2011年3月25日星期五

Former Boise State football players make their case at Pro Day

Boise State held its Pro Day Thursday at the Caven Williams Sports Complex to give its former players a chance at glory in the NFL.
Pro Day’s are held across most collegiate football campuses and are designed to help former football standouts who weren’t invited to the NFL Combine to get some looks from NFL and Canadian scouts. The day is also for guys trying to sharpen their times in several events that measure an athletes skill level.
The job of a professional scout is very detail oriented and no rock can be left unturned, so it’s a great situation for them as well. Bottom line, if a player can make a play the scouts will find you, no matter what level you’ve been competing at.
Last year, former All-American and now New York Jets defensive back Kyle Wilson used Pro Day to vault him to the No. 29 overall pick in the late first-round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
“It’s an exciting time, these kids have worked so hard for the Bronco program,” BSU head coach Chris Petersen said. “It’s a chance for them to take the next step and get on the biggest stage in football.”
Over a dozen NFL teams had scouts on hand, with teams looking to potentially add some quality talent to their respected organizations. Scouts from the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a slew of other teams made themselves visible with their stop watches in hand.
A few of the household names for the Broncos were wide receivers Titus Young, Austin Pettis,  tight end Tommy Gallarda, running back Jeremy Avery, defensive linemen Ryan Winterswyk, nickel Winston Venable, defensive backs Brandyn Thompson and safety Jeron Johnson.
One would have a tough time believing three to five of those won’t be on an NFL roster come this fall.
Winterswyk, a two time first team All-Western Athletic Conference performer at the defensive end position, was asked to run routs at the tight end position. The potential conversion comes as no surprise, as former All-WAC linebacker Korey Hall now plays fullback for the Green Bay Packers.
After a rough outing at the NFL Combine, Titus Young used Pro Day to run 4.41 in his 40 yard dash, slightly faster than his 4.47, which could improve his draft stock.
The success the Broncos have been able to establish over the last decade has made Boise a common campground for scouts looking for players who know how to win. Facts are facts and the Broncos have been very successful in the win loss column.
“We’ve won a lot of ball games, and only lost a handful, not a lot of guys can say that about their careers,” former BSU wideout Austin Pettis said.
Pettis, who ran his 40-yard dash at the combine, did not run Thursday, favoring to stick with his 4.5 that he ran at the NFL Combine. Pettis will return back to Irvine, Calif., to continue training for the upcoming draft.

2011年3月17日星期四

Heat can't overcome the athleticism of the Thunder, sees three-game winning streak end 96-85

MIAMI — In this long season, there have been games when the opponent was capable of tying or beating the Heat in one area or another, anything from cohesiveness to physicality.

But there aren't many teams that can match Miami's length, at least when it comes to the Heat's most prominent players.

And there's just one that can for sure.

That team, the Thunder, visited Wednesday, and that length was the long - and short - of its 96-85 victory against the Heat, a victory that ended Miami's three-game winning streak.

Oklahoma City's length manifested itself in contested shots even from in close, one of which resulted in a no-call that Dwyane Wade and Erik Spoelstra contested much too loudly for the officials' taste.

It manifested itself in 17 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 24 second-chance points for a Thunder offense that shot just 39.8 percent overall.

It may have manifested itself in the Heat's hesitancy when shooting seemingly open jumpers, as Miami made just 11 of 42 shots from outside the paint.

"That's as much athleticism and length as you'll see," Spoelstra said. "We have some of the best attackers in the game, that usually go over the top, and they were being met at the rim."

Well, not every time. Not during a second-quarter spree that was as spectacular as anything the Heat has produced this season, and inspired an uploading frenzy.

It started when Wade caught a pass to his right, staggered quickly to the left to dust James Harden, spun around Serge Ibaka, elevated above 7-foot center Kendrick Perkins while gripping the ball with two hands, then sent it down with his right.

It was the sort of vicious slam that would have made previous Wade victims Anderson Varejao and Jermaine O'Neal wince and cower on Perkins' behalf, and not just because Wade punctuated its uniqueness with an old-school Cabbage Patch dance. After LeBron James dunked twice - first after beating Kevin Durant on the baseline - and then on a break, the game was tied at 43.

The Heat had leaped right back into the game, and gotten fans to leap from their seats.

All Miami had to do then was start making some jumpers.

Except it never did.

Mike Miller open.

Miss.

Wade and Mike Bibby with three-point tries on the same possession.

Miss. Miss.

Chris Bosh?

"I missed a few easy 15-footers that rattled in and out on me," said the forward, who was 6-of-17 shooting overall.

"We couldn't make any shots," said James, who went 8-for-21, in tying Wade (7-for-21) for the team lead with 21 points.

For the game, the Heat was 3-for-17 from three-point range, with only Bibby's late uncalled bank making it respectable.

"We don't want to live and die by the three," Bosh said.

Wednesday, it would have breathed some life back into them, at some critical moments. It certainly wouldn't have made the Heat so reliant on the kindness of the officials.

It was 85-78 Thunder when Russell Westbrook dribbled off his leg. The ball was sent forward to a streaking Wade, who attempted to complete the same sort of left-handed layup attempt that James had blocked by Joakim Noah 10 days earlier. As his upper body leaned left, Wade contorted his bottom half to the right, so it scraped against the side of one of the league's springiest leapers, Ibaka.

The layup ricocheted off the backboard. Wade, expecting a call, unleashed a right cross to the stanchion, with all the force of his earlier slam. On the other end, James Harden sank a three.

Wade and Spoelstra were called for technicals, giving Durant (29 points) two extra foul shots, one of which he made.

The game could have been called right then.

"I don't comment on the refs," Wade said later. "It's an emotional game. You just move on from it."

No sense in dwelling long.

2011年3月4日星期五

Raiders have glaring holes to fill on O-line

http://ollieemily.over-blog.com/

The Raiders have made some hard decisions with several key players headed for free agency this offseason, and it was learned Thursday that OLG Robert Gallery(notes) will not be amongst those that are re-signed. Gallery is the team's best offensive lineman, but his asking price was apparently several million dollars higher than Oakland was interested in matching.

His departure leaves the Raiders with a void on an O-line that could be very young next season. OLT Jared Veldheer(notes), who showed promise as a rookie playing center and left tackle, is heading into his second year and Bruce Campbell(notes) is expected to get a chance to compete for a starting job at one of the guard spots heading into Year Two as well. Those two players, along with declining veteran OG Cooper Carlisle(notes), are the only O-linemen the Raiders have under contract through 2011.http://mikelmerisier.blog.hr/

New head coach Hue Jackson wants to feature a power running game on offense and move away from Tom Cable's zone scheme. Al Davis likely will be looking for an O-lineman or two that will fit that mold at this year's draft and in free agency, whenever it begins.