Offseason Roundtable #5

In an effort to not only increase our chatter about the Cards, but to also increase some reader participation, Edge, RV, and Alan will be doing these roundtables every other week or so? Love the answers? Want to post your own thoughts? Of course you do. And you can do so in the Comments section. Because remember, dear readers, a smarmy sarcastic blog about Ball State athletics is only as good as its small yet powerful reader base. Have at it, boys and girls...

1.) Nate to the 49ers, Brewster to the Cowboys, and free agent potential for guys like Gerberry, D. Hill, and Andre Ramsey. How happy are you with the draft? Who makes a significant contribution next season in the NFL?
Alan: I'm happy in the sense that Ball State even got a mention. It's a good next step on our path to relevancy, and I'm sure it didn't hurt recruiting when we land players on NFL rosters and have two go in the first 5 rounds. As far as impact, I'm hopeful neither will be relied on heavily, as the transition from the MAC to the NFL I would imagine is pretty heavy.

Edge: I think it's great for Ball State to have so many names either on the board or in free agency talks. As for success next year, I don't see anyone getting any PT until at least the 2010-11 season. None of these guys appear to be NFL-ready, but stranger things have happened. Who would have thought Tom Brady would be at the level he's at today after his tenure at Michigan?

RV: Let's hope that none of them see the field this year, unless Nate gets some garbage time for the 49ers on their way to another NFC Championship. Wait...Joe Montana's gone? Well...I'd expect Brewster to make a contribution to the Cowboys, just not on Sundays. He'll push the other OL and be a great attribute in practice. Nate might edge his way up to 2nd team if Alex Smith continues to his downward spiral in San Fran.


2.) BSU's reported loss on the Bowl Game was $142,000. Money well spent?
Alan: Absolutely. Most programs lose money on their bowls, so this wasn't entirely out of the blue. It wasn't a complete disaster, and it was a loss with an eye toward financial responsibility, no matter what .edu would say.

Edge: After the fact? Meh... we got beat pretty bad. I took a lot of shit from colleagues in Oklahoma for that one. So, personally, it wasn't really worth it. For the team, I think so. Not only did the increase in TV exposure help us as the fall progressed, we got more national coverage in the GMAC. I can't remember the last year I was able to watch so much BSU football on TV. It's great for recruiting and great for publicity, so I'd say that was a justifiable investment.

RV: No. Not only did they lose 142k, but they also were embarrassed on the field. Bowl games can be great motivational factors for the upcoming season and Stan didn't have his team ready to go. Chalk this up as a loss all the way around, but they weren't about to decline a bowl bid.


3.) Kellen Lewis was removed from the IU football team just days ago. Who's ultimately to blame for the Lewis fiasco? Buy or sell Lewis ever redeeming himself? Should the powers that be have ever let him come back in the first place when this became an issue in the past?
Alan:The thing to remember is that college athletes are college kids first and foremost, and college kids break rules occasionally. What's troubling is that this appears to be a pattern. Kudos to Lynch for giving the kid another chance, and kudos to Lynch for promptly booting his ass off the team when he screwed it up. Yet another example of Lynch being a remarkable man, albeit a mediocre coach. Lewis has to hope to slide in somewhere at a DII program since he can't transfer (no more eligibility) and just wow people. Odds are small.

Edge: Sell! This thing is in Chapter 11. He's done. And he's got no one to blame for himself. I'm hearing that this is Lewis's 5th or 6th positive drug test. So, this hasn't been an issue. This has been a repeated issue, not to mention his disregard for arriving to team meetings and workouts on time. Lynch did the right thing because this sends positive messages across the board. No player should be untouchable. But the tradeoff? There will be literally no IU offense. I predict a very rough year, but the right decision was made.

RV: Kellen Lewis is to blame for Kellen Lewis. The IU administration is to blame for not reeling him in after he was obviously on his way to ruining his young life. Sell. No way he gets another chance, even if he does play somewhere else, the opportunity he had at IU is better than anything he'll find elsewhere. As I mentioned earlier, the administration should've put the kibosh on this nonsense when he was screwing things up earlier. If he's going to be a liability to himself and your program, you need to cut ties and show him the door.


4.) In the baseball world, there's new allegations of steroid use by Alex Rodriguez and just general douchiness on his behalf. How tarnished is A-Rod's legacy, and is it something he could ever hope to get back?
Alan: As a Yankee fan, I never liked ARod. I tolerated him because he won games and hit dingers. But he was never a Yankee. Never will be. Never could hope to be. He's a fraud when it comes to heart and hustle, and this is just another example of him defrauding the fans and organizations he's played for. The guy is a complete and utter joke. However, I will say that a large majority of Yankee fans would be willing to forgive and forget if he wins them a title. I will not be one of those people.

Edge: Who's got an hour to listen to me rant? First, Alex, I'd like you to meet the other members of your exclusive club: Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds. Maybe with their money they could start up their own Hall of Fame... Look, this is a bad issue all around. He's been touted as the greatest baseball player of all time up to this point. But there was minimal shock when we heard he was confessing to using HGH from 2001-03. Now, reports are out he's been on the juice since high school, he may have been on HGH well after he joined the Evil Empire, he's accused of pitch-tipping, and he's insecure - and he's a horrible tipper at Hooters. Do I believe all of this? I have no reason not to. Know what's even worse? Jose Canseco was right... by God, Jose Canseco was right.

What does this mean? Well, no more Hall talk. There's no way we can have a guy like that in the Hall and not let in Pete Rose. This also sends a horrible message to the young high school players out there. I've seen enough Outside the Lines to know that kids will emulate their heroes. Alex let down all those who look up to him. Unfortunately, I'm sure he'll still be able to sleep at night and still wake up and drink his liquid $100 bills for sustenance and take his showers in liquid gold. I know baseball hasn't always been clean and pure. But this whole fiasco is a big black eye, and I hope Alex realizes this. By the way, I'd love to read all about this, but Selena Roberts is a hack. I hope we can get a reader review from someone out there once this book is released who can stomach this "writer".

RV: Poor A-Rod. Wipe away your tears in $100,000 bills. Who gives a fuck? Baseball fans don't seem to care that some of their biggest records of all time have been smashed by 'roided up baseball players, why would A-Rod be any different? Baseball is a game of asterisks nowadays, and I don't see this being any different. Some people will care, some people won't, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't effect him at all.


5.) As you look to next year's Cardinal football team, who has the potential of hearing their name called in the 2010 NFL Draft?
Alan: The NFL will always have a place for quick guys who like contact, know how to find the endzone, and are shifty. Mr. Lewis... your table is ready.

Edge: This is a rough one... I'm leaning towards none, but for the sake of this question, I think the only three that may see their names called would be Myles Trempe, MiQuale Lewis, and Medaris Grant. There are a lot - a lot - of obstacles to overcome for each of them, but if there is a chance for a Cardinal to be drafted, I think it would be these three.

RV: OurQuale has the best chance. Looking at the rest of the roster, we need to see some guys step up and have some gigantic seasons to get themselves into the second day and out of UDFA range. Lewis needs to have another top flight season of production and prove he can pass block on a regular basis. If he can do that, the sky is the limit to his draft status.


What say you, dear reader? Comment section.