Denver Post columnist and frequent ESPN commenter Woody Paige and host Jay Crawford are being sued by a woman who is claiming the two repeatedly sexually harassed her while she did makeup for the show “Cold Pizza”. The woman has also said she was fired because she complained about the two’s sexual advances to management.

Ragone said Paige, a columnist with The Denver Post, repeatedly made vulgar remarks about her appearance. Crawford, she said, made unwanted sexual advances, told her she only got the job because of her looks and contributed to a locker-room atmosphere by making disparaging remarks about another hair stylist.

You know when there are those certain franchises in sports that have a ton of veteran players who aren’t playing up to their bloated contracts anymore and need to just blow it up and rebuild? Well, that’s ESPN right now, and I’m not even basing it off of this recent issue (they could both be innocent for all I know). Get rid of Boo-Yah Center, Chris “I’m a shell of my former self” Berman, Paige’s tired act, Skip Bayless, loud mouth Stephen A. Smith and possibly the worst of them all when he’s really on his game, Sean Salisbury.

Seriously, what does that network bring to the table anymore? They’ve tried so hard to get “in your face” with sports coverage that I can’t even stomach to watch even 10 minutes of SportsCenter anymore. I’d keep Chris Mortensen, John Clayton (obviously not for looks), Peter Gammons, Mike Tirico, Michael Wilbon, maybe Tom Jackson and then start over.

Word out of Browns camp is that Brady Quinn has a chance to start this year, which raises the age old question: should rookie quarterbacks line up behind center or carry a clipboard? In my latest column for Bullz-Eye.com, I take a look at past examples like Peyton Manning, Daunte Culpepper and Tim Couch for answers.

With the ninth pick in the draft, the Chicago Bulls took forward Joakim Noah out of Florida. Is it just me or did Noah look like Weird Al Yankovic before he put the Bulls hat on? Anyway, even though he’s not expected to dominate at the next level offensively, Noah has a non-stop motor, will crash the boards and plays hard on every play. Kind of like how Ben Wallace played in Detroit before he stole $60 million from Chicago last year.

Noah was the third Gator selected in the top 10 of the draft, joining Al Horford (No. 3 to Atlanta) and Corey Brewer (No. 7 to Minnesota). I made the same remark in regard to Ohio State in the blog about Greg Oden, but what a year for Florida. A national championship in football, basketball and now three players go in the top 10 of the NBA draft. Can’t get much better than that.

With the second pick in the NBA draft, the Seattle Sonics selected Texas forward Kevin Durant. Even though Greg Oden was selected first overall by the Blazers, many believe Durant has the best chance to win Rookie of the Year honors.

Seattle is also expected to ship Ray Allen to Boston for the rights of Georgetown’s Jeff Green, who the Celtics took with the fifth overall pick. ESPN is reporting the deal is basically done – Green already did an interview commenting how excited he is to play with Durant – but nothing is final as of this point.

With the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers selected OSU center Greg Oden. Expected to be a defensive specialist at first, the thought by many analysts is that Oden will eventually win multiple championships for this franchise, but that’s always the idea when you take a player first overall isn’t it?

First the Buckeyes reached the NCAA National Championship in football, then again in basketball, and now have a player taken first overall in the NBA Draft. Albeit OSU lost in both of those championship games to Florida, but nevertheless, that’s a hell of a year.

ESPN.com has a story on its main page that the Blazers will select OSU center Greg Oden with the first overall pick in tonight’s NBA Draft. Oden’s agent, Mike Conley Sr., is saying different, however.

“We haven’t been told that,'’ Mike Conley, Sr. said late Wednesday night. “(ESPN) can have their opinion, but the Blazers haven’t told us anything.'’

This is crazy talk, because ESPN would never jump the gun on a report right?

Kenny Rogers looked sharp in his seasonal debut, and the potent Detroit offense should feast on Millwood, so play the Tigers on the runline. The Detroit Tigers may have the hottest offense in baseball, and they get the call today with The Gambler vs. Kevin Millwood and the Texas Rangers.
The Tigers are scoring 6.1 runs per game overall this season, including 5.8 RPG at home and 5.8 RPG against right-handed starter. That is bad news for right-hander Millwood, who has a 7.31 ERA overall this year. Kenny Rogers went 6 innings without allowing an earned run in his first start this season, and he was surprisingly sharp vs. the Atlanta Braves. Rogers also has a 3.89 ERA overall vs. the Rangers since 1997, so we recommend a play on the Tigers on the runline today!

