Titans Camp

Titans preseason camp begins tomorrow afternoon. Hard to believe football is already here. Hopefully the Titans offense can make strides, with the addition of Mike Heimerdinger (OCoordinator), as well as the improvement of Vince Young.

Many scratched their heads when the Titans drafted Chris Johnson in the first round, the 4.24 speedster out of East Carolina. Came across this video the other on Chris - pretty exciting to see what he can bring to the offense, and especially what he can bring to the return game. Enjoy the video - his highlight clips are pretty amazing.

Shut out

Gonna be hard to get over this one. Complete game shutout, in dominant fashion by CC. Cards need to win Thursday in the worst way.

Cardinal Sin

Cheesy headline? Maybe. Awful final innings the last two nights? Absolutely.

The Cardinals rode high out of the all star breaking, going 4-0 against the Padres, gaining 2 games on the Cubs to sit 2 back in the NL Central. The Brewers came to town on Monday for a 4 game series, starting 3 back of the Cubs (1 behind the Cards).

The past two nights, the Cardinals let a game slip away that falls into the "devastating losses" category, so hard to be applied to regular season baseball games. The Cardinals led 3-1 with 2 outs in the 8th last night, after one of Kyle Lohse's (pictured) most dominating pitching performances of the year. On Monday night, we were tied at the end of 9 innings 3-3, with plenty of chances to win. We lost both games 4-3 on Bill Hall solo home runs in the top of the 10th and 9th innings, respectively.



The Brewers have a lot of momentum, recently acquiring CC Sabathia, while already being one of the hottest teams in baseball. A big series by the Cardinals would have stamped on that flame a bit, putting them in their rightful place. Now, the Brewers look extremely confident, ready to surge past the Cardinals. It must be nice to be 2-0 in the this series against the Cards, with Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia throwing the final two games tonight and Thursday.

Cards need to win both, and absolutely must win 1 of these 2. Luckily the Cubs are sliding as well, losing 5 out of their last 6. The Cubs will definitely have a tougher second half, since they will be on the road more often than the first half, and experiencing some injuries (Kerry Wood). With the dynamics of this division being a 3 team race, you hope that your team wins, while the other 2 teams beat each other evenly. Right now the Brewers are surging at the Cardinals expense, while the Cubs are losing at the same time. Tonight, the Cards need to slow down the Brew Crew, as well as their current radio broadcaster, Harry Doyle . . .errrr, I mean Bob Uecker.

"Ohhhh Shit . . . if that's not Shaquelle O'Neal in left, that baby's outta here."

"Wild Thing, you make my Butt Sting."

"I'm the only winner on the team, the rest of them are losers - either by choice, or by birth."

ND Football '08 Prediction Quiz

This is not my official prediction for the 2008 Fighting Irish. That prediction comes after I drink much more August Kool-Aid, probably in about a month.

The gamblers, prognosticators, sportswriters, and other pundits are beginning to make their predictions for the season though. Here are a few notables:

• Charlie Weis predicts the Irish to win "9 to12 games". Yikes coach, I like the optimism, but lets not get cocky. Interesting article about Weis in the link right above, which talks about his prediction, the state of the program, etc, from a Michigan perspective as the article is from the Detroit Free Press. Coach Weis has made this prediction privately, supposedly.


• Columbia, Missouri Tribune predicts 8-4 season and a top 25 ranking. Not sure that these guys are experts, but their reasoning is incredibly simple and logical - the Irish schedule is 4 games easier than last year, and 17 starters return. Another short, interesting read.


• Point Spreads.com predicts the Irish to go 7-5. I think this is a fair prediction.


• Vegas is pegging the Over/Under on wins for the Irish at 7 wins. For Vegas novices, the over/under is the amount of wins that will ideally get 50% of people betting on the "over" and 50% on the "under". Vegas is somewhat 70% of the time, all of the time.

What to make of all of this garbage? Most people on the internet make predictions about Notre Dame just to get traffic, so you can't trust any of this stuff. Since I'm a logical guy, I am going to break it down for you with a simple quiz that will provide you with you're own prediction on the 2008 Fighting Irish win total.

Each question has answers with numbers in ( ). When you pick answer A that says (-2) for instance, the addition or subtraction will start from the 2007 win total of 3. So if you answer the questions and your final net number value is +4, then you are predicting the Irish will win 7 games. Give it an honest try, and see where you come out.

