Author Archives: Bobby Roberts

Brewers Trade J.J. Hardy To Twins

The Alcides Escobar era has officially begun. The Brewers clear the way for their young phenom by trading J.J. Hardy to the Minnesota Twins for speedy center-fielder Carlos Gomez. Does this trade mean that Mike Cameron’s option won’t be picked up by the Brewers?

J.J. Hardy had to be traded to make room for Alcides Escobar, but was Carlos Gomez enough in return? Hardy has some power in his bat, he has hit a total of 75 homers in just over 500 career games. His average hit a career low last season, he was hovering around the Mendoza line all year, but Gomez doesn’t give you much of anything offensively. He is only a career .246 hitter and 12 career home-runs in over 1000 at-bats. Gomez is a nice defensive center-fielder, but with the pitching problems that the Brewers have had, maybe a player with more offensive abilities would be a better match in center-field. Mike Cameron has a $10-million dollar option that they can pick up, I think that they should still pick that up to give Gomez another year of maturing before giving him the job permanently.

I have owned both J.J. Hardy and Carlos Gomez in fantasy baseball leagues over the last two seasons. Hardy is a much better player, but he had a bad year last season. Gomez hasn’t showed that he has the ability to hit for average in the Majors. He has speed, but if he can’t get on base, it doesn’t help the team much.

Who won in this trade? An instant judgment would be that the Twins were the winners in this deal. They can let Orlando Cabrera walk and Nick Punto will be a nice platoon player for them. With all the hitters on the Twins, Hardy will be protected and he should have a very nice season for Minnesota.

Carlos Gomez has the tools to be a lead-off hitter, but with his low batting average and his horrible strikeout-to-walk ratio, he is more likely to be projected as a #9 hitter or pinch-runner.

Time will tell who is the winner, but the Twins have a way to get the most out of their players. J.J. Hardy landed in the perfect place, but I’m not sure if Carlos Gomez can do much to help out the Brewers.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Not Again! Bob Sanders Out For Year

Bob Sanders was the Defensive Player Of The Year just a few seasons ago, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy since. He is under-sized and is a very physical player, which may lead to some of his past injuries. There is no doubt that the Colts are a better team with Sanders in the lineup, but they have done well without this year, but will this injury lead to the Colts’ defense being exposed?

It’s been a long time since the Colts have had a great player in their secondary. Jeff Burris was a good player and Ray Buchanan had a few good seasons, but went on to the Falcons and had his career years. Bob Sanders was the first elite defensive back that I can remember the Colts having since they moved to Indianapolis. He hasn’t stayed healthy since he signed his contract extension and it’s possible if he can’t stay on the field next year, he could see his way out of Indianapolis. The Colts no longer play the Tampa 2 and they have learned to play without him for most of the last few years. He is clearly a slow healer, unlike Dwight Freeney, who if he gets injured, seems to be back on the field the next week.

The Colts are currently undefeated, it’s not uncommon really, over the last few years this has happened a few times. They go through the first-half of the year undefeated, then they start to play divisional opponents a second time and then usually a tough game against the Patriots or Steelers and lose a few games. Injuries usually start to add up and a team that goes 8-0 in the first half, ends up as a 12-4 team.

The injuries that I am most worried about are the injuries to Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden. Jackson injured his knee in practice for the second-straight season. He will miss the remainder of the season, an injury is that is similar to what occurred in 2008. Hayden will miss a few weeks with an injury, so he will miss the Patriots game. With these two guys out, they will have to start two rookie corners for the next few weeks. Tom Brady could be drooling by that time, since he has been known to go after rookie corners, but if he has two of them to carve up, it could be a long game for Indianapolis. Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers will be tested over the next few weeks.

I was worried about the Colts at the beginning of the year. Anthony Gonzalez suffered a knee injury in the first game and has yet to return. He had his knee scoped this week, so the timetable for his return may have been pushed back a few weeks. They have a nice young receiving corps and guys like Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie has stepped up in place of Gonzalez. He can afford to stay away and fully heal up, a luxury that members on the defense do not have.

The next few weeks will be a test for the Colts. They have two games against the red-hot Matt Schaub and the Texans, the Patriots, and the Ravens over the next four weeks. If they get past these four games, they only have the Broncos and Jets as possible teams to knock them out of the ranks of the unbeaten.

