Month: August 2010 (Page 20 of 59)

      Chauncey Billups on the Carmelo situation

      August 21, 2010 /
      Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony (15) and Chauncey Billups (7) argue the call in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Western Conference finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 19, 2009. The Lakers defeated the Nuggets 105-103 to lead the best-of-seven series 1-0. (UPI Photo/Jim Ruymen) Photo via Newscom Photo via Newscom

      The Denver Post spoke with Chauncey Billups, who had some advice for Carmelo Anthony:

      “It’s tough, but I think that’s the one thing he has to do, is whoever it is in his camp that’s speaking and talking and doing whatever, he has to take that up with them and say ‘Listen, where’s all of this coming from?’ ” Billups said. “That’s something that internally he has to fix.

      “Honestly, I think that the publications and things are out of control. None of this stuff has come out of Melo’s mouth. He has not once said he didn’t want to be a Nugget. He loves Denver, he loves the Nuggets, he loves the fans. So, it’s a part of him that I’m sure is eating him up a little bit because he’s taken all this press, and he’s not said one thing to support or to not support what they are saying. He’s just trying to enjoy his summer, chill out.”

      The news is leaking out, and that may be planned or unplanned, but according to Ric Bucher and people of his ilk, Anthony isn’t keeping his desire to play for the Knicks a secret.

      Hell, even his new bride, LaLa Vasquez, is talking about possibly moving to New York:

      “Us being in New York is a possibility,” LaLa told the Daily News’ Amanda Sidman. “It depends on ‘Melo’s career and where it takes him. There’s a lot of talk about the Knicks, I mean, there’s a lot of teams out there, he’s a great player and I think collectively we just need to think about what makes sense for our family. But I would never say that being in New York is not an option, I’d be lying to you if I said that.”

      LaLa, who is from Brooklyn, admitted that she’s always been a Knicks fan “until I met my husband, then I jumped ship to the Nuggets. ‘Melo will tell you, and all the players will tell you no matter where their loyalty is, there aren’t many places like Madison Square Garden. They’ll all say that, and it’s nothing against their teams but there is a different energy in there, and you really can’t top that.”

      One reason that Carmelo isn’t really discussing his situation is because he will be fined if he publicly requests a trade.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Report: Roger Clemens turned down plea agreement

      August 21, 2010 /
      New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens testifies before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the Mitchell Report and its allegations that Clemens used performance enhancing drugs on Capitol Hill in Washington on February 13, 2008. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch) Photo via Newscom Photo via Newscom

      According to a report by ESPN.com, Roger Clemens was offered a plea agreement but his attorney Rusty Hardin said that his client declined the offer.

      “The government made a recommendation [for a plea agreement] and we declined,” Hardin said. “I will tell you the recommendation they made was a very good one if he was guilty. And if he was guilty we would have jumped on it. Everybody has all this great solicitous advice, all the media and you guys — ESPN. Nobody is answering the question: What if he didn’t do it, what should he have done? And everybody wants him to confess.

      “I have even heard people suggest that even if he didn’t do it he should have said he did so that everybody will move on. That is a helluva commentary.”

      Hardin reiterated he and his staff have drilled Clemens on the need to fess up, if he did steroids or human growth hormone.

      “He’s been told from the beginning if he did it he ought to do exactly what Andy [Pettitte] did. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that. And everybody assumes it is his arrogance and his ego that kept him from doing it.

      “He wasn’t the greatest witness before Congress, I understand that. But I got to tell you, we’ve sat on him probably for 100 of our hours over the last two-and-a-half years, always with the same thing: ‘If you did it, the best thing to do is just admit it and move on and we’ll deal with it.’ He has never, ever wavered.”

      Talk about rolling the dice. If he’s guilty and he didn’t accept this deal when he had the chance, then he’s absolutely out of his mind. The government has essentially given him a nice out and he decided not to take it, so he’s either truly innocent or clinically insane.

