In this edition of Sports Section Syndicated, we’re review the weekend’s happenings, and of course, one of the biggest things in sports to have gone down over the weekend was Tiger Woods’ loss to Y.E. Yang on the final day of the PGA Championship.

But there were other things besides Tiger Woods monumental loss, so here’s what the rest of the sports world is talking about this Monday morning in your daily sports section:

Y.E. Yang wins the PGA Championship
It’s only happened once before, but not in more than a decade. Tiger Woods was alone at the top of the leaderboard entering the final day of the PGA Championship, and yet he still relinquished the lead and the PGA Championship to Y.E. Yang, who got just his second PGA victory ever, and his 1st major tournament victory. With his win Yang, became the first Asian player to ever when a major, but more importantly, he went toe-to-toe with the Tiger and not only beat him, but came from behind to do it.

Usain Bolt Got Even Faster
If you got sick of Usain Bolt this time last year, then you certainly don’t appreciate his antics now. Bolt shattered his own 100-meter dash victory yesterday, winning the worlds with a time of 9.58 seconds, a new world record. After the race, Bolt said, “I don’t run for world records… I know I said 9.4. You never know. I’ll just keep working.”

Rangers Surge, Bo-Sox Fall Off
There appears to be no chance of the Boston Red Sox catching the New York Yankees in American League Divisional race, however, many thought that the team would maintain a firm grip on the wildcard. Well, all that changed last night when the Red Sox lost to the Texas Rangers by a score of 4 to 3, allowing the Rangers to take a half-game lead over the Red Sox in the Wildcard race. Certainly, the folks in Arlington and Dallas are very happy about this.

Michael Vick Practices Football
Michael Vick returned to a practice field on Saturday, getting in his first professional football workout since being imprisoned in jail in November of 2007. Vick worked the scout for much of the day, and he got in some extra work after the practice to get himself acquainted with the playbook. No sign of the well-anticipated wildcat offense just yet.

Michael Vick’s interview with James Brown on CBS
Of course, Michael Vick’s big interview with James Brown was last night. In the interview, Vick expressed a lot of the remorse, and seemed quite genuine. You certainly couldn’t describe his answers as scripted, and he did seem more inclined to prove himself with his actions as opposed to his words. That being said, because of his press conference back on Friday when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, there wasn’t much that was revealed in the interview, other than the fact that Vick said he cried in prison.

Eagles Appear to be doing well with Sponsors and Fans
According to this article on Philly.com, the Eagles aren’t exactly doing all that bad in the fallout of the Vick signing. There weren’t any protesters outside of the Eagles facility on the second-day of Vick’s practicing with the team. That leads me to believe that people really don’t care that much, or we as a nation are just getting really lazy.

NFL Ticket Sales
While typically the NFL has no problem selling out, the Buffalo Bills do appear to be struggling with their ticket sales. According to this post in the New York Times, it is almost twice as hard for the Buffalo Bills to sell out their stadium as it was 40 years ago. No wonder they are so intent on getting these extra games in Toronto.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated (SSS): Weekend Review – August 17, 2009" was originally published at TSW.

As expected, there is an extreme amount of reaction to the Philadelphia Eagles signing of Michael Vick yesterday. For those of you not aware, Vick signed a 2-year deal worth a reported $6.8 million plus incentives. The first year Vick will make $1.6 million, and the Eagles have a $5.2 million option for the second year.

So what’s the word on the Vick signing? What are people saying? What are columnist writing? How are organizations reacting? Let’s find out in this edition of Sports Section Syndicated

Chris Mortenson of ESPN – Mortenson broke the story, confirming with Mike Vick’s agent, Joe Segal, that Vick had indeed signed a 2-year deal with the Eagles. Mort was on ESPN late last night explaining the developments of this story and he wrote about the Vick signing on ESPN.com.

New York Times – Judy Battista must be off her rocker if she thinks the Eagles weren’t one of the teams that people were expecting to be interested in the services of Michael Vick. She also suggested that Mike Vick might end up competing for Donovan McNabb’s job.

Philadelphia Inquirer – John Gonzalez clearly believes that Mike Vick deserves a 2nd chance in the league, saying that Vick has probably paid the price for a man looking to “purchase a second chance.”

Sports Illustrated – If you have followed Peter King’s tweets, you know he is in favor of giving Mike Vick a second chance. And he also is of the mind that protestors won’t bother the Eagles, especially head coach Andy Reid.

Chad Johnson (Ocho Cinco) – Mr. Ocho Cinco had this to say on his twitter account: “Mike Vick and McNabb on the same team, damn!!!!! Glad I don’t play defense, good luck game planning to stop that shh!!”

Deadspin.com – Say what you will about the pejorative nature of the writers at Deadspin, but for the most part, they put a pretty positive twist on the Mike Vick’s arrival in Philadelphia.

CBS News – Mike Vick sat down with my man James Brown and discussed his nights in prison and his remorse for having participated in dog fighting. And contrary to my belief, the Eagles signed Vick before this interview has had a chance to be viewed by the public.

Andy Reid – Eagles head coach Andy Reid has thought about this signing very carefully, saying: “I’ve done a tremendous amount of homework on this and followed his progress. He’s got some great people in his corner.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated (SSS): The Mike Vick Signing – August 14, 2009" was originally published at TSW.

Finally! Football is back! And whenever football enters the weekend discussion, many other sports follow! So in today’s Sports Section Syndicated, we’re talking Hall of Fame Game, baseball divisional races and golf all in one post!

Football is Back! – Last night, the Hall of Fame game took place. And even though I could care less about the game itself, it is a sign of the season to come. Football is indeed back in full force, and we can now officially start the Sunday conversations, the barbeques and the friendly get-togethers. You know we’ll be talking all things football here at TheSportsWatchers.com, but you fantasy football players don’t forget about our fantasy talk on our Fantasy Football channel of the website as well!

Tiger Woods Wins Yet Again – Tiger Woods came back from 3 shots down to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. Paired with Padraig Harrington in the last group, Woods didn’t exactly dominate the competition. It wasn’t until a blown hole at the 16th, where Harrington Triple-Bogeyed the holed and Woods Birdied to create a 4-stroke swing that ultimately gave Woods the lead for good. Personally, I think it was a great win for Tiger, but if he doesn’t win the PGA Championship, there’s no doubt this was a down year for Woods.

Yankees Sweep. Red Sox – The New York Yankees didn’t seem to let their 8-game losing streak to the Boston Red Sox affect their 4-game set against them this past weekend. The Yankees took several close games and a blowout game on Sunday to take a commanding 6.5-game lead in the American League East. The Red Sox have never overcome a 6-game deficit in their entire franchise history. It looks like everything is stacking up nicely for the Yankees, but is it all too good to be true?

Marlins Sweep Phillies – While the Yankees were busy taking a commanding lead in the AL East, my Phillies were busy choking away the NL East. In a 3-game stint in the Citizen’s Bank Park, the Marlins swept the reigning world champions in grand fashion, winning by a 9 runs on Sunday. The Phillies, who had the biggest lead of any division leader at the All-Star break, now have a mere 4 game lead over the Marlins and just 4.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves. Pitching concerns may arouse during these final 2 months of the season, which could make for a very interesting finish in the NL East.

Dungy Helping out Vick – ProFootballTalk.com on NBCSports.com talked about Tony Dungy’s opinion on Michael Vick’s search for an NFL team. The quote everyone is talking about is Dungy saying, “I’ve talked to quite a few coaches, who wanted to get my take on where he is and what his thought process is, and get my read on it. And then it’s a matter of the coach talking to ownership and everyone is going to have to be on the same page.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated (SSS): Weekend Review – August 10, 2009" was originally published at TSW.

There was a lot of good baseball played last night, including a couple of late-inning go-ahead homeruns. However, the biggest stories were, in a way, off the diamond, with a certain pitcher “struggling” since coming off the DL, and a National League slugger looking to slug on someone on the other team.

Halladay Gets Topped by the Yankees
Roy Halladay hasn’t looked so good since coming off the DL (maybe that’s why the Phillies didn’t trade for him). He is 1-4 with a (relatively) low 3.17 ERA and 8 homeruns allowed in 7 starts since coming off the DL. Last night’s dinging against the New York Yankees didn’t help those numbers.

Prince Fielder Goes Rogue Cop
Who says Fielder is Mr. Nice Guy? Well, not anymore. Not after trying to get into the LA Dodgers’ clubhouse after getting hit by a pitch at a point in the game when the score was 17-4 in favor of the Dodgers. Catcher Russell Martin basically said that Fielder’s take down was the result of defending what happened to Manny against the Phillies last postseason? It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?

Pierce Avoids Sharpness of the Law
Antonio Pierce was not indicted with Plaxico Burress on charges related to illegal gun possession and wreckless endangerment. He was quite relieved to be free of charges, but has no regrets about his actions last fall.

Eli Manning Getting That Manning Money
Eli Manning has agreed to a 6-year, $97 million deal will effectively make him the highest paid player in the NFL. This means Eli will make $16.1 million/year. His brother, Peyton Manning, makes about $14 million. Now there’s a sibling rivalry for you.

Roy in Pacific Northwest for Good?
Brandon Roy is the Portland Trailblazers, and it looks like he will continue to carry the team for at least the next 4 years, with 5th year player option. Roy led the Blazers in several categories last year, including points, assists, and steals. He also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game during the 2008-2009 NBA season.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated: August 5, 2009" was originally published at TSW.

Finally, after months of not a whole lot of sports news, the intensity is starting to pick up. There’s plenty of stuff going on in the NFL, where injuries are already killing NFL teams’ hopes. And the baseball races are picking up, even if Manny Ramirez’s bat isn’t. And some people, like Urban Meyer, are cashing in before the season even starts. What a wonderful world!

And the Rich Get Richer…Urban Meyer Gets A Pay Raise
The University of Florida has given their head football coach a pay raise. Meyer has become the first SEC head coach to earn a $4 million salary. His deal is for the next 6 years, but oddly enough, his buyout clause is only for $500,000—not nearly enough to keep him there should he want to go elsewhere.

The Shot Heard Around the Club
It appears as if former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress won’t be a draftable commodity for your fantasy football league. A New York grand jury indicted him on 3 counts yesterday, making it unlikely that Plaxico can get the 1-year deal he wanted to plea bargain for. Instead, he now faces an impending trial that not if, but when he loses, he will face a minimum jail sentence of 3.5 years—effectively ending his football career. His only hope is to make a deal with the state, but he has very little leverage at this point. On the other hand, former teammate Antonio Pierce was not indicted.

Stewart Bradley Goes Down, But They’ve Been Here Before
The Eagles 2008 starting middle linebacker , Stewart Bradley, is reported to have suffered a season-ending injury. Bradley had 151 tackles last season and is the main signal caller for the Eagles defense. However, call me an optimistic Eagles fan if you want to, but the Eagles have been here before, and a potential replacement for Bradley, Omar Gaither, started all 16 games at MLB in 2007.

Manny being Slumpy
Manny Ramirez is in quite the funk, with just 5 RBIs in his last 37 at-bats. However, Joe Torre doesn’t see it as an issue.

The Art of Art Briles and the Resurgence of Baylor Football
Baylor Football is turning it around and you can look no further than Coach Briles and quarterback Robert Griffin as reasons for the program’s success.

AL East Showdown
The guys on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight talk about the upcoming week in the AL East, when the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will face off, just as the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays will go at it for 3 games.

Gina Carano is a Headliner
The NYTimes chronicles the life and times of Gina Carano, mixed martial arts fighter. Yes, she has plenty of sex appeal, but there’s a realness to this ultimate fighter that often goes unnoticed.

Tarvaris Jackson Still Hurt
Let the Brett Favre talk continue. Tarvaris Jackson is still hurt, and the seriousness of his MCL has yet to have been determined.

JaMarcus Russell
Russell better get it together. Perhaps he can tackle his weight issues by going on the LenDale White plan. Either way, this really is a make or break season for the former LSU Tiger.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated: August 4, 2009" was originally published at TSW.

Get ready, it’s back. From now and forever more, the Sports Section Syndicated post is back. Sports Section Syndicated (SSS) will offer you a weekday briefing of some the biggest topics in the world of sports as seen through the eyes of some of the nations best sports writers and reporters.

Today, and every Monday, SSS will offer a “Weekend Review” perspective, providing you with everything you need to know about what happened in sports over the weekend. So without further adieu, here are this weekend’s biggest topics and biggest writers on all things sports:

1. Buster Olney, of ESPN, reviews the effects of Friday’s deadline deals. He discusses whtye the San Diego Padres are an absolute abomination, and how the Atlanta Braves may have pulled off the best trades of the summer thus far. (Here are my MLB Trade Deadline Winners)

2. The Associated Press’s Larry Page details Tiger Woods incredible weekend at the Buick Open. Tiger scorched the field on Friday with a second-round 63 and third-round 65 en route to a rather easy victory on Sunday.

3. Charles McGrath of the New York Times opined on the how Red Sox Nation has been betrayed by its star David Ortiz and former star, Manny Ramirez, both who were found to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. McGrath suggest that diehard Red Sox fans are hoping that Derek Jeter gets busted as a steroid user in order to help alleviate some of the pain they’re feeling as a result of Ortiz’s duplicity.

4. I’m certainly no X Games aficionado, but Dana Jacobs is–sort of. Here’s her recap of how the games went.

5. Michael Phelps continues to do his thing in Rome, where he was cleaning up the swimming competition all week long. Over the weekend, Phelps and his team broke the world record in the 400m-medley. The Associated Press details Phelps victories, his past 6 months, and the world of swimming in this piece.

6. It appears as if Derrick Mason has had a change of heart. He will not be retiring from the game of football. Instead, he joined the Baltimore Colts at training camp over the weekend, giving the team some much needed experience at the wide receiver position. Derrick Mason is 35 and is entering the final year of his contract with the Ravens.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated: Weekend Review – August 3, 2009" was originally published at TSW.

In a day where the headlines are dominated by the end of an era in San Antonio and the beginning of a new one in Los Angeles, Sports Section Syndicated is focuses on the L.A. era that doesn’t involve Kobe Bryant.

