2012 NFL Preview: AFC Training Camp Battles

Who will be on the receiving end of Joe's 4 yard passes this season?

Hard to believe, but with training camps having begun and August already here, the 2012 NFL season is mercifully at our doorstep. That means fewer ‘Stephen Strasburg is going to get shut down’ stories and more ‘HOLY CRAP, TIM TEBOW IS SHIRTLESS IN THE RAIN!!!’ stories. Thank. God.

Even better, the 2012 NFL pre-season arrives with no lockout-related distractions this year. Instead of cramming the whole thing into a tiny time frame, we get a whole month of completely irrelevant football! That’s right, an entire month of injuries, intrigue, coach-speak, daily Tebow updates, Rex Ryan Super Bowl guarantees, and various other training camp staples. Seriously, if you aren’t excited, then you probably aren’t human. Either that or you have a real life…either way, something’s wrong with you.

Since we here at Boris Diaw Time indeed have no real life, we’ll be doing an elongated 2012 NFL preview. Over the next month, we’ll be writing about and talking about as much NFL as possible in an attempt to get you ready for the upcoming season. And by ‘get you ready’ we really mean ‘provide you with as much erroneous information as possible.’ 

The Boris Diaw Time Show (Aug 1)

No, Adrian! Don't catch it!

USA defeats Tunisia, Adrian Peterson eats seafood, Bri'onte Dunn's mom claims her weed, MJD's holdout continues, and more on today's Boris Diaw Time Show.


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The Boris Diaw Time Show (Jul 30)

If you say so, Ryan Kalil.

The podcast returns in a new daily format as Jon and Prince kick things off with Ryan Kalil, Penn State, and USA Basketball.


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Thoughts on Penn State's 'Death Penalty'

Wow...

On Monday morning, Penn State received the grim news they had been awaiting as the NCAA announced "unprecedented" sanctions on the program. It wasn't the actual 'Death Penalty' that SMU received in the late 1980's, as some had predicted. In fact, what Penn State received might have been worse.

$60M in fines, a four year bowl ban, and massive scholarship reductions highlight the punishment that many are calling the harshest in NCAA history. In most respects, I'd tend to agree. The long term bowl ban ensures the immediate destruction of the present roster, while the scholarship reductions prevent the rebuilding of it.

In short, the program is staring at a horribly bleak future. Consider what happened to SMU after they received the 'Death Penalty.' From 1980-1985, SMU went 49-9-1, winning three bowl games and finishing in the top ten three times. After getting nuked in 1987, though, SMU posted just one winning season through 2008, while finishing with 2 or fewer wins a whopping 9 times. That's a 20 year stretch of total irrelevance from a once proud football program.

How the new CBA didn't work, until it did...

Any time you can swap out a 23 year old PG that singlehandedly re-invigorated your franchise for an overweight PG coming of the worst season of his career, you have to do it.

Last summer, the NBA and its players engaged in a lengthy duel that nearly erased the entire NBA season. Throughout the summer and fall, the two sides re-enacted the Artest Melee in board rooms across the country, the owners slugging it out in an attempt to completely break the players. The point of the fight? Money, pure and simple. By stiffening the luxury tax, giving teams bigger advantages in retaining their own players, and limiting the flexibility of over-the-cap teams, the league sought to retain market viability in places like Orlando (fail) and New Orleans (fail) and prevent the rise of “super teams.” Most importantly, though, the league wanted to place safeguards in the system to protect themselves from their own wild spending ways. For some teams, this has worked (more on this later).

Then there are the Brooklyn Nets. Here are the tallies of what Mikhail Prokhorov has done this summer:

Deron Williams: 5YR $98M

Gerald Wallace: 4YR $40M

Joe Johnson: 4YR $89.3M

Brook Lopez: 4YR $60M

Kris Humphries: 2YR $24M

For the mathematically challenged among you, that totals $311.3M. $72.3M for next year alone! And those are just the starters!

No Forgiveness for JoePa

Evil

Joe Paterno coached football at Penn State for 46 seasons. During that time, Paterno won the most football games in FBS history with 409. He led teams to 37 bowl games, won 24 of them (also an FBS record), captured 3 Big Ten titles, was awarded countless Coach of the Year awards, sent dozens of players to the NFL, and brought home 2 National Championships. Paterno was Penn State football, right down to the library that bears his name and the statue that bears his image.

Suddenly, none of it matters anymore. Not a single bit of it.

With the release of the Freeh Report today, we now know the depth and scope of Paterno's involvement in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. It was a cover-up. A full blown cover-up. Not the "I told my boss one time and I guess that wasn't enough" garbage Paterno fed us before. That too would have been damnable on its own level, but not nearly so in the light of what actually happened.

