The Angels Acquire Speedy Torii Hunter

Outfielder Torii Hunter and the Los Angeles Angels reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday night on a five-year contract thought to be worth $90 million. The 32-year-old becomes the much-needed hitter the Angels sought to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the batting order. Hunter hit .297 with 28 homers and 107 RBIs for the Minnesota Twins this year and is a seven-time Gold Glove winner. He finished 15th in AL MVP balloting and was on the AL's All-Star team for the second time in his career. Hunter will join a talented outfield that includes Gary Matthews Jr., Garret Anderson, Guerrero, Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits. The addition of Hunter makes the Angels' outfield one of the fastest, if not the fastest outfield in the game.

Since I can remember the Angels have always been a powerful force in the AL. The combination of power and speed from strong hitters mixed with the pitching of Colon and Lackey proves to be a sick team. With the addition of Garland, look for the Angels to perform very good next season, as they always do. Though they aren't my favorite team, they did have my favorite player, Troy Glaus, who won the World Series MVP in 2002.

Football Predictions for Week 12 of the NFL

What a wonderful time of the year. A time to spend with friends and family. A time to eat and actually have an excuse to get fat. And of course, football. I hope everyone has a wonderful and festive Thanksgiving. Now onto my predictions:

Thanksgiving Day:

Green Bay At Detroit - This is the first meaningful Thanksgiving game for Detroit in a long time. This should be a shoot out and offensive smörgåsbord as both teams like to throw the lights out of the ball. Detroit needs to win because they have one of the roughest schedules coming up. However, I can see Kitna throwing some interceptions while Favre pulls the win out in the end.

New York Jets At Dallas - What a chance for young Tony Romo to show off to America on Thanksgiving. Dallas should have no trouble running up the score on the Jets because the Cowboys play a very different style of football than the Steelers do, who the Jets actually beat last week. Watch for Terrell Owens to blaze by the secondary.

Indianapolis At Atlanta - As lost and confused as the Colts are right now, Joey Harrington is used to losing on Thanksgiving. This is the game where the Colts get their act together.

Minnesota At Giants - This is actually tough. The Giants are notorious for collapsing in the second half of the season, but they haven't so far. Meanwhile, with Peterson out, the Vikings' RB Chester Taylor proved deadly last week. However, because of Minnesota's lack of a decent QB (not that Eli Manning is that great either), the Giants should edge this one out.

Seattle At St. Louis - Seattle really isn't that great of a team and they are lucky to be winning that division. The Rams are an offensive powerhouse once again, though their record doesn't show it. I like the Rams at home to upset the visiting Seahawks.

Tennessee At Cincinnati - This is a must win game for the Titans to stay in the playoff hunt. My first reaction was to pick the Bengals based on the way the Titans dropped very easy catches on Monday night. But then my mind pictured Vince Young running all over that non-existent dimension the Bengals call defense and winning the game.

New Orleans At Carolina - This game is a coin toss, but the Saints are more of a threat on offense and defense.

Oakland At Kansas City - The Chiefs have won nine consecutive games against the Raiders and are the only AFC West team who leads the all-time series with the Raiders, 52-43-2 (including playoffs). Enough said.

Buffalo At Jacksonville - The Bills have won four of the last five meetings between these two teams and lead the all-time regular-season series, 4-2. However, if Losman is starting, I'll take the Jaguars any day.

Houston At Cleveland - This is an excellent matchup. The Texans are a surprise team of the year, but the Browns are even more of a surprise team. The Browns will have to struggle again, but their offense is slightly better than the Texans and should win.

Washington At Tampa Bay - This is another coin toss game. More is at stake with a Washington loss, which Tampa Bay should delibver to them.

San Francisco At Arizona - Arizona will win this beyond a doubt...Wait, did I just predict Seattle to lose and Arizona to win? That would make Arizona tied for first. Bizarre, but I can see that happening.

