Sucks to Be a LA Clipper, Doesn't It?

It's funny, the Clippers are just one of those franchises. One of those franchises that you just wish could start fresh and new somewhere else. Burn the old and build new. The former Buffalo Braves (who weren't that bad) turned San Diego and Los Angeles Clippers is a cursed franchise.

(Note: I don't believe in curses)

Think about the Clippers for a minute. Since their first season as the "Clippers" (1978-1979), they've had just two winning seasons. They've made just four postseason appearances. They've only won one playoff series. One. Not counting the strike shortened 1999 season, the Clippers have had seven seasons where they failed to win 20 games. They've had 17 seasons where they lost at least 50 games. Ugh.

Add to the fact that the Clippers play in the same city as the Lakers ... a team with 15 NBA championships, including four last decade. Did I say "play in the same city"??? I meant "play in the same freakin' arena" as the Lakers.

All this isn't new to any of you. I'm amazed that the Clippers have so many fans. Not just because they suck but because you could make your life easier and just be a Laker fan. It's not like most franchises where they are the lone game in town and all of that.

So it is fitting that Blake Griffin's rookie season will not happen this year. No, his busted knee needs a little more work so he'll sit out this season. Classic.

Of course this conjures up Danny Manning and Michael Olowokandi. Like Griffin, Manning and Olowokandi were number one overall picks. All three missed considerable time due to injury. Manning blew out his knee during his rookie season, came back and became an All Star. When he could get out, he bolted. The Kandi Man just plain sucked.

That happens. But look at what the Clippers have had happen to their draft picks. If I was Eric Gordon or Al Thornton, I'd be a bit worried. Yaroslav Koralev (#12, 2005) had a cup of coffee with the Clips before heading back to Europe. Shaun Livingston (#4, 2004) had one of the ugliest sports injuries you will ever see and his career still hasn't gotten back on track. Chris Wilcox (#8, 2002) was a complete bust ... until he was dealt to the Sonics in the middle of his fourth season. That same draft brought Melvin Ely (#12, 2002) who did nothing.

There is also Darius Miles, Maurice Taylor, Lorenzen Wright, Terry Dehere, Randy Woods, Elmore Spencer, LeRon Ellis, Bo Kimble, etc.

There is also Antonio McDyess ... who the Clippers drafted with the No. 2 pick in the 1995 draft. They dealt him to Denver for Rodney Rodgers and a draft pick that turned into Brent Barry. Awesome. Oh, and the Danny Ferry fiasco. The No. 2 pick refused to play for the Clips and went to Italy. Los Angeles would end up dealing him to Cleveland for Ron Harper. They used a No. 6 pick on Hersey Hawkins and then dealt him for Charles Smith. Better yet was using a No. 3 pick on Byron Scott and then dealing him to the Lakers for Norm Nixon.

You can go on and on and on and on about the owner, the lack of talent and the guys who look for the first opportunity to leave.

The Good and Bad of Mark McGwire's Steroid Admission

Mark McGwire used steroids. He said so. All that does is validate all those suspicions we've had for years.

So, what does this all mean? Is this good or bad? Does it really even matter?

To be honest, it doesn't matter. McGwire's admission is relatively meaningless since he's been out of baseball for nearly a decade. Meaningless since he can't and won't be punished for any of this. Meaningless since baseball won't take away his statistics or records. In the realm of the ability to settle this matter ... it falls short.

I will say that I'm glad that he admitted this. I'm in the camp that all these roid users should come out and admit they've done wrong. Just as I said, baseball can't really do anything to you unless you outright lie to authorities (and even that is a tough rap to pin as well). "Apparently" the weight of all these secrets is harmful to your health. Get it out there!

Of course, that won't happen ... especially for those like McGwire who have already retired. Look at the backlash that Big Mac has taken over the past 36 hours. Has Pete Rose's situation gotten any better once he admitted he bet on baseball? Nope. So why would anyone come out and put themselves through that public ridicule?

I'm fine with baseball keeping these inflated statistics. You can't know how many of McGwire's home runs were off pitchers who were also using steroids. Cheating or not, they got away with it. But I'm also fine with not allowing these people into the Hall of Fame. If Rose can't get in there despite none of his playing statistics were helped by his gambling, then these steroid users ... admitted or not ... shouldn't get in there. That's more effective than any asterick.

The sad fact in this is that ... and I know everyone hates to hear this ... but steroids works. Remember that McGwire was broken down in the early-to-mid-1990s. He couldn't stay on the field due to injuries and when he was playing his stats were horrible. In the years he admitted to using steroids, he became a legend. He went from Rob Deer to Babe Ruth. He was given endoresment deals, huge salaries and became larger than the game. That summer of 1998 will be remembered by everyone despite the participants both being linked to steroids.

