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      Matt Jones a Bear? Don’t count on it.

      May 28, 2009 /

      Although rumors persist that the Bears could be interested, Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune writes that the team is unlikely to pursue troubled free agent wideout Matt Jones.

      “He was a first-round draft pick and he is a very talented player,” Angelo said, “but it’s case by case. We’re not quick to move on any player.”

      No doubt the Bears are concerned about Jones’ checkered past, one that included an arrest for cocaine possession last July. Jones, 26, served a three-game league suspension after losing an appeal. After violating terms of a court-mandated drug program by consuming alcohol, he was arrested again and faced further disciplinary action for the 2009 season. But the league decided not to impose another suspension, although Jones was fined $50,000.

      In recent years, the Bears cut ties with two players due to off-the-field concerns: running back Cedric Benson and defensive lineman Tank Johnson.

      “Guys make mistakes, move on, and become better people,” Angelo said. “Some guys have patterns of bad behavior and continue to have those patterns. I’m not saying that about Matt Jones. What I’m saying is we have to do our homework. And then you have to look at what value that person brings to your football team irrelevant of his off-the-field issues.”

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the NFL has already notified Jones that he will not be suspended for violating a court-mandated drug program in March. At 26 years old, Jones is the best receiver left on the market. But even though he’s coming off a productive season (he caught 65 passes in 12 games last year for the Jags), he missed three games last year due to suspension and his motivation and focus have always been questioned.

      I would be surprised if the Bears go after Jones given that they made little to no effort to try and sign Torry Holt this offseason before he agreed to terms with the Jaguars. I realize Holt is six years older than Jones is, but he’s obviously less of a risk and he still has a productive season or two left in him.

      So maybe Angelo already feels that his wide receiver corps is set with Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Rashied Davis, Brandon Lloyd and rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox. Granted, none of those players will strike fear into an opposing defense outside of Hester’s deep threat ability, but there still is some potential among the group and don’t forget that Greg Olsen is the best receiver on this team. (He just happens to play tight end.)

      NFL

      NBA officials out of control? Not so much.

      May 28, 2009 /

      John Hollinger writes that the uptick in free throws this postseason is nothing new.

      This phenomenon has gone on since prehistoric times as clubs enforce the no-layups policy with greater zeal, and garbage-time situations become fewer and farther between. These playoffs’ free-throw rates have increased over the regular-season rates similar to past seasons’ rates, even though high-foul teams are overrepresented this time around.

      Denver led the NBA in free-throw attempts per field goal attempt this season by a wide margin.

      Orlando averaged .351, good for third in the league, with center Dwight Howard leading the league in free-throw attempts.

      Sum it up, and that’s six conference finals games with an above-average number of fouls, but we also have a far greater sampling of 67 games from the first two rounds of the playoffs. And in those two rounds, we had no deviation from the historic trend whatsoever. The only noteworthy development is a phenomenal increase in the frequency of technical fouls, with 1½ being called a game in this postseason, compared to less than one per night just here years ago.

      But as far as live-ball action goes, the evidence for the “refs gone wild” theory is skimpy at best. Basically, we’re getting all bent out of shape over a six-game sample when a sample of 10 times as many games shows the opposite conclusion.

      The bottom line is that teams and players don’t care if the refs call it close or loose, they just want consistency throughout the game. Officials can’t “let guys play” in the first quarter and then start calling ticky-tack fouls late in the game. The players adjust based on how the game is being called early on, but if that changes throughout the course of the game, all hell breaks loose.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Rosenhaus: Three teams interested in Plax

      May 28, 2009 /

      According to agent Drew Rosenhaus, who is now a Twitter madman apparently, another identified team (there are now three according to Rosenhaus) has expressed serious interest in his client Plaxico Burress.

      Good news for Plaxico as a 3rd team has just expressed serious interest in signing him. I won’t identify any of the teams at their request.

      Apparently the Jets and Bucs were the first two teams interested in Plax and sites like Rotoworld.com speculate that the mystery third team could be the Rams, Dolphins or Bears.

      Of course, there’s a very real possibility that there is no third team, especially considering sports agents are known for trying to create as much buzz about their clients as humanly possible in order to get them signed.

      Remember this past offseason in baseball when Scott Boras claimed that multiple teams were interested in Manny Ramirez? And it turned out there was only one team (the Dodgers) that was legitimately interested? So nobody should be shocked if it turns out that none of these teams are “seriously” interested in Burress. After all, there’s a very real possibility that he could be suspended or in jail when the season starts, so teams have to be overly cautious about even considering signing him.

      This Twitter site is going to fuel (or be the black angel of death depending on how you look at it) all sports rumors because agents are going to throw crap against the wall all the time just to see if it sticks.

      NFL

      Dice-K falls to 0-3 on the season, sets record for wild pitches

      May 28, 2009 /

      The 2009 season has not been kind so far to Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, who dropped to 0-3 on the season after setting a record for wild pitches in a 4-2 loss to the Twins on Wednesday.

      Daisuke Matsuzaka and the rest of the Red Sox righties tied a modern-day record with six wild pitches while Twins starter Kevin Slowey was the picture of control in Minnesota’s 4-2 victory over Boston.

      Matsuzaka (0-3) tied a franchise record set 80 years ago with four wild pitches, while relievers Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson also sent Kottaras scrambling. It was just the fifth time since 1900 that a team threw six wild pitches in a game.

      Boston’s slumping slugger, David Ortiz, batted sixth again and continued to look slow with the stick. He struck out on three pitches in his first at-bat, the last an 89 mph fastball that Slowey left up and over the middle of the plate.

      It’s amazing how some of the key components that helped Boston win a World Series just two seasons ago can’t get it together this year. (Or are serving a 50-game suspension for another team.)

      Big Papi is hitting a flabbergasting .193 with just one home run and 18 RBI, Dice-K is currently 0-3 with an eye-popping 8.82 ERA and 2.33 WHIP, and Jason Varitek is only hitting…okay well, Jason Varitek could never hit.

      The good thing is that Kevin Youkilis is hitting almost .380 this year, Dustin Pedroia hasn’t cooled off since winning the AL MVP Award last season and Jason Bay is currently playing out of his mind. Still, it’ll be interesting to see if guys like Dice-K and Big Papi can turn it around at some point this year. You have to wonder if Big Papi is still hurt or if not having Manny in the lineup is killing his production. (Or as some people speculate, whether or not he’s still on the juice.)

      MLB

      Big Unit wins No. 299

      May 28, 2009 /

      With the Giants’ 6-3 win over the Braves on Wednesday night, Randy Johnson earned career victory No. 299.

      Johnson breezed through the first five innings, retiring 15 of the first 16 batters he faced, striking out five and allowing just one run and three hits. But he ran out of gas in the sixth and had to be relieved by Brandon Medders, who got out of that inning but allowed Atlanta to score two unearned runs to cut into San Fran’s lead at 4-3.

      But the Giants managed to add two runs in their half of the seventh and gave the bullpen enough of a cushion to preserve the win for the Big Unit, who will now go for career win No. 300 next Wednesday on the road against the Nationals.

      If Johnson claims victory, he’ll join amazing company in Cy Young, Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine as other pitchers who have 300 career victories. It would have been nice for the home crowd in San Francisco if the Big Unit went for 300 at AT&T Park, although I think they’ve already seen a great moment or two in baseball history over the past couple years. (Even if a lot of baseball fans think that moment was tainted.)

      MLB

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