NFL 2013 Mock Draft: Combine Version

The Combine has kicked off in Indianapolis! Soon to be drafted rookies are being judged for their athletic ability, mental strength & character by NFL coaches, general managers and executives. While a teams continue to assess talent before Draft Day, I have decided to jump the gun and share the 1st version of my NFL mock draft. There are sure to be revisions as we get closer to the draft, so stay tuned!

1. Kansas City Chiefs - Luke Joeckel (OT/Texas A&M)

• The Chiefs need a QB, but there is not an elite pivot in this draft as in years past. Look for the Chiefs to take the draft's best lineman and overall player, Luke Joeckel or trade the 1st pick away and move down the draft.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars - Bjoern Werner (DE/Florida State)

• The Jaguars could use a QB or RB as well, but they will not draft either one of those this high in the draft. Look for the Jaguars to address their defensive woes by drafting either Bjoern Werner or Georgia's Jarvis Jones. I'm leaning towards Werner, who isn't as dynamic as Jones, but provides solid output without a significant injury history.

3. Oakland Raiders - Chance Warmack (OG/Alabama)

•  The Raiders have plenty of holes to fill, but none is more important than the offensive line. The failure of the line saw Carson Palmer get drilled often & provided very little running room for Darren McFadden (when he happened to be healthy). Warmack comes from a storied Alabama program, and is a consummate professional. Fits the bill for the new Raiders under Dennis Allen.

 4. Philadelphia Eagles - Dee Milliner (CB/Alabama)

•  On paper, the Eagles looked like a force to be reckoned over the last couple of years, yet in reality, they have fallen well short of expectations. Offensive genius Chip Kelly took over the reigns as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles this winter, but don't expect him to take a offensive play maker with his first pick. One of the biggest shocks was the sudden aging of star corner Nnamdi Asomugha. The 3-time Pro Bowler was beaten by opposing team's wide outs often. Signs of Father Time catching up. The Eagles should use their pick to select Alabama's Dee Milliner, the top ranked corner-back in this draft. But if Chance Warmack doesn't go to the Raiders at #3, look for the Eagles to snap him up as their is a huge need on the O-line as well.

5. Detroit Lions - Damontre Moore (DE/Texas A&M)

• While a running back is what the Lions need the most, this draft doesn't have a Trent Richardson that can crack the top 5 (or even the top 20 for matter). So look for the Lions to address their pass rush in the first round. The Lions released Kyle Vanden Bosch earlier this month, which opens the door for them to select Texas A&M's Moore, who had 85 tackles and 12.5 sacks this past season.

6. Cleveland Browns - Jarvis Jones (OLB/Georgia)

• If Jones isn't picked by the Jaguars, expect him to slide to the Browns at number 6. New head coach Rod Chudzinski needs some help on the offensive side of the ball, but without any elite play makers in this draft, look for the Browns to take Jones who will vastly improve their defense. The Browns struggled to stop the run this past year, Jones could be an immediate help in that department.

7. Arizona Cardinals - Star Lotulelei (DT/Utah)

• The biggest need for the Cardinals is at the quarterback position. There is no doubt about that. But, neither Geno Smith or Matt Barkley are worth an early first round gamble. So, look for the Cardinals to improve their rush defense by taking Utah's defensive tackle, Star Lotulelei. There is plenty of room for improvement as the team allowed an average of 137 yards per game on the ground this season. 

8. Buffalo Bills - Barkevious Mingo (DE-OLB/LSU)

•  Another team that is looking for a QB, but I just cannot see one going this high in 2013. Another place the Bills can vastly improve is at the linebacker position, where they were incredibly thin last year. LSU's Mingo would be a good fit here as he can play at the end or linebacker position. Mingo could help the Bills at either position as they were in the middle of the pack with 36 sacks last year and possessed the 2nd worst rush defense in the league, allowing over 145 rushing yards per game.

9. New York Jets - Sheldon Richardson (DT/Missouri)

• The Jets need help with the pass rush. While the young duo of Quinton Coples & Muhammad Wilkerson have played well, look for the Jets to draft another defensive player in the 1st round in 2013. With Damontre Moore, Jarvis Jones & Barkevious Mingo all gone, the Jets should opt for Missouri's Sheldon Richardson to play up the middle. While he is a little further down on some draft boards, Richardson is ranked as #2 defensive tackle (behind Lotulelei), so the Jets would be wise to snap him up before he is gone. 

