2012 NFL Mock Draft

Pick		Team	Player	Other Options
1		Indianapolis	QB - Andrew Luck, Stanford	QB Robert Griffin III.
2		Washington	QB - Robert Griffin, Baylor	QB Andrew Luck
3		Minnesota	OT - *Matt Kalil, USC	CB Morris Claiborne
4		Cleveland	RB - *Trent Richardson, Alabama	CB Morris Claiborne, WR Justin Blackmon
5		Tampa Bay	CB - Morris Claiborne, LSU	RB Trent Richardson
6		St Louis	WR - *Justin Blackmon, Okla St	OT Riley Reiff -- DT Fletcher Cox
7		Jacksonville	DE - Melvin Ingram, South Carolina	CB Morris Claiborne, WR Justin Blackmon
8		Miami	QB - Ryan Tannehill, Texas AM	WR Michael Floyd
9		Carolina	DT Fletcher Cox, Miss St.	DT Dontari Poe, DE Quinton Coples
10		Buffalo	OT - Riley Reiff, Iowa	WR Michael Floyd
11		Kansas City	OG - David DeCastro, Stanford	LB Luke Kuechly
12		Seattle	LB Luke Kuechly, Boston College	DE Quinton Coples, OT - Riley Reiff, Iowa
13		Arizona	DT Dontari Poe, Memphis	G David DeCastro, WR Michael Floyd
14		Dallas	SS Mark Barron, OU	DE Quinton Coples, DT Dontari Poe
15		Philadelphia	DT - Michael Brockers, LSU	DT Dontari Poe, OT Mike Adams
16		NY Jets	DE Nick Perry, USC	DE Whitney Mercilus, OLB Courtney Upshaw
17		Cincinnati (frm Oak)	WR Michael Floyd, Notre Dame	CB Dre Kirkpatrick
18		San Diego	DE Quinton Coples, North Carolina	DE Whitney Mercilus, OLB Courtney Upshaw
19		Chicago	DE Whitney Mercilus, Illinois	DE Quinton Coples, CB Stephen Gilmore
20		Tennessee	CB - Stephen Gilmore, South Carolina	CB Dre Kirkpatrick
21		Cincinnati	CB Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama	CB Janoris Jenkins
22		Cleveland (frm Atl)	OT Jonathan Martin, Stanford	WR Kendall Wright, WR Stephen Hill
23		Detroit	OT Mike Adams, Ohio State	CB Dre Kirkpatrick, CB Stephen Gilmore
24		Pittsburgh	DT Devon Still, Penn St.	DT Jerel Worthy
25		Denver	DT Jerel Worthy, Michigan State	DT Devon Still
26		Houston	WR Kendall Wright, Baylor	WR Stephen Hill - WR Rueben Randle
27		New England	OLB Courtney Upshaw, Alabama	C Peter Konz
28		Green Bay	DE Chandler Jones, Syracuse	LB Donta Hightower
29		Baltimore	C Peter Konz, Wisconsin	DE Chandler Jones
30		San Fran	OG Cordy Glenn, Georgia	WR Stephen Hill
31		New England	SS Harrison Smith, Notre Dame	DE Shea McClellin
32		NY Giants	ILB Donta Hightower, Alabama	DT Jerel Worthy

Hope Springs Eternal - Opening Day 2012

Even though Major League Baseball has officially begun out in Japan, next thursday and friday will mark a yearly ritual in which every ballclub across the nation is on the same footing.  Every team will start the year with the same record, the same hopes for the new year, and the same eager fans filling home ballparks to watch their beloved teams play.  The term hope springs eternal is synonymous to the feelings that children have as they stare wide-eyed as their heroes take the field.  It's embodied in the elderly couple who faithfully fufill their season ticket holdings year in and year out.  Every fan gets the same unique feeling at the exact same time.  If there's one thing in baseball that is truly constant it's hope.  So whether you're a rockies fan breathing mountain air or a marlins fan from south beach, happy opening day - may your team bring excitement to your eyes, play ball!

Expect The Unexpected - Ozzie Guillen's 2012 Marlins Expectations.

When it comes to managing baseball games, Ozzie Guillen can stake a legitimate claim to being the most outspoken personality in the game today.  Apparently skipper Guillen set out to make a bold statement to his new Miami Marlins club by highlighting his stance on his teams dress code as well as his overall expectations in the forthcoming season.  From Guillen's mouth to you,

"I don’t care if you go there buck-naked with your pants (F-ing) down your ass, your hair down to your legs. Just win games. When you win games you look cool. When you lose games, you look dirty," Guillen said.

