-by Shawn Teer

This is something that has been bothering me for some time. It seems like this is going on with every team I like from baseball to football. Why do these organizations always work with a player until they become good or great, and then trade them or lose them to free agency? It always seems to happen, no matter how much I think that they are finally going to get it right, and then, like always, they mess it up.

Excluding player retirement of course, they either get a good player then get rid of them, bring a good player into the fold then never use them, or a bad player overstays their welcome. For example, Jared Cook has been on the Titans for a while now as the team’s tight end. Last year he had almost as many receptions as the number one wide out Nate Washington. What does the Titans management do with that information? Well the only thing that any smart owner/franchise would do…let them go into free agency of course.

Then when you think they are doing a smart thing by signing Matt Hasselbeck to a deal. That was great because he is a good quarterback and has been to the Super Bowl. But what do they do? Bench him, and put in Jake Locker, duh. I don’t understand this decision. Locker has not really shown me personally anything spectacular. I may be missing something and yes he may have been pretty good in college, but I don’t like to live in the past. He needs to start showing improvement fast. Hasselbeck on the other hand, was winning games while Jake was hurt, but as soon as he is healthy, they bench Hasselbeck and immediately start losing. Where is the logic here?

Saving the best for last I have say something about CJ2K which I know is a touchy subject for a lot of Tennessee fans. Chris Johnson has been nothing short of disappointing in the last few years. He achieved 2,006 rushing yards in 2009 and then steadily started to decline after that. That is sort of expected to happen, but all of us have to realize that since his magical run, he has held out every season for more money. By held out I mean basically took his ball and went home and refused to play until he got paid what he felt he deserved. Of course the Titans gave in and kept their city’s favorite player, but there was just one problem. He has not been working hard to earn his money. He has seemed to be steadily declining each year until this year, when he struggled to reach even 1,000 yards. My point here in this situation is that if a player is going to hold out for a bigger contract then the season before then they should be working hard have one amazing season after another.

-by Jason Chin (@jchin502)

Some folks just have it coming. ESPN's Skip Bayless is no exception.

Richard Sherman, an All-Pro cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks was on ESPN's First Take this week after Sherman's recent Twitter battle with Darrelle Revis about who the best corner is in the NFL. While Revis has the bigger resume, Sherman pointed out that his first two seasons in the league are better than the overall career of the 3 time All-Pro, 4 time Pro Bowl selected Revis. Like a lot of topics in sports this is something that only time will tell. First Take, a show known for arguing the hottest topics in sports, invited Sherman to appear this past week. Stephan A. Smith may have asked the question, but the response was soley directed at one Skip Bayless.

When asked how good do you think you are by Smith, Sherman held nothing back. Sherman responded with, "My numbers, my film speaks for itself. You can say what you want and Skip can say whatever he wants, but Skip whenever you address me or refer to me, address me as ALL-Pro Stanford graduate."

That was just the beginning. Sherman then tells Bayless that "you have never accomplished anything." And then the fireworks begin. At one point, Sherman says to Skip Bayless, "In my 24 years of life, I'm better at life than you."

Richard Sherman isn't the only professional athelete that has had a run-in with Skip Bayless. Terrell Suggs has either called in to First Take, or shown up on set numerous times and really took Skip to the woodshed for Bayless's relentless criticism of now Superbowl winner and MVP quarterback Joe Flacco. He even went so far as to call Bayless a name that was heard on the original broadcast, but edited out for the replay.

I have a feeling that Sherman and Suggs aren't the only pros who want to share thier feelings with Skip Bayless. I know at times while I'm watching First Take, I would like to reach out to Skip as well. Richard Sherman's appearance this past week was the equivelant of a pick six, and not even divine intervention from Tim Tebow could have saved Skip Bayless.

Here is a link to the condensed version of the interview with Richard Sherman:

Article By: Daniel Farish     Photo Credit: coloring-pictures.net

FULL DISCLOSURE: I began writing this Tuesday night while bowling league, before Indiana lost to Minnesota. Sometimes these things write themselves, as Vanetti says. No question.

