I was intending to post when I was in OK...all I had going was shopping with the wife and going to my 10-year high school reunion...but my parents went and got themselves a corgi puppy...which killed any free time I thought I was going to have...but now I'm back, whether you like it or not!
- Amidst the packing and driving and trying not to get struck by lightning, I forgot to give my take on a recent PowerMizzou piece that forecasts the second half of Mizzou's '08 football recruiting class. Honestly, this is shaping up to be the typical, unheralded-but-more-athletic-every-year class to which we're starting to get accustomed. The one difference is, we've missed out on two stud MO QB's in the last two classes, and we really, really need to nail down a Chase Daniel successor right here. Without a strong QB, this class will be seen as a failure, period. I'd love to see Mizzou take Rock Bridge's Jake Morse, but I'd prefer it if they took him along with a more proven commodity like Braden Hanson or Tyler Wilson.
- Actually, I also forgot to mention that the film on Gahn McGaffie was fantastic. Am loving this kid already. He definitely doesn't have a thick frame by any means, but it doesn't really matter if nobody can get a hand on him.
- Dave Matter continues to produce quality work this summer...here's his analysis of this year's football scheduling...
- I love Bill Simmons. I'm pretty sure my sense of humor has slowly morphed into his over the last few years. But he and his "VP of Common Sense," with whom I normally agree, are overstepping the bounds a little here, suggesting that the only reason Oden will go over Durant is because GM's are chickens. Durant does indeed have a higher upside and a lower downside--there's never been a player like him, so it's hard to project what he's capable of. But if (IF) the Blazers can turn Zach Randolph into a decent SF or another lottery pick (and it sounds like that's what's going to happen), then picking Oden is a perfectly acceptable, brave move. They can start a lineup of 1) Jarrett Jack, Spanish Chocolate, or Mike Conley Jr. (they're trying to see if they can trade up and get him), 2) Brandon Roy, 3) ?, 4) LaMarcus Aldridge, and 5) Oden, and become a team that's both steady offensively (with Roy carrying the load) and fantastic defensively (with Aldridge and Oden doing their Duncan-Robinson impersonation). And they'd pretty much be set like that for the next decade. I'm not going to complain if they take Durant (and it sounds like he absolutely amazed Blazer officials with his workout last week), but let's not pretend like the case is so cut-and-dried, and only Bill Simmons sees the truth.
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