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      Brett Favre and Brad Childress heart drama

      July 23, 2010 /

      There are only five things I truly hate in life: Grilled cheese sandwiches, broccoli, grape juice, the Los Angeles Dodgers and drama.

      Before I continue, yes, I hate grilled cheese sandwiches. And no, I don’t know why. Maybe because the bread is soaked in butter and there’s enough cheese on the damn thing to clog my arteries for two lifetimes. Throw some damn meat on there and then maybe we can talk.

      Outside of maybe the Dodgers (regular readers know I’m a Giants fan), nothing in my group of hates annoys me more than drama. Whether it comes from movies or real life, drama is like pop-up ads when you’re trying to look at content that is not suitable for work.

      That is why around this time of year, Brett Favre and Brad Childress really fry my eggs. Listen to what Childress had to say yesterday to the media in relation to Favre’s return in 2010:

      “I don’t know if he’s going to play [this] year and I don’t know if he knows if he’s going to play [this] year,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said Thursday during an appearance on the team’s radio home, KFAN (1130-AM). “… I’ve said this and I really believe it even more right now. It would not surprise me either way.”

      Let’s cut the crap, shall we? Favre is coming back. He knows it, Childress knows it, and the Vikings know it. Childress wouldn’t be so calm about the approaching season if he knew Tarvaris Jackson was going to be his starting quarterback. In fact, the Vikings wouldn’t have acquired Sage Rosengels from the Texans last year if they were completely sold on Jackson as the starter – I don’t care what “Chilly” says about Tarvaris’ development.

      Although hey, none of this is surprising, is it? Childress could have come out and said that the Vikings are prepared to go into the season with Jeff George as their starter and it still wouldn’t be surprising. Favre does drama – and apparently so does Childress now too.

      It’s infuriating, but at least I can take solace in the fact that grilled cheese won’t be on the menu today at lunch.

      External Sports, NFL

      Is Frank Gore telling the truth about his May 15 party?

      July 23, 2010 /
      GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 13: Running back Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sidelines during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-16. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

      Frank Gore says he doesn’t know if any of the attendees at his May 15 party at his home in South Florida were college football players. But the NCAA isn’t about to take Gore at his word.

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the NCAA is investigating two separate parties that players had attended in May. One of them was at Club Liv in the Fontainebleau hotel at the end of the month, while the other was held by Gore on May 15.

      If NCAA players were at his party, Gore says he wouldn’t have known. But even if they were, he wants it made public that he paid for the party himself.

      “I don’t even know those guys. There were a lot of people there; it was crazy,” Gore said, according to the Sports Business Journal.

      “I paid for my own party,” Gore said, adding that no agent or financial adviser contributed.

      Call me a cynic, but it seems farfetched that Gore wouldn’t know there were college athletes at his party. I could understand if he didn’t know if I were there, because I’m a nobody (ouch…self-inflicted). But word would have traveled fast if there were college players in attendance and something tells me Gore isn’t telling the whole truth.

      But that doesn’t mean that he or any of the players did anything wrong. As long as nobody paid for the players to attend the party, then everyone is in the clear. If runners or agents paid for the athletes to attend, then NCAA rules were broken and the players could have their eligibility stripped. (Or worse, the NCAA could go USC on another program.)

      Of course, how is the NCAA going to prove whether or not the players paid their own way? If there’s a paper trail of purchases that leads back to a runner or an agent, then the NCAA can nail someone for breaking rules. But other than finding receipts, it’s going to be hard for them to prove that a player was given cash at the party unless the player admits to it. And considering their playing careers are on the line, I highly doubt any of them will admit to any wrongdoing.

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      Tito Ortiz to take on Matt Hamill at UFC 121

      July 23, 2010 /
      LAS VEGAS - NOVEMBER 21: Tito Ortiz (R) battles Forrest Griffin (L) during their Light Heavyweight Fight at the UFC 106 at Mandalay Bay Events Center on November 21, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

      The guys at Heavy.com are reporting that Tito Ortiz will battle Matt Hamill at UFC 121.

      Tito Ortiz will face protege Matt Hamill at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Ca.

      MMAFighting.com was the first to report the possibility of the bout on Thursday, and Heavy.com confirmed the bout with sources close to the event on Thursday afternoon.

      Ortiz last entered the Octagon against Forrest Griffin last November, where he lost via decision. He has not won a fight since Oct. 2006. The former light heavyweight champion was scheduled to face Chuck Liddell at the end of the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, but a neck injury forced him to withdraw from the bout and undergo surgery.

      Hamill faced Keith Jardine in June, earning a majority decision. Ortiz is something of a mentor to Hamill, having coached him on The Ultimate Fighter. The pair remained close after the show concluded.

      UFC 121 is headlined by a heavyweight title clash between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez.

      For more MMA news, including future fight matchups and interviews with fighters, check out Heavy.com.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      Wait, Magic Johnson actually did ‘team up’

      July 22, 2010 /

      Boy, this article by Mike Downey from 1991 sheds some light on Magic Johnson’s assertion that he wouldn’t have teamed up with Larry Bird or Michael Jordan. Apparently, it came down to a coin flip between the Lakers and Bulls, and had Chicago won the toss, Magic was going to stay in school. (Great find by SPORTSbyBROOKS.)

      Magic Johnson would have returned to Michigan State rather than play for the Chicago Bulls.

      “I’d have stayed in school,” he said here Tuesday, standing alone outside Gate 3 1/2 of Chicago Stadium, the house that could have been his. “A coin toss changed the course of my whole life.”

      “I wouldn’t have played here,” Johnson said on the eve of Game 2 of the NBA finals between his team and the team that could have been his. “The only reason I came out was to play with Kareem and the Lakers.“

      Oops. I guess Magic should have kept his big mouth shut.

      This one goes out to all those that are slamming LeBron for bailing on Cleveland and heading to South Beach. Magic chose to go to the Lakers in much the same way that LeBron chose his new team, only one was in the draft and the other was in free agency.

      Egg, please meet face.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Trading within the division: Advantageous or to be avoided?

      July 22, 2010 /
      July 18, 2010 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America - 18 July 2010: Houston Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt (44) delivers a pitch to the plate during the National League game between the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates Paul Maholm.

      While things change by the hour around this time of year, the latest trade rumors involving Roy Oswalt have him eventually landing in St. Louis. And based on recent reports, it sounds as if he wouldn’t mind wearing red and white at some point this season either. (Who could blame him? He pitches for the Astros, who dodge being the butt of jokes only because the Pirates have yet to climb out of the suckhole they fell into during the early 90s.)

      Money (he’s owed $16 mil next season) and compensation (the Cards may have to part with top prospect Shelby Miller) remain the biggest hurdles in any trade involving Oswalt and the Cardinals, but the question of whether or not teams should trade within their division is relevant in this scenario as well.

      Should teams avoid trading within their division? Is it wise for a general manager to either trade for, or deal a star that could come back and haunt them in the future? It still happens of course, but it’s always a topic of discussion when the trade deadline nears.

      This may be a simplistic take on the subject, but isn’t the purpose for any GM to help their team win (either presently or in the future)? Isn’t that what a trade boils down to in the end?

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

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