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      Shaq in ‘better shape’ now

      March 22, 2010 /

      Brian Windhorst of Cleveland.com reports that Shaquille O’Neal appears to be in better shape now than when he first injured his hand.

      He wasn’t on a scale, but to the naked eye he appears to have lost weight since he went down with the injury just about a month ago.

      When he left to go to Florida after the surgery he was telling teammates that he’d not just be back before the end of the regular season, but that he’d be in better shape when he comes back than went he left.

      Nothing can prepare anyone for playing in real games and it will probably take a while for him to get some rhythm when he does return. But if there were any concerns about O’Neal letting himself go because he’s not playing, take it from me — it appears to have been quite the opposite.

      When we learned that O’Neal was going to miss significant time due to thumb surgery, his overall conditioning was a huge concern, no pun intended. While cardio-vascular conditioning is different from overall weight, it’s a lot easier to get back into playing shape if you’re not carrying around 10-20 lbs of extra weight. And it appears that Shaq has been serious about his conditioning while he’s been injured.

      If true, this is a big boost for the Cavs’ title hopes (and chances of retaining LeBron this summer).


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Will Mauer’s deal come back to haunt the Twins?

      March 22, 2010 /

      Whenever a team shells out the kind of money that the Twins just gave catcher Joe Mauer ($184 million for eight years), they have fully come to grips with the notion that they’re sailing into uncharted waters. But the hope is that the ends will justify the means and in the case of Mauer, they probably will.

      Mauer hit .365 with 28 home runs last year and drove in 96 RBI. At only 26, the Twins are banking that Mauer won’t get injured and he’ll be able to keep his production high for most of his contract. And while he may need to eventually switch positions (with the nightly toll that the game takes on catchers, they tend to break down faster than other position players) to keep his offensive numbers high, there’s a good chance that Minnesota will get what they paid for.

      Another key factor is that Mauer is a hometown hero – a local product that grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and was drafted right out of high school. If the Twins were to spend big on any player, it might as well be Mauer, who is not only a fantastic player but who also is beloved by fans. He’s the face of their franchise and while the Twins are often reluctant to open their checkbooks, they had to ensure that Mauer would finish his career in the “Twin Cities.”

      Is $184 million a lot of money to spend on one player? Of course it is and the Twins are well aware of the risk. But they had to pony up and I’m sure fans are glad they did.

      On a related note, I find it ironic that the Twins bypassed (in part) Mark Prior on draft day in 2001 because they were afraid of how much they’d have to fork over for his signing bonus. Then they wind up signing Mauer for $184 million. It just goes to show you that if a player develops, a team will inevitably have to pay at some point.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      MLB

      2010 MLB Preview: AL East

      March 22, 2010 /

      In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

      All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

      First up is the AL East.

      1. New York Yankees (1)
      If you think I would get cute in these rankings and suggest that some upstart team would derail the Yankees this season, then you sir, are sadly mistaken. I just don’t have the conjones to bet against them, especially after they added Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson to their already stacked roster. Sure they lost World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, the latter of which loved to work the count and provided the Yanks with some pop over the last couple of seasons. But thanks to Granderson, Johnson, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texeira, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada, the lineup is still stacked from top to bottom. Vazquez, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mariano Rivera will once again highlight a strong pitching staff and assuming they don’t suffer any major injuries, there’s nothing to suggest that the Bombers won’t make another championship run. That said, let’s not be oblivious to the potential problems that could arise for the Yanks this season. Age is a factor, as is the fact that Granderson can’t hit lefties and will be under the spotlight as the club’s biggest offseason acquisition. Plus, for as good as Vazquez was over the past couple of years, he was a disaster the last time he wore pinstripes (Boston fans remember this well.) Should the Yankees win another World Series? Yeah – especially considering they have the best-purchased roster in baseball. But just like last year, they still have to prove it between the lines and they’re not immune to hurdles getting in their way.

      Continue reading »

      MLB

      Flowchart of what goes through Kobe Bryant’s head during a game

      March 22, 2010 /

      Black Sports Online found/created this Kobe Bryant flow chart. (Click the picture for a bigger version.)

      Funny? Yes. Fair? Probably not. Kobe averages 5.0 assists per game (#23 in the league), so while he does shoot the ball a lot, he creates for teammates as well. In fact, Jason Richardson, Kevin Martin, Michael Redd, Vince Carter and Ben Gordon are all shooting guards that have a higher shot-to-assist ratio. (Though Jamal Crawford and Ray Allen do not, and that has to be a little scary for Kobe.)

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Pros Go Broke, And So Can You

      March 22, 2010 /

      What do former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, NFL Hall-of-Fame Quarterback, Johnny Unitas and MLB Hall-of-Fame pitcher, Rollie Fingers, all have in common? They went from riches to rags. Our imaginations are staggered by the amount of money professional athletes are paid to play in the big leagues. More mind boggling is that, in spite of the millions of dollars these big names raked in during their rich careers, they have all managed to end up empty-handed.

      Why do we have so many famous athletes who have gone broke? For some of them, the exercising of poor judgment with regards to financial decisions is to blame. Others may have suffered career-ending injuries before they bothered to think about saving any of that fast cash for an early retirement. Still other athletes go through messy divorces and wind up losing lots of their assets to ex-spouses and their children. Even financially solvent athletes still playing in the game today are not beyond the grip of poverty. Some of them are already spending next season’s salary.

      While it may astound us that you can go from the top of the heap to the bottom of the pile so easily, it can also be a lesson from which we mere mortals can learn. If you are making decent money in your job today, you should be saving for the future. Socking away just twenty percent of your monthly paycheck into an interest-bearing fund or CD can ensure that, if your company folds, or if you’re laid off, you will have something to fall back upon.

      It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro-bowler or a pro-janitor, you need to make sound financial decisions now regarding your finances, or you can end up in the same sort of financial mess that so many famous athletes face at the end of their careers. The best way to start planning your finances and find solutions to your debt problems, if any, is by looking up come credit counseling services on the Internet and by getting in touch with them.

      Rumors & Gossip

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