Draft Day Winners and Losers (and Diners)

My most recent article for Football Diner has just gone up. Check it out here.

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The Hole is Filled - Jake Becomes a Dolphin

Last year, the top O-line prospect in the NFL Draft went fishing. This year, the top O-line prospect is a Phish. After pondering the question yesterday, it looks like we have our answer. Jake Long has signed to a five year, $57.5 million contract with $30 million guaranteed. As of Saturday, Jakezilla will be a Dolphin.

And I really couldn't be happier. Although I do have a twinge of disappointment that the other Long will is not the one, I am extremely happy at how well the Dolphins front office has handled this.

We've heard a lot of talk about the god vs bad of having the number one pick, but I think Parcells has shown the rest of league how to do it. Choose your guy and then go after him. Sort it out early, before the draft if you can and all the usual first pick issues will be lessened a great deal.

All of a sudden, the Dolphins O-line looks very tasty indeed and I can't wait to see what John Beck can do under centre now that he actually has some blocking up front. I'm sure Jakezilla will be a star in the NFL for many years to come!

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Will it be Jakezilla for the Phish?

The 2008 NFL Draft is finally upon us and I couldn't be more excited. Although, for some reason the latest news stories have me a litlle disappointed.

It's not that I don't think Jake Long will be a fantastic #1 pick for the Dolphins, it's just that ever since the combine, I've had my eyes on the other Long. No, not in that way you sordid so and so...

Chris Long as been at the top of mine and almost everybody else's mock drafts for weeks. He's a heck of a competitor and an exciting prospect for a 1-15 side.

But in perspective, either of the Longs would be a great choice and Miami do have a vacancy at the tackle position. Jake is incredibly big and strong and the Dolphins O-line was a major factor in last years terrible season. I'd love to see how John Beck plays when he actually has some blocking in front of him and a run game to support the pass!

For me right now the worst scenario would be Vernon Gholston. For me, he just isn't in the game enough to warrant a number one pick. Actually, thinking about it there is a worse scenario. Picking up Matt Ryan would really make me puke!

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England Will Appoint Legend As New Rugby Manager

The man who captained England to World Cup victory in 2003 will today be announced as their new team manager. Martin Johnson will be the new England Manager. Despite Brian Ashton's good efforts in the World Cup, failure to bring that progress to the Six Nations has cost him dear.

I'm always a bit dubious about appointing big name former players as head coaches, but in this case I'm not. Martin Johnson is not just a legendary England player, he is also a tremendously smart man, has the capability to lead several large armies and has the every player's unbridled respect.

Since retiring from rugby Johnson has set up a summer training camp for youths and players and it was this system that brought scrum half Andy Gormasall back from the brink of his career. Just one summer spent under Martins tutelage turned Gormasall around and saw him as the starting scrum half for England in the last world cup.

It is this kind of turn around that the England team so badly needs right now. English rugby has the players, it has the talent, but it just isn't producing the results. I have every faith that Martin Johnson can and will change that though.

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Immelman Keeps Head While Others Lose Their Minds

I have to say The Masters was actually pretty entertaining this year. I was a bit dubious about it after last years dull-asco (that didn't work did it? Ah well...) but it turned out to be a pretty good event.

South Africa's Trevor Immelman was sheer class from start to finish and managed to hold onto his lead despite dropping three shots on the day.

But the most surprising result was Tiger Wood's finishing in second place. I don't think I've ever seen a golfer have as much bad luck as Woods did over the last four days but somehow, whilst everyone else was losing their bottle and dropping shots like bad whiskey, Woods' nerve held and he found himself climbing the leaderboard without really trying.

All in all it was an exciting climax to the only golf tournament that most sane people (including me) watch all year. I'm even thinking about watching more golf now. But then again, I think that way after the masters every damn year...

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Steven Ames Takes Oral Hygiene Very Seriously

Perhaps the brightest highlight from the first round of the Masters yesterday was Steven Ames' ever whitening teeth.

Check out that grill!! ->

Stevens teeth seem to be extra white this year, proving once again that too much oral hygiene can be a bad thing...

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Why The Dolphins Should Go With John Beck

I think it's time to set the record straight with regards to Miami's QB dilema. And by that I mean, Miami doesn't actually have a QB dilema; they have a quarterback and his name is John Beck.

Now it's not that I don't think Josh McCown can turn the Dolphins around and get them a division title or two (oh wait a minute, that's exactly what I think), it's just that I believe John Beck has the right qualities to be a superstar in the NFL. He just needs the chance to prove it.

Last year Beck was thrown into a deeper deep-end then any rookie QB in recent history. The Dolphins hadn't won a single game, were down to their third string RB and had an offensive line that just could not block on pass protection. Oh and his first start would be against The Eagles in Philly. And yet, until the Bills game where Cameron pulled him in knee-jerk response to a fumble, Beck had done well and shown all the right signs.

He was nervy to begin with, but soon settled in. He was poised, accurate and he created long drives that the Dolphins hadn't seen all season (including one against the Eagles that should have been the game winner, were it not for some terrible run blocking and frankly shocking play calling). Sure he made some rookie mistakes, but he showed some flashes of brilliance too, like in this touchdown play against the Bengals:

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lrBhuFw7rg"]

That's a 22 yard throw on the run to the corner of the endzone - and it hits Hagan right between the numbers. Awesome! Notice how Beck has less then a seconds worth of protection from the O-line as well.

