The SoapBoxers

Photo: #1 overall pick Andrew Luck.

Last night was the first night of the NFL draft. It was one of the more exciting drafts in some time, and also seemed to move along fairly quickly for a change.

One thing was for certain last night, there was more moving going on than a NASCAR race.

I cannot remember a first rounds chock full of trade after trade after trade. I am sure the new rookie contract caps that are in place were the reason for creating so much action last night. Teams are not going to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars on some of those early picks, which has been the case in the past.

Overall I would not call this a very strong draft in terms of depth of talent. I could be wrong but as with most drafts, it really takes a few years for this to all pan out and realize which players turned out to be as advertised and which ones simply did not pan out at all.

Is Ryan Tannehill overrated?

Minnesota did a good job of gaining some extra picks by moving down in the draft. They had various people hit them up for the services of drafting Trent Richardson, but eventually the Browns offered the best deal and go his services. No way were the Vikings going to chase out a guy to replace Adrian Peterson at this time, even though he did have a season ending knee injury last year? Are Vikes fans wishing they WOULD have taken Richardson anyway?

The pick I like the least is Ryan Tannehill to the Dolphins. I am not sold at ALL on Tannehill. I saw him play against Nebraska, and frankly he didn’t look that good, unless you want him to complete 2 yard out routes. All I hear is how great his arm is blah blah blah…All I see is how many games A&M lost in the last two years that they were in control of…..so if he is THAT good, shouldn’t he be leading them to wins as their quarterback?

Morris Claiborne went 6th overall to Dallas.

I like Dallas’s pick (Morris Claiborne) as for the loyal Cowboy fans that means that they can finally quit complaining about Terrence Newman. Why the heck the Cowboys kept that guy around as long as they did is beyond me. All he did was get schooled on a regular basis and give up huge yards to opposing receivers.

The pick I don’t like is Brandon Weeden to the Browns. The Browns keep swinging and missing on getting their quarterback (where have you gone Brian Sipe) Weeden is old, and is reminds me more of Chris Weinke than Roger Stabauch coming into the league as an old QB.

Should be much more excitement in the next two rounds…..until next time….Stay Classy Radio City Music Hall!
 

 

Bubba Watson

No more car payments!

It’s been a good year for Bubba Watson.  Back in January, Watson bought the original General Lee from the Duke of Hazzard TV show for $110,000.  How to pay for such an expensive ride?  Well, Watson had been planning to sell his house … but after winning $1.44 million in prize money by gutting out a sudden death overtime at the Masters, there’s little chance that Bubba will end up homeless.  Watson hasn’t had a golf lesson since age ten, and doesn’t use a swing coach.  Does he remind you of Tin Cup, too? 

Phil Mickelson was a stroke back entering play on Sunday, but his chances to win the tourney were seriously dented with a triple bogey.  Tiger Woods had an awful weekend, making some wonder if the rumors of his resurgence were greatly exaggerated. 

Baseball

Wow. 21 million bucks.

Baseball owners continue to hand out money like it’s candy.  In the last two deals, teams dropped $96 million on three players. players.  Ian Kinsler, the oft-injured star second baseman for the Texas Rangers, signed a five year deal worth $75 million.  Moments ago, fellow second baseman Brandon Phillips of the Reds signed a six year deal worth $72.5 million.  These are two of the elite second basemen in the game today.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians signed catcher Carlos Santana  to a five year deal worth $21 million, with a club option for 2017.  There’s been an uptick in spending in recent years, much of it financed by big new regional sports television deals.  (Hey, MLB: know how to make the regional deals worth even more?  Get rid of crazy blackout situations like mine – where five teams are blacked out even after I pony up big bucks for MLB Extra Innings).

On the one hand, it’s easy to love these deals as a fan – teams are locking up core contributors for a long period of time.  On the flip side, there’s a lot of financial risk.  Unlike football, baseball contracts are guaranteed.  If Albert Pujols stinks it up this year, the Angels can’t wriggle out of his contract.  I’m definitely concerned about the amount of dead money some teams could have if a player takes a downturn.  My thought would be to have some sort of vesting option.  If a player reaches a certain threshold (125 IP or 350 plate appearances, for example), the next year automatically vests.  This would protect the team while still being better for the players than the “cut you at any time” model of the NFL.

NFL Draft

Teams are hoping that Ryan Tannehill isn't "all hat, no cowboy"

The NFL draft is now just a couple of weeks away.  With Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III sure to be off the board with the first two picks of the draft, attention turns to the third best QB in the draft – Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M.  Tannehill was a wide receiver for two years before getting a chance to player quarterback for the Aggies.  I can’t imagine there’s a long list of players who have accumulated 1500 receiving yards and 5000 passing yards in a career, but Tannehill’s on the list.

The Dolphins desperately want Tannehill, but everyone knows that.  The Dolphins have the eighth pick, so it’s conceivable that a team could trade up in the draft to leapfrog Miami, or that the Dolphins themselves could push higher as a preemptive strike.  Don’t be surprised if Tannehill is among the top six players off the board.

Bobby Petrino

Arkansas placed head coach Bobby Petrino on administrative leave following a motorcycle accident.  At issue is the fact that Petrino lied to his boss regarding the involvement of a second person.  The passenger on the motorcycle was a young woman who worked for Petrino – and with whom he was having an “inappropriate relationship” (his words).  On Tuesday, a crowd gathered to support Petrino.  This is going to get interesting before all is said and done.