Could LeBron James be an NFL Quarterback?

LeBron James basketball career is at it's peak. He just won his fourth MVP in five years.  This year the vote was one vote away from being unanimous.  He made his seventh All-NBA First Team and fifth All-NBA Defensive Team. Last season he also won MVP, NBA Finals MVP, and an Olympic Gold Medal. His Miami Heat team may have lost last night, but still are in prime position to make and win the finals.

Joe Theismann in his playing days
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But not all the publicity is about his basketball skills. Hall of Fame Quarterback Joe Theismann said the LeBron James could be an NFL quarterback. He has commented on this twice in the last few days. On Saturday, he told Fox Sports Florida that: "I would love to work him out and also serve as his agent. I'll go wherever he wants this summer. He could play another four years in the NBA before seriously trying the NFL." and "There are not a lot of 38 or 39-year-old basketball players, but there are 38 and 39-year-old quarterbacks, there is still time for him." He later said that the agent comment was "tongue-in-cheek". On the NFL Network on Tuesday, he added that: "He could, I think, do anything he wanted."

Theismann is not the only one to comment on James' potential on the gridiron. Two-time BCS Championship winning coach and current Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said he could have been a "first-round draft pick" and "a Hall-of-Famer".

James played football for three seasons at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School. He played quarterback during his freshman season and wide receiver during his sophomore and junior years. In his sophomore season, he caught 42 balls for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. His junior year was much better. He had 1245 receiving yards with 16 touchdowns. Both seasons, he was selected to the All-State team. 

When looking at LeBron's potential as a quarterback, you must start with his built and his intangibles. He is incredibly strong at 6'8'' and 250 pounds. As a comparison, Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton is 6'5'' and 245 pounds. He is also very durable. In his ten pro seasons, the lowest amount of games he has played in a non-lockout shorten season was 75.  I am confident that he could hold his own physically in the NFL.

LeBron James as a football star?
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Now, we will look at some of the positives. His work ethic is tremendous. If he were to make the switch from basketball to football, I know he would study very diligently and would do all he can to make himself the best. He would become a football nerd. His mental toughness may be a question to many, but not to Joe Theismann. He said that, "He's as mentally as tough a guy you are going to find." His previous experience also will be a help.

Not everything about the possibilities are on the brighter side. We have no idea how well he could play the quarterback position. Would he be comfortable under center? How well can he consistently throw a football? Could he perfect a three-step, five-step, and seven-step drop? Can he throw on the run? These are just some of the questions that would surround LeBron if he moved to football. With enough work, the answer might be yes to these questions. However, it can takes years to answer these questions. I would believe that James doesn't have that much time. 

All in all, LeBron is not going to the NFL any time soon. Why would he leave the game he loves at his peak to play in the NFL? He has been battling comparisons to Michael Jordan all his life. Why would he pull the same move as MJ did?  If he did end up playing football, it might be one game for an Arena team or semi-pro team, and the probability of either of these is slim to none. All these words are just words. For right now, LeBron playing football  and most likely forever, will be a fantasy.

NCAA Lacrosse Championships

The NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championships is looking to be excellent this year. All four teams not only have outstanding players, but all have a formidable chance of winning. The number one seed, Syracuse, is in. So is the four seed Denver and the seventh seeded North Carolina. Rounding out the final four is the unseeded Cornell. The semifinals will take place on May 25th, and the national championship on the 27th. On the 26th, the Division II Championship between Mercyhurst and Le Moyne and the Division III Championship featuring Rochester Institute and Stevenson. The Division I semi's are Syracuse-Denver and Cornell-Duke.

