Sportsfrog.com

The list of suitors for Allen Iverson’s 2009 services remains thin. Grizzlies thin. With maybe a sprinkling of Bobcat thrown in.

Iverson supposedly will make a decision today. He’s promised to “lead by example” should be end up in Memphis. That should be entertaining.

You have not advertised the movie enough. You really should work harder to get the word out that Seth Rogan and Anna Ferris have brought their singular charms together, finally. Answering the hue and cry of the masses at long last. Now, if only people knew that shit was going down…what this world needs are MORE commericals for this film. Like Will Ferrell with a cowbell. More.

Sadly, I’m being serious.

Sam and I see eye-to-eye on a lot of baseball things, but I’m going to have to disagree with him here.

And sadly, another stupid decision plays a part in this as well.

The Royals signed Horacio Ramirez to a $1.8 million deal in the offseason, and handed him a rotation spot. Simply put, Ramirez has been beyond horrible this spring. But the Royals seem afraid to admit that it was a giant mistake, and will open with Ramirez as the swingman for the first month of the season because of the way the schedule falls.

That leaves Ponson to start the home opener (!) instead of Hochevar. Why? It’s service time. And the inexplicable fact that the Royals think that Ponson’s tubby butt is going to break out at age 32, because if he doesn’t appear on the Royals roster by May 1, he’s a free agent.

All while the Royals pay Hochevar $2.2 million to pitch in Omaha. I understand wanting to get Hochevar on a regular starting schedule, but you have to show faith in the #1 overall pick at some point, don’t you? What message do you send to the now 25 year old Hochevar when you demote him in favor of Sidney freaking Ponson and Horacio Sanz may pitch better Ramirez?

Maybe this doesn’t impact the Royals’ season all that much; who knows? But if the Royals want to contend this season, it’s going to need to come based on improvements from the 20somethings, and Hochevar is a major component. Instead, the Royals are thinking that they can do something that Baltimore, San Francisco, Minnesota, St. Louis, Texas and New York haven’t done.

Good luck Trey Hillman. You’ve at least got God on your side.

…that next time it is decided that seat-of-pants previews of the various regions of the NCAA tournament for this blog should be drafted, that I should sit it out. Or hope not to get the bracket were all the upsets go down.

Jeebus.

To review, I had Wake in the Final Four and getting there by beating West Virginia in the round of eight.

Um, not so much, as it turns out.

Awesome.

Charlotte is half a game out of the last playoff spot in the eastern conference? Yes they are.

Of course, so are Chicago and New Jersey, as it turns out, upon perusal. And Indiana and the Knicks are with a game and a half as well. The lesson, annually, is that the East is the place to be for less than mediocre NBA teams come March.

So no writing the Bobcats into the playoffs, just yet. But with three and a half weeks to go, the Bobcats are relevant. Score one for Coach Flake.

You know who isn’t relevant? The Memphis Grizzlies. It probably wasn’t worth a seperate post but now I will mention that Wednesay night the Grizzlies managed to lose by 25 to a Timberwolves team that didn’t have Al Jefferson or Randy Foye on the floor. In a franchise that has had bad loss after bad loss, that particular loss was bad on epic-levels, and perhaps shows the bottom of the abyss has been reached. Or not. Sure am glad that Grizz owner Mike Heisley kept “the core” together at the trade deadline rather than getting, say, Amare. Rudy Gay has no heart, Mike Conley is, for reasons known only to Lionel Hollins, dominating the ball in an effort to “develop him” while OJ Mayo stands around, and Marc Gasol, having a quietly wonderful rookie year, likely contemplates returning to Spain. It’s bad here in Memphis. Real bad.

Games this year involving the Grizzlies when Mike Conley has taken 10 or more shots? The Grizzlies are 7-39. But Hollins continues to insist that Conley is the guy to have the ball in his hands at the point, and won’t give Mayo a look there. Despite the fact that the two best Grizzlies outbursts this year have come with Mayo at the point and controlling where the ball goes.

I have now decided that the Grizzlies are Memphis’ punishment for any and all of its past and present sins.

It might help Buffalo’s message if Dick Jauron didn’t look like a hostage.

At any rate, quoth the Jauron on his, um, “present”:

“I heard it from many sources, many credible sources: People have never or very seldom been around anybody that works as hard at his craft as this guy,” Jauron said Wednesday. “So that in and of itself is a big positive for us. We’re a hard working team as it is. We’ll become a harder working team. I think he’ll be a good example for a lot of our younger players in how he prepares and certainly once again, his stats speak for themselves.”

Yes. He’s a peach. That’s why he was sent packing from his third team two weeks ago.

“If you think that emotional outbursts don’t occur on every sideline every Sunday, you’re sadly mistaken,” Jauron said. “They do. Between coaches and players, between players and players. To the degree he’s had them? Maybe. Do they get the publicity he gets? No, because of his success as a player, his abilities as a player and obviously to the degree of the disturbance on the sideline at times and how prominent the people that are involved in them are. So, they happen all of the time in our business on the practice field, on game day, in the locker room, and they’re national events when he’s concerned,” Jauron said. “If and when they arise—and we hope they don’t— we’ll deal with them. We’ll deal with them just like we try to deal with every player when they occur.”

It’s true. Back in the day, seldom a week went by where Andre Reed wasn’t calling out Jim Kelly on the sidelines during games. Oh, wait. It didn’t? I have no idea how Buffalo thinks they have handled “outbursts” on the sidelines during games in the recent past, but whatever it was, it ain’t gonna fly now. Owens crazy.

Now for the pod people coach quote:

“We talked about what we thought about it,” Jauron said. “And we felt the same way. It’s something we should seriously look into. Clearly, we didn’t play well enough last year to make the playoffs. So what are you looking for as a football coach? . . . You’re looking to better your team. It didn’t take the four of us long at all to come to the conclusion that we need to push this fast,” Jauron said.

Yes. Better your team. Which meant Dallas was trying to make their team worse? Or could it be that for whatever talent it is that Owens has left, he just isn’t worth it when you factor in shenanigans? Or are three other organizations dead wrong on that point? To review, Dallas paid a $10 million dollar penalty against the cap to get him out of Dallas. So, yeah, the Bills are better. Good luck with that.

At the least, Jauron said what he had to. Just like a hostage reading a prepared statement.

Owens to the Bills for one year and $6.5 million?

(Thanks to Diamond and DSafe)

Still sore.

And Santana notes that it is a long season and there is no need to rush it. He also says he may not be ready by opening day.

Adjust your fantasy draft lists accordingly. Mets fans, go ahead and raise your concern level to orange.

Housh to stay in Cincy?

THAT would be a bit of a stunner. He’s 32. He’s looking for around $10 million per. The Bengals can’t block. He spent a month campaigning to avoid the franchise tag. He’s on the cusp of free agency. To get him the Bengals would have to pay a premium and already have replacements in house. Plus they need the money to spend on offensive line…

Wait a minute. Since re-signing him is arguably stupid for the franchise, it makes some sense at that point. Shit.

I was so hoping they would make protecting Palmer a priority for 2009.

Santana scratched from start for left elbow tenderness.

Long spring, plenty of time to be cautious. And the Mets should be cautious as hell.

h/t Ed K in the Swamp