Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 256 of 1503)

      The Yankees’ pursuit of Cliff Lee begins

      November 10, 2010 /
      Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cliff Lee pitches against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning of their MLB American League baseball game in Arlington, Texas July 10, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Stone (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      And so it begins.

      Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors (one of the greatest websites known to man) is reporting that the Yankees are flying into Arkansas on Wednesday to meet with Cliff Lee. After dinner, a movie and some not-so-harmless flirting, the Bombers hope to be doing the horizontal polka with Lee within the month.

      According to Rotoworld.com, Lee’s agent told the New York Daily News on Monday that he doesn’t anticipate his client signing quickly. Of course, he said this without seeing how many zeros will be attached to the Yankees’ offer, so things could change quickly.

      The Rangers still have a great shot to retain Lee, but as I’ve written several times before: they better pony up. That’s not to say that they have to match the Yankees’ asking price (they won’t, and neither will any other team), but they still have to make it worth Lee’s while to stay. He’s going to have another shot at a World Series title whether he stays with Texas or goes to New York, so money will certainly be a factor.

      Of course, the one thing the Yankees don’t have is the quiet lifestyle that Lee enjoys. He’s a great guy from the small town of Benton, Arkansas, so the big city lights of the Big Apple won’t to appeal to him like they would another free agent (or so one would think). Still, the opportunity to win a championship and become a gazillionaire may win out in the end.

      External Sports, MLB

      Report: Newton and his father admitted that money was involved in recruitment

      November 10, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Cameron Newton of the Auburn Tigers celebrates after their 24-17 over the LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      You knew that when the first report came out about Cam Newton and the possibility that money was involved in his transfer from a community college to Auburn that more would eventually come out.

      And it has.

      A day after reports surfaced that Newton had three instances of academic cheating while attending the University of Florida, ESPN.com is now saying that Newton and his father Cecil admitted in separate phone conversations to a pay-for-play plan while the quarterback was being recruited last year.

      Prior to Newton’s commitment to Auburn, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him it would take “more than a scholarship” to bring his son to Mississippi State, a request the source said the school would not meet. Cecil Newton also referred the recruiter to a third person that would provide more specifics, the source said.

      After Newton committed to Auburn, another source said an emotional Cam Newton phoned another recruiter to express regret that he wouldn’t be going to Mississippi State, stating that his father Cecil had chosen Auburn for him because “the money was too much.”

      The NCAA is investigating allegations surrounding the Newtons in regards to the recruiting process. Cam Newton, who is having a Heisman-caliber season for No. 2 Auburn, declined comment.

      Couple things here:

      1) Investigations like this take a while to complete, so it’s doubtful that Newton and Auburn’s season will be affected by these reports. Don’t forget that it took many years for the NCAA to file sanctions against USC for the Reggie Bush fiasco, and by that time Bush already had a Heisman, millions of dollars in the NFL and a Super Bowl ring. I doubt this will impact Newton’s Heisman chances or Auburn’s national title hopes…right now.

      2) However, this isn’t good for Auburn because this is the first time they’re essentially being accused of any wrongdoing. If Mississippi State couldn’t land Newton, then how did Auburn? Did they pony up for his services or did Newton pick Auburn over Mississippi State the ol’ fashioned way (i.e. hookers. I’m just kidding…sort of.).

      3) Is there any hard evidence here? So far there’s a lot of conjecture, but nothing that would allow the NCAA to punish Newton and/or Auburn. Does anyone have tapes of the conversations between Newton, his father and Mississippi State? Because if not, then how is any of this going to get proven? There’s a lot of he said, she said at the moment but zero evidence.

      About the only thing that’s for sure is that this isn’t over. More reports and allegations are forthcoming and the water has only begun to boil.

