Johnson's Opnion

Fraud that is exactly what Allen Iverson is, a fraud. How ironic is it that his back injury flares up once he is relegated to the Detroit Piston’s second unit. Many of the Iverson faithful would argue that he is truly hurt, or else one of the most durable little men to ever play in the NBA would be out on the court and not on his back for the next two weeks. I would have to agree with them that he is truly hurt, but I would have to say that his injury is more to his ego and less to his back. He still considers himself basketball royalty, and he just isn’t anymore. His skills have diminished, he is not as fast as he once was, and he just does not fit with his new team.

The me first Iverson’s inability to mesh with the team first Pistons has never been more evident that over the past 11 games. In that span the Pistons have lost all eight games in which Iverson has participated, and won the three games in which he did not play in. You may think that the previously skidding Pistons probably beat the likes of a Minnesota, or Memphis in their last three games, but that is not true. Two of the games that the Detroit Pistons have won without Iverson were against the Defending Champion Boston Celtics, and the high flying Orlando Magic. In the last three games, the Pistons have shown a glimmer of actually being a good team as compared to one that looks like a dysfunctional YMCA rec league team playing against an NBA team.

Iverson has always been and will always be what kids are taught not to be in little league, a me first player. We teach young kids to share the basketball on the court, and to look for the best shot possible, but this is exactly the opposite of what Iverson does. He hogs the ball, and dribbles the air out of it until the shot clock is about to expire. The majority of time, as the shot clock winds down and his teammates sit back and watch, Iverson chucks up an ill advised shot. These shots usually have no chance of going into the basket. When one of the shots that Iverson chucks up goes in, the crowd goes wild and he acts as if he could do it again, but the vast majority of the time he is not successful. Iverson’s arrogance never lets him second guess himself or his shot selection. To him he is who he always has been, and that is still the “Answer”, to Piston’s fans this year he is the wrecking ball that has destroyed their team.

Iverson is a poster child for the “spoiled American athlete”. He is exactly what is wrong with the selfish me first NBA. Allen refuses to sacrifice for his team as Richard “Rip” Hamilton did by willingly accepting a bench role. His stay in Detroit has been a disaster, and cannot end fast enough. The Pistons are a team that without Iverson went to six straight Eastern Conference finals, and with Iverson Detroit is a team that is struggling to make the playoffs. The only hope that Detroit has to fix its problems is to hope that Iverson stays away from this team forever and then they can get back to the hardnosed defensive style of play that has become their signature over the past six years. So please Detroit for your sake and the sake of your fans send Iverson packing when he decides his back is well enough for him to come back to the team and be a backup.


Johnson is editor and contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com

Top 2009 Free Agents

Albert Haynesworth
Albert is a defensive tackle that the Titans drafted in the first round of the 2002 season, who essentially underachieved until the last two years, which were contract years. During these two years he has at times dominated the line of scrimmage. The tools that he has used to dominate are his quickness and his hand placement. These are the same tools that have made him attractive to so many teams. Albert can collapse the pocket with the best of them, and he recognizes schemes very well which shows his intelligence and allows him to dominate an offense. The knock against Albert through out his career has been his maturity, passion, and durability. All three of these issues will have to be taken into account by the team that signs him this off-season. I project Albert to either go to Tampa, Washington or back to Tennessee.

Julius Peppers
Peppers is a at times ferocious pass rushing defensive end out of UNC who was drafted number two overall in 2002. He is a long and lean player who strikes fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks. Julius comes off of the edge very quickly, and plays the run equally as well. Peppers is not solely a speed rusher, he often uses power moves to achieve his goal of demolishing a quarterback. He has expressed a desire to play in a 3-4 defense. A perfect fit for him would be Pittsburg, but will he accept a lower dollar amount for a chance at a ring.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Houshmandzadeh is a big receiver who feels he should be the focal point of the offense. He runs routes well, and is willing to go over the middle, and can run away from a DB. He can turn a DB as well as any receiver in the game, and will pluck the ball cleanly when it comes to him. He is also big enough to be able to take a bump and stay on his route, and can easily break tackles. A good situation for T.J. is Philadelphia.

Matt Cassel
What is there not to like about this guy’s story? Cassel has been in the league for four years without a single start, but still had a huge impact on his team’s success when Tom Brady went down. By the end of the year Matt became a top 10 quarterback in the league, and with the impending return of Brady there is not a spot for Matt in the starting lineup anymore. He stands in the pocket well and delivers the ball down field accurately. Cassel quickly moves through his progressions, and when he decides to deliver the ball he transfers his weight very well. Matt’s release is quick, and has a good ball-fake. The ideal situation for Matt is Kansas City.

