And With the First Pick in the 2012 Draft....

This Thursday is the biggest day in off season football, months of testing, comparing, contracting, and arguing will come down to the NFL DRAFT. While no one is ever positive what will happen, one thing is for sure, one team will flush and one team will bust. Each year there is a bust, the most notable in history where Ryan Leaf and Jamarcus Russell; Leaf went second overall behind Manning in 98, the team which drafted him traded away most other picks and continued to struggle. Russell Went first overall, and still has fantastic tallent, however he was to lazy to compete at the NFL level.

My picks for the draft are similar to most, but a few things will change by thursday, teams will trade, make uneducated impulse picks, and overpay, or underpay for the greatest athletes in 2012.

To view my draft go to: http://predictpick.nfl.com/picks/view

Guillen Suspension

Marlins skipper, Ozzie Guillen  said he “loved” Castro. "I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that is still here."

The words of the long time skipper and my personal favorite has made waves by his words about his respect for the dictator. This has caused the Miami population, many of which are Cubans to picket the skipper and they want him to sit be fired

Miami, or "North Cuba" received some information finding out Guillen was suspended for 5 games for his words. This suspension will take up 2.7% of the seasons games for his words which he felt where taken out of context, however the suspension has been issued and is now active. 

#1 UK, Baylor #1

After fantastic seasons for both Kentucky men and Baylor woman basketball teams, both rained supreme after the madness came to an end. Coming into the tournaments both teams where ranked #1 in the nation and both moved through and where crowned campions.

Kentucky started off the year ranked #1 but had an early season loss to Indiana which dropped them a few places in the NCAA ranking. Vengeance became the them of theme for the Wildcats as they moved through ranks over the season. Indiana had a second chance to beat the best, however UK had other plans for the year. Determination was the name of the game, and the three staring sophomores and two starting freshman showed how dominate they where all season long.

Baylor had the best year for athletics in history, top ranked mens basketball team, Heisman Trophy winner and a sucessful football season, however both where eclipsed by the best record in the history of women's basketball. Brittney Griner, the second woman to ever dunk in a march madness tournament, lead the Bears to a 40-0 championship.

Tiger on the rise

After falling from grace and spending years without a win Tiger has been showing improvement and has even won a tourney.

Once the face of the PGA, Tiger had more sponsorships worldwide than any other athlete, deals with Gillette, Nike, and of course PGA's clothing brand he was the favorite son of golf. However since his affair he lost most all sponsorships; he also has been in a battle with injuries. Even though he has struggled for a few years now he is still the mot popular golfer in the world.

Now Woods is once again a contender in the world of pro golf and still is a fan favorite.

New Orleans Underwater!

After the Saints won a Super Bowl, and have had a handful of Pro-Bowlers and numerous other awards, a new hurricane hit the New Orleans, hurricane Goodell.

The commisherner of the NFL Roger Goodell has finally penalized the Saints organization after the Saints had numerous players over multiple seasons receive “bounties” for injuring other teams player. One such bounty was on Bret Farve’s head in the NFC Championship, for $10,000.

The team was fined $500,000, stripped of two second round draft picks, one in the 2012 draft and one in the 2013 draft, the teams head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for the 2012 season. The Saints GM also will be suspended for half of the 2012 season. The suspensions are to follow, including the Saints former defensive coach.

The Saints will struggle over the next season due to the penalties of their actions. 

The Madness Begins

I do not need to go into detail about march madness,  since selection Sunday tens of millions of sports fans have filled out their brackets. The top ranked schools are Michigan State, North Carolina, the Kentucky, and Syracuse. In my own bracket i have three of the four schools in the final four. GO ORANGE.

THE END OF AN ERA

Since 1998 the Indianapolis Colts will have a new Quarterback. March 7th 2012 marks the end of Peyton Manning's career with the colts, during which time he lead them to 18 playoff games, 2 Super bowls, and one NFL Superbowl championship. 

The journey with the Colts was a long and successful one for Manning, he managed to bring the team from the worst in the NFL to a premier team for many years. Many sports fans tribute the location of the 2011 season's Superbowl to Peyton because of everything he did to put Indianapolis on the football map. 

The journey to his release started early in the year of 2011, he had his first of four surgeries on his neck, which would cause him to miss the entire 2011 season. The loss of Manning for a year became a catalyst for the future of the Colts franchise. A young quarterback at Stanford University has been the favorite for the overall draft pick of the 2012 draft since before the 2011 draft. Andrew Luck will be the first draft pick for the Colts and is the reason that Manning is currently searching for a new team. 

The Destination for Manning is unclear, however one thing is for sure, Peyton Manning will continue to make headlines over the next year. Manning Mania has officially started.