Glasper learns the hard lessons of football

I don't understand where the trainers and doctor was on this? The coach should have no say at all whether a player is ready or not.

One shining moment...

I kind of ignored Florida after the National Championship but I came across this today and liked the story so here it is...

CBS always ends its broadcast of the national championship game with "One Shining Moment" and everybody sees this marvelous video collage of all that's gone on during the last three weeks in the march through the madness. What fans couldn't see Monday night was the Florida Gators, sitting on the podium, arms draped over each other's shoulders, swaying back and forth to the music, singing along.

Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah and Jack Berry were there at the left end of the podium and they were all three singing along. Corey reminded me of a little kid at Christmas the way he looked up at the video board. You could see the reflection of the bright lights in his eyes, which were moist with tears as he mouthed out the words of the song. If Corey was choking up, Jo wasn't far behind. This was a special moment that they weren't ever going to forget.

Asked at the post-game press conference about what was going on his mind as he watched that video, Brewer responded, "One Shining Moment almost makes you want to cry. Second time I got to watch it, our team got to watch it, just to see what goes into people playing in the NCAA tournament. That's why you love college basketball, all the guys diving on the floor, everybody playing as hard as they can play just to be in this moment where we are right now. We're just very fortunate to win two in a row, just to win this one, we're happy."

My lasting memory of Corey Brewer will be the smile and the joy of playing the game that he never once tried to hide. This is a kid that spent his Saturdays working a trash route with his dad. Ellis "Pee Wee" Brewer wouldn't have minded if Corey had wanted to spend time working on his jump shot, but Corey volunteered to work with his dad just so the two of them could have quality time together. Corey always talked about the lessons he learned from his dad, about how anything worth having was worth working hard to get. Maybe that's why he always smiles when he plays. He understands hard, physical work and playing the game is sheer joy.

Unlike Taurean Green, Joakim Noah and Al Horford, Brewer's family wasn't comfortably secure with its finances. Pee Wee Brewer had a leg amputated this year and he's had several heart procedures. Last year when NBA millions were calling, it was Corey Brewer that announced to his three teammates that he was coming back to go for two. When he said he was coming back, the other three said we're there with you. He had more to gain from a financial standpoint than any of the others but he felt there was more to life than making money. He loved being a Gator and he loved being in school and he loved playing with his teammates. He knew the NBA would wait a year but if he left, he would never again have the chance to play

HAPPY 100th POST to ME, and you!

so my timing didn't quite work out to coincide with my return from Texas, oh well...

Working through lunch today to get a blog update for you. (okay that's a lie, I was late this morning).

Last night, Paul and I were watching The Deadliest Catch, aka, world's greatest hour of television. This year is more of the same, catching crabs and making obscene amounts of money. Tragedy struck the Bering Sea last night (as it usually does), as a ship carrying 4 fisherman sunk. We got to ride along with the Coast Guard rescue crew to go fish (no pun intended) the guys out of the water. At the end of the show, one fisherman was safely in the chopper but we have to wait till next week to see what happened to the others, and to see who brings in the biggest pot. Personally, my money is on Sig Hansen, world's greatest crab fisher. (and pictured above). If you want to check out Sig's website, it's pretty great.

Anyway, we were channel checking and happened to catch MLB Hall of Famer Dave Winfield who played 22 seasons in baseball. Anyway, in 1973 he was drafted by the MLB, ABA, NBA, and NFL. How insane is that? Imagine being that good at one thing, then imagine being that good at that many things?

Joshua's first start tonight...

*Tony Mazz says, "The more time that passes, the surer we become: Hanley Ramirez is going to be a star. The only real question now is whether Josh Beckett is going to be one, too."

*Alex Speier says that Josh has the makeup, stuff, and attitude to be an ace.

*Bill Ballou says its time for Josh to show up for the Sox.

*Michael Silverman had Josh looking to use is off-speed stuff more.

Other notes...

Al Jefferson is banged up after hitting knees with Ryan Gomes. I think Red Auerbach had a role in this. He wants Durant too. If the C's don't get Durant or Oden, I hope they take Horford.

*Jake Peavy outdueled Barry Zito yesterday. Good thing I don't have Barry on my fantasy team...oh...wait...

*The Sox are going to have a special pregame ceremony to honor the 1967 Impossible Dream Team before Opening Day. Guess that only matters if you have Opening Day tickets...like ME.

*Billy Donovan has to decide between Florida and Kentucky.

Texas in 8 freaking days...

I am sorry for the delay this morning, I was booking a car for Texas! I just need to get out of this state in a hurry. And see the Red Sox play real life games that count. I cannot wait.

Anyways, here are some thoughts while wondering when I can find a weekend to go visit Gabe and Jon.

*Craig Hansen was demoted to AAA. And here I was thinking I was going to have a MLB facebook friend. Damn it. Manny Delcarmen went with him.

