Yankees Look Toward Free Agency, Plan to Sign All Available

NEW YORK -- After winning their first World Series since 2000 and setting the baseball world back in its rightful order, the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman are looking to next year. Free agency opened a few days ago, and the Yankees have work to do.

One hundred and seventy-one players filed for free agency this year, and the Yankees hope to fill out their roster -- the Major League 25-man roster along with the Yankees' minor and Dominican League affiliates' -- by signing them all.

Three members of the World Series Champions are among that list, including True Yankee Andy Pettitte, World Series Champion and MVP of the Free World from East to West Hideki Matsui, and Johnny Damon, who is such a great Yankee that he hit 17 of his 24 home runs last year at home, where the ghosts of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Scott Brosius propelled his pop flies into the right-field porch.

"I'll talk to our guys first, and sign them, and after I have my conversations with our guys then I'll be full-blown into the marketplace," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, as he attended Monday night's premiere of this year's World Series film, titled The World As It Should Be: Champions Again. "I'm trying to be very careful and respectful to our players first and try to make sure they're aware of where they are in the process, and that they will be paid more money here than they could get anywhere else, even if they end up sitting in AAA all year."

Cashman has finished his scouting meetings and is discussing his limitless budget with the Steinbrenner family. While not mentioning anyone specifically, manager Joe Girardi gave hints that he'd like to sign every available player, just to make sure no other teams could improve this off-season. He implied that top free-agent pitcher John Lackey would be someone he'd pursue, to join fellow pitchers C. C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett, but noted that "it really didn't matter" as they were planning to also sign Randy Wolf, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden, Justin Duchscherer, John Garland, Braden Looper, and Joel Pineiro.

In a shocking turn of events, Omar Vizquel is believed to be signing the first deal of the free agency period to play shortstop for the Chicago White Sox. The rationale for this development becomes clearer given the news that Derek Jeter felt threatened by the 43-year-old and the report that the Yankees' captain complained about Vizquel to Girardi in private.

Westbrook's Second Concussion Is a Symptom of a Larger Problem

Brian Westbrook's second concussion, which occurred last Sunday against San Diego, has prompted him to consider whether he should play again this season and even if he should retire. This has once again cast a spotlight on the discussion about football head and brain injuries, following attention brought by the recent House Judiciary Committee hearings on football brain injuries and Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker story that comprehensively explains the physical and psychological damage done by repeated head trauma. Obviously, retiring is his decision to make, and even though I really like Westbrook, I wouldn't be disappointed if he chose to walk away from football for good. I think it's great that he is seriously thinking about his long-term mental health. The Eagles organization, and fans in particular, are far too familiar with the potential results of repeated brain trauma. (Former Eagles defensive back Andre Waters committed suicide in 2006. Studies revealed his depression was likely caused by numerous concussions and brain injuries.) What is disappointing is that any NFL player reaches a point where retirement is the only way to avoid permanent brain damage.

Frankly, I'm surprised Westbrook played running back in the NFL for seven years before suffering his first concussion. It occurred on October 26 against the Redskins on a play when London Fletcher's knee hit him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. His second concussion happened on what was reportedly a routine screen play without a particularly hard hit, only three weeks later. Though I won't say he should retire, I will say he shouldn't have been playing in that game against Washington, and he should probably not play for the rest of the season. Concussions linger, and once a person has one, it is much easier to have another and create permanent brain damage, especially if he doesn't allow enough time for it to completely heal. Westbrook met with concussion specialists yesterday, who said they expect him to fully recover and that he'll be retested in a few weeks. Hopefully that means, at the very least, that he won't be playing until then. (Reports are that he will not be playing this Sunday against the Bears.)

Toughness is a requirement in football. Players know that. Everyone knows that. Players are expected to play through pain, whether it's a hurt ankle, arm, or, apparently, brain. I highly recommend this AP story that examines the motivation for players to hide concussions. That shouldn't be the case. In no way do I expect football to be 100% safe; it's simply not possible, but something should be done about changing the NFL culture surrounding brain injuries. Players shouldn't have to worry about coming back early from an injured brain, considering the increased risk of another injury or amplifying the current one. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the NFL wants to help much. Dr. Ira Casson, co-chair of the NFL committee on concussions whose research attempted to discredit non-NFL conducted research, was not present at the October 28 House Judiciary Committee hearings on football brain injuries, despite numerous attempts to reach him. Commissioner Goodell could not explain Casson's absence at the hearing.

