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      Big Papi goes off on reporters

      April 7, 2010 /

      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

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

      April 7, 2010 /

      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

      MLB

      Would the Lions be interested in Haynesworth?

      April 6, 2010 /

      According to NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora, the Redskins are willing to “unload” defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth after unsuccessfully trying to trade him to Philadelphia as part of the Donovan McNabb deal. Apparently, Haynesworth didn’t make a good impression on new head coach Mike Shanahan, so the Redskins are ready to part ways with the massive DT, even though he just signed a seven-year, $100 million deal with Washington in 2009.

      Canfora writes that several executives believe the best and most likely option for Haynesworth is Tennessee, “where he played his best football and where he remains close with defensive line coach Jim Washburn.” The problem is that Haynesworth signed for $42 million in guaranteed money and other teams will be hesitant to put a bullet in their financial situation in order to acquire him. (Apparently other owners aren’t like Daniel Snyder, who gives away money like it’s Skittles.)

      While a return to Tennessee does make sense, I wonder why Canfora didn’t mention Detroit as another possible landing spot for Haynesworth. Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz built his defense around Haynesworth in Tennessee and Detroit needs a DT seeing as how they’ve been linked to Ndamukong Suh at No. 2 in this month’s draft. If they acquired Haynesworth, then they could use their first round pick to address their need at offensive tackle.

      Continue reading »

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Does Bulger’s release mean Rams are taking Bradford No. 1?

      April 6, 2010 /

      The Rams released quarterback Marc Bulger on Monday – on his 33rd birthday, no less. (I’m surprised they didn’t set a burning pile of dog crap on his doorstep too, just to ensure that he really had a bad day.)

      It’s unclear at this point whether or not Bulger will choose to retire or try to catch on with another team. The Jets have already said they’re not interested in the veteran QB and Bulger refuses to sign with the Lions because of his strenuous relationship with OC Jim Schwartz. ESPN’s Adam Schefter seems to think that Bulger will wind up in Pittsburgh or Arizona but really, who cares? Not to be rude, but the guy mailed it in a couple of years ago after signing that big contract.

      The more interesting topic that arises from this news is whether or not the Rams are now poised to take Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick. Without a starting-caliber quarterback on the roster, I would say the answer to that question is emphatically “yes.”

      Releasing Bulger cleared up $8.5 million in salary, which could go a long way in helping the Rams sign Bradford. Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh may be the best prospect in the draft, but NFL teams have a hard time justifying paying a defensive tackle No. 1 overall money. Quarterback is an obvious need for the Rams and considering Bradford dazzled scouts at a recent workout, there should be no concerns about his shoulder.

      If it wasn’t clear before that the Rams were set on Bradford at No. 1, it should be now after Bulger’s release.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Coach K on why he told Zoubek to miss the second free throw

      April 6, 2010 /

      In his post game press conference, Mike Krzyzewski was asked about why he told Brian Zoubek to intentionally miss the second free throw, giving Butler an opportunity to win the game with a half-court shot. Here’s his response, via NewsObserver.com:

      On the last thing, they didn’t have any timeouts left. And if he missed, I thought it would take a miracle shot, you know. Well, it almost did. But we were set up to guard it. And Pat made a good point. Really, they’re not gonna call it at that time. But Kyle got killed at halfcourt, you know. So they wouldn’t have got it without that, ’cause Kyle was on Hayward, which is pretty good for a press guy to see that stuff.

      But they would have to take a halfcourt shot. And we were set up to guard that. And, you know, what the hell, it worked. You know, there are many things that you do during a ballgame. Whatever the consequences are, you take it.

      The general consensus is that Zoubek should have made the free throw, giving his team a three-point lead. That way, the worst-case scenario is overtime. Butler was out of timeouts, so there wasn’t an opportunity for Brad Stevens to draw up a play — they would have to go with whatever play they ran in practice. With 3.5 seconds on the clock, there was enough time for Gordon Hayward to get off a decent attempt.

      But hey — it worked. If Zoubek hits the free throw, it’s possible that Butler completes a long pass and someone gets a good look at a game-tying three. Now the game is in overtime and Duke could very well lose.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Basketball, March Madness

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