NFL Combine

With the NFL scouting combine here coaches and the organizations get to do some more evaluation of soon to be NFL players.  Their are always many questions about the athletes at this time and that is no different this year.  While being extremely athletic some question if Robert Griffin III will have problems in the NFL because of his size.  From seeing him perform in college it sure seems like he has the athletic ability to over come any questions of his size.  Drew Brees who is similar in size has been one of the few smaller NFL quarterbacks to succeed in the league.  Robert Griffin has more athletic ability than Drew Brees although it has been said that Drew Brees is more athletic than people think.  Just because you are athletic does not mean you will be successful in the league.  Look at Vince Young one of the best scrambling quarterbacks in college and the best in his draft class has found very little success in the NFL.  But there have also been quarterbacks with success such as Cam Newton who has only been in the league for one year but shows a lot of promise. While everyone expects that Griffin goes early in the first round after Andrew Luck will he have the success and the tools to be a big name quarterback in the NFL.

Braun Cleared in PED Scandal

     Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers won his appeal after being accused of using PED's last season.  Talk of Braun losing his MVP award were building and people were wondering what happened.  This appeal that Braun won got rid of the fifty game suspension that would have incurred had this appeal been lost.  Braun did not win this appeal on the fact that he did not test positive but because the sample was miss handled and he got off on what seems to be a technicality.  This was the first appeal on a case involving a positive test of a person using PED's that was won by the players.  The MLB seemed disappointed in the results and felt as if Braun had still done what he did.
     This is not something the MLB can worry about continuously as their is a bigger issue with this in the sport.  This issue has been on going for years and is not a easy on to get rid of.  The MLB has taken major measures to limit the use of these drugs and has been successful.  The MLB has been given this image due to the stars in the league taking advantage of holes in the system that have now been dealt with.  Players such as Mark Mcgwire and Barry Bonds have done their part in tainting the image of the sport.  Because of these problems in the past the players in the league now are much more scrutinized and the MLB has lost some fans.  The MLB is in the process of correcting these problems and repairing there image.
  The MLB is well on their way to repairing their image and I believe that this is going to happen it is just going to take some time.

Will the Linsanity continue?

   
     Jeremy Lin rushed onto the scene in the NBA in what many consider the biggest sports city in the world in New York City.  With New Yorkers constantly expecting the highest degree of performance from their professional sports teams it was about time the Knicks started winning again.  The Knicks have won their last six games with Jeremy Lin at the point while in five of the six games the Knicks were without their two all-stars in Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.  Over the last six games Lin has played much more having played over 35 minutes per game in each of the six games and averaging 23.3 points per game in this span.  while this is a brief period of time Lin has given many the impression that their is know sign of slowing down.  After beating the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Toronto Raptors last night on a 3 pointer with .5 seconds left on the clock Jeremy Lin proved not only can he win but he has the ability clutch as well.

    Many question if his productivity will decrease with the return of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.  But after the return of half of the duo Lin didn't seem phase sharing the ball with one more play maker in Amare Stoudemire.  While to this point their is no sign of slowing down I think it is to soon to expect this from Lin every night.  But to this point no one can deny that Jeremy Lin has energized the NBA for the last week or two as well as a tough crowd of New York sports fans.  Fans throughout the NBA Have not only seen the Knicks win but as many have been saying they are Lining.

Career Interest area

My career interest area is in sports agency or in player relations in the front office of an organization doing something such as General Manager.  I would like to work in baseball of football but I am not sure yet.

Burnett To Pittsburgh?

Talks of AJ Burnett leaving the New York Yankees and going to the Pittsburgh Pirates have be going around for a few days now.  While it makes sense for the Yankees to trade Burnett who has not lived up to many peoples expectations after a very good season before entering free agency after the 2008 season, will the Yankees get what they expect for a player like AJ after the last couple of seasons where he has struggled.  After a successful offseason where the Yankees upgraded their pitching staff with the acquisition of Michael Pineda and others they also lost the young and promising bat of Jesus Montero.  Due to the departure of Jesus Montero who is now with the Seattle Mariners, do the Yankees need to add another bat to an already powerful offense? 
With the addition of Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda Behind CC Sabathia and already having young and promising starters such as Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes, and the return of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon the Yankees find themselves in a position to have a position battle for the spots at the end of the rotation.  Because the Yankees have so many options at the end of the rotation and the fact that AJ Burnett has not lived up to the Yankees expectations it makes sense to aid the offense and trim the pitching staff down.  
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a young and up and coming team that made a surge after the All Star Break last year and was in first place for a short time.  While they have a good team a veteran pitcher like AJ Burnett could be a valuable asset to this tam if they can get the right deal at the right price.  It has been said that the Pirates don't want to get rid of Garret Jones but to get this deal done this may be a player they have to part with.  The Pirates also don't want to have to pick up a large part of the salary of Burnett  who was given a huge contract by the Yankees after the 2008 season.
If both teams really want to get this deal done I think it is possible but compromises will have to be made on both sides as is with most trades.  I don't think AJ Burnett has lived up to standards of the Yankees fans and I thin they are ready to move on and look to improve the team and pitching staff without Burnett.  Burnett has proven that he can pitch at a high level as he did earlier in his career with the Florida Marlins where he won a World Series ring against the team he is on now the New York Yankees and he did the same again with the Toronto Blue Jays where he had a lot of success.  It may be very possible that Burnett has trouble pitching in New York and dealing with all the criticism that comes from playing in New York.  As a person who grew up in New York and who has always been a fan of New York sports and the New York Yankees I think the Yankees will benefit from a new young bat to add to a aging lineup that has a lot of power.  I also think that the Pirates and AJ Burnett  can also benefit from this trade.  All sides can improve their teams if they can agree to the terms of this trade.