In The Red Zone – Super Bowl XLII Edition Vol. 12

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The Patriots have been playing all year with the number 91 on the back of their helmets. That is for teammate Marquise Hill who drowned at Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana last May 27th. Jarvis Green who was a teammate of Hill at LSU has been wearing his shoulder pads all season as a reminder of the late defensive lineman.

“When I pull them over my head, it’s like I’m putting on a little part of Marquise, you know?” Green said. “I mean, I know he’s not here, but I put those pads on to honor him and to keep him and his memory close to me. It’s funny, but with LSU winning [the national championship] again, and us being in the Super Bowl, you feel like Marquise somehow has a hand in this.”

Green also has a pregame ritual that involves Hill. As he waits in the tunnel to take the field he reaches to the back of his helmet and rubs the 91 decal and remembers his fallen teammate.

Hill’s memory has provided players with some additional motivation.

“With this team, and what it has accomplished, you expect to win,” said cornerback Randall Gay, another LSU product, who was Hill’s roommate for road games and was on hand when officials pulled the defensive end’s body from Lake Pontchartrain. “But for the guys who knew Marquise really well, and who were really tight with him … yeah, there’s some extra [motivation] involved, for sure.”

Marquis HillHill was a 2004 sound round pick from LSU and key piece in LSU’s 2003 National Championship and the top rated defensive lineman out of high school but with the Patriots was underachieving and saw more time on the inactive list than on the field on game day.

“He always had something funny to say,” fellow defensive end Ty Warren said. “He made you smile a lot, and I think that, more than anything else, is what you miss. Marquise was just a good guy, a good person, fun to be around.”

Said tailback Kevin Faulk: “He was just the kind of person who would do anything for you.”

Hill left behind his fiance, Inell Benn and their two year old son, Ma’Shy and the house he bought for them in Bellingham, MA is for sale. Benn now lives in Austin, TX and is working as a nurse’s aid as she pursues a nursing degree.

In the Patriots locker room at Gillette Stadium, Hills jersey and pants hang in his locker, someone placed a “2007 AFC Champions” baseball hat in their last week.

“When you walk past his locker,” strong safety Rodney Harrison told The New York Daily News last week, “it really kind of puts things in perspective. It makes you think a lot.”

It’s a given that the Patriots will be thinking of Marquise Hill on Sunday when they take the field.

As The Santana Turns – Only The Best Rumors For You

As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

According to Sid Hartman of the Star-Tribune, the Twins original offer to Johan Santana is still on the table, which was this years $13.25 million plus 4 years at $20 million. Twins assistant GM Rob Antony said the team hasn’t given up hope on bringing back Johan.

“That’s been our number one goal all along. If we could do that, yeah, we’d still like to do that,” Antony said of signing Santana.

Antony also had this to say about the talks with the Red Sox, Mets and Yankees.

“We’ve discussed names at length with all three clubs,” Antony said. “I don’t think it’s any secret, and basically the first one that steps up or is ready to go, yeah, we could deal at any time. But that’s been the possibility for the last couple of months. They have a good idea what it would take to get Johan Santana.”

La Velle E. Neal III from the Star-Tribune talked with Twins officials at TwinsFest this past weekend and had this to say.

For now, they insist that that they remain in contact with the Red Sox, Mets and Yankees and no team has pulled out.

I asked if there was a chance that a three-way deal involving a mystery team was possible. I was told that was unlikely.

I asked if the Twins have discussed adding a player to any deal to help move things along. I was told no.

I asked about reports that Jon Lester has been pulled from the Red Sox offer. I was told it’s not true.

For what it’s worth, I was watching OTL (Outside the Lines) on ESPN earlier and they had a graphic on the screen saying that the Mets were close to acquiring Santana.

I fully expect there to be news on this front daily for a little while. As always, I will do my best to keep you informed.

Red Sox Make Trade For Someone Not Named Santana

Now had I said the Red Sox make a trade for a pitcher, y’all would have been wondering did they actually pull a deal off for Santana.

David AardsmaThe answer to that question is no. The Red Sox made a trade today with the Chicago White Sox for reliever David Aardsma. In exchange for Aardsma, the Red Sox sent minor league pitchers Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich to the south side squad in Chicago.

Aardsma got off to a hot start in 2007 out of the Chisox bullpen as he was 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings. Then the roof caved in for him and he was eventually sent to Triple-A Charlotte where he finished off the season. His final White Sox numbers were 2-1 with a 6.40 ERA in 32.1 innings. So as you can see, he had a rough last 11 innings in Chicago.

