tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post1394096445696921762..comments2023-10-31T06:31:41.395-04:00Comments on Bottom of the Barrel: Gregg Easterbrook Mocks Mock Drafts...So I Mock HimBengoodfellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-5668028497680128592011-05-03T13:15:37.590-04:002011-05-03T13:15:37.590-04:00Martin, I figured it was Gregg who would say that....Martin, I figured it was Gregg who would say that. I consider hockey to be a fun sport to watch. Unfortunately, it is a numbers-crunch for me that I don't watch b/c there is so many other sports I end up watching. <br /><br />It is okay. I actually like the Carolina Hurricanes, well I can't stand the Charlotte Bobcats and wish they would go away. They are a new team to most hockey fans I would imagine.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-19535950605494654212011-05-03T12:44:46.412-04:002011-05-03T12:44:46.412-04:00Actually it was Gregg who said hockey was declinin...Actually it was Gregg who said hockey was declining in popularity.<br /><br />Ha! Sorry bud, but I barely consider the LA Kings, the team I root for to be out of the no-name bracket in terms of hockey. Heck, they've been around over 40 years now.Martin F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14565240074256943063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-64474474871771287332011-05-03T09:30:08.201-04:002011-05-03T09:30:08.201-04:00Rich, I think (and I didn't think of this at t...Rich, I think (and I didn't think of this at the time b/c I didn't think about it) that expansion has hurt the NHL. I couldn't believe Carolina got a team. That being said, it is a pretty popular team, but still I didn't see that happening. <br /><br />I know there are hockey fans. I would be a hockey fan, but I don't have time to follow it. I would have to drop one of the other sports I follow. <br /><br />Either way, I don't think it was Batterman's fault the NHL had a lockout, but Gregg sees it that way. <br /><br />Gregg did say Penn's draft position was held against him, but for some reason this isn't true for Brady. That's the issue the study Gregg was citing doesn't recognize. There are hundreds of UFAs and I don't think it is a huge stretch to say a player drafted in the 6th/7th round is incredibly different from an UFA. So the hit % is probably a lot lower because the UFA are a pool of hundreds being compared to a pool of 32 players. It's not a fair comparison. <br /><br />I want that guy who did the study to email me and pick out 32 players he thinks will be good in the pros and I will choose the round of his choice in this draft. I would bet when we narrow down his pool, the drafted players will look as good as the UFAs do. <br /><br />Martin F, I should have paid more attention to the hockey lockout. I thought they had decertified. The negotiations would have been different. I think hockey is increasing in popularity as well, I didn't mean to indicate it wasn't (if I did). It does have a lot to do with some of the bigger name teams doing better and the real hockey fans are more tuned into the games now. <br /><br />I am so offended of you calling Carolina a no-name team. So offended...Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-83744758149385441732011-05-03T03:48:04.274-04:002011-05-03T03:48:04.274-04:00A plummer is only worth more then a cab driver if ...A plummer is only worth more then a cab driver if you need your pipes fixed. A plummer doesn't do you jack when you need to get to the airport in 35 minutes.<br /><br />Also, Gregg obviously knows nothing about the NHL, because one of the things labor lawyers have already talked about the difference between the NFLPA and the NHLPA was that the NFL players have already decertified and brought suit against the NFL. At no time did the NHLPA decertify because Batterman and Bettmen seemingly kept them thinking that they were almost about to agree, delaying the suit so long that the players had to cave. If the NHLPA had decertified and filed a lawsuit within the first couple weeks, the entire contract negotiations would have been different. <br /><br />Also, the NHL is actually increasing in popularity, but the one thing almost nobody wants to give credit to is that a bunch of original 6 and first wave expansion teams no longer SUCK. The new expansion teams were so bad for so long that they were getting all the good players in drafts, and places where hockey was actually popular were being killed when the no name teams like Carolina and Tampa Bay were finally good and winning Cups.Martin F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14565240074256943063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-47170681094571325002011-05-02T23:33:12.690-04:002011-05-02T23:33:12.690-04:00So I will say the NHL is recovering from its own d...<i>So I will say the NHL is recovering from its own dwindling popularity and strategic mistakes more than they are recovering from the wrath of Bob Batterman.</i><br /><br />As a hockey fan (we exist!), the biggest problem with the NHL isn't Batterman, it's Bettman. <br /><br />In 1993, Bettman thought expansion was a good idea and added two teams. Then added two more teams in 1998 and then two more in 2000. The first two teams had relative success early on, but the last four teams have been to the playoffs a combined 5 times (I believe) in their histories, with only Nashville making it out of the first round (this year).<br /><br />Then he allowed other teams to move from Quebec (1995) and Winnipeg (1997). So for those keeping track at home, that's 6 expansion teams and 2 teams moving in the span of 8 seasons. The incredible changes made in such a short period of time really thinned out the talent and the really good teams were really, really good, but it was a rather predictable time for hockey.<br /><br />The salary cap actually saved hockey to an extent. One of the major problems was that certain teams would pay mediocre players tons of money and raise the cost of free agents. It was so bad that players had to agree to a 10% paycut across the board after the lockout.<br /><br /><b>a solid pro career is Vince Young</b><br /><br />Did I fall into a coma? When was this "solid pro career" Vince Young had?<br /><br /><b>Penn was undrafted coming out of college -- this was held against him, lowering his value, even after he'd proved himself on the field in the NFL.</b><br /><br />Didn't he just say Tom Brady had the second largest signing bonus? Was he in line to make 10M more, but the fact he was a sixth round pick was held against him?<br /><br /><b>The "undrafted" category produced as many Pro Bowlers as the second round, and more Pro Bowlers than the third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh rounds. </b><br /><br />Because if you go nuts and say every NFL player lasts 6 years in the pros, you have 42 players through the draft. Assuming you resign every one of your free agents, you still have 11 rosters spots on the team and 8 more practice squad positions to fill. So even if you never cut or lose a player to free agency you'd have 19 undrafted players to the 6 you've gotten in each round of the draft.<br /><br />Sure there may be more pro bowlers, but what's the hit %? If it takes 100 undrafted players to get one pro bowler and takes 15 1st rounders...<br /><br />Also, how many of those pro bowlers were kickers and punters where the predominant number of them aren't drafted anyway? When 90% of your position is filled with undrafted players, You're essentially guaranteed a pro bowl spot (or two) every year which also skews the numbers.<br /><br />Gregg really sucks with numbers.FormerPhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12837594679660975599noreply@blogger.com