Year: 2016

Did Klinsmann Save his Job?

Chris McGlynn FIFA, Soccer, USMNT

The United States faces off with Ecuador on Thursday night in the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals. Many expected America to be here, but not against this opponent. Peru messed up what should have been a meeting between the U.S. and Brazil, with some help from Costa Rica.

America is favored to beat Ecuador now and advance to the semifinal round. All of that would be great and it makes you wonder if Jurgen Klinsmann has taken himself off the hot seat.

Jurgen Klinsmann
America is 2-1 under Klinsmann heading into the Copa America quarterfinals. (Wikimedia Commons)

Klinsmann has had some mixed results in 2016 and continues to alienate players from MLS. Many felt that a poor showing in this tournament would see him packing his bags. We saw what failing to get out of group play can do to a manager of a very successful team (see Brazil). It was certainly in the realm of possibility that Klinsmann would be unemployed if his team failed to advance.

Even with the U.S. qualifying for the knockout stage, I don’t think Klinsmann has completely gotten himself out of hot water. The United States beat Paraguay and Costa Rica. The game against Los Ticos was spectacular and the Paraguay match was solid. However, they also lost in a rough offensive showing against Columbia. Now, the latter is the number three team in the world at the moment. Overall, this is a good slate of results for the Red, White and Blue.

But the U.S. hasn’t beat anyone they weren’t supposed to. Costa Rica was a toss up and Paraguay was a game America was expected to win. Columbia would have been a major victory. Those two wins were good results but nothing out of the ordinary. Really, the USMNT was lucky to win the pool.

A win over Ecuador would be significant, as they are currently ranked 13th in the world. A semifinal victory could be a huge sign of progress for this team. The US will likely play either Argentina, Chile or Mexico. Defeating one of those three teams would be a significant benchmark in the preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

Jurgen_Klinsmann
America is ranked 31st in the world at the moment. (Wikimedia Commons)

Realistically, the United States has no chance of winning this tournament. They lack to the defensive discipline and offensive fire power to upset potentially three top 20 ranked teams in the world back to back to back.

So while the U.S. won the pool and enter the knockout stage with high hopes, realize that nothing significant has happened yet. They won the pool mainly due to Costa Rica stunning Columbia in the groups’ final game. Everything the Americans have done to this point they were supposed to do.

If they lose to Ecuador, this is an average tournament for the USA. If they beat Ecuador, Klinsmann and his group has a positive result to take from this tournament going forward. Anything past that would be phenomenal progress for the United States. Klinsmann is trending in the direction of safety but I don’t think he has made it quite yet.

2016 NFL Pro Potential Power Rankings

Chris McGlynn Draft, Football, NCAAF, NFL, Power Rankings

For many college football players, the goal is to have success at school to earn a spot in the NFL. Most players who turn pro after college enter the league via the NFL Draft.

With this year seeing a host of Ohio State players drafted in the first three rounds, I was curious which schools have the best track record for sending players to the next level. Not just getting them there, but producing players that go high up in the draft. I set up a scoring system for player selections in each round and then scored the last five NFL Drafts to come up with our first ever Pro Potential Power Rankings. This is college football we are talking about, so here is the top 25.

The scoring system is as follows:
1st round-10 points
2nd round-7 points
3rd round-5 points
4th round-4 points
5th round- 3 points
6th round- 2 points
7th round- 1 points

Alabama Logo1. Alabama Crimson Tide- 225 points
Highest Drafted Player– Trent Richardson, 3rd Overall, 2012
This should come as no surprise. Alabama has become a football factory under Nick Saban. They have the most first rounders of any team over the past five years and are one of only a few teams to have a first rounder in each year I looked at.

Florida State Logo2. Florida State Seminoles- 183 points
Highest Drafted Player– Jameis Winston, 1st Overall, 2015
There is a sizable drop off from number one to number two, but that’s Alabama for you. Jimbo Fisher has done well at producing high profile draft picks though with first rounders going in each of the last four drafts.

Ohio State Logo3. Ohio State Buckeyes- 166 points
Highest Drafted Player- Joey Bosa, 3rd Overall, 2016
Something tells me that these guys are going to challenge Alabama next year. The Buckeyes had 10 players drafted in the first three rounds this past year with plenty more pro prospects expected in the next few years.

