Translations

General Manager: "He's had his problems, but we're confident they are behind him."

Translation: He just found Jesus and we're hoping like hell he doesn't misplace Him before October.


Manager: "The press shouldn't jump to conclusions. You don't have all the facts about
his relationship with this young lady."

Translation: Of course he was screwing around on the road, but he married the first woman he ever fucked in Class A ball and she's heinous.

African Cup of Nations

It's well worth checking out Brian Oliver's blogging for The Guardian on the African Cup of Nations. You can also hear him on the Guardian's bi-weekly Football Weekly podcasts.

They're as much travel log as football reports and provide a wonderful glimpse into the cultural context of the tourney. He's covered seven of these across the continent so this is no hippy grad student with a rucksack marveling at the wonders of Africa. He's battling a severe case of the shits, stolen passports and phones, horrible press box conditions and the general organizational chaos you'd expect from a corrupt, war-ravaged region of the world. But he's also drunk Campari with a local chief after an exhibition match in a remote village and he's clearly having the time of his life while describing a Cup that full of some fantastic, goal-laden football.

Ladies Tennis Just Got A Hell Of A Lot More Interesting

Yes, Nicole Vaidisova and Anna Ivanovic are worth the price of admission.

They play tennis pretty well too.

Saints Be Praised

Well, now. Lookee here:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Kevin Lisch scored 22 points to lead St. Louis past La Salle 81-74 on Saturday afternoon.

The Bilikens (12-8, 3-3 Atlantic 10) scored eight straight points to take the lead for good at the 6:54 mark. Luke Meyer assisted with 18 points and six rebounds for St. Louis.

Yves Mekonga Mbala led the Explorers (7-12, 2-4) with 18 points and four rebounds.

The game remained tied midway through the second half before St. Louis started to pull away. La Salle had taken a 60-58 edge thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Darryl Partin, but the Bilikens slowly took over control to take their biggest lead of the game, 72-64 at 4:02.

St. Louis didn't hit a free throw until less than two minutes were left on the clock, but hit six more when they counted to hold on for the victory.

So that is 80+ points in regulation AND a road win all in a single game.

Who believes in miracles???

"Who Would Want To Watch That?"

Minnows Havant & Waterloo grab the lead against Liverpool twice in a game Havant eventually loses 5-2.

The BBC yawns and calls the Chelsea v. Wigan game the Match of the Day.

They are as bad as ESPN.

UPDATE:

Got this from the BBC:

Some years ago, there was a television advert for milk which played on the obscurity of Accrington Stanley Football Club.

Up until a month ago, the same could have been said about Havant & Waterlooville.

On Saturday though the south coast club from the Blue Square South stepped out of the football shadows and into the Anfield spotlight.

Defying the odds, this team of part-timers, known as the Hawks, found themselves in the lead not once but twice against their illustrious millionaire rivals.

To the Havant & Waterlooville faithful it was always going to be a day to remember, but scoring twice at the Kop end made it extra special.

Dave Barlow, 67, took three generations of his family to the game.

"Unbelievable," said Mr Barlow, from Lovedean, Hampshire, who has been supporting Waterlooville for 35 years.

"I was expecting a cricket score, but to be in the lead twice was fantastic. You had to pinch yourself.

"The Liverpool fans were very sporting, we couldn't have asked for a better day."

Richard Self, 34, from Havant, runs the club's website.

"Everything went quiet when we took the lead, we couldn't believe it. To see your team at Anfield was one thing - but to be leading! I am really proud of the boys."

As it was, the premiership professionals ran out 5-2 winners thanks to a Yossi Benayoun hat-trick and the Hawks' cup run was grounded.

Havant & Waterlooville fans made their weary way home.

They had dared to dream - for 45 minutes that FA Cup fantasy was a reality.

Are The Blues Buyers Or Sellers?

From early on this season it seemed safe to assume that the Blues were going to be buyers when the trade deadline began to loom. The surplus of defensemen offered, so the thought went, the chance to move on a goal scoring forward. However, that would be contingent upon the Blues being within legitimate striking distance of the playoffs.