"Be on time and play the game right – that's my rule. It should be that way. If you're late, you better give me a good excuse…

"You're late for the (F-ing) National Anthem? The National Anthem is (F-ing) 10 minutes before the game starts. We're going to start in 10 minutes and you're late?"

"A lot of people have been kllled to make this country free for us. You should be there for at least two minutes," he said.

"Respect that, especially if you come from another (damn) country, you should be there an hour before…

"I think it looks good for baseball when you are in the stands and you see the team respect the National Anthem," he said.

"Kids can see that, the respect."

There it is, Ozzie at his finest but you know what? He's right.  Could it have been said better? Sure, but the point is clear, respect the game and take pride in what you do.  The party begins and ends in Miami this season and one thing is certain we all won't want to miss it!

The Last Hip Hip for Jorge

Heading into the 2012 season the New York Yankees will be without one of the franchise's most beloved players, Jorge Posada. This week Jorge Posada announced his retirement from the game of baseball after 17 brilliant seasons behind the plate for the Yankees. In an environment where big markets tend to look to high profile free agents to fit starting positions, Posada was an anomaly of the rarest form. Originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 24th round of the 1990 MLB amateur draft, this smooth hitting catcher from the dominican republic would become a fixture in the yankee lineup for almost the next 2 decades. Jorge Posada would go on to reward the yankees with 5 all-star game appearances, 5 silver sluggar awards and an incredible 2003 season in which he placed 3rd in the MVP race. Defensively, Posada was clearly an asset behind the plate as seemingly nothing got by him. Posada's career fielding % is a staggering .992.

Jorge Posada was a rare breed. Posada was a durable player that would hit for a nice average (.273 career line), hit for very nice power (8 seasons of 20 or more HR's) and most importantly he GOT ON BASE (career .374 on-base %). At a premium position, the Yankees were a much better ballclub for having Posada behind the dish. Not only did Posada get the job done consistently at the bat but thoughout his career when a clutch hit was needed, Posada delivered time and time again. Fans loved him for this. Yankee fans are some of the most passionate, loyal fans in all of sports. If you play the game right, you will be treated like a king. On the contrary, if you do not play well, believe me, the yankees fans will let you know! It didn't take long for Posada to become a clear fan favorite. Game after game, year after year...a familiar chant of hip hip...jorge would fill the stands at yankee stadium. You'd even hear the chant on the road as the Yanks travel well across america to support their team. Jorge Posada will always be loved by yankee fans and his career is a testament on how to play the game the right way. Jorge's legacy will forever be etched into historic yankee lore and his contributions to 5 world series championship teams will never be forgotten. Hip Hip Jorge, job well done!

Peyton Manning's Future, The Impact of Andrew Luck

January 8th, 2011 The 10-6 Indianpolis Colts host the 11-5 New York Jets.  The defensive struggle goes down to the wire.  With the Colts leading 16-14, Mark Sanchez and Braylon Edwards engineered a late drive to setup Nick Folk for a game winning field goal as time expired.  As Peyton Manning watched helplessly from the sideline, little did he know that this moment would pale in comparision to the events that were to come. 

Offseason 2011, The Indianapolis Colts disclose information that Peyton Manning is dealing with severe neck pain caused by a bulging disk that will require surgery to repair.  Colts owner Jim Irsay provides very little concrete evidence as to how or when the injury occured but speculation is made that it happened very early at some point during the 2010-11 season, possibly even week 1 against the Texans.  It's worth noting that Peyton Manning failed to appear on the teams injury report for every single game played in 2010-11.  For any devote Colts follower this is very surprising as signs of injury were present as soon as week 2 against the Giants as Manning is seen wearing a sleeve over his left elbow, one similar to the one he wore after recovering from a march 2010 neck surgery.  As the season progressed, Manning struggled with his accuracy and saw the team lose 4 out of 5 games from week 9 through week 13.  Following a week 12 blowout loss to the Chargers, a game that saw Manning throw 4 interceptions, Manning admits to CBS sports that he's dealing with a "stinger" injury in his right shoulder.  Week 13's injury report is released and once again, Peyton Manning is not on it.  Did Peyton Manning play all or most of 2010-11 injured?! 

