Although this site is called “Minnesota sports world,” sometimes we like to branch out and talk about other non-Minnesota related topics too. As this site gains more traction, we hope to be able to address a wider and wider span of topics. We already had one post earlier this week about the Vikings draft, and players drafted in early rounds who are guaranteed millions. Although this is interesting, the true drama in the NFL draft lies within the later rounds where players are fighting it out for paychecks and trying to earn a job in a league which has been known to break hearts.
Even in the later rounds, there are certain players who stand out for one reason or another. One of these players is former Florida State Safety Myron Rolle. Rolle was a 5 star recruit coming out of high school, seemed to be a kid with a good head on his shoulders, and produced at an exceptionally high level during his freshman, sophomore, and junior years as a Seminole even earning third team all-America honors. His measureables at the NFL combine were excellent for a safety, as he seemed to have a rare combination of size and speed. So why do you suppose it was that Myron Rolle fell all the way to the sixth round of the NFL draft despite the fact that his pedigree seemed to warrant an earlier selection?
Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar.
Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar, and didn’t play football for a year in order to pursue his education in this once in a lifetime opportunity at Oxford University in England. To the misdirected scouts of the NFL, this implies that he isn’t dedicated enough to have a successful career in the league. Apparently if you’re good at anything other than playing football, the NFL doesn’t want you. Never mind all the positive press that Rolle would bring, the fact of the matter is that as a football player he can undoubtedly contribute to your favorite team.
To the best of my knowledge, no other athlete has ever excelled on the field and in the classroom quite to the extent that Myron Rolle has. So for this reason, he should be punished? What kind of a precedent, as well as a vicious double standard is being set by this? The NFL claims that giving back to the community is important to them, as is setting a positive role model for young people. No pun intended, who could set a better role model than a Rhodes Scholar turned NFL defensive back? Fortunately, whether or not his football career is a success we know that Myron Rolle will always have plenty of opportunities in life. Plenty of other fields would love to have a young, talented person like Myron.
DHP
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Franchise
23. That is the number that to Twins fans should mean the most at the moment. No, not the number of RBI's by Morneau and not the number of walks drawn by Span, it is the number of consecutive scoreless innings the Twins have when their "fifth" starter is pitching.
After having come off an atrocious season in which he went 5-13 and was later moved to the bullpen, Francisco Liriano seems to be back. In fact not only does he seem to be back but he is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. After his last start against Detroit on Tuesday night, Cisco is 3-0 (4 games) and has an ERA of .93. All three of his last starts have been shutouts. He has been dealing and reminds us all of the kid we saw in 2006 who went 12-3 in his rookie MLB season. After being plagued by injuries and having Tommy John surgery some of us thought he would never be back to his old self. I was one of those people and like many I thought that he would replace Joe Nathan as closer for the season because it just didn't seem like he still had it in him to pitch more than six innings. But boy was I wrong, in his last three starts Liriano has gone 7 innings, 8 innings and then 8 again. He has been doing a fantastic job in mixing up his pitches between the fastball and the slider. Francisco has also proved that he does not need much run support, like Tuesday night in the 2-0 win. He will go out there and do his thing with a remarkable calmness (if only Baker could have that calmness!) regardless of the circumstances. He has 27 strikeouts and just 10 walks and though it may still be early I think we can now once again after four years call him The Franchise.
After having come off an atrocious season in which he went 5-13 and was later moved to the bullpen, Francisco Liriano seems to be back. In fact not only does he seem to be back but he is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. After his last start against Detroit on Tuesday night, Cisco is 3-0 (4 games) and has an ERA of .93. All three of his last starts have been shutouts. He has been dealing and reminds us all of the kid we saw in 2006 who went 12-3 in his rookie MLB season. After being plagued by injuries and having Tommy John surgery some of us thought he would never be back to his old self. I was one of those people and like many I thought that he would replace Joe Nathan as closer for the season because it just didn't seem like he still had it in him to pitch more than six innings. But boy was I wrong, in his last three starts Liriano has gone 7 innings, 8 innings and then 8 again. He has been doing a fantastic job in mixing up his pitches between the fastball and the slider. Francisco has also proved that he does not need much run support, like Tuesday night in the 2-0 win. He will go out there and do his thing with a remarkable calmness (if only Baker could have that calmness!) regardless of the circumstances. He has 27 strikeouts and just 10 walks and though it may still be early I think we can now once again after four years call him The Franchise.
