Brewers Want Statement From Gagne

According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel the Milwaukee Brewers have asked relief pitcher Eric Gagne to write a statement about his appearance in the Mitchell Report.The Brewers front office has reportedly asked the reliever to write his statement before the Brewers Winter Warm Up fan festival being held next week at Miller Park or not attend the event. He was also told if he didn’t attend the Winter Warm Up event that the statement should be written prior to reporting to spring training.

Eric GagneGagne is expected to issue the statement before spring training and then not make any further comments on the issue again. The Brewers must be glad that he isn’t going to the fan event where he’d certainly be bombarded with questions from the media and the fans alike. By issuing a statement prior to training camp he can effectively avoid it for the foreseeable future.

Gagne, signed a 1-year $10 million dollar contract in December just days before the release of the Mitchell Report, pitched last season for the Texas Rangers and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Gagne last season was 4-2 with 16 saves and 3.81 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Gagne has 177 career saves, most of them with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Clemens Can Golf After All

Roger Clemens golfing - AP photoBefore all of this mess with the Mitchell Report happened, Roger Clemens had planned to play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic from January 16th to 20th. Then he found out he was included in the Mitchell Report and had to go on the defensive.

Clemens had been asked to testify in front of Congress and issued a statement saying he would have to move some things around in order to attend. During his press conference, Clemens decided he would attend the January 16th congressional hearing about steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in sports.

Well now, Clemens can still play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, if his invitation still stands, as the hearing has been rescheduled until February 13th so that the lawmakers can gather more evidence and coordinate their efforts with the Justice Department.

In case you were wondering, former Senator George Mitchell, MLB commissioner Bud Selig and MLBPA leader Donald Fehr will still appear on January 15th in front of that same committee.

Bobcats Claw Celtics, 95-83

The Charlotte Bobcats led by Jason Richardson’s 34 points beat the Boston Celtics 95-83 Wednesday night at the TD BankNorth Garden.

Rondo runs over Wallace - AP PhotoOn a night when the team never really seemed to have it and were playing without Ray Allen and Glenn Davis, they had 17 turnovers in helping give the game to Charlotte. It was Boston’s 4th loss of the season against 29 wins. Charlotte improved to 13-21.

Boston which shot only 41% from the floor were led by Kevin Garnett who had 24 points and 8 rebounds, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo each had 13 points in a losing effort.

In addition to Richardson, Nazr Mohammed had 18 points, Raymond Felton had 16 and Gerald Wallace had 15 for the Cats. UConn grad Emeka Okafor had 8 points and 3 rebounds.

Pierce and Garnett felt that the team wasn’t as strong defensively as they have been recently and that it cost the team in the long run tonight.

The Celtics play the New Jersey Nets on Friday at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford.

UConn Dominates West Virginia in 84-48 Win

Faced with a stiff test at least on paper, the UConn women did to West Virginia what they’ve done to opponents all year, play great defense and shoot the ball well, as they went on to an 84-48 win at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Tina Charles blocks a shot - Courant PhotoMaya Moore led the way for the Huskies (14-0, 2-0 Big East) tonight with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including a career-high four 3-pointers. Tina Charles had her 7th double-double of the season as she put in 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Mel Thomas rebounded from zero point effort in the last game to score 14 points tonight. Ketia Swanier added 7 points off the bench for the Huskies.

Olayinka Sanni paced the Mountaineers (11-3, 1-1) with 12 points and a team-high 5 rebounds. Sparkle Davis chipped in with 11 points while West Virginia star Meg Bulger struggled from the field (1-8) and scored just 4 points.

UConn started out the game like it does most games, on a big run. This time the Huskies started out on a 13-0 run before West Virginia scored it’s first basket with 15:45 left to go in the first half. UConn kept it going as Thomas 3-pointer gave the Huskies a 27-5 lead. UConn would go into the locker room with a 43-21 lead. The Mountaineers made only six baskets in the first half while committing 11 turnovers.

UConn’s lead got as big as 37 points in the second half behind the shooting of Charles and Moore. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma began to clear his bench towards the middle of the second half and the reserves did their best to maintain the big lead. At times, Geno did get pissed at them for not keeping up the intensity of the first team.

The Huskies return to action on Saturday when they travel to Freedom Hall in Louisville to take on the Cardinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 PM and the game will be televised locally on CPTV.

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A Closer Look At The Patriots All-Pro’s

Moss unanimous All-Pro Pick

As Ian wrote earlier today, five New England Patriots were named 1st team All-Pro’s today with four more being tabbed for the second team.Wide Receiver Randy Moss was a unanimous pick and quarterback Tom Brady was nearly so as one voter split their vote between Brady and Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre who was named to the second squad.

In addition to Brady and Moss the other Patriots named to the first team were tackle Matt Light, Cornerback Asante Samuel and Linebacker Mike Vrabel.

Patriots named to the second team were Wide Receiver Wes Welker, Center Dan Koppen, Guard Logan Mankins and Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork.

