Best Trades During The First Round Of The NFL Draft

Although the first two picks of the NFL draft lacked the drama of a normal year, there wasn't a dearth of quality selections and as always a lack of head scratchers.

On Wednesday, Colts officials confirmed the overwhelming thought that they were going to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick in the NFL draft. General Manager Ryan Grigson said, "We didn't see the point in prolonging what the world already knows. It's about Andrew and we wanted to do the right thing by him... We've exhausted the process. We've pretty much made up our mind and we're going to go from there. We feel good about it and we'll go from there."

The next day, Redskins G.M. Bruce Allen announced what most people assumed when the Skins gave up three first round picks to acquire the second overall selection from the Rams, which was that the Skins would take Baylor quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III with their selection. Allen said, "We think that Robert fits our offense to a tee. We're excited about being able to complement him with what we've already been able to do with some of his special talents. Obviously his charisma is going to be embraced by the Redskins Nation."

Although this year had no where near the amount of anticipation at the top of the draft like in 2006 when questions swirled all draft week on the Texans difficult decision between taking Mario Williams, Reggie Bush, and Vince Young with the first pick, a lot of another intriguing stroylines emerged.

With offense numbers at a record high last year and team's slinging the ball all over the field with the passing game taking over the league, defense was a priority in the draft. From picks 6 to 21, there were 13 defenses players taken, compared to just 3 offense players selected.

Coming into the draft, most people thought that there wouldn't be as many trades as last year because of a lack of really can't miss guys and not a great disparity between players projected to go in the first round and the second round. For example, instead of a team trading up to try and get a guy like Quinton Coples, the assumption was that they could wait until the second round and select a guy like Andre Branch, while not losing any more picks.

However, the first round was littered with teams trading up to get a player they desperately wanted as well as teams trading down to stockpile on picks. There were eight draft day trades during the first round, as the Colts were the only team in the top 7 to hold on to their draft pick from the start of the draft process. The Patriots, Broncos, and Rams all made two trades to change their position in the draft (including the Rams pre-draft trade with the Redskins).

Best Trades During The First Round:

#5 Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars - WR Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State:

When the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up from the 16th pick in last year's draft to acquire Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri with the 10th overall selection, the Jags expected Gabbert to become their quarterback of the future. Due to the ineffectiveness of Luke McCown (McCown was picked off 4 times in three quarters against the Jets in week 2) Gabbert was forced to play much earlier than expected, and the rookie severely struggled in his 14 starts.

In 8 of Gabbert's starts he threw for less than 150 yards and he had a woeful completion percentage of 50.8 to go along with a league low 65.4 passer rating. Gabbert was hit a ton in the packet, as he was sacked 40 times (tied for the most in the AFC along with Big Ben), and his confidence looked down and he looked deeply flustered when he would drop back to pass. Gabbert almost looked fearful of staying in the pocket and making a throw down the field because he was always getting hit.

Jacksonville's inept offense, which ranked dead last in yards per game and passing yards per game last year, will be getting a huge lift with the addition of 2-time Biletnikoff Award winner (given to the best receiver in college football) Justin Blackmon. Blackmon will provide the outside threat that Jacksonville so desperately needs, and a go-to-guy for Blaine Gabbert, who didn't have a receiver last year with more than 44 catches or 460 yards.

The Jags made a terrific move by giving the Buccaneers their 7th overall selection and a fourth round pick, in order to move up two spots and ensure that they would land Blackmon. Blackmon, who is 6'1'', is often compared to Anquan Boldin because of their similar stature and their great hands. Blackmon, who was third in the FBS last year with 121 catches, is very comfortable in catching the ball over the middle and he is also a huge red zone threat, as he ranked 2nd in the FBS last year with 18 touchdowns.

Whether Gabbert can be a successful quarterback in the NFL remains to be seen, but Jacksonville has found themselves a pro-bowl caliber receiver in Blackmon.

#6 Pick: Dallas Cowboys - CB Morris Claiborne from LSU:

The Cowboys time to win with their current core group of players is starting to run down and Cowboys fans are growing inpatient of their team's lack of success, despite all of the talent that they have assembled. By the start of next year, Tony Romo will be 32, Jay Ratliff will 31, DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten will be 30, and Marcus Spears will be 29. For a team that has a 1-6 playoff record since 1998 and hasn't made it past the Divisional Round since they won the Super Bowl 17 years ago in 1995, the Cowboys had to move up in the draft.

Last year the Cowboys downfall was their atrocious secondary play. They ranked 23rd in the NFL in opponents passing yards per game, as the opposing quarterback threw for an average of 244 yards against them. After the worst season of his 9 year career, the Cowboys released their long time top cornerback Terence Newman. Newman looked like he lost a step, as he struggled to stay with speedy receivers and had a career low of just 8 pass deflections all season long. As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said," We've had our shortcomings in our secondary for the last three seasons."

It was a great draft day trade by the Cowboys to make a leap up 8 spots to the 6th pick and give the Rams their 14th overall pick and a second rounder because the Cowboys desperately needed a cover corner with the ability of Morris Claiborne. Claiborne, who has been overshadowed in LSU's daunting secondary the past two years because of the play of Patrick Peterson (who was taken 5th in last year's draft by the Arizona Cardinals) and the "Honey Badger" Tyrann Mathieu (who finished 5th in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting), is the best pure cornerback of all three guys.

Claiborne is everything that a team is looking for in a cornerback that is going to try and shut down the opposing team's best receiving threat. The 2012 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Jim Thorpe Award Winner (given to the best cornerback in college football) is extremely athletic and has unbelievable ball skills for a cornerback, as Claiborne had 6 interceptions last year. Although the move was a bold one, it was necessary because the Cowboys need a shutdown corner, which Claiborne has the ability to be. The Boys will have to stop top receivers like Brandon Marshall, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, Roddy White, A.J. Green, Mike Wallace, Marques Colston, as well as Victor Cruz and DeSean Jackson twice a year if they want to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

#12 Pick: Philadelphia Eagles - DT Fletcher Cox from Mississippi State:

Last year, the so called "Dream Team" began the season 1-4 and after a week 13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Eagles were sitting at 4-8. A season that started so promising with the signings and acquisitions of quarterback Vince Young, running back Ronnie Brown, defensive end Jason Babin, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, and cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, ended without a playoff birth. It was the first time the Eagles didn't make the playoffs in back-to-back years since 1998-1999.

