Stanley Cup Finals: Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks

This isn't a close matchup at all.

Vancouver is the juggernaut of the Western Conference Playoffs.  They ousted their long-time playoff hang-up, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the first round and outslopped the Nashville Predators in the second.  The Conference Finals were where Vancouver really turned it on, and they handily defeated the #2 seeded San Jose Sharks in five games.

With over a week off between the last game of the Western Conference Finals and the first of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Vancouver Canucks will certainly be more rested from their foes on the East Coast, the Boston Bruins.

Boston's road to the finals was a difficult one being taken to seven games in the first round by Montreal.  Then after a quick sweep of the defending Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers, Boston had another grueling seven-game series against the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bruins face a long road in this series as well, literally and figuratively.  Such a distance physically separates Boston and Vancouver, an entire continent, and the Canucks have home-ice.  Also there is a severe talent gap between them and the Presidents' Trophy-winning team.  Vancouver has the edge in forward play, overall defensivemen play, and special teams.  Boston may have the goalie advantage with Tim Thomas, but you absolutely cannot look past Roberto Luongo.

Yet to face a team a team this playoffs as deep offensively, defensively, or with as hot a goalie, I do not like Boston's chances to end their 39-year championship drought.  Instead I like Vancouver to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Prediction: Canucks in 5

--from @jeuneski

NBA Finals 2011: Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks

As a sports fan and a lover of the NBA, let me first say, hell yes!  What a great matchup.  Sure the Lakers and Heat might have moved the meter more, but let’s face it, the storylines wouldn’t have been as good.  The debate between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as best player in the game is over; Bryant is past his prime.  On top of that, the Lakers are secure in their championship legacy and have absolutely nothing to prove.

By contrast, there are perhaps no two stars in the league more in need of a ring, not for their legacies, but for the public perception of their legacies, than James and Dirk Nowitzki.  Whether or not Nowitzki wins a championship shouldn’t diminish his greatness as an unstoppable offensive force, and talk of James’ legacy at the age of 26 is a bit premature.  Still, this may well be Dirk’s last shot at a championship, and LeBron has already been in the league eight years.  Titles don’t grow on trees; you better get them when you can.

When predicting the Finals I’d like to keep it simple, but this series is anything but.

Sure, the Heat have three of the four best players in the series, but the Mavericks have perhaps the best player in the world right now in Nowitzki.  You could argue simply to double-team Dirk, but that is probably the worst strategy one could devise.  The 7’ Nowitzki can see over his defenders, is a very good passer, and the best group of three point shooters in the league surround him.  Jason Terry is hitting 46% of his three point shots in these playoffs, Jason Kidd 36%, and Peja Stojakovic 40%.  Then if you don’t double Nowitzki, it’s an automatic two points because no person on earth can guard him or his fadeaway, a fadeaway so sweet it could shut Charles Barkley up.

At the same time, the Heat are probably the best equipped team in the league to defend the Mavericks on the three point line.  James’ versatility on defense and Wade’s speed and strength as a defender form a combination reminiscent of what Phil Jackson used to call his “pit bull” defense—when he would unleash Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan and create havoc for opposing shooters.  The Heat will likely deny Nowitzki the ball as much as possible, because when he has it, he either gets a good shot for his self or a teammate.  The return of Udonis Haslem will help in checking Dirk; Haslem is strong and pretty athletic but still gives up four inches to the sweet-shooting German.

When the Heat have the ball the Mavericks face many difficulties as well.  Jason Kidd won’t be able to stay with Dwyane Wade, so DeShawn Stevenson may draw that assignment.  However Stevenson offers nothing on offense, so Kidd and Terry may well have to exhaust themselves guarding Wade.  That means Wade will be in the paint early and often, where he thrives, and if he and James get going, it will be tough to stop.  The Heat are best when LeBron is distributing, rebounding, defending, and scoring when he needs to while Wade simply attacks the basket and looks to play the Kobe role: straight scorer.

Chris Bosh also has an enormous role to play.  The Mavs could put Tyson Chandler on him, but then only Nowitzki is left to defend the rim.  That’s bad on two fronts: first, that Nowitzki really can’t protect the rim, and second, he will get into foul trouble if he tries.  So I imagine Dirk will check Bosh, and Bosh has a definite quickness advantage there.

Both teams are on a mission at this point, and both teams are playing their best ball of the season.  The Heat have been hated all year, the Mavs doubted every step of the way.  Everyone loves a winner, and a championship gives both teams the chance to forever shake the various labels that have dogged them.

What we’ve seen in these playoffs is that all the teams are very evenly matched, and most games will come down to who executes in the last four minutes.  The Mavs are the deeper squad and have more overall threats, but I’m more frightened of James and Wade to finish a game.  My guess is that, much like in the Bulls series when he covered Derrick Rose to closeout games, LeBron will cover Dirk at the end.  They won’t double him, and eventually Nowitzki will miss some shots.  He’s made incredible shots all postseason, but his degree of difficulty has been enormous.  Meanwhile the Heat have two guys that can get to the hoop and get high percentage shots and free throws whenever they choose.

