Duron Carter Update

Duron Carter is one of the hottest new names at the Capstone. Since his arrival in April, Carter has made the classic name, JULIO, somewhat disappear. As many fans are aware, Duron is the son of Minnesota Viking and former Buckeye Cris Carter. Carter signed with Ohio State in the spring of 2009 and played as a true freshmen for former head coach, Jim Tressel. Duron enjoyed himself a little too much in Columbus and struggled with his academic studies. Cris Carter made his son withdraw from Ohio State and decided to enroll at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Coffeyville has had many marquee players like Brandon Jacobs, Ryan Lilja, and Leonard Little. Carter impressed the skeptics and was drawing interest form teams like Miami, Florida, LSU, and most notably Alabama. Carter signed with Alabama in April and is expected to use his 6'5 210 lb frame in a big way. Carter along with Marquise Maze, Darius Hanks, Michael Williams, and Trent Richardson present a dynamic offense for Offensive Coordinator, Jim McElwain. The only issue now is that he has not been cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse. Crimson Tide fans know about the recent issue with this, because of Alfy Hill. Hill signed with Alabama in 2009 and was a four star linebacker according to Rivals.com. The clearinghouse out of nowhere declared him ineligible last August. Needless to say, it was a big blow at the time. Luckily, Carter has been cleared to play, but can not take summer classes this fall due to transferring issues with Coffeyville and Alabama. Carter should help AJ McCarron or Phillip Sims in a big way this fall. My stat forecast for Duron this fall: 51 receptions, 709 yards, 6 TDs.

Dee Hart Freshmen debut on hold, Dustin Ackley: The ROTO Monster, Fantasy Baseball Mid-way rankings (Starting Pitcher to Right Field)

The highly touted running back, Dee Hart, signed with Alabama over the likes of Michigan and Auburn last December. Dee has been in the rotation with Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy at the three spot under the depth chart, but Hart has believed to suffer a small tear of his ACL. Yikes! This is a huge blow to a contending team this fall like the Crimson Tide. The only good of this is that Hart whether he wants to or not will redshirt in 2011 and Alabama get a chance to know Sophmore Jalston Folwer. Fowler is just a little guy at 6'1 and 240 pounds. Jalston averaged eight yards a carry for the Tide in 2010 and will be a great goaline back to pound and work his way past the line of scrimmage. It is always to hear about future stars getting hurt like this, but lets hope this is not a Marcus Dupree type injury or Dupree like laziness. I doubt that for sure in Dee.

Dustin Ackley is spinning heads in Seattle and also the Southeast area, because of his alma mater, the North Carolina Tarheels. Ackley was the second overall pick by the Mariners in 2009 and was labeled a defensive project, because the kid was so talented he could play first base, centerfield, or his current position second base. Here is the first video from my blog so I hope it works, here is Dustin's first plate appearance in Safeco Field. He was the twelfth best prospect and number one prospect for the Mariners' farm system according to Baseball America. Through 15 games since his promotion from triple A Tacoma, Ackley is hitting with a .300 AVG, 15 hits, 3 home runs, 8 runs batted in, and 2 stolen bases. Are you kidding me? Seriously! This two week span by Ackley are numbers Ryan Braun would put up, and he is an All-Star left fielder. Ackley has a chance to be a great hitter like Joe Mauer, Dustin Pedroria, and Andre Ethier. Dustin is here to stay and could be one of the greatest second baseman of this era. 

Alright fantasy sports nerds! This is your time to listen right now. We are nearing the All-Star break and I wanted to breakdown the top surprises, top misses, and rankings for the 2011 season. Lets start with the big surprise players. Curtis Granderson has be on top of many lists. I am not going to share his stats again, but Curtis is nearing a 40/20 season this year. Granderson was drafted in the 8th-9th rd and has excellent keeper value. Adam Lind is finally playing like he did in 2009, even though he is battling injuries again. Justin Verlander is proving everybody that he is a future AL Cy Young winner in Detroit. The misses for 2011 can be decided by many people but I will mention 3 lames in this entry. His name must not be Dan Uggla, because this guy can not hit a beach ball to save his life. The home runs will come as usual but the average could be a career worse. Alex Rios and Vernon Wells have been disaster signings after finally both leaving Toronto. Rios is now with the Chicago White Sox and is barely hitting over Mendoza line at centerfield. Vernon Wells is getting paid 28 million clams to be on the DL and hit under .200. These guys are great ballplayers and they will get it together, try a trade for a huge profit without giving up too much. 