Baltimore At San Diego - This game is nothing more than a game of struggling teams still trying to find themselves. Both teams will hurt themselves and play poorly, its only a matter of which team plays less poorly. I have more faith in Rivers and Tomlinson than I do in any player on the Ravens.

Denver At Chicago - According to people I know, Denver is back. Regardless if thats true or not, Denver should easily beat the Bears in order to keep up with the Chargers.

Philadelphia At New England -This is UGLY. The Patriots remind me of when I put together an All-Star team of players in MVP Baseball and then simulate to the end after the 4th inning because I'm winning 20-0. It just isn't fun anymore.

Miami At Pittsburgh - I doubt when they made these schedules at the beginning of the year the NFL knew Miami would be doing this bad for a Monday night game. The Steelers can vent their anger over last week's loss to the Jets by destroying the Dolphins.

Mariano Rivera Will Remain With The Yankees

Not only will Rivera remain with the Yankees, he will also become the highest paid closer in baseball. This just symbolizes how badly the Yankees want to hold onto their players instead of making much needed changes. Mariano Rivera is expected to accept the Yankees' three-year, $45 million offer. The contract would make Rivera the highest paid closer in baseball history.

Within the life of the deal, Rivera should pass Lee Smith for second on the all-time saves list. In 13 years with the Yankees, the right-hander has 443 saves, 35 behind Smith. The Padres' Trevor Hoffman is the all-time leader with 524 saves. Rivera saved 30 games last season, his lowest total since 2002 and posted a 3.15 ERA, his highest since his rookie year in 1995. A 3.15 ERA for a closer is a really bad stat to have. As closers get older, they don't seem as reliable as they used to be. I remember even Hoffman had trouble shutting the door last season. Perhaps the Yankees should have looked towards new faces.

The Yankees have been waiting to hear if Rivera would accept the deal for a week, but Rivera is supposedly holding out for a fourth year at the moment.

The Celtics' Streak Magically Ends

The NBA's best-shooting team, the Celtics found themselves uncharacteristically down 20 points and trailing after three quarters. They came back and made it close, but a number of missed attempts for a basket with the time winding down caused the Orlando Magic to hand the Boston Celtics (8-1) its first loss, 104-102. Garnett, Ray Allen, and Pierce were each averaging 20 points. Only Pierce topped the mark Sunday, scoring 28 points and keying several quick runs that brought Boston back.

This game was a chance for Orlando (9-2) to show it deserved the conference's second-best record. It was the first time a team shot better than 50 percent against the Celtics and the first time Boston trailed at the half and entering the fourth quarter. At 9-2, when did the Magic become so good? Orlando and New Orleans are the shocking, surprise teams of the year thus far.

My Interpretation of Week 11 in the NFL

Green Bay 31 beat Carolina 17 - Perhaps this was the only game other than the Patriots which wasn't close. Favre was simply spectacular again and they finally established a solid running game.

Arizona 35 beat Cincinnati 27 - This was the first of many games to flip-flop back and forth before Arizona came away with a victory. The Bengals defense could not stop the Cardinals and Palmer's 4 interceptions really hurt them.

Cleveland 33 beat Baltimore 30 - This was truly an exciting game. Not only did it flip-flop back and forth but it went into overtime. The Ravens finally scored more points than I could spend at the McDonald's $1 menu (corny I know), but Cleveland proved they are the real deal and owners of the Wild Card spot. Even still, the Steelers should watch out.

New York Giants 16 beat Detroit 10 - I'm starting to really lose faith in Kitna's promise for 10 wins. They play the Packers on Thanksgiving and that'll be another loss. Eli Manning did surprisingly well for a game in the second half of the season and perhaps they have solidified their spot for a Wild Card.

Philadelphia 17 beat Miami 7 - I was getting a little scared at one point in this game, but then I remembered the Eagles were playing the Dolphins. McNabb got hurt yet again after throwing 2 interceptions. Feeley didn't do any better. Thank God for Westbrook on that team otherwise the Eagles would be lost. Beck didn't fair well at gall in his first game as a starter, but at least he didn't throw an interception or turn the ball over.

