Cardinals. So I guess Jones decided this year that no matter what he will spend the money he thinks it takes to get the right players (and some wrong ones too) onto the Cowboy Ranch; and go 110% full force for that elusive 6th Super Bowl Franchise win. He's brought in and signed free agents, drafted a couple of first round players that will demand big signing bonuses, extended contracts for several  current players and has put the finishing touches on a new Billion Dollar football stadium that will be the new home of the Cowboys in 2009

His efforts have not went unnoticed, he's done similar off-season spending over the last few years but nothing like he's done this year, the only owner who can match his ridiculous spending is the Oakland Raiders Al Davis, but there's one big difference between Al and Jerry's spending bonanza; the Cowboys are actually fielding a team that can realistically go to a Super Bowl

One can only hope that Jone's cash efforts will be rewarded once the season starts because the last 2 seasons his team has bowed out of the playoffs in the first round when they clearly had the better talent. If NFL history serves me right, spending a ton of money on players during the offseason, doesn't equate to winning in the post-season. Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins can attest to that. The only way the Rich-boys make it out of the first-round this year is better-improved offensive line blocking, better tackling and coverage from their defensive backs (start with benching over-rated safety Roy Williams) and most importantly Tony Romo has to step up and be more focused and prepared (getting rid of the over-rated Jessica Simpson would help). Then maybe Jerry Jones and his monopoly style money will be most valued

1. I'm sure Adam 'PacMan' Jones (my bad, Adam Jones) will be on his best behavior this inaugural season in Dallas (on and off the field) but my quesion  is how will be perform from a skill and talent point of view? As much as analyst want to portray Jones as some kind of All-Pro player with the Titans before he was suspended for a year, my memory doesn't serve me in that way. Adam was an 'ok' defensive back and he returned a couple of punts for touchdowns in his brief NFL career but to say he was anything more than slightly above average athlete is a stretch.  My point is this, Adam still needs to prove that he's an every Sunday quality defensive player in the NFL, something he hadn't yet proved in Tennessee. It'll be interesting to see if he can earn a starting 'd-back' position on this Cowboy team that has most of their defensive starters in place

2. Venus Williams and Serena Williams are playing well in this years Wimbledon (they should meet in the Finals) one could only wish they will continue to focus on Tennis and not the off-the court periphery items. They can go down in Tennis history as the best to ever do it but they have to stay in shape and keep that fire burning to win every Major championship

3. Griffey Jr. hit his 600 home run recently and is a certain Hall of Famer but I can only think what could of been with Griffey if he stayed in shape and worked out more often through-out his career. If so he would of had the all-time home-run record by now and looked at as the best baseball player of all time

4. The NBA draft just concluded and I couldn't help but think and be reminded of the great collegiate Maryland Terrapin player LEN BIAS. He was drafted #2 overall by the Celtics in '86 and was on par to be another great clog in that 80's Celtics machine. An impromptu night of post-draft partying ended Len's life prematurely and the enormous potential Bias was carrying into the league. You never want to definitively project what a sports player 'would of' or 'could of' done on the professional level but its safe to say Len would of eventually been a perennial All-Star and All-Pro, and the Hall of Fame would of put him on their ballot immediately once he qualified. Len Bias was all-around skilled beast in college and couldn't be stopped, he got better every year and he was humble and appreciative of his talents...R.I.P Brotha

5. Plaxico Burress of the NFL's New York Giants is asking for more money and he should get it but again he's adding to a number of #### football players. thru the years, who go about it in the wrong way (i.e. Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens). Plax is a very good receiver who deserves a bump up in his salary but he's no All-Pro and you could argue he's not even the best receiver on his team. I'm sure eventually, once he reports to camp, the Giants will give him an increase in loot and extension but they won't pay him the max like he foolishly thinks he deserves

6. Who knew that Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, whom have been known to 'hate' on each other in the past, would have so much in common at the end of their careers

7. Andy Roddick overrated...Check!  Michelle Wie extremely overrated and shouldn't even be allowed on a professional golf course....Check! 

