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      Ravens forced to cancel rest of OTAs; did a player issue a complaint?

      June 7, 2010 /

      The Ravens were forced to cancel the final week of OTAs for violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement’s offseason workout rules, the Baltimore Sun reports. But nobody knows who issued the complaint that led to the cancellation.

      It was determined that the Ravens violated the rules concerning the intensity and tempo of drills well as the length of time spent by players.

      A complaint was received by the NFL Players Association, but it is unknown who issued it. The Ravens were scheduled to have a special teams camp on June 15-16.

      Here is the joint statement from the NFL and the union:

      “It was determined that the Ravens violated the rules concerning the intensity and tempo of drills conducted on the Club’s organized team activity days (‘OTA days’) and the length of time spent by players at the Club’s facility on such days.

      “As a result, the Ravens will forfeit the final week of their off-season program (June 14-18, 2010). Ravens’ players are not permitted to be at the facility on those days, but will be paid for the sessions. The Club cannot reschedule the canceled days.”

      A couple of years ago, several Lions players complained to the media about the degree of difficulty of Rod Marinelli’s practices during his first year in Detroit, although the team was never penalized. Players hate OTAs and training camp, so it wouldn’t be shocking to find out that one of the Ravens issued the compliant that led to the cancellation.

      Either way, this hardly hurts the Ravens in terms of preparing for the regular season. While it’s always better for players to get as many reps under their belt before the season starts as they can, training camp and preseason is where jobs are won and lost. Plus, unless it’s a new coaching staff or scheme change, OTAs aren’t vital for veterans outside of making sure they’re getting into shape. They’re more beneficial for newcomers and rookies.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      Parker-for-Lee…why not?

      June 7, 2010 /

      Tony Parker is rumored to be available for trade, but that has more to do with the presence of George Hill than anything the Spurs have done since their season ended. The Knicks are in dire need of a good point guard, so of course there have been some Parker-to-New York rumors as well.

      Chad Ford writes that the Spurs are looking for a big.

      The Spurs and Thunder also are in the hunt for a big and have targeted a number of teams in the lottery to move up a few spots. The Thunder have multiple picks to offer. The Spurs have Tony Parker or George Hill. While the Spurs aren’t necessarily shopping either player, they’re not untouchable, either. If the Spurs can get another big man to help prolong Tim Duncan’s career, they’ll do it.

      But looking ahead — if the Knicks strike out on their plan to get one of their LeBron/Bosh, Wade/Bosh or LeBron/Wade dream combos, maybe a Lee-for-Parker deal would make some sense.

      Let’s say the Knicks strike out on LeBron, Wade and Bosh, but manage to sign a couple of second-tier free agents (Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, etc.) starting at $14 million per season, that would leave them about $9.5-$10 million to re-sign Lee and then move him for another asset like Parker. That would give the Knicks a core of Parker, Johnson and Boozer moving forward, and give the Spurs a quality power forward to play alongside Duncan. (Remember, Antonio McDyess is still under contract for another season and the Spurs have DeJuan Blair as well.)


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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

      Cavs, Izzo have discussed deal

      June 7, 2010 /

      Per Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

      According to multiple sources, Gilbert has discussed the framework of a massive contract offer to Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. Gilbert, a Michigan State graduate, has handled the recruitment personally and Izzo is said to be mulling the chance to jump to the NBA.

      The offer is said to be worth approximately $6 million annually and would be for up to five years, much larger than the industry standard for a coach without previous NBA head coaching experience. The offer might also be loaded with potential bonuses and perks including free use of one of Gilbert’s private jets.

      There is no doubt that Tom Izzo is a great coach, but a lot of great college coaches have gone to the NBA only to fail miserably or suffer in mediocrity. Without assurances from LeBron that he’ll re-sign with Cleveland, I don’t see Izzo making the move. That’s just a gut feeling.

      So this could be “if LeBron re-signs” deals. If LeBron leaves, Gilbert knows that he’s going to have a tough time getting a big name coach anyway, so why not have the framework of a deal in place that he can sell to LeBron?

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Bucs’ owners $1.6 billion in debt

      June 7, 2010 /

      According to a report by the BBC, the Glazer family is $1.6 billion in debt. Malcolm Glazer and his sons own the Buccaneers and also the Manchester United soccer team.

      From the Tampa Bay Tribune:

      The BBC said it saw mortgage documents showing the Glazers have borrowed $570 million against shopping malls owned by their company, First Allied Corp. That’s in addition to $1 billion in debts tied to Manchester United and $95 million to the Buccaneers.

      (Bucs’ director of communications Jonathon) Grella also said the Glazers are committed to bringing in the resources to build a winning team in Tampa Bay.

      “Buccaneers fans should know that the Glazer family is as financially well-positioned as ever before,” his statement said. “Companies they own generate revenues in excess of $800 million each year.”

      Based on the article, it appears that Manchester United is the franchise most likely to suffer from the Glazers “situation” and not the Bucs. If what Grella says is true, then the Glazers won’t change their strategy with the Bucs. (I’ll leave it up to you to define the word strategy when it’s applied to how the Glazers run things in Tampa. Some will define it as “calculated,” while others will deem it “cheapskate-ness.”)

      That said, it’s not like the Bucs spent big this offseason. Instead of bringing in high-priced free agents, they concentrated on re-signing their own players, such as tackles Jeremy Trueblood and Donald Penn, running back Cadillac Williams, receivers Maurice Stovall and Mark Bradley, and linebacker Barrett Ruud. Whether that was by design or done because the Glazers are cheap, nobody knows for sure. But at least at this point, it still appears that they’re committed to winning.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL, Soccer

      T-Wolves interested in Gay?

      June 7, 2010 /

      Ronald Tillery of the Commercial-Appeal thinks so…

      One team that will make a strong run at Gay is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Team owner Glen Taylor and president of basketball operations David Kahn have already targeted Gay as an attainable player to uplift the struggling franchise.

      Griz owner Michael Heisley continues to insist that Gay will be a Grizzly next season. Memphis (namely Heisley) has the right to match any offer sheet that is presented to Gay from another team.

      Gay would be a nice fit in Minnesota who could use his scoring on the wing. Neither Kevin Love nor Al Jefferson are terribly athletic, so Gay would help bolster the Minnesota front line. I am sure that David Kahn is envisioning Ricky Rubio feeding the ball to Gay on the break in two years.

      But when the owner insists he’s going to match any offer for one of his restricted agents, it’s usually a good sign that it’s going to happen. He holds the purse strings, so he can spend whatever he wants to retain Gay. The Grizzlies can sit back, wait for Gay to work out a deal with another team, and then match it. Memphis has an advantage over, say, the Knicks, who hope to land LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and/or Chris Bosh. But if a team makes David Lee a “take it or leave it” offer on July 1, the Knicks may not have much time to beat it since they’ll be waiting on answers from LeBron and Co.

      Gay is not a “max” player, but there’s a good chance that he gets a max deal, or at least a maximum offer from a team who doesn’t hold his Bird rights. This may help the Grizzlies a little bit because they won’t be on the hook for that extra year and the additional $30 million.

      Gay is a nice player — he averaged 20-6-2, 47% FG, 33% 3PT — but he’s not a max guy. Chances are that whoever ultimately signs him this summer will have to overspend for his services, especially with so much cap space floating around.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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