This Map Explains Everything

This map breaks down all that is good with America.

College Basketball: The Cover Story

The college basketball season is here and here are the Sporting News covers for their college basketball preview issues.

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

TNT will never let Trailblazer fans forget

So the Thunder hooked up with the Trailblazers on Thursday night and that can mean only one thing Durant vs Oden, the top two picks from the 2007 NBA Draft. Oden was the top pick, while Durant was the second. So far their careers have been totally different. Durant has become the face of the young NBA, while Oden career has been hit by knee injuries.

During the game, I hit the info button to see what it said and boy did it rub it in Blazers fans face. Durant has played 200 something games while Oden has yet to hit a 100. Its not like Blazer fans don't know the difference between the two players but to make it the info graph is just not right.
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Its almost here

I was looking at the preseason USA Today men's basketball and I saw that the season tips off in a little less then three weeks and for one I can not wait. Here are my thoughts on the USA Today Preseason Top 25:

• I never thought that I would see Kansas State above Kansas in the preseason rankings. Will the Big 12 be colored purple this year, maybe.
• Two teams outside of the preseason Top 25 that are going to make noise are: San Diego State Minnesota.
• With Hummel gone to another knee injury there is no way Purdue is going to be a top 10 team.
• Texas forward Thirstan Thompson will be this season breakout player. He is too skilled not to be a star. 
• With one of the top recruiting classes in America, Memphis is going to be a fun to watch. Can a Josh Pastner lead his tiger cubs back to the NCAA Tournament.  

Savage vs Dodd = Rutgers version of Applewhite vs. Simms

While driving into work today, I was listening to Rivals Radio and host Bill King made a great comment on the ongoing quarterback battle at Rutgers between Tom Savage and Chas Dodd. King said it reminded him of the QB war that broke out at the University of Texas between Chris Simms and Major Applewhite (pictured below during happier times).  The more I thought of it, during my hour long drive into the office, the more I thought it was correct.

Savage is like Simms in the a lot of ways. Both of them pass the eye test, both are NFL sized quarterbacks with perfect mechanics and have been groomed for this moment for a bunch of years. Simms was a huge recruit out of the New Jersey and showed that Texas had reaching power outside of their own state. While Savages was a national top 10 QB recruit for Rutgers out of Philly and showed that Scarlet Knights could go head to head with big time programs like Penn State, Miami, Michigan for top ranked players.  

Dodd is just like Applewhite. Both are listed at six foot or a little over but don't look like it. Both don't pass the eye test, if you saw them get off the bus for a game you would think that they are team managers as opposed to the starting quarterback. Both have that special it factor that is so hard to measure. During his two starts so far, Dodd has engineered come from behind wins against Army and UConn.

Texas head coach Mack Brown decided that Applewhite was the perfect fit for Texas about 12 years ago and I have feeling that Schiano is going to decide that Dodd is the right fit for this Rutgers team, but the one thing that Schiano has to do is make a decision and stick to it, if not things could get out of hand like they did at Texas a bunch years ago.

Jevan Sneed and John Walsh might need to talk

What do a Texan who played QB at both Texas and Ole Miss have in common with the a former quarterback at BYU. Jevan Sneed (right) and John Walsh (above) both have a lot in common from the skills at playing college football to their bad judgement in deciding to go to the NFL.

Coming into the season, some scouts and media people said that Ole Miss signal caller Jevan Sneed would be the top player eligable for the 2010 NFL Draft. After a so-so season, Sneed decided to test the NFL water, while few people thought he would be in the top part of the draft that was predicted at the start of the season, some still thought it was a good idea. During the recently completed draft, Sneed went undrafted in the draft and ended up signing with the Bucs.

While BYU QB John Walsh came into the 1994 season as the top ranked QB on many NFL teams' boards. So after a solid season, Walsh decided to leave the Cougars and head for the money and just like Sneed the decission was a bad one. Walsh ended up getting drafted in the seventh round by the Bengals and not making anything out of his talents. The current location of Walsh is currently unknown.

Sneed and Walsh should maybe sit down and talk about what happened to them and their talents. Both chose to leave school early instead of returning to a team with talent. Maybe the two of them can sit down and enjoy an adult beverage and talk about where everything all went wrong.

The Front Pages: Selection Sunday

The bids have been handed out and some teams are happy while others are not. Here is how some newspapers around the country covered Selection Sunday.

OTWT: Bracketology

The Committee has made their choices and the games will start later this week. For the last week, the OTWT Bracketology Department has been breaking down the teams and the numbers. So here we go:

• Early estimates on Nike Basketball teams by Region: South: 10, Midwest: 12, West: 16, East: 13. 51 of 65, according to Nike Basketball's twitter. They should just rename this the Nike Invitational.
• I have this feeling that this more double digits seeds will win first rounds ground then any other years. Look at some of the double digits seeds: San Diego State, Florida, Georgia Tech, Cornell, Siena. All have good match ups.
• For the last team in the tournament UTEP has a really good match up in Butler. Has the makings of a 5-12 upset.
• What must Kentucky be thinking. Sure a number one seed in the East but a possible second round match up with a team that might be as talented as them in Texas, not what Coach Cal wanted to see.
• The bottom half of the South Regional sets up perfectly for Villanova and Baylor. There are not that many good teams in that half of the bracket.
• I have to agree with Jay Bilas on this one, this might be the weakest year for at large teams in the last decade. People can not bitch about Illinois and Mississippi State they have to get more quality wins and they will be in. It's that simple.
• I was a big fan of them at the start of the season and I will stick with them during the tournament. The biggest upset of the tournament will come when Texas beats Kentucky in the second round in New Orleans.

