Duke Football: Respectable at last.

The Duke Blue Devils are 5-1! Not an uncommon headline, however its a sentence one usually expects in December, NOT in October. For years, 18 to be exact, the Duke Blue Devils have been bullied mercilessly on the gridiron. This year however, the Blue Devils are the child who had enough and started fighting back. Not only does Duke look like a decent football team, but you can tell that they believe they are a decent football team. With a 5-1 record and two winnable games remaining, Duke could be going bowling for the first time since 1994 when Fred Goldsmith lead they to the Hall of Fame Bowl (Now the Outback Bowl).

Tom O'Brien: Fools Gold

Today I find myself conflicted. I'm exceedingly proud of my fellow Wolves of NC State for upsetting the #3 ranked Seminoles yesterday. However, such a high profile victory means that State will likely refuse to cut ties with respected but ultimately average Tom O'Brien for yet another year. O'Brien has coached the Wolfpack to respectable records for the last two seasons (9-4 & 8-5) but his overall record at NC State is 36-32 over 5 plus seasons. While State may not carry the reputation as a pro factory that recruits look for, it still has a passionate fan base & State of the art Athletic facilities. While the die hard fan base isn't going anywhere, in a few years those facilities wont be state of the art. Between the evolution of new lifting technologies and the construction of new facilities across the nation, that eventuality is certain & State will have squandered its astounding asset under the direction of the infuriatingly inconsistent Chuck Amato & the untiringly average Tom O'Brien. State hasn't been a national power for years, if ever, but they could easily be a perennial top 25 program and O'Brien has failed to deliver on that potential. While high profile victories are great, & O'Brien has his share, they mean nothing if they don't elevate your program, & in that regard O'Brien has failed.

SportsSpeak73: NBA Playoff recap

SportsSpeak73: NBA Playoff recap: Well the 1st Round of the playoffs are about halfway done and there have been some startling developments as well as some expected ones. Th...

NBA Playoff recap

Well the 1st Round of the playoffs are about halfway done and there have been some startling developments as well as some expected ones. The Miami Heat continue to look impressive (& LeBron's actually scoring in the 4th Quarter), as do the Thunder and the previously left for dead San Antonio Spurs. Unfortunately for the consensus contender Chicago Bulls, they had their collective heart shredded when Derrick Rose's ACL did the same essentially ruining any chance they had of making a run at the O'Brien trophy. Speaking of the O'Brien trophy, the question everyone wants to know is who will win it. Well I tend to lean toward the Western Conference for that answer. The Lakers have been impressive, but I wouldn't consider beating up on the Nuggets as a sign of greatness. Nonetheless, its hard to count out a team lead by a 33 yr old who still averages 28 ppg. Especially when he's joined by a talented Pau Gasol and an emerging Andrew Bynum. San Antonio looks more than impressive and has a championship pedigree. No fewer than 5 current Spurs have at least 1 NBA Championship to their credit with Manu, Duncan, and Tony Parker all having multiple rings. The Thunder are young, explosive, talented, and seems to have solved their late game issues which makes them EXTREMELY dangerous. Miami is Miami! When they play to their potential and get out & run there is no team in the league that can stay with them (except maybe OKC). The problem is no one knows if that team can stay on track for the 16 games they'll need to win to capture a championship. I happen to believe that Miami and OKC will meet in the Finals & only time can tell if I am right, but if I am it'll be a great series to watch.

Basketball Reasons: What we have yet to Understand

BASKETBALL REASONS!

That was the reasoning for David Stern's infamous trade veto regarding Chris Paul going to the Lakers, basketball reasons. Well Mr. Stern lets revisit this debacle shall we.

Forced with the unbearable task of moving its Superstar PG, New Orleans actually put together a respectable package for itself. They managed to acquire two adequate scorers in Kevin Martin (17 ppg) & Luis Scola (15 ppg), Mr. Versatility in Lamar Odom, and the serviceable Goran Dragic. Now while this appears to be a lost season for Odom (career lows across the board), Martin and Scola would both be welcome additions on a team that struggles to score points (88.5 ppg) & Dragic would be a competent backup for PG Jarrett Jack...But Stern cancelled that trade for again "basketball reasons"...so he says.

So now lets analyze the deal Stern approved for the Hornets. Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, Al Farooq-Aminu, and Minnesota's first round pick. Now on paper that seems like a pretty good haul, Kaman's a former All-Star, Gordon's a future one, Aminu is a decent prospect, and Minnesota pick was expected to be a high one. Yet for reasons unknown, Chris Kaman is being ostracized, Eric Gordon has only played 2 games, Aminu has been atrociously inconsistent, and Minnesota may actually sneak into the playoffs. To compound all this, Kaman will likely leave at seasons end, Gordon hasn't signed an extension which means he'll likely leave this summer as well, and that high value pick wont be nearly as high barring a significant shift in the play of Minnesota.

So to recap Mr. Stern, you denied the Hornets two quality starters, a versatile big man, and a backup PG for a Center who barely plays, a SG who never plays (both of whom likely will be in different uniforms next year) an underachieving SF, and an iffy draft pick. How exactly does this benefit New Orleans in the short or long term in regard to its ability to play quality basketball. After all, isn't that why you approved the deal in the first place?

