Month: May 2017

Could Josh McCown’s next destination be New York?

The free agent quarterback visited with the Jets this weekend and the two sides have begun discussing potential contract terms, SNY reported Saturday.

According to the report, the Jets also remain interested in former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who has yet to visit the team, but have no desire to sign former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

McCown, who turns 38 in July, threw for 3,209 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his two-year stint in Cleveland. He was limited to 13 games and 11 starts after being hindered by a two broken collarbones.

Whenever the 29-year-old does inevitably find himself in the Mets’ major league clubhouse this spring, baseball culture demands that the team’s veterans give him a hard time. Manager Terry Collins acknowledged as much during a news conference Sunday, chuckling as he looked forward to whatever the baseball lifers might have in store.

“Tim Tebow is a star in his own right, but let me tell you something, when he walks in our clubhouse, those guys will let him have it, they’re not afraid of him,” Collins Cheap Jerseys UK said. “Of course, he’s a little bigger than they are… No, it’s a tremendous clubhouse and I know they’ll reach out and try to make him feel at home.”

The Mets have little invested in Tebow, so the only downside to his presence is whatever potential distraction it might generate. But this foray by a high-profile athlete into a second sport doesn’t quite reach Michael Jordan-to-the-White-Sox levels, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Collins and Co.

Mike Mayock has spent more than a decade dissecting NFL teams on the air. Now he might get a chance to show what he can do with personnel power in his hands.

The longtime NFL Network analyst is a candidate to become general manager of the Redskins, ESPN reported Friday.

Washington owner Daniel Snyder and president Bruce Allen are seeking a replacement for Scot McCloughan, who was fired Thursday after an awkward separation from the team that lasted several weeks.

Whether the Redskins go for Mayock or a more traditional candidate, the incoming GM will have to contend with a franchise that has seen more than its share of dysfunction in recent years and a front office that has plenty of powerful voices vying to be heard.

Bennett, who said he was inspired by Chance the Cheap Jerseys In Canada Rapper’s donation of $1 million to help kids in Chicago school systems, outlined his plan in a Thursday statement.

“I have decided to donate all of my endorsement money in 2017 to help rebuild minority communities through s.t.e.a.m programs, as well as initiatives that directly affect women of color in hopes that we can create more opportunities for our youth and build a brighter future,” Bennett said in the statement (via Bleacher Report).

“In addition, 50% of the proceeds from my jersey sales this year will go to programs and initiatives to support inner-city garden projects,” Bennett said, “as it’s not only about providing opportunities in education and arts, but to help provide the right nutrition and access to healthy living to all.”

People will see Alex Rodriguez hanging out with the Yankees in 2017, but it will be strictly as a special advisor.

The former New York slugger reiterated he will not be making a comeback this season, according to the New York Daily News.

“Alex is enjoying his time off and looking forward to heading to spring training to work with the young guys as he has said all along,” Rodriguez’s spokesman Ron Berkowitz said.

“He’s still a ways away. Still not able to (show) 100 percent exertion on the swing,” Black said, via the Denver Post.

Dahl, 23, was able to take live batting practice at the Rockies’ complex on Friday, but he did not swing a bat on Saturday.

“I kind of took a day off, I was pretty sore from yesterday,” Dahl said Saturday. “My muscles were sore. … My swing was a little bit shaky just because I hadn’t swung a bat in a while. The muscles just tightened up a little bit.”

Dahl carried a .315/.359/.500 slash line with seven home runs and 24 RBIs in 63 games last season. However, with Mark Reynolds holding down first base and Ian Desmond back from the disabled list, Dahl may find playing time hard to come by even after he regains his health.

Charlie Blackmon, who has emerged as one of the best outfielders in MLB, and Gerardo Parra are also currently starting in Colorado’s outfield.

It’s inevitable, based on past results, that Reynolds or Parra Cheap Jerseys Bulk will slow down, but for now, Dahl seems like a long shot for consistent playing time in the near future.

Major League Baseball will test out a new, controversial rule change on the lowest levels of the minor leagues this season.

In an effort to shorten games, MLB plans to automatically Cheap Ireland Football Jerseys place a runner on second base starting in the 10th inning in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Arizona League.

“Let’s see what it looks like,” Joe Torre, the longtime major league manager who’s now MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer, said, via Yahoo Sports. “It’s not fun to watch when you go through your whole pitching staff and wind up bringing a utility infielder in to pitch. As much as it’s nice to talk about being at an 18-inning game, it takes time.

