Top 5 NFL Draft Picks

Here is my Top 5 NFL darft picks.
1. Texans- Reggie Bush RB USC. Although the Texans seem to be toying with the fact of drafting someone else or trading down, it is an obvious selection. They need as many weapons as thet can get, and to pass on one of the most explosive players in years would be ludicrous.

2. Saints- Matt Leinart QB USC. The Saints already have had a mobile, inaccurate quarterback (Aaron Brooks) and need a stable, accurate, winner. I believe Leinart is just what the Saints are looking for.

3. Titans- Vince Young QB Texas. With Steve McNair either retiring or one year away from retiring, the Titans badly need a quarterback. Vince Young was tutored under Steve McNair over the summer before his junior year at Texas. They have gotten close and it might just be a pefect situation for Vince to walk into.

4. Jets- D'Brickashaw Ferguson T Virginia. The Jets need help everywhere and a good place to start is left tackle. And with the 4th pick I believe he is the best player available.

5. Packers- Mario Williams DE N.C. State. Although I would like to see the Packers draft A.J. Hawk, I believe the Packers will either trade down for more picks or select Williams. Mario Williams is a 6-7 285 freak of nature who has been compared to Julius Peppers in athletic ability, size, and rushing the quarterback. And with your best DE being Aaron Kampman, anything is upgrade.

Heart and Character Builds Championships!

I recently viewed the 2006 recruiting class for the Wisconsin Badger football team from Rivals.com and Scout.com with a fellow fanatical Badger fan. As we looked down the list, I was impressed with some of the names the Badgers were able to get. My friend kept saying to look at the number of stars they had next to their name. (The number of stars indicate how good the scouts seem to think the player will be.) "Look at this one" he says, "he only is a 2 star." "He can't be that good." I have to say I disagreed. For example: look at Barry Alvarez's first recruiting class. Although not highly touted as a recruiting class, it was able to win the Rose Bowl. It ended up producing seven All -Big Ten players-the highest in any of Barry Alvarez's classes. 1992 produced four Pardade All-Americans and was ranked in the top 10 in the nation. It happened to be one of Alvarez's worst. The group only produced a 6-9-1 record in Big Ten play in their junior and senior seasons. Although Wisconsin farm boys and blue-collar players may not fit in at a school such as Miami, they ultimately work at Wisconsin. We won the Rose Bowl with that recipe. In 1992 Barry thought now that we had national recognition, it was time to get some big time recruits. As a result the Badgers went on a three year bender which didn't produce any Rose Bowls. A few years later Barry went back to the old recipe and we won 2 Rose Bowls. It's nice to see Brett isn't straying to far from Barry's winning recipe. He believes 2 stars with heart will always outweigh a five star with a one star attitude and work ethic. Like they say, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

A Simple Plea: Watch College Basketball!

For those of you who still like the NBA I urge you to watch college basketball for the a change. Although I do agree Kobe's 81 was outrageous, it was the best moment in the NBA since Micheal. The NBA is dead and will never return to its golden era of Micheal, Magic, and Larry. Rivalries are non-existent and defense, well lets not talk about defense because in the NBA they don't play any. And if you think the low scores are an indication of defense, you are sadly uninformed. Shooting percentages are down, and the younger teams get, fundamentals are no longer a part of basketball. I guess if you like big egos, refusal to play team play, an unexcited fan base, and absolutely horrible basketball, watch the NBA. But if you want to be entertained by kids with heart, rivalries, (see Duke-North Carolina, Minnesota-Wisconsin), crazy crowds who paint their bodies and yell all game long, than watch college basketball. I realize the names might not be as familiar as the NBA, but believe me they are worth getting to know. Start by watching Big Monday tonight on ESPN, and continue throughout the week. If your mind isn't changed about college over the pros, maybe you need to go back to college and get a real education!

Still Believing!

I have received a few responses to my blog on "The Badgers are for Real" One happened to be from Barry Metropolis. I do agree the season will be tougher with the losses of Stiemsma and Landry, but I also believe the Badgers still have a chance at winning the Big Ten. Bo Ryan isn't feeling bad for this team and neither should you. This certainly will have to be Bo's best year of coaching, but if anyone in the country is capable of getting the most out of their team, it is certainly Bo. Depth used to be the strength of this team and now the strength will have to be the leadership of Alando and Kam. I also think they are capable of doing that and have proven that this year by keeping this team together through all the adversity. To even compare us at all to those horrible Gophers is laughable. ATRUE BADGER FAN NEVER DOUBTS HIS TEAM! My prediction for today: Badgers 67 Michigan 56. And for those of you who think this win is average, remember that Michigan beat a rapidly-improving Michigan St. team the other night by six.
P.S. Hockey will never be discussed on this blog!!!!!!

Way Off

So, I really sucked last week at my picks for the conference championships. I thought the games were to close to call but it was apparent who should be in the Super Bowl. Hopefully I can do a little better today. Here is my Super Bowl prediction.
Super Bowl XL Prediction: Pittsburgh 28 Seattle 24.
I really believe this will be a tight game but Pittsburgh is just too physical for a finesse team like Seattle. Big Ben will go down with one of the best performances in Super Bowl history. And to think he is only 23! Certain people have championship hearts and I believe Big Ben is one of those players.

Conference Championship Predictions

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Carolina 21 Seattle 17 Although Seattle is at home they showed in the game vs. washington, they are an extremely rusty team. Also will Sean Alexander be fully recovered from his concussion? Seattle does not have an answer for carolina's Steve Smith. Therefore Carolina will be making its second trip to the Super Bowl in 3 years.

