Random Thoughts on NFL Teams: A NFL Preview

MVP (Regular Season): Aaron Rodgers 
He's just really freaking good.  Yah that is my only argument.

NFC

NFC EAST

1. New York Giants
This pains me dearly.  I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to write anything coherent for the rest of the conference. (REVERSE JINX!!!)
2. Philadelphia Eagles
Whole season depends on Vick's health.  He alone can vault this team to Super Bowl contention, but if he's not on the field there not going to make the playoffs.
3. Washington Redskins
In the first Redskins versus Eagles game ESPN is going to play up the whole "running quarterbacks duel" wayyyyyyyyyy to much.  I'm already having nightmares.
4. Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys are a banged up team that has a lot of good players.  Not much depth after their "stars," and crappy offensive line play submarines America's team.

NFC WEST

1. San Francisco 49ers
I except a regression from last year, but with Harbaugh at the helm they'll stay on top of this pathetic division.
2. Seattle Seahawks
All aboard the Russell Wilson bandwagon!  All aboard!  Damn, people are jumping on this bandwagon nearly as fast as the new look Lakers.  Luckily I pre-ordered my ticket when I heard that Matt Flynn was supposed to be the starter.
3. Arizona Cardinals
"Larry Fitzgerald breaks away from the defense.  He's open near the end zone as the pass goes up. (Cardinals fans sighing loudly in background)  Skelton's pass sails out of bounds, and the Cardinals are going to have to punt again."
4. St. Louis Rams
Bradford has looked good in pre-season, but this receiving corps is the only one that I think is worse than the Jets.  The Rams are getting better... it's just not happening fast enough.

NFC NORTH
1. Green Bay Packers
The biggest question entering this Packers season for everyone is, "What will the next discount double check add be about?"
2. Detroit Lions
Assuming Matthew Stafford can stay healthy again this season I expect a very similar season for the Lions.  They are going to throw the ball a ridiculous amount, and luckily they've got Megatron.
3. Chicago Bears
I'm not sure why everyone has decided the Bears are going to be a sleeper team this year.  They have a slightly above-average defense, and a average offense.  However, they have freaking Jay Cutler at quarterback.  Jay Cutler!
4. Minnesota Vikings
I still can't decide whether Christian Ponder is going to be a solid Quarterback or not.  I also can't decide whether Toby Gerhart is a good Running Back or not.  They both appear bad in the scouting report, but look fairly good in game action.

NFC SOUTH
1. Atlanta Falcons
This Falcons team has a ridiculous amount of weapons on offense, and with a solid defense they should catapult to the division title.  The big question though is whether Matt Ryan's "Matty Ice" moniker is a sex-tape name for Matt Ryan or him fantasizing about a rap career.
2. New Orleans Saints
The Saints are the anti-Bears in the NFC this year.  Everyone is way too down on the Saints this year.  If we've learned anything from the last couple football seasons it is that great quarterbacks succeed.  I think the Saints will get worse, but will have a similar season to Detroit circa 2011-2012.  (I can't believe I got throughout without a bounty gate joke).
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I like Josh Freeman to have a bounce back year, but this team just doesn't have enough talent all-around to compete with the Saints and Falcons.
4. Carolina Panthers
I absolutely love Cam Newton.  I absolutely hate the rest of this Panthers team.   Just like last year Cam will generate hype and make some highlights, but this team isn't going anywhere.  (Despite this brilliant add by Matt Kalil)

NFC Wildcards: New Orleans and Detroit (That's right, thought the seeding is different I think the exact same teams will make the NFC playoffs this year.  Yeah now that I think about it, that's probably not going to happen)

NFC Championship Game: Green Bay versus Atlanta (Matty Ice gunning for the Super Bowl)

NFC Champion: Green Bay

AFC

AFC EAST

1. New England Patriots
With the easiest schedule in football, and one of the best teams in football it doesn't take a genius to see the Patriots winning this division.
2. Buffalo Bills
If it's true that Fitzpatrick was injured for most of last season I think the Bills will wind up as one of those 9-7 teams that gets a couple wins over some great team's, but also craps their pants against some bad teams.
3. New York Jets
If the Jets are under 500% after five games this season it's going to be Tebow Time.  In all truthfulness I think that will make this NFL season 5% better.  Even if he sucks (which I'm starting to think he does), he's a helluva lot more exciting to watch than Mark Sanchez.
4. Ryan Tannehill Sucks Miami Dolphins
You know when you're in the same division as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mark Sachez, and Tim Tebow and you're still the worst quarterback in the division you've got problems.  Ryan Tannehill ladies and gentleman.

