Daily Roundup- Tuesday, Febuary 17th

Now that Spring training has begun, its time for all the star players to weigh in on the issue. Big Papi wants a year ban for the first time.

Why would I include Big Papi’s statement? Because the day that it comes out that David Ortiz was one of the 103 others that tested positive, and let’s be honest we won’t know until the names are revealed, I want him to remember this quote. It seems that every player that openly comes out about this steroids issue seems to be biting his own tongue which makes me believe that either A. they’re flat out liars or B. that they have no idea what they were putting in their bodies. Which of course also means that they are stupid and don’t care what goes in their bodies or there was a substance in whatever they were taking that was a banned substance and they weren’t aware. Either way, the players knowing how sensitive this issue is, should probably try to bulk up the old fashioned way, by taking their Flintstone vitamins and eating right and exercising very hard.

In a ruling gaffe that ended up helping the Trailblazers beat the Boston Celtics, the Blazers won with 6 players on the court. The referees ended up figuring it out too late and had to allow the points since those are the rules but let the Celtics shoot a technical foul. The Celts lost the game anyway which left not only the C’s peeved but those suits in New York pissed too that the referees allowed that to happen. So now, the revision to that rule is, the non offending team can either accept the result of the play which depends on if the offending team did not make it and shoot a technical or decline the play and shoot a technical and the offending team in bounds the ball.

This is an interesting new addition to the rule. The article goes on to say how David Stern in his effort to make officiating better and the NBA a more boring game in my opinion is cracking down on traveling violations and also technical fouls. Fines have been levied on plenty of players for even opening their mouths criticizing even in a small way, the officiating to keep the referee’s credibility intact as they will get the brunt of the blame for each game.

Sam Farmer of the LA Times reports on how Mark Sanchez is carefully doing the two step while trying to wow scouts and team officials as he tries to be the number one pick in this year’s draft.

I don’t think it surprises me that quarterbacks from that area have this reputation about them that they are glitzy, glamour guys who love to the nightlife and all that tinseltown brings them. Getting away from Matt Leinart’s reputation of being the Hollywood leading man is also a good thing because it cost him. The drop in guaranteed money from 1 to 10 last year was tremendous and doesn’t shape up to get any better in this economy. The top guy won’t earn as much this year as the top guy did last year knowing what each team does about the economy. So the fact that he’s trying to make a good impression is good. Whatever you do Mark, when you see Paris heading in your direction, do a 180, put your head down and start walking quickly. Don’t worry if you hear her calling your name, its probably better that you NEVER meet her. Ever.

Since the New York sports writers have been brushed off by Jeter, Jorge Posada has never been a great interview, Mariano can barely still speak English, Andy Pettite is a steroid cheat, and Alex Rodriguez is a harder interview than the Queen of England, the sportswriters have come to talk to Mark Texieira and according to John Harper of the New York Daily News, he might be their new favorite.

Mark Texieira should be shaking everyone’s hand after his wife pulled a Yoko Ono move and totally got him to come to New York. If she has some sort of career after baseball and becomes prominently involved in anything outside of baseball with Mark, we will know her true intentions. However, from everything I’ve seen and I’ve read, the guy seems to be squeaky clean and considering he played on those notorious Texas Ranger teams, it’s a testament to that military background that he grew up in that has helped him out. Also coming to A-Rod’s aid by being present during the press conference is a big plus considering that there were rumors that they didn’t get along.
I hope that he’s every bit the slugger they paid for, which I think more than C.C. or A.J., is the most sure thing that they signed this off season. Getting this guy for the next 8 years to be a middle of the order slugger is not a bad pick up, especially in the 11th hour. Hopefully that wife of his can stay away from skanky Mrs. Clause outfits. Oh wait, that’s only Anna Benson, Kris Benson’s wife when he played for the Mets. Sorry.

One of my favorite columnists, Peter Vecsey, NBA know it all, reported on Friday’s column that Terry Porter had coached his last game as the Suns head coach. Read on and let the hilarity ensue. Score one for the good guys.