Tampa Bay 31 beat Atlanta 7 - With this win Tampa Bay pretty much clinched first place in their division. Leftwich, who they decided to start despite Harrington winning 2 in a row, did terrible. Maybe next time they'll start Harrington.

Minnesota 29 beat Oakland 22 - Perhaps it wasn't Adrian Peterson himself who was amazing. I think no matter who the Vikings have as a running back he will rush like he is on crack. Chester Taylor, the backup to Peterson, ran for 164 yards and 3TDs. Culpepper threw for 344 yards in a losing effort against his old team.

Jacksonville 24 beat Chargers 17 - Philip Rivers still has Antonio Gates and LaDanian Tomlinson, but there is something very different and uncomfortable about this team. Meanwhile, Jacksonville continues to roll and are seriously giving the struggling Colts a run for their money.

Indianapolis 13 beat Chiefs 10 - The good news is the Colts won. They still have a lead over the Jaguars for first place. The bad news is they barely squeaked by the Chiefs, which is a team that has seen better days. I don't know what Vinatieri's problem is, but he needs to start converting on simple kicks. The Colts will continue to win, but it will be an uphill struggle until the playoffs where they will lose if they don't have their full squad of healthy players back.

Houston 23 beat New Orleans 10 - I expected the Saints to bounce back after that embarrassing loss against the Rams, but Brees messed things up once again while Schaub had a very good game. The most interesting stat of this game was the unusually large number of fumbles.

New York Jets 19 upset Steelers 16 - This was the upset of the week. Just when it looked as if the Jets were going to blow another 4th quarter lead for the 6th time, the Jets found new life in them. Their defense stepped up and shut down the Steelers' offense while Clemens did a very fine job of leading his team on a two minute drill to send the game into overtime. I think many will agree with me that the Steelers are the only team left on the Patriot's schedule who stands a chance at stopping their perfect season, but after this game maybe I'll rethink that.

Seattle 30 beat Chicago 23 - Not much to comment in this offensive showdown. Grossman actually looked good, but Hasselbeck looked better. Seattle isn't all that good, however. They'll win their division by default and get smacked up in the playoffs.

St. Louis 13 beat San Francisco 9 - St. Louis is back! Its ashame its too late, but I'll be picking them to win many more games the rest of the season. Then again, any team except the Dolphins can beat the 49ers.

Dallas 28 beat Washington 23 - This game was much closer than it should have been. Dallas is very good, don't get me wrong, but they also get very lucky. Terrell Owens caught 4 TDs in this game, proving he is still one of the best receivers in the game.

New England 35 Vs Buffalo 7 (At Half) - My suspicion as to why this is a Sunday night game is confirmed. I actually thought at first Buffalo would upset them on a primetime Sunday night game. Then I realized this game is primarily on in order to show off the Patriots, as if the world doesn't know already that Tom Brady is the sun and everything revolves around him. Randy Moss has 4 TD catches already, probably to match Owens' 4 TDs because the Patriots always want to prove anything any team can do, they can do better. I can't watch anymore of this. It gets to a point where its not fun anymore and I'm always suspicious of the Patriots cheating. I am, however, entertained at the fact Al Michaels said "damn" on a Sunday night football game.

NFL Updated News and Injury Report For Week 11

The Oakland Raiders will finally start the highly anticipated JaMarcus Russell on December 2nd against the Broncos. Unless Daunte Culpepper performs incredibly well the next two weeks in starts against the Vikings and Chiefs, Russell likely will get all five starts in December.

The New England Patriots will face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday evening without starting right guard Stephen Neal who was unexpectedly downgraded to "out" on Saturday night because of a shoulder injury. In addition, New England also ruled out free safety Eugene Wilson and linebacker Eric Alexander. Meanwhile, the Bills rookie, Marshawn Lynch, missed his third straight practice on Friday and is doubtful for Buffalo's game Sunday night.