Ray Lewis
Lewis is as dominant a run defenders as there is in the league at the linebacker position. He moves effortlessly from tackle to tackle, and still hits like a Mac truck. His instincts are excellent and his football intelligence is still superb. His great vision still allows him to take great angles to the ball. Ray still uses his hands well to shed blockers, but he has lost a step (what does lost a step mean? Is the explanation in the next sentence? If so maybe you should elude to that or put it all in the same sentence). He can be exposed in pass coverage more frequently than ever before. With all this being said he is still a top 10 to 15 linebacker in the NFL. Ray fits best with Baltimore, but I can see him with the Jets or Cowboys which would be a mistake.

Next five
Arizona QB Kurt Warner
Baltimore LB Bart Scott
New Orleans LB Jonathan Vilma
Philadelphia DB Brian Dawkins
Tennessee TE Bo Scaife

Johnson is editor and contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com

NFL Free Agency 101

NFL Free Agency officially begins at 12:01 AM ET on Friday and there are many questions every year as to how the NFL free agency process works when it comes to Transition, and Franchised players. To answer some of these questions, I have put together your NFL free agency cheat sheet. This should be used as a point of reference, as I have obtained all of the information from the NFL and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

As stated previously, NFL free agency officially begins on Friday, February 27, and lasts until April 17 for restricted free agents, the players who will take part in this process are either designated "restricted" (RFA), or "unrestricted" free agents (UFA). Within these groups are designated "transition" and "franchise" players. Many players such as Albert Haynesworth and Julius Peppers have in the past or will be in the future designated franchise players. Such players are usually hoping that teams will open their wallets and give them a portion of their $123 million (2009 salary cap). The UFA’s signing period lasts from Friday until July 22. The designation of a restricted free agent occurs when said player has completed three seasons in which they have been on an NFL team’s active roster, on reserved-injured or "physically unable to perform" lists for six games. The player must also have an expired contract. The player must also receive a "qualifying" salary offer, which is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement from his team.

A RFA is a player who can negotiate with any team, and sign an offer sheet once terms of a contract are agreed upon. The player’s original club has the option to match the potential club’s offer sheet and retain the player. This is known as a team’s "right of first refusal,” but if the original club allows the player to go to the new club then the old club could possibly receive compensation in the form of draft-choices.

Unrestricted free agents are players who are classified almost exactly the same as RFAs, but instead of having three years of service on a roster, they have four. A UFA is allowed to sign with any team without the signing club sending compensation. There is a myth that a UFA is an UFA forever or until he has signed a contract with his previous or new club. This is not true, the truth is that on July 23, his rights revert back to his original team if the team made the player a "tender" offer which is 110% of his previous year’s salary prior to June 1. If there was no tender offered the player does remain a free agent throughout the season and is free to sign with anyone at any time.

Transition players are designated by the NFL CBA as a player who has been offered a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries at his position, these salaries are calculated from the previous season. The player could have also been offered 120 percent of his previous year's salary, whichever is greater. A transition player designation also gives the club a first-refusal right to match another club’s offer to the player within seven days of an offer sheet being signed. If the club matches, it retains the player. If the team does not match, it receives no compensation.


There are two types of franchise players, which are exclusive and non-exclusive. According to CBA an exclusive franchise player is not free to sign with another club and is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at his current position for the current year as of April 17. The player could have also been offered 120 percent of his previous year's salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of the previous season -- whichever of the three is greater. The CBA also states that a non-exclusive franchise player is one that is designated as a player who has been offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries of the previous season at his position, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary. The player can negotiate with other clubs, and if he reaches a deal with a new team, the old team can match the new team's offer. If the old team decides not to match the new offer they receive two first-round draft choices. If a team decides to withdraw the franchise tag or transition designations the player automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent. When this action is taken, the club cannot name a new franchise or transition player in that year, but can in the following year.


