Month: June 2009 (Page 26 of 58)

      Does Ben Gordon have a promise from the Pistons?

      June 17, 2009 /

      The answer is yes, at least according to Sam Smith.

      But I also heard that Gordon’s agent allegedly has been saying he has an $11 million promise from the Pistons.

      First off, when a writer says that he “heard” that someone has “allegedly” been saying something, beware. But let’s assume for a moment that the report is accurate.

      On the surface, the Pistons’ interest doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Why replace Rip Hamilton with Ben Gordon? Isn’t Hamilton better?

      Gordon does have one thing on Rip — youth. He is 26, five years Hamilton’s junior. If Joe Dumars is planning to make a splash in free agency next summer, then he’s planning for a franchise resurgence in 2011, and Hamilton would be 33 at that point. If he signs Gordon, Dumars is just trying to make the Pistons younger.

      Hamilton still has a lot of value right now. He’s a sharpshooter and a pretty good defender, and there are more than a few teams that could use him. This is pure speculation, but how about a Hamilton for Boozer swap with Utah? The Jazz already have Ronnie Brewer — would they even go for it? The Spurs, Rockets, Cavs, Wizards and Hornets might be interested as well (though New Orleans is trying to trim salary, not add it.)

      Hamilton’s contract runs through the 2012-13 season but the final year isn’t fully guaranteed.

      I prefer Hamilton right now. Gordon can make some impossible shots, but he sometimes shoots the Bulls out of games. He averaged 24.3 points against the Celtics in this year’s playoffs, but he only shot 39% from the field (and 29% over the last three games). He did shoot better than 45% from the field during the regular season, which is solid for a shooting guard. I think $11 million per season is too much to pay in this market; given his faults (shot selection, suspect defense), I’d estimate Gordon’s value to be around $8 million per season.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Selig upset with steroid leaks

      June 17, 2009 /

      According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, baseball commissioner Bud Selig is upset that names from the 2003 list of players who tested positive for banned substances are being leaked to the media.

      Apparently Selig and others around Major League Baseball believe that a lawyer with the U.S. Attorney’s office (either past or present) ignored a court seal in order to give Sammy Sosa’s name to Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Daily News, who reported yesterday that the slugger was on the ’03 list.

      I don’t blame Selig for being peeved that someone is leaking names that were supposed to be kept anonymous. After all, the only reason the player’s union agreed to the ’03 drug testing was because the players who tested positive wouldn’t be punished and because their names would never be released.

      That said – give…me…a…break. If Selig wants to be upset with anything, how about he get upset with himself, the owners and the player’s union that allowed us to get to this point. He turned a blind eye to the steroid issue and now he wants to play victim. I guess he has to put on this little front about being mad about the leaks in efforts to settle down the player’s union, but he has nobody to blame but himself for this mess.

      What Selig should do is go back on his word to the player’s union and release the rest of the 104 names on that 2003 list before the media does. A-Rod and Sosa’s names have already been released – how much longer until more names are announced? If Selig thinks that the media is going to stop digging, he has another thing coming. He may anger the players and the union by releasing the names, but it’s well past time for people to start taking responsibility for what has happened to the game of baseball.

      MLB

      Kevin McHale, T-Wolves part ways

      June 17, 2009 /

      In what’s being described as a “mutual decision,” Kevin McHale will not be returning as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He took over the position after Randy Wittman was fired.

      McHale started his tenure as general manager by drafting Kevin Garnett straight out of high school. The pick led to eight straight playoff appearances for the T-Wolves, though the team didn’t advance past the first round until the final appearance in 2004, when Minnesota lost to the Lakers in six games.

      While the Garnett pick was a great one, McHale failed to surround his superstar with the right mix of talent to make the T-Wolves a perennial contender. For a list of his bad moves, click here.

      NBA, NBA Draft, News

      Report: Sosa worked out with A-Rod’s banned trainer

      June 17, 2009 /

      According to a report by the New York Daily News, Sammy Sosa worked out with Alex Rodriguez’s trainer Angel Presinal, who was banned by MLB for his involvement in selling and distributing performance-enhancing drugs.

      “He worked with him in 2001, 2002 and 2003 in the Dominican Republic,” the source said.

      Because Sosa is believed to have worked with Presinal in the D.R., where steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are legal and easy to obtain, and thanks to an artfully crafted statement at the 2005 congressional steroid hearing, it is unclear whether he would be subject to a congressional perjury investigation.

      Sosa, according to a report posted on The New York Times Web site yesterday, tested positive in 2003 during survey testing conducted by Major League Baseball and the Players Association to determine whether the sport needed to implement a permanent drug program. Two years later, Sosa, accompanied by a translator and a lawyer, appeared on a panel before the House Committee on Government Reform with Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Curt Schilling and Rafael Palmeiro and said he had “never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs.”

      “I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything,” Sosa said during the 11-hour, March 17, 2005, hearing. “I’ve not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic.”

      That sneaky bitch – Sosa said exactly the right thing not to get him into trouble. If he took steroids in the Dominican Republic and they’re legal there, then technically he didn’t break any laws in the United States or the D.R. as he said. And not all steroids are injected, so he could be bending the truth when he said he’s never had anything injected into himself or had anyone else inject him.

      If writers elect this chump into the Hall of Fame then baseball as we know it should cease to exists.

      MLB

      King: Broncos setting dangerous precedent

      June 17, 2009 /

      Peter King of SI.com writes that the Brandon Marshall situation in Denver is starting to resemble what happened with Jay Cutler a couple months back.

      The Brandon Marshall story is starting to smell like the Jay Cutler fiasco, with one exception: The Broncos are clamming up. During the Cutler thing, Josh McDaniels was an open book, talking to me four or five times at length about everything — how he had nothing against Cutler, how he didn’t offend him (in his view), about how he wanted Cutler to be his quarterback. But Monday night, I texted McDaniels, who is a big texter. Nothing. Texted his assistant and got back that the coach is laying low and had nothing to say for now. Texted Marshall, who’s also a texter. Nothing. So this one’s going to be contested below ground, it appears.

      My feeling is the Broncos will play a harder brand of hardball with Marshall, in part because he’s the second star trying to shoot his way out of town in four months. Owner Pat Bowlen might regret how precipitously the organization acted in rushing a franchise quarterback out of town if this stalemate with Marshall lasts into training camp.

      Yes, Marshall wants to be traded. Now the interesting story is whether Denver will acquiesce and, if so, what sort of precedent that will set. Cutler seemed to write a how-to book on The Right Way To Force a Trade. If the Broncos deal Marshall, the next time a star feeling underpaid (Ryan Clady, Ryan Harris, Eddie Royal, i.e.) wants out, the Broncos will have shown they’re weak and ineffective with unhappy players. That’s why I feel strongly they won’t let Marshall out, and they’ll let him sit as long as he wants, even if that means he won’t be in camp by September.

      The Broncos are an absolute mess right now. They fire Mike Shanahan and replace him with McDaniels and in the ensuing months, they’re essentially forced to trade their starting quarterback and might have to do the same with their most potent offensive weapon. Granted, this isn’t all McDaniels’ fault, but clearly players are taking issue with the way the team is being run right now.

      And King’s right – the team might be setting themselves up for future problems down the road.

      NFL

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