So that's the question: Are the Blues in the playoff race. I think the answer is "yes" but only barely.

Team GP Pts
1. * Detroit 51 78
2. * San Jose 49 61
3. * Minnesota 50 59
4. Dallas 53 61
5. Anaheim 53 60
6. Calgary 50 58
7. Vancouver 50 57
8. Colorado 50 56
9. Columbus 51 56
10. Nashville 50 55
11. Phoenix 49 54
12. St. Louis 48 51
13. Edmonton 52 51
14. Chicago 50 50
15. Los Angeles 51 42

So at the All-Star break the Blues are five points out of 8th with (as happens every year for some unknown reason) games in hand. Unfortunately, the West is really bunched up this year with only LA being well and truly out of contention, so there is not a lot of wiggle room. In fact, if the Blues don't narrow the gap and get to at least 10th place in the next five or six games they are probably too late. Those games will be; #1 at Toronto, #2 vs. Anaheim, #3 vs. Colorado, #4 vs. Tampa, #5 at Dallas, and #6 vs. Minnesota. Yes, those are four games at home to two on the road, but it is not an easy stretch. True, Toronto and Tampa are Eastern Conference bottom feeeders, but the games against Anaheim and Colorado, and Dallas and Minnesota are on back to back days. Realistically the Blues will need to win four of these and pick up a point in a fifth game to climb over two teams in the standings.

It's a stretch.

The trade deadline is on Feb. 26th, but the Blues should decide earlier to buy or sell, and I think the answer they have to reach is to be sellers. The only other option I see open to them is to make a move now over the All Star break with another team desperate to get into playoff contention. If the Blues can pick up some scoring punch it would give them a fighting chance. But it is hard to see who that trading partner would be. It could have been Washington, but with Nylander going down for the season I don't see them thinking they have the depth to move a forward. The Rangers don't have anyone we'd want (sorry Shanny.) The Islanders have the same scoring problems we have, and Boston probably wouldn't be too keen on another defenseman for a forward swap with the Blues. I don't blame them a bit.

In the West the options are fewer. Only Colorado seems to have extra forwards to move, assuming Ryan Smyth is on pace to return by the end of February. Andrew Burnette could be useful.

That's about it and it will never happen.

That being the case I'd say the Blues have a 5-10% chance of making the playoffs this season.

You've Gotta Be Shitting Me

I guess at 5:51 Greenwich time it's official. Havant v. Liverpool will not be televised. I heard yesterday via the Guardian Football Weekly Podcast that it isn't even being televised in the UK. Those poor bastards are being subjected to the same Wigan v. Chelsea match that made me vomit. Wow. I thought it couldn't be any worse until I saw that the poor bastards who get Setanta will have the added indignity of tomorrow getting repeats of past Liverpool EPL matches vs. Man. U and Aston Villa from Allah knows when.

Moving Forward (For A Change)

I guess I'm done complaining for the moment about DC United's off-season. Things have not gone smoothly for the club as the Veron debacle, the goalie shuffle, the Bosworth fire sale, and the Christian Gomez soap opera have all lingered for awhile.

But, it seems maybe some important pieces are starting to come together: United Adds Colombian To Bolster Its Defense

D.C. United added its second foreign player in as many days and bolstered its thin defensive corps yesterday, acquiring veteran central back Gonzalo Martínez from Colombian club Millonarios. Terms were not disclosed.

Martinez, 32, fills a slot vacated by Bobby Boswell, who was traded to Houston last month, and will likely start in United's four-man back-line formation. Martinez was with Italian clubs Udinese, Napoli and Reggina between 2001 and 2004 before moving to the Paraguayan league to play for Olimpia and Libertad. He spent one season with Millonarios of Bogota and has made 36 appearances for Colombia's national team, including World Cup qualifiers and Copa America.

General Manager Dave Kasper called him a "versatile defender with tremendous pace who we feel will add stability and leadership."

I sure hope so. Given Martinez's experience it looks likely, although one still has to wonder about the lack of defensive depth on the United roster. Still, it is a gaping hole that has actually been filled for a change.

