After last year’s Superman outfit in the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic discuss what Howard should wear this year.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEbnkxcXN3Y[/youtube]
No WBC For Mike Lowell
Red Sox Don’t Want Him To Play: Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell took 50 swings off a batting tee for the first time since Game 3 of the ALCS as he progresses in his rehab. The bad news is Lowell won’t be representing his native Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic as the Red Sox have asked that Lowell be removed from the provisional roster. [WEEI.com]
Saturday Deadline For Varitek? (Updated)
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Boston Red Sox have set a Saturday deadline for their free agent catcher Jason Varitek to accept their offer.
The Red Sox have set a Saturday deadline for Jason Varitek to accept or reject a one-year offer, according to a source close to the negotiations.
The club set the Jan. 31 deadline in order to keep negotiations with its free agent captain and catcher from inching any closer to the Feb. 12 spring training reporting date in Fort Myers.
This makes sense as if they don’t get a deal done, they will need to move forward with trade talks or just decide to go with what they have at catcher.
Hopefully Tek is able to put aside any ego and accept what the Red Sox have offered him. And if you want to know how valuable he is to the team, just check out what former Sox catcher Kevin Cash had to say about him.
UPDATE: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe confirms what Silverman says and adds that Varitek can choose between a 1-year deal and the other offer.
According to another source, Varitek has the choice of picking between either a straight one-year, $5 million contract or a one-year offer for a guaranteed $5 million with a dual option for 2010.
For Varitek, the one-year offer may prove more appealing because it would allow him to re-enter the market again next fall, at which point he might have greater earning power.
The $5 million offer would be half of what Varitek would have gotten in arbitration had he chosen to accept it. The ball is now in Varitek’s court. It’s up to him whether he returns it or not.
UPDATE 6:00 PM: The AP is reporting that the deadline is Friday.
UPDATE 8:00 PM: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe clarifies the deadline and it is Friday.
Amid confusion about the actual deadline for Jason Varitek to accept or decline the Red Sox’ latest contract offer, a baseball source indicated tonight that the player was given “one week” to make a decision in a letter both he and agent Scott Boras received from the club on Friday, Jan. 23.
According to the same source, the Red Sox dated and mailed the letter on Thursday, Jan. 22, raising the question of whether the Sox meant to establish the deadline on the night of Thursday, Jan. 29. However, all indications are that club factored in the delivery time of the letter, placing the deadline at the end of the current work week.
So like before we’ll still probably find out on Saturday.
Red Sox Invite 6 To Spring Training, Add Ochoa To Coaching Staff
Here is a press release from the Boston Red Sox about the signings of 6 free agents to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training along with the addition of Alex Ochoa to the coaching staff.
BOSTON — The Red Sox today announced the signings of six free agents to 2009 Minor League contracts. In addition, all six players have been invited to Boston’s Major League Spring Training camp as non-roster players.
The six free agents are infielders Angel Chavez, Nick Green and Ivan Ochoa, outfielder Chip Ambres, right-handed pitcher Fernando Cabrera, and catcher Carlos Maldonado.
Chavez, 27, spent 2008 in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization at Triple-A Las Vegas. He batted .292 with 10 home runs and 68 RBIs in 117 games, including 57 appearances at third base, 43 at shortstop, 23 at second base and eight at first base. The right-handed hitter appeared in 10 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2005, going 5-for-19 (.263) with an RBI, his only Major League experience.
Green, 30, joins the Red Sox after a year in the Yankees system at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, his first full season in the Minor Leagues since 2003. He posted a .233 average with 12 homers and 50 RBIs in 112 games, including 63 at shortstop, 33 at second base, six at third base and eight in the outfield. The right-handed hitter has spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues with Atlanta (2004), Tampa Bay (2005-06), the Yankees (2006) and Seattle (2007), batting .240 with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs in 275 total games. Green also had in two postseason appearances for the Braves in 2004.
Ochoa, 26, made his Major League debut for the San Francisco Giants last season, batting .200 with three RBI in 47 games, including 35 at shortstop and eight at second base. He spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Fresno where he posted a .318 average, six home runs and 32 RBIs over 84 contests, with 51 appearances at shortstop and a Minor League career-high 28 at second base. The right-handed hitter is entering his 10th professional season having played in the Angels (2000), Indians (2001-06) and Giants (2007-08) systems.
