Page 1355 of 2957

      Celtics, Rondo agree to five-year extension

      November 2, 2009 /

      It didn’t look like it was going to happen, but the Boston Celtics have struck a deal to keep their talented point guard in the green and white for another five years.

      Facing a Monday deadline, the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension, his agent confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

      The deal is for five years and will be worth at least $55 million, a source confirmed to Bucher.

      Rondo and the team agreed to the deal late Sunday night, thanks in large part to what the 23-year-old point guard has demonstrated since training camp began.

      General manager Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck balked at giving Rondo the kind of deal he wanted because of concern about his leadership skills and integration in the team fabric when negotiations began.

      “They were candid and we understood,” said Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy. “It was never about on the court. They wanted him to demonstrate being more of a leader, meshing with the team, being engaged in the locker room. Those issues have been squelched. I have to give a lot of credit to Ainge and Wyc. When there is an issue and you get it resolved, it’s like a cleansing.”

      Give credit to both sides for avoiding the intractability that so often prevails when a pending restricted free agent isn’t being offered what he (or his camp) believes that he’s worth. Back in June, I pegged Rondo’s value at $9.0-$10.0 million per season, and it looks like he was able to get a contract worth $11 million per year. I devalued Rondo somewhat due to his reputation, but now that the Celtics believe that it’s a non-issue, it makes sense that they’d feel he’s worth a bit more.

      He still struggles with his shot, but he’s savvy around the rim, and is a great defender, rebounder and playmaker. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the playoffs when the Celtics were without Kevin Garnett.

      I wouldn’t call this a great signing by the franchise as I think Rondo’s inability to shoot limits his upside somewhat, but it looks like the two sides struck a pretty fair deal given everything else that he brings to the table.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Should the Browns stick with Mangini?

      November 2, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Browns owner Randy Lerner said that Eric Mangini’s job is safe heading into the team’s bye week, but also noted that he was sick about their 1-7 record. Lerner also said that the Browns’ quarterback situation “doesn’t seem sensible” and that he may bring in a team president to overlook Mangini and GM George Kokonis.

      Considering Mangini only has one offseason under his belt in Cleveland, he deserves more time. He’s essentially not working with the roster that he wants yet, so it makes sense that Lerner won’t pull the plug on him after only eight games.

      That said, Mangini has to get this team to at least be competitive or else nobody will blame Lerner for scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch again in the offseason. That might sound nauseating to Browns fans, but if Mangini is in over his head, then why waste one or two more years?

      The Browns are a putrid 1-7. After giving a good Cincinnati team a run for its money in Week 4, Cleveland has scored a combined 29 points in four games. That’s barely a touchdown a game, which is staggering. Making matters worse, Mangini has already made one quarterback change this year switching from Brady Quinn to Derek Anderson, and may have to make another as Anderson continues to drive the Browns further into NFL purgatory. (He has failed to throw for over 100 yards in four of the six games he’s played in this season.)

      Cleveland isn’t going to even sniff the playoffs this season, but what Lerner needs to see is a team that competes. If the players quit on Mangini, he may never get them back and then it’ll be time to make a change. He deserves another offseason to build the roster he wants, but at the same time he better earn it over the next eight games.

      n

      Should the Browns fire Eric Mangini?
      View Results

      NFL

      Favre claims he played through groin injury

      November 2, 2009 /

      Brett Favre told SI.com’s Peter King that he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to play against the Packers yesterday because of a groin injury. Favre claims he suffered the injury last week in practice and then re-aggravated it in pregame warm-ups.

      “I told T-Jack [backup Tarvaris Jackson] and [offensive coordinator] Darrell Bevell I may not be able to do it,” he said. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to drop back very well. After I aggravated it, there was no way I was going to be able to move around in the pocket very much. We never called one bootleg the whole game. But we made it through OK.”

      And now, I wondered, how was the groin four hours and a lot of lost adrenalin later?

      “It’s throbbing right now,” he said.

      Oh…come…on. Look, I don’t doubt that Favre injured himself in practice (he is 60 years old after all) and then re-injured himself during pregame warm-ups. I also don’t doubt that he told Jackson and Bevell that he was hurt and might not be able to play.

      But I don’t buy for a minute that he was going to hold himself out. He wasn’t going to allow a groin injury to get in the way of beating the Packers at Lambeau and if anything, I’m willing to bet that he wanted people to know that he was hurt just so he could build the moment up even more.

      Some are going to look at this as the “gritty” Brett playing through pain; I’m sure ESPN is already salivating thinking about the story. But I think this guy has a lot of people fooled.

      Maybe I’m being to cynical and over thinking this, but it’s Brett’s comments that bug me the most. If King asked him how he was feeling and Brett said, “Well Pistol Pete, I’m a little sore because of a groin injury I suffered last week,” then I wouldn’t question him because the comment would have been more fly-by.

      But no, Brett made damn sure to note that he might not have been able to play. To me, that’s just another prima donna move by one of the more underrated prima donna athletes of all-time.

      NFL

      Fantasy Fallout, Week 8: QBs

      November 2, 2009 /

      – Donovan McNabb (240 yards, 3 TD) shredded a dinged-up Giants secondary.

      – Mark Sanchez (265 yards, 2 TD) was able to take advantage of the Dolphins young CBs.

      – Alex Smith (198 yards, TD, INT) had a better-than-expected game against the Colts’ stingy pass defense.

      – Neither Matthew Stafford (168 yards, INT) nor Marc Bulger (176 yards, INT) played well even though they both had great matchups.

      – Tony Romo (256 yards, 3 TD) posted big numbers for the third straight week. He has 918 yards and 8 TD over that span, but faces a tough test in Philly next week.

      – Jay Cutler (225 yards, INT) had a very disappointing day against the Browns.

      – Coming into Week 8, the Titans had the league’s worst pass defense, so David Garrard’s performance (139 yards, 2 INT) is a major disappointment.

      – Vince Young completed 15/18 passes (for 125 yards and TD) en route to a nice day. He also ran 12 times for 30 yards. If Young wants to get back to what made him so successful in his rookie season, he needs to run the ball.

      – Kurt Warner (242 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT) turned the ball over six times.

      – Brett Favre (244 yards, 4 TD) stuck it to his old team. He was sharp, but the Packers weren’t able to put much pressure on him.

      – Aaron Rodgers (287 yards, 3 TD) played well in a tough situation, or at least in the second half. He is still taking sacks that he shouldn’t be.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