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Denver 13 Pittsburgh 10 Jake Plummer hasn't made the big mistake yet this year and he will continue his non-mistake approach vs. the steelers. Pittsburgh has played two games on the road and won, but I don't see a third in the picture. Both are good at stopping the run but I believe the broncos are a tad better. I also think Jake the Snake will have some hidden magic for Cowher's crew. The difference: a late field goal by Jason Elam.

Bielema 3 for 3 so far....

As Brett Bielema prepares for his first season as the Wisconsin Badgers head coach, he has already made 3 great decisions. 1. Keeping Paul Chryst. Chryst's innovative offense was evident all year in 2005 and especially in the Capital One bowl. With Bielema's outstanding recruiting prowess the offense will only be scarier when we get better athletes to Wisonsin. Chryst also seems to understand how to play BIG Ten offense even though he came from the PAC 10. 2. Keeping Henry Mason as our wide receivers coach. Mason has developed some of Wisconsin's great receivers. ( Lee Evans, Brandon Williiams, Chris Chambers.) He also has made average receivers into pretty good ones. (Darrin Charles, Brandon White.) Mason has also helped develop many sure handed receivers. Rarely do you see a Wisconsin receiver drop an easy catch. 3. The hiring of Kerry Cooks as our defensive backs coach. Cooks is young, (31) energetic, and has ties to Texas. Cooks is in charge of recruiting there and should be able to get faster athletes to Wisconsin.

Redick or Morrison?

Lately on a lot of sports talk radio and television shows the this question has been posed: who is better J. J. Redick or Adam Morrison? So I began to think. This may be a harder question than any I had seen in school. On one side you have Redick. Sharp-shooter from anywhere on the court, great free throw shooter, improving dribble drive game and an incredible hatred for losing. On the other Adam Morrison. Also a sharp shooter from anywhere, great fee throw shooter, a great dribble drive game and one hell of a feisty attitude. One thing that is better than Redick's game is the fact that he is capable of creating his own shot. Although Redick's dribble drive is rapidly improving, Morrison is able to create his own shot due to his 6'8 frame. Also Morrison isn't playing with 5 Mcdonald's all-americans who make you a better player than you may have been on your own. With a group like this Morrison may become an even more complete player. And believe me, that would be very scary. Either way I think you are a win-win situation with both players. Here is my prediction for their NBA careers. Redick- Reggie Miller type player who will break the NBA's all-time 3 point record. Hall of famer? I am leaning towards no but a very solid NBA player. Morrison- Larry Bird type player with incredible leadership and tenacity. hall of famer? If he improves his defense and rebounding, and his skill on offense stays the same, I believe Adam will be a sure fire hall inductee.

No more chances

Although Wisconsin athletics has been known to give many chances to college athletes messing up, now is the time to close the chapter on at least one of those athletes. His name: Booker Stanley. Earlier this spring Booker was involved in a brawl at the Mifflin St. block party. You may have already seen the pictures of Booker in his blood-stained Earl Campbell jersey. The Badgers gave him a second chance after this incident with the understanding he wouldn't mess up again. He had a fairly productive year backing up Brian Calhoun, looking fresh when he entered the game. But before the Capital One bowl he was involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. He also called her 10 times after his court date even though he was ordered by a judge not too. Obviously he has a history of rage and violence, and therefore get punished for it. I ask that Barry Alvarez take a stand and banish him from the team. It would be real easy to give him a slap on the wrist because of Calhoun's departure but real life is far more important than a football game. Please, Barry save his life and give him the punishment he deserves. Otherwise he will never learn and may never get the help he truly needs. Anger management.

Tanner Bronson

I suggest everyone look at MSNBC's story on Tanner Bronson. It is a great read and an inspiration to anyone whoever had a dream. Also if you are a Badger fan, u may have already chanted for him!

Packer's Draft

The Green Bay Packers are in dire need of many good players but with the 5th selection in the 2006 draft I believe they should select A.J. Hawk, a linebacker from Ohio St. Here are 3 reasons they should select him: 1. He knows how to win. - With Ohio St. he won 3 BCS bowls and always had a winning record in his 4 years there. Has fantastic heart and never gives up on a play. 2. His personality is flawless.- Besides his unrelenting, never give up attitude, he grew his hair out in tribute to Pat Tillman and was actually interested in becoming a ranger himself. Also he has never been in trouble off the field. 3. He has all the skills it takes to become a star in the league.- 4.5 speed, he is 6-4 245, covers and blitzes well, and loves contact. Would love to make every tackle if he could. A bonus fact is he has always been healthy in his 4 years at Ohio St. I. E. (Na'il Diggs) The Packers should not trade down because he has the ability to contribute immediately.

Badgers Basketball is for Real!

Although we are early in this year's college bball season, I believe the badgers have not been given enough repect. Consider this: the Badger's RPI is 5th in the nation. They just recently defeated a talented Michigan St. team, and are nearly unbeatable at the Kohl center. They have Bo Ryan as their coach, who is one of the best at getting his team to carry out his game plan each and every week. The nation found out in Wisconsin football never to underestimate the heart of Wisconsin players and it is the same in basketball. 9 players on Wisconsin's roster are Wisconite's themselves. MARK MY WORDS: Wisconsin will at least make the Sweet sixteen this year.