The Latest Projecting The Field

We are officially less than 4 weeks away from Selection Sunday (and exactly 4 weeks from the first day of the first round) from one of my favorite times of year, March Madness. Only on Super Bowl Sunday do I ever stay with one channel as long as I stay with CBS during the day of their March Madness coverage, and seeing as this is my first year in college in The Middle Of Nowhere, PA, I've got the added bonus of having 2 CBS stations from which to choose, which in some cases means I may have two games from which to choose. Lucky me! Of course, MMOD is always available, but still, I'm not really one to watch sports on the computer unless there is no other television alternative.

Anyway, here is the latest CBSSportsline projecting the field. (Click on the image for a more readable version)



Yes, I know that San Diego, and not San Diego State, was the team that pulled the upset in the first round last year, but for the love of all humanity, if this indeed does end up being the bracket and Villanova really is playing San Diego State, PLEASE CBS, PLEASE! DO NOT ASSIGN TIM BRANDO TO BOISE, IDAHO!

A Decision Has Been Made Regarding The Two Teams Involved In The Alabama Basketbrawl

There have been numerous "basketbrawls", before shall we say, most notably the Ron Artest incident a few years ago, but there has been one in my memory where a herd of fans ran onto the court and started fighting each other. In case you have not seen the video before, here it is, and yes, a decision has been made as to who advances into the tournament.



Well then, that was certainly ugly. Now as far as the basketball situation goes, Carver was leading Valley 52-37 with 6:23 to go and a Valley player started a fight. So it would be natural that Carver would advance, would not it, as the game was obviously stopped following the brawl, right? Not so fast. The real winner in this is Talledegga High School who will get a buy into the Final Four of this tournament because neither team will advance. And frankly, I applaud AHSAA for doing this. Even though Carver had a clear lead and a Valley player started the brawl, both teams and both teams' fans were out of control and in the end, neither school deserves to be rewarded for what happened.

Basketbrawl breaks out in Ala. HS playoff game (Sports by Brooks)
AHSAA rules Carver-Montgomery and Valley are out of state tournament; Talledegga in Final Four (AL.com)

Eagles Won't Be Tagging Anyone

My apologies if it seems I have been doing this blog half-assed over the past week or so. I have been very busy with some of my classes (in partiuclar one), and now that what I needed to get done with is, well, done with, I am feeling exhausted. Give me a day or so, and hopefully I'll be back in the complete swing of things.

Anyway, on to the news piece, apparently the Eagles will not be franchise tagging anyone. Which to me is a surprise, considering they have quite a few free agents, most notably Brian Dawkins.

The Eagles will not put the franchise tag on any of their free agents, a team source said yesterday.
NFL teams have until tomorrow to designate a franchise or transition player in advance of the start of free agency Feb. 27.

In 2008, the Eagles designated tight end L.J. Smith as a franchise player. Under the terms of the collective-bargaining agreement, Smith received the average salary of the top five players at his position. But Smith had a disappointing season and the Eagles probably won't offer him a contract.

The source also did not deny the Eagles plan to meet with Donovan McNabb's agent, Fletcher Smith, to discuss a contract extension, and seemed confident a deal will be completed with the 32-year-old quarterback. McNabb has two years remaining on his current deal. Smith could not be reached for comment.

Seeing as the Eagles do have a lot of free agents, it is somewhat surprising that they would not tag anyone. The other free agents this year are L.J. Smith (he's a definite goner), Correll Buckhalter (he may or may not stay, if the Eagles are intent on going after Beanie Wells, then I doubt we will see him again in Philly), Tra Thomas, and Jon Runyan, who have been offensive line staples for as long as I can remember. It is surprising that neither of them have been tagged by the Eagles, who do have lots of salary cap room to make a big move this off-season and get a major draft pick.

Remember Eagles: TRADE FOR ANQUAN BOLDIN! or SIGN T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH! But most important of all, DRAFT BEANIE WELLS!

Eagles won't put a franchise tag on free agents (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Tom Heckert Is Quite Oblivious To One Of The Eagles Big Needs (However, When It Comes To Running Backs, They Might Listen To Me.!)

I am honestly hoping against hope that this is just a smokescreen. I really am. But alas, I am not convinced. Here is the latest chapter in the on-going saga of the Eagles and will they or won't they trade for Anquan Boldin or sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh. From a Fox 29 interview with Tom Heckert

It's an easy out for everyone to say we need a wide receiver but we did get one - DeSean Jackson," Heckert said. Jackson was a second-round pick last season.

Heckert believes Jackson is a prime threat at wide receiver and receivers won't be an issue for the team during the free agent season.

One problem with Heckert's thinking....you need 2 starting wide receivers! Kevin Curtis works best in the slot, Jason Avant is not ready yet, Reggie Brown had his shot and dropped it numerous times, literally. Baskett is not star-caliber, and Greg Lewis has been practically non-existent for 2-years now. Besides, we've all seen what kind of a knucklehead Jackson can be at times (see MNF Week 2 @ Dallas....do I really need to put up the video?)

But on the plus side of things, the Eagles might actually be listening to me! Here's a report from Pro Football Weekly that I came across on Eagles Gab.

