Half Jewish Sports Mock Draft

Welcome to the HJS Mock Draft for 2010. We will be making our picks one-by-one in just a few minutes so stay tuned for all the action!

1 .St. Louis Rams (Julian) -Sam Bradford (QB, Oklahoma)
2. Detroit Lions (Tigre) - Ndamakong Suh (DT, Nebraska)
3. Tampa Bay Bucs (Perry)- Gerald McCoy (DT, Oklahoma)
4. Washington Redskins (Ryan) - Eric Berry (S, Tennessee)
5. Kansas City Chiefs (Topiel) - Dexter McCluster (RB, Ole Miss)
6. Seattle Seahawks (Feiger) - Russell Okung (OT, Oklahoma State)
7. Cleveland Browns (Trocchia) - Joe Haden (CB, Florida)
8. Oakland Raiders (Julian) - Trent Williams (OT, Oklahoma)
9. (TRADE) Pittsburgh Steelers (Ryan) - Jimmy Claussen (QB, Notre Dame)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (Perry) - CJ Spiller (RB, Clemson)
11. (TRADE) New York Giants - (Julian) - Rolondo McClain (MLB, Alabama)
12. Miami Dolphins (Topiel) - Sergio Kindle (OLB, Texas)
13. San Francisco 49ers(Feiger) - Bryan Bulaga (OT, Iowa)
14. Seattle Seahawks (Trocchia) - Jason Pierre Paul (DE, South Florida)
15. (TRADE) Denver Broncos (Ryan) - Earl Thomas (S, Texas)
16. Tennessee Titans (Tigre)- Derrick Morgan (DE, Georgia Tech)
17. San Francisco 49ers (Perry) -Kyle Wilson (CB, Boise St.)
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (Ryan) - Maurkice Pouncey (C, Florida)
19. Atlanta Falcons (Topiel) -Brandan Graham (LB, Michigan)
20. Houston Texans - (Feiger) - Ryan Mathews (RB, Fresno St.)
21. Cincinnati Bengals - (Trocchia) -Jermaine Greshem (TE, Oklahoma)
22. New England Patriots - (Julian) - Dez Bryant (WR, Oklahoma St)
23. Green Bay Packers (Tigre) -Mike Iupati (T/G, Idaho)
24. Philadelphia Eagles (Perry) - Anthony Davis (T, Rutgers)
25. Baltimore Ravens (Ryan) - Dan Williams (DT, Tennessee)
26. Arizona Cardinals (Topiel) - Demaryius Thomas (WR, Georgia Tech)
27. Dallas Cowboys (Feiger) - Taylor Mays (S, USC)
28. San Diego Chargers (Trocchia) - Terrence Cody (DT, Alabama)
29. New York Jets (Julian) -Carlos Dunlap (DE, Florida)
30. Minnesota Vikings (Tigre) -Brian Price (DT, UCLA)
31. Indianapolis Colts (Perry) - Sean Weatherspoon (LB, Missouri)
32. New Orleans Saints (Ryan) - Jerry Hughes (LB, TCU)

THE MOMENT THE WORLD HAS BEEN WAITING FOR

It's the Perry Goldman Mock Draft - 2010 Edition

1. STL	Sam Bradford	QB	Oklahoma
2. DET	Ndamukong Suh	DT	Nebraska
3. TB	Gerald McCoy	DT	Oklahoma
4. WAS	Russell Okung	OT	Oklahoma State
5. KC	Eric Berry	S	Tennessee
6. SEA	Trent Williams	OT	Oklahoma
7. CLE	Joe Haden	CB	Florida
8. OAK	Jimmy Clausen	QB	Notre Dame
9. BUF	Bryan Bulaga	OT	Iowa
10. JAX	Earl Thomas	S	Texas
11. DEN	Dez Bryant	WR	Oklahoma State
12. MIA	Dan Williams	DT	Tennessee
13. SF	Anthony Davis	OT	Rutgers
14. SEA	C.J. Spiller	RB	Clemson
15. NYG	Rolando McClain	ILB	Alabama
16. TEN	Derrick Morgan	DE	Georgia Tech
17. SF	Brandon Graham	DE	Michigan
18. PIT	Maurkice Pouncey	C	Florida
19. ATL	Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	South Florida
20. HOU	Kyle Wilson	CB	Boise State
21. CIN	Jermaine Gresham	TE	Oklahoma
22. NE	Sergio Kindle	OLB	Texas
23. GB	Mike Iupati	G	Idaho
24. PHI	Sean Weatherspoon	OLB	Missouri
25. BAL	Jared Odrick	DT	Penn State
26. ARZ	Charles Brown	OT	USC
27. DAL	Taylor Mays	S	USC
28. SD	Ryan Mathews	RB	Fresno State
29. NYJ	Everson Griffen	DE	USC
30. MIN	Colt McCoy	QB	Texas
31. IND	Devin McCourty	CB	Rutgers
32. NO	Daryl Washington	OLB	TCU

BIG BEN STRIKES AGAIN

This one goes out to Ben Roethlisberger. We all feel your pain out there big guy.

