Back From the Dead?

I always hate Wednesdays without Lost. But this Wednesday, we got our Lost fix with the Heat's game 2 victory over the Hawks. Dead man who comes back to life: check. Mastermind who is one step ahead of everyone else despite seeming behind: check. With the Heat game, we got all the drama we expect from Lost on a weekly basis.

Last night, all the pieces were in place. Jermaine O'Neal played the role of the dead guy who came back to life, as he played a pivotal role in the Heat's game 2 win. He was the initiator of the Heat offense, as the ball went into him at the beginning of almost all the Heat sets. He passed well out of the post and effectively took the pressure off D-Wade as the focal point of the offense. Wade and other scorers were given the opportunity to move off ball and not have the sole attention of the defense on them while they were creating shots. The question remains though: did he die and come back to life like John Locke, or is he some kind spirit incarnation like Christian Sheppard? We'll have to see if he can keep it up in game 3.

As for the mastermind, Erik Spoelstra did a tremendous job of filling in for Ben Linus Wednesday. He may have taken his beatings in game 1, but he bounced back strong in game 2. It helps when you shoot the way the Heat did, with a record 14 threes, but credit has to be given to Spoelstra for the changes he made in game 2. My theory is that most of the adjustments he made for game 2, he thought of during game 1. However, he realized that at best, they could have cut the deficit to around 10. So he kept his cards close to his chest to give them the advantage for game 2. The team came out with a completely different midset, realizing that they had to keep the pace they wanted, rather than play into the hands of the Hawks. Also, inserting James Jones into the starting line-up gave them a defensive boost as they were able to effectively contain Joe Johnson.

Lastly, we can't parallel a sports game to Season 5 of Lost without a character being redeemed; and last night, D-Wade did not disappoint. Like LaFleur, he was able to change himself, realizing that he wasn't going to get the calls or a clean path to the basket in the playoffs. Instead, he shot the lights out and was able to lead his team to a victory.

Our last parallel between the game and Lost is with Matthew Fox. Sorry, I forgot. There's nothing interesting about Matthew Fox.

NFL Draft Countdown T-minus 2 days

With two days to go until the NFL draft, we’re continuing our NFL draft preview. In this edition, we take a look whether underclassmen quarterbacks are a gamble and debate the similarities of Mark Sanchez and Jack Sheppard from Lost.

The buzz surrounding this year’s draft focuses on where QB’s Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez will be taken. While Sanchez had a good year at USC, is he really ready to be a franchise quarterback? Some speculation has the Redskins trading up to select him in first round, but is he honestly better than Jason Campbell? Is he worthy of a top 10 pick, or does he happen to be the second best signal caller in a weak quarterback draft class? If Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy had entered the draft, would he still be considered a top 10 pick?

In Sanchez’s defense, USC has been a quarterback factory the past few years. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Matt Cassel, and John David Booty are all QB’s in the NFL. However, none of those players left college early.

If one thing's been proven, it's that quarterbacks who leave early haven't had a great deal of success. Of the past season's 12 playoff quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger was the only one who left early. Yes, we know that Roethlisberger was the Super Bowl winning QB, but he’s more of an exception to this rule. It should be noted that he started for three full years at Miami Ohio. Sanchez only started one full season.

Matthew Stafford is another junior QB expected to go high in the first round, but like Roethlisberger, Stafford has three years of starting experience. At the quarterback position, experience and reps are vital in the development process. While he played well this year, we at Guys Who Like Sports don’t see the reason for wanting to leave early. Did one year against porous Pac 10 defenses really get you prepared for the NFL?

I feel in three years we're going to see a bearded, distressed Mark Sanchez hanging outside of an airport yelling to Stafford, "We were never supposed to leave. WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!!”


(Because there was no new Lost last night, we felt it necessary to make some mention on the blog today.) Since Sanchez declared for the draft, Pete Carroll has shown vast similarities to John Locke. In Lost, Locke was adamant about Jack not leaving the island, while Carroll was very vocal in declaring that Sanchez was making a mistake in leaving. Does USC= The Island? Only time will tell. (End Lost rant)

However, one of the key issues in all of this is how the NFL overvalues college performances. Look at Matt Cassel this past season. He started 15 games and played at a Pro Bowl level in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, yet is only worth a second round pick. However, there are GM’s who will trade up to use a Top 10 pick on a guy in Sanchez who started one full season in college. How does this make any sense?

While Sanchez will certainly cash in earlier, he won’t be as prepared to handle of the pressures of being a franchise QB. As the USC quarterbacks before him have proven, staying that extra year can prove huge dividends.