And we’re back this week although I’ll be the first to admit I’m a worthless sack of nothing this time around. But we still discuss some NBA trades, NFL free agency, racin’ cars, the scouting combine, and discuss a little March Madness before it even comes around. But it is still March so it’s not like we are talking about the NFL in February or something when it doesn’t start until September. Oh wait…
I’m just going to tell everyone right now that I suck horribly this week. Last week we were gonna do a shortened version of PTP but because my ass couldn’t stop working, we didn’t. Then this week we are back and have a full length version of what we do here at Inside Pulse yet my answers are still garbage. Work has kinda been kicking my ass lately and I apologize for not being able to give my full effort. Thank God we have two other great guys here like Paulie and…Paulie and…Chucky? No, Charles? No, Corky? No, CJ? Who?
Hell on it…please…
1.) NFL Scouting Combine – Good or Waste Of Time?
Paulie: Is good! Of course is good! The combine is where scouts and GM’s earn their money. It’s where they can really find that diamond in the rough. It gives them the opportunity to get into a prospect’s head. It gives the first glimpse as to whether or not a good college player was really good or the product of a system that probably won’t fit what a team is trying to do. The combine is the reason the unthinkable happened and a virtually unknown player from NC State ended up getting drafted #1 overall over the over rated scat back Reggie Bush.
Let’s put it like this. The draft has become a multi-million dollar business in and of itself. ANY opportunity for a team to view and study the kids that they’ll be paying millions more dollars than many of the KNOWN commodities that they already have on their team cannot be viewed as a waste of time.
Charles Joseph: See kids, this is why you need to learn to read, as I was going through Paulie’s rant he said it was an opportunity to get into a prospect’s head, but I was reading to fast and thought he said give a prospec…….nevermind. For the teams that are there watching the players, it is a good thing, they’re going to be giving these players millions of dollars in the very near future so you want to know as much about them as possible. As for the TV aspect of it…does NFLN really have to cover it? I mean, sure it’s the offseason and they don’t have much to talk about, but around the clock coverage? Give us an update every hour or something; you don’t have to cover it live.
But whatever, it doesn’t matter since they weren’t nice enough to invite Justin Beaver.
Danny: The scouting combine is one of the best moments of the year for football and it sucks because since I live outside the cable service area for Cox Cable by three miles (or less); I can’t watch it this year. Yes, they do have to cover it live dingle, it’s awesome. But the thing I have to say here is that I don’t really see how much it matters…especially for the first round. If a team knows they need a running back in this year’s draft, do you honestly think they’ll pass on Darren McFadden if he is on the board still when their pick comes around because he might have had a slow time at the combine in the 40?
I mean it’s not a waste of time or anything but if you’ve watched a player progress and do nothing short of spectacular for the past three or four years, then you aren’t going to pass him by because his vertical leap at the combine sucked. That’s all I’m sayin’!
2.) NBA Trades At The Deadline – Winners? Losers?
Danny: Phoenix picking up Shaq is retarded. Miami lucked out but they still suck. The Hornets unloaded a couple worthless players and got rid of an aging and often injured Bobby Jackson for a good player in Mike James and a possibly troubled but decent player in Bonzi Wells.
The Lakers got a steal in Gasol and the Bulls are better off without Wallace. Nuff said!
Paulie: Let’s see if my memory can take me back that far. I say any team from the West that made a trade is a winner and any team from the East aside from Cleveland or Miami got anal raped. I still can’t believe Phoenix thought dealing for Shaq was a good idea.
Charles Joseph: It wasn’t the deadline, but the Lakers are the run away winners. Gasol makes them a legit threat to the title. None of the other trades really wowed me in terms of positives. I didn’t think the Cavs really improved themselves that much picking up an offensive black hole and vastly over rated Joe Smith. The Suns killed themselves by trading for the moon’s big brother. The Mavs might have made themselves better this year, but I would have much rather held onto Harris than traded for Kidd. The basketball gods tried to tell Dallas not to trade for Kidd, but they stubbornly refused and now will be punished.
3.) IRL/Champ Car Merger
Charles Joseph: Overall I think this is good for the sport. Neither of the two leagues could have stood on their own too much longer, IRL probably could have held on longer until Danica Patrick moved to NASCAR. But I still don’t see this having a huge impact on ratings. NASCAR is the racing series in America right now and while this merger makes open wheel racing less confusing, I don’t think it can take any of NASCAR’s thunder just yet. It’ll stay as a good alternative for people who want to see some left turns though.
Danny: PASS!
Paulie: Hmmm… In Real Life… Champ and Car merger… so do we now have Cena McQueen, the world famous champ race car? Will he learn how to walk backwards with the help of his friend, Trevor Mater and stick it to no-gooder Chip Orton at the big race match?