LeBron’s defensive versatility was the reason Miami beat Chicago, and his offensive versatility, combined with Wade’s matchup advantage, is the reason they’ll win this series.  It will be enthralling to watch.  We’ve got four All-Stars and three of the NBA’s top-7 players in this series.  We’ve got a team in the Mavericks that have played some of the best offensive ball I’ve seen in recent years going up against the clamp-down, defensive Heat.

Ultimately though, one team has LeBron, and the other doesn’t.  I guess it is simple after all.

Prediction: Heat in 7

--from Adam

Hill 364 Turns 1

Eric: It’s time to wish Hill 364 Sports a Happy Birthday!  Adam and I entered the internet’s murky waters with our first post one year ago today.  We’ve come a long way since then, and our style has evolved ever so much.  Mostly I'm just glad we have this outlet where we can share our passions with the world.

Now, this is the part where you, the reader, come in.  We love writing and posting all our content, and we can watch our hit counter keep ticking up and up, but the only way we can really know if we've reached you is if you interact with us and with our site.  Vote in our polls.  Like us on Facebook where we post links to all our articles, share other sports nuggets from around the internet, and even sprinkle in some commentary from time to time.  Get after us on Twitter where Adam goes by @AdamHocking and I'm the @jeuneski.  Lastly, please, please leave comments.  Tell us where we went wrong, what we did right, what you liked, what you didn’t like, anything.  We want to hear from you.

Now before I go, I'd like to share some of my favorite posts we’ve done so far.

This is my absolute favorite thing to do every year.

I liked all our Super Bowl coverage: the profiles of the Packers and Steelers, Adam nailing the prediction midseason, and The Pick.

I have an affinity for what I like to call trend pieces, articles that take one small example of an existing trend and blow it up to take in something on a much grander scale.  Adam did that particularly well when he examined Team USA's struggles in the FIBA tournament and applied it to greater problems in the basketball world at large.

This was a fun one.

The pieces of my own that I liked the best were when I discussed some of the rumored realignment that went down last summer in college football and looked at how it all turned out.

And this was maybe my favorite piece we've ever posted on the site, The Conversations We Aren’t Having.

What posts did you like?

So with that, here's what Adam has to say, and here's looking forward to another year!

Adam: Before we started this blog Eric and I would email back and forth about sports all the time; so really, it just felt like a natural progression to put our thoughts online.  The blog has been a great way to express my opinions.  The only drawback for me is that I hear less of what Eric thinks on these topics because he is busy editing my numerous errors and designing/formatting our site.

I have felt an evolution in our site in the way we approach topics and in how I approach writing a piece.  I definitely research more thoroughly these days than in the beginning, and we’ve seen additions to our site like the polls, quotes of the day, popular posts of the week, and the general look and design of the site.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done, and I think it’s been interesting to have both a friendship and a working relationship with Eric, one of my closest friends.  We’ve had arguments, disagreements, and the like, but it’s because we care about what we are doing and want to produce a quality product.

Ultimately we started this site because we wanted to be different; we wanted to stick to sports and not all the surrounding B.S. that gets batted around by ESPN and other talking heads.  I think for the most part we’ve stuck to that, and this year Eric and I renew the commitment of bringing pure sports talk to our growing audience.  Now here are a few of my favorite posts of our first year:

The Conversations We Aren’t Having: Because I felt passionate about the topic and feel that so many in the media and in our society are missing how significant this topic is, this is one of our most important posts.  In 50 years we are going to be ashamed of how we treated gay people in this country, just as we are now ashamed of our history with racism and sexism.

LeBron Turns the Page, Embarks on his Championship Chapter: This was fun for me because it felt like I was covering a landmark moment in the career of a player that has the potential to be as great as he wants to be.  Also, I always try to be open and forthright when I’ve been wrong, stubborn, or pigheaded about a topic, and as our readers know, I’ve been a LeBron basher for a long time.  I had to come around on him, had to give him credit, and had to assess if I really had a good reason to dislike the man.

Let's Play Two: The 2011 MLB Season Preview: I liked this because it was a back-and-forth between Eric and I, and we are basically a team of superheroes.  When we combine, the Earth moves.

NBA Fantasy Draft Ranking: I love lists, always will, and I love ranking players against each other.  It’s also fun for me to project into the future.  I can’t really explain why, but I just love it.

Who’s the Best MC: Comparing Hoops and Hip-Hop: I loved writing this because it involved two of my great loves: rap and hoops.  It’s fun to draw parallels between sports and pop culture and to find all those music clips and player highlights.