8. Tiger Woods probably jeopardized at least a few future Majors by playing with a fracture leg and torn ACL, winning the 2008 U.S. Open, but it was great sports theatre nonetheless. The Greatest off all-time put on another Great Show

9. Lets hope the coaching staff and QB coach at The Ohio State Buckeyes find a way to coach their new freshman phenom Terrele Pryor in a way that makes him a quarterback who looks to throw first and run only when necessary. If they do that, he should have a great college and promising NFL career. He's an extremely talented player who can run and throw with great ability but unfortunately history has proven that college coaching staffs rely more on the pure athleticism of a qb who can do both instead of coaching up the most important skill a QB must possess; Throwing. I rather see Pryor be more like the 49er style Steve Young instead of becoming a Vince Young type of player

10. If Karma has any real effects on life and potential activity, the Dallas Cowboys moving into their new stadium in a year or so are going to have nothing but bad luck and losing seasons. During the 3 year construction of their new over-priced billion dollar stadium 1 construction worker has died and numerous more have been seriously hurt

11. We all know Lakers coach Phil Jackson is a first ballot hall of famer once he retires for good but here's hoping that the architect of the Triangle Offense and the man responsible for all the success Phil has had, Coach Tex Winters, gets in to the hall of fame too (he retired 5 years ago but still consults for Jackson and the Lakers) he's in his 70's and should of been in the hall years ago, I credit him for changing the face of basketball offensive scheming...he's a legend

12. Can the commissioner of MLB and the NBA find a way to cut back on games so we don't have the baseball regular season and post-season drifting into late October-early November and the basketball playoffs starting in April and ending in middle of June. We're halfway through the NFL season by the time baseball officially ends and we're a little less than a month away from the baseball all-star game by the time basketball ends....its ridiculous

12. Lets put this false 'rumor-statement-belief' to rest once and for all. The Portland Trail Blazers did not miss out on drafting Michael Jordan. There was no reason to draft M.J. who was projected as a 2-guard because they drafted Clyde Drexler a year earlier-who was also a 2-guard. Plus nobody knew how great Jordan was going to be in the NBA, I'm sure if the Blazers had a crystal ball and could see in the future they would of drafted Jordan and traded Drexler immediately but that's not humanly possible so lets all chill out on the infamous '84 draft and realize every team drafting in the top ten that year, drafted in terms of need

13. I know it's way to early to project on this recent '08 NBA draft crop but I'm going to take a leap of faith and say the only 2 players that have potential to be perennial All-Stars in the league are Derrick Rose and Kevin Love. Westbrook, Mayo, Gordon are tweener players who aren't pure points or off-guards which will make their life difficult in the NBA. Because they were all picked in the top ten, they have the high potential to be labeled 'bust' in a few years. I think all three along with the Lopez twins will eventually be good off-the bench role players during their career

14. WNBA right now is where the NBA was during their early years (decade of the 50's); nobody paid attention much but they stuck around anyway and eventually became relevant. With players like Candace Parker in the league the WNBA is headed in the right direction and will rival the NBA in popularity and profitability in 10 years

NON-SPORTS RELATED PASSION ITEM:

15. Is it me or are there way too many TV and Radio commercials during sports programming these days? It's very distracting and it makes every game an extra 15 to 20 minutes longer (this specifically applies to the NBA and NFL...in addition National-Local sports talk shows are interruped with a bevy of 'Male Enhancement' infomercials) I know these companies got bills to pay and journalist to appease but 'come on fellas' ease back on the countless beer ads and car commericals , the U.S. economy is in a recession and nobody really cares anymore

6-4-08

1. As much as I want to believe this 2008 version of Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals is another chapter in the long history of great Championship matches it's just not the same. Neither one of these teams today would win one game vs their own predecessors and most importantly there's not enough tenureship on either one of these teams to make it seem that much important. Outside of Kobe Bryant and Derrick Fisher (and he left via free agency for several seasons and is now in his 2nd stint with the team) for the L.A. Lakers and Paul Pierce for the Boston Celtics the remainder of the respective roster players have either just arrived recently or was acquired this season