What's next? Maybe this:

Meantime, speculation continues to swirl around 2006 MLS most valuable player Christian Gomez, who is out of contract and exploring options abroad as well as being mentioned in MLS trade talks. He could be replaced by Marcelo Gallardo, a former Argentine national team star who has been with French club Paris Saint-Germain. Gallardo told Argentine reporters that he has decided to play in MLS, but did not specifically mention United.

However, sources familiar with the situation said D.C. was approached by Gallardo's representatives.

You should be able to swap out Gallardo for Gomez and not lose anything, so I'd be okay with this. Gomez had a good run in DC, but I certainly understand if he thinks he needs to chase a bigger pay check. Good luck to him.

What The Hell Is Wrong With The Phillies?

Sheer mind-numbing stupidity is what ya call it: Salary dispute could be first chapter in Howard's end

The Philadelphia Phillies face the first big challenge in their attempt to build a long-term relationship with powerful first baseman Ryan Howard.

In the past two seasons, Howard led the majors in homers with 105 and RBIs with 285. Among National Leaguers, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals was second for homers in that span with 81, and Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies was second in RBIs with 251.

Howard did the damage at a super-bargain rate. Without the leverage of arbitration rights, Howard was paid $1.255 million for the past two seasons combined. The system dictated that. Howard's service time meant more than his performance.

That changes now.

Howard has the hammer of arbitration rights, and the Phillies will pay. How this plays out will go a long ways to determining what happens with Howard and the club.

The Phillies and Howard face the largest gap of the arbitration class: $3 million. Howard asked for $10 million, which would match the record award if he goes to a hearing and wins.

The Phillies offered $7 million, the same the Cardinals offered Pujols in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The Cardinals avoided a hearing by working out a long-term deal with Pujols.

How do the Phillies argue against Howard?

There is no way to argue against Howard and not look retarded. What you do is sit down with Howard, open your checkbook, and say "How much for seven more years?"

"Please."

No wonder Phillies fans spend so much time booing.

Comings And (Possible) Goings

Blues and DC United tidbits.

First from the Note:

Inconsistency has dotted his play all season and now St. Louis Blues defenseman Christian Backman is the subject of trade rumors as the Feb. 26 deadline approaches according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It is believe the Blues will try to move a defenseman before the trade deadline.

Backman has one more year left on his contract for $3.4 million ($2.3 million salary cap hit).

“Who knows what they’re going to do?” Backman said. “I try not to think about it. I hope and still feel that they still believe in me.”

Backman is a big kid who plays small; an "offensive" defenseman who doesn't score goals or pick up many assists; an "offensive" player who is deemed a liability on the power play; and a player who isn't cheap.

He's a quadruple threat.

The only question is what kind of dead wood would we have to take in return? Also, we were supposed to trade from our excess defensive corp to get some scoring punch and dealing Backman makes that a little less likely to happen.

Oh well...last year the Blues got Boyes for Wideman so anything is possible.

On the United front we get this:

D.C. United acquired Argentine forward Franco Niell on a one-year loan from Argentinos Junior on Tuesday.

Neill, 24, is expected to join United for the start of preseason training next week and will be officially added to the roster once he receives his work visa and international transfer certificate.

Niell has spent his entire professional career with Argentinos Junior, scoring 10 goals in 60 games since his debut during the 2004-05 season.

I couldn't be more underwhelmed.

A quote from United's Dave Kasper requires me to borrow the baseball cliche translation project for a moment:

"We're getting a player who we believe has all the qualities to be successful on our team," general manager Dave Kasper said. "Franco is an energetic, hard working forward who will be a good compliment to our team."

Translation: "You've heard of Plan A and Plan B? Well, welcome to Plan Z."

Time To Spit Out Some Random Garbage

Been too busy to post lately, so here are a few riffs about what has been on my mind:

* Something is missing in your sports life when you are reading dispatches from the African Cup of Nations.

