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Shanoff’s WUC: Bubble, Suh, Peppers, MJ, EA

Mar 2, 2010, 1:17 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Florida vs. the Bubble, ‘Eers vs. Hoyas, Ndamukong Suh vs. Gerald McCoy, Joe Haden vs. Tim Tebow, LeBron 23 vs. LeBron 6, Michael Jordan vs. Mark Cuban, Erin Andrews vs. Chad Ochocinco, Mark McGwire vs. Mark Twain and More.â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: I am so convinced that Erin Andrews is going to win “Dancing With The Stars” that it has inspired me to make other bold predictions this morning:â†µ

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â†µ• In 3 years, Ndamukong Suh will be starring in the NFL and Sam Bradford won't even be starting.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• If you take Georgetown OR West Virginia to the Final Four on your bracket, you will regret it in your office-pool standings.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• LeBron will sell more “No. 6” jerseys by the end of this year than he has sold “23” jerseys in the last 2 years.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• UConn women’s hoops will break the 100-games-in-a-row barrier.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Darren Sproles will instantly become the most popular player on the Redskins -- and Julius Peppers will be more valuable than Albert Haynesworth.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• The NHL will not see a post-Olympic bump in larger fan interest.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• At least one player today will notably not abide by the spirit of “National Sportsmanship Day.”â†µ

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â†µCBB Bubble Watch: After the deflating loss to Georgia, Florida needs a win over Vandy. ... The Big East Tourney can still impact things, but what's the chance that Louisville-Marquette is a de facto NCAA Tournament play-in game? ... Fagan has both Georgia Tech and Clemson as 8-seeds in his latest Field projection; how far would the loser of their game tonight drop?â†µ

â†µâ†µ’Eers top Hoyas: I really really want to be able to take G’town to the Final Four, but a result like last night will stick with me when I fill out my ballot. (Perhaps even inflating how far I take WVU?)â†µ

â†µâ†µUConn women win 69th in a row: Between the Big East and NCAA Tournaments, they will approach 80 straight by the time the season is over. Incredible.â†µ

â†µâ†µNFL Draft Combine: Ndamukong Suh > Gerald McCoy. I cannot believe that the Rams are even considering taking Sam Bradford ahead of Suh. The money quote from Suh: “I don’t have anything to hide.“ Can Bradford say the same thing? Hardly.â†µ

â†µâ†µToday: CBs, and Florida’s Joe Haden is the top prospect of the group. Wow, compare the reception that Haden gets -- near-universal approval as the best at his position, and potentially the best in his draft class -- to the skepticism toward Haden’s Gator teammate Tim Tebow.â†µ

â†µâ†µNFL Offseason: Julius Peppers to the Redskins? That seems like the kind of expensive splash that Dan Snyder likes to make. (I continue to wonder how he makes all these moves fit under the cap. That might be his greatest genius. Oh: And they’re going to pursue Darren Sproles, too, who would instantly be a Skins fan favorite.)â†µ

â†µâ†µMore: Thomas Jones is reportedly going to be cut by the Jets. Jones was a core of the Jets’ grind-it-out offense, but between his salary and the emergence of rookie Shonn Greene as worthy of being a “No. 1” RB, the team had to make the move.â†µ

â†µâ†µNHL: The big question is if the fervor over U.S. Olympic hockey boosts overall interest in the NHL. I’ll say no, because most fans treated this as Olympic hockey (as in “I only care once every 4 years) rather than hockey spectacle (as in “I care about the NHL”).â†µ

â†µâ†µNBA Talking Points: Michael Jordan is off to an inauspicious start as the new owner of the Bobcats -- or, if the team is going to retain the eponymous nickname, “MJ-Cats.” He lost a pre-game duel in H-O-R-S-E to Gerald Henderson, then his team was beat by the surging Mavs.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(I can relate to MJ: While in Atlanta, I was challenged by longtime reader and Atlanta prep hoops standout Gary Knopf to H-O-R-S-E. Despite putting Knopf in an early “H-O”-l-e, he surged back to win. I folded after missing what would have been a game-clinching shot: a “Phil-from-‘Modern-Family’”-like layup over my 3-year-old son.)â†µ

â†µâ†µLeBron is switching to No. 6: It will instantly be the biggest-selling jersey in the NBA ... regardless of what team’s logo is on the front. Extra credit for the blogger who can create mock-ups of a “6” jersey for the Knicks (and Heat!)â†µ

â†µâ†µBy the way: The Cavs should totally sell No. 6 “James” jerseys. And if the league won’t let them, the Cavs should look the other way as clever entrepreneurs in Cleveland sell them outside the stadium.â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Spring Training: Keep up with SN’s team-by-team previews. The latest: The Twins, whose fans are probably more concerned with how their team looks next spring than this spring. (Obligatory “Will Joe Mauer stay?” story line. They should ask Cavs fans how that feels.)â†µ

â†µâ†µPED Watch: Does the fact that A-Rod wouldn’t deny knowing or working with Dr. Anthony Galea mean that he did? And what will he tell the Feds? And how soon will that be leaked?â†µ

â†µâ†µHappy National Sportsmanship Day: Let’s see how many pro and college athletes can keep that in mind. (Needless to say, when I competed in H-O-R-S-E, I was not a good sport.)â†µ

â†µâ†µMcGwire Scandal, Cont’d: “Mark McGwire Highway” is about to be “Mark Twain Highway.” But what happens when we find out that Samuel Clemens used PEDs?â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: Erin Andrews will definitely win “Dancing With the Stars” this season. (Chad Ochocinco will be entertaining -- and might even crack the Top 3, because football players tend to do really well -- but doesn’t have the appeal outside of football fans to top EA.)â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff.â†µ

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