Tuesday’s Half Marathon Around AL Camps

Today we will travel around the American League camps and check in on the news from there.

Tomorrow we will be back to do the other half of the marathon as we travel around the National League camps.

Sox Spring Training News

Besides Manny Ramirez arriving at camp on Monday, believe it or not there were a few other things happening there.

Daisuke Matsuzaka took the mound again pitching batting practice. This time, he faced some hitters you may have heard of: Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Wily Mo Peña, Alex Ochoa, and Alex “Don’t call me Joey” Cora. Dice-K threw 50 pitches and the only one that was a semblance of a hit was off the bat of Big Papi. Ramirez stood there and watched 3 pitches go by him. Have we seen that before? Actually, a look of hitter like to “track” the pitches before swinging.

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reported that Manny looked “sharp” during his batting practice session. Oddly enough, he also states that Manny started taking swings back in December. The odd part of course is Manny doing something in the offseason. Manny is a notorious slow starter and maybe he decided that he wanted to do something in April besides complain that it is cold.

A member of the Red Sox senior citzien brigade bounced back from his lower back strain and was back working out on Monday. Mike Timlin, who most likely used some miracle cure, was back working out with the club. When asked why he was back so quickly, Timlin could only say this, “I had forgot to take my Geritol on Sunday.”

Terry Francona said that Josh Beckett has been “phenomenal” so far in spring training. This is good news for us Sox fans as we watched Beckett dominate early last season, then become a victim of the long ball. Chicks do dig the long ball unless your a pitcher giving them up.

That is all for now as I will be back later with “Tuesday’s Half Marathon Around AL Camps.”

Manny’s Agent Speaks

Manny Ramirez’s agents, Greg Genske and Gene Matos, met with members of the media on Monday just a little while after the 12 year old reported to camp. Here is a transcript of the press conference from Extra Bases:

Why is Manny here today?

“He was ready to report, and he’s excited to be here.”

What’s situation with his mother?

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into the health issues of his mother. Those questions would be better addressed to Manny himself, when he’s ready to talk about it.”

Reporter: That might be October. Can you acknowledge whether she’s in the hospital?

“I’m not going to talk about the health of Manny’s mother.”

Manny is 34 now. Do you think it’s time for him to be more accountable instead of being babied like a 12-year-old?

“Well, I wouldn’t accept your characterization of his behavior to begin with, and again I’ll just say he’s reported to spring training here, he’s happy to be here he’s here before he’s required to be here, either by the team or the mandatory report date. He’s happy to be here and ready to go.”

Do you think since he’s your meal ticket, you should try to help him grow up?

“Again, I wouldn’t agree with your characterization, either of Manny’s behavior or of whatever else you’re talking about.”

He indicated March 1 was the day. What changed that he moved that up?

“Again. I think that’s something Manny would have to answer but he indicated he was ready to go so that’s why he’s here.”

What was the deal with the auto show?

“I have no idea what the deal was with the auto show. I do know Manny had never had any intention of being there.”

What has changed since he asked to be traded last fall?

“I’m not going to comment on anything about trades or speculation or anything like that right now. He’s here right now, and he’s excited to be here. You can tell that when he took the field.”

He never agreed to do the car show?

“Not that I’m aware of.”

So he doesn’t want to be traded now?

“He’s just focused on the season right now. He’s reported, he’s here and he’s ready to go.”

Why did he choose not to report with other position players?

“I think the Red Sox have already gone to the press with this. They extended him the opportunity to stay with his mother, who had surgery this offseason.”

Was it at all important for you or Manny to arrive before tomorrow’s mandatory report date?

“I think it was important for both Manny and me that he get to spring training as early as he could given his family situation. That’s why he came today, because he was prepared to come today.”

Have you had conversation with the organization at any point to discuss whether Manny still wants to be traded?

“No. We have not had any conversations about trades.”

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Pat Summitt To Do Something “Out of Character”

Do you remember Bruce Pearl painting himself orange and cheering on the Lady Vols when they played the Dukies on January 22nd? If not, here is a picture.

Well at Tuesday night’s game when Tennessee hosts the Florida Gators, Summit is going to shed her serious side for a night and said it will be “a little out of character, a lot out of character actually.”

No word on what she is going to do but the CSTV.com article suggests she might be dressed as a cheerleader.

Personally, I think it’s great that she is going reciprocate what he had done at an earlier game. She is a very serious coach and always has the mean look to her. So it will be nice to see the softer side of Summitt.

The game is on ESPN Tuesday night and is at 9:00 PM.

My Apologies

My apologies for the site being down at various times during the day. I have received a boat load of traffic to the site due to the fact that I made mention of the Antonella Barba nude pictures on the site. I have since removed the post for now and I am working on getting it taken off the search engines as well. My host is equipped to handle the traffic but like most good hosts when you receive too much at one time, it can bog down the system.

I do hope to have this corrected shortly and again offer my apologies. If your here looking for the nude pictures of her, they were never on the site. Just the links.

Backcourt Duo Leads UCONN Women To Win

The backcourt duo of Renee Montgomery and Mel Thomas scored over half of UCONN’s points in a 70-49 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the RAC on Monday night. Montgomery had a game-high 21 points while Thomas scored 16 points. Charde Houston rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 11 points. Essence Carson led Rutgers with 17 points while Matee Avajon added 9 points.

The two teams traded baskets in the first half as Rutgers got out to a 21-16 lead with 6:40 left to go in the half. A 15-0 run by UCONN to end the half from the point basically put the game out of reach as they went into the locker room with a 10 point lead.

It took Rutgers 2 and half minutes to score in the second half and at that point the lead was 12 for the Huskies. An 11-1 run by the Huskies got the lead to 20 points and it was smooth sailing from there as UCONN went on to the 21 point victory.

