3 Point Buzzer

The idea of hope for better things to come is an ideal that propels many people in the world. The concept that if one keeps plugging, extraordinary rewards will follow. In professional sports, the annual drafting of college players into the major leagues is an exercise of hope for everyone involved. Fans get their hopes up. Executives drool at the tantalizing possibilities of a young star on their roster. Coaches dream up ways to use their shiny new toys. The players themselves look forward to a little help. It’s all gonna work out; until it doesn’t. Between the NFL, NBA and MLB, there is an average of 30 young men picked in the 1st round of each draft. About only 50% of them pan out and actually, you know, aren't terrible. Why is it that sports executives paid millions of dollars to choose the best players in the world to play on their teams fail half of the time? There are a couple of reasons. For one, being a successful athlete at any pro level is extremely difficul...

So much happens in only a year, but in the football world, entire teams and organizations can be turned over by the time the calendar flips. This time last year, Chip Kelly was still running the Eagles, the Bills were going to lead the league in sacks and Andrew Luck was going to take the Colts to the Super Bowl. Oh, and the Browns were on a new coaching staff (at least some things never change). Here is a team-by-team record prediction along with a snippet of reasoning. Arizona Cardinals: 13-3 The offense returns everyone who scored a touchdown last year and the defense has some excellent playmakers in Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Chandler Jones and Calais Campbell Atlanta Falcons: 7-9 Aside from the indestructible Julio Jones at wide receiver and lockdown cornerback Desmond Trufant, there is simply not enough talent on this team. Also, Matt Ryan has inexplicably become a below average quarterback after eight-plus years of competence. Baltimore Ravens: 10-6 This m...

To kick off the NFL's 2016 season, the Broncos beat the Panthers 21-20 the only way they know how to win: through a suffocating defense and impact run game. Despite losing stud defensive disrupter Malik Jackson, the Broncos still imposed their will on defense. They still employ the excellent Derek Wolfe along the D-line, and have built up some nice depth at the position, with Sylvester Williams and Jared Crick doing their job admirably by stunting the Panthers' ground attack Denver's back eight defenders are by far the best in the league. DeMarcus Ware showed he's still a beast, racking up 1.5 sacks in limited action. Von Miller, after a relatively quiet game, had a clutch sack deep into the 4th quarter. Todd Davis, who replaced the roving Danny Trevathan, was all over the field, notching a team-high 7 tackles and .5 sacks Cornerback Chris Harris Jr. further cemented his place among the elite at his position, converting a twisting interception in a very key moment...