Entering the 2011-12 NFL season, most people including Colts personnel, NFL insiders, and fans never thought they would see an entire year without Peyton Manning.  As the season clipped along, negative progress reports continued to flow through the media and it became apparant that the Colts would be without their unquestioned leader for the whole of the year.  As Indy played quarterback roulette with the likes of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky the loss of Manning proved more severe than most had anticipated.  Over the course of the 16 game season, the colts would win just twice and star players Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie saw their production drop off exponentially.  To say the Colts need Manning in order to succeed is a gross understatement.  Manning is the engine that runs the Indianapolis Colts locomotive.  The fall out from the disaster of 2011-12 saw Owner Jim Irsay give out pink slips to vice chairman Bill Polian, general manager Chris Polian and head coach Jim Caldwell. 

"The night is darkest just before dawn." - (The Dark Knight)

With the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft the Indianpolis Colts select Andrew Luck, quarterback, Stanford.  Born in 1989, Andrew Luck is widely considered to be the finest NFL Quarterback prospect to come out of the college ranks in quite some time.  In 2011, Luck won both the Maxwell Award as well as the Walter Camp Award as college football's player of the year.  Luck was also runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in both his Sophomore and Junior years.  The 6'3" 210 pound gunslinger from Houston, Texas threw for over 9,400 yards with a 67% average completion percentage, connecting on 82 touchdowns to only 22 interceptions in his 3 years at Stanford.  He finished college with a combined quarterback rating of 162.8.  Luck shattered pretty much every significant record at Stanford as well as the entire Pac-12 conference.  In both 2010 and 2011 Andrew Luck was a finalist for the Manning Award given to the nations top college quarterback.  Ironically, this brings us full circle to this offseason's most intriguing debate. 

At quarterback, who is manning the colts?!

The case for Andrew Luck.

The Colts have already stated their intention of drafting Andrew Luck with the first pick in the upcoming draft but will he be the colts starter from day 1?  A quarterback with this much talent needs to play.  As noted earlier, Luck has shredded college defenses with ease and by all indications is ready to step in and start in the NFL right now.  Upon seeing him play in the Fiesta Bowl on January 3rd, Luck passed the eye test with ease.  Luck completed a mind-boggling 27/31 pass attempts, throwing for 347 yards in a highly contested overtime loss.  Luck is young, polished and hungry.  Drafting Luck only to bench him behind Manning would be blocking a young star from proving his mettle.  With the success of Cam Newton this past year, it's apparant that this quarterback, who is viewed much more favorably to Newton, is primed to lead the Colts and never look back.  Back in 1998 when the Colts selected Peyton Manning 1st overall out of Tennessee, did he sit out a year? Absolutely not.  Manning stepped right in and threw for 3700 yards and by all indications Andrew Luck should be given the opportunity to do the same. 

The case for Peyton Manning.

The future of Peyton Manning begins and ends with the health of his surgically repaired neck.  Should Manning continue his road to recovery and be ready to play next season, the Colts would have to decide his future with the team.  This past season served to show just how valuable Peyton Manning is to the colts.  Manning runs the team.  From play calls, throws, audibles, and overall leadership Peyton Manning takes a mediocre core of players and turns them into an perrenial playoff team with a legitimate shot at a super bowl.  One thing Manning has that Luck simply does not is experience.  Manning's knowledge of the game puts him at a whole new level when he's under center.  The ability to read defenses, blitz packages, disguised blitz packages, to take all this information and adjust on the fly makes Manning a lethal signal caller that is directly related to the success of the Colts on gameday.  Should Manning prove healthy, he is the best option for the Colts to win right now.  As a four-time league MVP, a healthy Peyton Manning is a statistical juggarnaut capable of winning a super bowl each and every season. 

Can Manning and Luck co-exist?  The easy answer to this is yes, in the short term.  Perhaps a better question to be asked is should Manning and Luck co-exist?  As far as the Colts are concerned, drafting Luck is a commitment to Luck so having both would not be in the best interest of the team should a suitor for Peyton Manning surface via trade.  If Manning's progress looks legitimate, would you consider trading the top pick, presumably Andrew Luck, and cash in on the incredible value he would return via a draft day trade?  If a team were to offer 3 or 4 first-round picks for right to draft Luck, the Colts could potentially solidify their team for the next decade.  The same would hold true if a desperate team like the Jets or the Redskins decide to move all-in to acquire Peyton Manning.  One thing is certain, having both QB's on the roster in 2012 would prevent either senario from being realized. 

Regardless of what happens this offseason, Peyton Manning has had and will continue to have a brilliant career.  I think there's some good football left for Peyton Manning.  By Brett Favre terms, Manning is still a rookie!  I'd like to always think of Manning as a member of the Indianpolis Colts but if he were to switch teams, there'd be no shame in doing so as some of the games very best players have done such and achieved at a very high level.   The Colts have an incredible opportunity to press the reset button 14 years after drafting what many believe to be the ....Greatest Of All Time....

