2009 NFL Mock Draft

Me and my frien, Mike Anello, collaborated on this together for the Whit, which will be published Thursday. A link will be provided...

1) Detroit Lions – Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
2) St. Louis Rams – Jason Smith, OL, Baylor
3) Kansas City Chiefs – Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forrest
4) Seattle Seahawks – Eugene Monroe, OL, Virginia
5) Cleveland Browns – Brian Orakpo, DE/LB, Texas
6) Cincinnati Bengals – Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
7) Oakland Raiders – Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
8) Jacksonville Jaguars - Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
9) Green Bay Packers – Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State
10) San Francisco 49ers – Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
11) Buffalo Bills – Eben Britton, OL, Arizona
12) Denver Broncos – BJ Raji, DT, Boston College
13) Washington Redskins – Everette Brown, DE, FSU
14) New Orleans Saints - Malcolm Jenkins, DB, Ohio State
15) Houston Texans – Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
16) San Diego Chargers – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
17) New York Jets – Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
18) Denver Broncos – Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Chris “Beanie” Wells, RB, OSU
20) Detroit Lions – Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
21) Philadelphia Eagles – Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
22) Minnesota Vikings – Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
23) New England Patriots – Brian Cushing, LB, USC
24) Atlanta Falcons – Brandon Pettigrew, TE,
25) Miami Dolphins – Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
26) Baltimore Ravens – Hakeem Nicks, WR, UNC
27) Indianapolis Colts – Evander Hood, DT, Missouri
28) Buffalo Bills – Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee
29) New York Giants – Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
30) Tennessee Titans – Ron Brace, DT, Boston College
31) Arizona Cardinals – Donald Brown, RB, UConn
32) Pittsburgh Steelers – Darrius Butler, CB, UConn

Harry Kalas: 1936-2009

“Swing...and a long drive, watch this baby, outta here! Home run!”

For the past 38 seasons, that’s what you would hear after every Phillies home run from the mouth of the greatest voice in Philadelphia sports history.

Harry Kalas was more than just a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was “The Voice.”

That fateful call was said one more time on Sunday. In the top of the 9th, Matt Stairs stepped up to the plate and delivered the final shot Harry the K would ever call, a 2-run go ahead homer versus the Rockies.

Born Harold Norbert Kalas in Illinois in 1936, he began his announcing career for a Hawaiian minor league ball club. He made his major league debut in 1965 with the Houston Astros.

He was hired by the Phillies in 1971 to replace Bill Campbell. After the retirement of By Saam, Kalas was paired with Andy Musser and Hall of Fame Phillies great, Richie Ashburn. Kalas joined NFL Films and 1975 and has been working with them until his death.

Known as “Harry and Whitey,” the duo of Kalas and Ashburn would stay together for 27 years until Ashburn passed away in 1997. Kalas would still mourn the death of his best friend every day.

Kalas was best known for his amazing voice. He had such a warm presence about him with his deep and tender voice that would swell with excitement whenever game play would reach its peak. His home run calls were outstanding and his emotion shown painted the perfect picture for anyone and everyone listening.

Yet simple, it wasn’t just a home run call that people will forever miss.

“65,000 plus on their feet here at Veterans Stadium. The Tugger needs one more...Swing and a miss! Yes, he struck him out! Yes, they did it! The Phillies are World Champions!”

And 28 years later, he got to call the pitch that ended the Phillies 28-year drought and relieved a city that ached for a championship for 25 years.

“Fans on their feet; rally towels are being waved. Brad Lidge stretches. The 0-2 pitch… Swing and a miss, struck him out! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball!”

His last call came Sunday when Chase Utley fielded the final out in the Phillies 7-5 win.

“Bouncing ball to Chase Utley, this should be the game, Chase throws him out and that will be it as the Phil's win 2 out of 3 here at Coors Field, coming back to take this one by a score of 7 to 5."

Some of his greatest achievements include calling two World Championships, the opening of both Veterans Stadium in 1971 and Citizens Bank Park in 2004, and being elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, also winning the Ford C. Frick Award.

