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      Odom leaning Miami?

      July 25, 2009 /

      Yes, at least according to a Yahoo! Sports source.

      Odom has not reached a final decision, the sources said, but there is growing belief he will ultimately return to the Heat unless the Lakers improve their current offer.

      “It’s close, but it’s not done,” said one source.

      Lakers officials and Odom’s representatives resumed talking after a weeklong standoff that began when Jerry Buss, the team’s owner, withdrew a four-year, $36 million offer that guaranteed $30 million. Sources close to Odom said that while the two sides have since talked, Buss is now offering less than the Lakers’ previous proposal.

      I still don’t know how the Heat’s offer of five years and $34 million is better than the Lakers’ offer of four years and $36 million (which works out to around $32 million after state taxes). Surely, Odom would be able to make more than $2 million in the year after the Laker deal expired. But hey, I’m not an accountant.

      Or maybe he’s ticked off that Buss is offering less and wants to go to an organization that has demonstrated that it really wants him. If Miami can get Odom at the mid-level, it will be a coup, though it will create something of a logjam at power forward since that’s the position the Heat want Michael Beasley to play.

      If the Lakers let Odom slip away, they will be going backwards this summer. The Ron Artest signing is nice, but Artest does not offset the loss of Odom and Trevor Ariza. With the Spurs, Blazers and Mavericks nipping at their heels, things could get very interesting in the West.

      Note: John Ireland of 710 Los Angeles has reported that the fourth year of the Laker deal is only partially guaranteed (for $3 million), so the best deal that the Lakers offered was for $27 million over three years plus a guaranteed $3 million in the fourth year. So, after state taxes, that’s worth about $27 million over three years. It now makes sense that Odom would consider taking the five-year deal from the Heat since that deal offers as much as $7 million more in guaranteed money, maybe more if the Lakers’ latest offer has been reduced.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Body language expert suggests Big Ben is telling the truth

      July 25, 2009 /

      As Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger gave his first public appearance since being accused of sexually assaulting a Las Vegas hotel worker, a TV station in Pittsburgh asked a body language expert to break down Big Ben’s demeanor to see if he was telling the truth.

      Well breathe easy Ben, because you’re innocent…at least in the eyes of this so-called expert.

      On Thursday night, Channel 11 News invited a body language expert to review the statement made by Ben Roethlisberger about the civil lawsuit filed against him.

      Sally Chopping said she believes Roethlisberger is telling the truth about the allegations against him.

      “You can really tell he’s finding this thing heavy going,” she said after watching the statement.

      In a part of the statement where Roethlisberger shook his head a split second before the word ‘never’, Chopping said, “He’s not thinking it, he’s not faking it, he’s feeling it.”

      Chopping also believes Roethlisberger is feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, evidenced by his shoulder shrugs. But she believes the shrugs also show his sincerity.

      Well, that settles that then – who’s up for some chimi chungas?

      I think Big Ben is innocent too, but I find it funny that a TV station (in Pittsburgh, mind you) brought in a body language expert to try and determine whether or not he was telling the truth based on a speech he gave. What if this woman came in and said he was lying based on his body language? How much do you want to bet that that segment would have never seen the light of day?

      NFL

      Which running backs drop the ball the most?

      July 25, 2009 /

      When it comes to fumbles, nobody drops the ball more than quarterbacks, because they handle the ball more than anyone besides the center. Brett Favre has 157 of them, which leads active players (yes, we’re considering Favre active). But many times when a QB fumbles, he can pounce right back on the ball. Running backs are a different story. The ones who fumble a lot often wind up in their coach’s doghouse because most of the time it’s because of careless ball handling. As for fantasy football, you’ll want to be careful with these guys too because they take points off your scoreboard, both by negative points for fumbles, and for lost opportunities on offense. So here is the active Top 10 in fumbles by running backs…..

      1. Edgerrin James (43)—James isn’t as bad as early in his career, like when he fumbled 8 times during his rookie year of 1999 with the Colts. But you tend to look the other way when the other numbers offset the fumbles—and James was an All Pro that year with 2139 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns.