The Indianopolis Colts' list is just too big and depressing. Most likely to miss Week 11 are wide receiver Marvin Harrison (knee), wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (thumb), cornerback Dante Hughes (shoulder), cornerback Matt Giordano (hamstring), tackle Daniel Federkeil (concussion), linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (neck) and cornerback Tim Jennings (upper leg). They are all listed as questionable. Tight end Dallas Clark practiced all week and has been cleared to play despite a concussion. Linebacker Freddie Keiaho, who is not on the injury list, should be back after missing games with a concussion.

Halfback Brian Westbrook missed practice for the second straight day with a knee injury and is questionable for the Eagles' game against Miami on Sunday. Andy Reid said "I think he'll be ready to go. It's not bad. There's a little swelling." This isn't a surprise. Westbrook is questionable every week.

Shaun Alexander will not play for the Seattle Seahawks until he's healthy enough to practice full time. Holmgren wouldn't officially say Alexander is "out" for Sunday's game against Chicago, but did say that backup Maurice Morris would get his second straight start. Morris had 28 carries for 87 yards in Seattle's 24-0 win over San Francisco last Monday. Personally, I even forgot Alexander was still playing. He's done nothing and has been so quiet the past couple of years. Deion Branch practiced without limitation this week, but Holmgren wouldn't go so far as to proclaim that Branch or linebacker LeRoy Hill would play against the bears.

Cleveland nose tackle Shaun Smith will not play in Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens because of a knee injury. Smith was injured during practice Thursday, the team said.

Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.

Wow I didn't realize this list was so long. Whats with all these star players not staying healthy?

Martin Brodeur Earns 500th Win

Martin Brodeur is truly one of the greatest hockey goalies around and Saturday night he reached a truly remarkable milestone. Brodeur reached one of hockey's rarest milestones, stopping all but two shots in a modest effort thanks to some of New Jersey's usual stout defense and earned his 500th win. Brodeur made 26 saves in the Devils' 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night and joined Roy as the only goalies in NHL history with that many victories. Brodeur's overall record is 500-273-105-15.

Brodeur has been on the New Jersey Devils for 14 seasons and led the franchise to three Stanley Cup titles. While he has an abnormally high number of losses this season (10), the 35-year-old Brodeur is still on pace to pass Roy on the career win list (551) at some point next season. Congrats to Martin Brodeur.

Braves Acquire Prospect Josh Anderson

What a disappointing trade and replacement for Andruw Jones. Looking to land a possible replacement for Andruw Jones, the Atlanta Braves traded reliever Oscar Villarreal to the Houston Astros for speedy outfielder Josh Anderson on Friday. Atlanta decided against trying to re-sign Jones, who filed for free agency after spending more a decade as the team's center fielder. The 25-year-old Anderson could be Jones' replacement, along with holding down the leadoff spot in the batting order.

Perhaps as a Braves fan I should give this guy a chance. But still, Andruw Jones provided so much firepower and fielding ability for the Braves over the years that I expected the Braves to replace him with another powerhouse....not a prospect. Let's look at what Anderson has done well:

Anderson was MVP of the Double-A Texas League All-Star game in 2006. He led that league in stolen bases for two years, and topped all of minor league baseball with 78 steals in 2005. This past season, Anderson hit .358 in 67 at-bats for Houston after stealing 41 bases at Triple-A Round Rock.

Impressive. He can steal a base as good as anyone and puts up a high batting average. Kelly Johnson and him will do well batting in the one and two spots followed by Chipper Jones and the recent acquisition of Mark Teixeira

Oregon Knocked Out Of Contention Along With Dixon

So much for my favorite College Football team. Then again, this is the fifth time a #2 seed lost to an unranked team, so I should have expected this to happen. Thursday night's 34-24 loss to the unranked Wildcats knocked the Ducks (8-2, 5-2) out of the national title picture. Oregon was ranked behind LSU and ahead of Oklahoma and undefeated Kansas. It gets worse, however. Oregon's QB, Dennis Dixon, had his left knee crumble as he tried to plant on an option carry with about five minutes to go in the first quarter against Arizona.