AFC WEST
1. Denver Broncos
This is a case of, "well the Raiders have Palmer, the Chiefs have Cassel and Crenell, and the Chargers have Norv.  This is not a case of, "I love the fact that the Broncos have a 36 year old quarterback coming off his fourth neck surgery."  That being said, the Broncos have far and away the best defense in this division.
2. San Diego Chargers
Phillip Rivers and Josh Freeman are buddies in the "we had a lot of hype coming into last year, but then had horrible seasons while throwing a ton of picks" group that is going to bounce back this year.  C'mon Norv I believe in your horrible decision making.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have a coach and quarterback with a track history of absolutely positively sucking.  However, they have good defensive talent, a solid offensive line, and a nice two-headed backfield monster of Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis.
4. Oakland Raiders
Carson Palmer hasn't been good in five years.  Darren McFadden hasn't been healthy his whole life.  The Oakland Raiders haven't had a winning record since 2002.  All of these things will remain to be true.  (I actually expect the Raiders to be like 6-10 or 7-9, bad, but not horrible).

AFC NORTH
1. Baltimore Ravens
Even without T. Sizzle for some of the season the Ravens will be sizzling to first place.  That pun was even worse than I thought it was going to be.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
I expect improvement from Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, and Jermaine Gresham this year.  I also think Benjarvus Green-Ellis is a slight upgrade over Cedric Benson.  Overall the Bengals will just be a better version of last year's team.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
Still got a pretty good defense, but have no running game and only average passing game.  All that means is a big drop for the Steelers.
4. Cleveland Browns
Has the combination of "28 year old rookie QB", "injury prone rookie RB", "shaky offensive line", and "sports team in Cleveland" ever worked out well?  No I didn't think so.

AFC SOUTH
1. Houston Texans
If Matt Schaub has a good season (which means Andre Johnson probably has a good season) this is a super bowl contender.  If not, they are a weak playoff team with a great defense, and the best running game in football.
2. Tennessee Titans
I'm one of the few people who thinks the Titans are a playoff caliber team.  I'm also one of the few people who thinks Jake Locker is not going to suck.  Locker has good threats in the passing game (Nate Washington, Kenny Britt, Kendall Wright), and a dynamic running back to take pressure off him.  With a good defense and offensive line also the Titans are my team that sneaks into the playoffs this year (Every year a team sneaks into the playoffs because they're in a bad division, and they're slightly better than people think.  The Titans are that team.)
3. Indianapolis Colts
Do I think they will be good? No.  Do I think they will be better than the Jaguars? Yes.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
I have to admit that Blaine Gabbert has looked better this pre-season.  I don't think it's possible that he could have looked any worse.  If the MJD holdout continues the Jaguars might have 0-16 potential.  Last year the Jaguars had the worst offense in the NFL (based on yards per game).  Last year Maurice Jones-Drew accounted for basically 50% of that offense (47.7% to be exact).  I think the message is clear.  The Jaguars should be forcing Jones-Drew to sign at all costs.

AFC Wildcards: Cincinnati and Tennessee (Like I said, Tennessee is undeserving, but will sneak in.)

AFC Championship Game: New England versus Houston (Matt Schaub will be decent this year)

AFC Champion: New England (As a diehard Pats fan, I really didn't want to jinx them by predicting them to do well.  I just looked at the field and decided that the Patriots had clearly the most offensive talent int the AFC, and if the Defense was even a little better than last year they can make it back to the Super Bowl.)

SUPER BOWL WINNER: New England defeats Green Bay  (I repeat my thoughts from above.  I hate predicting my team to win, but they are absolutely loaded offensively.  If the defense becomes only slightly below average I think the Pats will be the best team in football.  I also think Bill Belichek is going to come into this year pissed off, and just command the Patriots to victory.)

Mega Fantasy Sleepers Preview: Steals, Robberies, Hijackings

Boom goes the dynamite!!!