Repeat Offenders: The 2011 Green Bay Packers: I loved this because I got to talk about one of my favorite teams, the Packers, and because their future is so incredibly bright the piece just wrote itself.

Revisionist History: I share this because I still have vitriol for Ted Thompson haters and those that bitched about trading Brett Favre.  Those people were and are so blatantly wrong, and now with a ring on Aaron Rodgers’ finger, we have all the proof we need.

Have We Lost Our Minds?: I liked this because I think we went against the grain of what everyone else was saying when Nick Collins threw his mouthpiece into the stands after a tough game (where he was allegedly spit on by a fan who also directed a racial slur at Collins).  People are equal, and though athletes are on a pedestal, fans have to be accountable too.

Courting Greatness: I love putting things in historical perspective, I love Rafa Nadal, and I rarely write about tennis.  That’s why I loved this piece.

NFL Position Rankings: Rankings, lists, and the NFL: three of my favorite things.

Kobe's Place: Historical perspective is so fun, it was about probably my favorite athlete ever, and there was so much information to put together.  Lots of stats, awards, and my endless personal opinions on the subject made this a piece I loved writing.

Maybe Not Show Time, but Mike Brown Can Win

Judging from my recent trip to Los Angeles, the locals out there demand a lot from their beloved Lakers.  I needed no further evidence of this then when our cab driver told me that both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul were assuredly headed to the City of Angels next season.  A nice thought, but then, so are many delusions.

With the hire of former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, I can only imagine what backlash Angelinos are expressing today.  It’s not exactly a sexy hire, and Laker supporters are perhaps the greediest, most expectant fan-base in professional sports.  Presumably the LA faithful had their eyes set on Larry Brown, or thought perhaps they could lure Gregg Popovich to the coast, or bring Red Auerbach back from beyond the grave.

But just because LA fans aren’t getting exactly what they want, that doesn’t mean they aren’t getting what they need.  Laker fans in many ways reflect the team’s effort this past season: entitled, arrogant, and believing that championships are a birth right and not something to be earned.  As a displaced Laker fan in Wisconsin, perhaps I can lend a drop of objectivity to the Brown debate.

First, Brown learned under Gregg Popovich (4 titles) and Rick Carlisle (currently doing a masterful job with the Mavericks).  He took LeBron James and a pile of dirt to back-to-back 60-win seasons.  Even when Zydrunas Illgauskas was the Cavs’ second leading scorer, they still won 47 games.  Now, you can attribute that success to James, but bear in mind that Miami Coach Erick Spoelstra led the ultra-talented Heat to just 58 wins this season.

Brown’s .663 winning percentage over five seasons ranks fifth in NBA history.  Only once did Brown fail to reach 50 wins, and the second best player during his tenure as coach was probably Mo Williams, who would barely be a starter on half the teams in the league.

Each year under Brown Cleveland was one of the top-2 defensive teams.  That was their formula: lockdown defense, crash the boards, and give the ball to LeBron.  Well, if Brown can transfer that style to Hollywood, it could be an even better fit.  Lock down defense, crash the boards, and then hand the ball to Kobe Bryant, to Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom.

While Brown is certainly not Phil Jackson—and I don’t intend to disparage the Zen Master at all—perhaps a new voice is needed to motivate the veteran Lakers.  In this past season Jackson’s hands-off approach during games seemed to trickle down into a passive, too-cool-for-school mentality from his players.

Jackson also was never huge on X’s and O’s; he was always more of a manager of personalities, of the spirit of the team.  His mastery was in making Michael Jordan co-exist with Scottie Pippen and Kobe Bryant with Shaquille O’Neal.  Brown is much more hands-on, more into the nuts and bolts of a gameplan, and with a roster that can no longer win games on pure talent, perhaps that’s a good thing.

Brown will manage games, harp on execution, and demand rebounding and defense.  He won’t be lighting sage in the locker room and handing out books on Buddhism to his players, but maybe that’s not what LA needs right now.

The final question is: Can Brown get the established and multiple-time champion Laker players, especially Kobe, to really listen and buy into what he preaches?  I believe he can, based on his success in Cleveland, his handling of the megastar James, and a good deal of postseason experience.  Plus, at some point Kobe can’t call the shots anymore.  Yes he’s still a top 5-7 player in the league, but at age 32 he should not determine front office moves or the future of the franchise.

Not an overbearing presence, Brown won’t scream at players or get ejected from games.  What he will do is demand good execution, excellent defense, and disciplined basketball.   With all the talent still remaining on the Lakers’ roster, if they buy in, the results might be on par with what Laker fans expect: another championship.

--from Adam

NFL Draft Grades 2011: AFC East

Buffalo Bills

The Bills were bad last year, which usually means a changing of the guard at quarterback is in order.  However, incumbent starter Ryan Fitzpatrick had a pretty solid 2010 with an 82 passer rating.  And with no surefire quarterback prospects in this draft, I think staying with Fitzpatrick for at least one more year is the best strategy.

