By Donal (Sports Editor)

Gilbert Arenas will be one of the biggest names available in the NBAs 2008 free agent market but the Wizards want to keep him.

Wizards President Eddie Grunfeld stated summer priorities are to retain Agent Zero and Antwawn Jamison who would appear to be a package deal following Arena’s statement on his blog that he won’t return unless Jamison is re-signed.

On the face of it, the Wizards priorities would appear to make sense. They want to keep intact the trifecta of Arenas, Jamison and Butler who have led them to three successive playoff appearances and keep fans in seats at the Verizon Center.

But it must also be remembered that this “big three” has failed to progress the Wizards past the first round of the playoffs. They have twice been conquered by Lebron James and they certainly don’t match the luster of Boston’s big three or Detroit’s biggish four or five.

Is the status quo really worth maintaining when its good but not great?

Will the Washington Wizards re-sign Gilbert Arenas?

Popularity: 6% [?]

By Donal (Sports Editor)

Tomorrow at approximately 3:10pm eastern, a red(ish) haired man in a suit will walk up to a podium and call out a football team and a persons name. Ten minutes later, he will do the same thing. Ten minutes after that, the same again….and so on and on throughout the evening.

I can barely contain my excitement. Seriously

The 2008 NFL draft looks like it could be one of the most unpredictable drafts in years. All we know for certain is that Bill Parcells did not take my advice. Beyond that, its anyones guess. Or given that this is Hubdub, anyones prediction.

Now, I may have pretty funky hair, but I’m no Mel Kiper. So instead of embarrassing myself by offering up my own predictions, I’m going take a look at some of the more interesting NFL Draft questions in play right now on Hubdub and what Hubdubbers are predicting.

St Louis Rams on the clock.
The uncertainty begins with St Louis whose selection will have a big impact on how the rest of the top ten picks unfold. It looks like Glenn Dorsey versus Chris Long with Hubdubbers split on who the Rams will pick.

If the Rams select Glenn Dorsey, they could also be sending Matt Ryan to Atlanta and Chris Long out of the top five. Opting for Chris Long would probably result in Dorsey going to Atlanta and things getting rather interesting and uncertain for Matt Ryan.

Who will the St. Louis Rams choose as their first draft choice of 2008?

The other Long.
Howie’s boy was once thought of as a potential first overall pick. With that honor (or curse) now bestowed upon the other Long, there is a chance that Chris Long may not even be drafted in the top 5 if both St Louis and Atlanta pass on him. Hubdubbers however seem confident (overly confident if you ask me)that the Virginia DE will be spared that indignation.

NFL - Will Chris Long be drafted in the top five (5) of the NFL draft in 2008?

Darren McFadden
Darren McFadden is probably the most interesting player at the top of the draft for a number of reasons.

For many, he is the most talented player in the 2008 class, but he plays in a position where year on year, better value is found in later rounds. Add to that the alleged character issues and the fact that many mock drafts and Hubdub users are predicting that he will be selected by Oakland, who are stacked at running back; and you have a pretty intriguing draft story-line.

What team will pick Darren McFadden?

Quarterbacks, Quarterbacks, Quarterbacks!!
Increasingly Quarterbacks are what the NFL is all about. After Steve McNairs retirement, my beloved Ravens are in need of a QB (when aren’t they?), but Hubdubbers are predicting (marginally, I might add) that they won’t draft one in the first round.

Will the Baltimore Ravens draft a Quarterback in the first round of the 2008 draft?

It all begins with Matt Ryan whose future looks very much up in the air. Atlanta is the destination favored on Hubdub. But Hubdubbers could be wrong on two counts if Ryan were to be drafted by the Ravens (a prospect I would have very mixed feelings about)

Which team will draft Matt Ryan?

But Matt Ryan may not be the only QB drafted in round one. This years late first or early second round QB pool is quite crowded and there may well be some jostling for position amongst the teams that passed on Ryan, to pick up one of Misters Brohm, Flacco or Henne.

Who will be the second Quarterback selected in the NFL Draft?

How many quarterbacks will be picked in the first round of the NFL draft this weekend?

Some other Questions
For good measure….

Will Miami’s Jason Taylor be traded before this weekend’s NFL draft?

Will Vernon Gholston be a top-5 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft?

Which of the players invited to attend the NFL Draft will be last to be selected?

What kind of player will the Washington Redskins draft with their first pick in the first round of this year’s NFL draft?

There isn’ t much time left, so get on Hubdub (join if necessary), make your predictions and try and prove yourself to be the next Mel Kiper (funky hair or not).

Popularity: 17% [?]

By Donal (Sports Editor)

Whenever there isn’t a consensus choice for the MVP award in a major American sport, much contemplation ensues over what exactly the title “Most Valuable” means and how it should be bestowed. With the NBA MVP debate raging, I could conceivably rattle off a few paragraphs on my own particular interpretation of the term.

But, I won’t …………and for two reasons:

1. MVP should mean whatever one wants it to mean (within reason)

MVP could mean the player who:

• has been the catalyst for a dramatic turnaround in his teams fortunes (Garnett).
• is transcendently talented, leads the league in scoring and carries his team almost single-handedly, in a spectacular fashion (LeBron).
• is the best all round player in the league, has had an another great season in an outstanding MVP-less career and its about time he won (Kobe).
• is the best player on the team with the best record in the superior conference and who is generally an outstanding candidate in terms of stats, leadership and importance to his team (Chris Paul).