10. Tennessee Titans - Kenny Vaccaro (FS/Texas)

• The Titans defense surrendered a league worst 29.4 points per game to opponents last year, a good chunk of which was allowed on big plays given up by the secondary. Look for the Titans to address this need in the draft by taking Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro with the 10th pick in the draft. Picking this extremely athletic, hard hitting and intelligent player would be a good start to improving the Titans' secondary.

11. San Diego Chargers - Eric Fisher (OT/Central Michigan)

• The Chargers had a lot go wrong for them last year: a shaky Philip Rivers, an injured Ryan Mathews and bad luck all around. As a result, both GM A.J. Smith & coach Norv Turner were let go, and replaced by Tom Telesco & Mike McCoy, respectively. So where do McCoy and Telesco start with their first draft pick? It has to be an offensive lineman. The Chargers were putrid when within their opponents 10 yard line all year long, only scoring touchdowns in 55.6% of their visits within the 10. A push on the goal starts with a solid offensive line, without that, your offensive doesn't stand much of a chance. Look for the Chargers to take big Eric Fisher of Central Michigan to address this need. 

Keenan Allen: The upgrade at wide receiver the Miami Dolphins are in need of?

12. Miami Dolphins - Keenan Allen (WR/California)

• No need to try to drag O.J. McDuffie out of retirement Dolphins' fans. It looks like your team will finally address the need at wide receiver. Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, and Mike Wallace are being touted as possible additions via free agency and trades, but the team requires a long-term target for Ryan Tannehill as well. California's Keenan Allen is the highest ranked wide out in this draft and compares to Anquan Boldin in terms of style. Potential dream scenario for Dolphins' fans: possession receiver Allen lining up alongside speedster Mike Wallace. 

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Xavier Rhodes (CB/Florida State)

•  No surprise here. The Bucs had the worst pass defense in the league last year. Rookie safety Mark Barron and corner Eric Wright were picked on for big plays all year long. Those two need some help in the secondary. Enter Xavier Rhodes. Aside from having one of the best names in the draft (2nd only to Barkevious Mingo), Rhodes is a physical corner with great ball hawking skills.

14. Carolina Panthers - Shariff Floyd (DT/Florida)

•  The Panthers need to get some more help on the pass rush and this is the draft to do it. With a number of high quality defensive tackles available this year, look for Ron Rivera and his team to take Florida's explosive tackle Shariff Floyd. The Panthers could trade down in the draft and hope Floyd drops to a lower position or take Alabama's Jesse Williams, but that would be a risky move as a number of teams are looking for defensive help.

15. New Orleans Saints - Ezquiel Ansah (DE/BYU)

•  After courting Romeo Crennel for a few minutes, the Saints decided on signing the lesser Ryan (Rob, not Rex) as their defensive coordinator. Humor aside, Rob Ryan will bring swagger back to a New Orleans defense that is in desperate need of it. The team will be playing a 3-4 defense & will look to address a need at the DE position in the first round. Look for Ghana born Ezquiel Ansah to head south to Louisiana. Ansah has been compared to Jason Pierre-Paul (slightly slower, but better against the run).

The rest of the draft:

16. St. Louis Rams – Lane Johnson (OT/Oklahoma)

17. Pittsburgh Steelers – Cordarelle Patterson (WR/Tennessee)

18. Dallas Cowboys - Johnathan Cooper (OG/North Carolina)

19. New York Giants - Desmond Trufant (CB/Washington)

20. Chicago Bears - D.J Fluker (OT/Alabama)

21. Cincinnati Bengals - Alec Ogletree (OLB/Georgia)

22. St. Louis Rams - DeAndre Hopkins (WR/Clemson)

23. Minnesota Vikings - Jesse Williams (DT/Alabama)

24. Indianapolis Colts -  Johnathan Hankins (DT/Ohio State)

25. Seattle Seahawks - Sam Montgomery (DE/LSU)

26. Green Bay Packers – Alex Okafor (DE/Texas)

27. Houston Texans - Kevin Minter (ILB/LSU)

Expect Te'o to slide in the draft

28. Denver Broncos - Manti Te'o (ILB/Notre Dame)  

29. New England Patriots - Johnthan Banks (CB/Mississippi State)

30. Atlanta Falcons - Eddie Lacy (RB/Alabama)

31. San Francisco 49ers - Geno Smith (QB/West Virginia)

32. Baltimore Ravens – Matt Elam (S/Florida)

Happy with your team's projected pick? Comment below! 