New people, same incompetence for Orlando

Ryan Anderson and his beard are thrilled to escape Orlando

Yesterday afternoon, it was reported by various media outlets that Ryan Anderson was going to the New Orleans Hornets via sign-and-trade. Feeling the 4yr $36M (rumored) deal was “too rich for their blood,” the Magic agreed to ship off the 24 year old PF in return for Gustavo Ayon.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

At this point, it almost seems like Orlando is trying some elaborate psychological experiment to see just how tortured and exasperated the fan base can be before they literally besiege the arena with torches and pitchforks. Either that, or God truly hates the city and its people. As Brian Fantana once said, “Ron, I know it sounds harsh, but God does not want her to live.”

NBA Draft Final Report Card: Western Conference

That's right, I'm too lazy to find another picture.

As David Stern strode out to the loudest chorus of boos anyone has ever heard in history, I thought to myself, “this will be the greatest draft ever.” It was all there, every ingredient. David Stern egging on the crowd and flashing that evil grin. Volatile franchises with volatile decision makers choosing amongst volatile prospects. Smart franchises with smart decision makers aiming to take advantage of the previously mentioned morons. Any number of trade scenarios, up to and including a potential Dwight Howard trade. It looked to be epic…

…then the draft happened. By the time ESPN was showing Fab Melo highlights (Look, Fab Melo dunking with no one around him! Look, Fab Melo blocking a 5’11” guard! Get excited, Celtics fans!), I was done for the night. My wife and I packed the car and were on the road to my parent’s house even before pick #25 could be announced. Too many teams made smart decisions, draft boards held too securely, and no major trades went down. Heck, even the prospects were boring with their normal suits and blasé interviews.  It makes me long for the days of Jan Vesely’s extremely tall and kinda hot girlfriend. Basically, nothing happened all night. And also the Fab Melo pick makes me want to drown myself in a pool of my own tears.

So since this is all about grading the draft, let’s just start out by giving the 2012 NBA Draft a big, fat F. Terrible work, NBA! More stupidity next year from everyone who is not the Boston Celtics! After all, if I can’t even depend on Michael Jordan to screw things up, what’s the point in even watching?

NBA Draft Final Report Card: Eastern Conference

Let's work on this, guys!

As David Stern strode out to the loudest chorus of boos anyone has ever heard in history, I thought to myself, “this will be the greatest draft ever.” It was all there, every ingredient. David Stern egging on the crowd and flashing that evil grin. Volatile franchises with volatile decision makers choosing amongst volatile prospects. Smart franchises with smart decision makers aiming to take advantage of the previously mentioned morons. Any number of trade scenarios, up to and including a potential Dwight Howard trade. It looked to be epic…

…then the draft happened. By the time ESPN was showing Fab Melo highlights (Look, Fab Melo dunking with no one around him! Look, Fab Melo blocking a 5’11” guard! Get excited, Celtics fans!), I was done for the night. My wife and I packed the car and were on the road to my parent’s house even before pick #25 could be announced. Too many teams made smart decisions, draft boards held too securely, and no major trades went down. Heck, even the prospects were boring with their normal suits and blasé interviews.  It makes me long for the days of Jan Vesely’s extremely tall and kinda hot girlfriend. Basically, nothing happened all night. And also the Fab Melo pick makes me want to drown myself in a pool of my own tears.

So since this is all about grading the draft, let’s just start out by giving the 2012 NBA Draft a big, fat F. Terrible work, NBA! More stupidity next year from everyone who is not the Boston Celtics! After all, if I can’t depend on Michael Jordan to screw things up, what’s the point in even watching?

The BDT Podcast - Part II (July 3)

Even Omer can't believe how stupid his contract is.

In Part II, Jon and Laney talk about the Joe Johnson charity giveaway, Roy Hibbert's big pay day, Omer Asik's poison pill, and other typically insane NBA offseason news.


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The BDT Podcast - Part I (July 3)

If you've ever wondered how many beers you would need to drink in one hour to have a blood alcohol level as high as Blackmon's, this is the podcast for you.

In Part I, Jon and Prince talk about NFL holdouts, Justin Blackmon's attempt at blood poisoning, and other NFL news.


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Free Agent Bargains

Evans may not be a max contract guy, but his beard is.

Free agent frenzy officially kicked off on Sunday. After a tentative "dipping the toes in the water" period, NBA GM's finally got down to their usual business -- making complete and utter fools out of themselves. Gerald Wallace for 4yrs $40M? No way. Omer Asik for 3yrs $25M, including nearly $15M in Year 3? Out of your mind! IT'S OMER FREAKING ASIK!!! And I haven't even begun to think about 'Max Contract' Roy Hibbert or 4yrs $50M worth of Nic Batum. 

While big names like Deron Williams, Steve Nash, and the above mentioned guys are getting all the press, there are plenty of other, less heralded players that could make an impact at a fraction of the cost. These guys certainly aren't carrying you to a championship, but you doubtless aren't winning one without them. Think Reggie Evans of the Clippers or Shane Battier of the Heat. Neither player arrived with much fanfare (Evans less than Battier), but ended up being instrumental in their teams' playoff runs. 

Here are a few bargains from this year's crop of free agents:

The BDT Podcast (July 2)

I guess it could have been...worse?

Jon and Laney recap the NBA draft (Warning: Fab Melo should NOT listen)


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