Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Roger Goodell gives a Colts blogger a call

A Colts fan and season ticket holder named Nate Dunlevy runs 18to88.com, a comprehensive and popular Indianapolis Colts blog. Last week, he took part in a conference call between Roger Goodell and Colts fans, and on Twitter, Dunlevy deemed the whole thing a "waste of time."

The transcript of the original conference call is available here, and unless you love Roger Goodell talking points, then yeah, it sounds like a waste.

Commissioner Goodell somehow got wind of the "waste" comment, though, and in response, he reached out and placed a personal phone call to Nate Dunlevy on Monday morning.

Dunlevy asked Goodell some reasonable, specific questions about the lockout, and challenged some of the league's behavior leading up to it. Click over to 18to88.com to read the specifics of the questions and answers. Dunlevy says he tried to write about the conversation as factually as he could, leaving opinion out of it (for now).

But here's a sort of summary by way of snippets:

Mr. Goodell called as a way of showing concern that a season ticket holder since 1997 was upset by the result of the phone call.� He insisted I call him Roger and graciously asked me what questions I had for him.

[...]

I found Mr. Goodell to be patient, straightforward and direct.� He directly challenged some of my assertions with fact claims that I simply could not verify in the moment.� He presented himself in a calm, caring, and concerned way.� While I need time to research some of the fact claims that he made, I appreciate the fact that he made fact claims and was in no way evasive.� We spoke for roughly ten minutes.

He's a pretty good talker, that Roger Goodell. That's one of the ways people end up with jobs like "NFL Commissioner."

I guess it's nice that he'll reach out to an unhappy fan and all, but if Roger Goodell really wants the fans to be happy, there's a much more effective way to do it: Talk to his owner pals, convince them to be just a little less money hungry, and make sure we have football in 2011.

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Omar Vizquel gets his mitt on at 44, plays first base for 1st time

Somewhat surprisingly, 44-year-old Omar Vizquel did something new on a baseball field Saturday afternoon.

In his 2,874th career major league appearance, Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, grabbed a mitt and played first base for the first time. As in, his life.

The Chicago White Sox needed him to shift from second base after manager Ozzie Guillen removed Paul Konerko for a pinch runner in the top of the 11th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Vizquel, who said he never had played first base in his life before Saturday, had a hard time finding a comfortable mitt. He went through several that belonged to Konerko and Adam Dunn (who, like Vizquel, is a right-handed thrower in case you're wondering) before finding the right one.

Like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," only with mitts. As reported in the Chicago Tribune:

"I never even put a [mitt] on my hand at first base," Vizquel said. "It felt very weird. I was really close to playing with my glove."

And, as you might expect, the ball found him quickly. With two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Corey Patterson hit a ball to Vizquel, who muffed the grounder, but recovered in time to throw him out at first base.

His teammates apparently razzed him from the dugout, too. Not even a 23-year veteran can escape the jocular teasing of grown boys.

But Vizquel wasn't having any of it.

Comically, Vizquel playfully flung his mitt toward them as the defense came off the field. In the 12th, he handled another chance without any trouble. It beat his day at the plate ? 0 for 6 with two strikeouts to drop his batting average to .282. And the Blue Jays beat the White Sox in 14 innings on Patterson's home run.

Vizquel went on to say that he thought the coaching staff was joking in spring training when they told him he might be pressed into duty at first base. With Konerko and Dunn on the roster, surely they jest!

"It never went through my mind I'd have a chance it would happen," Vizquel said.

In a long season ? and career ? just about anything is possible. As versatile and valuable as Vizquel has been through the years, he still has yet pitch or get behind the plate. He has logged nearly 22,900 innings at short, along with nearly 800 at third, 324 at second and one in right field. (Plus a start at DH in 2010.)

All that's left is the battery, which makes sense for a guy whose career just keeps going and going.

If the White Sox fall out of the AL Central race in September, Guillen should pull a semi-Bert Campaneris and use Vizquel as a catcher, and also in relief, while he's still able to drink from the Fountain of Youth.

Follow Dave on Twitter ?�@AnswerDave ? and engage�the Stew on Facebook

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Rams’ Bradford running workouts like the NFL’s next great quarterback

After getting a good look at Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford during a 2008 season in which he put up numbers most non-spread quarterbacks would find inconceivable and watching him recover from two 2009 shoulder injuries, I opined that if he stayed healthy and his work ethic matched his talent, Bradford would be the NFL's best quarterback within three years of the day he was drafted. It wasn't a hard call to make ? a good glimpse of Bradford's freaky deep accuracy put me in mind of the evolutionary version of Tom Brady.

And when Bradford showed up at the 2010 scouting combine with 15 pounds of additional muscle, he put any questions about that work ethic to bed for good. It's why he was taken first overall in the 2010 draft by the St. Louis Rams, it's why he got the Rams close to the playoffs in his rookie season despite an almost comical lack of healthy receiver talent, and it's why he was voted the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year in a landslide.

With the lockout as his backdrop, Bradford is now taking the step that only the true greats of the game ever manage ? true team leader. When the Rams began team-implemented workouts on Monday, Bradford was the one drawing plays up on cards for his teammates, the work that a quality control coach would do. Bradford had no issue with it ? he figured that because the quarterback has to know more of the playbook than any other player, he would be in the best position to get everything organized from a schematic perspective.

"He would call out a play and he would also break it down and explain it to all the other guys and the young guys who were there for the first time," guard Jacob Bell told Mike Sando of ESPN.com after the first practice. "He's really doing it big. They are really breaking down and dissecting the plays, going over them, had the cards drawn up, looked pretty good out there."