Ray Lewis: The Best of this Generation

"I talked to my team today,"..."I talked to them about life in general. And everything that starts has an end. For me, today, I told my team that this will be my last ride."

And with that, one of the greatest leaders in the history of professional sports, and one of the most intimidating players in the history of the NFL announced that he will be retiring at the end of this season. 17 year veteran Ray Lewis will be leaving the game with no stone left unturned, as a 12-time Pro Bowl Selection, 2-time Defensive Player of the Year, 1-time Super Bowl Champion and 1-time Super Bowl MVP.

Ray Lewis at his finest

Yet, all the personal accolades do not tell the full story about Ray Lewis. Even with all the personal awards, Lewis' best attribute has been his leadership, anchoring of some of the most feared and consistent defenses in the history of the NFL for the past decade and a half. And yes, there have been some amazing talents on the Baltimore Ravens' defenses alongside him: Ed Reed, Terell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Jamie Sharper, Rod Woodson, Sam Adams and Adailus Thomas, just to name a few. But, who led, galvanized and organized those defenses? Ray Lewis did.

The Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl winning team of 2000 is a prime example of how important and impactful of a player Ray Lewis was in his prime. The team's offensive talents were anemic, led by Trent Dilfer at quarterback, Jamal Lewis at running back and no sure fire #1 wide receiver option, the defense led the team all the way to the Super Bowl. In the game itself, the Ravens faced the New York Giants, in which the Ravens' D forced 5 turnovers (4 INTS, 1 fumble). The Giants' offensive was completely nullified, as the only touchdown they were able to score was off a kick return. Lewis finished the game with 3 solo tackles, 2 assists and 4 blocked passes, earning MVP accolades. The defense was so dominant during that playoff run that the Ravens did not allow more than 10 points in any of the 4 games. Who led this team? Ray Lewis, a 4-year pro at the time.

Whether he is the greatest inside linebacker to ever play the game of football can and will be debated. Some will say it is former Chicago Bear linebackers Mike Singletary or Dick Butkus. I cannot say, as I never saw Singletary and Butkus play. What I can say however, is that Lewis is the greatest defensive player of this generation. No offense to Michael Strahan, Bruce Smith, Troy Polamalu or any other great player, but Lewis stands out on his own. The former University of Miami product led by example on the field, by being first to the ball or quarterback. He is the only player in NFL history to have both 40+ sacks and 30+ interceptions. No single player has ever done that, but Ray Lewis.

Lewis, who has been struggling with a triceps injury for most of the season, has been given the green light for Sunday's play-off game against the Indianapolis Colts. While this may be his final NFL game this weekend, his greatest accomplishment of being the general of the most consistent systems/machines that the NFL has ever seen. Year in and year out for the past 13 years, Lewis has made the Ravens defense one of the most feared and potent defense's the game has ever seen. The defensive squad from 2000 is often considered by some as the best defense in the history of the NFL. Even after Super Bowl winning coach Brian Billick and former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan left the team, the defense still continued to put up amazing numbers. The common thread for the last 13+ years: Ray Lewis.

Greatness comes every so often, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where old age starts to show quickly as young running backs, tight ends and receivers start to blow by veterans on the field, but number 52 in the purple, black and white has remained great longer than most. I would even argue that Lewis be compared to the other two greats of this generation: Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Like Manning and Brady, Lewis has played at a level none of his peers have reached for more than a dozen years, inspired his team mates (more so than the two quarterbacks), possesses an unrivalled football IQ and has led his team to the promised land of winning the Super Bowl.

Make sure to watch the Colts versus the Ravens, as it may be the last time we witness the great Ray Lewis in action.

