The Feed

Konerko Stays

Paul Konerko resigns with the White Sox for 5yrs/$60 million. He probably got $8-10 million more than he would have before he carried the team offensively throughout the playoffs. This isn't surprising and, as I mentioned after the Thome trade, Konerko should be part of an improved White Sox offense in the coming season. 

Keep It Together People

A man was stabbed at the Jets-Saints game on Sunday night, allegedly because he was wearing a Chad Pennington jersey. From the Post:

"The incident occurred Sunday night at the Jets- Saints game when Thomas Conwell, 21, of Bensonhurst, spotted Shawn Hundley in the men's room and shouted to him that he was "a f- - -ing p- - sy" for wearing the No. 10 jersey of the injured Jets quarterback.

Conwell and Hundley continued to argue outside. Conwell then pulled out a knife and slashed Hundley on the face, neck and ears, according to New Jersey Trooper Sgt. Stephen Jones. "

As full disclosure, I own a Chad Pennington jersey myself and have worn it to Giants Stadium, so from a self-preservation viewpoint I am strongly against this behavior. I also think it's being a bad fan to go around stabbing other fans because they like certain players. A lot of us believed in Chad Pennington once upon a time, his boyish charm caused us to dream of championships and victories to come. Unfortunately his girlish arm couldn't be overcome, so as Jet fans we must shake our heads and move on. Just as we did after Blair Thomas, Neil O'Donnell and Browning Nagle so shall we do again. Should I be stabbed for believing that Doug Jolley would diversify our offense into an indefensible passing attack? For calling Anthony Becht the next Mickey Shuler? Perhaps I should be instructed to think about things beyond the tight end position, but stabbed? No. My sympathies to Mr. Hundley for the wounds suffered on behalf of all who have put their faith in the Jets. 

Play Me or I Won't

Ruben Patterson, forward of the Portland Trail Blazers upon being told he wouldn't be granted the 25 minutes per game he demanded:

"Well, I ain't going to play then"

Ruben has 2 years and 13 million dollars left on his contract and would like to be traded. Among the many holdups is the fact that he's much more notable for being a registered sex offender than anything that he's done on the court during his career. Patterson is upset that the Blazers won't trade him unless they get something good in return, a reasonable position as they've gotten nothing good from his being there if an unlikely result given who we're talking about.  Patterson goes on to say if they only play him 15 minutes a night he won't play at all and they will have to pay him to sit on the inactive list which is exactly the attitude likely to have the other NBA teams falling all over themselves to make a move for him. 

Play Me or I Won't

Rumbles from the Bronx

The Post reports today that the pricetag for relievers has been inflated in light of the B.J. Ryan and Billy Wagner signings, as well as the less-publicized 3yr/$12 million deal between Bobby Howry and the Cubs. Talks are going on with Kyle Farnsworth and Tom Gordon, though it seems unlikely that Gordon won't go elsewhere as a closer. Julian Tavarez also is said to be on the Yankee radar. The going rate is $6 million per year which is a big jump from what had been reported earlier.

Joe Torre backed off his comments about Jeter or A-Rod moving to CF and there seems to be nothing more to come on that front. Murray Chass of the Times is in favor of it, citing Bobby Murcer's success making a similar move. I think it's safe to say Bobby Murcer wasn't either Jeter or Rodriguez, Chass' story even relates that Murcer was a terrible infielder. Chass would sign Bill Mueller to play third, which has some merit as Mueller is the patient, on-base type of hitter that makes a good fit in the Yankees lineup. The whole idea is a grasp at straws, though and I'm glad to see it come to an end. As I said yesterday I think moves for Gathright and/or Michaels is the best route for the Yankees, even Milton Bradley is on the block. I don't think the Yanks would go for him, he's not as kid-friendly as his name suggests, but the point is there are viable outfield candidates before the nuclear option.

In other news, Kelly Stinnett is slated to be the new backup catcher replacing John Flaherty.  Stinnett has caught the Big Unit before and that will likely be his role this season. He has a bit better bat than Flaherty but, barring injury or shakeup to remove Posada from the scene, is unlikely to get much chance to show it off.

Pen Prices Rising

CF Move

The Sports Leader

A really good college football site, Every Day Should Be Saturday, came up with a list of 52 reasons that ESPN sucks. It's a highly entertaining read, especially their recommendations for offing Chris Berman (My favorite: cruise missile while singing onstage with Huey Lewis), and I share many of their criticisms.As someone who has grown up during the ascension of ESPN, and used to watch it for hours on end, it's shocking how little I watch the network anymore. Now PTI is just about my favorite show, I watch ESPNews which actually focuses on what's happened on the field and rarely delves into Sean Salisbury's opinion on anything, and am a big fan of ESPN.com so it's not like I've sworn off the entire enterprise. It's just that the internet has lessened the necessity of ESPN for scores and news and Sportscenter has become something more akin to the O'Reilly Factor than a show that gives highlights and/or reports about actual games. And the actual games tend to be centered around the announcers, especially during the NFL and Dick Vitale games, more than anything going on on the field. The article covers just about every complaint I would have, and I urge you to take a look, but will discuss a few of my complaints forthwith:

