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      Braden’s grandma tells A-Rod to “stick it”

      May 10, 2010 /

      A’s pitcher Dallas Braden may have the coolest grandmother in the world.

      From the New York Post:

      Braden, the A’s left-hander best known for his dust-up with A-Rod over pitcher’s mound etiquette, yesterday hurled the 19th perfect game in major league history, shutting down the Rays, 4-0.

      But his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, who rasied him in Stockton, Calif. (home of the 209 area code), after his mother, Jodie Atwood, died of cancer when he was a senior in high school, had the last word — appropriately on Mother’s Day.

      “Stick it, A-Rod,” the feisty granny told Bay Area reporters after her grandson had completed his gem.

      As Braden was approaching perfection, Rodriguez had nothing but good wishes for the 26-year-old.

      “Something I’ve learned throughout my career is it’s much better to be recognized for the great things you do on the field,” Rodriguez said before the Yankees played last night in Boston. “Good for him. Even better, he beat the Rays.”

      A-Rod has kept his cool since his dustup with Braden, but how funny is it that Rodriguez tried to make Braden out to be a nobody after the incident and then the A’s pitcher goes out and hurls a perfect game less than a month later? It was the biggest middle finger that Braden could have given A-Rod.

      It was also ironic that another unwritten rule was broken during one of Braden’s start. During the fifth inning of the game yesterday, Rays’ slugger Evan Longoria tried to bunt for a hit, which is regarded as a sin when a pitcher is in the midst of a perfect game. Personally, I think that unwritten rule is flat out stupid (the entire point for hitters is to get on base anyway they can, remember?), but if anyone were upset by Longoria’s bunt attempt, I can’t blame him or her. Evan Longoria bunt? Come on.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Should the Broncos trade Kyle Orton?

      May 10, 2010 /

      Before trading three picks in order to select Tim Tebow in the first round of last April’s draft, the Broncos acquired Brady Quinn in a trade with the Browns and already had veteran Kyle Orton and developmental quarterback Tom Brandstater on the roster. With all four of the signal callers listed on its depth chart, Denver now has a freaking mess surplus at the position.

      The most likely scenario is that Orton will be the starter this year, while Quinn serves as his backup. Tebow will probably be worked into the offense in specialty packages and Brandstater will likely spend most of the season on the practice squad. Then, once Orton’s contract expires at the end of the year, Quinn and Tebow will battle for the starting job in 2011, while Brandstater assumes the No. 3 role.

      But what if the Broncos shook things up right now? What if the team traded Orton and then Quinn, whom Josh McDaniels and his staff think very highly of, started? That would mean that Tebow would get more reps in practice (it’s easier for teams to give players more reps if they’re the backup than the No. 3) and the Broncos also wouldn’t have to worry about possibly losing Brandstater to another team. (Other teams can sign taxi squad players at will, as long as they put them on the active roster.)

      As Woody Paige of the Denver Post writes, Orton isn’t the long-term answer in Denver. He merely serves as a bridge between now and whenever Tebow is ready to start, so why not trade him now? Quinn might not give the Broncos the best chance of winning, but it’s not like Orton is Peyton Manning.

      McDaniels and the Broncos made it clear on the opening night of the draft that Tebow was their future. Seeing as how they traded for Quinn (who has starting experience, mind you), it might not be a bad idea for them to deal Orton if they can find any suitors. He’s going to leave after the season anyway, so it’s worth it for Denver to get compensation for him now if they can.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      Where do the Spurs go from here?

      May 10, 2010 /

      San Antonio played pretty well down the stretch this season, winning 17 of its last 25 games in March and April. (That’s a 56-win pace, by the way.) The Spurs looked sharp in their first round series against the Mavs, but looked old and slow as they were swept by the Suns.

      It’s going to be interesting to see how the Spurs approach this offseason. They just signed Manu Ginobili to an extension, and Tim Duncan is signed for two more seasons, so Tony Parker may be the player most likely to be moved. He has one more year on his contract at the tune of $13.7 million and at just 27, he’s in the prime of his career. George Hill could take over the full-time point guard duties, if necessary.

      Trading Parker would be a big shift in direction from a personnel standpoint. San Antonio’s Big Three — Ginobili, Parker and Duncan — have been together for eight seasons and three titles, but they haven’t reached the Finals in the last three tries and haven’t made it out of the semis in the last two years. This begs the question — how big of a change are the Spurs willing to make?

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Should Cushing be stripped of his ROY award?

      May 10, 2010 /

      Brian Cushing claims that it wasn’t steroids that caused him to fail a positive drug test last September. He’s not saying what it was exactly and unless he confesses, we may never know the real reason why he was suspended for four games next season.

      But either way, he did take something and whatever it was, it may cause him to lose his 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year Award according to AP advisor Dave Goldberg.

      Per Goldberg, the AP may hold a re-vote for the award in light of Cushing’s failed drug test. If there is a re-vote and Cushing loses, then Bills’ safety Jarius Byrd would likely be given the trophy seeing as how he finished second in the voting last year.

      But would that be fair? What if Cushing accidentally took a supplement that contained something that was banned by the NFL? In other words, what if it wasn’t steroids? Have you ever seen the list of substances that are banned by the league? Players can’t even take cough medicine without having it approved by a team doctor or trainer. So while we can speculate all we want about what Cushing took, there’s a possibility that he will lose his ROY award (not to mention incentives based on rookie-year accomplishments) over something minor.

      That said, if he was suspended for steroids, then there’s a strong argument to be made that he should lose the award. After all, if he knew back in September that he had failed the test and played virtually the entire season knowing that he’d eventually be suspended, then maybe he should be stripped of the award. Some fans want all of the records during baseball’s steroid era to be stricken from the books, so why shouldn’t Cushing lose his award too? Cheating is cheating.

      Personally, if Cushing was caught using steroids, then Byrd should be the rightful winner of the award in my eyes. But if Cushing used a supplement that could be bought over the counter by any one of us at GNC, then I’m sorry, but I think the award should stay with him. The league is already punishing him with the four-game suspension, so that should be enough if he was simply careless about checking with a team doctor before using a potentially banned substance. Why take his hard-earned award away too?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

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