Category: External Sports (Page 247 of 821)

      Giants considering eating Zito’s contract?

      March 2, 2011 /

      Barry Zito is apparently so bad that the Giants are actually willing to eat the $64.5 million left on his ridiculous contract just so there’s no possible way his suck will infect Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Jonathan Sanchez.

      From Bruce Jenkins at the San Francisco Chronicle:

      A source close to the team indicated Tuesday that there is “exasperation” with Zito, that his status as the No. 5 starter is “definitely not safe,” and that the team would even consider buying out his expensive contract before Opening Day if that’s what it takes to say farewell.

      Heading into spring training, it was widely believed that the Giants were more than willing to ride it out with Zito, given the overall excellence of their rotation. But there’s a healthy sense of urgency in the world champions’ camp. They didn’t clinch a postseason berth until the final game of the 2010 season, and they realize that just a single loss – something that could be avoided – could cost them a chance to repeat.

      There is concern that Zito hasn’t been properly diligent in maintaining his physical conditioning, and that Monday’s performance (five walks in 13 batters) was all too reminiscent of Oct. 2, when he walked home two runs in the first inning against San Diego and took the loss at AT&T Park.

      It’s absurd to think that the Giants wouldn’t just ride the situation out with Zito considering he’s nothing more than a fifth starter. Unless they trick some team into taking some of his contract off their hands, they have to pay him anyway so why not see if he can iron out his issues? (I mean we’re talking about a fifth starter.)

      But it shows how bad this guy has been that the Giants are willing to pay him $64.5 million just to stay away. As Jenkins points out in his column, at some point the club will just have to cut their losses and move on because he hasn’t shown any signs of being the pitcher he was in Oakland (or even half the pitcher he was in Oakland).

      That said, I refuse to believe that Brian Sabean can’t get on the horn right now with his old buddies in New York and have Zito in a Yankee uniform by 5PM today. Even if the Giants had to eat most of his contract, maybe they could save a couple of pennies and acquire a prospect in return (even if it’s a 38-year-old Single-A prospect with bad knees and poor vision). Anything would be better than dumping him and paying him right? You’re telling me that the Yankees, with all of their pitching problems, wouldn’t take a flier on Zito if the Giants were willing to pick up most of the tab? Come on, man…COME ON!

      External Sports, MLB

      Oklahoma City locks up Kendrick Perkins

      March 2, 2011 /

      ESPN has the details, via Ric Bucher.

      Perkins will receive almost $36 million fully guaranteed over the course of the four-year contract, his agent, Bob Myers, told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

      As part of the deadline deal that sent Perkins to Oklahoma City, the Thunder trimmed a tiny bit of cap space (a little more than $1 million), which gave them just enough additional wiggle room to help hammer out a contract extension. With Boston over the salary cap, the team couldn’t offer more than $22 million over four years, while Oklahoma City was able to use that sliver of cap space to offer Perkins as much as $13 million more on a four-year deal.

      So the Thunder signed Perkins for $9 million a season, which is about the going rate for a starting center. Perkins is widely regarded as one of the best defensive centers in the league, and on-court/off-court numbers at 82games support that. OKC obviously believes he will be good addition to their core of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. One knock on the Thunder is that they aren’t tough enough, and the seasoned Perkins will definitely help in that area.

      I highlighted the bit about Boston because it’s a little misleading the way it’s written. It’s not that the Celtics couldn’t offer Perkins a bigger deal, they could, they just elected not to. With a soft cap, a NBA team can re-sign its own players for whatever the two sides can agree on. The Celtics made a financial decision to trade Perkins away because they knew they weren’t going to pay him when his deal was up after the season.

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

      Owners won’t give in just because of the TV ruling

      March 2, 2011 /

      U.S. District Court Judge David Doty issued a ruling that will likely prevent owners from accessing the TV payments that would have helped fund a potential lockout. As Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports writes, this is potentially a good thing for fans because it may force the owners to compromise.

      Doty’s ruling, while an obvious boon to the NFLPA’s cause, wasn’t so much a smackdown of the owners’ position as it was a blow for labor peace. If the owners react to this judicial setback in a rational manner, they’ll lose their hardline bluster and come back to the bargaining table with a renewed sense of compromise.

      Conversely, once Tuesday night’s buzz wears off, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and his fellow negotiators should resist the temptation to gloat and instead push for a CBA that bridges the philosophical gap between the two parties.

      If those reasonable and logical reactions occur when the two sides meet on Wednesday, I believe we’ll soon have an announcement from the camps that they’ve agreed to a short-term extension of the current CBA beyond March 3 – in the expectation of finalizing a deal over the next week or two.