Audition Day: Michael Vick's final chance in the NFL?

Sunday's week 17 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants may seem like a meaningless match-up between two NFC East rivals who have both been knocked out of play-off contention (technically, the Giants are still mathematically alive to make the play-offs, but I have better odds of winning a Pulitzer prize for this post than the Giants do of making it to the play-offs) . But, think again. There are a number of sub plots at the heart of this game that will help to decide how the NFL looks next year. For instance, the defending Super Bowl champion Giants will undoubtedly make personnel changes in the off-season after a season full of inconsistent defensive efforts, and conservative play calling on the offensive side of the ball.

Yet, the sub plots surrounding the Eagles may be even more intriguing. This Sunday could be the final game for Andy Reid as the head coach in the city of brotherly love. Despite being the longest tenured coach in the NFL and posting an overall record of 139-97-1 with the Eagles over 13 years, Reid's teams have vastly under achieved in recent years, and have completely fallen off the map this year compiling the 3rd worst record in the NFL. Despite all his success in Philadelphia, Reid will still likely be known for his teams' inability to win "the big game," despite compiling stellar players. It is still too early to speculate on who would replace Reid, but whoever it is, they will certainly have a difficult time filling Reid's shoes.  
 
While Reid's situation is interesting, the drama surrounding Michael Vick is even more intriguing. The sorry Eagles have opted to start rookie quarterback Nick Foles instead of 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick for the latter half of the NFL season. While some pre-season pundits predicted that the team would contend for the Super Bowl, Vick and the Eagles have had a dismal season, losing 10 of their last 11 games. To be fair, Vick was not provided much help by his teammates earlier this year, as the Eagles' offensive line was and has been in shambles all season. But, Vick did himself no favours either, throwing 14 interceptions and fumbling the ball 7 times in 13 games. After being stripped of the starting job, it looked like Vick would whither away on the Eagles bench until the end of the year, which would be followed by a trade to one of the few teams in the NFL that actually needed a quarterback or be released altogether. But, as luck would have it, Michael Vick may have a say in his future after all. With Foles breaking his hand in last week's loss to the Washington Redskins, Vick, once the league's highest paid player, will have one last audition for potential suitors in the final game of the season against the Giants.

Will Vick land a starting job next year?

Currently the Arizona Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets are being touted as the most likely destinations for the former Virginia Tech product. Not exactly the ideal destinations for any football player at this point, but, they do provide Vick with the possibility of a final chance to live up to the hype that has surrounded his entire career. While there have been many highs on the field for Vick, as he as electrified fans in Philadelphia and Atlanta (Want proof? Have a look at the video below), questions about his versatility in an offensive scheme and off-field behavior have always followed him. With the felony charges of taking part in an illegal dog fighting ring and the 21 month sentence that followed now behind him, it seems that Vick has finally matured as a person. But, did it come too late?

Can Mike Vick turn back the clock this Sunday and convince NFL GMs to take one last chance on him as their starting quarterback or will he be devoured by Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of the Giants defense? Unlike last year's NFL draft class, the 2013 class has very few legitimate quarterback prospects, which signals good news for Vick. But nothing is for certain in today's NFL. So, whether Vick gets one more shot in his NFL career may hinge on this Sunday's showdown between Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. So much for a meaningless game.

Saturday Morning Musings - December 15, 2012

Bye-bye Balotelli?

Super Mario is in a rut. Again. The polarizing Italian striker was left out of Manchester City's squad for today's English Premier League match-up against Newcastle. The startling thing is that not only did Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini leave Balotelli out of the starting 11, but he left the striker out of the list of substitutes as well. This omission adds fuel to the fire, as rumours that the club's brass has had enough of the volatile Balotelli and could be keen to offload the 22 year-old to either his former club Inter Milan or their rivals A.C. Milan.

The latest installment of the Balotelli saga highlights yet another example of the player's ongoing attitude problem in the blue side of Manchester. After a dominating performance at EURO 2012 (specifically his dominating performance against Germany) in the summer, it looked like Balotelli was ready to take the football world by storm. However, due to multiple squabbles with the club's manager, Balotelli does not even find himself on the substitute's bench,let alone dominating on the field! At some point Balotelli will have to grow up. Whether that occurs in Manchester or elsewhere, we will have to wait and see. If he chooses not to, Balotelli's shot at greatness will pass him by.