Ambres, 29, played 112 games for San Diego’s Triple-A Portland affiliate last year, batting .279 while setting Minor League career highs with 22 home runs and 77 RBIs. The right-handed hitter also posted a .195 average in 24 big league contests for the Padres in 2008. He owns a career .233 average with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 80 Major League games with the Royals (2005), Mets (2007) and Padres (2008). He hit .294 with 10 round trippers and 50 RBIs in 84 games for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2005 before being traded to Kansas City for infielder Tony Graffanino on June 19.
Cabrera, 27, spent most of last season with the Orioles, going 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 22 relief appearances. The right-hander fanned 31 and walked 17 in 28.1 Major League innings. He began the year on the disabled list while recovering from right elbow surgery but posted a 0.69 ERA over 11 games with Triple-A Norfolk and was activated on June 26. Cabrera is 8-7 with a 5.02 ERA in 125 career relief appearances with Cleveland (2004-07) and Baltimore (2007-08).
Maldonado, 30, was limited to 46 games with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A Indianapolis affiliate due to three stints on the disabled list. He batted .248 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. The right-handed hitter began his professional career in 1996 and owns a .163 batting average with two home runs and four RBIs over 21 career Major League games with the Pirates from 2006-07.
All of the free agents are on the Pawtucket roster.
RED SOX ADD ALEX OCHOA TO MAJOR LEAGUE COACHING STAFF: The Red Sox today named Alex Ochoa as the Major League Coaching Staff Assistant. His duties will include helping the coaching staff in all pregame on-field preparations, assisting in the advance scouting effort, as well as completing special in-game assignments as delegated by manager Terry Francona.
Ochoa is entering his first season as a professional coach after an eight-year Major League career with the Mets (1995-97), Twins (1998), Brewers (1999, 2002), Reds (2000-01), Rockies (2001) and Angels (2002), during which he hit .279 with 46 home runs and 261 RBIs over 807 games. He played for Hiroshima of the Japanese Central League in 2008 after spending part of the 2007 campaign in the Red Sox system, appearing in 24 games for Triple-A Pawtucket.
NCAA Women’s College Basketball Polls – Week 11
The one thing I don’t understand about the NCAA women’s college basketball polls is to why the AP Poll is released on Monday and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll on Tuesday.
Just for an example, the Louisville Cardinals came into the game with the No. 1/1 UConn Huskies last night as the No 6. team in the AP Poll and the No. 10 team in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. And now today, the Cardinals drop to No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Maybe they don’t want to get overshadowed by the release of the men’s polls but the smart thing to do would be to release the AP Poll on the same day to give the rankings more continuity. Just my humble opinion though.
The UConn Huskies women’s basketball team remains the undisputed No. 1 team in the land and is showing no signs of dropping from there any time soon. The North Carolina Tar Heels are reeling as they have lost their last 3 games starting with the loss to UConn last Monday and dropped 8 spots in the AP Poll and 7 spots in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. The Auburn Lady Tigers remain the only other undefeated team in women’s basketball at 20-0.
A full look at the polls after the jump.
2009 International Bowl Second Most-Watched Bowl On ESPN2 Ever
Here’s something you don’t see everyday: The 2009 International Bowl between the UConn Huskies and Buffalo Bulls was the second most-watched bowl game in the history of ESPN2 covering bowl games. [UConnHuskies.com]
Casey Would Be Surprised If Varitek Isn’t Back
During a conference call with reporters announcing his retirement, Sean Casey said that he would be surprised if Jason Varitek wasn’t back with the Boston Red Sox this season.
From Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe:
“I’d be shocked if ‘Tek doesn’t come back to Boston,” Casey said. “The fans love him there. The guys in that clubhouse love ‘Tek. I can’t imagine Jason Varitek putting on a uniform besides the Boston Red Sox. I saw him a few weeks ago. I know he wants to come back to the Boston Red Sox. So I hope they get that done. I think it would be good for both sides, no doubt about it, especially that pitching staff.”
The general sentiment with the Red Sox players and former players is that they want him back and think he’ll be back. That answer will come by Saturday or maybe even earlier.
Report: Rangers Willing To Give Up Salty For Buchholz
According to Jim Reeves of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, the Texas Rangers are willing to trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia straight up for Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz.
The Rangers, according to a team source, would deal Saltalamacchia head up for right-hander Clay Buchholz.
