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      Wes Welker’s comments about his contract refreshing

      January 26, 2011 /
      f of the New England Patriots 23-20 overtime win at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA, 17 October 2010. EPA/CJ GUNTHER fotoglif761453

      I think I can count on zero fingers how many times athletes that are heading into the final year of their contract say that they’re not deserving of a new deal based on their performance from the previous season.

      Wes Welker couldn’t have made his agent too happy with his latest comments regarding his contract situation (he becomes a free agent in 2012), but they’re refreshing to say the least.

      From the Boston Herald:

      “I think everybody wants a new deal, but I wouldn’t say anything I did this past year would warrant one or anything like that,” Welker told the Herald Monday.

      If this is some reverse psychology ploy by Welker, then it’s genius. But something tells me he truly means what he says in that he didn’t do anything last year to warrant a new deal.

      But this is a player who shredded his ACL and MCL last season, only to bounce back and catch 86 passes for 848 yards and seven touchdowns. His reception and yard totals are the lowest since he arrived in New England, but the touchdown number is the second highest since 2008 and he also made the Pro Bowl.

      Keep in mind that some people believed he would never be the same player he was before he suffered the knee injury in ’09. So for him to produce the numbers he did was rather remarkable given the circumstances. Usually it takes players at least one season to fully recover from the type of knee injury that Welker suffered and yet he was productive right away.

      The Patriots make a habit of allowing a player’s contract to run out before they decide whether or not to renegotiate with them. That’s why Randy Moss wound up in Minnesota. He wouldn’t stop complaining that the team hadn’t offered him a new deal when he was in a contract year. Thus, it stands to reason that Welker will have to play out the final year of his current deal before he has the opportunity to negotiate another one.

      But if he can get back to another 100-catch, 1,000-yard season, then I don’t see why the Patriots wouldn’t offer him a new contract. He may have pissed off Bill Belichick with his foot comments about Rex Ryan before the Divisional Round game against the Jets, but there’s no denying that Welker fits the Patriot mold.

      External Sports, NFL

      Twelve Iowa football players hospitalized

      January 26, 2011 /

      I don’t believe in curses but if I did, I would subscribe to the Iowa-football-program-is-cursed newsletter.

      After losing to Arizona to start the 2010 season, the Hawkeyes struggled to close out games and stumbled to an incredibly disappointing 7-5 record. Granted, they did win the Insight Bowl, but before they did they had to suspend star running back Adam Robinson for violating team rules and found out that Jewel Hampton and Brandon Wegher are both transferring.

      Oh, and there was also that mishap involving star receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who was arrested in December for running a drug house. The good news is that he pled guilty to marijuana possession with a deferred judgment and had all other charges dropped. The bad news is that the Iowa curse has apparently spilled over into 2011.

      According to a report by ESPN.com, 12 Iowa football players were hospitalized Monday night and are reportedly being treated for exetional rhabdomyoysis. The condition is often caused by extreme exercise that, in serious cases, can cause damage to the kidneys.

      Iowa released a statement that the players were all participating in NCAA allowable winter workouts, so it’s not like the program broke any rules. But what the hell caused 12 players to come down with exertional rhabdomyolysis at the same freaking time?

      There are rumors floating around the web that the players were participating in some “100-squat program” and were racing to see who could finish first. I would qualify that as “extreme exercise,” so maybe the rumors have legs.

      But again, how do 12 players come down with the same condition at the same time? Outside of one case in Oregon involving high school players, nothing like this has ever been reported. It seems strange that 12 players would come down with a condition that nobody has ever heard of outside of the medical field.

      Granted, I’m not a doctor (I only play one on this blog), so how would I know whether or not something like this is common? Maybe somewhere in Florida, a team of national ping-pong players are going through the same thing. After all, if it happened to the players in Oregon, it could obviously happen again. It just seems strange that these 12 Hawkeyes all came down with the same condition at the same time. But that’s the Iowa football curse for ya – it’s unpredictable.

      College Football, External Sports

      Albert Pujols to command $300 million?

      January 26, 2011 /
      St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols sits in the dugout watching the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on September 4, 2010. Cincinnati won the game 6-1. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

      The St. Louis Cardinals were hoping to retain Albert Pujols with a hometown discount. The only problem is that Pujols and his agent feel they’ve already given the club a discount and now want to cash in.

      According to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, Pujols and agent Dan Lozano opened the negotiation process with the Cardinals by asking for $300 million over 10 years. The first baseman is coming off a seven-year, $100 million contract that was club-friendly given his production, so now Pujols is hoping the club will return the favor.

