Butler Part III?

Butler gave us a thrilling ride once again, even without top play maker Gordon Hayward, who left for the NBA after last year's run. This year's team once again showed the toughness and mentality Butler brings and shows going into every tournament game: We can play with and beat anyone. Even though coming up a win short in two straight tournaments has to be unbearable to the B-Town players, they will be back, rest assure. But back how far? Losing key players like Senior leaders Matt Howard, Vanzant, Hahn, and possibly Shelvin Mack will hurt Butler for next year. The youth, however, on this team has to excite any fan dreaming of another Butler run in a couple of years. We saw Andrew Smith step up and show he can rebound against some of the country's elite. Khyle Marshall and Chrishawn Hopkins really have loads of potential. Marshall was an offensive rebounding machine while Hopkins provided tons of energy off the bench. You will hear their names in the tourney down the road, guaranteed. Returning role players like Stigall and Nored give the Bulldogs still that hard nosed personality heading into next year. Plus, the future looks promising with recruiting. Brad Stevens has built Butler into a program that can now take away in state recruits from IU, Purdue and ND. Next year Butler doesn't haven't the talent to go as far as this year, but a future with Hopkins and Marshall, plus pipeline recruits coming in equals an underdog powerhouse growing in B-Town. But hey, every March Madness needs some Bulldog Fever.

MLB 2011 Season Predictions

Baseball season is officially here. Here are my picks in the Awards, Trade Rumors to watch until July, and Division and World Series Picks.

AL MVP-Adrian Gonzalez BOS- He’s ready to explode at Fenway, especially with that short right field fence.

NL-Albert Pujols STL- Albert will set himself up for a big offseason with plenty of zeros coming his way.

ROY

AL-Kyle Drabek-TOR- A key piece in the Roy Halladay trade, Drabek has stuff likened to Mike Mussina.

NL Brandon Belt-Giants- SF was so impressed with this kid they moved Aubrey Huff to RF for him. Belt, along with Posey is a scary thought for NL West pitching for years to come.

CY Young AL-David Price- Man on a Mission

NL- Cliff Lee- Lee has to feed off opponents being worn out every night by the Phil's staff. Can 4 pitchers win 15+? It’s a realistic possibility.

Most Improved AL- Chone Figgins-Its hard to imagine Figgins will hit .259 again. I like a nice bounce back season with 50+ bases stolen and a batting average around .300

NL- Chipper Jones- I'm going to go with Chipper, seeing this Braves team has a legit chance to challenge Philly and Jones will provide that leadership and power in the middle of the order.

Players on the move?

Prince Fielder- With him becoming a Free agent next year, the Brew Crew loaded up with pitching to try and make a run. If they're out of contention in July, Prince is going to get shopped.

Aramis Ramirez- I really like the Cubs to contend for the division this year, but there might be a point when Jim Hendry decides to blow up the roster.

Grady Sizemore- Its hard to imagine the Indians trading this guy away, but injuries and a new contract coming up might scare the Indians.

Predictions

AL West Texas NL Giants

Central White Sox NL Cards

East Boston NL Phillies

Wild Card Yankees NL Braves

Champ Boston Braves

Staying or Going?

With the NCAA tourney coming to a close, the NBA draft now comes into the picture. Underclassmen now make the decision whether to throw their name into the draft or stay in college for at least one more year.

Sullinger-He already said that he will be back for one more year, but will the lure of all those zeros make him back out of his comments? I think he sticks by his comments, and even with the loss of Deibler and Lighty, another top 10 recruiting class comes in to make OSU the early favorite in the Big 10

Barnes- He said before the start of this year he would likely stay 3 years, but his stock in the second half of the season has jumped higher than Rebecca Black and Mac Miller's popularity combined. If he comes out he's a lock for top 5.

Knight and Jones- The scary and ironic thing about this is Calipari will probably encourage them to go this year, just to make room for the #1 recruiting class in the nation. Now that they've reached the Final Four, Knight and Jones are lottery bound.

Same Butler, New Bulldogs

Butler launched onto the scene last year, become America's darling with a young coach and players who hustled and fought on every possession. This year's team may not have as many offensive threats with the loss of Gordon Hayward and Avery Jukes, but key roles players like Mack, Howard, and Nored have kept the Bulldog toughness intact. This years team focuses more on defense, especially helping on the weak side and switching on pick and roles. Coach Stevens has really elevated the communication on both sides of the floor, especially when it comes to defense. On the other side of the ball, Matt Howard is still a presence is the post, except he isn't usually found there alot. Now, with the development of a 3 point shot, Howard gives another long range shooter to go with Shelvin Mack and Zach Hahn. Sophomore Andrew Smith has shown significant improvement down low, which means Howard can play outside in the 4 -out offense. Smith and Howard will have their hands full with Florida's bigs, but the key to me is if Vanzant and Mack manage to slow the break of the Florida guards.

Mock NBA Draft

Heres a very early look to the top 15 picks in June:

1.Cavs- Kyrie Irving-Duke

2.Twolves- Harrison Barnes-UNC

3. Wizards- Derrick Willaims- Zona

4. Kings- Perry Jones-Baylor

5 Raptors- Terence Jones- Kentucky

6 Jazz- Enes Kanter-

7 Pistons- Jared Sullinger-OSU

8 Cavs- Jonas Valanciunas

9 Bucks- Jordan Hamilton-TEXAS

10 Bobcats- Kemba Walker-UCONN

11 Warriors-Kawhi Leonard-SDST

12 Rockets- John Henson-UNC

13 Jazz- Jimmer Fredette-BYU

14 Suns-Kenneth Faried-Moorehead St

Pujols Possible Suitors

Well, the Lebron like sweeptakes for #5 begins this spring and will continue all the way to around early December for a total of 9 months. Here's a look at the suitors who could sign Albert next year, not named the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cubs- I think most people would be in agreement that the Cubs will be throwing the kitchen sink at this guy, especially to get him away from a division rival. Lots of contracts come off the books for the Cubbies and he would be the most anticipated athlete to come to Chicago since Cutler....o wait...lets go Jordan after his first retirement.

Nationals- The Nats got the dough, but can they convince Albert to come to a struggling franchise? A lot will depend on how they do this year, especially with the addition of Jayson Werth.

Mets- People are speculating already 30- plus million a year for Pujols. The Mets, i can see, can go closer to high 30's and possible 40.

Yanks- You can never really count these guys out. Even with Teixeira, they might find a taker for him or move him to DH.

Teams on Upset watch in March

As the tourney approaches, the teams on the bubble are pushing hard to earn those last spots. But what about those teams who are probably safe for their spot in March? Here's 3 teams who could go down in the first round.

Arizona- Zona is a very solid team, don't get me wrong. But they haven't beaten a single ranked team all year. D. Williams is a top 10 player in the nation, but is he enough to carry the wildcats? If he gets in foul trouble, I wonder if Fogg and Horne will have what it takes to step up and show upperclassmen leadership.

UConn- Another team with a star and not much supporting cast. Kemba is Kemba, doing what he does. But the emergence of Lamb and Oriakhi will determine if this team can really compete with the nation's best in the tourney, as Kemba can't score every point.

Louisville- Another Big East team that has some faults. Leadership has done the disappearing act and then reappearing occasionally. Knowles and Siva are 2 of the better guards in the Big East, but toughness will be a deciding factor come March.