Month: July 2009 (Page 20 of 59)

      Jazz not looking to move Boozer?

      July 22, 2009 /

      GM Kevin O’Connor disputes the notion that he and Carlos Boozer’s camp have mutually agreed to a trade.

      Utah Jazz GM Kevin O’ Connor refuted a statement by Boozer that he and the Jazz had mutually agreed to a trade during an interview with 1320 KFAN on Tuesday afternoon. O’Connor dismissed Boozer’s recent assertions that a trade from Utah was imminent, saying that the power forward is committed to a contract and must fulfill it.

      “We have not told Carlos that we will trade him,” said Jazz player personnel director Kevin O’Connor in a Twitter post by David Locke of KFAN. “We have not mutually agreed to trade him. We are here to win games.”

      This could be a case of the Jazz just trying to play down their desperation/desire to move Boozer in the attempt to get the best possible deal. It’s the difference between someone using terms like “must sell” and “firm” when trying to sell a car.

      The Jazz just spent a sizable sum on Paul Millsap and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to have two of your highest paid players playing the same position. Utah is now deep into luxury tax territory, and since Boozer’s contract is expiring, the Jazz aren’t just going to trade him for expiring deals. They need to get a good young prospect out of the deal, or else they’ll just hold onto Boozer for the rest of the season.

      The Jazz are still very likely to move him, but it may not happen until the trade deadline. Typically, the best possible deals occur in the summer, so I’d expect Boozer to be moved before the season starts, though there’s no guarantee it will happen.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Blue Jays unlikely to trade Halladay

      July 22, 2009 /

      Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has set a July 28 deadline to complete a deal for ace Roy Halladay, but admits that a trade is probably unlikely.

      “At this point, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll trade Doc,” Ricciardi said Tuesday.

      “No one has really stepped up yet,” Ricciardi said. “We’ve got to be highly motivated to move him. We haven’t been highly motivated yet.”

      “In three days, not much is probably going to happen,” Ricciardi said. “It’s such a magnitude, the trade. He’s got to OK the team he’s going to, we’ve got to agree on prospects. That doesn’t happen, traditionally in baseball, in one hour. I think we need a little more time than that.”

      If a trade is unlikely, then I have to question Ricciardi’s thinking behind putting Halladay (somewhat) on trade market in the first place. Granted, he’s said all along that he would have to be blown away by any offer, but what was he expecting?

      If he believed that some team was just going to swoop in and offer him three top prospects and a bona fide All-Star for Halladay without even attempting to do the negotiation dance, then Ricciardi has been in la-la land the entire time. Halladay is a phenomenal pitcher and could easily make a playoff contender into a World Series favorite, but the Doc is also 32, doesn’t come cheap, and becomes a free agent in a year and a half. That’s a lot to consider for a team even remotely interested in him, nevertheless one seriously entertaining putting a package together.

      I think Ricciardi never had serious intentions on trading Halladay in the first place. Putting Halladay on the trade market this year was essentially a practice round for him next year when he will actually have to move the ace before Doc becomes a free agent after the 2010 season. With the Jays freefalling out of first place following a red-hot start, Ricciardi couldn’t risk the backlash he would receive trading away the club’s most popular player.

      While there’s still a chance he could be dealt, it appears that Halladay is going to be a Blue Jay until this time next year.

      MLB

      Mets VP challenges Double-A team to a fight

      July 22, 2009 /

      Things are bad for the New York Mets. How bad you ask? Bad to the point where the VP of player development is ripping off his shirt, calling a Double-A player a “part of a woman’s anatomy” and then challenging the entire team to a fight.

      The Binghamton Mets clubhouse nearly turned into a scene out of WWE Raw recently, when VP for player development Tony Bernazard removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade, multiples sources told the Daily News.
      Bernazard particularly went after middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using a slang term associated with a woman’s anatomy, a source indicated. The confrontation happened about 10days before the All-Star break, according to insiders.

      While the 52-year-old Bernazard’s actions were over-the-top no matter what the motivation, alleged underage drinking on the team apparently was one motivation for the eruption, an organization source said. Still, sending players to counseling rather than challenging them to a rumble might have been a more appropriate course of action.