 

Benched: Mario Balotelli could be on his way back to Milan

Blue Jays Eying Dickey


After starting the off-season by orchestrating a (rather one-sided) blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins that brought Mark Buerhle, Jose Reyes, and Josh Johnson into town and signing MLB pariah Melky Cabrera to a 2 year contract worth $16 million, you may have thought the Toronto Blue Jays were done wheeling and dealing in the winter. Think again. The Jay's GM Alex Anthonpoulos seems to be going for the jugular, as he is now in trade talks with the New York Mets for last year's NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey. Contract talks between the Mets and the pitcher have hit a snag, which have allowed the Blue Jays a chance to swoop in for the 38 year-old knuckleballer.

The N.L's reigning Cy Young winner, who produced a 20-6 record with an 2.73 E.R.A. for the hapless Mets, is reportedly looking for a 2 year contract extension worth $25 million. According to FoxSports' Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays are willing to offer Dickey this extension and are in negotiations to trade a package of young prospects, which could include one of J.P Arencibia or Travis d' Arnaud and outfielder Anthony Gose.

If the Blue Jays can make this deal happen, it will go further to help to rejuvenate the fan base in Toronto. In addition, solidifying their pitching rotation will go a long way in the challenging for honours in the AL East. With the Red Sox in the middle of a re-build, and the grey-haired New York Yankees getting older by the minute, the Rogers' family and the Blue Jays organization seem to be aiming their sights for the top of the AL East.   

The New York Knicks Resurgence: A Slow Rise to Relevancy

If any other team in the NBA was 16-5, which stands as the best record in the league's most hotly contested conference, they would be certain to an early NBA title contender. But, no team has the history and paranoia of the the New York Knicks.There is constant seconding guessing by Knicks' fans about the decisions made by the team's brass at Madison Square Garden. But, can you really blame them? James Dolan may be one of the most hated owners in the game of basketball (the LA Clippers Donald Sterling may be his rival, however) and the Knicks' executives over the last decade have not exactly been the standard bearers of exemplar team management. However, the New York Knicks look different this year, The transformation did not occur overnight, instead brash moves by Dolan, the team's General Manager Glen Grunwald and the team's brass over the past 2 years have given the MSG faithful a new lease on their basketball lives.

Stars in the Big Apple

The team's fortunes did not change overnight, but started in 2010 when they picked up Amar'e Stoudemire. While Stoudemire's ridiculous 5 year deal worth $99.7 million has been a complete bust for the Knicks, it did provide one positive outcome: it made the Knicks a premiere destination for stars in their prime (Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis do not count!). The following season the Knicks made their biggest move in decades by picking up a legitimate franchise player in Carmelo Anthony in a trade with the Denver Nuggets. After a slow start at the beginning of his Knicks' career, Melo has steadily improved and is now pushing himself into NBA MVP discussions this season, by averaging 27.7 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game. Aside from leading the team in statistical categories, Melo has established himself as the team's undisputed leader.

Amar'e Stoudemire: Luring other stars to the Knicks may be his biggest contribution

The third important move that the Knicks made was bringing in Tyson Chandler through free agency in the summer of 2011. Chandler, who has been one of the league's top defensive big men in recent years, had just come off of winning the NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks. The 7 foot California native brought instant championship experience, leadership and defensive prowess (which saw him win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award last year) to a team that required all 3 of these improvements.

Coaching Carousel

Even with their own version of the big three in Stoudemire, Anthony and Chandler, the Knicks struggled under the leadership of run and gun coach Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni, who is going through a similar problem with the Los Angeles Lakers right now, could not institute a system that catered to his fast paced offensive style, and the attributes of Carmelo Anthony, who is more of a half-court, isolation/jump shot specialist. Coupled with this tension was the fact that like all other D'Antoni coached teams, the team's defense was horrible or non-existent on some nights. After a 18-24 start in the 2011-2012 season, D'Antoni resigned as the Knicks head coach after 3+ seasons. In that time span, the Knicks only made the NBA's post-season once, to be swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round in 2010-11.

