Sports Frog^2.0

Spring training will shortly come for the SF Giants. It's just that Barry Bonds won't be there for most of it. Arthroscopic knee surgery apparently. The Giants expect him to be ready for opening day.

By the way, Giants' trainer Stan Conte had a big fat no comment on the surgery. Which reminds me, could he have a more unfortunate last name? Prior to the BALCO scandal, I don't know that I had run across any Contes in my lifetime. Then the BALCO scandal broke, and every time I head the name "Conte" it was in conjunction with BALCO founder and general slimeball Victor Conte. Sadly, for the longest time, I thought the Giants' trainer was somehow a part of that Conte clan. Apparently not. I wonder if Stan Conte's business card reads "No, not THAT Conte."

(sportsfrog as userid and password gets you to the Washington Post article)

Here is what we know:

1. Arnold Palmer got married recently.

2. Arnold Palmer will not be playing the Bay Hill this year, likely signaling an end to his 52 years of playing PGA tour golf.

3. Palmer SAYS he had decided not to play before he got married.

Yup. That could be. Or, mayyybbbeee, Arnie is whipped? Maybe the new missus wanted him to clean out the garage instead? I'm just reading between the lines on this one.

Bob Cook at flakmag.com does a nice job highlighting one man's obsession with the mid majors in college basketball. That one man is Kyle Whelliston, and he is trying to attend 100 college basketball games this season, all off the path trod by the major conferences. He is doing a write-up of every game he attends along with pics here at his blog.

If you are a fan of the collegians, and if the term mid-major gets your heart racing, then I commend the above article and blog to you. So far Whelliston has made it to 44 games, with 56 to squeeze in between now and the end of conference tourney season.

Do you LOOK like an Eagle? If so, go here and win some Eagles gear, you dork!

Why don't they ever have the "Do you look like Brad Pitt?" contest so I can win something?

Edge wants to go to Miami. Is this a repeat? Didn't we hear about this BEFORE the season started, and especially when Ricky went AWOL?

I mean, the Colts are basically resigned to this, right? Hence the bank-breaking contracts awarded to Peyton and Marvin? I think the sentiment in Indy is that Rhodes or someone else can step in and do the same job as Edge. Maybe not 100% right, but it's their money.

Several times Tiger Woods' caddy Steve Williams has taken cameras away from photographers during a competitive round (and even in exhibition), making it difficult for the photogs to do their job. Now Williams may not be able to do his job for a spell after Williams injured his hand racing cars.

Not irony, exactly, but still bound to not make any Tour cameramen lose any sleep.

While it won't register as a blockbuster to most regular Frog readers, the recent trade between the Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew qualifies in the low-profile MLS.

Columbus gets Ante Razov, the Fire's all-time leading scorer heads to Columbus while National Team stalwart Tony Sanneh heads to the Windy City to help shore up the defense.

It seems like a win-win for both teams, but time will tell when you deal with older cards, so to speak.

That would be Lleyton Hewitt's brand new fiancee. He proposed to Rebecca Carthwright (Aussie actress) shortly after Marat Safin beat him to claim the Australian Open.

One hopes that if the couple seeks pre-marital counseling, that Hewitt will be reminded that spitting shall be confined to the sidewalk, and should not be used to express anger.

The above title is what Bill Simmons fears being known as if NE wins a third Super Bowl.

What that is, right there, is at least a sign the Simmons is aware of the dangers of writing too many more "fan" pieces on the Pats' greatness. He promises more on that thought later in the week, and I hope he delivers.

That said, his first installement of this year's edition of his Super Bowl blog is here, and it's a nice effort, without too much to annoy non-Patriots fans. And, Philly fans, he tosses a few bouquets your way. Probably trying for the jinx.

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News says, to the extent that anything is wrong with the defending champs, it is Larry Brown's fault. Writes McCosky about the Knicks "dream job" weirdness over the weekend:

"Will he resign? Will he be back next season? Does he really want to coach the Knicks? Will he retire? The real question that needs to be asked is, why he so darn unhappy? Brown, for the second straight day, refused to speak to the media. Nobody knows if he is contemplating resignation (President Joe Dumars said Sunday that he expects Brown to finish the season). Nobody knows if he is mad at the NBA for the huge $35,000 fine he received Saturday. Nobody knows if he just wants to avoid answering questions about his future.