The quarterback tore his anterior cruciate ligament during Oregon's 35-23 victory over Arizona State on Nov. 3, according to coach Mike Bellotti, but he had rested it and felt as if he was ready to play Thursday night against the Wildcats.

I guess Mike Bellotti was wrong.

Dennis Dixon will have surgery on the left knee that buckled early in second-ranked Oregon's upset loss to Arizona, spoiling his chance to win the Heisman Trophy as he will sit for the rest of the season. As a senior, he completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,136 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 583 yards and nine scores.

Football Predictions for Week 11

Once again another weekend of great games are upon us. Here's my predictions of the games to come:

Carolina Vs Green Bay - This is a no-brainer. Keep riding the Packers until they prove the world wrong. Favre wants another Super Bowl win before he retires. Look for the running game to step up again this week.

Oakland Vs. Minnesota - I like Oakland in this one. Minnesota already showed that without Peterson, they can't win.

San Diego Vs. Jacksonville - I like this game. Both teams know a win is absolutely crucial. Even though San Diego's defense mauled the Colts last week, what you have to understand is Peyton Manning was playing alone on offense and still he almost one if it wasn't for a missed field goal. Therefore, I take Jacksonville to win at home.

Arizona Vs Cincinnati - I keep trying to believe in Cincinnati's offense, but that team just isn't the same. Meanwhile, Arizona is just 1 game out of first place in their division. Therefore, I pick Arizona to win on the road.

Kansas City Vs Indianapolis - I don't care who the Colts are playing. They are NOT going to lose three . Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy are too intelligent and skilled to let that happen.

New Orleans Vs. Houston - This is a good game of evenly matched mediocre teams. After losing last week badly to the Rams, New Orleans will try to prove that they aren't as bad as I make them out to be and will bounce back this week.

New York Giants Vs Detroit - This is a good battle of two potential Wild Card teams. Though they will both probably still make the Wild Card, I pick Detroit to win this one at home while the Giants continue to struggle to make it in.

Cleveland Vs Baltimore - The Ravens are still technically not out of a Wild Card spot yet, but after this week they will be.

Miami Vs Philadelphia - Just like you keep picking the Patriots until they lose, you also keep picking Miami's opponents until Miami wins.

Tampa Bay Vs Atlanta - Atlanta's switch of quarterbacks won't help this boring offense against another boring offense. Tampa Bay's boring offense will win this one.

Pittsburgh Vs. Jets - I don't feel I need to comment in this fairly obvious decision.

Chicago Vs Seattle - Seattle will win this at home to predict their slim lead for first in their division.

Washington Vs Dallas - Washington is not as good as they were in the beginning of the season and Dallas has been dominant throughout. Dallas will roll in this one.

St. Louis Vs San Fransisco - Now that the Rams have their offense back in which they looked great last week, the 49ers should be an easy team for them to get their second win.

New England Vs Buffalo - Why in the hell is this a Sunday night game? Do they want to show Buffalo get embarrassed...OR perhaps they are predicting the upset of the year on Sunday night football. Na, New England should roll on Buffalo.

Tennessee Vs Denver - This is the game of the week as far as importance goes. Denver needs to win to tie for first as long as San Diego loses, which I predicted they will. Meanwhile Tennessee needs to uphold their Wild Card spot. Though Vince Young isn't the greatest QB, Tennessee is the better team and should pull a win out of Mile High Stadium.

Yankees To Acquire Mike Lowell?