4.) NFL Free Agency – Hopes, Bad Moves, Good Moves, Whatever
Paulie: Well, my hopes for the Panthers have been half way realized. They cut a bunch of dead weight from the offensive backfield and the WR corps. But they haven’t been real busy on the signing front. They brought Moose Mohammed back. But they should have been out there trying to sign the likes of Randall Gay, Donte Stallworth, Jerry Porter, or Michael Frickin Turner. But they haven’t. So I’m assuming they have a top notch plan for the draft which will include drafting the most over rated receiver that they can while using up a first round pick on a position they don’t really need. Meanwhile, New Orleans has been loading up on the defensive side of the ball, bringing in Vilma and Gay. Minnesota finally has a real receiver in Bernard Berrian.
As far as what’s left out there, Bryant Johnson will be a good pickup for someone, he’s been a third receiver because he’s been playing behind Fitzgerald and Boldin, but he’s shown that he has skills when he gets on the field. Julius Jones may be able to rekindle the magic of his rookie season with the right team that actually has some confidence in him. Javon Walker and Ian Gold will still have something to contribute to teams looking for WR or LB help. There are a lot of good players left out there. There’s a lot of crap too. And I also believe that Randy Moss isn’t going to leave Foxboro, he’ll test the waters, but he’ll be back in a Patriots uniform next season.
Charles Joseph: Oh, yes…a chance for me to flame the Vikes. Ok…I’ve said this before in the forum, but Madieu Williams was on a TERRIBLE defense last year. And that TERRIBLE defense said, “You’re not worth the money you want.” They know him, and they sucked, and they said he sucked, so what does Minny do? Makes him one of the 5 highest paid safeties in the NFL, someone tell me how that makes sense? Oh, but we’re not done, we decide to let our All-Pro, one of the best of all time, Full Back Tony Richardson walk and replace him with Thomas Tapeh. Now I’ll say this, Tapeh is a former Gopher, so I like him as a person, but he’s not that good. Adrian Peterson finished 2nd? in rushing yards last year thanks in no small part to Tony Richardson. And now he’s got Tapeh trying to lead the way for him. Thanks Brad, you make it easy to hate you. Berrian I don’t hate, I have insanely low expectations for him, but if we use him right he could be a decent player. If we try and make him our number 1 receiver, I’ll be happy, cause we’ll suck and Childress will get fired, but if we use him in the slot or as the 2nd wide out behind Rice it could work out ok. I have no confidence in the Vikings ability to make the right choice however, so look for Berrian to be our number 1, Wade to be our number 2, and Rice to be widely underused at 3. My dream receiver set of this group would be Rice 1, Berrian 2, Allison 3.
Danny: You all know damn well I’d talk about this more if I had the time. The Saints traded for Vilma and got him in a steal by only giving up a third round pick at most. Picking up Randall Gay and Bobby McCray is awesome and they also resigned most of their own players. Now they simply need to get on the ball and resign tight end Billy Miller and maybe one more linebacker and cornerback.
Lance Briggs is an idiot.
5.) March Madness – Do You Watch and Why?
Charles Joseph: I watch for the upsets. I’ve firmly stood by the fact that the first two days of the tournament are the greatest sports days of the year. During high school we’d have our winter variety show on one of the first two days, and I’d always end up in an empty classroom watching the basketball games instead of where I was supposed to be. And this year, I’ve already signed up for March Madness On Demand VIP from CBS Sportsline so I don’t have to wait in line to watch what ever game I want. The worst thing is that I’m going to have to do news the first Thursday night so I’ll have to rush home from that.
Danny: March Madness is some of the best sports’ games to watch the entire year every year. I love the upsets and the Cinderellas and everything about it. The buzzer beaters and blowouts and Dickie V needing life support for like three solid weeks. My wishes this year are what they usually are when the tournament comes around: Duke and UNC get demolished by some crappy team or anyone for that matter, and my picks at least make me look somewhat college basketball intelligent.
Paulie: Hells to the yeah I watch the March Madness. It’s the most exciting basketball to be watched. Every year, almost, you see some undersized, under talented team from some nerd school come in and pick off one or two major teams. You see the cream really rise to the top. And I usually get to see Coach K get his ass handed to him at some point. And any time the pompous ass gets his ass handed to him, it’s a good day.
PEE-YOMPS (pimps)
Like movies? Then head over to The DVD Lounge where there are a lot of good people watching a lot of crap so you don’t have to. And for a person who has over 1300 DVDs and watches every movie imaginable, Travis really finds some things that even I have never heard of.
Popcorn Junkies is a place you really need to go check out as well because there are great people like John Price, Michaelangelo, Kubryk, and more bringing you news and movie reviews at all hours of the night and day.
I’m sorry again, but go here to yell at me. I hope next week is better but March seems to be a hell month in the insurance business. I will tell you all that I joined a gym recently and hopefully I can get in shape for the softball team I’ll be playing on in April and May with people from work.
Cuz as of right now, I don’t think I could survive the first leg of running a suicide. Sad I know.
Til’ next week, have a great weekend everyone and support Arena Football. Watch it!
About Danny Cox