      As Stark points out, there has never been a $300-million man in baseball history, which includes Alex Rodriguez (who signed a 10-year, $275 million contract in 2008). But given what Pujols has accomplished throughout his career and what he means to the Cardinals’ organization, what’s to say he shouldn’t become the first player to receive a $300 million deal? If there were only one player to make that much, shouldn’t it be Albert Pujols (the best pure hitter in the game)?

      The Cardinals have built their team around Pujols, so losing him really isn’t an option. And if they’re not willing to pony up the $300 million, that doesn’t mean another team won’t.

      Now obviously, we have no idea whether the Cubs’ new ownership is ready to start signing off on $300 million contracts. But the Cardinals can’t be sure of that. And even if the Cubs don’t drive the auction, does anybody honestly think Pujols won’t have a market, just because the other big spenders — the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers and Phillies — appear all set at first base for years to come?

      Let’s just tick off a few teams: Rangers … Nationals … Orioles … Blue Jays. Maybe the Dodgers, or Angels, or even the Mets if they can get their finances straight.

      “I wouldn’t even rule out the Red Sox and Yankees,” said one executive. “We’re talking about Albert Pujols. I could see them looking at first base, looking at DH and moving people around. I don’t think they could let that kind of talent go by.”

      The clock is ticking. Pujols said he wanted a new deal done by the time players had to report to spring training, which is now less than 30 days away. They have to make a decision and it looks like Pujols’ side isn’t willing to comprise just to stay loyal to the organization. It’s time for the Cardinals to either put a giant-sized hole in their bank account or fill a giant-sized hole in their lineup.

      External Sports, MLB

      Key factors in the NFL CBA negotiations

      January 26, 2011 /

      I’m in Las Vegas at the Fantasy Sports Trade Association conference and one of the panels yesterday featured former Packer VP Andrew Brandt (current president of the National Football Post) and sports agent Blake Baratz discussing the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the NFL and the Players’ Association.

      Here are the key points of contention:

      1. Share of revenue.
      The players currently get 59% of the pie and the owners would like to see that share reduced. This is obviously a contentious issue.

      2. An 18-game season.
      The NFL wants to expand the regular season by two games while eliminating two preseason games. This would be a boon for the owners since regular season games bring in more revenue than preseason games. For the players, this is a health and safety issue and one concession that the owners could make might be in the area of health benefits and post-career pensions.

      3. Guaranteed salaries.
      This is not a big deal with regard to established players like Peyton Manning, who is in the midst of negotiating a contract that would make him the highest paid player…ever. Baratz believes that the main issue is with the Top 10 players in the draft. There is a ridiculous amount of money being thrown at unproven players and everyone (outside of the ten young men who will be drafted that early) would like to see that amount of money reduced. Baratz believes that there isn’t much of a difference between an early first round player and a late first round player, yet the monetary difference is huge, and those fat contracts (think JaMarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf) can hamstring a franchise for years if that player doesn’t pan out. However, the two sides won’t necessarily agree on what to do with the money. The veteran players would like to see it spread around the rest of the league while the owners might just want to cut that cost out completely.

      4. Health benefits.
      This is more important to the rank and file players than the stars who make far more money, but as of March 3, NFL players will have no health benefits. Brandt mentioned a story where one player asked another if he and his wife should plan to induce labor so that the delivery is covered by insurance.

      5. Salary cap.
      When we headed into the 2010 season without a salary cap, many pundits were worried about how out-of-control owners would spend, spend and spend some more. Instead, we’ve seen the opposite, with teams slashing salary and going under the salary cap floor. The Players’ Association needs that salary floor to keep players’ salaries up, so they’ll no doubt agree to a similar salary cap structure that was found in the previous CBA.

      Both men are optimistic about a deal getting done relatively soon, and place the chances of something getting done before training camp at around 90-95%.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, News, NFL

      The Ocho is going back to Chad Johnson

      January 25, 2011 /
      New York Jets Antonio Cromartie forces Cincinnati Bengals Chad Ochocinco out of bounds in the second quarter in week 12 of the NFL season at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on November 25, 2010. The Jets defeated the Bengals 26-10. UPI /John Angelillo

      You know it’s officially the end of the football season when I feel compelled to write about this crap.

      According to USA Today, Chad Ochocinco, the player formerly know as Chad Johnson, is going back to his birth name.

      In an appearance on ESPN, Ochocinco said his newer surname had run its course.

      “I don’t have a choice right now,” Ochocinco said. “I’ve done enough with the Ocho thing.”

      Ochocinco stemmed from a Spanish connection to his uniform number, 85 — which is not pronounced ochocinco in Spanish.

      Ochocinco did not say when the formal name change back to Johnson would occur.

      Word has it that pretty soon, the Ocho will just be known as:

      External Sports, NFL

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