2. The NHL Stanley Playoff Run and Cup Finals is proving once again to be the Best when it comes to playoff excitement and unpredictability amongst any of the professional sports organizations here in the good ole U.S.A.. To bad most sports fans in this country are to narrow-minded to give this sport a chance, we all know Gary Betteman has to do a better job at marketing his sport and players but  in the mean time while he's gearing up to improve in those categories the best athletes in all of sports (outside of football) are giving us 'Must See TV'

3. The best all-around basketball athlete in professional sports, outside of Kobe Bryant , is not in the NBA, she currently resides in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks. Her Name is Candace Parker and she is arguably the best player in her league and she's only played 6 games into her rookie season. Parker is better than half the players currently on the entire NBA rosters; and she's only getting better. Basketball fans may diss her and the league she plays in but none of those guys would have the balls to play her one-on-one. The WNBA is taking a slow climb to respectability in this country but it's gonna happen, sooner rather than later, and players like Candace Parker will be at the fore-front

4. OJ Mayo continues a tradition of over-rated star athletes who will be marginally good at the Pro level and at the same time leave a tarnished legacy at their alma mater. USC deserves to take a hard fall for continuing to let players like OJ, Bush and Leinart (to only name a few) enter their sports program and run wild with arrogance, rules-breaking and brute showmanship. I know USC has a storied tradition of putting out great talent at the next level and there's no arguing their impact, especially at the NFL, but that tradition has changed within the last 5 years due to many allegations of star athletes getting paid and preferential treatment from outside sources. USC is no longer a shining example of professionalism

5. There are moments when watching Kobe Bryant that you are reminded of Michael Jordan (brief moments but a few none-the-less) but what if there was an athlete that reminded you of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson combined. Well there is and his name is Lebron James. He hasn't reached that plateau yet, starting next season ('09-'10) we'll all be witness to it, but he's on his way and is very scary to think about. Barring injury Lebron will be able to put on a nightly show of inside and outside dominance that will be unmatched for the for-seeable future. He can pass and lead a team like Magic and he can slash to the hoop and humble his opponent like Jordan. And he'll be able to do it from all 5 positions on the court. He's still a work in progress but soon enough the rest of the league will helpless to his wide array of skills and talent

6. There are so many examples of athletes gone bad who were once at the 'top of the mountain' in the NBA you would think David Stern would make examples out of them at the annual Rookie Symposium--hopefully he's doing it already. The Steve Francis's and Shawn Kemp's of the NBA world are spokesman for what you'll become when start believing the hype and stop working out-literally and figuratively

7. Danica Patrick did herself and women fighting to be respected in a male dominated industry (sports) a favor by finally winning her first race earlier this year. She can now continue to blaze the path of respectablility in Open Wheel-Racing and in racing overall. She will win again and her 'fire' and 'determination' will have to be dealt with as long as she keeps getting behind that wheel

8. The NFL is in a public relations funk right now and I'm sure they can't wait until Training Camp opens in late July. But commissioner Goodell is a good man and is learning on the job and he should be able to weather the storm up until the first kick-off of the season on Sept. 4th when everything we're talking about now will be forgotten and the best sport in the world will be revving to go

9. Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps is on pace to do something this Summer in China that no athlete has ever done in the history of sporting competition and most of the world has never heard of him. He's the best althlete in the world, by definition of the word, and he's being severly over-looked by the mainstream sporting medias. He's on pace to break Mark Spitz's 7 gold medals in one Olympic competition and break it by a long shot and we all should be standing up and ready to witness such a feat with Dog-ged anticipation. He realistically could win 8, 9 or 10 gold medals this summer. Lets hope the casual fan outside of the swimming genre tunes in to watch history being made

10. Stephon Marbury of the NBA's New York Knicks is scheduled to make 22 million dollars in salary next season; is there anybody less deserving of that money than this mal-content (of course its hard to justify anybody in professional sports or life for that matter getting that much for 1 calendar year). I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that, he's a horrible teammate and a coaches nightmare. He's hardly worth the direct deposit bank fee the Knicks will have to pay for sending his checks

11. The New England Patriots escaped this spygate situation somewhat unscathed but there reputation and their dynasty will be forever in question because of the cheating that was being done for who knows how long. If taping the opposing coaches signals wasn't suppose to give the Pats an advantage (from which I keep hearing the Pats front office, Pat fans and the NFL front office continually saying) then why were they doing it in the first place?

