According to a report by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Brett Favre is close to purchasing a condo in the Minneapolis area.
There have been reports that Favre already has a contract in place with the Vikings and both Favre and the Vikings have made it clear in public comments that there is great interest on both sides. And then there is this latest nugget: Favre is in the process of attempting to secure a residence in the Twin Cities.
We received a tip last night about Favre settling on a condominium in Edina but that doesn’t appear to be a done deal. At least not yet. There were rumors last week that Favre had either bought or rented a house along Bearpath Golf and Country Club in Eden Prairie. (The smart money says he ends up in Edina.)
But where Favre lives doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that he’s actively looking for a place (or at least someone from the Favre camp is looking), giving a clear indication that he must be encouraged by how his arm is feeling. In the grand scheme of things, this is just the latest piece of evidence that Favre will be playing in Minnesota.
Who knows, maybe Favre just likes the area? It doesn’t mean that he’s going to play for the Vikings next season. (Read: Sarcasm.)
It’s only a matter of time before Favre joins the Vikings. It would take hell freezing over for him not to play in purple and white next season and even then I’m pretty sure Favre would still suit up for Minnesota. Of course, he would delay the process by talking about how hell freezing over has made him question his desire to play. But after a two or three weeks he would say that he still had the itch and that hell freezing over won’t stop him from trying to ruin Ted Thompson’s life.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Bobby Lashley made Bob Sapp tap twice and Gilbert Yvel KO’d Pedro Rizzo at last week’s ‘Ultimate Chaos’ event.
- Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs may be settling an old rivalry next month. But will anybody see it?
- With UFC 100 coming up next Saturday, we counted down the 10 greatest UFC events of all time.
- Nobody seems to think Michael Bisping has a chance against Dan Henderson in their UFC 100 fight. Though if he really plans on out-wrestling Hendo, maybe he really is doomed.
- Indiana became the 39th U.S. state to begin regulating MMA. Last state to legalize the sport is a rotten egg!
- Rampage Jackson says he’ll be knocking out Rashad Evans in his hometown of Memphis in December.
- SPORTSbyBROOKS says the “Zen Master” Phil Jackson is returning to the Lakers full-time after mulling over the idea of either only coaching home games or retiring.
- DEADSPIN has word that loudmouth Jay Mariotti is going to hop back into the newspaper world (after bashing it to join the blogosphere last year) again by joining the Chicago Tribune after his no-compete clause is up in August.
- SONS OF STEVE GARVEY wrote an ode to Manny Ramirez as he’s set to return to action tonight after serving his 50-game suspension.
- YARDBARKER has this shocker: Apparently Stephon Marbury wants more money.
- TONY BLOGS.NET wants to know if anyone else thinks that PETA will get involved after thousands of bees were killed after a swarm of them managed to engulf PETCO Park during yesterday’s Astros-Padres game.
After bating Tommy Haas on Friday, five-time champion Roger Federer will face Andy Roddick in the 2009 Wimbledon final for a chance at a record 15th Grand Slam title.
If Federer wins Sunday, he will be the third player to win six or more Wimbledon titles. William Renshaw and Sampras both won seven.
“I’m very proud of all the records I’ve achieved because I never thought I would be that successful as a kid,” Federer said. “I would have been happy winning a couple tournaments and maybe collecting Wimbledon. It’s quite staggering now having reached … my sixth straight Grand Slam final. Having so many things going for me now again, opportunity again on Sunday, it’s fantastic.”
If he beats Roddick, Federer will regain the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal, who beat him in the Wimbledon final last year and missed this year’s tournament with knee problems.
Federer said he is feeling less pressure this year than in 2007 when he equaled Bjorn Borg’s record of five straight Wimbledon titles. Borg was among those watching Friday from the Royal Box.
It’s a shame Nadal and Federer won’t be squaring off in the Wimbledon final again this year, but Roddick is certainly an intriguing underdog. Maybe he’ll catch Federer sleeping and pull off the upset.
Both MLive.com and BleacherReport.com speculate that since the Bears are looking for receivers and Charles Rogers is looking to get back into the NFL after spending some time recently in the clink, that the two could be a match.
bleacherreport.com: One other option is a 28-year-old, former No. 2 overall pick, who measures up at 6′3″ and 207 pounds. Sounds great until you hear his name: Charles Rogers.
