"The Stack" 3-6-17
Washington wide receiver John Ross was fleet of foot Saturday breaking the NFL Combine 40-yard dash record with a time of 4.22 seconds.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The Stack is back on this Monday with not a whole lot to talk about from the weekend, but we did find a couple headlines of interest plus more college basketball talk since you know it is March and the madness is already beginning so let’s get right to it and see what’s in “the stack” for today, Monday, March 6th:
John Ross sets record time in 40-yard dash
The NFL Combine is wrapping up in Indianapolis and there were a couple of notable headlines over the weekend, one good and one bad. We start with the good first and that was Washington wide receiver John Ross who broke Chris Johnson’s NFL Combine 40-yard dash record of 4.24 seconds with a time of 4.22. Scouts couldn’t believe it. Social media was going nuts. And Adidas won’t be giving Ross an island since he didn’t wear the Adidas shoes that were listed in the fine print of the contest. Adidas should still have to give Ross something. Come on Adidas, be better than that. Ross was already considered a pretty solid draft prospect with a second round or maybe late first potential. He has definitely increased his draft stock now. He’s not just a guy that can fly down the field either. He has a lot of the tools that you need according to draft analysts that will make him a good wide receiver in the NFL. Excellent job there by John Ross.
The bad from the NFL Combine was Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster being sent home late Friday night after a bit of a heated exchange with a hospital worker. Foster had been waiting a while, longer than he should have, and got in an altercation with a hospital worker who reacted the way they should not have with Foster just being impatient with how long the process was taking. Foster is still going to be a first round pick. PFT (that’s Pro Football Talk to those that didn’t know) speculate that maybe this was an attempt to get under Foster’s skin. It certainly could. The questions that teams ask these prospects in interviews at the NFL Combine is ridiculous and that is certainly an attempt to see how they will react. Foster didn’t respond the greatest, but if he was egged on you can certainly understand the reaction. Foster will be just fine. He has sent a letter to teams apologizing and will get a chance to talk with teams at Alabama’s pro day. There should be no worries about what happened.
Finally, Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett pretty much solidified his draft selection as number one overall with his performance in the 40-yard dash on Sunday. His time was 4.64. He did just fine in the other drills and bench pressing was impressive too. The Cleveland Browns should take him number one overall, because no quarterback deserves to go number one overall this year and yes, he has apologized for the video in which he joked he wanted the Dallas Cowboys to trade up and draft him number one overall. He will play in Cleveland if drafted.
Miscellaneous items
The Golden State Warriors avoided losing their third straight game for what would have been the first time in some three or four years with a 112-105 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday. Draymond Green opened his mouth to say that the first half of the game by the Knicks was pathetic. Thanks for your opinion Draymond.
There were a couple of exciting finishes to NBA games on Sunday. The Utah Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings 110-109 on a tip-in with no time remaining and the Phoenix Suns staged a ridiculous late second rally scoring five points to beat the Boston Celtics 109-106. When Isaiah Thomas had the ball dribble off of his leg, the Suns scooped it up and drained the game-winning three.
In baseball news as the World Baseball Classic starts up and Spring Training is well underway for all 30 teams, the Boston Red Sox and pitcher David Price are relieved to know that the ace will not have to undergo Tommy John surgery on his sore elbow. He will just need some time to rest. It wouldn’t have been a death punch to the Red Sox’s season by any means, but it would have been a big blow.
MEAC tournament preview
The MEAC tournament tips off today from Norfolk, Virginia, and this could be a slightly intriguing tournament. North Carolina Central is the top seed, but they just lost to the worst team in the conference in North Carolina A&T in the regular season finale, so how much confidence should you really have in them? Morgan State may be a team to watch. The dark horse is Maryland-Eastern Shore, but I guess at this point you have to go with NC Central right? Be prepared for an upset or two perhaps.
Predicted winner: North Carolina Central
Colonial Athletic Association conference championship game
#2 Charleston vs. #1 UNC Wilmington 7 PM ET CBSSN
The top two seeds meet in the CAA championship. UNC Wilmington scores a ton of points. It is difficult to keep up with them. Barring a major collapse (and we’ve certainly seen that from other teams in conference tournaments so far this year) and Wilmington not being able to score, they should win this game fairly convincingly and start dancing.
Pick: UNC Wilmington
Southern Conference championship game
#3 ETSU vs. #1 UNC-Greensboro 7 PM ET ESPN2
UNC-Greensboro is the favorite and rightfully so. They have had a very good year. I picked Eastern Tennessee State at the beginning of this tournament so I have to pick them right? Can’t change now. If only Chattanooga had lived up to expectations. Should be a very good game. If ETSU wins, it will be an upset.
Pick: ETSU
MAAC championship game
#4 Siena vs. #3 Iona 9 PM ET ESPN2
What happened Sunday night in Albany? Siena goes off for 64 points in the second half to upset Monmouth and then Iona takes down the two seed St. Peters? Once again, Monmouth disappoints me and a lot of other people. Didn’t see that one coming and certainly didn’t see this matchup coming. Iona made it last year. They’ll make it again this year.
Pick: Iona
Coming up Tuesday: Conference tournament previews, picks and other top headlines in sports