The Eagles downfall last year was their inability to stop the run. Through the Eagles first 5 games, they were allowing over 165 rushing yards per game and they allowed 6 rushing touchdowns in that span where they dug themselves into a huge 1-4 hole. The Birds allowed at least 100 yards to all of the top tier running back that they faced including Michael Turner, who ran for 114 yards, Frank Gore, who ran for 127 yards, Fred Jackson, who ran for 111 yards, Matt Forte, who ran for 133 yards, Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 148 yards, and finally Reggie Bush, who ran for 103 yards, and the Eagles had a 1-5 record in these games.

The Eagles made a smart move by trading their 15th overall pick, as well as a 4th and 6th rounder to the Seattle Seahawks, so that they could move up three spots and ensue that they would improve their run defense. With defensive tackle Dontari Poe from Memphis already off the boards after he was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 11th pick and no insurance that the only other two top defensive tackles, Fletcher Cox and Michael Brockers, would still be around by pick 15, the Eagles had to pull the trigger and move up. The Birds will be more than pleased with their selection of Cox out of Mississippi St.

Cox, who was a Pro Football Weekly All-American and a First-Team All-SEC selection, will be a large presence in the middle of the Eagles defense. The pick of the 6'4'' and nearly 300 pound interior linemen, along with the trade to aquire linebacker DeMeco Ryans from the Texans will greatly improve the Eagles defensive interior.

Early Season American League Storylines To Keep An Eye On As The Year Progresses

I understand that we are still in the opening month of baseball and that it was just over three weeks ago when the Athletics and Mariners were playing overseas in Japan to kick off the MLB season. I also recognize the fact that the season is tremendously young, as the Cleveland Indians for example have played just 11 games thus far.

However, my excitement for the MLB season is shared by millions of other fans and it is never too early to start to look at some of the biggest storylines of the young season and predict how they may affect the outcome of divisional races and playoff seedings in October.

Mark Teixeira's Struggles On The Left Side Of The Plate: 

Before Mark Teixeira signed his lucrative 8-year, 180 million dollar contract with the Yankees in 2009, he was just as effective batting lefty as he was batting righty. In his 6 previous years in the league with the Texas Rangers (2003-2007), Atlanta Braves (2007-2008), and Los Angeles Angels (2008), Teixeira was such a lethal hitter because of his switch hitting ability on both sides of the plate.

In 2005 with the Rangers, Tex had 37 home runs and batted .304 when he hit lefty and he added 6 homers and a .293 batting average when he swung the bat righty. In 2008 with the Braves and Angels, Teixeira hit 26 home runs and batted .311 from the left side of the plate, while also adding 7 homers and a .303 average from the right side.

However, since Teixeira has come to New York, things have changed. Although his power numbers on the left side have remained impressive over the past three years, his batting average is way down. Two years ago, although he hit 23 home runs lefty, he batted .244 from that side of the plate. Last year, he hit 24 home runs from the left side, but batted an awful .224 when he swung the bat lefty. To put that in comparison, aside from his rookie year, his previous career low batting average from the left side was .266, which was his average in 2004 with Texas. The short porch in right field has become a home run heaven for hitters at Yankee Stadium (just ask Curtis Granderson). However, Teixeira's average from the left side has dropped so dramatically because he is constantly swinging for the fences by trying to pull the ball to right field. Through the Yankees first 14 games, Teixeira is batting .273 from the left side and he has already struck out 5 times batting lefty, compared to just once batting righty.

Injuries Are Severely Hurting The Red Sox: 

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had Tommy John Surgery last year due to a right elbow injury, is still recovering from the surgery and he will be unable to enter the starting rotation until June. Without Daisuke, the Sox four and five starters, Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard, haven't look great as of yet. Doubront has only lasted five innings in both of his starts, while Bard, who pitched very poorly this spring, was rocked in his first start for five runs in five innings against the Rays.

Also, Carl Crawford, who received off-season surgery on his left wrist, will be unable to return to the Sox lineup until late May. The Sox outfield injury concerns multiplied exponentially after last year's AL MVP runner-up, Jacoby Ellsbury, was put on the 15-day DL due to a right shoulder injury, which he sustained while sliding into second base against the Rays. Without Crawford and Ellsbury, two of the best outfielders in the entire league, the Sox have struggled to find a productive outfield combination. They have been forced to play Jason Repko in center-field due to the injuries, and Repko has just 1 hit in 9 at-bats.

As if matters weren't worse enough for the Sox, Andrew Bailey, who was expected to become the Sox new closer to replace Jonathan Papelbon, injured his thumb during the spring and will be out until after the All-Star game. With Daniel Bard, last year's setup man in the rotation, and Alfredo Aceves having to move to the closer role, the Sox bullpen has let up a ton of runs. Mark Meancon, who had 20 saves last year with the Houston Astros, has let up five home runs and 10 earned runs, while recording just 6 outs in 4 appearances this season. In his last appearance, he let up 6 runs, 3 home runs, and didn't record an out in the 8th inning vs the Rangers, and his 49.50 ERA got him sent down to Triple A-Pawtucket.

The bullpen struggles of the Red Sox were evident in their implosion against the Yankees on April 21st. After Felix Doubront pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball, the bullpen blew a lead that apperared to be insurmountable. Vicente Padilla got just one out in the 7th inning and let up a grand slam to Nick Swisher, which cut the Sox lead from 9-1 to 9-5. When Matt Albers came in to relieve Padilla, he let up a three run home run to Mark Teixeira and the Yanks got to within one run of the Sox after a 7 run 8th inning. The Bo Sox didn't fare much better in the 8th inning. Alfredo Aceves, the Sox closer, was lit up by the Yanks. He was unable to record an out and let up 5 earned runs before being pulled for Justin Thomas, who came in and allowed a two run double off the center-field wall to Russell Martin. Once everything was said and done, the Sox had allowed 7 runs in the 8th inning. After leading by 8 runs entering the top of the 7th, the Red Sox bullpen had allowed 14 runs in two innings and they trailed by 6 runs by the bottom of the 8th.

