Running 'Fore the Weekend

I've seen PTI numerous times but today is the first time I ever noticed that they call their countdown the "rundown" - that's what I get for always trying to multi-task. Rest assured that I thought I was the only one running it down on a daily basis. I see I have company. Good company. Without further ado:

1. They're calling this a blockbuster trade, but I think that's just because it involved so many players. The main points of the trade is that LeBron the Cleveland Cavaliers get Ben Wallace from the Chicago Bulls and supermodelWally Szczerbiak (that's a lot of consonants) from the Seattle Supersonics, and the Cavs sent Drew Gooden and two other players with whom I'm not all that familiar. The Supersonics get Donyell Marshall and two other players whose names you probably wouldn't recognize. Interesting. So I guess this means that the Cavs have finally decided that LeBron will score all the points, since this trade means that the Cavs will be playing 4 on 5 in every game. Not their best work.

2. Some people don't like to eat at other people's houses if they think the house is dirty. Usually this is not a problem, and you can politely decline a meal or two. But when you are there for nearly three weeks, and you bring your own food in the house, at some point the host is bound to get upset. Which brings me to #2: I am thoroughly amused by the fact that China is upset at the U.S. for deciding to bring its own food to the Olympics this summer. Recently, China has had some issues with food quality. Not "oh this meat may have not been refrigerated" issues. More like "oh **** how did that poison get in there" problems. I'd bring my own food, too.

3. The New England Patriots decided not to hit Randy Moss with the franchise tag. This whole concept is funny to me, but I guess this means that he will have some bargaining chips now. You have to wonder about the power of the NFLPA (players association) when "getting slapped with the franchise tag" is a concept that made its way into the collective bargaining agreement. Something seems fundamentally unfair about this given how short their careers can be.

4. The New Jersey Nets' Richard Jefferson is in trouble for allegedly choking a man to unconsciousness who wanted him to leave a private party. Um. I'll just wait for the entire story to emerge.

5. University of Tennessee All-American baller Candace Parker has decided to forego her senior year of college and enter the WNBA draft. Hmm. She would likely be the top pick of the draft, going to the Los Angeles Spark. L.A. = one of top markets = endorsement deals. And Hollywood. Can't forget that. Yeah, this is probably a good move. And she's going to graduate before the draft. I'd call this a good move.

And one for the road: The Boston Celtics dropped another one to Golden State. Just a few hours ago, ESPN said that the Phoenix Suns/Celtics game might be a preview for the NBA Finals. Slow down, boys.

Have a great weekend!

Run It, Run It

Rundown from the Run-Down, quick and dirty:

1. $3 million to be an assistant head coach? More than a lot of head coaches - good ones, too - are making. All of the reward and none of the pressure? I'll take that! In his press conference, Garrett said that especially in coaching, there's a natural inclination to want to advance. I thought about it and said, well don't most people want to advance in any job? Then I see people do the exact same job for 20+ years (that's definitely going to change with the newest generation), so I guess he has a point. Hopefully the Dallas Cowboys won't be so disappointing next year and will make him earn his keep.

2. Starbury is out indefinitely following his ankle surgery. I have been going easy on the guy since he lost his dad, but the New York Knicks are playing better without him. Despite his flaws, I think he has a good heart overall, though, and I do wish him a speedy recovery.

3. The San Antonio Spurs are showing they are capable of slumping, losing at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a "rematch" of last year's final. In an 82-game season, there's not too much shock when one team beats another. If they actually beat them in a series, then I'll be shocked.

4. The Australian Open is going on. I haven't kept up with it much because it comes on around what should be my bedtime. All the seeds are pretty much advancing as usual. The most exciting event thus far is some controversy over alleged anti-Turkish comments made by one player that appeared on YouTube - don't worry about his name, just know that he beat Roger Federer. Apparently he sparked an Israeli-Palestinian-type conflict with his comments, and he's not apologizing for them either. I hope he has security.

5. The woman who sought a restraining order against Randy Moss defended herself following comments from Moss claiming his innocence. Among other things, Moss said, "In my whole entire life of living 30 years, I've never put my hand on one woman, physically or in an angry manner." Is he coming out?

Delete Pacman, Insert Moss

Just as one man is being cleared, another one goes on the hook.

Amazingly, the lawyer in the Pacman Jones warrant case related to an alleged punching at a Georgia strip club has decided to drop the charges. No details on why or what happened, but I don't know if this one passes the smell test. Hopefully this is the last we will hear of Adam (Pacman) Jones having run-ins with the law.

Instead, on Wednesday, a woman placed New England Patriots WR Randy Moss in the hotseat. A woman in Florida is claiming that she was battered by Moss in her home on January 6, and he allegedly refused to get her medical help. The woman sought and received a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Moss requiring him to stay at least 500 feet away from her.



Moss, as you can see above, was very vocal about his innocence. I don't say this often, but even without hearing her side, I would tend to believe him. No charges have yet been pressed. People are speculating that this was a scheme to get money from Moss. Who knows.

Once again, the truth will come out and if this woman is lying, this upsets me. Every false claim makes it that much harder for people who have serious situations to be taken seriously. If the TRO was granted, it's likely that Moss was at least with her or nearby her in some capacity, and while I sincerely hope that Moss is innocent, I also hope she had some basis for the TRO.