12. The Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys have spent a ton money this offseason in acquiring players thru trades and free agency; more than they should have considering most of those players were huge distractions on the team they left.  Lets hope they get their monies worth because considering the amount of cash they spent, the only satisfying end of season result for both should be a birth in the Super Bowl

13. When it's all said and done and Shaquille O'neal's career is over and we've all had time to analyze his career, he should go down as the most Over-rated NBA star of all time! He and Mike Tyson should be mentioned in the same sentence as athletes who had glimpses of superiority but overrall career stats and impact is under-whelming to say the least. Here's one Shaq stat that u might not know...Shaq hasn't completed a full healthy season of play since 2000-'01

14. Two NBA veterans who came into the league around the same time with huge promise will leave with little less than a mur-mur. Chris Webber (who retired early this NBA season) and Grant Hill, who should be retiring this offseason if he's smart, are guyz who will get lukewarm NBA first ballot Hall of Fame consideration but ultimately might not ever get in till late in life. Despite Grant's spectacular first couple years in the league, he quite never lived up to the hype coming out of Duke, he was non-chalant and never aggressive enough on the court to be a true leader and legend of the game; and once his foot ailments took over he was never nothing but a complimentary role player for the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns. Chris Webber on the other hand didn't have any major physical problems until late in his career and came out of Michigan with a ton of momentum; he even garnered the Rookie of the Year Trophy. But the duration of his career would ultimately label him as being 'mentally fragile and unproductive in big games'. He put up decent NBA career numbers but I always felt if he would of stayed one more year at the University of Michigan (instead of leaving after his sophomore season he would played thru his junior year) he could of matured more as a person and player but leaving school after that disastrous 'timeout mishap' in the NCAA championship game against North Carolina jinxed him forever on the professional level; he was never the same...'clutch' he was not

Whatever happens in todays Game 7 between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics will ultimately be effective for one team and one team only: the ATLANTA HAWKS. The team, organization and city has been officially revitalized during this unexpected and surprising first round series against the overall #1 seeded Boston Celtics

After last years NBA draft the whole NBA world was upended when Boston pulled off one of the great transactions in professional basketball history by acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce and become the self titled trio The Boston Three Party. Everybody penciled these guys into the NBA Finals and for all intent and purposes receiving the teams 17th NBA Championship and this was before the '07-'08 season had begun. Every person I talked to had the same opinion, "Boston is the team to beat in the entire NBA" but I felt differently and today as I type this blog, while also listening to Game 7 on the radio, my feelings and predictions of apprehension back then have come to fruition in this series; although I have to admit I didn't think it would come this early in the playoff season

I basically felt like neither one of the Boston 3 had demonstrated any playoff fortitude or big game composure individually to rightfully predict that they could come together as a group and 'win it all'. Yes, each player is arguably one of the best at their postion during this current generation of NBA Players. Yes, they each have won big regular season games at different moments for their respective teams in the past and they've been crowned franchise type players upon being drafted into the league. But with all of that being said, the Big 3 still lack the 'Killer Instinct' it takes to win 'Big' in the playoffs. And these 3 are seasoned NBA veterans not early 20-something players