SportsSpeak73: AJ Smith: Incompetent by Way of Ego

SportsSpeak73: AJ Smith: Incompetent by Way of Ego: It appears that yet again AJ Smith has allowed his ego to interfere with his job and legacy. Recent reports indicate that AJ Smith was unwi...

AJ Smith: Incompetent by Way of Ego

It appears that yet again AJ Smith has allowed his ego to interfere with his job and legacy. Recent reports indicate that AJ Smith was unwilling to give WR Vincent Jackson more than $11 million/year to keep him in San Diego, yet the Buccaneers signed Jackson for $11.11/year. How do you lose your Number 1 receiver over $110K a year...REALLY?

Lets put this in perspective...in 2010 the San Diego Chargers had the #1 offense in the National Football League. Since then, the teams GM AJ Smith has allowed several key players walk out the door to other teams with essentially no resistance whatsoever. Darren Sproles was allowed to leave & went on to lead the league in all purpose yards this season for New Orleans. Patrick Crayton has been released, Legedu Naanee is now a Carolina Panther, and now Vincent Jackson is a Tampa Bay Buc. How exactly are you going to move the ball Mr. Smith? Not only have you deprived Philip Rivers, your franchise player, of any & all quality weapons, but you've done so at a time when his protection is breaking down. You've lost 2 former Pro Bowl O-Lineman (1 retired, 1 you released) & I dont quite see how you'll replace them.

Cries to see you relieved of duty were loud at the end of last years debacle of a season. If you have another bad season, after letting ANOTHER star of your offense walk out out the door unchallenged...those cries will be absolutely deafening.

Legacy of the Unheralded: The Lost Secret of Duke Basketball

Legacy of the Unheralded: The Lost Secret of Duke Basketball

Of late, there has been a sense of apprehension within the family known as Cameron Crazies, and that apprehension is mostly tied to Duke’s recent struggles to measure up to the legacy of success that is Duke Basketball.

From 1986 to 2004, the Duke Blue Devils appeared in 10 of 18 possible Final Fours while winning 3 National Championships. In the 7 years since its 2004 Final Four, while Duke has managed to win another National Championship (2010), it has also managed to lose in the Round of 16 four times while failing to make it past the tournament’s first weekend in both 2007 & 2008. Such a span has been practically unheard of at Duke since emergence as a National contender in 1984.

Opinions vary as to why Duke has seemingly hit a wall of tournament mediocrity. Some cite the Devils lack of a true post presence, yet Duke only tallied 1 Final Four against 2 Sweet Sixteen appearances while Shelden Williams was on campus. Others cite recruiting troubles, but Coach K has reeled in a 5 star recruit each of the past 7 years (totaling 11 in that span). The fact of the matter is that recently Duke has failed to land the athletic glue guys that resided on its roster during its most successful times. During Duke’s reign of dominance, the roster was peppered with talented, but unheralded (role player) wings who could defend multiple positions and score when prompted. Early in their prevailing years, Duke had Brian Davis, Antonio Lang, & Thomas Hill. Those players beget Nate James & Chris Carrawell, who gave way to well…No One.

Since the departure of Nate James, Duke has failed to land a role player with the versatility to defend three or more positions while scoring opportunistically. David McClure is the closest to that model of player of any recent Blue Devil, but he not only provided no ammunition offensively, but also lacked the quickness to defend elite guards & was mostly limited to matching up with Small & Power Forwards.

Duke remains one of the top programs in college basketball, as well as continuing to produce the games legitimate stars, but to return to its status as the truly elite, it must first return to the formula that made it so 24 years ago.

*I was recently reminded of Lance Thomas, who also fits the profile, but as Thomas did win a National Championship on the 2010 team I didnt mention him.

SportsSpeak73: Demise of the Cowboys

SportsSpeak73: Demise of the Cowboys: I've never been a fan of the way Jerry Jones runs the Cowboys, & anyone who knows me have heard me rant about that fact. However, Jerry's r...

Demise of the Cowboys

I've never been a fan of the way Jerry Jones runs the Cowboys, & anyone who knows me have heard me rant about that fact. However, Jerry's recent refusal to accept his deteriorating if not nonexistent ability as a General Manager is perplexing...if not infuriating. In a recent ESPN interview Jones stated that "The facts are that I've spent 22 years doing this exactly the same way," & he's absolutely right.

In a 6 year span, 89-94, Jones tallied 3 Super Bowl wins. Unfortunately, it appears that Jones still see's himself as being primarily responsible for those victories in spite of the fact that he wasn't the primary authority on personnel decision until he fired Jimmy Johnson. Since that time, not only have the Cowboys failed to win another Championship, but have only managed to reach the playoffs in 7 of those seasons, 5 of which were Wild Card Round exits. A record that is blatantly unacceptable for "America's Team".

Jerry's draft decisions in that time span have been questionable at best, and his free agency acquisitions have been lackluster at best. Jerry is a businessman, yet as a GM he has led the Cowboys to 16 consecutive years in the RED. Until he realizes his shortcomings as a GM, he'll have a Billion Dollar playpen with no trophies to hang in it.