In Fantasy Football what's most important when valuing individual players, or your team as a whole is not how well your players perform, but how much your players exceed expectations.  Last year in Fantasy Football Calvin "Megatron" Johnson was fantasy's number one overall receiver.  Victor Cruz meanwhile was the number five scoring fantasy receiver.  If you had the option between Cruz and Megatron last year I don't think anyone would say Cruz.  However, if you could choose between Calvin Johnson in the third round, and an un-drafted Victor Cruz you would be smart to take Cruz.  This is because of a metric I created myself called Value Above Draft Position or VADP.  For example Cruz was an un-drafted player in most standard 10-team leagues with a 16 player roster size.  This means that however many wide receivers are taken within the top 160 Cruz would need to out perform to exceed his draft day value.  This year 50 wide receivers are being taken in the top 160 draft picks on average on ESPN.  Assuming the number was relatively the same Victor Cruz's VADP would be however much he outscored the 50th highest scoring wide receiver.  Last year Victor Cruz scored 198 fantasy points while Mike Williams of Tampa Bay scored 85 points making him the 50th highest scoring wide receiver.  This means Victor Cruz has a 2011 VADP of 113.  Calvin Johnson on the other hand was on average taken in the late second round at 17th overall.  Since Johnson was on average the 5th wide receiver off the board his VADP will compare his point scoring to that of the fifth overall wide receiver.  Coincidentally that receiver happens to be Victor Cruz.  Cruz scored 198 points and Johnson scored 254 giving Johnson a VADP of 56.  This means that while Johnson had a great season, Victor Cruz was more valuable.

By now it should be clear that a fantasy football player should not be judged based on how many points they score, but instead on how valuable that player was.  Here are some players I think are being significantly undervalued, and will end up posting good VADP marks.   A steal is considered a player who I think should be going about a round earlier.  A robbery is considered a player who I think should be going about two rounds earlier.  A hijacking is considered a player who I think should go three or more rounds earlier.  Position by position I'm going to give one hijacking, steal, and robbery.

QB

Steal: Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan is on average going as the 11th quarterback and 62nd overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  The Atlanta Falcons have a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter who though he does not have much offensive success in the past has said he is going to open things up in the passing game this year.  Matt Ryan has a great pass catching back in Jacquizz Rodgers, a very good third receiver in Harry Douglas, and two dynamic all-pro receivers that complement each other well.  With both Julio Jones and Roddy White to throw to, and another year in the bag for Ryan I think he should improve upon last year and become a top-ten QB in fantasy football this year.

Robbery: Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin is on average going as the 13th quarterback and 85th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  RG3 is a rookie quarterback so obviously he is a big risk, but I think he has huge fantasy potential.  The past two seasons the Redskins have insisted on throwing the ball a lot despite the fact that they have had Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, and the guy who makes Tim Tebow look like Tom Brady in John Beck throwing the ball.  In fact the Redskins have finished top-five in the league in pass attempts both years with Mike Shanahan as the head coach.  Now that Shanahan has a quarterback with some skill I think there is no reason he wouldn't pass that much, and RG3 should benefit.  I think on passing alone Griffin will be a borderline fantasy starter, and finish somewhere in the 10-12 range at QB.  What makes him special is I think he will also rack up some points via his running ability, and become a top-ten fantasy QB.

Hijacking: Jake Locker

Jake Locker is on average going as the 25th quarterback and the 143rd overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  I think Locker's stock will rise a little more after some stellar pre-season performances and recently being named the starter, but the stock won't rise enough.  Jake Locker is an incredible athlete with big arm strength, and a 4.59 40 yard dash time.  That's the same time as fantasy stud and fellow second year quarterback Cam Newton.  Locker has some serious pass accuracy, and decision making issues but the news out of training camp is that he has been dramatically improving.  With all the physical tools to be a stud, a running back like Chris Johnson to take pressure off him, and receiving threats in Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, and rookie Kendall Wright I think Locker will have a good year.  Locker has the upside to be a top-ten QB with his running ability and throwing tools, but at the very least I think he should be a quality backup in ten team leagues who should go as about the 15th quarterback off the board in fantasy drafts.


RB
Steal: Jamaal Charles

"High Five!"

