In case you haven't heard, Percy Harvin, perhaps the most versatile player in all of college football, along with North Carolina WR Brandon Tate, recently tested positive for Marijuana usage during the NFL combine. What really gets me is that experts are now saying that this slip up is going to have a big affect on his draft status. Once projected to go as high as 12th, "Oh Mercy" Percy's stock has fallen faster than Ohio State's chances of ever getting back into a National Title game with 1-Loss. Now, being projected as a late 1st-early 2nd round pick, Harvin may go down as the biggest "steal" in this weekends NFL draft. How ludicrous is that that players can test positive for steroids and get nothing but a slap on the wrist, but the minute someone fails a drug test for weed they become public enemy #1. It's an outrage and I can't stand how the media is blowing this up like its Barry Bonds in 2007. First of all, marijuana is NOT a performance enhancing drug, if anything it could (but probably doesn't) hinder a player's performance.
Look, this isn't the first time Percy has "puffed the magic dragon" and look how he was able to dominate in his 3 years at the University of Florida. Harvin tallied 133 receptions for 1,929 yards and 13 touchdowns and 194 carries for 1,852 yards and 19 scores. averaging 9.5 yards per carry and 11.6 yards per touch. Not to mention this kid went all three years without any off the field issues and never faced a single game suspension. But no, all this is somehow overlooked because of one slip up. I'll admit, he should've though this through and it was definitely stupid for him to do it, being fully aware of the potential consequences, but please, if anyone deserves a break its this kid. I hope he flourishes wherever he ends up, I am quite sure that he will.
On the topic of this weekend's draft, I am very interested to see what happens, especially at the top. Do the Lions go with Stafford? Personally, I would take Sanchez based on the way he performed at the combine and for individual team workouts. I feel like there has been virtually no hype around Stafford, and after seeing him play at Georgia for 3 years, I never once thought, "you know what? this kid is going to be the overall first pick in his draft class." The kid's got talent, don't get me wrong, but if Detroit's draft history is any indication of where he'll end up, I wouldn't too expect much. Does Aaron Curry end up in KC, and will KC be this year's Miami Dolphins? It sure looks that way, with a new coach and new QB at the helm, this will be an interesting season for the Chiefs.
There are a lot of questions facing the Jets as the get set to draft the 17th pick in this year's draft. For a while, it looked like they were set on Percy, having released WR Laverneus Coles this off season. This leaves the Jets with Jericho Cochery as their #1 receiver and little else (Dustin Keller had a breakout rookie year as TE, but other than that, pickin's are slim). They need another receiver but now I don't know what they are thinking. Another pressing issue for them is Quarterback. With the departure of Brett "I-throw-more-interceptions-than-touchdowns" Favre this off season, the "heated" battle for starting qb is now between Kellen Clemens, Bret Ratlif and Eric Ainge (3 guys you've probably never heard of). I have little faith in any of these guys, but is it worth wasting a draft pick, especially if Sanchez and Stafford both go in the top 10? No. I say that you go for the best player available at 17th. If it isn't an area that you need, you can always trade to get what you want.
In other news, the O's got right back on track last night after dropping 5 games in a row (4 to Boston) and look like they may have filled in one of the holes in the starting rotation. With some last minute scratches, the Orlioles (7-7) dipped into the farm system calling u
p two new players, Adam Jones was scratched the day of the game, clearing room on the roster for Lou Montanez, a young up and coming outfielder who had hit relatively well in his brief stint with the Orioles in 2008. Also, making his Major League debut after being brought up from AAA Norfolk, rookie and 2008 Minor League pitcher of the year Brad Bergesen got the start and led Baltimore to a 10-3 victory over the White Sox in Camden last night. Amongst the 14,000 strong who endured a 1 hour and 38 minute rain delay on Koji Uehera T-shirt tnigh, Bergesen struck out 5 and allowed 3 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. The offense finally got back into a rhythm after falling flat on their faces against Boston. Aubrey Huff homered twice, Nick Markakis batted 1.000 going 4-4, and the Orioles used a barrage of runs to shut down Jose Contreras and the White Sox.If Bergesen's performance is any indication of the way the Orioles are drafting and developing their pitching, then maybe there is hope after all. I know what you're thinking; Dave Trembley doesn't actually have a game plan, theres no way he does!- Think again. There are a multitude of pitchers down in Norfolk who are just waiting to get the call up to the majors. A slew of guys who are looking forward to this moment more than the guys from American Pie were looking forward to prom night. With the right attitude and the right work ethic, we may see a bright future for the O's on the mound. On that note, make sure to watch game 2 of the series tonight as Jeremy Guthrie looks for win #3 on the season.
In other news, The Washington Wizards are set to formally introduce new head coach Flip Saunders in a press conference tomorrow. Flip looks to build a strong relationship around the team's multi-million dollar centerpiece- Gilbert Arenas. Assuring reporters that he and Gilbert will get along famously, Saunders looks to rebuild a team in desperate need of direction. With a healthy core together for the first time since 2006, an experienced bench, and a top draft pick, Saunders may have hit the jackpot in signing with Washington. Now all he has to do is teach them to play defense. Saunders has a coaching style that relies heavily on the play of his point guard, so forming a strong relationship with Agent Zero is of utmost importance. It will be interesting how the two strong personalities work off of each other next season.
NBA playoffs are in full swing now and a trio of teams look to avoid going down 2-0 in their respective series. New Orleans and Miami both got trounced in their first games but they were both playing on the road, so a loss here was expected. Never mind the score, these two teams need to focus on stealing a road win and swinging homecourt advantage their way as they head home for games 3 and 4 of their series. Orlando was straight upset in their game one, allowing Philadelphia to climb back from a 19-point 2nd half deficit to win by 2 points. Anchored by the strong play(and last second gamer winner) of Andre Iguadola, the Sixers outplayed the Magic down the stretch, despite a dominant performance from Dwight Howard (31 pts, 16 rebs on 11-13 shooting). I think the Magic are still in the drivers seat here, but game two is virtually a must win for the dark horse candidate out of the east.
Portland faced a similar situation last night, but were able to pull out the victory after dominant performances by Brandon Roy (42 pts) and Lamarcus Aldridge (27 pts, 11 rebs). Portland was able to effectively shut down Yao Ming by playing both Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla at the same time. This allowed Portland to establish dominance in the paint early and keep Yao from scoring easy baskets down low. I think that Portland can run away with the series now. This last game gave them the confidence the needed to advance. Huston did put up a fight however, with Aaron Brooks nailing two 3-pointers late in the game to keep it interesting, but it wasn't enough in the end. Game 3 between these teams is in Huston on Friday (9:30 EST)
Finally, everyone
make sure to watch the Capitals tonight as Alex Ovechkin looks to break his playoff scoring drought and Washington looks to tie the series with the Rangers at 2 games apiece. Behind rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov (Sim-yon Var-La-Moff), who recorded his first career playoff shutout on Monday, Washington can swing the momentum in their favor heading back to Washington on Friday. The Washington Nationals are also looking to complete their first sweep of the season as the face the Atlanta Braves tonight (7:05 EST).*some statistics courtesy of espn.com
So stay tuned for more O's and Caps recaps tomorrow. Until next time....
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