All we know is, he has created a big mess and is not doing much to clean it up. His antics have angered people in the front office (Dumars and owner Bill Davidson included). His antics also have offended his players and put his coaches and others close to him in an uncomfortable spot. Dumars and Davidson are the ones having to answer the inevitable "What's wrong with Larry?" questions. It's all so unnecessary. An NBA season is fraught with enough drama without someone's going out of his way to create more.

Why publicly flirt with the notion of leaving this team, whether it would be to retire or to take his "dream job" in New York? Even if, deep down, Brown feels that he might leave after the season, why talk about it now? He made a five-year commitment to this organization. The organization and his players have made a significant commitment to him and his manic, sometimes harsh coaching methods. And it has been a huge success. Why in the middle of a season, a title-defending season in which things are going relatively well, would you even publicly entertain thoughts of leaving?"

Ah, I will field that last question...because he is a psycho? That's my take anyway.

The Pistons have every right to be pissed with their head coach, from ownership down to the ball boys. If I were Joe Dumars, I would have fired him when he spouted that nonsense on Friday to the NY Post.

So the past two winners of the Chrysler Classic have gone on to wear green early in the April Augusta evening. Should Justin Leonard be giddy? Sure, but not becuase of a Masters harbinger, unless he can learn to play left-handed and remember how to win majors.

He can defintely hang his hat on getting his 2005 off to a good start , though. He'll rake in $846,000 for his performance in the desert, so he can probably muster up a way to console himself if he can't claim the Masters' title.

Surely Roman Abramovich didn't become filthy stinking rich by running all his business ventures the way he has run Chelsea FC. Well, that's a financial impossibility, since Chelsea has reported losses in the area of 88 million pounds for last year.

"Figures filed to British company registration centre Companies House show Chelsea having made record English soccer losses of ｣88 million ($166 million) in 2003-04, their first season under the ownership of Abramovich.

The sum easily outstrips the previous record loss of ｣49.5 million which Leeds returned in 2003.

But where Leeds's debt all but crippled the Yorkshire giants who were forced to sell off their training ground, Elland Road stadium and almost all the squad which had reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2001, Chelsea's figures barely register as a blip on the financial health or status of the club."

Those who say that you can't buy a championship might just have found out to the contrary. Chelsea holds a 10-point lead over second place in the division and is still fighting on all four fronts as they enter February.

The only question now is how much interest holds if Chelsea have a dominating year. Can the drive remain or will they be doomed to complacency? At least for now, it's not a problem.

Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune takes one last whack at Sammy Sosa:

"He morphed into something of a circus act, a cute-and-cuddly, kiss-blowing power hitter. By degrees, it became apparent that, even though he played hard, Sammy was for whatever was best for Sammy. That didn't make him different than other athletes, but he started wearing his sense of entitlement like a crown. It went over in Chicago about as well as winter does.

There were all those home runs, yes, but the rest of it葉he strikeouts, the complaints, the self-centeredness葉ook too much effort for teammates, fans and Baker. (For a player, not being able to get along with Baker is like not being able to get along with a masseuse.) Mostly, Sosa just wore us all out.

We're beyond the loving tributes. They were written and spoken when Sosa was hitting all those home runs and keeping the game of baseball alive. That was before the corked bat, the petulant walkout and the ever-changing body. If you want to cite this is as the perfect example of the build-up and tear down of a superstar, be our guest. But the fact of this sad matter is that he did it to himself. Goodbye, Sammy. We really knew ye."

Ouch.

The writers in Baltimore are not bothering with all of that, instead choosing to speculate on the Orioles' batting order, something that will go a little like this from one through seven:

Brian Roberts
Melvin Mora
Miguel Tejada
Sammy Sosa
Javy Lopez
Raffy Palmeiro
Jay Gibbons

Elderly, but potentially very potent and entertaining.

(sportsfrog as userid and password will get you to the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun articles)

Sammy Sosa isn't the only icon to leave his association with his main team under less than optimal circumstances this offseason. The end of Barry Larkin's tenure in Cincinnati has been as messy, just a lot quieter. From what one can gather, the sequence was something like this:

1. Reds approach the elderly Larkin about accepting a part-time back-up role this year.

2. Larkin balks.

3. Reds part ways with Larkin.

4. Larkin spends off-season lobbing shots at Reds management.

5. Larkin claims to have gotten other offers for gainful on-field baseball employment, but says he turned them down because he can't play for anyone else.

