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5th Place Is Still Fabulous!

Having gotten the messy little business of falling from 2nd to 5th place in the finals of figure skating, American Johnny Weir is getting down to the main point of his trip to Torino - the shopping! Washington Post Libby Copeland trotted around the piazzas with Weir, a seasoned shopper who's spending sprees Copeland calls "reckless and freeing, like shooting tequila in the morning." Libby Copeland sounds fun.

So far Weir has accumulated "five pairs of shoes, a pair of rabbit fur hand warmers, a Dolce & Gabbana hoodie he says reads "Sex trainer: Best to practice seven days a week," and a sable scarf that was supposed to be $715 but was instead $415 because he spoke French with the saleslady." Happily he doesn't need to leave any room in his luggage for medals.

Weir also reveals his favorite piece of clothing (a beaver and python jacket), his current reading material (Nicole Richie's novel) and that he believes he was a Polish Jewish girl during the holocaust in a past life. Interestingly, Charles Oakley shares all three of those things with Johnny Weir.

Drop Till You Shop

Thanks Deadspin

The Ghosts Of Knicks Past And Future

ESPN is reporting that the trade between the Knicks and Orlando Magic featuring Steve Francis is complete. The Knicks, in contradiction to this morning's reports, are in fact dealing Penny Hardaway's contract/carcass, as well as Trevor Ariza for the Stephon Marbury clone. All the earlier comments hold here; Francis adds nothing that the Knicks didn't already have and unless they pull off another deal for a point guard, there's no one who will see the ball outside of the mismatched backcourt of Marbury and Francis. There's no sense to this one and Isiah Thomas has provided further proof that he has no place in the operations of anything. It never stops shocking me how a player with such skill and who played on such stout teams can be so incapable of identifying the traits of either. 

No Furry Tractor Is Taking My Son

Lydia Angyiou, a mother in Northern Quebec, fought off a 700 pound polar bear that was eyeing her children. She raced between the bear and her son, kicking and punching in a bicycle motion, which basically caused the bear to hit and fall on top of her in response. A rifle toting bystander put an end to the situation and the bear shortly thereafter. Ms. Angyiou was relatively unscathed in the scrap, suffering just a few scratches and a black eye. Don King is en route to Ivujivik, Quebec with a 3 fight deal. 

Furry Tractors

Bode's Not Good At Basketball Either

Bode Miller, the United States Ambassador to the Winter Olympics, twisted his ankle yesterday improving his hopes of being the biggest Olympic bust since Dan and/or Dave in 1992. He was shooting hoops with teammates when the injury occured, sadly ruining a brief time out from Miller's schedule of cavorting in Sestriere bars and losing ski races.

Officials reported the injury as minor. Miller skis the slalom on Saturday, his last event of these Olympics and perhaps of his relevance.

Bode Twists Ankle

Why Is This Man Smiling?

The New York Post reports today that the Knicks are closing in on a trade for Orlando Magic G Steve Francis. The article cites Jamal Crawford and Maurice Taylor as the current offer, though Trevor Ariza may find his way into the package.

Francis has 3 years and $49 million left on his deal and the lack of Penny Hardaway's name on the offer means it's possible to use his expiring megadeal to swing another trade. In speaking to the media yesterday Isiah Thomas intimated that it was a bad mix between current Knick players and Larry Brown and said that he hoped to find "the right mix."

He couldn't have picked a worse place to start than Francis who is Stephon Marbury in a slightly shorter package. Both are me-first point guards for a team desperately in need of a team-first one and, while losing Crawford and Taylor is almost surely addition by subtraction, the thought of a Marbury-Francis backcourt would make Isiah's comments about team-building laughable if he wasn't telling the truth. The Knicks need players willing to play without the ball, players willing to get the ball to other people and, most glaringly, players who can work with the $50 million coach who isn't going anywhere. Francis is an 0 for 3 on those counts and will make this seemingly endless season that much longer.

Don't Let The Door Hit Ya Where The Good Lord Split Ya

In an annual exercise that's beginning to rival death and taxes as one of the sure things in life, the Jets yesterday made John Abraham their franchise player. It may be the last time though, as the team is likely to put the DE on the trade market in hopes of improving their haul in this year's draft and/or upgrades at other positions.

Abraham has been a force when he decides to play, but too often he has been on the sidelines not playing through the nicks and strains that NFL players must endure to stay on the field week in and week out. His yearly contract squabbles are more memorable than the 53.5 sacks he's racked up on the field and the Jets decision not to give him a long term contract may have been foolhardy 3 years back but now it appears they're making the right decision.