Below you will find the difference in the 2008 season as opposed to 2009 season player contract negotiations. The reason for the difference is because the 2009 season is the last capped year of the current CBA:

 After the last game of the 2008 regular season, signing bonus proration was reduced from a maximum of six years to a maximum of five years.
 In 2009, there is no June 1 rule for Signing Bonus acceleration. If a player is removed from the roster or his contract is assigned via waivers or trade at any time in the 2009 League Year, any unamortized signing bonus will be immediately included in Team Salary.
 There is no year-end netting of incentives in 2009. Not-likely-to-be-earned incentives are charged to team salary immediately when earned, and likely-to-be-earned incentives are deducted when they are no longer possible to earn.
 Guaranteed salary from 2010 and beyond is reallocated to 2009 unless the entire 2009 salary is guaranteed.
 50% of guaranteed salary in any League Year beyond 2012 is reallocated to 2009.
 The 30% increase rule restricts salary increases from 2009 to 2010. For example: a player with a $500,000 salary in 2009 would be limited to annual salary increases of $150,000 ($500,000 x 30%) beginning in 2010.
 A team can include only three veteran team incentives in a player contract covering 2009 and beyond. These incentives must also be coupled with a playtime requirement. Previously, clubs were limited to eight team incentives and no playtime requirement.


2009 FRANCHISE PLAYERS

CLUB PLAYER POSITION
Arizona Karlos Dansby LB
Atlanta Michael Koenen P
Baltimore Terrell Suggs LB
Carolina Julius Peppers DE
Cincinnati Shayne Graham K
Houston Dunta Robinson DB
New England Matt Cassel QB
New York Giants Brandon Jacobs RB
Pittsburgh Max Starks T
San Diego Darren Sproles RB
St. Louis Oshiomogho Atogwe DB
Seattle Leroy Hill LB
Tampa Bay Antonio Bryant WR
Tennessee Bo Scaife TE


I hope that I have answered some of your questions about the free agency process in the NFL, if you have any further question please fell free to e-mail me and I will answer your questions.


Idiot Alert
"Reed caused damage to a towel dispenser as he was infuriated at the fact that there were no towels in it.''
--A Pennsylvania state police report accusing Steelers kicker Jeff Reed of going ballistic in a restroom of a convenience store 35 miles east of Pittsburgh at 2:50 a.m. one day two weeks and attacking a paper-towel dispenser.




Johnson is editor and contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com

NFL Network Draft Expert Mike Mayock Press Conference at NFL Scouting Combine (click text)

Topics discussed:


* Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree comparison to Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald
* Top 5 Offensive Tackle Prospects
* Overview of Center Position
* Top Defensive Tackles
* Players with "five technique"
* Defensive Lineman Tyson Jackson
* Big Ten Linebackers
* Top Running Backs
* Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell
* QB Sleeper Prospects
* Central Arkansas QB Nathan Brown
* Top Cornerbacks
* Cincinnati DE Connor Barwin
* Penn State DE Aaron Maybin
* Junior Quarterbacks (vs. 5th year QBs Matt Ryan & Joe Flacco)
* Process of looking for college DEs & scheme-diverse defenses
* Process of looking for players in spread offense
* Georgia QB Matthew Stafford
* Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno
* Cincinnati CB Mike Mickens
* 3-4 Nosetackles
* Rutgers WR Kenny Britt
* Florida WR Percy Harvin
* Florida WR Louis Murphy
* Purdue RB Kory Sheets
* Purdue QB Curtis Painter
* Missouri QB Chase Daniel
* Ohio State DB Malcolm Jenkins
* Iowa RB Shonn Greene
* Tennessee DE Robert Ayers
* North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks
* USC LB Clay Matthews
* First-Round WRs
* Florida TE Cornelius Ingram
* Offensive Tackle position
* Wisconsin TE Travis Beckum

Johnson's Opnion

This past week Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs, which included energy enhancing injections from 2001 to 2003 while he played for the Texas Rangers. The acknowledgement by Rodriguez that he participated in the steroid era was surprising and sad for many of his fans and fans of baseball in general. What was not sad was the reaction by Major League Baseball and their Commissioner, it was infuriating. The league essentially denied all responsibility for the use of steroid in their game during the steroid era.

"I'm not sure I would have done anything differently" at that point in time, Selig told Newsday. "A lot of people say we should have done this or that, and I understand that. They ask me, 'How could you not know?' and I guess in the retrospect of history, that's not an unfair question. But we learned and we've done something about it. When I look back at where we were in '98 and where we are today, I'm proud of the progress we've made."


"Starting in 1995, I tried to institute a steroid policy," Selig told Newsday. "Needless to say, it was met with strong resistance. We were fought by the union every step of the way."

"It is important to remember that these recent revelations relate to pre-program activity," Selig said last week. "Under our current drug program, if you are caught using steroids and/or amphetamines, you will be punished. Since 2005, every player who has tested positive for steroids has been suspended for as much as 50 games."


