Wrapping the weekend

Condolences to Texans running back Ryan Moats who had to deal with a special level of stupidity last week while his mother-in-law lay dying in a hospital bed. If you click on the link and read the article, take the time to watch the footage of what happened.

Currently, the officer who detained Moats is on a paid suspension while the incident is under investigation.

My own opinion - if a police officer commits an act so egregious that it merits a suspension, then the person shouldn't get paid for getting to stay at home. I'm not saying the money should be lost either, should the officer be found to have acted properly - I think that the officer's pay should be held in trust until the end of any investigation. Should the officer be cleared, then that person receives their back pay. If the officer is found guilty, then the pay is forfeit. As the system is, the moron who detained Ryan Moats is, in essence, getting a paid vacation for what he did.

That's just ridiculous.

Brad Wilkerson was informed this weekend by Terry Francona that he would not be making the team. I still say this was a good signing. It was a low risk signing with the potential for a big payoff if Wilkerson reverted to his earlier career form. He didn't and now he's gone without the team in the hole for a big paycheck.

Michael Vick lives in a fantasy world...

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution,

The embattled Atlanta Falcons quarterback is hoping to earn as much as $10 million a year or more, according to court filings in his bankruptcy case. Under the plan he submitted to the court, Vick would keep the first $750,000 of his annual income over the next five years. After that, a percentage would go to his creditors based on a sliding scale.

I don't know who he's talking to that is telling him he'll be able to earn $10 million per year, but that number isn't the least bit realistic.

There are a few basic things that Vick needs to realize - one; he's never going to make that sort of annual salary in the NFL again. Two; few, if any, teams will give him a shot as their quarterback. Three; he's going to be on a really short leash wherever he goes, if anywhere. Like Pacman Jones short. He screws up, he misses a meeting and forgets to call the office, he accidentally spits on the coaches shoes, he's gone.

This isn't just about the incarceration - this is about a guy who has failed his first team in the NFL on every conceivable level. The quarterback is supposed to be the face of the franchise and no team is going to want to market a convicted felon, animal abuser, and drug user to families in their fan base. Nor are they going to want to have to deal with the hard sell that's trying to tell 52 other guys in the locker room that they need to follow the guy that didn't want to put the extra time in when he played for Atlanta, because he had illegal enterprises that took precedent over the team. I could go on, but I think I made my point.

Stupid is as stupid does...

The Manny news out of La-La Land...

The Dodgers announced Thursday night the star outfielder’s agent Scott Boras had declined a $25 million, one-year contract with a $20 million player option for 2010. It was the club’s fourth offer to Ramirez this offseason.

“We want Manny back, but we feel we are negotiating against ourselves,” Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said in a statement. “When his agent finds those ‘serious offers’ from other clubs, we’ll be happy to restart the negotiations.”

Nice to see some team management that's not willing to negotiate against themselves to get talent in their folds. As for Ramirez, it appears he and Scott Boras are negotiating his way out of baseball.

Someone needs to explain to Ramirez that market value isn't what his agent tells him it is, rather it's set by what someone is willing to pay. Evidently his market value is two years at $45 million less his agent's commission.

Congrats to Tom Brady on the nuptials.

After a rough stretch it looks like the Bruins are back on track.

Gotta admit, I thought the Celtics game against the then 14 win Clippers was a gimme. Evidently they did too.

It looks like Fred Taylor will be the newest member of the Patriots backfield. Taylor will be providing additional depth to a backfield that includes Kevin Faulk, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. My guess is that Heath Evans gets re-signed and that a back will be picked in the late rounds to round out the team's depth at the position in training camp.

What's in an MVP...or draft position for that matter?

Yesterday Alex Rodriguez won the American League MVP award, keeping a 20+ year streak intact of AL MVP's that failed to reach the World Series. It is the third MVP that he has won. There are a couple of questions that this presents -

What does the MVP really mean?

Is it just an award to acknowledge the player who statistically has the best year, or is it meant to recognize the player who has the greatest impact on his team?

What does that key word, "valuable," really mean?

I will admit that the Yankees don't make the post-season this year without A-Rod, but do the Red Sox without Lowell? Without Ortiz? Just one of those guys out of the lineup for significant time and the Sox don't make the post-season.

Which, in turn, begs the following question - 20 years of AL MVP's failing to make the World Series, then isn't World Series MVP the far more telling award? After all, it is given to the player who plays the best and has the most impact on the championship team during crunch time. I mean, think about it, this year's winner hit 30 of his 54 home runs before the All-Star Break - 56 percent of his dingers. Through the first 63 games he was on pace to hit 64 homers.

To put the cherry on the whipped cream, A-Rod won the award playing on a last-place club in Texas. What was his value there?

I think major league baseball has to have less vague specs for the voters in regards to this award. I do not begrudge A-Rod the award because, as I said, I don't think the Yankees make the post-season this year without him, however, I don't think he deserved to have such a landslide sort of vote leaning his way. There were several other players that were just as valuable to their teams.

