Carolina Got sCAMmed

With the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers select Cam New... *click*. As a fan of the Carolina Panthers, that is the only thing I've seen of the NFL Draft. I turned it off at that moment and have no desire to watch another second of the draft. To be frank, the Panthers screwed up bad and I'm pissed.

Going into the draft, the "experts" were saying that there are three can't miss standouts in this draft and Cam Newton wasn't one of them. Those standouts were Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (3 - Buffalo), Georgia wide reciever AJ Green (4 - Cincinnati) and LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson (5 - Arizona). Not only are they all much safer picks, the Panthers need players at all three of those positions.

The Panthers defense was absolutely terrible last season. They struggled all season to fill the void left by Julius Peppers and have still yet to fill it. Dareus could've been a huge part of filling that void. Considering the Panthers play in the quarterback heavy NFC South (Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Josh Freeman), they could always use a shutdown corner, which they don't have. With all of the new rule changes favoring the passing game, that also puts a whole new emphasis on pass rushers and secondary. The Panthers could've also used a wide reciever the caliber of AJ Green. Word on the street is that Steve Smith, who is already a star reciever in the NFL for the Panthers, wants a trade out of Carolina and has already cleared out his locker. That leaves the Panthers with a TERRIBLE recieving corps, considering Smith was the only good (and he was great) reciever on their roster.

Last season, the Panthers did not have a first round pick. Their first pick was 48th overall and took place during the second round. With that pick, they chose Jimmy Clausen, who played quarterback at Notre Dame. They also drafted Cincinnati's quarterback, Tony Pike, in the sixth round of the same draft. As of this second, here is what the Panthers roster of quarterbacks looks like (in alphabetical order): Clausen (23 years old), Matt Moore (26), Cam Newton (21), Keith Null (25), Pike (25), Brian St. Pierre (31). St. Pierre is easily the oldest quarterback on the Carolina roster and barring some serious injuries, he isn't even going to given a chance on the field. That leaves the Panthers with a ton of young quaterback and no veteran leadership. That's one reason the pick of Cam Newton is so unbelievably stupid. That's like handing your car keys to your 15 year old son/daughter, who just got their drivers permit, and letting them drive without an adult.

The big thing about that that gets me is that Ron Rivera (new Panthers head coach) has already acknowledged that Jimmy Clausen didn't have a chance of succeeding last season. With all of that said, they still completely gave up on him and drafted Cam Newton anyways. I'm not competely sold on Clausen either, but I atleast want to see him in a situation where he atleast has an opportunity to succeed before I completely give up on him. He wasn't given that last season and had a horrible season. If nothing else, Clausen can keep the seat warm while the Panthers fill some holes around him. He's good enough to do that and can make some plays if given the opportunity. He just needs to be given one first.

Now, let's talk about Cam Newton and his "red flags". I seriously question his character. In November of 2008, while still at the University of Florida, he was arrested for allegedly stealing the laptop of another student. After completing a court-approved pretrial diversion program, the charges against Newton were dropped, but the laptop was found to be in his possession. He left the University of Florida prior to the spring 2009 semester in order to avoid a suspension or possibly expulsion for academic cheating.

The thing that really scares is the fact that he left the University of Florida rather than facing the consequences of his actions. If you knowingly do something wrong, which Newton did, you need to be man enough to face the consequences if you get caught. He did not, he chose to run. That makes me wonder what he is going to do in Carolina when the going gets tough, and it's going to get tough. Is he going to buckle down and work harder or is his going to flee? The past tells that when the going gets tough, Cam Newton gets running.

After leaving Florida, Newton enrolled at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. In one season there, Newton led Blinn to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national football championship. That really isn't surprising though that a five-star division one recruit dominated while playing at a junior college.

After his one season at Blinn, Newton enrolled at Auburn. In his first (and only) season at Auburn, Cam Newton had a dominant season. He led the Tigers to a 14-0 record and a BCS National Championship. Along the way, he dominated individually and took home the Davey O'Brien award (for the nations top QB) and the 2010 Heisman Trophy. Here are Newton's individual statistics for the 2010 NCAA football season:

Completion Percentage: 66.1 (185-280)
Passing Yards: 2854
Yards per Game (pass): 203.9
Touchdowns (pass): 30
Interceptions: 7
Sacks: 23 (for 152 yards lost)

Rushing attempts: 264
Rushing Yards: 1284 (Auburn's leading rusher)
Yards per Game (rush): 91.7
Touchdowns (rush): 20

On a quick side note, that is a lot of sacks. I appreciate the fact that he is moving around trying to make something happen, but that is something that needs to change in the NFL. He needs to learn to be smarter with the ball and protect field position. Taking 23 sacks is not doing that. He can get away with it at Auburn, where they are better than many of their opponents to begin with, but he won't have that luxury in the NFL.