Jamaal Charles is on average going as the 11th running back and the 25th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  Charles has looked great so far in pre-season, and there are no doubts that he will start come week one.  I think it is possible Charles won't be quite the same guy as he was pre-injury, but I think he will be very close to as good.  Another concern with fantasy owners is that Charles will have to compete with Peyton Hillis for goal line work, but that is not a legitimate concern.  In 2010 when Charles posted the 4th best season among running backs that year Thomas Jones rushed for over 1,000 yards while getting most of the goal line work.  Charles is such a dynamic back that he doesn't need to worry about Hillis, and it's not like the Chiefs are going to throw the ball.  I think Charles will end the season around the fifth overall running back (I have him ranked seventh), and should be considered an early second round pick.

Robbery: Cedric Benson

Cedric Benson is on average going as the 38th running back and 105th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  The running backs going 35th to 40th around Benson are Mark Ingram, C.J. Spiller, Donald Brown, Toby Gerhart, and David Wilson.  Ingram is in a time share with Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas.  Spiller is a backup to Fred Jackson, Donald Brown sucks, Gerhart is a backup to Adrian Peterson, and David Wilson is a backup to Ahmad Bradshaw.  Cedric Benson meanwhile is a clear cut starter who finished as Fantasy's number 23 running back last season.  I guess some people haven't got the memo that James Starks is not going to be sharing carries with Benson because there is no reason he should be going so late.  I'm not saying Benson is a dynamic back by any means (in fact I think Spiller, Wilson, and Gerhart are all much better and are good sleepers/handcuff backs who will do good if the opportunity arises), but in fantasy football opportunity matters more than talent.  Benson is probably not going to get a ton of carries in such a great passing attack, but I think he will slowly trot out a top-30 RB season.  By no means would I draft Benson as a starter in fantasy, but I think he will be a good bye-week fill in and occasional flex play.

Hijacking: Doug Martin

Doug Martin is on average going as the 28th running back and 80th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  Martin is a 5-9 223 pound running back who ran a 4.43 40, is a good pass blocker, and a very capable receiving back.  The player who he reminds most of is Ray Rice.  Rice is a 5-8 212 pound running back who ran a 4.42 40, is a good pass blocker, and a very capable receiving back.  With Legarette "Imma punch you" Blount (a notoriously bad pass blocker, receiving back, and runner) as his only backfield competition I think Martin should get the bulk of the carries for Tampa Bay as soon as he steps on the field.  I think Martin will end the season as a borderline top 20 fantasy running back, and will be a quality starter as a running back two in fantasy football most weeks.

WR
Steal: Brandon Lloyd

Brandon Lloyd is on average going as the 17th wide receiver and the 50th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  Lloyd is an incredibly dynamic deep ball threat who has arguably the best deep ball thrower in football as his quarterback.  Lloyd also has Josh McDaniels who was his offensive coordinator in Denver and St. Louis on the team, and McDaniels loves to throw to Brandon Lloyd.  With Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez all taking the defenses attention away from him Lloyd should be open on a lot of deep balls, and Tom Brady is more than capable of hitting him in stride for the touchdown.  Lloyd will finish as a top-15 wide receiver, and with top-ten upside Lloyd should be going around 35th overall in my mind.  As a Patriots fan still suffering from that brutal Super Bowl defeat I am ecstatic about the addition of Lloyd to this already imposing passing attack.

Robbery: Torrey Smith

Torrey Smith is on average going as the 30th wide receiver and the 89th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  This makes no sense to me at all, and this is why:  Last year Torrey Smith finished as the #22 overall fantasy football wide receiver as a rookie.  Most second year players improve from their past season.  Joe Flacco is a young quarterback who loves to throw the deep ball, and Torrey Smith is super fast and loves to run for the deep ball.  Anquan Boldin was Smith's main competition last year for targets, and he's just getting older.  Smith has looked great for the Ravens so far in pre-season, and should have a great top-20 season at Wide Receiver this year.  In my mind he should be going in the late 6th round making him a "hijacking" who I only called a robbery because the next guy on this last is a true hijacking.

Hijacking: Percy Harvin

Percy Harvin is on average going as the 18th wide receiver and the 56th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  Last year Percy Harvin finished as the #8 wide receiver in fantasy football and was incredible in the second half of last season.  I think Percy Harvin will be able to stay healthy, and be one of the focal points of this Vikings offense.  The news from Vikings camp is that Christian Ponder and Harvin have developed a strong connection, and Harvin should continue to thrive.  With Adrian Peterson coming back from his ACL surgery I think Harvin will get some rushes in the backfield to boost his stats just like he did at the end of last year.  Most importantly Percy Harvin is a super talented receiver, and is the only talented receiver on a Vikings team meaning he is going to get a ton of opportunity.  I think Percy Harvin should be a mid to late third round running back, and will again finish as a top-ten wide receiver in fantasy football.