However, I would still take the World Series MVP on my team over the AL MVP for one reason and one reason only - at this point it seems that the AL MVP pretty much means that my team didn't even make the Series.

Feeling drafty...

An interesting idea has creeped into the scribblings of many sports writers. Many like Peter King have started to note that drafting a franchise running back in the top ten is a waste of money. There is a history that they point at that includes Curtis Martin (3rd round), Terrell Davis (6th round), Willie Parker (undrafted), performing at as high a level, and often higher levels than a number of highly picked running backs such as Ron Dayne, Curtis Enis, Ki-Jana Carter, and Lawrence Phillips.

The idea is that a team looking for a running back, but doesn't want to spend big bucks on an unproven rookie, would be better served finding a gem in the late rounds rather than spending on an established back closing in on his 30th birthday (Texans and Ahman Green, we're looking at you).

It's not a bad idea, however, why wouldn't this be just as prudent to apply this same reasoning to quarterbacks? Some of the best in the business, per generation, have been missed by a number of teams - Johnny Unitas was cut by Pittsburgh, Joe Montana was a second rounder out of Notre Dame as was Brett Favre, Tom Brady came out of the sixth round, and Steve Young was a pick in the supplemental draft. A number of other solid starters have come from the late rounds - Bernie Kosar was a pick in the supplemental draft, currently Derek Anderson is looking solid, as is John Kitna. Jake Delhomme was undrafted as was Kurt Warner. Steve Grogan was drafted in the fifth round.

Isn't the evidence of first round quarterback busts just as damning as it is for running backs? Rick Mirer, Michael Vick, Ryan Leaf, Jeff George, Akili Smith...the list goes on.

Dillon Hangs 'Em Up

He admits that it might not be a done deal but, as of now, Patriots powerback Corey Dillon says that his NFL career is...well, a done deal, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The former Bengal and sometime Patriot leaves the game as 14th on the all-time list in rushing yardage. No small feat when you consider that his first seven seasons were spent on a Bengals team that went 34-78 during his tenure (and on which he was the only legitimate threat for most of his time in Cincy) and did not make the playoffs.

By contrast, in the three seasons he spent on the Patriots, he was on a team that won 36 games, went to the playoffs all three seasons and won a Super Bowl ring.

You might not like him, he was often truculent with the media, but if you couldn't watch him and appreciate his power and style of play, you probably aren't a true football fan (I hated the Bears growing up, but damn, if Walter Payton wasn't one of the most impressive things to watch on that field...).

Hope the man enjoys his retirement - and thanks for 2004 - that was one hell of a season.

The National Champion that is Beginning to Look Like it Never Was...

From an AP report that hit the wires this morning - "Southern California is looking into whether it may have violated NCAA recruiting rules while pursuing highly rated recruit Joe McKnight, a university official said.

"McKnight signed a national letter of intent with USC on Wednesday and made comments during a news conference that seemed to suggest communications involving former Trojan Reggie Bush, who is now with the New Orleans Saints.

"Former players are forbidden from telephoning prospective recruits, their relatives or guardians."

Currently the player and his high school coach are denying any contact with Reggie Bush and that the player mis-spoke, however, according to the report, "During the Wednesday news conference, McKnight said Carroll set up a conference call so he and Curtis could talk to Bush and ease concerns USC might face sanctions."

According to the AP story there are several versions of the story that exist -

1. Conference call with Bush to allay fears. (Violation)

2. McKnight's high school coach, JT Curtis (with whom McKnight lives) stating that according to McKnight, "Coach Carroll was talking to Reggie on the speakerphone and Joe was able to listen and hear Reggie Bush's side of the story." (Which still constitutes a violation)

3. Pete Carroll denies story and - "After being informed of Carroll's denial Thursday night, Curtis called McKnight and later said the recruit never heard Bush on a speakerphone."

4. Following the Carroll denial, Curtis's story sounds like meeting in McKnight in his living room (and Curtis wasn't there?) - "'He said when they came in his house, the discussion was brought up about probation and that's when the conversation came up that they had talked to Reggie, but Joe was not there," Curtis said. "He said, 'I was not on the speakerphone. I never called him and he never called me. I want to make it clear I never spoke to Reggie and he never spoke to me. I just messed it up. I shouldn't have said it that way (at the news conference)."'
"Curtis said McKnight may have been overwhelmed by the attention and scrutiny that accompanied his announcement."

I'm sorry, but describing a conference call is not misspeaking, saying "will" instead of "won't" or calling somebody Tom instead of Ted - that's misspeaking.

Something is not right with the way this recruitment happened and it sounds like both Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush (again) are on the verge of causing problems for USC. It is sounding more and more likely that it is going to be found that Bush accepted improper benefits for at least two seasons which will probably result in USC forfeiting their national title, Bush becoming the first Heisman Trophy winner to be stripped of the award, and sanctions against USC that might include being banned from bowl games, and stripped of football scholarships. And that doesn't include the potential problems of this last issue, which sounds likely to result in further sanctions.

One has to wonder if the Saints braintrust is worried about what Bush might do that will be a problem for them.