Month: July 2008 (Page 29 of 39)

      Thursday Morning Headliners: Cubs, Sox rolling again

      July 10, 2008 /

      – With their 5-1 victory over the Reds, the Cubs appear to be back on track. Ace Carlos Zambrano gave up just one run on one hit over eight innings of work, striking out five in the process. Chicago has now won three in a row.

      – The Cubs’ cross town rivals the White Sox are also steamrolling along. The Chi Sox picked up their fourth straight victory on Wednesday, topping the Royals 7-6. Carlos Quentin homered twice while driving in four RBI and scoring three runs. Chicago now has a 3.5 game lead over the Twins in the AL Central.

      – Speaking of the Twins, the Red Sox gave them the beating of a lifetime at Fenway. Boston finished with 23 hits in an 18-5 romp as Josh Beckett won his ninth game of the year. You know things are going your way when your backup catcher (Kevin Cash), who’s hitting .241 on the season by the way, hits his first two dingers of the year in the same game.

      – The Indians continue to freefall, dropping their 10th straight in an 8-6 loss to Detroit. The Tribe jumped out to a 6-0 lead over six innings, but the Tigers chipped away and in the bottom of the ninth, Miguel Cabrera hit a walk off home run off reliever Jensen Lewis.

      – The Mets shutout the Giants for the second straight night, as Johan Santana finally picked up another win in New York’s 5-0 victory. Before Wednesday’s victory, Santana had gone six straight starts without a win. He lasted five innings, yielding just three hits against San Francisco.

      MLB

      The Packers should bring back Brett Favre

      July 9, 2008 /

      I know Brett Favre’s “will he or won’t he” act is getting tiresome.

      I know it’s not fair to Aaron Rodgers.

      I know this might make the Packers worse off in two or three years.

      But if Brett Favre really wants to return to football, the Packers should take him back. There’s no other reasonable choice. Favre holds the keys. He can un-retire whenever he wants to. If/when he does, then the Packers either have to play him, trade him or release him, and those last two options aren’t really options.

      This is a guy who threw for 4155 yards and 28 touchdowns, and had a quarterback rating of 95.7, which was the sixth best in the league last season. If not for Tom Brady’s insane year, Favre probably would have been the front runner to win the MVP award, which would have been the fourth of his career. Despite the fact that his interception in overtime against the Giants ended the Packers season, Favre had the highest QB rating of any signal caller in the playoffs (99.0).

      Clearly, the guy can still play. I was absolutely stunned when he decided to hang ’em up with the Packers this close to the Super Bowl.

      He gives the Packers the best chance to win now. Rodgers may or may not be a good quarterback. Favre proved in 2007 that he’s still a great one. Life isn’t fair, and Rodgers hasn’t been dealt the best hand. If I’m Mike McCarthy, I just shrug my shoulders and say, “Them’s the breaks, kid. Keep your dobber up.”

      I don’t buy the secondhand reports that Green Bay GM Ted Thompson forced Favre out. Everything he said after the season implied that it was Favre’s decision, and with the way he played all year, there was no reason for Thompson to force him out. And there was no reason for Favre to allow himself to be forced out. The entire Packer Nation wanted him to return for another season and I’d bet that a majority would love to see #4 under center come September.

      But only if he’s wearing the green and gold.

      And, assuming he actually wants to play, that’s why the Packers have to take him back.

      Update: I changed my mind later that season when I found out that Favre actually unretired twice in the spring/summer of 2008.

      Fantasy Football, NFL, Rumors & Gossip, Super Bowl

      Bucks extend Andrew Bogut

      July 9, 2008 /

      I estimated Andrew Bogut’s value to be $12.0-$12.5 million per season. Apparently, he and the Bucks both think it’s more than that.

      The Bucks are making a serious commitment to center Andrew Bogut, who will sign a five-year extension of around $72.5 million, according to agent David Bauman.

      Bogut’s deal is one of the largest in franchise history, ranking with the six-year, $91 million deal signed by Michael Redd in the summer of 2005. Point guard Mo Williams signed a six-year, $51 million contract last summer, when he was an unrestricted free agent.