Question #1

Could this year's Irish team beat Duke, Stanford, and UCLA teams of last year?

A) YES (+0)

B) 2 out of 3 (-1)

C ) 1 out of 3 (-2)

D) 0 out of 3 (-3)

Question #2

The Irish gave up a record 58 sacks in 2008, giving up 56 combined in 2005-06. How much improvement will we see in pass protection, measured in sacks?

A) The same (+0)

B) 10 sacks better (+1)

C) 20 sacks better (+2)

D) 30 sacks better (+3)

E) Worse (-1)

F) Much worse (-3)

Question #3

Jimmy Clausen finished with one of the best freshman QB performances ever, throwing more Touchdowns than Interceptions as an injured 18 year old. How much, if any, will he improve?

A) He will play exactly the same (+0)

B) He will get hurt and miss at least 5 games (-1)

C) He will make improvements in learning to throw the ball away (6 sacks by running out of bounds in 2007), as well as getting rid of the ball when the pocket is collapsing, but his completion %s and TD to INT ratio (7/6) will remain the same (+1)

D) Jimmy will make huge strides, not unlike Matthew Stafford during his sophomore year last season. He will become an above average, solid QB that is not in the top 5 but is good enough to have a bright future and make defenses plan for him. (+2)

E) Jimmy will be an All-America team contender, pushing the envelope with a sophomore season akin to Brady Quinn's legendary Junior season in 2005 (+3)

Question #4

The Irish defense finished in the top 40 in the nation in total yards, finishing especially strong against the pass and a bit worse against the rush. Will the defense improve?

A) Yes, the defense will improve, finishing near the top 25 in total defense (+1)

B) Yes, the defense will vastly improve, setting Notre Dame records for sacks and QB pressures (+3)

C) Slightly. The defense will be slightly better than last year, finishing about the same in the rankings (+0)

D) Worse. The defense will be substantially worse, not able to stop the run at all due to a thin defensive line (-2)

Last question, Question #5

The Irish special teams challenged the offense for worst unit on the team (we didn't try a 41 yard field goal to beat Navy as time expired!!). Charlie Weis will now be directly overseeing special teams. How much will the Irish improve?

A) About the same, ranked in the bottom quarter of the NCAA (-1)

B) Worse, not able to do anything functional special teams wise (-2)

C) Slightly better; attempt and make a few late game field goals, but still not yet average (+0)

D) An average all across the board special teams performance. Make average amounts of touch backs, field goals, and good punts (+1).

E) Substantially improved; zero touchbacks in 2007 needs improving, and the Irish respond with a good % of those and even make a few 50 yard field goals, block a punt, etc, producing a top 30 in the nation special teams finish (+2)

So after giving the quiz an honest try, without preconceptions, tally up those scores, and add or subtract the number to the win total from 2007, 3.

What did you have? Obviously this poll is accurate, as I have the Irish winning 14 games next season.

Titans Grab Bag

Some Titans' news to catch up on:

• Both LT Michael Roos and RT David Stewart have been locked up to long term deals. Both starters are 25 years old, and obviously entering their primes. Great move by the Titans, to solidify what should be a solid offensive line for years to come.


• The Titans changed their "home" jersey, now a light blue top with light blue pants (2nd picture). The old navy home uniform is pictured above, although typically with white pants. The light blue formerly was the Titans "alternate" uniform, of which the NFL allows each team to have 1. Now that this light blue is the official home attire, the navy colored jerseys will be the alternate, likely used once or twice per year.


• Jevon Kearse (the Freak) got a DUI near Vanderbilt; WR Brandon Jones got arrested for carrying a hand gun through airport security. If things like this don't occasionally happen to your sports team, then the team is probably not very good. I don't condone the behavior, but I'm just not surprised with this stuff in pro sports anymore. These guys will essentially be on probation, and I don't expect anymore trouble from them .


• Workouts appear to be going well, as the team gears up for training camp. Interesting piece in the Tennessean about "kettlebell" workouts, which look to be a lot of fun and very easy . . . Vandenbosch is ridiculous.


• Titans Wide Receivers are looking to make a big splash this season. As I've blogged about before, Jeff Fisher never signs or drafts high profile WRs. He wants a balanced core of WRs able to do damage, but focuses on defense and running game before wideouts. This is a good ESPN article about the WRs, one that has me pretty optimistic.