Look up the word “parity” in Webster’s Dictionary and you’ll find this definition: “The 2012-2013 NCAA College Basketball season.” In a world where rankings mean everything to the loyal and rabid fanbases , the teams and their players seem to not care. There is a feeling of almost indifference in the air. “Oh, we’re #1? Ok. Cool.” And then said team promptly loses a game. Or two. OR THREE. Let’s break down the #1 teams that we have seen this year:

Preseason: Indiana (0-0)

Week 2: Indiana (1-0)

Week 3: Indiana (3-0)

Week 4: Indiana (6-0)

Week 5: Indiana (8-0)

Week 6: Indiana (9-0) Indiana won these 9 games by an average of 28.3 points, including a then impressive now not so impressive 24 point win over UNC (boy, are THEY bad). Everything we had seen to this point was expected. The Top 10 had a combined 3 losses, with #2 Duke beating #6 Louisville and #7 Ohio State, and #9 Kansas losing to #21 Michigan State. Someone then turned on the Ferris Wheel, and the season slowly spun into turmoil.

Week 7: Duke (9-0). Former #1 Indiana lost in an OT shocker to Butler. What was even more shocking? Pre-season POY Cody Zeller was not in the game on the final play, when baseball player turned walk-on basketball player Alex Barlow hit the GW floater with 2.4 seconds remaining. Tom Crean’s reasoning? “ We went small to defend the ball screens they were running. We didn’t want to get into a bad position.” I would think you would WANT the pre-season POY in the game at that point. Also, O/U on Brad Stevens final year at Butler? 2015 says this guy.

Week 8: Duke (11-0)

Week 9: Duke (12-0) Top 5 all stay the same, the waters haven’t completely been mucked up yet.

Week 10: Duke (14-0) It looks like Coach K and Co. are going to have a smooth roll through the ACC. North Carolina is embarrassingly bad, NC State looks decent but not quite on Duke’s level. And then. Uh-oh. Injuries don’t just happen to you, UL fans. Duke loses one of its leaders in senior PF Ryan Kelly. And he still isn’t back. What happened next was a Saturday afternoon road loss @ NC State which prompted a sickening court storming by a fanbase who should have more respect for their own program. Following that loss, the #1 spot was awarded, for the first time EVER to……

Week 11: Louisville (15-1) T-Shirts were made. There was fanfare, hoopla, I’m surprised there wasn’t a parade. Their first game as a #1 was a solid road win @ UConn. Following that was a marquee match against a No.6 Syracuse team who was missing one of their top performers. It was a home game. There was NO WAY a team would lose this game, right? Not only did they lose, they flat out forgot how to play basketball on the final 2 possessions. Louisville would go on to lose their next two games, including a head scratching 9 point road loss @ Villanova and another flat 2 point loss @ Georgetown.

Week 12: Duke (16-1) Indiana was primed to take over the #1 spot again, but they lost a confusing home game against unranked Wisconsin. Love those conference games. So Duke jumped the Hoosiers and returned to greatness as #1. The tides of the ACC were shifting though, and no one saw it coming. Duke traveled to Miami for a ho-hum Wednesday night game against a #25 Hurricanes team who was playing solid ball. A classic trap game. But the definition of “trap game” is not a 27 point beatdown. It is not losing so badly that you threaten to break the school record for biggest defeat EVER. But that’s what happened. Duke kept it within four (48-44) in the 2^nd half. It was the first half (42-19) that raised eyebrows across the nation. Miami had 3 players combine to shoot 26-39 for 65 points. So, who would make the jump to the not-so-coveted #1 spot?

Week 13: Michigan (19-1) Wolverine fans had visions of Fab 5 dancing through their heads. A high flying, high scoring, fast paced game had traveled south from Ann Arbor and swept the country. But it wasn’t meant to be, because the Crimson and Cream Nation wanted their #1 ranking back. Michigan traveled to historic Assembly Hall and lost 81-73. Kansas was comfortably sitting behind UM and ready to make their annual trip to the #1 spot. And then Kansas lost 3 games in a row to unranked teams. Kansas  channeled their inner Louisville: Lose to a good conference team at home (Oklahoma State) then go on the road and lose two in a row, a head scratcher at TCU (horrible team who held KU to 2 points in the first 12 minutes of the game) and Oklahoma, a decent conference foe that beat an un-motivated KU team.

Week 14: Indiana (20-2) Back at #1, but not for long. The Hoosiers allowed a wide-open buzzer beating tip-in to Illinois in Champaign and lost 74-72. With Florida, Duke and Michigan waiting, surely Indiana would drop, right?