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 College Football Week 11 Odds

      November 10, 2010 /
      University of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier (C) talks with his team during a time out against the University of Kentucky in the first half of play in their NCAA football game at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, October 16, 2010. REUTERS/John Sommers II (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      No. 19 Mississippi State @ No. 12 Alabama, 7:15PM ET
      This is an interesting matchup. On one side, Alabama feels as though their season is practically over after suffering their second lost of the year last Saturday. On the other side, Mississippi State, which has the same record as the Crimson Tide, is enjoying its best run in more than a decade. The Tide own a 72-18-3 record in this series and have won the last two meetings by a combined score of 63-10. The Bulldogs are double-digit underdogs in this one and if they want to show the world that they deserve to move up in the rankings, then pulling off an upset in Tuscaloosa this Saturday would suffice.
      CURRENT ODDS: ALABAMA –13.5

      No. 23 South Carolina @ No. 22 Florida, 7:15PM ET
      Is there a game on the Week 11 scoreboard that carries more weight than this one? The winner will play in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta for a shot at an automatic BCS bowl berth. The Gamecocks are coming off an embarrassing 41-20 loss to Arkansas and have won just once in their last 19 tries against Florida (2005). They’ve also turned the ball over 11 times in their three losses and they have a penchant for folding down the stretch under Steve Spurrier. The Gators, on the other hand, have built a little momentum. After suffering three straight losses in the month of October, they’ve beaten Georgia and Vanderbilt the past two weeks and get the Gamecocks on their home turf. South Carolina could be walking into a buzz saw.
      CURRENT ODDS: FLORIDA –6.5

      No. 24 Kansas State @ No. 17 Missouri, 12:30PM ET
      You had the feeling that Missouri would eventually start to make its way back down the polls, but their loss last week was a punch to the gut. They led 17-3 at halftime against Texas Tech and then never scored another point as the Red Raiders came back to win, 24-17. With a win over the Wildcats on Saturday, the Tigers have a chance to claim sole possession of second place in the Big 12 North division. Kansas State only racked up nine passing yards in their 39-14 rout over Texas, as Daniel Thomas rushed for over 100 yards and two scores. This isn’t a very explosive team but K-State has a ton of weapons on the offensive side of the ball to pull off the upset this weekend in Columbia.
      CURRENT ODDS: MISSOURI –13

      Penn State @ No. 9 Ohio State, 3:30PM ET
      This game has taken on less meaning due to the Nittany Lions’ rebuilding year, but it’s still a solid Big Ten matchup. Ohio State has kind of been the forgotten team in the conference following its loss to Wisconsin two weeks ago. But the Buckeyes remain in the hunt for a Big Ten title along with Michigan State, Wisconsin and Iowa. That said, another loss and it’ll be all she wrote for OSU. They shouldn’t have much trouble disposing of a very average Penn State program but you never know. A win would make the Lions’ season.
      CURRENT ODDS: OHIO STATE -18

      2010 College Football Week 11 Opening Odds

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 NFL Week 10 Odds

      November 9, 2010 /
      BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 10: Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens huddles the offense during the game against the Denver Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium on October 10, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland. Players wore pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Ravens defeated the Broncos 31-17. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

      Ravens (6-2) @ Falcons (6-2), Thursday, 8:20PM ET
      The best game on the Week 10 schedule and nobody will get to see if because it’ll be on the NFL Network. What a shame. The Falcons are 4-0 at home this year and have only lost once at the Georgia Dome when Matt Ryan starts. The Falcons’ secondary better be up for the challenge because the Ravens definitely have an advantage against the 26th overall pass defense in the league. Atlanta has the sixth-best run defense in the league but if it can’t stop Joe Flacco and Anquan Boldin then it’ll be a long night in the dirty south.
      CURRENT ODDS: FALCONS –1

      Patriots (6-2) @ Steelers (6-2), Sunday, 8:20PM ET
      After that debacle last week with the Cowboys in Green Bay, NBC deserves this matchup on Sunday night. The Patriots may have been caught looking ahead to this game when they were crushed by the Browns last weekend in Cleveland. Bill Belichick’s teams usually don’t play poorly two weeks in a row but Pittsburgh’s defense has a way of making opponents look bad. That said, the Steelers have a mess of injuries on their offensive line and while New England isn’t a great pass rushing team, the Pats may have an advantage down in the trenches. No offense to the Colts or Ravens, but will this be a matchup of the AFC title game?
      CURRENT ODDS: STEELERS –4.5

