Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  For the baseball guys....

on a somewhat similar note, have you ever seen a rational explanation in the form of a column like this for the value placed on NFL draft picks in trades for active players?
 
 i know salary / recent performance / cancer-to-the-team issues loom large, but there's such a huge disparity between, say, the Bucs giving up two 1st rounders to get Keyshawn Johnson and the Pats giving up a 4th rounder to get Randy Moss
 
 it's always baffled me

[vansmack]

I have to be honest - being a GM in the NFL is a job I don't think I'd ever be able to do.  When you add a salary cap it makes things like a 4th rounder for Moss make sense - that's my guess anyway.
 
 I have a childhood friend who's in his 9th year as a middle linebacker in the NFL.  A couple years ago I ran into him at Xmas time when we were both home and I asked him how he went from being on multiple practice squads out of Stanford as a strong safety, to defensive captain for the Falcons in 4 years.  He said that high draft pick rookies aren't given the chance to develop in the NFL because they're so expensive.  They must produce immediately, or they kill the cap (of course they still get a huge payout). He said he was given a chance by Atlanta because he was cheap and took advantage of that and worked really hard.  Interestingly, he also said he was careful about not taking the huge payout too early to price himself out of the league.
 
 If that's the effect it has on the players, could you imagine what a GM must go through?

[Venerable Bede]

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
   

Originally posted by vansmack:
  For the baseball guys....

on a somewhat similar note, have you ever seen a rational explanation in the form of a column like this for the value placed on NFL draft picks in trades for active players?
 
 i know salary / recent performance / cancer-to-the-team issues loom large, but there's such a huge disparity between, say, the Bucs giving up two 1st rounders to get Keyshawn Johnson and the Pats giving up a 4th rounder to get Randy Moss
 [/b]

i would also add union pressures.  remember, the baseball union was adamantly opposed to a-rod reworking his rangers contract to take less money to go to boston.  whereas in football, the union is nowhere near as strong as baseball's, to put it lightly.  couple that with non-guaranteed contracts, and you can make anything make sense and under the cap.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
   couple that with non-guaranteed contracts, and you can make anything make sense and under the cap.

Yes - this is a huge point that was underlying my remarks about not taking the huge payout too soon.  The non-guaranteed contracts and the structure by which signing bonuses count against the salary cap make it just a complete mess.  This is a huge reason why the Niners are going to be rebuilding for a long time (crimes from the 90's) and why the Redskins will be in trouble for a long time (Dan Snyder crimes).
 
 This is also a big reason why the Niners had to trade their 2008 #1 that eventually ended up in New England - they couldn't afford another top 10 pick.

[BookerT]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  I have a childhood friend who's in his 9th year as a middle linebacker in the NFL.

you're childhood friends with chris draft? i won my fantasy football league championship in 2003 and he was a crucial IDP performer for me!

[vansmack]

Originally posted by BookerT:
  you're childhood friends with chris draft?

I am.  We lived about 3 blocks apart and were on the same soccer team and little league team for years.  His older brother was actually my age, and Chris was in the grade behind me.  They were both the best athletes in the neighborhood - Chris just got big while his brother stayed skinny.
 
 Smackette is super happy that he's a Ram now, as that is her favorite team.

[ggw]

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
  on a somewhat similar note, have you ever seen a rational explanation in the form of a column like this for the value placed on NFL draft picks in trades for active players?
 

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
 
 
 Just look at the redskins first round draft picks from the late '90s - Heath Shuler - Michael Westbrook - Andre Johnson - Kenard Lang.
 
 Keyshawn may be a total douchebag, but at least he proved himself in the NFL for a few years.  Draft picks are a crapshoot.

[vansmack]

For Fico, NKOTB and anybody else who will admit to watching The Hills (courtesy of the Sport Guy):
 
 http://www.bestweekever.tv/2007/10/25/reality-victims-unit-meet-gavin-my-friend-who-went-on-a-date-with-lc-from-the-hills/
 
 I am shocked and appalled that the producers are making calls that are making the show less than real.  I mean, Justin-Bobby is not like that in the real world?

[godsshoeshine]

"I guess people should just try to remember that this is all entertainment, and just as Iâ??m not the boring dork they made me out to be, Lauren and the other people on the show are sometimes capable of being nice, decent, funny people. Except for Spencer, I hear heâ??s really like that"
 
 hahahahah
 
 was last nights worth watching?

[vansmack]

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
 
 was last nights worth watching?

Justin-Bobby was in rare form last night, but Spencers sister is an apple that didn't fall too far from the tree.  Amazing, that one.  We haven't seen the last of her for sure.

[vansmack]

Google will release a version of Google Desktop for the Mac tomorrow that lets users install gadgets â?? something previous versions didnâ??t support.
 
 Why would Mac users need a sidebar when they already have their dashboard? Well, it turns out there is no sidebar, and gadgets are installed into the dashboard.
 
 http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=821&tag=nl.e589
 
 I'm addicted to Google Dashboard Gadgets.

[godsshoeshine]

dashboard is pretty sweet. my epl news one stopped working though  

[vansmack]

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
  dashboard is pretty sweet. my epl news one stopped working though    

I deleted that one as it kept ruining games I was recording to watch later in the day.  Same with the Champs League and UEFA gadgets.

[godsshoeshine]

i like it during the transfer window

[vansmack]

Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy, did a marathon chat today for the Jimmy V Foundation (over 7 hours!)
 
 http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/special/billsimmons?event_id=18257
 
 If you're like me and can't stand the white type on a dark background (I practically go into seziures), I've made a PDF of the chat wrap:
 
 http://www.mediafire.com/?bwymvbhmwic
 
 Makes for nice bathroom reading.