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Reds name Leake fifth starter

April 3, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

And this is news…why? Well, because Mike Leake was taken with the eighth overall pick in last June’s draft and has yet to throw a pitch in the minors yet. Not one.

From ESPN.com:

The 22-year-old Leake beat out Travis Wood, a second-round pick in 2005, and Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman, who was hampered by lower back spasms late in spring training.
“There’s no words to describe it, right now,” said Leake, the former Arizona State star who was selected eighth overall in last June’s draft. “Maybe in a couple days.”
Chapman, who agreed to a $30.25 million, six-year deal in January, was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.

Granted, Leake will actually be reassigned to the minors before Cincinnati needs a fifth starter, but it’s still impressive that he made the big league club without spending at least a couple months in Triple A. Tim Lincecum, the Giants’ two-time Cy Young winner, even spent some time in the minors before he was called up to The Show.

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MLB

2010 MLB Season Aroldis Chapman Cincinnati Reds Mike Leake Travis Wood

Erin Andrews receiving e-mail death threats

April 3, 2010 / Christopher Glotfelty

ESPN sideline reporter and current “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Erin Andrews is being harassed once again. According to attorney Michael Grossman, a man has sent Andrews at least dozen threatening e-mails since September.

From ESPN.com:

DirecTV provided them to Andrews’ representatives Thursday, but it was not immediately clear to whom the e-mails were addressed.
The e-mails were at first sexual, but the most recent were explicitly violent and “threatened Erin with murder,” Grossman said. They also had details about location and method.
The messages discuss the case of Michael David Barrett, who was sentenced last month to 2½ years in federal prison for secretly shooting nude videos of the ESPN reporter.
“He refers to Barrett in his e-mail in a way to make clear to us that situation had some influence,” Grossman said, but added that the man appeared to have no ties to Barrett.

This poor woman. Hopefully the whole ordeal with last year’s stalker has made her stronger. As of now, she’s doesn’t plan on quitting “Dancing with the Stars,” and security has been hired to protect her and her family.

News

Erin Andrews Erin Andrews death threats Erin Andrews emails Erin Andrews threatening emails Erin Andrews threats

How will the Browns’ acquisition of Brown affect their draft?

April 3, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

It was believed that the Browns would target a cornerback such as Florida’s Joe Haden with the No. 7 overall pick in this month’s draft. But that was before the team acquired Sheldon Brown from the Eagles on Friday.

Along with Brown, Cleveland also acquired linebacker Chris Gocong from Philadelphia in exchange for linebacker Alex Hall, plus a fourth-round pick and a fifth-rounder. Gocong is a solid fit for the Browns’ 3-4 defense and will likely start opposite Matt Roth on the outside.

But the more intriguing player in this trade is Brown, because he signifies that Cleveland probably won’t draft a cornerback at No. 7. Brown is 31 years old, but he’s still playing at a high level and the Browns restructured his contract, which now goes through 2012. He’ll pair up with Eric Wright to form a now above average cornerback tandem in Cleveland.

Team president Mike Holmgren is probably hoping/banking on Tennessee’s Eric Berry slips to No. 7, seeing as how safety is now the Browns’ biggest need. But will Berry be there? Multiple teams that pick ahead of the Browns (including the Buccaneers and Seahawks) have been linked to Berry in mock drafts, although that means nothing at this point. Either way, Holmgren knew that he had to address his need at cornerback and may have felt that Haden would have been a reach at No. 7. If Berry falls to Cleveland in the first round, then Holmgren would have done very well in addressing the Browns’ defensive needs.

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NFL, NFL Draft

2010 NFL Draft Alex Brown Chris Gocong Cleveland Browns Joe Haden Matt Roth Mike Holmgren Sheldon Brown

Will the Cowboys target Gaither after releasing Adams?

April 2, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

On Friday, the Cowboys released left tackle Flozell Adams and free safety Ken Hamlin and while the moves themselves aren’t surprising, the timing is a little strange.

The Cowboys weren’t up against any sort of deadline to release either player. Adams was due a $2.5 million roster bonus in June, but they could have allowed the draft to play out before releasing him. Hamlin was on his way out at some point, but Dallas doesn’t have a suitable replacement on the roster at this point.

If the season were to start today, Doug Free would protect Tony Romo’s blindside and Alan Ball would compete with Mike Hamlin at the free safety spot. It’s doubtful that the Cowboys would just hand the starting left tackle spot over to an inexperienced player such as Free, so don’t be surprised if they add an offensive tackle in one of the early rounds of the draft.

Another possibility is that Jerry Jones will target Ravens’ restricted free agent Jared Gaither, who wants to remain in Baltimore but also wants a long-term deal. The NFL Network’s Jason La Confora said in a recent episode of NFL Total Access that Gaither could be had for a second round pick. The problem that the Cowboys face in that scenario is that the Redskins are also interested in Gaither, so maybe Dallas will be willing to part with their first round pick (No. 27 overall) in order to get ahead of Washington, which selects at No. 37.

Of course, this is just speculation on my part but again, chances are the Cowboys aren’t going to hand the starting left tackle job over to Free after releasing Adams.

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NFL

2010 NFL Draft Dallas Cowboys Doug Free Flozell Adams Flozell Adams released Jared Gaither Jerry Jones Ken Hamlin Ken Hamlin released Tony Romo