MLB's Got Talent

They call baseball "Americas Past Time". Many people are afraid that the youth is not responding to the game of baseball like did 15 years ago. I can't tell you exactly why this could be, but I can tell you that I think that assumption is going to change.

Baseball is going to "boom" once more. With the steroid issue somewhat being handled and taken under control, baseball should thrive with the talent it is producing in today's game. Your grandparents can recall the days of Micky Mantle, Jacki Robinson, Hank Aaron. Your parents remember the times of Reggie Jackson and the famous "Mr. October" run, Roberto Clemente's death and Pete Roses 4,000 hits.

I remember growing up and watching Ken Griffey Jr, Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds and Derek Jeter. These are true legends of the game, but what if i told you the greatest abundance of talent is entering the game today. The emergence of young talent taking over the MLB is the best thing to happen to the game since Boston beat the Yankees after being down 0-3 in the 2004 ALCS.

The names Mike Trout, Yasiel Puig, Bryce Harper, Jean Carlos Stanton and etc are the faces of today games. The list goes on from there. The best players in baseball not named Miguel Cabrera are about the ages of 26 and younger. Trout who is arguably the best player in baseball is only 23 years old. Trout was the 2014 AL MVP and could possibly when it today. Puig stormed the league like no player I've ever seen in my 24 years of watching baseball. Harper was labeled as the LeBron James of baseball. Andrew McCutchen brought hope to a city who's team hadn't made the postseason in 20 years.

The Chicago Cubs are relying on their young talent to take them to the post season for the first time in years. Cubs first basemen Anthony Rizzo who is arguably their best proven player is only 25 years old. The crazy thing is along with shortstop Starlin Castro (24) are seen a the veterans on the team. The Cubs are currently 11-7 and second in their division. with the injury to St Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, the Cubs are sitting pretty good and look to take the thrown of the division from the Cards.

These young players that i have mentioned have been in the league for sometime now and are all considered season vets and the best players in baseball. The 2014 NL MVP and Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw is only 26 years old and he is a three time Cy Young winner at such a young age. Pitcher are a little different when it comes to age, but a lot of young pitchers are getting a hang of the game sooner in their careers rather than later.

The young talent in this game is taking over and its a beautiful thing. As a huge fan of baseball I could see the popularity of the game decreasing over the past decade, but with young kids being able to relate to these young stars is going to help this game. The best group of talent baseball has ever seen is taking off and I hope it continues.

MLB Season Predictions

AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: Mariners

Wild Card: Royals
Wild Card: Indians
Just Missed: Orioles 

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners 
MVP: Robinson Cano, Mariners
ROY: Devon Travis, Blue Jays
If Called Up: Bryon Bruxton, Twins 



NL East: Nationals
NL Central: Cardinals
NL West: Dodgers

Wild Card: Cubs
Wild Card: Padres
Just Missed: Mets

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
MVP: Yasiel Puig, Dodgers
ROY:Kris Bryant, Cubs
If Called Up: Addison Russell, Cubs

WS: Dodgers over Tigers

Is the Lakers Future Brighter Than Advertised?

UWhen you thought the Lakers couldn't be worse than the 2013-2014 season, people were dead wrong. A 20-56 record is embarrassing for a franchise that is arguably the most dominating franchise in the history of sports.

The Lakers have become a punchline and punching bag for the media and teams throughout the league. At least they aren't as bad off as the New York Knickerbockers.

Through the darkness, there is light.

 The Lakers may not be as far away as people think. With all the bad things that have gone on through the season with the injuries to Kobe Bryant, Nick Young and stud rookie Julius Randle being the main problem. With all the problems, the Lakers might be in a good situation after all.

With all the problems looming throughout the franchise, rookie guard Jordan Clarkson is capturing the eyes of Lakers fans and basketball fans all over the world. A second round pick in the NBA, won’t be handed the respect and hope that many first rounders’ receive.

Head coach Byron Scott has given Clarkson the keys to the team for the remainder of the season. Clarkson is well deserving of that responsibility. The rookie averaged 15.8 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.8 rebounds for the month of March. He was honored as the NBA Rookie of the Month for the month of March. The 46th pick of the 2014 draft class is looking like an absolute steal and cornerstone to turning the franchise around.