Clearly, there is at least one reason that no NFL team has even called him looking for a tryout. He is undoubtedly a step or two slower than the 4.28 40-yard dash he ran back at the NFL Combine, but seeing as how he would have the third-most career receptions on the current Bears’ roster, it might make sense to at least give him a look.
Outside of giving him a quick tryout, the Bears shouldn’t waste much time on Rogers. God might have given him outstanding athletic ability, but he also cursed Rogers with a peanut-sized brain.
This is the same guy who was arrested in 2008 and charged with assault and battery of a female friend. He also received jail time in March of this year after violating probation. When the Lions eventually gave him the boot (which should tell you something in and of itself) in 2006, he worked out for the Dolphins, Patriots, Bucs and Chiefs, but they all declined after coming away less than impressed by his auditions. He also reportedly brought some of his friends along to the workout in Tampa, which didn’t sit well with then-Bucs head coach Jon Gruden.
If I’m the Bears, I’d be more interested in trying to develop Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Juaquin Iglesias than trying to sign Rogers. I know the Bears’ receivers won’t exactly keep defensive coordinators up at night, but Rogers is done.
Major League Baseball has loaned millions to Rangers owner Tom Hicks to assist him with the sale of the franchise, although the league hasn’t released any more details other than that.
According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, the sport’s central office withholds $15 million to $20 million owed to each team from central revenues and the sale of the Montreal Expos. Teams can borrow from that with the permission of commissioner Bud Selig, so Hicks isn’t breaking any rules, nor has baseball made an exception here.
But why would Hicks need millions to help him sell the franchise? It’s true that the Rangers have lost money over the years because of bad contracts (A-Rod’s being the worst, of course) and poor attendance sales, but the club is in a top market and their payroll is in the bottom half of the league. So where is all the money going to?
Apparently creditors to Hick’s Hicks Sports Group have declared the company in default, so that might have something to do with him borrowing money from MLB, but something still doesn’t add up here. A-Rod’s contract is off the books, Hank Blalock and Vicente Padilla’s deals are expiring and attendance is up this for the Rangers because they’re playing well. So why borrow?
Whatever the reason, the Rangers (and their fans for that matter) will certainly be better off once cheapo Hicks is out of the picture. The club is showing signs of life and if they can get some more pitching, the Rangers could have a nice team over the next couple years. But with this clown running things, the direction of the organization will always be in flux.
While it would have to take quite the package(s) to pry them away from Cleveland, the Indians are open to the idea of trading pitcher Cliff Lee and catcher Victor Martinez according to a report by the Plain Dealer.
The Indians could put together a decent rotation next year with Lee, Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Aaron Laffey, David Huff, Jeremy Sowers, Hector Rondon and others. Without Lee, it could be worse than it is this year.
Replacing Martinez, despite his big bat and strong voice in the clubhouse, wouldn’t be as difficult. The Indians played well in the second half last season while Martinez was recovering from surgery on his right elbow.
They would probably have to sign a veteran catcher to bridge the gap until Carlos Santana is ready in 2011.
The chances of keeping Lee and Martinez beyond 2010 are not good. They’ll both be eligible for free agency after next season.
The Indians gave a hint of where the Lee negotiations are headed when they wouldn’t discuss a contract extension in spring training. Lee’s won-loss record doesn’t show it, but he has pitched like a Cy Young winner this year, which means it’s unlikely he’ll consider a multiyear deal this winter when he’s just a year away from the open market.
The Indians would probably have a better chance of signing Martinez to a multiyear deal, but with the loss in revenues that the Indians and other teams are expected to take this year because of the economy and drop in attendance, that’s probably not going to happen.
Still, 2010 might not be bad if Lee and Martinez return, Westbrook, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner stay healthy and the bullpen can be repaired. If not, Lee and Martinez can be turned into Sabathia clones and dealt to the highest bidder. The return might be as good as anything Shapiro could get this year.
It’s amazing how far the Tribe have fallen from their run in 2007. The Indians’ core that year was expected to be successful for a long time, but injuries and a drop off in production from players like Carmona sunk them in 2008 and now this season has been an utter disaster.
