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      Dice-K out of Boston’s rotation for good?

      June 22, 2009 /

      The Red Sox might have found the answer to their question about what to do with their starting rotation when John Smoltz comes off the DL, although it’s certainly not one they were expecting would unveil itself.

      Boston fans and those unfortunate enough to have him on their fantasy team know that Daisuke Matsuzaka has been wretched this season. After the Braves beat him like a piñata last Friday, Dice-K dropped to 1-5 on the season with an 8.23 ERA and 2.20 WHIP.

      Following that performance, the BoSox placed Matsuzaka on the disabled list for the second time this year, this time due to isuckitis and ican’tthrowastriketosavemylifeitis. And as the Boston Herald points out, Dice-K might not return to the starting rotation for the rest of the season, even if he does come off the DL in perfect health.

      Smoltz is set to make his 2009 debut this week and with Brad Penny pitching as well as he has this season, there isn’t any room for the struggling Matsuzaka in the rotation. So even if the team doesn’t find anything wrong with him in his latest stint on the DL, Dice-K might have to ride out the rest of the season in the bullpen or on the pine.

      Of course, there’s a major possibility that the 86-year old Smoltz and the fragile Penny could go down at some point this season and Dice-K could leap back into the rotation, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But it is staggering that a pitcher who went 18-3 last year with a 2.90 ERA has struggled so badly this season.

      One issue that is sure to be brought up is Dice-K’s role in the World Baseball Classic. He pitched well int he WBC this year, yet he’s struggled mightily so far in the MLB season. How does a pitcher who went 18-3 one year go directly in the toilet the following season? Did he get worn out or hurt in the WBC? If he did, it would be yet another reason not to have the WBC be played before the MLB season.

      Either way, Boston is thankful to have the pitching depth they do and despite other teams being interested in his services, it doesn’t look like Penny is going anywhere now.

      NFL

      Browns likely to hang onto Edwards

      June 22, 2009 /

      Remember the gazillion rumors that centered on the Browns trading receiver Braylon Edwards earlier this offseason? Well apparently the team is content on keeping Edwards on its roster this season, despite the fact that he’s entering the final year of his contract and thus could walk at the end of the year.

      Despite feverishly trying to move the inconsistent former No. 3 overall pick around draft time, Cleveland received zero offers to their liking. According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns wanted a first round pick but teams were only offering middle-round picks and lackluster veterans.

      The Giants seemed to be team that made the biggest push for Edwards, but a rumored deal involving DE/LB Mathias Kiwanuka fell through and New York eventually backed off. (The then G-Men selected North Carolina wideout Hakeem Nicks with the 29th overall pick in round one.)

      In the end, whom could blame teams for not wanting to part with a first round pick for Edwards? He makes letting the ball get into his pads instead of catching it with his hands his personal mission and outside of his fluke season in ‘07, he has done nothing to merit a team giving up a first round pick for his services.

      Maybe him staying in Cleveland will work out best for all parties involved. Players in a contract year always turn it up a notch and it’s not like the Browns couldn’t use another playmaker after trading tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. to the Bucs. Maybe Edwards will turn in a great season, realize that he’s a huge fan of the Great Lakes Science Center and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and decide to re-up with the Browns.

      Either way, the Browns aren’t in a bad spot. If he’s still infected with the dropsies, then they can allow him to walk via free agency at the end of the year and move forward with the development of second round picks Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massqauoi. If Edwards does produce, they could make an effort to re-sign him after the season or even (gasp!) place the franchise tag on him if they deem him worthy enough.

      NFL

      Builder blows $25 million investment from NHL players on porn stars and Roger Clemens

      June 22, 2009 /

      A golf-resort developer named Ken Jowdy duped two dozen former and current NHL stars by taking roughly a $25 million investment from the players and blowing it on lavish parties packed with porn stars, hookers and ex-baseball players, which included all-round standup guy Roger Clemens.

      The 19 former and current stick-handlers — including an all-star roster of Rangers and Islanders — are demanding that Las Vegas-based golf-course mogul Ken Jowdy return the $25 million they invested, plus fork over $15 million in damages for failing to build two luxury resorts in Mexico that are seven years behind schedule.

      Instead, the players say, Jowdy got rowdy, squandering their cold cash on “lavish parties” that included “various female porn stars, escorts, strippers [and] party girls” to impress Clemens, Jackson, banned star Pete Rose and ESPN announcer Joe Morgan, one of the suits filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges.