The Bills were dead last stopping the run, so adding the beast Marcel Dareus was a great move with their first pick.  Alabama’s Dareus excelled in the rough and tumble SEC, is a great athlete for his size, and appears to be the strongest player on the field at all times.  At 6’3”, 320 pounds, Dareus is the ideal anchor against the run, and with the Bills playing both 3-4 and 4-3, Dareus provides tremendous versatility.  When you watch a game, Dareus is one of the few players that jumps off the screen.

In the second round the Bills made a slightly curious pick, though they got a quality player.  Aaron Williams (DB, Texas) can play corner or safety and is a talented, physical player.  It’s just that the Bills’ secondary is probably the strength of their team; they ranked 3rd in the league defending the pass in 2010.  Still, the defense was Buffalo’s problem last year, and after getting Dareus, I can’t punish them too much for adding another quality player to that side of the ball.

The pick I really like came in the third round, the linebacker Kelvin Sheppard out of LSU.  With stopping the run such an issue, the Bills added two guys in Dareus and Sheppard that should help turn things around fast.  Sheppard is big at 250 pounds and has good speed and overall athleticism, able to get back and cover tight ends.  He was a leader on his college team.

Management must be expecting to lose some of their secondary, because in the fourth round Buffalo again addressed the area, netting Da’Norris Searcy (SS, North Carolina).  The 223-pound Searcy has the size to be an impact player against the run and enough speed and agility to be solid in coverage.  He had an incredible 27 bench press reps at the combine.

In the late fourth round the Bills did something that probably should have been addressed earlier; they picked an offensive lineman.  Chris Hairston from Clemson is a huge man at 6’6” and 325 pounds with great strength and solid athleticism, but he was never a true standout in college.

The Bills may have gotten a solid halfback in the fifth, taking a good, natural runner in UNC’s Johnny White.

In the sixth and seventh rounds the Bills continued to stockpile defensive players.

I always like when a team heads into a draft with a theme like Buffalo clearly did.  They went defense early and often, getting physical players from big-time programs.  Dareus should be a star, Williams should help right away, and Sheppard could start from Day 1 as well. Searcy is a talented player that might take some time learning the league, but he could develop into a thumper at strong safety.  Hairston was a high-upside pick who hasn’t shown that he’s an NFL starter just yet.   White complements an already talented backfield.  The only thing I would say is that the offense needed some major help but didn’t get it in this draft.  I understand though; teams can only do so much with their picks, and Buffalo completely revamped their defense in this draft.

Grade: B+

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins had major needs entering this draft, and I’m not sure they addressed enough of them.  They simply didn’t have the number of picks to restock completely, but they did a solid job of adding good players at positions of need.

I like Miami’s first pick, Mike Pouncey (OL, Florida).  He’s an excellent athlete who can play center or guard, and the Dolphins desperately need more talent in the middle of their offensive line.

In the second round Miami got Kansas State runner Daniel Thomas, who fits the theme of this draft: physicality.  Thomas is a bruising 230 pounds, and with Ronnie Brown constantly injured, was a good pick.

In fourth rounder Edmund Gates, Miami might have drafted the next Ted Ginn, or they may have gotten a steal.   Out of Abilene Christian, the thing that pops is his speed: a 4.31 40-yard dash.  Perhaps he can provide the deep threat opposite the massive and imposing possession receiver Brandon Marshall.  If he can, then Chad Henne could improve dramatically.  Henne has a great downfield arm, and has needed a player that to lift the lid off of the defense and to open things up underneath.  Gates has good ball skills and strength, but he is raw in running routes.

In the sixth round the Dolphins picked up Charles Clay (TE/FB, Tulsa) who is a versatile player and a decent athlete who could fill multiple positions.

The first two picks should work out in tandem.  Pouncey can play right away and bring physicality to the Dolphin run game.  Thomas may be running strong behind Pouncey for the next 5-7 years; he’s a talented back that can wear down defenses.  Then adding the speedster Gates should help the Dolphins be a more dangerous vertical passing team.  Additionally, all of the first three selections should help Henne.  If he can’t succeed with a talented new center, another good running back, and a certified deep threat, then he’s not the guy.

Grade: B-

New England Patriots

It just isn’t fair.  They go 14-2 and then have a seemingly endless supply of draft picks the following year.   Without many needs, the Patriots could essentially pick whoever they wanted whenever they wanted.

The Patriots spent their first round selection on Nate Solder, once considered the best offensive tackle in his class, but a guy that had slid a little right before the draft.  Still, New England gets a tremendous pass protector with a huge frame and potential to be a truly elite offensive lineman.  He is the heir apparent to Matt Light on the left side.