My Two on The Five

Adding a little twist on the RFTR theme, I present my two cents on the following stories, a few of which I might devote more ink space to in the coming days:

1. Congrats to LSU football for capturing the BCS title. It wasn't much of a title game, in that it didn't look like Ohio State was really the #2 team in the nation. Now they are finally getting serious about a playoff format for college football. I have no idea how they made it this long with the current system. I guess tradition really counts for a lot.

2. Dwyane Wade may be permanently injured for the rest of his playing career. I would say I hope he doesn't end up like Grant Hill, but Grant's actually not playing too badly these days, and at least Wade has one ring under his belt. He's so young, though. If I were him, I'd secretly hope that Miami doesn't make the playoffs so that he has more time to heal. At this rate, he will be able to get plenty of rest.

3. Interesting lawsuit involving the NCAA that looks to be near settlement. Basically, the plaintiffs want the NCAA to relax restrictions on what scholarship money can pay for - including travel, health insurance, and laundry. BRAVO! I have A LOT more to say about this and will devote a post to this topic in the very near future. Funny how most of the major sporting news outlets haven't run this story . . .

4. And speaking of lawsuits, Roger Clemens is trying to show that he means business by filing a defamation case against his former strength coach, Brian McNamee, because of what he claims are false allegations that he used steroids and other performance enhancing medicament (great word), as noted in the infamous Mitchell report. Well, everyone knows that if you are really serious about denying bad rumors, then a defamation suit is one of the first courses of action taken. Here, he has an even greater interest because of all of the awards he has won and the fact that he just might want to be a Hall of Famer one day, so the suit seems almost obligatory regardless of the actual truth. Good luck to you, Roger. Good luck to us all.

5. Finally, in part because I didn't want to end with #4 (groupings of odd numbers just look better), Tom Brady took AP honors for Offensive Player of the Year, with his wide receiver Randy Moss coming in second. I, for one, was surprised. I thought for sure T.O would take the award for his Keyshawn Johnson rant, but I guess they meant on the field.

NFL Roundup: A Post Involving Football That's Not About Vick

So here's the wrap up from Day 1.5 of the NFL season. If you are friends with an Atlanta Falcons fan, be nice to them at work because they are in for a looooong season without Michael Vick. Joey Harrington is not only not Michael Vick, he's not even the quarterback the Lions hoped (foolishly, perhaps) that they were getting. Unfortunately, I doubt that the Falcons will be offering any refunds so just be glad it's one of the shortest professional sports seasons. Remember, there's always next year.

But I do need to thank the Falcons for giving my ("my" because I own them - in the fantasy world) Minnesota Vikings defense the most fantasy points I've had so far - even more than LT. See, there's a positive side of every story.

But around the rest of the league, a lot of players saw their season end today. While most were not too serious (i.e., career-ending), Buffalo Bills' reserve tight end Kevin Everett underwent emergency spinal cord surgery after a helmet-to-helmet hit when he tackled a Denver Broncos player. It says that he didn't show any signs of movement, which is not a good sign at all. I know there's no way to prevent these things but it's crazy that he might be a quadriplegic from playing football. And he's only 25. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

In better news, old man (by NFL standards, because he's only 30) Randy Moss (pictured at the top), whom even you non-football fans should have at least heard of, proved that he still has it in him. In his debut with his new team, the New England Patriots, wide receiver Moss caught all nine passes thrown to him from QB Tom Brady (Carson Palmer, I hope you're watching), for 183 yards and one touchdown. Non-fans, that's a great day for a wide receiver at any age.

Moss is coming off of a two-year stint with the Oakland Raiders, who lost to the Detroit Lions, one of the worst teams in the NFL for way too long. Check out this site honoring the Lions' GM, Matt Millen: www.firemillen.com. The Lions actually lost a 17-0 lead but managed to pull off the win, 36-21. Apparently the Raiders aren't so hot themselves, as one writer compared the victory to winning "a beauty contest among lepers." Ouch. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be receiving passes from Tom Brady than whoever the Raiders decided to start at QB, so good move, Randy. (I want you all to know that I struggled mightily to phrase that in as non-suggestive a way as possible, but when they use terms like wide receiver, tight end . . . sacks, etc., it makes it hard difficult. Geesh.)

In a footnote to this game, I think my reserve Lions' running back Tatum Bell had a fire lit under his bum after finding out that the Raiders named a fumble-recovery drill after him. The privilege was bestowed upon dear Tatum because, while playing with the Denver Broncos last season, he fumbled the ball five times, failing to recover a single one of them. Today, he had no fumbles and he scored a touchdown to help seal the game for the Lions. Nothing better than a good butt-kicking to shut up your critics.

P.S. I know this is not sports related, but I just caught the MTV Video Music Awards, and I have to say that it was easy to write this and watch that because it was BORING. The stars seemed to be enjoying themselves in Vegas, though. Britney, I saw your performance, and I tried to root for you, I really did, but in the immortal words of Justin Timberlake "You got me saying damn girl . . . ." There were rumors that Justin was going to be performing with her, but I can see why he backed out. I don't know if she was nervous or hadn't practiced but woo! If you "missed" it, MTV will be showing it another thousand times this week.

And while we're talking about Justin, what is going on with the Emmy Awards that his skit on and song that he performed with Saturday Night Live's Andy Sandberg, D*ck in a Box, was not only nominated but actually won an Emmy?? And they're thinking of having them perform the song at the Emmys. Not buying it. This is a ploy to get us to watch the Emmys, and it's not going to work . . . but this skit is hilarious, though!