Not only has Bradford been organizing the practices, he's also taken the step of reaching out to players on other teams familiar with the offensive systems drawn up by new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Bradford told Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that while he'd prefer not to name the players he's been "leaning on," �he made it very clear that he feels great about the level of involvement and intensity in these practices. "It really wasn't hard to get everyone involved, either," Bradford said. "I've heard stories of other teams having problems getting guys to come in and set certain dates. But I sent out an email to guys and almost everyone said, 'Yep, I'm on board.'"

Guard Hank Fraley jokingly told Burwell to "Just say that we are hopelessly unorganized. Tell everyone that we have no clue what we're doing," but with Bradford as an emerging leader, there's little chance of that.

You want to know the name of the NFL's next Manning, Brady, Brees or Rodgers? Start in St. Louis.

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Can Ohio State woo Urban Meyer out of retirement?


Urban Meyer's daughters better be manning their Twitter accounts because their dad is about to get a lot of attention from Ohio State.

There's no doubt that Meyer, who retired from Florida for health reasons or to spend more time with his family or to live out a lifelong dream to be a college football analyst on ESPN, is Ohio State's prime target and president E. Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith are going to throw everything they have at the 46-year-old ex-coach.

But Meyer has already gone on the offensive, issuing a statement that he has no plans to pursue any coaching job. Well, not this fall anyway.

I am committed to ESPN and will not pursue any coaching opportunities this fall. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the people at ESPN this spring and remain very excited about my role with the network this fall.

Jim Tressel has been a respected friend and colleague for a long time. I wish Jim and his family the very best now and in the future.

The "this fall" line, which is used twice, is important because Ohio State doesn't need a coach for this fall. It has one in Luke Fickell, who will interim coach the team during the 2011 season. So the door is open for Meyer to sign on in one of the three remaining seasons of winter, spring and summer or bowl, recruiting and off.

So why all the conspiracy theories with Meyer?

Well, for one, he's an excellent coach who quit the game in his prime. He won two national championships at Florida and made Utah the first-ever BCS buster. Not to mention he's originally from Toledo, Ohio. He started his head coaching career at Bowling Green and he still has family in Ohio.

And let's be honest, Ohio State needs a win here. There's no telling when the NCAA hammer will drop, so it would behoove the university to make a big splash while it still can. While Fickell might be a great and upcoming coach, he certainly doesn't command the kind of respect (yet) and pure name recognition that Meyer does. If Ohio State can land Meyer, the future doesn't look nearly as bleak.

But in case the whole Meyer thing doesn't work out, here's a quick list of a couple other guys who could fit the bill. Of course, all of these coaches have perfectly good jobs, so we should all get used to hearing the famous line, "I'm the coach at (fill in the blank school) and that's where my focus is."

Bo Pelini: One of the other coaches to issue a statement after Tressel's resignation, Pelini did not acknowledge rumors that he could be in the coaching search mix, but instead the former Buckeyes safety praised Tressel.

"Jim Tressel is an outstanding football coach and a good man. I've followed and respected his career since his days at Youngstown State, and through his tremendous success at Ohio State the past decade. He will be missed in college football."

Pleasantries aside, Pelini is an ideal candidate because he grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, represents the Ohio State brand and is the kind of defensive football coach that players and fans get excited about. Sure he's a fiery guy and that fire gets him in some hot water, but he's got the type of energy that could keep the fans excited regardless of the NCAA ruling.

Mark Dantonio: Dantonio is a Tressel prot�g�, which might make for an uneasy situation, but he was the defensive coordinator for the Ohio State team that won the national championship. He's turned Michigan State into a legitimate Big Ten power. Last season the Spartans went 11-2 and shared the Big Ten title.

Gary Patterson: You can't have a major job opening without Patterson's name attached to it. And while Gee might dismiss him because he is the coach of one of those Little Sisters of the Poor teams, there's no doubt that Patterson would whip the Buckeyes back into national championship form. Similar to Pelini and Dantonio, Patterson is a defensive mastermind whose TCU teams have been the top defensive unit for the past three seasons.

Lane Kiffin: Because why not?

Gary Pinkel: Pinkel has turned Missouri into a legitimate collegiate program after it spent years as an afterthought. Pinkel came to Mizzou after making his name at Toledo and he played at Kent State. Unlike the other candidates on this list, Pinkel is best known for his offense and Missouri's spread system, which often produces one of the most prolific scoring attacks in the collegiate game. Pinkel would be about as far away as Ohio Sate could get from "Tressel Ball" and perhaps that's a good thing.

Mark Stoops: The Stoops' boys were born and bred Ohio, and Mark is the up-and-comer that's poised to make the next great move. His brother Bob has a comfortable situation at Oklahoma and Mike Stoops could turn Arizona into something special, leaving young Mark to make his impression on the coaching world. He's already fared well as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Arizona and at Florida State.

Jon Gruden: There isn't a college coaching search unless Gruden's name is involved. He's as good a coach as he is national television analyst, but is he the right fit for Ohio State? That's hard to say. The man knows his X's and O's. He's a master at breaking down systems and his television demeanor will make him a widely recognized figure while recruiting. If Ohio State is just looking to bring in a name and Meyer turns the job down, Gruden might be next on the radar.

Obviously, names are going to appear and disappear from this list as the season starts and some coaches do better than others. It's also important to note that Fickell is getting an entire year to prove he's the man for the job. If he can make something of this season despite the five-game suspension to Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, Devier Posey, Mike Adams and Soloman Thomas, Fickell might gain enough fan sentiment to make a serious run for the position.

But for now, the favorite in the stable is Meyer. Even the online sportsbook BoDog is backing Meyer as the 3/2 favorite. Stoops is 5/2, Gruden 3/1, Pelini 10/1, Dantonio 12/1 and my darkhorses Pinkel and Kiffin are not on the list.

The good thing about Ohio State taking the year to find its new coach is that it can spend time courting. It can take a couple "no's" from Meyer and, if necessary, use the ol' surefire standby: go to his house, stand outside his window with a boombox and blast "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. After all, when no one thinks it will work, you've just described every great success story.