The New York Yankees, already establishing a new deal with Alex Rodriguez, are now speculating on whether to go after Mike Lowell of the Boston Red Sox. This story is in the preliminary stages...where it should stay. You know, this is so like the Yankees and the reason I have a problem with them. They always go after big star players with the thrill of offering more money and the chance to play in New York. Well, everyone should learn from A-Rod's experience. Playing in New York is by no means a thrill. Players shouldn't sell themselves by going to a team simply because they offer them more money, which is what the New York media market always does. AND why are the Yankees going after the MVP player from Boston? Isn't Boston supposed to be the Yankees' rival team. Why would a player from the Red Sox EVER go to the Yankees and vice-versa. If it's because of more money, then they should be ashamed of themselves. Damon already left the Red Sox to go to the Yankees and I better not see Lowell do the same thing.

Where the Red Sox were the only team that could negotiate with Lowell through midnight on Monday, others now can make offers. It's not known if the Yankees and Lowell's agents have advanced beyond the discussion phase.

Lowell followed a superlative regular season -- career highs in batting average (.324) and RBIs (120) to go with 21 home runs in 154 games -- with an outstanding October. In Boston's four-game sweep of Colorado, Lowell hit .400 (6-for-15) with four RBIs, three walks and a team-high six runs in winning. He homered, doubled and scored twice in the Game 4 clincher at Denver's Coors Field.

They Finally Caught Barry Bonds

Let this be a lesson to everyone: It doesn't matter who you are, do not mess or lie to the government because eventually they will hunt you down. I've watched the Barry Bonds story develop over the years, always expecting it to finally die down at some point. I wanted this story to die down, not because I dislike Bonds (which I do by the way), but because I'm sick and tired of hearing about him anymore. Well, this case didn't die down. However, I've changed my opinion about this story. I find it rather comical how the government pursued this one man to the point where they were absolutely determined to indict him. In addition, I am more interested in the outcome of this story. Will the greatest home run king, who just came off his record breaking season, go to jail?

Bonds finished the year with 762 homers, seven more than Aaron, and is currently a free agent. In 2001, he set the season record with 73 home runs. The indictment culminated a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes.

Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds has repeatedly denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. He has never been identified by Major League Baseball as testing positive, though we all can figure out through one theory or another that he is positive.

Bonds was charged with four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. He was cited for lying when he said he didn't knowingly take steroids given to him by his personal trainer and longtime friend, Greg Anderson. Bonds also was charged with lying that Anderson never injected him with steroids. Therefore, this is not a baseball issue on whether he took his steroids or not. The grand jury could care less about that. This is an issue of lying under oath. I'm curious (and we'll never find out the answer to this) to know if Bonds would have told the truth from the beginning, being who he is, would they have taken it easy on him in the same way they did to Jason Giambi?

If convicted on all five counts, baseball's home run king could go to prison for up to 30 years.

A-Rod and Yanks Agree on Outline

And there it is ladies and gentlemen, A-Rod and the Yankees have agreed on a contract. Now there is one thing left for this deal to happen. Here is the story from ESPN.com:

Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees have agreed to the outline of a $275 million, 10-year contract, a deal that potentially would allow him to earn millions more if he sets the career home run record.

The amount of the guaranteed money was revealed by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been finalized. A-Rod met Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., with the Steinbrenner brothers but the parameters of the deal were set in place last weekend.

"Yeah, I could say that," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said. "The meeting was a final get-together. He wanted to make sure myself and my brother knew that he was sincere and serious."

Byron Leftwich to replace Joey Harrington as Starter

This move by the Atlanta Falcons not only surprised me, but I think it surprised poor Joey as well. Despite leading the Falcons to two straight wins, coach Bobby Petrino decided Byron Leftwich will remain the No. 1 starter for the Falcons as soon as he is healthy.

I believe it can be universally accepted that Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich are both sub-par quarterbacks, but a decision must be made as to which sub-par quarterback will lead his team to make a run down the stretch. The Falcons still have a very real chance to win that terrible division. Petrino isn't sure if Leftwich will be healthy enough to play Sunday in a suddenly crucial game against NFC South rival Tampa Bay. The Falcons (3-6) can climb within a game of first place by beating the Buccaneers (5-4).