6. Larkin says he wants Reds to hire him to be in their front office.

Weird. Mind you, if Larkin had just accepted the part-time gig when offered it at the end of last season, he would be heading to spring training in two weeks. You can't blame the Reds for not wanting to go into another season with a SS who is breaking bit by bit. Lonnie Wheeler of the Cincinnati Post breaks down some of the soap opera here.

Hack Sportscaster 1: And the boos are raining down on the Sixers as Iverson loses the ball off his foot.

Hack Sportscaster 2: Well these Philadelphia fans are tough, Jim. After all, they booed Santa Claus!

Hack Sportscaster 1: Haw haw haw!

Man I am so sick and tired of that Philly fans booing Santa story. It must come up every time any Philly team plays. It's become such a crutch for sportscasters who can't think of something new to say.

Some may think the story apochryphal, but it did happen in 1968 during halftime of an Eagles game at Franklin Field, the Associated Press reports. And Santa actually got the Jimmy Johnson treatment, getting pelted with snowballs. "It became a thing that Philadelphia sports fans became famous for doing, and it will never die, I guess," said Frank Olivo, who was wearing the Santa suit that day. "Look how many years it's been."

One measly month to go, and conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament will be at hand.

If you have only been loosely paying attention, but want to start to get caught up on what's been happening, check out Pat Forde's re-cap of the major conferences to this point in the season.

By the way, among the teams still unbeaten is Vermont. If they run the table and are saddled with a 15 seed, woe to the #2 seed dealing with that team in the first round. If they run the table and are a 13 or 14 seed, I have my first "upset" pick for the brackets next month.

Also, for any of your ACC fans out there, if you have not already done so, check out Dave Sez for one of the finest conference specific blogs going.

I have to tell you having the Patriots take a Sunday off is like taking money out of my weekly paycheck. I have been counting on those regular bonuses each week to supplement my lavish lifestyle (and by lavish I'm talking Harpoon Mix Pack).

But alas it is Sunday and I have put off my date with the Lock doctor for as long as I can. I have had no luck in this Lock game and I don't forsee that changing today but I need to take it like a man. So I head to the hardwood where a pretty-good Notre Dame team coming off two tough road losses comes home to take on possibly-overrated UConn. I think the Irish will come out fighting and scoring, they will win the game and push the game over the total. So I bet seven to win $18.20 on ND +1/over 136.

Mostly I am hoping JPops continues to be too busy to tally up our Lock stats.

Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that one baseball club has used Bill James' Win Shares formula and player salaries to determine whose payroll value is the highest. The results are quite interesting:

"The Cardinals, at $182 million, ended up with the largest payroll value, a reflection of having so many superb players and almost no useless ones. The Yankees, at $162 million, had the second largest payroll value, but that also gave them the sixth-worst differential (minus-$21 million) to their actual payroll of $183 million. The Mets had the fourth-worst differential, getting $55 million worth of talent for $100.7 million in actual payout.

"An executive who participated in this exercise, who asked his team not be revealed, conceded the fallibilities ... Still, what emerged is just how few established players earn their actual paychecks.

"This is mainly because by the time players reach free agency, they already have had their best seasons in their prime years. Clubs end up paying for what a player has done with the hope he will extend that performance further or only diminish incrementally."

Terry Francona of the Red Sox and Phillies and Jim O'Brien of the Sixers and Celtics have a conversation about which city has the best fans.

Baseball is to football what Washington was (until this year) to Los Angeles.

Men's final from the Australian Open has been decided, and I am happy.

Can't let this pass without making sure the comments are highlighted. Larry Brown on Friday re: the Knicks job:

"Brown told The Post in an interview Friday 'I've dreamed about it a number of times. Growing up there, being a Knick fan, of course it was my dream. And I've been passed over a few times. I'm an East Coast person. Red Holzman was my hero growing up. But I'm here. These people [in Detroit] have been wonderful to me. I want to do my job here and move on. I don't look at myself as coaching much longer.'

When asked directly what he'd do if the Knicks asked permission to speak to him this summer, Brown said, "I don't want to get into hypotheticals. That's not fair. I care about Isiah [Knick President Thomas]. I care about the Knicks, and it would be a thrill to see Herb Williams turn it around because I have a job.'"

Yesterday, Brown declined to show-up for the pre-game press conference before the Knicks/Pistons game. Presumably he was ducking the media storm he created with the above words.

The Pistons then went out and ripped the Knicks limb from limb 91-61.