The Tigers and Rangers Look As Good As Expected:

With the difficulties of the American League East, the Detroit Tigers are by far the most popular pick to win their division of any team in the AL, especially after they signed Prince Fielder to a 9-year, 214 million dollar contract this off-season. Despite the huge signing the Angels were able to pull off by getting Albert Pujols to come to LA, the reigning two-time AL Champion Texas Rangers are still considered the favorites to take home the AL West crown. Neither the Tigers or Rangers have disappointed in the early season.

The power of Cabrera and Fielder right in the middle of the Tigers lineup is any pitchers nightmare to have to face (just ask Josh Beckett). They have combined for 6 home runs and 20 RBI's in the team's first 13 games. If Cabrera and Fielder can get some timely hitting from Brennan Boesch, Delmon Young, or Alex Avila, their lineup will be nearly impossible to hold down. Cabrera has also played fairly well in his transition to third base and he will only improve as the season goes along.

Obviously, Justin Verlander, the reigning AL Cy Young and AL MVP, is going to be a workhorse for the Tigers and a dominate ace. Aside from his ninth inning against the Rays in his second start when he let up 4 runs to blow the win, Verlander has looked nearly unhittable. The even more promising sign for the Tigers is that Rick Porcello, who has somewhat struggled since his impressive rookie season in 2009, has looked very good in his first few starts.

The 12-2 Texas Rangers are once again being led by their powerful offense, as their isn't an easy out in the entire Texas lineup. The Rangers lead the AL in nearly every hitting category including average, hits, runs batted in, runs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli have started the year off incredibly hot, as they both have hit 6 home runs and Hamilton has 15 RBI's and Napoli has added 12 RBI's. Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz have started with 2 home runs each and both power hitters are likely going to be around 30 home runs if they can stay healthy. As if that wasn't enough offense firepower, Michael Young and Ian Kinsler are two of the most underrated hitters in the entire league, and their starts to the 2012 season have been business as usual. Michael Young, is hitting .400 and has 12 RBI's, while Kinsler, who is arguably the best power hitting second basemen along with Robinson Cano, has hit 4 early season home runs.

Albert Pujols' Power Drought:

No matter how good Albert Pujols was in his first 11 years in the MLB with the St. Louis Cardinals, questions were obviously going to be risen about his lengthy 10-year, 254 million dollar contract with the Angels. Although I questioned the move to give a 31 year old a contract that will be paying him 30 million dollars 10 years from now when he is the age of 41, I thought it was a sacrifice that had to be taken in the long run because Albert is such a dominant player and is the best hitter in the game.

Although I suspected Albert's struggles to begin during the ladder stages of his contract, his 2012 season has not started as most people in L.A. would have hoped.

Albert hasn't hit a home run through the Angels first 14 games and they have started the season 5-9 after all the hype that was surrounding them this off-season. The Halos are already 7 games behind the Rangers in the AL West. Pujols, who has hit at least 34 home runs in every year of his career, has not hit a home run in 58 at-bats this season.

Although fans in Los Angeles are rightfully concerned, they should not freak out over Albert's slow start. Last year, Albert began the season with just 1 home run over the Cardinals first 12 games. He also went without a home run in a 27 game span last season from April 24th to May 22nd, which was apart of a larger 36 game stretch where he had just two home runs from April 24th to June 2nd. Looking at a month drought like that, you might have expected Albert's power numbers to have been down last year. However, he still had 37 home runs with the Cards, and he could easily hit 35 plus home runs this year once he starts to get it going, which he is destined to do.

Finally, Albert isn't showing any worries over his lack of power early on in the season. He said, "Listen, it's not being cocky, but I know I can hit. I showed that in the spring. I've shown that for 11 years and I don't think it's going to go away.... I think if you watch over my 25 at-bats or 30 at-bats, they've been really quality at-bats. So, if you're watching the game, I think I'm putting good at-bats, and that's all I can ask for myself... I'm not going to change the way I prepare myself just because I want to do a little bit more. I'm still going to get prepared and get my swing. I'm not going to overswing, because I feel good. I'm seeing the ball good. Last year I went through this, and I think if I would've been striking out or rolling over a lot of ball, I would've said something's wrong, I have to stay back. But I'm putting in good swings."

Even Without Tiger Woods In Contention, The Masters Was A Great Success

Every time Tiger Woods goes out with an injury or is struggling with his game, the usual question that enters people's mind is: Can golf survive without Tiger?

Of course, whenever Tiger Woods is playing at a major, he is a tremendous story. Woods brings an incredible amount of buzz to the golf game, as some people love to root for Tiger, while others love to root against him and see him fail.

In 1997, Tiger won the Masters after he set a record at Augusta for the largest margin of victory in a major, at the time, as he beat Tom Kite by 12 strokes and his -18 score was the lowest to par score in Masters history. Since he came onto the scene with that incredible wipe-out victory at the age of 21, Tiger has been the biggest story in golf. Too add to the lure of wanting to watch Tiger on a Sunday at a major, a record that once seemed inevitable that he would break, still stands to this day. With his 4-year major drought, Tiger still remains at 14 major victories, which trails Jack Nickalus's record of 18 wins at the four majors.

Obviously, at the age of 36, Tiger's best years are behind him and with his current game in a tremendous amount of flux, it looks very doubtful if Woods can win four more majors to tie Nickalus's record and 5 more to pass him.

Coming off his win at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods was seen as one of the favorites to win this year's first major. It was his first win in an official PGA Tour event since he won the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in September of 2009 and he looked destined to finally make a run at winning his first Masters since 2005.

When Tiger came to Augusta, he never looked comfortable on the tee or on the greens, as he said, "It was an off week at the wrong time."Woods tied his career worst Masters four hole score with a 5-over par, 293, and he didn't finish under-par in any of his rounds.

Contrary to popular belief that golf will be unable to survive without Tiger Woods, the 2012 Masters proved that a major can still be wildly entertaining even without Woods in serious contention.

