WATERCOOLER CHAT: RAY ALLEN OVERHEATS, JOE FLACCO A FRANCHISE QB, BIG 12 UP FOR GRABS
BASKETBALL
In the NBA, LeBron/D-Wade and the Heat headed into Minnesota with a 14-game win streak. They’ve been beating teams at will, but you can never let your guard down in the NBA, even to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves actually kept it close, but the Heat turned it on in the end, prompting some violence on the court. The Wolves J.J. Barea bumped Ray Allen hard on a drive to the hoop, sending Allen to the ground. Allen thought it was intentional and came at Barea ready for a fight. To add fuel to the fire, Barea laughed in his face. It was kind of ugly. In the end, the Wolves couldn’t come back, and the Heat got their 15th straight win. Miami 97, Minnesota 81.
FOOTBALL
In the NFL, last season was Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco’s last year on his contract. Basically, he was playing for the right to become the Ravens franchise QB. Having a franchise QB is very valuable because you have a foundation that you can build around. You don’t have to worry about the captain of your offense, and can spend your draft picks strategically looking for players that fit the game play that you know will work. So, winning a Super Bowl is possibly the best thing that Flacco could have added to his resume before a contract negotiation. And it certainly worked, as yesterday the Ravens made Joe Flacco the richest man in the NFL. It’s worth $120 million over six years with a $29 million signing bonus. $52 million is guaranteed and he will receive most of that in the first two years. Congratulations to Flacco.
And in college football, all the talk may be surrounding Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel after his Heisman win (and rightly so), but look out for a new quarterback next season… in Baylor. Baylor turned into a team to be reckoned with the last few games of the season, and they just brought in a star quarterback in Bryce Petty. Petty will have a nice core of receivers to help him put up a lot of points, including Tevin Reese (likely a future NFL player). The Big 12 is definitely up for grabs, especially with normal powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas slumping right now. And with Texas A&M in the SEC, the Big 12 could actually belong to the Bears.