Selig’s comments are a crock of crap, in 1994 baseball had a work stoppage that forced the cancellation of the World Series. The television ratings fell dramatically after this work stoppage, and there was apathy toward the game. In 1998 the home run chase between admitted steroid users Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was considered the point at which the league’s recovery was completed. It was often wondered by many fans, and media members if the bats were juiced or the balls were juiced, but no one asked if the players were juiced. Baseball had control over the balls and thus knew the balls were not juiced and the league commonly tested suspicious broken bats, so they knew the bats were not corked. With this information, I contend that the baseball had some inclination of what was actually going on which was the players were using the juice (steroids), and turned a blind eye to it because of the money that they were making off of the steroid era. I place the blame squarely on baseball’s shoulders. A-Rod, Big Mac, and Swingin Sammy are just victims of a system that used them and spit them out when it was convenient. So I say Mr. Commissioner step up and accept responsibility, and become respectable. My parents always told me that the truth will always come to light, and the truth of the steroid era is coming to light.



IDIOT ALERT
Andre Smith of the University of Alabama was projected to potentially be the number one pick in the NFL Draft going into the NFL Combine. In the last day and a half of the Combine, Smith’s stock has dropped as if it were being traded on the NYSE. During the weight lifting portion of the combine for the offensive linemen on Friday Smith stood up and said he would not lift because he has not in shape. His reasoning for not being in shape is because he has just picked an agent and he had not been working out until recently. To make matters worse he was a no show for the offensive linemen’s portions of drills on Saturday morning. Players not working out typically show up at their position groups workouts and stand around in a sweatshirt while other players work out. Teams watch these players to see how they interact with other player from their position group. The teams are attempting to gage what type of teammate that the player will potentially be. To put Smith’s mistakes in perspective, the number one overall pick is projected to make $30 to $35 million in guaranteed money. Can we say GONE BABY GONE to that money? Andre is the exact type of player that the old Detroit Lions regime would have selected number one overall and the new regime will not give a second though to drafting. The reason that I mention the Lions is because they have the first selection in April’s draft.

NFL Combine book suggestion:

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, which is the story of Michael Orr of Ole’ Miss

Johnson is editor and contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com

All-Star Saturday

All-Star Saturday could not be any more fun or interesting that All-Star Friday could it? Yes it could and yes it was. The day began with discussions of the previous night’s activities with friends, and everyone wanted to know about the Playboy party, I told them that it was an experience and they should have been there to see. Next my phone started to buzz with request for pictures, and details of the Playboy party. With all the commotion, I just decided to tell everyone the same thing; you had to be there to see it. I was next informed that I was scheduled to attend and cover the Hennessy day party after lunch at the PHX club in Phoenix.


For lunch I attend a local hot spot named the Tilted Kilt in Tempe. This place was full of Irish flavor, as it was designed to resemble an Irish Pub (public house). The public house is traditionally a place where friends come together to fellowship. This was a welcome calm in the sea of electricity known as Phoenix All-Star weekend. While at the Tilted Kilt I met a few people who lived in Phoenix who explained how drastically different this weekend was than the normal Phoenix weekends which they were use to. There were many more parties and people in town than normal, and the parties were priced significantly higher than a normal weekend’s party would cost. I responded welcome to the NBA All-Star weekend. They did not seem enthused with my response, and acted as if the could not wait for all the hoopla to end.

After lunch it was time to head to the Hennessy Party, which was invitation only. This party was geared toward the celebrity crowd. There was everything from hair cutting and massages to $3000 bottles of Hennessy aged 200 years at this party. Some of the celebrities in attendance were Dominique Wilkins, Jadakiss, Akon and Styles P. There was a red carpet full of video and still photographers. The host of the party was one of the Hennessy grandsons who graciously signed bottles of

Hennessy and took pictures with anyone who requested them. The general audience of the party ate a (general) fare of salad meatballs and rice, while sipping drinks made of you guessed it Hennessy. People talked as the D.J. spun the latest tracks from the featured artists Jadakiss and Fabulous. After being at this party for about two hours it was time to go get ready for the basketball exhibition of the night. As I exited the club I realized just how exclusive this party was as some of the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinal football players straddled the barrier which prevented those not on the “LIST” from entering the club. Outside of the Cardinals players which were denied access to the party, there were approximately 250 other people waiting for a glimpse of a celebrity or hoping for entrance into the club, it was crazy to hear people gasp as you walked out of the party.