Larry Brown irritates me. Always has. His loyalty to his employers is about on par with Paris Hilton's emotional depths. It just isn't there. I have no idea why teams get in bed with a coach like Brown, but, I guess that championship ring the 2003/04 Pistons are sporting may be the reason. That wouldn't be enough for me to put my franchise in bed with this coaching uber-skank, but apparently NBA owners feel differently.

The Sosa removal from Chicago, one day later:

---What still needs to be wrapped up

---Meanwhile, Jay Mariotti and Rick Telander of the Sun Times say, while it may have been necessary, this isn't a good day to be a Cubs fan.

That may be true, but the Cubs without Sammy are better off than the Cubs with Sammy. And Chicago's chances of entering the 2005 season without drama improved 100% with this deal.

Seems that the Mariners finally have a "numbers guy" (read: Bill James devotee SABRrat) to kick around stats and think about players value relative to the tides and rotation of the planets. His name is Mat Olkin and The Seattle Times talks all about him.

"He is baseball-obsessive enough to have gotten a law degree from Pace University in White Plains, N.Y., for the sole purpose of furthering his goal of becoming a baseball GM. That hasn't worked out, but now he's in a position to influence the Mariners' GM.

"He thinks outside the box, and that's what you're looking for," Bavasi said. "Group think is good, and I believe in that, but when you all have similar backgrounds, at some point it's like me banging my head against the wall. It's like, 'I need some other thought here.' That's where this comes up."

Dear sweet Lord. Banging your head against a wall? That's been the feeling in the Mariners front office for awhile? Hmmm it does explain trading Freddy Garcia last season for magic beans.

Taking the over (213) on the Wizards and Magic game tonight. These are two teams that sure do love to shoot the ball. And rebounding! Boy can they go at it.

Defense? What is this defense to which you keep alluding?

Laying 11 to win 10. Looking for my third win in a row to get to super lock status for Super Bowl week.

Here's the scoop on the Darius Miles meltdown in Portland at coach Mo Cheeks:

"Darius Miles blew up at Cheeks on Thursday in a team film session. The player directed a racial epithet at Cheeks more than 20 times. Then, Miles smiled and said, 'I don't care if we lose the next 20 games, I'm just waiting on (general manager John Nash) to fire you.'"

That little bit of team building has cost Mr. Miles a two-game vacation, and as John Canzano points out in the above linked article, actually rallied his teammates around Cheeks, as Portland beat the Clippers 90-86 last night. By the way, Cheeks thinks the suspension should have been longer. Hard to argue with that sentiment.

...whatchamacalit.com?

It was just five years ago, right before the bubble burst, that the dot coms flooded the Super Bowl with all manner of wacky commercials.

For a trip back to those happier Nasdaq days, head here to Forbes mag and click to their slide show.

... about what else? Bottom-of-the-rotation starter Brett Myers. The top three stories about the Phillies at philly.com are all about Brett.

The first two articles are about Myers chafing at his critics that say he didn't have a good year:

"Why didn't I have a great year? I had 11 wins, didn't I? There's guys making $10 million that didn't have 11 wins. So why are you saying I didn't have a good year? Because my ERA was bad? I won 11 [games]. So let's just drop it at that."

Hey Brett, do you think you had a good year in 2004? "No. But I had 11 wins. So anybody who wants to talk about I didn't have a good year or anything like that, you can go back and look at all the other stats of guys who didn't win 11 games that are making $10 million."

It also turns out that he is a Jacksonville native and will be hosting a big party next weekend. According to the Philadelphia Daily News: "He did not invite the Daily News."

If you're not going to watch the match "live", click here for Bud Collins's summary of the women's championship.

Johan Santana is pretty damn proud of winning the Cy Young Award, and most of his fellow countrymen are happy for him. But there's a reason the President of Venezuela assigned him five bodyguards.

"Last September, four gunmen in police uniforms kidnapped the mother of Detroit Tigers reliever Ugueth Urbina, demanding a $6 million ransom. The ransom remains unpaid, and 54-year-old Maura Josefina Villareal remains missing.

"The Miami Herald reported this week that in the past three years, dozens of players or family members have been shot at, assaulted or robbed in Venezuela. The victim list includes Rangers outfielder Richard Hidalgo, shot in the arm during a carjacking; free agent Magglio Ordonez, attacked by armed robbers, and Baltimore outfielder Melvin Mora, robbed at gunpoint after his brother was gunned down a block from his mother's house. The paper listed several family members of major leaguers who have been robbed at gunpoint."

