Team USA Dominant at FIBA Championships

6 games into the 2010 FIBA Championships, and Team USA has posted a strong 6-0 record. These 6 wins have come via wins over Croatia, Slovenia, Brazil, Iran, Tunisia, and Angola, with a 29.8-point average margin of victory. The toughest challenge for Team USA came in the August 30^th game against Brazil, a 2-point win that saw Brazil’s Leandro Barbosa miss a game-tying jumper as the clock hit 0.00. One might say that was the midway wake-up call that Team USA needed to keep them awake throughout the championships. Apart from this narrow victory, the team has been quite dominant, and this dominance has brought about whispers of a 1992 Dream Team comparison. The biggest difference between this team and the ’92 team is the comparative caliber of NBA players on the squad.

The 2010 Team USA is full of up-and-coming NBA stars, with the oldest players on the team being the LA Lakers’ Lamar Odom, and the Denver Nuggets’ Chauncey Billups. In my opinion, stacking the team with young, energetic players is the best way to keep the team’s focus solely on the task at hand, winning this year’s FIBA World Championships.

Looking ahead, I don’t expect Team USA to have much of a problem getting to the tournament finals. They may encounter Brazil again, which could turn out to be another nail-biter, but I expect Coach K and the team to learn from the past and put that game in the bag without much of a problem. Their toughest opponent could prove to be current world number 1, Argentina, who Team USA is poised to play against in the semi-finals. On the other side of the bracket, the two strongest teams, Turkey and Slovenia, face off in the next round. I predict the winner of this match-up will make it to the tournament finals to face Team USA for the championship.

NFL Preview: MVP

The MVP award is given to the player that contributed the most during the regular season to the success of his team. Peyton Manning led his Colts to 14-0 last year and won his fourth award overall as well as his second straight. Will Manning make it a three-peat or will he be dethroned? Let's check out EDIASD writers' thoughts on the issue.

Most Valuable Player

John: Drew Brees
Brees is coming off a Super Bowl winning season as well as being the highest rated QB and cover boy of this year's Madden video game. He;s still one of the shorter quarterbacks at his position but he plays much taller than his stature. He was the leader of the Saints on both a performance and spiritual level last year for their Super Bowl run and they are eying a repeat. Let's hope Brees can avoid the Madden curse and have another successful season in 2010.

Drew Brees threw for almost 4,400 yards last season with a passer completion percentage of 70.6% (the best of his career) on his way to the Super Bowl. He also finished with 34 touchdowns and a passer rating of 109.6.

Johnny C: Tom Brady
Kevin: Tom Brady
Brady used last year to bounce back from a season ending knee injury he suffered in Week 1 of 2008. With injury worries fully behind him coming into the 2010 season, we will see what new tight end targets, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, bring to the table. Those two should put Brady a little more at ease since the Pats are in slight disarray with the contract issues of both Brady and guard Logan Mankins and the discontent of receiver Randy Moss. Not to mention the fact that Wes Welker is on the mend from a surgery of his own.

Brady completed 66% of his passes for a total of 4,398 yards and threw 28 touchdowns for a passer rating of 96.2.

Michelle: Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning is the reigning four time MVP and he doesn't look to be slowing down. He has started every single game for the Colts ever since he landed in Indianapolis and many believe that he is the best quarterback in the game today. The Colts came close to beating the Saints last year in the Super Bowl and Manning looks poised to challenge for that title again this year.

Peyton Manning threw for exactly 4,500 yards last season and 33 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 69% and a 99.9 passer rating.

Sport4Prophet: Aaron Rodgers
It seems like it will be the year of the quarterback again but I think I'm going with a QB that isn't often mentioned. Aaron Rodgers has finally emerged from the shadow of Brett Favre in Green Bay. Last season he was about to shine and lead the Packers into the playoffs even with a very porous offensive line in front of him. I think this season could be a breakout season for him and it should all depend on whether the Packers can have a strong showing this year.

Last season Rodgers completed 65% of his passes for nearly 4,500 yards and 30 touchdowns for a passer rating of 103.2. He also rushed for 5 touchdowns on the ground.


Tomorrow we'll wrap up the NFL Preview with the writers' picks for which teams will make it to the Super Bowl as well as who we think will win it this season.