      The suits also allege that Jowdy:

      Put a Clemens gal pal named Adrian Moore, described as a “regular party attendee who was close to Clemens,” on his payroll “as a personal favor” to the former Yankee Cy Young winner.

      Bought three private planes to fly himself, childhood pals, the baseball players and their “female companions” to Mexico, Palm Springs, New York and Las Vegas.

      Paid himself an $800,000-a-year salary — plus travel and entertainment expenses — while his brother-in-law, Connecticut lawyer Bill Najam, took in $650,000 annually without having a role in the project.
      Hired Brian McNamee — the one-time Clemens trainer who told Congress he supplied the ballplayer with steroids — as a fitness trainer.

      Paid the projects’ sole construction manager, Ken Ayers, a $550,000 salary, even though Ayers spent fewer than 20 days at the sites in seven years.

      So if you’re Jowdy, one, you must be incredibly insecure if you’re spending millions of dollars of investors money on porn stars and parties for Roger Clemens and his steroid-producing trainer. Two, you also must be a gigantic idiot to believe the players you suckered wouldn’t eventually ask you, “Hey, remember that golf course that you were supposed to build for us? Yeah – where the hell is it?”

      Jowdy must have figured that at some point he would get busted for all this but until then, he was going to party his ass off. Personally, I think there are better ways to blow through millions of dollars than to fly Clemens all over the country for free, but hey, that’s just me.

      General Sports, MLB, NHL

      Webb might be out the rest of the season

      June 22, 2009 /

      webb

      Arizona Diamondbacks ace and former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb may be out the rest of the season. Webb was expected to miss a maximum of twelve weeks when he injured his shoulder in early April, but after a recent setback things aren’t looking good.

      Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb was dealt another setback Thursday when he felt discomfort in his right shoulder during a throwing session, causing the Diamondbacks to cancel the bullpen session that had been scheduled for Friday in Seattle.

      Webb left the team and returned to Phoenix, where he will be re-evaluated, according to manager A.J. Hinch. The setback casts doubt on whether he will pitch again this season.

      Webb was seen by a reporter leaving Kauffman Stadium about an hour before Thursday night’s game.

      Webb, who has been out since Opening Day because of what he said was a strained teres major muscle in the shoulder, was scheduled to throw off the mound today for the first time since April.

      Teammate Dan Haren felt bad for what Webb has gone through this season.

      “He’s come with us on the road, and he has seen us struggle a good part of the year,” Haren said. “If he was out there, I’m sure things would be a little different. He’s constantly in the training room doing these drills. To see him not getting better, I couldn’t imagine how frustrated he is.”

      I’ve heard rumors that Webb is asking to be traded as well. He has a team option for 2010, so there’s a chance (although unconfirmed) that Webb is delaying his return until his future with the team is a bit more clear. Either way, this doesn’t sound like Brandon Webb to me. Like Jake Peavy, the guy just seems to love pitching and simply enjoys the game. The Diamonbacks do have one of the worst records in baseball so I can see why Webb may not be ecstatic to come back. Nevertheless, his contract includes a team option for 2010 so Webb doesn’t really have a say in the matter as far as next year is concerned. If he wants to play for a different team or earn a better contract, he needs to come back this season and prove that this injury isn’t one that will linger throughout his career.

      MLB

      U.S. advances to Confederations Cup semifinals

      June 21, 2009 /

      soccer

      At the Confederations Cup in Rustenburg, South Africa, the U.S. National Team is continuing to surprise everyone as earlier today they beat Egypt to advance to the semifinals.

      The Americans had looked to be heading out of the tournament after losses to Italy and Brazil, but Charlie Davies, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey scored in a vastly improved performance to edge the African champions for a place in the next round on goal difference.

      “All of the critics in America who said we were no good after losing to Italy and Brazil, let’s see what they say now,” Bradley said. “We had to play 90 of 180 minutes against two of the top five teams in the world with 10 men.”

      The United States kept 11 men on the field all game after a red card in each of its previous two games and it showed. Where the Americans had labored previously, they shone throughout and could have scored even more.

      Nobody, and I mean nobody, expected the United States to go far at all in this tournament. The Confederations Cup started, which is held every four years, pits the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships (CAF, CONMEBOL, UEFA, AFC, OFC, CONCACAF), along with the FIFA World Cup winner and the host country. The U.S. National Team is playing great soccer right now and hopefully they will continue with this energy up till next year’s World Cup.

      They will face Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday.

      Soccer

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