The Draft of Trades and Offensive Lineman

(AP Photo)

This year's NFL Draft Day was a day of change.

Out of 31 selections in the NFL Draft on Saturday, 8 of them were traded and 8 were Offensive Lineman.

Also first round selections were reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes which cut the first round's length down to a little over three and a half hours. The other six rounds were cut down on time alloted as well.

The biggest surprise of the first round I would say was the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up with the Baltimore Ravens to the eighth position to select Florida Defensive End Derrick Harvey. Don't get me wrong Harvey's speed off the outside will be a weapon the Jaguars can utilize, but trading up to select him at eight was an unnecessary action for a player who at best was rated a late first round selection.

The big winners of Draft Day was the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins.

The Chiefs had a total of 12 selections at their disposal and utilized them well. With selections such as LSU DT Glenn Dorsey and Virginia OG Branden Albert, The chiefs have a lot of weapons that could be starting for them in week 1 this upcoming season.

Pittsburgh instead of drafting for needs went with the value selections at their turns. First and second round selections RB Rashard Mendenhall from Illinois and WR Limas Sweed were the best available at the time of the Steelers selections.

Washington traded down and did not select until the second round. Even with that, the Redskins were still able to pick up the two best rated Wide Receivers in the draft. Devin Thomas from Michigan State and Malcolm Kelly from Oklahoma might just be the extra "Umphh" for the Redskins to get back to the big show.

A lot of teams were labeled winners and losers of the draft, but only time will tell which franchise has the last laugh of the 2008 NFL Draft.

By: Collin Dakheel

2008 NFL Draft, Round 1

1.) Miami Dolphins - Jake Long, OT  Michigan

2.) St. Louis Rams - Chris Long, DE  Virginia

3.) Atlanta Falcons - Matt Long, QB  Boston College

4.) Oakland Raiders - Darren McFadden, RB  Arkansas

5.) Kansas City Chiefs - Glenn Dorsey, DT  LSU

6.) New York Jets - Vernon Gholston, DE  Ohio State

7.) New Orleans Saints - Sedrick Ellis, DT  USC

8.) Jacksonville Jaguars - Derrick Harvey, DE  Florida

9.) Cincinnati Bengals - Keith Rivers, LB  USC

10.) New England Patriots - Jerod Mayo, LB  Tennessee

11.) Buffalo Bills - Leodis McKelvin, CB  Troy

12.) Denver Broncos - Ryan Clady, OT  Boise State

13.) Carolina Panthers - Jonathan Stewart, RB  Oregon

14.) Chicago Bears - Chris Williams, OT  Vanderbilt

15.) Kansas City Chiefs - Branden Albert, OG  Virginia

16.) Arizona Cardinals - Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, CB Tennessee State

17.) Detroit Lions - Gosder Cherilus, OT  Boston College

18.) Baltimore Ravens - Joe Flacco, QB  Delaware

19.) Carolina Panthers - Jeff Otah, OT  Pittsburgh

20.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Aqib Talib, CB  Kansas

21.) Atlanta Falcons - Sam Baker, OT  USC

22.) Dallas Cowboys - Felix Jones, RB  Arkansas

23.) Pittsburgh Steelers - Rashard Mendenhall, RB  Illinois

24.) Tennessee Titans - Chris Johnson, RB  East Carolina

25.) Dallas Cowboys - Mike Jenkins, CB  South Florida

26.) Houston Texans - Duane Brown, OT  Virginia Tech

27.) San Diego Chargers - Antoine Cason, CB  Arizona

28.) Seattle Seahawks - Lawrence Jackson, DE  USC

29.) San Francisco 49ers - Kentwan Balmer, DT  North Carolina

30.) New York Jets - Dustin Keller, TE  Purdue

31.) New York Giants - Kenny Phillips, S  Miami

Draft Day is Almost Upon Us

With Draft Day less than 2 days away, all 32 teams are scrambling to make their last minute preparations. The Dolphins have already made their choice so that puts the St. Louis Rams in the hot seat.

Keep updated here on www.SportsEyez.com on Draft Day for up to the minute updates of the first round of the NFL Draft. Drafting begins 3pm EST this Saturday.

Jake Long Signs With The Dolphins

(AP Photo)

After a week of intense and fast paced negotiations, Michigan Offensive Tackle Jake Long signed a 5 year 57.75 million dollar contract with the Miami Dolphins today.

Long is going to be only the third offensive lineman to go number one overall in the NFL draft.

Both Miami and Long wanted to reach a deal to prevent a long and extended holdout as Oakland had to do with Jamarcus Russell last year.

This move now really puts the St. Louis Rams in the hot seat. With just 4 days to go we shall see what happens. Will it be Chris Long from Virginia? Or maybe Glenn Dorsey From LSU? We shall see.

