A friend just recently asked me why no one on the site staff has done an article about the Keyshawn Johnson issue. For those of you who don’t know, Keyshawn made remarks saying he didn’t like how much he was getting the ball and wanted to leave after this season was over. The Bucs responded by deactivating him for the rest of the season. Anyway, I thought about what he said and I had a great idea.

We are always seeing athletes getting in trouble by saying and doing possibly the dumbest things they can do in their situation. Terrell Owens, mocks the Dallas Cowboys in front of thousands of die-hard fans. Kobe Bryant, possibly ruins his image that brought him in millions. Manny Ramirez, doesn’t play in a big series against rival Yankees because of a soar throat when the division and playoffs were on the line. And possibly the biggest jerk in all of sports, Bill Romanowski, has spit in a players face, said he takes steroids to keep up with n*****, and most recently punched his own teammate so hard he is out for 6 weeks.

But hey, what’s the fun in writing about that stuff? So I figured I’d remind or tell people about a good story in sports at a time we could all use one.

Its the twelfth game in a Miami Heat season that hasn’t started out as planned. Lamar Odom has started off slow in his “new start”, Dwayne Wade has been terribly inconsistent as he put up 18 in his debut then shot 2-12 the next night, and the Heat are 3-7 (about to go 3-8) with their growing star averaging less than five points per game.

That growing star is Caron Butler, he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during pre-season and is taking some big hits from critics. Seeing him daze at the court, it looks like things have hit rock bottom for the 23 year old getting paid 1.8 million this season. However, nothings further from the truth.

There was a time when it looked Butler’s NBA hopes were over. Like too many young players, his dreams were dying because he was in handcuffs being pushed into a van that would be taking him to a correctional facility. At just the age of 14, Caron Butler was caught having a gun and possession of cocaine while in his HS at Racine, Wisconsin. He would spend nine months in a juvenile detention facility and another six in jail. In jail was Butler’s lowpoint, after getting in a fight and spending 10 days in solitary confinement he vowed to himself he would change his ways.

When he got out of jail his Mom and Grandmother moved out the neighborhood giving himself a fresh start with new people. While organizations worked to find another high school to let Butler back in, he worked at a Burger King and even had to wear an ankle bracelet to keep track of him. Eventually, Caron Butler played again at Maine Central Institute where he shined.

Now that Caron Butler again proved he was on of the top players in the country, it was time to move onto college. Usually, its hard to get teams to commit to a player with such a bad record, but UConn coach Jim Calhoun saw Butler’s drive and dedication to fixing his life and was awarded by a scholarship.

Butler awarded Calhoun’s faith by being the top scorer on the team as a freshman, then going on to lead them into the elite eight before losing to the eventual winner, Maryland as a sophomore. He was also named the CO Big East Player of the Year with Brandin Knight before he entered for the NBA draft.

The Draft, another hard day in Butler’s life. Predicted to be a definite top 5 pick, Butler watched as player after player was taken and finally the Heat called his name with the 10th overall pick. All the time Butler was crying, not only because he lost millions of dollars in the drop down, but he again saw the cruelty of life. Apparently, agents mad at Caron for not choosing them spread rumors he had been shot in his knee in the past, dropping his stock.

Caron played the season as if he had something to prove to all the teams that passed him up. However, when it came time for Rookie of the Year, Caron Butler wasn’t even really mentioned as he finished third to high schooler Amare Stoudemire and foreigner Yao Ming despite having more than 2 ppg than each of them.

We are finally back where we started. Caron is staring at the court as the Heat lose their ninth game of the season while he played just 11 minutes. Miami fans, always weary are already losing faith in the guy that averaged over 15 ppg. as a rookie, and Butler is feeling the heat once again.

But don’t worry, he’s faced worse.

In our “Attention to Detail: Pitcher Orientation in Bounce Back Games” article, we talked about how pitcher orientation is an important element for bounce-back games. If we want our team to bounce back, their propensity for doing so is best if the opposing starting pitcher is the same orientation as the previous starting pitcher the team faced.

This all makes sense because hitters can start to become comfortable with a certain type of pitcher if they face them enough.

We also speak about how teams off one-run losses are likely to come out playing better baseball in their next game. Having lost by 1 run, they understand the importance of taking pitches, moving runners over, getting defensive stops, all the little things necessary to win ball games.

Combining these two elements makes for a very decent angle. With our team paying attention to detail off of a one-run loss, being able to hit a pitcher of the same orientation that they lost to is just icing on the cake.

In fact, there is a 10 point advantage to the odds between them facing the same pitcher orientation as compared to facing a different one. Vegas has not accounted for this because very few people know about it but adding an angle such as this to help you identify value on teams to bet on is key.

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As nearly everyone expected, Jay Cutler was the third QB taken in this year’s draft, but he has the potential to be a better player than both Leinart and Young because of his powerful right arm. Cutler has as strong an arm as any QB selected in recent years. He reminds me of Brett Favre at times the way his arm allows him to make plays most QB’s can’t make. He will be a great guy to have on deck in Denver behind Plummer. He will only get better as he set numerous school records at Vanderbilt playing with mediocre talent. Give this kid a good offensive line and a couple wide outs and he has the potential for an outstanding career.

The Ravens’ success has been built around a tough defense and after a down year, things should be looking back up with Haloti Ngata from the University of Oregon stepping into Baltimore’s offensive front and clogging up lead plays. He has been considered a top 10 pick from day 1 and the Ravens have to be thrilled to get him at 12. He should be a big asset for Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis as Ngata will keep down lineman from firing out and getting to him. With Ray Lewis more free to roam, the Ravens’ defense can get back to where they were a few seasons ago. The only knock on this guy is occasional laziness, but I think it stems from him wearing out and his conditioning should improve in the NFL.

Kamerion Wimbley was the second Florida State Seminole and second defensive end taken early on in the 2006 draft. He lacks bulk like some of the great defensive ends such as Reggie White, but the game is increasingly becoming one of speed, and I can see him using his speed off the line like Jason Taylor. He will need to get better at fundamental skills like using his hands to control blockers, and he will need to improve on stringing together a series of moves after his initial move is stopped. I don’t think he’ll have any problems with these things and would probably already have these skills if he wasn’t able to blow by defensive tackles at will in the ACC. The Browns need help on the defensive side of the ball and Wimbley should be a solid start.

The Philadelphia Eagles also went after a Seminole with the 14th pick selecting nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley to give them some push up the middle. His quickness will be a major asset as he will be able to push the pocket in passing situations, but he also has the size to clog up the middle and slow down the run. Add Bunkley to Mike Patterson and Darwin Walker, and the Eagles have themselves a solid front 3. I’m actually a little bit surprised that his college teammate leapfrogged him as he was figured to go in the top 12 and he is a more fundamental football player who already has great technique. The Eagles are glad he was still around. They’ll hope he can help them regain their defensive prowess which was tarnished last season.

The St. Louis Rams love speed on both sides of the ball and they got a corner back from Clemson in Tye Hill who can flat out fly. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine, but has a listed time of 4.25 seconds. He has the quickness to be a great cover corner in the league for years to come as he is able to react and recover exceptionally if he gets beat. His quickness also allows him to support the run effectively. His only downfall is that his hands are just so-so. He probably won’t be a big play interception guy, but as he develops, I think his speed could allow him to give fits to some of the best receivers in the league. Look for Mr. Hill to step right in and get lots of playing time. He will probably be playing every down before the season is over.

Jimmy Boyd is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers
League.
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