TE
Steal: Fred Davis

Fred Davis is on average going as the 9th tight end and the 101st overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  See Griffin, Robert.  I already talked about how much the Redskins throw the ball.  I already talked about how much I love RG3.  The reason I like Fred Davis is because of his talent, RG3, and Shanahan's offense.  Shanahan traditionally likes to run a lot of QB rollouts, and with a mobile quarterback like Griffin I think that trend will continue.  When a QB runs a rollout the TE is generally a primary option on the play, and I think Davis will get a lot of looks on rollouts this year.  Fred Davis is going in the early 11th round, but I think he will be a quality TE starter and deserves to go around the 9th round.

Robbery: Greg Olsen

Greg Olsen is on average going as the 15th tight end and the 137th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  Last year Cam Newton threw almost exactly 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns to his tight ends.  Those two tight ends were Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey.  This year Jeremy Shockey is not on the team.  I think Olsen has the potential to have a 1,000 yard 10 touchdown season, but at the very least will have a 800 yard six touchdown season.  If he were to have the 800 yard season he would finish with 116 fantasy points which would have put him as the 7th overall fantasy tight end last year.  If Olsen were to have a 1,000 yard 10 touchdown season (which I'd say there is about a 25%-33% chance of) he would have been fantasy's #3 tight end last year behind Graham and Gronkowski.  I think Olsen has big upside, and should be drafted around 7th at tight end, at about the 75th overall pick.

Hijacking: Jermaine Gresham

Jermaine Gresham is on average going as the 17th tight end and the 139th overall pick in ESPN live fantasy football drafts.  Gresham is a 6-5  260 tight end who runs a 4.65 40 and is only 24 years old.  Gresham was fantastic in college at Oklahoma, and earned a first round pick.  With Andy Dalton hopefully improving from last year Gresham should develop a better connection with him.  A.J. Green is the only other receiving threat on this team because Brandon Tate is the #2 WR for this time.  Tate is by no means a up and coming star like Green, so Gresham should get plenty of targets.  Jermaine reminds me of the Graham/Gates type wide receiver like tight ends who just make plays.  Even last year when Gresham didn't have a great connection with Andy Dalton he still finished as the #13 fantasy tight end, and a couple jaw dropping highlights like this: Jermaine Gresham One-Handed Catch

There are a ton of potential sleepers in football, and I could write this article again with completely different people, but these are some of the players I feel the strongest about.  Jake Locker, Doug Martin, Percy Harvin, and Jermaine Gresham I think are all being significantly undervalued, and I will get Martin in Harvin in almost every league (Locker and Gresham are great, but if I have say Rodgers and Graham I'm not going to go after either of them).  All these players are great talents (except for you Cedric Benson), and I think they will all post significantly good VADP numbers.  I created VADP while writing this article to try and explain value of certain players, and I think I will continue to use the statistic in my fantasy football analysis.

Overall Olympic Medals from an Incredibly Biased Perspective

The Olympics are broken down into two separate weeks for me.  Week 1 is owned by swimming and gymnastics, and week 2 is all about team sports and track events.  My overall medals are based on which athletes dominated their weeks and caught my attention.  This is incredibly biased because it is affected by what I actually watched during the Olympics (otherwise known as you can expect mostly USA athletes in this column.) .  So, without further ado we go to the medal ceremony.

WEEK 1

Honorable Mention: Ryan Lochte, Ye Shiwen, and Aly Raisman

Aly wonders if McKayla is impressed with how gold tastes?

Worth mentioning are Ryan Lochte who for one night was anointed as the greatest swimmer on earth, and then came crashing back down to just one of the greatest.  Seeing the fall in popularity of Lochte was stunning.  After that 400 IM on the first night of the Olympics it seemed Lochte was poised to go on an epic run, but when he screwed up the Lezak relay repeat and failed to dominate all of his events he quickly fell out of the spotlight.  He still managed to get two golds and five total medals so in my opinion it was a pretty damn good olympics.  Honorary mention also goes to Ye Shiwen or as she's more commonly known in 'Merica "that 16 year old Chinese who's been doping."  I have no idea whether she actually was on steroids, but let's just say if I really thought she could best Michael Phelps last 100 meters in the 400 IM she would probably be winning a medal in this column.  Either way she had a great performance, and all the debate surrounding her made the Olympics all the more exciting.  Finally, honorable mention goes to Aly Raisman who I came very close to giving the bronze to.  Raisman helped the modern day fab five win the all-around team gold, and individually took home a bronze on the balance beam and gold on the floor routine.  Of the fab five Raisman had the best performance in the individual events, and being the captain of the team was also very impressive (even if McKayla is not impressed).