*Jeff Horrigan has some more on Dice-K's "struggles".

*Bryan Corey and his 1.50 ERA couldn't fit on the Red Sox roster.

*Lester's going to hang out with Gabe in South Carolina for a bit. Also, he was placed on the DL with Timlin and Clement.

*The current roster looks like this:

PITCHERS (12): Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Julian Tavarez, Brendan Donnelly, Josh Beckett, Hideki Okajima, Joel Pineiro, J.C. Romero, Kyle Snyder, and Javier Lopez.

CATCHERS (2): Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli.

INFIELDERS (6): David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Julio Lugo, Mike Lowell, Alex Cora, and Kevin Youkilis.

*Mike Reiss has some goodies.

*Brian Billick loves AD.

*Marvin Lewis doesn't think AD is that great at safety.

*A nice story about Matt Greinke, pitcher for the Royals.

*The MLBPA is going to file a grievence on behalf of old friend Todd Walker who was cut by the Padres.

*A Mariner's minor leaguer Chris Minaker studied Stanford athletes for steriods and got some pretty interesting results for his thesis paper.

*Are Harvard Athletics racist?

*Juan Pierre is buying Grady Little a motorcyle in exchange for his #9.

*Carl Pavano is the Yankee's Opening Day starter.

hehe

*Dice-K gave up 0 hits yesterday but was unhappy with is 5 walks, and was unwilling to speak with the media after the game. I personally, always got mad when I gave up no hits and runs when I pitched. (okay, I never pitched, but you get the point). Shaughnessy says Matsuzaka was seen stretching out during the game and icing after it. (he never ices) Let the massive panic attack begin. Dan does point out, "Only in Boston. Only here could there be a crisis after a guy throws a five-inning no-hitter."

*Papelbon looked good yesterday. Craig Hansen did not.

*The Ritz-Carlton is making a new Dice-K Tini which has, “includes three parts vodka, one part passion fruit puree and one part sake. It is garnished with a glowing red ice cube made to like dice and pickled ginger.”

*Jo-EL Pineiro may be on the market. The mostly likely trade partner is the Reds according to Jeff Horrigan.

*Colts President Bill Polian praises the Patriots off season moves. You think Bill? They did a good job? Are you sure they didn't nudge you or anything? You don't want to complain to the commissioners office?

*The NFL approved a new revenue-sharing system.

*The Celtics played great against the Raptors last night, I actually watched some of this. Great time of the year to elevate your game guys. C's came away with the 95-87 W.

*No criminal negligence found in the death of Pat Tillman.

*Freddy Sanchez knee is still screwed up. Glad he isn't on my fantasy team.

*Pacman Jones is um, screwed.

*The UNC Student Mascott died after being struck by an SUV. (so sad).

*Philadelphia Eagles traded DT Darwin Walker and a 2008 pick to the Buffalo Bills for Takeo Spikes and Kelly Holcomb. Personally I think this is a great deal for the Eagles, who, take Spikes out of the AFC East. Thanks guys.

SG has an article on how great the NCAA tourney has been, and that is where I found this link...

*Karen Guregian has an article on Lester and him wanting to rush to come back, but still having cancer in the back of his mind.

*Jackie MacMullan has a real good story on Mike Pressler, the former Duke lacrosse coach who is now the coach at Bryant University in Rhode Island.

*The Celtics lost to the Hornets 106-88. Kevin Durant!

*Asante Samuel did not come ot the offseason work out program yesterday, but a lot of players, including Samuel choose to work out at home, or with their alma mater.

*I guess on WEEI yesterday, Michael Holley said he is 75% sure that Greg Oden will stay in school. I can't blame him, I would have stayed in school too.

*And, last but not least, Mike Reiss's football notes Sunday had this story:

The act was so selfless by Troy Brown that the McGowan family of Attleboro wanted to share the story, even though Brown requested that there be no publicity.

Eight-year-old Matthew McGowan had been admitted to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence last year with an inoperable brain tumor. Because Matthew was a big sports fan, his parents, Richard and Linda, and uncle, John Rijo, contacted Brown through a mutual friend to see if Brown could autograph a jersey.

The response stunned them.

"The next day, we got the word that it was no problem, but that Troy didn't want to send it, he wanted to deliver it in person," said Rijo.

The visit was arranged, and while young Matthew was unconscious and unresponsive, the family knew he was aware of Brown's presence when his heart rate increased as Brown held his hand. Brown told the family he hoped to score a touchdown for Matthew in the team's next game, Oct. 8 against the Dolphins.

As the family watched that Sunday from the hospital, Brown hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady. They could hardly believe it. Then Brown sent the ball, with an autograph, as a surprise to the McGowans. Later, the family had Brown autograph a framed photo that ran in the Globe the day after the victory over the Dolphins.

