basketball

Chad Ford put out his final mock draft before the real deal and has Morris going to the Rockets with the 38th pick. Let's hope it doesn't play out that way. (ESPN Insider article)

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=MockDraft-Round2-110623

The relevant info:

The Rockets would like to add some size in the backcourt and have been fans of Morris for a while. At No. 38, he's worth the risk. He has a lot of Andre Miller to his game.

The NBA draft is tonight!  There are many rumored trades, a lot of smoke screens, and virtually no way to predict what's going to happen tonight.  Come here and share your hopeful picks for the Pistons or whatever team you may follow!

Until then, here are some mock drafts by some respected sources:

• Keith Langlois, Pistons.com beatwriter: http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/mockdraft_2011.html
  (We take Bismack Biyombo)
• RealGM, home of the largest NBA message board: http://basketball.realgm.com/article/214288/2011_NBA_Draft_Version_50_(Day_Of_Edition)
  (Tristan Thompson)
• Draft Express, best free scouting website:
  http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2011/
  (Biyombo)
• yahoosports
  http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AgpRbIAOn8ysBb7uWc605Je8vLYF?slug=ycn-8686843
  (Biyombo)
• ESPN's True Hoop Network
  http://www.eightpointsnineseconds.com/2011/06/the-complete-truehoop-network-2011-1st-round-mock-draft/
  (Biyombo)

OMG SHIRTLESS.

Finally, here's a link to my fledgling blawg that has a few draft posts already.  http://www.getsomepistons.com
I plan on posting 2-3 solid posts today and then a Hello post for each draft pick.  Tomorrow I'll grade the draft.  After that, things will slow down immensely and there's not much to talk about besides the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.

I was very encouraged by the kind words that some of you have given in my Pistons/NBA update threads, and have decided to be impulsive and heed the suggestion that I create my own blog.

In light of my favorite message board (wtfdetroit) suffering from a dearth of posters, the biggest message board (realgm) being plagued by an influx of n00b posters and power-tripping mods, and some unsatisfactory writing by the newspapers, I feel confident in the decision to get my opinions out there.  and to write run-on sentences.  and fragments.

It does turn out that there are existing successful blogs that all seem to be friendly with each other.
www.pistonpowered.com has about seven writers at their disposal and are an ESPN affiliate site, with every NBA franchise having a sponsored blog.
www.detroitbadboys.com has good content as well, with two professional writers and a web developer on staff.
www.need4sheed.com is operated by a girl who started the site mainly as an outlet for her visual talents, such as wallpapers, cartoon, and highlight videos.  She hasn't updated in two weeks, last I checked, but I know she's made a living off the site.

***So, fellow MGoBloggers and Wolverines, I ask for your HALP!  What are you want for that those blogs and the writers you frequent aren't giving you in regards to the Pistons and the NBA?  What are they doing right, and what are they doing wrong?  What do you want more or less of?  What MGoFeatures would you like to see on a friendly site?***

www.getsomepistons.com

The Big Ten Network had their award show tonight. It's pretty comparable to the Oscars, Emmy's, and Grammys. Huge red carpet deal, and everyone really cares about who wins.

Michigan's nominees and how they fared: 

Women's coach of the year: Hutch lost to Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson (blasphemy)

Breakout performer: Denard won, beating Darius Morris and Sullinger

Most Dominating Performance: Denard's manhandling of ND took the top spot over Mikel Leshoure vs NW and Jordan Taylor (Wisc basketball) vs OSU

Most courageous performance: Brock Mealer lost to Jon Hoese of Minnesota football. I don't know his story, so I'll reserve my judgement, but I thought Brock should have won.

Best finish: Football vs Illinois and basketball vs Wisconsin (DEATH TO BACKBOARDS) lost to MSU's fake shit vs ND

Game of the Year: 67-65 Defensive Struggle beat out OSU - Wisconsin in football and basketball

Full list of winners (the list is not much longer.. And just so you don't have to click on it, I'll tell you that PSU volleyball won best Women's team, PSU wrestling won best Men's team, PSU wrestling coach won men's coach of the year, some purdue diver was male athlete of the year, and some northwestern lacrosse player was women's athlete of the year) :

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/dpp/about_us/BTN-Awards-Show-Airs-June-20 

EDIT: just realized Shoe put up the winners in the other thread.. My bad. Thought it was just an introduction to the awards.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/32085/ex-nba-stars-son-makes-a-name-for-himself 

ESPN has a nice video interview and long article on Tim Hardaway, Jr on the front page of the NCAAB section.

It's a pretty good read about making a name for himself outside of his father's shadow.