OJ Gets Pranked During Interview

OJ Simpson just doesn't know when to stop. Now he is doing a series of interviews with website MN1...yeah, I don't know what on earth it is either...and while half of the show consists of a scripted interview with MN1, the second half is live call-in questions. Did they really think this was going to end well? TMZ blesses us with this highlight video from the call-in portion of OJ's interview. Watch and enjoy as OJ answers questions such as "Do you think it was a bigger feat to break 2,000 yards in one season or slice two necks in one night?" and "Did you kill Bill Walsh?"

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The Giants DE Soap Opera

Jealousy. Betrayal. Infighting. Insults.

Is this the plot of your mom's favorite soap opera?

No, it is just the best way to describe the insane situation going on right now with the New York Giant's defensive ends.

First, Michael Strahan decided that he didn't feel that the Giants were going to contend for a Super Bowl this year and has since been mulling retirement instead of reporting to training camp. An aging star thinking about retiring isn't all that odd, but then you throw in this odd phone tag exchange and things just get a little weird;

"Strahan left a phone message late last night for coach Tom Coughlin. Coughlin returned the call at about 5 a.m. today and got Strahan's voicemail. As of right now, Reese has yet to talk to Strahan, and it's unclear if Coughlin has spoken to the six-time Pro Bowl selection"

Thankfully for the Giants, a perfect replacement for Strahan has just in the market, in the person of the recently released Simeon Rice. Losing the current sack leader among active players and gaining the second place guy doesn't sound like too much of drop off. Well, according to Strahan's good buddy/fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora, it is actually a terrible idea. Smell a little bias in this one, especially considering Umenyiora and Strahan share an agent? Umenyiora has laid out quite the welcome mat for Simeon Rice in the past few days;

"We're not talking about Julius Peppers," Umenyiora said, comparing Rice to the Panthers' stud defensive end. "Simeon Rice is an outstanding pass rusher, but that's what he is."

"I'm not going to go so far as to call him, whatever, what a lot of other people have called him, but people say he's not the best run player," Umenyiora said. "I guess people gave him that reputation for a reason."

"That's kind of crazy, to ask me to move to left defensive end because Simeon Rice is coming in," he said. "It's ridiculous. He can't play left defensive end; that's where teams run the ball at. If the team asks me 'We need you to move to left defensive end because we need you at that position,' I will, but I'm not going to move to left defensive end because Simeon Rice is coming in."

So Osi...you do realize that this guy is probably going to be your teammate in a week or two, right? It might not be the greatest idea to diss his talent, call him one dimensional, and state your unwillingness to accomodate his being on the team, all in one interview. Listening to Umenyiora talk about Rice is like hearing a teenage girl ripping some young hussy that is moving in on a friend's ex-boyfriend. "Psst. I heard Simeon Rice stuffs his shoulder pads, pass it on."

All is not lost though. The Giants still have another promising young DE in Mathias Kiwanuka...oh, except that they moved Kiwanuka to LB, and have said he isn't going back. Well, I'm sure Mathias is doing pretty well at his new position, right? Yes, if you define "doing well" as "getting burned on a pass play by a guard";

The Giants did not practice yesterday but Kiwanuka was still smarting about what transpired in Sunday's afternoon session. Lining up for a field goal, holder Jeff Feagles put on a "Fire" call, which simulates a bad snap. Feagles took the ball, rolled to his right and fired a perfect pass to Seubert, who once played some tight end at Western Illinois. The burly Seubert went slightly airborne to make the catch, with Kiwanuka trailing.

"I think I got both feet off the ground," Seubert deadpanned. "I don't think [Kiwanuka] saw the ball. I guess I can jump a little higher than he can. They should honor me as a receiver now. Jeremy or me, there's no difference."

To recap...one of your starting DEs is threatening to retire, your other starting DE is talking smack about the first guy's potential replacement, and your third best pass rusher is getting burned by an offensive lineman on a passing play. Have fun with that Tom Coughlin.

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Is This A Good Trade For Boston?

In case you slept through the entire day yesterday, you probably know that Kevin Garnett is going to Boston. (ESPN, SI, and Sportsline all say it is agreed to, so if it falls through blame them, not me.) So now that the deal is essentially done, lets take a look at both what Boston had to give up and what they have left.

Going: First, here is what they are reported to be sending to Minnesota;

Al Jefferson
Gerald Green
Sebastian Telfair
Ryan Gomes
Theo Ratliff
2 future 1st Round Picks

In order to get KG Danny Ainge had to sell his soul and do what he had said all along he didn't want to do; deal all of his young talent. Giving up Al Jefferson really hurts. In case you didn't get the chance to see Jefferson in the second half of the season last year, here is what you need to know. Before the All Star break Jefferson posted these stats; 13.9 PTS, 10.6 REB, 1.45 BLK, .484 FG%. After the break his numbers looked like this; 19.8 PTS, 11.5 REB, 1.68 BLK, .554 FG%. Point being, Jefferson was just starting to come out of his shell at the end of last season, and was poised to become a 20-10 threat this upcoming year. Giving up a 22 year old with that kind of talent is a huge risk for the Celtics to take.