Notes and Observations:

  • The starters were Montgomery, Thomas, Greene, Charles and Houston.
  • The game wasn’t without controversy that took place before the game. Back on February 3rd after beating Marquette, Auriemma always known for saying what’s on his mind, had this to say about the Rutgers fans:

    “They would have to go a long way to be worse than Rutgers,” Auriemma said. “Actually, these kids were fun. Rutgers, they’re just downright obnoxious. At least these kids have something to be proud of. Rutgers fans, they’re just born miserable, and they stay miserable all their life.”

    “New Jersey reporters have a tendency of asking you questions that you just can’t wait to answer in a way that whacks them a little bit,” Auriemma said. “That is why they ask you, that is what they want, and I wasn’t necessarily attacking every Rutgers fan or who plays for Rutgers or coaches at Rutgers, or any of that stuff. I just said that there is 10 percent of that population that are the worst in the country. I shouldn’t say it, and I should kind of keep it to myself.”

    It’s just typical “Geno being Geno” and trying to take the attention away from his players so they can focus on the task-at-hand. There were a lot of shirts in the crowd that said “F**K Geno!” and a lot of them had “Born Miserable”. The R in both words was the Rutgers logo.

  • Thomas, who has not played well against Rutgers in the past, had arguably one of her best games this season. She was 5 of 7 from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3 point land. She was also an integral part of stopping Kia Vaughn down in the paint.
  • Houston was also 5 of 7 from the floor and pulled down a team high 9 rebounds.
  • Charles got into some foul trouble early on and really wasn’t much of a factor. She ended up fouling out of the game after playing only 18 minutes. She finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 4 blocks.
  • It was thought that Brittany Hunter wasn’t going to play tonight so she could rest her knee for the upcoming Big East & NCAA Tournaments but she did get into the game scoring just 2 points in 8 minutes.
  • UCONN shot an outstanding 54% (25 of 46) while holding Rutgers to 29% (15-51).
  • Even though the free throws weren’t needed down the stretch, UCONN showed some improvement at the line shooting 81% on 13 of 16 shooting.

With the victory, UCONN capped off a perfect season in the Big East finishing with a 16-0 record in conference play. They also finished the regular season at 27-2. Next up for the Huskies is a matchup with an unknown opponent in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Hartford Civic Center. Gametime is at 2 PM and it will be televised on ESPNU. No word for those who don’t have ESPNU whether anyone else will be picking up the feed.

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Breaking News: Anna Nicole’s Mom Gets Stay

In a case that gets stranger and stranger by the day, CourtTV and the AP are reporting that the appeals court has issued a stay from the appeal that Virgie Arthur filed saying that Anna Nicole’s body cannot be moved to the Bahamas until they hear testimony on why she thinks that Anna Nicole shouldn’t be buried in the Bahamas.

Earlier in the morning on Monday, Judge Larry Seidlin had decided not to grant a stay in the case, which is not uncommon when the original ruling came from him.

And in other Anna Nicole news, A Bahamian judge did not issue a ruling in the custody battle over Dannielynn Smith, and continued the case until March 16th. In another courtroom, another Bahamian judge continued the case by G. Ben Thompson over who rightfully owns the mansion where the baby and Howard K. Stern are residing. That case will pick back up on March 14th.

According to TMZ.com, Larry Birkhead met “his alleged daughter” over the weekend at the house where she and Howard K. Stern are staying right. Is this a sign that Stern knows that he isn’t the father. Read below to understand why I say that.

Also according to TMZ.com. Birkhead and Stern are in some type of negotiations to reach a settlement over custody. This could have something to do with the cup Birkhead drank out of on the stand that M. Krista Barth stole from the courtroom after he testified.

As the circus involving this case moves into a bigger tent, I just have to say this. Just bury her body and give her body the respect that it deserves.

Is It March 1st Already?

While we are up here cleaning up this morning from the snowstorm last night, Manny Ramirez has decided to report to camp, 3 days earlier than he had asked for. When he was asked by the media why he decided to show up early, Manny had this to say:

“The Red Sox had said I could report to camp on March 1st so I could be with mi madre. I had asked her for permission to go to the car auction in Atlantic City and she said yes. I figured since I didn’t have to be in camp until March 1st and they were gonna pay me, I’d go.”

Ok, that is complete fiction. According to the article that is linked, it’s known whether or not he had his physical. He has been out in the batting cages and is now working out with the team. It is great to see Manny come to his senses and get his butt into camp. He is an integral part of the lineup and the more time he spends at spring training, the better. 10:25 AM Update: Manny’s agent, Greg Genske, met with the the media for a short period of time and had this to say as reported by Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe.

  • He refused to give any details about the health of Ramirez’s mother other than to say she had a “very, very serious medical issue in the offseason.” He would not disclose when she had surgery, even though a reporter pointed out it would make a difference whether it was in November or if it was 10 days ago.
  • Both Genske and Gene Matos, Manny’s other agent, claimed to have no knowledge of a classic car auction in Atlantic City over the weekend. Promoters of that auction had advertised that Ramirez would make an appearance Saturday.
  • Genske said that he did not have any conversations with the Red Sox regarding a possible trade of Ramirez.
  • Genske also would not respond to a question about last season that cited respected ESPN report Peter Gammons’ opinion that Ramirez “went on vacation last August.” Genske said only: “I’m not going to comment on someone else’s opinion.”When asked what his opinion was about last season, Genske said, “I’m not going to talk about last season.”
  • Genske added that Manny’s knee is fine. Matos said it is not a chronic condition.

    • That is great news to hear that Manny’s knee is fine. Hopefully he can stay healthy during the upcoming season.