Where Will Tebow Go?

I can't remember ever seeing anything like this Tim Tebow "phenomenon" that is going on now with the draft just one day away. Most people know the story by now. When it comes to the intangibles (leadership, desire to win, coachability, on/off field personality), every team in the league would take him with the first pick in the draft. But despite having better college numbers than, say, either of the Mannings, no one wants to waste a pick on him as a QB.

So where does that leave us? Let's look at the teams that absolutely do not need a QB right now. New Orleans (Brees), San Diego (Rivers), Dallas (Romo), Green Bay (Rogers), NY Giants (Eli), Atlanta (Ryan), Baltimore (Flacco), NY Jets (Sanchez) and Detroit (Stafford).

I left a couple of teams off that list that might surprise most. Indianapolis and New England. These two teams obviously have two of the best QB's in the game in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Peyton is 34, and Brady, while only 32, has been getting beat up recently. Both of these teams have been outstanding at finding and drafting talent in the later rounds of the draft, and both of these teams could afford to draft Tebow and let him learn behind two of the best QB's ever for a few years.

How about some teams that are absolutely horrible in their QB situation that really can't sit around and wait for Tebow to develop? Buffalo (Brian Brohm), Oakland (Gradowski) and San Francisco (Smith).

OK, so that is now 12-teams that I'm pretty sure wouldn't draft Tebow unless he was still sitting there in the 4th round.

As for the other teams in the league, here's how I think they'd play it (listed in order of when they draft, and excluding the teams I've already mentioned).

St. Louis Rams: If they don't take Stafford with their first pick and go with Suh, the Rams would have to take a QB with their 2nd pick, but I'm not sure they'd go with Tebow just based on how they need a QB NOW.

Tampa Bay Bucs: They seem to be pretty set on seeing what Freeman can do, so I don't see them taking Tebow.

Washington Redskins: Now this is an intriguing pick. Again, I don't think they'd do it first round, but could see it happen with their 2nd round pick. They have McNabb to hold down the fort for a few years and then hand over the franchise to Tebow.

Kansas City Chiefs: This team is kind of in no-mans land with their QB situation. There are too many questions around Cassel, and I think in that situation you don't bring in a player like Tebow.

Seattle Seahawks: This is a team that I believe might be aggressive in getting Tebow. I don't have anything to base this on other than a gut feeling. Matt Hasselback is on his last legs and might be able to squeeze one or two more years out. And with Pete Carrol coming in, I could really see this team take Tebow and give Carrol a couple of years to teach this kid the ropes of the position. The fact that they have the 6th AND 14th picks in the first round, I might actually be surprised if they don't take Tebow with that 14 pick.

Cleveland Browns: It's no secret that this team has a pretty shitty QB situation. It's also no secret that Mike Holmgren loves Tebow as a football player. The Browns have Jake Delhomme at QB right now, and just like Seattle, they could let Tebow learn for a year behind Delhomme. Their issue is do you take Tebow with the 7th pick, or hope he is still there for their 2nd round pick? I'd guess here that if the Browns want him, they will try to trade down to the last third of the first round, get another draft pick in the process and take Tebow there.

Oakland Raiders: This team is in such a disarray, I'd hate to see Tebow end up here. The Raiders have so many holes to fill, most people would think they'd focus on players that could help this year. But if any team is a wildcard in all of this, it's Al Davis and his Raiders. After all, when was the last time this team made a good pick in the first round?

Jacksonville Jaguars: With David Garrard as their starting QB, this team very much could use an upgrade at the position. And with the Florida ties, a lot of people are saying this could be a good fit. I'm not so sure with this one though. If you want your young QB to learn the mechanics of the position, do you really want him learning from Garrard?

Denver Broncos: This team does need an upgrade at QB, but with two young guys still trying to prove themselves (Orton and Quinn), adding a 3rd project at QB would be a messy situation.

Miami Dolphins: I might have just missed seeing it, but I have not seen much talk about Tebow and the Dolphins. But I think this is a pretty good fit here. No team excels like the Dolphins do in running the Wildcat, and just think how much better it could be with Tebow, an actual QB taking the snap? He has the rushing skills to just take off with the ball, and his current QB skills would open up the ability to pass out of the formation. The Dolphins currently have a young QB with Chad Henne, but the book is still out on him. I think Parcells is drooling over the chance to add Tebow to his roster. This might be a place where a 1st round pick makes sense.