* There isn't a chance in hell I can stomach the absurd hype that will soon reach a fever pitch over a NE/NY Super Bowl. I've tuned out. The Patriots run at history holds all the interest for me that Bonds' HR chase did, though in this case I imagine I will tune in for some of the actual game. As for #756, I'm pleased to say I still have no idea what the count was, where the pitch was, what it was or where the ball landed. I've never seen the AB or heard the call and only seen the first part of the swing peripherally because media saturation has made it impossible to avoid. To date, I've always managed to turn away. It's the gay porn of sports to me.

* Non-League Havant & Waterlooville get to make a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool in the FA Cup's 4th Round ties on Saturday and I believe Sky is broadcasting it in the UK, though there is no indication their sister station FSC is picking it up here in the States. C'mon, this is great stuff. A bunch of semi-pro guys up against the Champions League runner up and one of the Premiership Big Four. Sure one of Havant's big scalps to date is Notts County and this match has blood bath written all over it, but it's easily the most compelling match being played on Saturday. Genuine David and Goliath always is and it's being played at a storied venue. It's the guys from Hickory showing up to play at the Butler Fieldhouse. It's why I canceled office hours as a teaching assistant to go to Assembly Hall in Champaign on Friday afternoons to watch Illinois' Class A tourney. There is something magical about watching a bunch of kids from a town of 1,200 (like where I grew up) walk on to the court of a major arena for the first time while someone in the crowd holds up the tried and true sign, WILL THE LAST PERSON TO LEAVE TOWN, PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHTS. Chelsea v. Wigan in another FA Cup tie instead? Blah.

* The Illini basketball team is beyond redemption. Truly embarrassing to watch. No fire in the belly. No leadership. Nothing worth wasting any more time on. It is absolutely gutting to see a team whose veterans cut their Big Ten teeth with the purposeful and focused early Weber teams, just roll over. This quote after the Michigan win says it all:

"Really, the Indiana game gave everyone some motivation and definitely picked the guys up,'' (Brian) Randle said. "Me and Shaun (Pruitt) ... gained a better understanding of what we need to do. We were lacking as leaders and role models in how we played. But that game got us going for tonight.''

Huh?!?! This came from the mouth of a fifth year senior half way through the season. Jesus, I've heard of steep learning curves but this takes the cake. And apparently those leadership skills are highly perishable as they had clearly passed their sell-by date before the Purdue loss on Saturday.

* Things are little better on the Cardinal front. With quotes like this, I think we can safely say La Russa is simply phoning in what little 2008 optimism he can muster:

La Russa: "I think we're going to have a competitive lineup one way or another. You have to pitch to win. And we have a chance to pitch it."

Translation: Wow. In the 2008 race to the bottom of the toilet, bet the Trifecta: Cards to win, Turd to place, TP to show.


* On the plus side, I have to give Mo credit for pulling off the Glaus/Rolen deal. I think it helps the Cards. I still haven't seen the details of the Molina deal yet. That motherfucking Mardi Gras pop-up ad on the P-D website infuriates me so much I just close the window every time I see it so I don't know if I'll ever read about it. I still think we are 200 mediocre starting rotation innings short of playing .500 ball.

* I see that La Russa kicked Adam Kennedy in the balls for being a no-show at the Winter Warm Up. Normally, I couldn't be bothered to give a shit who shows up for these idiotic things but if anyone deserves a kick in the balls it's Kennedy. So, well played Tony.


* That brings me to a couple of new BCTP entries for deciphering mediocre signings speak:

Manager: "He brings a great work ethic to our team."

Translation: Not much talent, but we need something good to say about him.


Manager: "He will be great for our team's chemistry."

Translation: Not much talent, but we need something good to say about him...and we can't say he works hard.

The "R" Word

The BBC is starting to use the word "relegation" when they talk about Notts County.

Notts County 1-0 Chester

Adam Tann's first goal this season saw off Chester and halted Notts County's slide towards the relegation zone.

The skipper put his head in where it hurts to nod home a Jason Lee flick from close range to give County a deserved win, and their first of 2008.

Things might have been different but for a stunning save from the hosts' goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington two minutes before their winning goal.

The Magpies stopper somehow palmed a Kevin Sandwith free-kick over the bar.