2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen's second hole set the stage for an incredible round of golf. Oosthuizen was looking to become the 6th player to win the British Open at St. Andrews as well as the Masters joining only Sam Snead (1946 Open Champion at the Old Course and 1949, 1952, and 1954 Masters Champion), Jack Nicklaus (1970 and 1978 Open Champion at St. Andrews and 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1986 Masters Champion), Seve Ballesteros (1984 Open Champion at St. Andrews and 1980 and 1983 Masters Champion), Nick Faldo (1990 Open Champion at St. Andrews and 1989, 1990, and 1996 Masters Champion) and Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005 Open Champion at the Old Course and 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2005 Masters Champion).

After hitting a drive in the middle of the fairway on the par-5 second hole, Oosthuzien hit a 4-iron on his second shot from 254 yards away. The ball hit the front of the green and rolled all the way down to the back of the green and then dropped into the hole. The unbelievable shot sent shock waves throughout Augusta, as Oosthuzien double-eagle put him at the top of the leaderboard, which he didn't fall from until the playoff.

As much as the South African would have loved to have won his second major, his albatross will forever be remembered. It was just the fourth double-eagle in Masters history along with Gene Sarazen's albatross on the 15th hole at Augusta in the 1935 Masters that put the tournament on the map, as well as Bruce Devlin's double-eagle on the 8th hole in the 1967 Masters, and finally Jeff Maggert's double-eagle on the 13th hole in the 1994 Masters.

Oosthuzien's iron will be recalled as one of the greatest shots in recent Masters history to go along with Tiger's incredible chip shot (who can forget it) on the 16th hole in the 2005 Masters, which he would later go on and win, and Phil's second shot on the 13th hole from behind a tree that rolled right near the hole and helped him win his 3rd Masters. Oosthuizen said about the shot, "My first double-eagle ever."

Despite Oosthuzien magical shot, Bubba Watson was the story of the tournament, as his unique golf style, which he calls "Bubba golf" was full of great shot making and drama to keep any fan of the edge of their seat.

Watson, who lost in a playoff to Martin Kaymer in the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Staits, was a much watch all week long. With his pink PING driver, Bubba finished second during the final round of the Masters in driving distance and his long and consistent drives helped him birdie 6 of the par 5's during the final two days.

Bubba's unique style of aggressiveness, which he claims to have because of never receiving a golf lesson, is every fans dream to watch. Every time you think that a shot can't be done, Bubba will attempt to prove you wrong, which he often does. His creativity is unlike any other golfer on the tour and this showed itself in the playoff.

After blowing a chance to win his first ever major during the first hole of the sudden-death playoff after he missed a birdie putt for the championship, Watson hit a tee shot on the second playoff hole, which was the par 4-10th, way right into the woods. It appeared as if Waton had missed out on his opportunity for the title, as he was in a horrible position for his second shot.

However, doing what he does best, Bubba was able to get out of the jam with his unbelievably creative play. Watson hit a wedge from 151 yards away from the hole and was able to curve the ball from the pine needles all the way from the woods onto the green. He two-putted to take home his first ever major victory.

Watson said about the shot, "I hit a crazy shot that I saw in my head and somehow I'm here talking to you with a green jacket on. The first time I started working with my caddie I told him, 'If I have a swing, I have a shot.' I got down there and saw it was a perfect draw. I'm pretty good at hooking it."

The playoff, which was the 15th in the 76 year history of the Masters and the 4th since 2003, brought an end to a thoroughly exciting round of golf and showed fans that the game can still do well even without Woods in the mix.

The Red Sox Are Going To Win The AL East

The American League East has been the toughest division in baseball for years. Along with the always solid Yankees and Red Sox, the emergence of the Tampa Bay Rays has made the AL East unbelievably difficult.

Since the AL East was established in 1969, the winner of the division has had at least 100 wins 14 times. In comparison, since 1969, the winner of the AL West has had triple digit victories just 6 times.

Since the MLB added a Wild Card spot to each league during the 1995 playoffs, the Wild Card team has come out of the American League East 13 times. The American League Central has only had two teams in the postseason once, which was in 2006 when the Tigers won the Wild Card and joined the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs. The American League West has had a Wild Card team in the postseason just 3 times. In fact, in the last 9 years since 2003, the winner of the AL Wild Card has been a team from the AL East every year but once.

In the last 41 postseasons since 1969, the representative of the American League in the World Series has been from the AL East 24 times compared to just 12 times from the AL West. In fact, there was a 12 year stretch from 1975 to 1986 that the AL East had a team in the World Series every year but twice (1980, 1985).

The dominance of the Yankees and Red Sox has left the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays searching for solutions.

The Orioles haven't won the division since 1997, which was also the last time they were in the postseason.

The Blue Jays haven't been atop the AL East at the end of the year since 1993. The Jays are still looking for their first playoff appearance since they repeated as World Series champs in 1993 on Joe Carter's walk-off home run in game 6 over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Although the Rays have won the AL East two out of the last four years, they didn't make the playoffs in their first 10 years in existence from 1998 to 2007.

With the MLB adding an extra Wild Card team this year to both leagues, it isn't inconceivable that the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays could all get into the postseason.

The Boston Red Sox are not going to have to rely on that one game Wild Card playoff though because they are going to win their first division title since 2007.

The Red Sox 2011 season could not have ended any worse. On September 3rd, they were leading the Wild Card race by 9 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, but then the unthinkable happened to the Sox. The same franchise that had an 86 year World Series drought from 1918 to 2004 had the greatest collapse in MLB history.

Due to numerous pitching injuries to Red Sox starters including Clay Buchholz with his lower back problems and Daisuke Matsuzaka with his elbow issue, the Sox were forced to pitch Kyle Weiland and Tim Wakefield down the stretch as well as John Lakey, who was already severely struggling. Without a solid staff, the Red Sox struggled in the final month, as they had a horrific 7-20 September record and lost the AL Wild Card spot to the surging Tampa Bay Rays.

Not only did the Red Sox have to deal with an off-season full of scrutiny for their play on the field, but they also had to handle controversy that began to surround the clubhouse.

Reports began to surface that people in the Red Sox organization believed that Sox's manager Terry Francona seemed distracted throughout the season due to marital problems he was having and also due to his use of pain medication.

Not only did Tito come under attack from the media, but the Red Sox pitching staff also took a tremendous amount of criticism for their behavior in the clubhouse. On days that they weren't pitching, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey would eat fried chicken, drink beer, and play video games, while the rest of the Sox's players were fighting to try and keep the team from a monumental collapse.