New England addressed another big need with the top pick in the second round, adding the physical cornerback from Virginia, Ras-I Dowling.  Dowling is big and fast; the 6’1”, 200-pound corner runs a 4.40 40-yard dash.  Plus, he’s a smart player who started for a long time in college and should be solid immediately in the Patriot secondary.

Late second round pick Shane Vareen (RB, California) was a taken a little high for my taste, but he is a versatile player that bolsters a position of some need.  Though Danny Woodhead is a fine player, I’m not sure he’s the yearly answer as a feature back.  Vareen is a compact and strong runner who can catch the ball out of the backfield and has nice open field moves.  He should get some carries right off the bat and help improve a so-so Patriots running game.

I don’t really understand the Pats’ next pick in the third round, another running back in LSU’s Stevan Ridley.  I believe adding Vareen was a more than adequate move to jolt the running game, but with so many picks to play with, perhaps the Patriots just took a guy they liked.  The 225 pounder with an attacking running style can add another element to the New England offense and gives them perhaps the deepest stable of running backs in the NFL (Woodhead, BenJarvis Green-Ellis, Vareen, and now Ridley).

With the very next selection the Patriots did something some loved and others hated: Ryan Mallet.  And I loved it.  If he doesn’t work out, so what?  He’s a third round pick on a championship-level team; it won’t really be a big deal if he can’t be Brady’s successor.  And if he does work out, then the Patriots are geniuses yet again.  Mallett has the best arm of any quarterback drafted this year.  The knock on him is his work ethic and attitude toward the game. Sitting behind Brady for two or three years ought to help Mallett dial in and maximize his physical gifts.  And if Mallett doesn’t turn out to be the Patriots’ guy, he could be juicy trade bait, like we’re currently seeing with Kevin Kolb.

The fifth round saw the Patriots add mammoth TCU guard Marcus Cannon, who fits well with the physical theme New England seemed to be going for in this draft.  Cannon was, to some, a second round talent.  At 6’5” and 360 pounds, Cannon is unbelievably big, but he also shows surprising athleticism playing tackle in college.  If he can learn to play guard, he could be dominant, and that’s not something you can say about most fifth round picks.

The thing to keep in mind with this draft is that New England had a huge rookie class last year and is still developing those players.  They have so many young bodies that needs really disappear, and taking the most talented prospects becomes the smart strategy.  Solder will be a star if he stays healthy and gets stronger, Dowling has all the physical gifts to be a good corner, and the combo of Vareen/Ridley totally reshapes the running back situation.  Mallett was a flyer, a luxury pick with a huge ceiling and not much of a cost coming in the third round.  Cannon was a steal in the fifth.

Overall I love how the Patriots drafted for talent.  Their draft class has as much potential as any teams’.  The only thing I thought they missed was adding more depth to the defensive line.  They maybe could have looked at taking a dynamic wideout as well, but I’m nitpicking at this point.

Grade: A-

New York Jets

Even with limited picks, the Jets still addressed major needs.  The front line of the Jets’ 3-4 was unspectacular last year, especially after Kris Jenkins went down with yet another injury.  Jenkins is probably done as an elite player.  The linebacking corps and secondary are very strong for New York, and the offense is stocked with young talent, so finding impact players on the defensive line was the top priority in this draft.

The Jets hit big in the first round with Temple defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson.  At 6’4” and 315 pounds, Wilkerson has the size and strength to play any position on the defensive line, but he will likely spend most of his time at defensive end.  Very athletic for his size, Wilkerson has the ability to take on two blockers and could be a dominant run defender.  Physically, he’s ready to compete with NFL offensive linemen.

In the third round the Jets took a chance on a small school player in Kenrick Elllis, a defensive tackle from Hampton.  The enormous 6’5”, 350-pound Ellis plays with a violent demeanor and fires off the snap.  He has the prototype height to block quarterbacks’ line of vision and the prototype girth to take on multiple blockers.  Plus, he’s scary quick for a man of his size.  With all the talent to excel, Ellis simply has to prove he can transition from a small school to the bright lights of New York and the NFL.

In the fourth round the Jets added another player to their running back rotation, Louisville’s Bilal Powell.  He’s not huge, but at 210 pounds and with a physical running style, he can be a punishing back in stretches.  After underwhelming his first three collegiate years, Powell ran for over 1,400 yards last year.

I like the pick of Jeremy Kerley (WR, TCU) in the fifth round.  He’s a smart player that played in a pass-oriented offense in college.  I think mentally will be ready to contribute right away.  He seems to be a perfect fit in the slot.

Taking a chance on Greg McElroy in the seventh was a smart move.  Mentally he’s as sharp as quarterbacks come, and while his physical skills aren’t mind-blowing, McElroy can hold his own.  To me he projects as an ideal #2 who will add a tremendous presence to the locker room and will be like another coach on the roster.  That’s pretty good value for the seventh round.