Hey, maybe that's why Hidalgo's production has been inconsistent. I forgot he was shot. If The Natural is any indication, that can have a negative effect on your baseball ability. Richard, my apologies for all the curses thrown at you after your 0-for-5 nights in my Rotisserie baseball starting lineup.

So proclaims Mets GM Omar Minaya in today's New York Post:

"We feel we have as good of a chance to win as the other clubs in the division ... I really feel like this past winter we accomplished a lot of our goals. When you look at our club, we talked about building a team around defense, pitching and speed, and I'd like to think we have a lot of balance in our club."

This was in direct response to Carlos Delgado going to the Marlins because he said he wanted the best chance to win. If I had to bet on contention over the next few years in the NL East, I'd give a slight edge to the Marlins and their young pitching staff (if Delgado signed with the Mets, I might be singing a different tune). But it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Mets ended up looking down at Florida in the standings.

Normally, you don't want your GM talking smack for you. But I think the Mets have been in need of a little swagger ever since the Yanks won the Subway Series.

All indications are it's a done deal and will be announced next week---Sammy Sosa to the Orioles. Peter Schmuck in the Baltimore Sun (living up to his name once again), tries to find the bad in this for Baltimore, invoking the specter of Albert Belle in the pick-up.

The Orioles are reportedly giving up Jerry Hairston Jr. and two minor leaguers. That's it. In my view, in no way is this a bad deal for Baltimore. They are not making the playoffs anyway in the AL East unless something completely bizarre happens, but needed to make some move to give their fans something to look forward to for 2005. Sosa will be entertaining, and will make the Orioles offense rather imposing, and mixing him in with Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez will make Baltimore fun to watch.

From Chicago's perspective, well, let's just say no tears are being shed.

Folks are discussing this in the swamp already. Head here to give your take.

(to read the Baltimore Sun and Chicago Tribune articles, sportsfrog as userid and passoword should get you home)

My comrades in The Swamp got it right and it appears Welsh striker Craig Bellamy may be headed to Birmingham after the club put a ｣6 million pound offer on the table. I can't see much argument from Newcastle United, who will be thankful that someone is convinced that they can harness Bellamy's sometimes volatile temperament.

Whether you agree with Graeme Souness' assessment that the Welshman is a poison in the locker room or not, there is no questioning his talent. He's their most potent scorer and has been a creative force on the field this season. Unfortunately, he showed up the manager with his antics and the feud has been made too public over the last few weeks for fence mending.

With Bellamy on the roster, perhaps my prediction at the beginning of the season that Birmingham would make some noise this year won't seem so misinformed. I concede that my prognosis for the club's fortunes was overly optimistic, but I may prove to only be a year, and one pivotal player, off.

I don't follow that other Bay Area baseball team all that closely, but AthleticsNation is one of the better fan sites out there.

But AN isn't just interested in the players--their patron saint is clearly General Manager Billy Beane. From an open letter by AN's leader Blez to soon-to-be owner Lewis Wolff:

...We need to get something very, very clear right now. In case you haven't heard, we've got quite a special situation here in Oakland... There's a simple reason why, despite the constant roster turnover. You know why? It's simple. William Lamar Beane.

That may be true, but as long as Billy Beane is involved with the Athletics, we know that this team will be competitive... You keep our star GM, or risk losing all of us.

Wow. I mean, I like Brian Sabean a lot, but I don't think I'd go to war for the guy.

Ever since the NCAA decided he had to give up his eligibility to play football at Colorado because he was accepting endorsements to become a world-class skiier, I've been rooting for Jeremy Bloom.

He's doing just fine, dominating competition in a World Cup event in Park City.

The Cards' logo just got a lean, mean makeover. Dennis Green, of course, has a unique perspective:

"'The old bird kind of had a questionable look, "Do I want to eat that?"' Green said. 'This bird looks like he wants to eat it.'"

No, this time it isn't Terrell Owens opening up his mouth. Frohawk decided it would be an appropriate time to indicate that he doesn't even know the names of the Patriots secondary, but only their numbers.

In case you missed it or forgot (I did), Mike Hargrove is the manager in Seattle this season. Here's a little look at what Hargrove thinks of his squad, especially what's left of his awful pitching staff last season. The positive noise coming out of Seattle about their pitching staff is scarily eery to the same noise that fans heard in Baltimore when Hargrove was at the helm.

In my book, sports and politics don't mix. I root for the home team, especially when US athletes are going up against Belorussian boxers or Russian wrestlers. But I'm still pissed at Jimmy Carter for boycotting the Moscow Olympics in '80. It was a well-meaning gesture, but it didn't do diddly to get Soviet tanks out of Afghanistan.

