MLB, New Era Pull Gangbanger Caps

The Yankees and the Latin Kings a truly american combination

New Era in association with Major League Baseball has pulled a line up of new caps it created after they found that they might have gang connotations based on the colors and symbols.

“It has been brought to our attention that some combinations of icons and colors on a select number of our caps could be too closely perceived to be in association with gangs,” said Christopher H. Koch, CEO of New Era Cap. “In response, we, along with Major League Baseball, have pulled those caps.”

Major League Baseball claims it didn’t realize that the hats could be gang related. The Yankees, whose logo appears on the hats hadn’t seen the caps prior to production.

Flash me some signs GThe styles that were in question were a white cap with a red bandana, a white cap with a blue bandana and a black cap that contained a gold crown. These hats could be tailor-made for members of the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings respectively. After this came to the attention of baseball officials they asked New Era, who has manufactured caps for MLB since 1930, to pull the product. New Era had already acted prior to the notification by MLB.

Richard Garcia, who works with Peace on the Street to provide youngsters with alternatives to gangs, said he immediately recognized the hats’ colors from his work with former gang members.

“My fear was that the wrong kid was going to wear the wrong hat in the wrong neighborhood and get hurt,” he said.

New Era says it will ensure they have a better working knowledge of gang color combinations and symbols in the future.

Now if you believe everyone involved, you’re telling me that no one at New Era and no one in the MLB office involved in licensing had a clue those hats could be gang related? I took one look at those hats and I a suburban, middle aged white male knew they had gang connections.

Also if the Yankees hadn’t seen the caps prior to production that means that MLB lets their suppliers and not the teams or the league dictate the products that are sold. I don’t know about you but I think that’s a very bad business practice as this incident has shown us.

UPDATE: I found the hats with Red Sox and Dodgers logos. I didn’t look for any other teams.

gang bangin' with Theo and the Triodo you think the gang bangers leave early too

Vick Suspended Indefinitely After Pleading Guilty

Just hours after filing papers in a Virginia court, Michael Vick has been suspended indefinitely without pay by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. This suspension now allows the Atlanta Falcons, Vick’s employers, to recover part of the signing bonus Vick received when he signed his $130 million contract.

Here are excerpts of Goodell’s letter to Vick from NFL.com:

“Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions.”

“Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.”

“You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.”

“I will review the status of your suspension following the conclusion of the legal proceedings. As part of that review, I will take into account a number of factors, including the resolution of any other charges that may be brought against you, whether in Surry County, Virginia, or other jurisdictions, your conduct going forward, the specifics of the sentence imposed by Judge Hudson and any related findings he might make, and the extent to which you are truthful and cooperative with law enforcement and league staff who are investigating these matters.”

“I have advised the Falcons that, with my decision today, they are no longer prohibited from acting and are now free to assert any claims or remedies available to them under the Collective Bargaining Agreement or your NFL Player Contract.

Judging from the letter, it seems that Goodell is quite pissed off about the matter. And he should be, Vick essentially came into his office and lied to him about his involvement in this awful mess. Had Vick been straightforward in the matter, he still probably would have been suspended.

Arthur Blank, Falcons owner, fully supported Goodell’s suspension of Vick and issued this statement:

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Beckett First To 16 Wins In 11-3 Win

 

Josh Beckett wasn’t at his best today but it didn’t matter as his teammates pounded out 15 hits enroute to an 11-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Beckett went 5 2/3 innings and threw 111 pitches. Jason Varitek provided the offense, going 2-3 with a home run and 4 RBIs. The first game today was a makeup of last night’s rainout so the crowd was very sparse. It looked like there was maybe 3,000 people at U.S. Cellular field.

Beckett’s struggles started in the first inning as he had trouble locating his curveball. He did start out the inning strong as he got Jerry Owens to strikeout and Josh Fields to ground out. With the two outs, A.J. Pierzynski laced a double into the right field corner. Then Beckett’s struggles really started. He walked Paul Konerko and Darin Erstad to load up the bases for Jermaine Dye. Dye would end up working a walk that brought in Pierzynski from third with the first run of the game. Beckett got out of the inning with a strikeout of Juan Uribe. Beckett threw a total of 36 pitches in the 1st.

The visiting nine got the run back for Beckett in the 3rd inning. After White Sox starter Jon Garland retired Varitek and Eric Hinske to start the inning, Alex Cora smoked a double to deep right field. He would come around to score on a Julio Lugo single to tie the game at 1. With Coco Crisp at the plate, Lugo was thrown out stealing to end the 3rd.

The Red Sox helped their ace out even more in the 4th inning when they plated four runs. Crisp, who was at the plate when Lugo was thrown out in the 3rd, led off with a single. Garland then got David Ortiz to line out to center for the first out. Manny Ramirez followed that up with a single moving Coco to third. Mike Lowell brought in Coco with a ground ball single thru the legs of Garland to give the Sox a 2-1 lead. Garland then got J.D. Drew to hit a ground ball to second but Chi-sox second baseman Danny Richar booted it and everyone was safe all around. With the bases loaded, Varitek hit a single to deep left that scored Manny and Lowell giving the Sox a 4-1 lead. Hinske brought in Drew with a single, giving the Sox a 5-1 lead. Garland got out of the inning as he got Cora to ground into a 6-3 double play.