Taking defensive linemen with their top two picks was the best thing the Jets could have done; it was by far their biggest need.  Wilkerson should be a solid player immediately and could be very good down the road.  Ellis has huge potential and talent-wise was a steal in the third round, but he has a lot to prove at the next level.  Powell and Kerley were both productive college players that aren’t physically overwhelming but should be contributors.  The Jets can’t be sold that LaDanian Tomlinson has much left in the tank, and wideouts Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards are free agents.  With that in mind, Powell and Kerley were smart picks.  Finally, I can’t help but love getting such a solid individual in McElroy in the seventh round.

Grade: B

--from Adam

The Conversations We Aren’t Having

Your favorite blogger has just returned from a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles, during which I had multiple, illuminating conversations with people from many distinct walks of life.  Different upbringings, races, orientations, perspectives: it was the type of diversity one just doesn’t see in a place like Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  I enjoyed it thoroughly; I love talking to people, and I love to hear reasonable minds articulate opposing arguments from divergent life paths.  It further enforced to me the need for us as a society to be talking across racial, religious, lifestyle, and socio-economic divides.  We as human beings are not as different as we think we are, but if we don’t talk across the boundaries that traditionally separate us, we will not realize the tremendous common ground we share.

The world is not black and white.  For the most part our society is composed of shades of gray.  But a vital tool in bringing clarity to the issues we collectively struggle with is having conversations that alert the national consciousness to subjects like economic disparity, racial tensions, gay marriage, usage of the “N” word, or the “F” word that Kobe Bryant recently hollered at an NBA ref.

I bring this up, of course, in the context of Joakim Noah’s usage of a gay slur—presumably the same slur Bryant used in early April—in Sunday Night’s playoff loss to the Heat.  The irony of it all is that Noah is an African American man, a person surely familiar with the inequities mainstream society can impose on someone that is not, say, a privileged white male like myself.

Most troubling is that both Bryant and Noah blurted their crass remarks in the heat of the moment, when their mental filters fell behind the impulsive rage they felt at the time.  Both said the thing they thought would most offend the recipient of their trashy language, a word that happened to be a repulsive substitute for the proper term, “homosexual.”

The point is, that the “F” word was used by both Noah and Bryant to demean the person they screamed it at, to call into question their manhood, and insinuate that to be gay is to be one of the worst possible things a man could be.

Those that argue that this word doesn’t mean gay—that it means uncool or stupid or that someone is a jerk—are missing the point entirely.  It doesn’t matter if Noah or Kobe intended that word to mean something other than gay.  What matters, and what is sad, is that a word which stands for homosexuality connotes a laundry list of other negative things.  Both players used the word as an insult, and it was the most powerful insult they could conjure.  In a fit of rage people say the things they know will offend or hurt others the most, and in both Noah and Bryant’s case, that word was a gay slur.

Imagine the uproar if Kyle Korver, a white Bulls player, had shouted the “N” word at a black fan.  He would likely be suspended multiple games and may have even incited a riot at the game.  So why aren’t we more outraged when someone hurls an equally insulting word at another oppressed population of people?

It’s because the conversation about racial equality started much longer ago, as early as the Emancipation Proclamation, through the civil rights movement, and has continued to progress since then.  In no way is racial bias, inequality, or ignorance absent from our world today, but the standards of what is acceptable or of what will be tolerated are far more entrenched.

The public discourse on being a homosexual, and what the parameters of that conversation should be, began much more recently, starting perhaps only in the early 1980’s with the HIV/AIDS crisis and the assassination of Harvey Milk.  Additionally, gay people were never enslaved in this country, never so physically mistreated and collectively tortured as the African American population, but homosexuals have suffered the same judgment, ignorance, lack of rights, and general abuse that any non-white straight male has suffered through.

We’ve seen this story throughout our country’s history with women, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and now more recently with Middle Eastern Americans and the Gay Community.  Being “different” has always taken this nation’s dominant majority (white men) a few generations to get used to, to eventually accept the inherent truth that we all are created equal and accordingly deserve equal treatment, respect, and rights.

What Noah and Bryant both did was detestable and disgusting but not uncommon.  I have heard that “F” word used countless times in my life.  I have used that word myself, and I hate that truth, but my point would be disingenuous if I didn’t admit that.  But, if any good comes from these recent incidents, it’s that it starts a national conversation.  It gets the ball rolling on a topic we all need to think about and work on.  When a high-profile athlete makes a mistake we jump on him or her like we’ve never done the same thing, though most times, we’ve probably made the exact same misstep.

In this case celebrity is a fantastic way for an ostensibly negative and horrific moment to be used as a catalyst for change.  We’ve come so far in equal rights for women, civil rights for different races, and toleration for religious differences.  It would be nice if we could simply stroll through our own history and realize that our intolerance and abuse of the Gay Community will be no less of a black eye on our collective record than our mistreatment of black people or our oppression of women.

