The Oakland Raiders have hired Broncos D-Coordinator Dennis Allen to be their new head coach. Allen beats out a field that included Marty Mornhinweg, Dom Capers, Todd Bowles, and Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael, Jr.

Let's think about this for a second, kids. Let's just count out Mornhinweg and Carmichael for lack of head coaching experience. We can also count out Capers because I think we all can agree Capers is one of those coaches who is a much better coordinator than he is a head coach. Wade Phillips is another one.

But let's just talk about Todd Bowles. Sure, he hasn't been a coordinator before but he filled in rather admirably as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins after Tony Sparano was fired.

I'm not sure what it is about Bowles that is making it hard for him to find work. That was not an easy situation in Miami and, while the team was still playing hard for Sparano, he managed to get them pointed in a better direction for those final three games. He won two of them and lost to eventual AFC Champion New England by just a field goal. That kind of experience- no matter how short- shouldn't be so easily ignored.

So Allen gets the Oakland job. Denver's defense, which was heralded as one of the reasons for Tim Tebow's impressive record, finished 24th in the NFL in points allowed, at just over 24 per game. The Raiders were 29th at just over 27 per game, proving my point that better than bad doesn't necessarily mean good.

If you're a Raiders fan looking to feel good about your team, try this:

Are the Tigers now Yankee-proof with the addition of Prince Fielder? I mean, sure Comerica Park is no easy pickings for a left-handed power hitter, but that short porch in right field in Yankee Stadium? You can't tell me that didn't register at all on management's radar.

Anywho, the addition of Fielder to the Tigers lineup, coupled with the Tigers top 3 starters all having WHIPs under 1.5 last year and Jose Valverde's 49 saves makes you wonder just how high to set the expectation bar this spring. A 95-win team probably just made themselves a 100 win team. 100 wins means a shot at home field advantage until the World Series, so they got that going for them. Which is nice.

If you're a New Orleans Hornets basketball fan- either one of you- how straight-up pissed are you at Chris Paul?

I mean let's talk straight facts here, kids. It's a shortened season. There's that much less time for any team to hit a skid that derails them from a playoff run. As we begin play today, here's the Southwest Division standings:

San Antonio 11-7

Dallas 11-7

Memphis 10-7

Houston 10-7

New Orleans 3-14

You don't think if CP3 is still a Hornet, they couldn't compete with that racket?

The Hornets are averaging 3,000 empty seats per home game. It's a fantasy, but doesn't the Seattle Hornets have a somewhat decent ring to it?