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Puck Headlines: Pronger on Richards’ captaincy; end of hockey fights?

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

? Well that number certainly explains Nicklas Backstrom's playoff underachievement … [via Japers]

? Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger held a conference call Thursday in which he was unsure about being ready for the start of next season and talked about Mike Richards and the captaincy: "People can say whatever they want about Richie, but at the end of the day you have to realize it's a team sport. Actually I did see one, is Sam Donnellon on the call? He's not? I saw one headline 'Should Mike Richards step away for a year from the C?' What good does that do? That is the most ridiculous thought I have heard yet. This is on the job training for Mike." [Broad Street Hockey]

? After 19 NHL seasons, Doug Weight officially calls it quits and becomes both an assistant coach and special assistant general manager … (Garth Snow clears throat, straightens tie) … sorry, make that special assistant TO the general manager. [NYI Point Blank]

? Houses of the Hockey presents its tribute to Weight. [HOTH]

? The death of former NHLer Barry Potomski has left friends and family stunned. [Windsor Star]

? Nasty hits and "cowardly" acts in the Memorial Cup. [Buzzing the Net]

? Good stuff by Ryan Dixon on the NHL's concussion protocol, in which the chair of the concussion group admits that the 15-minute stint in the "quiet room" is a fallacy. [THN]

? Dr. David Dodick, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the president of the American Headache Association, wants fighting eliminated from hockey: "How can I say that when you elbow me in the head you're going to be suspended for 10 games with a $100,000 fine, yet I can drop the gloves and you can drop the gloves and I can punch you 10 times in the head? There's an incongruence there. It's mutually contradictory that you can eliminate head hits, but you can implicitly condone fighting." [Star Phoenix]

? Kotaku on the death of the NHL 2K series. We'll have more on this on Friday. [Kotaku]

? Oh, look, Ilya Kovalchuk killed another coach. [CBC Sports]

? The Ottawa Senators coaching derby has begun! [Citizen]

? Good piece by Proteau on the Detroit Red Wings post-Brian Rafalski. [THN]

? Jon Jordan believes this picture of Marty St. Louis tells the story of what kind of player he is for the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Beasts of the Southeast]

? Nice story about the NHL sleeper cell … er, hockey fans inside the Texas Rangers locker room. [Stars]

? Hilary Duff believes Pittsburgh Penguins fans are the best in the NHL, completing her heel turn against the Islanders. [Busted Coverage]

? Kesler? Sedin? Luongo? Hacks. Everyone knows the real MVP for the Vancouver Canucks is the Rogers Arena stanchion. [Kurtenblog]

? Looking at the Sedins as potential Hall of Famers. Would they share the same plaque? [Sports Caddy]

? Thrashers fans have turned to the NHL's own bylaws to wonder if they would prevent the franchise from relocating to Winnipeg as early as next week. [SB Nation Atlanta]

? Anson Carter talks about how his bid for the Thrashers wasn't taken seriously by Atlanta Spirit. [11Alive]

? In a breakthrough of mathematical science, it appears the more the Atlanta Thrashers would win the more fans would attend their games! [Bird Watchers]

? "Completely Unfair Kessel Comparison that is Nonetheless Fun." [Lighthouse Hockey]

? "The Colorado Eagles, along with Altitude Sports & Entertainment announced [Thursday] that Game 7 of the Central Hockey� League's Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Finals will be broadcast live from the Budweiser Events Center Friday night, starting at 7 p.m. (MST). The Eagles will be looking to win their third league championship in their eight seasons of existence as the take on the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in a winner-takes-all contest."

? Finally, and we've been waiting years for this, the marriage between slot hockey and hip hop:

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The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Chester Pitts

Our latest podcast is about the labor situation, but it's also a lot of fun, because our guest can't go too long without laughing at life ? or at himself. Chester Pitts, the current free agent guard who has played for the Houston Texans an Seattle Seahawks, got on the phone with me on Friday afternoon to talk about his years of experience as a player rep. As one of the more activist voices on the NFLPA side of the labor battle, Pitts is determined to make the players' side known. I had talked with him about it in the Seahawks' locker room at the end of the 2010 season and at the 2011 scouting combine when a bunch of NFLPA people showed up at Peter King's Tweet-up, and it was a pleasure to get his chapter and verse about what's going on.

However, we had to get one thing out of the way first ? Chester starts by explaining the thought process behind this video for Comedy Central.

After that, we got down to business. I asked Chester about where the players stand with the latest hearing going before the Eighth Circuit Court next week, why the NFLPA hasn't made a counter offer, how the players are holding up though the delays, how the use of misinformation has delayed things, why negotiation isn't always the answer (Chester uses some very interesting examples to make his case), and how he balances his questions about his own NFL future with the need to help his comrades. It's a fascinating talk with one of the NFL's true good guys, and well worth a listen.

Left-click the link below to listen to the podcast, or right-click to download:

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Chester Pitts

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05/31 (Tressel Quits) Quickie

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Vive la France! 2018 Ryder Cup goes to Versailles

Hey, here's a new one: France wins!

France won a five-way battle to host the 2018 Ryder Cup despite a last-minute sentimental charge from Spain. The event will take place at the Le Golf National Course in Versailles, and while we've never played that, we just have to state that any club with the stones to name itself "Le Golf" deserves respect.

The Ryder Cup usually takes place in the United Kingdom when it's on the other side of the pond; Spain is the only other continental destination to host a Cup, back in 1997.

The European Tour made the decision, and officials pointed out that the "outstanding spectator viewing" was a key element. Take a look at that 18th hole above; those grandstands have more viewers than most Major League Baseball games.� The course can host about 70,000 visitors, and you can bet that most of them will be sniffing arrogantly as the U.S., led by captain Phil Mickelson (just you watch), comes to town.