I believe that we will reach a point where using the “F” word is just as taboo as using the “N” word, but we aren’t there yet.  Here’s to hoping the mistakes of Noah and Bryant can accelerate that process as much as possible.

--from Adam

NFL Draft Grades 2011: AFC West

Denver Broncos

 
Von Miller is about as sure of a prospect as there was in this draft, and he meets a big need, so I loved the pick.  Miller and the returning sack master, Elvis Dumervil, could give the Broncos an elite pass rush in 2011.
 

Denver spent two second round picks on guys that should come in and start immediately.  UCLA's Rahim Moore was the best safety in the draft and helps replenish an aging Bronco secondary.  With the very next pick in the second round, Denver took Orlando Franklin (OL, Miami), a very physical, athletic player that will probably play guard with Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris already locking down Denver’s tackle positions.  Franklin improves an already solid line.
 

Nate Irving was a solid third round pick who can play inside or outside linebacker.  Though not a great athlete, Irving is a smart, versatile player and a sound tackler.
 

Getting Quinton Carter in the fourth round was highway robbery.  The Oklahoma safety was the second best at his position behind Moore, who Denver took in the second round.  Moore and Carter should start next to each other for years and form a very good tandem.
 

In the later rounds the Broncos took flyers on two project tight ends, Nevada’s Virgil Green and Portland State’s Julius Thomas.  Both are big, fast, and talented players who played at small schools and will require a lot of development.
 

Miller should be a Pro Bowler, and Moore, Franklin, and Carter should all be capable NFL starters.  Irving may develop into a starter as well.  Denver drafted pretty well all around: one star, three or four potential starters, and two sleeper tight ends with big-time potential.  Their defense was horrible last year, and they added four guys that should play this next year and contribute, though I wish they would have done more to address their defensive line. 
 

Grade: A-
 

Kansas City Chiefs
 

The Chiefs overachieved last year.  They rode a strong running game, good special teams, smart quarterback play, and a decent defense to a 10-6 record.  Still, I think everyone knew this wasn’t a championship-caliber team; it was a well-coached group that needed a little more talent to reach the mountaintop.
 

With their first pick the Chiefs certainly got a huge talent, but the question is did they also get a huge headache?  Pittsburgh wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin is 6’5”, 230 pounds, runs a sub-4.5 40, has a huge vertical leap, and may be the best receiver in this draft at going up for jump balls.  Baldwin has the skills to be a Randy Moss-type deep threat and red zone option.
 

The Moss comparison is also apt with mental and off the field questions surrounding Baldwin.  He takes plays off, pouts when he doesn’t get the ball, and has been arrested.  Basically he’s a guy you have to worry about motivating and keeping on the straight and narrow.  I personally think “character issues” are overrated, and once a guy becomes a pro, he sees how hard he needs to work to succeed in the league.  In my personal opinion, Baldwin will be an impact player immediately to round out a talented group of skill players that includes Jamaal Charles, Thomas Jones, Dwayne Bowe, Dexter McCluster, and Tony Moeaki.
 

The Chiefs hit the jackpot next pick drafting for an absolute need and getting good value.  Kansas City found a replacement for 37-year-old Casey Wiegmann in the talented Florida State center, Rodney Hudson.  Perhaps slightly undersized, Hudson is strong, athletic, technically sound, and committed to the game.  I think he is a starter in a year or two, a good if not great NFL player.
 

In the third round the Chiefs got a great value and addressed a big need in linebacker Justin Houston from Georgia.  Houston is a good but not elite athlete that is a natural pass rusher, who will eventually complement incumbent sack master Tamba Hali.
 

Allen Bailey (DE, Miami) was another good pick in the third round.  A terrific athlete for being 6’3” and 285 pounds, Bailey is ready for the NFL right now and fits Romeo Crennel’s 3-4.  The Chiefs have invested a ton of high picks in their defensive line recently, and without a great return, Bailey is good enough to come in and challenge or replace Tyson Jackson or Glenn Dorsey.
 

Ricky Stanzi was an interesting pick in the fifth round.  He has a solid arm and won a lot of games at Iowa, but he’s not talented enough to start in the NFL.  I think he will develop into a proficient backup that can come in and win a couple games when the starter gets hurt.
 

Jalil Brown (CB, Colorado) was a solid pick in the fourth.  A bit of a project but potential starter, Brown is big, fast enough, and plays with physicality.
 

Baldwin is a big risk to some, but a big reward in my opinion.  He takes their offense to another level of dangerous.  Hudson was the perfect combination of need and getting top talent in the second round.  Houston and Bailey were both steals in the third round.  Both could play this year, and both have big time potential.  Jalil Brown should be an eventual contributor to the secondary.  I think the Chiefs offense got much more explosive, and the defense has taken a step toward being a top ten unit because of this draft.
 

