-AJ Nicholson was probably the most talented football player on the board in the 5th round of the 2006 NFL Draft, but as we've seen time and again, with raging idiots like Maurice Clarrett, these character gambles usually aren't worth it. I watched Nicholson play at Florida State, and I was very impressed--the guy was all over the field. But he was also accused of rape in December of 2005, and was suspended for the Orange Bowl that season. And I mean when you have a squeaky clean resume like Kobe Bryant, it's easy to overlook one small little insignificant sexual assault case, but Nicholson couldn't use the "one little mistake" excuse. He was also on 6 month probation for part of his FSU tenure due to a DUI and a charge of resisting arrest which was eventually dropped.
Furthermore, once on the Bengals, it came out that Nicholson broke into his own Seminole teammate's apartment and stole $1700!? Is there a less respectable act than theft of a teammate? Thus, when Nicholson was accused of striking his girlfriend, the Bengals likely jumped at the chance to make an example out of a backup player with a history of crime. The good news is, I actually buy the fact that Marvin Lewis would have forced management to pass on an AJ Nicholson if he was available in the 5th round of this year, and that is progress. It's amazing what effect nine little arrests can have on an organization.
-I know nobody loves a good story. Sex and violence is what sells. But when all we ever hear about is arrest after arrest after arrest in the NFL, it was refreshing to hear a nice story. After getting traded to the Texans, Ahman Green put in a call to defensive back Jason Simmons to inquire about the chance of getting his old jersey number, 30. Simmons said Green sounded nervous, and Green expected to have to unload a good deal of money to get the number, as athletes often do nowadays. Instead, Simmons asked Green to make a down payment on a house for a single parent, and will take no money for himself.
Why doesn't stuff like this happen more often? If Simmons, who made "only" a million dollars last season, can turn down the chance for more money in favor of charitable offerings, why can't the superstars who make 20 million at least do it for the image? Instead of Kobe giving his wife a 4 million dollar ring, couldn't he have gotten her a 3.5 million dollar ring, and donated $500,000 to Planned Parenthood or something? If guys won't do it for the morals, at least they can spare some pocket change to be seen as caring human beings. Good for you Jason Simmons, whoever you are.
-Tim Lincecum is my favorite pitcher in the MLB (other than Dice-K who is excluded whenever I mention any superlative that he fits the category for). You might not know about him just yet, but give him a few more weeks and you'll recognize the name. Lincecum is a 22-year old pitcher that recently got called up for the San Francisco Giants, who have a tremendous young pitching staff, despite the recent failures of Barry Zero. Noah Lowry, Matt Cain, and Matt Morris have all been phenomenal with ERA's hovering around 3.00 despite their mediocre records. Lincecum is more talented than any of them. I may be exaggerating here, but I really believe this guy is the kind of guy that could end up with 300 wins; the kind of Greg Maddux/Roger Clemens type guy who will be consistently great for 15 or 20 years.
His stuff is unbelievable--a Zito-like curveball, a high-nineties heater (that occasionally even hits triple digits), and a remarkable changeup among other things. During his 2006 and early 2007 campaigns, Lincecum struck out the highest percentage of batters of any minor league pitcher in the last ten years. That's insane. He also went 4-0 this year in the California League, a AAA league that is regarded as a "hitter's league", surrendering only one run in 32 innings. He's the real deal. Lincecum struggled in his first MLB start, giving up four earned runs, but he's already adapting, having given up only two runs with 16 strikeouts in the 14 innings pitched over his last two starts. His fourth MLB start is tomorrow (Tuesday) night, and I expect big things. Hell, I expect a perfect game--and the Giants might still lose.
-Yi Jianlian is the most intriguing guy in the NBA Draft. As I await my Celtics inevitable fate in tomorrow night's lottery (I'm expecting the fourth pick at best), I can't help but be enticed by this mystery Chinese baller. He's the ultimate question mark--hell, nobody even knows whether the kid is 19, 22, or 24. Nonetheless, the guy is a super-athletic 7-foot forward who apparently has an enormous repertoire of developed skills and a high basketball IQ. Yao says that Yi is better than him, and I believe anything Yao says. Jianlian could go anywhere from pick 3 to the bottom of the lottery, but it will be a struggle for teams to resist him. They just have to assess whether he will be a Yao Ming/Pao Gasol/Dirk Nowitzki/Manu Ginobili superstar, or a Yaroslav Korolev/Sergei Monya/Fran Vasquez/Nikoloz Tskitishvili super-bust. (I'm not sure whether I'm proud orembarrassed that I knew all of those names off the top of my head. I didn't even check the spellings.)
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