Lakers get tougher

Believe it or not the Lakers have gotten better. I felt the Lakers should not drink their own Kool-Aid. So far they have not.

Yes, Ariza leaves to become a Rocket. However, this will not hurt the Lakers because the dollars make sense. Ariza ($33.5 million) is a good player but is not better than Mr. Artest ($18 million). Ronny is a star and has been one for a long time now.

With that being said, this is not the main reason why the Lakers got better. Ronny makes the Lake Show a tougher team. This team has been known in the past as a soft team. No one can argue otherwise. Don't think this team is going to change over night either.

This will not happen. One green apple will not change the apple tree to a cherry tree. But one bad apple can spoil the bunch (hopefully). Put your ski masks on LA because this team is about to become bittingly cold.

7th Round NFL Draft Picks: Diamonds in the Rough

Hey would you like to find money in your pants pocket? Would it make you feel good? More than likely this is the exact feeling football GMs get when they draft a player in the 7th round that turns out to be solid. This is rare but let's take a look at past drafts starting with the 2000 Draft.

• 2000 Bengals: Brad St. Louis (#210) has been the starting long snapper.
• 2001 Bengals: T.J. Houshmandzadeh (#204) was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007. He is now with the Seahawks.
• 2002 49ers: Eric Heirmann (#239) has started 82 out of 87 in his career.
• 2003 Seahawks: Josh Brown (#222) has been franchise tagged and a career 81% kicker. He is currently on the Rams roster.
• 2004 Titans: Eugene Amano (#239) started every game in the 2008 season.
• 2005 Cowboys: Jay Ratliff (#224) started every game in 2008 and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2008.
• 2006 Titans: Cortland Finnegan (#215) selected to the Pro Bowl in 2008 and 1st Team All-Pro in 2008.
• 2007 Giants: Michael Johnson (#224) started every game and finished second in tackles during the 2008 season.
• 2008 Redskins: Chris Horton (#249) started 10 of 14 games. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, NFL Rookie of the Week, and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month.

Who will be the Diamond in the Rough for the 2009 season?

Or will the 7th round Diamonds end up in the AAFL or UFL?

Drinking the LA LA Kool-Aid

Congrats to the Lakers and Kobe. He finally got his championship(A.D. Shaq). Hands down, the were clearly the better team in the finals. However, what is troubling the Lake Show think they can keep roughly the same team and make another run.

Hold up ghostrider the pattern is full. Teams get better each year and the Lakers best this year will not be blowing teams out next year. This soft team ended up playing another soft team in the finals. The Lakers need an enforcer. They do not match up well with tough teams. This enforcer could keep that LA defense tenacious and biting. The Lake Show won but next year they may not be so lucky.

Luck can not be wanted more than reason.

Believe it or not Kobe and Co. want to bring back Odom. Yes, that Odom. Odom and Ariza will be free agents and Kobe spoke of the need for both.

"I'm convinced that we can get both of these guys back," he contend. "Obviously, it's going to take sacrifice on many parts." The sacrifice will be losing the championship next year. Odom can be replaced but Ariza is a special player.

Keep the younger Ariza and bring in a better Odom, and win the title again. It is that easy like pressing the easy button from Staples. Good thing the Lakers play at the Staples Center.

If it does not add up just divide it. Bye bye Odom and try to make money off of the Birdman's poster on you.

Hello NFL’s 2010 Pro Bowl, Welcome to Miami!

It is time to jump up and down then celebrate good times, c’mon! Roger Goodell is trying to revamp the NFL’s Pro Bowl."We are looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl. We will continue to work with the players to make it a great event and will evaluate this concept after the 2010 Pro Bowl," he illustrates. Mr. Goodell is doing the right thing. The NFL Pro Bowl has become a drop of rain in a hurricane. The attempt to make the Pro Bowl watchable and fan friendly is great.

Here are 5 reasons to be hopefully.

1. The PB game will take place the week before the Super Bowl. Sure the game will suffer from those players not being able to play in the PB. However the PB will have plenty of great players to attend and play. This is not a concern the dead time (2 weeks) from NFC and AFC Championships was too long to go without football during the season. A game in between will feed that football fix.
2. The PB game will be in the states. Sure Honolulu is nice but it is isolated. Bringing the game back state side will give the host city fans a chance to see the stars
3. The PB game will be cheaper. Not everyone can afford to attend a game in Honolulu. It is expensive to fly and lodge there.
4. The PB game will not be the last game played. For the most part, other sports end the season with the championship game now the NFL has the chance to follow suit.
5. The PB game might just disappear and become an award show like the Grammy’s.

Da Vikings and Brett

The Vikes do not need Brett. We have all seen this happen before with QBs on the downside of their careers. It is hard for them to give it up. It was also hard for one of the greatest, Joe Montana. He finished up his career with the Chiefs and wearing number 19. How sad...

So this leads people to believe that the Vikes can not really think an old washed up Brett is better than what's on the roster. There actions are speaking loudly without saying a word. If that is the case then the Vikes are going to have big problems.

The NFC North is improving. Don't expect the Lions to lose 16 games again. The Packers added pieces to the D that let them down so much last year. The Bears now have their QB.

The Vikes are not going to win the division on paper like so many are saying. They are in for an epic battle. This dust up about Bret is the beginning to the end of the Vikes for next season. Bret lead the league in INTS last season and the Vikes did the QB shuffle. Pick your poison Vikes.

Well they could always get a SNAPPER