      So that’s $14.5 M a year for a guy that averaged 14.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks last season. The contract looks better when his performance after the All-Star break (16.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks) is taken into account. Bogut is also one of the best passing big men in the game; he has a career average of 2.6 assists per game.

      The bottom line is that, at 23, he’s one of the best young big men in the game, but I still think the Bucks overspent a little. Unfortunately, that’s the case for most small-market teams – they have to overspend to keep their stars.

      The good news is that Bogut’s personality should mesh with the hard-nosed philosophy of new coach Scott Skiles. With the addition of Richard Jefferson and Joe Alexander, the Bucks will be an interesting team to watch this year.

      Update: The base salary of this contract is five-years, $60 million, with incentives (All-Star appearances, etc.) possibly taking the deal up to $72.5 million. The deal looks a lot better when it’s laid out in those terms. I estimated Bogut’s worth to be $12.0 M – $12.5 M, so I think the Bucks did pretty well here.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Carolla thinks “Rocky III” fights might have been staged

      July 9, 2008 /

      Bullz-Eye.com recently chatted with entertainer Adam Carolla on a variety of topics, including his new boxing-themed comedy, “The Hammer.” In the interview, Carolla notes in a roundabout way that he doesn’t think the boxing scenes in “Rocky III” were very realistic.

      Bullz-Eye.com: Well, given your boxing experience, I guess you didn’t actually have a fight choreographer on the film, per se.

      Adam Carolla: We did some work on it in advance, but not too much. And it ended up just kind of going out the window, anyway. We ended up kind of working it out. I mean, I knew how to do it, and we weren’t making “Rocky III” here. I mean, we knew the fight scenes were going to be…we tried to make them as effective as possible, but we knew with our budget…and the budget is really just about time constraints…you have to keep moving. We knew that stuff would be, like, hopefully realistic and effective, but not on a grand scale. Plus, I wanted to make something that was a little less theatrical in the boxing department because boxing matches don’t go…it’s, like, Mr. T doesn’t punch Sylvester Stallone in the face 10 times in a row and then Stallone yells, “Come on!” You hit the ground. You get hit that many times, and it makes you angry. Plus, it was amateur boxing. I was trying to make it a little…there is a little difference between the amateur and the pro ring. I was trying to kind of focus on that.

      What’s Carolla talking about? Looks like a realistic fight to me:

      General Sports, Video

      Vick files for bankruptcy

      July 9, 2008 /

      To say suspended Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is having financial problems is like saying Major League Baseball has a small issue with steroids. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Vick has filed for bankruptcy.

      In the court documents, Vick lists seven creditors, including the Falcons, that are owed a total of $12.8 million. The debt to the Falcons is for $3.75 million, listed as a pro rated signing bonus. The documents indicate the claim is disputed.

      The largest of Vick’s creditors is Joel Enterprises with a claim of $4.5 million. Andrew Joel, a Richmond sports agent, filed a lawsuit against Vick in 2006 claiming he reneged on an endorsement deal agreed upon after leaving Virginia Tech early for the NFL.

      Another creditor listed is Radtke Sports, of Woodstock, for $550,000. According to the attorney for Radtke, Vick had an exclusive autograph deal with the company and that he can no longer fulfill his obligation due to his imprisonment.

      Court documents also lists three banks as creditors. Two of the banks, Wachovia and Royal Bank of Canada, recently received judgments against Vick.

      According to court documents, Vick’s “goal was to avoid bankruptcy and work out consensual resolutions with each of his creditors who, other than Joel [Enterprises], have been quite cooperative.”

      In 2004, Vick signed a ten-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons, with $37 million in guarantees. His rookie contract in 2001 was for $62 million. Granted, he hasn’t seen all of that money because of his, ahem, legal issues, but he only owes $12.8 million in debt. That amount of money should be pocket change for him, right? But he’s filing for bankruptcy? Man, the dog fighting business must be an expensive one.

      General Sports, NFL

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