That's why I'm fully down with Carlos Delgado's refusal to stand for the national anthem before games. (Sam Borden of the NY Daily news has a well-written update.)

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, it made sense to express our collective feelings at mass gatherings, including sporting events. But I'm not sure what purpose is being served today by turning games into quasi-patriotic rallies.

Don't assume that my endorsement of Delgado's actions means that I endorse his views on the war. I disagree with most of what he has to say, although I can't condense my full perspective down into a blog entry.

But ultimately there's no real connection between what's happening in Iraq and what's been happening on our football fields and baseball diamonds. Protest the war, or support our troops--exercise your right to free expression. Just keep it out of the games.

"My name is Javier Lopez. I keep coming up short in big football games. Prepare to hear me whine."

Thanks NY Post Page 6 and swampster rassale for the heads up.

Did this really happen? Who knows? But whole parts of me like to think it did.

March Madness is not exactly just around the corner. But it is just down the block, or one subway stop away, or something. Anyway, if you want to get access to each and every game through your little old Intynet, you can. It costs a very reasonable $19.95 but apparently there is a 50% discount if you order before February 8th. That would make it an even more reasonable $9.975 and you can get rid of that half-penny you've been saving for the right occasion.

This time, it's 75-year old Arnold Palmer.

"I feel like a 25-year-old," he said Thursday.

The couple exchanged nuptials Wednesday evening in a beach cottage near the Arnold Palmer Course at the Turtle Bay Resort, where the four-time Masters champion will play at this weekend's Champions Tour event.

"She's a great lady. I've known her for a long time. We've been engaged for some time and dated before that," Palmer said. "She's just very special."

Best Wishes, Arnie. Looks like Viagra has its newest endorser.

Probably doesn't mean a lot to that many people around these parts, but US National Team regular Joe Max Moore has hung up his boots. The New England Revolution's career scoring leader had 100 caps for the National team.

"After numerous attempts to strengthen and stabilize my knee through rehab, it became clear that I had no alternative but to have reconstructive surgery. Considering my age and the recovery time necessary, I have decided to end my playing career," Moore wrote in a letter to fans and the soccer community. "I move forward with peace of mind, knowing that I gave everything as a player and that every attempt was made to return to the field. I would like to express my gratitude to Major League Soccer for allowing me to play professionally in this country and to the New England Revolution, the Kraft family, and the New England fans for their never-ending support."

Read more at Matchnight.com.

"Jean Carlos Chera, a 9-year-old who is 4-foot-6, is attracting interest from Manchester United and other top European teams. Chera, who weighs 77 pounds, currently plays for the youth teams of Associacao Desportiva Atletica, a small club in the southern Brazilian state of Parana."

Well, at least they waited until he was nine.

Jason Giambi speaks! Sort of. Well, at least to Brian Cashman. And, according to Brian Cashman, his quotes are at least in the right vein:

"I've had good conversations with him," Cashman said yesterday. "He's doing well, working hard, and all his medicals are good. We're looking forward to him returning and having a lot to prove."

and

"He sounded determined. I don't want to speak for him, but clearly he's determined to get back to being one of the high-level offensive producers in the game."

Well. That will cause me to adjust my fantasy cheat sheet. Giambi just moved from the "do not draft" stack to the "take him if he's there in the last round" stack.

(to read the NY Times article use sportsfrog as userid and password)

They just are not getting anywhere.

Five more hours of talking about...who knows? The NHLPA and owners are not really saying what they are talking about. As far as anyone knows, new proposals have not even been exchanged. That being the case, perhaps they spent a good chunk of their time discussing the Oscar nominations, or maybe even the lack of respect afforded the Patriots.

At least they are talking. I think if (when) these talks break off, it's finally done for hockey in the 2004/05 season.

Actually, si.com says they are no longer talking. That would be a fork you will be needing to put in the season.

...and I'm just living in it.

Even though I'm counting down to spring training (18 days, 10 hours right now, according to the MLB.com ticker) and trying to minimize exposure to excessive Super Bowl hype, it can't be avoided entirely.

Case in point: the front page of the sports section in Thursday's San Francisco Chronicle. T.O.'s smiling mug is pictured next to...not just Curt Schilling...not just Willis Reed...but Kirk Freakin' Gibson!!!

Yeah, I'm a Niners fan, but I'm over it--I even had T.O.'s back in the Swamp this week. And if T.O. plays hurt and brings the Lombardi Trophy back to Philly, it'll be a big story.