      Eagles (5-3) @ Redskins (4-4), Monday, 8:30PM ET
      If Donovan McNabb wants to shut his critics up and prove to Mike Shanahan that he should be the only one taking snaps this year for the Redskins, then a win against the Eagles on Monday night would go a long way. He beat his former team earlier in the season but that was when Michael Vick left the game with a rib injury. Assuming Vick stays healthy, things could play out much differently this Monday in D.C. Perhaps no quarterback is playing as well as Vick is now, but he’ll face a pissed off McNabb that had two weeks to stew over Shanahan’s ridiculous decision to play Rex Grossman in the final minutes of a loss to the Lions in Week 8. Buckle your chip strap because we’re about to have an ol’ fashioned NFC East showdown in Washington this week.
      CURRENT ODDS: EAGLES -3

      Titans (5-3) @ Dolphins (4-4), Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      Outside of the Steelers, no team has attempted less passes this year than the Tennessee Titans. Considering Randy Moss can get a little cranky when he doesn’t get enough looks in the passing game, things might get a little tense in Tennessee over the remainder of the year. That said, there’s no doubt that Moss makes the Titans’ more dangerous and teams won’t be able to stack the box in order to take away Chris Johnson. They just better make sure that Moss sees his fair share of passes or else things could get real ugly in a hurry.
      CURRENT ODDS: TITANS -1

      2010 NFL Week 10 Odds & Over/Under Totals

      105 Baltimore Ravens +1 (43)
      106 Atlanta Falcons –1 (43)
      215 Cincinnati Bengals +7.5 (47)
      216 Indianapolis Colts -7.5 (47)
      217 Houston Texans +1 (50)
      218 Jacksonville Jaguars –1 (50)
      219 Tennessee Titans -1 (42.5)
      220 Miami Dolphins +1 (42.5)
      221 Minnesota Vikings –1 (40)
      222 Chicago Bears +1 (40)
      223 Detroit Lions +3 (43)
      224 Buffalo Bills -3 (43)
      225 New York Jets –3 (37.5)
      226 Cleveland Browns +3 (37.5)
      227 Carolina Panthers +6.5 (35.5)
      228 Tampa Bay Buccaneers -6.5 (35.5)
      229 Kansas City Chiefs –1 (42)
      230 Denver Broncos +1 (42)
      231 St. Louis Rams +5.5 (38.5)
      232 San Francisco 49ers –5.5 (38.5)
      233 Seattle Seahawks +3 (41)
      234 Arizona Cardinals -3 (41)
      235 Dallas Cowboys +13.5 (45)
      236 New York Giants -13.5 (45)
      237 New England Patriots +4.5 (45)
      238 Pittsburgh Steelers -4.5 (45)
      239 Philadelphia Eagles –3 (41.5)
      240 Washington Redskins +3 (41.5)

      Make some cash with your questionable habits! SBR’s Beat the Prick Handicapping contest kicks off on Sept. 7, with up to $10,000 up for grabs in weekly prizes. Do you know football? Enter now!

      External Sports, NFL

      Report: Newton had three instances of academic cheating at Florida

      November 9, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - NOVEMBER 6: Quarterback Cam Newton of the Auburn Tigers watches a replay of a touchdown run against the Chattanooga Mocs November 6, 2010 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

      FOXSports.com is reporting that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton had three separate instances of academic cheating while enrolled at Florida in 2007 and 2008.

      Newton was arrested for the theft of a laptop from a Florida student’s dorm room in November 2008. He again violated the university’s honor code by putting his name on another student’s paper and turning it in, according to the source. Newton was caught after the instructor asked the real author of the paper why he had not turned in his work, the source said.

      According to the source, after the student said he had turned in a paper, he and the instructor went through all the submissions and discovered that Newton had put his name on the paper in question.

      Newton subsequently turned in a second paper to the instructor, but it was later found to have been purchased off the Internet, according to the source. The source said Newton was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida’s Student Conduct Committee during the spring semester of 2009 but instead transferred to Blinn College.

      This report comes less than a week after ESPN.com report that a man named Kenny Rogers claimed to represent Newton and allegedly sought $180,000 for to attend Mississippi State. Newton and Auburn maintain that the 2010 Heisman candidate has done nothing wrong, but this latest report makes you wonder what else is yet to come out.

      Meanwhile, the Tigers currently rank No. 2 in the BCS standings and have a date with Georgia this Saturday. They control their own destiny in the SEC West, although they have to travel to Tuscaloosa in two weeks to take on Alabama so they have a tough road to hoe.

      College Football, External Sports

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