Being that Harrington won 2 in a row and started to develop rhythm and momentum, it was an unwise decision to announce that he will be benched soon no matter what. In fact, it was a stupid decision to put it lightly. An announcement like this ultimately has 2 effects on a player. Either it could break him down mentally and he can lose his desire to play or it can motivate him to play even harder. However, in Harrington's case, apparently no matter how well he performs, he is going to be benched anyway.

Harrington, who was 19-of-26 for 192 yards in last week's win at Carolina, had a stunned look on his face when asked if he knew what the first-year coach had said after practice. Joey Harrington had this to say about the decision to bench him: "I feel like I've done what they've asked me to do with the exception of maybe one game. But, like I said a couple of weeks ago when this all started, this isn't my first rodeo. I've been around it before, so I'm not surprised. But, like I've also said, I have a right to disagree with it." I also agree with Joey Harrington's decision to disagree. This guy seems to have little luck no matter where he goes.

Around the NBA 11.14.2007

• T-Mac just left the game with what looks like a pretty bad elbow injury. He was driving to the rim when he was fouled. He went to the free throw line and shot them left-handed. The report just came in that he has a sprained right elbow (shooting elbow). He will not return to the game, and he is being sent to the hospital for a MRI.

• LeBron James recorded a triple-double. However, the rest of his team decided to take the night off. He carried them down the stretch to force overtime against the Orlando Magic, but the Cavs feel in overtime. The real story, LeBron looks like a really good player. Oh wait, you guys knew that already?
  

• The Boston Celtics are in a class of there own. The Nets put up a great fight for the first 3 quarters, but the Celtics are just to strong. The 'Big Three' had what could be considered an off night, and they still found a way to pull away in the end.
  

• Stephon Marbury and..... who cares? Just sit him on the bench.
  

• The Flash has returned. D-Wade played for the first time this season. Unfortunately, he played in a Miami Heat jersey, therefor his team got embarrassed. However, Wade looked really sharp. I would look for him, in the upcoming weeks, to start to take control of this team and lead them to a couple of W's.
  

A-Rod Talking With Yankees

Well, I guess there aren't as many teams out there who are willing to give one man 350 million dollars. A-Rod should really thank his agent for this blunder. A-Rod reached out to the New York Yankees and wants to see if an agreement can be made. Here is Buster Olney with the report:

In a statement released by Rodriguez he said he and his wife Cynthia have spoken directly with Hank and Hal Steinbrenner.

It is absolutely clear, however, that the negotiations -- which never really got started last month -- are now ongoing, and agent Scott Boras is not part of the dialogue.

"The past is the past. I don't know what brought about him approaching us," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview. "I guess you could say things didn't go the way before that he intended on and weren't handled properly or whatever.

MLB Managers of the Year Announced

MLB has announced the Manager of the Year for the AL and NL for the 2007 season. They are (drum roll please)...........

AL: Eric Wedge (manager of the Cleveland Indians). He really does deserve this award. The Indians were the second best team behind Boston. Sure, Boston's manager could have won this, but the Red Sox were already expected to be good. Very few people foresaw the Indians not only passing the Tigers, who previously went to the World Series the year before, for first in their division, but also tying Boston for the best record in baseball.

NL: Bob Melvin (manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks). I disagree with this pick. Yes, Melvin did lead a team of young, inexperienced players to the playoffs, BUT Clint Hurdle of the Rockies did the same thing. Except, Hurdle did it better. Putting together the tremendous winning streak that they did, making a late run for the playoffs, and entering the playoffs in such a dramatic fashion with a young, inexperienced team I think earns Hurdle manager of the year.

News Concering the Winless Dolphins

I don't know why I'm wasting my time writing about the Dolphins, but to be fair I should address a couple of developing stories surrounding this team.

First, rookie QB John Beck is going to make his first appearance on Sunday. He will make his NFL debut when he starts Sunday at Philadelphia, replacing Cleo Lemon. Beck, a second-round draft pick from BYU, will become the 12th quarterback to start for the Dolphins since Dan Marino retired following the 1999 season. He'll be the third starter at QB this season for winless Miami, following Trent Green and Cleo Lemon. This is a GOOD move for the Dolphins. Being that nothing has worked so far and their season can't be saved, now is the time to experiment and try out new players who will be substantial enough to provide hope for next season.

Speaking of providing hope, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reinstated the Dolphins running back Ricky Williams after a suspension that lasted 18 months because of Williams' violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Williams can attend team meetings and practice immediately, but won't be eligible to play until Week 12 when the Dolphins play at Pittsburgh on Monday night, Nov. 26. The 30-year-old running back, who has played in only 12 games since the start of the 2004 season, played in the Canadian Football League last season and applied for reinstatement to the NFL on Oct. 1. He tested positive again for marijuana in April, delaying his reinstatement through the first half of this season. This is a BAD move for the Dolphins. He tested positive for marijuana twice. If he didn't learn his lesson the first time, what makes the Dolphins think he won't get himself expelled again. Also, he will mess up the team chemistry and when Ronnie Brown comes back, then their will be trouble.

C.C. Sabathia Wins the A.L. Cy Young

Which is more shocking here: Sabathia winning the Cy Young award or a Boston player (Josh Beckett) finally not winning something? Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award on Tuesday, topping Boston's ace and two other worthy contenders by a comfortable margin to become the first Cleveland Indians pitcher in 35 years and only the second Cleveland Indians pitcher in team history to earn the honor.

Sabathia, Beckett, Lackey, and Carmona were all in contention for the A.L. Cy Young. During the regular season, Sabathia went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts, pitching a major league-high 241 innings. Beckett (20-7) became the only big leaguer to win 20 games since 2005, compiling a 3.27 ERA in 200 2/3 innings. Lackey led the AL in ERA at 3.01, going 19-9 and tossing 224 innings. Carmona was 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA. The major difference which led to Sabathia's win over Beckett for this award is that because Sabathia started 34 games and Beckett started 30, Sabathia pitched more innings.

However, its fair to say that if the postseason stats factored into the Cy Young decision, Beckett would have won this award in a landslide. Josh Beckett defeated Sabathia two times in the AL Championship Series and went 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in four postseason starts, striking out 35 and walking two. Sabathia was 1-2 with an 8.80 ERA and 13 walks in three playoff outings.

The N.L Cy Young award will be handed out on Thursday and Jake Peavy should be the receipent of that award.

Stephon Marbury Has Issues With The Knicks

I'm not exactly sure what Stephon Marbury's problem(s) are, but his actions have made it clear that he has a problem being honest with the Knicks organization. Instead of being the team player he once was back in his glory days, he is only causing unnecessary drama for the Knicks. This is unfortunate for the Knicks because they are looking better this season than they have in previous years. Apparently, Marbury left the Knicks on Tuesday, skipping his practice. He sent two text messages to the New York Post (that's pretty cool, I didn't know the New York Post had a number you can text) saying that he had permission from coach Isiah Thomas to go home and miss a few days with the team, including a game against the Clippers on Wedsenday. However, Isiah Thomas did not confirm whether he allowed Marbury to just get up and leave. In fact, when he was interviewed, he managed to avoid the topic all together.

Several of Marbury's teammates said his departure took them by surprise, but they expressed no hard feelings. However, before I go off on Marbury for his inappropriate actions and lying to the media, perhaps first I should find out the real reason why Marbury went back home. Maybe a family emergency? That would be an appropriate reason to excuse him. Unfortunatly, my guess is that he is unhappy with the Knicks because speculation from Knicks sources and analysts discerened that his future with the team is in doubt. I don't know if this is true or not, but if it is, then the Knicks should trade him before he disrupts the team chemistry. I believe any player should be traded if they don't have a desire too play for that team. Why have a player who won't give you 100% or, in Marbury's case, just literally walk out. That's not professional nor does it give me a reason to believe he deserves the amount they are paying him, which is $42 million over the next two seasons.