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      Manny Ramirez, Dodgers have deal in place

      March 4, 2009 /

      My God, it may be finally over.

      According to the Los Angeles Times, free agent Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers have a deal in place on a two-year, $45 million contract and that the outfielder could report to spring training as early as Thursday.

      For those that still have a shred of interest in this story after months of speculation, the Dodgers only upped their offer another $3 mil. Manny and Boras just rejected a two-year, $42 million offer last week, but apparently a two-year, $45 million deal was good enough.

      Awesome.

      There are Americans all over the country losing their jobs hand over fist and these ass clowns (i.e. Boras and Ramirez) put the Dodgers through the ringer for another $3 million? I thought this whole stance by Boras was so that Manny could get at least a three or four year deal? But they eventually broke down and compromised on an extra $3 million? What a joke.

      Good for the Dodgers for never giving in on their two-year offer. They were steadfast all along in that they wouldn’t up the years of their contract offer and they never did.

      Anyway, so the one place Manny was always expected to go was the exact place he wound up. The Dodgers are now the clear favorites to win the weak NL West and as long as their pitching holds up and some of the youngsters produce, they’ll have a great shot at battling the Phillies, Mets and Cubs for a pennant.

      As for the Giants, one has to wonder if they were ever interested in Manny in the first place or if they just feigned interest in order to mess with the Dodgers. They could have pretended to be interested this entire time in order to delay L.A.’s signing of Ramirez just long enough to piss everybody off. After all, it doesn’t appear that they ever made an official offer to Manny.

      But the thing is, GM Brian Sabean isn’t that smart. Chances are, Sabean was interested in Manny the entire time, but just wasn’t willing to pull the trigger with the ghost of Barry Zito’s contract still calling out to him in the dead of the night. Either way, the Giants can continue their rebuilding plan and pray that youngsters Fred Lewis and Pablo Sandoval overachieve this year offensively.

      MLB

      #7 Duke, #10 Wake keep it going

      March 4, 2009 /

      Only those viewers lucky enough to have access to ESPN360 saw #7 Duke edge #24 Florida St. last night, 84-81. Apparently, you have to subscribe to an approved internet service provider to watch games on ESPN360. (Great. Then what the hell is my Insider subscription for?) Anyway, the win sets up an ACC regular season title game between Duke and North Carolina on Sunday. If UNC wins tonight (@ Virginia Tech), then the Blue Devils will be playing for a share of the title, but the Tar Heels lose to the Hokies, Sunday’s game will be of the winner-take-all variety.

      North Carolina is still the heavy favorite, but Duke is playing a lot better of late, ever since Coach K inserted freshman guard Elliot Williams into the starting lineup five games ago. He is averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 31.4 minutes of play after getting just 10.6 minutes in the previous 22 games. He gives the Blue Devils more athleticism in its backcourt, which helps both offensively and defensively. If Duke were able to pull off the upset in Chapel Hill, they’d position themselves for a possible #1 seed if they could go on to win the ACC tournament. But that’s a long way off.

      Elsewhere in the ACC, the Maryland Terrapins really needed a win against visiting Wake Forest to get an NCAA bid, but the Demon Deacons finished strong in a 65-63 win. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi already had the Terps out of the tournament, but they had a chance to play themselves back into the conversation in a major way with home games against Duke and Wake, but they weren’t able to win either contest. Now they have to beat Virginia on Saturday (to get to 8-8 in the conference) and then make a big run in the ACC tourney with a couple of wins against the likes of North Carolina, Duke, Wake and Clemson. Good luck with that, Terps.

      College Basketball, March Madness

      The World Baseball Classic is a bad idea

      March 4, 2009 /

      Gil LeBreton of the Star-Telegram.com is down on the World Baseball Classic:

      The Classic’s inception three years ago was supposed to put baseball on the world map. Tired of sending the planet acid rain and Barney Miller reruns, America will again don its “USA” suits and dare the world to take down our pants.

      How do we know this? Because the line of U.S. major league stars who have already begged out of the tournament now stretches around the ballpark block.

      Grady Sizemore, Nick Markakis, Chase Utley, Joe Mauer, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan — all have declined invitations, citing everything from groin surgery to wanting to be at the birth of their first child.