I don’t think this team should worry about staying unbeaten, if they know anything, a loss in the regular season doesn’t mean much, it looks like they will win the AFC South. A loss in the post-season will end their season, if they are going to have a bad game, they better have it in the regular season or another productive season will go up in flames.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Help A Blogger Out!

Hey guys, as many of your know, I write for a Columbus Blue Jackets team site for Fanball. I will soon be under review to get media credentials to cover the games live. I would love to boost my traffic numbers up, so if you guys could please visit a few links here and check out the site, I would helps me out a lot. Thanks guys, you are the best.

Blue Jackets Studs & Duds Of The Month

Blue Jackets Hold Off Capitals

Blue Jackets Face Three Games Of Doom

Mike Commodore Doesn’t Deserve A $1 Dog

Can Nikita Filatov Earn More Minutes?

Thanks guys!

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

The Many Faces Of Jayson Werth

The season is officially over and I have been sitting on something for a few weeks. I have read numerous amounts of tweets on Twitter about how Jayson Werth looks like Edge from the WWE. It got me wondering, has it always looked like that or could this soul-patch, long hair look be something that he has been sporting his entire career. After going a google search, what I found was very, very disturbing. This is a must-see.

Let’s start off with some fairly recent pictures of Mr. Werth. Please note the obvious soul-patch or flavor-saver (I’ve been told that people actually call it that) and shaggy hair. Here are a few to look over.

Now that you see what Jayson Werth looks like now, let’s take a gander to just a few years ago when he was an up & coming young prospect in the Baltimore Orioles organization.

Wow, is it me or does it look like a guy who would be rather be at a Comic-con than in a baseball diamond?

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

What The Cubs Need To Do This Off-season

Now that the Yankees have won the World Series and the season is officially over, it’s time for Cubs fans to start thinking about what the team needs to do this off-season. Can the Cubs do anything internally to upgrade their bullpen? Can they afford to wait on their high-priced player to contribute or should they deal them to a team for prospects and re-build? We identify some needs, some players that need to go, and some free agents that Tom Ricketts need to sink some money into.

The Cubs have a lot of dead weight on their roster. They have used a lot of money to sign high-priced players that haven’t lived up to their potential. Alsonso Soriano, Milton Bradley, Kosuke Fukudome, and Carlos Zambrano didn’t have great seasons last year and their combined payroll is most than many small market teams. Their pitching staff, especially their closer position, was very rocky and Carlos Marmol completely imploded with a WHIP around 1.50 for most of the year.

Let’s start off with players that are free agents from the Cubs. Kevin Gregg, Reed Johnson, Rich Harden, and John Grabow all are free agents this off-season. First off, let Gregg walk, he wasn’t good on back-to-back days and he played himself out of the closer role. I would also agree with letting Harden leave as well, there are some nice 4th and 5th starters in this free agency pool that could step in and go more than five innings. Harden put extra burden on the bullpen to close games and many of the games Harden would give up a lot of runs the last inning of work. I would say to re-sign Grabow and Johnson to contracts. Grabow is a nice left-hander that could be a possible closer candidate. You would have to give him at least a three-year deal, but I would be okay with that, he showed promise with the Cubs. Reed Johnson would be a nice two-year player as a platoon with Fukudome in center. He is nice off the bench and pinch-hits very well.

Tom Ricketts needs to spend money to make this Cubs roster a contender. You have at least one more year of Pinella as your manager and you need to stack the deck. As a new owner, you will need to make a splash, so your first move should be to sign Mark DeRosa and get him back on the Cubs. The biggest mistake that they made was trading him away. They did get a few nice minor-league pitchers that will probably be on the 40-man roster this next season, but throw the check book at DeRosa. He probably wants at least a three or four year deal, but try and get him for $10 million a year. They shouldn’t care what it costs, it will bring all the Cubs fans together and support Ricketts as the new owner. DeRosa can play nearly every position and if there is an injury, like last year’s injury to Aramis Ramirez, it won’t cost the Cubs games with DeRosa filling in. If you go another season with Aaron Miles and Jeff Baker as your options in case of an injury, you’re going to be hurting.