Besides Jefferson, Gerald Green also has potential to develop into a big time player in the NBA. The certainty of his development however, is much less certain than Jefferson's. Some people think Green could be a consistent 20 PPG scorer on the wing; some think he is no better than a backup. If Green comes out somewhere inbetween, the Timberwolves would have a pretty good tandem on their hands with Green and Corey Brewer on the wing.

Telfair and Gomes are both in the trade mainly to even out the salary cap, but both have the potential to be develop into decent bench players. The real key to this trade could be the second draft pick, which is actually the draft pick that Minnesota sent to Boston back in the Wally for Ricky trade a few years back. Considering that the Wolves might be the worst team in the West for the next two seasons, that pick very well could be a top 5 selection. Add a top 5 pick to a core of Jefferson, Green, Brewer, and Randy Foye, and in three years time Kevin McHale and the Timberwolves could end up looking pretty smart.

Coming: There is no questioning that the Celtics are getting a major talent back in this trade. Despite being 31 years old and a 12 year NBA veteran, Garnett is still one of the top ten players in the NBA. (To be more precise since people throw around that phrase all the time, I'd say he is the 7th best player in the league right now.) Garnett still has at least 2-3 years of prime ball left in him, during which time he will be without a doubt 1.) the best passing big man in the East 2.) the best defender in the East and 3.) a dominant offesive force. After those 2-3 prime years? He'll likely lose a little of the explosion he has on defense and offense but he will still be the hungriest guy on the court, and passing skills don't really fade with time.

Left: Here is where the plot thickens. Everyone knows about the newly formed trio of KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Will they be good? Yeah. Will they make the playoffs? Yeah. Will they win the East? Well, to answer that one lets take a look at what the Celtics will have other than the big three;

Rajon Rondo
Kendrick Perkins
Brian Scalabrine
Tony Allen
Leon Powe
Brandon Wallace
Glen Davis
Gabe Pruitt

Now, consider that two of those players will be starting for the Celtics every night (Rondo and Perkins), and that another two will be playing at least 25 minutes a night, and now you begin to see the potential downside of this deal. Brian Scalabrine is the 6th Man...need I say more? There is an obvious move that the Celtics can make that will help them greatly. Sign Brevin Knight. Sign him tomorrow. Sign him before you even eat breakfast tomorrow. That one deal may well be the difference between next year's Celtics team being a mere playoff team and being the Eastern Conference champions. Knight was made for this role. Think about it; Rondo is talented but raw. Who better to step in for a year to teach him than Knight, who is an undersized defensive specialist just like Rondo? Knight would also be the perfect fit to play with the big three. He doesn't need to take shots, and is one of the best pure passing point guards in the game. The sad thing for the Celtics is that they didn't make this trade two weeks ago. If they had, then in addition to Knight they could have added Jamaal Magloire at center to complete the starting lineup. Tell me a lineup of Knight, Allen, Pierce, Garnett, and Magloire wouldn't be a whole heck of a lot better than a lineup with Rando and Perkins instead.

The Verdict:As things stand right now, Boston will be hard pressed to win the East with their current team. I think both Miami and Detroit would still beat them in a playoff series. Also, if you really think about it, are these new Celtics really any better than Cleveland, Washington, Chicago, Toronto, or New Jersey? And hasn't the three star philosophy been tried recently in the East to lackluster results? (See; Arenas-Jamison-Butler and Kidd-Carter-Jefferson) Also, for all of the "Celtics will smash the East, the East sucks" people, here is a newsflash for you; the East got a lot better when you weren't looking. Let's start at the bottom. Milwaukee had Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva, and Bobby Simmons hurt for large parts of last season, and now add Yi Jianlian to a now healthy team. The Knicks were able to add Zach Randolph for essentially nothing. The Bobcats traded for Jason Richardson and also look to get full seasons from Primoz Brezec, Sean May, and Walter Herrman. The 76ers ended the season on a 17-9 run when you weren't looking, and then added Thaddeus Young through the draft. The Magic signed Rashard Lewis. The Wizards look to have a healthy Gilbert Arenas. The Heat look forward to full years from the recently injured Shaq and D-Wade. I say all that to say this; if you are ready to say the Celtics, last year's worst Eastern team, are the top team in the East this year, you are ignoring reality. The whole Eastern Conference upgraded this offseason, and the Celtics look to be in the middle of the pack.

So will the trade be worth it? Short-term, yes. The Celtics will be a playoff team, and depending on the secondary moves Ainge makes they could challenge for the East a season or two from now. Will they win a championship? Probably not. They would be completely outclassed at the point and outcoached by any of the top Western Conference teams if the Celts were to reach the Finals. In the long term the trade is awful. Just plain rotten. After their 3-4 year window runs up, and they have maybe won two Eastern Conference titles, they will have nothing but a luxury tax roster with lottery team talent. It is obvious that Ainge made the move knowing his job was likely on the line, but he may well have just given himself a 4 year lease instead of long term security.

