Tuesday, March 12, 2013

3/12: NFL Trades, etc.

Greetings!
  • There were two big-time player trades in the NFL on Monday. For reference, trades that include big-time players hardly ever happen in the NFL, so two of them in one day is crazy. First, Percy Harvin is headed to Seattle, and it is expected that Seattle is shipping their 2013 1st-rounder to Minnesota in the deal. Harvin is a game-changer when he's on the field, and that's a huge WR upgrade for a Seattle team that needed an outside punch. Secondly, Anquan Boldin is headed to San Francisco in exchange for a 6th-rounder in this year's draft. At first glance, a 6th-rounder seems absurdly cheap, but it's important to remember that Boldin was hitting free agency, so this was basically an admission by Baltimore that they didn't want to ink him, and thus, an attempt to get some sort of value in return. If San Fran can lock him up (they will), that helps a suddenly solid receiving corps with Crabtree, Davis, and a returning Mario Manningham. 
  • #1 Gonzaga won the WCC Tournament last night with a 65-51 win over archrival St. Mary's in Las Vegas. Kelly Olynyk (a first-team All-American by any measure) went for 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Elias Harris added 19 points for the Zags in the win. At this point, you'd have to assume that Gonzaga will be getting a #1 seed, if not the #1 overall seed, and they deserve it.
  • NBA Roundup - San Antonio snapped a 5-game OKC winning streak with a 105-95 win last night. Tiago Splitter led six players in double-digits with 21 points (and 10 rebounds), as the Spurs shot 53% from the field on the night. Durant and Westbrook combined for 51 points for OKC, but Westbrook had more shots (27) than points (25) and the supporting cast didn't help much. Elsewhere, Utah climbed back to a tie with the Lakers for the 8th spot after a 103-91 win over Detroit in Salt Lake. Mo Williams had 20 points in 26 minutes (a very encouraging sign) and the Jazz got 54 bench points on the night. Finally, the Knicks had a disastrous performance for the ages in a 92-63 loss to Golden State. First of all, scoring 63 points against that porous GSW defense is bad enough, but the Knicks shot 27% from the field on the day (yikes), 5-27 from three (yikes), and got murdered on the boards (59-42) by a team that doesn't strike fear into anyone on that end. Not good. 
  • There was a big story surrounding Yankee interest in signing Chipper Jones. My reaction is this: it is not a story that they "want" to sign Chipper. He's not going there. Ever. And especially when Atlanta has a 3rd base situation in flux. Moving on.
What to watch for on Tuesday...
  • 7:00 - NCAAB - Big East 1st Round (ESPNU) - South Florida vs. Seton Hall. Nothing screams greatness like two sub-.500 Big East teams in the garden. 
  • 7:30 - NBA - Hawks @ Heat (NBATV) - Miami is looking to extend a ridiculous 18-game winning streak, and of course, the Hawks are in the way. Should be a fun one. 
  • 9:00 - NCAAB - Horizon League Championship (ESPN) - Wright State and Valparaiso square off for a bid in the tourney, and the Horizon is always an underrated league. 
  • 9:00 - NCAAB - Big East 1st Round (ESPNU) - Rutgers vs. Depaul... Riveting!
Enjoy!

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