Grade: B+
 

Oakland Raiders
 

I like their first pick, spending a second rounder on Penn State center Stefen Wisniewski.  A solid player with good bloodlines, he may never be great, but he’s strong, is a worker, and loves the game.  He will be a starter in the league, and probably soon, but I just don’t know if he’ll ever make a Pro Bowl.
 

In the third round, Al Davis went all, well, Al Davis, reaching for a potential fourth or fifth round prospect in Miami cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke.  A 6’1” corner with unreal speed, a blazing 4.25 40-yard dash at the combine, Van Dyke isn’t sound technically at all.  With the talent to be a first round pick, it’s now up to Oakland to develop him; the Raiders don’t exactly have a great track record making speed demons into real players.
 

I like the late third round selection of LSU offensive tackle Joseph Barksdale.  First, if you watch The Wire, you respect anyone with the name “Barksdale.”  Second, at 6’5” and 325 pounds, Barksdale is incredibly strong and very athletic for his size, an absolute beast.  The knock on him is his desire, but I think if coached properly, this is a late round gem.  He started 26 games in the SEC, the veritable NFL training ground, and was dominant at times.
 

In the fourth round the Raiders got another speedster, but this time they also got a proven player in Ohio State corner Chimdi Checkwa.  Checkwa is a trememdous athlete and skilled cover corner, but he isn’t going to come up and make big tackles.  He could be the heir apparent to Nhamdi Asoumgha who will likely leave as a free agent.
 

The run on speedsters continued in the late fourth round when Oakland picked Taiwan Jones, a running back from Eastern Washington that ran 4.35 40.  An absolute home run threat every time he gets the ball, Jones would be a nice complement to Darren McFadden out of the backfield, could be used as a receiver, and should certainly see time as a kick returner.
 

In the fifth round Oakland drafted Denarius Moore, receiver from Tennessee.  Moore is most known as a deep threat but also has good hands, runs nice routes, and should eventually crack his way into the receiving rotation.
 

Richard Gordon (TE, Miami) was a huge reach in the sixth, but, surprise, is a good athlete for the position.  He never played much and doesn’t really seem to understand the game, but he runs fast, which I guess is fine and dandy for Oakland. 
 

Drafting for speed is a good strategy because no gameplan can stop speed, but those speedy players also have to have good football sense and skills.  Wisniewski was a solid pick that will help the offensive line.  Van Dyke may be a star someday, or we may never hear his name again.  It all depends on how he commits and how his coaches develop him, which hasn’t been Oakland’s strength in the past.  I love the selection of Barksdale in the third, but he comes with the same “Can the Raiders get the most from this guy” question that all these picks do.  Coming from a big-time program, Checkwa is a talented corner who’ll start eventually.  Jones is an explosive running back with electric speed, but out of Eastern Washington, he’ll have a lot to learn.  Moore was a solid receiver in the fifth, and Gordon is a project player in the sixth.
 

Grade: B-
 

San Diego Chargers
 

Corey Liuget (DL, Illinois) is a really good player, and even if he wasn’t a need, I would have supported getting him at pick 18.  An athletic player that can rush the passer and is really hard to move in the run game, Liuget completes a talented front three with Antonio Garay and Luis Castillo.  That group could be dominant.
 

Clemson corner Marcus Gilchrist was a solid pick in the second round.  A bit undersized but very athletic and skilled in coverage, he’s an ideal nickel back to work on smaller slot receivers.
 

Michigan’s Jonas Mouton was a huge reach in the late second round.  San Diego had a chance to add another big-time linebacker like Justin Houston from Georgia, Martez Wilson from Illinois, Mason Foster from Washington, or Greg Jones from Michigan State, but instead took the undersized, slow-footed Mouton.
 

Vincent Brown (WR, San Diego State) was another reach in the third round.  He’s undersized and slow, running a 4.68 40-yard dash.
 

The selection of USC corner Shareece Wright gets San Diego back on the right track.  He went right about where experts thought he would and is a talented athlete that can eventually start, though he only started one year in college.
 

Stephen Schilling (OL, Michigan) and Jordan Todman (RB, UConn) were both good values in the sixth round, especially Todman.  A runner who produces in college can usually start in the NFL, and Todman was a force in the Big East.  He’s quick in and out of cuts and is a surprisingly powerful runner. 
 

I love the pick of Liuget, like the pick of Gilchrist, and then hated their next two picks.  They really could have added some top talent with six picks in the first three rounds, but I think they got just one sure-fire starter.  Todman was a nice pick in the sixth, and I appreciate that they tried to address their defense, but I just don’t think they picked the right players.
 

Grade: C-

--from Adam