With that all being said, the Red Sox are going into a new season and they will finally be able to put their 2011 debacle behind them. New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is trying to establish a different culture in Beantown and it is important to remember that aside from their slow start in April and their poor finish in September, the Red Sox where the best team in baseball for 4 months from May to August. Although they had an incredible 72-37 record in that four month span, that was all forgotten because of their September collapse.

Although most people have jumped off the Red Sox bandwagon and like the Yankees or the Rays, with their young pitching staff led by David Price and Matt Moore, to win the division, the Sox are going to have a fantastic year.

Adrian Gonzalez struggled last year with ongoing pain in his neck, especially in the month of July when he was forced to miss two games with stiffness. Although he tried to play through the pain, he hit just two home runs in July and lacked some power due to the injury. He also suffered from fatigue in his shoulder towards the end of the year and this caused his power numbers to go down, as he had 11 home runs in the team's final 95 games from June 26th to the end of the year, while he had 16 home runs in the team's first 67 games.

With all that being said, Gonzalez was still terrific for the Sox and he was better than any fan could have expected. He was 2nd in the MLB with a .338 batting average, while he held the MLB lead in hits with Michael Young with 213. A-Gon was also third in the AL with 117 runs batted in and 2nd in the AL with a .410 on-base percentage. Gonzalez is a hitting machine and he can hit the ball to all the different parts of the field. When his power numbers return this season because he is finally healthy, Gonzalez is going to be an impossible guy to pitch to in the middle of the Sox's lineup.

Many people forget that last year Kevin Youkilis, who is a top five MLB third basemen, played just 120 games with the Sox's, as he missed 34 games in August and September. Youk, who is a nightmare for every pitcher in the league because of his ability to work the count and force the pitcher to throw a lot of pitches, was severely missed by the Sox.

However, Youkilis is healthy again and you can expect him to return to All-Star form with his ability to constantly be on base. He is also going to drive in a lot of runs, as he is likely going to bat in the five hole behind the dangerous A-Gon and Ortiz.

Finally, we all know about the struggles of Carl Crawford last year after he signed that lucrative 7 year, 142 million dollar contract last off-season.

Sox fans should be confident though that Crawford is going to improve on his 2011 season (how can he not because it was pretty bad). Crawford seemed frazzled last year and not confident on the field. Tito may have had something to do with that because he never showed any faith in Carl and was constantly changing his spot in the lineup. Crawford should benefit from a fresh start to the season and a new manager.

In terms of pitching, Jon Lester is in the prime of his career in his 7th year in the league (all with the Red Sox). Lester has had at least 15 wins every year since 2008 and many people feel he could make a run at the AL Cy Young this year.

Although Josh Beckett is getting up there in years as he is entering his 12th year in the league at the age of 31, he is coming off his best season as a Red Sox. Although Beckett had a record of just 13-7 last year, his ERA of 2.89 was the 5th best in the AL, while his 1.03 WHIP was the 4th best among AL pitchers. His ERA and WHIP were the lowest of his career.

Finally, Clay Buchholz is destined to have the best year of his career. The young star, who has a scary amount of talent with his fastball that is typically in the mid 90's and his great changeup and curveball, needs to stay healthy and off the DL. If Buchholz can remain on the mound and not in the training room, he is will likely repeat his 2010 season when he was 17-7 and had a 2.33 ERA, which was top 3 in the league that year.

The biggest concern for the Red Sox is their early season injury problems. Obviously, in such a long 162 game season, you are going to have to go through a lot of stretches without a key guy. It is almost impossible to go through an entire season without one of your main contributors going down to an injury. However, the Sox are without multiple important pieces to begin the season.

The Red Sox knew about two of their major injury concerns before the spring even began.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had a 5.30 ERA in 7 starts last year before being shelved for the rest of the season because of a right elbow injury, is finally getting back to playing form from his Tommy John Surgery that he received last year. Although Daisuke has severely struggled in his last three seasons since he finished 4th in the AL Cy Young voting in 2008 with a 18-3 record, he is recovering very nicely from the surgery. Matsuzaka should return by late May or early June.

However, the lose of Daisuke for a short period at the beginning of the season may be a blessing in disguise because it will give Bobby V time to see if Felix Doubront or Daniel Bard have what it takes to be a full time starter.

Doubront, who is just 24 years old and only in his third season in the league, was very impressive this spring for the Red Sox and won the fourth starting spot. Although the Venezuelan has very little experience in the big leagues as he spent significant time last year in the minors with Portland and Pawtucket and made just 11 appearances in relief for the Red Sox, he has looked very impressive so far. Doubront will be very important for the Sox if he pitches well because he is the only potential lefty starter for Boston aside from Jon Lester until Andrew Miller can return from his hamstring injury.

If Doubront was the surprise of the Red Sox's spring training, Daniel Bard may have been the disappointment. Bard, who was the Red Sox very effective setup man last year as he set a Red Sox record with 21 scoreless appearance, tried to make the switch to the starting rotation this spring. However, he struggled in his spring starts as he walked a lot of batters and it still remains a question if Bard can go deep into a ball game. That being said, Bard still has a fastball that comes in at the high 90's and a devastating slider if he is throwing it with some good bite.

Carl Crawford, who had a tumultuous first year with the Sox, received off-season surgery on his left wrist. Although the Red Sox were hopeful that Carl could return by Opening Day, his rehab is taking a little longer than first expected. Crawford is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season and then return as the normal everyday left fielder for the Sox.

Ryan Sweeney, who Boston alsoacquired in the Andrew Bailey trade from the A's, will likely now play in the outfield along with off-season free agent acquisition Cody Ross and Jacoby Ellsbury until Crawford can come back.

In the off-season, the Bo Sox career leader in saves, Jonathan Papelbon, left Boston to join the Philadelphia Phillies on a four-year, 50 million dollar contract.

To replace the void of Pap, the Sox traded, among other players, their young and rising outfielder Josh Reddick to obtain the Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey. Bailey, the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year, has had at least 24 saves in all three of his seasons in the big leagues and has never had more than 4 blown saves in a season, as he had just 2 all of last year.