The other free agents that you need to look at are Bobby Abreu (who they should have signed last year), Chone Figgins, Justin Duchscherer (could be a nice, cheap option as a 4th starter), Randy Wolf, Ben Sheets, and Miguel Tejada (if he would agree to a one-year deal). Abreu will be looking for a huge contract and will probably be out of the Cubs price range. Figgins would also be looking at a huge contract and it would be a multi-year deal, it could be risky, the older he gets, the more his speed could diminish. Justin Duchscherer was out all year recovering from surgery, but his 2008 season was amazing. I know he has injury concerns now, but they could get him at a discount. I would love if they signed him, his upside would be tremendous. Randy Wolf is dependable and you know what you get with him. His upside would be last season when he was coasting through games with an ERA around 3.00. He could have played himself get into nice contract, so the Cubs may have to outbid a few teams if they really want him. I listed Ben Sheets because I think he still has something left in the tank. Who would have thought that Sheets and Jake Peavy would be in baseball no-man’s land, if you add in Brandon Webb, those were the best three pitchers in the league just two seasons ago. You could get Sheets cheap, I would love this signing. Miguel Tejada is the last on my list and rumors have been floating around since he was in Baltimore of a possible deal/signing with the Cubs. If the Cubs were more of a contender, he would sign a one-year deal, but it doesn’t look like they are on the short-list to win the World Series next year, so it would be unlikely.

The Cubs need to do their best to move some player this off-season. Milton Bradley would be the best candidate for this to happen, mostly because of his attitude and the fact that they still owe him more than $20 million over the next two seasons. Some rumors are flying around a trade with the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells, but I don’t see how that makes sense. Wells is a nice player, not great, but he is signed to an ungodly contract. Wells still has five years left and $107 million dollars left on his deal, but the rumor is that the teams would split the contract in half. I still don’t see this happening for the Cubs, since they have received plenty of interest from other teams and the Blue Jays would have to sweeten the deal.

Jake Fox is another player that has to be moved before next season. If the Cubs were in the American League, Fox has the ability to be their franchise designated-hitter for many years, but unfortunately he doesn’t have a position on the Cubs. If they could move him for a nice young starter, it would be in the Cubs best interest to make that deal. The Orioles have a nice stash of young pitchers and we all know how the Cubs love to make trades with the Orioles. I can see this happening, even though I wrote many posts about how the Cubs need to stop trading with bad teams and getting little in return.

Tom Ricketts has a lot to think about this off-season. A lot has been written if the Ricketts family can afford to add to the payroll and it has been a mixed bag of responses. They want to put the profits back into the Cubs and improve the facilities, but before you do that, make one push to get this team to the elite level. They did a great thing by signing Rudy Jaramillo as their hitting coach, he did some great things for the Texas Rangers. These are the things that the new owner needs to do to improve the team. Build the team around fundamentals and get these high-priced players to get back to hitting and pitching and doing everything right. I don’t know what the window of is on this team to be good, but it’s closing. Zambrano could bite the head off of a pitching coach any day, you never know.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Eric Mangini Still Not Fired?

The Cleveland Browns fired GM George Kokinis yesterday, but head coach Eric Mangini is still the coach. I don’t know how this can happen, considering that Mangini actually picked Kokinis to be the GM. I don’t know a situation that has ever worked out when a person picks his own boss. How long does Mangini last in Cleveland?

I have seen my fair share of Cleveland Browns games since I moved to Columbus, Ohio three years ago. I thought the team last year was a joke, but they can’t even score points this year. They completely quit on Brady Quinn and decided to put Jake Delhomme Jr. (Derek Anderson) in as a permanent starter. If a QB goes 2 for 17 in one of the first games as a starter, I don’t know how many keep that role. It happened against the Bills, who to the Browns defense, made Mark Sanchez look like a, er, rookie. Nevermind, Anderson should be benched and just like the Titans did with Vince Young, the Browns need to see what they have with Quinn.

One of the reasons why many speculate that Quinn is not the starter is because he has a bonus in his contract that if he takes more than 50% of the snaps this season he gets $11 million dollars. I know that is a large number and it could be wise for a team not to spend money, but are the Browns a football team or an accounting firm? If your job is in jeopardy, wouldn’t it be wise to play your best players?