I love reading Peter’s columns and I take a lot out of the way he uses the English language, mixing in smooth slang along with it. If there was a word for the way he writes, I think it would be that he writes in Jazz, that kind of smooth talk that everyone should be snapping their fingers to while reading. Seriously try it, I have and it really works.
But these are the stories that I love from a guy who has done everything in reporting about the NBA and his sources are about as good as they get and its almost hilarious when people take credit for other people’s work which of course my blog is trying to pay proper respect for those who write the good stories because there still is good journalism to be cherished and loved. The skills of a reporter are diminishing in this digital age where everyone can pick up a laptop and start blogging and be taken for an expert (yes, even I am guilty of such things).
But a true reporter can always be found amongst the muck of all the Joe Schmos.com that seem to inundate us with useless information with barely the kind of prowess or the name that you can instantly recognize and instantly attribute credibility to. Peter Vecsey is and I can shamelessly say that I’ve tried to no avail to be as smooth a writer as he. I can only dare to dream that I one day invoke the same kind of respect and hold the same kind of credibility amongst my peers and those casually picking up a newspaper or turning on their favorite sports website someday.

Ken Davidoff gave A-Rod some important advice as he faces the sharks today: Don’t lie. Good advice Ken. He also made the comparison between A-Rod and Scott McClellan, press secretary for George Bush from 2003-2006.

Yeah I believe that would be a good comparison considering all the damage control that Scott probably had to do in his time and I mean hard time as President Bush’s press secretary. Facing questions that regarded the country’s well being are a bit more important than today’s public butt whipping for America’s most notorious steroid user, but still hold the same kind of weight considering who Alex Rodriguez is.
Even if Alex tells the truth, will it be enough? No. That’s what frustrates me. Today is just a sparring round and if Alex doesn’t hold up well to it or gives short answers or something that reporters don’t like, trust me, it will be an everyday thing. I think he should come clean and say everything. If he is going to lie, I hope he has every single angle covered because just like any good employment ethics exam, they will ask the same question regarding the same situation, in twenty different ways and if the answer isn’t consistent, the amount of hate that will spew on to newspapers, print and digital will be tremendous and something that A-Rod won’t be able to wash away with a strong May. He’ll probably have to deliver a championship while getting tested every week in front of reporters while hitting .400 as the World Series MVP and judging by his record, we can only wish A-Rod luck getting to that.


What many people don’t know about the Super Bowl is that Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward played despite very painful injuries. The way they were able to recover in time to play however was due to a brand new procedure that has been gaining tread in major league circles. Its called platelet- rich plasma therapy and Alan Schwartz of the New York Times has more.

It means that more players can avoid surgery until later but mostly it can stop tendonitis which always happens to athletes and can be an annoying injury which forces players to play less than 100%. The body is a funny thing and can be forgiving or unrelenting in the pain it dishes out but these new treatments that if researched properly can be ultra useful in keeping players fresh for longer periods of time although knowing its long term effects would be useful, so we won’t know until later if it’s a smart thing or not.


Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post and of ESPN fame writes it’s a four horse race to the NBA Finals, the Celts, Cavs, Lakers and Spurs are all in it to win it and no one else even comes close.

I agree with Wilbon that these are the four teams that are going to end up playing in the respective conference championships and eventually Finals. Last year was a great race because everyone was in it which made the trade deadline pretty awesome. This year, with Phoenix already saying that they are not trading Amare Stoudemire because of the simply whelming and not overwhelming offers for their star player have left the Suns with no other option but to keep their star forward which could turn into a good thing considering they are going to Alvin Gentry who favors the run and gun style that Mike D’Antoni employed with the Suns and was wildly successful. They could go on a run down the stretch and if Shaq continues his good play, he could be a problem down the post and the Susn still have enough athletes to run the floor so we shall wait and see, but right now those four teams have all the components. They play smart. They play defense. They have one player that can take over in the fourth quarter. They have the kind of bench that can contribute significantly as well. I do think that the Lakers are the best team but they need Andrew Bynum back. Don’t buy that little win streak. They don’t win series in one games. They have to win four, and over the course of a seven game series that can be difficult if they don’t have that double physical presence that was lacking against the Celts last year when KG and Kendrick Perkins.