      Clearly, the patriotism factor is tepid at best. But that’s just one of the things working against the World Baseball Classic, which begins Thursday.

      Some nations are sending a veritable Who’s Who to represent their countries. Team USA, meanwhile, appears overstocked in relative Who’s Thats.

      Take Tuesday’s exhibition against the Yankees, for example. Roy Oswalt was scheduled to start for the U.S. team, followed by Jonathan Broxton, Matt Lindstrom, Brad Ziegler, Matt Thornton and LaTroy Hawkins.

      Three years ago at the inaugural Classic, the Americans were snuffed out and embarrassed in the second round. This time, then, it won’t be a surprise when the bullpen coughs up a bronze medal against the Koreans or Cubans.

      Spring is the time for baseball players to get ready for the long season.

      Spring isn’t the time for players to try to muster a patriotic fever.

      It’s a case — a classic case — of a wrong idea at the wrong time.

      The WBC is a nice idea in theory, but I completely agree – the timing of it is awful. You’re asking major league players to essentially play in an extended tournament before the start of the regular season. Pitchers break down enough throughout the course of a 162 game season – now you want them to pitch even more? It doesn’t make sense.

      MLB

      Warner expected to re-sign with Cards soon

      March 4, 2009 /

      Kurt Warner and his agent must have read my latest column because apparently the free agent quarterback is on the verge of re-signing with the Arizona Cardinals according to ESPN.com. If the deal is completed, Warner is expected to receive $23 million over the next two years.

      On Monday I speculated that Warner wouldn’t re-up with the Cards after making a free agent stop in San Francisco to talk with the 49ers. I concluded that with the departure of Todd Haley and the eventual/possible trade of Anquan Boldin, Warner might soon jettison as well.

      Uh, not so much.

      Arizona truly is a perfect fit for Warner, who led the Cards to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance last season. Losing Haley hurts, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt promoted from within and made assistant head coach Russ Grimm the run-game coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Miller the passing game coordinator. Who knows if the split offensive coordinator duties will work, but at least Warner is familiar with the two coaches that will be devising the game plans next season.

      Assuming they do complete the deal with Warner, the Cards could turn their attention to either re-working Boldin’s contract or finding a suitable trade partner. Boldin has expressed both his desire to stay and leave, with his chief motivation being about money. The Cards will essentially have to decide whether or not they want to pony up big to keep Boldin happy (and soak a ton of money into the wide receiver position with Larry Fitzgerald already on the roster), or possibly acquire multiple draft picks in hopes to address needs on defense.

      Either way, it looks like ‘Zona will have their starting signal caller back under center next year. (Matt Leinart must be doing summersaults right now.)

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Coast Guard ends search for missing NFL players

      March 4, 2009 /

      A couple days ago it was reported that two NFL and two former University of South Florida collegiate players were lost at sea off the Gulf of Mexico while on a deep sea boating trip. The two NFL players were Raiders’ special teamer Marquis Cooper and former Lions’ defensive lineman Corey Smith, while the two former USF players were William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler.

      When the news first broke, I posted just a small piece on it hoping that the next time I would have to address the story, it would be another small blurb saying that the four men had been found. I kept waking up and checking Internet reports throughout the day hoping that the four men would be returned safely to their families.

      But it truly saddens me to write that the search has been called off for Cooper, Smith and Bleakley, all of which were never found. The lone bright spot in this story is that Schuyler was rescued a couple days ago after authorities found him clinging to the bottom of a boat in the middle of the Gulf. But unfortunately Schuyler couldn’t help the Coast Guard find the other three boaters.

      I started reading little bits and pieces of this news story throughout the past week, but could never finish the entire articles. I just kept thinking about the three men being carried off into the harsh conditions and what they must have gone through in trying to survive. Schuyler even said that at one point, a helicopter was circling over the four men, but it never spotted them because the conditions were so bad and the visibility was so low.

      My heart goes out to their families and to Nick Schuyler, who has no doubt suffered greatly. I still hold out hope that the three men will eventually be rescued but for now, let me just say that my prayers go out to them and their families.

      General Sports, News, NFL

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