2011 Rankings:
SP    RP  C   1B   2B    SS    3B     LF     CF       RF         
Verlander  Storen    McCann   Fielder     Cano      Reyes      A-ROD       Braun       Kemp         Bautista  
Halladay   Bell        Martinez    Gonzales Weeks   Cabrera   Beltre        Gonzales Granderson  Berkman

Lee           Rivera    Avila          Teixiera Pedroria  Rollins    Prado        Holliday   McCutchen  J Upton    

Hamels    Putz        Mauer        Konerko Phillips Tulowitski Gordon     Hamilton  Ellsbury      Ethier 

Weaver   Venters   Santana     Howard   Ackley  Andrus      Peralta     Beltran      Victorino    Cruz 

Oregon becoming the new USC, Oklahoma preview podcast, Gamebreakers, Bringing back Locks of the Day

If you ask a hardcore college football fan who are the best programs in the sport all-time, I doubt they would mention the University of Oregon Ducks. While Eugene, Oregon has not been a prominent blue blood, they have been a recent success under Head Coach Chip Kelly. Kelly was one of the first head coach in waiting hires in NCAA history. He has not disappointed since replacing Mike Belloti who took the Athletic Director position with the same school in 2009. Recently, Oregon has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons and are hearing rumors of potential probation. Willie Lyles is the connection to the story and it is not dying anytime soon. Lyles is the director of a scouting service based out of Houston, Texas. Oregon has been dominating the state since 2008 with the signings of Darron Thomas, Lache Seatrunk, and most noteworthy LaMichael James. The reason why there is an issue with the scouting of Lyles is because of a payment of $25,000 to him from Coach Kelly. NCAA compliance is investigating the situation in Eugene, but who knows how the punishment will go down with the Ohio State travesty going on in Columbus.

The Oklahoma Sooners are Las Vegas favorites to the win it all in 2012. I do not blame Vegas whatsoever, Bob Stoops' quad is a scary bunch this year. Led by quarterback Laundry Jones and explosive wide receiver Ryan Broyles, the Sooners are expected to put up huge numbers and play lock down defense as well. Jones will be a Heisman candidate after a strong 2010 season where he passed for over 4,500 yards and 38 passing touchdowns (that is not a misprint). Sadly, this spring, senior linebacker Austin Box passed away at the young age of twenty two. This could give them an added emotional edge this year, which they do not need for the sake of the other Big Twelve teams like Texas and Oklahoma State. Arky and myself will be previewing the Sooners on Wednesday and look out for some interesting commentary as always.

I was at Books-A-Million and saw a book by a familiar author I recognized immediately. The publication was titled Game Changers: The Greatest Plays In Alabama Football History by Kirk McNair. I asked myself, Kirk McNair? Wait! That is the head writer of Bama Mag. His publications of Alabama football have been appealing to Crimson Tide fans since 1990. The book highlights plays from Shaun Alexander's huge game against Florida at The Swamp in 1999, the Julio Jones 70 yard bubble screen against LSU in 2009, and the Van Tiffin game winning kick versus Auburn in 1985. If you are a die hard Alabama fan, I strongly recommend the book and you will not be upset with the purchase. You can get it at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Books-A-Million.

Locks/Picks of the Day:
Rays (Davis) vs Twins (Liriano) Over 8 runs
Diamondbacks (Collmenter) vs Brewers (Gallardo) Brewers

Mariners (Vargas) vs A's (Moscoso) Over 6.5 runs

Bryce Harper, Heavyweight snooze fest, Auburn podcast, Fourth of July

Bryce Harper is considered by many baseball experts to be the top prospect of the sport. Harper just got promoted to double A Harrisburg Senators. He has been raking in his first full year of minor league baseball (.318 AVG 14 HRs 46 RBIs 19 SBs). Bryce has made a great transition to right field and has played twenty games at centerfield as well. He was a catcher at Las Vegas high school, but the Nationals wanted to preserve his knees and keep his bat, so they decided to put him in the outfield. He has excelled so far and the Alex Rodriguez comparisons are looking okay as of right now, but lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

The heavyweight division has been dormant since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003 after his fight with Vitali Klitschko ended with a TKO due to a cut. No one has stepped up to the plate since then. Vitali Klitschko and his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko have been the most successful, but they refuse to fight each other. Wladimir Klitschko signed to fight upcoming British boxer, David Haye. Last night many boxing fans expected an entertaining brawl between two knockout specialists. Sadly, the fight ended in decision in Klitschko's favor and it was dreadful to watch.  Also, there is not a American title holder in the divsion either. Boxing needs a strong heavyweight fighter, preferably an American fighter to bring excitement back into the sport. Until then, watch guys like Manny Pacquiao, because they're not any quality heavyweight fighters right now.

