ADEDS All-Stars: 'OG Russell Westbrook'

Steve Francis was ahead of his time in this

Francis had all the tools of today's top PGs.

'attack mode' PG era. The former Maryland Terrapins guard was not highly recruited and played at two junior colleges before exploding onto the scene in College Park, MD in 1998. Francis was selected No. 2 overall in that draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies and traded to Houston, where he would spend his first five seasons. He turned the ball over way too much, and perhaps the physical nature of his style of play didn't allow him to have longterm NBA success, but was a prolific scoring guard nonetheless.  Francis, the 2000 NBA Rookie of the Year, made the Western Conference All-Star team three times (2002-2004) in his career and, in comparison, his numbers for first five years for the Rockets are right there with current beast-mold guards Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook.

FIRST FIVE SEASONS:

Derrick Rose, CHI 08-14: 20.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 6.8apg, 0.9stls, 2.9tov

Russell Westbrook, OKC 08-13: 19.9ppg, 4.8rpg, 6.9apg, 1.6stls, 3.5tov

Steve Francis, HOU 99-04: 19.3ppg, 6.1rpg, 6.4apg, 1.6stls, 3.7tov

Throwbackz: 'College Dropout' NCAA Football Legends/ NFL Busts: Peter Warrick, WR, Florida State Seminoles, 1996-99

Matt Leinart, Heath Shuler, and Brian Bosworth aren't the only guys that could've been cast in that DISH Network 'going back to college' commercial, where these former college greats with lackluster NFL careers link in a coffee shop and pine the days of their college glory. 

Many college stars and can't miss talents over the years have proven the concept that professional football is an entirely different entity in itself. 

For every late-round gem like Tom Brady and Terrell Davis, you have a Ryan Leaf or Ki-Jana Carter. 

It's just how the game works.  Potential in football is so unpredictable. 

As the 2014 college football season approaches (the first that will feature a four-team playoff rather than the Bowl Championship Series polling format), I recall some of the most electrifying and hard-hitting players to ever play in college, but didn't quite make a name for themselves in the pros....

ADEDS All-Stars: 'Fernando Rodney and the Magic Platano'

No team has more fun playing the game than DR.

S/O to the World Baseball Classic and the Dominican Republic National Team for playing the game the way it should always be played.  From the bat flips after home run balls to the elaborate group celebrations, the excitement and joy that comes from playing team sports is written all over this team.  In regular MLB baseball all these antics would be frowned upon and looked at as showing up the opponent.  Nevermind all that.  Baseball is a game that most casual sports fans find dull, even during it's most dramatic stretches.  These guys are loose and having fun and that's what makes games fun to watch.  Fernando Rodney is the catalyst of them all.  The Tampa Bay Rays closer -- known for rocking his fitted with a slight sideways lean and for shooting off an imaginary arrow into the sky after the final out in the 9th -- introduced the world to the secret weapon to the DR's success: a magic plantain that speaks to him.  Rodney, the 2012 AL Comeback Player of the Year and Delivery Man Award winner, tucked the platano into his beltline for pregame introductions and wielded it for everyone to see when his name was announced.  No one knew what it meant at the time; which only added to the level of hijinks and intrigue.  Purists will call it silly and nonsense but I'm all for it.  Keep doing what your doing DR, because we probably won't be seeing anything like this again until the next WBC...#TATO.

'Tinsley's Jazz Renaissance'

Tinsley is averaging 5.9 APG in only 19.5 minutes per game.

With Mo Williams missing games due to minor injuries this season, Utah Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin has gone to Brooklyn-native Jamaal Tinsley as the replacement point guard, and the nine-year veteran has produced quality results.  Tinsley, 34, is coming off a 14-point (4-6 3PT), seven-assist performance in 31 minutes Nov. 24 against the Kings in Sacramento, and has been a solid contributor for the Jazz (7-7) as backup point man early this season.  He's only scoring 2.2 points per game (9.1 PPG career) but he's dishing out 5.9 assist per game while spending about 20 minutes on the floor a night, putting him second in the NBA in assists per 48 minutes with 14.6, trailing only Rajon Rondo (17.1).  Main thing about a guy like Tinsley, you better watch the 5-hole whenever you're defending him.  He's still not too old to go 'Mel-Mel the Abuser' with the ball handling and put you on the YOUTUBE highlight reel.

Throwbackz: Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball

Posted on the All Day E'ry Day Sportz Facebook page 11/21/12...

 

Few were better.  None did it with more swagger.

I would like to give a big S/O to ADEDS legendary All-Star, and future MLB HOFer, George Kenneth Griffey, Jr. on his 43rd birthday. JUNIOR is to baseball what JERRY RICE is to football--you will be hard-pressed to find someone that says they didn't like him or the way he played the game. Swagger just dripped off THE KID in every facet imaginable...from the sway in his batting stance, and subsequent silky smooth swing, to the gazelle like grace he ran with in the outfield, right before he leapt in the air at the centerfield wall to calmly rob a home run...no question, Griffey was slicker than a Cadillac on ice...not to mention, he came out with possibly THE BEST baseball video game of all-time and had a dope a$$ movie cameo...no one nowaday is really fckn with that...SALUTE!
-Mr. AllDayEryDay