• The Titans did not get Albert Haynesworth signed to a long term deal. As a "franchised" player, he will make $7.5M next season, and we won't be able to sign him until after next season.

Obviously the Haynesworth news is huge. Our defense last year was great with him, average in the two games without. Haynesworth is easily one of the top 2 DTs in the league, and wants to get paid for it with a long term deal. It appears that the Titans have some concern about his sustainability, as well as work ethic. We need him, but we don't need a lazy guy that deteriorates after he gets signed to a long term deal. I like the fact that we are buying as much time as we can before we lock up a guy that has a spotty past with a lucrative long term deal. My gut tells me he will be great for 2 more years, max, before injuries and a lack of hard work catch up to him permanently. Given that, I like the move to "franchise tag" Haynesworth and wait.

Training camp starts in about 10 days. Will be interesting to see how the offense develops under Mike Heimerdinger. Vince Young needs to step up and be the quarterback I know he can be.

Tenutacious D

The 2007 Irish defense finished 39th in the country in total defense, about 28th against the pass in the nation, and about 55th against the run. This was the best Irish defensive performance since 2003, sadly. The defense gave up fewer big plays that past years, and was generally better than 2006 team, which gave up 40 points 3 times, including a 38 point performance by North Carolina (pre-Butch Davis). Only two teams scored 40 points against the 2007 Irish, ironically both being service academies (Navy & Air Force - both with top 5 running games in the country last season).

Giving up 40 points is hardly the best measure of a defense. Rankings against the pass and against the run can also be misleading, especially when opposing offense preferred and were successful using one attack instead of the other. However, no matter which way you view the numbers, the 2007 defense was clearly improved under first year Defensive Coordinator, Corwin Brown. The 2007 Irish finished better significantly better against the pass, and about the same against the run, while giving up fewer points and fewer 40+ point games.

Now enter new co-Defensive Coordinator, Jon Tenuta. Tenuta had previously been Defensive Coordinator at Georgia Tech for the past 6 years. Much has been written about Tenuta, including a spring post on this blog. During his time in Atlanta, Tech's defense compiled some DECENT stats:

• Top 30 in the Nation in defense - yards allowed, defense - scoring, and sacks for the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons.


• 2007 Tech Defense led the nation in sacks, averaging 3.5 per game; in addition, the unit finished 4th in the nation in tackles for loss.

These accomplishments at Georgia Tech are extraordinary, given that theTech program did not have elite athletes like the surround SEC or ACC schools may have had. Certainly there was talent at Tech, but that talent is a rung below what the Irish have in the Sophomore and Freshman classes, as well as what's coming into the program.

As if Irish fans need anything else to fire them up, a few quotes from Tenuta surfaced at a charity golf event recently:

Such was the reaction when new Notre Dame assistant head coach for defense Jon
Tenuta told the crowd of local Irish-backers on Friday that, this fall, the
team will "blitz about 80 percent of the time."

(in reference to the '07 Tech defense's success)

"We did it with an attacking, ball-hawking defense that brings it all the
time," said Tenuta, who will share responsibilities with last year's
defensive coordinator, Corwin Brown, a fragile alliance in which who has the
final word is not clear.

"That's the same way we're going to play up here. It's not three
yards and a cloud of dust any more, it's all this spread stuff. We're going to
try and confuse the front five and never let the quarterback set his feet."

Hard not to get excited about that as the season rapidly approaches (6.5 weeks until first college games on August 30th, 7.5 weeks until Irish open against San Diego St on September 6th).

So remember, when at some point this fall or next fall, you begin to hear about the surge in talent at Notre Dame, don't forget the biggest "signing" we had all off-season - Jon Tenuta.

Jack the AD

Notre Dame is set to announce its new Athletic Director later this week, when its expected that 1976 ND Alum John "Jack" Swarbrick will be the man. You can read a nice piece in the Chicago Tribune about Jack, and another piece here on Irish Eyes, both of which gets into a bit of his background. Essentially Jack is a lawyer with a major law firm in Indianapolis, IN, born in Bloomington, Indiana, who has been working in sports in some capacity for 25 years. He graduated from Stanford Law School in 1980, and he's largely responsible for bringing the Super Bowl and other sport events to Indiana.

The Pope will break it down for you with a quick list of his pro's and con's for this hiring:

Pros

• He graduated from ND - this cannot be understated. Weis was an ND grad, as many of us just feel safer with the program or department in the hands of an alum. Instantly most alumni will have a connection with Jack that we did not have with Kevin White.