This summer I have agreed to preview football teams like South Carolina with Arky Shea. We will be talking about the Auburn Tigers on July 15th. The defending national champions have a lot to replace including Heisman trophy winner, Cam Newton and Nick Fairley. The tigers have eight starters returning on both sides of the ball, but have a top five recruiting class that will get the opportunity to play as true freshmen. Barrett Trotter looks like the early favorite to replace Newton, but do not count out incoming freshmen Kiehl Frazier. Look out for the podcast in the next week.

Most importantly, today is the 235th birthday of the creation of the declaration of independence, better known as Independence Day. Most Americans celebrate this holiday and call it The Fourth of July. Americans should enjoy this great day with your family, shoot some fireworks, drink some adult beverages, and grill some quality meat. If you have a close friend that is in the military, make sure you let them know how much you are grateful of them for protecting our great nation. I hope everyone has had a safe long weekend and you will hear from me soon, god bless America.

The not so hopeless Los Angeles Dodgers, UFC 132 Cruz vs Faber 2, NFL lockout continues, Hardly Locks of the Day

 The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most celebrated baseball franchises in the history of the MLB. Like most people know, the Dodgers were first established in Brooklyn and were huge rivals with the Yankees. In 1958, the Dodgers moved to sunny Chavez Ravine Stadium. They have a rich history of players and championships. I could go all day talking about the all-time greats to wear a dodger jersey, but I will save you the time. Right now, Los Angeles is in a lot of turmoil due to a messy and costly divorce by Frank and Jamie McCourt. Frank McCourt lost huge revenues from it and is now claiming bankruptcy. If the Dodgers were a small market team with a low payroll this would be a disaster. Los Angeles has the eleventh highest payroll at 103,000,000 and potential new owners like Mark Cuban and Richard Branson could be the new owners in the next fiscal year. The Dodgers should not do a fire sale of players like Matt Kemp (.330 AVG 22 HRs 64 RBIs 22 SBs), Andre Ethier (.320 AVG 7 HRs 41 RBIs), and there ace Clayton Kershaw (8-3 .293 ERA 128 Ks 1.03 WHIP). I doubt the Dodgers make the postseason this year, but look out for them in 2012 and definitely 2013 as World Series contenders.

Normally I would never write about Mixed Martial Arts, but UFC 132 is a stacked night of hopeful beat downs. UFC legend, Tito Ortiz, is looking for a big win against light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader. Bader is a beast, there is no other way to put it. He recently lost to Jon "Bones" Jones. Jones is now the light heavyweight champ and will be fighting Rampage Jackson on September 24th. One of the most feared middleweights, Wanderlei Silva, will be fighting Ultimate Fighter alum Chris Leben. This fight between two heavy handed strikers should not go the distance. All these fights are good enough to sell for a co-headliner, but Dana White likes to give the people a show they rightfully deserve, especially to celebrate the fourth of July weekend. White has scheduled a rematch between Uriah Faber and UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. This fight will be a five round championship match and fans should expect fireworks. I strongly suggest that you go to your local "watering hole" watch these fights. You should not be disappointed.

The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, is optimistic about a potential agreement to get the 2011 season underway. I know the southeast in particular is so ready for some pro football. We have great teams like the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, and others that want to unseat the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. The first weekend is set for September 8th when the 2010 Super Bowl Champions, the New Orleans Saints head to Lambeau Field to play the reigning world champs. Hopefully, we will have football by the time August rolls around. We can only pray, because the NFL will have a massive financial loss.