• The smugness of every talking head that appears on Sportscenter or NFL Countdown. Again, it's like watching Fox News. Every two-bit backup quarterback and middle reliever regales us with in your face opinion. Chris Berman is like Brit Hume, around forever and no longer concerned with getting anything right or seeming legitimately prepared for their time on camera. I read an article about Hume doing crosswords during the political conventions and then taking the air to talk knowingly about what had gone on. Watched NFL Primetime lately? Berman gives off exactly the same air, the teleprompter is the only game he needs to watch as long as a belabored nickname comes into play.
• Not to belabor the Fox News thing, but ESPN has taken that blueprint, along with their own PTI, and taken it much further than it ever needed to go. Everything is point/counterpoint which just amounts to a lot of noise and no insight. What's the point of employing ex-players to argue with other ex-players and/or "sports experts"? The best thing about recent baseball playoffs has been Al Leiter as an addition to the commentating team because he gives you some idea about what a pitcher is trying to do as well as his own experience playing against a particular hitter or team. Sean Salisbury teasing John Clayton is about Sean Salisbury, not sports.
• Sunday Night Football is unlistenable. I watched the Jets on mute this weekend, but I have a pretty good idea what it sounded like. Joe Theisman and Paul Maguire patted themselves on the back for talking to players on the two teams for 3/4 of the game and then inaccurately predicted what would happen for the remainder. Are we really supposed to be impressed that the announcing team for a nationally televised game had access to the teams beforehand? Color me impressed.

52 Reasons to Hate ESPN

Have Cornrows, Will Travel

A funny little article about several veteran NBA players looking for work with the season already well underway. Chief among them, of course, is one-time Knick, one-time coach choker and provider for his family Latrell Sprewell. One would think he's kicking himself for passing on that $21 million offer he derided as insufficient to provide Lunchables for Little Latrell. More likely he is still convinced he will end up with more money, the doggedness that served him so well on the court now keeps him off it. It'd be ironic if it weren't so predictable.

Among those also mentioned:

Dajuan Wagner - Had an alarmingly brief stay in the League, especially as he was the #6 pick in the 2002 draft. Seems a poor candidate to garner much interest for a second go-round, with his deadeye 32% shooting touch and all.

Jay Williams - Williams still isn't all the way back from his motorcycle crash and may never be. Tried out for several teams but shelved the process when it was clear his health wasn't up to snuff. I wouldn't be surprised if Williams plays in the NBA again, but would be if he made major waves upon a return. Not to make light of a terrible accident, well I guess that's exactly what I'll be doing, what's with the Duke point guards and mechanized transportation? First Bobby Hurley, then Jay Williams, if I'm J.J. Redick I'm not piloting a Cessna in the future.

Vin Baker - Not only did he open "Vinnie's Saybrook Fish House," known for it's bar no doubt, he is still making $5.2 million from the Celtics AND accepted a $3.5 million buyout from Houston. Nice fucking work if you can get it and piss it away through alcohol and fatty foods.

Shawn Kemp - Kemp has supposedly lost more than 50 pounds in an effort to return to the NBA and a return to some relief from his onerous child support payments. The article cites a report that Toronto and Denver were interested but Toronto GM Rob Babcock shot down those rumors, saying the 36 year old wasn't a good fit on a team looking at a youth movement. Few have done more for America's youth than Kemp though so I wouldn't count it out.

Christian Laettner - Living it up in South Florida, Laettner hasn't shown any desire to play ball this season. He didn't show much desire to play the last few years either, loping up and down the court with a vague sense that there was competition going on around him. Who can blame him though? His place in the sports firmament was ensured before he played a single NBA minute. If his pro career was a big ball of nothing, and it was, he still had 2 NCAA titles, a gold medal and one of the most memorable shots in the history of basketball. He's got enough money that I'm sure he's living a fun little life on the beach, I doubt he finds the zeal to play again.

Todd Day is playing in Qatar and Chris Herren in Iran, so they might not be in NBA game shape but there is all kinds of training over in that part of the world to keep your game sharp. It would be really funny if Todd Day has really been a deep cover CIA agent all along, with Lee Mayberry his handler. Who knows what Nolan Richardson was up to down there.

Have Cornrows, Will Travel

I said T.O. not Alito

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (R) comes out against the Eagles and in favor of Terrell Owens. Specter, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the Eagles treatment of Owens "vindictive and inappropriate" and went on to say:

"It's a restraint of trade for them to do that, and the thought crosses my mind, it might be a violation of antitrust laws."