• He's a smart guy - Stanford Law, on top of the ND degree. Not bad


• Been around sports - Successfully brought the Super Bowl to Indianapolis, has been chairman of the Indiana Sports Corporation, and also represented various parts of US Olympic teams like Gymnastics and US Rowing.


• He's been a finalist for a few Athletic positions - he was a finalist to be chairman of the NCAA back in 2002, losing to Miles Brand, who sucks. His familiarity with the NCAA will certainly be a huge benefit that most other candidates wouldn't have. He was also runner up to be Commissioner of the Big 12. Obviously this guy wants to get into sports administration/leadership.

Cons

• He has never been an Atheltic director - huge hole on his resume. Most ADs at Notre Dame had been ADs at a few stops before ND, just like Kevin White. No substitute for direct experience.


• No direct football experience - He has advised sports programs legally, and organized Indiana to be the host for Olympic qualifying events, the Super Bowl, etc. But at Notre Dame, managing the Football program is the real job of the AD, and he has little direct football experience dealing with the huge issues facing Notre Dame football: scheduling, BCS/Conference affiliation, and coaching.


• He's been a finalist for a few Athletic positions . . . but has never been hired.

My gut is that this is a good hire. Jack has been successful in the business world, not in the world of college athletic administration. Being an AD is just like promoting a product, protecting a client, or being a CEO. And too often the Academic type don't get the "big picture" when making decisions, which a CEO or a high ranking executive has been trained to do. I think based on the limited amount of information I've read about Jack, that he's our guy.

Will be interesting to see the press conference, likely later this week.

Grizz Summer Improvement

A hot stove" of Grizzlies activity over the past couple of weeks:

• Grizz hire Kevin O'Neil as defensive expert/assistant coach



• Grizz officially sign Marc Gasol from Spain



• Arthur and Mayo make summer league debut

Kevin O'Neil is known as a defensive specialist, and his hiring is a welcome one. Experience on both the college and pro level will give him a better chance than most at fixing the biggest problem the Grizz have - defense. Hard to measure the impact of an assistant coach. Boston hired Tom Thibodeau, a defensive specialist, before this past season, and we all saw what happened there - the best defensive team in the league, and a NBA Championship. Certainly the big acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were the most important ingredient, but defensive coaches can bring an attitude and a commitment to the defensive end that the Grizz sorely lack. Lets hope the former coach that appeared in "Hoop Dreams" can do the same with the Grizz.

Marc Gasol is an exciting signing for the Grizz, but certainly one that most fans will not blink twice at. I've covered Gasol quite a bit, and made no qualms about my thoughts - Gasol will be more liked and better for the Grizz than his brother. That doesn't mean he will be an all star, but he will be a better fit, being younger, tougher, and bigger than his older brother. Gasol is a big center that is a much more natural center than his "softer" brother Pau who is more of a forward without power. Marc can bang, get tougher points and rebounds, and play some defense. He doesn't have the shooting or post skills of Pau, but he will develop and certainly be more palpable to Grizz fans.

At the end of the day, OJ Mayo and Darrell Arthur will need to be the sparkplugs to get this city back to the FedEx Forum. They perform well, the Grizz are in pretty solid shape. They bust, the Grizz are in trouble. Mayo has already brought excitement to the city, as he is having a great summer league week (scored 26 points last night, including a 69 foot buzzer shot!). That said, I think Arthur is the key. Mayo is money in the bank to be a productive NBA player. If Arthur can turn himself into a fundamentally sound starter that can give us rebounding and athleticism at the PF position, then this past draft would be considered an enormous success. There have been numerous comparisons between Arthur and New Orleans' David West - if those hold true, the Grizzlies are going to be darn good in 2 or 3 years.

With the signing of Marc Gasol, plenty of cap space, and rookies Mayo and Arthur, things are looking up for the Grizz. Interesting article here on Sporting News. The writer mostly makes fun of the Grizz, just like all the other national media looking for a story in July, the sahara of the sports writing calendar. But I enjoy how he leaves room at the end of the article for the Grizz to "surprise" him. I really do think a lot of the pundits out there are starting to realize that the Grizz are getting younger, gaining assets, and preparing for a surge in a few years.