D'Antoni's failure led to Mike Woodson's opportunity to lead the Knicks

After D'Antoni's resignation, the Knicks installed one of his assistants, Mike Woodson, as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2011-12 season. The well-travelled coach was known for his solid approach to defense after winning a NBA title with the Detroit Pistons in 2003-04 as an assistant and, his 6 years as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, in which he led the team to two NBA Eastern Conference Finals appearances. While D'Antoni's installation as coach was a dismal failure for the Knicks executive team, the promotion and continued support of Woodson has been pure genius. Under Woodson, the Knicks have gone 34-11 since the coaching change. This move was particularly brash because it ignored the deafening calls for the hiring of former Knicks player, and zen master extraordinaire, Phil Jackson as the team's head coach. Even after injuries to Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and last year's global sensation Jeremy Lin, Woodson guided the team into the playoffs, and has led the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference after 21 games this year.

The Linsanity Dilemma

The final personnel moves that the Knicks made prior to the beginning of this season have already started paying dividends, and have saved the team from having yet another large, unwanted contract on the books. Grunwald and the Knicks made a shrewd and, at the time, a very unpopular decision, by not matching the Houston Rockets 3 year, $25 million contract offer for Jeremy Lin. Lin, who had provided the majority of the Knicks' highlights in the 2011-12 campaign, joined Kevin McHale and the free-spending Houston Rockets (who also traded for James Harden soon after) after the Knicks declined to match their substantial offer for the crafty point guard.

With a void at the point guard position, there was plenty of backlash and discontent from the Knicks faithful and sports media, who thought losing Lin hurt the team on the court and financially, as the point guard's global marketing appeal was arguably more important than his play on the court. This feeling was soon compounded as the Knicks signed free agent Raymond Felton to replace Lin. Felton had played for the Knicks in 2011, but was dealt to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade. The stocky point guard from South Carolina had enjoyed success in his first stint with the Knicks, but was returning to the team in less than ideal physical shape and after two unimpressive stops in Denver and Portland. To add some depth to the back court, the Knicks also signed aging 10-time All-Star Jason Kidd. Knicks fans were not amused, particularly as the two signings signaled the end of their pursuit of 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.

Felton's second stint in NYC proving to be a success

While these 2 signings didn't seem too exciting in the summer, it provided the Knicks with a solid back court pairing, which has proven to be one of the main contributors to the Knicks success so far this season. Felton is averaging just under 16 points and 7 assists a game and Kidd completely changing his game by becoming more of a shooting guard, he is chipping in with 9 points a game and shooting over 50% from behind the arc, by far the best in his career.  The Knicks have become a very difficult team to defend because of the versatile talent on the floor at all times. The decision not to match Houston's offer for Lin has also allowed New York financial flexibility going forward, as Kidd is on a short-term contract.

The key to any championship team is having the right formula. Last year the Miami Heat's big 3 took them to the promised land despite having little depth in the rest of their line-up. Yet, very few teams have that sort of star power, and the Knicks may be onto something here with their own unique formula.  By stockpiling saavy veterans like Kidd, the geriatric, but extremely sturdy Kurt Thomas, and the grumpy, yet extremely versatile Rasheed Wallace, the Knicks have added depth and experience to a line up that was already very talented with the likes of Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler and J.R Smith.

Are they ready to win a title? That may be a stretch looking at contenders like Miami, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, but one thing seems to have changed:  the Knicks management has turned a new leaf. Long gone are the days of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis pulling up for jumpers, and Tim Thomas and Antonio McDyess hacking it up at MSG.  

Saturday Morning Musings

Arsenal Snaps Streak in Shameful Fashion

The red side of North London is singing loudly again (for the time being) after this morning's 2-nil victory over West Bromvich Albion. But, the fashion in which the match was won was in a disgraceful.  The usually classy Santi Cazorla provided the moment of shame with a blatant dive. Cazorla made a move in the right side of the 18 yard box, at which point Baggie's defender Steven Reid stuck out his leg and Cazorla went down like a ton of bricks. The problem: Cazorla wasn't touched by Reid's leg, or any other part of his anatomy for that matter. This mockery of a foul translated into Mikel Arteta's match-winning penalty.