As The Daunte Turns

Do you want to know the definition of a really bad day for an NFL QB?

It's when a team chooses to sign Tim Couch instead of you.

That is exactly what happened to Daunte Culpepper this weekend, as the Jaxsonville Jaguars decided to go with the NFL's version of Nikoloz Tskitishvili instead of Daunte. What is especially troublesome about this development for Daunte is that the Jaguars were assumed to be the perfect fit. It was a foregone conclusion that he was going there. So what went wrong? Evidently the deal fell apart because Daunte wanted a one year deal, and the Jaguars were looking for something in the 2-3 year range. In examining the situation, both sides were right to stick to their guns. The Jags want two things, 1.) security behind Byron Leftwich and 2.) someone to push Leftwich. A one year deal would not have really fulfilled either of those needs. For Culpepper, a one year deal will help him prove that he is truly healthy whil allowing him the ability to pursue a starting job next year, or at least get premium backup money. Any contract Culpepper will sign this summer will be at a large discount, so minimizing the length of this deal is to Culpepper's advantage.

Now that the Jaguars are out of the running, where does Daunte land this year?
If you trust John Clayton over at ESPN, Tampa Bay looks like a contender. If that were to actually happen, and the Bucs added Daunte to a stable that already hosts Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski, Luke McCown, and the rights to Jake Plummer, I would quit blogging and apply to become the new Bucs GM, since the current one is obviously an imbecile. All kidding aside, Clayton also throws out the Rams and Ravens as possible destinations for Daunte. I'm not sure where he came up with those two teams but hey, it's John Clayton, so I'll cut him some slack.

The momentum in signing Culpepper however, seems to lie with the Raiders. Culpepper is scheduled to work out for the Raiders in California today, and signing with Oakland just might be the perfect deal for him. JaMarcus Russell is still holding out, and with him unlikely the be ready to start at the beggining of the season the Raiders are looking at starting either Josh McCown or Andrew Walter at QB for the first 6-10 games of the season. Would an 80-90% healthy Culpepper be better than those two guys? Probably. Would starting for half a year be better for Culpepper's free agent chances next year than sitting behind Jeff Garcia in Tampa Bay? Certainly. Is there a better QB for Russell to learn from than Culpepper, the man he is a clone of? Not a chance.

Now...there is one other destination for Culpepper; Minnesota. Ok, maybe Daunte did not leave on the best of terms, but for goodness sakes, the Vikings are headed into the season with Tavaris Jackson as their starter with Brooks Bollinger as the backup. If the Vikings were a baby Zygi Wilf and Minnesota management would be charged with child neglect. Seriously, how can you not at least consider bringing in Daunte for a year? After seeing Jackson flee the pocket constantly and throw interceptions in the few games he played last season, does Brad Childress really believe that he couldn't use one more year of learning before being thrown into the fire? Maybe they are blind up in Minnesota, but Daunte looks like a good fit there to me. Wherever he lands, one thing can be for sure; he won't be looking to stay there long.

Ainge's Risk

The story that won't die has reared its head once again; Kevin Garnett might be traded.

The punchline to this joke? The trade being discussed (and in some reports the trade that is done) is KG going to Boston.

Didn't he veto that one already?

This time around the landscape is a little different from both the Celtics' and KG's perspective. For KG, Ray Allen being added to the roster along with Paul Pierce now makes Boston look a lot more attractive, perhaps attractive enough to sign a long-term extension with the Celtics. For the Celtics, having three All-Stars (Pierce, Garnett, and Allen) looks a lot better on paper than having two, and would certainly push them inot the Finals out of the weak East. Right?

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but sometimes 2 can be greater than 3. In this case adding either KG or Ray Allen, alone, could have theoretically benefited the Celtics in both the short and long term. Adding both players however, is going to essentially gut the entire Celtics roster. Just take a look at what the Celtics are reported to be giving up in the KG trade;


Al Jefferson
Gerald Green
Sebastian Telfair
Theo Ratliff

Also take a look at what they already gave up for Allen;

Jeff Green
Delonte West
Wally Szczerbiak

Taken alone, both trades would have left the Celtics with some talent to develop around their newly imported All Star. Both trades though? As great as Allen and KG are and have been in their careers, you are talking about two men in their 30's that are likely on the downsides of their careers. To get these two players the Celtics are sacrificing two decent young talents (West and Telfair), two youngsters that could become All Stars (J. Green and G. Green), and one young guy who will be an All Star, and soon (Jefferson).

In spite of the talent purge that would take place if KG were to come to town, in the mind of Danny Ainge it would be worth it if the move led to an NBA championship. The obvious question then, is will adding KG bring a title to Boston? The answer is by no means simple. Having two All Stars on one team can be hard enough (See; Nuggets, Denver), but having three? The success of the deal would hinge entirely on the ability of Pierce, Allen, and KG to come together as a cohesive unit. Whether they will be able to or not is anyone's guess.

