I just can’t get over the contrast between the two playoffs that are ongoing. The NHL is totally haywire. The first seven series all started 1-1, and the eighth appears headed that way. Good teams have looked bad, and bad teams have looked great, and nothing is really making a whole lot of sense as of yet. On the flipside, the NBA playoffs couldn’t be more predictable. All six home teams that have played so far have won their first games reasonably easily, and the seventh looks like they will as well. The only one of those favorites that hasn’t covered is Orlando, and they only missed by a point, so you could probably have found a winning price somewhere if you got lucky. The public is having a very good start to the NBA playoffs and getting absolutely brutalized by the NHL.
It’s great seeing a bit of college football action with all the spring games. It’s not the same as a real game, but it’s a good teaser for what is still too far away. I saw a fair bit to like with my beloved Michigan’s game yesterday, and saw some very impressive highlights out of Alabama as well. Though Georgia’s spring game was a week ago, they provided the biggest college football story of the weekend when they kicked true freshman QB Zach Mettenberger of the team for violating team rules. He was one of two highly touted QB recruits along with redshirt freshman Aaron Murray who were competing for the new starting role in Georgia. That pretty much means that Murray is alone with the job, and that’s a pretty scary proposition for Mark Richt – a coach who badly needs to turn things around after a disaster of a season last year. The only other QB around is junior Logan Gray who backed up last year, but if you saw any of his limited play last year then you know he isn’t a long term solution.
It happened a couple of days ago, but I haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet – I absolutely love the Ted Ginn deal for both teams. For Miami it gets rid of a guy who isn’t necessary now that Brandon Marshall is in town, and eases any potential concerns about who will be the top dog in town. They didn’t get much for him, but they got rid of him without any drama and now they can just move on. San Francisco gets a guy at an absolute bargain price, and there’s a good chance that he can be a very good number two receiver. With Michael Crabtree in town he doesn’t need to be a number one, so that’s much less pressure for him. Even if he doesn’t turn out to be a great receiver he’s still a better kick returner than the Niners have. Great all-round deal.