I never bought into the hype and finally the reasonings behind it are in front of every NBA fan, High Def style! Kevin Garnett might be called the Big Ticket, but ask him to cash that ticket at the end of important games and he won't do it. He's been so unselfish thru the years that it has made him a player who's now scared to take the 'big' shots. In this series KG has put up decent numbers and has pounded his chest quite a bit on defense but he's yet to take advantage offensively against a Hawks team that has no equal in the low-post to his talent.  A little of the same can be said for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, each are great streaky jump shooters with little to zero of a defensive presence; but there not on the court to play great defense, there around to put the ball in the hoop but during these playoffs neither one has been scoring consistent enough to eliminate a young-inexperienced-shaky Atlanta Hawk team. Pierece is cocky and has never been as good as he thinks he is and Ray is a good person and teammate but he's always been a one-dimensional player--a jump shooter who has never been comfortable with creating his own shot. It all comes down to this, Boston should have ended this series in 4 games, a 1 seed against an 8 seed, and been well rested for the 2nd round. But now there going to enter the 2nd round tired and mentally wary; with Lebron James and the Cavaliers waiting to apply more pressure to the Big 3 

It looks like the Celtics are going to avoid the biggest upset in NBA Playoff history (there crushing the Hawks by 34 towards the end of the 3rd qtr.) and avoid joining their cross town peers, New England Patriots, as the biggest 'choke jobs' in professional sports history. But there not out of the woods yet, anything short of the NBA title will be a disaster in the eyes of Bostonians and once again they'll have to travel over to Fenway Park to see how a real Championshipteam closes the deal. 

Atanta Hawks have nothing to hang there head about, there playing with House Money right now, nobody expected this group to be playing a game 7, they've exceeded expectation and in doing so have jump-started a franchise that was boring and lifeless for the last 15 years. Expect to see the Atlanta Hawks making a lot of 'noise' in the Eastern Conference for the forseeable future and in 5 years time they'll be able to look back on the 2008 playoffs and thank the Championship-less Boston 3 for indirectly re-starting the ascension of their Franchise

Here are some team evaluations and predictions now that the 2008 NFL Draft is over

Miami: Jake Long, a nice safe/reliable pick but he's already to stiff and slow to play left tackle in the NFL and he hasn't even attended his first OTA....he'll eventually be moved to the less pressured side of the line Right Tackle, I say in 2 years time, but by then the Dolphins will have paid him the amount money that's equivalent to a Hall of Fame expectant career of a Left Tackle. But does all of this really matter because when it's all said and done Miami wil still be n last place in their division for the next few years(Parcells has a huge player personnel hole dig out of). Doesn't John Beck sound more like an Insurance Agent than potential starting NFL quarterback

 Atlanta:  It really didn't matter who the Falcons chose as a quarterback in the draft, he automatically became better than Michael Vick, just by walking up to the podium and shaking the commissioners hand. The Falcon organization is so ready to move on from the failed 'Vick' experiment. They gave a lot of money to a guy who was great athlete, avg. qb and who might not of been the starting qb this season anyway, even if the court issues and suspension never arises. Remember Mike was on a short leash heading into last seasons training camp with the new coaching staff because of his inability to become a all-around complete qb. Well they won't have to worry about that with their new qb Matt Ryan, he might not  be the next Tom Brady but he should at least be a Jim Kelly pro-type and the last time I checked J.Kelly was a Hall of Famer

Raiders: I guess u had no choice but to take McFadden, even though u have a ton of RB's on your roster already. He was arguably the best talent in the draft and if Al Davis passed on him and somebody like Jerry Jones scooped him up, Al would never live it down, he would be spinning in his coffin like grave-bed every night; wondering how a dynamic talent like McFadden is scoring touchdowns in a Cowboy helmet. But since Davis has been in a giving money mood all off-season, Darren comes along at a perfect time, but Raider fans I must throw caution to the wind...McFadden is a up-right hard runner, which means he's going to take a lot of hits in the NFL not to mention a few tough injuries along the way. Your lucky if u get 6 strong years out of him (by the way Viking fans are in the same predicament with their phenom Adrian Peterson)...p.s. I can't help but think that the bad karma and consistent losing won't entirely go away until they find a way to remove Mr. Al Davis from his perch, his presence alone causes a lot of uncertainty and insecurity, if you don't believe me ask coach Kiffin, Grim Reaper Davis is Bad Company

