Month: July 2009 (Page 26 of 59)

      Odom-to-Miami looking like a real possibility

      July 19, 2009 /

      Yesterday, when we learned that Lamar Odom called Lakers owner Jerry Buss to try to smooth things over, it seemed (fairly) inevitable that the two sides would come to some sort of understanding and Odom would return to the Lakers. But a day later, it looks like there is a real chance that he may end up signing with the Miami Heat.

      Amid a growing sense around the league that the Miami Heat have a real shot at stealing Lamar Odom away from the Los Angeles Lakers, Odom is expected to take the weekend to ponder his next move.

      Sources with knowledge of Odom’s thinking told ESPN.com that he has not abandoned hope of resuscitating serious negotiations with L.A. after Lakers owner Jerry Buss angrily pulled a three-year, $27 million offer off the table earlier this week.

      According to a broadcast report Friday night from longtime L.A. television anchor Jim Hill, Odom called Buss directly on Thursday in an attempt to reignite talks.

      The Heat, meanwhile, have made it clear that they are prepared to offer the richest contract they can in an attempt to convince Odom to stop haggling with the Lakers, with the Dallas Mavericks also eager to offer the same fallback option.

      Heat star Dwyane Wade made a public plea Friday for Odom to return to the franchise that sent him to the Lakers in the Shaquille O’Neal deal in the summer of 2004, announcing that “we want him back home.”

      According to sources close to the process, Odom has been apprised that he can sign a five-year Heat deal consuming all of the team’s mid-level exception, which would be worth $34 million and include the option to return to free agency after three years and negotiate a larger contract with Miami.

      Read the rest of Marc Stein’s column (which he’s been updating throughout this process) here.

      I think this all comes down to Jerry Buss’s mood. Odom wouldn’t have called him if he didn’t want to take the Lakers’ offer. But Buss pulled the offer after negotiations fell apart, and it’s not clear how willing he is to open talks again.

      Ultimately, cooler heads are likely to prevail. With Richard Jefferson landing in San Antonio, Shawn Marion headed to Dallas, and Portland sitting on a load of cap space, the Lakers’ Western Conference foes are getting better, and even though they signed Ron Artest, they know they can’t afford to lose both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom this summer.

      Or maybe they can. Like I said, this all depends on Jerry Buss. He made Odom an offer that was well above his market value and Odom’s camp tried to put the squeeze on him.

      Hell hath no fury like an owner scorned.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Aikman, Holtz, Cooper inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

      July 19, 2009 /

      Along with 21 other ex-coaches and players, former UCLA and Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Troy Aikman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Former head coaches Lou Holtz and John Cooper were also inducted, as well as ex-players Thurman Thomas and Sam Mills.

      Among the others honored Saturday were former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, former Oklahoma State tailback Thurman Thomas, former Army quarterback Arnold Tucker and John Cooper, who coached at Ohio State, Arizona State and Tulsa.

      Jim Donnan, who coached at Marshall and Georgia, poked at Holtz for choosing an overseas opponent.
      “One thing about Lou, he knows how to schedule,” Donnan said. “Playing the Japanese he has a good chance of winning.”

      Holtz and Cooper agreed that the key to their successful careers were great players.

      “The difference between a good coach and a Hall of Fame coach is players,” Cooper said. “You win with people. Show me a winning coach and I’ll show you a coach that has good players.”

      Check out the entire list of inductees by clicking here.

      NFL

      Carson Palmer completely healthy?

      July 19, 2009 /

      After missing virtually the entire 2008 season with an elbow injury, Bengals’ quarterback Carson Palmer says that he is 100% again.

      “I’m great. I feel great. I’m 100 percent healthy, throwing, lifting, running all that stuff,” said Palmer, who played in just four games in 2008 after opting to forgo reconstructive surgery to repair a partially torn ligament and tendon in his right elbow. Instead, Palmer chose to let the tissue damage heal with rest and rehabilitation.

      And while he admitted his arm strength wasn’t where he wanted it to be during a late June minicamp, Palmer told FanHouse this week he’s now 100 percent physically, and confident in his belief that the elbow shouldn’t hamper him in 2009.