Bailey, who was expected to fill Papelbon's role very nicely, while doing so under a contract where the Sox aren't paying him a ridiculous amount of money like they would have had to do if they wanted to keep J.P., experienced a setback before the season even began. Bailey injured his right thumb during the spring and the injury required surgery. The Sox closer is now out until at least after the All-Star game.

The loss of Bailey could be a devastating one for the Sox. With Bailey down, Bobby V has named Alfredo Aceves the Sox closer in the interim with Mark Melancon also finishing out games when the Sox need him to do so. Although Aceves was the Sox workhorse from the bullpen last year, as he pitched 114 innings including his 4 spot starts, he has very little experience in the closer role. Aceves has 4 saves in his entire 4 year MLB career and will be under a tremendous amount of pressure to get those critical final three outs.

Despite the injury concerns, the Red Sox have arguably the best lineup in the major leagues as well as three high quality pitchers. Expect the Red Sox to take home the AL East crown.

There Isn't A Shortage Of Storylines Going Into The Second Round Of The Masters

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of all four majors last year and there is nothing I love more than sitting down on a Sunday and watching the final round of a golf major to crown a major champion. However, there was something missing last year that kept me from being overly excited looking in retrospect about the 2011 majors.

Maybe it was the fact that at the U.S. Open, a tournament that prides itself in its difficult setup and the inability of players to put up low scores, Rory McIlroy finished at -16 and practically had the tournament wrapped up after the second round when he led by 6 strokes over Y.E. Yang.

Even when the 2011 PGA Championship went into a three hole play-off, it was a battle of two mainly unknown commodities with Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner.

It was also a great story when Darren Clarke won the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George's Golf Club nearly five years after his wife died of breast cancer but the Open left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I, like many others, was hoping for a Phil Mickelson comeback run on the final day after he shot a 30 on the front nine, his lowest nine hole score in a major. However, Phil faltered down the stretch as he bogeyed 11, 13, 15, and 16, which put him out of contention of the title and left many, including myself, disappointed.

Finally, whether you like him or dislike him, Tiger Woods is a story every time he walks on the golf course. If Woods is in contention at a major, everybody is going to be watching and he brings a tremendous amount of buzz to the golf game. The pressure and intensity of a major is only amplified when Tiger Woods is lurking at the top of the leaderboard.

However, last year Tiger made very little noise at any of the majors. Although he finished tied for 4th at the Masters, his third round 74 shot him in the foot and put him too far back of the leaders. Tiger was forced to miss two of the majors, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, due to knee and achillies injuries. When he returned to the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, Tiger looked like a shell of himself. He shot a 77 in the first round and then followed that up by a 73 in the second to finish at 10-over par and he missed the cut. It was just the 3rd time in 56 major appearances since 1997 that Tiger failed to make the cut at a major and he wasn't around for the last two days of the final major or the year.

However, there is a certain vibe around the Masters that has everybody excited for this years first major. The lure of Augusta National and its historic tradition leaves people craving to see golfers attack Amen Corner and play the course they have become so accustomed to seeing.

After the first round at Augusta National, there is a wide array of interesting stories to keep on an eye on as this year Masters rolls along.

Before Phil Mickelson finally broke through in that memorable 2004 Masters, he was often tabbed as the greatest player to never have won a major. Lefty had a ridiculous 17 top ten appearances from 1993 to 2003 without ever cracking the winners circle including 8 finishes in the top 3 in that time span.

Since Mickelson has gotten rid of the that title, Lee Westwood has assumed it. Westwood's close but no cigar results at majors have looked much like Mickelson's when he was a younger golfer. Westwood has had 12 top 10 appearances in majors since 1997 and he has finished in the top 3 in 6 of the last 14 majors he has played in. Despite being near the top of the leaderboard so often, Wetwood has been unable to break through.

However, Westwood, who finished 2nd in the Masters two years ago in 2010, is at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of golf at Augusta. Lee birdied 5, 6, 7, and 8 to put up a front nine 32 before he finished out the round by shooting a 35 on the back to complete his first round 5-under par 67.

Westwood sits in a perfect position after day 1 to capture his first ever major championship. He said, "I've come close [to winning a major]. I've won all there is to win other than a major championship. That's my primary focus and it's been a long time coming around since the PGA last year... I have been in this position a lot recently, in contention. I've had a lot of top-3's, so I've obviously been there. If I sit down at the end of my career and there's no major championship wins, I'll be disappointed. If there's five or six, I'll be delighted." With an early lead at the Masters, Westwood has an edge to get that first major championship that has been alluding him for such a long time.

Since his 2008 U.S. Open victory at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods has been stuck at 14 major championships. He remains 4 major victories shy of Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major wins. A record that most people assumed Tiger would break and the question was not would he surpass Nicklaus, but when would he do it and how many would he end up with, is a record that looks like it may stand now. Due to his infidelity scandal and numerous injuries including the 2008 ACL surgery he received on his left knee and the knee and achillies injuries last year, it looks suspect if Tiger can regain his championship level form and win a major.

Don't get me wrong, he is still Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers to have ever played the game, but winning four majors to tie Nicklaus and winning five to surpass him is no easy task. Winning 4 or 5 majors is a Hall of Fame career for most other golfers. Byron Nelson and Seve Ballesteros won 5 majors in both of their careers, while Phil Mickelson has won 4 majors in his carrer. Tiger is trying to accomplish what these guys did in their entire career towards the end of his own career, which is a difficult task.

Tiger, who hasn't won a Masters since 2005, looked like he was going to put up a very solid and impressive first round score. However, he bogeyed both 17 and 18 and squandered an opportunity to finish under par. Although those final two holes put a damper on a relatively well played round of golf for Woods, he is by no means out of the picture after a finish round even-par 72.

Woods, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational before the Masters, which was his first win on the PGA Tour since he won the BMW Championship in September of 2009, is still in contention in this tournament. Although he had some horrible swings in the first round, especially off the tee, Tiger didn't shot himself in the foot and needs a solid score in round 2 to put himself right in the thick of things and spice things up at Augusta National. Anytime Tiger is looking to make a run to rise near the top of the leaderboard, it quites a tremendous amount of interest.