Cazorla has shown to be one of the league's best characters in the first few months of the season, but this will put a major blemish on that record (as it should). You can bet Arsenal supporters will look past the dive, as they are focusing on another record (the club's win/loss). Desperate times call for desperate measures.

With Lakers Stuck in Neutral, is Pau on the Way Out?   

With 20 games played, the Los Angeles Lakers should not be panicking with a 9-11 record. But then again, this is the team that fired their coach after a 1-4 start to the season. There are positives: with Mike D'Antoni calling the shots the team has gone 8-7. At least that's a winning record! While the Lakers try to figure out the formula, the Pau Gasol trade rumours have started to ramp up yet again. This time the Spaniard is linked with a swap to the Minnesota Timberwolves to join his countryman Ricky Rubio in exchange for a combination of Derrick Williams, J.J. Barea, Luke Ridnour and Nikola Pekovic. The inclusion of Williams in any trade would provide Steve Nash with a Shawn Marion type of player to run and gun with. Interesting proposition, but we will have to wait and see if a trade materializes or if it turns out to be just another rumour. 

Hoop Dreams: Without Rangers, Celtic is Doomed to an Early European Exit

An extra long weekend has been declared on the green side of Glasgow, as Celtic confirmed their place in the UEFA Champions League final 16 with a win over Spartak Moscow earlier today.  The Bhoys were done a favor as Benfica drew a mishmash of Barcelona's A & B squads, which allowed Celtic to advance out of Group G alongside Barca.

Despite the win and a spot in the next phase of Europe's elite club tournament, Celtic supporters have plenty to worry about. While the win today was a major accomplishment, it was not one to sing too loudly about.  For stretches of the match, Nigerian Emmannuel Emenike terrorized his countrymen Efe Ambrose in Celtic's defense and put himself in very dangerous positions (one of which translated into a goal for the Russians). Despite dominating much of the possession, Celtic were mere minutes away from being bounced out of the tournament if it hadn't been for a (rather generous) penalty that was awarded to Georgios Samaras which was subsequently slammed into the net by Kris Commons in the 85th minute. Luckily for the Glaswegians, Samaras, Kris Commons and the Celtic midfield put in a great shift. But, will that sort of effort work against the quality of potential opponents in the next round? Paris Saint Germain, Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich or Manchester United. Pick your poison. All of these teams possess much better players than Emmanuel Emenike. The Bhoys always have a chance at Celtic Park, but even the most ardent Celtic supporter would be worried about every single one of those potential match ups.

Georgios Samaras: Man of the Match against Spartak Moscow

So, the situation is rather bleak in the Champions League, but that's fine since Celtic are the Kings of Scotland, you say? Not so fast! The Bhoys are going through a dismal domestic stretch, which has seen the club win twice in the last six matches, seeing their lead a top the Scottish Premier League shrink to 1 point (ahead of Hibernian). This points to a much bigger problem:  Celtic seems to have adopted a habit in which they play up or down to the level of their opposition. Great when playing Barca, not so much when you play Kilmarnock.

In the short-term, an exciting, down to the wire Scottish Premier League campaign gives clubs like Hibernian and Inverness a shot at a title that they have not had a sniff of in years. But, where does this lead to for Celtic both domestically and in Europe? Directly towards complacency. The Celtic of 2007, who also made it to the final 16 of the Champions League before being sent home by Barcelona, were in a much better place as they had to battle with Rangers tooth and nail to the end for the Scottish title that year. While the rivalry created great hatred among both team's fans, it helped to establish a higher level of competition, which often translated for a higher quality of play in Europe from the Scottish representative (whether it was Rangers or Celtic). With a "new' Rangers toiling in the 3rd division of Scotland after its insolvency, the Scottish game no longer has this dynamic. Celtic are the only show in town and, the show ain't work watching right now.

The Old Firm Derby: Produced both the best & worst of Scottish football

In the the short-term, Celtic are in a fine place, as they will likely continue to qualify for the Champions League and makes millions because of this. But, how far will they go in the UEFA Champions Leagu coming years if they remain the under challenged Kings of Scotland? Not very far. Don't see where I'm going with this? See BATE Borisov and FC Cluj.