While I'm glad to see the U.S. Senate is back to focusing on the important matters of state after the Bruce Springsteen mess, Specter couldn't be more wrong. Owens is being paid by the Eagles and is under contract well beyond the current season. So his trade is hardly being restrained, he just isn't being allowed to play. There are plenty of NFL players in this position, either because of personality, behavior or a simple lack of talent. This is a case of an employer reacting to employee insubordination. While I'm not a labor lawyer by trade, if I were I suspect this would be the kind of case that I would work on. But I'm not, so I'll just call Specter a schmuck and be on my way. I'd love to say it's a really sorry day when a U.S. Senator takes time from his day to stick up for a lying, backstabbing idiot but ya know...

Arlen Specter on T.O.

More Michael Irvin

So it turns out that Irvin's "friend" was actually his brother.  Irvin made the rounds of ESPN owned media outlets, where somewhat surprisingly he ran into a really hard time with Dan Patrick on the radio. Patrick asked him to take a drug test, and dragged Keith Olbermann out of wherever Keith Olbermann hangs out to tell a story about a producer who was fired for airing a story alleging Irvin's drug use shortly before Irvin was arrested for, um, drug possession. Less surprising was Sportscenter last night when Stuart Scott played sympathetic ear for the persecuted wideout. Irvin offered that he found the pipe while fake hugging/patting down his brother/friend. Stuart didn't reiterate Patrick's request for a drug test. He did say "Boo-Ya!" several times though.

Irvin on ESPN Radio

Irvin on Sportscenter

Rumbles from the Bronx

A couple of things on ESPN.com today, and one from the Post, about the Yankees. The first is an interview with Joe Torre, who discusses the possibility the Yankees will move Jeter or Rodriguez to CF and the second a Peter Gammons column that discusses the Yankees pursuit of various CFs. Gammons mentions Jason Michaels of the Phillies, Joey Gathright of the Devil Rays and the insipid Johnny Damon as potential Yankee CF acquisitions. Gathright is regarded as the fastest player in the game, a decent defender with little offensive skill and Michaels has been a part timer for the last couple of years in Philly, showing a decent mix of offensive skills, aggressive baserunning and above average defense. Gathright turns 25 next season and Michaels turns 30 and both would need to be acquired in trades. That isn't the strong suit for the Yankees at the moment, they don't want to deal their top two prospects, Eric Duncan and Phillip Hughes, and it's refreshing to see them take that task for one offseason. Michaels will come cheaper than the highly coveted Gathright but the Yankees should pursue both as far as they can. If they are willing to pay some salary I think they can move veterans like Jaret Wright and if there will ever be a market for Aaron Small and/or Tanyon Sturtze this is it. Leave Damon for someone else's payroll. He is still a great offensive player, but wouldn't do anything to help the defense nor bolster what seems to be a renewed commitment to team building. And leave Jeter and A-Rod in the infield while they are at it. There are actual OF options out there, exhaust those before letting desperation rule the day.

Meanwhile they are talking pitching over in the Post. Yanks eying Kyle Farnsworth and Mike Myers as part of the path to Rivera. Myers is a lefty submariner who slays his like-sided brethren with ease but regularly gives up hits to comatose righthanders. He's a good pickup though, lefties hit .156 against him and he has been with the Red Sox the last two years so he's battle-tested. His specialization keeps his price reasonable as well, $600K last year. Farnsworth has a rocket right arm, and did well in Atlanta as an emergency reinforcement last July. He was decent with the Tigers before that, and for the right price would be a useful addition for Guidry to work with. He has closed before, however, and may get some offers to do that which would push the money, which the Post reports as being in the $5 million dollar range right now. Any more than that and the Yankees should pass him along, but I would be in favor of a 3yr/$15 million contract for Farnsworth.

Torre on A-Rod and Jeter

Peter Gammons

Post on Pitching

Colts 11-0

Last night's game ended right quick, first play of the game quick as the Colts went right for the jugular and offered the Steelers nothing for the duration of the evening. The biggest hurdle for the Colts, not including decisions on resting players for the playoffs, now looks to be the road trip to Seattle. Given how easily the Giants moved the ball and how crucial 11 false start penalties were to the Seahawk win, it isn't easy to see how that will be any bigger test than then the Colts have already passed however.

Some other NFL notes -

• The NFL announced that 2 Giant TD's were incorrectly ruled as completed passes when both should have been ruled incomplete. I've always found it silly when leagues go back and say they screwed up publicly, especially in cases like this when the result of the game wouldn't be any different. And when they do cost games, there are no replays or redos so the fact that a human being made a mistake, which happens I've been told, is merely trumpeted far and wide with no recourse. I think any player, coach, executive or fan worth their salt understands that bad calls happen; with instant replay there is less chance of egregious error having major impact on the outcome of a game and when it does, tough titties.
• Nathan Vasher of the Bears has a perfect name for Yankee Stadium's patented cheering cadence: "NATH-AN VASH-ER" Clap Clap ClapClapClap "NATH-AN VASH-ER"
• Steve Mariucci's firing wasn't a big surprise, what is surprising is Matt Millen's continued employment. This is 2 coaches he's hired who have flopped and a team that hasn't made a whit of progress during his tenure.
• Joe Gibbs has the same record at this point that Steve Spurrier did. Congress ain't the only thing that stinks in Washington.