Aaron Rodgers: Nothing but net

Hope this is a preview to a long successful Packer career. But, he should work on his celebration moves though.



Go Pack Go!!

Steve Carell Parody of "The Decision"

Here's another parody of LBJ's "The Decision". This time its Steve Carell doing his thing at he 2010 ESPYs. Enjoy!

"The Decision!"

Here's Bill Simmons and Michelle Beattle playing "the decision". Only this time Bill is trying to figure out which team's season tickets he's gonna buy. It's a must watch!!

Fear of Legacy: The Wuss-ification of the NBA

Its a done deal!

LeBron James joins Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in an attempt to form a "Super Heat" team down in South Beach. While on paper this may look flashy, could it really be a juggernaut team that could dominate the league? How did LeBron handle the whole ordeal? What does this really mean to the future and legacy of LeBron?

I am sure people have mixed feelings about all this. Here are my two cents....

The Setup

LeBron has been with the Cavaliers for seven seasons.... seven long years. He was the city's only hope to bring home a championship title (of all sports). He has not been able to take them to that promised land. Not even close. The blame for failure does not lie solely on him. He never had that strong supporting cast that could help him on that journey to promised land. Not that the Cavs didn't try to get him help. It just turned out that they were simply not good enough.

Meanwhile, it so happens, either through coordinated planning or by chance, two other guys who also needed help, Bosh and Wade, were along with LeBron set to be free agents in the summer of 2010. The trio developed a bond between them during the 2008 Olympics. It is rumored that they had a pact to join forces and play for one team.

What better chance to fulfill that pact, at least for the three of the four than when they are free agents. Due to salary cap restrictions and other limitations, it was general consensus that any team could sign only two of the three guys and for obvious basketball reasons it was thought that Bosh would team up with either Wade or LeBron. But then the Miami Heat got creative with their roster maneuvering and somehow figured that they could sign all three. And voila... that what they did!


The Choices

LeBron had many options. Heck he could pick and choose wherever he wanted to go. At some of those teams, he might have been even given the freedom to pick and choose coaches and players. But, these must have been his serious considerations:

1. Loyalty: Cleveland
LeBron grew up in Akron and he has strong roots to Ohio. He was Cleveland's home grown hero. The city and its decades of misery and disappointments with sports are well documented. LeBron was that lone shiny star of hope. If he left that city, he would be ripping their hearts out and taking them with him.

Packers LB Barnett makes a bold prediction

The NFL off-season has been loud as usual. The news out of every team has been transitioning seamlessly from the draft to the Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and now heading to training camp.

This is when most so called "experts" in the media start giving out their Super Bowl predictions. These predictions are mostly going to end up being wild guesses as it turns out every year.

This year, the Green Bay Packers are in that conversation a lot. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they finished last season strong. Also, they have a promising starter at QB in Aaron Rodgers and a young core of players on both offense and defense. They are the "fancy" pick for most experts this year.

While I have confidence in my Packers to do well, it makes me nervous as a Packer fan to see the  expectations being raised in this fashion. I have been a firm believer in getting through as much of the season under the radar. I do think swagger on the team helps. But it makes it way easier, with fewer distractions if you do not have a target on your back.

And you know what makes me more nervous? When guys on your team start predicting stuff, that's the kind of self-imposed pressure that gives fans like me fits. Here is Nick Barnett threading on water with a bold prediction.

NFL Draft 2010: The Green Bay Packers Mock Draft

For my overview of the Packer's draft board for the NFL 2010 Draft, click here.

The NFL 2010 Draft begins in less than 48 hours. Still, you will find all team scouts and front office people running around trying to fix their draft boards. It is inevitable that the draft boards of teams will change a lot from now till the time the envelope with the pick is walked across Music City Hall and handed over to the Commissioner. Add to this all the draft day trades, its a perfect recipe for mayhem.

It might be all for naught, because a lot of the players picked in the draft are probably not going to live up to the expectations / scouting predictions. Still, as football fans, we make a big deal out of it, prematurely grading teams right after the draft based on their picks.

This post, I am giving out my prediction of who the Packers should pick round by round in this year's draft.The Packers' philosophy while drafting is usually to pick the best player available at that spot, rather than need. Here, I am assuming no draft day trades involving the Packers. Realistically though, I do hope they trade down and gather more picks in this unusually deep draft class.

Pick 1 (Round 1; Overall Pick No.23): Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State

It is unlikely that the top offensive tackles will last till No.23. For some reason, if one of the top OTs, Russell Okung (OT, Oklahoma State), Bryan Bulaga (OT, Iowa), Trent Williams (OT, Oklahoma) or Anthony Davis (OT, Rutgers) slide to No.23, the Packers will love it. As that is almost impossible considering the number of teams that are desperate to find that franchise tackle, it will be smart for the Packers to take the best available player for their defensive backfield.

2010 NFL Season: Packers Schedule

The 2010 season NFL schedule was released by the league offices today. Here is the schedule for the Green Bay Packers.

Sunday, Sept. 12, at Philadelphia Eagles(1:15 pm PST)
Sunday, Sept. 19, Buffalo Bills at Lambeau Field (10:00 am PST)
Monday, Sept. 27, at Chicago Bears (5:30pm PST)
Sunday, Oct. 3, Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Oct. 10, at Washington Redskins (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Oct. 17, Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Oct. 24, Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field (5:30pm PST)
Sunday, Oct. 31 at New York Jets (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Nov. 7, Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field (5:30pm PST)
Sunday, Nov. 14, Bye
Sunday, Nov. 21 at Minnesota Vikings (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Nov. 28, at Atlanta Falcons (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Dec. 5, San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Dec. 12, at Detroit Lions (10:00 am PST)
Sunday, Dec. 19, at New England Patriots (5:20pm PST)
Sunday, Dec. 26, New York Giants at Lambeau Field (1:15 pm PST)
Sunday, Jan. 2, Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field (10:00 am PST)

Some key highlights:

• The Packers play one Monday Night game (vs Bears on Sep. 27 2010)
• The Packers are slated for 3 Sunday Night games
• The bye week for Green Bay is not till Nov 14th, which incidentally is the latest it has ever been for the Packers ever
• The Packers finish off the season with 2 home games
• They do not have a road game stretch longer than 2 games

NBA Playoffs: Round 1 Preview

Its spring time! The NBA regular season just ended and all the playoff match ups are locked up. Unlike most sports, the NBA playoff system is very generous to the teams vying to make the post-season. More than 50% (16 of 30 teams) of the teams in the league that play the regular season will make it to the playoffs. Although it seems relatively easy to get into the NBA playoffs, the 2 month long playoff schedule will be brutal for the teams that go the distance.

The Tale of Two Conferences

The last few years, it has been harder for teams in the Western conference to make the playoffs than for the teams in the East. The main reason being that the relative quality of teams in the West has been undoubtedly superior.


In the 2007-08 season, the Golden State Warriors (48-34) in the Western Conference had to sit out the playoffs after a 48 win season, while in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks (37-45) made it with a losing season. The Warriors who missed the cut would have been a 4th seed in the Eastern Conference that year.