Show 4/8

Listen in Thursday from 4-6 as we'll talk a little NFL draft, baseball, wrap up the college hoops season and whatever else comes into our minds. Julian is jet setting to California so I'll fill in as the host.

The Host makes his 2010 MLB Picks

Julian Gompertz
2010 Baseball Picks

AL East:
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central:
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals

AL West:
Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Angels
Seattle Mariners
Oakland Athletics

NL East:
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

NL Central:
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros

NL West:
San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres

1st Round:
Yankees over Rangers
Devil Rays over White Sox
Dodgers over Phillies
Cardinals over Giants

2nd Round:
Yankees over Devil Rays
Cardinals over Dodgers

World Series:
Yankees over Cardinals

AL MVP: Evan Longoria
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
AL CY: C.C. Sabathia
NL CY: Tim Lincecum
AL ROY: Neftali Feliz
NL ROY: Jason Heyward
AL Manager: Ron Washington
NL Manager: Bruce Bochy

The NCAA coaching carousel (Part I): The true story of receiving nine lives

(Part I)

When Tim Floyd was hired earlier today as the new head coach of the UTEP Basketball Program, I did not bat an eye. My head did not spin, and my body did not begin to shake. No longer can the world of college basketball surprise me anymore when hearing the news of coaches being hired and hired and hired again.

The question still remains: how many times must a coach screw up before he never gets another opportunity to do it again. In the wonderful world of college basketball, that question undeniably has no answer.

Floyd, by his own admission, is "not very good at [coaching]." Yes those are his words after being fired from his New Orleans Hornets gig. Floyd's time in the NBA left him with a career record of 93-235. Yet after mild success with Iowa State, New Orleans (the University) & Idaho, the Southern California Trojans selected Floyd to replace departed head man Rick Majerus who left after just five days on the job.

Maybe big ol' Ricky knew what was going on at USC. Or maybe he just plain didn't like those In N Out burgers in SoCal, but the bright lights of ESPN grabbed him, and just like that Floyd received another opportunity. Yet after a couple of mediocre seasons in Southern California, the questions began to mount for Floyd who was overseeing a program that would be done in by runners and illegalities that most likely occur at a vast number of high-major programs.

There is the naive person who will claim that Floyd had no knowledge of these happenings, and there is the overly critical approach that states Floyd knew everything that was taking place between one Rodney Guillory and another Ovinton J'anthony Mayo. The truth most likely lies somewhere in-between, but it made USC's inept athletic director Mike Garrett force Floyd to resign in June of 2009. Comically enough, Floyd cited "a loss of enthusiasm for coaching" as the reason for his resignation.

For those keeping score, the firing from USC became the third of Floyd's career; one that features 16 seasons as a college coach without advancing a team past the Sweet 16. When you combine that mediocrity with his supposed lack of enthusiasm to coach and his admission that he just isn't good at the darn coaching thing, well one might assume that good ol' Timmy was just about done coaching this sport.

Yet, this isn't the real world.

This isn't Wall Street where one mistake could land you blacklisted from any investment firm in the country. This isn't the Government where a wrong move could put you in jail. This is college basketball, where an admonished drunk who has been arrested three times for DUI's has become the front runner to take over at Houston University, a program that just removed its former coach who's had his fair share of allegation and scandal as well.



Maybe Floyd is the answer? Perhaps he will continue the success left by the now departed Tony Barbee, and keep the Miners right atop Conference-USA (they lose no one from a team that went 26-7). But maybe the more important question is: does he deserve the chance to do so?