Newton is a big, strong, powerful kid. He was able to run over and through guys at Auburn. He won't be doing that in the NFL, I can promise that. Defenders are much bigger and faster and stronger than they are in college. If Cam is going to be the franchise guy for the Panthers, I don't want him out there trying to run through guys and taking huge hits. If he is that guy, I want him healthy and on the field. He won't be if though if the thinks he's going to run through guys like he did in college. He needs to learn to slide and protect the ball. Huge hits lead to fumbles. Fumbles lead to points. Points lead to losses and the Panthers don't need any more of those. At this point though, I don't mind if he does try to run through somebody because I don't want him on the field.

During his time at Auburn, Newton still couldn't avoid controversy. According to Mississippi State (MSU), they were approached by Cecil Newton (Cam's father) wanting a payment for Cam's services. Apparently Cecil told the people at MSU that "it would take more than just a scholarship" for his son to play at MSU. Cecil was apparently asking for somewhere between $100,000 and $180,000. After an NCAA invesigation, due to insufficient evidence, they ruled that Cam Newton was eligible to play. As part of that ruling, they stated that Cecil Newton acted along and neither Cam nor the University of Auburn had any knowledge of his actions.

It's bad to say, but I've never believed a second of that story. I didn't when it happen and I don't now that he is a member of the Carolina Panthers. I think that whole mess was a very well thought out plan by the Newton camp. Even though Cam may not have had any direct involvement in the mess, I have a very hard time believing that he had no knowledge it was going on. I think they set it up so that he wouldn't be tied to it if they got caught, which they did.

The other thing that really scares me about Cam Newton was the offense he ran at Auburn. The offense he ran was an overly simple version of the spread offense. I can't officially confirm this, but I've read several places that Auburn made their offense overly simple so that Cam Newton could run it. I don't want a guy on my roster that needs his college offense (which isn't a pro style offense) dumbed down so that he could run it. When ESPN's Jon Gruden asked Newton to tell him what an Auburn play sounded like and Newton couldn't come up with an answer. Newton said it himself in that last video clip, a typical Auburn play was just a number. They ran a quick offense with very little huddling, so Newton has very little experience calling plays in a huddle. Newton also worked mostly out of the shotgun formation so taking snaps under center will be new to him, much like it was last year for Tim Tebow. Those two factors are second nature to NFL quarterbacks and it scares me that Newton hasn't done it.

Jimmy Clausen ran a pro style offense at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis and has had no problems adjusting to play calling in the NFL. He is also comfortable taking snaps under center, which Newton is not. Clausen was much more ready coming out of college than Newton is now.

Also, Newton has only played one season in Division-One NCAA football. Yes he was a backup for a season at Florida (behind Tebow), but he didn't play. I could care less what he did at Blinn College because he wasn't playing top talent every single game. Yes he played well in his one season as a starter at Auburn but I want to see him do it again so that I know that he can do it again. That lack of experience again scares the crap out of me.

I've also seen some reports where Cam's work ethic has been questioned. I don't care how high his upside is, he'll never get there if he's lazy. Look at former number one overall pick JaMarcus Russell. If there are any questions at all about his work ethic...avoid, avoid, avoid. You don't want to place the fate of your franchise in the hands of a lazy player.

During the interview portion of the combine, Newton presented himself very well. This does not surprise me. He knew his issues coming in so he knew the questions that were going to be asked. He got coached very well leading up to this portion of the combine and it showed. However it's just like any speech class a person will ever take. The more you practice, the better the delivery will be every time you deliver the speech. That's really all this was, I don't care what anybody says.

When you add this whole thing up, Newton has way too many more question marks than positives. The Panthers had the first pick in the entire draft so they could've picked anybody they wanted. They took their chances on Newton, who has a huge upside but is also a work in progress. There were much safer picks out there that would've solved more glaring problems for the Panthers. Yes they probably do need a quarterback, but they need a lot of other things as well.