Pittsburgh Steelers: This teams only QB issue is 'character'. For an owner like Rooney who takes pride in having a 'family' atmosphere in his team, these incidents by Ben Roethlisberger, one would think that he'd love to get someone like Tebow on his team. But Rooney lets his front office guys handle things so I don't see the Steelers taking Tebow just to get a character guy.

Cincinnati Bengals: This is another team I could see going after Tebow. Carson Palmer has been heading in the wrong direction, and the team will probably address the QB position. My thoughts with this team is they will go after Clausen in the first round instead of Tebow.

New England Patriots: As I mentioned above, I could see them taking Tebow, but not with their current first round pick. Watch out for any moves by this team trying to slide up in the 2nd round.

Philadelphia Eagles: This is a team in a transition phase. They have let a lot of big names go this offseason. I'm not saying it's a rebuilding year because they still seem to have a strong team, but I don't see them bringing in a QB in this draft.

Arizona Cardinals: This team needs to let Leinart develop and play this year so they can see what he can do. Adding any QB would be a bad decision for the Cardinals this year.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have an above average QB in Tony Romo, and the only thing keeping him from being a top-tier QB is consistency. When he is on, it's VERY tough to stop him, so there is no need for Dallas to look at a QB right now.

Minnesota Vikings: This is one spot where taking Tebow actually makes sense. Tebow could watch and learn with Favre for a year, and possibly get some playing time in short-yardage or 'wildcat' formations.

When it comes down to it, this is my top three spots I think Tebow could end up:

1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Miami Dolphins (If they trade down)
3. New England Patriots.

Views from Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom

The photos in this blog were all taken at Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom theme park.

You can click on any of the photos to view a larger image.

The first is a photo of two Asian Tigers as they play by one of the pools in their area.



The second photo is of a Fruit Bat, the largest bat in the world. But you don't have to worry about it, it's a fruit eater.




The third photo is of a White Rhino taken on the Kilimanjaro Safari.




You can see more of my photos from Disney World's Animal Kingdom here.

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What's In A Name?

The NFL Draft is this week, and it has a new three-day schedule. This year the first round of the draft will be on Thursday during prime-time. Rounds two and three will be on Friday, and rounds 4-7 will finish up on Saturday. This is a GREAT marketing move by the NFL, but we'll have to wait and see how it plays out for us fans.

I was looking through a few different lists of players that will be in the draft this year, and there were a few names that stuck out to me. This has nothing to do with these particular players talents, the positions they play, the school they went to or if I think they'd be a good fit with the home town Minnesota Vikings. What made them stick out is one simple thing.

Their name.

I'm not here to make fun of any of these names, although I'm sure it might come across that way. These names are just purely entertaining to me. It might just be how fun it is to say their name, or how difficult, or maybe a name just might be funny at a purely childish level. And with saying that, below is my list of players who are entered into the 2010 NFL Draft that I find have a purely entertaining name:

Tyson Alualu - DE - Cal: Hello Hello Alualu!

Arrelious Benn - WR - Ill.: Arrelious? Are you serious?

Ciron Black - G - LSU: Ciron? This guy has to have the best break-up line ever. "Every time you hear a siren, you'll think of me."

Selvish Capers - OT - West Virginia: "Selvish! Stop being so selfish and share with your brothers!"

Barry Church - SS - Toledo: I'm guessing Church wants to be on the gridiron and not in church on Sundays?

Michael Hoomanawanui - TE - Ill.: Not only is his last name fun to pronounce... how does someone have Hoomanawanui as a last name, and Mike for a first name?

Brandon LaFell - WR - LSU: A wide-receiver with the last name LaFell? Brilliant.

Rolando McClain - LB - 'Bama: Yippie Ki-yay

Zoltan Mesko - P - Michigam - The Legand of Zoltan is a Punter?

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah - CB - Indiana (Pa): By far the funnest name to say in the draft. And I had no idea there was an Indiana in Pennsylvania.

Alterraun Verner - CB - UCLA: Alterraun? Is there an Actualraun?