Spain's bid to host the course at the proposed Tres Cantos course near Madrid got a boost, in a bit of a morbid twist, from the passing of Spanish golf legend Seve Ballesteros.

Interestingly, only two of the five bids actually have courses completed. France received a huge boost from its golf federation, whose 400,000 members agreed to pay 3 euros a year for 10 years to help defray the costs. The French bid also has an astonishing course-construction component which calls for the establishment of a hundred courses around France to help spur interest in the game.

In the coming years, the Ryder Cup will be held at Medinah in Illinois (2012), Gleneagles in Scotland (2014) and Hazeltine in Minnesota (2016).

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Tiger Woods likely to play the U.S. Open
? Hoops recruit rejects Duke over misspelling
? Was Harmon Killebrew the inspiration for the MLB logo?

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Sergio Garcia’s collapse shows he’s still got a ways to go

IRVING, Texas - Sergio Garcia knew what was at stake going into the final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship -- and that was the chance to get his career back on track. Only one shot back of the lead after a brutal third round 74, Garcia considered himself lucky to still be in the hunt on a day, when most of the field failed to gain ground on the leaders.

"I could have shot higher," he said, "but the good thing is even like this I'm one shot back tomorrow, so that's the positive."

There have been very few positives in Garcia's game over the last couple of years. After winning three years ago at the Players Championship, the Spaniard endured a drought the like of which nobody ever could have expected. It got so bad last year, in fact, that he signed up to be to help out with the Ryder Cup team ... as a vice-captain. He even contemplated walking away from the game.

Sunday at the Nelson, a tournament he won back in 2004, was his chance to wipe away the pain of the last three years. But instead of taking hold of the moment, Garcia threw it away in a final round that once again showed us that he's still not close to being the same swashbuckling Spaniard that at one time was considered to be a player on the rise.

With a 7-over 77 in the final round, Garcia not only ruined a chance to grab a spot in the US Open and British Opens fields, he wasted the opportunity for a top-5 or top-10 finish, something he certainly could have used after couple of solid finishes the last couple of weeks.

We're left to wonder, again, just where his career is headed. We see those moments of brilliance from time to time, but just when we think he's on the verge of something special, he throws up a big number that makes us shake our head and feel silly for even believing he could be the Garcia of old.

Garcia is still a good player, but he will never be a great one until he learns how to get out of his own way and quit over thinking pressure-packed situations. Like Tiger Woods, Sergio has lost his passion for the game, and until he gets that back, he'll continue to be an average player that can't close the deal.

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Jared Allen, bling police: Vikings star rips rookies’ draft jewelry

For a guy who used to have a mullet, Jared Allen sure is uppity about casting aspersions on people for their life decisions.

While being interviewed by a Phoenix radio station, the Minnesota Vikings defensive end was asked about his reaction to players being chummy with Roger Goodell on draft night. Allen expressed disappointment that incoming rookies could hug the man who was threatening the season before moving on to an even bigger source of frustration:

"I think the bigger disappointment was to see the jewelry on these kids' arms and ears. Are you kidding me? You haven't played a down in the league yet and thousands and thousands of dollars on these kids' arms and I'm like, 'You guys understand you're getting drafted into a lockout where you don't know what rules you're playing under or how much money you possibly might get?'"

Yes, because this is the first time players have shown up at the draft wearing expensive jewelry without knowing how much money they were going to get. I understand Allen's point that buying $40,000 earrings isn't the soundest financial move without knowing the rookie salary structure, but is it really any smarter in a non-lockout year? These are 21-year-old kids on the verge of earning the first big paycheck of their lives (except for Cam Newton). Agents are handing out cash like it's Monopoly money. Can you blame a kid for indulging a little bit? What does Allen care anyway? You don't hear Von Miller ripping Allen for buying expensive tree stands, do you?

Being disappointed by players showing up with watches that cost more than most people's cars is like getting upset by Chris Berman tipping draft picks. They're both a part of life at the NFL draft.

Bling happens. Deal with it.

Thanks, PFT

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
Company drops Mendenhall over bin Laden tweets
Horse named after Tim Tebow flops at Churchill Downs
'Fake' Manny Pacquiao may sing better than real one

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Jamie McMurray reaches out to Joplin tornado survivors

The tornadoes that have raked the southeastern United States in the last few weeks have left deep scars in NASCAR country, and the horrifying storm that virtually destroyed Joplin, Missouri is no exception.

Joplin is the hometown of Jamie McMurray, and shortly after the storm hit, he issued the following statement: "My heart goes out to all the people that have been affected by the devastating Missouri tornado on May 22nd, especially in my hometown of Joplin.� It is difficult to put into words, the emotions I have when I see the devastation and destruction that was caused by this storm.� My thoughts and prayers are extended to all the people who are dealing with so much loss. I would also like to thank all those that have reached out to me to express their concerns for my family.� Although I don't personally have any family in Joplin any longer, there are still many people there that need our support and prayers."

Expect McMurray to reach out in some form; he, like so many other drivers, is keenly aware of NASCAR's need to offer up charity to those who need it.

And for a little perspective, take a look at the devastation in Joplin. Shocking.

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Carl Crawford emerging from deep slump as Red Sox also rise

The Boston Red Sox are showing that those who judged their season on a 2-10 start did so at their own peril.

One detail in particular, the addition of Carl Crawford in free agency at a cost of $142 million, appeared to be a big miscalculation.

Well, after a brutal start, Boston has gone 17-7 this month, including a 14-1 thrashing of the Tigers on Thursday, to climb into a virtual tie with the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East.

And though he still has issues, Crawford's bat is so hot this week, he ought to dine at Sizzler: He has 10 hits in 16 at-bats, and is coming off back-to-back four-hit games, to raise his batting average 35 points and his slugging percentage 91 points since Monday.