The Browns are in bad shape. I have really been back and forth about which team is the worst team in the NFL. I think the Browns are definitely in the conversation with the Rams, Redskins, Lions, Raiders, and Jaguars. The Redskins and Browns are so bad that when I watch them, they make me feel bad for them. I’m not supposed to feel sad during an NFL game. These players are making more a year than I will this decade and they are grown men, yet I think they probably need a hug after most games.

I hope the Browns get better, if that’s with Mangini, so be it, but I hope that it is soon. I get most Browns and Bengals games here and I am tired of watching horrible, sloppy football on Sundays. Is firing George Kokinis enough for Cleveland fans not to do a protest and leave their seats vacant at kickoff on Monday Night Football? I sure hope so, because it’s not about the personnel anymore, it’s about an entire franchise that seems to have lost the connection with the hard-working, blue-collar fans that pay for tickets.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

I’m Officially Announcing My Candidacy To Be An NBA GM

Charles Barkley has came out recently that he wants a job being a general manager in the NBA. He hasn’t been the only person to lobby for this position. Deadspin recently wrote a review for Bill Simmons’ book, “The Book of Basketball,” and said it was a 700-page resumé to be an NBA GM. I guess since everyone else is doing it, why not me?

Dear NBA Owners,

My name is Bobby Roberts, but I am known around the internet as “Sweetbob.” I am writing you to officially announce my candidacy for a general manager position with one of your teams. I know that there are more qualified than me and probably know more about the game than me, but c’mon, it would be a fun gig!

Here is the scenario, remember the movie “Eddie” starring the great Whoopi Goldberg? It would be a real-life version, but hopefully a lot more entertaining. Once I am announced as your new general manager, just imagine all of the press that your team would get. I would be on big news programs like “ESPN’s First Take” or “Last Call with Carson Daly.”

I’m from Indiana, so I have that going for me. Larry Bird didn’t have any executive experience before he got the gig in Indiana and look what he’s done! He’s been the #9 seed in the East the last few years, what an amazing job he has done. I also went to an Indiana University affiliate, the same college that pumped out great NBA executives like Isiah Thomas and Mark Cuban.

I am throwing my hat in the ring for the same reason why Charles Barkley and Bill Simmons did…why not? It seems like a pretty easy job. I’m currently an accountant, so I can figure out salary cap numbers or if not, I can just try out trade on ESPN’s Trade Machine. I think everyone deserves a shot, maybe we should start a lottery system where everyone has a year to turn an NBA team around. Think about it, maybe you can use those ping pong balls that you use for the NBA Draft. Everyone deserves a chance to mess it up, right?

Sincerely,
Bobby Roberts

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

America’s White Boy at Sports Media 360

Hey guys, I just arrived in Cleveland, OH for the Sports Media 360 conference. I will be meeting up some fellow bloggers and hopefully get some useful knowledge from the great panels tomorrow. I will try to get some pictures up at some point this weekend. If you’re in the Cleveland area, stop by the Renaissance Hotel, it should be a pretty fun conference the next couple of days.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

My (Failed) Attempt To Get Bill Simmons To Write For "America’s White Boy"

I read on Deadspin that Bill Simmons would like to start up a website and become the underdog once again. He is currently under contract with ESPN, but this is something that he could possibly do once his contract ends. I am here to offer him a position here at America’s White Boy. Why spend the capital to start a new website when you have a fairly okay one right here. I have to admit, he probably has more perks at ESPN, even if he is rarely in Bristol, CT. Here is my failed attempt at luring Bill Simmons to write for us.

“America’s White Boy” isn’t the biggest sports blog on the internet, it’s only has a page rank of 4 on Google, but hey I won’t censor you. You can talk about basically anything, I’ll allow it. If you want to write a 540,000 word post about how Christina Hendricks’ boobs are better than Salma Hayek’s boobs, go ahead! You could even invite a porn star in your fantasy basketball league, although considering your possible bad blood with your soon-to-be former employer ESPN, you may have to use Yahoo for your league.

You probably won’t be able to land huge interviews for podcasts, I don’t have the bandwith for downloads. Although I will give you creative freedom to do some nice “Top 10” posts, I hear they do well on Digg and Reddit. Think about it…

As far as pay goes, you have enough money, right? “The Book Of Basketball” is going sell a few million copies and I’m sure you’ll end up as an NBA GM at some point. I know the Milwaukee gig didn’t work out, but once the Zombie Sonics GM quits, the job is all yours. Also, please disregard my post on Gunaxin.com about your possible General Manager position with an NBA team. It was meant as tongue-in-cheek, like your constant ribbing of Mike Dunleavy. If you get enough traffic, maybe I can get a pair of Columbus Crew tickets, ’cause I hear that you like soccer.