      In other words, after more than a year of rancorous rhetoric and the sense that a lockout was inevitable, we could have peace, love and harmony between players and owners by the end of the month, and well in advance of next month’s NFL draft. Free agency, minicamps, OTAs, training camp – it could all play out like a typical offseason, with fantasy drafts occurring right on schedule.

      That’s how much power Doty’s ruling may have packed.

      I’m not trying to burst Silver’s bubble, but the owners have been planning this lockout for years. They’re not going to cave just because of one ruling, even one as significant as this. There will be plenty of rulings coming up in the near future and maybe the next one will side in the favor of the owners. We just have to wait and see.

      I want there to be football next season just as much as the next red-blooded American, so I hope Silver’s thoughts come to fruition and we see a quick compromise. (I also don’t doubt the impact that this ruling may have on the labor discussions.) But the owners are going to appeal this ruling, so I wouldn’t hold my breath on a timely resolution to this gigantic mess.

      External Sports, NFL

      Oregon to be outed for major recruitment violations?

      March 2, 2011 /
      Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks fans show the emotions after the end of the BCS Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, January 10,2011. The Tigers defeated the Ducks 22-19. UPI/John Rinehart

      On his ESPN radio program Tuesday afternoon, Colin Cowherd said he received a text stating that a major football program will be outed very soon for “major recruiting violations.” College Football Talk has the details.

      Here’s Cowherd’s minute-long monologue on what would be a seismic development if proven true:

      I received an interesting text about 10 days ago, and this should be very frightening if you’re a fan of college football, that a major program in this country is going to be outed very soon for major recruiting violations. It is a top 10-12 program. I know what I think it is according to both my sources; I received another tip last night. I went to Vince Doria, who is sort of the journalistic editor at this company. He had heard the exact same thing. We are pursuing this story with vigor. A major publication is about to unseat a major college football power on recruiting violations. I will tell you from my source, it is not — it is not — Auburn. I will leave it at that. It is a major program and a major publication. When we can validate more… I have not been able to validate it nor has this company. We’re both pursuing it.

      On Wednesday, Brooks Melchior, who has ties to ESPN and now runs the website SPORTSbyBROOKS.com, said this via Twitter:

      Mult. ESPN sources have now verified to me Cowherd was referencing Oregon as school to be ‘outed very soon for major recruiting violations’

      At this point, all we can do is wait to see if the NCAA makes an official announcement. Until they do, these reports are just speculation. But Cowherd and Melchior are both tapped into major media outlets, so this news is intriguing to say the least. With the amount of scandal surrounding Cam Newton and Auburn’s program, for Oregon to go down for major recruiting violations would be an absolute shocker. (Although would it be? Should any of us really be surprised that a major college football program – any major college football program – was breaking recruiting rules?)

      Hopefully for Oregon this is just one gigantic rumor that has zero truth to it.

      College Football, External Sports

      Scouting Combine Winners: 10 Players that Improved their Draft Stock

      March 2, 2011 /

      It’s dangerous to put too much stock in combine workouts.

      The 40-yard dash may measure straight-line speed but it won’t tell you if a running back has great vision or instincts. The bench press might be a good indication of how strong a player is, but people with long arms tend to struggle with the exercise and isn’t having long arms one of the qualities that scouts look for in an offensive tackle prospect?

      That said: Forget what I just wrote. The combine numbers mean everything, which makes this post so worth your time. Listen to me, I’m not one of those idiots who sets up an article by telling you how combine numbers mean nothing and then compiles a list of prospects that improved their draft stocks based off their combine numbers. That would just be foolish and counterproductive.

      Below are 10 prospects that may have improved their draft stock with their performance at the combine this week. I know there were more than just 10, so feel free to share whom you thought raised their stock in the comments section below (which is way more productive than calling me a flippin’ moron for not listing a player, and then smugly asking, “Did you even watch football last year?” which is one of my all-time favorite comments from readers).

      Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M
      I’d be shocked if Miller weren’t selected in the top 6 after running a 4.53 forty at the combine. He was unofficially clocked at 4.46 and I don’t see him getting past Cleveland at No. 6. (I actually think he won’t get past Arizona at No. 5, but if the Cardinals take a quarterback I could see the Browns nabbing him at No. 6.) Miller put on nearly 10 pounds since the Senior Bowl and is already drawing comparisons to DeMarcus Ware. He’s the most NFL-ready pass rusher in the draft.

      Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State
      Everybody is loving themselves some Christian Ponder right now. After displaying great accuracy and decent arm strength over the weekend, some believe Ponder may now go in the first round. I think that’s a stretch but I wouldn’t be shocked if he went to the Bengals at the top of the second round. He’s viewed as the best West Coast Offense quarterback in the draft and may have been the signal caller that improved his draft stock the most this week.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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