In fairness, Crawford's numbers had nowhere to go but up. After a weekend series against the Cubs, he was batting .209 with few walks and a .277 slugging percentage in 187 plate appearances.

His recent barrage includes a two-triple game Thursday, along with a home run and two doubles against the Indians on Wednesday. In the past two games, he has only swung and missed once.

So, who's your Crawdaddy now?

Crawford, as quoted in the Providence Journal, sounds cautiously optimistic about his uptick.

"We just have to see how it goes here. I've been feeling good the last few days, and you try to keep that feel for the next few days," he said. "Hopefully it doesn't go away just like that."

It might have been unfair to pronounce judgment on Crawford's signing after just a short time in Boston, but an awesome four-game hot streak shouldn't erase concerns.

Crawford in May is batting .333 in 96 at-bats, but his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 18 to 2 ? actually worse than it was in April when he hit .155 with a .431 OPS. His lack of walks probably is a big reason he has only seven stolen bases (in 10 attempts) so far. It's also why manager Terry Francona can't yet, in good conscience, hit Crawford at the top of Boston's lineup.

And he's still batting .117/.159/.183 against lefties. While his star hitter has�always been vulnerable against southpaws, Francona seriously needs to consider platooning Crawford if he can't pick it up. A $142 million platoon player? That's outrageous, and unacceptable, even in one of the biggest markets.

Crawford's results at Fenway Park, while dreadful, are actually encouraging in a way. His .222/.252/.293 line indicates, to me, a guy who is pressing to impress his new team and its fans. As he continues to get used to not being in Tampa Bay, he probably will relax and start to take advantage of Fenway.

Also, his batting average on balls put into play ? .267 ? is way off from his career mark of .329 (and .342 the past two seasons). He's been unlucky, and as his luck turns (probably), his stat line will catch up to the mean.

The Red Sox might never get their money's worth for Crawford, but he's going to be better. Just give him time.

Follow Dave on Twitter ?�@AnswerDave ? and engage�the Stew on Facebook

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Monday, May 30, 2011

Stephen Strasburg action figure taken into custody by red ninjas

Just in case you were wondering what Stephen Strasburg is up to during his year of rehab, here's your answer: Being captured by Cobra Commander's red ninjas,�who were likely unaware that the Washington Nationals pitcher is also a client of Scott Boras.

Heh. OK, so it's just the McFarlane's Strasburg action figure in one of the many scenarios that a creative poster on WNFF.net placed it in. Go check out the rest of the posed photos for a good laugh. You'll love them if you were the type of kid who used to place his Starting Lineups into a galaxy of WWF, He-Men and "Stars Wars" figures. (And be honest, who among us never staged a battle royale involving Darryl Strawberry, Hillbilly Jim, Man-At-Arms and Chewbacca?)

As for the real thing, the living and breathing Strasburg ? the real American hero, they were calling him at this time last year? just took another step back on his long recovery from Tommy John surgery, throwing his first bullpen session in Florida on Monday.

Big BLS H/N: DC Sports Bog

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Listen To Puck Daddy Radio for Gino Odjick, Bolts/Bruins preview

It's a Tuesday edition of Puck Daddy Radio, and we're chatting about the following and much more:

? Special Guest Star: Gino Odjick, a.k.a. "The Algonquin Assassin," joins us to talk about the Vancouver Canucks' run at the Stanley Cup.

? Breaking down the surreal double-OT victory for the Canucks over the San Jose Sharks.

? Previewing the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6.

? A little bit 'o Winnipeg relocation talk.

? Question of the day: Who do you think the Canucks want to face in the Stanley Cup Finals?

? Puck Previews.

Email your thoughts to puckdaddyradio@thescore.com.

Puck Daddy Radio is on Monday through Friday, from 1-2 p.m. ET/10-11 a.m. PT on The Score Radio Sirius Channel 158. Featuring Wyshynski and Rob Pizzo, it's your show: Calls, tweets, special guests and a ton of hockey goodness every day.

The call in number is 1-888-942-7326 (1-888-9-HARDCORE). We'll also be reading emails to puckdaddyradio@thescore.com and tweets that you send to @wyshynski and @robpizzo.

We're all about interaction here; call in, email, tweet ... we'll discuss whatever you'd like. Listen here:


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2011 Selection Sunday Live Chat

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Japan earthquake relief: Bid on Jenson Button t-shirt

Yahoo! is reaching out to its readers to help earthquake victims in Japan. As a part of our initiative, we've asked artists, celebrities and athletes to donate personal items for this great cause. And look who's jumped in to help: Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.

Up for auction is a t-shirt signed by Button, the 2009 world champion, and his Japanese girlfriend Jessica Michibata.

If you'd like to help, just click here to bid for this item or others. All proceeds raised by these charity auctions will go to designated earthquake relief funds. To date, the charity auction has raised more than $1 million in just 50 days.

Yahoo! thanks you for your help and support.

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Fans not buying Goodell’s ‘Fans want 18 games’ rhetoric

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been saying for months that the fans of the game want an 18-game regular-season schedule, and for months, actual fan reaction to the idea has run almost exactly counter to Goodell's claims. What fans really seem to want is for preseason games to cost less than regular-season games, and Goodell appears to have taken that to mean something altogether else. He says that fans are practically running up to him on the street and begging for more regular-season games. Sounds unlikely at this point; I'd imagine that if fans are talking to him on the street, they're begging for an end to the lockout and perhaps using words one wouldn't use in polite company.

But in a recent conference call with Tennessee Titans season-ticket holders (part of Goodell's continued mission to win hearts and minds), Goodell kept the message up:

"We do think it is attractive to season-ticket holders," he said. "I hear that all of the time from our season-ticket holders. We have not abandoned our position on that. We do think it is the right thing for the game. It improves the quality of what we do, and it improves the value for you as season-ticket holders. … We do think it is a benefit for everybody, but we want to do it the right way, and we want to do it responsibly. That includes the players' perspective.''