The hirings of Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum were the first sign and the ongoing Eggman saga the second that the Jets are tearing up the script and putting new pieces in place all over the field, sidelines and team offices. Jason Fabini and Jerald Sowell are reported to be the next pair sent down the river and Ty Law will not be back for a second round on the Merry-Go-Jets as the quest for cap space is claiming victims left and right.

As for Abraham, I understand and even support his desire to secure a long term committment. Perhaps he would have gotten one if he hadn't sat out large chunks of several seasons with minor injuries and a pout about his current contract. The second half of 2004 and the playoffs, when the Jets were one play away from the AFC championship game Abraham was nowhere to be found and that abscence wrote his own epitaph; Million Dollar Talent and Nickel Character.

Knick Trade Options

ESPN.com columnist Chad Ford has a column with suggested trades for teams with the NBA deadline looming in just over 48 hours. He has four suggestions for the Knicks:

Jets Journal

Eric Mangini announced his coaching staff yesterday while trying his best to evade the questions swirling about Chad Pennington's future with the Jets. The coaching staff was the primary reason for the conference call but the Pennington issue dominated. Doing his best Scott McClellan impersonation, Mangini's comments were as follows,

"Chad's status with Jets is unchanged. Chad is taking his rehab day-to-day, working as hard as he can at it, and as soon as he can get in a position to do anything more, that's when that will take place. As with all personnel, we're evaluating as we go. That's hypothetical question that I can't answer."

Well played, sir. Mangini didn't stray much from the middle of the road at any point. In fact, Mangini didn't have much of anything definitive to say about any Jets player. On John Abraham, who has expressed desire to get a long-term contract the Jets are neither able nor willing to proffer,

""We're working through all personnel decisions. It's an ongoing process. John is an excellent player and a good person. He's committed to winning and I'm committed to winning. I look forward to working with John."

And the rehabbing Curtis Martin?

"Curtis is a great player and a great competitor, and Curtis is going to be in competition for the running-back spot."

As for the coaching staff, it's a fairly even mix of holdovers and new faces, and some of the new faces are familiar ones to Jet fans. Ex-Patriot Sam Gash will be an assistant to RB coach Johnny Raye and ST coach Mike Westhoff (both holdovers) and the mediocre ex-Jet DE Rick Lyle will be a strength coach. The more memorable Bryan Cox will assist holdover DL Coach Denny Marcin and former FB and Bill Parcells favorite Richie Anderson will assist new WR coach Noel Mazzone. It's an interesting choice as Anderson was best known for averaging about a yard and a half per catch but one that made me smile in memory of his improbably long touchdown catch and run against the Colts in the playoffs. 

The Trouble With Being A-Rod

On the heels of being blasted by Ozzie Guillen in last weeks Sports Illustrated and upon his arrival to Legends Field, embattled Yankee Alex Rodriguez answered some of the criticism that he's faced this offseason.

"My life is about being crushed."

A-Rod blamed Major League Baseball for making his World Baseball Classic country choice a circus. Conveniently ignoring the fact that he spoke out about the process many times, A-Rod played the role of superstar scorned yesterday.

"Most people aren't going to understand and they are going to ridicule and make fun of it. Unless they understand my background and where I come from and the passion my family and heritage holds, I don't expect them to understand. I made the right decision and I am very proud to play for the USA team."

Ultimately, A-Rod said, the decision was based on a long conversation between his wife and mother. His wife wanted him to play for the States while his mother favored the Dominican Republic. It never ceases to amaze how a player of his inimitable talents can be such a prig.

Scrambled Eggman

As reported far and wide last week, the Jets asked quarterback Chad Pennington to take a pay cut down to a $1 million guarantee with incentives in order to straighten out the salary cap mess in Hempstead. Over the weekend Pennington's agents sent back word that the Eggman would sooner lose his yolk than give back any of the money coming his way so it seems that the end of the briefly good, mostly painful Chad Pennington era may well be upon us. Good riddance says I. Pennington started out brilliantly, but the 2 years since his debut have been filled with injury, unmet expectations and giant steps backward for the entire organization. If he isn't willing to get on board for the rebuilding, send him on his way. Yes, it's a monster cap hit and one the Jets can ill afford, but this is a time to draw a line in the sand and it should be drawn right behind wherever Pennington is standing.