Louisiana State University logo4. LSU Tigers- 160 points
Highest Drafted Player– Barkevious Mingo/Morris Caliborne, 6th Overall, 2013/2012
It has been two years now since Les Miles’ club has produced a first rounder, but with Leonard Fournette on the horizon, next year LSU should expect another one. These guys will be staying in the top ten for a while.

Notre Dame Logo5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish- 151 points
Highest Drafted Player– Ronnie Stanley, 6th Overall, 2016
The Fighting Irish are one of the most high-profile teams in college football. That reflects in the draft as well. Notre Dame continually produces players going in the first three rounds. 2015 was the only season they did not produce a first round selection.

Florida logo.jpg6. Florida Gators- 145 points
Highest Drafted Player– Dante Fowler Jr., 3rd Overall, 2015
It hasn’t always lead to on the field success, but Florida has continued to produce elite level college prospects. 2012 was the only year the Gators didn’t have a players selected in the first round.

Stanford Cardinal7. Stanford Cardinal- 137 points
Highest Drafted Player– Andrew Luck, 1st Overall, 2012
Don’t be surprised if Stanford takes a dip in next year’s rankings. They are still riding a 2012 draft that saw four players go in the first two rounds. However, Christian McCaffrey seems like a lock for a first round pick next year, so they shouldn’t drop too far.

Clemson Logo8. Clemson Tigers- 134 points
Highest Drafted Player– Sammy Watkins, 4th Overall, 2014
This is another team we should see continue to rise up the rankings. Clemson has had a player drafted in the first round each of the last four years. Next year should make it five with DeShaun Watson a projected top five pick.

Georgia Logo9. Georgia Bulldogs- 125 points
Highest Drafted Player– Todd Gurley, 10th overall, 2015
Another SEC team in the top ten should be no surprise. Georgia has a strong tradition of producing NFL-caliber players. If we went back further, Georgia might have been higher up on this list.

Texas A&M logo10. Texas A&M Aggies- 108 points
Highest Drafted Player– Luke Joeckel, 2nd Overall, 2013
Why not have another SEC in the top ten? A&M is another one of those schools to have a first rounder in each of the past five years. They should be locked in as a top 15 school with the recruits they continue to attract.

USC logo11. USC Trojans- 107 points
Highest Drafted Player– Matt Kalil, 4th Overall, 2012
10 years ago, USC likely would have topped this list. Just goes to show how far USC has fallen since the Reggie Bush scandal broke. The Trojans will eventually regain composure, but they need to solve their coaching debacle first.

Oklahoma Logo12. Oklahoma Sooners- 106 points
Highest Drafted Player– Lane Johnson, 4th Overall, 2013
Oklahoma is a traditional football power but that doesn’t always translate to high draft picks. In fact Johnson, is the only Sooner in the last five years to go in the first round. Oklahoma has thrived off players being selected in the second through fourth rounds.

Oregon logo13. Oregon Ducks-  101 points
Highest Drafted Player– Marcus Mariota, 2nd Overall, 2015
Oregon’s success in the NFL Draft is mostly a testament to Chip Kelly’s time in the Pacific Northwest. Mariota is the biggest name taken, but Oregon has several other first round draft picks, mainly over the past three years. The Ducks aren’t going away any time soon.

Miami logo14. Miami Hurricanes- 92 points
Highest Drafted Player– Ereck Flowers, 9th Overall, 2015
Miami isn’t the same football factory it was back in the late 90s and early 2000s, but the U is on it’s way back. Brad Kayaa is a projected top five pick next season. The Hurricanes could be moving up these rankings very quickly.

Wisconsin logo15. Wisconsin Badgers- 92 points
Highest Drafted Player– Melvin Gordon, 15th Overall, 2015
Despite having the same score as Miami, Wisconsin loses out because Flowers was drafted earlier. The Badgers are in for a drop on this list next year with a stellar 2012 class doing most of the heavy lifting in their score. Still, top 15 is very good for Wisco.

West Virginia logo16. West Virginia Mountaineers- 90 points
Highest Drafted Player– Kevin White, 7th Overall, 2015
We are not grading schools based on pro success, because that might be a category where West Virginia struggled. Or at least living up to expectations. Either way, the Mountaineers have done really well producing players in the first three rounds of the draft.