      “It’s just a big weight off of my shoulders. I didn’t know if I was going to have the ‘Tommy John’ surgery – I still wouldn’t be able to throw, to this day, if I had had that,” Palmer said. “I’m just thankful I didn’t have to go through that. The doctors who said that it would heal were right and it did heal. So I’ve been throwing, just doing everything to get geared up for the season.”

      The Bengals aren’t as bad as they appear to be – they’re just incredibly dysfunctional. The defense has a couple of young, talented pieces to build around (i.e. Keith Rivers, Leon Hall, Rey Maualuga, etc.) and if Palmer can stay healthy, he gives this team a chance to stay in ballgames.

      Of course the offensive line is a bit of a mystery and if this team is relying on Cedric Benson to be a consistent (key word: consistent) every down back, then it might be in for a rude awakening. Throw in Chad Ochocinco’s daily antics and it’s hard to get a good read on if Cincy is a potential dark horse or heading for a 4-12 season.

      Either way, the Bungles will certainly be an interesting team to follow in ’09.

      NFL

      Watson leads by one stroke at British Open

      July 19, 2009 /

      Heading into the final round of play at Turnberry golf course in Scotland, unexpected contender Tom Watson leads by a stroke at the 2009 British Open.

      Watson is turning this British Open into a fairy tale.

      Even as he slipped out of the lead Saturday in the testing breeze off the Firth of Clyde, Watson didn’t blink except to hold back the occasional tears. He is close enough to the claret jug to believe he can win again.

      A 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th gave him a share of the lead.

      Then came a hybrid 2-iron that took a bounce to the left and onto the green, setting up another birdie.

      When he walked up the 18th fairway, his name atop the massive yellow leaderboard, Watson had a 1-over 71 for a one-shot lead, leaving him 18 holes away from becoming the oldest major champion in history.

      Can this really happen?

      Even Watson wasn’t sure early in the week. Now, those doubts have morphed into determination.

      “The first day here, ‘Yeah, let the old geezer have his day in the sun,’ ” Watson said. “The second day you said, ‘Well, that’s OK.’ And now today, you kind of perk up your ears and say, ‘This old geezer might have a chance to win the tournament.’ I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know one thing. I feel good about what I did today. I feel good about my game plan.”

      I wonder how many media members in Scotland hit the pavement after Tiger Woods missed the cut on Friday. I couldn’t blame them seeing as how Tiger is usually the headline in any PGA event, but Watson is one hell of a walking story himself.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Watson can hang on today and win a major at 59.

      Golf

      Jared Allen: ‘Brett Favre situation is annoying.’

      July 18, 2009 /

      Count Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen in as someone who also finds Brett Favre’s dance with the Vikings annoying.

      But even the most patient of hunters has his limits, and Allen pretty much has reached his when it comes to the Vikings’ months-long pursuit of Brett Favre.

      “If we get Brett, then that’s a bonus,” the All-Pro defensive end said in a phone interview. “But let’s either get it done and get moving on with it or let it go.

      “It’s not so much that it’s a distraction because we’re professionals and don’t really buy into that. But it’s annoying.”

      “I say it all the time: If you can get a player of that caliber at any position, you take him,” Allen said. “If Lawrence Taylor came out of retirement, you take him just to see what he can do. … Brett absolutely has proven that he’s one of the best ever at what he does.

      “But our goals going into the off-season weren’t, let’s win a championship if we get Brett Favre. It’s, we’re going to win a championship. And I feel like we have two able quarterbacks to get that done.”

      One had to wonder what kind of an effect Favre’s song and dance with the Vikings would have on the players currently on Minnesota’s roster – and not just quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson. At some point, if you’re a player on the Vikings you get tired of trying to answer the same questions over and over again.

      This is something that seems to elude Favre. Never mind that an entire organization comprised of coaches, players and front office personnel has to wait for his decision – it’s all about Brett and what he wants to do. I don’t blame Allen, or anyone else for that matter, if they’re becoming a little annoyed about this pending marriage.

      NFL

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