Quick Thoughts

Bunches of college hoops players announced yesterday that they were foregoing their remaining eligibility to enter the professional ranks. Among them were John Wall and Evan Turner, two players who accomplished plenty at the collegiate level and are locks to come off the board early in the June draft.

Wall's teammate Daniel Orton apparently thinks he's ready to go to the next level as well after a ... not-so-hot freshman campaign. I know he was a top recruit in the high school class of 2009, but he played just 502 minutes all of last season. NBA GM's have a little over eight hours of his collegiate career on tape.

The thing is, I don't blame Orton for going at all. If the money is there, he'd be foolish to turn it down.

ESPN's draft guru Chad Ford had this to say about Orton:

Orton may be the biggest surprise announcement of the draft. He averages just over three points and three rebounds per game. But NBA GMs are in love with his tough defense and athletic ability at the position. Had he played at any other school in the country, Orton would've produced a lot more. His draft stock is all over the place. Some GMs see him as a lottery pick. I doubt he slips past the Thunder in the early 20s.

Maybe going against DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson every single day in practice made him a better player. We'll see ... about five years from now when he finally will get a shot in the NBA.

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With DirecTV offering us a free trial of their 'Extra Innings' package this week, I've been watchings TONS of baseball, mostly checking out my fantasy baseball squad.

On Wednesday night, I was surprised that one of my relievers, Daniel Bard, received a blown save, even though he didn't give up a run - earned or unearned.

Bard entered the game with his team on top 1-0 and two outs in the seventh inning. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada was on base, left over as an inherited runner and the responsibility of pitcher Scott Schoeneweis.

Bard allowed a single to Nick Swisher which plated Posada and tied the game at one in the seventh inning. Bard then retired the next five batters he faced, and left the game with the score still tied.

I tried looking up why Bard was credited with a blown save, but I never found a clear-cut answer. The best answer that I could come up with was that if Bard were to record seven outs and finish the game, he would have been credited with a save. He was put in a position that if he were to finish the game, the save is his. We all know that there was no way that Bard was in there to get seven outs, not with Jonathan Papelbon in that Red Sox bullpen.

He never stood any realistic chance of earning the save, and at best he would have been credited with a hold. To me, it seems kind of unfair to Bard (and my fantasy team) that he was blamed for what most would consider a job well done.

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I love the Browns recent acquisitions of CB Sheldon Brown and LB Chris Gocong from the Philadelphia Eagles. Anytime you can go out and get two players that will either start/play an awful lot for a special teamer/backup LB (Alex Hall) and two Saturday draft picks, you do it. It's a no brainer.

What the Browns decide to do with their draft pick two weeks from today, is not.

I'm in love with Tennessee S Eric Berry, and I'd love for the Browns to move up and get him. My thinking is that with Washington trading for Donovan McNabb, they'll be out of the QB market. The Redskins longtime LT Chris Samuels recently retired this offseason, and they are thought to be looking for a replacement to look after McNabb's blindside in a draft that has a lot of strong tackles in it.

Washington currently holds the fourth pick, and I wonder what it would take for the Browns to climp up three spots (moving in front of Kansas City and Seattle) to take Berry with the fourth overall pick. If he slips to seven, I think it's a no-brainer. He has to be the pick.

Still, the Browns need help at SO many different positions and they may want to keep as many draft selections as possible - meaning they will stay at seven and still have their pick of great players still available.

A few weeks ago, Florida CB Joe Haden seemed to be the favorite to come to Cleveland, and many seem to think that ship had sailed with the Sheldon Brown pickup. I'm not one of those people.

The reality is that the NFL is a passing league, and you have to defend the pass. Having two rock-solid cornerbacks in Eric Wright and Brown is nice, but it certainly couldn't hurt to have a playmaker at that position in Haden. If the Browns think that Haden has potential to be a lockdown defender, they should go ahead and draft him.