It might not appease fans, but trading guys like Lee and Martinez now might ensure a winner in 2011 and beyond. No fan wants their team to punt a season in hopes that the future will be brighter, but sometimes that’s the best option. If Lee and Martinez aren’t going to help Cleveland win next year and the club isn’t going to sign them long term, then what’s the point in hanging onto them?
The Tribe front office certainly has a dilemma on its hands.
The Nebraska State Paper.com sat down this week with University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor Harvey Perlman, who was recently appointed as chairman of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, which ultimately decides how the BCS is set up on a year basis.
So in other words, if college football were to ever have a playoff, this is the man who would give it the green light to happen. And considering he crapped all over the idea in the interview, it looks like we fans will be waiting a long time for BCS to adopt a playoff system.
Why is a playoff not a viable alternative? Is it because it would cut too many teams out of postseason play?
It would diminish the bowl structure and it would reduce the number of opportunities for student-athletes to play in the postseason and that’s not a good thing. If you look at college football now, it’s the greatest sporting event spread over September, October, November, December and a little bit of January that the country has. A playoff would seriously diminish the regular season, as it has in college basketball.
I don’t think it’s good for college football, I don’t think it’s good for student-athletes and I don’t think it’s good for fans. I don’t see fans travelling around the country three weeks in succession between December and January following their team. So you’re either going to have to play at home sites – which I’m sure everybody will want to play in Nebraska in December and January – or you’re gonna have to travel, which means that bowls will cease being intercollegiate events, but will become corporate events, where everybody in, you name the city, will be there except the fans of the teams.
This isn’t basketball. This isn’t March Madness. Football’s a different game, different environment. We have different traditions. It’s hard to see why a playoff is a good idea.
A playoff would diminish the bowl structure? How ironic, Harvey – because the bowl structure diminishes the college football season.
This whole notion that a playoff system would diminish the regular season is absolutely ridiculous and is the worst argument that BCS-supporters have made to date. Is the NFL regular season diminished by a playoff? Hell no. So why would a playoff diminish the college football season? Teams still have to fight to get into the playoffs, making every week just as exciting as it has ever been.
Sure, nobody is interested in Bengals-Browns in Week 17, but that’s unavoidable. Nobody cares about Washington-Washington State when both teams are lousy either. Whether there’s a playoff format in place or not, there are going to be bad games on the schedule.
The traveling argument makes sense, but if they regionalized the games as best as they can, fans will still travel to see their favorite teams. Hell, look at how Pittsburgh Steeler fans; there are often more Steeler fans in opposing stadiums than there are fans of that city’s team. Granted, it’s a little different when we’re talking about poor college students compared to adults with jobs, but the students would still find a way to pack the stadiums.
But I digress. Perlman has already made up his foolish mind and we’ll once again be where we always are come December and January - frustrated and wanting more. The BCS is a joke, the arguments for it are a joke, and the people that are running it are a joke.
Manny Ramirez has officially severed his 50 game suspension for testing positive for a PED-related substance and is expected to be in the Dodgers’ starting lineup tonight when L.A. takes on the Padres in San Diego.
Besides seeing how he does at the plate, what’ll be interesting to watch unfold over the next week or two is what kind of an effect Manny will have on the Dodgers. During his suspension, L.A. didn’t miss a beat, racing out to a 7.5-game lead over the Giants in the NL West and amassing the best record in all of baseball.
One would think that Manny would only contribute to the Dodgers’ success and they’ll continue to run away with their division. But don’t forget the media circus that Manny is about to bring with him as he returns to action. His teammates surely will love having him back in the lineup, but they’re going to be put in a tough position over the next couple weeks as they field constant Ramirez-related questions.
Will Manny’s return mean more dominance for the Dodgers like everyone assumes, or will his presence have a surprising negative affect on the club?
According Dan Leberfeld of NY Jets Confidential, linebacker Calvin Pace has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of the 2009 season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Pace’s suspension begins on Saturday, September 5. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, October 5 following the team’s October 4 game against the New Orleans Saints.
Pace is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.
And like almost all suspended players, Pace had no idea he was taking a banned substance.
“This is a situation that resulted from an over-the-counter dietary supplement that contained a substance that I did not know violated the League’s policy,” said Pace. “I am responsible for what I put into my body and I should have paid closer attention to the League’s guidelines.”
