1. This past weekend is typically one of the better sports weekends of the year. The amount of college basketball games that are played from Thursday through Sunday is staggering. While not every conference championship has two brand name teams playing in it like say, a Duke vs. North Carolina matchup, you generally get a hard-fought game between two evenly matched squads. I suppose this advice would be better given a week earlier, but if your TV Guide says "College Basketball -- Team TBA vs. Team TBA" on Championship Weekend, you need to hit 'Enter'. Don't worry about which conference is playing.
2. Thank God for the Caps. Their current 8-game winning streak has been as fun to watch as it has been timely. The lockout has been tough to deal with, but watching the Capitals really come together the last two weeks has been exciting. While I am not the biggest hockey expert, it seems that this current style of play is far more conducive to winning playoff series than in years past.
3. Between Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson, the Amercian golf game is looking pretty strong. These guys have all been factoring big it seems every week. I am very guilty of needing Tiger to be playing well to get super excited about watching a particular tournament--especially on Sunday. But I have really tried to force myself to watch at least some of the last handful of events and I am very impressed with this foursome. I know watching golf on TV is as exciting as watching church on TV for some people. Consider this though: almost no other sport has enjoyed a bigger benefit from the HD age as golf. Hockey is right there too, as HD makes it far easier to follow the puck. If you fancy yourself any kind of golfer, watching golf on HD almost always offers at least one or two moments you can use in your own game.
4. The story everyone is talking about today it seems is that the 2011 season may be uncapped. Or will be uncapped depending on where you read it. Given the Redskins have a limited amount of draft picks, this would seem to favor Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan. I still don't know all the ins and outs of how this would play out, but one thing I am becoming increasingly concerned about is if we find ourselves in bidding wars with teams like Kansas City and Tampa Bay--to name just two rising contenders. What would make a potential free agent want to come here? It is not that we have nothing to offer, but if money is not a determining factor, I worry about competing with the positive momentum some of those clubs have generated in the last season or two.
5. In last week's interview with Chris Cooley on Pickled Hogs Radio, I asked #47 about comments made by Carson Palmer a little over a year ago regarding the likelihood of a player getting killed on the field. I thought his response was fascinating and in line with what many of us believe about today's NFL player. I'm paraphrasing, but he said that he was willing to take risks that could kill him, along with the rest of the players. He firmly believes that the probability that someone will die on the field of play is very, very low. But he did acknowledge that what Palmer said was absolutely possible.
6. I think people need to remember that Carson Palmer PREDICTED someone would get killed on the field--that it was inevitable. To me, it is what convinces me he is not playing any mind games with the Bengals. Here is the link to the Peter King article back in September 2009. If Palmer believes that death is an inevitability on the field of play, don't look for him to be willing to make that kind of sacrifice for the Bengals.