If Notts drops out of League Two I won't know what to do with myself. League Two is lunatic fringe enough, thank you very kindly.

I swear to God, if they drop to a non-league status I'm switching over to a Scottish side.

Worried About The Lineup

I've got a team that ended the season as a big disappointment and entered a busy off-season filled with comings and goings. There were major shoes to be filled and as the off season has progressed it has become an open question as to if they can possibly be filled before opening day.

And I'm not talking about the Cardinals.

D.C. United has been a profound disappointment during soccer's hot stove season. They have done exactly nothing to improve the squad. So far we have swapped out our starting keeper for an unproven Zach Wells, kicked Bobby Boswell to the curb, waited on the sidelines while Christian Gomez tries to decide if Persian Gulf soccer (and paychecks) are right for him, watched Moreno get another year older (and not better), saw Josh Gros go on a one year hiatus because of concussion difficulties, and, to top it off, United got the bum's rush from every South American player they looked at.

Today in the 2008 MLS Draft, D.C. got three player and we have to pray that two of them stick around for a change.

From DCenters:

Andrew Jacobson
With the 24th pick in the 2008 Superdraft, DC United picked Andrew Jacobson from California. Buzz had him ranked 8th out of the midfielders. Most mock drafts had him going much earlier. This is a guy that fell into United's lap. It looks like he will slot in behind Simms, which basically ensures that Arguez really is going to Berlin. Here is his bio from California. I think it is interesting that United rated Jacobson ahead of Lowry who was still on the board, hopefully we won't regretting that this time next year.

Ryan Cordeiro
With the 33rd pick in the 2008 Superdraft, DC United picked Ryan Cordeiro from UConn. He is ranked 10th in the forward group by Buzz, but will probably play a winger role for United. UConn was ranked number 1 in Soccer America's NCAA rankings for most of the year, here is Ryan's UConn bio.

Tony Schmitz
With the 52nd pick in the 2008 Superdraft, DC United picked Tony Schmitz from Creighton. Here is is Creighton bio. Buzz has him ranked all the way down as the 50th best midfielder. I don't know what United was thinking with this, I can only hope they did some extra scouting and found a player flying under the radar, not unlike Dyachenko. That of course is the best case scenario, it will probably play out more like Brad North, but drafts are all about hope so I will have some now.

Welcome aboard boys! Be careful, it could be a bumpy ride.

Speechless

I never thought this was gonna happen: Players pass physicals; Rolen-for-Glaus all but done

Scott Rolen and Troy Glaus each passed his physical today, according to a major league source, and the paperwork needed to complete the swap of All-Star third basemen will be submitted to the commissioner's office.

The trade, which will send Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays and bring Glaus to the Cardinals, could be completed as early as this afternoon.

In one sense this could be viewed as treading water. Whatever Glaus provides could have been provided by Rolen (at least theoretically.)

However, the reality of this is far bigger and better for the Cardinals. The Cards will not have enough hitting or pitching this year to compete for any titles, but the Rolen situation threatened to hang over the entire season like the morning bathroom stench after a night of Michelob and LaBamba Super Burritos.

In addition to waiving his no-trade clause, the Cardinals also wanted Glaus to trigger his $11.25 million player option for 2009. According to sources, the Cardinals would not make the deal if they were getting Glaus for one season.

Glaus agreed to do so, several sources confirmed.

The four-time All-Star will be owed $24 million over the next two seasons. Rolen has three years and $36 million remaining on an eight-year, $90 million deal he signed shortly after coming to the Cardinals in 2002. It's not clear whether the trade also involves an exchange of cash to offset the additional weight of Rolen's contract.

Glaus, 31, has missed at least 45 games in three of the previous five seasons. During spring training last year, Glaus began having trouble with his foot. That landed him on the disabled list in April and caused him to miss games throughout the season. He played in 115, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 62 while hitting .262 with a .473 slugging percentage.

In September, he yielded to the pain in his heel and had surgery to ease the pressure on a nerve in his foot.

"He battled it," Nicotera said. "He battled it and tried to manage it because he didn't want to stop playing. It got to the point where it was clear he just had to get it fixed."