So lets just suppose that the experiment does go pretty well. KG leads the Celtics to the Eastern Conference championship. Then what? Would a Celtics team without a PG, without a C, and without any bench depth whatsoever be able to beat the Spurs? The Suns? The Mavs? No way on earth would that happen. In a best case scenario the Celtics might win the East a couple of times in the next 3-4 years. Barring a major dose of luck in the draft however, the Celtics will not be able to add any players of substance to help their All Star trio over the hump to becoming NBA champs. And the aftermath of such a 3-4 year run could be ugly. Aging stars Pierce, Allen, and Garnett will fall off in productivity while their contracts continue to rise, and there won't be a Gerald Green, Jeff Green, or Al Jefferson waiting in the wings to pick up the slack. They will all be too busy playing on the Western Conference All Star team.

"Negative Qoutes About Losers"

Another week down, another post of fun google searches. This week the dominant search that brought people to the site was either some permutation of "mike vick update" or "ron mexico t-shirt". "Snorg girl" and "Mark Kotsay's wife" are still going strong, but have lagged considerably behind the search monster that is the Vick scandal.

Now on to the fun stuff. Here are a few of the odder searches that brought people to this neck of the woods:

"40 and older slam dunk contest"
"battle of the jordan"
"gophergutz"
"marline monroe hot kissing video"

Good searches all, but none of them can stand up to this weeks' winner of the "WTB Search Of The Week Award", which goes to;

"negative qoutes about losers"

Why is this search great? As with all of the great searches I have featured here, the image of the person searching this just cracks me up. With this one I imagine some high school bully who has been recently rebuffed by an intelligent quip by one of his victims. Tired of merely pounding his foil into submission, he goes home and googles "negative qoutes about losers" to find some witty ammo. And what did he find? A post of mine about Yi Jianlian. Go figure.

Dice-K Is Looking Like...Aaron Harang

Going into Sunday night's game against the Devil Rays, the worst team in baseball, most people would have guessed that Dice-K would pitch well and get a win. Well, that would be half right. Dice-K pitched 6.1 innings and only gave up two earned runs, but the Red Sox bats fell silent against Scott Kazmir and the Devil Rays in a 5-2 loss. This was Dice-K's second straight quality start after falling off the wagon a bit with three consecutive non-quality starts in the middle of July. As the Red Sox get ready for the stretch run, with the Yankees creeping ever closer, Boston has to be hoping that they get "Good Dice-K" down the stretch. If "Bad Dice-K" happens to come back, the Red Sox could find themselves in a tough spot come September.

As far as comparisons go, this week was tougher than others. This week Dice-K is looking like Aaron Harang. Harang matches up with Dice-K almost perfectly in three out of the four areas I look at each week, but he is way off in terms of quality start percentage. I decided to investigate as to why, and it turns out that the culprit behind Harang's .49 QS% was 7 starts over six innings in which Harang gave up exactly 4 ER. (You can only give up 3 ER to qualify as a quality start) So even though the number looks bad, Harang is a lot closer to Dice-K that it would seem.


Dice-K 2007:
W%: .6
QS%: .64
ERA: 3.75
WHIP: 1.27
Salary: $6,333,333

Harang 2006:
W%: .59
QS%: .49
ERA: 3.76
WHIP: 1.27
Salary: $2,350,000

Paxson's New Problem

One NBA player being robbed at gunpoint is frightening.

Two NBA players being robbed at gunpoint within weeks of one another, in the same city, sure feels like something even worse.

In an incident eerily similar to what happened to Antoine Walker three weeks ago, the Knicks' Eddy Curry was robbed today at his Chicago area home;

"Deputy chief of police John Madden said three offenders restrained Curry, his family and an employee with duct tape inside the Burr Ridge home."

While the primary concern in both Walker and Curry's situations rests with their safety and well being, the timing and location of the two robberies should also concern someone else;

The Chicago Bulls and GM John Paxson.

Whether it is fair or not, these two robberies are going to give the perception around the NBA that players in Chicago are being targeted. Only time will tell whether or not the two robberies are linked in some way, but at present the robberies are going to make Chicago seem like a much less attractive destination for NBA players than it was at the beggining of July.

The timing is especially troubling given the fact that the Bulls were obviously aiming to make a big push next Summer in free agency. The Bulls were set to enter the 2008 offseason with more cap space than almost any NBA team. The 2008 free agent class should feature far more star power than this year, with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Baron Davis, Antawn Jamison, Shawn Marion, and Jermaine O'Neal likely being available. Now that Chicago seems a little less safe for NBA players than it did just a month ago, how will that change the thinking of a player like Garnett or O'Neal if they are offered similar money by both the Bulls and another team?

What Chicago may end up doing, and what they may have done regardless of the two robberies, is focus on signing their young core to lucrative extensions. It is almost certain that the Bulls will sign Luol Deng long term, but if the Bulls are unable to sign any big ticket free agents next Summer they would be much more likely to re-sign the likes of Ben Gordon and Chris Duhon. Only time will tell if the two recent robberies will force Chicago's hand in choosing whether to maintain their core or to go the free agent route.