Rob Pannell
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Cornell is my favorite to win it all. They have a lot of things going for them. Even though they were unranked in the tournament, they went 12-3 in the regular season. That did, however,  include a loss to fellow semi-finalist Syracuse. In the tournament, there has been no one better. In the first round against a good Maryland team, they won easily by the score of 16-8. Then, in the quarters, they destroyed the number three seeded Ohio State, 16-6. This should not be a surprise. Cornell has arguably the best player in the nation in Rob Pannell. Pannell, an attack, was an All-American in 2010 and 2011. He on track to return to the list in 2012, but had a season-ending injury in the second game of the season. This season, he has come back in a big way. Pannell's 42 goals, 53 assists, 95 points, and 5.59 points per game place him. His partner is fellow attacer Steve Mock. Mock has 59 goals on the season to lead the nation. In the game vs. Ohio State, the Big Red showed their power. Pannell has two goals and six assists, while Mock had seven goals. The Big Red have the most offensive firepower in the tournament and will lead them to victory. 

Syracuse may be the number one team in the tournament, but I would not be so confident about them winning the championship. Of the four teams left standing, their team offense is the only one outside of the top five. Their team defense is the best of the four, but not by much. They have had many close calls this season, and a few tough losses. They needed to dominate more to gain my confidence. They may be a good team, but they will have a very tough time in the semi's and, possibly the championship game.

Denver is a good team that always play very hard. Five of their games in the regular season went into overtime. In those games they are 3-2. Their offense is led by Attacker Eric Law and Midfielder Wesley Berg. Law has 40 goals and 25 assists on a .526 shooting percentage. Berg was the team's leading goal scorer and second leading scorer in the nation with 56 goals.  Denver played very tough competition in the first two rounds so far. They beat a very good offensive team in Albany, 19-14, and an always good North Carolina squad, 12-11. Their schedule will have them mentally prepared to take on Syracuse.

Jordan Wolf
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Duke is looking to redeem it's self after loosing in the final four last season to Maryland. They have one of the best player in the nation in Attacker Jordan Wolf. The junior has led the third best offensive team in the nation with 49 goals and 25 assists. He also averages 2.58 goals per game. It is not just Wolf on the offense. Josh Dionne, David Lawson, Case Matheis, Josh Offit, and Jake Tripecka all have 40+ points on the year. The Blue Devils ride to the semi's has not been easy. They faced defending champion Loyola (MD) and beat them 12-11 in double overtime. Then, they faced the number two seed Notre Dame and won 12-11. 

The Heineken Cup Final

Heineken Cup logo
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The Heineken Cup wrapped up yesterday in Dublin with it's title game. After starting in October with 24 teams, one team was left standing after yesterday's title game. The two teams in the final were from the Top 14 (top rugby union league in French). They were Clermont and Toulon. Neither team had won the title before, which added even more intrigue to the game. The game ended up being a great match that will go down as an all-time classic. 

Both teams had a few bumps on the road to the final. Clermont was the top team in Pool 5 by a mile.  They were 6-0 with a +149 point differential. That is an outstanding accomplishment. Only once did a team lose by less then five. That gave them the second seed in the knockout round. Toulon was also a top team in their pool, Pool 6. They had five wins and a loss with a +109 point differential. They were the fourth seed in the knock round. The knockout round started in the quarterfinals with Clermont facing fellow Top 14 team Montpellier and Toulon against Leicester. Clermont destroyed Montepellier 36-14, while Toulon  defeated Leicester 21-15. In the semi's, Clermont beat Munster 16-10 and Toulon won against Saracens. That set up the all-French final. 

Morgan Parra
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Clermont got the scoring started quickly into the game. Four minutes in, Scrum Half Morgan Parra had a kick at goal from behind the ten-meter line. That gave Clermont the early 3-0 lead. Parra ended up being the leader in the tournament in points with 115. He got these points from 24 kicks at goal, one try, and 19 conversions. Ten minutes later, Jonny Wilkinson tied the game at 3. Wilkinson was second to Parra in the points race with 108, 30 of kicks at goal and nine as a result of conversions. After that, no one could score for the rest of the half. After 40 minutes of play, the score was 3-3. 

Two minutes into the second half, Clermont's Left Wing Napolioni Nalaga gets a pass and runs down the sideline and just gets into the In-Goal for the try. However, due to the location of the try, Parra's conversion attempt was taken from about a foot off of a left sideline. He missed the attempt. This would come back to haunt Clermont.

