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      ACC race coming down to the wire

      March 2, 2009 /

      Duke got a big win on Saturday against Virginia Tech to stay alive in the race for the conference championship. They host a good Florida State team on Tuesday before their showdown next Sunday at North Carolina. The Tar Heels travel to VT on Wednesday. The Blue Devils are one game back, so a pair of wins to close the regular season would give Duke at least a share of the ACC championship. Most pundits have written Duke off for a #1 seed, but if they were to win out and then win the ACC tournament, they could sneak in as a top seed.

      As a basketball fan, it would be great to see Duke beat FSU tomorrow guaranteeing that the Duke/UNC tilt on Sunday is for the conference title. Even if the Tar Heels beat Tech and guarantee themselves at least a share of the ACC title, they won’t want to miss out on an opportunity to slam the door on the Dookies. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils need to be careful not to look past a Florida State team that is 22-7. Duke beat FSU in Tallahassee back in January, so the Seminoles will have revenge on their minds.

      Joe Lunardi (ESPN “bracketologist”) says that if the season ended today, seven ACC teams would make the NCAA tourney — UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State, Boston College and Virginia Tech. Maryland has been making a move, but they could really use a win against Wake Forest and then a win at Virginia to put themselves in good shape. Otherwise, they’d have to make some major noise in the ACC tourney to get a bid. Likewise, Miami is sitting at 6-8 in conference, but they have two winnable games (@ Georgia Tech, vs. N.C. State) to close out the season. If they win both, they’d be at 8-8 and be in position to earn a bid with a good showing in the ACC tourney.

      Of the teams Lunardi listed, Virginia Tech is in the most tenuous position. They have a tough pair of games to close out the season — they host the Tar Heels and have to travel to Florida State. They need to win at least one of those games to stay in the hunt for an NCAA bid. If they lose both, they won’t finish at .500 in conference.

      College Basketball, March Madness, Television

      Dodgers, Manny starting fresh in contract talks

      March 2, 2009 /

      According to the L.A. Times, Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt wants to start fresh contract talks with free agent Manny Ramirez and his agent Scott Boras.

      Manny RamirezMcCourt said the latest phase of negotiations ended the moment agent Scott Boras made him a counterproposal instead of simply accepting or declining an offer the Dodgers made Wednesday of a two-year, $45-million contract with much of the money deferred without any added interest. By Thursday evening, Boras had made two counterproposals, the second one asking for two years at $45 million with an opt-out clause Ramirez could exercise at the end of the first year, only with no deferred salary.

      McCourt on Sunday called that counteroffer “too little too late” and said negotiations would resume with “a fresh start.” He said he stressed to the agent that he had wanted a resolution by Friday because he didn’t want the negotiations to dominate conversation Sunday, the day the Dodgers opened the gates of their new spring training ballpark.

      But why not consider the offer when the two sides appear to be so close?

      “Because we’re going to start from scratch,” McCourt said.

      But why start from scratch when you’re so close?

      “I answered it twice,” McCourt said.

      He looked away from the reporter who asked the question and didn’t say another word until another question was asked by another reporter.

      I don’t like to compare athlete’s contracts to the common man’s salary. Athletes and celebrities live in their own worlds and the money they make doesn’t even seem real. Furthermore, who am I to say what an athlete should or should not ask for when it comes to his salary?

      But even I have to admit that this contract situation between Manny and the Dodgers is absolutely ridiculous. Every day, more Americans lose their jobs across the country and Boras is fighting the Dodgers for $1.5 million. Ramirez is 36 years old, doesn’t play the field that well and quit on the Red Sox last season. It’s insane for him and Boras to argue over $1.5 million when some Americans are working for $7.50 an hour just trying to get by. Ramirez should have to play for free at this point.

      MLB

      King: Cutler had already asked to be traded

      March 2, 2009 /

      If you weren’t a Jay Cutler fan before, you’re really going to like him now.

      Remember how upset Cutler was after his name came up in trade talks over the weekend? Well according to SI.com’s Peter King, Cutler had already asked the Broncos to trade him, long before the events of this weekend took place.

      Via Rotoworld.com:

      According to SI’s Peter King, Jay Cutler had asked the Broncos to trade him after the team lost offensive coordinator Jim Bates to USC after the season.

