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Ravens re-sign Ray Lewis, add Matt Birk

March 4, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

The Ravens made two significant moves on Wednesday, agreeing to a deal with linebacker Ray Lewis and signing free agent center Matt Birk.

“We have agreed in principle on a multi-year contract that will allow Ray to finish his career as a Baltimore Raven,” general manager/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome announced.
(Note: Lewis’ contract will not be official until he signs, which will take place sometime in the next two weeks. At that time, the Ravens will hold a press conference with Lewis. Please understand that travel schedules for owner Steve Bisciotti, Newsome, head coach John Harbaugh and Lewis are causing this delay.)
Also agreeing to a contract this afternoon is six-time Pro Bowl C Matt Birk. Birk, who has played all 11 of his NFL seasons with Minnesota, will meet with the media Thursday morning (3/5) at the Ravens’ Owings Mills training facility at 11 a.m.

Re-signing Lewis was pivotal after the Ravens lost Bart Scott to free agency. Lewis wore down towards the end of last season but proved he can still play at a high level. Now Baltimore can turn its attention to addressing the hole left by Scott.

The addition of Birk was huge because the Ravens lost Jason Brown to the Rams. Birk has more years on Brown, but is a seasoned veteran and one of the most intelligent centers in the league. He was also the best center on the market after Brown inked his deal with St. Louis.

The other team impacted by this signing is Minnesota – Birk’s former team. They lost the bidding war for T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who signed with the Seahawks on Monday) and now have to replace Birk on their offensive line. It’s been a rough start to free agency for the Vikes.

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Bengals sign wide receiver Laveranues Coles

March 4, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

After losing T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the Seahawks on Monday, the Bengals addressed their need at wide receiver with the signing free agent Laveranues Coles to a four-year, $28 million contract.

Considering Housh got $8 mil per year over the next five years, it would appear that the Bengals overpaid for Coles. But keep in mind that once Houshmandzadeh was signed, Coles became the best wideout on the market and therefore was able to cash in.

At 31, Coles is no spring chicken but he can still play. He’s a solid overall athlete, an excellent route runner and he isn’t afraid to block. Despite missing six games last year due to injury, Coles is strong and durable. He doesn’t have elite speed and he won’t run away from defenders in the open field, but that doesn’t mean he can’t create separation.

Despite paying what I estimate to be about a mil more per year than he is worth, this was a nice signing by the Bengals. The addition of Coles will allow Cincy to concentrate on their other needs in the draft and now they won’t be tempted to select a wideout early when those picks could better be used to address the offensive line and defense.

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Cuban blasts Mavericks’ effort

March 4, 2009 / John Paulsen

After losing to the Thunder Monday night, Mark Cuban was highly critical of his team.

After the Mavericks were humiliated Monday by an Oklahoma City team playing without its top two scorers, Cuban lashed out, and for the first time indicated that there are no untouchables on the team.
“It’s only one game, which I keep reminding myself of today. But let’s just say I wasn’t happy with our preparation, execution or effort. Not only did it look like we had no idea what we were doing, but we did it without effort. The effort and energy, on both sides of the ball, by each player will decide their future with the Mavericks.
“If each player can’t take the personal initiative to make every game important and play like it, I don’t see them being here next season. The ball won’t always bounce the way we want it to, but every player can control their level of effort. If it’s not important enough to them to lay it out every game the rest of the season, they won’t be back. I don’t care what their contract is. I would rather turn over the roster 100 percent than subject fans to another game like last night.
“This team has the talent to win in the playoffs. But that’s only going to happen if all 15 guys know and execute their assignments and play every possession like it’s important.”

Cuban’s comments are totally justified. The Thunder played without Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, starting a lineup of Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic. Ouch.

This is the first time that Cuban has indicated that Dirk Nowitzki might not be untouchable anymore. He’s exactly right about how there are nights when the ball doesn’t go through the hoop or that the other team can’t miss, but the effort should always be there. These guys are making millions of dollars to play a game, and while the rest of the economy is tanking and people across of the country are losing their jobs, the least the Mavs can do is play as hard as they can while they’re out on the court. Anything less is an embarrassment and a slap in the face of their fan base.

The Mavs are on notice.

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Report: Gooden to join Spurs

March 4, 2009 / John Paulsen

It looks like the Spurs will be able to make a moderate free agent addition in their quest for another title.

Barring an unforeseen snag, Drew Gooden will be joining the San Antonio Spurs later this week, according to NBA front-office sources.
Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that Gooden — waived Sunday by the Sacramento Kings before the midnight deadline to be eligibile to play in the playoffs with another team — has made known his intent to sign with San Antonio after clearing waivers Wednesday.
Gooden was pursued by several playoff-bound teams this week, including San Antonio’s divisional rivals in Dallas and New Orleans.
But the Spurs have nearly $1.5 million remaining from their mid-level salary-cap exception to offer Gooden for the rest of the season, as well as a shot at title contention.

San Antonio should be a great fit for Gooden. For years, the Spurs have been looking for another big body to play alongside Tim Duncan. He has his faults, but Gooden can rebound and score a little bit and the Spurs should be able to use him in crunch time. He falls asleep defensively sometimes, but you can bet that Gregg Popovich will have him focused and ready to defend. He will eat into the minutes of Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto and Matt Bonner.

This is a nice signing for the Spurs. They had a big hole on the front line and they managed to fill it for $1.5 million. Not bad.

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