From the Associated Press: Indiana Fever fans got exactly what they wanted to see — a strong performance by Candace Parker, and a win for the home team… Parker scored six points in the final minute of the second overtime for the Los Angeles Sparks, but the Fever hung on for an 82-78 win Thursday night to hand the rookie from Tennessee her first loss as a pro… Parker had 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and five steals. The Elias Sports Bureau said she’s the first player in WNBA history to register at least five in each of those categories in a game… “She’s a great talent,” said Indiana’s Katie Douglas, who guarded her for most of the game. “She’s obviously going to be a star, if not already a star, in this league. She does so many different things — I’ve never seen a player like her. She doesn’t have to score to play a key role on her team.” [Read more…]

Bill Plaschke of the LATimes: The most improbable Hollywood twist in a franchise built upon them took another spin Thursday, an entire city now whirling in its wake… From Loons to June… Months after they began a season with one whining diva and seven dwarfs, the Lakers are bringing a legitimate fable into the NBA Finals… From Shock to Awe… With a 100-92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the team that began the season as an NBA joke is now just four wins from an NBA championship… No more punch lines, just punch, a dozen playoff wins in 15 playoff games. [Read more…]

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: Confetti fell from the roof of the Staples Center on Thursday night, and — if only for a moment — the Spurs found themselves caught in the middle of another celebration… Players hugged. Cameras flashed. A trophy changed hands… The Spurs, who had seen all of this before on their way to four NBA titles, watched from afar… This was the Los Angeles Lakers’ moment. More specifically, it was Kobe Bryant’s… “It’s a dream come true,” Bryant said… Bryant scored 39 points to lift the Lakers to a 100-92 victory in decisive Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, returning his team to the NBA Finals while simultaneously squashing the Spurs’ bid to repeat as champions. [Read more…]

John Hollinger of ESPN.com: We’re all big on labels, and when it comes to coaches, most of us have only two of them… There are “good” coaches, and there are “bad” coaches, and rarely do the distinctions go further than that. And, of course, our perception of “good” and “bad” can change like the weather — based mostly on whether the team in question won or lost yesterday… Maybe a few coaches are so effective or ineffective they would succeed or fail anywhere, but the vast majority fall somewhere in between these extremes… Coaches aren’t “good” or “bad” as much as they are an amalgam of strengths and weaknesses. That means each individual coach might be particularly well-suited or badly suited for a given team at a given time. [Read more…]

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – May 30, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Last night was another mundane day in baseball and there was no Stanley Cup action, so it looks like just about all of the headlines were centered around last nights Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That said, a certain rookie may have stolen the spotlight from the rest of the veteran-laden Detroit team.

Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: The Bad Boys would have been proud. There was no spilled blood or any of the extracurricular ugliness that often defined those classic Pistons-Celtics playoff battles of 20 years ago. But the new generation channeled its ancestors’ propensity for matching big shot for big shot when both time and throats grew tight… And wouldn’t you know it? It was the rookie who proved the most comfortable in those most uncomfortable surroundings. [Read more…]

Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald (Published with the Detroit Free Press): “I’m never scared. I’m never nervous.” The words were delivered by the Detroit Pistons’ Rodney Stuckey late last night at the Garden, this after he had contributed 13 points in his team’s 103-97 victory over the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals… Somebody had asked the man about being nervous in these high-stakes NBA playoff games, and the man came back with a calm, casual response, probably off the top of his head… Yet it was more statement than answer, more mantra than mumbo-jumbo. [Read more…]

Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com – Somewhere, perhaps back home in Akron, perhaps in the back of a limo with Jay-Z, LeBron James had to be thinking to himself: “I told you so”… It was only four days earlier that James exited the 2008 playoffs with some parting words of wisdom for the Boston Celtics, warning them that the Detroit Pistons team they were about to face probably takes more pride in winning on the road than they do in defending their home court… In Game 2, the Pistons showed why James may have a future side career in prophesy. [Read More…]

Brian Mahoney of Chicago Sun Times: Home victories are no longer good enough for the Boston Celtics. The road to the NBA Finals in the Eastern Conference now goes through the Detroit Pistons… Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, and the Pistons beat the Celtics 103-97 on Thursday to tie the Eastern Conference finals at a game apiece and seize the home-court advantage… ”It is even,” Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace said. ”We don’t sit back and say, ‘Oh, look, they are undefeated at home.’ … A lot of the teams they played in the postseason and the regular season were scared of them, as far as [Kevin Garnett] and Ray [Allen] and Paul [Pierce]. They are good players, but we have good players also.” [Read More…]

Jack Curry of NYTimes: David Ortiz is a mammoth, powerful and gregarious left-handed hitter, the kind of slugger who would not need acting lessons to imitate Babe Ruth. Ortiz, the modern-day Ruth from the Boston Red Sox, will get that interesting chance at Yankee Stadium during the All-Star Game festivities — unless the Yankees succeed in an attempt to prevent it… Ortiz will have the opportunity to be like Babe because of a Call Your Shot promotion that is part of the home run derby. The fan who wins the online contest will choose a spot where he believes Ortiz can smash a homer. Then Ortiz has one swing, one dramatic swing, to do it. [Read more…]

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – May 23, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

A lot happened yesterday in the world of sports. I tried my best to give you a taste of what columnists across the nation had to say about the day’s events.

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: Pardon me if O.J. Mayo isn’t the first person I jump on in the latest sports scandal at Southern California, even if he’s at the center of it. If I’m 14 years old and poor, I’m accepting money as long as I don’t have to do anything illegal. If I’m 14 years old and poor and everybody around me is making money off my athletic talent, and somebody tells me that I, too, can share in the wealth, I’m taking the money… This discussion about what to make of Mayo receiving cash and merchandise to the tune of $30,000 or so while in high school and during his one year at USC has to address so many things, like how Coach Tim Floyd and his assistants didn’t look into how a kid with no means suddenly had a flat-screen TV in his room and the latest clothes, like how USC could fail to be vigilant regarding Mayo on the heels of similar allegations about former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, like whether Athletic Director Mike Garrett and Floyd ought to lose their jobs if these allegations are true. What has happened at USC, though it doesn’t allege to involve boosters or university employees, defines the NCAA‘s favorite phrase, “lack of institutional control.”

Ian Connor of FOX Sports: Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo are expected to go 1-2-3 in the first round, according to NBAdraft.net, which predicts that seven of the top eight picks will be prospects who left the college game after their freshman seasons. Some of these prospects only attended college because a man they’d never met told them they had to… Stern didn’t care that some of his greatest NBA assets were kids who entered his draft out of high school, jumping straight from the prom to the pros. He figured the installment of an age requirement of 19 and a mandate that players remain ineligible for the draft until one year after their high school classes graduate were good for business… And what’s good for NBA business was going to be good for NBA hopefuls, whether they liked it or not.

Teddy Kider of the Times-Picayune: The Hornets waited two games, almost as patiently as any team could, for the return of the intensity, aggressiveness and energy that they credited for getting them into the Western Conference playoffs. In the end, the return came with a homecoming game at the gold-flavored New Orleans Arena and one of the best performances of David West’s career… The Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak and regained the upper hand in a conference semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs, beating the defending champions 101-79 before a sellout crowd of 18,246 on Tuesday night… “It’s probably the best we’ve played in the postseason on both ends,” Hornets Coach Byron Scott said.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated: Hannah Storm has become the latest member of the SportsCenter family. Storm signed a multi-year deal with the network and will host the 9 a.m.- noon ET SportsCenter. It’s part of a major rebranding of the network’s flagship show. SportsCenter will begin airing live on Aug. 11 from 6 a.m.-3 p.m. ET Monday-Friday, a nine-hour block of live shows featuring three teams of two main anchors, an update anchor, and production personnel split into three-hour shifts. The live shows replace the current wheel of re-aired SportsCenters, which has consisted of repeat presentations of SportsCenter since January 1996. Storm will be the only talent hired from outside of ESPN. (Her co-host will be named next week).

Tom Jones of TampaBay.com: First, I’m a hockey guy. I covered the NHL for 15 years and if the choice is between watching a hockey game on television and watching another event live from the first row, I’d probably pick the hockey game. To me, it’s the best sport there is, and there’s nothing like the passion, drama and intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Except this year. (And, to be honest, last season, too, because I wrote about this same subject.) Quite frankly, the NBA playoffs have been better than the NHL playoffs. Here are five reasons why…[Read More…]

From DeadSpin.com: Apparently, it was enough, as today the Herald issued a formal apology for the story this morning. One look at the comments section shows their readers aren’t happy… • ” I am never reading the Herald for the rest of my life, and I hope the writer of that article, who everyone knows by now, is severely punished for this. To publish a false report, of this magnitude, the day before the Superbowl, is unforgivable”… • “Damn, I thought I’d see fatty’s resignation letter here. The Herald’s apology mentions ‘sources’.. Tomase’s original article mentioned a ‘source’. That’s unforgivable journalism. He and his editor should be fired”… • “Boston Herald sucks! Let me get this clear – you ran the story without having the tape, seeing the tape or anyone who had seen it? Did this overwhelming lack of evidence not deter you? Well what the hell were you thinking? Fire Tomase. And now and forever the Herald is dead to me”… Wouldn’t it be ironic if the only person to lose their job out of all of this was John Tomase?

The post "Sports Section Syndicated: May 14, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Today’s Sports Section Syndicated starts with Howard Beck’s take on the New York Knicks signing of coach Mike D’Antoni.

Howard Beck of the NY Times: Mike D’Antoni was born in a tiny West Virginia town and became the greatest point guard in Italian League history. He barely played in the N.B.A., but is now one of its best coaches. He forced an entire league to reconsider what good basketball is… So when D’Antoni left the Phoenix Suns this weekend to join the Knicks — trading an All-Star lineup for a roster of misfits, leaving perhaps the league’s most stable franchise for perhaps its most dysfunctional — it was not the most unlikely event of his life.

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times: Only the Lakers, it seems, are incapable of walking away from one of the most inspirational playoff games in several seasons without somebody dissing somebody… And only on the Lakers, it seems, could a newly crowned MVP once again find himself smack in the middle of the smack… Playing through three hours worth of back pain that literally dropped him to his knees on a Sunday afternoon here, Kobe Bryant was splendidly, brilliantly tough in the Lakers’ 123-115 overtime playoff loss to the Utah Jazz… But he was also, like, weird… Bryant valiantly carried the Lakers through regulation’s final five minutes, using his head and his heart and the best Mother’s Day passing that didn’t involve a brunch plate.

Mike Sando of the Hashmarks blog: Our 2008 power rankings have made their debut without much regard for West Coast teams… The 49ers (27th) and Rams (28th) made the NFC West the only division with two teams ranked in the bottom six of the league. And this was despite the No. 19 ranking I gave the Rams — a ranking that qualifies as a charitable contribution when held against the votes of my colleagues. No other voter listed the Rams higher higher than 26th on his ballot (another glass of that Rams Kool-Aid, please, and thanks for asking)… My thinking on the Rams goes like this… They have a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, which separates them from just about every other team ranked among the bottom 10… We can trace their 3-13 record from last season directly to a long list of injuries along the offensive line… It’s unlikely an offensive line would suffer that many injuries two seasons in a row… The Rams’ defense was respectable for most of last season, and the improvement should continue as long as depth at linebacker holds up.

Tom Weir & Reid Chemer of USA Today: Louis Johnson, who was in O.J. Mayo’s inner circle until recently, told ESPN’s Outside the Lines, that the Southern Cal guard got $30,000 in cash and gifts from Rodney Guillory, a Los Angeles promoter, while Mayo was in high school and a college freshman… Mayo denies any wrongdoing… USC is still burdened by the Reggie Bush allegations. The star running back was also accused of taking gifts not allowed by the NCAA… Johnson said the gifts to Mayo included everything from a flat-screen TV to airline tickers for Mayo’s friends… In return for the money and gifts, Mayo allegedly agreed to sign with Bill Duffy Associates once he turned pro. Johnson, who fell out of favor with Mayo, said Guillory was getting payments from BDA.

Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune: The drama was taken out of Greg Maddux‘s return to Wrigley Field this week when he won his 350th game late Saturday, becoming only the third pitcher since the 1920s to do it… San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman handed Maddux the ball after saving a 3-2 victory over Colorado… “I’ll take any free ball I can get,” Maddux said in typical low-key fashion. “I’ll give it to my kid, let him go play with it”… Catcher Luke Carlin was making his major-league debut and said, “It was kind of like all of my dreams came true at once.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – May 12, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

This edition of Sports Section Syndicated starts off with an injury to a star Mavericks player that Jon Barry believes may cost the franchise a playoff berth.

Jon Barry of ESPN.com: Who won’t make the playoffs?… Dallas falls out. When Dirk Nowitzki went down and had to be carried off the floor on Sunday, Mavs owner Mark Cuban looked like his dog had been run over by a truck… Two weeks in Western Conference, the minimum Nowitzki is expected to miss, and you can drop quickly. And without Dirk, Dallas is in serious trouble. The remaining Clippers game coming up is a must-win… They made all these moves in the offseason to get guys who could defend. Now how are they going to score? I don’t see where they get points from. Josh Howard is your No. 1 option, but I don’t see how you can rely on him. Jason Kidd’s averaging eight points a game. Just don’t see them scoring enough.

Robyn Norwood of the LATimes: Coaches are scheming and players are dreaming about how to pull the upsets… Here are some ideas culled from coaches who played the top teams and analysts who watched their games about what would need to happen for the favorites to lose… Any team that is going to beat North Carolina, the top-seeded team in the tournament, would have to slow down the game, Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg can tell you that much… “The first time we played them, we went up and down with them. They almost scored 100,” he said. The Hokies lost by 39… The second time, they kept the Tar Heels under 70 and fell by two in a 68-66 loss to the Tar Heels in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament… The push-and-pull over pace will be evident in the East Regional semifinal Thursday between North Carolina and Washington State… The Cougars held their first two NCAA opponents in the 40s. The Tar Heels scored more than 100 in their first two… “You’re not going to beat them in a 90-point game,” Greenberg said. “They’re the anti-UCLA. UCLA wears you down. They can play fast, but they want it in the 60s, 70s, 80s. Carolina wants to be in the 80s or 90s.”

Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle: “After one season with New York in 2003-04, Mutombo was told by then-general manager and now head coach of the Knicks Isiah Thomas that the day had come, and that blunt message has driven him for the past four years. ‘It’s still a wound,’ Mutombo said. ‘My wife and I still talk about it. It’s still a bit sad to see the commissioner coming and all those people coming to celebrate the 17 years of my career and accomplishments and you look back and say that about (four) years ago, I had a guy tell me that I couldn’t play basketball no more, to go to the beach and onto vacation. That’s the same guy who’s losing his job tomorrow. … I never said nothing (to Thomas),’ Mutombo said. ‘The last time we played at the Garden (Jan. 9), my wife asked me to go shake his hand, to just forgive him. I went and shook his hand and I told him, ‘On behalf of my wife, I want to shake your hand and I forgive you for everything you’ve done to me.’”

Geoff Lepper of InsideBayArea.com: Chris Webber got his reconciliation with the Warriors. And that will have to do… Nearly a month after an awkward landing caused swelling in his surgically repaired knee, Webber is retiring from the NBA after 15 seasons in the league, the team announced Tuesday night. Webber, who averaged 3.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists since rejoining the Warriors on Jan.29, will make it official today at a 10 a.m. news conference… “I’m sorry it didn’t workout,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “It was great to work with him again and get to know him as an adult. I enjoyed our time together”… The return of Webber prompted great fanfare because of the way he left town, shipped out at a discount despite winning Rookie of the Year honors with the Warriors in 1993-94 because of a long-simmering quarrel with Nelson, who was then the team’s coach and general manager… But the big guy’s return turned out to be nothing so much as a brief valedictory turn for Webber after stops in Washington, Sacramento, Philadelphia and Detroit.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 26, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Oh, Sunday was a big day in sports! You had Tiger Woods. You had Selection Sunday. You had the Houston Rockets winning their 22nd game in a row… Sports Section Syndicated doesn’t even know where to begin!

Ray Glier of the NYTimes: The overjoyed Georgia men’s basketball players gathered on the court and looked up at the video screen in Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the arena of their fierce rival Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs were not being treated as trespassers, but as honored guests waiting for the N.C.A.A. tournament selection show to start… Any other week, any other season, it would have been astonishing to see the Bulldogs taking bows on the Yellow Jackets’ home court. On Sunday, the scene was a fitting end to a wild ride… The sixth-seeded Bulldogs, who won four league games all season, won four in four days and captured the Southeastern Conference tournament championship and an automatic berth in the N.C.A.A. tournament with a 66-57 victory over Arkansas… That is not the half of it… Georgia was playing in Tech’s gym because a tornado Friday night damaged the tournament’s scheduled home, the Georgia Dome two and a half miles away. Because of the weather, Georgia had to play two games Saturday, a doubleheader usually reserved for high school tournaments, and won both. The Bulldogs went to overtime to defeat Kentucky in a noon quarterfinal, then eliminated Mississippi State at night.

Bob Harig of ESPN.com: Arnold Palmer knew it was going in, and so did just about all those watching. With every eyeball at the Bay Hill Club fixed on Tiger Woods, a crowd of thousands around the 18th green held its breath. With the tournament on the line, the game’s best player did what you expected him to do… No way was he missing that putt, right?… Forget the fact that Woods had not made a putt outside of 20 feet all week, or that he had not made a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of a tournament to win in seven years. Or that, for once, somebody, anybody, truly made him sweat to win… “I kept telling myself, ‘I’ve done this before,’” Tiger Woods said of his preshot routine Sunday before a 25-foot putt to win… You just knew it was going in… Because Tiger Woods does these kind of things.

Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I have incredible feeling for them because they did so much, they persevered so much, to get to it just in the nick of time,” said Felton, after the Bulldogs’ 66-57 win over Arkansas put them in the NCAA tournament. “You literally can’t achieve it any later than they did. I’m incredibly happy for them. I can’t put it into words how happy I am for those two guys in particular”… That SEC tournament trophy was nice, but the NCAA tournament bid that came with it was even sweeter. With the automatic bid that goes to the tournament champion, Georgia was named the 14th seed in the West Regional and will face third-seeded Xavier (27-6) Thursday in Washington… “It probably won’t sink in until we get there,” said Gaines, teary-eyed as he clutched his tournament MVP trophy. “This was our last chance and that’s all I ever asked for, just a chance.”

Diane Pucin of the LA Times: In the one-and-done era of college basketball, where a standout freshman such as Kevin Love enters college with a checklist — win conference titles (check and check), capture an NCAA championship — before immediately heading off to the NBA, the window to win seems to be getting shorter… Ohio State missed out last season when it had Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., but Florida had a nice two-year run with Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey… Now comes UCLA and Coach Ben Howland, which has been to consecutive Final Fours and has been ranked among the top teams in the nation for nearly three years running, yet risks being deemed a failure in some quarters if it doesn’t get over the hump and finally take home the title.

Paola Boivin of AZCentral.com: Four vs. 301… That’s why Arizona is in the NCAA Tournament and Arizona State is in the NIT… Despite what the selection committee says, it’s all about the numbers. The Sun Devils were snubbed because their non-conference strength of schedule was ranked 301st out of 341 teams… “The reality check is that their (Arizona’s) strength of schedule was extremely high,” said Tom O’Connor, the chairman of the NCAA selection committee. “It was way up there. Even though the RPI is a data point collection, it does tell you something”… It tells you that the committee played it safe, which is tough to reconcile. Did the best 34 at-large teams get in, or the 34 at-large teams with the best numbers? There’s a difference… Are you telling me if you put ASU on the same court as No. 10 seed South Alabama (which has an overall strength of schedule worse than ASU’s), the Sun Devils don’t win? I don’t buy it.

Larry Brown of LarryBrownSports.com: I’ll admit it, I don’t know too much about golf. I don’t play it, I don’t watch it but for the highlights, and I have a limited knowledge of the history of the game. But there is one thing I do know: Tiger Woods is incredible. The domination by this guy is amazing. Every time he’s involved in a tournament lately, he’s winning. Five straight PGA Tour wins, seven straight wins worldwide? That’s not exactly easy when you’re going through the equivalent of an 128-team tournament every single time. There’s a lot left up to chance that Tiger will have off-days, or one of the other hundred-something golfers will be completely on. But Tiger’s able to find a way to win, and he’s even come back like he did at Bay Hill this weekend.

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: If this keeps up, Shane Battier won’t be the most unappreciated NBA player. Pretty soon the whole world will know what you and I have known for a while… This is one terrific basketball player. Tough and smart and fearless. Absolutely relentless. Part of history…. Everything the Rockets did Sunday afternoon began with Shane Battier and his smothering defensive effort against Kobe Bryant. When Bryant moved, Battier moved… “I tried to play every possession the same way,” Battier said… Battier chased Bryant through screens, pursued him on the perimeter, refused to back down in the post. An elbow in the back one minute, a hand in the face the next… This is what Battier does every game. Coaches point toward the other team’s best offensive player and tell him to have a nice night… Defense isn’t sexy. Defense doesn’t inspire marketing campaigns. Defense is blood, sweat and tears.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 17th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

The Big East basketball tournament provided a number of upsets yesterday. Pittsburgh knocked off Louisville. Marquette defeated Notre Dame. And probably the most shocking victory was West Virginia’s dismantling of UCONN. The discussion of that game leads this edition of Sports Section Syndicated.

Neil Ostrout of The Connecticut Post: Contrary to the legendary catch phrase, not everyone loves New York… Take, for instance, the current UConn men’s basketball players. The Huskies have made their last three trips to the Big Apple as brief as possible… Fourth-seeded West Virginia received a career-high 34 points from Joe Alexander and beat No. 5 UConn 78-72 Thursday at Madison Square Garden… The Huskies lost their first game in the Big East tournament for the third year in a row. And it wasn’t difficult to find an explanation… “This one was very easy,” said UConn coach Jim Calhoun, whose team has lost four straight in this event overall. “They kicked our butt, they out-worked us and they won the game. We had physical mismatches which we never took advantage of inside”… The area where the Mountaineers’ butt-kicking showed up most regularly was on the backboards. West Virginia won the rebounding battle 42-26 over the bigger, bulkier Huskies… Many in the know, and many not, for that matter, didn’t think it was possible for UConn to be so thoroughly dominated on the glass… “Not at all,” guard A.J. Price said. “The way we’ve been dominating people on the glass lately and with the monsters we have inside, I didn’t think it could happen. But they found a way to do it”… Price led the Huskies with 22 points and six assists but had little help. Jeff Adrien and Stanley Robinson chipped in 11 points each… UConn (24-8) must now wait for the NCAA’s selection committee to determine its seed in the upcoming tournament. Once in the running for a three or even a two-seed, the Huskies are seemingly at best a four and may have slid to a five.

Bill Finley of the NYTimes: There may not be a hotter player in the country right now than West Virginia’s Joe Alexander. He is big, versatile and quick, and he creates a ton of problems for opposing defenses. On Thursday, he took care of Connecticut, scoring a career-high 34 points to lead the Mountaineers to a 78-72 victory in the quarterfinal round of the Big East tournament… Alexander was posting relatively modest numbers for most of the season until scoring 32 points in a March 1 win at Connecticut. He ended the regular season by scoring 32 points against Pittsburgh and 29 against St. John’s. When West Virginia opened the Big East tournament Wednesday with a 58-53 victory against Providence, Alexander had 22 points… “I wanted him to do that the whole year,” West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins said of Alexander. “He wouldn’t cooperate. He’s slowed down and is doing a much better job of reading the defense. He’s such a hard matchup.”

KC Joyner of ESPN Insider: Former NFL defensive end Chuck Smith contends that today’s pass-rushers lack the technical pass-rushing skills of their 1990s counterparts. After hearing this, my first thought was to wonder how today’s elite sack masters compare with the best of the previous decade… I happen to have some film from the 1990s, so I decided to see how the best pass-rushers of 2007 compare with the best rushers of the ’90s… There are seven basic pass-rushing moves (see related box) that provide the basis for any pass-rusher’s overall repertoire. Each of these techniques requires mastering a specific skill as well as variations on the standard moves, so most pass-rushers will lean heavily on two or three techniques (or combinations of techniques) and not use the others… The first step in the analysis is to name the five best pass-rushers from each period. When I rank pass-rushers, I lean primarily on two criteria: 1. The ability to generate one-on-one sacks (a one-on-one sack being defined as when a defender gets a sack because he beat a pass-blocker in a one-on-one blocking situation)… 2. The effective usage of a wide variety of rush techniques, preferably four or more… Using that criteria, by my estimation the top five pass-rushers in 2007 were…

Ivan Carter of The Washington Post: “Well, it took several seasons but finally a player has emerged who is sick and tired of polishing the statue that has become LeBron James. His name is DeShawn Stevenson and tonight he not only helped the Wizards beat the Cavaliers 101-99, he then added some flame to an already hot rivalry with some choice words for the boy King. … When he was leaving the building, Mike Lee was chatting him up and mentioned LeBron again. DeShawn has obviously heard enough of that. ‘He’s overrated,’ DeShawn told Mike. ‘And you can say I said that.’ Wow. Bet the King won’t like that one. Here’s hoping that the Wiz manage to jump ahead of Toronto and grab that fifth spot so these teams meet again.”

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: “I didn’t feel any contact at all,” said Pendergraph, who fouled out on a play in which he was ruled to have come over the back of USC’s Davon Jefferson. “I thought I just jumped over everybody and dunked the ball. . . . It felt like a bad sports movie”… Jefferson made both of the resulting free throws to set the final score and allow the Trojans (21-10) to advance to a semifinal this evening against top-seeded UCLA… Jefferson refused to comment to The Times when a reporter approached the freshman forward to ask about the pivotal play… Asked about the call, USC Coach Tim Floyd said he saw Pendergraph “dunk it and I didn’t like that. I’m sure if I was sitting on the other bench I wouldn’t have liked it. From my bench I liked it”… It was the second consecutive game between the Trojans and Sun Devils in which officiating became a contentious issue. Floyd lodged a complaint with the Pac-10 earlier this month after an 80-66 Arizona State victory in Tempe, Ariz., during which USC was called for 29 fouls to the Sun Devils’ 14… Officials called the teams for 14 fouls apiece Thursday — until the last one on Pendergraph, which could cost Arizona State (19-12) an invitation to the NCAA tournament.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 14th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

The March 13th edition of Sports Section Syndicated is headed by an unbelievable occurrence going on in… spring training?

Tyler Kepner of the NYTimes: Two of his players and two of his coaches were ejected Wednesday, but Yankees Manager Joe Girardi insisted his team had not been looking for a fight. In the visiting dugout after Round 2 of a bruising bout with the Tampa Bay Rays, Girardi calmly explained that only one thing upset him… The Yankees’ Shelley Duncan slid spikes high into the Rays’ Akinori Iwamura, above… “I’m upset that my catcher’s having surgery today,” he said…. The broken right wrist of Francisco Cervelli, the minor leaguer bowled over by Elliot Johnson last Saturday, is still on Girardi’s mind. Now the Rays have their own rallying point in this oddly intense spring training rivalry… Shelley Duncan did not injure Akinori Iwamura with a spikes-high slide at second base Wednesday, but to Rays Manager Joe Maddon, that was beside the point. Maddon saw malicious intent from Duncan, who gave Iwamura a small cut on his knee…. “In Tampa, that play you saw was a good, hard baseball play,” Maddon said, referring to the play that injured Cervelli. “What you saw today was the definition of a dirty play. There’s no room for that in our game. It’s contemptible. It’s wrong. It’s borderline criminal. I can’t believe they did that.”

David Moore of The Dallas Morning News: Jerry Stackhouse wondered why every guard with a pulse got the chance to start except him. It bothered Stackhouse. But the veteran swallowed his pride, bit his tongue and waited for coach Avery Johnson to turn to him. The Mavericks haven’t lost since.