Kris Humphries: NBA's Public Enemy #1

At Power Forward, 6'9" from the university of who gives a crap Kris Humphries!! Booooo!! Jerkface!! Booooo!! You royal bag of douche!! Booooo!! Kim for president!! Booooo!! Booooo!! Booooo!! The home crowd is incredibly fired up and the game hasn't even started yet. In just 1 short year, Kris Humphries went from relative obscurity to the most hated man in the NBA. After a much anticipated, publicized wedding to reality sweetheart Kim Kardashian and subsequent nasty divorce, LeBron James breathed a much needed sign of relief. No longer was the devil of south beach the object of the nations scorn, oh no, instead Kris Humphries has taken on the entire burden. So what is it about this doofus that gets people so upset?

This is just a wild guess here but I think Kris Humphries is certifiably retarded. I mean who marries someone on national television then turns around and acts like a jackass on.....wait for it....national television? Kris Humphries. Apparantly the viewing public believes Kim Kardashian when she references the word Jerk or Mean associated with Humphries. So why not hate him, what do we care? Truth is we should probably give the guy a break, we don't know what happened behind the....wait what? IT WAS ON TV!?!?! Ohhhhh!! Hate away my friends, hate away! Kim Kardashian is a NATIONAL TREASURE I mean she has so many great talents, like...um...well she can...err...she's just so pretty! There's simply one thing you can't do these days and that's mess with a pretty girl, everyone knows that!

So if you plan on seeing the New Jersey Nets play this year, dust off your pitchforks and clean out your throat cuz Kris Humphries is waiting for you. Perhaps you'd like to bring a nice cutout of Kim Kardashian to the game to remind Kris of all that he's lost. In fact, the Nets are planning a Kim Kardashian night in which the first 20,049 fans to pack the Izod Arena in East Rutherford New Jersey (sounds good huh?) will recieve a Kim Kardashian Bobblehead and a sack of batteries to throw at Kris! Oh yes, it's gonna be one hot night of mayhem. So Kris as you prepare to play basketball the rest of this year I suggest you eat worms before each game because nobody likes you, everybody hate you! Kim for president. 

Fantasy Basketball: Must Adds

This year, being only a week old, has already seen it's fair share of injuries.  Stars Manu Ginobli, Zach Randolph are (for all intents and purposes) done for the year and players such as Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Andrew Bogut, Eric Gordon, Nene, Deron Williams, Stephen Curry, and Devin Harris have all been dealing with various injuries so far this year.  If you're in deeper leagues trying to fill your roster with a nice group of productive players here is a list of true sleepers that should be added ASAP before someone snags them and reaps the rewards:

Iman Shumpert - Knicks -- Back from his own injury, Shumpert was solid in his return scoring 18 points wednesday night while playing a solid 30 minutes off the bench.  He should continue to produce solid stats as the Knicks love his all-around game. 

Gary Neal - Spurs -- A surprise start tonight against the world champion Mavs, Neal came out of the gate blazing hot scoring 9 points in the first 5 minutes of quarter 1.  With Ginobli sidelined Neal could continue to start for the forseeable future. 

Norris Cole - Heat -- Started tonight for the Heat with both LeBron and Wade looking on.  Cole, a flashy point guard from cleveland state has shown a keen ability to get to the bucket and finish in dramatic fashion.  Whether starting or coming off the bench his stats should remain very strong as the season continues. 

Marshon Brooks - Nets -- Brooks has earned a starting role while Deron Williams has been out due to an injury but his play will earn him increased play once Williams returns.  Brooks is a pure scorer with great court vision who can really handle the rock.  Going forward, start brooks with confidence. 

Jonas Jerebko - Pistons -- Rookie Jerebko is looking like a pure diamond in the rough and appears to have a stranglehold on the pistons starting small forward spot.  At 6'10" there's nothing small about this swedish import and his stats have followed suit.  Consider Jerekbo a solid add as well as a high priority trade target. 

Ryan Anderson - Magic -- Anderson is truly making the most of the oppotunity he's recieved since Orlando parted ways with Brandon Bass.  With Glen "big baby" Davis struggling, Anderson has thrived posting near superstar numbers through the first week.  It's likely he's been picked up already but I bet if you offered an established star like Corey Maggette you can snag him in a trade that should pay off in a big way. 

Good luck in the shortened season and GO BULLS! All the way! If you have any adds of your own that you'd like to share please throw me a line or put them in the comment box below.