Most still laugh at the Pau trade, but lets recap the Pau trade, yet again: The Grizz received cap space, Marc Gasol, Javaris Crittenton, Darrell Arthur, and a 1st Round pick in 2008 for Pau Gasol. As I've said over and over, lets wait for 2-3 more years before judging who got the better of whom in the Pau Gasol trade with LA.

Busy week of posts coming . . .

Been a long last week for the Pope. Even the Vatican is on a fiscal calendar and has to make quarterly reports/adjustments etc. There are tons of great topics out there including updates on the ND Athletic Director search, ND football player and recruiting news, the Cardinals at the All-Star break, and the beginning of the OJ Mayo era for the Memphis Grizzlies. Plenty coming your way, sorry for the outage last week.

Happy July 4th - Go Cards!

Big weekend for America and Baseball, particularly for the Cardinals and Cubs. The midwestern rivals are 1-2 atop the NL Central, and meet in a 3 game series at Busch Stadium this weekend. Here is a quick preview of the games, with the Cards pitcher first:

• Friday - Looper (9-5) vs Zambrano (8-3)


• Saturday (on Fox) - Lohse (10-2) vs Lilly (9-5)


• Sunday - Wellemeyer (7-3) vs Marshall (0-2)

Zambrano is making his first start since missing a few starts due to a slight injury. The Cardinals are set up pretty well with their best 3 pitchers right now, throwing in the series. Would be nice if we had Wainwright, Carpenter, Clement, or a few of the other pitchers that are stashed away on our DL. But I like our chances. The walk-off HR by Troy Glaus last night was very exciting, good for momentum heading into a big weekend series at home. Should be a lot of fans there also given the holiday weekend.

These games are important, for a few reasons:

1. Cards are 2.5 games back of the Cubs; the winner of the series gains serious momentum heading into the 2nd half of the season


2. The Cards have not yet played at Wrigley this season - there will be 6 games at Wrigley in August and September, while only 3 more after this series at Busch [interesting note: the Cards and Cubs play 15 times this season total - 9 at Busch, 6 in Chicago - that's the definition of the "unbalanced schedule" that you hear about]


3. These games are always important - two midwestern teams with fans in very close proximity of each other. Very similar to the Red Sox and Yankees at least geographically, in that everyone in the entire region typically favors one team or the other.
   

If the Cards can get a sweep or even 2 out of 3, I think the Cardinals will show they are here to stay. If the Cubs dominate, the tone could be set for the second half. Hard to project so much in one series, but I'm a big believer in letting the first place team know that you are going to take their spot if they slip just a little bit. Have a great weekend.

LaRussa's Cardinals

My Cardinal posts have all had similar themes this season - blah blah blah, the overachieving Cardinals continue to win even though no one expects them to. Players you have never heard of are overachieving and together they are doing something special.

Well here is another post that falls right in line with the same message. Only thing is that lots of people - everyone really - is beginning to notice what Tony Larussa and the Cardinals are doing this season. Articles are pouring in all over the place, from ESPN to Sporting News to even the New York Times. Here are a few good ones:

• ESPN talks LaRussa and St Louis Cardinals Success - Very interesting article on the front page of ESPN.com this evening. Talks about how the Cards have not had an easy season - 2nd most appearances this season on the DL by any team, most blown saves of any team this season in all of baseball, and 74 different lineups through 82 games. Did you know LaRussa has been the Cardinals manager for 13 seasons? Pretty Cool.
• Sporting News piece focuses on LaRussa and Dave Duncan, long time pitching coach. What Duncan has done with a rotation of has-beens fully solidifies his place among the great pitching coaches of all time. As a former catcher, he has a great perspective on pitching that pushes pitchers to use their heads as much as their arms. Countless hours of studying hitters is a Duncan trademark.
  
• New York Times piece on Ryan Ludwick, journeyman outfielder having a breakout year for the Cardinals. Its good to see a 30 year old that has had 2800 at bats in the minor leagues "sticking" in the big leagues.
  

LaRussa is the real story here. With over 2400 wins as a Manager for the White Sox, A's, and Cardinals (1100 wins), he is 3rd place all time on the Managing win list. Third . . . of all time . . . trailing only Connie Mack and John McGraw. Ahead of Bobby Cox, Sparky Anderson, Joe Torre, and anyone other great managers you can think of. A lock for the Hall of Fame, and one of only two managers to win a World Series in both the AL and the NL (A's in 1989, Cardinals in 2006).