UCLA logo.jpg17. UCLA Bruins- 90 points
Highest Drafted Player– Anthony Barr, 9th Overall, 2014
Another PAC 12 team makes the list. UCLA has had mixed results over the past few season in terms of draft success. The Bruins seem to do well at sending players to the NFC North (Barr, Brett Huntley, Datone Jones). They lose out to West Virginia because White was drafted higher than Barr.

Louisville logo18. Louisville Cardinals- 88 points
Highest Drafted Player– Sheldon Rankins, 12th Overall, 2016
This is probably the most surprising team on the list. Louisville is not a traditional top 25 team, but they have had a player drafted in the first round each of the past three years. They are helped mainly by the three that came out in 2014.

South Carolina logo19. South Carolina Gamecocks- 87 points
Highest Drafted Player– Jadeveon Clowney, 1st Overall, 2014
Still riding a strong 2012 draft class featuring Stephon Gilmore, Melvin Ingram and Alshon Jeffrey, South Carolina is likely in for a drop off next season. However, the SEC often finds ways to produce pro-ready players out of nowhere, so the Gamecocks will be interesting to watch.

Michigan State logo20. Michigan State Spartans- 87 points
Highest Drafted Player– Jack Conklin, 8th Overall, 2016
Michigan State has been one of the most successful college football teams in the country over the past few years. That is beginning to translate into draft success. Sparty is another program we could see rising up the rankings in the near future.

Missouri logo21. Missouri Tigers- 81 points
Highest Drafted Player– Sheldon Richardson, 13th Overall, 2013
Only two Missouri players have gone in the first round since 2012, but a solid number of mid-round selections pushes them onto the list. Just goes to show that even some of the middling teams in the SEC produces high draft picks.

UNC logo.jpg22. UNC Tar Heels- 74 points
Highest Drafted Player– Eric Ebron, 10th Overall, 2014
There were a couple of players that I was surprised to discover went to North Carolina. Giovani Bernard was one, Sylvester Williams another. Either way, the Tar Heels haven’t produced a tremendous amount of prospects, but the ones they do churn out, tend to go high in the draft.

Penn State logo23. Penn State Nittany Lions- 74 points
Highest Drafted Player– Donovan Smith, 34th Overall, 2015
Penn State was the only team to make the list without a player selected in the first round over the past five years. Happy Valley continues to churn out mid round selections, particularly second rounders.

Baylor logo24. Baylor Bears- 73 points
Highest Drafted Player– Robert Griffin III, 2nd Overall, 2012
Because I am only looking at the last five years of draft history, Baylor is a popular bet to drop out of the rankings next year. Most of Baylor’s points come from a strong 2012 class, but the 2016 group wasn’t bad. The recent scandal unfolding in Waco doesn’t bode well for the future though.

Washington Huskies logo.jpg25. Washington Huskies- 71 points
Highest Drafted Player– Danny Shelton, 12th Overall, 2015
A 2015 draft featuring three Washington players sneaks the Huskies into the top 25. Washington is very top heavy, not having produces many draftees, but placing a lot of them in the first round.

Others Receiving Votes: Arkansas- 69 points, Boise State- 68 points, Mississippi State– 66 points, Auburn– 66 points, Cal- 61 points

Note: All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 

The better finals rematch

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA, Playoffs , ,

Golden State completed one of the great comebacks in NBA history beating Oklahoma City to advance to the NBA Finals. Those finals against Cleveland began Thursday and I have to admit that I am a little disappointed.

Stephen_Curry2
Steph Curry is the reigning MVP for a second straight year. (Wikimedia Commons)

I know watching Steph Curry and Klay Thompson shoot is fun and the Draymond Green against LeBron James matchup has been interesting, but there was a much better rematch I was hoping to see in the finals this year.

It wouldn’t necessarily have been between two teams as much as it would have been between two players. Think back to four years ago when James was still wearing a Miami uniform. At this time in 2012, LeBron still had not won a ring. Neither had his main adversary in that year’s finals, Kevin Durant.

Fast forward four years and Durant is still seeking that ring while LeBron is desperately trying to bring Cleveland a title. Watching those two matchup again in the finals, granted with much different supporting casts, would have been epic to see.