Tough break for a Jets defense that has been building excitement since the hire of new head coach Rex Ryan. Pace was outstanding last year for the Jets coming over from the Cardinals, quickly establishing himself as the team’s top pass rusher.
Although this is a huge blow for the Jets, this is a big opportunity for second-year player Vernon Gholston, who was an utter disaster as a rookie last year. If Ryan can get Gholston to understand pro schemes like Eric Mangini attempted and failed to do last year, then maybe the former Ohio State product can make a splash this season. Ryan sees Gholston as a potential Terrell Suggs in his defense, but Gholston has to learn the playbook first.
With the All-Star break quickly approaching, many MLB teams are trying to figure out whether or not they’ll be buyers or sellers later this month. It’s a tricky game front offices must play, because they don’t want to alienate their fans by suggesting that their club is already out of contention with half the season left to go, but teams also don’t want to miss out on adding a piece for the future because they’re hanging onto a veteran that won’t play a significant role down the line.
That said, I’ve compiled a ranking of the five most intriguing names that either are on the trade market, or could be. Granted, every player outside of guys named Pujols, Jeter and Howard could potentially be on the trade market, but I tried to keep the list to only those names that continue to pop up in the weekly rumor mill, whether their teams have officially those names as available or not.
Two names you won’t find on the list are Dan Haren and Jake Peavy, even though they have been brought up in various trade rumors. The Diamondbacks aren’t going to trade Haren unless some team offers a ridiculous package (as in multiple top prospects) and Peavy’s injury situation has all but killed his trade value. I would be shocked if either player gets dealt this season.
Though Denver does not want to trade Brandon Marshall, it will take calls. Won’t make them, but will take them. A 1 gets BM is my guess.
Schefter is usually solid in his reporting, so there’s no reason not to buy into what he’s saying. But that said, is this really news worthy? Even if the Broncos do plan on taking a stand and not dealing Marshall, they still would benefit from picking up the phone and listening to any offers. It’s not like if the Ravens called and offered two first round picks (not that they would) that the Broncos wouldn’t entertain the thought.
What will probably happen is that Denver will wait to see if Marshall reports to training camp in a few weeks. If he does, great – they can go about resolving the issue in-house. But if he doesn’t show, and there’s good reason to believe that he won’t, then the Broncos have to entertain the idea of trying to get something for him since he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2009 season. (Especially considering that it is getting more obvious that he wants out of Denver at any cost.)
- According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the Red Sox might have interest in Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins after Boston recently placed Mike Lowell on the DL. Colorado is searching for a reliever to help improve their bullpen.
- Rumor has it that the Braves’ increasing frustration with the talented, but immature Yunel Escobar could land him on the trade block. Considering he’s only 26 and is batting .293 with seven dingers and 40 RBI, there would certainly be a market for him if Atlanta does eventually make him available.
- Even though some believe that the Mets are still actively searching for offensive help, manger Jerry Manuel told reporters that the club “has enough.”
- The Arizona Republic suggests that if the Diamondbacks get a package similar to the one they got when they acquired Dan Haren from Oakland a few years ago, the club could still be willing to move the starting pitcher. A trade seems awfully unlikely though.
- The Mariners have reportedly started discussions with the Padres regarding a trade for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff according to FOX Sports.com.
“Brandon Marshall, what have you ever done?” Johnson said. “You went to one Pro Bowl, maybe two. You caught a bunch of balls because they threw them to you. Have you even won a playoff game yet? Guys like me and Michael Irvin, we all won rings. Win a ring first and then talk that way.
“He says he doesn’t want to play in Denver because he doesn’t have a quarterback now that Jay Cutler is in Chicago. Please. When I was with the Jets, our starting quarterbacks were Ray Lucas, Frank Reich, Neil O’Donnell, Glenn Foley, Rick Mirer and Vinny Testaverde. And he’s complaining about having to play with Kyle Orton? You should worry about making your quarterback better.”
Johnson serves as an ESPN analyst during the NFL season, and this offseason has been devoting his energies to his new show about decorating on the A&E network: Tackling Design. His opinions apparently never get rusty, no matter what time of year it is.