Thanks For Choosing Milwaukee

Mo Williams faced a touch choice this Summer as a free agent; take less moeny to go to Miami and possibly be a part of a championship team with Shaq and D-Wade, or take the big money to stay in Milwaukee and be a part of the Bucks' rebuilding process.

Williams chose Milwaukee, but early indications are that perhaps he should have headed down to South Beach. Why? Evidently being in Milwaukee also means having your car robbed;

"...Thursday, however, he was filing information with Milwaukee police alleging that someone broke into his 2005 Dodge Magnum in the 1800 block of E. Kenilworth Ave. about 2:15 a.m.

Thieves got away with two LCD screens from the head rests, a navigation system and a radio/DVD player, according to a police report.

Damage and loss are estimated at $3,000."

I'm sure that this is just the kind of news that Sen. Herb Kohl and Bucks management love to hear while trying to convince Yi Jianlian that Milwaukee really is a wonderful place to live.

Brady Quinn, Meet Reality

The Cleveland Browns have reached contract agreements with two of their top three picks, including third overall pick Joe Thomas. The lone holdout? Brady Quinn of course. Quinn and the Browns find themselves in an odd position. On one hand, the Browns believe that Brady was one of the top players from this year's draft, and that he could possibly be thier quarterback for the next decade so it would figure that they would give him a big contract. On the other hand, Quinn wasn't one of the top players selected in the draft after falling to #22, and as such it would figure that he shouldn't get top ten type money.

The good thing for the Browns in this situation is that even though Quinn's situation is unusual, it is not unique.

Nearly the same exact situation occured just two years ago with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Rodgers, like Quinn, had been universally projected to go in the first ten picks of the draft only to fall into the twenties. As such, Rodgers' contract with the Packers is a good starting point in attempting to figure out what Quinn's deal should look like.

Rodgers signed a deal with the Packers for five years and $7.7 million, with $5.4 million in guarantees. The contract also contains escalators and incentives, mainly based on Rodgers ability to become the Packers' starter, that could push the total value of the contract to $24.52 million.

Quinn does have a few factors in his favor that would aid in being able to negotiate a larger deal than Rodgers. For one thing, he was selected two spots higher. He also has both a better pedigree than Rodgers did coming out of college, as well as greater marketing potential for the Browns. The league salary cap has alos gone up in the past two years. Given all of these factors, how much more should Brady expect?

First off, he should get higher base compensation so move that $7.7 million to something more like $8.5 million. Then take the guaranteed money and move it from $5.4 million to the $7 million range. Next take the total possible value of the contract after incentives and escalators and move it from $24.52 million to about $28 million.

What makes this situation so contentious and potentially prolonged however, is the fact that Brady and his agent think Brady should get top ten money. Quinn's agent is Tom Condon, who just happens to represent Matt Leinart. Leinart was selected 10th in last year's darft, and also had the distinction of being the longest holdout of any draft pick from last year.

If Quinn and his agent think he should be paid more like Leinart, let's take a peek at the deal Leinart signed with the Cardinals. Leinart's deal was for six years and a total possible value of $50.8 million, with $14 million guaranteed. Compare those numbers to the contract I proposed above based upon Brady's draft position and history, and you can see that there is about a $7 million gap in guaranteed money and over $20 million difference in total value.

Any advantage the Browns gained in selecting Quinn at the #22 spot would be completely mitigated if they were to go much higher than the $30 million deal proposed above. So how is this situation going to play out? If I had to guess, I'd say that Browns fans should be prepared for a long holdout followed by a year of Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson behind center.

Third Time's A Shame

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl just four seasons ago.

Seems longer than that doesn't it?

In the four years since that Super Bowl victory the Bucs have gone 27-37 and are coming off an especially dismal 4-12 campaign. So what has gone wrong? There are a number of possible answers to that question, but one answer has come to the forefront in the past day after the Bucs cut Simeon Rice. Rice was one of the five defensive stars on Tampa's Super Bowl winning team, along with Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, John Lynch, and Warren Sapp. Rice is also the third casualty of that group, along with Lynch and Sapp. Both of those players have gone on to make Tampa look foolish by continuing to perform at a high level for their new teams. Will Rice continue that trend?

Consider this; Rice had a shoulder injury that should have sidelined him the entire season. Instead of sitting out though, he played eight mostly ineffective games and only amassed two sacks. So after one injury shortened season the Bucs demanded that Rice take a pay cut, or they would release him. He said no, and they cut him. Never mind the fact that Rice 1.) has the second most sacks of any active player and 2.) had turned in five consecutive seasons with 11 sacks or more for the Bucs prior to last year. Have the Bucs learned nothing from how the Lynch and Sapp situations turned out?

Even worse that the prospect of Rice continuing to perform well for another team though, is the damage that the move has done to the team's morale. Just take a look at this qoute;

"[Derrick] Brooks was almost in tears," said Rice, who ran into the Bucs long-standing weakside linebacker in the hotel parking lot just minutes after being told of his fate.