Week 15: Indiana (21-3) Nope. Florida, who was playing the best basketball in the country, traveled to Arkansas and allowed themselves to get down 30, eventually losing by 11. Michigan lost back to back games, an OT thriller @ Wisconsin and a 17 point butt-whopping @ Michigan State. Duke? Well, they got revenge on NCST from earlier in the year, but only beat Boston College by 1. So, Indiana kept the spot.

Week 16: Indiana (23-3) Indiana kept their record clean for a week, chalking up wins against Nebraska and Purdue. But here comes Miami. And Gonzaga. Remember the darling of the NCAA tournament from the early 2000’s? Yeah, they’re #3. Don’t ask me who they’ve beaten. I don’t know either. They have played 2 premier games. They lost at home against Illinois and they lost on the road @ Butler. If they stay up there, I’m taking the #16 seed that draws them.

Week 17: Indiana (24-3) Damn near unanimous as the #1, minus the one idiot on the west coast who voted for Gonzaga. He must not have the internet. Or a TV. Or newspaper. Lives under a rock. But. Indiana lost two days ago to Tubby’s Loveable Lovers, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Miami is poised to take the throne, right? If they were #2, they would. Miami popped in one of those “what the hell” games, FINALLY, as they lost @ Wake Forest by 15. Gonzaga has two games left this week. Thursday night @ BYU and Saturday evening hosting Portland (who lost to UK by 28 in December).

Week 18: Probably Gonzaga….gag me.

What does all this mean? Bet on the 16’s. Don’t trust the 2’s. Get ready for one of the most exciting NCAA Tournament ever. It will be the toughest multiple choice test, ever. There are no favorites. But don’t be surprised when a “dark horse” beats a college basketball blue-blood. It’s been the season of “why not us.” That will carry over to the tournament. So, with that being said, let’s go Highlanders! Of course, that’s the New Jersey Institute Of Technology who currently lead the Great West. They kept it within 10 of every Big East team they played (Seton Hall, St. John’s, Providence and Villanova) and only lost to the Friars by 1. This team has what it takes. I mean, if Florida Gulf Coast can beat Miami, why can’t N.J.I.T. shock the world?!

-by BTI

Below is a breakdown of the 26 players that have been drafted into the NBA out of a John Calipari-coached team.

(Players in red no longer in NBA)

Lou Roe (1995, Senior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 30th overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 66 games (2 starts), 130 points (2.0 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $544,912

Marcus Camby (1996, Junior)
Draft Spot: 1st Round, 2nd overall
Length of Career: 17 seasons (43 playoff starts)
Stats: 963 games, 9249 points (9.6 ppg), 9485 rebounds (9.8 rpg), 2328 blocks (2.8 bpg)
Career Accolades: 2007 Defensive Player of the Year, Led NBA in Blocks 3 times, NBA Player of the Week 2 times, 1997 1st Team All-Rookie
Career Salary: $119,024,322 (and counting)

Dajuan Wagner (2002, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 6th overall
Length of Career: 4 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 103 games (28 starts), 964 points (9.4 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $8,185,051

Antonio Burks (2004, Junior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 36th overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 81 games (1 start), 186 points (2.3 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $1,027,025

Rodney Carney (2006, Senior)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 16th overall
Length of Career: 5 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 299 games (48 starts), 1778 points (5.9 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $6,150,341

Shawne Williams (2006, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 17th overall
Length of Career: 5 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 215 games (23 starts), 1226 points (5.7 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $10,712,357

Derrick Rose (2008, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st Round, 1st overall
Length of Career: 4 seasons (29 playoff starts)
Stats: 279 games, 5858 points (21.0 ppg), 1911 assists (6.8 apg)
Career Accolades: 2011 MVP, 2009 Rookie of the Year, 3-time All-Star, 1st Team All-Rookie
Career Salary: $22,547,148

Joey Dorsey (2008, Senior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 33rd overall
Length of Career: 3 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 61 games (9 starts), 160 points (2.6 ppg), 234 rebounds (3.8 rpg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $2,551,889

Chris Douglas-Roberts (2008, Junior)
Draft Spot: 2nd overall, 40th overall
Length of Career: 4 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 161 games (53 starts), 1213 points (7.5 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $2,032,800