And as Alex Speier of WEEI.com notes, this isn’t exactly breaking news for us Red Sox fans.
I find it hard to believe the Red Sox would ever make this deal even if Jason Varitek doesn’t sign with the club. Something in my gut tells me that they may have more interest in Taylor Teagarden. I’ve said before that I do like what Salty could bring to the club as a switch-hitter but his defense leaves little to be desired right now.
Patriots Hire Floyd Reese
Here is a press release from the New England Patriots announcing the hiring of Floyd Reese as senior football advisor.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots have hired Floyd Reese as senior football advisor. Reese, whose 30-plus years of NFL experience have included a wide range of responsibilities in football operations, will be involved with various football-related assignments, including contracts.
Nick Caserio, as director of player personnel, will manage the daily operations of the personnel department, continuing to work closely with Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on all personnel matters.
“We consider ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to add someone with Floyd Reese’s NFL experience and expertise to our staff,” said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. “Floyd will be a tremendous asset serving Coach Belichick in an advisory role.”
“Floyd and I go back a long way, practically to the beginning for both of us,” said Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. “He has handled as much as one person can possibly handle in this league and to a certain extent, so has Nick. In Nick and Floyd, we have two outstanding men who each bring a wealth of knowledge and flexibility to this organization. I look forward to joining with both of them and working toward the common goal of our team’s improvement and success.”
Floyd Reese will enter his 32nd NFL season in 2009, including 17 seasons in player personnel and 15 seasons as an assistant coach. He joins the Patriots after serving 13 seasons as the executive vice president/general manager of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise from 1994-2006. He also served as the assistant general manager of the Oilers for four seasons from 1990-93. Reese served as an assistant coach with Detroit (1975-77), San Francisco (1978), Minnesota (1979-85) and the Houston Oilers (1986-89).
In his 13 seasons as the general manager of the Oilers/Titans, Reese’s teams won 111 games – setting a franchise record for wins by a general manager. Houston and Tennessee won 11 or more games in a season four times during Reese’s tenure as general manager while recording eight seasons with a record of .500 or better. Over a five-year period from 1999-2003, the Titans led the NFL with 56 wins, including three seasons with 12 or more victories. In 1999, the Titans claimed the AFC Championship and reached the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, falling just a yard short of the title in Super Bowl XXXIV against the St. Louis Rams.
Reese’s positive impact is still being felt in Tennessee. The 2008 Titans earned the AFC’s top playoff seed while 16 of 22 starters on their final 2008 roster were originally acquired while Reese was general manager, including nine of 11 starters on defense. The 2008 Titans are sending six of Reese’s acquisitions to this year’s Pro Bowl – QB Kerry Collins, CB Cortland Finnegan, DT Albert Haynesworth, S Chris Hope, C Kevin Mawae and T Michael Roos.
Reese entered the NFL as the strength and conditioning coach for the Detroit Lions in 1975. He spent three years with the Lions, including a two-year period from 1976-77 while Bill Belichick was also a member of the Detroit coaching staff. In 1978, Reese joined the San Francisco 49ers as the strength and conditioning coach. He joined Bud Grant’s staff in Minnesota in 1979, beginning a seven-year tenure with the Vikings. During that period he held a dual role coaching linebackers and special teams from 1979-83 before being named defensive coordinator in 1984. He coached the Vikings’ linebackers in 1985.
In 1986, Reese began a 21-year association with the Oilers/Titans franchise. He served as the Oilers’ linebackers coach for four seasons from 1986-89. In 1988, the Oilers’ top three tacklers were all linebackers and in 1989, three of the team’s top four tacklers were linebackers. Reese moved into the Oilers’ personnel department in 1990, and served as assistant general manager for four seasons, each of which ended in a playoff appearance.
Reese served a four-year stint in the college coaching ranks as an assistant coach at UCLA (1971-73) and Georgia Tech (1974). He was an All-America defensive lineman for UCLA from 1966-69 and also played one season (1970) for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.
70 Thousand Seats Sold For Pats-Bucs In London
London’s calling: 70,000 of an estimated 86,000 seats have been sold for the New England Patriots versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL regular season game to be held in London at Wembley Stadium on October 25th. Roughly 20,000 of those tickets were sold in 7 minutes. This is the third time the NFL has held a game there and the previous two have been sellouts. [AP via Pro Jo]