LeBron_James_vs_Andre_Roberson
James and the Cavaliers have struggled against Golden State this season, but fared well versus Oklahoma City. (Wikimedia Commons)

It was a great battle the first time around. Durant averaged over 30 points a night, while LeBron posted 28, 7 and 10 per game. It was a battle of wills that Durant lost due to having a much weaker supporting cast. He had Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, but that was no match for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in their prime.

Outside of LeBron and Durant matching up, there are a few other matchups I would have loved to see in a Thunder-Cavaliers series, one of them involving the aforementioned Westbrook. He is one of the best pure scorers in the league at this point. His athletic blend makes him a nightmare to guard. One of the players best-suited to slowdown Westbrook is Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving.

We never got to see the two faceoff in the regular season, as Irving missed the first game as he continued to recover from that gruesome knee injury last year. He played just nine minutes in the second meeting. The regular season only scratched the surface of what this matchup could have been.

Kyrie Irving
Irving only played in Game 1 last year before fracturing his knee. (Wikimedia Commons)

I’m not saying for a minute that I will not be watching the finals now as a result of the Thunder not being a part of it, or that the repeat of last year’s finals won’t be interesting (especially now that Kevin Love and Irving are healthy), but I think we certainly got robbed.

I have to take what I can get though, and I might as well make a prediction. Cleveland took pretty much this same Golden State team to six games last year, despite missing two of it’s best players.

The Warriors took the first two games. I don’t think Cleveland will end up getting swept. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them snag two wins before the Warriors close it out. Repeat of last year, Golden State wins in six games and the Cavs spend another offseason wondering what went wrong.

Solving college basketball’s one and done problem

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Draft, NBA, NCAA , ,

Every year we see it at Kentucky. A bunch of 19-year old kids leave school after just one year, as they enter the NBA draft. They leave behind an incomplete education with hopes of making millions in professional basketball.

Karl-Anthony_Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns only spent one year at Kentucky, but has transitioned well to the NBA. (Wikimedia Commons)

Kentucky isn’t the only school where this is happening though, as it has morphed into a problem across the entire NCAA landscape. This “one and done” phenomenon is a product of the NBA’s rule requiring players to spend one year in college or playing overseas before entering the league’s rookie draft. This leads to several, I won’t say all, student-athletes heading to school to essentially major in basketball.

They take a couple of classes to keep their GPA up to be eligible for the basketball season and then leave school after one year with no real education. This year, we saw potential number one overall pick Ben Simmons withdraw from classes early, after the season had ended so he could focus on training for the upcoming draft combine.

Many of these players make millions at the next and have no need for an education, but for those who fall through the cracks and fail to take hold in the league, they suddenly find themselves out of a job without a college education.

The quality of play has dropped off as well. Back in the best days of college basketball, you had players staying for three or four years at their respective schools, developing into polished players before making the jump to the pros.

Think back to the days when Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Patrick Ewing and so many others stayed in school long enough to become superstars and transcend college programs. College basketball lacks that right now, with very few of the game’s top players staying for more than a year at the collegiate level.

That is what college basketball needs to increase the level of play again. The NBA could use the same thing to be honest. Most of these rookies enter the league and require a year or two essentially sitting on the bench or playing in the D-league because they aren’t ready to compete at the next level yet. Very few come in as polished products ready to contribute on day one.

Tyler Ennis
Ennis was drafted in the first round in 2014 by the Phoenix Suns. (Wikimedia Commons)

Look at Tyler Ennis as an example. He had one great year at Syracuse and then decided to make the jump to the pros. Ennis would have benefited from another year in college, but as a result of the one and done culture, felt that he needed to enter the draft. Over the last two years, Ennis has only played 79 games, averaging around 14 minutes per game. He is constantly bouncing back and forth from the NBA to the D-league and while he is still young, his NBA career has gotten off to a very slow start.

Ennis is far from the only one either. Anthony Bennett failed to translate to the NBA after just one season an UNLV. Austin Rivers is still only a role piece as he left Duke after just one year.

To solve all of these issues, the NCAA and the NBA needs to work out a new structure for how long college athletes must stay in school and about the requirements of going to school.

The NCAA should adopt a system similar to what it has set up for college baseball. Players are not require to play a year before entering the professional draft. However, if these high schoolers decide to attend a college as a student-athlete, they must spend three years at the school before they can enter the draft. I would also like to add some other provisions as well.