      Cutler wasn’t happy about losing Bates or head coach Mike Shanahan, and he’s not handling the recent trade talks well at all. It doesn’t look like the Broncos are going to trade Cutler at this point, so, as King suggested, “maybe both sides need to get into marriage counseling.”

      You’re kidding me right? Cutler had already asked to be traded after Shanahan and Bates were fired, yet said he was shocked when his name came up in trade talks over the weekend? I guess he still could have been surprised by all the news, but for him to say how upset he was about the whole thing makes him look two-faced with this latest information coming to the table.

      Any way you slice it, the Josh McDaniels era in Denver has not started off well. Cutler isn’t expected to be dealt any time this offseason, so that means the two parities will have to come together and bury the hatchet before the start of next season. These things tend to work themselves out and the situation will probably be a dead one by the time Week 1 hits, but again, this isn’t a good start for McDaniels.

      NFL

      Housh to sign with Vikings soon?

      March 2, 2009 /

      Perhaps the biggest name still left on the free agent market is wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who appears poised to sign with the Vikings if you read between the lines.

      When the free agency period began last Friday, Housh set up a visit with the Seahawks. He left Seattle without signing a contract, however, and despite rumors that the Lions, Bengals and Bears were interested, Housh headed to Minnesota for a visit with the Vikings on Saturday.

      He hasn’t left Minnesota since.

      According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Housh remained in Minnesota overnight Sunday and is expected to make a decision on whom he’ll sign with by Monday night. He is supposed to pay a visit to Tampa early this week, but it appears that the Vikes are trying hard not to let him leave Minnesota without a contract.

      Houshmandzadeh and Bernard Berrian would make quite the underrated receiving tandem in Minnesota. Coupled with bruiser Adrian Peterson and a solid line, the Vikings would have one of the better offenses in the NFC and certainly the best in the North. Some fans might not be enthralled with the Sage Rosenfels trade, but he’ll give Tarvaris Jackson some competition and head coach Brad Childress will allow the best man win this summer.

      If the Vikings could eventually land Housh (and for what it’s worth, I think they will), then they’d easily be the favorites to once again with the NFC North. Signing Housh would also mean that they could concentrate on filling some holes on the defensive side of the ball and add good overall depth to the entire team.

      Unless the Bucs make a strong push, the last time the Vikings probably have to worry about swooping in and stealing Housh would be the Bengals. Cincy still remains in the mix and even though Housh would probably be upgrading his situation if he went to Minnesota, he has history with the Bengals and his heart could remain there.

      NFL

      Brandon Marshall arrested…again.

      March 2, 2009 /

      Broncos’ wideout Brandon Marshall is keeping up with his lifelong dream of being arrested at least once every year for the rest of eternity.

      Marshall was arrested Sunday in Atlanta and booked into the Atlanta City Jail on a disorderly conduct charge.

      Details of the events leading to Marshall’s arrest were not known Sunday night, but a jail supervisor told ESPN’s John Barr that Marshall was involved in a fight.

      Marshall posted a $300 bond and was released. This was the fourth arrest for Marshall since March 2006. He was suspended for three games last season for repeatedly running afoul of the law — Marshall’s suspension stemmed from seven police-related incidents with his former girlfriend, Rasheedah Wately.

      But he had his punishment reduced to a single game when he pledged to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that he would stay out of trouble.

      Marshall, 24, now potentially faces a longer suspension to start the 2009 season, perhaps as much as eight games, which is the punishment other players have received for repeatedly getting into trouble off the field.

      The league doesn’t require convictions for the commissioner to suspend a player.

      Let’s see what I wrote the last time Marshall was arrested…

      Marshall needs to wake up and smell the opportunities that have been given to him. He’s a rare talent, blessed with both size and speed. But he also seems to have nothing between the ears and if he ever wants to cash in on his Terrell Owens-type talent, then he’ll need to start making better decisions.

      Yep, that should cover it for his latest arrest, too.

      So let’s see, Jay Cutler is pissed off at new head coach Josh McDaniels for trying to trade him over the weekend and now Marshall is in trouble again. What a great time to be a Broncos fan.

      Update: The charges have been dropped against Marshall. Wow, that was fast. Either way, how about Marshall lay low for a while anyway?

      NFL

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