What I found interesting about this particular statement is that I have never heard or read any fan saying or writing that an 18-game regular season would be preferable in the abstract. Having listened in on one of Goodell's season-ticket calls and having read summaries of others, I cannot, for the life of me, remember even one of these season-ticket holders saying anything to the effect of, "Mr. Commissioner, we have got to have more regular-season games!" What I do hear, over and over, is Goodell's contention that the 18-game season is somehow a balm for the fans … when in truth, the fans aren't particularly interested in the idea.

Where I sense that Goodell is getting a positive read on the 18-game idea is if he frames the question to get the answer he and the owners want ? something to the effect of, "If you had to choose between four preseason games and a 16-game season, or two preseason games and an 18-game season, which way would you go?" In that case, I can't imagine anyone preferring the current system, especially for the same price. And that's where I think the NFL is being disingenuous ? the fans are saying that it's a ripoff to pay full price for preseason games, and the league is morphing that concept into something different to meet its own agenda.��

I decided to use Twitter as a referendum on the point Friday morning; asking season-ticket holders in the Twitterverse this question: Are you in favor of an 18-game season as Roger Goodell claims you are? Of the 100-plus replies I received in about half an hour, not one was in favor of the idea without qualification, and most responses were profoundly against it. Read a few after the jump:

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Jared Allen, bling police: Vikings star rips rookies’ draft jewelry

For a guy who used to have a mullet, Jared Allen sure is uppity about casting aspersions on people for their life decisions.

While being interviewed by a Phoenix radio station, the Minnesota Vikings defensive end was asked about his reaction to players being chummy with Roger Goodell on draft night. Allen expressed disappointment that incoming rookies could hug the man who was threatening the season before moving on to an even bigger source of frustration:

"I think the bigger disappointment was to see the jewelry on these kids' arms and ears. Are you kidding me? You haven't played a down in the league yet and thousands and thousands of dollars on these kids' arms and I'm like, 'You guys understand you're getting drafted into a lockout where you don't know what rules you're playing under or how much money you possibly might get?'"

Yes, because this is the first time players have shown up at the draft wearing expensive jewelry without knowing how much money they were going to get. I understand Allen's point that buying $40,000 earrings isn't the soundest financial move without knowing the rookie salary structure, but is it really any smarter in a non-lockout year? These are 21-year-old kids on the verge of earning the first big paycheck of their lives (except for Cam Newton). Agents are handing out cash like it's Monopoly money. Can you blame a kid for indulging a little bit? What does Allen care anyway? You don't hear Von Miller ripping Allen for buying expensive tree stands, do you?

Being disappointed by players showing up with watches that cost more than most people's cars is like getting upset by Chris Berman tipping draft picks. They're both a part of life at the NFL draft.

Bling happens. Deal with it.

Thanks, PFT

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Kyle Busch will honor lost child at Charlotte truck race

I'm going to be honest with you here: this is a story that's tough to read and write, and there really isn't any kind of happy ending. At next weekend's Charlotte truck race, Kyle Busch will honor Zahra Baker with her image on his truck.

Zahra was a 10-year-old disabled girl from Hickory, N.C. who visited with Busch at a Speedway Children's Charities event last May.� Shortly afterward, she went missing. Weeks later, her dismembered body was found. It gets even more gruesome than that; we won't go any further with the details here. This was the first I've heard of this case, and that's awful, because I'd hate to think that kind of cruelty just gets forgotten.

Zahra's name and photograph will be emblazoned above the passenger-side window for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. The track will observe a moment of silence in her honor, and several of the children who were at last year's event will be present also. After the moment of silence, they and Busch will release balloons in Zahra's honor.

"The story of Zahra Baker's tragic murder really hit home with KBM and the Kyle Busch Foundation," said Busch. "We are honored to have Speedway Children's Charities and several of the kids that attended last year's event at the Speedway join us in paying remembrance to her. Zahra will never be forgotten. She will always be in our hearts."

Tip of the cap to Busch, Charlotte Motor Speedway and NASCAR for this one.

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05/16 (Heat Thumped) Quickie

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05/16 (Heat Thumped) Quickie

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Carl Edwards enjoyed the All-Star Race, even if you didn’t

Saturday night's Sprint All-Star race was billed as the season's ultimate showdown, a winner-take-all brawl where battling drivers could settle scores at 200 mph, an escalating series of duels capped by a shootout that would be the best 10 laps of the season.

Yeah, well ... it didn't quite work out that way.

Carl Edwards continued to build on what's shaping up to be the best season of his career by outrunning the best of the best�in the final 10-lap�segment. Kyle Busch took shots at him, but could never get close enough to really close the deal when it mattered. The rest of the field had little in the way of a challenge for Edwards: Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle ran up front briefly but drifted backward; Jeff Gordon couldn't overcome wretched restarts; and Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin were utter nonfactors.

And the yawn-inducing laps weren't limited to the main event. The Showdown, from which two drivers would jump to the All-Star race, was equally as routine, with David Ragan and Brad Keselowski checking out on the field with several laps left to go. In a decision that surprised exactly no one, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the fan vote to get into the big race. And SPEED padded the prerace festivities with so much blather and overblown driver/crew introductions that the race started more than 30 minutes after its scheduled green flag, and ran until well after 11 p.m. Eastern.

Still, none of this should take away from Edwards' exceptional run. It's not his fault that he lulled both viewers and competitors to sleep with some masterful handling of his car. In fact, his only misstep came when he tried to do a burnout in the infield grass, dug the front quarterpanel into the sod, and nearly flipped the car.