      2. Ricky Williams (41)—Ricky definitely comes down with fumble-it is pretty often, and that has to drive Bill Parcells crazy. I wonder if it would help if Ricky thought he was carrying a bag of..…oh forget it.

      3. Jamal Lewis (39)—Lewis has improved drastically in this area, fumbling only twice last season. But he fumbled 8 times in back to back seasons in 2002 and 2003 while with Baltimore. Yikes.

      4. Ahman Green (37)—He hasn’t fumbled since 2006, but that’s only because Green has carried the ball just 144 times since then.

      5. Michael Pittman (31)—Pittman was one of like 15 running backs used by the Broncos last season.

      6. Shaun Alexander (31)—For a few years there, Alexander was putting up such ridiculous numbers that Mike Holmgren was forced to accept some drops.

      7. Warrick Dunn (26)—He’s never had more than 4 fumbles in a season, but he’s been playing for so long that he wound up on here. Dunn may be one of the most underrated RBs in the history of the NFL.

      8. Fred Taylor (26)—Taylor has fumbled less in recent years, but he’s also carried the ball less. It should be interesting to see if his career is re-ignited in a Patriots’ uniform.

      9. LaDainian Tomlinson (25)—He fumbled 8 times in his rookie year, and only 17 times since. With 2657 total carries, that’s not bad at all.

      9 (tie). Clinton Portis (25)—Portis is a solid RB, but he does have two quirks—he’s injury prone and he drops the ball a few too many times.

      Source: Pro Football Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Phillies: Jays want too much for Halladay

      July 25, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies can have Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. All it would cost them is young major league pitcher J.A. Happ, top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, high-ceiling outfield prospect Dominic Brown, the International Space Station, Citizens Bank Park, the moon, a fighter jet, an HD copy of Erin Andrews’ peephole video and a rare (never been heard) collection of Guns N’ Roses songs on vinyl.

      Shockingly, the Phillies don’t want to part with all of that:

      According to an executive of one team that has spoken with the Phillies’ brass, the Phillies are adamantly opposed to giving up both Happ and Drabek. There are indications they would like to substitute pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco for one of those two, preferably in place of the highly regarded Drabek.

      Blue Jays officials have told other clubs that Philadelphia still hasn’t informed them it was unwilling to include both pitchers in a package for Holliday. But another source said the two sides are currently discussing “a list of seven or eight names” that will constitute the framework of a 3-for-1 or 4-for-1 deal.

      Drabek, Happ and Brown are on that list, along with Carrasco, outfielder Michael Taylor, catcher Lou Marson and shortstop Jason Donald. It’s believed that hard-throwing Class A righthander Jason Knapp was also on the list at one time. But Knapp just went on the disabled list with “shoulder fatigue.” So, according to one source, talk about him has “cooled.”

      Now that the Blue Jays have finished scouting the Phillies’ system, the two sides have reached the stage where they are swapping names back and forth, according to multiple sources.

      What’s interesting about this situation is that it appears that both of these teams are somewhat close to striking a deal for Halladay. But Toronto is going to have to back off its demands a tad (maybe they don’t go after Drabek and the space station) in order to complete a deal.

      A package of Happ, Carrasco and Brown for Halladay seems like a fair deal for both sides. It would still be a steep price to pay for Philadelphia, but Halladay is as close to a guarantee as you’re going to get and he would dramatically raise the Phillies’ chances at getting back to the World Series.

      MLB

      Holliday has four hits in debut with Cards

      July 25, 2009 /

      Matt HollidayThink Matt Holliday likes his new surroundings?

      On the same day he was traded to St. Louis, Holliday went 4 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI in the Cards’ 8-1 victory over the Phillies on Friday night. Granted, three of his four hits were of the cheap variety (he reached on a dribbler to third, a blooper to right and a weak grounder up the middle), but he also almost went yard in the seventh and also stole a base in the second.

      Obviously this was only one game, but you get the sense that this was one of those trades that’s going to make a huge difference for a club. The Cards are only 1.5 games ahead of the Cubs and Astros in the NL Central, but the deal for Holliday could potentially ignite St. Louis for the rest of the second half.

      MLB

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