Clarkson should be a for sure choice for NBA All-Rookie 1st Team and top five candidate for Rookie of the Year. 

Randle was picked 39 picks before Clarkson, and is the true piece the Lakers are hoping that will get this franchise turned around. The seventh overall pick broke his leg in the first game of the season. If Randle and the rest of the injured players stayed healthy throughout the season, the 20-56 record could be a bit better.

Honestly how much better could it get?

Losing is the only option the Lakers have this season, and it is the best option. With the record they have, the Lakers are sitting at the fourth pick of this summer’s draft. If they were to win more games, they would lose their early first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers .

 Thank you Dwight Howard. 

If all goes well, the Lakers could end up with four total picks in the upcoming draft. With a chance for four picks and possibly some top tier free agents, the Lakers future is a lot brighter than it seems.

 If the Lakers are able to steal Kevin Love or Marc Gasol from their respected teams this summer and get a for sure starter in with their lottery pick, along with a few pieces off the bench; we could see the Lakers in the playoffs sooner than we thought.

The Lakers have $36 million on the books for next year. With the salary cap expected to go up to $67mill, the Lakers have a chance to sign a big name free agent or two and some solid roll players. You put Bryant, Clarkson, Randle, Gasol, and say Justise Winslow (hypothetically speaking) as their first pick all on the court together that would make for a strong starting five mixed with young dynamic players and polished veterans.    

I know it’s hard to watch the purple and gold, but fans need to be patient. The light at the end of the tunnel will soon be shining bright once again. 

NBA MVP Rankings

1. James Harden - Rockets

2. Steph Curry - Warriors 

3. LeBron James - Cavaliers 

4. Russell Westbrook - Thunder

5. Chris Paul - Clippers 

Outside looking in:

Anthony Davis - Pelicans 

Where is the Love?

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a blockbuster trade before the season began that brought Kevin Love to town for phenom Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Both Wiggins and Bennett were first overall picks in their drafts.

Kevin love was once seen as an up and coming superstar for the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds last season. He's been an All-Star three times. The Cavaliers thought they were going to get the same guy when they made the trade. With Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love who could beat the Cavaliers? At the beginning of the season everybody could beat Cleveland. Since the new year, the Cavaliers have established themselves as a force in the East.

The only thing missing now is finding the Kevin Love of the past.

He has never been criticized for his talents, but Love has always been criticized for his lack of reaching the postseason. People like myself would argue that his team as a whole was never that good. To be labeled a "superstar" you have to be able to take your team beyond the regular season.

The Cavaliers traded away someone who could one day be the best player in the entire league for someone who is a star already. At the time the trade looked like a win-win for the Cavaliers. The trade looks more like a win-win for the Timberwolves now.

If Love leaves Cleveland then it won't even be an argument.

People are asking if Love deserves a max deal this summer. If you take what Love is doing this season you probably wouldn't think he deserves $100 million. He is averaging a double-double but sometimes that doesn't even deserve that kind of money.

If you take what Love has done during his whole career then you could argue that he may deserve that money. I believe he deserves that money. As a Lakers fan I pray every night that Love doesn't get a max deal offered from the Cavs and just like James; Love comes home.


The media has every right to criticize Love after his comments about James and himself not being "best friends" and choosing Russell Westbrook over his teammate James for his choice of MVP. The Cavs regularly use Love in crunch time during the 4th quarter. James has been posting post-game pictures of the team without Kevin Love all over social media. It's starting to get tense in Cleveland. Unless the Cavs can figure something out with Love, this summer is going to get very interesting. It could end up being another Dwight Howard/Lakers situation all over again.

And I sit with my fingers crossed hoping things don't get better in Cleveland. Love would look good standing next to Kobe Bryant.

Will Racist Remarks Kill Recruiting for Future Sooners?

On Sunday the racist video out of Norman that went viral of students representing the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon chanting racist slurs, has already taken a big toll on the University of Oklahoma's 2016 recruiting in class.

Four-star offensive line recruit Jean Delance announced on Monday that will will not be attending the  University of Oklahoma due to personal reasons.  

Not a big shocker. The talented lineman out of Mesquite, Texas has every right to change his mind after something so haunting and disgusting came from the university which he once decided to give his time and dedication to. 