Now it was time to get down to the business of the NBA, which was All-star Saturday night highlighted by 3 main events, the shooting stars, the 3 point shoot out and the dunk contest. In the shooting stars the team from Detroit won, their teams victory was not a major upset. Next up was the 3 point shoot out in which Jason Kapono of Toronto was favored to win for the third straight time. I personally did not think that he would win, my odds on favorite was Mike Bibby of the Atlanta Hawks. A funny thing happened as the shoot out began, little known Daequan Cook of the Miami Heat began to shoot well. He shot so well that he ended up winning the competition, and when asked afterwards about the significance of his win, he stated that it would now allow him to be recognized as one of the best 3 point shooters in the league.

After the shootout wrapped up we were on to the main event of the night, the Dunk Contest. I think that the Dunk contest is so popular because so few people can do what these athletes do, which is at times defying gravity. The contest featured two former winners tinny five foot nine inch tall Nate Robinson and the defending champ six foot eleven inch tall Dwight “Superman” Howard. Also in the contest were fan elected Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers, and J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets. Smith and Fernandez had their moments but the night belonged to Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson. During one dunk Howard disappeared into a phone booth and reappeared as Superman with his cape on, this revved the crowd into a frenzy, but what stole the show for the night was the dunking display of tinny Nate Robinson who during his last series of dunks was dressed in green with a green ball in hand signifying that he was Howard’s kryptonite. Howard was a good sport during the contest allowing Robinson to use him as a prop in his final dunk. During the dunk the diminutive Robinson not only dunked over Howard, but he jumped completely over his head. During this dunk Robinson displayed an amazing amount of athletic ability, while Howard showed a great deal of sportsmanship by assisting Robinson. With this dunk, kryptonite had defeated Superman for the first time that I could remember.




Later on in the evening it was time to head to the Snoop Doggy Dog party, which was being held at the Barcelona night club. This was the same club that the Playboy party had been held at the previous night. The Snoop party began with a lingerie show which lasted for approximately 20 minutes. The models modeled everything from bra and panties to sleep ware. The show added an interesting dynamic to the party, and created a buzz instantly. After the lingerie show a local rap artist named Cashman who was billed as the artist who was going to “put Phoenix on the map” performed. This artist truly proved that there are no good rap acts in Phoenix. The best way to describe his sound is that of cats fighting. His hype man AKA the Phoenix version of Puffy, was even worse than the real Puffy, when he stepped foot on the stage he demanded a microphone but never once said anything into it. The entire performance made me want to throw up; the best word to describe it was disturbing. Cashman had one song in which he repeatedly proclaimed he wanted people to get out of his ear, and believe me, I and other patrons of the club felt the same


way about his lyrics. After Cashman’s horrible performance was over, the crowd was turned over to a D.J. which was fine until his hype man got on the stage and started to sing the lyrics to every song that was played; he also danced like Carlton off the Fresh Prince of Bellaire. This went on for about 40 minutes and then the hype man invited the ladies in the crowd onto the stage. This is when the mayhem started. Many middle aged women began to relive their youth by dancing provocatively on top of the speakers. One of the women was attempting to pull her dress down and in the process took her underwear off. Women, many of which had no business on the stage rotated on and off of the stage for two to three hours as if it was there jobs, guys threw money into the air to “make it rain”, and then it happened. A crowd of approximately 10 to 15 men were rushed through the club into the V.I.P. area. The crowd was buzzing Snoop was in the building, and many of the patrons wondered aloud if he would perform. As Snoop sat in the V.I. P. area people rushed to get a glimpse, and snap a photo, there were so many flashes going off it looked like the 4th of July, the crowd around V.I.P. was 5 deep at the time, and people pushed and shoved to see him. As all this was going on Snoop calmly sipped on what seemed to be a cranberry juice and Belvedere Vodka as he stared back at the crowd. People waited for him to perform but they were disappointed, at some point Snoop snuck out of the club and the party continued, it was packed as many people enjoyed their last experience of Phoenix’s All-star weekend. All in all the party was not as good as the one the club hosted the night before, I even heard some people saying that it was a boring party. I would have to disagree with this point and rate the part an 8 out of 10 because it had star power, energy and a sense of direction.

All in all All-Star weekend was fun and interesting. I think that it is an experience that everyone should have once in their lives, and I hope that I have provided you an insiders view into this weekend, so let’s do it again next year. See you in Dallas where Lebron James says that he will compete in the Slam Dunk contest.

Johnson is editor and contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com

Friday night pics with more to come