Tyreke Evans (2009, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 4th overall
Length of Career: 4 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 231 games, 4099 points (17.7 ppg), 1137 assists (5.0 apg)
Career Accolades: 2010 Rookie of the Year, 1st Team All-Rookie, 2-time Rookie of the Month
Career Salary: $11,642,640

Robert Dozier (2009, Senior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 60th overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons, Never made NBA roster

John Wall (2010, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 1st overall
Length of Career: 3 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 154 games, 2480 points (16.1 ppg), 1242 assists (8.1 apg)
Career Accolades: 1st team All-Rookie, 4-time Rookie of the Month
Career Salary: $10,674,360

Demarcus Cousins (2010, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 5th overall
Length of Career: 3 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 195 games, 3162 points (16.2 ppg), 1898 rebounds (9.8 rpg)
Career Accolades: 1st Team All-Rookie
Career Salary: $7,002,360

Patrick Patterson (2010, Junior)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 14th overall
Length of Career: 3 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 163 games (45 starts), 1362 points (8.4 ppg), 707 rebounds (4.3 rpg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $3,783,240

Eric Bledsoe (2010, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 18th overall
Length of Career: 3 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 178 games (38 starts), 1217 points (6.8 ppg), 543 assists (3.1 apg)
Career Accolades: 2nd team All-Rookie
Career Salary: $3,081,360

Daniel Orton (2010, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 29th overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 22 games (2 starts), 57 points (2.6 ppg), 49 rebounds (2.2 rpg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $2,133,960

Enes Kanter (2011, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 3rd overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 119 games (1 start), 637 points (5.4 ppg), 493 rebounds (4.1 rpg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $4,133,280

Brandon Knight (2011, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 8th overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 122 games, 1608 points (13.2 ppg), 489 assists (4.0 apg)
Career Accolades: 1st Team All-Rookie
Career Salary: $2,563,320

Josh Harrellson (2011, Senior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 45th overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 43 games (4 starts), 172 points (4.0 ppg), 151 rebounds (3.1 rpg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $473,604

Deandre Liggins (2011, Senior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 53rd overall
Length of Career: 2 seasons (0 playoff starts)
Stats: 47 games (1 start), 79 points (1.7 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $473,604

Anthony Davis (2012, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 1st overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons
Stats: 44 games, 556 points (12.6 ppg), 331 rebounds (7.5 rpg), 78 blocks (1.8 bpg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $5,144,280 (after 1 season)

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 2nd overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons
Stats: 53 games, 484 points (9.1 ppg), 301 rebounds (5.7 rpg)
Career Accolades: 1-time Rookie of the Month
Career Salary: $4,602,720 (after 1 season)

Terrence Jones (2012, Sophomore)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 18th overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons
Stats: 11 games (0 starts), 34 points (3.1 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $1,485,000 (after 1 season)

Marquis Teague (2012, Freshman)
Draft Spot: 1st round, 29th overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons
Stats: 34 games (0 starts), 73 points (2.1 ppg), 44 assists (1.3 apg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $857,000 (after 1 season)

Doron Lamb (2012, Sophomore)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 42nd overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons Stats: 24 games (0 starts), 78 points (3.3 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $650,000 (after 1 season)

Darius Miller (2012, Senior)
Draft Spot: 2nd round, 46th overall
Length of Career: 0 seasons
Stats: 32 games (1 start), 58 points (1.8 ppg)
Career Accolades: None
Career Salary: $473,604

A total of 26 players. Nobody can claim Caliapri doesn’t get players into the league. He is a master at that and is likely his greatest recruiting pitch. And certainly he is making kids millionaires. But, most of his players have had mediocre to poor careers in the NBA, even with their career salaries. Only 1 player, Derrick Rose, has made an all-star game. So while the money is nice, the results haven’t been as great.