After his 1st inning struggles, Beckett cruised thru the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings as he only allowed a single to Owens. In the 5th though, it was a different story.

Owens led off the inning with a single and came around to score when Fields took a Beckett hanging curveball and planted it in the left field seats. Fields’ homer cut the Red Sox lead to 5-3. Beckett had no problems the rest of the inning as he retired Pierzynski on a fly out, Konerko on a foul out and Erstad on a ground out.

Beckett had some more problems in the 6th inning and at one point it looked like he might get out of it. After he got the first two outs very easily, he gave up a single to Richar and another single to Alex Gonzalez which moved Richar to third. With Beckett’s pitch count at 111, Terry Francona went to the bullpen and brought in Javier Lopez. Lopez did his job and got out of the inning by getting Owens to fly out to Manny in left.

Despite giving up 5 runs, Garland was still in the game to start the 8th inning. However after he walked Big Papi to start the inning, Ozzie Guillen went to his bullpen and brought in Ryan Bukvich. I am sure Ozzie regrets doing this as Bukvich gave up a single to Manny and a walk to Lowell. Guillen then came back out of the dugout and brought in a lefty, Boone Logan, to face Drew with the bases loaded. Playing a game of chess, Francona decided to pinch-hit for Drew with Bobby Kielty, who hits lefties well. Kielty made Francona look like a genius as he brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, making it 6-3 good guys (that’s for you Sam). Guillen then decided to intentionally walk Varitek to load the bases and face the lefty Hinske. With the lefty Logan still on the mound, Francona opted to pinch-hit Kevin Youkilis for Hinske. Guillen countered by bringing in the sidearmer Ehren Wassermann. Youk made Francona look like a genius again as Youk delivered a single that brought in Manny and gave the Sox a 7-3 lead. Wassermann got out of the inning as he got Cora to ground into a fielder’s choice with Lowell out at home and Lugo to ground out to Richar at second.

Mike Myers came out to start the 9th for the White Sox and I’m sure he wishes he had just stayed in the bullpen. He did get Coco to foul out but then he walked Big Papi and Manny. Lowell made Myers pay for the walks as he hit a double that scored Big Papi, making it 8-3. Kielty followed that with his second straight sacrifice fly, scoring Manny for a 9-3 lead. Varitek finished off the scoring for the Sox with a 2-run home run off of Myers. The 2-run homer provided the final margin of 11-3.

Mike Timlin, who had come in for Hideki Okajima in the 8th, finished off the 9th inning for the Red Sox.

While Beckett wasn’t at his best, his boys came through for him. The hitters got him the runs and the bullpen held the lead for him. Curt Schilling will get the ball for the Red Sox in game 2 tonight at 8 PM.

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Big Papi’s Car Draws No Legit Bids

The 2005 Mercedes Benz SL 65 AMG that Boston Red Sox all-star designated hitter David Ortiz put on auction through Ebay has drawn no legitimate bids and has been cancelled.

There were 18 bids on the car with a high bid of $525,000 but they were all either ruled out or retracted.

EBay spokeswoman Kim Rubey said it is up to the seller to screen bids, but “EBay rules prohibit bids that are not legitimate and we will certainly take action against anyone who submitted a bogus bid.”

Ortiz bought the 12-cylinder, 605-horsepower car after the 2004 World Series as a gift to himself. He paid $205,000 and added another $35,000 in accessories.

There’s no word on what Ortiz is going to do with the car now. The cool thing to do would be to have the Red Sox Foundation auction it through raffle ticket sales to benefit “The Jimmy Fund”.

Or seeing as they share the same initials he could always give it to NESN announcer boy Don Orsillo.

 

Reggie Miller Says No To Comeback

Celtics ball wall logo

Former NBA All-Star Reggie Miller has decided against coming back to the league with the Boston Celtics or any other team.

Reggie Miller compositeMiller, who is now a TNT basketball analyst, worked out for the last two weeks to see if he could still handle the rigors of a NBA season. While he feels he can handle it physically it is the mental aspect he has concerns about.

“That’s it,” he told The Indianapolis Star. “Physically, I know I could have done it. But mentally, when you do something like this, you’ve either got to be all in or all out. And I’ve decided I’m all out.”

“When I was back in Indy this week, people on the streets, they’d tell me to do it,” Miller told the newspaper. “But as the day went on, I just realized I wasn’t ready mentally to put myself through the grind again.”

Miller, the NBA’s all-time leading 3-point scorer, played 18 seasons in the league all of them with the Indianapolis Pacers. He retired in 2005.

Updated: Could Vick Lose Plea Deal?

According to reports on ESPN.com, Michael Vick will plead guilty on only one of the counts he was charged with. He will not plead guilty to killing the dogs or the gambling but will enter a guilty plea to the charge of interstate commerce for the purpose of dogfighting on Monday in Richmond, VA.