Every year presents different circumstances and reasons for a particular MVP selection. As long as the reason is good (and I don’t count whoever voted for Brett Favre this year as having one), I’m not particularly bothered by which way any voter goes. Besides, if there was a strict definition of criteria for an MVP, it would make choosing one a lot less interesting.

2. This is Hubdub.

Ultimately we at Hubdub are more interested in the “Who will win?” as opposed to the “Who should win and why?”. As I write, Hubdubbers seem to prefer Chis Paul (although thats liable to change).

I will say however why I would vote for Kobe Bryant.

Yes, he has had an outstanding season and after an 11 year career its about time he won. But besides that; five years removed since the sexual assault accusations, 4 years after he had a major hand in the departure from LA of Phil Jackson and Shaq, and almost a year after his trade request, the MVP award would represent, for this maturing and increasingly team-oriented player some degree of redemption….

and redemption is always a good story.

Predict who will be named NBA MVP

Popularity: 8% [?]

By Donal (Sports Editor)

With today’s announcement of the provisional England squad for their friendly against France on March 26th, it looks like David Beckham will finally win his 100th international cap.

England fans have every reason to feel disheartened by this news.

Either Becks is going to be awarded a cheap cap so that the fuss over number 100 can be put to bed or else Fabio Capello has found the performances of David Bentley, Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon so unconvincing, that he has resorted to selecting a a player who is well past his best and enjoying a period of well-paid semi-retirement in a Mickey Mouse league (sorry MLS fans).

The 100 cap milestone also rings rather hollow as it is hardly the crowning achievement of a distinguished international career that it should be. Sure Beckham has had his moments for England, but none of them really amounted to much; did they?.

The goal against Columbia in 1998 was the precursor to his infamous sending off against Argentina (although aftermath of that incident was probably to his commercial benefit in the long term).  The highlights of Becks international career; the free kick against Greece and the penalty against the Argies in the subsequent World Cup, were followed by his rather inglorious performance in a quarter final defeat to ten-man Brazil.

Since then, his most memorable international moments have been a few missed penalties at Euro 2004 and the tears he shed as he sat on the bench after been substituted during Englands defeat to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup.

The Beckham era hasn’t been a particularly golden one for the English national team. I see no reason why the English should feel anything but disheartened by its continuation.

Predict if Becks will in fact win his 100th Cap on March 26th

Will David Beckham play in England’s March 26 friendly against France?

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Donal (Sports Editor)

The MLBPA are set to investigate the lack of offers to Barry Bonds. Despite the fact that the seven-time NL MVP and home run king is un-retired and willing to play, he remains unemployed.

Amongst the reasons that union head Donald Fehr and his staff will be examining: “possible collusion“.

So is there a vast MLB-wide conspiracy against Bonds? Am I mistaken in believing that MLB teams have noted the perjury charges and the happier Bonds-less Giants clubhouse and thought: “No thanks, we could live without that distraction”?

Somehow, I doubt it.

That said though, I hope some team signs him. Yes, he is a loathsome figure and a blot on the integrity of the game; but it would be a great story. Having greatly enjoyed the pantomime surrounding Bonds at a Giants game I attended in DC a few years back and as a fan of controversy, I’d love to see the uproar and outrage that would undoubtedly accompany his return.

So will the “collusion” continue or will I get my wish? You can make predictions here at Hubdub:

Will Barry Bonds be on the roster of a MLB team on opening day 2008
Will Barry Bonds have played in a MLB game by April 30, 2008?
Will Barry Bonds play professional baseball in 2008?

Popularity: 8% [?]

  By Donal

When Nigel first pitched the idea of Hubdub to me, one of my immediate reactions was; “this will be great for the NFL off-season”. The coaching changes, free agency, trades and most importantly: the NFL draft. With a dramatic Superbowl XLII in the books, now is the time to find out.

For an event whose appeal owes much to our efforts at forecasting its outcome; prediction market sites devote surprisingly little attention to the NFL Draft. Perhaps this lack of coverage is attributable to the more established practice of forecasting the 1st round of the Draft in its entirety; something the prediction market model doesn’t really cater for. But there is so much going on in the draft, it offers the potential for many interesting prediction markets.

Just drawing on previous experience, here are a few that come to mind:

• Who will be the first player picked in a given position (QB, HB, WR)?

• Who will be this years Brady Quinn or Aaron Rodgers?

• Which round will some Troy Smith, Eric Crouch, Maurice Clarett or Marcus Vick like figure be drafted in (if at all)?

At Hubdub, connecting these markets with their associated news flows and tracing news reports to outcome percentages over time adds an extra dimension of interest. Just imagine how dramatically this would have worked in a “Who will the Texans pick” market the day before the 2006 Draft.

Plus, at Hubdub, aspiring Draft Gurus will have the accuracy of their predictions reflected in their $ gains (or losses). Unlike certain other Draft forecasters, there won’t be a rush to obfuscate a slew of inaccurate predictions by immediately grading the selections of every team (I’m sure there is someone who gave the Chargers an A grade back in 1998).

So although we at Hubdub are looking forward to March Madness, a new MLB season and the business end of the NBA season, we are pretty excited about the NFL Draft. I’m sure there will be a lot of interesting markets and hopefully we will find a number of Draft Gurus amongst the ever expanding Hubdub membership.

We will be announcing more on our coverage of the NFL Draft shortly… …in the mean time check out the Hubdub sports category for the top open sports markets.

Popularity: 18% [?]