Universities would be required to honor a player’s scholarship if he chose to come back and finish his degree after his playing days had ended or if he decided to complete it during the summer. They would also be required to honor the scholarship of student-athletes in the event of an injury that cost them their career.

This system would actually solve so many different issues. First and foremost, players would finally have a more complete education having to finish three years of school rather than just one. That additional year required to finish most undergraduate degrees would be much easier to complete at a later time and the athletes would have it covered by their scholarship. The student-athletes would also be able to continue their education in the event of an injury, which happens way too frequently and results in a loss of scholarship.

While it seems like the NCAA is giving up a lot here, there would be some major benefits. To start, they would see a huge jump in the quality of play for college basketball. With players staying school longer, they can become more marketable to fans and television networks, meaning an uptick in revenue.

The schools would also see an increase in Academic Progress Ratings. The NCAA describes this as, “hold[ing] institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.” With a higher retention rate and increased graduation rates of players, schools would be able to boost their ratings.

College basketball as a whole would benefit from this system as the talent would begin to spread. With student-athletes staying school longer, coaches would not need to recruit as heavily each year, which would mean that players would have to start looking at schools other than the traditional powerhouses if they wanted playing time right away.

We would also see an improvement in play at the NBA level. The guys who are ready to compete right out of high school would no longer have to waste a year playing college ball without a real educate in place. There are still plenty of them that transition seamlessly into the pros after just one season in college. Those who need a little time to develop would have three whole years to hone their skills and refine their game before jumping to the NBA. That would lead to an increase in pro-ready prospects.

This system is not perfect, but it is certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to repairing the current dysfunctional method to college basketball.

In sports, hate is respect

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Football, Hockey , ,

There are some people in sports that you just hate. You hate seeing them have win awards or titles. You hate seeing them make a spectacular play. You just hate seeing them have success in general.

I talked about it the other day, but there are all kinds of hate. There is the hate for Alex Rodriguez, Sepp Blatter and Roger Goodell, which is based on their character and decision making. However, there is also the hatred of a player because he or she is really good at what he or she does.

USA Canada 2010 Gold Medal Game
Crosby scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the US. (Wikimedia Commons)

This version of the word is reserved for a only a few in sports. There are many that hate LeBron. Plenty despised Manning. Crosby is a someone hockey fans love to hate. Messi and Ronaldo are two of the most hated players in the world.

This kind of hate is usually personal. For me, I’ve always hated Brady and Kobe, as well as Crosby, and I’m sure I’m not alone. I never wanted to see them do well and it pained me when they did. That was a problem cause they were successful a lot.

In sports, hatred is the highest level of respect a fan can have for a player. That might sound odd, but when you think about it, it adds up. You despise these athletes because of how good they are at what they do. It is nothing to do with who they are as a person in this case. Instead, it focuses on their accomplishments, which means that you have acknowledged their success.

Kobe Bryant
Bryant retired third on the NBA all-time scoring list. (Wikimedia Commons)

It took me a very long time to realize why I hated some of these guys so much. It was because they were really good. I hated these players like Brady, Crosby and Kobe because they continually did things that most other athletes could not and I didn’t want to see it happen. I truly hated them solely because they were good at what they did.

Eventually, that kind of hatred turns into respect. I can’t stand Kobe and his constantly isolation, but I recognize that he is one of the top ten players to ever lace them up. Crosby cost me $10 in a bet when I was a kid and cost the United States a gold medal in hockey at the Olympics. I resented him for that, but I know it’s because of how skilled he is as a player.

Tom_Brady
Brady is tied for the most Super Bowl wins as a quarterback in league history. (Wikimedia Commons)

And Brady, man, I don’t know if I can put into words how much I hate Brady. He has tormented the Jets for as long as I can remember and I mean that quite literally. I’ve watched him hold up the Lombardi Trophy four times. Each time has felt like a gut punch. However, I accept the fact that he is arguably the best quarterback in NFL history.

It is hard to admit these things to ourselves, much less to other people. You always want to maintain that those players are not as good as everyone else thinks they are. Eventually, you give up the fight though and begin to respect them.

That doesn’t mean you hate them any less, you just understand that your hatred is more than justified because of all the success they have accrued over the course of their respective careers.

Do I still hate these guys? Absolutely. But do I respect that they are great athletes that I am lucky to be watching. Yes, I just might not like to admit it.

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