I have one condition of employment, you would have to move to Columbus, OH. I know, it could be a dealbreaker, but I have to know what my possible employers are doing. I do watch NFL games every weekend, but I doubt my 27-inch Sanyo television compares to Jimmy Kimmel’s set-up, but hey, free Raising Cane’s chicken fingers and White Castle to eat and all the Old Style that you can drink.

In closing, I am the definition of an underdog. I am an accountant during the day and I write for three websites at night. I would write if only one person would read my posts. Sure, I do get some advertising money, but I’ve used it to upgrade my laptop, buy my URL, and be able to attend a blogger conference this weekend. I write to explain my point of view and I hope to make a career out of it at some point. If it’s either here on this site or somewhere else, I love writing. I have been a sports fan since I was a little boy and my fondess memories were watching Chicago Cubs games with my dad. I know athletes aren’t perfect and most are barely role models, but there are times that I forget that and get lost in games that make me feel like a kid again. To modify a quote from “Almost Famous,”What Do I love about sports?….Everything.”

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Review – "Baseball Americana" by Harry Katz

Harper Collins has published a great coffee table book entitled “Baseball Americana.” It’s by Harry Katz, Frank Ceresi, Phil Michel, Wilson McBee, and Susan Reyburn, it’s a lot of people’s names, but it’s a big book. There are so many great pictures and information in this book from the Library of Congress. There’s even a panoramic picture of the first Black World Series in 1924. Here is my review of “Baseball Americana”…

I’m a huge baseball fan and when I can read a book about the historical past of baseball, I jump at the opportunity. Some of the things in “Baseball Americana” are things that aren’t shown in any other book. Some of the material that this books includes are a picture baseball being played in 1787, the first ever baseball card, a rare color photograph of Satchel Paige, and even a lithograph of the first ever professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869. Continue reading →

NCAA Football – Week 8 Betting Picks

I went 9-4 picking against the spread last week and I’m still fuming over the Notre Dame/USC game. I’m a fan of the Fighting Irish, but they pick the one week that I pick USC to cover to play very well against the Trojans. I have a lot of teams covering the spread this week, but you may find my upset pick of the week pretty interesting. Can we have another good week ATS? I feel pretty confident, but here are my NCAA Football picks against the spread for Week 8.

I’m staying away from a few teams this week. I’m not touching Oklahoma (because of Sam Bradford), Cincinnati (because of Tony Pike), and UConn (because of the murder of a player). Those games are very unpredictable and I would stay away.

Tulsa (-7.5) at UTEP (+7.5) – My pick is Tulsa

Tulsa had a close game against Boise State last week, but fell short by a touchdown. They have an explosive offensive and UTEP won’t be able to keep up. Tulsa will win this game by two touchdowns.

Florida State (+2.5) at North Carolina (-2.5) – My pick is Florida State

The Seminoles have had a pretty bad year so far, but North Carolina has been very unimpressive against BCS schools. This game is a must-win if they have any aspirations on going to a bowl game this year. Florida State will win this game, but I feel it will be close.

Georgia Tech (-5.5) at Virginia (+5.5) – My pick is Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech had an impressive win against Virginia Tech last week. The Hokies couldn’t stop their running game and Virginia won’t be able to do it either. I’ll give the points and take Georgia Tech.

Arkansas (+6) at Mississippi (-6) – My pick is Arkansas

Who knew that Bobby Petrino would get Arkansas playing well this soon? They almost knocked off Florida last week and I’ve seen a few Ole Miss games this year and they are pretenders. Give me the points and I’ll take Arkansas.

Oklahoma State (-9.5) at Baylor (+9.5) – My pick is Oklahoma State

Even without Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State has looked pretty good and Baylor has been very inconsistent. I believe 9.5 points is a pretty big point spread, but the Cowboys will cover it.

Ball State (-2.5) at Eastern Michigan (+2.5) – My pick is Ball State

Neither of these teams have won a game this season, but Ball State’s offense is better than Eastern Michigan’s defense. Give me my old alma mater and the Cardinals will get their first win.