Chiefs: You had arguably the best draft of any team...alot of great talent and 5 of your picks could start on day 1 of the 2008 season. But here's the issue: you don't have a skilled all-around competent starting quarterback and your head coach is one of the worst in-game coaches the NFL has ever had under it's umbrella. NFL teams who do well year in and year out have 2 things in common, strong qb play and coaches who excel at 'game planning' and make great decisions on 'the fly', and if a team doesn't have it, the playoffs and super bowl aspirations aren't realistic at all. I'm sure we'll c the Chiefs, along with the Dolphins, picking early once again in the 2009 NFL Draft

Jets: Great job in free agency and decent draft class but unless you start Clemens at QB this year all that was done in the offseason will go to waste. Kellen is your best available and most talented on your roster and he deserves the chance to start and lead this team to respectability

Jaguars: You gave away alot in draft picks this year and next year just so u can draft 2 Defensive Ends in the first and second rounds; not a smart move considering you needed wide receiver help but that won't be the reason you guys don't succeed this year if indeed you don't make it to the AFC Championship game or Super Bowl as many analyst are predicting. It will be because your upstart qb David Garrard turns into Kordell Stewart instead of Doug Williams/Warren Moon. Garrard has good leadership skills and is very capable of managing the team  but to take the next step he's going to have to show he can Win games instead of Not lose them. This coming season will be his 2nd full season as a starter and this is the year where most starting qb's have their most difficult adjustment

Bengals: I would comment on your draft but the players on your current roster continue to make more interesting news each and every offseason. Here's a suggestion that will make this coming season and next offseason a whole lot smoother: Trade the always disgruntled and disruptive Chad Johnson now and get as many draft day 2009 picks you can and while your at it, get rid of coach Marv Lewis---his words are no longer effective in that locker room. He's flip-flopped so much thru the years that no player or employee of that organization can respectively look him in the face and say "we're behind you 100%"

Patriots: Who needs a draft when u have hidden video-cameras helping you out

Bills: Good draft, you went out and got help for your upstart newly crowned franchise qb Trent Edwards; he's showed more poise in his rookie year than J.P. Losman did his entire career

Panthers: I guess somewhere in the draft meeting rooms of Panther Pantheon there is a formula where getting a ton of  Running Backs out weighs draftng a QB in the early rounds. Jake Delhomme is in the twilight of his career and it was time to draft a prospect to replace him instead Steve Smith will be seen, once again, frustrated and pissed on the sidelines because come week 10 of this season the Panthers will be well out of playoff contention

Bears: Hey Lovie!! Your entering the year with Rex GRossman as your #1 QB, and you had the nerve and audacity to not draft a QB in either the first or second round. ARE YOU CRAZY?! No wonder Brian Urlacher is screaming to get out of town. Thank God you have Devin Hester on your squad because if u didn't there would be no reason to look at any Bear postgame highlights this coming season

Cardinals: U have a new stadium, new coach, several new talented draft picks  and new-found energy within your fanbase and organization. But what u don't have is a Franchise QB and I feel sorry for the other hard working players on the team because they deserve better than that. I know you Drafted Matt Leinart to be that franchise qb but he's far from it, he's already a bust but I'm sure he's going to get several more chances over the next 2 years to refute that 'Bust' title but unfortunately his 'Hollywood-ism' will spoil all attempts. What I see is a guy who's unfocused and undisciplined; he also has soft throwing mechanics, immoble in the pocket and worst of all likes giving alcohol to underage college girls...that has the career of Ryan Leaf written all over it

Ravens: I  like the QB choice in the first round, he has a great arm-tall-and great leadership skills...the only problem is by the time he develops into a franchise QB, your defense will be old and outdated

Saints: I can't say I dislike anything you did this year or in years past in relation to the draft. My problem has no direct person or situation to blame thats why I feel ackward making this statement but it has to be made. As much as u and a lot of other people in the NFL world want Reggie Bush to be this dynamic all-pro future hall of famer player it is most certain not to happen. At best he'll be a super-sized Eric Metcalf type of 15 years ago. Bush does a lot things well but he's not great at any one thing, which means when the dust settles (which should be somewhere towards the middle of this season) you can expect him to be a High Profile utility player who will see the ball come to him only during special team moments and 3rd down situations. That's quite minimal and 'bust' like for a guy who was drafted #2 overall