“I keep seeing where Anquan Boldin wants to be traded from Arizona, or he wants to be paid like Larry Fitzgerald,” Johnson said. “Anquan, you’re a glorified T.J. Houshmandzadeh, so cut it out. They’re the same player. You want $11 million? Why don’t you take the $8 million they’re offering and be happy? You’re not Larry Fitzgerald.”
Not that I disagree with him, but I love how Key essentially takes a dump on his former Jet quarterbacks while hammering Marshall. If I’m Ray Lucas, I’m thinking to myself, “Hey, thanks Keyshawn – and sorry I was such an inconvenience for you during your playing days.”
I see what Johnson’s getting at, but I don’t think it’s fair to call Boldin and Houshmandzadeh the same player. They’re both incredibly productive, but Boldin is a few years younger and therefore might command more money. Now, is he worth $3 million more than Housh? Probably not, but $9.5 mil a year would be incredibly fair for Boldin’s services in my opinion.
A Chicago Cubs fan has vowed to eat only 500 calories a day until the team wins five games in a row.
Daniel Kamen, 53, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., said he plans to start his diet after the All-Star break in mid-July and continue until the Cubs either win five consecutive games or end their season for the year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.
“I’m going to motivate them,” he said. “I’m going to embarrass them into winning more games. They will see me get skinnier and skinnier, until maybe there’s nothing left of me.”
Kamen invited portly Cubs manager Lou Piniella to join his diet.
“It’s an official invitation,” Kamen said. “I’ll show him how to do it.”
This guy sticking to only 500 calories a day has as much chance as Milton Bradley hitting .300 by the end of the year. I give him two days before he’s hitting up the Wendy’s drive through and ordering a triple burger with fries and a frosty.
At the beginning of the 2009 MLB season, the Giants and reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum set out to talk long-term contract and keep the ace in San Francisco for years to come. But according to Lincecum’s agent Rick Thurman, the Giants haven’t brought the topic up again since.
Not that they would, but the Giants can’t play games here. Lincecum is clearly the future of their staff and while clubs are always hesitant on giving young pitcher’s hefty contracts, Lincecum is without a doubt worth the risk. He’s essentially a freak of nature given his unique skills (he barely has to warm up, he has never had to ice after an outing and pitch counts mean very little for this young man) and he’ll probably be worth every penny he makes.
The Giants have a little bit of time since Lincecum’s arbitration years aren’t until 2011-2013. If they don’t mind paying him truckloads of money for one-year deals, they could go year-to-year (which Lincecum and his agent don’t mind because they’re not worried about him getting hurt) with his contract. But again, why mess around? He’s the face of the franchise and one of those rare players that a team just can’t let go.
The Giants are little more cautious these days with long-term contracts after blowing the Barry Zito deal. But again, Lincecum is going to be worth it and it would be shocking if the G-Men don’t enter long-term talks with him again after the season.
According to a report by SI.com, Kobe Bryant has decided not to terminate the final two years of his contract and will remain a Los Angeles Laker instead of becoming a free agent.
Now the Lakers and Bryant’s agent will negotiate a contract extension. If they somehow cannot agree, he would earn $23 million next season and could opt out next June.
However, Bryant has spent his entire 13-year career with the team, winning four NBA championships and on June 19 he said, “I’m not going anywhere. I know I ain’t going nowhere, so it’s just a waste of our breaths just talking about it.”
Bryant has urged the Lakers to bring back unrestricted free agent forwards Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom, who played key roles in the team’s recent run to its 15th NBA title.
Bryant will make a guaranteed $47.8 million over the next two years and could earn another $90 million with an extension. As the SI.com article notes, the Lakers can now turn their attention on retaining Ariza and Odom.
Check back for TSR NBA guru John Paulsen’s take on this subject later.
The New York Times recently discussed how the NFL would be better served if it changed its overtime format from sudden death to something more fair.
One idea drummed up (although not by the NY Times, but by a Packers fan named Chris Quanbeck) was to have a silent auction between the two head coaches to determine field possession.
Quanbeck’s idea was to auction off possession of the ball in the natural currency of the game: field position. The team that was willing to begin closest to its own goal line would receive the privilege of possession.
