Lots to blog about, lots to write about, lots to argue about.
Let's get it going with a "It's Good To Be..." edition of Jackson's Five.
It's good to be...Cam Newton. The NFL Draft starts Thursday night, and it looks like it's going to start with the Panthers picking Newton. The pick isn't set in stone, and Newton surely isn't a lock to be a superstar. But for a guy who essentially played one season of major college football, played in it what was a jazzed-up single-wing offense and played it amidst some pretty serious charges of corruption, landing atop the draft -- he'll go No. 4 overall, even in lowest surprise scenario -- means Newton is going to be smiling Thursday night. For all the holes in his game, it's not too hard to see what Carolina sees in him. That he's an SEC guy and that the Panthers are basically starting over helps, but in a best-case scenario he becomes a Ben Roethlisberger-type player and the Panthers look like geniuses for taking a chance. Even in a worst-case scenario, his dad gets paid legally and the Panthers can say they gambled on greatness. If I was Carolina, I'd hesitate and sweat it, but I'd do it.
It's good to be...Peyton Hillis. The Browns' bruising running back was voted as the cover boy for the newest edition of the Madden Football video game, due out this summer. Yes. Peyton Hillis on the Madden cover. For the first time ever, the folks at EA Sports opened up the voting and Browns fans made their clicks count. A year ago we weren't even sure Hillis would make the team -- for reasons that now seem both outrageous and unexplainable, he'd fallen into Josh McDaniels' dog house in Denver before being traded -- and now, with a bunch of powerful runs and two games that will live in Browns' lore despite happening in a 5-11 season, he's achieved one of the true honors of the NFL fraternity and become the face of a product that millions associate with the start of every NFL season. Now, if we could just get some assurance there was actually going to be a real NFL season...
It's good to be...Doc Rivers. I wanted to make this an all-football edition, but looking at my to-do list reminded me that I'm going to be writing about 50,000 words on the NFL Draft over the next 72 hours, so it can wait. But I watched the very-flawed Heat Wednesday night and I think that Rivers has to be about as confident as any coach could be at this stage of the NBA Playoffs with his team getting ready to start a series on the road. His team has the experience edge, he has a huge experience edge in the coaching department and the Celtics are built for this time of year. Yes, I'm rooting for the Celtics and, yes, I may be biased, but I just see a Boston team that has a game-changer at point guard and a bunch of guys who are going to embrace the stage and the opportunity this series brings. No coach is going to sleep well at this time of year, but I think Rivers and his team are quietly confident in what the next two weeks are going to bring. We'll see. I've been wrong before, like last year at this time when I picked the Cavs in five...
It's good to be...the Indians. My gosh. The Cleveland Indians have a real baseball team, uniforms and everything. And pitchers, and fundamentals, and a few hundred friends and family in the stands, and guys roping line drives. Confidence can be a crazy thing, and if they keep playing the Royals four times a week they just might win 130. Eventually they're going to have to play somebody else, and eventually they're going to encounter some adversity and some really talented opponents. But we'll worry about that later. Kudos to Manny Acta, the players and everyone who put that team together for an outstanding month of baseball.
It's good to be...the Bengals. No, you do not need to check my drink. I really did just write that it's good to be both the Indians and the Bengals, and I meant it. The Bengals are an absolute and certified mess on many levels, but they're picking fourth Thursday night and third Friday night when the draft restarts. They have needs to fill and questions to answer, but from where I sit the Bengals are in a good position in this draft. Even moreso than the Browns, they have some flexibility with their first pick and a chance to get a really good player. They don't necessarily need A.J. Green, but if they think he's the best player in the draft they have a really good shot of getting him. And though the Bengals have questions and more sagas than The Young and the Restless, they already have some talent in that locker room. Adding to it, getting what's there to grow and cutting ties with guys who have outside agendas could be good for everybody. We know the Bengals' draft history, and we know they're going to be thinking outside the box (and possibly from the California League pool) this weekend. But they're in a good spot as they prepare to do so. And the unpredictable draft as a whole should make for really good television.
More later.