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The Daily Forecast just did an interesting debate on who would win a battle between a boxer and a MMA (or UFC) fighter. Paul Costanzo defended boxers while Drew Ellis made a case for UFC fighters. To read both arguments in their entirety, click the above links, but for the highlights, see below.

Costanzo’s main point was about boxers’ feet and their ability to potentially strike a MMA fighter when they’re loading up to attack. A boxer could keep everything in front of him while in an upright stance and exploit holes that a MMA fighter would leave while trying to use his assortment of moves.

Ellis objected to Constanzo assuming the MMA fighter wouldn’t be prepared for a boxer trying to exploit their weaknesses. His main point was once the MMA fighter gets a boxer to the ground, he could consistently strike from a position the boxer wouldn’t normally be in, and of course defeat him.

Of course this debate is all hypothetical, but it’s rather interesting. Personally, I think boxers are at a distinct disadvantage considering the amount of styles an MMA fighter uses. It would be like a construction worker showing to build a house with only a hammer and nails. However, give an experienced, prepared boxer like Floyd Mayweather Jr. time to train and it would be an interesting battle. And like Costanzo was arguing, a top boxer is going to find holes in an MMA’s style just based on the possibility a fighter like that may try to do too much in order to counter a boxers’ more conventional style.

After his recent one punch knockout of Jose Luis Castillo crowned him the world junior welterweight champion, British boxer Ricky Hatton’s ego apparently surpassed his brain size because now he wants a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr. Highly regarded as the best pound for pound boxer in the world, Mayweather said Tuesday that he’d, “sign to fight Hatton right now.”

This is clearly – and Mayweather’s manager Leonard Ellerbe alluded to it – a publicity scheme by Hatton. He can use Mayweather’s name to promote his own career, which helps even if he loses. And he knows the only way he’d coax Mayweather out of retirement is if he runs his mouth like this:

“There was more action in the four rounds of this fight (Hatton’s fight with Castillo) than Floyd showed in his entire career.”

Normally I would say Mayweather would pummel a boxer like Hatton, but have you ever watched British fighters? They flail around the ring in herky-jerky movements, throwing only when they see an opening and then backing out quickly in order to not take punches themselves. More conventional boxers like Mayweather usually get frustrated when fighting this kind of style and try to change their approach. That in turn only benefits guys like Hatton, but we’re talking about Floyd Mayweather here, a boxer who will likely keep his composure and wait until Hatton tires himself out. That is, if this fight ever happens in the first place.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the lawsuit defensive tackle Grady Jackson filed against the Falcons in March has been resolved. Atlanta restructured his contract, adding a year onto the three-year deal he got from the team last offseason, as well as roster bonuses for 2008 and 2009.

Jackson had filed the suit in late March of this year for invasion of privacy and defamation over the alleged release of his medical records pertaining to last offseason. Jackson claimed Atlanta leaked information that he had a bad heart, which supposedly scared off other teams from getting into a bidding war with the Falcons over his services.

Either way, this is just a little ray of sunshine in a massive cloudy offseason for the Falcons. Remember, Rod Coleman may miss the first four to six games of the season, so if this issue with Jackson wasn’t resolved, there would have been two gaping holes in Atlanta’s defensive line. And I mean, gaping holes.

The Buffalo Bills hosted free agent safety Donovin Darius on Tuesday according to the teams’ official website.

Not that this is a done deal yet, but why did the Bills cut Lawyer Milloy last season and draft three safeties in the past two years if another aging veteran was just going to peek their interest this offseason? Darius is two years younger than Milloy, but he’s also coming off a torn ACL and a broken leg in back to back seasons, not to mention is virtually the same run-stuffing safety with tremendous leadership ability Milloy is. I thought Buffalo was going to develop second year safeties Donte Whitner, Ko Simpson and rookie John Wendling? Whitner was outstanding last year as a rookie.