This mentality trickles down to the college ranks as well. On November 7, Jahvid Best suffered a severe concussion against Oregon State on a play in which he was flipped in the air, landing on his head and back. The play was so incredible that hearing he had a concussion was actually a relief. (Honestly, once the report came in that Best could move all his limbs, a concussion seemed like the best possible outcome.) Like Westbrook, Best shouldn't even have been in the game because his concussion was probably amplified by the one he suffered a week earlier against Arizona State. For quotes from his recent news conference, check out this link from Cal's athletics website. Earlier this season, Tim Tebow was allowed (and encouraged) to play for Florida two weeks after a concussion, placing the importance of Florida's #1 ranking over the health of their "football messiah."

It's unfortunate that Westbrook's concussions might end his career. It is even more unfortunate that he was even in the position to suffer that second concussion. Far too many careers have ended because of numerous concussions, yet players consistently return to the field before allowing their brains to completely heal because they feel they have to play in order to support their team or even keep their jobs.

*Photo courtesy of moneyjk89man's Flickr stream via Creative Commons License

Benchwarmer: Jay Cutler

Who is he? Jay Cutler is the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears. This year is his fourth year in the NFL after playing at Vanderbilt. In the off-season, rookie head coach Josh McDaniels arrived in Denver and promptly shipped Cutler to the Bears for Kyle Orton, presumably because he saw what good coaches see: Cutler is a terrible quarterback!

Why don't we like him? In my book, Cutler was doomed before his career even started because he replaced Jake "The Snake" Plummer. I really liked Plummer; he was a winner in my book, and that's not just because he cultivated one of the best mustaches in history into one of the best beards. He's got a rocket arm and a quick release that makes him a scout's wet dream, but he makes such poor decisions that I've named a fake QB-disease after him: whenever a quarterback has a terrible game (think Mark Sanchez's five-interception game), I've started to say he has symptoms off Cutler-itis. (This is different from diabetes, which Cutler also has.) Cutler had his own five-pick game against the 49ers last night. Admittedly, the only part of the game I was able to see was the final drive. That didn't stop me from immediately saying, "he's going to throw a pick." After he led the Bears down the field despite a number of stupid penalties, I almost thought he might win the game, launching the broadcasters into tirades of "You brought Cutler to Chicago for game-winning drives like this!" Then he went back to being Jay Cutler and threw his fifth pick into a crowd of 49ers defenders. In Cutler's defense, he did throw it really hard.


*Photo courtesy of Jauerback via Creative Commons License

Starter: Stylez G. White

Who is he? Stylez G. White, née Gregory Alphonso White, is a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yeah, the Bucs are awful, but White has played his way all the way from the Arena Football League to the NFL, and managed to do so by the age of 30. So far this season, he has 25 tackles and three sacks for the 1-7 Bucs. He played a big part in their first win last weekend, as he was credited with 1.5 sacks and four tackles as the Bucs got to Aaron Rodgers six times.

Why do we like him? Well, he does have a pretty good story, as he was a seventh-round pick out of college and has bounced around, spending time with nearly every team, NFL Europe, AND the AFL until finally making it with Tampa. And of course, he may have the best name in football, especially because he was inspired to change it by the character in Teen Wolf.

*Photo courtesy of Ronnie Boone

With the First Pick, Albequerque Takes...

If you're visiting this blog, you're probably a person who needs more sports information than what you can get from the mainstream websites. That's what we try to provide. And in this spirit, we enjoy finding somewhat obscure stories that may get overlooked by other media outlets -- such as the NBA D-League draft.

I bet you didn't even know they had a draft. (I didn't until tracking this information down.) Not only does it exist, but it lasts eight friggin' rounds. These draft picks will compose half the rosters of the Development League teams this year, with the other half comprise of holdovers from last year's teams. These minor league affiliates will compete with each other while players wait for the call to give it a shot in the NBA.

But why do you care about minor league basketball? In only its ninth season (minor league baseball has been around for over 100 years) the D-League is still in its fledgling stages. Perhaps the most prominent player to come from the D-League is Von Wafer who went from the D-League to playing regular minutes for the Houston Rockets, a perennial playoff team. As the league develops and the talent pool continues to deepen, it is more likely to trend upward, seeing more of its players eventually become established NBA contributors. There may not be a flood of Hall of Famers here, but how many times have we seen in baseball or football someone go unnoticed in the draft and make a name for themselves in the minor leagues before bursting onto the professional scene?

