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      Bengals show interest in Marshall, but is it just a smokescreen?

      March 8, 2010 /

      Via his Twitter page, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bengals have contemplated pursuing restricted free agent Brandon Marshall, although no visit has been arranged yet.

      Despite that report, Bengals’ beat writer Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the rumors on Marshall to the Bengals are mostly a smoke screen meant to drive up the price for the Seahawks, who hosted Marshall over the weekend.

      Not to discredit Reedy’s reporting, but why would the Bengals want to drive up the price for the Seahawks? Seattle plays in a completely different conference than Cincinnati and one would think that the Bengals would be concentrating on signing their own free agents instead of faking interest in Marshall just to tease the Seahawks. But who knows at this point.

      Schefter also writes that his ESPN collegue Mike Tirico recently bumped into Marshall in Denver and the receiver said the visit to Seattle was “great.” Marshall apparently also told Tirico that he is still very open to saying in Denver.


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      NFL

      2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Third Basemen

      March 7, 2010 /

      All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings

      Savvy fantasy drafters realize that the pool for third basemen this year isn’t as shallow as catchers and shortstops, but it isn’t as deep as second basemen either (which may sound surprising to some owners).

      What does that mean to you? Well, if you don’t grab one of the top seven or eight third basemen in your draft, then good luck trying to figure out which player after that will exceed expectations.

      Drafting third basemen is pretty cut and dry. If you don’t land one of the top 3 (Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria or David Wright), then focus on drafting one of the next five 3B’s available or you better hope that Gordon Beckham or Ian Stewart are the ultimate sleepers this season. We don’t need to sell you on why you should take A-Rod, Longoria or Wright, so we’re going to concentrate on the next five rated players on our list, which we’ve highlighted for you below.

      Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
      There’s a good chance that Zimmerman will plateau at around 30 home runs (which is nothing to scoff at), but it’s hard to argue with what he’ll bring to the table in terms of production across the board. He should hit around .300 (or maybe a little south of that number), with 100-plus runs and RBI, all while stealing 5-10 bases and hitting the aforementioned 25-30 home runs. That’s solid production for your third base position if you happen to miss out on one of the top three guys.

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      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Magic hold off Lakers in Finals rematch, 96-94

      March 7, 2010 /

      I hesitate to call this a rematch, because it’s just a regular season game and there isn’t much on the line, but this one had a postseason feel to it and was quite chippy, especially in the second half.

      The Magic led by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Lakers went on an 8-0 run to start the period and cut the lead to just two. The game was nip and tuck the rest of the way, but the Lakers never took the lead or even tied the game. After hitting a long two on the previous possession to cut the lead to one (and staring defiantly into the crowd), Kobe Bryant missed a game-tying jumper as time expired.

      After getting into several scraps with Bryant throughout the second half, Matt Barnes hit a huge three with 1:10 to play to push the lead to six. He and Kobe were pushing and shoving throughout the game, and at one point they were called for a double technical.

      I’ve always liked Barnes’ hard-nosed style, though he needs to do a better job of showing poise in certain situations. He’s sort of like Bruce Bowen, but a little crazy. After his first technical, there were a couple of points where the officials would have been totally justified in ejecting him from the game. He repeatedly walked right through Kobe in an effort to show that he’s not going to back down. Kobe went for 34-7-7, but he missed 18 of his 30 shots.

      Is this Magic team capable of making another postseason run? I think so, but I’m not a big fan of Vince Carter in crunch time. The Magic will be aided by the fact that Jameer Nelson has stayed healthy thus far — if you remember, he missed most of the playoffs last season and was a little rusty when he came back in the Finals. The Lakers don’t really have an answer for Nelson’s quickness.


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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Brandon Marshall in Seattle for a visit, but who else is interested?

      March 7, 2010 /

      Things could be heating up on the Brandon Marshall trade front. Here’s what we know so far:

      – On Saturday, Marshall was reportedly in Seattle doing a meet-and-greet with the Seahawks. While they didn’t sign the restricted free agent to an offer sheet, the Seattle Times speculates that the Seahawks would send the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft to the Broncos for Marshall.

      If that sounds far-fetched, it’s probably because it is. In fact, ESPN NFC West beat writer Mike Sando says that he would be shocked if the Hawks parted with their top pick, although that doesn’t mean the two sides can’t work out another trade if Marshall is signed to an offer sheet.

      – Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post writes that the Seahawks could have competition for Marshall shortly, although he doesn’t say which teams could be interested. The very reliable Rotoworld.com speculates that the Patriots, Falcons and Bengals make sense.

      Out of the three teams Rotoworld mentions, I think the Patriots and Bengals do make sense, although I highly doubt the Falcons would join the party. While they would love to add another big time playmaker opposite Roddy White, I doubt they’ll part with their first round pick (19th overall) to address the offensive side of the ball with holes at outside linebacker and defensive end. GM Thomas Dimitroff would like to continue his rebuilding project on defense and it makes it harder for him to do that without a first round pick. I think Dunta Robinson was the only big splash the Falcons will make this offseason.

      We’ll monitor this situation next week and see if a) the Seahawks eventually sign Marshall to an offer sheet and/or b) another team joins the race.


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      NFL

      Tony Parker breaks hand, could miss six weeks

      March 7, 2010 /

      Per ESPN…

      Parker broke the fourth metacarpal — the bone between the bottom knuckle and the wrist — near the end of the first half and did not return to the game. The injury apparently occurred during a scramble for the ball.

      “He’s got a broken hand. He’ll be out six weeks,” the Spurs coach said. “He did it in the first half when he dove on the floor.”

      The Spurs currently sit in the #7 playoff spot, one game ahead of the Blazers and 5.5 games ahead of the Grizzlies and Rockets. With just 22 games left to play, San Antonio should be safe. The Spurs have gone 5-5 in games that Parker has missed this season and George Hill has played very well in February and March (16-3-3, 46% shooting).

      It used to be that the Spurs just needed to be healthy for the playoffs, but they haven’t gelled like they hoped they would this season. Parker’s return would put him back in mid-April, which coincides with the start of the playoffs. If everyone is healthy, they’ll be a tough out against the Jazz or the Nuggets as a #7 seed, but if they finish in the #8 spot, they’ll be in for a rough series against the Lakers.


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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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