We all remember Rory's McIlroy's final round collapse at Augusta National last year. After having a comfortable four stroke lead after 54 holes, he faltered in the final round, as he felt the pressure of leading the Masters with just 18 holes remaining. Rory was 7 over par on the back 9, as he had a three hole stretch from hole 10 to 12 where he triple bogeyed 10 (on that infamous tee shot), bogeyed 11, and double bogeyed 12. McIlroy's final round 80 was the worst round by a third round leader at the Masters since Ken Venturi in 1956. The four stroke lead that McIlroy squandered was the biggest of a third round leader at a major that didn't end up winning the tournament since Jean Van de Velde lead by 5 strokes after three rounds of the 1999 Open Championship.

After destroying the field at last year's U.S. Open at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland and taking home his first major victory, McIlroy was ready to move past his 2011 Masters meltdown.

A double bogey on his first hole back at Augusta since his debacle on the back nine the previous year, did little to help Rory move totally past his downfall in 2011. However, he regrouped to shot a solid first round 1-under par 71, as he was able to birdie both 17 and 18 to close out a solid opening round of golf.

McIlroy says he has moved on from that unfortunate day, especially from that memorably awful tee shot on the 10th hole that went way left of the fairway. In the first round of this year's tournament, when Rory was approaching the 10th tee  he said, "I wasn't going left that's for sure. I tried to play it differently, playing a 3-wood off the tee and tuning it. It didn't quite turn enough but I made a good solid four and moved on."

We will see if Rory has really forgotten all about that 10th hole if he gets an opportunity to step up to the 10th tee with the lead once again on the final day of the Masters.

Finally, we will see if Phil Mickelson can use some of his magic to climb up the leaderboard on day two of the Masters. Phil, was is a three-time Masters winner and the winner of the green jacket two years ago in 2010 and a fan favorite, will need to shot a low round in round 2 to get back into contention.

Phil, like Rory McIlroy last year, unraveled on the 10th hole. Lefty needed 3 birdies on the back nine to rebound from his triple bogey on the 10th hole just to bring his round back to a 2-over par 74.

With difficult weather conditions expected for the second round, it should be very interesting to see the storylines that unfold heading into the weekend.

Despite Being Such A Young Team, Kentucky Showed Incredible Maturity All Season

There isn't a coach in college basketball that wants to get into a recruiting war with the Kentucky Wildcats because there is a consensus amongst the teams in the power 6 conferences that the blue-chip recruit is more than likely going to be taking his talents to Lexington, Kentucky. Although most coaches and especially fans dislike the rules surrounding NBA eligibility (you have to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and have to be at least one year removed from high school), John Calipari has perfected the college basketball system.

Whether the rule should be changed or not, Calipari has built a blueprint for success in Lexington through one and done players. Coach Cal's unbelievable coaching record of 173-20 in the last five years (his last two years with Memphis and his first three years with Kentucky) has been accomplished by having a new crop of talented superstar freshmen each year.

In 2007, after leading Memphis to a 33-4 record and an elite eight appearance in 2006, Calipari was able to lure point guard Derrick Rose to Memphis from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. Rose would become the first of a long line of super talented point guards to commit to Calipari and it would be the first of many top 10 recruiting classes for Coach Cal.

After being selected as a third team All-American, Rose left for the NBA where he was drafted number 1 overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls.

After reaching the NCAA Championship Game and falling a Dererk Rose free-throw away from winning the title in 2008 over Kansas, Tyreke Evans followed in Rose's footsteps by committing to play point guard under Calipari with the Tigers. Evans won the National Freshman of the Year award as voted on by the USBWA (United States Basketball Writers Association) and led the Tigers to a 33-4 record and a sweet 16 appearance.

Like Rose, Evans bolted for the NBA after his freshman year and was drafted with the 4th pick by the Sacramento Kings.

Since Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky in 2009, his recruiting prowess has only improved. The Wildcats have become a gold mine for highly toted recruits because it is Kentucky, the winningest program in the history of college basketball, and recruits have seen the success that Calipari has had getting his players to become high draft picks in the NBA like Rose and Evans. Coach Cal has had the top recruiting class all three years he has been at Kentucky.

We all remember the Wildcats unreal 2009 freshmen class when they landed John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Eric Bledsoe. Along with a 35-3 record and an elite eight appearance, John Wall won the 2009-2010 SEC Player of the Year award and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year award, while his fellow freshman teammate DeMarcus Cousins won the 2009-2010 SEC Rookie of the Year award.

They could have just renamed the 2010 NBA draft, the 2010 Kentucky draft. John Wall was drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards, marking the second time in the past three drafts that Calipari coached the number 1 pick. DeMarcus Cousins went 5th to the Sacramento Kings, while Eric Bledsoe was drafted 18th and ended up on the Los Angeles Clippers. Finally, Daniel Orton became the fourth Kentucky freshmen to get selected in the first round when he went to the Magic 29th overall. Patrick Patterson, the only non-freshmen to get picked from Kentucky, went 14th overall to the Houston Rockets. The five players all drafted in the first round out of Kentucky set an NBA draft record.

Brandon Knight became the fourth highly rated freshmen point guard to play for Calipari, as he followed in the paths of Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and John Wall by playing a year at Kentucky and then going to the NBA.

Like all three of the point guards before him, Knight was selected in the top 10, as he went number eight overall to the Detroit Pistons.

Although due to eligibility issues Turkish star center Enes Kanter was never able to play for the Cats, he was selected third overall in last year's draft by the Utah Jazz, adding on to the long line of Calipari commits to have left after one season and become a top ten NBA draft pick.

Calipari proved once again this year that he is able to get the best kids from around the country to come to the Bluegrass State and play for the Wildcats. Anthony Davis, who was a 6-2 point guard only getting looked at by Cleveland St. before he grew 8 inches between his junior and senior year, was lured to Big Blue. Davis joined Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the number 4 ESPNU recruit, along with McDonald's All-Americans Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer as the top Kentucky commits.

In next year's NBA draft, it will once again be more of the same with Kentucky freshmen getting picked left and right. There is a tremendous possibility that Anthony Davis will be the first pick and he will be followed by his teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. If this were to occur, it would mark the first time teammates would go number 1 and number 2 in the same draft.

Calipari's unprecedented recruiting success has caused a tremendous amount of controversy and discussion over players going to college for a year and then entering the NBA draft, like so many Calipari players do every year.

