Pitcher turned outfielder turned feel good story Rick Ankiel was linked to a year long prescription to HGH on Thursday. This alleged prescriptipn took place during 2004, a year before MLB banned the substance from the game. That detail may save him from a suspension or any punishment from the league whatsoever. Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said that if Ankiel did indeed take HGH for a year it would be, “Very tragic.”
Click to continue reading Rick Ankiel-Linked To HGH
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Grant Hill not ready to voluntarily retire just yet
Posted by Brendon Lindsey Categories: Athletes, NBA, News, Rumors
Seems like Grant Hill doesn’t want to hang up his orthopedic shoes just quite yet, after all. Working as an analyst at the NBA Finals seemed to cement Grant’s desire to return to the NBA next season, rather than fuel his desire to leave and begin his broadcasting career.
“I love it here at the finals. It makes me want to play in the finals. Being in this situation is what you should play for,” he said. “It’s a real motivating factor right now. It’s the goal of every player to reach this point. That’s what I want.”
Click to continue reading Grant Hill not ready to voluntarily retire just yet
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| Orlando Sentinel
Kobe Bryant Asks for Trade, Takes Back Words
Posted by Milo Taibi Categories: Athletes, NBA, Playoffs, Rumors
Los Angeles Lakers star player Kobe Bryant has requested a trade from the team. Then he back-peddled from the request.
“I would like to be traded, yeah. Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there’s no other alternative. It’s rough, man, but I don’t see how you can rebuild that trust. I just don’t know how you can move forward in that type of situation.”
He said this on an interview with ESPN radio. However, just three hours later in an interview with Lakers flagship station KLAC radio he made completely contradictory comments.
Click to continue reading Kobe Bryant Asks for Trade, Takes Back Words
Read More | Yahoo! Sports
Dealing To The Dish: American League 6.28.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, MLB, Rumors
Interleague games going down on American League soil:
Houston Astros @ Detroit Tigers
A. Pettitte (6-8, 5.75) vs. J. Verlander (9-4, 3.39)
The Tigers beat just keeps on pumping out wins, going 9-1 in the last 10 and basically eating N.L. teams alive. Rookie pitcher, Justin Verlander, looks to get his tenth victory, which would be impressive at this juncture of the season. Andy Pettitte hopes to right his ship, especially with his old buddy, and I mean old, Roger Clemens back in the Astros fold. He looked horrible his first start since the Rocket’s return, but it was against the White Sox. That’s that other team chasing the Tigers for the best record in baseball.
Atlanta Braves @ New York Yankees
J. Smoltz (4-5, 3.89) vs. C. Wang (8-3, 4.14)
Could John Smoltz’s start in Yankee Stadium this afternoon be a prelude of things to come? There are rumors that the Yankees are interested in the 39 year old righty. The Braves have looked bad this season and a trade could very well happen, especially since Smoltz has stated he would go in a trade if it would improve the Braves. How’s that loyalty?
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Minnesota Twins
O. Pérez (4-2, 6.33) vs. J. Santana (8-4, 2.75)
Johan Santana is the truth. He goes for his third straight win, which would be against all N.L. opponents as well. Santana is unhittable in June with a .172 BAA and a very low 0.67 WHIP. And read these numbers for the month: In 36.0 innings pitched, Santana has struck out 35 batters and walked only two. That’s a 17.5 K/BB rate! Have pity on the Dodgers’ hitters now.
Click to continue reading Dealing To The Dish: American League 6.28.06
Dealing To The Dish: National League 6.23.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, MLB, Rumors
Interleague games played on National League grounds:
Texas Rangers @ Colorado Rockies
J. Koronka (5-4, 5.00) vs. J. Francis (5-6, 4.13)
- This could be a slugfest, folks. Coors Field has a reputation, well-earned by the way, for being a notorious hitter’s park, what with the thin air and all. However, this season, not as much as previous years. Regardless, tonight we have two very good offenses that could potentially have the final score looking like a football game was played, instead of a hardball game. BUT, surprisingly, Jeff Francis, former Minor League Player of the Year and most pitied high-caliber pitcher for being taken by the Rockies, pitches better at Coors. It’s wierd. Francis on the road - 4.59 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and .225 BAA. Francis at home - 3.50 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .200 BAA. Hmm… so maybe it’ll end up that Francis only gives up a field goal, while the Rockies score a touchdown or two.
Los Angeles Angels @ Arizona Diamondbacks
E. Santana (7-3, 4.10) vs. E. Gonzalez (2-0, 3.67)
- The Angels are looking to upgrade their offense and it seems that Ervin Santana is the main bait to get that going. It’s unfortunate for Santana, a young pitcher with plus stuff, but it could be even more unfortunate for the Angels considering Santana’s recent numbers. For the month of June, Santana is 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and .164 BAA. Who does Ervin think he is - Johan?!?!?
Seattle Mariners @ San Diego Padres
G. Meche (7-4, 4.10) vs. J. Peavy (4-8, 4.81)
- The K/9 rate is there. So is the K/BB rate. As well as the WHIP and BAA, for the most part. So, what’s up with Jake Peavy’s ugly looking record and ERA? It’s tough to say, but he’ll need to pitch well tonight against a Mariners team that has won eight of nine interleague games this season. Meanwhile, Gil Meche is pretty much having the month you’d expect from Peavy - 3-0, 1.71 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and .213 BAA.