Quanbeck and his brother Andrew described several auction options. Here’s the one that seems most realistic:
3). Silent Auction
Each coach writes down a yard-line at which they would elect to start their offense. The numbers are given to the referee in sealed envelopes; whichever coach picked the lower yard-line wins the auction and get the ball first. The game plays out in sudden death.
Fairness and drama — those are two requisites of any sport. As with the N.F.L.’s replay challenges and tennis’s Hawk-Eye challenges, the auction system aims for a more just conclusion but also to make it more appealing to fans. The sealed bids add strategy and suspense. They would lead to more second-guessing of coaches, which would be more fun for everybody except coaches (which is why it will be difficult to get this through the competition committee).
But how can this not be better for the league and its fans?
While the New York Times agrees that this is a great idea, I think this would be absolutely ridiculous. If we’re going to do all this, why not just keep the freaking coin toss? Why make this be a guessing game between the coaches, who have better things to worry about (i.e. trying to win a football game) then to try and figure out what the other coach will be writing down?
Why doesn’t the NFL just have the team mascots run around the field once and race for which team will get first possession in overtime? Or better yet, if the league is looking for more drama, why don’t we have the cheerleaders strip at midfield and the fans can vote on which team should be award first possession? I hate to crap on this guy’s idea, but aren’t we getting a little ridiculous here?
The NFL needs to either keep the current sudden death formula or adopt the college football format where each team gets at least one possession. Anything else would be too involved and seem unnecessary.
SI.com compiled a ranking of the 50 highest-earning American athletes and discovered that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are at the top of the list.
1. Tiger Woods
Pro Golf
Last Year’s Rank: 1
Salary/Winnings: $7,737,626
Endorsements: $92,000,000
Total: $99,737,626
Tiger sacrificed millions in appearance fees during his year off to recover from knee surgery, but replaced his lucrative Buick deal — voided by mutual consent — with a new one from AT&T.
2. Phil Mickelson
Pro Golf
Last Year’s Rank: 2
Salary/Winnings: $6,350,356
Endorsements: $46,600,000
Total: $52,950,356
Like Tiger, Phil no longer counts on a car-maker in his endorsement portfolio. (Ford chose not to re-sign him.) He still has lucrative deals with Rolex, Callaway, Exxon, Barclay’s and KPMG.
3. LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
Last Year’s Rank: 3
Salary/Winnings: $14,410,581
Endorsements: $28,000,000
Total: $42,410,581
LeBron has one more season left under his deal before he can opt out. If Cleveland doesn’t show it’s Finals-worthy by next spring, expect the Knicks to come in with a huge offer.
4. Alex Rodriguez
New York Yankees (MLB)
Last Year’s Rank: 6 (tie)
Salary/Winnings: $33,000,000
Endorsements: $6,000,000
Total: $39,000,000
We’re in the middle of A-Rod’s peak earning power in his middle-loaded, 10-year megadeal: He’ll make another $33 million in 2010 and then gradually decrease to a “normal” $20 million by ‘17.
The Big Bargaining Chip? Regardless of his trade to Cleveland, Shaq is in the final year of the five-year, $100 million deal he signed while with Miami. It’s the largest expiring deal in the NBA.
No. 10 Peyton Manning
Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
Last Year’s Rank: 9
Salary/Winnings: $14,500,000
Endorsements: $13,000,000
Total: $27,000,000
NFL’s top endorser has distributed $500,000 in grants in ‘09 through his PayBack Foundation to charities in Indianapolis, near his alma mater (Tennessee) and his hometown, New Orleans.
It’s amazing that the highest paid NFL player (Peyton Manning) barely cracked the top 10. Granted, the NFL only has a 17-game regular season, but you’d think that for what football players put their bodies through every season that they would make more than baseball players, golfers and basketball players.
Although he is pitching well this season despite his overall numbers, seeing Zito’s name on this list at No. 26 makes me shudder. He’s the third best pitcher (maybe fourth depending on how high you value Randy Johnson) on his own club, yet he’s the 26th highest-earning American athlete. Still, it should be noted that Zito donates $400 for every strikeout that he throws to the Strikeouts for Troops charity that he created to help hospitals treat soldiers that are wounded in military operations. In fact, as the article notes, a lot of the guys on this list give thousands of dollars to charities every year and that shouldn’t be overlooked.