David Stern has publicly made comments in the past few days that he would look to get rid of the one and done players. He said, "We [the NBA] would love to add a year."

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took it a step further when he supported the idea that college kids should be three years removed from high school to enter the NBA draft.

As the debate rages on, it is important to remember that Calipari is trying to win and his main goal is to bring back championships to Lexington. By getting tons of players into the NBA, recruits want to play for Calipari, which in turn helps the Wildcats have a talented team that is going to compete for a title and this is Cal's ultimate goal.

However, the difficult part about coaching one and done players is they sometimes are more concerned about getting to the next level and showing what they can do to NBA scouts than doing whatever they can for the team. This was one of the problems with the 2009-2010 Kentucky team, which had all that incredible talent but failed to even make the Final Four.

As he has shown in the NBA, DeMarcus Counsins has always been quite a headcase and he is a difficult player both to play with and coach. Calipari said about his 2010 team before the SEC tournament, "I'm doing everything in my power to get through to my very young team... There's only one thing that can affect us in any of these tournaments. And that is us... These kids are 19. They don't know how to react as things get thrown at them." Counsins showed throughout the season his immaturity and inability to deal with adversity. He would constantly show his poor attitude and often sulked on the court and on the bench. When Cousins was upset when he wasn't getting calls from the refs during Kentucky's final SEC regular season game against Florida, he refused to warm-up with his teammates for the second half even as they tried to console him and get him to cheer up.

Kentucky's awful shooting was definitely a huge reason the Wildcats were bounced out of the NCAA tournament in the Regional Finals. The Wildcats were just 4 for 32 from three, which was a woeful 12.5 percent from behind the arc during the loss. However, Kentucky also showed their immaturity, as they appeared frazzled in the loss, especially after Joe Mazzulla began to go off for the Mountaineers.

Despite starting three freshmen (Marquis Teague, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Anthony Davis) and two sophomores (Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones) and having another freshman as one of their first two men off the bench (Kyle Wiltjer), the Wildcats played like a very mature team. If you had to guess, you would never think that 6 of the 7 guys in Kentucky's rotation were freshmen and sophomores. Not only did they have incredible chemistry and played together as a terrific ball club, but they also all bought into during whatever the team needed to do in order to get a win.

Although they are most likely going to be the top 2 picks of the 2011 NBA draft, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist never were on the court just looking to get their own shot and the two freshmen superstars were never trying to make plays just to impress some scouts in attendance. In fact, Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist were 4th and 5th on the Wildcats in field goal attempts per game, as they both only took just over 8 shots per game.

Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist both understood that the game would come to them and that if they weren't feeling it offensively, they could always change the game on the defense end of the floor.

Kidd-Gilchrist was so valuable for the Wildcats because the 6-7 forward had enough athleticism to guard opposing team's best perimeter player whether it was a point guard or a shooting guard and his length would always give them a lot of trouble.

John Calipari has said that Kidd-Gilchrist will remain one of his favorite players that he has ever coached because of the tremendous will and motivation that the versatile forward plays with and the win at all cost attitude that Gilchrist exudes.

Calipari said about Gilchrist, "He's got a great heart. He wants to please everybody... He wants to make sure that everyone's happy... He's more about everybody else more than about himself." It is very rare to find a player who was recruited as heavily as Gilchrist that is such an unselfish guy and who is all about the team, but Kidd-Gilchrist was all about what the Cats needed this year and not about anything else.

He showed this attitude when he went to Coach Calipari and told him that Darius Miller should start instead of him in the SEC tournament finals because the SEC Sixth Man of the Year was scoreless in the team's first two SEC tournament games. To recognize that a teammate is struggling and make sure that he receives more playing time so he can get his confidence back, was a move that was well beyond Gilchrist's years. It was a move that eventually helped the Cats pull off the National Championship run, as Miller averaged just under 12 points per game in the tourney and Kidd-Gilchrist got his dream of a college title.

Anthony Davis's presence on the defensive end of the floor can not be understated. Davis grabbed any rebounds near him with his incredible wingspan and he was obviously one of the best shot blockers that has ever played in college basketball. Davis finished the season with 186 blocks, which surpassed Hassan Whiteside's freshmen record of 182, which he did with Marshall in 2009-2010, as well as Jarvis Varnado's SEC shot blocking record of 170, which he did with Mississippi St. in 2008-2009.

Davis showed in the NCAA tournament championship game how he has absolutely no ego and that he will do whatever it takes to get a victory. Although Davis had just 6 points, he had a tremendous affect on the outcome of the game. Davis had 16 rebounds including 4 on the offensive end to go along with 5 assists, 3 steals, and 6 blocks. The Jayhawks had a miserable time trying to finish in the lane over Davis's incredibly long outstretched arms, especially Big 12 Player of the Year and First-Team All-American Thomas Robinson, who was 6 for 17 from the field and had several shots blocked by Davis.

Marquis Teague also grew up right in front of our eyes this season. It was a fair question at the beginning of the year whether Teague would be a consistent enough point guard to led the Cats to the promise land. He looked very unsure of himself on the court, as he often struggled with his shot selection and his turnovers on the onset of the year. Teague had at least 6 turnovers in two of the Cats first four games including a very poor performance against Kansas in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in November.

However, as the year went along, Calipari and the Wildcats began to trust Teague with the ball more and more. Instead of folding under the criticism and pressure from the media and Kentucky fans to step up his play, Teague was huge for UK, as he looked like a different player by the end of the year. He showed that he doesn't play as young as his age says he is. In fact, in the title game against Kansas, Teague's season came full circle, as he had 14 points and huge buckets down the stretch. Teague hit a huge three from the top of the key in the ladder stages of the second half, which ended a 8-0 Kansas run after the Jayhawks had cut the lead to 7. He also had two very important free throws with under a minute remaining, which extended the Kentucky lead to 8 points and kept the Jayhawks at least at a 3 possession distance.

With their 67-59 victory over Kansas, Kentucky has now won 8 NCAA National Championships and they are just three shy of UCLA's record 11 NCAA titles. The main cog in Kentucky's championship run this year was that all of the young Wildcats bought into winning and doing whatever it takes for the team. They all played beyond their years and showed incredible maturity for being such young kids.