TOO MUCH information!

Geez, far too much going on in our little world.

1) Hutch offer sheet to Vikes. HUGE contract, but the Hawks can match it and still get other things done. But hand it to Ruskell, they aren’t sitting still no matter what. John Abraham, Julian Peterson, Lawyer Milloy, Jamie Winborn, all in this week. Rocky brought back as well. They are suddenly focusing big on D, and that might be a sign that they are actually OK to let Hutch go and ruin Minnesota’s cap (top paid player on your team a guard?? Not good!).

Just think, if they pass on Hutch? They will be $24 MILLION under the cap! Use that room to bring in big-time defensive players to make your D even nastier, all for the most replaceable position on offense, a guard? IF they get deals done with, say, Abraham, Peterson and Milloy for letting Hutch go? While it’s not likely, it’s something to seriously consider, no??

And, further, how great IS Hutch? That question has to be raised, because let’s get real – playing next to Big Walt and Robbie Tobeck? That might make a lot of players pretty good. Chris Spencer is a big-time, nasty talent that has been talked about quite a bit sliding over to guard instead of center, and #1 draft picks don’t usually sit for more than 1 year, so he’s going to play next year, somewhere, guaranteed.

I’m not contending that many claim Hutch could be one of the greatest guards ever, but as Hugh Millen has said repeatedly, offensive guard is the easiest, least-demanding position on offense, hands down, no doubt about it. So you really have to think about that crazy contract.

Finally, what does it do to the morale of the team (namely Walt) if Hutch gets his huge contract, which is bigger that Hass, Alexander and the best player on the team, Walt?? Is that a good thing? Isn’t chemistry one of the greatest assets the team had last year, such a delicate thing in pro sports (read: 2004-2005 Sonics vs. 2005-2006 Sonics)? And what if Hutch just wants a change of venue, a new challenge in life? He’s from Florida, he played at Michigan, he has no real ties here. Maybe the Vikings are just where he wants to be, period? Lots to think about. At least it’ll be all decided on Sunday, one way or another.

MY gut says it’s probably 60-40 that they will MATCH. But my personal feeling? If you can nab top-flight players in their prime (Peterson and Abraham are both 27), do it, let Hutch walk, make Spencer the starting OG immediately and worry about center later (last check, Tobeck was in the pro bowl).

2) Keyshawn hypes up the Hawks – Key, released yesterday, told SI.com that Seattle is a dream scenario. His quote was something of the lines of “a dream having Hasselbeck hit me between the 1 and the 9.” But he also quoted about 5 other teams, but it was interesting that Seattle was first. Also, reportedly he has a good relationship with Ruskell, who was in Tampa when they traded for Keyshawn and of course, won a SB. We’ll see. Could be an excellent choice opposite D-Jax? He’s known as a great run-blocking WR, something that could only help the running game. Yes, he’s aging, but he did catch 79 balls last year. He’s got great hands and could be just huge in that offense.

3) Final Four – who ya got?? I went with the gut picks, as usual, for the office pool. I know I’ll take a bath, though, because I’m far too dumb in regards to the mid-majors, and I didn’t pick nearly enough major upsets, which we know are brewing. A few that I picked:
LSU over Duke in the sweet 16. Texas wins that region.
San Diego St over Indiana, UCLA wins that region.
Georgetown over OSU and into the great 8, loses to Nova as they win that region.
Wichita St over Tennessee, UConn wins that region.
Final game is Texas and UConn, with Jim Calhoun cutting down the nets.

On a local note, there is NO WAY UW gets by Illinois? Dee Brown vs. Justin Dentmon?? A true frosh PG vs. one of the best college guards in the millenium?? Uh, yeah, teams with frosh PG’s just don’t go deep in this tourney, end of story.

I’ve also got Gonzaga losing to UCLA in the sweet 16, but they might not even get there. Raivo is a serious liability, nowhere near as good as many thought he would be, and as good as Morrison is, he better be on fire. Because when he has an off night, they are worse than Duke when Redick can’t hit anything. They are in big-time trouble.

4) Adrian Beltre – While nobody continues to watch the WBC, there is one thing I’ve paid very close attention to more than anything else, and that’s Adrian Beltre. He is ON FRIGGIN’ FIRE right now. He started out going 5-for-10 with 4 HR’s, a 1700 slg %. WOW. He looks great, and as one blogger writes, he fully has his balance back. The mechanics of his swing are absolutely perfect. I won’t even recite the details, I couldn’t do it justice, but check it out:

http://detectovision.com/?p=527

He’s going to have a SCARY great year. .300, 40 HR, 110 RBI. And all the while, they’ll flirt with .500! 🙂