Just four minutes later, in the 46th minute, Jonny Wilkinson hits a kick at goal to make the score 8-6.  Just two minutes later, Clermont extended their lead when Brock James got a try and Parra converted the conversion. 

Armitage and Wilkinson celebrate the title
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With 60 minutes done, Clermont were in control. Then, Jonny Wilkinson converted a kick at goal for three points. This brought the score to be with in six. Then in the 64th minute, Nalaga turned the ball over to Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, who the passed the ball to Delon Armitage. Armitage had an open field ahead of him and ran it into the In-Goal for the the try. Jonny Wilkinson then converted the try. Toulon took the lead 16-15.


When the final whistle blew, Clermont won the possession game (68% to 32%), line-outs (14-10), and rucks won (119-42). They were the better team, but, they lost the match, 16-15. The Man of the Match was Outside Centre Mathieu Bastaraud. After the win, Wilkinson won the ERC European Player of the Year. This is Toulon's first ever Heineken Cup championship. This  victory comes after being second in the 2010 and 2012 European Challenge Cup Finals. 

2013 IIHF World Championship Quarterfinals Preview

The NHL playoffs is not the only major hockey tournament occurring at the moment. Over in Finland and Sweden, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is holding their annual world championships. This year, sixteen teams started the competition and now only eight remain. The eight teams competing in the quarterfinals are Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and United States. The match-ups are Finland vs. Slovakia, Canada vs. Sweden, Switzerland vs. Czech Republic and Russia vs. USA.

Finland-Slovakia

Joni Ortio
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Finland may not be led by many stars, but they are number two in the World Rankings. Petri Kontiola of the KHL's Traktor Chelyabinsk is leading the offense with six goals and six assists. He also has a shooting percentage of 28.57. Both of their goalkeepers, Joni Ortio and Antti Raanta, have been good. Both have three wins each and a GAA under two. Slovakia just got into the quarters and I do not expect them to stay long. Their top goalie, Rastislav Stana, has a GAA of 2.22. They will need to keep the scoring low, as only two players have more then five points and their goal differential is +1. I expect a 3-1 victory for Finalnd.

Switzerland-Czech Republic

Switzerland was the best team in the group play. Their record was the best 6-1-0-0 and their goal differential was tops with +19. Their success was a result of excellent play, excellent net and a spread out attack. Goalkeepers Reto Berra and Martin Gerber have been outstanding. Berra has a GAA of 1.33, a save percentage of 95.7%, and is 3-0. Gerber is also 3-0 and his goal differential and save percentage is slightly worse, at 1.47 and 92.77% respectively. Six players have six or more points. Nashville Predators' defender Roman Josi has five assists and two goals. The Czech Republic has some good players, but struggled in the first round. Only a two players have five plus points. They are not the highest scoring team, but that is why they need great goal tending. Ondrej Pavelic was great in the preliminary round with a 1.26 GAA and a 93.75% save percentage. He will need to keep up his stellar play for a Czech Republic win. However, I think the Swiss get it done with a 3-1 victory.

Canada-Sweden
Coming into the match, Canada is looking very good .  In preliminary round, they did not lose in regulation in the . Steven Stamkos, who was on fire for the Tampa Bay Lightning this year, has kept the flame lit. He has six goals, five assists and a +/- of +5. Devan Dubnyk has played very well in net so far. He has a 1.48 GAA and a record of 4-0. Sweden does have a good chance to pull an upset. Led by the Sedin brothers, Sweden went 5-0-0-2 (Win-OT Win-OT Loss-Loss) in group play. Netminder Jhonsd Enroth has a GAA of 1.30, has a save percentage of 94.12%, had a shutout, and was 3-1. Sweden will need to be on the attack to win. They have the least amount of goals scored of the team still left, and when your against a high-powered team like Canada, you need to score. I like this game to be close with Canada pulling it out in the end with a 3-2 win.

