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      Steelers’ Woodley calls out Patriots, Steelers

      December 30, 2009 /

      Steelers’ linebacker LaMarr Woodley predicted on Wednesday that the Patriots and Bengals will “lay down” this Sunday for their games against the Texans and Jets because they don’t want to play against the Steelers in the playoffs.

      From Forbes.com:

      “All of them lay down,” Woodley said Wednesday. “No one wants to see Pittsburgh in it. That’s just how it is. Everybody knows we’re a dangerous team once we get into the playoffs, no matter how we played the whole year. Once we get into the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers is a playoff team.”

      Well, no one can blame Woodley for trying to get Cincinnati and New England to play their starters.

      Pittsburgh has to beat Miami this Sunday and also have the Patriots defeat the Texans and the Bengals to beat the Jets. So in other words, the Steelers will likely be enjoying the playoffs next week like the rest of us: From their couches.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Hornets to move West?

      December 30, 2009 /

      Yesterday, we discussed the possibility of New Orleans trading Chris Paul, and now Henry Abbott of TrueHoop is bringing up the possibility of the Hornets trading David West before the February trade deadline so that they can avoid paying the luxury tax this season.

      Yet the Hornets are currently $3.3 million over the tax line and remain prepared to send away Brown in a deal that brings back no guaranteed money, as seen over the summer when New Orleans felt it had to essentially donate Rasual Butler to the Los Angeles Clippers because of the tax benefits.

      There is a belief among some rival executives — or perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a hope — that the Hornets will not be able to resist moving All-Star forward David West before the Feb. 18 trading deadline to ensure that they get comfortably under the tax threshold.

      New Orleans’ preference would obviously be moving out player(s) from its list of veterans with contracts that stretch beyond this season. That list presumably includes Emeka Okafor, Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Mo Peterson, Darius Songaila and Julian Wright.

      West has two years left on his contract, but he’ll almost certainly terminate the final year since it’s only worth $7.5 million and he’s likely to make more than that in a new deal. If the Hornets trade West, expect Chris Paul to become very unhappy. If the team was so concerned about the luxury tax, it should have thought about that before trading for Peja Stojakovic, signing Morris Peterson and James Posey, and trading for Emeka Okafor. West’s affordable deal is obviously not the problem, but it’s movable and that might appeal to the Hornets.

      I still think the team will do what it can to hold on to its nucleus and weather the financial storm. The Okafor trade was a signal that owner George Shinn is willing to spend.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Texas Tech fires Mike Leach

      December 30, 2009 /

      ESPN.com is reporting that Texas Tech has fired head coach Mike Leach on Wednesday.

      The school handed a termination letter to Leach’s attorney, Ted Liggett, just minutes before the two sides were to appear in a Lubbock courtroom for a hearing on the coach’s suspension.

      Liggett said the letter said Leach was “terminated with cause effective immediately.”

      In February, Leach and the school agreed to a five-year, $12.7 million contract. According to terms of the deal, Leach was due an $800,000 bonus on Dec. 31 if he were still the head coach at Texas Tech.

      Leach was suspended by the university on Monday after receiver Adam James alleged the coach twice confined him to small, dark spaces while the practiced.

      James is the son of former NFL player and ESPN college football analyst Craig James.

      Texas Tech plays Michigan State on Saturday in the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

      In an affidavit included with his injunction request to coach the Red Raiders in the Alamo Bowl, Leach said he “would never intentionally harm or endanger a player” and that he had been “forced into this situation without being afforded any process.”

      He wrote “absolutely” no evidence had been given to him that showed he had violated any university rules or standards.

      Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will coach the Red Raiders in the 2009 Alamo Bowl. One would think quarterback Taylor Potts and the Tech offense will struggle dramatically considering Leach called all the plays.

      It’ll be interesting to see what the backlash will be coming out of Leach’s camp. This all went down quickly, so I’m wondering what Leach’s lawyer has planned in response to his client’s firing. If Leach truly did nothing wrong, then his lawyer might be able to build a nice case against the university. Leach still has a career to protect, so I’m wondering if he’ll fight this in order to save face or if he’ll let the situation die in hopes that he can join another program quickly.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      Great Quotes: Darko Milicic

      December 30, 2009 /

      “It’s the NBA. The NBA, all around the league, same (garbage). ‘Your chance is going to come.’ All that kind of (garbage). (Forget) that…I’ve got to be real. There is no team in the league that is going to give me the chance that I’m looking for. My only chance is back in Europe. I’m going to do that. I want to be happy. I want to play.”

      — Darko Milicic, via MLive.com, on all the lying that goes on in the NBA

      Part of me feels bad for this guy. Coming to the U.S. from another country, he spent his rookie season as an 18-year-old kid playing for Larry Brown. Then I check out his page at Basketball-Reference and see that he has made more than $30 million, and I don’t feel bad for him anymore.

      He complains about not getting his chance, but it’s not like he was stuck on one team under one regime his entire career. He has played for four different franchises, so he has had plenty of opportunity. He wants playing time? He played 23 minutes for the Magic and Grizzlies in back to back seasons and didn’t average more than 8.0 points or 6.0 rebounds either year.

      If he’s such a good player, he would dominate in practice and his head coach would be forced to give him minutes. It’s not like there’s a league-wide conspiracy to keep Darko Milicic down. Head coaches want to win, and if that means he gets big minutes, so be it. If that means he rides the bench, so be it.

      When a team acquires a player and keeps him around for a while, that’s an opportunity. It’s his job to practice hard and keep improving to the point where the coach has to give him playing time. If he doesn’t, he’s just squandering the opportunity. And Milicic has squandered plenty…

      NBA

      Line of the Night (12/29): Kobe Bryant

      December 30, 2009 /

      The Golden State Warriors have trouble playing defense, and Kobe took advantage of this fact on Tuesday night, posting 44 points, 11 assists and four rebounds in the Lakers’ 124-118 win at the Staples Center. Bryant has a tendency at times to be more of a volume shooter, but on Tuesday, he scored 44 points on 27 shots (making 13) and also hit all 16 of his free throws. It was a very efficient night.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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