This deal also raises questions now on how far will Boston College Quarterback Matt Ryan Fall? Will the Falcons try to fix their QB problems with Ryan? Or will Ryan be the lead bird in Baltimore with the recent retirement of Steve McNair? Again we shall see.

By: Collin Dakheel

Chad Johnson Refuses To Play

(AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Cincinnati Bengals' Wide Receiver Chad Johnson said Wednesday that he demands a trade and will not participate in any more team functions or events.

Johnson said that he hopes to be traded by draft day, but if that can't be done then as soon as possible.

Johnson's teammate WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh feels thats Johnson and the Bengals parting ways would be the best thing for Johnson and the Bengals' organization. Houshmandzadeh told reporters today,"If he's not traded it's going to be a problem."

Either way I am sure that there are teams that could use Johnson's talent, but could live without the baggage and constant trash talk. It will be interesting to see what comes of this in the upcoming weeks.
By: Collin Dakheel

2008 Houston Texans Schedule

2008 Houston Texans Schedule

Preseason

Saturday, August 9th Denver Broncos - 7pm

Saturday, August 16th @New Orleans - 7pm

Saturday, August 22nd @Dallas Cowboys - 7pm

Thursday, August 28th Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 7pm

Regular Season

Sunday, September 7th @Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, September 14th Baltimore Ravens

Sunday, September 21st @Tennessee Titans

Sunday, September 28th @Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, October 5th Indianapolis Colts

Sunday, October 12th Miami Dolphins

Sunday, October 19th Detroit Lions

Sunday, October 26th BYE WEEK

Sunday, November 2nd @Minnesota Vikings

Sunday, November 9th Cincinnati Bengals

Sunday, November 16th @Indianapolis Colts

Sunday, November 23rd @Cleveland Browns

Monday, December 1st Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, December 7th @Green Bay Packers

Sunday, December 14th Tennessee Titans

Sunday, December 21st @Oakland Raiders

Sunday, December 28th Chicago Bears

National League East Breakdown

Florida is looking pretty solid especially after losing Third Baseman Miguel Cabrera and Starting Pitcher Dontrelle Willis in the off season. With a couple of exceptions, the Marlins have been able to get the bats swinging and translate them into runs, unlike early predictions of the team. First Baseman Mike Jacobs has really emerged into the powerhouse of the club hitting 5 homers and 10 RBIs thus far. The big fish of Florida are definitely a team to watch this season.

The red men from Georgia have had a mediocre start this season to say the least. Atlanta's lack of the long ball working for them has certainly played a part in their 7 losses thus far this season. Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, and Chipper Jones could use improvement on both sides of their game. Without a doubt their are a lot of fantasy baseball fans who have these players, that are justifiably pissed off. Also the injury to Starting Pitcher Tom Glavine on Sunday against the Nationals didn't help much either. The Braves organization need to have a tough love talk with their players before they see their season go down the drain.
By: Collin Dakheel

New York has had a few pretty convincing wins thus far this season. That being said the only solid pitching performance they have had has come from their bullpen, not from their new prized bull Johan Santana. Yes he leads the team in wins, strikeouts, and ERA, but I guarantee you the Mets organization did not expect Santana to lose 2 of his first 3 starts with the ball club. New Yorks bats could also use some "umphh", but their first focus has to be on their pitching peformance.

The Nationals are in dead last in the NL East to nobody's surprise. When are the boys from D.C. gonna break their losing trend and become contenders in the NL East? I hope Manager Manny Acta can answer that before it is too late and he is out of a job

The bats have been swinging for the Phillies, however the pitching is mediocre. Starting Pitcher Cole Hamels has been lights out with an ERA of 0.82 and 15 strikeouts thus far. If the rest of their pitching can follow his example, expect to see the boys from Philly in late October.

Renteria Breaks No-Hitter, White Sox Hold Onto Shutout

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago's Gavin Floyd had a no hitter stretching 7 1/3 innings until SS Edgar Renteria singled off Floyd to give the Tigers their first hit of the day in the top of the 8th inning.

However Justin Verlander pitched a heck of a game for Detroit until the 8th inning only allowing the solo home run by SS Orlando Cabrera at the bottom of the 3rd inning.

The White Sox got the bats working in their favor in the bottom of the 8th inning as they were looking for insurance runs on their 1-0 lead. Verlander walked one, hit two by pitch, and gave up two hits to allow 3 runs to increase Chicago's lead to 4-0. Francis Beltran came in to replace Verlander and gave up hits to Carlos Quentin and Juan Uribe to make it 7-0 White Sox.

