Around the horn probes sports minds
Continued from pagel
carried..(MUTE) (0 points)
Aumiller: “The MVP has to be Kobe.
(-) The Los Angeles Lakers live
and die by Bryant. Without Kobe,
the Lakers win 15 games a year.
Don’t hate the guy for something he
DIDN’T do a few years ago. He is
an unbelievable talent and is the only
reason that his team wins. Averaging
31 a game? Please. Nash can pass
and Dirk can shoot, but they have
guys around them. (+)” (-1 Point)
Eggleston: “You have to go with
Steve Nash. The crazy Canadian is
putting up better numbers than he
has in the past two years in which we
won the MVP. (+) The league can’t
simply ignore this fact and give it to
someone else simply because he won
the award the past two years. Not
to mention that Nash is the heart of
the team. He makes everyone on the
Suns better and the team struggles
without him. (++) Dirk is a great,
versatile player but I’m not convinced
that he makes his teammates better.
Kobe is a ball hog, plain and simply.
The Lakers do badly with him out
of the lineup simply because his
teammates forget what to do with
the ball when it is in their hands! (+)
Nash is the man!” (4 points)
My Comments: “The only answers
I’m buying here are Dirk and Nash.
Dirk is having solid numbers, and his
team is doing unbelievable things. On
the other hand Nash is having his best
numbers out of the last three years and
he has won the award in the previous
two seasons. Kobe scores a lot, we
know this, but while he’s doing this his
teammates are forgetting how to
shoot. That’s a problem. Carroll,
Tracy Mcgrady? Is this some form
of joke? Seriously, I’m not even
going to entertain that idea. T-Mac is
a good player, but doesn’t make the
players around him better. Well, I lie,
Yao Ming picks up all of the rebounds
from the missed shots that T-Mac
launches. Seriously, Alzheimer’s
must be kicking in"
Question 3
Sarver: “Never. Fans go to NHL
games for 3 main things. 1. Goals.
2. Hits. 3. Fighting (++). It’s the
most energizing part ol the game.
When two guys square off in front
of 17,000 everyone is out of there
seats screaming for a may-layer. It’s
a dangerous part of the game but so
are crashes in NASCAR, you don’t
see that being removed do ya? (++)”
(4 points)
Carroll: “They should never ban
fighting. It’s like banning bean balls
from baseball and intentional fouls
from basketball. (++) If they ban
fighting from hockey it is just going
to lead to more aggressive play, dirty
hits, and more players injured. (+)” (3
points)
Aumiller: “I wouldn’t mind ifthey did,
but, if the NHL takes away fighting,
it should switch to International rules
completely. Increase the size of the
rink while you are at. Implement “no
touch” icing. Give the goalie back
the ability to go behind their own net.
Pick your best shooter for a penalty
shot. Also, it keeps the shootout in
the postseason. (++)” (2 points)
Eggleston: “No, now would be
the worse time to change this rule.
Fighting is an important part of
hockey. Mostly because it brings
excitement to a sport that can bore
many people. (--)) Plus, who ever
heard of implementing a rule tow ards
the end of a season? That would be
simply ludicrous!” (-2 points)
My Comments: “I personally agree
NHL should never ban fighting, but
read the questions guys. If they’re
going to pass the rule now is the best
time. Just think, if they don’t ban
fighting now, while the only people
who watch the sport are the true
hockey fans, they will do it in a few
years. Who knows, maybe hockey
will become a popular sport again in
a few years, then when they announce
the “no fighting” rule, they’ll be back
to the drawing board.”
Question 4
Sarver: “Jamarcus Russell. The guy
is a machine. He had an amazing
pro-day down in Louisiana, running
a 4.8-4.9 40yd (++) and he’s the size
of Daunte Culpepper, which we all
know how good he was before the
little boat-trip got his mind off of
football. He has a cannon for an arm.
Ifthey were to trade the #1 pick they
better get one hell of a quarterback
from a team that they can build an
offense around. That was there biggest
problem last year was at quarterback;
they did not have a consistent leader
in the huddle (++). The defensive
side they weren’t too bad, but there
offense was terrible. Keep your #1
Oakland. Get a real quarterback and
get back to the old Black and Silver
Football (+).” (5 points)
Carroll: “Trade down and get a later
first round pick and a second round
pick. (-) The Raiders need a lot of
help, and this would allow them
to grab two young players. If they
do keep their pick they should take
someone who will generate immediate
success. (+) They can draft Jamarcus
Russell and hope that he’s as good as
the hype. (+)” (1 point)
Aumiller: “The Raiders can make 3
moves to help them. 1) Sign David
Carr. (++) 2) Draft Calvin Johnson.