To make a long story short, I think the Panthers made a huge mistake taking Cam Newton with the first overall pick of the draft. Even though Ron Rivera has yet to even coach a game for the Panthers, I'm already calling for his head. Him and General Manager Marty Hurney just set this franchise back 5-10 years with this pick. Instead of filling a need, they just created another question mark. If the Panthers do not win 5 games next season, I want Rivera and Hurney to both lose their jobs. They screwed this whole thing up so badly that it isn't even funny. Well, I suppose it probably is funny if you aren't a Panthers fan. Either way, the Panthers just got sCAMmed by Cam.

Jackie Robinson Day

I'd like to wish everybody a Happy April 15! That means one of three things:

1. Happy Birthday Ryan!
2. Shit! Did I pay my taxes? (yes I did)
3. Jackie Robinson Day.

On this day back in 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first player to break baseball's color barrier when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. This was a monumental step forward for the game and one that should be celebrated annually. Not only should it be celebrated, it should be celebrated at every park in Major League Baseball that is hosting a game on Jackie Robinson Day.

With all of that said, MLB couldn't have screwed this whole celebration up any more if they'd tried. I take that back, I'm sure they could make it worse if they wanted to, and they probably will in future seasons. On Jackie Robinson Day every season, every player and coach on every major league roster and the umpires for every single game will be wearing the number 42.

On April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier, MLB commissioner Bud Selig announced that the number 42 would be retired league wide. The exception to that rule were players that were already wearing the number 42. They would be allowed to continue using the number. It's been 14 years since that announcement and there is only one player left in the league still wearing the number. That's Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Even though it's his right to continue using the number, I personally think he's a little selfish for continuing to use the number. However that's a different argument for a different day.

In 2007, Ken Griffey, Jr. asked MLB for permission to wear the number 42 on Jackie Robinson Day as a tribute to the man and his accomplishments. Once he was granted permission from Selig and Rachel Robinson (the widow of Jackie Robinson), Selig extended the offer to all major league clubs. During this period, players were not required to wear the number 42 but had the option to do so if they wanted to. Starting in 2009, all players, coaches and umpires were required to wear the number. That tradition continues today.

As great of an occasioin as Jackie Robinson Day is, the tradition of everybody wearing the number 42 is completely stupid and over the top. It makes it extremely hard, if not impossible, to tell who anybody is on the field. To make things harder, players do not wear their last names on the back of their jerseys for Jackie Robinson Day, just the number 42. Why can't players just wear a special sleeve patch to commemorate the occasion? They could even make it a hat patch as well if they wanted to. It has the same effect, yet looks far less stupid.

Like I said before, Jackie Robinson Day is a great occasion that should be celebrated by everybody in baseball. You'll never hear me say that it shouldn't be. They just need to find a better way to do it.

I'd like to give a quick thank you to Jackie Robinson for his dedication to the game of baseball. He really helped to shape the game of baseball, and pretty much every other sport for that matter, into what it is today. So I tip my cap to you Jackie. Thank you for a job well done!

Who Am I?

This probably should've been my first blog, but I thought the Tampa Bay Lightning's uniform situation was a little more important. Anybody that knows me personally will agree with that immediately. I've always been interested in sports and the uniforms that go along with those sports. That is one of the reasons I collect jerseys. If something is rare, unique, or just an absolute throwback, it usually catches my eye. As a collector though, I still have my boundaries, I will not own a jersey of a team that is a rival of my team. With all of that said, here's a little bit about me and who I am as a fan.

There are a lot of people who choose their loyalties based on proximity. For example, if you live in Illinois, you are a Chicago fan all of the way. I live in Illinois, and I am an exception to that rule. My favorite teams are scattered throughout the United States. I follow most of the major sports and have a favorite team in each. Those teams include (listed in alphabetical order) the Carolina Panthers (NFL), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Detroit Red Wings (NHL), Florida Marlins (MLB), and Manchester City Football (soccer) Club (EPL).

When I was growing up, I was raised by my father to be a Detroit Lions fan. I have no idea why he likes the Detroit Lions but he's always been a fan of them. So when I was growing up, I had a Barry Sanders jersey (may have been my first jersey, but I can't confirm that), a Lions winter coat, t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. I can just sum that up by saying that I had a lot of Lions stuff. Back in 1996, I'm not really sure why, but I decided that I was going to be a Carolina Panthers fan. I've been that way ever since. I've seen them blow a Super Bowl, which stung a little bit. I've also seen them complete seasons with one and two wins respectfully. The most recent bad season just so happened to be the 2010 NFL season in which they went 2-14 and were rewarded with the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft (aka they were the worst team in football). I'm content with that though. Like with many things, it has to get worse before it can get better.