CP Bobby Jenks came to the mound in the top of the ninth for the White Sox and finished Detroit off for their sixth win of the year. The White Sox improve to (6-4) while the Tigers fall to (2-9). Gavin Floyd (2-0) and his almost no hitter gets the win for the Sox, while Verlander (0-2) receives the loss.

Detroit and Chicago will square off for game 3 of this series tomorrow at 2:05 EST. The series is tied at one game a piece.

By: Collin Dakheel

Pettitte Owns Royals and the Empire Strikes Back!

(AP Photo / Orlin Wagner)

Andy Pettitte only gave up 1 ER in 6 2/3 IP to earn his first win of the season as the Yankees clobbered the Royals 6-1 on Thursday night.

Pettitte, with a career 3.06 ERA against the Royals, is the best ERA against any AL team. However, he started rough throwing 31 pitches and giving up the only run the Royals could get home all in the 1st inning. He was solid from then on throwing only 30 pitches in the next 4 2/3 innings.

Alex Rodriguez knocked in his second home run of the year and drove in 2 RBIs. CF Melky Cabrera also had the same luck with his second homer and two runs driven in.

Hideo Nomo's return to the majors wasn't a pleasant one as Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez knocked in back-to-back homers off him in the 9th inning to seal the deal.

Andy Pettitte moves to (1-1) as John Bale falls to (0-2). Kansas City takes the series 2-1.

By: Collin Dakheel

Tigers Break Into The Win Column

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

It took them eight games, but finally the Detroit Tigers were able to break into the win column with a 7-2 victory over the Red Sox in Boston on Wednesday.

After going down 2-0 in the first three innings, Edgar Renteria hit a two run double to tie the game at 2. Then Marcus Thames jolts a two run homer over the infamous "Green Monster" to take the lead.

In the 8th inning, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez became the 87th person in history to reach 2,500 hits in a career. Pudge's single also broke his 0-15 downslide of late. Also in the eighth Brandon Inge singled in two runs to increase the Tigers' lead to 4 runs.

To finish them off, Carlos Guillen hit his second homer of the year off of RP Javier Lopez to insure Detroit's well deserved victory.

Jeremy Bonderman (1-1) went 5 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, and struck out 2 to receive the victory.

Jon Lester (1-2) went 5 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, and no strikeouts to earn his 2nd loss of the season.

Detroit and Boston square off for game three of this series tonight at 7:05 EST in Boston. Series is tied at one a piece.

By: Collin Dakheel

Houston Astros Home Opener

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
The Astros' home opener was a site for big hitting in the later innings as Houston knocked off St. Louis 5-3.

Houston's starter Wandy Rodriguez went 7 1/3 scoreless innings pitched with 6 strikeouts and 3 hits. Rodriguez was replaced in the 8th by reliever Doug Brocail who finished out the inning.

Astros' closer Jose Valverde, who led the league in saves at 47, blew a 3-0 lead and the save in the top of the 9th inning. It was on the bat of SS Miguel Tejada that the Astros were able the achieve victory with a 2 run walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th off of Cardinals' pitcher Kyle McClellan.

Tejada wasn't the only Astro who had the long ball working for him. In the bottom of the 7th inning 1B Lance Berkman and LF Carlos Lee hit back to back solo home runs to give Houston a 2-0 lead. Bottom of the 8th inning, Astros' rookie catcher J.R. Towles also hit a solo home run to give himself 2 big knocks on the year thus far.

Astros' CF Michael Bourn proved too much for Cardinals' C Yadier Molina as Bourn stole 2 bases. Bourn leads the Majors with 6 steals thus far.

Thanks to the long ball working for them, the Astros were able to break the Cardinals' 5-game winning streak. Game 2 of this series starts at 7:05 CST. Starters for the game are Brad Thompson (1-0) for St. Louis and Shawn Chacon (0-0) for Houston.

See my comments at the game at for the Houston Chronicle at

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5682417.html (Bottom of the page)

By: Collin Dakheel

Major League Baseball Opening Week Roundup-AL East

At everyone's surprise, the Baltimore Orioles are 5-1 and are in first place in the AL East at no small part of their new left fielder #30 Luke Scott. Scott is batting .500 while Boston's David Ortiz is only hitting .115 thus far.

The Red Sox have had a tough Opening Week starting the season with a 3-4 record. No doubt they will be looking forward to Josh Beckett's return from the DL on Sunday.

After only taking one game against the Yankees in New York last week, the Blue Jays went home to host Boston and completely owned them all three games and swept them.

The Yankees will look to capitalize in the weeks to come after their 4-3 start in week 1. However, the Yankees' biggest test might come today of they face a fierce pitcher in Kansas City's Kevin Bannister.
By: Collin Dakheel