(++) And 3) Trade Randy Moss for
ANYTHING YOU CAN GET. Some
GM looking to save his job will bite
at that bait. (++) You can grab some
solid talent for the amazingly talented
half-effort player.” (6 points)
Eggleston: “If I’m the Raiders, I take
Jamarcus Russell hands down. The
quarterback is the most important
member of the team. Granted,
teams have won championships with
great defenses, such as the Ravens
and Buccaneers (++), however,
both of those teams had steady
quarterbacks that could manage
a game. The Raiders don’t even
have that, so Russell has to be the
pick. (+) But, don’t be surprised
if the Raiders pass on him. That’s
right, you heard it here first.
Remember, the Raiders and owner
A 1 Davis has always liked to make a
splash in the league. This is the same
team that drafted an overweight,
overrated punter in the first round
of the 2000 draft and passed on the
likes of Chad Pennington and Shaun
Alexander. (+)” (4 points)
My Comments: “Jamarcus Russell
is a solid pick, but the obvious
pick. I like the creativity of Mr.
Aumiller. Pick up a guy like David
Carr, draft Calvin Johnson (the best
player in the draft), but give Randy
Moss one more try. The guy has
proven he can play with the best of
them, but here of late has had a lack
of motivation. With a new QB, and
some help at the other wide out, this
offense can instantly receive a face
lift. Josh, good job including the
Buccaneers in your answer, bonus
points for you!”
Question 5
Sarver: “Tough question but simply an
easy answer. Carroll is very accurate
and has a great on base percentage,
only one problem, baseball requires
most players to play the field too (++).
Carroll doesn’t do that, Aumiller does.
You build your team around the man
who can do both, crush homeruns
and prevent them when a runner
rounds third. Hell the Cardinals did
it last year around Pujols and the Red
Sox did it around Ortiz (—). They
both played the field. When’s the last
time a team has won a championship
around a DH (that would Designated
THE. CAPITAL TIMES
Hitter for you non-baseball people)"
(0 points)
Carroll: “If Matt Carroll were five
years younger 1 would build around
him. However, since he has aged in
his later days he has blown out his
arm. (+ ) Therefore, 1 would select
Kris Aumiller, the two-way option.
On a side note. Matt Carroll currently
has better power numbers and doesn’t
go on slumps with excessive amounts
of strikeouts. (++)”(3 points)
‘Well, power hitlers don’t
I lowever, Matt
Aumiller:
Carroll has just as much power as I
do. Then again, I would pick myself
based on me playing five more years
than “Pops." (++)” (2 points)
Eggleston: “You have to go with a kid
like Kris Aumiller. Power hitters are
necessary for any baseball team to be
competitive. Don’t get me wrong,
base percentage is an important
stat; however, a kid like Aumiller
has the ability to change an entire
game numerous ways from a single
swing of his bat or simply with his
presence being in the on deck circle.
(++) Plus, my inside sources tell me
that Aumiller is an amazing catcher.
Got to go with the dual threat! (+)”
(3 points)
My Comments: “Tough pick because
of what both athletes bring to the
table. Carroll’s swing will make
you cry, Aumiller's bombs leave you
running for cover. Difference here is
the dual-threat of Aumiller. Sarver
what are you talking about saying
that the Cardinals and Red Sox build
their teams around Pujols and Ortiz.
Look at there rosters, they’re up and
down good teams! Carroll...you’re
my boy, well more like my grandpa,
but I have to go Aumiller on this one.
On a side note, both players have
fan clubs on Facebook. Aumiller’s
Thrillers and Carroll’s Crew. Check
them out!”
FINAL RESULTS
April 16, 2007 5
Ladies and gentlemen the results
are in. Finishing in first plaee with
14 points is Josh' “Lights Out”
Eggleston. Kris “Thriller” Aumiller
finished in a close second with 13
points. Matt “Pops” Carroll and
Matt “Sarv Money" Sarver tied for
third with 12 points. Well Josh, it’s
time for your moment of fame.
MOMENT OF FAME
“As an NFL guru, I have been
anxiously awaiting the NFL Draft
on April 28 and 29. However, over
the past few months, 1 have seen a
huge injustice accruing. The stock of
Paul Posluszny, our fellow classmate
and soon to be Penn Sate Alum has
been steadily falling. Some mock
drafts have Puz being taken in the
mid to late first round; however,
some have him falling into the
second round. That's right, the best
linebacker every to play at Linebacker
U might not even be taken in the
first round of the draft. In fact,
some teams have him ranked as a
second or third round pick. You
may ask why Puz’s draft stock is
falling. The answer is that NFL
teams have some questions about
his knee and that he did not do
anything flashy at the NFL Combine.
Puz put in a solid performance
at the combine; however, none
of his workouts were considered
outstanding. In today’s NFL so
much emphasis is placed on these
workouts while an
athlete’s accomplishments on the
field are sometimes forgotten. Puz
may have not run the fastest forty
or shuttle, but he is a relentless
linebacker that provides leadership
in the locker room and is a
class act outside of the stadium.
Whether he goes early or late, Puz
will prove to be one of the great,
young linebackers in the NFL.” -
Josh Eggleston