It is clear to me that with the right amount of patience and development, John Beck can become the franchise QB that the Dolphins have been scratching around for since Big Dan retired. The Dolphins must surely give him that chance.

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Olympic Torch Relay Protesters Are No Better Then Wannabe Bandwagoners

The Olympic Games is the one event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. For two weeks every four years the whole world seems a brighter place. People smile more, they laugh more and they get the feeling that, despite all the earths troubles, things will be ok.

The only thing that can spoil that feeling of well being are protesters determined to get themselves some limelight. All these fools chasing down the Olympic torch bearers, trying to put out the flame and etc, are missing the very point of the games. That is to say, the Olympic flame stands for hope - and you idiots are trying to put it out.

I was out there on June 4th 1989when China ran over their own people with tanks in the Tiananmen Square masacre and I remember the hollow feeling I had inside and the sting of fear that accompanied it. I was disgusted when China was awarded the games but I remember thinking that the Olympics has always been a force for good and so maybe, it could bring about a change in China. And it has done to a certain extent.

Of course, the big issue at the moment is the occupation of Tibet. And yes, I agree, it is a horrendous situation. But taking it out on the Olympic torch is hardly going to change anything. Where were all you wannabe protesters when China was the favorite to host the games? Where were you when they were awarded them?

Not outside the IOC headquarters in Lausanne I'll wager. No of course not. And not in China either.

But now that there's the chance to get your face in the paper, now that there's a chance to make your point outside of peaceful protest, you all come out of the woodwork. Why is that I wonder? Would you still be there if there weren't any cameras to capture your big moment? I doubt it.

Politics and sport do not (and should never) mix. China has been in Tibet for a very long time and yet only now, with the focus on the wonder that is the Olympics, do the protesters choose to surface. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

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Hamilton Must Learn To Chill

Nobody's perfect I guess. And whilst Lewis Hamilton comes pretty damn close to the perfect race driver sometimes, he does have a flaw. That flaw is trying to do too much when the chips are down.

Yesterdays 13th place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix lost Hamtilton the lead in the world championship and despite the claims of foul play from the ITV crew, the problems were all of Hamiltons making. And it started when he failed to secure pole position in qualifying.

I don't know whether Lewis was too fired up or too tense, but something happened somewhere that resulted in him having the worst start of all the drivers on the grid. He dropped back several places and could see his race going up in smoke. So he pushed it hard, too hard and ended up driving into the back of old rival Alonso, so desperate was he to get past him and redeem himself.

Once the front wing was broken the race really was over for Lewis. The fact that he managed 13th is a credit to his driving skills but praise alone will not win him the world title. He has to learn that sometimes, squeezing out a points finish when things aren't going your way is far better then blowing it all in a haze of frustration. Whether Hamilton can learn to control this side of his temperament could be the deciding factor in whether he becomes a world champion or not.

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How Does Two More Parades A Year Sound?

Yesterday the team boses for Formula One agreed to an extension of the race calender to include two more races - bringing the season up to 20.

I can't get enough of F1, it's always there for me after the Superbowl and the Six nations have passed by and I need my sporting fix, but I'm not sure that more races are what the doctor ordered right now.

It's not that I don't want to see more Formula-1, it's just that I think this is a decision that is largely based around generating money, much like many other recent decisions. Would it not be better for the FIA and the team boss's to work on how to improve races and make the sport more competitive, rather then give us two more pointless parades a year?

At the moment, with most races being decided during the last three minutes of qualifying on a Saturday, I feel that the focus should be shifted away from the almighty buck. It's not like the sport doesn't make 100's of millions of dollars already, why not spend some of that money to improve the spectacle?

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Manuel de Los Santos - Remember the Name

When he was eighteen Manuel de Los Santos was a promising baseball player growing up in Cuba, with dreams of playing in the U.S. That was, until he was involved in an awful car accident that cost him his left leg. Most people would crumble under an awful loss like that, but not Manuel.

After moving to France, Mr Santos took up Golf. And when I say 'took up' I mean, 'started kicking ass at'.

Here is a video of Manuel hitting the kind of shots that most amateur golfers can only dream of. And doing it on one leg, ofcourse.

This year Santos will be competing on the European circuit against able bodied golfers from around the world. He has every chance of beating them all too.

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Bad Decisions Are Really Not Helping Athletics At All

In 2001 Marion Jones won the gold medal in the 100m sprint final. After she admitted to THG abuse, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) voided all her performances in September 2000.

Now, usually in this situation, the medal is taken from the banned athlete and given to the next finisher in the race. However, in this situation the silver medalist was none other then controversial Greek athlete, Katerina Thanou. Thanou was suspended on the eve of the 2004 Olympics for missing three drugs tests in dubious circumstances.

The IAAF had a decision to make; Make the problem worse by taking the medal from one disgraced athlete and giving it to another or take the sensible move and give it to the third place athlete. This being athletics of course, they made the wrong decision.

"There was no evidence of Thanou committing any doping offence during the period in question, which leaves us with no alternative but to award the medal to her."Actually there was an alternative guys, you could have just held on to the damn thing and forgotten all about it. But no... all publicity is good publicity to the IAAF I guess.

Drugs are damaging enough to a sport without the incompetent behavior of their governing bodies. This is a very disappointing decision indeed.

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