Buffalo (+5) at Western Michigan (-5) – My pick is Western Michigan

Buffalo was a cinderella team last year, but they haven’t looked like a pumpkin this year. Western Michigan hasn’t had as good of a year as last either, but they are a much better team. I’ll take Western Michigan ATS of 5.

Clemson (+5) at Miami (FL) (-5) – My pick is Miami (FL)

This line seems pretty low with Miami with only one loss. They have looked very good since they lost to the Hokies. Clemson are only a .500 team and they have to travel to Miami. I’ll take Miami all day ATS, this should be an easy cover.

Boston College (+8) at Notre Dame (-8) – My pick is Notre Dame

Notre Dame is a team that I haven’t been able to predict. I have been wrong nearly every week with this team and I even refused to make a pick in the Notre Dame game for about three weeks. Their games have been pretty close the last four weeks, but Boston College haven’t looked very good. BC does have a pretty long winning streak against Notre Dame, but this will be the year that the Irish will win and cover the spread.

Penn State (-4.5) at Michigan (+4.5) – My pick is Penn State

Can we finally say that Michigan isn’t very good? I know they looked good at the beginning of the year, but they have looked pretty bad against the Big Ten so far. Penn State was my preseason pick to win the Big Ten and I’m sticking with them. JoePa will win this game and cover the spread.

UCLA (+7.5) at Arizona (-7.5) – My pick is UCLA

This one is my upset pick of the week. UCLA has a three game losing streak, but Arizona is a little bit over-rated. Their wins have come against Central Michigan, Northern Arizona, Oregon State, and a close win against Stanford. I feel that UCLA could go in there and make it a close game. I’m not saying UCLA will win, but it will be within a touchdown.

Iowa (pick’em) at Michigan State (pick’em) – My pick is Iowa

I’ve been perfect this year on picking Iowa games. Michigan State has been playing well, but Iowa has a perfect record since changing their quarterback at mid-season last year. Iowa is the real deal and they will win this game in East Lansing.

Auburn (+7.5) at LSU (-7.5) – My pick is LSU

LSU is coming off of a bye week and Auburn lost to Kentucky. LSU is a very good team and they want to do as much to erase the memory of the Florida loss. They will beat Auburn by two touchdowns and cover the spread.

These picks are for entertainment purposes.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

2009-10 NBA Preview: Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta has went from laughing stock to playoff team in the matter of five seasons. They have built their team through the draft and hiring head coach Mike Woodson has improved this team greatly. Can the Hawks surpass Boston or Cleveland this season? Is Jeff Teague a potential Rookie Of The Year candidate? Is Horford/Smith/Williams the best young front-court in the league? Here is our 2009-10 NBA Preview for the Atlanta Hawks.

Additions/Subtractions – Atlanta seems to have finally turned the corner and became a perennial playoff team. They didn’t make too many moves this off-season, in hopes of their young talent developing. They did trade Acie Law and Speedy Claxton to Golden State for guard Jamal Crawford. They also improved their back-court by signing Juan Dixon and drafting Jeff Teague. They are building around their young talent and their team is shaping up pretty well.

2009-10 Expectations – The Hawks had one of their best seasons since Dominique Wilkins was winning slam-dunk contests. They hope to build on a 47-35 season last year and make a leap into the 2nd-round of the playoffs and beyond. A potential starting line-up of Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, and Al Horford gives them one of the best line-ups in the East. When you add in Jeff Teague into the mix, they have one of the youngest and best rotations. I really like them this year and could surprise some people. They are in the 2nd-tier of good teams in the East and they could possibly move into the same conversation as Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston. If everyone can stay healthy, this team can do some major things this year.

2009-10 Predictions – Jeff Teague was a steal where Atlanta drafted him. He will be the future point guard of the Hawks and a season under the wing of Bibby can only make him better. He will be a first-team All-Rookie and will finish in the top-5 in the Rookie Of The Year voting. Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Joe Johnson will have career years and possibly two of the three will be named to the All-Star team. They will improve on their 47 win total last year and if everyone can stay healthy, their ceiling of wins could be around 55 this year. Don’t sleep on Atlanta, they will have a great year, if only they can get some fans in the Atlanta area to go to games.

2009-10 Win Total – 53-29

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.