Frank Isola of NY Daily News: The rivalry that gave us Jeff Van Gundy clutching Alonzo Mourning‘s leg has been reduced to Pat Riley trying to salvage his reputation and Isiah Thomas hanging onto James Dolan‘s leg for dear life… Where have you gone, Larry Johnson and Tim Hardaway? Beginning in 1997, the Knicks and Miami Heat banged heads for four straight years in the playoffs, staging 24 epic postseason games. It was fierce, competitive and occasionally bloody… Now, Knicks-Heat is just bloody awful.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com: I’ll repeat for emphasis: the 20th time in a row. The Rockets’ improbable winning streak is tied for the second-longest in NBA history, trailing only the 1971-72 Lakers’ 33 straight for the all-time record (the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks also won 20 straight)… As far as winning streaks go, this one could hardly have been more unexpected. Remember, the Rockets were 15-16 on New Year’s Day; now they’re 44-20. They’ve won eight straight without All-Star center Yao Ming, whose absence was expected by many to submarine their playoff hopes. And for the most part, the wins have not been lucky one-point escapes but a series of impressive blowouts… Even on a rough night, Houston was in control by the end. In fact, the Rockets narrowly missed out on an NBA record when Atlanta’s Marvin Williams dunked in the final seconds, costing the Rockets an 11th straight win by double digits.

Helene Elliot of the LA Times: Great fun, these UCLA comebacks… A 13-point deficit against Michigan State erased in a 68-63 victory Nov. 20… An 18-point deficit against Davidson obliterated in a 75-63 runaway Dec. 8… Down eight to Michigan in the second half Dec. 22, nearly forgotten after a 69-54 rout… Down seven to Oregon on Jan. 24, before rising up to win, 80-75, at Eugene… And then, last week’s double drama… The Bruins trailed Stanford most of the game last Thursday before rallying for a 77-67 overtime victory, helped by their wits and a controversial foul on the Cardinal’s Lawrence Hill that put Darren Collison at the free-throw line near the end of regulation… After trailing California by 11 points three times in the second half Saturday, the Bruins scratched out an 81-80 victory on an arching shot by Josh Shipp that sent Pauley Pavilion into a tizzy… Each of those games was terrific theater… Each of those games was tough on the nerves… “We can’t let it happen again,” Collison said firmly.

Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog: Greetings from courtside at Madison Square Garden, where Notre Dame is having a morning shootaround and Rich Chvotkin is already set up and ready to go. Camille Powell and I will be blogging from up here all day, while Adam Kilgore and Eric Prisbell should be checking in from Charlotte… A few people have asked why I never run Las Vegas Consultants’s complete college basketball rankings. As mentioned previously, I don’t really see the point, since college basketball polls don’t really decide anything, but since there’s interest this seems as good a time as any. Remember, these are compiled by Las Vegas Sports Consultants, a grop that advises Nevada sports books, and are based on assessments of team strength, not betting patterns. The books themselves will adjust to allow for all that… Vegas sees Purdue, Drake, Davidson, Vanderbilt and BYU as the most overrated teams in the country, and has Washington State, Clemson, Marquette, West Virginia and Kansas State among a host of highly underrated teams… Personally, I always like to pick a program with a strong pedigree that’s only sixth or seventh in the Vegas odds to win it all as my national champion, for optimum bracket success possibilities. Right now, possibilities include Louisville, Georgetown or Texas.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 13, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

With the first major conference tournament of the college basketball season beginning today, this edition of the Sports Section Syndicated has everything and anything to do with college basketball; starting with the “play-in” game between Syracuse and Villanova at noon!

Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com: Jay Wright was asked earlier this week whether he believes all the pundits who predicted today’s noon game between his Villanova Wildcats and the Syracuse Orange amounted to a play-in game for the NCAA Tournament… “I think people are right-on,” Wright said. “I wouldn’t really want it any other way. If we’re going to be an NCAA Tournament team, we have to beat an NCAA-caliber team. And if we beat them, I think we should be in and if we don’t beat them, I think we don’t (belong)”… His coaching counterpart in today’s Big East Tournament opener was having none of that conversation…. Jim Boeheim has said this season that he will no longer play the NCAA Tournament speculation game. Last year’s experience with the process taught the SU coach to appreciate the fickleness of fate. Instead, Boeheim has preached the cliched approach of taking this late season one game at a time… Today, hisninth-seeded Orange faces eighth-seeded Villanova in the first game of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The winner gets top-seeded Georgetown at noon Thursday. And while Boeheim undoubtedly understands the implications of each of these final games, he refuses to engage in any public pronouncements… “We’re just going to get ready to play and do the best we can,” Boeheim said. “There’s nothing we can do about anything else”… His players are not as circumspect… After the Orange disposed of Marquette last Saturday in the Carrier Dome to keep their postseason hopes flickering, SU players talked about their prospects for the postseason… The young Orange men were bold enough to suggest they would not be denied.

Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer: For a few seconds during the Big East pre-tournament conference call on his team’s first-round game against Syracuse, Jay Wright sounded like someone other than the usually levelheaded coach of Villanova… “I think it’s a play-in game for the NCAA tournament,” Wright said in response to a question. “I don’t think it gets any bigger or better than this.”
Wright tempered his remarks later Monday when he met with the Philadelphia-area media at the Davis Center. But he is perfectly clear on the focus of today’s conference tournament opener at New York’s Madison Square Garden: The loser will be eliminated from NCAA tournament consideration…. “If we’re going to get to the tournament, we’ve got to beat a tournament team, and I think [Syracuse] is a tournament team,” Wright said. “We’ve got to go up there and prove it…. “We always talk about the next game is the biggest game. You want to win the Big East tournament, but if you don’t win the first game, you can’t do it. That’s one of the things we really try to teach these guys. I think this group has picked up on that a little bit”… His players, however, do watch television, and all the talk in college basketball is what the tournament brackets will look like come Sunday evening. A few people have the Wildcats in if they win today. Some think they need to beat regular-season champion Georgetown in a potential second-round matchup tomorrow…. Whatever the players are thinking, though, they are keeping it locked up inside… Calm may be an easy word to say, but today, with a sellout crowd of more than 19,000 expected to be in the seats for the noon tip-off, staying calm will be a different story. The key probably will be which team’s freshmen can better handle the spotlight.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com: Mike Emmenecker still keeps the unsigned letter in his desk and reads it from time to time… When Emmenecker’s son, Adam, sent in his application to Drake University, he included the letter, written by one of his teachers at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Mich. Mike Emmenecker no longer remembers the teacher’s name, but he’ll never forget the words on the page… Adam Emmenecker went from walk-on to regular-season MVP to conference tournament MVP… “Adam is comfortable being a leader if a leader is demanded and comfortable being a follower if a leader isn’t required”…”He likes to do things his way, and we pretty much let him,” Mike Emmenecker said as he stood on the Scottrade Center court Sunday afternoon. “He wanted to play Division I. I didn’t think that was necessarily the best thing to do, but he did, and look what happened”… Emmenecker paused, choking back tears… “He’s a champion”… As “One Shining Moment” played in the background, a justifiably emotional father looked at his perpetually poised son standing on the victory podium alongside the other Drake players. After three years of being a follower, guard Adam Emmenecker couldn’t look more comfortable being the leader of college basketball’s most surprising team… History is not one of Emmenecker’s four majors at Drake, but he continued to rewrite it Sunday, leading the Bulldogs to a 79-49 victory over Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship. What was known for weeks became official as Drake clinched its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1971.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 12th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

This edition of Sports Section Syndicated puts the ball in OJ Mayo’s court, and questions whether or not he has the influence on USC that he thought he’d have.

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: Barring an unexpected run to the Final Four or an even more unlikely return for a second season of college basketball, Ovinton J’Anthony Mayo hasn’t had quite the impact he envisioned 15 months ago… USC didn’t suddenly become a college basketball blueblood. In fact, the Trojans are still very much the undercard in their own town… So, if it was a legacy Mayo was looking for when he surprised everyone by trekking across the country from Huntington, W.Va., to play for the Trojans, those apparently are built in more than one season… “If O.J. goes into the NBA this year, then no, it’s not going to have more effect than a Nick Young or somebody else who helped them win games,” said former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, an FSN analyst and a self-professed critic of a system that allows players to leap to the NBA after one college season. “If he stayed three years, led them to the Final Four, was a two-time All-American, first-round draft pick, then yeah”… For one season, though, there is no debating Mayo’s impact. Averaging 20.9 points, he’s already established a school record for points by a freshman and has been selected first-team All-Pacific 10 Conference.

Tim Legler of ESPN.com: The Rockets are now sitting on the victorious 19th hole after the 91-73 win Monday over the Nets, and have a very good chance of surpassing the second-longest win streak in NBA history, the 20 compiled by the Bucks in 1970-71 season. The Rockets need a win over playoff-hungry Atlanta on Wednesday and then at home against Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. The record is 33 straight set by the 1971-72 Lakers… Right now, the Rockets have the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed in their sights, sitting one game behind the Spurs and Lakers, who are tied for first. It’s been a quick rise, using a NBA-best 28-4 mark since Jan. 1 to vault from out of the race to having a chance at the No. 1 seed in the competitive West… Of greater significance, let’s jump ahead to next week, putting aside what happens in the next two games. Starting Sunday, the road ahead will bring some challenges, with five games against the Lakers, Celtics, Hornets, Warriors and Suns approaching… They might go 2-3 in those five games, and some might write them off as a fraud. But that judgment based on wins and losses would be wrong. You’re going to drop some games in this league, even if you’re a team as hot as the Rockets… What’s more important to me is how they compete, and if they are able to do the same things defensively. Even if they lost some games, I want to see if they make teams miserable with their defense. Stifling half-court defense is the name of the game in the playoffs.
This streak has shown us that the Houston style would be tough for many teams to deal with in the postseason.

Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News: Memo to Jerry Jones: Don’t even think about acquiring Pacman Jones… Not today. Not next month. Not ever… He ain’t worth it… You can’t trust him. How could you? We have 44 strip clubs in Dallas. Another 14 in Fort Worth. And eight more in Arlington… You don’t have enough security to prevent him from “making it rain” in Dallas-Fort Worth. Even if you did, he could fly down to Houston on his off day and find 45 more strip clubs. Or head to Austin, which has 14 strip clubs. Or San Antonio, which has 20 topless joints… Pacman is currently serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s player conduct policy time after time after time… He didn’t even play last year, and there’s no guarantee league commissioner Roger Goodell will let him play this year. You know why? He makes dumb decision after dumb decision after dumb decision.

J. Brady McCollough of the Kansas City Star: Four Kansas basketball players received first-team votes for the Associated Press’ All-Big 12 team, but no members of KU’s regular-season co-championship team made the final cut… Perhaps the 19 voters in charge of deciding the AP’s team should have held a caucus to choose one Jayhawk that would receive their vote. That way, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson wouldn’t have split the vote and left Kansas off the first team entirely… But it’s only fitting, really, a tribute to the balance that led KU to a 13-3 league record. Other than Kansas, only Kansas State had more than one player receive a first-team vote… “I can see how that would happen with our team,” KU coach Bill Self said. “You could look at our team, and who’s the best player depends on what game you watch”… K-State’s Michael Beasley and Texas’ D.J. Augustin were unanimous selections for the AP’s first team. Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells and Nebraska’s Aleks Maric rounded out the group. Three Jayhawks — Rush, Arthur and Chalmers — were voted to the second team, and Jackson made the third team… Self hinted that statistics probably shouldn’t be such a factor in judging his squad… “You could take a Darrell Arthur and put him on another team, and he wouldn’t average 14 points per game,” Self said. “And you could take some players and put them on our team, and maybe they wouldn’t average the same amount”… The Big 12 coaches also released their All-Big 12 teams on Monday, and theirs might have made it all OK for Kansas. Rush and Arthur were both voted to the first team, which had six players because of a tie in the voting. In the coaches’ edition, the KU players replaced Maric… Predictably, Beasley took home awards for player of the year and freshman of the year. Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll won the newcomer of the year, and KU’s Sherron Colllins was given the sixth-man award despite playing through injuries all season.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 11th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

In this edition of SSS, we start with Luis Scola’s emergence as one of the most valuable players on the Houston Rockets now that Yao Ming has been relegated to the injury list.

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: Scola is averaging 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds and shooting 59 percent in 18 games as a starter. He’s even better — 14.4 and 7.4 — since Yao Ming was injured… Numbers are only part of the story. He’s clever and efficient around the basket, and as Battier said, his energy level is contagious… “He’s a guy who plays every possession hard, almost to a fault,” Rick Adelman said. “He just wants to do so well. I can’t say enough about the way he has been playing. He wants to prove that he belongs at this level. He’s one of the hardest-working guys and he doesn’t take any days off”… Scola was a two-time Most Valuable Player in the Spanish league and was the leading scorer on Argentina’s gold medal 2004 Olympic team… At 27, he’s the NBA’s oldest rookie and burning to prove he belongs. Along the way, he’s getting a unique look at a new country. He has embraced this part of his new life as well… “Language, history, everything,” he said. “I love getting in touch with other cultures, learning from them”… He watched them toss salmon at Seattle’s Pike Street Market and walked Michigan Avenue during the Christmas shopping season. He intends to see every inch of Washington and New York that the team’s schedule permits… He has brought the same kind of enthusiasm to the court. To watch these Rockets is to appreciate their commitment to sweating the small stuff. They’re among the NBA’s top teams in defense and rebounds. They might be No. 1 in floor burns.

Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News: Tennis fans yearning for that single, definitive battle between all-time champions, a fantasy match between Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, will pile into a sold-out Garden Monday to watch an exhibition that should bring everyone back to a much better time in the sport, and in the building… It sure beats the Knicks. Federer-Sampras is a worthy diversion at the close of a long winter, and there likely will be moments that live up to these opponents. But the crowd should know that what it is so desperate to watch has already happened, and can never truly be reconstructed… Sampras may charge the net still, and Federer may flick a crosscourt passing shot. But it will never be Wimbledon 2001… That was the only time they ever met in a real match, and it was a mooring worthy of these two ships passing in the night. Sampras, 29, clearly on the downside, had won 31 straight matches at Wimbledon, and seven of the previous eight tournaments at the All-England Club. Federer was the 19-year-old upstart, still two years away from capturing his first major… During that five-set, fourth-round match, we saw a glimmer of what might have been one of the greatest sports rivalries of all time – if only a pair of mothers had correctly aligned the birth dates of their remarkable sons.