Part II will come out later this week chronicling another recently hired College Basketball Coach

Cristal, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Perry the Upset Slut and the Case for Keeping March Madness at 65

What makes the big dance so special? Pretend it’s the greatest party of your life that you would have no business attending otherwise. Let’s say you are invited to spend New Years with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Bono, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and a host of other characters that anyone who reads this blog is not nearly cool enough to hang out with. Now imagine you RSVP, a driver comes and picks you up from the airport—that’s right, your so damn awesome a score of mega celebrities paid for you to fly to LA’s most exclusive club first class so you could get wasted on with them on Cristal (Note: I’m not sure if this is how you properly spell Cristal, Chrystal Crystal, Khrystal, because I’ve never nor will I likely ever drink it). Anyway the party is everything you hoped for; it is a historic moment in the timeline that is your existence. You converse with LeBron and Jay-Z about the 2010 free agent period. You make out sloppily with Lady Gaga in the corner while Tiger Woods yells, “this dude is like a young me, before my entire legacy unraveled!!!” You think Lady Gaga really likes you, she seems to lead you on, but rebuffs your effort to have her accompany you back to your suite in the really nice hotel your staying in that puts chocolate mint candies on the pillow. (THAT DAMN POKER FACE!!!!)

This is the greatest night of your life, but you earned your right to go to the party of the century. You busted your ass all season long, played a ridiculously hard non-conference schedule, took shit from Joe Lunardi, who looks like an elf and has never played more than five seconds of basketball without reaching for an inhaler. You took care of business in the conference season, sure there were a couple of questionable losses, but those were on the road. Seriously, road games are hard. You did reasonably well against the RPI top 50 and beat Kansas State in the Trojan Condoms Aruba Preseason Slam Jam. That’s a damn good win, especially when you count the Frank Martin scariness factor. Anyway, you go to the Big Dance win in the first round game, but get bounced in the second by the two seed. It’s ok. Evan Turner is superhuman.

The following year you make it back, but now the party isn’t so exclusive. There aren’t just 65 special guests along with the host of celebrity invites; there are almost one hundred of you. You can’t find Jay-Z, or anyone else worth talking to because the super exclusive club is too crowded. You can’t move. It’s overkill. It’s not fun. Why even come? The party last year was so perfect, now your rewarded with some overcrowded crap. What is this NBA? Are we inviting everyone to the playoffs? Is this fourth grade recess where we have to let everyone play? Do we all get participation awards? (Note: Participation awards are for losers, if you are proud of receiving a participation award kill yourself. Seriously.) Half of these teams had sub .500 conference records. You don’t want to party with them. Fucking losers. They belong at home.

The point is there is a feeling of exclusivity and accomplishment in making the field of 65. When you invite 96 teams the tournament is cheapened. You can say true basketball fans want more teams, more games to watch, an extension of the unofficial holiday that is March Madness. True college hoops junkies want the best competition to be on the floor. They want to see upsets and when they do happen for them to actually mean something. They don’t want the field to be watered down. I don’t want to have the 15-2 match be corrupted because the 15 now has to play 17-14 UConn and may likely not make it to the real first round at all. Now there is no official format for this theoretical expansion so you can’t make up formats that would give berth to different scenarios, but expansion just turns the tournament into a clusterfuck of mediocrity. I know proponents of expansion (Perry, see his previous blog post below) say they watch the tournament to see upsets, not who wins the championship and I understand that idea. However if you make the tournament so large to force the upsets it cheapens the upset. You’re an upset slut Perry!! You should have to work for the upset. Pursue it. Take it out to dinner. Get to know it. You can’t just have a ton of extra teams show up and try to force glass slippers onto their feet.

Now I know some people say expansion would kill the NIT and they have a point, but I’m not taking that angle because the NIT sucks and I don’t watch it now with 65 teams. However the conference tournaments would die. The week before selection Sunday is so super fantastic. We get to listen to Raftery Bilas and Shulman at 1 pm on a Friday or on the deuce you can check out Baylor, Texas A&M and the Knight Musberger sweater brigade. This year we have seen teams like Minnesota, Notre Dame, even Rhode Island when they beat St. Louis play with a sense of urgency, intensity that brought their level of play to a new level. This quality of basketball would disappear in the conference tournaments would disappear because any team with a legitimate chance of making an unexpected run to play themselves into the tournament in the Big East or Big Ten would be in the field of 96 already. I don’t want college basketball to turn into the NBA where we have teams dog it for two thirds of the regular season and just play hard at the end. If it aint broke don’t fix it. March Madness rules. Simply making it is something special for many schools. March Madness is so great it makes the gayest award ever mean something. The big dance is the greatest party in the world. Why? Because we’d all kill to just get a participation award. If there were 96 teams I wouldn’t want it.

Also filling out the bracket would be killer. We’d all have to go to kinkos and get special elongated paper just to fit all the teams on.