His minor league numbers last season were a little better as he was 3-2 with a 4.33 ERA in 18 games with saves in 15 of those games.

Aardsma will be with his fourth big league team as he has previously pitched with the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs in addition to the White Sox. Overall in his career, Aardsma is 6-1 with a 5.16 ERA in 96.2 innings of work in 81 appearances. He has only pitched out of the bullpen in his big league career.

It will be interesting to see how he fits in with the boys in the bullpen. He’s got the name to be part of the pirate crew. Aarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrdsma

In The Red Zone – Super Bowl XLII Edition Vol. 11

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If you’re thinking of attending the Super Bowl on Sunday by grabbing yourself a few tickets through a ticket reseller like StubHub, RazorGator, TicketsNow or any other reseller you better be prepared to pay the highest resale prices yet.

On StubHub, a subsidiary of Ebay, tickets are ranging from $2,450 to $19,446. The average price is $4,300 on tickets originally priced by the NFL at $700 and $900.

“It appears our face value is underpriced based on demand and what people are willing to pay,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, who seems resigned to the fact that the league is mostly powerless to stop the profitable turnover of tickets.

Several Patriots fans are doing what ever they can to get to the game. Not only is the team trying for it’s fourth title in seven years but there’s also that whole unbeaten season angle.

ticketsOne Patriots fan paid $29,385 to reseller RazorGator for a package that includes three hotel nights and breakfasts, transportation to and from the game, a gift package, and tickets for him and his two sons.

Tickets on the RazorGator site are going for between $2,700 and $7,200.

One Giants fan, who is originally from Manhattan and now lives in Denver, spent $40,000 for a package through RazorGator’s Prime Sports. It includes four tickets on the 50-yard line, hotel stays and pre- and post-game parties to take his three sons, who are 9, 11 and 14.

“I see it as a once in a lifetime event, so the stars aligned and we’re off,” he said. “It’s not something I’m going to do on a regular basis.”

His wife and 16-year-old daughter, who is uninterested in football, are throwing a Super Bowl party at home while the boys go to Phoenix. They have, at least, agreed to wear their jerseys in support of the family team.

Ticket prices are expected to drop the closer to kickoff you get. Local scalper in Glendale will be able to try to sell seats in one controlled area just north of the stadium.

So where do all these tickets come from? Well the Patriots and Giants each get 17.5% of the seats. The league controls 25.2%, the Arizona Cardinals being the host team get 5% and each of the other 29 teams get 1.2%. 

NFL coaches, players and team officials are reminded that they are not allowed to resell their seats. If they do they face fines by the league.

The 17.5% alotted to the participating teams is not a lot, it’s about 12,000 tickets or so that go to players, coaches, sponsors and team employees.  What’s left gets sold to season ticket holders who were selected in a lottery.  In the Patriots case that’s about 5,000 seats for the season ticket holders and many get left out because after they don’t get selected in the lottery they don’t have the money to get tickets from a reseller. 

Make sure if you do decide to try to buy tickets at this time that you beware of scams.

Paw Prints – Wiggins & Dyson Had Alcohol In Car

Paw Prints - Men's Roundball @ SOX & Dawgs

Well the reason why Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins was made public in this morning’s Hartford Courant. The pair was found with bottle of both cognac and vodka in their car.

According to a statement from UConn police, officers observed a vehicle driven by Wiggins pull into the lot at 11:51 p.m. Thursday. The officers felt the occupants were acting in a suspicious manner. Officers approached the vehicle and found Dyson and Wiggins in possession of the alcohol.

Dyson was issued a citation for possession of alcohol by a minor and Wiggins was charged with the same offense plus operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

According to a source, it is common practice for any UConn student athlete issued a citation for an alcohol-related offense to be subject to a drug test.

UConn’s student athlete drug-testing policy, according to the student athlete handbook, is composed of three testing regimens.

•Random testing, under which random lists are generated any time during the calendar year.

•Probable cause, under which tests are performed after reasonable suspicion is formed.

•Testing of all student athletes before participation in an NCAA championship event or bowl game.

It’s obvious the players were tested and if reinstated will probably be tested for the rest of the season. I do have wonder though if they will be kicked off the team like the 5 football players were back in the 2006 season for purchasing beer while on a trip to South Florida.

To me a precedent has been set with athletes caught with alcohol at UConn. It would only be fair and right to dismiss both of them from the team. Will this happen? Probably not, but to me it is the right thing to do.

Former Patriots Coach Mike Holovak Passes

Former New England Patriots and Boston College Eagles head coach Mike Holovak passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday just hours before his former team left for Arizona to play in Super Bowl XLII.