It's like selling your soul to the devil, only that the devil really can't come to collect.

All 8 Divisions Represented In NFL Divisional Round

AFC: Jets (East), Chargers (West), Ravens (North), Colts (South)

NFC: Cowboys (East), Vikings (North), Cardinals (West), Saints (South)

What is all of that mean? All eight NFL divisions are represented by one team in the playoffs. With eight teams left, every division has someone.

The AFC East, AFC North, NFC East and NFC North each had two teams make the playoffs. None of them had both teams advance to the divisional round.

Looking Back at My NFL Predictions

See, I'm the type of cat that can admit when he's wrong. And pretty much everyone had some wrong in their preseason NFL picks. So, let's go back to my prediction post to see how well I did:

NFC EAST
1-Giants (12-4)*
2-Eagles (11-5)*
3-Cowboys (11-5)*
4-Redskins (6-10)

I think that the NFC's three best teams reside in this division. So it will be one heck of a battle to sort them out. I think they all get into the playoffs since the NFC East gets to play the AFC West this year and will get a chance at stockpiling some extra wins.

Well, both Philly and Dallas made the playoffs and I was dead-on with their records. My disappointment was the Giants who just fell off the face of the earth in the middle of the season.

NFC SOUTH
1-Panthers (10-6)*
2-Falcons (8-8)
3-Saints (8-8)
4-Buccaneers (4-12)

This was a tough division to figure out. Carolina's schedule is brutal and I have them getting off to a poor start. I'm not as trusting in Atlanta as everyone else is (I don't think Turner is going to turn in another outstanding season ... just a hunch). I love the Saints offense but loathe their defense. And this is finally the year when Tampa bottoms back out.

Well, the Saints defense did enough to vault the Saints to the NFC's elite. I'm satisfied with every other pick in this division, despite Carolina not winning the division as I predicted. Yet, they were only two wins off what I thought.

NFC NORTH
1-Vikings (11-5)*
2-Packers (9-7)
3-Bears (8-8)
4-Lions (4-12)

I'm not a big fan of Minnesota bringing in Brett Favre, but the Vikings have a very easy schedule to open up the season. I think they start off hot and then cool off a bit down the stretch. I think the Packers will give them a fight but come up a few wins short. The Lions finally win a few games!

I did pretty good here. The Lions and Bears didn't win as much as I thought they would, but the rundown is spot on.

NFC WEST
1-Cardinals (10-6)*
2-Seahawks (7-9)
3-Niners (7-9)
4-Rams (4-12)

I think Arizona easily has the best talent in the division. The Rams and Seahawks defenses are poor enough that Kurt Warner and the gang run through the division again. Seattle and San Francisco will attempt to battle for a wildcard spot but just won't have enough balance to do so.

Arizona won this division pretty handily and I was spot on with their record. Seattle disappointed me a bit ... while the Rams stunk it up worse than predicted.

NFC PLAYOFFS
Wildcard: Cowboys over Panthers, Eagles over Cardinals
Divisional: Cowboys over Vikings, Eagles over Giants
NFC Championship: Eagles over Cowboys

Not too shabby. I have the Cowboys and Vikings facing off in one Divisional game. Too bad the Eagles won't be in the Super Bowl.

AFC EAST
1-Patriots (14-2)*
2-Dolphins (8-8)
3-Jets (6-10)
4-Bills (5-11)

After the one-year hiccup with Tom Brady out for pretty much the entire season, New England will be back to their old ways. I think they could actually go undefeated again which would be simply remarkable. There are just a couple games out there that I think could slip them up. The Dolphins regress a bit since the schedule just got tougher and New England getting back on top. The Jets start off slow but build it up as Mark Sanchez and the Rex Ryan defense get rolling in the second half of the season.

The Pats won the division but didn't look as mighty as I thought. Obviously the Jets were the big surprise in this division. Everything else was pretty solid.


AFC SOUTH
1-Colts (12-4)*
2-Titans (12-4)*
3-Texans (6-10)
4-Jaguars (5-11)

I am surprised that I have the Colts winning 12 games, too. But there they are in a fight with the Titans. I guess that's my faith in a healthy Peyton Manning and a Haynesworth-less Tennessee team. Houston gets off to a good start and then flounders. The Jack Del Rio era in Jacksonville will end.

I was right to keep my hunch about the Colts. I was wrong in thinking the Titans would be back near the top. Houston and Jacksonville were much better than I had thought.

