Month: July 2009 (Page 54 of 59)

      Could the Bears have interest in Charles Rogers?

      July 3, 2009 /

      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.

      NFL

      Rangers owner Hicks borrows millions from MLB

      July 3, 2009 /

      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.

      MLB

      Report: Indians open to trading Lee, Martinez

      July 3, 2009 /

      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.

      MLB

      New BCS Committee Chief rips playoff idea

      July 3, 2009 /

      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.

      College Football

      Artest to L.A., Ariza to Houston

      July 3, 2009 /

      In a surprising sequence of events, Ron Artest has agreed to a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Trevor Ariza is headed to Houston with a five-year deal. Both contracts are of the mid-level variety, which are expected to start at about $5.8 million per season.

      J.A. Adande writes…

      Just as telling is the Lakers’ decision to go with Artest instead of younger Trevor Ariza. It shows they’re putting everything into these next three years and not worrying too much about the future. Ariza would have wanted a five-year contract; Artest was willing to come for three. The end of Artest’s contract coincides with the reported opt-out clause for Bryant. We don’t know whether Kobe will choose to leave in 2012, but we do know this: He’ll be 33 that summer, turning 34 in August. The three years with Artest probably represent Bryant’s last stages of physical superiority over the opposition. He’ll still be ahead of the pack in knowledge and determination, but we’ve already seen some slipping in his athletic ability and it will only decline from here.

      So the Lakers are thinking short-term and trying to squeeze in a couple more championships right now. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was even willing to increase his roster’s average age and let one of his best acquisitions walk away, two things general managers are generally loath to do.

      Artest gives the Lakers the same qualities as Ariza — perimeter defense and toughness — plus the ability to get his own shot, and a dash of crazy. Ariza wound up in Artest’s old spot in Houston, where he’s actually a better fit. With Yao Ming’s career on pause — at best — the Rockets have to position themselves to be good in a couple of years, perhaps by bringing in a major free agent in 2010 and/or having Yao return from treatment on his feet that might hinder him for the better part of two seasons. Amazing how quickly a team that seemed on the rise in these playoffs now finds itself retooling.

      We’ll never know if Ariza was just playing hardball when he expressed frustration that the Lakers wouldn’t offer more than the mid-level because the team called his bluff and moved on. I like this signing for the Rockets, who were originally interested in Orlando big man Marcin Gortat. But when the “Polish Hammer” reportedly made a verbal agreement to join the Mavs, the Rockets moved on to the 24-year-old Ariza.

      Artest is a little nutty, and he has the potential to sabotage the Lakers’ season, but it’s not like the team is championship-caliber because they have great chemistry. They don’t. They have more talent than anyone, and when Ariza became irritated with the Lakers’ unwillingness to go over the mid-level, they quickly moved on to their backup plan. Artest will accept his role in L.A. and should fit in just fine, at least defensively. But three years is a long time for him to behave; I expect he’ll have at least one dust up before it’s all said and done.

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