The million dollar question is this: Is it just tough to succeed in the NBA, or does Calipari take some blame for the failures of his guys in the NBA? I don’t know what the correct answer is, but it likely lies somewhere in the middle. Does Cal quickly pumping guys into the league after 1 or 2 years in college (15 of 26 guys drafted) actually hamper their success, or does it really matter? Guys like Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and Brandon Knight have seen big success in the league after just 1 year under Cal. Why not more kids? Here are the pros and cons I took away from breaking down the numbers:

NEGATIVES
-26 players, only 1 (Rose) has made an all-star game
-11 guys drafted at UMASS and Memphis, only 3 remain in NBA
-only 2 players (Camby and Rose) have started a playoff game
-8 of 11 guys from UMASS and Memphis lasted less than 5 seasons in NBA
-8 of 15 guys from Kentucky have fewer than 5 NBA starts

POSITIVES
-Cal’s players have made over 225 million dollars combined in their careers
-18 of 26 drafted players have made over $2 million in careers
-7 players have made All-Rookie team

Photo Credit: Huffington Post

Article by: Daniel Farish

I have been a fan of auto racing for my entire life, almost 27 years. I have covered it as a member of the media for 2 years now, and yet this sport still surprises me. The racing for the first 299.75 miles of the NASCAR Nationwide race today was over the top exciting. These drivers were proving that they were the best in the world at what they do. A couple of observations from what happened:

First of all, anyone who would go out of their way to blame Brad Keselowski for this is out of their gourd. They need to crawl back under the rock they came from. This was, as Dale Jarrett put it, the “Perfect Storm.” It took number of things to go wrong at the exact wrong time for this to happen. As Regan Smith said, he blocked. You’re racing at Daytona for a win. It doesn’t matter if it’s Nationwide or ARCA. If he were in this position tomorrow, he’d do the same thing.

Kyle Petty said it right. It’s a shame that it takes a tragedy to get things moved along faster. Once this weekend is over, NASCAR will go back and look at, “Why did the wheels come off? What happened to the front clip? Why did the engine come out? What about the catch fence, why did it not support the force of the wreck?” NASCAR will get this right.

I have been at a racetrack when something like this happened. In 2011 at Sportsdrome Speedway, the car of Brian Mantooth was forced up on the guardrail going down the backstretch, turned up 90 degrees and flew in front of a pit entrance, slamming into a railroad tie that was used to hold part of the fence up. The car struck some track officials and onlookers who were standing too close to the track. His car actually landed on one guy. Everyone involved recovered and a severe tragedy was avoided. Since then the Sportsdrome has mandated a restricted area where no one can stand. Daytona is a 2.5 mile superspeedway. The Sportsdrome is a ¼ mile short track. It can happen anywhere.

As of 7:30pm Saturday night, everyone involved in the wreck is in stable condition. Seven people were admitted to Halifax Medical with trauma injuries. Two are critical, one a minor and the other an adult with head injuries. But again, ALL are stable.

NASCAR will go on. They will race tomorrow. No doubt this will be in the back of the driver’s heads. But they know what risk they assume when they get in the car. On the forefront of their minds will be a Daytona 500 victory. The driver in the aforementioned wreck at the Sportsdrome has not come back to racing. There is a feeling of guilt that comes along with this. While rationally we can sit back and KNOW that there is no way to blame the driver, sometimes you can’t get that through to the driver. Kyle Larson, the driver whose car disintegrated in the catch fence, seems OK. It is Regan Smith, the driver who made the initial blocking move that led to the wreck, he is the one who seems to be battling. Thoughts and prayers go out to the fans, their families, and the drivers.

Website URL: ru4uofl.com

Start Date: April 27th, 2012

Author(s): Unknown

Description: The Cardinals Beak (ru4uofl.com) is a 1-stop shop of sorts for UL fans.  There you can find instant analysis of the UL basketball and football games, recruiting news, schedules, and great videos and photos.  Begun by an unknown UL fan, the website does a nice job previewing opponents for the Cards, but also giving quick recaps, box scores, and post game breakdowns.  The website also does a smart thing, and links you up to some of the important recruiting websites, and other UL fans sites than Cards fans might find interesting.  And hey, it's Russ Approved, so you know it's a quality site:

Before you watch this video, keep in mind the host of this show, Mike Francesa, is the HIGHEST PAID SPORTS TALK SHOW HOST in the country.  He's makes over 1 million dollars a year.  With that in mind, I give you this stunner to UL fans:

Recently, Steelers wideout Hines Ward got into costume and became one of the zombies used on the hit AMC show "The Walking Dead".  So, we wondered what some of your favorite CC personalities would look like in their best zombie makeup and hair.  Below, you find the horrifying results.  See if you can guess which picture is who: