Really

There was a time when no one would market college kids. Now it's all over. In my email today I recived this about LSU's Ben Simmons. I just found it weird that they marketed this like event.

A tale of two brackets

This year I allowed my 5-year old son to fill out his first bracket for March Madness. He went with SMU, he has a thing for Larry Brown.

While I went with the Big Blue Nation capping a perfect season. 

One of the biggest recruits in program history: Blacknall commits to Rutgers

Rutgers might not be moving the Big 10 till next year, but it appears that its already paying off.

On Saturday Saeed Blacknall, a wr from Manalapan, committed to Rutgers. The best thing is that Rutgers beat national powers like LSU, Alabama, and Ohio State for the explosive four-star pass catcher. Its a great day to be Rutgers season ticket holder.

Greg Schiano had Anthony Davis, Blacknall is Kyle Flood's Davis. A highly recruited instate player that he was able to keep at RU.

Who said these college football stars are missing

Florida State's Greg Reid, LSU's Honey Badger, Georgia's Isaiah Crowell, Miami's Ray-Ray Armstrong and Tennessee Da'Rick Rogers.

All five of these players have something in common, all where kicked off their college footballs team and will not play this year. The other thing that they have in common is that all of them are in College Football 13 from EA Sports.

All five are amazing players in the game and playing the game will give you a true idea of who the best team in the land, including the players that are no longer there.

Cover Story: No more Honey

On Friday the scope of the SEC Title race was blown open when the LSU ticked star corner Tryann Mathieu off the team. The news was so big that three biggest newspapers in Louisiana put the story  on their front page, some even had it as the lead. I guess the Honey Badger sells newspapers.

OTWT MLB Mock Draft

For the second year in a row the OTWT Scouting Staff has been locked up going over the top prospect in the MLB Draft. Here is our mock draft for the opening round of the Rule 4 Draft. First round:


1. Houston Astros: Byron Buxton, OF, Georgia HS

2. Minnesota Twins: Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford
3. Seattle Mariners:Kyle Zimmerman, RHP, San Francisco
4. Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman, RHP, LSU
5. Kansas City Royals: Mike Zunino, C, Florida




6. Chicago Cubs: Albert Almora, OF, Texas High School
7. San Diego Padres: Marcus Stroman, RHP, Duke
8. Pittsburgh Pirates: Carlos Correa, SS, Puerto Rico
9. Miami Marlins: David Dahl, OF, Oklahoma HS
10. Colorado Rockies: Micheal Wacha, RHP, Texas A&M
11. Oakland Athletics: Max Fried, LHP, California High School
12. New York Mets: Devin Marrero, SS, Arizona State
13. Chicago White Sox: Andrew Heaney, LHP, Oklahoma State
14. Cincinnati Reds: Chris Stratton, RHP, Mississippi State
15. Cleveland Indians: Richie Shaffer, 3B, Clemson
16. Washington Nationals: Lucas Giolito, RHP, California HS
17. Toronto Blue Jays: Courtney Hawkins, OF, Texas HS





18. Los Angeles Dodgers: Gavin Cecchini, SS, Lousianna HS
19. St. Louis Cardinals (A. Pujols – LAA): Lance McCullers Jr, RHP, Florida HS
20. San Francisco Giants: Nick Travieso, RHP, Florida HS
21. Atlanta Braves: DJ Davis, OF, Mississippi HS
22. Toronto Blue Jays (T. Beede – unsigned): Ty Hensley, RHP, Oklahoma HS
23. St. Louis Cardinals: Victor Roache, OF, Georgia Southern
24. Boston Red Sox: J.O. Berrios, RHP, Puerto Rico
25. Tampa Bay Rays: Matt Smoral, LHP, Ohio HS
26. Arizona Diamondbacks:Corey Seager, 3B, North Carolina HS
27. Milwaukee Brewers (P. Fielder – DET): Addison Russell, SS, Florida HS
28. Milwaukee Brewers: Stephen Piscotty, 3B, Stanford
29. Texas Rangers:Lucas Sims, RHP, Georgia HS
30. New York Yankees: Stryker Trahan, C, Lousianna HS





31. Boston Red Sox (J. Papelbon – PHI):Tyler Naquin, OF, Texas A&M

We may not win every game, but we've never lost a party

As a big tailgater, ESPN College Gameday breaks it down and does a great job.

JaMarcus Russelll > Ryan Leaf

Interesting look at what former first overall NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell is up to. The No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft should be out on the field. Tells are complete story on what happened to Russell with the Raiders and what he is up to now.

ESPN is the true puppet master

With all of the talk of conference realignment going on right now, Poynter takes a looks at ESPN's roll in the whole situation. A very well done story. This comment by LSU Chancellor Michael Martin sums it up the whole situation best: "I think we could end up with two enormous conferences, one called ESPN and the one called Fox." So I guess ESPN is the true puppet master in conference realignment.

College Football: The Cover Story 2011

The start of the College Football season is right around the corner. So here is a look at all of the preseason magazines from the Sporting News. Note that TP is still on the cover of the Ohio State one, very interesting.