The Bucs players are scared now. Don't believe me? Just ask their punter;

"Shocker, eh?" punter Josh Bidwell said. "I'd better play well because nobody is safe. I'm as shocked as you are."

The obvious question now is whether or not the Bucs made the right move. My gut feeling is that the answer is a resounding "No". An elite pass rusher like Rice doesn't just lose it after one injury. I'd be willing to wager that Rice will get snatched up by another team quickly (Washington...please?), and will make the Bucs rue the day they decided to cut an aging defensive star for money concerns.

It didn't really change their thinking the first two times it happened, did it?

Examining The "Evidence"

Last night ESPN aired a town hall meeting to discuss the Barry Bonds scandal. After watching it I came away with two clear conclusions; 1.) St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell is pretentious and thinks he is a lot smarter than he is, which is why he was booed numerous times by the crowd, and 2.) the mantra that kept being repeated against Bonds always came back to "look at these pictures, he is so much bigger now" and "how can he be so good at his age"? These two points seem to be the thrust of the Bonds steroids argument. In spite of all of the second hand allegations, there is still no person that has ever said that they saw Bonds taking steroids, and Bonds has never tested positive. So in the absence of any concrete proof, those who are certain that Bonds used steroids always come back to the two common sense arguments based on Bonds' physical change and elite performance at an advanced age.

For arguments sake, lets take a look at the these two arguments on the Bonds side, and then compare those same two arguments to another aging baseball hero; Roger Clemens.

Barry's Change:
Every single time that you hear an argument about Barry Bonds, someone flashes up a picture similar to this;



You really can't argue that Bonds has undergone quite a transformation since his rookie season with the Pirates. He went from being a lithe and skinny speedster to being a hulking slugger. The visuals speak for themselves in this regard. But don't men generally gain muscle mass as they age? Wouldn't being on a pro baseball team and having access to their weight training facilities as well as having the money to buy your own trainers also contribute to a much larger physique?

Barry's Performance:
So how on earth was Barry able to go from a really good home run hitter throughout his career to breaking the single season record at the age of 36 and then continuing to have 40 home run seasons into his 40's? Is there any precedent for such a run? The following year at age 37 Bonds hit 46 home runs, which stands as the second highest mark for a player that age. So who holds the record for age 37? Hank Aaron, with 47 homers. So how come Bonds performing at an elite level at an advanced age is an indictment against him, while Hank Aaron's performance at the end of his career is lauded as a measure of his consistency?

So now that we have looked at these two arguments as they pertain to Bonds, now lets turn our gaze to Clemens:

Roger's Change:
Do you remember what Roger Clemens looked like when he first entered the majors? Now, do you remember what he looked like with the Astros? In case you don't, here is a refresher;



You know what? Clemens got bigger as he got older. Imagine that.

Roger's Performance:
So you thought that Barry Bonds' recent performances were unbelievable for his age? Try this one on for size. In 2005 Clemens posted a 1.87 ERA at the age of 42. So how rare was this? It was the lowest ERA by a starting pitcher in their 40's since 1917, when Eddie Plank posted a 1.79 ERA. So how come Clemens can post historically amazing numbers in his 40's without arousing any suspicion, while Bonds hitting 40 homers in his 40's sets off the steroid alarm?

I'm not saying that Roger Clemens used steroids. I'm also not saying that Barry Bonds didn't use steroids. I'm merely pointing out how flimsy some of the common sense "evidence" against Bonds truly is.

NFL Rookie (Cheerleader) Preview

Now that the Summer is coming to a close, thoughts of football are starting to pop up again in the collective mind of the American sports fan. Training camps. New coaches. Rookies. Hopes and expectations. And soon...

Cheerleaders.

As familiar as most fans are with the new crop of rookies entering the NFL, there seems to be a general lack of awareness concerning the new crop of sideline ladies entering the league this year. Here at WTB, we feel that it is just as important to be familiar with Lauren Gardner as it is to be familiar with JaMarcus Russell. Thankfully, this is a problem that can be easily rectified. Here is a look at this year's top rookies:


Lauren Gardner, Denver Broncos:
If there is a Rookie of the Year favorite, my vote would no doubt go to Lauren from the Broncos. Maybe I just have a thing for redheads, but Lauren is by far the best looking new cheerleader in my opinion. In case you wanted to know a little more about Lauren, she recently won the title of "2007 Face of Champ Car" which evidently involved her posing in a bikni. According to the Champ Car website Lauren is "21 years old, and a full time student. She would like to get into broadcasting."




Erica, Washington Redskins:
I'm not going to lie; I'm a Redskins fan. My bias aside however, I don't think there is much denying that Erica is one extremely attractive cheerleader. According to her bio on the Redskins' website, Erica is 26 years old and works as a public health analyst. Prior to joining the Redskins Erica danced in college at USC with the USC Flygirls.