Michael Lee of The Washington Post: “The question remains how much longer those who cover the league will make LeBron James wait before the fifth-year swingman wins his first most valuable player award. The competition for the award this season is considered a two-man race between James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, although Boston’s Kevin Garnett and New Orleans’ Chris Paul have also been in the discussion. No matter who wins the MVP, Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said James has established himself as the league’s most difficult player to guard. ‘It’s not even really close,’ said Prince, a three-time NBA all-defensive team member. ‘What he can do without the ball, what he can do with the ball, what he can do when he gets the rebound and take it up the court. He gets 16, 18 points a game that’s pretty much baskets other people can’t get — and it comes easy to him.’”

Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun Times: So what happens when a fearless, incisive radio analyst is hired by a franchise with a crybaby owner, a volcanic manager, a brooding general manager, a long- winded radio partner, a hillbilly homer in the TV booth, a media-obsessed catcher and a hypersensitive fan base always searching for an enemy?… Seems all hell will break loose, as it often does in Steve Stone’s world of truth, justice and calling out wretched baseball as wretched baseball… The good news is that the White Sox, Chicago’s forgotten team, are receiving enormous amounts of attention for signing the thinking man’s broadcaster and dramatically upgrading their otherwise unlistenable lineup of on-air dreck. The bad news? The reason for the hype is that Stone is bound to tick off someone in the organization, whether it’s Jerry Reinsdorf, Ozzie Guillen, Kenny Williams, Ed Farmer, Hawk Harrelson, A.J. Pierzynski or, quite possibly, all of the above. It will happen because Stone is unblushingly honest in his daily appraisals, contrary to Reinsdorf’s other broadcasters, who are so fearful of the chairman’s wrath — or so far up his hind-end — that they become pathetic weasels who somehow tip-toed over a 72-90 stinker last season. Harrelson, in particular, has become the biggest embarrassment in the industry, a shameless shill who keeps his job only because he gushes over Reinsdorf at every opportunity and does the chairman’s dirty work by hurling pebbles at real and perceived enemies of Soxdom, which only paints the organization as amateurish and low-brow.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 10th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

This morning’s Sports Section Syndicated leads off with one of the less covered sports in media, swimming. And the subject of discussion is not even old enough to drive…

Karen Crouse of the New York Times: Lia Neal, a newly minted 13-year-old from Brooklyn, is at an age when girls tend to expend a lot of energy trying to blend into the background. Neal is a typical teenager in that respect. She defers to her older teammates when it comes to setting the training pace. She retrieves equipment for everybody in her lane as if she were their kid sister and not a prodigy… Neal stands out, anyway, because of her deft strokes and her dark skin. The youngest child of an African-American father and an Asian mother, she has been compared to another biracial prodigy who blossomed in a mostly white sport. The connection to Tiger Woods is perhaps inevitable, but Neal prefers being mentioned in the same breath as Cynthia Woodhead, a swimmer in the 1970s who, like Neal, qualified for the Olympic trials in the freestyle as a 12-year-old… “I think I’ve heard of her,” Neal, her hair in braids and her eyes sparkling, said with a shy smile last week. She waded demurely into an interview at Asphalt Green, an Upper East Side athletic complex, before diving into a 10,000-yard workout.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: The booing for Ben Wallace sounded as half-hearted as many of the Bulls‘ efforts this season… How fitting, though, that on the Thursday night Wallace returned to the United Center in a Cavaliers uniform, the Bulls staged one of their most spirited efforts. And the man who essentially replaced Wallace was up to his primal-screaming best… Joakim Noah grabbed a season-high 20 rebounds and added 13 points as the Bulls made Wallace, Joe Smith and the Cavaliers disappear with a 107-96 victory… Even LeBron James’ 39 points failed to carry their typical pop because 26 of them came before halftime… “The way we won was kind of like the Chicago Bulls of the last couple of seasons,” interim coach Jim Boylan said. “Our defense in the second half was outstanding. Our rebounding was great.”

Jalen Rose of ESPN.com: One thing stands out as we see how well the Houston Rockets have played in building this 17-game win streak… Chemistry… It’s the major class that’s in session all across the West right now. The Rockets are right at the head of the class after polishing off another exam Thursday, beating the Dallas Mavericks, 113-98… That lesson tells us that basketball is more chess than checkers, and a team is more than just the sum of its parts. A team that gels with five playing in unison will always have more success than a more talented but less cohesive team… Getting the right chemistry is something crucial to the hopes of other West teams. You see it going on now with the Phoenix Suns as they’re trying to incorporate Shaquille O’Neal into their style of play. And we see it with bringing Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks… Even the Los Angeles Lakers, when they get Andrew Bynum back, will have an adjustment period, fitting him in with Pau Gasol up front… Houston made subtle changes and has found the right combinations, enough so that it can even withstand the loss of Yao Ming… I’m happy to see Tracy McGrady, who had 31 points in the win over the Mavs, have this kind of success. He’s taken a lot of flak for not getting out of the first round of the playoffs, but when he’s hot, he’s as explosive a scorer as we have in the NBA.

Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun Times: Behind the manly beard, it’s easy to forget he’s only 23, carrying a league on his massively chiseled shoulders, embracing and somehow meeting every expectation we thrust upon him. LeBron James is a mature family guy, guilty of no misdeed worse than freeway speeding, charming enough to pull off a “Saturday Night Live” gig and funny enough to draw raves for his TV ads… He already has reached the NBA Finals, six years before Jordan reached his first. He is locked in an epic battle with Kobe Bryant for Most Valuable Player honors, triggering a nationwide debate not seen since Magic vs. Bird — yet another reminder that he has achieved more in less time than all but a few athletes in American sports. In two years, he’ll be tempted to opt out of his contract with the middle-market Cleveland Cavaliers and join his ownership buddy, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, with the relocated Nets franchise in Brooklyn… Isn’t he hearing the talk already?… “Of course, because of what goes on in New York and how bad it is and how they’re looking for a guy to help change things around,” said James, referring to the pathetic Knicks as he talked Thursday in the United Center. “Because of how close I am to Jay-Z, there always will be those questions every day for the next two seasons, when I become a free agent.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 7th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

LeBron James, and a courageous fan, leads this morning’s edition of Sports Section Syndicated.

Brian Windhorst of The Akron Beacon Journal: “I was inches from giving up at Hopkins airport today and going home after I tried to get to all four New York area airports all day and didn’t look like I was going to make it. I landed at 6 p.m. at Newark and took a harrowing cab ride to make it here in time. The lesson is this: you never know when you are going to see LeBron do something special. It may happen in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it may happen in the Garden, it may happen Saturday night against the Pacers.”

Howard Beck of the NYTimes: Fifty minutes after the Marbury sideshow ended, James electrified Madison Square Garden and put the stars in their proper place. James scored 50 points, including four 3-pointers in the final four minutes, turning a 1-point game into a rout… James, never regarded as a great outside shooter, went 7 for 13 behind the arc and 16 for 30 over all, giving Knicks fans a night to remember. It was the fifth 50-point game of his career, and perhaps the most memorable, given the location… “You hate to be on the receiving end of something like that,” Thomas said. “He was spectacular”… James received his ovation when he checked out with 23 seconds to play. In the rush of the moment, a fan wearing a James No. 23 jersey ran across the court and reached the Cavaliers’ bench, where he slapped James’s hand before security pulled him away. The fan was arrested.

Alan Hahn of the Chicago Tribune: The plug has been pulled at Madison Square Garden for most of this season, but LeBron James found a way to electrify it for one night. The NBA‘s leading scorer put up 50 points Wednesday night in a 119-105 win over the Knicks before a roaring Garden crowd of 18,760… “Tonight,” James said, “I just got that feeling”… That feeling came over him with about six minutes left in the game, once he hit the 40-point mark. Those along a star-studded celebrity row that included Jeremy Piven, Julia Stiles, Jay-Z and Woody Allen say they saw him mouth “50″ to Spike Lee… The Knicks trailed 99-98 when James went on a tear in the final 3:51, when he hit four three-pointers… His 50th point came on his final three with 1:04 left. Cleveland coach Mike Brown pulled James with 23 seconds left and during the timeout a fan in a James jersey sprinted onto the court from across the floor and met James in the Cleveland huddle… As security mobbed the fan, James reached out and shook his hand as the fan told him, “You’re my favorite player. I just wanted to meet you!”

Sarah Rothschild of the Miami Herald: After colliding with Heat forward Alexander Johnson in the third quarter, Raptors center Andrea Bargnani lay on the court for several minutes before being helped by the Toronto medical staff… He took a swish of a drink on the bench and returned to the game to hit two free throws for Johnson’s flagrant foul and then left the game for X-rays at AmericanAirlines Arena… Bargnani symbolized the Heat season: a painful mess… The hapless Heat, which lost forward Dorell Wright for the season earlier this week, had only nine available players in its 108-83 loss against the Raptors because starting forward Udonis Haslem missed the game because of a family emergency… The Heat trailed for about all but the first four and half minutes against the Raptors, which were playing without All-Star forward Chris Bosh (out with a knee injury). Heat coach and president Pat Riley ripped the shorthanded Heat, which fell to 11-47 and now has lost 29 of its past 32 games. He was disgusted by ”the lack of effort” and “horrible attitude”… ”I should write a check tomorrow to each season-ticket holder and send them back [their money] at least for tonight,” Riley said.

Andy Katz of ESPN.com on Cornell Basketball: The Big Red became the first school to earn an NCAA Tournament berth by sweeping Dartmouth and Harvard to clinch their first Ivy League crown since 1988… Cornell is 12-0 heading into the final two games of the regular season, at Penn and at Princeton. The Big Red are 20-5 overall and have a shot at a decent seed for the Ivy (can we say 14?) on Selection Sunday… Cornell played well against Duke in a loss, knocked off a decent Siena team and sport a player with plenty of good genes in Ryan Wittman, son of Randy Wittman. Wittman leads the Big Red in scoring at 15.3 points a game… Penn and Princeton have dominated the Ivy league for 20 years. Cornell finally cracked through and looks like it will have the staying power. This was a week in which there were plenty of big wins by notable teams, but a squad like Cornell deserved to be mentioned for quite an accomplishment.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 6th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

As you can imagine, Brett Favre’s retirement is dominating the news waves. I’ve already said my peace about the man. But the rest of the sports world will wax poetically about Favre for the next two weeks. I give them today, and today only….

Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times: We’ve pegged him as a simple study, a 38-year-old kid running barefoot around the backyard in an enduring Mississippi adolescence. In truth, Brett Favre is a bafflingly complex man, never more so than on the day he left football. His career was a celebration of joy, creativity and survival, making him one of the most popular icons of American life, and yet, in the end, he leaves us shocked, disappointed and befuddled… Why would he retire NOW?… When he has overcome so much tragedy and darkness, when he fought through an addiction to pills and his wife’s breast cancer and his father’s fatal heart attack, why he does he suddenly flee a game while so close to attaining the happy ending? It’s his life and not ours, so if I sound selfish, forgive me. But does Favre’s timing make any sense whatsoever, just after the Packers lost the NFC title game in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champions, just as many were thinking they could win a championship next season? Somehow, the quarterback who never left us wanting more has done precisely that, going home when a chapter remained in the script… It’s a tribute to him, of course, that his retirement could make anyone mad. I’ll miss him. Hell, we all will — even people in this city who watched him win 22 of 32 games against the Bears, including 20 of 24 at one point, while the homeboys were starting 21 different quarterbacks during the Favre era. Only 14 months ago, he was spilling tears on New Year’s Eve at Soldier Field, saying he might not come back when we knew he would. A year later, he was telling his hometown newspaper that he would be back, only to change his mind. It’s like trying to grasp how he improvises and scrambles like a madman, then threads a 35-yard touchdown bullet… You can’t explain him.

Judy Battista of the New York Times: The boyish enthusiasm that drove him to a Super Bowl championship and three N.F.L. Most Valuable Player awards gave way to weariness. And so Monday night, Brett Favre, the beloved quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and one of the most iconic, crowd-pleasing players in football history, told the Packers he was retiring… Favre, 38, had pondered retirement for a few years, and his longtime agent, Bus Cook, suggested on Tuesday that Favre wanted to play at least one more season but might have retired, in part, because he felt the Packers had not expressed enough interest in having him return… “Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either,” Cook told The Associated Press…

Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com: It would have been nice if the final pass of his 17-season career hadn’t been intercepted. Or if the final game of his football life hadn’t been a loss in overtime. Or if the lingering memory of that Jan. 20 NFC Championship hadn’t been of Brett Favre looking as though he’d just been removed from the frozen food section of your local grocery store… But Favre has always defied logic. He played when his body begged him not to. He threw passes into slivers of daylight, or no light at all. And he retired when it seemed there was every reason for him to return for an 18th season… I don’t blame him. The NFL ages you like dog years. Every game extracts a price not only from your body but also from your will. Favre can still throw a football through three sheets of drywall, but there’s more to it than that… Favre has something left, but not enough. He can play, but he can’t play like Favre anymore. Not every down and not every game. His heart — and that’s the body part that made Favre great — isn’t into it anymore.

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times: He was the anti-Manning. He was the alter-Brady… He threw more touchdown passes — 442 — than anyone in history… He also threw for more interceptions — 288 — than anyone in history… That was Favre, a human amusement-park ride, delighting and devastating fans for 17 years in 30-second intervals… He also threw for more yards than any quarterback (61,655), won more games than any quarterback (160) and started more games than any quarterback (253 in the regular season and 275 including the playoffs)… Having some of the best quarterback statistics do not mean he was the best quarterback. He was not… He won but one Super Bowl. With his penchant for taking chances, he lost as many big games as he won… Typically, he blew his final chance at going to a Super Bowl in January when his wild interceptions doomed the Green Bay Packers in an overtime conference championship loss to the New York Giants… He won’t be remembered as one of the quarterback gods. He will be remembered as something far more important… He’ll be remembered as one of us.