BRONZE MEDAL: Gabby Douglas

Anyone else get dizzy looking at this picture?

Douglas was the star of the fab five's team all-around finals, and then the next day took home the individual all-around which is the biggest honor in Olympic gymnastics.  Gabby did falter after that though failing to place on both the uneven bars and the balance beam.  Though Gabby underwhelmed on the individual events she still was the star of the fab five, and a transcendent gymnast being black in a mostly white sport.  At 4-11 with a big smile Gabby seemed incredibly happy to be at the olympics, but still poised and confident in her abilities.  Watching all the gymnasts is always incredible, but Gabby was the most impressive of them all and truly a joy to watch.

SILVER MEDAL: Missy Franklin

I wonder if she "Missy" America in London?

At only seventeen years old Franklin put together an incredible Olympics.  In seven events she placed fifth 100m freestyle, fourth in the 200m freestyle, third in the 4x100 team freestyle relay, first in the 100m backstroke, first and olympic record in the 4x200 team freestyle relay, first and world record in the 200m backstroke, and first with a world record in the 4x100 team medley relay.  Overall she had five medals, four golds, one olympic record, and two world records.  It was a epic performance by Franklin, and she went about it all with a fantastic attitude.  With her giant feet and 6-1 body Franklin seems to be the female version of star swimmer Michael Phelps.  The American media has fallen in love with her because of her homegrown American way of life, and are impressed that she has turned down prize money and sponsorships in order to maintain collegiate eligibility.  What I'm happy about is that instead of competing for the Canadian squad (she has dual-citizenship) she chose to represent the US and bring us home some more gold.

GOLD MEDAL: Michael Phelps

I can never recognize swimmers while they're swimming

When Michael Phelps barely qualified for the 400m IM and then placed 4th in the individual relay people were shocked.  In his next two events Phelps had two silvers, one of which came in the revenge of the French in the 4x100m freestyle relay.  After earning the two silvers people decided Phelps was still very good, he just wasn't what he used to be.  At this point I thought that Michael Phelps' 2012 Olympics would be similar to Jordan's Washington Wizards comeback.  It shows us that he's still good, and can compete at a high level despite taking so much time off.  However it disappoints us because it shows that Phelps/Jordan is nothing but a human.  I was wrong.  In his next four events, 4x200m freestyle relay, 200m individual medley, 100m butterfly, 4x100 medley relay Phelps ran the table.  He ended the 2012 Olympics with six medals, and four golds, but also 22 Olympic career medals and 18 gold medals.  Simply put, Phelps cemented his status as the greatest swimmer of all time.  Instead of reminding me of the Jordan Wizards comeback, it reminded me of Jordan's comeback from his "baseball career."  Jordan like Phelps started out slow with a loss to the Orlando Magic in the 1995 playoffs, but picked it up afterwards to prove that he was the greatest of all time at his respective sport.

WEEK 2

Honorable Mention: Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, Yohan Blake, and Mo Farah/Jessica Ennis

PEEK-A-BOO!!!!!!!!!!

The dynamic duo of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh went undefeated in route to their third straight 2-on-2 Olympic beach volleyball gold.  In the finals Treanor and Walsh played a great match against fellow Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy that gave them their third gold.  Treanor and Walsh's ability to perform in the clutch with incredible consistency separated them from the field in what was probably their last Olympics.  Yohan Blake helped the Jamaicans to a gold in their world record setting 4x100m relay, and got individual silver's in both the 100m and 200m.  If there was no Usain Bolt in the world Blake would have swept the board in sprinting track events while setting some records (remember there is no Bolt in this world).  It is sad for Blake though because he will forever be in the shadow of the 6-4 Bolt.  Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis were the stars for the host country in Britain.  Jess as the Brits call her won gold in the 800m Heptathlon while becoming adored by her English fans, and Mo Farah won golds in both the 5,000m and 10,000m long distance runs.