Glaus will be a bit of a gamble, but you were never going to do better in a swap for a banged up and questionable Rolen. In fact, I never thought the Mozeliak could get this much for Rolen.

.500 now seems doable. Its not much, but its improvement.

BTCP Goes All Contemporary On Ya

"Another seeing-eye single! I'll hit .400 yet."

Tony La Russa on the earth-shattering Josh Phelps signing: "He's going to be given the chance to make the roster because he's a guy when he comes to the plate gets your attention."

Translation: A 38-year-old Pete Incaviglia in a grass skirt and pumps also got my attention at the plate. Unfortunately for him he lacked the photo of me being teabagged by a Great Dane that could have earned him a roster spot.

h/t to the Goat.

And here is a bonus and apropos BCTP. Believe it or not, it was the next one up on the list for posting:

Manager: "He hasn't done anything to hurt his chances at a starting job."

Translation: He hasn't done anything to help his chances at a starting job.

Next Time, Definitely!!

In a fit of civic pride, the St. Louis University Billikens did their best Adam Kennedy impersonation last night: They couldn't hit a fucking thing.

Once you've lost a game by 41 points, as St. Louis University did to Kent State earlier this season, just about everything is going to look better by comparison.

But Thursday, SLU opened its Atlantic 10 Conference season with a thud to end all thuds. Shooting abysmally in the first half and improving to awful in the second — or was it the other way around? — SLU was demolished by George Washington, 49-20 at Smith Center.

It was a little bit of history. SLU's 20 points were the fewest scored in a game by anybody in Division I since the shot clock was instituted by the NCAA in 1985-86. (The previous low was 21 points, by Georgia Southern in 1997 and Princeton in 2005.)

SLU made 14.6 percent of its shots to break the school mark for lowest shooting percentage in a game, though the school's record book leaves some room for debate on that topic based on some scores from the 1920s. It was the fewest points SLU had scored in a game since a 41-18 loss to Oklahoma A&M in January 1942.

At one point last night I saw the score on the ticker that read "SLU 8 GW 29 (H)" and I thought "that HAS to be a typo." It turns out it was a typo. SLU actually didn't score point number eight until the second half.

The only saving grace is that I wasn't watching this debacle.

Rick Majerus has to be thinking, "I came out of retirement for this?"

Time For More BCTP

With the holidays past and pitchers and catchers reporting in less than six weeks, it's time for a few more installments of The Baseball Cliché Translation Project. Without further ado:


Manager: "He worked really hard in winter ball."
Translation: We heard he spent a lot of time in Domincan whore houses.


Agent: "He gives 110%"
Translation: He's in the final year of his contract.


General Manager: "He'll be a good influence on our younger players."
Translation: He's spent the past few years beating his drinking problem instead of his wife.


Agent: "He's a Bob Gibson-like pitcher"
Translation: He's a pitcher. He has a fastball. He's black.

Trouble, Yes. But Not In River City

(Get) A Sporting Life is not the usual stop for the latest in New York Islander's news, but today is an exception.

Top-prospect Okposo assigned by Islanders to Bridgeport of AHL

Top prospect Kyle Okposo will begin his career in the New York Islanders organization with Bridgeport of the AHL.

Fresh off a solid run in the world junior tournament, Okposo was assigned Sunday by the Islanders to their top minor league affiliate. He will practice with the Sound Tigers on Thursday and make his debut at Binghamton on Friday.

Okposo's first AHL home game will be Saturday against Springfield.

The right winger, chosen by the Islanders with the No. 7 pick in the 2006 draft, had a goal and five assists in seven games for the United States. The Americans finished fourth at the world juniors tournament that wrapped up Saturday in the Czech Republic.

Okposo, a 19-year-old player from St. Paul, Minn., signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders last month, shortly after he left the University of Minnesota.

I've seen Okposo play for his 1 1/2 seasons with the Gophers and I have to say, if he is the Isles "Top Prospect" then they are in trouble. It isn't that Okposo won't be a useful pro, he should grow into that, but he will never be a top level guy...which is what you should be when you are drafted #7 overall.