NFL Preview: Rookie of the Year

Next in our NFL preview series we’ll take a look at our thoughts on the NFL Rookie of the Year. Who has the talent to be the gem of the 2010 draft?


Rookie of the Year

John: Sam Bradford
In 2008 Sam Bradford was on top of the college football world. He was the Heisman trophy winner as well as the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year. His Oklahoma Sooners also made it to the National Championship game that year where they lost to Tim Tebow's Florida Gators. Unfortunately for Bradford, injury problems limited him in his junior year and resulted in him having season-ending shoulder surgery. He finished his career with over 8,000 yards and 88 touchdowns.

That didn't stop the St. Louis Rams from selecting Bradford as their franchise quarterback as the first pick of the draft. In the Rams preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings, Bradford went 6-of-13 for 57 yards and was sacked 3 times. In the Rams second game against the Browns, Bradford was equally unimpressive. It wasn't until the third game when Bradford started in place of the injured Feeley that he was able to show his true worth to Rams fans. Bradford threw two first half touchdowns and helped lead the Rams to a 36–35 victory over the New England Patriots.

Johnny C: Aaron Hernandez
As a junior in 2009, Aaron Hernandez won the John Mackey Award, which is given every year to the nation's best tight end, after leading the Gators in receptions with 68 for 850 yards and five touchdowns. He also was recognized as a first-team All-SEC selection and an Associated Press first-team All-American. Hernandez finished his college career with 111 receptions for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez in the fourth round of the draft and he has performed well for them in the preseason. He caught 7 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in two preseason games and was a favorite target for quarterback Tom Brady. He had to sit out the last two preseason games and will probably start the season as the third string tight end behind Alge Crumpler and Ron Gronkowski.

Kevin: Dez Bryant
Michelle: Dez Bryant
During his sophomore year, Dez Bryant registered 87 receptions for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 2 punt returns for touchdowns for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was ruled ineligible for his junior year because of his failure to fully disclose interactions with former NFL cornerback and Bryant's mentor, Deion Sanders.

The Dallas Cowboys traded up in the 2010 draft to take Bryant 24th, two picks after the Broncos selected Demaryius Thomas. Besides some preseason controversy surrounding Bryant's reluctance toward rookie traditions there isn't much for Cowboys fans to go on as a result of a high ankle sprain that sidelined Bryant for all four games. The Cowboys will probably want to ease Bryant onto the field as the slot receiver in their offense but eventually he will probably supplant Roy Williams for a starting position.

Sport4Prophet: Ndomukong Suh
I figured I would shake things up and pick a defender as the Rookie of the Year though with Suh it's not that big of a leap. He is one of the most decorated defensive players in college football history. In 2009 he won the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award, the Bronko Nagurski &Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player, Lombardi Award for best lineman, Outland Trophy for best interior lineman, and AP Player of the Year (the first defensive player ever to accomplish this). ESPN's expert draft analyst, Mel Kiper Jr. highlighted Suh as "maybe the most dominating defensive tackle I've seen in 32 years".

While Suh's preseason numbers were not that spectacular with only 3 tackles, his presence caused havok to ensue amongst the opposing line. Plus did you see the hit he put on Jake Delhomme in that preseason game? Every QB in the league should be on high alert. (He was fined $7500 for the hit though.)

Tomorrow we'll look at the writers' picks for NFL MVP this season.

The Morning Rundown - September 3, 2010

Here’s what happened while you were sleeping:

Opening Day for College Football

The college football season started to moderate fanfare as it was a series of mostly blowouts with the exception of one nail biter: Utah at home against No.15 Pitt. While the game itself was not the model of perfection, there was certainly a lot of excitement in its final moments. With Pitt trailing by 3, 24-21, the ball inside the 25, and 3 seconds left on the clock the Pitt kicker sets up for the tying field goal and buries it. Only it seems that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham called the timeout before the kick went up and the Utah kicker has to try the kick again. Unfortunately the second time around the kick goes wide left and it looks like the Utes are going home with the W. But wait, it seems that coach Whittingham has outsmarted himself and called a second timeout to freeze the kicker so Pitt kicker Dan Hutchins had one final chance which he shaved inside the left upright tying the game at 24. With such a thrilling ending to regulation the game probably deserved a better overtime but one poorly-thrown Pitt pass later and Utah took a chip shot field goal within the 10 to seal the game, upsetting a ranked opponent and keeping their 18 game home streak alive: 27-24.

