SPORTS HITS

The NFL Free Agency market has really heated up with many players signing while others have not decided. The Washington Redskins have made a big splash already when they made Albert haynesworth a 100 million dollar man with a 7 year 100 million dollar deal. The Redskins also sign Deangelo Hall to a 54 million dollar deal to help give the Redskins even more help on defense.

Today the Cleveland Browns traded Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for some draft picks. This is really a surprise as Winslow was a good player in Cleveland, but never really got along with management anyway. Should be interesting to see how he fits in Tampa bay.

The trade rumored to be in the works for weeks also was done when Sage Rosenfels was traded to the Minnesota Vikings from the Houston Texans. The Texans got a fourth round pick which really was not a lot, but we will have to see how well sage does in Minnesota.

Other news Fred Taylor signed a deal with the New England Patriots and I am sure more deals will be made by the hour. I will post things as I find them out.

I guess Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras must not read the newspapers and realize that we are in the midst of a recession. They decided to turn down the Los Angeles Dodgers latest contract offer which was 2 years and 45 million dollars. I guess Manny and his agent Scott Boras feels that he is worth a lot more. I guess they are playing hardball and now I think it is time the Los Angeles Dodgers do exactly the same thing with Manny and his agent.

Do the Los Angeles need Manny Ramirez to win the National league West? Yes, they could use him, but they also can win without him. He is a player that can help a ballclub, but you have to draw the line somewhere in the sand or agents like Scott Boras will keep pushing and wanting more money. I mean 2 year 45 million dollars is a great offer for a ballplayer who is very moody at times. If I was the Dodgers I would just move on and let Manny sit out as no other teams have stepped up to make any kind of offers at all. This should tell you Manny is not worth the asking price.

Michael Crabtree  right now is at a crossroad as he need surgery on his ankle, but he also wants to perform in front of NFL Scouts so he does not hurt his draft status. Many people have given Crabtree advice, but he really is not sure which is the the one he is going to go with. I am leaning towards that he does not run the 40 yard dash in the tryout.

The bottom line is Crabtree should just go have the surgery and let the chips fall as they may. If he runs the 40 yard dash and does not perform up to what people expect it will just hurt him in the draft. Just sit on the side and have the surgery and see where people think you are. I do not think his draft status will drop very much if any.

Scott Eyre is a baseball player who is feeling the credit crunch, but it was not of his own doing. Eyre who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies had his assets frozen in the Stanford Financial fraud case and only has 13 dollars to his name. He knows he will have to hit up some of his ballplayers for some financial assistance until this all gets straighten out. Other MLB players have also been caught up in this as well. I guess it goes to show you anyone can lose their money no matter how careful they think they maybe.

The Indianapolis Colts released Marvin Harrison today which has been rumored for a long time. Harrison played 13 seasons for the Colts and when paired with Peyton Manning they were virtually unstoppable. Last year Harrison was injured and did not have the kind of season that many are use to, but with the salary cap the Colts really had not choice. Marvin did not want to take a pay-cut so the Colts were forced to release him. I think Marvin Harrison is going to realize that not many teams have the kind of money that he is looking for. Harrison has been to eight Pro Bowls and only trails Jerry Rice in career receptions. I guess we will have to see where he lands. Below is a video of one of his miracle catches he made look routine.

Michael Vick is scheduled to be released in July 2009 sometime and it looks like he could be coming to a football field near you. Teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings have expressed interest in getting Vick. Right now the Atlanta Falcons still have the rights to him, but are listening to trade offers.

For the teams interested in Vick they know that the asking price will be high for Vick so I look for them to wait until the Falcons cut him. No one is going to trade for Vick with the big contract he has now and unless Vick is willing to take less money I look for teams just to wait it out.  The other big issue is what will Roger Goodell do as well. Will Vick get a suspension or will he even be reinstated when he gets released?

These are all questions the next team will need to look at before they decide to trade for Michael Vick. Another thing people will look at is how will the fan base like having Michael Vick on their team. I think for most fans they will not say much about it, but some will definitely not like it at all. The one thing about fans is they are very fickle and if Michael Vick wins games the fans who did not want him will soon be right back on the bandwagon once again.

It did not matter what the Milwaukee Bucks tried to do to stop Lebron James it just would not work. James scored 55 points in Cleveland’s 111-103 win over the Milwaukee Bucks who tried everything you could imagine to stop him. Even making James shoot long three pointers did not work or even a hand in his face was to no avail. Some nights players just have the touch and last night Lebron James had that. This marks the 7th time in his career he has scored at least 50 or more points. and he is only 6 behind Michael Jordan for the most 50 point career games which he should easily pass in his career.

Friday, February 20th

With Alex Rodriguez being the center of the latest steroid news the real question should be how deep does it really go. Many players in my mind probably still do it and many are getting away with it. With the money these players are making I am sure they know all the tricks of the trade to beat the tests and keep playing baseball. You take A-Rod as an example he would have never admitted to using steroids if his name was never leaked out and that is sad.

There are over 100 players still on the list and we may never know who those players are and they still could be doing it as we speak. Than you have to wonder about the records that these guys are setting. Do they deserve to keep them? I say yes, but a asterisk needs to be put beside them so people know the truth. Players like Cal Ripken Jr and others should never have a record taken away from them because a player wants to cheat.

Now the funniest thing I heard is the Hall Of Fame committee is not going to change the way they decide who makes it in. We still will consider guys who cheated and took an advantage when they played, but a guy like Pete Rose who did not cheated when he played cannot even be considered for the Hall Of Fame. Does not seem very fair if you ask me. I hope the Hall Of Fame committee change the rules so people who have admitted to using steroids are held accountable for what they did.

After being torn apart in the press all week Dale Earnhardt Jr stepped up to the plate and did the right thing taking partial blame for the wreck at the Daytona 500.  Earnhardt Jr had been ripped by drivers, fans, and really anyone else who seen the wreck. Junior called Brian Vickers who he hit that started the wreck to apologize and clear the air. It was the right thing to do and he can move on and concentrate on winning races.

Junior wanted to get up to the front quickly and he went about it the wrong way and he understands that now. The rain was coming and Junior had a very good car and he wanted to win the race, but he just went about it the wrong way and after some time to think about it he did it the right way.

Ready or not Tiger Woods will be returning to competitive golf once again after a layoff and surgery on his knee. He will return to defend his title at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the world cannot wait it seems. Some people are wondering if Tiger is returning too soon to competitive golf and if his injuries have fully healed.

Tiger Woods is a competitor and loves to play the game of golf and sitting out probably just kills him. It will be interesting to see how well he does in his first few tournaments and how his leg holds up as well. Woods is the kind of player even not 100 percent can  beat most players and the fans are looking forward to seeing Tiger on the prowl once again. Golf needs Tiger Woods and right now I am sure the ratings will be sky high for his return and golf could not be any happier that is for sure.