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Sports Outside the Beltway

NFL Draft 2011 Round 1 #23 Philadelphia Eagles G Danny Watkins

NFL.com says-

Watkins is new to the game of football, but has the strength and athleticism to play at the next level. He does not have the arm length and first step explosion to play left tackle, however he projects to be a quality starting guard. He plays with terrific balance and has the foot quickness to hold in pass protection. Despite his limited football experience, he engages very well with his hands and maintains a strong position. He will occasionally have lapses in his reads, but he has very high upside and will likely be a second day pick.

A 26-year-old rookie?

 

NFL Draft 2011 Round 1 #21 Cleveland Browns DT Phil Baylor

NFL.com says-

Taylor possesses the rare size and natural brute strength NFL front offices are looking for in a potential 3-4 nose tackle or two-gaper. Can anchor against the run, fight through double teams, uses his hands well, and doesn’t necessarily need to come off the field on third down with his adequate pass rushing ability and good feet. A tendency to play high, limited range, in-game durability and some off-the-field red flags do hurt his stock. However, prospects with Taylor’s size and ability don’t grow on trees, so he shouldn’t last past the middle rounds.

Another reach.

 

2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament 2nd round- March 20th

This post will remain at the top of the blog for the rest of today. To see newer posts, scroll down.

As results come in today, I will update this post. I’ll also include any related tournament news here.

St. Mary’s defeats Villanova 75-68
Tennessee beats Ohio 83-68
Butler beats Murray State 54-52
Stunner- Northern Iowa beats Kansas 69-67
Baylor beats Old Dominion 76-68
Kentucky beat Wake Forest 90-60
Kansas State beats BYU 84-72
Washington beats New Mexico 82-64

 

2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament- March 18th

This post will remain at the top of the blog for the rest of today. To see newer posts, scroll down.

As results come in today, I will update this post. I’ll also include any related tournament news here.

1st result- Old Dominion defeats Notre Dame 51-50
1st overtime game- BYU beats Florida 99-92 in double OT
Close call- #2 seed Villanova beats Robert Morris 73-70 in overtime.
First big upset- #13 Murray State beats Vanderbilt 66-65
Baylor beats Sam Houston St. 68-59
Kansas State beats North Texas State 82-62
St. Mary’s beats Richmond 80-71
Butler beats UTEP 77-59
Kentucky beats East Tennessee St. 100-71
Ohio beats Georgetown 97-83
Washington beats Marquette 80-78
Northern Iowa beats UNLV 69-66
#1 Kansas beats Lehigh 90-74
New Mexico beats Montana 62-57
Wake Forest beats Texas 81-80

 

2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball predictions

Here are my selections-

2010 predictions1

2010 predictions2

So you heard it here first. Duke and Ohio State in the finals.

Note- Starting tomorrow I will have a sticky post at the top of the blog featuring that day’s results. Feel free to make your own predictions in the comment.

 

2010 NCAA Women’s Tournament Bracket

Here it is-

2010 Women's bracket

Like with the Men’s tournament, I’ll take a shot at making some guesses predictions in the women’s also.

 

2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket

Well here it is-

2010 bracket

I don’t have to say. Later in the week, I’ll take a shot at predicting the outcome.

 

NFL Draft 2009 – Round 1 #2 – St. Louis Rams – OT Jason Smith

With all-pro Orlando Pace moving on, the Rams don’t surprise anyone with their pick of Offensive Tackle Jason Smith out of Baylor.

ESPN writes- “A former tight end with great athletic ability and quickness, Smith has potential to quickly develop into a franchise left tackle. It’s important to point out that he isn?t nearly as complete a player as 2008 No. 1 pick Jake Long. He has a ways to go in terms of his drive-blocking and he played in a spread scheme in college, but we believe he will improve on those weaknesses.”

 

Penn State wins NIT tournament

They defeated Baylor in the finals. From AP-

Penn State coach Ed DeChellis met with his team a couple of hours before playing Baylor in the NIT title game and had only one request.

“Give me everything you have,” he said. “If it’s good enough, it’s good enough; if it’s not, it’s not. Just leave it all on the floor.”

Jamelle Cornley scored 18 points and the scrappy Nittany Lions, chasing every loose ball and hustling for every rebound, outlasted the Bears 69-63 on Thursday night to win only the second postseason tournament title in school history.

Talor Battle added 12 points, all in the second half, for the Nittany Lions (27-11), who were spurred on by raucous chants of “We are … Penn State,” led by none other than Joe Paterno, the 82-year-old football coach sitting about four rows behind the team’s bench.

I guess this makes Penn State ranked 65th in the country, after all the teams that made the NCAA tournament. Other than commercial reasons, why is the NIT played any more?

 

Baylor hires Univ. of Houston’s Art Briles as football coach

Not too long ago this would have been a move from one Southwest Conference school to another. From AP-

FORT WORTH, Texas – Houston coach Art Briles is next to take on the task of pulling Baylor out of the Big 12 basement.

Briles confirmed he was leaving in a news conference Wednesday at Houston after meeting with his players.

Baylor spokesman Nick Joos said a news conference was scheduled later in the day on the Waco campus to announce the school’s new football coach.

Briles led Houston to four bowls in his five seasons. He was offered the job Wednesday, a day after meeting with Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw in Dallas.

“Life is full of decisions. Sometimes, you have to look at things from a professional, personal standpoint,” Briles said. “Professionally, (Houston) … is great university with a situation I’m proud to be a part of. Personally, the move allows a person of my nature a little more security. When you’re getting up in my age, that’s an important factor in life.”

The Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site that Briles will get a seven-year contract for about $1.8 million per season. Briles, who turns 52 Monday, had four years left on his Houston contract with a base salary of $900,000 annually.

Briles replaces Guy Morriss, who was fired Nov. 18 after five seasons. Morriss’ firing came the day after the Bears (3-9) completed their 12th straight losing season with their 12th consecutive Big 12 loss, 45-14 to Oklahoma State.

Unless Briles’ status as UH coach was shaky for some unknown reason, this is certainly a down market move. Baylor has been hapless since Grant Teaff retired as head coach. I’m betting the 100% increase in salary was the motivating factor for Briles. Athletes, Coaches, plaintiffs in lawsuits are all alike. They never say it’s never about the money.

 
 


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