Steelers: You had 2 dream-like gifts drop to you in round 1 and 2. I don't blame you for passing on your glaring needs of an Offensive and Defensive Linemen. Mendenhall and Sweed will only make Ben Roethlisberger that much better this year and believe me he's going to need it, your schedule is the toughest in the entire league on paper. Expect a lot of fireworks at Heinz Field this season

With deep sadness I, along with countless other Die-Hard Steeler fanz, say 'bye now' to a sports icon that I only got a chance to know though reading the varied Pittsburgh Newspapers online. Not growing up in the 'burgh and only visiting a few times in my voyeuristic life I was cheated out of one the biggest pleasures a native Steeler fan could hang his hard-hat on every Sunday: 'Myron Cope-ism's'

THAT RASPY VOICE AND DOUBLE YOI CATCH PHRASE ARE ONE OF THE BEST IN RADIO BROACAST HISTORY....you'll never hear anything like it again, so many of the present day and up and coming TV journalist go out of their way to say unique phrases because of pioneers like Myron, Harry Carey, and others of that era

Damn! I'm jealous and envious, I never had a chance to be in his presence, never heard a full Steeler cope-by-cope broadcast, didn't even meet a person who had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Cope or shake his hand; All I get of Myron are a few audio soundbites and numerous articles written in his behalf detailing his brilliance as a columnist and radio personality

Well that's what I get for being born somewhere instead of Western Pennsylvania, I guess some things in life aren't Free!

I find it interesting how over the last few years sports fans and some prominent journalist have justified cheating, specifically in relation to steroid use in baseball and most recently the NFL spy-gate situation with the Patriots, by stating "Well, everybody is doing it so what does it really matter!"

And my only response to that is, "Just because everybody or every other team is doing it, doesn't make it right....it's still cheating; and if u get caught you have to pay the consequences. You rolled the dice one too many times and now it's your turn to 'do the time' "

Like the old-school proverb states "If your friends jump off the bridge, are you going to jump off too?".......I hope not!

Mr. Bill Belicheat is one of the most classless, arrogant, gut-less NFL coaches of all time!

Take your loss like a Man and stay on the field until the game clocks ticks down to 00:00!

I know that's a lot to ask of a man who's as animated as wallpaper even when he wins but you would think a coach who's highly regarded in the league as he is would be able to hold his 'Pee' a few seconds more and proudly walk across the Super Bowl field and shake coach Coughlin's hand instead of rushing off the field with a second to go!

The only silver lining is we didn't have to witness his sad disgusting mug another second and we were able to move on to the championship podium and watch commissioner Goodell hand the Lombardi trophy to a  UP-Standing organization called the New York Giants 

Great job GGGGGG-MEEEEN!

Now I know its way to early to make such predictions like this but suspend current reality for a few mintues and take a quick ride with JokerPace, I'll have you back home before the street lights come on!  :-)

Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning are only 4 years into their professional maturation and they as a whole total 10 playoff wins and 1 Super Bowl title with that number to potentially reach 2 S.Bowl wins if Eli does the unpredictable and beat the undefeated New England Patriots in XLII

Of course the class of '83--Marino, Elway, J.Kelly--hold the title as greatest QB class ever and deservedly so, they have a ton of regular season wins and a few Championship titles (both won by Elway) and all 3 are Hall of Famers. But that being said the class of 2004 are on pace to shatter all victory and title records by any class in the entire history of the NFL

Big Ben won his first title in his 2nd year and after having an 'on the field' setback in his 3rd year, he finally turned the corner this his 4th year and is arguably one of the Top 5 QB's in the league. Phillip and Eli both showed a ton of immaturity heading into this year but they both finished the season giving their fan-base the solid security they are cheering a team with a Franchise quarterback at the helm. They haven't turned the complete corner like Ben did this year but there not to far behind.