Kalas also had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch April 8 before the Phillies World Series ring ceremony. Decked in a red sports coat, Kalas called his last home game later that day.

Kalas was the voice of Philadelphia. Now his voice will just me a memory as every time we see a Phillie hit the long ball, “It’s outta here,” will ring in our years forever.

It's So Hard...

It's so hard to be telling the truth
but to be deemed a liar.
It's so hard to be yourself
but not be understood.
It's so hard to love you
but that not be enough for you.
It's so hard to be sorry
but that doesn't matter anymore.
It's so hard...

Here is my publication in the Whit for the American League Preview I posted:

The AL East used to be a two-team division, until the Tampa Bay Rays
finally showed up and won the division and pennant last season. However, the New
York Yankees are back in business with an unbelievable off-season and the Boston
Red Sox didn’t miss a step. The Central should feature the Detroit Tigers, with
the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox behind them. The West will be all
about the Los Angeles Angels. Here’s a look at the key teams in the A.L.

In the East, the Rays are bringing back some major parts to their A.L.
championship team such as Rookie of the Year winner Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford
and Dioner Navarro. Their rotation features James Shields, Scott Kazmir and Matt
Garza. The Rays like to play small ball, but lacked a power hitter, so they went
out and signed former Phillie Pat Burrell during the off-season. This balances
out the team, making them more dangerous offensively.

The Yankees re-tooled dramatically in the off-season. Their key
signings included pitchers C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and the re-signing of
Andy Pettitte. They also signed first basemen Mark Teixeira, who will instantly
boost an offense that was 10th in runs scored last season. The five-man rotation
is filled out with Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. With five pitchers like
that, they should win on pitching alone. Plus, Mariano Rivera is still one of
the best closers in baseball. The offense still features captain Derek Jeter and
Alex Rodriguez, who, despite the steroid saga and hip injury, is one of the best
in the game.

The Red Sox are still one of the best teams in baseball. Tampa Bay and
New York have improved, but Boston wasn’t going to sit around and let them have
all the fun. The signing of Brad Penny gives them a good starting rotation to
compete with New York. The pen is anchored by closer Jonathon Papelbon and
set-up man Hideki Okajima. The offense is nothing short of amazing either. It
features reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia. He is supported by an excellent offensive
cast of Kevin Youkillis, Mike Lowell and David Ortiz. The outfield also features
young center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who is flanked by Jason Bay and JD
Drew.

In the Central, the Detroit Tigers look to be the strongest team. They
moved Miguel Cabrera to first base due to a lack of glove, but he is still a
fine hitter. The outfield is very good this year, with Carlos Guillen, Curtis
Granderson and Maglio Ordonez leading the way. Marcus Thames is a great bat off
the bench and can play the outfield in the late innings. The rotation features
great pitching in Justin Verlander, Armondo Galaragga, Jeremy Bonderman and
Dontrelle Willis. They should be good enough to win the division, but Chicago
and Minnesota are always in the mix.

The White Sox are a shell of the 2005 World Champion team. They lost
Joe Crede, Orlando Cabrera and Ken Griffey Jr. in the off-season and didn’t make
any vast improvements. They do still have Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye, their two
best bats. Gavin Floyd and Mark Buehrle emerged as their two best pitchers and
will have to post better numbers to keep Chicago in the mix. The Twins missed
the playoffs by a game last year. They added Crede from the White Sox to go with
the young stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Pitching isn’t a strong point for
the Twins this year and could be a problem for them. The Cleveland Indians and
Kansas City Royals shouldn’t factor into the race too much.

In the West, the only team that truly stands out is the Angels. They
lost record-breaking closer Francisco Rodriguez to the New York Mets, but added
a steady thrower in Brian Fuentes. They also added a great bat in the outfield
in Bobby Abreau to go along with Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Pitching is
also strong for the Angels, with John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and
Jered Weaver as the main anchors in the starting rotation. The Texas Rangers and
Oakland Athletics don’t really impress and the Seattle Mariners brought back
Griffey Jr., but still won’t see much of an improvement.

The Yankees will take the East, the Tigers will win the Central, and
the Angels will again run away with the West. The Wild Card will be very
interesting, as the Red Sox will edge the Rays for the last spot.