Delance was in Norman the day prior to the video being released on a visit. He is seen as one of the top prospects out of the state of Texas. This is a huge blow to the recruiting class already. Will more de-commitments come in the next few days or will athletes turn their heads to the university come recruiting season? 

The coaches and athletes did the right thing by having a silent protest that was held throughout the campus. 

Senior defensive end Charles Tapper sent a message via Twitter to other recruits, that this shouldn't be the image you see when you think about committing to the Sooners. 

Tapper's message was clear:

"To all recruits do not take this wrong.. This is not a majority.. Meaning the majority if OU frats and Fans are not like that!! They are are truly like OUr family! The OU family truly looks at for its student athletes! So please do not let the minority of the of Oklahoma."

"Change your decision!"

All-Big12 linebacker Eric Striker, also voiced his opinion on the situation in a Snap Chat story. Striker was furious and let the people know with a very explicit rant about how he felt. Bob Stoops and the rest of the Sooner family are crossing their fingers and praying that this doesn't do any more damage to their future. 

OU is seen as one of the best if not the best college football program in the nation and they hope it stays that way. This situation could get worse in many ways, but it could also send a positive message to future recruits. The actions the university took shows the Sooners don't mess around when it comes to racism. They're sending a message to the public that they are a strong family and that something like this won't bring them down. 

Let's just see if the young naive high school athletes can see the same thing. 

Football Season Never Ends

It may only be the month of March and not August, but the excitement of football season never ends. The NFL Draft is little over a month away free agency frenzy start this coming Tuesday. For those of you who aren't big NFL fans and stick to the college ranks. You will be happy to know that spring football is officially underway.

To some spring football may not seem that important, but to hardcore college football fans it's only the beginning of what is to come for the rest of the upcoming fall season. The spring is for coaches to be able to start seeing the improved talent and some incoming talent.

Not all freshman are able to experience the spring tradition due to their high school studies. As a fan of college football in Oklahoma, I'm pumped for football all year long. Every team in the state has some big questions to answer this season after they all let their state down. 

Fans in Oklahoma are probably the most critical fans in all of sports other than the New York sports fans. 2014 was bust season for the University of Oklahoma. A team that many people predicted to participate in the first ever playoff bracket. After coming off a huge upset win over Alabama in the 2013-2014 Sugar Bowl, the Sooners were hyped to go far and even win the national title. That all came crashing down after a loss to TCU in week 6. That loss was followed by three more losses in the regular season, followed by another loss in the bowl season.

Three of the five losses were in Norman. The Sooners have lost eight games in Norman during 16 seasons under Bob Stoops. On top of that, the Sooners got embarrassed in the Russell Athletic Bowl to the hands of the Clemson Tigers. The Sooners didn't even have a fighting chance. The Tigers won 40-6.

There has been many changes to the Stoops coaching staff. A strong recruiting class will be making their way to Norman this summer. It's a new era in OU football and Stoops maybe fighting for his job this coming fall. 

Down the road in Stillwater, the Cowboys had the same struggles. A young Cowboys team was set with already low expectations going into the season. They reached those expectations most of the season, but ended strong with a bowl win over the University of Washington, 30-22. 

The Cowboys are excited about their sophomore quarterback Mason Rudolph and hope he can build off of two impressive upset wins against their in-state rivals, the Sooners and the Huskies.

Rudolph is one of the early picks for the Heisman going into the spring. 

OSU didn't make much noise in recruiting this offseason but that won't stop them from trying to win the Big12. The Cowboys were young last year and look to grow and develope as a team for the future. Head coach Mike Gundy, still has a lot of work to do. 

Tulsa had a wild offseason of their own. After a terrible season all around, the Golden Hurricanes decided to go a different route with their coaching. TU stole Art Briles right hand man from Baylor. 

Philip Montgomery will look to turn the program around and get it back to the winning ways they once had during the previous decade. Montgomery has a lot of work to do to get the Golden Hurricanes back on the winning track after going 2-10 last year. 

First official kick-off is so far away but the season has officially begun. I know I'm super excited for the upcoming season and I'm sure the rest of the state is to. We Oklahomans love our football.