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Bears aren’t pursuing Vincent Jackson

SAN DIEGO - JANUARY 17: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers runs after a catch against the New York Jets during AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Qualcomm Stadium on January 17, 2010 in San Diego, California. A flag on the play negated the catch. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

You can cross the Bears off the potential list of trade candidates for Vincent Jackson, assuming the Chargers want to deal the receiver.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A source familiar with the Bears’ thinking told the Tribune on Wednesday the team has no plans to pursue a trade for Jackson at this time. Strings attached to Jackson — compensation and a new contract — are factors the Bears do not want to burden themselves with a month before training camp.

The Bears, like many teams, would love to have a 6-foot-5, 230-pound target such as Jackson to throw to, particularly in the red zone. However, Jackson is unhappy with the one-year, $3.268 million tender extended to him by the Chargers and wants a deal closer to the four-year, $47.5 million contract the Dolphins gave Brandon Marshall — a price tag way too high for the Bears.

I’ve heard some people suggest that Jackson wouldn’t be a good fit for Mike Martz’s offense because he doesn’t need a No. 1 for his system to be successful. While he might not need a No. 1 for his system to be successful, suggesting that Martz wouldn’t want a highly productive and multi-faceted Jackson in his offense is re-donkuluss.

That said, I can’t imagine that the Bears would want to give up their first round pick in 2011 after giving up their 2009 and 2010 first rounders for Jay Cutler. It’s even less likely that they would want to pay Jackson as much as Marshall is making after shelling out for Julius Peppers.

This past offseason was the anomaly and not the norm. Let’s keep in mind that this is generally a cheap organization.

Vick to be released? Eagles say no.

ATLANTA - DECEMBER 06:  Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on from the sidelines during their 34-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on December 6, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Despite a report by the Associated Press on Saturday morning that stated otherwise, the Eagles are not considering releasing quarterback Michael Vick according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer also denied the rumor.

Earlier today, the AP reported that a person familiar with the “team’s thinking” said that the Eagles were strongly considering releasing Vick. The report even went as far as to say that Vick would be released, “no matter what police conclude during their investigation of a shooting that followed the quarterback’s birthday celebration in Virginia Beach last week.”

But the only thing the Eagles released was a statement that denied the report.

“Any report or speculation that suggests the Eagles are considering releasing Vick are not true.”

Truth be told, if the Eagles eventually do release Vick (maybe they’re waiting to see what the outcome of this investigation is before deciding anything either way) nobody would blame them. They don’t need this one month before training camp opens, especially when it involves a backup player with a history of off-field issues. That said, it sounds as if the AP released a bogus report thanks to an unreliable source and we’ll just see what happens.

For now, Vick’s job seems safe in Philadelphia.

Spain advances to semifinals

Spain's David Villa (L) celebrates with team mate Cesc Fabregas after scoring a goal during their 2010 World Cup quarter-final soccer match against Paraguay at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg July 3, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)

Despite arriving as the tournament favorites, it’s been a string of hard-fought matches for Spain at the 2010 World Cup. With today’s 1-0 win over Paraguay, Spain advances to the World Cup semifinals for the first time in 60 years.

Spain’s lone goal came in 83rd minute, when David Villa pounded a shot from inside the box that ricocheted off both posts before hitting the back of the net.

The most exciting part of the game, however, came off back-to-back penalty kicks and misses. During a corner kick, Spain’s Gerardo Pique took down Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo, earning Pique a yellow card. Cardozo then failed to score on the penalty kick as Spain goalie Iker Casillas came through for the save. One play later Villa was racing downfield and looked as if he would break the tie. He was soon fouled by Antolin Alcoraz, who notched a yellow card as well. Xabi Alonso then took the penalty kick. And missed.

Unbelievable. Both teams looked evenly matched and looked headed to overtime. Villa, however, finally scored after a bit of fine passing by the Spanish side, sending his team toward a match with Germany in the semifinals.

Serena adds another Grand Slam to her resume

Serena Williams needed just 67 minutes to defeat Russian Vera Zvonareva and capture her fourth Wimbledon title. It’s also the ninth time in 11 years that a Williams sister has won the tournament, the other being Venus, obviously. With her 6-3, 6-2 victory on Saturday, Serena is now 13-3 in Grand Slam finals.

From FoxSports.com:

“I’m just glad that I was able to win, especially (after) Venus lost,” Serena said. “I really wanted a Williams sister to go ahead and win it. Eleven years consistent is really cool.”

That’s something the sisters won’t be able to ignore back home in Florida.

“Now everywhere we look there’s another Wimbledon trophy,” Williams said. Then she rolled her eyes and adding with a smile, “Not another one of those again.”

While Venus may be on her way to retirement, sister Serena is in full force. I mean, the woman didn’t lose a set the entire tournament.

What’s funny is that with 13 Slams to her name, Serena is still only sixth on the all-time list. That just exemplifies the dominance of the women ahead of her.

Still, though, it’s clear Serena is the premier player in women’s tennis. After making a dent in their comebacks, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin have lost a bit of their momentum. And what happened to Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic? Serena just keeps winning.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Germany routs Argentina, 4-0

Jul 03, 2010 - Cape Town, South Africa - MIROSLAV KLOSE (GER) and JAVIER MASCHERANO (ARG). Germany beat Argentina 4-0 to win their Quarter Final match during the FIFA World Cup 2010 at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.

Who said there’s no scoring in soccer?

Germany humiliated Argentina and loudmouth Maradona with a 4-0 thrashing that will be long-remembered in Argentina. There’s plenty of bad blood between the two sides, and Maradona was all to happy to shoot his mouth off in the days leading up to the match.

Germany is always respected as a legitimate contender, but this young side is playing much better than many experts predicted. They’re gelling as a team, and the goals have been text book displays of ball movement.

Argentina on the other hand has has a lethal attack but they were exposed on defense. Jeremy Shapp reported on the ESPN broadcast that the Germans were prepared to take advantage of the failure of Argentine attackers to get back quickly on defense.

The result was ugly for Argentina and beautiful for the Germans, who might be facing Spain in the semi-finals.Germ

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