“Mike Holovak was a great coach and a wonderful person,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement issued by the team. “I remember watching Mike’s Boston College teams in the 1950s and his Patriots teams in the 1960s.”

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with him on several occasions. Our team has lost one of its founding fathers and the entire Patriots family is saddened by Mike’s passing.”

Mike Holovak - AP PhotoHolovak, the second winningest coach in Patriots history behind current coach Bill Belichick, coached at Boston College in the 1950’s, then became the Patriots head coach in 1961 replacing Lou Saban just five weeks into the season. The team was 2-3 and finished 9-4-1 after he took over. In 1963 he led the Patriots to AFL Championship game against the San Diego Chargers were they lost 51-10. Holovak was let go after the 1968 season and had a record of 53-47-9 with New England.

Former AFL MVP Gino Cappelletti weighed in on the loss:

“Mike was a mentor, a coach, a friend, and above all, a consummate gentleman. His contributions as coach and general manager in the critical early years of the Patriots’ franchise were monumental.”

He later moved on to become the vice president of player personnel and general manager of the Houston Oilers. He was still with the team in the 1990’s when they relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans.

“Mike was the quintessential ‘football guy,'” Titans owner Bud Adams Jr. said in a statement issued by Boston College. “It is rare when you see a person excel in all three areas of the sport: a great player in college, a successful coach and great talent evaluator, but Mike was one of the special people.”

He also coached or held administrative positions with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets. He also played in the NFL with Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams.

A memorial service is planned for February 9th on the campus of Boston College.

Red Sox News & Notes – 1/28

Red Sox News & Notes @ SOX & Dawgs

Guess who finally picked up his Rookie of the Year trophy? Since this is a Red Sox news & notes post, your guess should be obvious. Do you give up or did you know the answer was Dustin Pedroia?

Dustin Pedroia - Reuters PhotoPedroia was one of the many MLB major award winners on hand at the New York chapter of the BWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) dinner last night to receive their awards. Pedroia, who brought his wife along with his mom and dad, was presented his award by the newly retired Craig Biggio. Mr. hit-by-pitch had some very kind words for Pedroia.

“What is there not to like about the guy? His last name ends in a vowel, and Tommy Lasorda always said you always had to love a guy whose name ended in a vowel. He was obviously the cream of the crop. The thing that epitomizes him the most, is that every time I flipped on SportsCenter, the man’s uniform is dirty. From what everybody tells me, he plays the game right, runs through first base every time, doesn’t dog it…”

High praise for our second baseman from a guy who Pedroia plays like.

Pedroia was very happy to receive the award and even thanked the Yankees fans for not booing him.

Check out the rest of the article to see who else was on hand at the dinner.

Biggio presents Pedroia with Rookie award [Extra Bases]

As The Santana Turns – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

Now you will truly understand why I have given this saga a soap opera theme.

In our last episode of As The Santana Turns 22½ hours ago, the second half of our post contained information from Buster Olney that the Red Sox have pulled Jon Lester off the table in a trade for Johan Santana. La Velle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune has information from the Twins that says otherwise.

Twins officials over the weekend maintained that all three teams remain interested in Santana. They also disputed reports that lefthander Jon Lester has been taken out of any Red Sox package. Boston still is believed to have different packages under consideration, one led by Lester and the other led by outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

So for all of us that got excited about the fact that Lester was off the table, we get to once again ponder it.

As for what the Twins are looking for from the Yankees and Mets, read what LAV has to say below.

The Twins would like for the Mets to add outfield prospect Fernando Martinez to a package that includes outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Delios Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Philip Humber. The Mets, who need Santana the most, have been reluctant to add Martinez to the deal, and other possible add-ons — such as pitcher Aaron Heilman and outfielder Ryan Church — have been mentioned.

The Twins would like a package from the Yankees that includes righthander Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera — an option that some Twins players quietly prefer. Cabrera, with 16 assists last season, would join Michael Cuddyer (19) and Delmon Young (16) to give the Twins one of the best defensive outfields in baseball.

A lot of national scribes have been saying that if the Mets include Martinez, the Twins will most likely take the deal. Like I said in a comment recently, I see the Mets as the team needing Santana the most, with the Yankees second and the Red Sox third.

So as the week goes along, I fully expect more rumors to come about from this soap opera. And as always I will post them when I see them.

On another note, isn’t it amazing how all the writers get different information about things. Olney is a pretty reputable source for information so you had to believe him when he said Lester was not a part of any deal. LAV III is probably a little closer to the Twins than Olney is but then again I could be wrong. Just ask Anthony from the Oriole Post about internet rumors involving trades.