OTWT Mock MLB Draft

The Scouting Staff of OTWT has been locked away in the its bunker for the last couple of days, going over the top prospects in the upcoming baseball draft and coming up with its annual mock draft. Last year, we did it and it did not turn out that well. So here goes.

1 Pittsburgh Pirates: Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA

2 Seattle Mariners: Danny Hultzen, LHP, UVa

3 Arizona Diamondbacks: Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice

4 Baltimore Orioles: Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt

5 Kansas City Royals: Tyler Jungmann, RHP, Texas

6 Washington Nationals: Alex Meyers, RHP, Kentucky

7 Arizona Diamondbacks: Dylan Bundy, RHP, Owasso (Oklahoma) HS

8 Cleveland Indians: Jed Bradley, LHP, Georgia Tech

9 Chicago Cubs: Bubba Sterling, OF, Gardner-Edgerton (Oklahoma) HS

10 San Diego Padres: Trevor Bauer, RHP, UCLA

11 Houston Astros: Francisco Lindor, SS, Montverde Academy (Fla)

12 Milwaukee Brewers: Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Spring Valley HS (SC)

13 New York Mets: George Springer, OF, UConn

14: Florida Marlins: Archie Bradley, RHP, Broken Arrow HS (Okalahoma)

15 Milwaukee Brewers: Larry Green, OF, Berrien County HS (Georgia)

16 Los Angeles Dodgers: Tyler Anderson, LHP, Oregon

17 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Brandon Nimmo, OF, East HS (Wyo)

18 Oakland Athletics: Mikie Mahtook, OF, LSU

19 Boston Red Sox: Matt Barnes, RHP, UConn

20 Colorado Rockies: Kolten Wong, 2B, Hawaii

21 Toronto Blue Jays: Josh Bell, OF, Dallas Jesuit HS (TX)

22 St. Louis Cardinals: Javier Baez, SS, Arlington Country Day HS (Fla)

23 Washington Nationals: CJ Cron, 1B, Utah

OTWT Draft Predictions

Everyone does it so why not OTWT, so here is our Top 10 NFL Mock Draft:

1. Carolina (2-14): Cam Newton, QB, Auburn

2. Denver (4-12):  Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama

3. Buffalo (4-12): Von Miller, DE, Texas A&M

4. Cincinnati (4-12): AJ Green, WR, Georgia

5. Arizona (5-11): Patrick Peterson, DB, LSU

6. Cleveland (5-11): Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

7. San Francisco (6-10): Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri

8. Tennessee (6-10): Jake Locker, QB, Washington

9. Dallas (6-10): Tyron Smith, OL, USC

10. Washington (6-10): Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

OTWT Bowl Season Predictions

Its the most wonderful time of the year, Bowl Season. While there are some bad match ups there are other that are very interesting. Here are the OTWT Bowl Season predictions

• Dec. 18 2:00 pm New Mexico Bowl: BYU vs. UTEP: BYU
• Dec. 18 5:30 pm uDrove Humanitarian Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State: Fresno State 
• Dec. 18 9:00 pm R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Troy vs. Ohio: Ohio 
• Dec. 21 8:00 pm Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl: Louisville vs. Southern Miss: Louisville
• Dec. 22 8:00 pm MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: Utah vs. Boise State: Boise State  
• Dec. 23 8:00 pm San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: San Diego State vs. Navy: Navy
• Dec. 24 8:00 pm Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Tulsa vs. Hawaii: Tulsa  
• Dec. 26 8:30 pm Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Toledo vs. Florida International: FIU 
• Dec. 27 5:00 pm AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Air Force: Georgia Tech
• Dec. 28 6:30 pm Champs Sports Bowl: North Carolina State vs. West Virginia: West Virginia
• Dec. 28 10:00 pm Insight Bowl: Iowa vs. Missouri: Mizzou 

Shame on MLB Network

So you have Jonathan Mayo and Peter Gammons, two of the biggest names in minor league and draft coverage, on your roster and what do you show on draft deadline signing day an hour before the deadline, show a program recapping the days games.

While MLB Network continues to grow last night it made a huge mistake in not doing some type of signing deadline specials. For a network that builds itself to be the home of baseball to treat the second biggest day in the prospects calendar, the draft being the first, like this is just not right.

Some years there are few story lines when it comes to signing day but this year there were a ton of them. From Harper and the Nats trying to get a deal done to Lee with the Dodgers to Parker and the Rockies. That does not count all of the sandwich round guys that signed for over slot.