His next start, against Cleveland on Sunday. Go Cisco.
NV
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Why not Jimmy? Questionable Draft
On Thursday night the Vikings unexpectedly still had an elite quarterback to choose late in the first round that being Jimmy Clausen. Instead of drafting with the 30th pick in the first round the Vikings opted to trade their pick to the Detroit Lions. With this pick it made it so we would have two picks in the second round one of them being the second overall on Friday. It seemed like a good trade because now the Vikings could get Clausen in the second round and then have another pick later in the round.
So I went into Friday fairly glad about the trade almost already reading the headlines "CLAUSEN A VIKING!" however as you already know the Vikings passed on Jimmy...again. Instead we drafted a cornerback, Cook, from Virginia. Yes, yes I know that our secondary was our weakest link last year however we picked up former Jets cornerback Lito Sheppard a day prior to the draft and it will be hard for Cook to have a major impact in the near future. This made the trade seem worthless and that brought up the question of why didn't we get Jimmy?
That is a very good question. Some might argue that we did not draft a quarterback because we did not want to put pressure on number four. Yes he is a future hall of fame quarterback whose name we don't even have to mention, however he is 40 and a half years old and even he knows that one day he will have to call it quits. That one day most likely will be a year from now and we NEED to build for the future and can't be playing with a grandpa as our franchise quarterback. You'd be crazy but you could argue that T-Jack is the future but unless he gets magical sneakers as those of "Like Mike" then I don't think we can go too far.
Jimmy Clausen would have had the potential to be a great quarterback in this league and being at Brett Favre's side for a year would have helped him greatly. He was a perfect candidate for the job because not only did he start for one of the most prestigious football programs in the nation but he played in a pro style offense under a former Patriots Offensive coordinator who had made it to the super bowl and helped to develop Tom Brady, his name is Charlie Weis.
Now we could be wrong and Cook could end up being rookie of the year and have 10 interceptions, but that is very unlikely and I would much rather have a stable point at the quarterback position who only has space to improve.
The Vikings made a mistake in not drafting Jimmy Clausen.
So I went into Friday fairly glad about the trade almost already reading the headlines "CLAUSEN A VIKING!" however as you already know the Vikings passed on Jimmy...again. Instead we drafted a cornerback, Cook, from Virginia. Yes, yes I know that our secondary was our weakest link last year however we picked up former Jets cornerback Lito Sheppard a day prior to the draft and it will be hard for Cook to have a major impact in the near future. This made the trade seem worthless and that brought up the question of why didn't we get Jimmy?
That is a very good question. Some might argue that we did not draft a quarterback because we did not want to put pressure on number four. Yes he is a future hall of fame quarterback whose name we don't even have to mention, however he is 40 and a half years old and even he knows that one day he will have to call it quits. That one day most likely will be a year from now and we NEED to build for the future and can't be playing with a grandpa as our franchise quarterback. You'd be crazy but you could argue that T-Jack is the future but unless he gets magical sneakers as those of "Like Mike" then I don't think we can go too far.
Jimmy Clausen would have had the potential to be a great quarterback in this league and being at Brett Favre's side for a year would have helped him greatly. He was a perfect candidate for the job because not only did he start for one of the most prestigious football programs in the nation but he played in a pro style offense under a former Patriots Offensive coordinator who had made it to the super bowl and helped to develop Tom Brady, his name is Charlie Weis.
Now we could be wrong and Cook could end up being rookie of the year and have 10 interceptions, but that is very unlikely and I would much rather have a stable point at the quarterback position who only has space to improve.
The Vikings made a mistake in not drafting Jimmy Clausen.
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