Lisa, Buffalo Bills:
Buffalo can be an extremely cold place during football season. It's a good thing then that Bills fans will have the Jills to keep the heat up on the sidelines this year. Chief among the Jills' new additions is Lisa, whose favorite foods are "Chicken fingers and cotton candy ice cream". Just in case you were wondering.


Kristie, Carolina Panthers:
The Panthers' cheerleaders don't exactly have the most sterling repuation around the NFL. So what would be the best way to go about repairing that image? Signing up women like Kristie seems like a good place to start. Kristie lists among her greatest achievements "Graduating with bachelor's degree in radiologic science, dean's list member at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill". Brains and beauty? Sounds like David Carr will have some good conversation on the sidelines this year.

Kindle, Tennessee Titans:
Take a look at Kindle's picture real quick. Given the fact that her name also happens to be Kindle, does it really suprise you that her bio on the Titans website contains 40 exclamation points? I don't really care actually; I'd be pretty excited too if I was around a beautiful Southern blonde like Kindle.

Alaina, Philadelphia Eagles:
We move from blonde to brunette with Alaina of the Eagles, who says that her favorite ice cream is Birthday Cake Remix from Cold Stone Creamery. Alaina also went to Rutgers along with LJ Smith of the Eagles, and cheered him while he played football for the Scarlet Knights.


The Entire Houston Texans Rookie Squad:
If you only click one link today, you should do yourself a favor and take a look around the website of the Houston Texans cheerleaders. I have no idea how the Texans were able to bring in such an insanely gorgeous crop of new cheerleaders, but somehow they were able to bring in gorgeous women of all types. If there was a team award for rookies, the Texans would win in a walk. Too bad Mario Williams didn't work out as well for them last year...

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Rasmussen Out....American Streak Back In?

In case you have missed this year's Tour De France, here is a little update for you;

- On July 20th it was revealed that German rider Patrik Sinkewitz tested positive for elevated testosterone levels before the tour.

- Yesterday Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for a illegal blood transfusion. Vinokourov and his entire team (including the 5th and 8th place riders) pulled out of the tour.

- Italian rider Cristian Moreni and his entire Cofidis team withdrew from the tour today after Moreni's positive test for testosterone was revealed.

- Tour leader Michael Rasmussen was removed from the race today after his team cited violations of team rules. Rasmussen had been under suspicion ever since it was revealed that he had skipped two doping tests leading up to the tour and had been kicked off of the Danish national team.

Suffice it to say, the Tour De France is in a bit of a shambles right now. Now that the dust has settled (maybe) as far as expulsions, the new tour leader is Spaniard Alberto Contador. Contador holds a 1:53 lead with four stages remaining, but in third place lurks a rider that could continue an eight year run at the tour.

American Levi Leipheimer.

Leipheimer stands 2:49 behind Contador, his teammate on the Discovery team. If Leipheimer is able to make up the time between himself and Contador he would join Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis as the ninth straight American winner of the Tour De France. Could it happen? Maybe. Leipheimer would likely have to make up a huge amount of ground in the time trial in stage 19, which is not out of the realm of reason.

Who knows, if a few more tests go the wrong way Leipheimer might end up winning by default.

Contra o medo, liberdade

24.07.2007 - Manuel Alegre (Jornal o Publico)






Nasci e cresci num Portugal onde vigorava o medo. Contra eles lutei a vida inteira. Não posso ficar calado perante alguns casos ultimamente vindos a público. Casos pontuais, dir-se-á.

Mas que têm em comum a delação e a confusão entre lealdade e subserviência. Casos pontuais que, entretanto, começam a repetir-se. Não por acaso ou coincidência. Mas porque há um clima propício a comportamentos com raízes profundas na nossa história, desde os esbirros do Santo Ofício até aos bufos da PIDE. Casos pontuais em si mesmos inquietantes. E em que é tão condenável a denúncia como a conivência perante ela.

Não vivemos em ditadura, nem sequer é legítimo falar de deriva autoritária. As instituições democráticas funcionam. Então porquê a sensação de que nem sempre convém dizer o que se pensa? Porquê o medo? De quem e de quê? Talvez os fantasmas estejam na própria sociedade e sejam fruto da inexistência de uma cultura de liberdade individual.

Sottomayor Cardia escreveu, ainda estudante, que "só é livre o homem que liberta". Quem se cala perante a delação e o abuso está a inculcar o medo. Está a mutilar a sua liberdade e a ameaçar a liberdade dos outros. Ora isso é o que nunca pode acontecer em democracia.

The Franchise Tag Has To Go

As most NFL fans are aware, premier defenders Asante Samuel of the New England Patriots and Lance Briggs of the Chicago Bears have been threatening to sit out the first ten weeks of the upcoming season due to their teams' use of the dreaded franchise tag upon them. News today has Briggs and the Bears close to an agreement that will get Briggs into camp instead of having him continue his holdout. The agreement, as in almost all of these types of negotiations, appears to be contingent upon the Bears promising Briggs one simple thing; don't do it again. When the franchise tag system always seems to boil down to this same point, it is time for something to change.