Maybe next year MLB Network will step up and do a late night show tracking the signs. That would be nice for the network that says they have everything in baseball covered.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

MLB Draft quick thoughts

I'm a draft geek and I admit that, so here is my quick thoughts on the MLB Draft:
• It was great to see Gammons back making good points, excellent points on why college catchers have not developed because they don't call their own pitches.
• No Strasburg/Harper battery in the future, disappointing but it makes sense. Don't get him killed behind the plate.
• Love Drew Pomeranz. Great stuff and he should be fast tracked to the big league.
• UNC Matt Harvey is a potential ace, the Mets are getting big time arm. Love the picked.
• MLB Network is getting better at the draft but they need to show more of Mayo and Callis. Hart and Reynolds are just not in the same league and bring nothing to the table.
• I would love to see MLB Network take the draft to next level and show Cape Code League games.
• This is why the Rays are so good and have so much talent on the farm, they make the right choices during the draft and they did it again with OF Josh Sale.
• Rockies and Kyle Parker, the second qb the Rockies have taken Todd Helton being the first and that worked out well.
• Gammons: "Parker only 20/20 player in draft 20 hr 20 td passes" great line.
• The Dodgers took a guy they have no intention of signing, Zach Lee. They are not spending the money, take the pick next year in a draft that scouts say is deeper.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The Cover Story: National Signing Day

National Signing Day is a big day around the country, but in some areas of the country its the only story in town. Here are some of the ways newspapers covered the annual celebration of college football recruiting.

The Tennessean

The Oklahoman
The Lincoln Journal Star (Nebraska)
The Advocate (Louisiana)
The Honolulu Advertiser
Athens Banner Herald
The Sun (Florida)

Professional Tailgating: The start of something special

A game against a Division 1AA team usually does not mean anything, but for the OTWT Tailgating Crew the Rutgers vs. Texas Southern game meant the start of something special. The game started a stretch of four football games in eight days. Two college, two pro game. Its going to be a tough, but I think that I can get through it.

Heading to the game, someone is not happy with the Prez winning the Noble Peace Prize

The Fire Marshall Bill of the Rutgers parking lot is always on guard

People enjoy some adult beverages before the game

20 minutes before the game, there were still some good seats around, but they all filled in as the game started

Blowout means being the car at 5:09, for a game starting at 3:30, and being home for the Florida/LSU game. Not a bad day

The second game of the group, was the Eagles and the Bucs. I will post my complete report from the Linc tomorrow.

Professional Tailgating: Someone Returns Home

Most of the OTWT Tailgating Crew took the week off, Rutgers was not playing, but one member made a trip to his old stomping grounds. Quincy Carter's Coke Habit returned to his home the University of Georgia for their game against LSU. Here are some of the sites from tailgating in the SEC, the best conference in the country, hell on the big Big 10 plus 1.

LSU fans make a nice batch of gumbo

It's the SEC, so that means couches and TV inside of tents before games, it might be heaven.

The OTWT Tailgating crew needs this set up for next season

Really sweet seats for the game, to bad he did not like the ending of the game as LSU beat the Dawgs on a touchdown in the last minute.

Is he worth it?

For the last eight months Miami fans have thought that their offense next season would feature uber recruit Bryce Brown, but that appears to all changing over the last couple of weeks. First Brown decides not to sign with the 'Canes on National Signing Day, fine some people don't like signing on NSD, but then the fun starts.

First his advisor, Brian Butler, says that Brown is going to visit a ton of schools and Miami remained quiet at that time, but now it appears that the Brown's are getting mad that Canes are not showing him the proper the love.

I know that our struggling offense could use a jump start and Brown would be the perfect person to that, but at what cost. Is Brown going to continue to drag this out so no one knows what their offense is going to look like next season. Today, the Browns said that they are not going to visit Miami instead head to LSU.

This situation has gotten so out of control that most Canes fans could really care less what happens to the supremely talented running back. Remember what they say if you play with fire you could get burn and if Oregon, LSU, and Tennessee are going to continue to recruit him, they might not like how the story ends.

It's never to early to look at next season

So all of the underclassmen have declared for the NFL draft and schools are in the process of wrapping up their recruiting; so that means its time for the first 2009 College Football Top 10. Some of the names in the top 10 will be the normal ones, while other will surprise, listed in predicted order of finish.

1. Oklahoma: So they lost again in a BCS game, but no team made out better when it comes to players heading to the draft.
   
2. Florida: Superman returns, but it will not be that easy to replace Harven. It might be possible to see a OH/UF rematch in the BCS National Championship Game next year.
   
3. Texas: I know its more of the same in the top 3. But Colt McCoy returns and they could challenge OU again. The running game should be a little stronger with Nate Newton son coming aboard.
   
4. LSU: After a terrible season last year, the Tigers could be on their way back and if they get uber recruit Reuben Randle there offense could be more explosive.
5. Virginia Tech: With an ACC that is still trying to find its self it would be no shock to see the Hokies back in the national championship picture.
   
6. Oregon: I know this sounds crazy but could this be the year that USC is not the best team in the Pac 10. I think that it might be.
   
7. USC: A whole new defense, well almost. Replacing a starting quarterback. It could take a couple of weeks for the new edition of the Trojans to get going this year.
   
8. Oklahoma State: Ok so the Holiday Bowl did not go the way that they wanted, but with an offense that returns almost everyone it could be a break out year for the Cowboys.
9. Ohio State: TP. enough said.
   
10. Boise State: All of the key parts return and now Broncos have the rep around the country to do something.
    

I'm sure this will change after spring practices are completed, so check back after the spring season for updated rankings.