Steelers down another Quarterback

Pittsburgh is just not having a good night as they lose quarterback Byron Leftwich to a left knee sprain. Leftwich will have an MRI done to check of the severity of the strain but early reports don’t look good. Hopefully Big Ben can have Commissioner Goodell reduces his suspension because the Steelers are down to only two active quarterbacks left: the unproven Dennis Dixon and 35 year old Charlie Batch. Roethlisberger will meet today with Goodell to learn if his suspension for off-field behavior will be reduced to four games, as expected, or remain at six games.

Phillies rally past the Rockies to stay in the wildcard hunt

As we know, no lead in baseball is truly safe. The Phillies beat the Rockies on last night, 12-11, wrapping up a 6-1 road trip that reduces the Braves lead in the NL East to only two games. Philadelphia drove in a nine-run seventh inning that erased a four-run deficit, and then endured a four-run Rockies rally that ended with the tying run being forced out at third base to end the game.  Chase Utley drove in six runs and hit a grand slam in the seventh to lead the Phillies comeback.

College Football Preview: Offense to Watch

No surprise, Alabama is ranked the number one team in the nation coming off last season with a Heisman winner and a BCS bowl trophy. They may seem like an obvious “offense to watch pick” and Mark Ingram tries to make a case for getting a his 2nd Heisman, but he is only a piece of the offensive masterpiece Saban is developing. In fact, the Crimson Tide is known as a defensive team and Nick Saban, a defensive coach. And with the loss of several starters the new Tide defense has some big shoes to fill. On the other side of the ball, Bama QB Greg McElroy is leading an offensive team that has 8 returning starters and most of its key reserves. The key here are the other offensive players that may not have gotten as much of the hype last year.



Trent Richardson (RB)- Richardson had 751 rushing yards last year and he has arguably more top end speed than Ingram. Those who aren’t familar with the talent and depth of Alabama’s running game may simply view Richardson as Bama’s OTHER running back, but lets be clear, Richardson did gain 109 yards against Texas in the title game; Ingram had 116. The freshman sprinted between the tackles for a 49-yard touchdown. And with Ingram out for the start of the season, expect to see Richardson playing an even bigger role this season.



Julio Jones (WR)- Jones is considered by many an NFL surefire. The problem last year was that he ended the year with less than 600 yards receiving and only found the end zone four times. For a tall physical receiver like Jones that is underwhelming. Needless to say, he hasn’t quite reached his full potential yet. But some argue that may have been due to McElroy’s inexperience and the strength of the running game last year. Hopefully, with a more experienced McElroy at QB and a strong crew of receivers in tow, we should be seeing Jones in the endzone more often this season.



Greg McElroy (QB)- With his first season as a starter and a championship ring under his built, we should be seeing big things from the Bama QB in terms of on the field leadership and game management. Saban has also stated that he is goign to be look for McElroy to be leading a more explosive offense coming into this season.



The Offensive Line- A good offensive line was one of the key components to the strong running game that Alabama developed last season. The offensive line is returning three starters from last years squad including James Carpenter as tackle, William Vlachos as center and guard Barrett Jones. Reports say that this line is up to par with championship crew and should continue to make holes for the running game and provide pass protection for McElroy.


Tomorrow we'll take a look at some teams that may not be in the hunt for the National Championship, but still offer some quality storylines to watch.

NFL Preview: Top Defense

Since we are about to embark on the final week of preseason football, it is time for those usually-oh-so-wrong NFL preseason picks. Here at Every Day is a Sports Day, we will take a look at our collective crystal balls and try to divine the future of the league by  using both last season's results, the preseason, darts being thrown blindly at a wall. Some of the writers got together to discuss our picks for Best Defense, Rookie of the Year, MVP, and our Super Bowl picks and champions. We'll get the festivities started today with our thoughts on who the best defense in the league will be and follow up with the other categories throughout the week.