Besides, if you are as big of a college fan as I am, you should recognize many names on this list, some of whom have even seen March glory in the collegiate ranks.

Without further ado, here are my notes from the 2009 D-League Draft.

First Round: With the first pick overall, Albequerque selected former South Carolina forward Carlos Powell. Powell played with Phoenix in the summer league and averaged nine points and three rebounds in 16 minutes per game. The third pick overall was Deron Washington, who starred in recent years for an emerging Virginia Tech basketball team and played with Detroit over the summer, scoring over eight points a game. JamesOn Curry, who was drafted by Chicago last year out of Oklahoma State, was another notable selection, along with Desmond Farmer (USC, to the Reno Bighorns), Antonio Anderson (Memphis, to Rio Grande Valley Vipers), and Paul Harris (Syracuse, to the Maine Red Claws).

The most intriguing first round selection, however, was the last pick. Latavious Williams went to the Tulsa 66ers 16th overall. Williams was the 17th overall ranked high schooler last year while playing for the Christian Life Center in Humble, TX. Although his body needs to develop, scouts compare him to Bulls' forward Tyrus Thomas, and he was the sixth ranked power forward in his recruiting class. Williams turned down offers from Clemson, Mississippi State, and Xavier to become the first player to go straight from high school to the D-League. Williams had had plans to play overseas, but after not getting any offers from teams to follow in the footsteps of Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler, he found himself in the D-League. He'll be interesting to follow from here on for the Thunder's minor league squad.

Second Round: The second round included another series of guys who were considered leaders for major college programs, such as Mustafa Shakur (Arizona, to Tulsa), Dar Tucker (DePaul, to the Idaho Stampede), and Jonathan Wallace (Georgetown, to Rio Grande). The two most recognizable of these names, however, are former NBA players. Orien Greene was a second round draft pick for the Celtics in 2005 and appeared in 80 games for a hapless 17-win squad. The following year, he was cut and landed with the Pacers and then eventually the Kings before the former UL-Lafayette star found himself back in the D-League draft. He went to the Utah Flash as the 12th pick in the second round. Reece Gaines went with the next pick to the Bakersfield Jam. Gaines, a point guard at Louisville, was a first round borderline lottery pick for the Magic in 2003 after getting third team All-American as a senior. Gaines failed to find minutes or success, however, and ended up bouncing around with the Rockets and Bucks before playing for a few seasons in Italy.

Third and Fourth Rounds: Highlights of the third round were Martin Zeno (Texas Tech, to Erie Bayhawks), Jeremy Wise (Southern Miss, to Los Angeles D-Fenders), Jamelle Cornley (Penn State, to Fort Wayne Mad Ants), and Chris Lowe (UMass, to Reno). The biggest name to go was Lewis Clinch, who led Georgia Tech in scoring last year and put up 32 points on Clemson in the first round of the ACC tournament. Clinch's talent is undeniable, but he battled discipline and injury issues in his four years in Atlanta. The Austin Toros took him sixth in the round. The fourth round saw former UConn Huskie Craig Austrie go to the Springfield Armor and former Clippers lottery pick Yaroslov Korolev go to Albequerque with the last pick in the round.

Fifth and Sixth Rounds: These rounds saw some mid-major stars get drafted. Shagari Alleyne starred at Manhattan after transferring from Kentucky and was taken by Albequerque. Alleyne was also nicknamed "Skyscraper" while in training camp with the Harlem Globetrotters. Former BYU Cougar Keena Young got taken by Tulsa and brings a keen scoring prowess and rebounding ability that helped him earn Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2007. Young was a high school teammate and friend of Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins. J'Nathan Bullock was the last pick of the sixth round and is best remembered for leading Cleveland State's upset victory over Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last spring.

Seventh and Eighth Rounds: Most of the players in these two rounds were older players that have previous D-League experience and were left unprotected by their teams, like former Cincinnati Bearcat guard Tony Bobbitt, who went to Maine. The most intriguing prospect here doubles as the D-League draft's Mr. Irrelevant, Brian Kortovich, taken by Albequerque with the last pick of the draft. Kortovich played at an Ohio junior college and then Manhattan. After college, he got a job as a phone operator for a financial firm and started playing in the New York City street ball scene, earning the nickname "Smokin' Aces" at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem for his dead eye shooting accuracy. Kortovich had a tryout with the Knicks this past summer and was told by coach Mike D'Antoni and GM Donnie Walsh that he was on their radar. Now Dallas and New Orleans, who share affiliation with Albequerque, will have a chance to see what Kortovich can do.

