The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 3: "A Rose on the Hardwood"

Derrick Rose has set the bar high for all first round draft picks because of the accolades he achieved during his third NBA season.  In the 2010/11 season, Rose's third year, he was a starter on the East All-Star team, named to the All-NBA first team, and selected as the league's Most Valuable Player.  His brand of basketball was so exceptional that season that when the most recent collective bargaining agreement was finalized, there was a provision written in to reward players that out-play their rookie contract. Part 1 of this series looked at players from the 2011/12 rookie class who have shown star potential but need to raise their level of play to be considered for the 25% max.  Part 2 featured the young stars of this class who are likely to receive the max. 

In this final installment of "Year Number Three" series, we'll look at this draft's cream of the crop and his chances of earning "The Derrick Rose Provision"

NFL Brain Dump: XOXO

I love watching football.  It isn't always about what plays are called, because sometimes passion is what ultimately decides the outcome.

The main thing that I took away from the epic Patriots versus Saints showdown is that Bill Belichick is still a better coach than you, me, Sean Payton, Rob Ryan or anyone else that loves football.  For the most part this season, the Saints have been taking what defenses give them, which have lead to Jimmy Graham taking a lot of yardage and dunking the football over crossbars.  In this game, Bill decided to play along and give Brees whatever he wants EXCEPT for passes to the elite tight end.  This was accomplished by having his best coverage defender shadow New Orleans’ best receiver, seems like a simple concept, it’s surprising that up until now no other coordinator employed this basic tactic which worked so well that Jimmy was held without a catch.  As well as “project shutdown Jimmy” worked, it still wasn’t enough to win the game; the game was decided by heart, mind control, and clutch plays.

NFL Brain dump: Week 5

It's been said that NFL teams that have opened the season with two losses over the past five years haven't made the playoffs.  This week, I'll track the eight teams that this applies to this season as well as some other musings.

See, What Had Happened Was... brain dump 9/24/13

Leakage is what this post is all about.  I need to unload some things that I have on my mind regarding the NFL, plug a few websites, and for fantasy football stuff scroll down to the bottom.

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 2: "Max-nificent"

 In the first part of this series, I discussed some players that will surely earn a nice ransom but need to impress in this upcoming season to raise their value.  In this edition, we'll look at some potential franchise guys who are almost assured of receiving "The Max" if they continue their progression in year number three.  The third season of an NBA player's career is the most important.  It is essential to their financial well-being that they perform well or display the potential to be a coveted member of an organization's future.  Rookie deals are for a guaranteed two years; this only applies to first round draft picks. We'll also take a glance at a couple of second round picks that deserved to be mentioned with the previous group.