Best Defense

John: Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals were the surprise defense of the league last year. The only thing that seemed to slow down their front seven was a big hit from the injury bug. They come back this season with another year of experience for the young defensive squad that should definitely improve on last year's numbers. The Bengals ranked 6th in points allowed last season with 18.2 per game and fourth in yards allowed (301.4). Expect Antawn Odom, Domata Peko, Rey Maualuga, Keith Rivers, and Leon Hall to become household names this season.

Johnny C: Green Bay Packers.
Michelle: Green Bay Packers.
Even though the Packers are currently trying to get past some tough injuries to cornerback Al Harris and safety Atari Bigby, they should still be a force to be reckoned with once they hit their stride. They were second in defense last year and the best in the NFC. They also lead the NFL in both defense against the run and forcing turnovers. Second year defensive coach Dom Capers should have another good year with this defense with the Packers tauted as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.


Kevin: Oakland Raiders.
There is a good amount of discord in terms of the Raiders potential for the 2010 season. One thing that should see a great improvement is the front seven of the Oakland defense as they introduced some new components in the offseason. First and second round selections middle linebacker Rolondo McClain and defensive lineman Lamarr Houston will be probably plugged into the defense from day one. The Raiders hope that the learning curve is not too steep for these two as expectations regarding their contributions to the team are riding high. With the addition of John Henderson and Kamerion Wimbley in the offseason as well as last season's trade for Richard Seymour, the Raiders appear to have a formidable core. Not to mention one of the best NFL corners in Nnamdi Asomugha.

Sport4Prophet: New York Jets.
Even with the absence of leading pace rusher Calvin Pace and Darrelle Revis's holdout the Jets still have the tool to be one of the best defenses in football. First of all, there are many rumors that indicate Revis's holdout will end soon. In the meantime Antonio Cromartie (nickname AlCROtraz) and Kyle Wilson (one of the top corners in this year's draft class) will try and fill in on Revis Island. Plus you still have a guy named Rex Ryan whose coaching helped this team to have the NFL's best defense last year. People say the NFL is a passing league? Well the Jets were the best against the pass last season only allowing 154 yards per game through the air last year. They also were number one in scoring defense last year so if you turn the ball over against these guys, expect them to take it to the house.

The Morning Rundown - September 1, 2010

Here’s some of the sports news stories you might have missed while you were sleeping:

Leinart on the move?
-ESPN reports that the Arizona Cardinals are in talks with multiple teams looking for a possible trade destination for their disgruntled quarterback Matt Leinart. Leinart was in line to be the heir apparent after Kurt Warner’s retirement but so far has not shown the poise of a leader in the locker room. For the final two preseason games Coach Ken Whisenhunt has decided to bench Leinart in favor of former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson. In protest of his demotion Leinart has taken his grievances to the press. More on that story at ESPN.com

BYU  declares independence
-In the latest college sports exodus, Brigham Young University has decided to leave the Mountain West Conference and go independent in college football for the 2011-2012 season. BYU is working on an agreement with ESPN to televise its games, according to sources. Though BYU is still figuring out whom they will play in the 2011 season they already have scheduled non-conference games with Oregon State and Texas for the coming years and a series set up with Boise State, which is joining the MWC after this season in the WAC. BYU will join the West Coast Conference in all other sports. The school had originally been slated to go to the Western Athletic Conference before the MWC blocked the move by inviting WAC members Fresno State and Nevada to join the conference about two weeks ago. Here is the link to that story at ESPN.com.

Spain upset at FIBA World Championships
-Lithuania went into the second half down by 18 to a tournament favorite but ended up a winner in Turkey as they beat in Spain 76-73 on Tuesday. Lithuania went in a 23-5 run to even the score at 66 with 5:25 left in the game. Linas Kleiza scored four points in the last 35 seconds to clinch the win. He finished with 17 points, while teammates Martynus Pocius and Jonas Maciulis added 13 each. After Kleiza made two free throws with four seconds left, Raul Lopez of Spain tried to give Spain a last look on the other end from behind the arc, but Pocius deflected his pass out of bounds as time expired. Marc Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro led Spain with 18 points each. Both Spain and Lithuania were considered favorites in group D. For more game recap from ESPN on the World Championships, click here.