Affiliates:
Albequerque -- Dallas and New Orleans
Austin -- San Antonio
Bakersfield -- Golden State and L.A. Clippers
Dakota Wizards -- Washington and Memphis
Erie -- Cleveland and Toronto
Fort Wayne -- Detroit, Indiana, and Milwaukee
Idaho -- Portland and Denver
Iowa Energy -- Chicago and Phoenix
Utah -- Utah and Atlanta
Tulsa -- Oklahoma City
Springfield -- New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia
Sioux Falls Skyforce -- Miami and Minnesota
Rio Grande -- Houston
Reno -- Orlando and Sacramento
Maine -- Boston and Charlotte
Los Angeles -- L.A. Lakers

NFL Playoff Picks: Mid-Season Update

The NFL season has reached its halfway point, which means No "I" in Blog is digging up our preseason playoff picks (that scribbly thing to the left there) to see how we're doing.


Alex: Okay, I know what you're thinking: How in the name of David Bowie did you think the Oakland Raiders were going to make the playoffs this year? Basically, my reasoning was this: 1) there always seems to be that one team that not even their own fans believe in that catches fire and makes the playoffs. Last year it was Miami. I saw potential in JaMarcus Russell and had invested a fourth round fantasy pick (like many others) in Darren McFadden. Like George Dubya said after 9/11 -- Nev-uh Ah-gan. Besides, it's partially not my fault. I only thought Tom Cable had punched one of his assistants, but it turns out he may have hit a number of former girlfriends/wives as well. If only he could channel that aggressiveness to his defense, instead of, you know, women.

Beyond that, I feel all right. Denver is gonna take out San Diego, but none of us saw that coming. I still believe in the Texans, especially since we KNOW Tennessee and Jacksonville aren't going anywhere in that division, and I still think San Francisco isn't out of it because if the rest of the NFL is the Big Ten, then the NFC West is the Sun Belt conference. Anything could happen. Beyond that, it would appear that instead of betting on the Vikings to go 8-8, I get the joy of betting against Brett Favre in the playoffs. Fine by me, even if he's just a gunslinger that's having fun out there like a kid in the yard blah blah blah. Hang me by my Wranglers (sounds like a country song).

Patrick: How did I pick Jacksonville to make the playoffs, even as a wildcard? Maybe I saw Maurice Jones-Drew and thought their offense would be awesome, but I forgot their QB is David Garrard and their receivers are a bunch of scrubs and the aging Torry Holt. Oh, and they don't know how to play defense. I didn't see Cincinnati becoming as good as they are, but no one did. If they win their next two games against division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh, they'll essentially wrap up their division. I'm all for it, even if it means my picks were wrong, because that will mean a few more Ocho Cinco TD celebrations and maybe even an opportunity for Dhani Jones to tackle the globe in a bow-tie.

I'm pretty sure my Indy and New Orleans picks are pretty safe, but really, I would never have guessed the Saints would be this good. When a team is so deep at WR and RB that Reggie Bush is basically a wasted roster spot, you know they're going to be pretty hard to stop. Even though the Vikings are going to win the NFC North (because Old Man Favre has Adrian Peterson and a fantastic offensive line to keep him from throwing stupid interceptions), I'll say this: Aaron Rodgers looked like the better QB in both Vikings/Packers matchups, and that's not just because Rodgers didn't cry.

Ian: I'm still going to be 100% accurate in my predictions.

Tennessee is going to run the table and finish 10-6 -- this team's performance last year wasn't an illusion. Denver is a piece of shit team masquerading as a 6-1 team, and Josh McDaniels's mad fist-pumping after the New England win jinxed his team like Joba's fist pump after striking out Kenji Johjima in the third inning on August 16 did. In the most surprising development, the mobsters holding Jake Delhomme's wife hostage are going to be taken out by Brett Favre in an FBI operation (yeah, Favre does that on days off. Oh, you didn't know?), and Jake will play lights-out for the rest of the season and lead Carolina to the division title. During this raid, Favre will break his hand, and Brad Childress will refuse to sit him down, which wouldn't torpedo the Vikings' season except for causing him to fumble on every other handoff to Adrian Peterson.

Oh, and Ocho Cinco will get suspended by Roger Goodell for Tweeting in the end zone after scoring a touchdown, and the Bengals will falter.

I should have bet money on my predictions!

Handoff

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