Charles In Charge, Leads Huskies Over Notre Dame

Renee Montgomery laying it in - AP Photo

Tina Charles drives to the hoop - AP PhotoAfter Notre Dame stepped up its defense on Maya Moore, who scored the Huskies first 15 points, Tina Charles took over the game for the Huskies as she led them past the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame 81-64 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Joyce Center in South Bend, IN.

After exchanging baskets for the first 9 minutes of the half, UConn took over the game as Notre Dame went cold from the floor. After the Fighting Irish figured out how to stop Moore, Charles said it’s my time, y’all. She scored 9 points during a 22-4 run which put the Irish away. Notre Dame went without a field goal for 10:52 during the big run for the Huskies. UConn went cold for about a four minute span but got back on the scoreboard behind two Brittany Hunter baskets. Notre Dame finally got a basket with 21 seconds left as Lindsay Schrader made a basket to get the Irish within 18 points at 41-25. The Huskies went into the break with a 43-27 lead at the break.

Renee Montgomery spent most of the first half on the bench for UConn as she was whistled for two early fouls.

Notre Dame tried to make a game of it in the second half as they got the game to within 12 points. Unfortunately for them, they started to turn the ball over and the Huskies took full advantage. Montgomery got the Huskies going as she led them on a 12-0 run. The Huskies eventually increased the lead to 25 points but Notre Dame tried to close the gap to no avail.

Such a sweet stroke - AP PhotoCharles led the way for UConn (19-0, 6-0 Big East) with 22 points and 8 rebounds. She has 13 of those 22 points in the first half. Moore scored all of her 15 points in the first half as she was unable to shake the Notre Dame defenders. She also picked up two quick fouls to find a spot on the bench in the second half. Montgomery, who scored all 12 of her points in the second half, was the catalyst in the second half besides Charles. Hunter made a triumphant return to the court as she scored 11 points in just 14 minutes. Ketia Swanier had a great game off the bench with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals.

Notre Dame (15-5, 3-3) was paced by Ashley Barrow who had 15 points. Charel Allen chipped in with 11 points while Schrader added 10 points. Devereaux Peters had the only double-double of the game with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Great win for the Huskies on the road. It seems as though they have found ways to play with Kalana Greene and Mel Thomas, both of whom are out for the season with ACL injuries.

The Huskies return home to the XL Center on Wednesday night when the South Florida Bulls come to town. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM and the game will be televised locally on CPTV.

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As The Santana Turns – Could It Finally Happen?

As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press is reporting that Johan Santana could finally be traded within the next 10 days. The reason for the holdup is not the Twins or any of the three teams involved but rather Santana’s contract demands.

The Mets, who dearly want Santana, have told at least one free-agent pitcher hoping to sign with them to wait until they find out whether they can acquire the two-time Cy Young Award winner. The Twins, as they should, continue to insist that slugging young outfielder Fernando Martinez, the Mets’ top minor league prospect, be included in any deal.

“Martinez will show how badly the Mets want Santana,” one insider said.

The Red Sox haven’t moved much from their initial offer for Santana. But one minor leaguer who some would consider a throw-in by Boston – left-handed hitting outfielder Ryan Kalish – could become an important part of a deal. Francisco Liriano, remember, was considered a throw-in when the San Francisco Giants included him in the Twins’ trade for Joe Nathan.

That free agent pitcher the Mets are considering signing if the Santana deal doesn’t happen with the Mets is Livan Hernandez.

Buster Olney is also reporting that the Red Sox have taken Jon Lester off the table. This means the Twins are focused on the deal that centered around Jacoby Ellsbury.

I am not a big fan of the Sox trading Ellsbury at all. And as time has gone by with this whole saga, I am not so sure the Red Sox need the added payroll of Santana. Yes they will need to replace Curt Schilling and most likely Tim Wakefield after the 2008 season but with the amount of pitching they have in the minors plus Lester and Clay Buchholz, the Sox should be just fine. The crop of free agent pitchers after the 2008 season isn’t the greatest but I think the Sox would be better served in the long run by not acquiring Santana.

Don’t get me wrong, it would be great to see a rotation of Josh Beckett, Santana, Matsuzaka, Buchholz and Lester would be great. But at the cost to the Red Sox, I just don’t feel it’s worth it especially losing a player with Ellsbury’s talents.

Also don’t forget one thing. Even if the teams agree to the pieces of puzzle, Santana and his agent need to workout an extension on his contract to finish off the deal.

Hopefully this rumor proves true and this whole saga is over in the next 10 days or so, especially with spring training just under 18 days away.