Al Jones of the SunHerald: Brett Favre, once a little-known, skinny quarterback growing up in South Mississippi, retired from the NFL on Tuesday as one of the best quarterbacks to play the game… This past season, Favre guided the Packers to a 13-3 record and a berth in the NFC title game against the New York Giants. Despite the loss to the Giants, many around the organization expected Favre to return in 2008 since the team was young, but very talented… That was not the case, as Favre hands the reins to backup Aaron Rodgers… His oldest brother, Scott Favre, got the expected phone call around 8 Monday night. Since the news broke, some media reports have linked Favre’s decision to retire to the Packers’ inability to sign free agent wide receiver Randy Moss… Scott Favre, however, did not deny that might have been a factor in the decision… “Brett told me he was tired and didn’t want to go through the grind any more,” Scott said. “People will say he held the Packers hostage for not getting Randy Moss. I don’t know how much of that is true, but it would have helped his decision this year. The chances of them signing him this year was slim, but they blew it last year.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 5th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

As you all know, I am an unabashed Philadelphia Eagles fan. And while my fanhood certainly never translates into bias opinion in my own writing, I just had to lead off with one of the more disappointing stories of the day from some writers who have no problem being biased.

Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News: For a while there yesterday, this was going to be a much better story… The Eagles, according to a source close to the situation, made a prolonged effort to sign free-agent wideout Randy Moss, who ultimately decided to stay with the New England Patriots for $27 million over 3 years, $15 million guaranteed. The Birds, who signed Pats corner Asante Samuel Friday, are said to have offered more total money and more of a guarantee. But apparently, they didn’t offer enough to make Moss feel comfortable leaving the team that finally got him to the Super Bowl, in the 10th and most spectacular season of his career… “I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England,” Moss, 31, wrote on his Web site. “I’m ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of”… Agent Tim DiPiero confirmed to ESPN.com that Moss could have gotten more elsewhere. That elsewhere was Philadelphia, another source said, adding that Moss and coach Andy Reid held an extended conversation that led to an Eagles offer. Apparently, at one point, the Birds thought they were going to get Moss, who caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes last season… Obviously, that would have been a strong answer to fans’ pleas for a true No. 1 wideout, a need that has existed since another controversial, outspoken receiver left town nearly 2 1/2 years ago. Like Terrell Owens in 2004, Moss would have raised the offseason anticipation level sky high and guaranteed record crowds at Lehigh this summer… The Eagles and other teams had seemed reluctant to get involved with Moss since free agency began at midnight last Thursday. For months, the word has been that he would stay with the Pats and potential suitors had to wonder if they would just be used to drive up the price for New England. That might have been exactly what happened.

Christopher L. Gasper & Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe: In the end, common sense won out over dollars and cents. Randy Moss wanted to be with the Patriots and the Patriots wanted Randy Moss, so the sides agreed to extend their mutually-beneficial marriage yesterday, settling on a three-year, $27 million deal that included a $12 million signing bonus as part of a total of $15 million in guarantees… Moss’s comeback route to Foxborough wasn’t as smooth as anticipated… The melodrama was set up when the Patriots elected not to place the $7.84 million franchise tag on their No. 1 receiver, which would have given New England the right to match any offer from another team or receive two first-round picks as compensation. When Moss and the team couldn’t reach agreement on a contract before 12:01 a.m. last Friday, Moss became a free agent… The sides were close all along on total money; it was the guaranteed money that was the sticking point… That left Moss to play the field. But ultimately the pull of playing for the Patriots, who had a perfect 16-0 regular season and finished 18-1, and with quarterback Tom Brady lured Moss back… Via his website, therealrandymoss.com, Moss thanked the fans for their support and well wishes and expressed his feelings on his new contract… “I’m very happy to get the business end of football done. Now, we can concentrate on football,” said Moss on the website. “I’m ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”

Chuck Klosterman of PLAY Magazine: There are many things that N.B.A. players excel at doing. Running, Jumping, Selling shoes. At these specific skill sets, N.B.A. players rank among the world’s elite. But there are other things that N.B.A. players consistently struggle with, and talking about their feelings is one of them. This should not be surprising: there is not a lot of motivation for professional basketball players to explain the texture of their existence. Self-actualization does not help you get an offensive rebound. In fact, it’s possible that pondering the nature of one’s life might be detrimental to success in the N.B.A.; happiness (or the lack thereof) is just one more thing that can shut you down. [This is the just the intro of a very interesting article that you all should read!]

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: The Lakers run into an old foe, finally, heading north to play the Sacramento Kings tonight in a rivalry that held plenty of significance earlier this decade… Be it Doug Christie and Rick Fox throwing punches at each other in an exhibition game, Shaquille O’Neal calling the Kings the “Queens,” or Phil Jackson referring to the state capital as a “cow town,” the memories are there for the taking, even if the Kings (27-32) are on the cusp of a second consecutive losing season after a franchise-record eight playoff appearances in a row… Regardless, the Lakers (42-18) are leery about returning to one of the more vocal environments in the league, even if it’s later than usual in the season because of a scheduling quirk… In fact, the Kings will play a decisive part in the Lakers’ efforts to stay near the top of the Western Conference — the teams play each other four times in the Lakers’ last 22 games… “They’re certainly a spoiler,” Jackson said. “We are serious about how difficult it’s going to be to go there and win.”

Jeffri Chadiha of ESPN.com: Brett Favre will regret his decision to retire at some point this fall… He’ll be sitting at his home in Mississippi on a Sunday afternoon, relaxing with his family and he’ll realize what he’s missing, how precious an opportunity he passed on. It might be a simple pang of heartache. It could be a sudden jolt that sparks him to reminisce. But he will surely feel something that will remind him of how big a mistake he made when he finally closed down his career… When news of Favre’s retirement broke Tuesday morning, it surely left many football fans shaking their heads in disbelief. Yes, the man had been flirting with leaving the game for most of the past three years. The reality, however, is that the 38-year-old Favre had more reason than ever to stick around for an 18th season… The Packers had just come off a year that included a 13-3 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game. They were certain to be competing for a spot in the Super Bowl when the 2008 season kicked off… That’s what makes his decision so baffling. Favre loves playing football and he loves winning. Did you watch him this past season? If it weren’t for his gray hair and beard, you would’ve thought he was a wide-eyed 22-year-old — a kid filled with the unbridled joy that comes from knowing he makes millions playing a simple game — all over again.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 4th, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

So many things happened this past weekend that I don’t even know where to focus today’s SSS. So just enjoy reading the statements of various columnists over a wide range of sports.

Matt Mosley of ESPN’s Hashmarks Blog: All-Pro linebacker Lance Briggs had vowed not to play another down for the Chicago Bears. But that was before he tested the free-agent market… Suddenly the Bears’ standing offer sounded a lot more appealing. In fact, it’s surprising that the club’s “sober” GM Jerry Angelo didn’t reduce the offer once he realized he was competing with himself… This is a case in point why free agency can be a ridiculous exercise. Marginally talented players such as former Bears wide receiver Bernard Berrian can receive $16 million in guaranteed money because teams are desperate at that position. Meanwhile, one of the best linebackers in football can’t scare up a market… What you witnessed last night was a man putting his tail between his legs and accepting his only firm offer. Oh, we’ll hear in the coming days about how the Redskins made a run at Briggs, but if they’d offered him even $2 million more in guarantees he’d be in D.C. right now.

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: Apparently, Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson learned from his much-criticized decision to leave Kidd on the bench in the final 34.5 seconds at San Antonio on Thursday. But the Mavericks also left Staples Center with the same lesson that has been repeated since the All-Star break: not even Kidd’s presence is enough to bring them a road victory against the West’s top teams.
They have lost to the Hornets, the Spurs and now the Lakers. They have battled, they have held fourth-quarter leads … they have yet to prevail. And you have to wonder how this translates to the playoffs. The 108-104 overtime loss to the Lakers left the Mavs three games behind the Lakers and four behind the Spurs in the loss column, which makes it all the more likely they’d start playoff series against those teams on the road.

Peter May of The Boston Globe: “We’ve been hearing it now for a while. Somehow, Kevin Garnett no longer is a consensus choice for Most Valuable Player because he (a) had the temerity to suffer a serious injury for the first time in his career and (b) his team had the temerity to win seven of the nine games he missed. But after last night’s 98-88 grinder over the Hawks, the Celtics are, ahem, 39-10 when Garnett does play. And when he plays like he did yesterday, you’d like to send the game film to all those who have elevated Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to exalted status. They’re both terrific, as they proved yesterday with tour de forces on national TV.”

Bill Simmons of ESPN the Magazine: Now, here’s where you say, “Come on, a sportswriter couldn’t really take over an NBA team.” And this is where I answer: “Au contraire!” You don’t need to be a former player to run a team, and run it well. Ever hear of Bryan Colangelo, the 2005 and 2007 Executive of the Year? He never played a minute in the NBA. Neither did Houston’s Daryl Morey (who stole Luis Scola from the Spurs), Seattle’s Sam Presti (who turned a trade exception into three first-round picks) or Memphis’ Chris Wallace (who gave away Pau Gasol & oops, forget I mentioned him). For every Jerry West, there have been five McHales and Isiahs. Only recently, Mark Cuban told Memphis’ Commercial Appeal, “One of the biggest misnomers in sports is that you just get a basketball person and let him run it. There’s no other business in America that would get a salesperson to run it just because he was the best salesperson.”

Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Cry no tears for Cole Hamels… This isn’t Ryan Howard all over again… Not even close…Hamels is bent out of shape over having his contract renewed yesterday. Howard was in a similar mood after having his deal renewed a year ago… The only difference is that Howard, with his extraordinary credentials, should have been upset… Hamels? Please… When Howard wouldn’t agree with the Phillies on a salary for 2007, the team exercised its right and renewed his deal at $900,000. Although that was a historic salary for a player with less than two years of service time on a one-year deal, the Phillies fumbled a chance to tell the world how great they thought Howard was… The Phillies did not disrespect Hamels by renewing his contract at $500,000. The number (a $100,000 raise) is entirely comparable with what other top pitchers in Hamels’ service class have received… For proof, the 24-year-old lefty needed only to look across the field in Tampa yesterday. Last year, the Yankees renewed Chien-Ming Wang’s contract for $489,500. He was in the same service class as Hamels is now. And he was coming off a season in which he went 19-6, had a 3.63 ERA, made 33 starts, and pitched 218 innings… Hamels is coming off a season is which he went 15-5, had a 3.39 ERA, made 28 starts and pitched 1831/3 innings.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – March 3, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Greg Oden’s decision that sways more towards being powerful versus popular leads off this edition of Sports Section Syndicated…

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: For every Charles Barkley, who engaged publicly in political and social debates, there seemed to be dozens who followed Jordan, and more recently Tiger Woods, keeping their feelings on the most controversial subjects of the day private. And of course, unlike Jordan and Tiger, there have been exponentially more who simply ignored politics and culture and removed themselves from the discussion entirely. (Jordan, by the way, contributed to Gantt’s second unsuccessful run at Helms and has given even more money to Bill Bradley and Obama.)… Often in this space I’ve defended Jordan’s right and Tiger’s right to keep their thoughts private instead of giving in to group pressure and taking a stand simply to satisfy others’ agendas. And I will continue to defend their right to act privately…. Even so, I’m thrilled with Oden’s decision to talk openly and write in his blog about his conversation with Obama. Had he endorsed Sens. John McCain or Hillary Rodham Clinton, I’d have felt the same way. (In fact, Oden just yesterday introduced first lady Laura Bush at a function in Portland, Ore.) What’s important about Oden’s involvement is he understands and articulates the importance of people 18 to 25 actually voting, and he apparently pays little to no attention to playing it safe.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com: This season, it’s the Manu Ginobili show. The sneaky southpaw leads the team in scoring at 20.6 points per game, but even that understates things. Ginobili’s usage rate this season has climbed all the way to 28.0, the sixth-highest figure in the league… This has escaped people’s attention because Ginobili only plays 31.5 minutes per game. But to see how much he’s getting the rock, and how productive he’s been when he’s had it, let’s compare Ginobili’s per-40-minute stats to those of another prominent player: Kobe Bryant… You think he can’t hang? Guess again. Kobe averages 29.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per 40 minutes; Manu gets 26.2, 6.4 and 5.9… Wait, it gets better. Kobe plays on one of the league’s faster-paced teams; Manu is on the second-slowest. Plug Bryant’s numbers into the Spurs’ sluggish pace and you get 26.9 points, 5.9 boards and 5.2 assists, making the comparison a dead heat.

Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: NFL free agency is a lot like the chamber where Indiana Jones finally has to choose which of the many cups is the true Holy Grail. The penalty for guessing wrong is instant death…. The skulls and bones scattered around the chamber attest to the risk of making a mistake. They also serve as grim proof that the temptation to grab for quick riches is more powerful than fear of even the most dire consequences… The day after the Eagles cast Jevon Kearse’s bones on the pile with those of Dhani Jones and Steve Everitt and Torrance Small, they step once more into that chamber filled with shiny possibilities. Many fans and media observers will be disappointed if they don’t take another expensive risk… It must be human nature, because it certainly isn’t logical.

Jack Curry of the NYTimes: When word leaked out Tuesday that Clemens was on his way to camp, McLane lamented how reporters who were covering the team hustled across the complex to wait for Clemens. His arrival was more of a story than anything the Astros did that day… McLane also wondered whether Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, was the best person to be pitching to the players. Clemens threw batting practice for more than an hour Thursday, cajoling the players as they swung. Often, the swings were futile… “Or what about having someone of Roger’s ability pitching to them?” McLane added. “Would it be better for them to face pitching of people that are of their age level and their skill level and their development level?”… Clemens told players he would increase his velocity next week “when I bring my spikes.” Clemens has been wearing sneakers to pitch… But when McLane was asked if Clemens would be back next week, the owner was noncommittal… “I haven’t had the chance to visit with him at all,” McLane said. “We just need to sit down and see what his program is and we got to see how it fits into the minor league development, too.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – February 29, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Today’s SSS is led by the ever intriguing, and growing, roster of players on the Boston Celtics squad.

Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe: “P.J. Brown, who was also courted by the Hornets, said his decision to come to Boston was strongly aided by a conversation he had with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in New Orleans Feb. 16. ‘They just pulled me over and said, ‘Man, we’d really love to have you on the team,” said Brown before last night’s game against the Cavaliers. ‘With your experience, we think you can help our young guys and add some stability to our team. As a player, we still think you can play. Your defense and rebounding fits in with what we’re trying to do. … That made a huge difference in this whole deal. If that doesn’t happen, you probably don’t see me here today.’”

Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy) of ESPN.com’s Page 2: Question: What are your thoughts on Sam Cassell (potentially) joining the Celtics? Does he have enough left in the tank? How will he mesh with the Ubuntu chemistry? — Pat D., Somerville, Massachusetts… Sports Guy: After watching Cassell up close for three years, I can report the following certainties: He’s not washed up; he hasn’t slipped so much defensively that he’s a complete liability; he works the refs better than anyone in the league; he’s a charismatic presence on and off the court; and he can still catch fire during games and carry a team for small stretches. It’s hard to imagine a better fit for the Celtics, especially when you factor in his relationship with KG, the way he matches up against bigger, more physical guards like Chauncey Billups (the real reason the Celts passed on Damon Stoudamire), his knack for hitting big shots (which they need), and the fact Boston’s big guys could protect him against quicker guards. And he would add one more super-competitive guy to an already super-competitive team.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com: This is pretty clear: The Cavs don’t like the Celtics much and James always gets fired up playing against Paul Pierce. It goes back four years when the two had to be pulled off each other in the tunnel after a preseason game at Ohio State University after a more-than-testy game in which Pierce spit at the Cleveland bench… This season alone James has said the Celtics “talk the most trash in the NBA” and that it wasn’t his or his team’s style… Off the court, though, the Celtics seem to offer nothing but respect to the team trying to catch them. Especially in regard to the 11-player trade the Cavs pulled together last week, bringing in Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and former Celtics Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West… “The trade was valuable to them, it made them tougher,” Garnett said Wednesday. “This is a team to be reckoned with. They are deep and now they are experienced, and it makes the East a little more exciting”… At least the Cavs are trying to make it that way. One of the reasons they attempted to re-work their frontcourt was to handle the way Garnett can be the centerpiece of Boston’s offense. Wallace was targeted to be a versatile defender who could bang with Garnett in the post.

Associated Press: N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern was not about to back down… Donald Fehr, left, the head of the major league players union, with Commissioner Bud Selig… Summoned to Capitol Hill to discuss whether Congress should legislate drug testing in the major professional sports leagues, Stern took exception Wednesday to lawmakers’ remarks and stood up for his colleagues from the N.F.L., the N.H.L. and Major League Baseball… This is an area where federal legislation is not necessary,” Stern told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Sara Holladay on The Fifth Down Blog: Ever wondered which of the preseason fantasy football rankings was the most accurate? As a guide for fantasy football drafters, most “expert” sites provide a ranking before football season starts with suggestions on the order in which to draft players. Many fantasy footballers find these rankings invaluable and devour one ranking after another as the season approaches. In fact, I’d go so far as to call fantasy footballers insatiable when it comes to rankings. I’d like to think that most fantasy players take a look at a handful of rankings and then compile their own – that’s optimistic. So it seems like a valuable service to those who are short on time to find a way of determining which site’s preseason ranking is the most accurate for 2007. Read more …

Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star: At least the Jayhawks know who they are now… That much was settled at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday evening. In beating the Iowa State Cyclones 75-64, the Kansas Jayhawks didn’t strut the magnificent form that carried them to a 20-0 start, but they did announce that any future loss wouldn’t be caused by an identity crisis… Adopting a no-one-eats-until-Shady-is-fed philosophy, Kansas controlled Wednesday’s contest from the outset, thanks to Darrell “Shady” Arthur’s 18-point, 10-rebound performance and 15-point supporting efforts from Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush… Arthur scored his points by sinking nine of 18 field-goal attempts. The 18 takes were a season high for Shady. His offensive activity created good looks for Chalmers and Rush on the perimeter. They each drained three of four three-point shots, sparking Kansas to a seven-of-11 night from beyond the arc… OK, there it is. From here on out, Kansas fans and players need to worry less about Rush becoming KU’s most aggressive offensive player. That’s not going to happen, and it’s unnecessary for Kansas to achieve great success. We need to accept and appreciate Rush for who he is. He’s a complementary player, especially given his offseason knee injury and nice-guy personality.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated: February 28, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Yao Ming’s season-ending injury leads not only today’s SSS, but most of the World’s (yes, the WORLD’S!) newspapers!

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: Sometimes a city is lucky enough to have a professional athlete who’s a role model in every sense of the word. That’s what Yao Ming has been during these six seasons with the Rockets. It’s hard to imagine anyone in sports caring more, working harder or being more admired by his teammates and coaches. Yao also was smart and funny, a people person in every sense of the word. Those things are among the many reasons Tuesday was so difficult for everyone who cares about the Rockets. Yao’s season-ending injury isn’t just about basketball.

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post: With only 33 days left before the Nationals officially unveil their ballpark on the Anacostia waterfront, some of the project’s most visible short-term problems may be on the verge of being solved or at least mitigated. However, other potential troubles make those who are on the park-building battle lines lose sleep… Wait 33 years for a team. Hold your breath for 33 more days. While the immediate future holds a mixed bag of possibilities, some of them quite encouraging, the next several years may be tougher sledding for a development project as brave but grandiose as the District’s hopes for Southeast. As the national economy slows, the long-term future of the entire waterfront project becomes cloudier and more worrisome. Whenever a ballpark opens, worst-case scenarios dominate every sensible mind. It’s like holding a dinner party for 41,000 people in a new house that you moved into the day before. What could go wrong? The right question is: What couldn’t?

Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News: Now that Jerry Jones has been to the NFL scouting combine, he should feel even better about following my advice to sit tight with his two first-round picks… If Jerry will just take the best skill position players available with the 22nd and 28th picks in the first round, then he will get the young players he needs at wide receiver and running back to make sure the Cowboys have offensive firepower for years… He does not have to reach. Nor does he have to gamble… All he has to do is wait… Understand, Jerry can’t stand waiting. He loves the chase. He loves wheeling and dealing. He is a gambler by nature… But now is not the time… By all accounts, this is the best running back draft in years. Darren McFadden is clearly the best, but not by much. Rashard Mendenhall is gathering steam, and by the time April rolls around, the consensus on the best running back may have changed… The Cowboys will also be able to find a receiver in the first round, whether it’s someone like Malcolm Kelly or Limas Sweed… You draft skill in the first round. There’s enough of it to go around this year that Jerry doesn’t have to be creative to find it.

Tyler Kepner of the NYTimes: The winter meetings will be in Las Vegas in December. That is where Jason Giambi lives. So what are the chances Giambi hits the town with a general manager and winds up with a rich new contract?… Giambi, still a proud night crawler at 37, smiled at the idea on Tuesday and mentioned something about incriminating photos. “I’ll trick somebody out of it,” he said… There was the usual glint of mischief in Giambi’s eye, a hint that he is still thrilled to be a Yankee, though his whirlwind days in pinstripes are almost over. Once at the epicenter of baseball’s steroids scandal, Giambi has collected every paycheck, rumbled through every spring workout and survived.

Jon Barry of ESPN.com: With the loss of Yao Ming for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, it likely means another kind of setback ahead as the Houston Rockets strive for a playoff berth in the ultra-competitive Western Conference… And of course, the spotlight will be even stronger now on Tracy McGrady. Like the quarterback on a football team, if things go bad, it’s his fault, fair or not. His scoring numbers are not as good as they’ve been in the past (21.5 pgg, his lowest average since his last season in Toronto, 1999-2000) but his overall effectiveness is at an all-time high. He’s a willing passer (5.7 apg, a full assist higher than his career average) who plays unselfishly… If Houston does manage to get in the playoffs, it would likely be as a No. 7 or 8 seed. Playing a No. 1 or 2 seed, it looks like it would be very tough for McGrady to avoid sending his mark to 0-for-7 all-time in playoff series.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – February 27, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

This edition of SSS starts if with two prominent sports columnists praising the aura of Tiger Woods…

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: We’re about at the point with Tiger Woods when it’s pointless to limit the conversation about his competitive brilliance to the game of golf. With only Jack Nicklaus in that discussion we have to search for a larger context to put Woods’s still ascending career into proper perspective. Winning the Match Play Championship over the weekend was another emphatic reminder that we’re about at the point where Tiger’s peers aren’t Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els as much as they are Michael Jordan, Joe Louis and Babe Ruth.

Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun Times: Ever, I wrote. Ever as in eternity, ever as in always, ever as in the end of time. Never, ever would an athlete on this earth trump the globally celebrated aura of Michael Jeffrey Jordan, I’ve deduced many times, including the giddy day when I suggested his impact on sport and fashion and popular culture and the American condition was larger than perhaps any celebrity who ever lived… Well, ever lasted until 2008… Seems his good friend, Tiger Woods, is about to eclipse him… As Jordan blends into a relatively subdued mid-life existence — except when Cuba Gooding Jr. screams that he’s wearing MJ’s underwear — Woods is elevating the bar of dominance to unprecedented levels. In a game without teammates, a maddening exercise involving an ornery dimpled ball that continues to confound the most talented players, he has obliterated any semblance of competition in professional golf. Settled into life as a husband and father, finally comfortable in his skin after 10 public years of trials and trauma, Woods has wrapped himself in a cocoon so impenetrable that we’re shocked when he doesn’t win.

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register: “Lamar Odom set an NBA record for the longest streak of postgame singing in the shower with his performance late Sunday night in Seattle. Jordan Farmar was fully capable as Odom’s backup singer. These Lakers are indeed a glee club now. And even though they have everything to play for in these coming months, there’s more: They’re going to have everything to play for in these coming years. That’s the beauty of the Lakers’ makeover — unlike Phoenix’s facelift (Shaquille O’Neal, 36 next week) and Dallas’ Botox injection (Jason Kidd, 35 next month). Kobe Bryant is 29, Pau Gasol is 27, Andrew Bynum is 20 and Farmar is 21. Yes, Farmar very much merits mention in that line, because the day is most surely coming when Farmar is more valuable to the Lakers than Odom.”

Jonathan Abrams of the LA Times: These were not the Boston Celtics of yesterday. They were more akin to the Celtics of yesteryear, in all their mystique… Greeting them were the Clippers of present day, in their depleted state… It didn’t resemble an even matchup beforehand and, methodically, but surely, the discrepancy was hammered home firmly, with the Clippers belted, 104-76, by the revamped Celtics on Monday at Staples Center in their worst loss of the season… Two games after winning two games in a row for the first time since November, the Clippers resettled into a well-worn and accustomed streak. A losing one… “I can’t figure it out. I can’t tell what they’ve done,” Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said, feigning ignorance on the source of the Celtics’ restoration from last to first in the Atlantic Division… It could be some of that renewed mystique brought by Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, mixed in with some Paul Pierce.

Associated Press on NFL.com: Now that he has his championship, money no longer matters to Michael Strahan… Well, maybe it matters a little bit… Not enough, though, that it will be the deciding factor as Strahan mulls retirement or returning to the Super Bowl champion Giants for a 16th season… Strahan was loving playing by the end of last season, when New York’s defense — particularly its pass rush — sparked an incredible postseason run. The Giants had won seven straight away games during the season, then eliminated Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay from the playoffs, all on the road. They capped their surge with a 17-14 victory over the previously undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl… Last summer, it appeared Strahan might not be a part of anything with the Giants. He sat out training camp while mulling retirement. He says it was not a money ploy, simply uncertainty whether he still had the desire to play… He’ll go through the same process this year, but promises his decision won’t take anywhere near so long. After a vacation in March, Strahan said he will weigh his options and most likely let the team know by mid-April, before the NFL draft, if he is coming back… Quitting now would be a great way to leave, just as John Elway and Jerome Bettis have done in the last decade. Strahan doesn’t necessarily see it as a perfect departure… None of his teammates at the premiere screening of the Giants’ 2007 season DVD would hold it against Strahan if he didn’t return. Fellow end Osi Umenyiora, the team’s only Pro Bowl player, at first laughed loudly when asked about Strahan’s future… “He’s coming back. Don’t listen to all that,” Umenyiora said.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated – February 26, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Today’s SSS starts off with the “March-like Madness” of Saturday’s big game in college basketball.

Luke Winn of SI.com: In ascending order of craziness, the memorable things that happened in or around Saturday’s (Tennessee-Memphis) game… 1. Pearl conducting an interview with Entertainment Tonight — yes, ET — after he finished talking to basketball reporters. Pearl, never turning down the opportunity to ham it up, asked the reporter for a “J-O-B” and told them that entertainment news might be his true calling instead of coaching… 2. That Memphis’ final possession while it had a lead, at 61-60 with 43 seconds left, ended with teammates Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier tying each other up on an offensive rebound, and being called for a travel. Dorsey’s stat line: one point, six boards, four fouls… 3. That Tennessee won without Chris Lofton making a single three-pointer… 4. The awkward silence of Memphis locker room, in which packs of media members trying, mostly in vain, to get any comments on the loss. The players are not required by any NCAA rule to speak, and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson in particular opted not to — which was unfortunate, considering how loud they had been before the game, “woofing” (as Tyler Smith put it) into Tennessee’s huddle in the tunnel of FexEx Forum… 5. Pearl giving some “love” (or at least that’s one way to describe it) to Erin Andrews in the halftime interview. I didn’t witness Pearl’s defensive demonstration live, but it has spread like wildfire on the Web. The man is single now: you have to give him some credit for trying… 6. That Memphis, the 225th-ranked three-point shooting team in the country, attempted 27 threes. The Tigers were 0-for-7 in the second half… 7. Looking up from my computer during a first-half timeout to see Lindsay Davenport and James Blake, both clad in Tiger tees, hitting tennis balls (rather aggressively, it may be noted) into the crowd as part of a promotion for a Memphis tournament. 8. That Antonio Anderson, and not Chris Douglas-Roberts or Derrick Rose, took Memphis’ final meaningful shot… 9. That in the media room at halftime, the person behind me in the pretzel-and-popcorn line was Priscilla Presley. She took a look at the ravaged serving dishes of snacks and decided to pass.

Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post: The Boston Celtics started this basketball makeover craze. Back at the end of July, before the Lakers had any thought of trading for Pau Gasol or the Phoenix Suns had any inkling Shaq might become The Big Cactus, Danny Ainge remade and as a result reenergized the Celtics. Even as they’ve struggled now through their first three-game losing streak of the season out west, the overall numbers make it fairly easy to argue that the biggest trade in the season of swap took place not in February to beat the deadline, but back in the summer when Ainge pulled off huge deals for Ray Allen and then Kevin Garnett that enabled the Celtics to run off to the best record in the NBA.

Larry Dorman of the NYTimes: Tiger Woods scorched the high desert Sunday, roaring like a wildfire across the Gallery Club at Dove Mountain with a phenomenal display of golf, incinerating Stewart Cink, winning the Accenture Match Play Championship and setting his sights on higher ground… His 8-and-7 victory over Cink in the final, the largest margin in the history of the event, concluded an astonishing week of match play. Woods won six matches, twice escaped imminent elimination and made 47 birdies and 2 eagles in 117 holes. With his fourth consecutive PGA Tour win and sixth straight worldwide, he rekindled speculation that he could be embarking on a perfect season.

Bill Dwyre of the LA Times: He will be 70 years old this November, but time and age haven’t made the Big O any smaller. Oscar Robertson is one of those sports heroes whose legend survives decades and whose marketability spans eras. If you are a sports fan 25 or 85, and all stops in between, you know who the Big O is. His is both a nickname and a brand. The term “bigger-than-life” is overused. Not so in reference to Robertson. Pro basketball didn’t make him better. It was the other way around. Today, an NBA triple-double (double figures in three statistical categories, usually points, rebounds and assists) is big news. Robertson had 181 in his career. Magic Johnson got to within 43 of that for second place. Robertson averaged a triple-double in the 1961-62 season with the Cincinnati Royals, 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists. Nobody had done that before, or since. Likely, nobody ever will. When he played college basketball, few had ever seen the likes of him. He was a skinny, 6-foot-5 sophomore at the University of Cincinnati on the night of Jan. 9, 1958, when his team beat Seton Hall, 118-54. Robertson scored 56, two more than the entire opposing team and most in Madison Square Garden history. Before that game, he was just another college player. The New York Times mentioned him in its game preview, calling him Connie Robertson. No paper ever got it wrong after that.

Todd McShay of ESPN.com: Arkansas RB Darren McFadden made a statement with his sensational combine workout on Sunday. McFadden officially ran his first 40-yard dash — the faster of his two attempts — in 4.33 seconds. In addition, he jumped 10 feet, 8 inches in the broad jump and 33 inches in the vertical leap. Comparatively speaking, McFadden’s overall workout was stronger than Adrian Peterson’s a year ago, which included 40 time of 4.41, a 10-7 broad jump and a 38.5-inch vertical… McFadden and Peterson have very different running styles, though. Peterson is clearly the more powerful back and was better suited to carry a full NFL load coming out of Oklahoma a year ago. McFadden, on the other hand, is more versatile and explosive but lacks Peterson’s physicality. The more apt comparison is their exceptional combination of size and athletic ability. McFadden’s workout verifies his big-play ability and status as Scouts Inc.’s No. 1 overall prospect, adding to the list of reasons teams should not pass on him come April 26.

NFL.com: Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian isn’t sure if having a top 10 draft pick would be worth it… His Colts don’t have a selection until late in the second round. He explained Sunday at the NFL Scouting Combine why his team might be better off that way… Polian said good teams like the Colts are less likely than in the past to trade up for an early pick because of the required financial commitment. Last year’s top pick, JaMarcus Russell, missed all of training camp in a contract dispute before getting $29 million in guarantees… “Trades are a unique thing in the first round anymore because of the cost of the top 10 picks financially,” he said. “To take on that cost … is almost counterintuitive.”… Polian said agents have driven up the cost of the early picks, making it more difficult than ever for struggling franchises to improve. He said that cost can hamper teams for years, especially if they make a mistake on a pick or the player gets injured… “The draft was designed to either allow the weakest teams, based on record, to choose the best players, or if they chose not to take a particular player, to gather a bunch of picks to further accelerate their growth and competitiveness,” he said. “That’s now been skewed by the cost of the picks in the first round.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated: February 25, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

NBA Trades dominates today’s edition of SSS.

David Aldridge of the Philadelphia Inquirer: In the liveliest NBA trade season in quite some time, nearly every contending team made a significant move by yesterday’s deadline. And those that didn’t were trying up to the last minute. Grading on the curve, here are some early assessments… A-plus: Lakers. (They acquired Pau Gasol from Memphis for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, and draft picks.) How can one say anything different after watching a rejuvenated Gasol, who has fit right in with Kobe Bryant and the surging Lakers? Los Angeles also opted not to move Lamar Odom before the deadline, giving this group a chance to mesh. GM Mitch Kupchak should drive to Vegas tonight and bet the ranch. He’s on a roll… A: Spurs. (They acquired Kurt Thomas from Seattle for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, and a 2009 first-round pick. They also signed Damon Stoudamire.) San Antonio strikes again, getting the rugged Thomas for the playoff run in the physical West while not having to mortgage any of its key pieces. Stoudamire should help down the stretch if starter Tony Parker continues to be slowed by injuries.

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times: In a college game… Against Oregon… O.J. Mayo has done just about everything else for USC, the center of attention as promised… He’s had one of his dribbles stripped. He’s had another dribble stolen… He’s fouled a guy after missing a rushed shot. He’s stood around while another guy sneaked behind him for a rebound and a basket… He’s been out-hustled and outfought and generally overshadowed for every one of those 12 minutes… In a college game… Against Oregon… And everyone said that by coming to USC for only one year, the NBA’s next great star would not be getting an education?… Oh, no. He’s learned something, all right… Even after Thursday night when he eventually scored 32 points and led USC to an 81-75 victory, the lesson is still clear… Mayo has learned he needs to stay in school another year. And if he hasn’t learned it, well, the NBA folks certainly have learned it.

Frank Isola of NY Daily News: Either James Dolan revoked Isiah Thomas‘ cell phone privileges or there just isn’t much of a market for underachievers with bloated contracts… The NBA‘s trading deadline came and went Thursday without Thomas making a single move. There is still a possibility of the Knicks adding a point guard, especially if Sacramento releases Tyronn Lue, but Thomas’ days of questionable trades and suspect free agent signings appear to be over… Thomas had said for weeks that he had the authority to make trades and yet nothing happened. It’s hard enough to sell to fans the idea that Thomas is the right man for the job coming off Wednesday’s embarrassing 40-point loss in Philadelphia. But if Thomas was permitted to make deals, how could he have sat still when the Knicks are 16-38 heading into tonight’s game against Toronto?… There is a theory that Dolan, who is expected to remove Thomas from power by season’s end, would never have allowed Thomas to make a trade that could hurt the franchise long-term. Dolan’s thinking was probably something along the lines of “he’s done enough already.”

John Hollinger of ESPN (on Cleveland 3-way deal): Say this for Danny Ferry — when he swings, he swings for the fences. He hasn’t been able to get a deal done for the past two years in part because he’s been going for big moves like this, which are harder to pull off. But when it works … man, does it work… This one works, big time. Answer me this: Would you rather have Larry Hughes (12.0 PER) or Wally Szczerbiak (16.0)? Shannon Brown (8.5) or Delonte West (10.1)? Donyell Marshall (8.5) or Ben Wallace (12.1)? Drew Gooden (12.8) or Joe Smith (17.4)?… The last one is the only comparison where you’d even hesitate, because Gooden has been better the previous several years. But Smith crushes Gooden on PER this season, and isn’t prone to mental gaffes the way Gooden is.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated (SSS) – February 22, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Here are some of the more interesting graphs from sports writers/bloggers across the nation.

Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics: Maybe, however, this is just how we like it. As much as we profess to like the games for the games’ sake, perhaps cheating is part of the appeal, a natural extension of sport that people condemn on moral grounds but secretly embrace as what makes sports most compelling. For all the talk of how cheating “destroys the integrity of the game,” maybe that’s not true at all? Perhaps cheating actually adds a layer of interest — a cat-and-mouse element, a detective-story element — that complements the game?

Alan Schwarz of the NYTimes: A year ago, Jimmy Rollins proclaimed his Phillies “the team to beat” in the National League East, words that ultimately helped Philadelphia whisk the division championship from the Mets’ clumsy grasp and still ring in New Yorkers’ collective ears. The words resound to the extent that, several days ago in the Mets’ camp, Carlos Beltrán noted his team’s acquisition of pitcher Johan Santana and announced: “I have no doubt we’re going to win our division,” and, “So this year, to Jimmy Rollins, we are the team to beat”… As Rollins lounged on a picnic table outside the Phillies’ spring-training clubhouse Wednesday, he asked, “Has anyone ever heard of plagiarism?”

Bill Simons of ESPN.com: TRADE 1A: Portland trades Raef LaFrentz, LaMarcus Aldridge, the rights to Rudy Fernandez, $3 million and a 2008 No. 1 (top-3 protected) to Memphis for Mike Conley Jr., Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and a 2008 No. 2….Why Memphis does it: OK, you’re right … we can’t operate under the assumption that GM Chris Wallace would ever do anything logically. But for the life of me, I don’t understand Memphis’ post-Gasol strategy. The Grizzlies have three young point guards with varying degrees of value (Conley, Javaris Crittenton and Kyle Lowry); they need to dump one of them; and apparently, they’ve just decided to dump Lowry before the deadline for whatever they can get. Why is that the strategy??? Why wouldn’t they use Conley, their best trade asset other than Rudy Gay, package him with Miller (who they’re also trying to dump for 60 cents on the dollar), and try to land two blue-chippers for them? Everyone agrees that Fernandez would be a top-10 pick if he was in this year’s draft, and Aldridge is one of the better young forwards in the league. Plus, LaFrentz’s monster contract expires in 2009 and gives them a nice trade chip next season if they wanted to use it … which they wouldn’t, but you never know. Regardless, this trade gives Memphis a dirt-cheap foundation of Gay, Aldridge, Fernandez, Crittenton/Lowry, Juan Carlos Navarro, Hakim Warrick, 2008 Lottery Pick X and two more first-rounders, and they’d still have a point guard to trade this summer. Why not? What the hell?

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: The Phoenix Suns didn’t have much trouble running with Shaquille O’Neal. Problem was they couldn’t catch the Los Angeles Lakers. On a night when the entertainment level somehow matched considerable pregame hype, the Suns and Lakers put on a show worthy of a conference championship game.

While O’Neal played 29 minutes, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and was almost certainly more active than critics of the trade that brought him here thought he would be, the best player on the court was the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. He took one shot the first quarter, yet scored a game-high 41 points to lead Los Angeles to a 130-124 victory at U.S. Airways Arena.

The post "Sports Section Syndicated (SSS) – February 21, 2008" was originally published at TSW.

Here are some of the more interesting graphs from sports writers/bloggers across the nation.

Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post: “The fantasy of most hoop junkies is to have seven games worth of Shaq vs. Kobe in late May and early June in the Western Conference finals, but the immediate reality is one irresistible meeting Wednesday night that has rallied the desert like few civic happenings the last 15 years. Suns vs. Lakers has been contentious for most of the last 40 years. Folks here in the Valley of the Sun have always disliked Kobe Bryant, and they’re more than happy for Wednesday’s visit to coincide with the Suns debut of Shaquille O’Neal, who from all indications will be in the starting lineup, an arrival that has energized not just the team but the entire state of Arizona. Want to see the game in person? No problem, $3,800 will get you a ticket on eBay.”

Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post’s “D.C. Sports Blog”: There were two big Nats job auditions this week… Warehouse Manager: “We are currently seeking a Warehouse Manager for the New Nationals Park in Washington, DC. Duties include but are not limited to: Directs the warehouse and product distribution for a large-scale NFL operation.”…Always knew it would be tough to make the transition to a baseball town here. Baby steps… Seccurity Officers: Yeah, seccurity officers. “We are looking to hire security officers for work ASAP at the Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium.” Yeah, Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium. Makes you feel confident in the competency of those who will protect you from rampaging Giant Racing President Heads….

Howard Beck of the New York Times: “Keith Van Horn earned $4.3 million on Tuesday, for nothing more than a signature and a flight to New Jersey. Aaron McKie earned $750,000 a few weeks ago for a few pen strokes and a trip to Memphis. Retirement from the N.B.A. has never been so profitable.”

“College Basketball Closer”: A recent visit to the excellent Mid-Majority site turned up just such a player, who has accomplished just such a feat. Twice. Consecutively….His name is Tony Lee, and he’s a senior guard at Robert Morris University in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Standing just about six feet tall in his sock-feet, Lee has made a habit of coming up big during the Colonials’ recent nine-game win streak, which has them sharing the lead in the Northeast Conference. After flirting with the elusive collegiate triple-double in games at Florida International and Youngstown State, Lee went absolutely buck-wild in back-to-back conference games last week. He put up 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists to help beat Long Island on his home floor, then racked a nearly identical 12/10/10 on the road to take down Central Connecticut five days later. Even more surprisingly, he did it while playing less than 30 minutes in each game… If Robert Morris manages to hold on and win the NEC tournament for the auto-bid this year, I highly recommend watching their first-round game.

William C. Rhoden of the NYTimes: “I think of Kidd a few different ways: The consummate point guard who lifts everyone “higher, the thoughtful interviewee who rarely makes eye contact, the troubadour superstar who can’t seem to find a home. Now he’s the captain who is abandoning ship.”

The post "Sports Section Syndicated (SSS) – February 20" was originally published at TSW.