As I mentioned earlier, I live in Illinois and grew up at the height of the Chicago Bulls championship runs. So naturally, I grew up following the Chicago Bulls. I still follow them quite closely, but don't consider them to by "my" team. A lot of that has to do with Dirk Nowitzki, who happens to be my favorite basketball player, and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Nowitzki is a special player, I'm not sure anybody will deny that. He's a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. It's very rare when you have a seven footer who has the outside game of a guard, who can also play down on the blocks. If you put a big man on him, he'll take him outside, creating a mis-match on defense. If you put a smaller player on him, he'll take him down low and create another mis-match on defense. If you double team him, that leaves somebody on the court open, which again isn't a good thing for the opposing team. On the flip side, you have owner Mark Cuban, who is sort of a controversial figure in sports. He's said and done a lot (emphasis added) of stupid things which have landed him fines from the NBA. At the end of the day though, he is just a passionate fan who is willing to do whatever necessary to help his team win. In past years he's tried unsuccessfully on a couple of attempts to buy Major League Baseball teams, most notably the Cubs. The sad thing is that the "Old Boys Club" known as the baseball owners won't approve Cuban as an owner. I really think he'd be good for the game of baseball but it doesn't look like he'll ever get the chance to prove it.

The Detroit Red Wings are probably the team that I am most passionate about. I've always been a hockey fan, even when it wasn't "cool" in the mid-90s. I can't say that it was never not cool to be a hockey fan, but there were never really any followers of the game where I live back in the day. As I said before, I was raised by my father to be a Detroit Lions fan. I also happened to play for the Tigers at the same time back when I was in Little League. So I always kind of had that Detroit connection, even though I've never been to Detroit, or Michigan, for that matter. When I became interested in the game of hockey, naturally I became a fan of the Red Wings thanks to that Detroit connection. During my time as a Wings fan, I've been spoiled a little bit. I've been there for four Stanley Cups and they've never missed the playoffs since I've been following them. I'd like to think that I'm their good luck charm, but that probably isn't the case. My luck as a Wings fan, as much as I hate to say it, is probably on borrowed time, not that I'm complaining. 

The team I've been a fan of the longest happens to be the Florida Marlins. I've been a fan of them since they entered the league back in 1993. A year or two before they entered the league, I went on a family vacation to Florida and had an AMAZING time. Of course what 6 or 7 (or somewhere around there) year old isn't going to have a great time at Walt Disney World? So when the state got a professional baseball team a couple of years later, I instantly became a fan. Like with my other teams, I've been around for two World Series championships and some absolutely horrible years where they were not even competitve. For the most part though, the Marlins have always been a middle of the pack team. They've always been a tough matchup and a team others don't like to face, but they usually end up falling just short in the end. I'm fine with that though because they always seem to be competitive every single year, which is all I can ask for as a fan. It'll really be interesting to see what happens next season when they move into their new ballpark in down town Miami. For those who were not aware as well, they are also going through a re-branding process next year as well. Starting with the opening of their new park, they will be known as the Miami Marlins, rather than the Florida Marlins.

I now go from my oldest loyalty, to my newest, and that belongs to Manchester City Football Club. Being in the United States, soccer really isn't a huge thing here. Yeah, we have Major League Soccer, and even though it's getting better every year, it's not exactly top flight football. I really got interested in the game of soccer watching the 2006 World Cup, which was played in Germany. At the conclusion of that World Cup, I made the decision that I was going to start following soccer and that I had to choose a team to follow. Somehow I was always attracted to Manchester City. I knew right away that I wasn't going to jump on the bandwagon of one of the top teams because it's too easy to do it that way. When you think of the "Boys in Blue," they will always be the little brothers in the city of Manchester. Everybody, even if they aren't soccer fans, have atleast heard of Manchester United. Manchester City is to Manchester United what the Los Angeles Clippers are to the Lakers. Or what the New York Mets are to the Yankees. I think you get the point. Up to this point, I haven't seen much of a return on that "investment," but thing are looking up and I see City being championship contenders for the next several years. Hopefully they can live up to those expectations atleast once.

As a sports fan in general, I love to go see live sporting events, no matter who is playing. To make the game more interesting, I like to cheer for somebody in that game, even if I don't have any ties to them as a fan. What's the point in going if you are just going to sit on your hands the entire game and not cheer for anybody? One label I've been given is that I'm an antagonist who likes to always cheer for the away team. Even though it usually ends up that way, that's not necessarily true. Most of the minor league teams close to me happen to be affiliated with rivals of my favorite team. So therefore, I'm not going to cheer for those teams just because of their affiliation. It's not that I'm necessarily trying to be antagonistic, it's that I'm trying to be a fan of my team. If that means cheering against the home team, so be it.

