Non-Madness Sports News

I think I know what being post-partum is like now. I'm suffering from Post-march madness depression. We'll never have 4 games playing at the same time for a long time. Regardless, here's some non-madness notes.

- This week seemed to be a turning point in the world of the NFL Draft. With more and more free agent signings, teams needs are starting to change. Check out NFLDraftcountdown for their latest Mock. Their links page is another great way to find solid draft coverage. I love the fact that the Raiders have the #1 pick in a draft where the top QB is no lock and the best player is a WR that if they draft him, they'll have no way to get him the ball.

- Roger Clemens still loves the limelight and just can't seem to stay out of the headlines. For the fifth time since pitchers and catchers reported, he is announcing that he has nothing to say. Until May. No kidding you fat toad.

- I'll consider my fantasy draft a success this weekend if I don't get sucked into Eric Bedard like half of humanity did last year. Even if he is starting the Oriole's opener.

- Don't wind up sitting next to a freshman in college's family if you want to avoid a $30k fine.

- Pretty interesting article from the Boston Globe's football notes yesterday.

Pardon me if I don't bleed for the NFL players who retire and don't get their tuition reimbursed under the current program. Here's an idea: Put 50 grand away out of the $10 million signing bonus that you just got to pay for your tuition.

Professional athletes are unbelievable to me.

Here's a novel idea for the NFL: Take the money that you pay for tuition reimbursement and invest the hell out of it. Then use it to fund pensions for pre-AFL/NFL merger players. You know, the guys in the Hall of Fame that get 800 bucks a month from the league?

I think Michael Vick can do without his Va Tech education. I had a buddy who knocked up his girlfriend the summer after his Junior year and had to drop out of school...who's reimbursing his tuition for him to go back to school.

- The iditarod is idiotic.

- Check out ESPN.com's San Diego Chargers draft preview article. I love this stuff.

Here's something you should take into account when you're handicapping next season. When a team's Key Addition reads like this:

Key additions
The biggest addition is head coach Norv Turner, who has his third head
coaching job. While he is generally regarded as a solid offensive coordinator,
Turner's teams in Oakland and Washington underachieved with him as head coach.

Then that's a warning sign for the season. "Underachieved" is an understatement.

-*****BREAKING NEWS*******

Roger Clemens still fat, and still un-decided on future plans. Will make announcement in May. Still.

This is Why Athletes Hate the Media

Regardless of whether you're a Boston fan or not, you should all read this despicable column by Dan Shaugnessy of the Boston Globe. For those not familiar with him, "Shank (as we call him)" was the clown who wrote the book about the Curse of the Bambino and made a bunch of money on it, only to come out with this gem after the Red Sox won the world series.

Red Sox-Yankees has evolved into the very best drama in all of sports and with
that comes no shortage of themes, which are often silly or contrived (remember
The Curse of the Bambino?). - Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
04/07/05

So clearly he's not the most consistent writer on the planet.

Well, the other thing you have to realize is that Shank can't just write about the Red Sox, the Patriots, or any other sports team or story in the world, he always has to interject himself into the piece. Today was no different.

But he also has a
propensity to shut it down, and we never know why. And please, don't be a stooge
and attempt to perpetuate the farcical theory that Manny was too wounded to play
last September. Every man in the Sox clubhouse knows what went down; teammates
simply wouldn't say anything on the record, lest they risk "losing"
Manny.

The amazing part of the Manny-fan relationship is that
most Boston baseball customers, who are normally critical and discerning, have
lost their minds when it comes to Mr. Ramírez. The timeless rules and standards
don't apply. Manny can hit. It's a joy to watch him hit. And it's pretty clear
that he's incapable of offending the sensibilities of most Sox
fans.

That's all you really have to read. To sum up: Shank knows that his teammates are upset with the way Manny ended the season last year, even though we've never heard from any of them - not even a "leak," but Shank knows that. Furthermore, Shank is just down right angry that the fans of the Red Sox clearly don't vilify Manny Ramirez quite like Shank feels they should, or perhaps feels they would have in the past.

Here's how the rest of the season will play out:

- If Manny steps up and is the great soldier this year, Shank will somehow attribute this article as part of the reason why. There will be some type of piece in June or July about how the pressure on Manny to perform really got to him this year, so he's stepping up nicely. He just didn't want to have to hear it from the media again, thank Dan Shaughnessy everybody.

OR

- Manny shuts it down again, or becomes a distraction again. Shank will continue to bring this up, until finally a teammate or Manny himself goes off. And then Shank will say "I told you so."

Book it, and rest assured, I'll point it out when it happens - and it WILL happen.


Other items from the weekend.
Bridget Moynahan trapped Brady when they had their "goodbye" bang.

Reaction to this story from Kissing Suzy Kolber, and The Big Lead


NBA All Star recaps and blogs from Awful Announcing.