Can the Bobcats convince a marquee free agent to sign on the dotted line? Are Chauncey Billups’ days in Detroit numbered? Will someone make mop-topped Anderson Varejao an offer the Cavs won’t match? John Paulsen takes a closer look with his NBA free agency preview at Bullz-Eye.com.

Jamie Moyer has been brilliant at home, be it with the Phillies or the Mariners, so look for him to lead Philadelphia to victory tonight. With apologies to Los Angeles Angels hurler Ervin Santana, no pitcher is better at home than Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies. Over the last three seasons, Moyer has led his teams to 30 wins in 41 home starts, including 23-6 as a home favorite. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds are a horrific 10-19 this year vs. southpaws, while the Phillies are a solid 30-18 vs. right-handers.

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As Bobby Howry was working on giving up four runs in the ninth inning to erase an 8-3 lead for the Cubs against the Rockies Monday night, a fan ran out to the mound and actually asked him, “What are you doing?”

Howry and the Cubs eventually won the game, but as SPORTSbyBROOKS discovered, the real news is that the Bears might have found a replacement for Tank Johnson. Check out the take down by one of the Cubs’ security guards:

On a related note how about the announcer in the YouTube.com clip? First he forgets Lou Pinella’s name, then called him a drunk because he has “rosy red cheeks” then dropped this little ditty at the end of the clip: “Maybe if they stopped selling him 10 bottles of beer at Wrigley Field, he wouldn’t get so hammered on that cheap, piss beer they have at Wrigley Field. They encourage him to drink and then he runs on to the field, what do you expect?”

Uh, there are thousands of fans who drink nightly at ballparks across America and not everyone runs out onto the field there champ.

Dan Haren is a leading candidate for the Cy Young Award, so look for him to be the stopper tonight as he puts a halt to Oakland’s four-game skid. The Oakland Athletics have lost four straight games, and tonight will look to their ace to stop the bleeding. Danny Haren has been almost un-hittable this season, rolling to a 9-2 record with a microscopic ERA of 1.78. Haren won his last three starts, and he has now nine consecutive decisions. Furthermore, he has a fantastic 1.34 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 47 innings in his seven road starts!
He will be opposed by Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians, who is 4-4 with a 5.46 ERA this season. Lee has won his last two decisions, but has not won three straight decisions in over a year. Besides, those last two victories both came vs. National League teams, and he has failed to record a Quality Start in his last four outings vs. the American League. The Athletics are 8-3 the last 11 times they were favored, as well as 12-2 in as a team in Haren’s last 14 starts. Look for a dominant Haren to indeed be a stopper tonight in a low scoring game.

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According to the Chicago Sun Times, the Bears have decided to waive defensive tackle Tank Johnson.

Johnson was stopped by police in Gilbert, Ariz. after 3 a.m. Friday for speeding, and he was arrested for suspicion of driving while impaired. He took a blood test, and while the results may not be known for two weeks, the Bears aren’t waiting.

With his latest antics, Johnson obviously still felt he was above the team, even after one would think he would settle down after being arrested last year for housing an arsenal of weapons. And while it’s highly doubtful because of his age and talent, I hope no other team takes a chance on him. In a related note, however, the NFC Champions are now severly thin at defensive tackle. Stud Tommie Harris is coming off a season-ending hamstring tear injury, and with Johnson now gone, the team puts a lot of pressure on former 49er Anthony Adams and 2006 third rounder Dusty Dvoracek. The team could look at former Texans’ starter Seth Payne, but at 32 and coming off a torn ACL, he might not be much of an upgrade over Adams or Dvoracek.

In Bullz-Eye’s Mock Draft, I discussed which player each team should take in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft, but I thought it would be fun to try to predict who the first seven teams will actually draft. Here’s the latest scuttlebutt:

1. Portland Trailblazers: Greg Oden
Oden’s workout with the Blazers didn’t go so well, while Kevin Durant’s did. This has fueled speculation that GM Kevin Pritchard might go with Durant. I still think Oden will be the pick.

