Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1194 of 1503)

Rays lose Carl Crawford for 6 weeks – will Barry Bonds receive a call?

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford will undergo surgery to repair a torn tendon band in his right hand. He’ll likely miss the rest of the regular season, but the club believes Crawford could return in six weeks and play in the postseason if the Rays make it.

The question now is, will the Rays reach out to Barry Bonds?

During a Giants’ game last week, Bonds told San Francisco play by play announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper that he was, “not retired” and wanted to still play in 2008. Bonds also noted that his legs are fresh and that he was healthier than he was last year.

Even though he could add pop to the Rays’ lineup, Bonds isn’t worth the trouble. A young team like Tampa doesn’t need to deal with the media circus that Bonds would bring to the clubhouse on a daily basis and while it’s unfortunate that they now have a whole in their outfield, maybe another veteran like Kenny Loften would be a better option than Bonds.

Red Sox acquire Indians starter Paul Byrd

The pitching-starved Boston Red Sox acquired Cleveland Indians’ starter Paul Byrd in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Boston’s rotation has been weakened by an injury to Tim Wakefield (15-day DL) and the struggles of youngster Clay Buchholz.

The Red Sox are awfully familiar with Byrd.

Byrd was at Fenway Park for Game 7 of last year’s American League Championship Series on the day the San Francisco Chronicle reported he had used human growth hormone from 2002 to 2005. He then said before the game that he had used HGH for a medical condition but that he never injected the banned drug without a doctor’s prescription.

“I have nothing to hide,” Byrd said about two hours before Game 7, in which Boston clinched the ALCS with its third straight win. “Everything has been done out in the open. I have a reputation. I do not want the fans of Cleveland or honest, caring people to think that I cheated.

“Because I didn’t.”

Byrd is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA this season, but he’s been outstanding since the All-Star Break, going 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA. Byrd will be a free agent at the end of the season, so the Tribe did a nice job getting something in return for the 37-year old vet.

The greatest sports dream jobs

BUSH LEAGUE TV complied a list of the greatest sports dream jobs. (Uh, other than being the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders’ massage therapist because that one is too easy.)

Equipment Manager, Oakland A’s, 1980’s:
It’s an easy day at work…pick up a bag of drugs, some ankle tape, some toilet paper and a vat of Old Spice on your way to the ballpark…the pay is mediocre but the parties are insane and you’ll probably get to write a book if you live through it.

Power Forward, Chicago Bulls, 1980’s and 1990’s:
You are the back-up to the greatest basketball player who ever lived. Stay loose my friend, we need 7 good minutes so MJ can cold kick it live with Luther Campbell for a bit before he jets in the early 4th quarter. Remember, you have fouls to give.

General Manager, Green Bay PACKERS, 1960’s and 1970’s:
It’s easy, do what Lombardi says as fast as you can. Make sure the paperwork gets done right. Voila. You are a champion.

The one about the Oakland A’s equipment manager is pretty damn funny.

Rams’ Todd Johnson getting much-deserved praise

The stat probably went largely unnoticed by most fans, but Rams’ safety Todd Johnson led the team with seven tackles in St. Louis’ 34-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans last Saturday. Johnson’s effort hasn’t gone unnoticed by Rams head coach Scott Linehan, however.

Johnson, who also plays on all the special-teams units, said he welcomed
the heavy workload.

“I think it makes (camp) go faster,” he said. “You’re into it, you’re
concentrating, and you’re working on your game. It’s been fun.”

Johnson started at free safety Saturday and then jumped over to strong
safety in the second half after Jerome Carter left because of a groin
injury.

“And (Johnson) didn’t want to come out,” Linehan said. “That’s what real
football players do; they want to stay in the game. He wanted to give us
the best chance to win the game.

“But that’s just Todd. Those are the kind of guys that are going to get us
over the hump.”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Johnson before the start of the 2007 season and he was one of the nicest athletes I’ve ever talked to. He’s certainly one of the NFL’s classiest and hard-working players and hopefully he continues to get recognition for what he does on the field.

According to LT, if you play Madden you’re probably boring in bed

Straight from Lawrence Taylor’s mouth to your ears – if you play the video game “Madden 09” you probably prefer the missionary position in bed. But damn it, if you play “Blitz II,” you’re not afraid to experiment.

Seriously, he said it.

Women everywhere just gained key knowledge into men’s bedroom behavior. Either that, or Lawrence Taylor is on crack again.

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