"I think some people would like to think that I'm smart enough and savvy enough, all of us are, to come up with some trick and destroy it like that and make it look like an accident," Edwards said when asked if he wrecked his car on purpose. "We're not that smart.�I really did just tear up the race car."

Said Kyle Busch: "From my vantage point, it was kind of a tame race today. I think there was only one or two interruptions besides the normal cautions that we have in this race." Then he smiled. "Sorry, we didn't give you any scoop or drama."

Somehow, we think Edwards is just fine with that, even if nobody else is.

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Bengals owner on Ochocinco: ‘We want a football player’

Most people seem to be operating under the assumption that Chad Ochocinco will not be a Cincinnati Bengal in the hypothetical 2011 NFL season. He wants out, it seems like his coach wants him gone, and it would probably be better for everyone involved if he just moved on.

The team's owner still wants to tell him what to do, though. Even though, as an owner, he's one of the people responsible for football not existing at the moment.

From Joe Reedy's Bengals Blog at Cincinnati.com:

"He's going to do the things he does. Next maybe he'll be a snake wrangler and we'll watch to see if he gets bit," [Bengals owner Mike] Brown said. "He's always up to some stunt. They amuse me in a way. They concern me because let's face it we want a football player. We aren't hiring a bull rider, a dancer, a soccer player. We want a football player. It's simple. And that should be the focus, not on other things."

I'll never be confused with an Ochocinco fan, but this particular criticism, at this particular time, is unfair and insulting.

You want a football player? Then how about letting the guy play football? There's a lockout, Mike Brown. That means the owners have literally locked the players out of team facilities, and at the same time, this owner wants to criticize a player for not having his mind on football? That's a little backwards, isn't it? It's like a wife throwing her husband out of the house and then complaining that he's never home.

If you want the Ocho to concentrate on football, then you and your owner pals can ease off of the greed throttle, end this lockout, and let him show up for his job. Otherwise, you don't get to tell him what to do.

I can't believe I'm defending Chad Ochocinco. I don't like what this lockout's made me become.

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2011 Tourney: Sweet 16 Friday Live Chat

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

2011 NFL Draft Live Chat!

Please join us here tonight for our 2011 NFL Draft Live Chat. We've already had a fascinating moment with the commissioner getting booed, fake-sympathizing with a fan, and then invoking the tragedies of yesterday's tornadoes.

We'll be here all night with thoughts, observations, polls and interaction with Shutdown Corner readers all night long. There'll be polls, questions, lives news updates, and several men pretending to be women. Please join us. We're going to have fun.

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Ravens will get nothing, but do the Bears owe them something?

I believe strongly in the power of rivalry and disdain to add to the intrigue of sports. No sporting event has ever been hurt by a good storyline behind it. No game has ever been less exciting because the competitors loathed one another.

With that in mind, a Bears vs. Ravens 2012 Super Bowl doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world.

You know what happened by now. Thursday night during the first round of the draft, the Bears agreed to give the Ravens a fourth-round draft pick in exchange for moving up from 29th overall to 26th overall.

But the Bears failed to notify the league -- they take full responsibility for the failure and call it an honest mistake -- and the trade never happened. The Ravens, thinking it would happen, didn't make a pick. The clock ran out on them, which allowed Kansas City to jump ahead of them in the draft order.

The trade never happened. The Ravens lost a spot and didn't get the fourth-rounder from Chicago. Chicago stayed where they were at 29th and ended up getting the man they wanted anyway.

Roger Goodell reviewed the case, and said he wasn't going to force the Bears to give the Ravens the draft pick. He did say, though, that he'd recommend to the Bears that they do give up the draft pick.

They won't be doing that. They do offer, however, a very heartfelt apology.

Here's how Ravens head coach John Harbaugh feels about it:

"I can't imagine why they would be so opposed to doing this ... You're talking about your reputation. You're talking about how you do business. The McCaskeys are the McCaskeys. They are the NFL. I really think if they were making the decision, I'm pretty sure their fourth-round pick wouldn't be worth the history of their reputation.

[...]

"It's pretty hard to understand. .. We do stand on our integrity."

Here's how Bears GM Jerry Angelo feels about it.

"The only thing I am going to say is they have rules when you do something wrong. Not when people make mistakes. A mistake was made. No rule was broken, OK, so let's just make that clear here. As I said last night, we made the proper amends from our part and certainly there was no intent other than to do the best we could and it just didn't work out.

[...]

"Believe me, I am going into my 31st year in this league," he said. "There has been a hell of a lot worse that has been done, believe me, on the clock and there have been things out there documented so let's not get into judging souls here. If there is something that needs to be done, I trust the league will do their due diligence and so be it."

Put yourself in Mr. Angelo's shoes. A trade was agreed upon, but did not go down. Let's assume that you know in your heart that the trade fell through via an honest mistake, and not through any nefarious intentions.

A mini-John Harbaugh is sitting on one of your shoulders saying, "Stand on your integrity. Give the Ravens the fourth-round draft pick." Mini-Jerry Angelo is sitting on your other shoulder saying, "Accidents will happen. You don't owe anyone anything. Keep your draft pick."

I believe I'd side with mini-Angelo. It is, in fact, an imperfect world in which accidents do happen. They didn't get to move up in the first round, and the Ravens did not get an additional draft pick. That's the way the ball bounced here. If the Bears agree to give up a draft pick out of the goodness of their own heart, do the Ravens also have to agree to trade first-round spots with the Bears the next time the draft order lines up that way?

At the end of the day, everyone got what they wanted. The Ravens got their man in Jimmy Smith and the Bears got their man in Gabe Carimi. The Chiefs even got Jonathan Baldwin, whom they wanted for some reason.

Let's just call it even right there. Everyone got their guy. I'm really sorry that the Ravens have hurt feelings, but I'm not going to give them a draft pick for which I received nothing in return. Their hurt feelings are not enough to compel me.

