Category: Rumors & Gossip (Page 190 of 225)

      Yao getting frustrated with T-Mac?

      January 15, 2009 /

      On Tuesday, we discovered that the Rockets organization was getting tired of T-Mac’s act, and now there’s a rumor that Yao Ming is growing weary of it as well.

      According to a source close to the situation, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are no longer speaking with each other off the court. Ming is apparently so fed up with McGrady’s chronic injuries that he told the officials in Houston to get him out of the organization.

      Another source also revealed that Yao’s frustration is real. And Yao is not the only person that is grown tired of McGrady’s self-diagnosis, his up-to-the-last-minute decisions on whether he will play or not.

      If true, this could deal a serious blow to the Rockets’ 2009 title hopes. If a team doesn’t have chemistry between its stars, it’s unlikely that it will survive the gauntlet that is the NBA postseason. It’s a little funny that Yao is frustrated with T-Mac’s injuries when the big man has been injured several times himself. However, Yao’s injuries have typically been fractures and of the season-ending variety, not this nebulous, self-diagnosis stuff that McGrady has been experiencing with his knee.

      Unless they have some serious success in the playoffs, the Rocket will face a crossroads this offseason. They’re currently building around two injury-prone players. T-Mac has another year left on his contract, so he may be tradeable as his deal expires before the now-infamous summer of 2010. Still, his giant salary ($23.2 million) is a doozy, and it’s possible that the Rockets would rather let his deal expire than to take on all that salary in return. Yao is 28 (assuming his Chinese birth certificate is legit) and he has two more years left on his deal. The team’s third best player — Ron Artest — will be a free agent after the season.

      If the Rockets don’t make a run, we could see a very different lineup at the start of the 2009-10 season.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

      Cowboys to release Terrell Owens?

      January 15, 2009 /

      According to Ed Werder of ESPN.com – who must have a little cot set up at Valley Ranch – the Cowboys are considering releasing receiver Terrell Owens so that the team will have better chemistry in the locker room next season.

      Terrell Owens“I think we all know that chemistry is the problem with this team more than the schemes or anything else,” a Cowboys source said. “Are we going to continue to allow talent to outweigh everything else in the decisions we make with players and putting the roster together? We’re like the Redskins used to be when they signed every player they wanted. There’s more to it than talent. It has to be more about the team.

      “The big one [Owens] didn’t get discussed yet, but I’m sure it will and real hard.”

      The Cowboys released twice-suspended cornerback Pacman Jones last week and Tank Johnson is expected to depart through free agency. Both decisions are at least partly related to the renewed emphasis on creating a different atmosphere in the locker room. The Cowboys began their ill-fated 2008 season with three players on the roster who had been suspended by the league or their previous teams — Jones, Johnson and Owens.

      At least two sources believe that vice president Stephen Jones will attempt to convince his father that Owens should be finished with the Cowboys. But Jerry Jones just last year invested a $12 million signing bonus in Owens, which means there would be salary-cap fallout. In fact, Jerry Jones has suggested that there might be enough damage that the team would find it difficult to sign NFL sack leader DeMarcus Ware to a new contract.

      “I think some of people want to just cut our losses and get rid of all those guys … T.O., Tank, Pacman,” another Cowboys source said. “But I really think Jerry likes the thrill of trying to make it all work.”

      After what happened at the end of the season with the Tony Romo/Jason Witten/Terrell Owens saga, some people (mainly Owens) will read this and say, “There’s that Ed Werder again – making sh*t up.”

      But think about it, Werder is in Dallas 24/7 reporting on the Cowboys for ESPN. I swear the guy is required to sleep on site just in case any story breaks and it’s not like he can go around stirring the pot with fictional stories because then nobody would talk to him. So anyone that thinks this is just Werder trying to get a quick headline needs to get a grip.

      The possibility of Jerry Jones wanting to change the culture in the locker room is very real. He has a new stadium ready to open and despite having some of the best talent in the league every year, the Cowboys never win. If Jones really wants to make a change, parting with Owens might be the first step. It’ll be interesting to see how this story develops this offseason.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Rockets to T-Mac: “Get in shape.”

      January 13, 2009 /

      Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets are getting frustrated with Tracy McGrady.

      If you read between all the nice words, the Rockets sent a tough message to Tracy McGrady on Monday.

      To summarize:

      1. Get in better shape.
      2. Learn to deal with the pain in your left knee.
      3. Don’t come back until you do.

      There were all sorts of things left unsaid as the Rockets delicately attempted to do the right thing for the team while not mentally losing their $21-million star.

      Conditioning? That’s a tough word to use halfway through an NBA season. Is McGrady’s conditioning an issue because he hasn’t been working hard, or because his surgically repaired left knee won’t allow him to work hard?

      Pain? Another tough one. The Rockets and their medical staff believe McGrady’s knee is sound and suggested he play through the pain.

      McGrady has been unable to do this, and it’s important to remember that none of us — including the doctors — knows how badly McGrady is hurting. If he says the pain is intolerable, then the pain is intolerable.

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — if the Rockets have all three of their stars come playoff time, they are going to be a very dangerous team. But the way that the Western Conference playoff race is shaping up, there is going to be one very good team left out in the cold. The longer T-Mac is out, the greater the likelihood that the Rockets will be fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot in April instead of having a comfortable #3 or #4 seed.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

      Top 20 Remaining MLB Free Agents

      January 12, 2009 /

      John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus takes a look at the top 20 remaining MLB free agents.

      Bobby Abreu· Manny Ramirez – Dodgers
      · Orlando Cabrera – Athletics
      · Derek Lowe – Braves/Mets/Cubs
      · Adam Dunn – Nationals
      · Bobby Abreu – Reds
      · Ben Sheets – Rangers
      · Orlando Hudson – Nationals
      · Andy Pettitte – Astros (at less than $10MM)
      · Jason Varitek – Red Sox (at less than $10MM)
      · Ty Wigginton – Astros
      · Ivan Rodriguez – Not much of a market, may have to take a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training if he’s not signed soon. Could he end up involuntarily retired, a la Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza?
      · Kevin Millar – Orioles
      · Mark Grudzielanek – Padres
      · Braden Looper – Brewers
      · Garret Anderson, Eric Hinske, Ray Durham, Jim Edmonds, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez – All of them (with the exception of Byrd, who may retire) are drawing little to no interest and may be without a club on Opening Day.
      I’m shocked both Ramirez and Abreu are still on the market, although it’s more understandable why Manny is still available – his demands (or is it Scott Boras’s demands?) are way too high.

      Abreu isn’t the youngest outfielder available, but you’re telling me that no team wants to jump at the chance to acquire his bat? And if Ben Sheets could ever stay healthy he’s a 20-game winner, so it’s a little surprising his name is still out there, too.

      MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