The example I'll use here are the Rockford IceHogs, who happen to be AHL affiliates of the Chicago Blackhawks. I've hated the IceHogs long before their affiliation with the Blackhawks. Back in the day, when they were still members of the United Hockey League, they had a nice rivalry with the Quad City Mallards. The Mallards happened to be my favorite local team growing up and the two teams are located about two hours from each other. When I was roughly 10 years old, I went with my dad to see the Mallards play in Rockford. Around 5 minutes into the game, the Mallards scored to take a 1-0 lead. My teams scored so naturally I stood up and clapped. A few seconds later, I get hit in the middle of the back with a chuck-a-puck. It takes a real classy fan to hit a 10 year old kid in the back with a chuck-a-puck for clapping when his team scored. Since then I've been challenged to a fight by a drunken bachelor party (just for wearing a Mallards jersey) and have had a half empty water bottle fly past my head (for standing up and clapping for a goal). I've also been called an asshole by a fan just for standing up and clapping for a goal. I didn't say a word, I just stood up and clapped. Back in the day, there were some extremely mean spirited fans that went to IceHogs games. It's gotten much better in recent years, but I still will never cheer for them. I've had way too many negative experiences in the past and now they have the whole Chicago Blackhawks affiliation thing going against them as well. Being a Red Wings fan, I can't find it in my heart to cheer for anything related to the Blackhawks.

There you have it. That's a little bit of an insight as to who I am as a fan and where my loyalties lie.

Be A Man(ny)

Last week Manny Ramirez, now (or I guess formerly) of the Tampa Bay Rays, decided to call it a career. When I first heard the news, I wasn't at all surprised. His numbers to start the 2011 MLB season were horrible, and that may be sugar coating it.

This season, Ramirez only played in 5 games for the Rays. In that time, he had 17 at bats and recorded one hit and one RBI. He also struck out four times and currently has a batting average of .059, which again is not good. So again, when I first heard the news about his retirement, I wasn't surprised. I had a feeling that he just wasn't keeping up with the game as well as he had in the past and that his mind and body were both telling him that it's time to go. There have been several great athletes who have run into situations like that.

As time went on, it was apparent that this retirement was different. Apparently Manny had run into another issue with Major League Baseball's Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Back in 2009, when Manny was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles, he was suspended 50 games for an issue to do with the Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. It's also been reported, but never confirmed that Manny's name was also on the list of players that tested positive before MLB began regular drug testing. This round of testing was done in order to gauge drug use in order to decide whether or not to implement some form of drug testing. The names of the players who tested positive were not supposed to be released, even though some have come out since then.

Seeing as though Manny apparently tested positive again, he is now facing the possiblility of a 100 game suspension. Instead of being a man and facing the punishment for the act he committed, he instead decided to run away from it and retire. I lose a lot of respect for Manny just for that right there. If you knowingly do something wrong, you should always be prepared to face the consequences if you get caught. He's not a man though, he's only 38. As we know from the past, you don't become a man until you turn 40.

If Manny Ramirez decides to ultimately stay away from baseball, which I don't think he will, this will be his lasting legacy. Keep in mind that if he does decide to return, he will immediately be facing the 100 game suspension before he's able to resume his playing career.

Ramirez probably has statistics good enough for enshrinement in Cooperstown. He was never the best defender but the guy could always hit. As far as I'm concerned, he should never make his way to Cooperstown. Any player who ever tests positive for a banned substance, in my opinion, should never be allowed to make the Hall of Fame. Period. That includes Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Manny Ramirez, etc. Do I need to continue?

His only chance to get into the Hall of Fame, and I mean only chance, would be to be a man and face the consequences of his actions. You will atleast save a little bit of face there. By running away, you don't get to save any face and that won't be forgotten, I'll guarantee that.

For any player, in any sport, the Hall of Fame is the ultimate reward for a great career. At some point in each of these athletes' lives I'll guarantee that they've dreamed of being card carrying members of their sports Hall of Fame. Yet in reality, very few players come close to reaching that point.

With that said, it's a shame when a player who was probably good enough to make the Hall of Fame before the use of a banned substance resorts to using that substance. Barry Bonds was good enough. Alex Rodriguez was good enough. Manny Ramirez may not be on par with those guys, but with the way he could hit, he may have been good enough at all. Now neither of them deserve to be in the Hall and that's the way it should be.