Okposo can thrive in a complimentary role (like he did last season in Minnesota) but he cannot be a main cog in your attack. Okposo had a decent run in the just completed World U20's but, once again, he was more along for the ride. It was his linemates who really did the important work. Hell, Okposo didn't even show he could finish easy setups.

I hope the Isles fans don't get their hopes up too high that Okposo will be a force in the NHL because it is never going to happen.

Which may be why Garth Snow felt the need to do this:

With people searching for answers for why Kyle Okposo left Minnesota for the NHL in mid-season, New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow provided some incendiary reasons.

In a phone interview conducted by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Snow, a former four-year goaltender for the University of Maine, placed the blame entirely upon the coaching ability of the Gophers' Don Lucia.

"Quite frankly, we weren't happy with the program there," Snow told the paper. "They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that."

He continued, "[Okposo] just wasn't getting better — bottom line. And to me, that's the frustrating part. We entrusted the coach there to turn him into a better hockey player, and it wasn't happening. We feel more comfortable in him developing right under our watch."

Lucia, in his ninth season as Minnesota coach, won national championships in 2002 and 2003. He has taken the high road, choosing not to directly respond. Instead, in a statement sent through the school's publicity office, Lucia said he is proud of what the program has accomplished.

Okposo was the seventh overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft after a 40-point freshman season. After a torrid start, he cooled down following the World Junior tournament. This year, he started off slowly, with just one goal in his first nine games, before scoring six in his last nine. He recently left for the Czech Republic where he will again play for Team USA at the World Juniors.

When pushed, Snow continued to criticize Lucia.

"Whether it was Kyle or another player, until things change in that program we'd probably make the same decision," Snow told the Star-Tribune. "There should be a coach there that looks in the mirror. ... I don't think we'd be at this point if he was being coached properly."

Basically, Snow showed all the class of a $10 whore in a desperate attempt to cover his own ass. It is Snow's fault that the Isles wasted a #7 pick on a guy who has "Third Rounder" written all over him. But, hey, you can blame the college coach so it isn't really Snow's fault...right?

Way to "man up" there, Garth.

2008: Like Driving Across Kansas

"Not even a telephone pole to ram and end my misery."

When I was courting the future Mrs. Southlandish, I had to drive a long, flat (and seemingly endless) 15 mile road to get to her home. Everyone who has ever driven it swears it’s at least twice as long as it actually is.

That’s what I thought of when a friend of mine aptly assessed the upcoming sports year. “It’s going to be a long time until we get to September and anything we can get excited about.”

To put it charitably, the Illini basketball team is abysmal. The Rose Bowl thumping stings, the Cardinals off-season was dreary even before we re-signed Aaron Fucking Miles for stupid money and I think it is safe to say we won’t be competitive in the NL Central in 2008. The only bright spot on the sports horizon is word that the Illini football recruiting continues to be stellar.

That means waiting until the August 30 Braggin’ Rights Game for any reasonable hope of sporting excitement in my little corner of the world. I guess it’s time to work on that novel I’ve been putting off…..

Matt Clement

From the PD:

The Cardinals took their first gamble of 2008 on Thursday by signing free-agent pitcher Matt Clement to an incentive-laden, one-year deal that closes a hole in their rotation and creates the possibility of a payoff for 2009 as well.

The first team willing to guarantee Clement a contract more than five weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, the Cardinals acquired Clement for $1.5 million in base pay and $5.25 million in appearance incentives. The deal also includes a club option for $8.75 million next season. A series of escalators based on innings pitched could jack up the option's value to $10 million if the 33-year-old righthander works 200 innings.

A couple of things here:

1) I hope Clement does well. I remember him from his pre-injury days and I certainly would have liked to see THAT pitcher in a Cards uniform.

2) Why do the Cards do this? They don't seem to go out and sign pitchers as much as they buy a stack of lottery tickets and hope for the best. Alright, it paid off in Carpenter, but how often is that gonna happen?

3) What happened to all the money the new stadium was supposed to generate? The Cardinals fans have been holding up their end of the bargain. Has Cards management?