Russia-USA

Josh Gibson
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This is the best match-up of all the quarterfinal games. Both teams have a history of great hockey teams, but Russia has 26 more medals then the US. The US also does not have a medal since 2004 and only four since 1960. This year's Russian team has a lot of fire power, led by Ilya Kovelchuk and Alexander Ovechken. Kovelchuk is the tournament's top player so far. He was twice the Best Player of the Game for Russia, is the leader in points with thirteen, goals with eight, and +/- rating with +8. Ovechken's first game for Russia will be the quarterfinals. He did not play in the first round because he was playing for the Washington Capitals in the NHL playoffs. The US has a tough decision to make about who should start in goal, Ben Bishop or Josh Gibson. Bishop went 3-2 in his starts in goal and was the number one goalie coming in. Gibson may be only 19 years old, but he already has key international experience. Earlier in the year, he participated in the U20 World Championships. Not only did the US win gold, Gibson was tournament MVP, was Directorate Best Goalie, and was on the all-star team. In his two games so far, he shutout Germany and beat Finland 4-1. I believe Gibson should start. He is the better player. If Bishop starts, I like Russia 3-1. If Gibson starts, the game will go into overtime, where Russia finally gets one last into the period and win 2-1. 

Minor League Baseball's Best Hitting Team Through One Month

Logo of the Buffalo Bisons
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We are about one month into baseball season and teams are starting to get comfortable. Contenders are starting to move away from the bad teams that had hot starts. In the minors, one team is playing very well. The Buffalo Bisons of the International league are currently number one the north division with a (19-9). Through this first month, Buffalo has been my most interesting team in all levels of baseball because of their success hitting.

As a team, they are tops in the International League in many categories. They lead the league in the four big average/percentage statistics, batting average (.305), on-base percentage (.381), slugging percentage (.475), and OPS (.856). They have 279 hits, 31 home runs, and 435 total bases, which are league-leaders in that stat. The Bisons are tied for first in triples with nine. Buffalo is in second place in runs and RBIs, with 158 (one behind Durham for first) and 150 (three behind Pawtucket for first). The most impressive part of them leading in all of these statistical categories is that they are second-to-last in at-bats. 

Jim Negrych
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Jim Negrych is a 28 year-old second base and has never made it to the big show. However, his performance this season is putting him on the cusp of making the Blue Jays. He is currently batting .416, with a .467 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage, and a 1.133 OPS. He is number one in the International League in all four categories. He also has 34 hits, 9 doubles, and 3 round-trippers. His biggest hitting accomplishment in a game so far was when he hit for the cycle in one game. Negrych is right now the best player in the International League and with Toronto not having the strongest second baseman, Negrych may earn his way to the majors. 

First baseman/Designated Hitter Luis Jimenez is also putting together his best season. Jimenez got his first crack at the big leagues last season for Seattle. However, he struggled, getting only one hit in 17 at-bats. His start so far may get him back to the majors to prove that was a fluke. He is the league leader in RBIs with 27 and is in the top five in batting average with .360, slugging percentage with .618, and OPS with 1.036. He also has five round-trippers, six doubles, and 32 hits. 

Josh Thole is hitting the ball really well. After spending most of the past two seasons in the pros, he is trying to make his way back. He is currently hitting .361 with a slugging percentage of .558 and a .995 OPS. Ryan Langerhans is the oldest position player on the team, but that does not mean he is not producing. He is the team leader in homers with 6 and has 18 RBIs and a .583 slugging percentage. Moises Sierra is my favorite prospect on this team. His performance for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic established him as a potentially good outfielder for a big league club. He is batting .354 with 29 hits. 

Luis Jimenez
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The Bison are having an outstanding season. What is really interesting is that of the fifteen current position players on the roster, only four are under the age of 28. That means many of these players are not prospects trying to make it to the show for the first time, they are looking to make it back to the bigs. Their success may be attributed to the fact that they may believe that is their last chance to return to the majors. The biggest example of their excellence at the plate was their 27-9 demolition of the Syracuse Chiefs on April 18. This outing was highlighted by a ten run seventh inning. Buffalo had 29 hits including six doubles, two triples, and five home runs. Sierra had six hits, Jimenez had five and eight ribbies. While their parent club across the border has been struggling, the Bisons are establishing themselves as the best team in not only the International League or Triple-A, but in all of minor league baseball.