My NL Preview

Posted in the Whit:

As the Philadelphia Phillies look to repeat as National League champions, they have a tough road in front of them. The Phillies will need to get past the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves in a tough NL East. The competition doesn’t stop there, as the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals will battle it out in the Central and the Los Angeles Dodgers look to have a leg up. Here’s an in-depth look at the key teams in the National League.

In the East, the Phillies are still the favorite in the division. They have the best infield in the NL, and probably all of baseball, with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Pedro Feliz. Their outfield is also solid with Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and newly added Raul Ibanez to fill the hole Pat Burrell left after signing with the Rays. The Phillies pitching staff will have to play like it did last season to defend the pennant successfully. Cole Hamels is an elite pitcher in the league, but he may miss opening day with elbow problems. Brett Myers is the second starter, with 46-year old Jamie Moyer taking up the third spot in the rotation. Joe Blanton is someone to keep an eyes on this year after being acquired from the Oakland A’s last season. The Phillies bullpen is strong - being led once again by closer Brad Lidge and set-up man Ryan Madson - and will receive and instant boost once JC Romero is back from his 50-game suspension. Overall, there are very few noticeable holes in this team.

The Mets are trying to avoid another late-season collapse for the third-straight season. They are also sick of blowing saves, so they spent some money to bring in closer Francisco Rodriguez, who broke the single-season major league saves record last year. In the rotation, there is nothing stellar once you get past ace Johan Santana, but Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez are decent pitchers. The Mets do have a solid offense led by David Wright and Jose Reyes. Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado are still both dangerous hitters, but after you get past the first five, their lineup is shallow. However, they should still be able to complete for the wild card.

The Braves bolstered their rotation with the signing of Derek Lowe. He will be supported by Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens. Chipper Jones leads the offense and he is supported by Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Garrett Anderson and Jeff Francoeur. The Braves are young, but always stay in the mix.

The Florida Marlins have some young talent in Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez, but that’s really about it. The Marlin’s picthing is also very weak. The Washington National aren’t any better than last season’s 59-102 record and will not be a factor at all this season.

In the Central, the Chicago Cubs are sticking by the motto, “maybe this year” once again. They certainly have a good team, but always fall very short in the playoffs. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano are the spark plugs of this offense. Kosuke Fukudome came into his own last season and should still be a key to their offense this season. They also sport one of the best young catchers in the league, Geovany Soto. Former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija turned into a good reliever last year and should see his role increased in the pen. Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmal are the two leading candidates to be the Cubs closer this season.

Elsewhere in the Central, the Cardinals may very well surprise people this year. Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball and he is healthy. He may be the only superstar on that team, but he is supported by guys who can play. They got Khalil Greene in a trade in the off season and still have the injury-prone Troy Glaus at third. Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina were pleasant surprises last season. The big story for the team is the pitching staff. Adam Wainwright will be the staff’s ace and he will be followed by Kyle Lohse and Todd Wellemeyer. The Cardinals had no true closer last season, but expect Ryan Franklin to take the role again.

The rest of the division is very weak once you get past the Milwaukee Brewers, who lost staff ace CC Sabathia to the Yankees. They have offensive talent, but no pitching at all, so don’t expect another second-half surge. The Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros do not pose threats at all and the Pittsburgh Pirates are downright awful.

In the West, the Dodgers seem to have things under control after finally re-signing Manny Ramirez. He was the hottest player in the second half last season and the only Dodger who could figure out the Phillies pitching in the post-season. Andre Ethier, James Loney and Russell Martin will all contribute to the sturdy offense. They lost Derek Lowe and Brad Penny in the pitching staff, but added Randy Wolf. They will look for Hiroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley to step up and take control in the bullpen. The Diamondbacks will have to rely heavily on the arms of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren if they want to compete. The San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies don’t have enough talent to shake up the west.

It is my belief that the Phillies will take the East and will post the best record in the National League. The Cubs will win the Central in a close race and the Dodgers will easily win the West. The Cardinals should take the wild card over the Mets