Questions that need to be answered in college basketball

The preview mags are out and people are starting to talk about the college basketball. There are a ton of stories lines and questions that need to be answered. Here are just a couple that OTWT has thought up.

• People talk about Carolina being a top five type of team. They are going to be so young, I just can't see it. I will get a first hand look at Carolina on Nov. 19 and then give a full report.
• How much trouble will Coach Cal get Kentucky in. There has already been issues with uber recruit John Wall. Look at Cal's record at UMass and Memphis, he always leaves a mess.
• Super recruiting class always don't lead to great thing. Like a Seton Hall during the early 90's. This is a warning to Kentucky fans.
• Could Kansas be this years North Carolina. I think so
• With all of the talk of Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan State; Some people are forgetting about Villanova. Jay Wright has the program moving in the right direction. A great recruiting class and great returning guards usually lead to great things.
• How long will it take for before an assistant at FIU accuses Isiah Thomas of doing something wrong. Maybe after the North Carolina game.
• Sean Miller, Arizona and Anthony Grant, Alabama will be success in their new spots, while Mark Fox, Georgia will not get the job done because of lack of SEC ties.
• Texas freshman Avery Bradley will have the biggest impact of any freshman in America. With him at the point, Texas has a shot to be at the Final Four.
• My Final Four before the season even tips off: Kansas, Texas, Villanova, Michigan State.

The Cover Story: College Basketball

It seems like only yesterday that North Carolina cut down the nets at Ford Field in Detroit, but a lot has changed since they did that, Coach Cal went from Memphis to Kentucky and North Carolina reloaded.

In honor of midnight madness tomorrow night here are the covers of the Sporting News College Basketball preview issues:

Washington

California

Arizona

Texas

Kansas

Michigan

Illinois

SEC

Tennessee

Miami

Kentucky

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

Washington DC

UCONN

No better person to save your job then your son

In the toughest of times people usually turn to their family for help. With North Texas head coach Todd Dodge that was no different. During his first two years as coach as the Mean Green, Dodge won a grand total of three in his first two years being the head coach.

So before the start of the season Dodge turned to family to help him save his job in Denton. Dodge named his son Riley to be the starting QB and after one game it could not be going better. Riley lead to the Mean Green to a 20-10 win over Ball State on Thursday night. During his first collegiate start Riley threw for 216 yards and also ran for another 76 yards.

Hopefully the Dodge Team will be as successful a team as it was in high school at South Lake Carroll in Dallas. The pair won the 2006 5A state title with a 43-29 win over Austin Westlake in the final. As a junior Riley passed for 4,184 yards and 54 touchdown passes as well as gaining 1,119 yards and 13 TD on the ground. Riley first committed to Texas but soon changed his mind and joined his dad. Riley high school career legendary and its summed up by this performance in the 2006 state title game when he threw up through his face mask.

When times are tough the best people to turn are your family and that is exactly what Todd Dodge did and it may end up saving his job in the end.

OTWT: Preseason College Football Top Five

All of the spring games are over, the draft has been completed so that can mean only one thing let's look ahead to next years college football season.
1. Florida: So last years champions returns Jesus, Tebow; and most of a super defense. Wow this does not set up for a repeat.
2. Oklahoma: All of there key offensive players decided to take another run at the title after being beaten by the Gators in the BCS Title game in Miami.
3.Texas: Left out of the party last year, the Horns have all of the pieces that are need to be playing in the final game of the season.
4. USC: Sure they have to replace most of their defense but they just keep recruiting high school All Americans, so it should not be that big a deal.
5. Penn State: Sure they lost all of their receivers but with a week non-conference schedule it should be easy for the Nittany Lions to still be playing in January.

Reliving the Tournament Jordan Brand Style

Some NCAA Tournaments moments are great for some and painful for others, Nike's Jordan Brand show great moments from the painful side and boy are some of them funny.

Birthday


Discrimination


Unforgiven


Family

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.

It's now the start of the season

The season started last night with Duke beating a church or some terrible school. Here are some of the covers Athlon College Basketball Preview Magazine.

Memphis

Arizona/Arizona State

UCLA/USC

Texas/Texas A&M/Baylor

Big 12 Coaches South Park Style

Everyone is getting into this coaches South Park characters, today the Big 12.

Sometimes people are wrong

What do Zac Wasserman, Jon Van Cleave, Ryan O'Hara (pictured above), Robert Lane, and Mike Affleck all have in common?

At one point they where all the talk of college football coach, they all attended the well known Elite 11 QB Camp in California. The event, celebrated its 10th anniversary, provides the nation's top high school quarterbacks with high-level instruction by the best in the business, making it the nation's premier quarterback camp for prep athletes. The Elite 11 was held in Southern California July 21-24.

All five attend major schools ranging from Penn State to Arizona but did not impressed some even dropping down to schools like LA Valley Community College and Central Oklahoma.

A look at the list of players that has attended the camp reads like a train wreck of players that did not live up to their billing. Let's hope players like Thomas Savage, Garrett Gilbert and the rest of this years quarterbacks that attended the camp make out better then Roman Ybarra, yes he attended the camp too.

It's almost time for College Football

The season is almost here and college football preview magazines line the shelves of Boarders and Barnes and Noble. Here are all of the covers from around the country for the most famous preview magazine, Smith and Street, now run by the Sporting News.

Pacific Northwest

LA Region

Chicago Region

Ohio Valley Region

Great Lakes Region

Prairie Region

Oklahoma Region

Alabama Region

LSU Region

Florida Region

Texas Region

Pittsburgh Region

Virginia Region

Nashville Region

Atlanta Region