The Eagles almost certainly are going to get help for RB Brian Westbrook, we hear. With a banged-up offensive line, no true fullback and no real inside runner to complement him, Westbrook took a beating this past season, and the Eagles know they can’t afford to expose him like that again. One route could be to use one of the team’s first-round draft picks in this area. It’s a good year for backs, and there’s a chance that a good one could slide in Round One because of the lack of teams needing backs that early.

Come on Eagles, you know what you have to do this offseason. It's quite simple.

1. TRADE FOR ANQUAN BOLDIN! or SIGN T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH!
And
2. DRAFT BEANIE WELLS!

That would constitute an epic off-seaon of win if they do that. Sadly, the odds of Andy Reid and the Eagles listening to the fans (in particular, me) are about the same as Andy Reid passing up a Philly cheesesteak. None.

Fred Taylor Has Been Released

Some slightly surprising news coming out of Jacksonville today, and that is they released their veteran running back, Fred Taylor, thus turning the reigns of that offense of the dynamic Maurice Jones-Drew. From NBC Sports via the Associated Press.

The Jaguars released Taylor on Monday, parting ways with their all-time leading rusher after 11 seasons and continuing the team’s offseason makeover.

Coach Jack Del Rio flew to Fort Lauderdale earlier Monday to meet with Taylor and deliver the news. Del Rio made it clear the team has no plans to re-sign Taylor, who turned 33 last month and was scheduled to make $6 million next season.

“We felt like the best thing for this football team is what it has to be about,” Del Rio said. “We feel good about the talented group of backs that we have ... and as you work through it, it’s difficult to come up with a role that’s going to be acceptable for everybody.

“It makes it awkward. It makes it difficult. We came to an agreement on what the best course of action was as a football team.”

In the end, the Jaguars are a team in disarray and are clearly struggling to find an identity. They had it 2-years ago, but then they went all Jerry Jones and signed big names Joey Porter and Drayton Florence and it completely backfired in their face. As far as I see it, they are the worst team in the AFC South and Jack Del Rio is going to have his head on the chopping block real soon.

As far as Taylor goes, there is a part of me that would like to see him sign with the Eagles and another that has seen this happen before and completely backfire in the Eagles' face. Instead of chancing that Beanie Wells falls to you, Fred Taylor would be a great way to sure up a power runner to compliment Westbrook. But at the same time, Fred Taylor is 33-years old and one has to wonder, does he still have it in him to be a force running the ball up the middle, or will he just end up like Lorenzo Booker did for the Eagles. What's that, you say? Lorenzo Booker was an Eagle? As a matter of fact, he was, brought in to do some power running, only no one really noticed him because not only was he seldom used, he was even more seldom effective.

Welcome To Bizarre-O World: Meet The Parents

This has to be one of the most bizarre stories I have ever come across. Meet little baby Maisie and her parents, 13-year old Alfie and 15-year old Chantelle. Seriously. The Associated Press has more.

He's 13. He scarcely looks 10. And according to a British tabloid, he's a father. Baby-faced and only 4 feet tall, the boy, Alfie, was just 12 when he impregnated Chantelle, now 15, The Sun reported Friday. Shown in a video posted Friday on the tabloid's Web site, the diminutive Alfie takes the newborn girl in his arms.

Asked what he would do to support the child financially, Alfie asks in a small, high-pitched voice, "What's financially?"

The girl was taking birth control pills but missed one, the newspaper reported. Friends and relatives left the family home near Eastbourne, about 70 miles southeast of London, Friday without speaking to reporters gathered outside. The teenagers could not immediately be contacted.

Wow.....at 12-years old it's unlikely that little Alfie has even reached puberty! And yet, he impregnated a girl? Wow. That's the news angle of it. For a real interesting read, check out the British tabloid, the Sun, that the story was initially reported in. Here are some snippets and I would advise you to click on the link below to read the whole thing. I'd put it all here, but the article is too long.

"The four-footer — who looks no more than eight — said: “I know I’m young, but I plan to be a good dad.” As he went on the PlayStation with 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, he added: “I think we’ll be good parents. I’ll have to work extra hard at school.”"

"Social Services in Eastbourne admitted to “concerns” over the case but vowed to give “all their support”, including intensive monitoring. Police said they had investigated but had decided to take no further action as it was “not in anyone’s interests” to prosecute."

"A family friend said Alfie had been thrilled when he learned he was going to be a dad."

Well then! I honestly don't know how I feel about this yet. I mean, they sound like they are ready but for goodness sakes, Alfie and Chantelle are 13 and 15, respectively, how on earth are they going to care for and afford a child?

The two articles are below. I strongly urge you to check them out and read them, it really is some fascinating stuff.

Playtime for Baby-faced 13-year old (The Sun)
British boy reportedly becomes father at age 13 (AP)

A Few Friday Links

It seems like everyone else does these but me, so I figured why not do them, myself?

1. A heart-pounding trip down memory lane of the key play in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. (Philly Inquirer)

2. The Super Bowl porn incident is getting the treatment of a national crisis. (Awful Announcing)

3. "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Stupid Sideline Reporters)

4. Your tax dollars at work. (Keith's Sports Journal)

I'd give you a few more but I'm in a hurry and I have to be somewhere soon. And FYI, the live blog that I originally planned for tomorrow's Flyers-Rangers game has been cancelled (the live blog, that is, not the actual game itself). Something came up and I won't be able to do it. Don't worry though, the Flyers and Rangers play 2 more times on NBC this year. Nice to see the folks at the Peacock staying original...