Lindsey Witten - DE - UConn: A football player with the first name of Lindsey?

And finally, the name of the draft:

Spud Dick - QB - DePaul

I Wanna Be a Cowboy

Clicking on the photo will give you a larger view of it.

This is actually one of the oldest photos in my collection, but I have recently updated it with my new software. I took this photo just a couple of days after getting my camera. When I got my camera, I had one month to practice with it before taking it on vacation to Disney World, so I wanted to get out to places with crowds and get used to photographing in situations like that. So I brought my camera out to the Minnesota State Fair and for a while I was looking for interesting people to photograph when this young lady in her cowboy hat came into view. I only took one photo before my view of them vanished in a crowd of people, and to be honest, the motion I captured that enhances this photo was not a part of my original intent with this photo. But I'm very glad it turned out the way it did.

You can see more of my people photography here.

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5-Below and Falling Snow

Clicking the photo will take you to a larger version of the photo.

This photo shows two people walking across the Stone Arch Bridge towards downtown Minneapolis. While taking this photo, the temperature was five-degrees below zero Fahrenheit and it was also snowing. I'm not exactly sure what drove me grab my camera and go out for some photography on this day, and I specifically remember being frustrated that these two walked onto the bridge as I was getting ready to take my photo of the empty bridge. My frustration quickly went away when I saw how these two strangers made this photo look spectacular.

You can see more of my Minneapolis photography here.

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See all of my Minneapolis photos!
William Drew Photography

The Spoonbridge and Cherry

Clicking on the photo will give you a larger version of the photo.

You can see more of my Minneapolis photos here.

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The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an 11 acre park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is located near the Walker Art Center, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country, with 40 permanent art installations and several other temporary pieces that are moved in and out periodically.

The centerpiece of the garden is the Spoonbridge and Cherry (water sculpture designed by husband and wife Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Claes Oldenburg is best known for his ingenious, oversized renditions of ordinary objects, like the giant "soft" three-way plug and overturned bag of french fries in the Walker's own collection. He and Coosje van Bruggen, his wife and collaborator, had already created a number of large-scale public sculptures, including the Batcolumn in Chicago, when they were asked to design a fountain-sculpture for the planned Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The spoon had appeared as a motif in a number of Oldenburg's drawings and plans over the years, inspired by a novelty item (a spoon resting on a glob of fake chocolate) he had acquired in 1962. Eventually the utensil emerged--in humorously gigantic scale--as the theme of the Minneapolis project. Van Bruggen contributed the cherry as a playful reference to the Garden's formal geometry, which reminded her of Versailles and the exaggerated dining etiquette Louis XIV imposed there. She also conceived the pond's shape in the form of linden seed. (Linden trees are planted along the allées that stretch before the fountain.) The complex fabrication of the 5,800 pound spoon and 1,200 pound cherry was carried out at two shipbuilding yards in New England. The sculpture has become a beloved icon in the Garden, whether glaceed with snow in the Minnesota winters or gleaming in the warmer months, with water flowing over the surface of the cherry and a fine mist rising from its stem.

The Crack of the Bat

Ahhh... it's opening day for the Minnesota Twins. This is always a great day, getting to watch that first game of the season (even though it will be interrupted by watching Butler and Duke battle it out for the NCAA Basketball Championship).

There is a much higher than normal energy about these Twins this year. Part of that is obviously the new stadium they get to play in this year. Another part of that is for the first time since I can remember, the front office actually went out and got some good players in free agency.

Baseball is a beautiful and boring game. I LOVE watching the Twins, but can't really bring myself to watch any other games like I can with Football and Hockey. Baseball is also a very maddening game in that despite all of its stats and history, it's just so difficult to know what is going to happen during the season.

In baseball, you have the Yankees (who are supposed to win the World Series or their fans jump off the Brooklyn Bridge in protest), and every one else. Most teams go into the season with hope springing eternal (and teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh leave that hope in the Spring as any and all hope will be gone long before summer gets here). With the additions the Twins made this off season, and with hope of some improved seasons by players like Francisco Liriano and Delmon Young, the hope here is the Twins move past winning the division and actually win a playoff series or two, or three.

