Lakers struggle...a conspiracy theory?

This just in...the Los Angeles Lakers are struggling, and theories are a plenty. First it was Mike Brown. Then it was Nash's injury. Then it was D'Antoni's system. Now it's because their old. While all of those may have some merit, the real person to blame is David Stern and the NBA.

Last off season the Lakers pulled off a trade that brought all world point guard Chris Paul to town. At the time CP3 was playing for the New Orleans Hornets...a team without an owner and being ran by the league. Well...David Stern (on behalf of the other owners) rejected a trade that would have featured arguably the best back court tandem in NBA history. Instead, Stern (on behalf of the owners) accepted a trade that sent CP3 to the Clippers. A team that, at the time, were a laughing stock.

Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant would have dominated the league together, so what if you lose Pau Gasol in the process. They would have had no need for Nash or (overrated over smiling) Dwight Howard. The Clippers became the high scoring high octane team, while the Lakers were left scrambling to pick up the pieces. Something about that just doesn't seem fair.

The conspiracy theorist in me can't help but implicate Michael Jordan. Every one knows that Kobe Bryant wants to tie Jordan's six championships. Everyone knows the Jordan Kobe comparison takes on a different spin if that happens. And everyone knows that Jordan is part owner of the Bobcats.

Could Jordan have spear headed the commissioner's decision to veto that trade? Would Jordan stoop that low in the spirit of competitiveness? I'm not saying. I'm just saying.    follow @plcolter

Titans keep coach...what about CJ?

The NFL regular season is only a few days old, but seven coaches and five executives have already been fired. The coach that lost four of his last six games, six losses by three or more touchdowns, the worst defense in franchise history, and a 6-10 record avoided "Black Monday". Happy New Years Titans fans...Merry Christmas Mike Munchak.

Titans owner Bud Adams elected to keep Munchak, which confuses me to this day (but I digress). Keeping a head coach with a 15-17 record his first two seasons could mean one of three things. 1. Bud Adams wants to save face (he personally selected Munchak after letting long time head coach Jeff Fisher go). 2. Mr.Adams is a homer (Munchak has been a part of the organization as a hall of fame player and coach since 1982). 3. Mr. Adams honestly believes this team as constructed has the leadership and talent to make the playoffs. If that is in deed the case...then you have to keep CJ right?

Chris Johnson is by far the most explosive and valuable player on the team, but cases can be made on both sides on whether his lofty 9 million dollar salary next year is worth it to keep him. On February 9,2013 Johnson's 9 million dollars becomes guaranteed.

If the Titans are expecting Jake Locker to progress, it will be in their best interest to surround him with as many weapons as possible. Johnson is a threat to score from anywhere on the field, and is incredibly durable. He has not missed a start due to injury since being drafted, and has never failed to reach 1,000 yards since becoming the Titans starter. There is also a serious drop off at back up running back, no one is even close to stealing reps.

On the other hand, Johnson's yards can be somewhat misleading. Yes...CJ is electrifying, but he never seems to have any impact runs. I can't remember a game where Johnson toted it six straight times to close out a victory. Or even an explosive run to tie or win a game late in the fourth quarter. During CJ2K's 2000 yard campaign, the Titans finished 8-8 and were no threat to make a super bowl run.

Kinda like this season, but if you keep Munchak, you have to keep CJ.   follow @plcolter

Denard Robinson injury a blessing in disguise

Denard Robinson finished his career as the quarterback with the most rushing yards in the history of college football. Ironically enough, he didn't even finish his career as Michigan's starting signal caller.

Robinson injured his throwing elbow on October 27 and hasn't thrown a meaningful pass since. I'm sure it was hard for Robinson to watch back up Devin Gardner take over and play so well down the stretch....he's obviously the future and Michigan should be excited. As for Denard, his phenomenal speed and natural running instincts kept him on the field the last three games...mostly at tail back. What had to be a disappointment for Robinson could actually be a blessing in disguise.

Denard "Shoelace" Robinson was no doubt a great college quarterback, but I have serious doubts about his chances playing the position in the NFL. He has two major strikes, small and inaccurate. He would be much better suited as a utility player, a Darren Sproles type player if you will.

With all of the rule changes, the NFL has become a wide open pass happy league.  Denard and his 4.2 speed could take advantage of that. Forced into action as that type of player the past few games, Robinson got a chance to show that he can be used (drafted) to fill a variety of roles. Robinson ran for 100 yards against a tough South Carolina defense in the Outback Bowl. He was equally explosive as the primary ball carrier against Ohio State the prior game.

The way that Denard handled his "demotion" was nothing short of classy. He's a character guy and a great athlete. I know that Robinson would like to prove to the world that he could do it as a quarterback on the pro level. That would not have ended well. Fate may have intervened in his favor.    follow @plcolter

Fantasy Big Three

We've come to the end of our fantasy football season, with the first game of your playoff match up kicking off tonight at 7:30 central time. Plenty of potential league champions are chomping at the bit to get this weekend's games started. Three games in particular will likely determine who comes up short, who gets a year's worth of bragging rights, and who gets some cold hard cash.

Atlanta vs Detroit: Calvin Johnson owners have nothing to worry about. Detroit will do everything in their power to get Megatron the record for most receiving yards in a season. He's 182 yards away, and might get that total tonight on national television. As for the Falcons, Ryan and his trio of receivers (White, Jones, and Gonzalez) are must starts. What owners do with running back Michael Turner is a different story. His yards and receptions are way down, but he's scored a touchdown in five straight games. He's a risk reward (in my New York Nick voice).