First, it is good to understand why exactly the franchise tag exists. Ideally, the tag should be used by teams to keep their star player for an extra season in order for them to negotiate a long term deal. Here is what the tag actually means:

"A franchise player is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at his position in the previous season, or a 20 percent salary increase, whichever is greater. This type of franchise player may negotiate with other clubs. His original club has seven days to match the offer and retain the player, or receive two first-round draft choices as compensation if the original club elects not to match."

You can see the logic behind such a designation; the player gets an extremely good salary, and the team is protected during negotiations by the draft pick compensation. The problem with the system however, is that teams have begun to exploit it by franchising players they have no interest in signing long term deals with, thereby just holding them hostage for a season. They can do this with almost no risk considering that no team in their right mind would be willing to surrender two first round picks for all but a select crust of elite players, players that would never hit the franchiose tag market in the first place. The problem for the franchised player is that he is unable to truly negotiate a deal worth his market value and is unable to secure a long term deal with guaranteed money in case of an injury during the year in which he is franchised. So of course the use of the franchise tag almost inevitably leads to animosity developing between the player and the team, and the request that the team not use the designation again. Does this sound like a system that is allowing teams to keep their franchise players? Or does it sound like one that is securing one year rentals and ticking a lot of people off in the process?

Now that we have examined the problem, here is a look at two solutions to fixing the franchise problem.

Make It One Year: This is by far the simplest solution to the problem, and it would keep the original intent of the tag intact. If teams were only allowed to franchise a player for one season, then the team would still have a reasonable shot at negotiating a long term deal with the player while lessening the risk factor to the player. If the player really doesn't want to be there, fine; he can sign a big money tender for one season and then hit free agency the next summer and sign a long term deal with another club. The franchise tag was never meant to force hostage situations between a team and a franchise player, and limiting the tag to one use per player would put an end to that type of situation.

Reduce The Compensation: The shocking thing in all of this is that technically a franchised player can still sign with another team. It rarely ever happens though, since two first round picks are a ridiculous level of compensation in today's NFL. Again, players that are worth that much would never hit the franchise market in the first place. They would either be locked up to long term deals or be tagged as "exclusive" franchise players. (Meaning that they get more money but can't sign with other teams) So how do you solve this problem? Reduce the compensation to something more reasonable, like a single first round pick, or a second and a third, or even two second round picks. Lowering the compensation level would allow other teams to engage in bidding for the franchised player, which would actually increase the likelihood of the original team signing the franchised player to a long term deal since they would still be allowed the right to match the terms of any offer. And if the player got an outrageous offer? Then the team would still get compensated. Again, this simple change would return the franchise tag to its original purpose.

The Sharks Get A Makeover

Yesterday the San Jose Sharks sought to rectify a problem that had always bothered me personally. The problem? If your team's name is the Sharks, shouldn't you have a much meaner logo than this?



I've always thought so anyway, especially since the slternate logo is even weaker;



I am honestly not very scared by either of those logos. Especially when your team's main color is teal, you really need to bring your A-game so far as striking fear in the hearts of your opponents through your logo. So what does the new Sharks logo look like? Well, take a look at both the standard and the two new alternate logos right here;





Do you see the differences in the two main logos? The new shark has a menacing orange eye, has sharper angled fins, a more menacing posture, and the stick in the logo is now being shattered instead of merely bent. Much better if you ask me.

The real difference though, is in the alternate fin logo. Look at the original one. A gray fin, hell it could be a dolphin for all we know, wading through trainquil white and teal water inside a soothing circle. WEAK. Look at that sexy new fin logo. A black fin, cutting through choppy waves that splash up in the air, set against an orange sky, inside an angular diamond shape. NICE. Whoever did the redesign on these logos deserves a raise, pronto.

Dice-K Is Looking Like...Erik Bedard

If there is one thing that can be said about Dice-K this season, it is that he has been consistently inconsistent. In June Dice-K was one of the top three pitchers in the AL, going 5/5 on quality starts and posting a 1.59 ERA for the month. After Dice-K threw eight shutout innings in his first July start, it looked as if he was finally over the hump and ready to be the staff ace that the Sox had envisioned all along. Then Dice-K went out and laid three straight eggs, going 1-2 with no quality starts over a three game stretch.

So of course, just when it seemed like Dice-K was ready to roll over and play dead, he goes out last night and out-duels CC Sabathia, tossing seven shutout innings to beat the Indians 1-0. Go figure. After his latest performance Dice-K's most comparable pitcher from last year is actually quite good news for both Dice-K and the Sox. The most comparable pitcher is very similar in age to Dice-K and is also experiencing a great deal of sucess this season. So this week, Dice-K is looking like...Erik Bedard.

Dice-K 2007:
W%: .63
QS%: .62
ERA: 3.76
WHIP: 1.27
Salary: $6,333,333

Bedard 2006:
W%: .58
QS%: .61
ERA: 3.76
WHIP: 1.35
Salary: $1,400,000