      The shoddy treatment of people in the system has led to mocking of the VP behind his back.

      Hey, when you’ve got a bunch of underage players getting all hopped up on the alcohol and playing like a bunch of women’s anatomies, then sometimes the only thing to do is rip off your shirt and challenge them to a fight. I mean, the audacity of some of these players going out drinking after the games; wait until they get to the big leagues – where players go directly home following games and usually cozy up to a nice book.

      The entire Mets organization is a freaking mess right now. The big league club can’t keep anyone healthy, the GM is clueless and the VP of player development is ripping off his shirt and challenging the Double-A team to a fight. Ridiculous…but hilarious.

      MLB

      Goodell to look into Roethlisberger sexual assault allegations

      July 22, 2009 /

      According to a report by NFL.com, commissioner Roger Goodell said that he’s going to look into the sexual assault allegations that have been brought upon Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

      NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he is looking into the allegations against Roethlisberger, one of the biggest names in sports. He has won two Super Bowl titles in his five-year career and is about to report to training camp as the Steelers look to repeat as champions.

      “I don’t know enough of the details, but it’s a civil lawsuit, it’s something that we obviously will look into,” Goodell said when asked about it in New York during an unrelated news conference. “I’ve been in touch with the Steelers about it.”

      Roethlisberger’s lawyer adamantly denied the allegations Tuesday.

      “Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone,” David Cornwell said in a statement. “The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct. If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated.”

      I’ll say the same thing today as I did yesterday when these allegations first came out: We don’t know enough yet to assume anything. We can speculate all we want but the fact of the matter is that there’s no factual evidence that suggests Big Ben did anything wrong.

      One thing is for sure though, Goodell isn’t going to tolerate any player tarnishing the NFL shield. So if Big Ben is found guilty of any wrongdoing, you can rest assure that Goodell is going to make him pay because no individual player is above the league.

      NFL

      Blazers interested in Andre Miller?

      July 21, 2009 /

      After Hedo Turkoglu decided to play for the Raptors and after the Jazz made it clear that they’d match the Blazers’ offer sheet to Paul Millsap, we all wondered what Portland’s Plan C would be. Apparently, it’s Andre Miller.

      A deal is not imminent, but there has been progress made toward resolving Miller’s status, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.

      The Blazers have been looking to upgrade at point guard but didn’t get very far in talks with Dallas guard Jason Kidd (who re-signed with the Mavericks) or Phoenix’s Steve Nash (who agreed to a two-year, $22 million extension with the Suns on Monday). Portland was not looking hard at Miller because the Blazers thought they needed to add someone to the roster with more perimeter shooting skills than the 33-year-old. But with $7.7 million in cap room and a dwindling number of free agents available, Miller may be Portland’s last best chance to bring in a veteran player that can help its young core.

      For now, according to a source, the Blazers do not have any interest in Lakers free agent forward Lamar Odom, whose negotiations with Los Angeles on a new contract have stalled.

      I’ve been hearing all summer how Miller is a poor fit for the Blazers given their overall pace (29th in the league) and desire to surround Brandon Roy with as many shooters as possible. (Miller is a career 21% three-point shooter.) So the Blazers’ sudden interest is surprising.

      While Odom doesn’t represent the kind of toughness the Blazers want to add to their front line, Portland is uniquely positioned to wrest him away from Los Angeles, which would serve a big blow to the Lakers’ chances of winning another title.

      Portland could work with Miami to help the Heat facilitate a trade for Carlos Boozer. Udonis Haslem is a good, hard-nosed player who can shoot the ball, and while he’s not truly starter-caliber, he’d be a nice guy to have on the bench.

      Or they could go after Boozer themselves, if they can get the Jazz to answer their calls after trying to steal Millsap away earlier this month.

      If the Blazers aren’t worried about having a point guard that can shoot, they should go after Ramon Sessions, who is just as productive as Miller, but 10 years his junior and quite a bit cheaper.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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