Coaching stability is too often taken for granted, especially by fans. LaRussa is the foundation that has allowed our team to be relevant and competitive for a long time, including a fantastic World Series Championship in 2006. He has gotten plenty of credit through the years, but with his best managing job possibility occurring this season, its time he gets his full due. Kudos Tony. Ok love fest is over . . . Cubs are coming to town in t-minus 45 hours . . .

Grizz Taking Form

After the draft, the Grizz now have a bit more clarity as to our starting lineup. Lets dive right in and look at our likely 2 deep lineup, as of now, given a few assumptions. Juan Carlos Navarro is gone, signing with a Spanish team for $20M guaranteed, a huge pay increase from what he could get in the NBA. It also appears that Marc Gasol (pictured)will officially sign a deal. Another assumption is that newly acquired player Antoine Walker will be bought out or traded in the coming weeks.

So given all of that, I believe this is our best starting 5 (backup):

• PG - Mike Conley (Javaris Crittenton/Kyle Lowry)



• SG - OJ Mayo (Marko Jaric)



• SF - Rudy Gay (Greg Buckner)



• PF - Darrell Arthur (Hakim Warrick)



• C - Darko Milicic (Marc Gasol)

Looking at this lineup, you can then see where we have holes (Power Forward) and where we have excess (Point Guard). I will be surprised if Kyle Lowery, Crittenton, and Mike Conley are all still on the opening night roster. I will also be equally surprised if Arthur or Warrick are starting at power forward. Arthur is a rookie, and Warrick is just a backup. Neither is a huge guy that can bang with bigger PFs. Arthur certainly has some promise, but definitely not a lock to be a starter quality guy.

How can we address the two issues - excess at PG, lack of true PF? There are really 3 choices:

1. Trade Lowry/Crittenton for another "asset" - The Boston Celtics went from last to NBA Champions, because they gathered enough young assets to make a few trades. Giving up 4 young players with promise, and a few draft picks, netted them Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Lowry, Crittenton, and Warrick are players with a few years experience that are young and can be very capable backups for a lot of teams. Trading a combination of these guys for a veteran power forward that can defend would be a fantastic get.



2. Sign some free agents - Signing free agents doesn't necessarily mean signing a top guy. We could sign one big name, or 2 to 3 smaller names for the same $$. I think its going to be costly and expensive to get any free agent to Memphis, so how much value we get by trying to sign a big time guy is questionable. Here are a few big time guys that I would love us to go after, but certainly are not likely: Elton Brand, Emeka Okafor, Josh Smith. Of all of those, I think Okafur would be my dream sign. He scores a bit (17ppg) rebounds a lot (11.8 boards) and plays awesome defense (2 blocks per game). He is a restricted free agent with Charlotte, meaning that they can (and likely will) match whatever offer he gets from another team. This would instantly give us a top 5 front court with Gasol, Darko, Okafor, Arthur, and Warrick.



3. Do nothing but let the youth play - Letting Lowry, Crittenton, and Warrick play will help them approve, or "appreciate" as assets. We likely won't be a playoff team next year, so this would just improve their values and make them possibly more attractive and able to fetch more on the trade market. However, getting Conley, Arthur, and Mayo playing time will be much more important, so I really think we need to do a combination of #1 and #2, at least with regard to one of the point guards.

I wish I could suggest some lesser priced veteran Power Forwards that we could sign. This is where the research of Chris Wallace and team comes in. Someone that is a tad bit younger but like a Kurt Thomas or PJ Brown, both power forwards known for defense, would be a fantastic get for the Grizzlies. If Arthur pans out, that would be the most ideal and cheap way to address our PF issues.

There is definitely excitement in Memphis for the first time in a long time. Ticket sales are doing well, even though most of them appear to be season ticket renewals. The fact that most of the ticket holders are renewing their season tickets is huge, because the Grizzlies were expecting a significant drop off after the Draft lottery put the Grizz picking at #5.

This excitement is somewhat artificial - it must be validated on the court this fall. If people see a young team that is exciting and improving, they will come win or lose. Winning must happen at some point for the fans to stay. But an exciting and competitive brand of basketball would be a huge step forward. Fans aren't stupid, as they know we need to take small steps before the giant leap of making the playoffs. I think the fans will respond positively if this team shows progress and promise, even if they still lose a lot. This fall, I guess we'll find out.