But could we please not compare a guy who's best-known for a TV commercial to athletes who gave us three of the greatest moments in sports history?

At least make the guy win a ring first. One will be plenty. Gwen Knapp's on the case for the Chron.

(Betcha forgot about his minor-league basketball career, huh?)

Some unknown company in Madison, Wisconsin has shelled out for four large purple billboards in a row down one of the busy streets in the town with this for the text:

"The first one says: 'Squirting an Official With a Water Bottle $25,000.'

The next one says: 'Ramming a Meter Maid $1,200 And Probation.'

The next one says: 'Mooning Pack Fans $10,000.'

The final one says: 'Zero Rings for Randy Moss. PRICELESS.'"

There will apparently be a final billboard sometime in the next two weeks revealing the company with a grudge and a sense of humor.

Thanks for the heads up on this to the person who sent the e-mail and linkage.

Fool, at the least, is tired of Terrell Owens' act already. He also has a couple of random observations worth highlighting, like:

"Watching the Eagles surround Michael Vick, daring him to pass, and watching him fail miserably, makes me wonder if maybe the league had some sort of deal with Atlanta opponents last season. Philly made it look so simple. The guy can't throw a 10-yard out pattern. Did opponents take a dive to help the league sell jerseys? Conspiracy theory? No, good business."

Also, apparently not wanting to touch basketball betting with a rather long stick, Betting Fool does a rather foolish thing with his Thursday bet:

"Senior Bowl:

North (+1.5) over South: Hey, if they're gonna show the practices on ESPN, I'm damn sure gonna bet on the game. The Fool risks 30 simoleons."

Course, I am the betting tool who tried an NBA parlay last night. Then again, how the hell could I know that taking Allen Iverson out of that Wizards/76ers games last night would acutally spur scoring?

Nice idea for a column, Don Banks, but poor execution, at least in part. Banks trots out a top 5 Super Bowl coaching blunders of all time column and includes two on his list that I just simply don't agree with.

He calls Mike Holmgren's decision to let Denver score the go-ahead TD in order to get the ball back against Denver in Super Bowl 32 a blunder, but as near as I can tell from his column and from what I remember, if Green Bay had not let Denver score the go-ahead, the odds are that they would not have gotten the ball back with enough time to try for the tying score. That Green Bay came up short does not indict Holmgren's decision, and that is the only thing that Banks points to in critiquing Holmgren's call. Weak.

He also attempts to throw Marv Levy under the bus for not getting Scott Norwood closer than the 47-yard attempt he ultimately missed against the Giants in Super Bowl 25 in the 20-19 defeat. OK, my memory is hazy, but closer seems like a good idea. What were the details? Banks goes on to remind us that there were :08 seconds left but that Buffalo was out of timeouts. And Levy made your list for kicking the field goal Don? Good lord. Apparently the list of bad coaching in the Super Bowl is short indeed. If Buffalo tries to get close there, doesn't get out of bounds, and the clock runs out before attempting the field goal, THAT would have been the worst coaching decision ever. Calling what Levy did a blunder? That's just damn stupid.

That said, the column is worth a read just for a quick trip down memory lane that doesn't involve already beaten-to-death story angles involving the Eagles and Patriots.

I'm digging the story of Jeff Thomason, the guy who'd been out of football for a couple of years, was working for a home builder and was signed by the Eagles this week after Chad Lewis got hurt. Turns out he has to use his two weeks of vacation for the year to play in the Super Bowl.

It's funny to me that Thomason's nickname is Big Dog, not because he's big or because he's in charge. It's because he owns a 250-pound dog.

The defending champs continue to scuffle along and Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press drops a couple of rather pointed comments in his review of a rather disappointing team at this juncture.

On Rasheed Wallace:

"Rasheed Wallace symbolized last season's swagger, but now he floats along the perimeter offensively. He got his championship ring. He got his fat free-agent contract. He got the last laugh over those critics who believed he wouldn't get either."

On Larry Brown:

"And Disruption No. 1 is the coach. Brown needs to keep his mouth shut. He insists he's happy here, but history suggests his wandering eye is the only cure for his incessant melancholy mood. The endless droning about the officiating and his team's poor effort can have a dangerous backlash in his locker room if he's not careful. And you wonder sometimes if that's what he wants: become so high maintenance that owner Bill Davidson and president Joe Dumars would happily release him from the final three years of his contract if he wanted out after this season."