But baseball was on his mind the entire way.

“It’s always been my No. 1 sport,” Commings told Fox Sports. “It’s always been my first love.”

He’s getting a chance to follow through on that passion now. An encounter with former big-league utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. at a pickup basketball game in November led to the pair working together five days a week in an effort to get Commings back into the baseball groove.

After initial skepticism, Hairston now compares Commings to Pirates center fielder Starling Marte and says the former defensive back has a legitimate chance at an MLB career.

“If he had chosen baseball, he would be in the major leagues right now,” Hairston told Fox.

It appears Commings will at least get a chance to try, and it’s difficult to see much downside to a major-league organization giving him a chance.

Kirk Cousins has apparently decided to stick around with the Redskins in 2017.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday evening that a source says Cousins will sign his franchise tag “soon.”

Rapoport noted, “He’s a good soldier, knows he’s likely not going anywhere.”

Earlier in the day, it sure seemed like the quarterback wanted to escape from D.C.

During his Friday appearance on “Up to the Minute Live,” Garafolo depicted Lynch as being in a holding pattern. The retired rusher has remained in shape and has the motivation to play, but still has two years remaining on his contract with the Seahawks.

The Raiders are pondering the acquisition of Lynch through trade or release. While Seattle general manager John Schneider and Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie have a relationship that stems back to the Packers’ front office from 1994-96, the price has to be right for the Seahawks to let Lynch go.

The Raiders also have salary cap space considerations, especially with Cheap Football Practice Jerseys franchise quarterback Derek Carr and star defensive end Khalil Mack slated for new contracts. Oakland also remains a potential destination for former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson after Latavius Murray signed with Minnesota earlier this week.

Lynch, who turns 31 in April, rushed for 9,112 yards and 74 scores over his nine-year career split between the Bills and Seahawks, adding another nine receiving touchdowns and making five Pro Bowl appearances.

Cleveland made Zeitler the highest-paid guard ever, spent well on Tretter and gave a big extension to its other guard, Joel Bitinio. That’s a ton of cash for a cap-rich team to spend on interior line play. All those guys listed above combined for a total of $150 million in guaranteed money.

As for the tackles, it didn’t matter that Whitworth is old, or that Kalil or Okung are hard-fading first-rounders with durability issues. Reiff was involved in that carousel as well, as Minnesota was as desperate as Carolina and San Diego to find shaky solutions on the left side. Wagner is the only guy who got paid the right way as a right tackle.

The Rays and starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi have agreed to one-year, $2 million deal with a club option for the 2018 season, according to ESPN.com.

Eovaldi, who played for the Yankees the last two seasons, was designated for assignment in 2016 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.

Though he will only turn 27 on Monday, the Rays will have to wait a year to see any production from Eovaldi, because he will miss the entire 2017 season.

The Tampa Bay Times was the first to report the deal was close.

According to the Times, Eovaldi will be signed under a major-league contract in 2017 with a 2018 option, provided he makes a healthy recovery.

Eovaldi is 38-46 with a 4.21 ERA and 539 strikeouts.

He is a flamethrowing right-hander who averaged 98.4 mph per fastball, according Cheap Goalie Jerseys to Brooks Baseball, and touched 100 a few times in each start.

The Rays could get a steal if he checks out medically after this season.

Pereira: It’s probably the correct move. Dean, you could call him the godfather of instant replay. You probably have to say that about Art McNally, and Tex Schramm started experimenting with instant replay way back like in 1983 (on the competition committee). But Dean is clearly the most knowledgeable.

I am a bit concerned because it’s judgement. I mean replay has gotten so much into judgement now, which is a shame. In 1999 when we brought it in, it was all about fact, the ground, the plane (of the goal-line), the boundaries, body part down on the ground … It was all based on fact. Now, it’s, “What is a catch? What’s not a catch? Did he hold on to it long enough? Did he become a runner?”

I am concerned about new people making those decisions. Dean had a background of decades almost of being involved in the system. I am a bit concerned about the consistency factor and it may go through some growing pains. But ultimately I do think it belongs in the office.

I’m not so sure that (the NFL) is really pleased right now that Dean is gone, that it’s totally in the office with the officials and the referee looking at just a tablet on the field unless they alter that. But that’s the way it is.

Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, turned down an invitation to attend a Cavaliers playoff game the night after he was selected by Cleveland.

Browns fans shouldn’t worry about their guy being a prima donna, though.