The source told ESPN that Vick’s defense team met with federal attorneys Thursday afternoon to determine the “summary of facts” to which Vick will plead, and that his attorneys believed they had a deal. The source said Vick maintains he never killed dogs and never gambled on a dog fight.

It is kind of ironic that he will only plead guilty to that count and not the others considering that his 3 former co-defendants have stated that Vick gave all the money for the gambling and the operation of the kennel. They also said that he was a participant of the execution of 8 of the dogs in various ways.

Something just doesn’t sound right here. If the former 3 co-defendants are pleading guilty and implicating Vick with their testimony as per their plea agreements, how in the world are federal prosecutors going to accept this decision. It would seem to counteract the plea agreements of the former 3 co-defendants. And would the federal prosecutors accept this as part of their plea arrangement with Vick.

I guess only time will tell that. I really hope that they don’t accept this and go to trial with the overwhelming evidence against him.

Update: Vick has filed his plea agreement in court today and has admitted to the dogfighting charges and to killing the dogs. He denies the gambling charges but admits to bankrolling the fights.

“Most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies were provided by Vick,” a summary of facts in the case said, echoing language in plea agreements by three co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty.

“Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels,” the summary said.

Vick will formally file his plea in court on Monday. Federal prosecutors have recommended a 12-18 month sentence but the judge is not bound by that. He will not be sentenced on Monday.

So it looks as though the plea arrangement will stick.

Patriots Samuel Reportedly To End Holdout

Asante Samuel set to return?According to several media reports the New England Patriots franchise player, safety Asante Samuel, is close to ending his holdout and reporting to the team. Sources say it could be as soon as next week.

Samuel is expected to sign the $7.79 million franchise tender this week and rejoin his teammates on the Foxboro practice field when it returns to work after playing Carolina tonight.

Samuel is the last of the leagues franchise players to be unsigned as Chicago’s Lance Briggs signed the tender with the Bears last week in exchange for a $1 million signing bonus and a guarantee he won’t be franchised next season.

It appears that the Patriots have given none of those concessions to Samuel.

Samuel intercepted a league high 10 passes last season plus had interception returns for touchdowns against the Jets and Colts in the playoffs while shutting down New York’s Laveranues Coles and Indianapolis’s Marvin Harrison.

Samuel previously stated his intention to sit out until week 10 but apparently leaving nearly $8 million on the table is too much for him to take.

Neither Samuel’s agent nor the Patriots would confirm his impending return.

Red Sox News & Notes – 8/24

 

With the rainout last night, the Red Sox will keep their rotation intact. Josh Beckett will start the first game and Curt Schilling will pitch in the regularly scheduled game tonight. The White Sox did change their rotation and it will be Jon Garland in the first game and last night’s scheduled starter John Danks in the second game. Even with the rainout, you can bet that the Boston area and Chicago media were busy churning out stories for us to read. So before today’s doubleheader starts, let’s take a look at what they wrote.

Youkilis: Fighting spirit [Boston Globe]

Sox ready for some football [Chicago Sun-Times]

All about baseball: Beckett farms out distractions [Boston Herald]

Fields making 3rd base his own [Chicago Tribune]

Lester Down, Lopez Up [Hartford Courant]

Extra day of rest for ailing Pedroia, rest of mending Sox [Pro Jo]

Failure to launch complete [Chicago Sun-Times]

Lester sent down for a start; Lopez recalled [Boston Globe]

Garland to kick off doubleheader [Chicago Tribune]

Rule gives Sox flexibility [Boston Herald]

Leaning lefty for short haul [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun-Times websites.

The 2007-08 MLB Free Agent Class

Andy MessersmithDave McNally

Each year after the completion of the World Series and for the next 15 days players who are eligible for free agency may file with the commissioner’s office. During those 15 days they may only negotiate with their 2007 teams. After the 15 days they can negotiate with any major league ball club.

Free agency came about on December 23, 1975 when pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally successfully challenged the reserve clause (Section 10A) in all MLB contracts.

In a 64-page ruling, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that “There is no contractual bond between these players and the Los Angeles and Montreal clubs, respectively.”

The players became free agents. After making the ruling, Seitz was immediately fired by the owners as baseball’s arbitrator.

Technically, Jim “Catfish” Hunter was the first free agent when after the 1974 season he was declared eligible to sign with any team when Oakland owner Charlie Finley failed to pay a $50,000 insurance annuity as called for in Hunter’s contract with the A’s. He then signed a 5-year contract worth $3.35 million dollars. His salary jumped from $100,000 in 1974 to nearly $700,000 in 1975.

Catfish HunterDon Gullett Bobby GrichJoe Rudi

Baseball’s first great free agent class came after the 1976 when 22 players filed. It included Baltimore teammates Reggie Jackson and Bobby Grich, Oakland’s Joe Rudi, Rollie Fingers and Don Baylor, Cincinnati’s Don Gullett and San Francisco’s Gary Matthews.

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