The Not so much lately..... Locks of the Day:
Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye-Klitschko by 10th rd knockout
Tito Ortiz vs Ryan Bader- Bader by KO in the 2nd rd
Chris Leben vs Wanderlei Silva- Silva by KO in the 1st rd

Surging New York Yankees, Baseball prospecting, Podcasts, and Locks of the day

The New York Yankees whether you want to admit or not, are the face of Major League Baseball. They are winners, they are the most hated, and they have the biggest payroll to sign guys like Curtis Granderson and Mark Texiera. Well, many writers, bloggers, and sport personalties believed the Yankees were not a AL East betting favorite or even a wild card team. Much to the dismay of countless opinion makers, the Yankees are on a mean streak right now. The reason why critics thought they were going to struggle in 2011 is because of there lack of starting pitcher. New York signed veteran arms like Freddy Garcia and the always out of shape Bartolo Colon. Needless to say, Garcia and Colon especially, are pitching like there old selves in the early 2000's. The Yankees are first in the east standings right now and look to be challenging the heavily favored Red Sox all season long.

Future baseball greats is very fun interest to examine for your baseball teams. Many guys like Ryan Braun, Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, and Eric Hosmer were playing ball in the minor leagues a few years ago. My great state of Alabama has some of the best prospects in baseball right now. The Southern League, a AA league for the MiLB, have four teams from Alabama: the Birmingham Barons, the Huntsville Stars, the Mobile Baybears, and the Montgomery Biscuits. Biscuits starting pitcher Matt Moore, has been dominating for the past two years in high A ball and this year in Montgomery. The lefty leads all minor league pitchers with 107 punch outs with only 82.2 innings pitch. Do not be surprised if he gets a September call-up by the Tampa Bay Rays. Former West Virginia Mountaineer, Tyler Kuhn is playing second base for the Birmingham Barons is leading the team in a big way. Kuhn is leading the Southern League with a .360 average. He has great speed and a little pop, but unless Gordon Beckham moves to third base again, the twenty-five year old Kuhn may not get a call up until 2012. Last but not least, the Arizona Diamondbacks surprising slugger is Paul Goldschmidt. The first baseman is hitting everything in Mobile for average and power to all fields. Goldschmidt has a .317 average, 89 hits, 60 runs, 25 home runs, and 74 runs batted in. Also, Paul is an imposing figure at 6'3 and 245 pounds and he will be called up after the All-Star break with no immediate block at first in Phoenix.

I am very excited to be podcasting again with my good friend Arky Shea. Arky and I went to the University of Montevallo together and we have been buds ever since. Anyways, we are talking about college football this summer and will be previewing each team's schedule, potential, and future endeavors. We just finished the South Carolina Gamecocks and will be talking about the reigning National Champions, the Auburn Tigers in two weeks. I will keep everybody in the know when the podcasts are up on Arky's website, outoftownscoreboard.com. Arky is on twitter and goes by the handle, ArkyShea, follow him now!

Locks of the Day:
Blue Jays (Romero) vs Phillies (Kendrick) -Blue Jays
Yankees (Nova) vs Mets (Niese) -Over 9 Runs
Cardinals (Westbrook) vs Rays (Davis) -Over 9 Runs

Welcome, The Mighty Cliff Lee, Recruiting, Locks of the Day

Hello! Welcome to Atrain Sports, I hope this can be a place for serious fans that can share their voice. My name is Alex Clark and I am a huge sports guy. I recently interned at a local sports radio station in Birmingham, Alabama. Needless to say, it has changed my life. I have always thought about doing a blog, but was honestly unsure, until now. This is my first post of hopefully many entertaining and thought provoking entries, lets get rolling with some baseball talk.

Cliff Lee is doing something this month that is down right filthy. Lee is 4-0 with 26 K's, a .76 WHIP,  and a .27 ERA. If you are a regular fantasy baseball manager, you quickly realize how ridiculous these stats are for the dominating lefty. While many braves fans are very irritated with Fredi Gonzales. Atlanta have been fairly interesting. The Braves are 7-2 in there last 9 games and have won these games with strong pitching. Tommy Hanson came off the Disabled List last night and threw 6 strong innings against Michael Pineda's Seattle Mariners.

You will quickly learn I am a huge advocate of college recruiting, especially football and occasionally basketball. Russell Wilson, former NC State quarterback, signed with Wisconsin over the Auburn Tigers. Wilson was a hot commodity after a decent 2010 season. Wilson threw for over 3500 yards with 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Locks of the Day:
Giants (Lincecum) vs Cubs (Dempster) -Giants
Dodgers (De La Rosa) vs Twins (Backer) Over 8 Runs
Braves (Lowe) vs Mariners (Hernandez) Over 6 Runs