At 24-18, the Pistons are just two games ahead of Chicago and three games ahead on Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings. And Indiana occupies the 8th and final playoff slot, should the season end today. Something is awry in Detroit.

And smack courtesy of Thomas Boswell, of all people:

"In the huge Washington-Baltimore market, the first offseason competition between the low budget, no-owner, juggle-on-a-shoestring Nationals and the rich, out-to-sign-more-stars Orioles is almost finished. Before the new Nats ever play a game in the District, they have already scored a stunning offseason knockdown of the Orioles."

Oooh. Snap. Take that Orioles fans.

Boswell goes on to further call out Peter Angelos for his avarice, which is rather like shooting ducks in a bathtub, but still fun to read. Despite being in different leagues, if the local writers are going to insist on comparing the DC and Baltimore teams, it might end up feeling like a rivalry after all.

(to read the Washington Post article use sportsfrog as userid and password)

For people tired of Duke's excellence (yes, Duke fans, sour grapes, I know), it was hard to decide what was more fun last night, Maryland's 75-66 upset over Duke at Cameron, or listening to the rather distraught Dick Vitale call the end of that game.

Tough call. Gun to my head? I am gonna go with listening to distraught Dick Vitale. He has picked himself up enough to "write" one of his "columns" in which he trips all over himself to fellate the team that beat his beloved Blue Devils while still stroking "Coach K".

By the way, that's how he refers to Mike Krzyzewski in the article. "Coach K". Good lord.

(to read the Baltimore Sun recap use sportsfrog as userid and password)

God knows espn2 will show it on tape delay, so if you are a tennis fan, TiVo was made for this.

Marat Safin upset Roger Federer in one half of the Australian Open semis (probably had to happen after I maintained Federer was unbeatable right now) in five sets, 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 9-7. It was undeniably compelling tennis.

Also, given how grueling the match was, the door just flew wide open for the Lleyton Hewitt/Andy Roddick winner to possibly steal a major championship against what is sure to be a rather tired Safin in the final.

Just because someone plays or played a sport does not make them qualified to write or comment on it. I hate to be hard on the girl making her way in the world today, but Heather Mitts' latest column is case in point.

If this were written as a journal entry from the World Cup or a guest commentary on some situation within the women's game, then I would have more patience. But to say that Mitts covers soccer for soccernet.com and then try and pass this off as journalism is wrong.

ESPN would have been better served finding a soccer player who wasn't as talented a player, but more talented a writer to cover soccer for them. A jourlalism major, perhaps, instead of the advertising degree that Ms. Mitts holds.

The fact is, Mitts' face had more to do with her joining the network than anything else.

Not only does the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic offer a bunch of birdies on four separate courses, but it offers FIVE DAYS of them. That was no more evident than yesterday when five men shot 8-under par scores to lead the 90-hole event. Robert Damron, Joe Ogilvie, Fred Funk, Duffy Waldorf and Ted Purdy all stake claim to the top.

Those flashes we saw that hinted at David Duval making a return to form last season? Hold your horses. Duval shot an 82 to take sole possession of last place; he is five shots worse than the closest competitor.

This has to be double troubling for Duval, as he most likely anticipated making a solid return to the course where he shot a final-round 59 to win the event in 1999. Instead, he got 23 strokes higher than his personal best on the course, PGA West.

That is to say, can Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova start a rivalry that is akin to the one that dominated women's tennis for so long?

Williams fought back from match point in the second and third sets before pulling out a 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 victory over the Russian temptress . Williams will face fellow American Lindsay Davenport for the title.

Apparently Serena is tickled with the success of her faithful Toyota as well.

Chelsea pulled out a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in today's Carling Cup semifinal, leaving intact their bid to claim four trophies by season's end and bringing Sir Alex Ferguson's winless streak against Jose Mourinho to five.

I have to agree with Daniel Taylor's assessment in The Guardian - it's only the Carling Cup, but a win by the Red Devils may have put a chink in The Blues' seemingly impenetrable armor this season. Quite simply, it's probably time to start waving white flags in the EPL race.

Perhaps more unfortunate, from a stateside perspective, is that Tim Howard's relatively strong performance was undone by a Damien Duff free-kick (from loooong range), putting Chelsea ahead for good late in the game. Any hopes of seeing Howard regain favor would appear to be lost and this latest miscalculation was a deafening echo of Mourinho's most important victory against Manchester to date - last season in Porto's run to being crowned the kings of Europe.