But with every chance of a player like Liriano and Young improving, there is also a chance some players will have off years. Justin Morneau's back might not be as healthy as we would hope. And of course the best closer in the game, Joe Nathan, is already shelved for the entire season.

There are also players with big question marks. J.J. Hardy was an all-star in 2007 and demoted to the minors last year. Which Hardy boy do we get to see this year? Francisco Liriano was back to his dominant self in Winter League, but he's shown signs of his habitual sloppiness in spring training. And both Pat Neshek and Jessie Crain have injured arms they'd like to put in their past.

With all of that said, it's my belief that the Twins will win the Central Division, and I don't believe it will be close. Many people are saying losing Nathan will doom the team, but it's my opinion the closer position is the most overrated position in the game. As good as Joe was at it, he earned a save in 92% of his chances while the league average is 87%. That's what, three games difference? And with this years team having the lineup they do, I just don't think we will see as many save opportunities as prior years.

I believe this team can score pretty close to one more run per game on average. They were at 5.1 runs per game last year and I don't think its a stretch to see 5.9 from this group. I can see Denard Span raising the bar and becoming one of, if not the, best lead off man in the game. The combo of him and Orlando Hudson should be able to get on base pretty often for the power-alley to knock them in for some runs. Joe Mauer should be his normal self, which means he once again could have people shaking their heads in disbelief at how good this kid is. Justin Morneau is my big question mark in the lineup. Michael Cuddyer should be similar to last year. Jason Kubel will most likely improve on last years numbers. Delmon Young, man, if this kid can play like he did at the end of last season, we could have a guy in the 7-hole hitting .330 with 30 home-runs and 110 RBI's. JJ Hardy gives us a guy in the 8th spot that could pop 25-home runs. The 9th spot could be interesting. Punto is the most loved and hated player on the roster. The guy is also amazingly inconsistent. How can one player bounce year-to-year like he has with a .290, .210, .284, .228 batting averages over the last four seasons. With the eight guys ahead of him, I'd be happy with him just having an average season. Then there Punto's platoon mate Jason Harris who could hit .290, which getting that in our 9th spot would be freakin fantastic. But will either of them even get much play time after the all-star break, or will Danny Valencia get his callup and take over third-base and the 9th spot in the lineup?


I also believe our starting rotation should be able to lower their 4.84 ERA from last year to something closer to 4.40. There is a lot of warranted talk about our starting rotation having a bunch of #3 starters and no ace or #2 starter. Having a rotation of #3 guys will make for a good regular season, but you really need that ace and #2 guy for the playoffs. Scott Baker has the 5th best win-percentage in the American League over the past three seasons. I'd like to think he can be a pitcher this year that can border that #1/#2 position. And if Liriano really does have his nasty junk back, he can easily be a staff ace.

I believe our defense should improve, with the addition of Hardy and Hudson up the middle, and Span sticking to Center Field instead of moving all over the outfield. I'd say you could argue the Twins could have the best middle of the field defense in the league with Mauer behind he plate added to Hudson, Hardy and Span.

The bullpen is a question mark, but in today's MLB, what team doesn't have bullpen questions? Relief pitchers seem to be the type that can dominate one year, and have no control the next. And I'd be willing to bet every single team in the league will change over at least 50% of their bullpen during the season. Losing Nathan right off the bat obviously hurts, and I don't believe Rauch will be the closer when we get to the dog-days of summer (Pedro Martinez perhaps?). But one thing is certain, the Twins have a history of finding closers, from Jeff Reardon to Rick Aquilara to Every Day Eddie to Nathan. That's been a pretty remarkable run. Maybe they are due a bad year from a closer? Maybe Rauch comes on and doesn't let anyone doubt the decision to put him there? It will be fun to watch it unfold as the season goes along.

To wrap this up, I think this Twins team has the chance at hitting 95-97 wins. Maybe with Nathan out, they get 93. Any of those should win the division. As easily as I can see the team getting those numbers, the ball might bounce the wrong way too often and we could see Detroit or Chicago taking the division. That's one of the fun things about being in the Central. It seems like every season the team that is supposed to win it falters and teams picked to struggle around .500 end up catching lightning and winning the division. For now though, I'll stick with my 95-97 win prediction.