      I will give Clemens this – he has maintained his innocence throughout this whole ordeal. He’s never wavered in his denial about talking steroids and obviously he’s willing to go to extreme measures to prove his innocence. One would think that if he were guilty, he would have taken the deal and then faced the public scrutiny to avoid jail time.

      Of course, I wouldn’t put it past Clemens to go to jail and maintain his innocence, rather than accept a plea agreement and admit that he’s been lying this entire time. Even if he’s proven guilty in the court of law, he could continue to tell the public that he never juiced and that he was screwed by the judicial system.

      What a mess.

      External Sports, MLB

      Vincent Jackson to the Seahawks – pipedream or reality?

      August 21, 2010 /
      SAN DIEGO - JANUARY 17: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers stands on the field during AFC Divisional Playoff Game against the New York Jets at Qualcomm Stadium on January 17, 2010 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

      Multiple sources claim that the Chargers have granted the Seahawks permission to discuss a contract with unsigned wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who is currently holding out because San Diego won’t give him a long-term deal.

      But will a trade between these two teams ever get off the ground?

      According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune, Jackson is seeking $30 million guaranteed on a five-year, $50 million contact. Will the Hawks be willing to fork over that kind of money and the compensation it’ll take to acquire him from San Diego? There’s no doubt that they could use an upgrade at receiver and Jackson gives them the deep threat that they covet, but that’s a steep price to pay.

      The Broncos were able to acquire two second round picks from the Dolphins for Brandon Marshall, so that’ll likely be a starting point for the Chargers and Seahawks when discussing Jackson’s worth. Granted, Jackson has to serve a three-game suspension at the start of the season and has yet to report to camp this summer, but he proved how productive he could be last year so two second rounders isn’t unreasonable. He’s also in the prime of his career and there’s little doubt that he has the ability to live up to what Seattle would have to part with in order to acquire him.

      But will a deal get done or will GM A.J. Smith continue to play hardball with V-Jax until the receiver finally gives in and plays on a one-year tender? It appears as though Jackson is willing to holdout well into the regular season, but these situations usually have a way of working themselves out in the end.

      Stay tuned.

      External Sports, NFL

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      August 21, 2010 /

      With football season upon us, that’s when baseball gets real interesting. To me, there is no better time of year than that first weekend in October when you have four MLB playoff series and a full slate of NFL games. As for the pennant races, they’re starting to shift and some teams are beginning to pull away while others lose hold on their position…

      1. New York Yankees (75-47)—A one-game lead but the Mariners are in town this weekend, so it’s as good a time as any to start padding the margin over the Rays and Sox again.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (74-48)—Still hanging on, as the Yankees continue to look in their collective rear-view mirror.

      3. San Diego Padres (73-48)—The Giants had their five-game winning streak, and the Padres answered with one of their own, widening their late August lead to 6 games over the G-men until losing last night. Is there any question about manager of the year here?

      4. Atlanta Braves (72-50)—Bobby Cox hopes his team will feast on Cubs’ pitching at Wrigley while the Phils face the Nats at home.

      5. Texas Rangers (68-53)—The Rangers lost four in a row this past week but still have a seven-game lead over the A’s and Angels. I’d say they have nothing to worry about.

      6. Minnesota Twins (71-51)—As we suspected, the Twins keep adding to their lead, now 4.5 games over the White Sox.

      7. Cincinnati Red (71-51)—Just when the Cardinals made a statement, the Reds have now won 7 in a row while St. Louis has lost 5 straight, giving Dusty Baker’s boys a 4.5 game lead and increasing the chances Brandon Phillips will start smack-talking again, if he hasn’t already.

      8. Boston Red Sox (69-54)—Time is running out on the Sox, and also on Roger Clemens’ days as a free man.

      9. Philadelphia Phillies (69-52)—They’ve stayed hot, but so have the Braves. Do you think the Phils wish they still had Cliff Lee?

      10. San Francisco Giants (69-54)—Only trailing Philly in the wild card chase by one game, two in the loss column. But a recent slide took them out of that spot and their hopes of a division crown are fading away.

      External Sports, MLB

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