AFC NORTH
1-Steelers (13-3)*
2-Ravens (11-5)*
3-Bengals (5-11)
4-Browns (4-12)

Pittsburgh with Baltimore tailing them again. These are easily the class of the division and both have a good shot at getting to Miami for the Super Bowl. The Bengals will be a bit improved but not drastically.

Not to happy here. The Steelers flamed out and the Bengals came out of nowhere to win the division. B-more wasn't as strong as I thought, but they did come through with a wildcard berth.

AFC WEST
1-Chargers (10-6)*
2-Chiefs (7-9)
3-Broncos (5-11)
4-Raiders (4-12)

San Diego easily wins this but takes a few hits from the shock of facing good NFC East teams. Don't ask me why or how Kansas City wins seven games but that's what I have. Denver will really sink since they don't have that high powered offense to outgun their horrible defense.

San Diego did win the division with even more ease than I thought. The surprise was the Broncos who went 6-0 before crashing down the standings.

AFC PLAYOFFS
Wildcard: Titans over Chargers, Colts over Ravens
Divisional: Steelers over Colts, Patriots over Titans
AFC Championship: Patriots over Steelers

Of the divisional teams, I only got the Colts right ... though I did predict a Ravens-Colts playoff matchup. Does that count for something?

SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: Patriots over Eagles.

Well ....

Jets-Bengals Game Continues to Get Screwed

I feel sorry for the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals.

Not only was their Week 17 game moved to the 8:30pm time slot ... which made it the final game of the regular season ... they then have to play each other in the first game of the postseason. How is that fair? How come the Jets and Bengals had to play until midnight, get home hours after that and then have to play with the shortest of weeks?

They also get to have the make-shift broadcast team as well. Since NBC will be televising both games on Saturday, they are putting their normal broadcast team of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on the epic Eagles-Cowboys tilt. That means the Jets-Bengals game gets ... wait for it ... Tom Hammond, Joe Theismann and Joe Gibbs.

What?

Hammond is a fine football announcer. He's one of the few reasons to watch Notre Dame games. But you get mouthy Theismann who will clown around too much and Gibbs who I can't remember ever analysing a game from the booth. As a Redskins fan, Gibbs is a god to me and Theismann was one of my idols when I was a small fry ... but this just doesn't sound right.

Sorry guys.

Congrats to College Football for Another Pointless Season

Let me start this off by throwing praise at Nick Saban and Alabama. Gutty win and great season. They were the best team this season and it showed tonight.

That being said, I'm tired of college football honks telling me how important every game is. It's the exact opposite.

For Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati the season was meaningless. Despite navigating through the regular season undefeated, all three were shut out of any National Championship game. To make matters worse, the BCS decided to pit Boise and TCU against each other and still not allowing them to face a big-time BCS conference foe. What if Boise State beat Florida? What would you say then?

Now figure that the 33 bowls that preceded tonight's game were meaningless as well. Just neat little excuses for boosters to take a holiday vacation, cities to make some dough off of these travelers and for sponsors to plaster their products all over the place. Don't get me wrong: I like the bowls but they aren't as grand or important as they once were.

That brings me to the Citi BCS Championship of the World or at Least a Computer Program Bowl. We went through all that ... the entire season and waiting a month for the game to happen ... and the biggest monkey-wrench of them all was thrown into the mix. Just five plays into the game, Texas' Colt McCoy goes out with a shoulder injury. So instead of the mighty matchup we were maybe, kinda, hopefully expecting we get to see a freshman QB who has barely played go up against an Alabama defense that totally dominated Tim Tebow.

The sad thing is that Alabama didn't really play that well. If not for a couple of bad plays by the Longhorns freshman QB, Texas would have won that game.

And that was it. That just ended one of the most anti-climatic seasons I can remember. The whole Bradford/Tebow/McCoy Heisman race was instead won by a sophomore that no one heard of when the season started. Five teams entered bowl season undefeated ... two stayed that way after tonight.

And only one gets to call themselves champions. At least every game counted for you guys, eh Boise State?

Poll Question: Who Will Win Super Bowl XLIV?

With 1,409 people voting so far, here is what you said in my latest poll:

Who will win Super Bowl XLIV?

1-Chargers (23%)
2-Colts (17%)
3-Vikings (11%)
4-Cowboys (9%)
5-Eagles (8%)
6-Saints (7%)
7-Packers (6%)
8-Patriots (6%)
9-Other (3%)
10t-Bengals (1%)
10t-Cardinals (1%)

*I started this poll before Week 17 so "other" could constitute a number of choices.

*Both the Packers and Patriots finished with 6% of the vote, but Green Bay is ranked higher because they received 10 more votes.

*The Bengals and Cardinals finished with exactly the same amount of votes