Click to continue reading Dealing To The Dish: National League 6.23.06
All reports around the wire tonight is revolving around Roger Clemens coming back to play baseball. That’s right, folks, Clemens AKA The Rocket is coming back to play some baseball and he’ll be doing it with the Houston Astros once again. He’ll be paid about 12 million dollars or so for about a half-season’s worth of work as he’s expected to step foot on a MLB mound around the end of June or so, depending on Clemens.
Now, this is a sweet financial deal for Clemens, but the real candy-coating (if this new contract follows suit the two previous years and I don’t see why it wouldn’t) lays in the fact that Clemens won’t have to travel with the team on road trips except for when his turn in the rotation comes up. The Rocket will also be close to home and be a dad and husband to his family without sacrificing having to spend three or more months away in a city like New York or Boston.
Speaking of New York and Boston and their respective MLB teams, it was thought that they had a chance to sign the Rocket, but I never thought he would. He definitely would have gotten a ton of money from both, but Clemens has money already from his previous work in the majors and you can’t beat the deal he’s getting from the Astros because of the proximity factor.
With the New York Yankees, he’d get to play with guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera again, as well as provide a devastating righty/lefty combo with Randy Johnson. If Clemens went to play with the Boston Red Sox, the symbolism of “coming back home” and “coming full circle” would definitely be there. However, in the end the Rocket chose his family, and I’m not just talking about his wife and kids.
The Houston Astros have been more than accomodating with the Rocket since his signing in 2004, acting like parents letting their son have his room back after graduating college. His best friend in baseball, Andy Pettitte, pitches for the Astros. And you better believe Pettitte played a huge role in talking Clemens out of “retirement” to pitch again. But, just as important to Clemens, the Astros have gone to the National League Championship in both seasons he’s been with them. And, the Astros now have a better chance to make it three straight seasons, thanks to the return of the Rocket.
Soon enough, the headlines around baseball will be - Houston, We Have Liftoff. Welcome back, Rocket.
Chamique Holdsclaw has left the Los Angeles Sparks due to personal reasons right before the start of the 2006 WNBA season. Holdsclaw made a name for herself as an outstanding collegiate player. She was the primary weapon during her Tennessee Lady Volunteer teams that won three NCAA championships. She was later the number overall draft pick in the 1999 WNBA draft. She was named rookie of the year in 1999 and has been a three-time all star. Holdsclaw had battled clinical depression earlier in her career in 2004. There is no timetable for her return back with the team.
Read More 
| LA Times
As The Knicks Turn
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Front Office, NBA, Rumors
It all seems like a done deal at this point. And I’m not talking about the rumors of Larry Brown being bought out of the remaining four years of his contract for $40 million turning into actual fact. If you followed the Knicks, it was almost an inevitability like a Grant Hill injury. No, I’m talking about something else, something every Knicks fan knows and I hope doesn’t pay for anymore.
The front office is as shaky as Trina’s (ahem) in one of her videos.
Seriously, with all of the mistakes the front office committed, (Jerome James anyone?), Larry Brown is going to be the fall guy? I’ve even heard that one of the reasons why the front office is thinking about letting Brown go is because they can’t meet the personnel demands of Brown, such as getting a shot-blocker. James was supposed to fulfill this role, but couldn’t do a lick to earn more than 9.2 minutes per game. Some may say that Brown didn’t establish a rotation, which was a problem and I wouldn’t disagree, but seriously, no one was doing what they needed to do night-in and night-out to earn the playing time besides Jamal Crawford (no, that isn’t a long typo) and Channing Frye before he got injured.
But, when you’re given lemons, you either try to make lemonade OR, apparrently, have your dad take your pitcher of water and gallon of ice away from you.
Click to continue reading As The Knicks Turn
Anaheim Mighty Ducks Take A Commanding 3-0 Series Lead
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: NHL, Playoffs, Rumors, Scoreboard
Quack! Quack! Quack! The Mighty Ducks hockey team is on a roll and coach Gordon Bombay couldn’t be happier. The Ducks won in overtime defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-3. The Ducks can close out the series on Thursday night with a win in Colorado. In the unpredictable NHL Playoffs, all four lower seeds advanced to the Western Conference semi-final round. The Ducks play is led as usual by long time star Teemu Selanne, but what sparked them this season was the off-season signing of premiere defenseman Scott Niedermayer. The Ducks had perks the New Jersey Devils couldn’t provide, such as great weather and the opportunity to play with his brother Rob. Niedermayer signed a 4 year, $27 million dollar contract, and was later named team captain. Niedermayer has the championship experience and gave Calgary Flames captain, Jarome Iginla fits throughout their first round match-up.
Read More | George Johnson
Cory Lidle isn’t playa-hatin’ - seriously. Lidle is just concerned about high school players and college players having the temptation of taking steroids, thinking they don’t have a shot in making the big leagues.
It’s sad,” Lidle told the Philadelphia Daily News. “I’m not a player-hater. I like to see players get paid as much as they can. But without friggin’ cheating. What he could have done without performance-enhancing drugs—which he hasn’t been proven guilty of [using], which I’m not buying—you can maybe take what he had done in his prime, before his head started growing at an enormous rate, and just make those projections. Say that, ‘This is what he could have done.’ Maybe it’s 550 home runs. I don’t know. It definitely wouldn’t have been anything close to 700.”
Expect Barry to knock a homer against Cory Lidle, the next time the Giants play the Phillies. Or maybe his line-up protection mate Moises “Pee on my hands” Alou will take offense to these comments.
Read More | SI.com
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