New Orleans vs Dallas: Plenty of offensive fire power in this late season tilt. Drew Brees and Tony Romo will do their thing. Both tight ends (Whitten and Graham) will be fine. So will both running backs (Murray and Sproles...Sproles only people). Other than Dez Bryant, the receivers in this match up are all risk rewards. Brees and Romo will spread it around and you never know which one will emerge from week to week.

San Fransisco vs Seattle. This is the Pepto Bismal game due to being the final game of the league season. You have two rookie quarterbacks that posted four touchdown performances last week. You also have a match up between the league's two best scoring defenses, separated by only one point (218, 219). Gore and Lynch are must starts, but are you brave enough to start Wilson or Kaepernick against these defenses? And where does that leave the receivers in this match up? Good luck to you all.   follow @plcolter

Fantasy Playoffs: What to watch for

Ah yes, it is fantasy football playoff time. The powers that be couldn't have given us a better slate of games this week to hinge your playoff success on. There are four games in particular that will go a long way in determining who makes their league championship game next week.


Tampa Bay at New Orleans: A match up of two of the league's most potent offenses going against two of the league's worst pass defenses. Could be plenty of fireworks for Drew Brees and company. Not to mention Tampa Bay's three headed monster of Josh Freeman (who threw for 420 yards and three td's against the Saints last game), Doug Martin (third in the league in rushing), and wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

New York Giants at Atlanta: Plenty of fantasy stars for both teams in this late season battle. Matt Ryan and his trio of deadly receivers.Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks. And let's not forget about the x factor David Wilson, who many have as a sleeper starter this week, By the way, Bradshaw is not playing.

Pittsburgh at Dallas: This one (from a fantasy perspective) hinges on what Steelers defense shows up. Tony Romo and DeMarco Murry have been scoring well. Will Dez Bryant's finger scare owners off this week? Probably not, but how effective will he be? The Cowboys have a good pass defense, but they play awful at home. What might Big Ben, Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown deliver?

San Francisco at New England: This one I'll call the Pepto Bismal match up. Most Brady owners will already know how many points they need from him (and anybody else paying in this one) when it kicks off later tonight. We're all hoping for a shootout in this one right? Good luck to you all, and don't forget to check out the season finale of the Fantasy TakeOver Show this Wednesday 12/19/12 on YouTube.   follow @plcolter

Spurs benching about Memphis, not rest

Last Thursday Gregg Popovich made waves by benching his top four players for their nationally televised game against King James and the defending champion Heat. Popovich's reasoning? His aging team was nearing the end of a long road trip, and the Spurs had a home tilt with Memphis that Saturday. Lost amidst the commissioner's anger and subsequent fine is the real underlying story...the ongoing gamesmanship between Gregg Popovich's Spurs and Lionel Hollins' Grizzlies.

This goes back to the 2010-2011 season. The San Antonio Spurs were sitting atop the western conference with the leagues best record. The Grizzles (who at this point had not won a playoff game in franchise history) fought and clawed their way to a playoff birth with just a few games left to play. After securing their playoff spot in a tightly contested race, Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins purposely benched his (healthy) star players the last few games. Rumors started to spread that coach Hollins was positioning his team to play Popovich's Spurs, who had the number one seed locked up. When asked about it, Spurs guard Tony Parker replied...."They wanted us, now they got us".

Memphis went on to win the series in 6 games, and did so in Spurs like fashion. Memphis smothered San Antonio with their defense and physical play, and made clutch three point shots to close out games. Last year's playoff rematch was foiled by a gritty game seven performance from Chris Paul and the Clippers. The Spurs went on to sweep the Clippers in the second round.

San Antonio and Memphis are once again on a collision course for the playoffs, and Popovich treated their first match up of the year as such. Let's keep in mind that Memphis came into Saturday's match up on the second night of a back to back. The plan worked for Popovich, as San Antonio erased a 14 point second half deficit to take a four point overtime win. With both teams playing so well, their head to head record could loom large in the race for the division title. Nice play by Gregg Popovich. Game on Lionel Hollins. I love this game!  follow @plcolter.

Titans Offense must save Munchak

Another home game...another home loss for the Tennessee Titans. Another home loss with owner Bud Adams in attendance. Yes, the same Bud Adams who put his entire organization on blast after the last home game he attended. An embarrassing beat down from the Chicago Bears to which Adams called the worst home loss ever....that's saying something since he's been an owner for over 50 years!

Mike Munchak responded like most head coaches on the hot seat, he fired a coordinator. Chris Palmer was relieved of his offensive coordinator duties last week. Although I do not disagree with the move, the timing screams of a second year head coach positioning to get a third. Message to Munchak...I hope the offense turns things around, or you could be joining Mr. Palmer in the unemployment line.

I couldn't blame Palmer if he feels like he's a scapegoat. The offense hasn't been any more inept than the defense or special teams. Everyone has been bad. Jake Locker was lost for several games, just when he was starting to hit his stride. And the running game woes have been fixed since the first month of the season.

I know it's only one game, but the new offense didn't look any better than Palmer's. Chris Johnson had only 50 yards rushing, and the offense as a whole cost Tennessee any shot at an upset against Houston. The Titans are now 4-8, and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Did Tennessee overachieve last year? Perhaps, but a 6-10 or (gasp) 4-12 finish would have everyone screaming for change.

Bud Adams is not getting any younger, and he's becoming more vocal about wanting another Super Bowl run before he hangs it up. Remember his public courtship of free agent Peyton Manning with his first round pick qb within ear shot? I certainly hope the offense can pick things up considerably the next four weeks. If they don't, Palmer's firing could be just the first.    follow @plcolter