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The next Heisman Trophy will be brought to you by Aflac

America's most infamous, supplemental insurance-pushing waterfowl has a new voice this season, and now a new, hallowed platform from which to shout it:

ATLANTA (AP)?The insurance firm Aflac is sponsoring the Heisman Trophy next season.

The company said Friday it will offer its key accounts and brokerage partners access to Heisman-themed events. The vice president of sponsorships and emerging markets says the company is working with major universities to line up the events.

Vice president Danny Fleishman says the company is honored to be partnered with the Heisman and he is excited about the future of the sponsorship. Fleishman says the Heisman Trophy Trust and Aflac have a mutual level of respect.

A mutual level of respect, indeed: One evokes a 76-year-old legacy of mahogany-paneled excellence, the other evokes a spokesduck that has been cruelly bred to communicate a single word and introduce trivia questions. (As well as, more recently, with inappropriate jokes about the Japanese tsunami.) A match made in corporate heaven.

The official press release from Aflac sheds precious little light on the details of the multi-year arrangement, but based on the Heisman's previous arrangements with the likes of Suzuki and Nissan, we will be mercifully spared the indignity of "the Heisman Trophy presented by Aflac" after a relentless, season-long advertising campaign. (Not that Aflac lacks exposure during college football broadcasts, anyway. If anything, I suspect you might want to bone up on your Heisman history for this year's trivia breaks.) And let's face it, as indignities go, the trophy has seen worse. As long as the duck doesn't go all Billy Sims during the ceremony, it will survive.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Video: Cam Newton gets ‘Bieber Fever’

And here, because we just couldn't help ourselves, is a video of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton singing along to Justin Bieber's "Baby" at the Panini NFL Rookie Card shoot in Los Angeles over the weekend. Frankly, I'm less appalled about the ad hoc karaoke, and more disturbed by the out-of-the-box freestyle Newton tries at the end.

After all, the whole point of karaoke is to sing horrible music horribly, and Newton obliges on both counts. But the bad freestyle? That should be a matter of concern for Newton's new (well, eventually new) NFL team. Rolling a good freestyle requires the ability to process information, be imaginative, think quickly on your feet, and adjust to changing circumstances ? all primary attributes for optimal quarterback play. Perhaps there should be a freestyle competition at the NFL scouting combine every year. Because between this video and Newton's strange decision to dress like Carlton Banks when he went one-on-one with Jon Gruden in Gruden's QB Camp, we may be looking at a guy who has more issues than the transition from a two-digit offense to NFL verbiage.

In any case, here's what Newton put down. Panthers fans, you may want to avert your eyes and ears (or wait for Jimmy Clausen to start singing "I Will Always Love You…")

(H/T: The Big Lead)

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Bourne Blog: The underdog mentality is a beautiful thing

It takes a strong team to cope with being a favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Errors are enhanced and picked through with a fine-tooth comb by not just the media, but also the people inside the dressing room. Simply "getting it done" isn't good enough ? it feels like everything always needs to be perfect, and that can be stressful.

While their team stats from the regular season are barely any different from Boston's (in fact, they tied at 103 regular season points) and their team contains far more offensive stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning are enjoying the beauty of having the underdog label, which is working out pretty nicely for them.

Guy Boucher has been exceedingly cautious in making sure they keep it, repeatedly lauding the excellent team they're just so happy to even be playing with, gosh.

This morning he was asked a question about shutting down Tyler Seguin, to which he responded "[T]he reality is there's too many good players on that team.� They've got a terrific team with a lot of guys who can make the difference. So if you start focusing on one guy in particular, you're going to focus on the wrong thing."

Yes, he managed to turn "we're roughly zero percent afraid of Tyler Seguin" into "gosh, that WHOLE TEAM is just so terrific!"

By all logic, the underdog/favorite concept shouldn't have any effect on the outcome of a series, yet somehow it tends to provide a little influence on things.

When you're expected to handily take down your opponent, life just isn't as fun. You aren't really supposed to enjoy the wins as much, and you don't. Why would you? You had a task to take care of, you went out there and did it, and now it's done. Might as well have just picked up the dry-cleaning.

And when you lose, its Armageddon. People have to take off their shoes after having run out of fingers to point around the locker room. Practice is somber, the mood is down, and nothing feels right until you win again.

Having standards for your team like that can be a good thing, but when it's causing panic the second a team has the audacity to score on your great and glorious franchise, it's probably time to snap into some smelling salts and realize that playoff wins never come easy.

For the Lightning's part, they get to feast on the snowball of emotion and excitement, even surprise to some extent. The truth is, hockey players do read what people write about them. They watch SportsCenter and NHL On the Fly and Hockey Night in Canada and buy newspapers. Tampa knows the number of people who picked them to beat Boston was somewhere in the neighborhood of Mattias Ohlund's goal total this season.

Going into the series, they expected a tough fight, partially because everyone told them they were going to lose it. So when pucks start going in and guys are able to get a little bit of feel-good going, their play only improves.

The Bruins are no worse off than the Bolts at this point ? the series is tied at two with three games left, two of which are played in their city, in front of their fans. Yet somehow it feels like Tampa has the upper hand thanks to wonders of perception, the same way Roberto Luongo takes more heat than any goalie in the league despite being one of the best ones in it.

Having your head in a guillotine with the glint of a steel blade hanging above you isn't the most freeing way to coach or play hockey, and if the B's don't make it through this round, you never know who the blade might fall on.

For Tampa? This is all gravy. Their team is no better, they're situation is no better, yet the Bruins feel like they're the ones with their backs against the wall. For the Bruins and their fans, hopefully they bring a little better effort than they demonstrated during Saturday's 40 minute meltdown. They're gonna have to.

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