All of the players with the exception of Moss are first timers. Moss was named an All-Pro for the fourth time in his illustrious career the previous three he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings when he was an All-Pro in 1998, 2000 and 2003.

hey Tom you have another award to come pick upBrady was also named the NFL MVP, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, AP Male Athlete of the Year, ESPN.com All-Pro Team, Sporting News Sportsman of the Year and a Pro Bowl starter this season as he set records for TD passes with 50. He was also mentioned today on ESPN.com for having one the 25 greatest sports seasons of all time as he finished 5th on the list.

Brady had this to say about being named to the squad:

“Every week, we come in here on Monday and you win and everybody’s excited, the plane flights home are great,” Brady said, referring to what has been a historic season so far for the 16-0 Patriots. “It’s been a lot of fun. To see what we’ve accomplished thus far is great. At the same time we realize that, as coach put it, there’s another mountain to climb.”

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Attention Red Sox Nation In Connecticut

Larry, Theo and Terry with the trophyAfter having to cancel their last visit due to a snowstorm, the Red Sox will be bringing the World Series trophy back to Connecticut on Friday morning and afternoon.

Larry Lucchino, Wally the Green Monster, and other Red Sox executives will accompany the trophy as it visits New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford. There will not be any players involved in the trip.

The trophy will first be on display at New Haven City Hall on Friday morning from 10-11 AM. The trophy will then head to Waterbury for a brief stop, although it won’t be a public display. If you’re in the Hartford area, your best chance to see the trophy will be when it’s on display at the state Capitol building from 2:15-4:00 PM.

I will try to make my way over to the showing in New Haven on Friday morning and bring y’all pictures. I can’t guarantee that but will do my best.

Brady, Moss Headline AP All-Pro Team

Patriots First Team All-Pro Players - AP photos

The record-breaking duo of Tom Brady and Randy Moss from the New England Patriots headlines this year’s AP All-Pro First Team. Moss was an unanimous selection while Brady was almost an unanimous choice. One voter decided to split his vote of Brady with Green Bay QB Brett Favre. LaDainian Tomlinson was the only other unanimous selection to the team.

Joining Brady and Moss on the first team were teammates T Matt Light, OLB Mike Vrabel and CB Asante Samuel. For each of them except for Moss, this is their first time being named to the AP All-Pro team. Moss was a member of the team three times while with the Minnesota Vikings.

Four other Patriots were chosen to the AP All-Pro Second team as well. They are WR Wes Welker, G Logan Mankins, C Dan Koppen and DT Vince Wilfork.

The Patriots led the way with 5 players on the first team. The Chargers, Cowboys and Seahawks each placed 3 players on the first team as well.

A full look at both teams after the jump.

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The Hits Keep Coming… Returns Tonight @ 7 PM ET

Click above to go to our website

Tune in tonight as bloggers Anthony of the Oriole Post and Jason of My Baseball Bias join me for our hour long baseball show called, “The Hits Keep Coming” on Blog Talk Radio. Every week at 7PM Eastern Time (6PM Central/ 5PM Mountain/ 4PM Western/Pacific) we chat, analyze and comment about the world of Major League Baseball.

This week: Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee

If you’d like to call in, the phone number is 718-664-6564 or you can send us an instant message if you use AOL IM at hitskeepcoming20.

Please join us at : http://blogtalkradio.com/oriolepost – 7PM Eastern Time tonight!

Topics to be discussed this evening:

  • Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee
  • Goose Gossage in the Hall.
  • Billy Beane and his trades
  • Hot Stove Roundup

You can listen to last week’s show by going over to the sidebar on the right and looking for the Blog Talk Radio section.

See you all tonight!!!

As The Santana Turns – Hank’s Pockets Not So Deep

As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

There’s really nothing new about how the talks about a Johan Santana trade have progressed with either the Red Sox or the Yankees. But Yankees loudmouth Hank Steinbrenner did say that he wasn’t willing to give Johan more than a 5-year extension.

“The payroll would just be out of this world this year,” Steinbrenner said of potentially adding Santana, “but only for this year. When you’ve got to trade top young talent and pay a lot of money, it gets very risky.

“I wouldn’t do it if it were a six- or seven-year contract,” Steinbrenner said. “I wouldn’t go past five, on an extension.”

Could that be a deal breaker for Santana? Only time will tell.

Excuse Me Sir, Your Pants Are On Fire

More Power it's Tim TaylorEveryone either has a friend or knows of someone who is always scheming to try to invent something or make something better. Whether it’s Uncle Joe who blew up the family car trying to boost it’s power by using rocket fuel, your neighbor who had the bright idea to make his vaccuum do the walking thing like that robot vac only to have it suck up the family cat or Tim Taylor from “Tool Time” trying to give things “more power” generally these idea’s are not very good and lead to destruction of property or body parts.

Well I’d like to introduce you to Seattle Seahawks place kicker Josh Brown who plans on wearing heated pants during the game this Saturday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI.

Brown says he has equipped his pants with battery-powered heaters for the calves, thighs and hamstrings. He told KIRO Radio that no matter how low the temperature drops, his legs will be 75 degrees.

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