I'm not a huge college football fan but the irony is that at seperate moments during the 2003/04 collegiate football year I had opportunites to watch all 3 qb's lead their teams in crucial games and I was thoroughly impressed. I said to myself then that these guys can really 'make some noise' on the next level  (I was especially encouraged by the way Eli carried himself at Ole Miss) and who knows in another 12 years or so and it's all said and done we might see the class of 2004 the most decorated of all time...10 World Titles and 3 Hall of Fame Careers?....Maybe!

Okay your dismissed, get home before you get a 'butt-whooping'  :-)

"Hey Deion 'Primetime' Sanders U can't diss a player for not participating in a game when you yourself avoided contact on the field like the plague. During the prime of your career u never missed games because u were playing 'Touch' football while the other 21 players were 'Tackling'.....U couldn't tackle a player if he was standing still, despite your superior coverage skills, u were and still are one of the softest players to put on a NFL uniform....by last count you sat out 12 or so games the last 3 years of your overrated career....shut up and give players like Ladian Tomlinson the benefit of the doubt, he carried the team on his back to the Playoff Rounds, something u never could do"

"Hey Tiki, I guess all the Eli Manning and N.Y. Giants back-stabbing has come 'back' literally and slapped you in your bald head. There in the Super Bowl and your at home trying to figure out how your first season as a NBC journalist was pretty average (C-) at best.  You were a distraction in the Giants locker room last year and you were a big distraction at the beginning of the year when you questioned Eli's leadership during the Sunday Night Primetime game of week 1. I guess you never learned journalistic Tact and Etiquette before landing that plush NBC gig (by the way how did he get that job anyway, I'm sure there are a ton of seasoned well schooled TV journalist that have paid their 'dues' for years that didn't get a sniff of that job because Tiki the ex-football player felt he was ready for prime-time)...everything you said about Manning and the interior workings of the Giants locker-room could of been true but you don't dare make things like that public, especially only being a few months removed from that same team. You handle statements like that man-to-man first and after that moment if things need to be taken to grand exposure then you air the 'dirty laundry'. But maybe next season you'll know better or maybe you'll say it again about another team and they too will earn a trip to Super Bowl XLIII" 

p.s.

Hey Tiki, call Emmitt and tell him to join u this offseason at Devry Institutes Communication Department...u gotta crawl before u walk fellas

A lot will be said and more information will be uncovered over the next few days, weeks and possibly years about the untimely death of the NFL Washington Redskins safety SEAN TAYLOR. And I'm not here to speculate on the outcome, others will do that unwarranted I'm sre, but what I'm here to do for sure is tell you what I know and have experienced:    HATERS DON'T DIE, THEY MULTIPLY!

No matter who you are socially and what you do professionally the Haters (or better yet the Street Reaper  as I like to call it when I really need to make a strong point) are out and looking to grab your attention and take you out when you least expect it. I don't care the age or ethnicity, the Haters have a reputation for retailating without notice and ultimately we are all responsible for our actions, especially our actions of the way, way past. On the flip side sometimes we fall victim of actions of our friends and family members and nothing can be more sadder than that situation. Because what usually happens for victims of that circumstance is this: 'Your hanging out, chilling, enjoying yourself with socialites of like mind and while that's happening a friend of yours is another part of the club or house instigating some altercation that will only end with that person(s) retaliating against your friend and more than likely you too because you are with him/her' and unfortunately in todays 21st Century climate Fatality is a strong likely final outcome.

What you should realize, if you don't know already, is Haters don't forget and they don't have shiznit to do but make other peoples life miserable on a daily basis. Haters come in all shapes and sizes and some of the worst ones are the ones that fight back with murderous intentions. Those type of Haters are ill-fully patient and refuse to let Old and Past 'by-gons be by-gons', they are only looking to make examples of you at all cost. Now Sean Taylor and most recently Darrent Williams of the Denver Bronco's (Jan.1st 2007--shot and killed in a limo outside a Denver nightclub) could of been victims of isolated random shootings but current detailed police information tells my instincts that 's not the case, I smell Haterism in the air, don't you? Remember they don't die, they only multiply!