According to ESPN.com, Garrett declined the offer because of his workout routine, which he steadfastly commits to every day and every night and wasn’t going change.

“I’m not trying to take any time off,” Garrett told NFL 21 Cheap Jerseys reporters Friday at the Browns rookie minicamp.

If you call Kawhi the best two-way player in the world, you are calling him the best player in the world.

This is the case for Kawhi as the best player in basketball: He is no worse than the second-best defender in the world and among the very best offensive players in the world. If you call Kawhi the best two-way player in the world, you are calling him the best player in the world. The two-way moniker is meaningless in a sport where everyone plays on both ends.

If you count LeBron and Durant as elite defenders (a fair assessment), Kawhi’s title is not settled. LeBron has the advantage of incumbency and (near-)universal affection; we are all loathe to prematurely mark the end of his reign. Durant will find little support given his unpopular decision to join the Warriors and his untimely injury (which prevented a large-scale reckoning of his incredible two-year return after foot surgery).

But because basketball is a two-way sport, you have to consider both sides of the court when declaring your pick for the game’s best player. For that reason, these three are the only options, and Kawhi is an increasingly attractive pick.

But it’s not just Paul’s teammates that constantly fail him. It’s his general managers, too.

This was one reason for his frustration with New Orleans. After leading the Hornets to a 56-win season in 2007-2008, Paul never got the financial or creative investment necessary from those in charge to build on that success. Paul needed better players in order to get the Hornets over the hump. He was rewarded with bloated contracts for role players (James Posey, Morris Peterson), draft busts (Cedric Simmons, Hilton Armstrong, Julian Wright), and cost-cutting moves around the margins. Three years after their Baseball Jerseys Custom breakthrough, the Hornets started the postseason with a five-man unit of of Paul, Trevor Ariza, Carl Landry, Marco Belinelli, and Emeka Okafor.

And you’re right. This kind of maneuvering is a long shot because of how important Hjalmarsson is to the Hawks’ system. Care to imagine what the penalty kill looks like without him on it? Yeah, me neither.

But I insist upon putting this option here because Hjalmarsson’s contract status makes it possible. He can’t block trades to all 30 teams like many of his highly paid teammates, so depending on how desperate the Hawks are to make changes, Hjalmarsson is a possibility. It’s just one that we can all agree probably wouldn’t end all too well.

This category also could’ve applied to Corey Crawford, who has a partial NTC, but the Scott Darling trade makes another goalie trade highly unlikely. It’s hard to see the Hawks moving Crawford now that they’ve already traded their obvious Plan B option in goal.

Pretty much the same thing as the Hjalmarsson NFL Jerseys Paypal edition, but trading Panarin and his $6 million cap hit instead of Hjalmarsson and hit $4.1 million. Like the other scenario, this would be creating a big hole for the Blackhawks in order to create more salary cap space (while also presumably getting some good pieces in return).

There are still several quarterbacks left on the board too, including DeShone Kizer, Davis Webb, and Nathan Peterman.

It’s no surprise that running backs like Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette came off the board in Round 1, but Cook is still available in a bit of a shocker.

Despite having two picks last night, the Tennessee Titans don’t currently have a second-round selection after giving it to Cleveland last year for Jack Conklin. The Browns and Saints joined the Titans with multiple picks in Round 1, but the Seahawks are ready to catch-up on Day 2 with five picks of their own.

The Seahawks traded down twice and did not end up with a first-round pick. The Green Bay Packers, after a trade with the Browns, also didn’t draft a player on Thursday. They are on the clock first on Friday.

The Los Angeles Rams (to the Titans), Minnesota Vikings (to the Eagles), and New England Patriots (to the Saints) are the other three teams who didn’t have a Day 1 pick and will make their first selections Friday. The Rams have considerable work to do to their roster and are expected to make a push for some top offensive weapons.

Pierce always knew when to go. He played at his own speed and his own rhythm. He was never in a hurry, always ready to wait that extra split second just so he could really rub it in your face when he buried that buzzer-beater.

Flying down three flights of stairs to the tunnel leading to the Cheap Yankees Jerseys locker rooms, I spot Bob Ryan and double-up my stride to catch him. There’s no better resource in times like this than the Commish. Just as I catch up to Bob and ask him where this one ranked in the Pierce pantheon of kill shots, we run smack into Warren Sapp. Randomly.

We all look at each other and say at the same time, “I thought he waited too long.”