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Will Brad Stevens stay put?

ESPN rumors reports on the possibility of Brad Stevens taking a job elsewhere.

Given that the school can’t afford to pay Stevens a top salary, it probably can’t make his buyout price high enough to faze a BCS-level school either.

One thing that’s working in the school’s favor is time. The run to the championship game means many schools that had Stevens in mind have already filled their positions. With Oliver Purnell going to DePaul and BC looking ready to hire Cornell’s Steve Donahue, Oregon and now Clemson are the only schools that can offer a world-beating financial package.

The Register-Guard reports that Oregon AD Pat Kilkenny was in Indianapolis this weekend and reportedly has his eye on Stevens:

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Will the Bills take Clausen at No. 9?

As I’ve discussed throughout the past couple of days, the Donovan McNabb trade is likely to cause a ripple effect in this month’s draft. While head coach Mike Shanahan said recently that the Redskins could still take a quarterback with the fourth overall pick, it’s hard to imagine that they’d select a signal caller that high when they have so many other pressing needs.

The Bills, however, are another story. They’ve seemingly given up on Trent Edwards and while Ryan Fitzpatrick is a fine backup, he’s not the solution either. That makes them an interesting possibility for Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen if he falls to them at No. 9.

But will he fall? Assuming the Rams take Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford at No. 1, the Seahawks, Browns and Raiders – three teams that could be interested in quarterback – all pick before the Bills. Seattle traded for Charlie Whitehurst a couple of weeks ago and the Browns added Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace early this offseason, so both of those teams could be out of the running. (In fact, the Seahawks most definitely are – Whitehurst is their future.) But Oakland was presumably in the mix for McNabb, so they could snag the Notre Dame product at No. 8, one spot ahead of Buffalo.

Of course, even if Clausen is available, the Bills still may take a pass. They have a glaring need for a left tackle and if they pass on someone like Anthony Davis or Bryan Bulaga at No. 9, they run the risk that a starting-caliber LT won’t be available when they pick again at No. 41. That said, if they believe that Clausen is a franchise quarterback, then they can’t pass on him. Having a good left tackle is vital, but quarterback trumps all other positions.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Big Papi goes off on reporters

Don’t ask David Ortiz about his slow start. He doesn’t want to [Expletive] hear it.

From ESPN.com:

“Good,” he said, turning to face the reporters encircling him. “You guys wait till [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy.

“What’s up with that, man? [Expletive]. [Expletive] 160 games left. That’s a [expletive]. One of you [expletives] got to go ahead and hit for me.”

Ortiz struggled mightily to start last season, hitting just .185 during April and May with one home run and 18 RBIs.

In one respect, I don’t blame Big Papi for going off. The season is only two games old, so asking Ortiz about why he’s starting off slow is premature. He could still finish the month of April with a .330 batting average for all we know.

But at the same time, he’s got to relax. This is his 13th year in professional baseball so he should be well versed in how the media tends to operate. If he starts off slow again, they’re going to draw comparisons to last season. That’s just how things work in sports – for better or worse.

MLB Roundup: Scutaro error costs BoSox, Zito impresses & Crawford delivers in the clutch

Yankees 6, Red Sox 4
Newcomer Marco Scutaro didn’t endear himself to many Red Sox fans on Tuesday night when he botched a routine ground ball in the eighth inning of a 4-4 game. Reliever Hideki Ojajima then walked Nick Johnson with the bases loaded to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead and the Mariano Rivera closed out the ninth. Considering the BoSox signed Scutaro for his defense, it wasn’t a good start for the former Blue Jay. The error made Boston fans pine for the days of Julio Lugo, who…all right sorry, I couldn’t continue with that joke. Red Sox fans would rather see Scutaro botch nine more throws than ever see Lugo in a Boston uniform again.

Giants 3, Astros 0
The Astros probably figured that they caught a break when Bruce Bochy decided to throw Barry Zito in between starts by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in Houston’s opening three-game series with the Giants. But the joke was on the Stros, as Zito completely shut them down for six innings. He allowed no runs on three hits while striking out five, proving that he was indeed worth the seven-year, $126 million contract he signed in December in ’06. No? Ah well – it was still a nice outing for the former Cy Young pitcher. Now Houston gets to deal with Cain tomorrow – good luck with that.

Rays 4, Orioles 3
Carl Crawford played the hero for the Rays on Tuesday night, knocking in the game-winning two-run single off Orioles’ closer Mike Gonzalez. It was Crawford’s only hit of the game, but it came at a crucial time. When asked about his dramatic hit afterwards, Crawford replied: “I know, right? Maybe the Rays should pony up for that new contract now – hahahaha…ahhh. Just kidding. But for realsies – where’s my contract?”

Padres 6, Diamondbacks 3
Chris Young managed to deliver his best Jake Peavy impression on Tuesday night, allowing no runs on one hit over six innings of work in San Diego’s win over Arizona. Young also struck out five to earn his first victory of the year. If Young’s shoulder is completely repaired, there’s no reason he can’t post similar numbers to the ones he produced in 2006 (11-5, 3.46 ERA). He’s really, really good…for a max of about six innings. But still – he’s good.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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