BRONZE MEDAL: Allyson Felix

Just like a waving flag, and then it goes, and then it goes back

In four events Felix won three golds, and helped set a world record.  In the 200m and the 4x400m relay Felix won gold for team USA.  The Women's track team also set a world record in the 4x100m relay with help from Felix and fellow track star Carmelita Jeter.  The 4x100m relay was an incredible performance by the US women as they shattered the Germans world record from 1985 by 0.55 seconds.  It may not seem like that much, but in track and field more than half a second is an eternity.  After getting silver medals in her last Olympics Felix was probably overjoyed to come up with "not 1...not 2...(how did I know I would talk about Lebron at some point this article, oh yeah, because I write it) but 3 gold medals.

SILVER MEDAL: USA Women's Soccer Team

It looks like she forgot the flag she was supposed to be holding

The US women's soccer team got revenge against a Japan team that had beaten them in the World Cup by defeating them to earn a gold in the 2012 Olympics.  With Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, and the fiery Abby Wambach the US team fought for the gold.  It was not easy, and the 4-3 123rd minute victory over Canada after two overtimes by Alex Morgan was one of the greatest moments of the Olympics.  Abby Wambach chewed out the referee in order to give them extra time when Morgan scored the amazing goal to win it.  In the finals Carli Lloyd scored two goals in route to the 2-1 victory over Japan.  It was a difficult run for the team, but with Wambach's leadership they never stopped fighting and came home with a well deserved gold.

GOLD MEDAL: Usain Bolt

He's pointing at his home country of Mars

The country of Jamaica had four gold medals.  The legend of Usain Bolt had three.  In Bolt's last six Olympic events he has won six golds, and set two world records and an olympic record.  There were some questions coming in to this Olympics after Yohan Blake had beat Bolt in Jamaican qualifiers, but a doubter cannot be heard after what he did this Olympics.  Bolt proved once again that he is the greatest and the fastest sprinter of all time, not to mention one of the greatest showmen among athletes.  With all his pre-race dances and post-race poses Bolt ran like lightning to a 100m, 200m, and 4x100m gold victory.  In the 100m Bolt was in the middle of the pack at the midway point in the race, but switched into another gear and zoomed to the finish and a Olympic record (yes he does own the World record).  Well actually he slowed up just a bit at the finish by spreading his arms wide and coming as close to flying as any human has ever done.  In the 200m Bolt slowed down at the finish to turn his head and put a finger to his lips to shush the crowd.  In the 4x100m Bolt's end of race display was post-poned till next time as he ran hard to give the Jamaicans a new world record.  Like Phelps Bolt used the 2012 London Olympics to affirm his status as the greatest ever at what he does.  Phelps is the greatest swimmer ever, and Bolt is the greatest sprinter ever.

BREAKING DOWN THE DWIGHT HOWARD MEGA-DEAL

BREAKING DOWN THE DWIGHT HOWARD MEGA-DEAL

Here are the components of the trade:

Nuggets Get: Andrew Iguodala

Lakers Get: Dwight Howard, Earl Clark, Chris Duhon

Magic Get: Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts, Al Harrington, Aaron Afflalo, Nikola Vucevic, Moe Harkless, an Assortment of Picks

 76ers Get: Andrew Bynumn, Jason Richardson

When I first saw this trade, I was stunned. What are the Magic Doing? I thought to myself. They traded away 3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and a 5x All-NBA First-Teamer for a bunch of bench-players and protected Draft Picks? I mean, if they had accepted either of the Rockets or Nets deals, they would have been better off than they are now. The Magic didn’t even get the cap-relief they wanted, as they are still stuck with the contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis; in addition to the newly acquired contracts of Al Harrington and Afflalo. Now, Aaron Afflalo is arguably the team’s best player, and when Aaron Afflalo is your team’s premier player, you’re in trouble. In fact, I believe the Magic have the opportunity to rival the 2011-2012 Bobcats for the worst record in NBA History. To Sum, the Magic Front Office did not handle this deal well, and as a result, got gypped.

I have no complaints about the other teams moves. The Sixers aquired a high-risk, high-reward franchise player in Andrew Bynumn. The Nuggets improved their backcourt and dropped Al Harrington’s loaded contract, and the Lakers got Dwight Howard!