2. Seattle Supersonics: Kevin Durant
The Sonics will pick whoever’s left – Durant or Oden.

3. Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford
The Hawks probably should go with Mike Conley here, but Horford has become the consensus #3 pick. The Hawks are talking to a few teams about trading down. They don’t need another forward, that’s for sure. It looks likely that they’ll grab Acie Law at #11.

4. Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley
Mike Iavaroni needs a pass first point guard to make his up-tempo offense go. Conley fits the bill.

5. Boston Celtics: Corey Brewer
There is lots of talk about the Celtics trading this pick for veteran help. If they keep it, they might go with Yi Jianlian or Joakim Noah, but Brewer had a good workout in Boston and could play alongside Paul Pierce (or replace him).

6. Milwaukee Bucks: Brandan Wright
Word is that Wright’s stock may be slipping, but he had a great workout in Milwaukee. The main thing working against him is that GM Larry Harris may not be secure enough in his job to wait on Wright to develop. The Bucks could trade up for Horford or Conley, though I don’t know why Harris would draft Conley after trading away T.J. Ford. They are basically the same player. There are also rumors that Harris may still draft Jianlian even though his agent wouldn’t let the Bucks see him work out. Why do you want to draft a guy that doesn’t even want to play for you (and is a shoe in not to re-sign once his rookie contract is up)?

7. Minnesota Timberwolves: Joakim Noah
With Kevin Garnett on his way out of town, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wolves draft someone who can control the boards. Jeff Green is another possibility.

A few other probable picks:

13. New Orleans Hornets – Nick Young
15. Detroit Pistons - Rodney Stuckey
29. Phoenix Suns - Petteri Koponen

Last week on AM1130 WDFN in Detroit, a show host asked Lions’ quarterback Jon Kitna on what he thinks the outcome of the season will be. His answer:

“I thought 10 games (wins) before I saw the schedule. I’ll keep to myself what I think we actually will win, but it’s more than 10 games.”

Obviously with the Lions being dreadful over the years, Kitna’s prediction was a bit surprising, but it wasn’t worth the national attention it’s been given over the last few days. ESPN, AOL Sports and various other national sites are taking aim at Kitna’s comments, but really, they weren’t a big deal.

First and foremost, anyone who has been around Kitna in a locker room or seen him play knows he’s a fiery competitor. Furthermore, he goes to bat for his teammates and believes fully in Mike Martz’s system, so for him to predict 10-plus wins isn’t out of this world. What is he going to say, “We’ll probably win four or five, because that’s usually par for the Lions”? No, he’s going to show that he believes in his squad and not give some cookie-cutter response like most players do. Man, I know it’s kind of dead in the NFL right now, - other than Pacman being a moron, that is - but relax.

Both of these teams have struggled, but Howell cannot be trusted as a decided favorite, and with Danks showing at least some ability, go White Sox. We do not think anyone could have envisioned before this season started the Tampa Bay Devil Rays being three games in front of the Chicago White Sox at this point in the year! However, we do look for the White Sox to close that gap some tonight. The Devil Rays may still be a bit giddy after taking the last two games from the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend, and they may forget the fact that they are still under the .500 mark, at 19-20 here at home. Also, the Rays starting pitcher J.P. Howell is winless in his last three starts, with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Now John Danks is not really that much better statistically for the White Sox, but at least the young southpaw has shown signs of having a future this year, and he should be tough on a Tampa Bay team that has never faced him before. In fact, Danks has allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last nine starts. His problem is that he has struggled with his control, which is the main reason he has not pitched deeper into games lately.
Danks gets a break here though in that he is facing a young and over-aggressive Devil Rays lineup that does not draw enough walks, so look for the White Sox to post a rare road win at a nice price tonight.

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Former Giant, Cub, Red Sox and Padre reliever Rod Beck was found dead in his home Saturday. The cause of death is yet to be determined, but he was 38.

Many former players, coaches and media members have noted how Beck was always a popular person in the clubhouse, and certainly loved by fans (especially in San Francisco). He also battled some personal demons, however, which was evident when he had to leave the Padres in 2004 for a two-month stint in drug rehab.

The former closer saved 286 games in his career. If you want to read a great article on what kind of man Beck was, check out Scott Ostler’s piece in the San Francisco Chronicle.