By Dan O’Shea

As Antonio Gates was en route to becoming a superstar tight end, much was made of his experience as a basketball player at Kent State. During his best years, his height, athleticism and long arms have not disappointed, and this year, a second-year TE with a hoops pedigree and similar dimensions is much-hyped fantasy candidate.
At 6’6″, 260 lbs, the Saints’ Jimmy Graham is actually two inches taller than Gates at the same weight. He played basketball at Miami University through his junior year (where he was listed at 6’8″, but we all know Miami can’t be trusted), then joined the football team and got just enough experience to get drafted in 2010 by New Orleans. Last year, he was something of a late-season surprise, catching five TDs, including four in the last three games.
Now, Graham is looking like the second coming of Gates, or Jason Witten or Dallas Clark. He is looking like what Jermichael Finley was supposed to be last year – a TE who can be a No. 1 receiver.
Here’s my top 20 TEs:

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Posted on August 31, 2011

By Mike Luce

And now, as the fall campaign officially gets under way, here is the final installment of our Other 25 season preview.
30. The of University of Iowa Hawkeyes (8-5, 4-4 in the Big Ten, W vs. Missouri: Insight Bowl)
Comment: Iowa’s prospects for the 2011 season reflect the new reality of the Big Ten. We have not seen any preseason commentators pick the Hawkeyes to finish at or near the top of the new “Legends” division of the 12-team conference. Most publications reserved that honor (and, for many, the pick for conference champ) for Nebraska – a team that belonged to the Big 12 last year. Iowa seems destined to labor in the respectable yet unremarkable ranks along with Penn State, Northwestern and possibly Michigan. We expect Ohio State and Wisconsin to vie for the other spot in the inaugural Big Ten championship game but only Nebraska will field Top 10-level talent this year.

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Posted on August 31, 2011

Plus: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not and Who Has A Secret Backup Plan

1. According to Pro Football Weekly:

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Posted on August 30, 2011

By Jim Coffman

Jay Cutler should take a significant step toward NFL quarterbacking greatness this fall.
He should, that is, unless his supporting cast, from general manager Jerry Angelo on down, fails him.
That much was actually clear at the end of last season .Cutler didn’t play well in the playoff finale against Green Bay but he was great against the Seahawks in the first round and he did enough – despite a terrible line and mediocre receivers – to lead the Bears to a division title. Anyone who paid even a little bit of attention to the season as a whole knew the chatter at the end about Cutler not being tough enough was idiotic at best.
Nothing that has happened since has diminished that view in any way. As always, we begin with the disclaimer that preseason games are downright deceptive if not completely meaningless. Then we point out that:

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Posted on August 29, 2011

By Marty Gangler

I haven’t often felt this way in the history of The Cub Factor but here goes: I can’t really complain that much about where things stand with this franchise.
Let me explain. Sometimes the Cubs have been good but hey, these are the Cubs and they are typically bad. The weird thing now is that these Cubs are bad and management finally actually agrees.
Sure, we could quibble about how they screwed up the firing of Jim Hendry – which they did. They should have done it earlier in the season – or maybe before this season started or even right when these Ricketts guys got the team. That’s when I would have done it.
But here we are anyway. Most Cubs fans received a wish come true a few weeks back. You could even say one of their wildest fantasies was finally fulfilled – at least one of theri fantasies that doesn’t involve a corn cob dress, that one bat girl or kicking the crap out of Bartman.

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Posted on August 29, 2011

By Roger Wallenstein

The memory remains unmistakably clear of the final day of July 1977, the summer of the South Side Hitmen.
More than 50,000 energized – this was the first summer of Hey Hey Goodbye – Sox faithful jammed Comiskey Park to witness a doubleheader between the first place White Sox and the Kansas City Royals, who trailed the Sox by 5 1/2 games.

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Posted on August 29, 2011

By Mike Luce

In part four of our season preview, we introduce The College Football Report Free Range Chicken. The CFR FRC joins our ranks along with the returning Sports Seal this year. While the Seal will continue to focus on (largely inaccurate) gambling predictions, we welcome the Chicken for arbitrary picks and commentary. We can’t let you in on the Chicken’s methods but suffice it to say that the Chinese calendar, Kellogg’s Cornflakes and a University of Delaware tube sock are involved.
To showcase our poultry’s prognosticatory powers, we present for your perusal the premiere of the Free Range Chicken Postseason predictions . . . paired with those from non-fowl pundits:

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Posted on August 26, 2011

By Thomas Chambers

It’s Travers Stakes Day, and in the liturgy of the rail, it’s one of American horse racing’s holiest days.
Want tradition? This 142nd running keeps it America’s oldest stakes race, continually run since 1864, when civil war still raged and John Hunter and W. R. Travers sent out the winner, nicely named Kentucky.
Since then, it’s only not run five times, 1896 and 1898-1900 because of economic downturn and 1911 and 1912 because of a moral climate that eventually led to Prohibition. The Kentucky Derby follows with 137 runnings, continuous since 1875.

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Posted on August 26, 2011

By Carl Mohrbacher

What in the world was Castro thinking when he got caught napping on national TV?
-Mac, Sac City IA
No one can be certain what Castro was daydreaming about, but my sources tell me it was Redd Foxx driving a rally car through a snow course.

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Posted on August 25, 2011

By Steve Rhodes

His chat this week is just one more example of Kubs Kulture – it’s not just the team that trafficks in it. Let’s take a look.
Skysun Thomas: What are the chances of the Cubs getting rid of some players before the end of August?
LEVINE: Rid of, interesting way of putting it. Getting something back in return should be their objective. Would you like to get rid of Castro now? I love the fact that so many people have an opinion of this guy even though they haven’t even talked to him. This is a quality young kid. He’s 21 years old. What were you doing when you were 21? Think you made any mistakes. Thanks for letting me vent.
*
RHODES: Um, the question wasn’t about Castro, Bruce, but let me vent anyway. Does a Cubs fan have to have talked to Castro to have an opinion about him? Does that mean only beat reporters are allowed to have opinions? We all saw the video.

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Posted on August 24, 2011