Unfortunately, young Matthew lost the fight for his life yesterday, but his family didn't want Brown's generosity to go unrecognized, despite his wishes to keep the visit quiet. At a most difficult time in their lives, Brown's gesture meant more than they could express.

"The fact he doesn't want any recognition is more reason why we wanted to tell people about this," Rijo said.

Rijo said the autographed picture included the words, "To Matthew, a true champion, your friend forever, Troy Brown."

Said Matthew's father, Richard: "Troy is right, Matthew is and always will be a true champion. And to us, Troy will always be more than just a sports champion, but our friend forever."

I really hope the Patriots find a place for Troy on the roster.

Monday, Monday...

I did not do a running diary of the Orioles and Red Sox yesterday for three reasons.

#1. I made a gourmet dinner yesterday during the game. Goat cheese mashed potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and breaded chicken. It was quite delicous if I do say so myself.

#2. Was anyone elses sound all messed up yesterday? I couldn't hear a thing Jerry and Don were saying, but I could hear some fans like they were sitting next to me. Way to be NESN, please, keep screwing up the 3 Spring Training games that you do show.

#3. My cousin Kerry came over to watch the game with me / talk about our Texas Ranger trip (3 weeks!).

Anyway, some thoughts from the game:

*When they had on Tom Werner and John Henry in the bottom of the 1st, it was painfully uncomfortable to watch JWH on TV. You can tell he hates every minute of it. As the Sox batted Steve Traschel around, JWH called him, "painfully deliberate". I'm pretty sure that is how he feels about all his on camera appearances as well.

*When they showed #7 on deck, I actually thought, Trot's batting behind Manny? For 2.3 seconds and almost started crying. This is going to take some getting used to.

*Hi David, I've missed you all winter.

*I'm not freaking out about Dice-K's outing. Poor spring training outings happen. Not a big deal. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

*Youk is batting .405 this spring...YOUUUUKKKK.

*Lugo looks good at the plate, not so good fielding. I liked having a team where defense rarely hurt you last year. Although, that team finished 3rd, so I guess you need to change things up.

*Drew's batting .438. Personally I'd feel a whole lot better if his hat was a little dirty.

*Jason is batting my checking account, which, for the record is .118. Michael (Lowell) is batting a full point higher than him, so we got that going for us. (119).

*Only spring training game with the Yanks is tonight at 7:05. Deeerrr-EK Jeeetttt-ER. (hate is a very strong word, but it fits in this situation). Timmy is pitching for us against Carl (we were really able to trade for Pedro using you?) Pavano on the hill for NY.

*Roger Clemens wants 4 million dollars a month. It has always been about the money hasn't it Rog?

Ramblings this morning while wondering what it feels like to watch $103 million dollars get tagged by some no name Orioles. (you could probably ask JWH).

The truth and rumors section on SI.com had all kinds of goodies today:

"Gary Sheffield desperately wanted to cross enemy lines. The former Yankees slugger had only one team on his wish list as last season wound to a close, though he dared not disclose it. Assuming the Yankees failed to pick up his $13 million contract option, Sheffield had every intention of playing for the Red Sox this year." -- Boston Herald

Apparently Mr. Sheffield has a death wish upon his next return to Yankee Stadium. He's a Tiger, this may have been something he should have just kept to himself.

"An official who was involved in the discussions that led to the 2001 deal that sent Roberto Alomar to the Mets said one of the players New York made available to Cleveland was a Low-A shortstop named Jose Reyes. The official said the Indians liked Reyes, but simply did not have enough information from their South Atlantic League scouts." -- New York Post

That is the kind of thing to keep Indians fans up at night.

"No less than five scouts have inquired about Boston's Kyle Snyder. Look for a team needing an end-of-the-rotation starter to pursue him before the end of the month." -- Boston Globe

I think we should hang on to all our pitching until we are absolutely sure we don't need it. Otherwise, they could go off and end up being the best pitcher in the NL. You know, hypothetically speaking.

"Daisuke Matsuzaka has been expressing concern to Japanese reporters about the high mound in the bullpen at City of Palms Park." -- Boston Globe

Yeah, I bet that if he asked, they'd lower the mound for him.

Some other goodies:

*Lester will open the minor league game this Friday, throwing 3 innings.

*Gordon talks about Jacoby.

*NCAA announced its field of 65. (Bob Ryan says debating the bracket is almost as much fun as the games). Watched the Big 12 Championship yesterday. Awesome game. Texas lost to Kansas in overtime. Kevin Durant had 37. In an unrelated / completely related note, Celts lost to the Bulls yesterday. Thank you Chicago.

Dear Lottery Gods,

1st or 2nd pick please. Please.

Thanks.

Love,
Amanda

*Pats sign Donte Stallworth. I'm pretty excited about this. I'm sick of everyone saying that all these moves have been unsual for the Patriots and whanot. The Patriots don't overpay and don't sign players that don't fill a role in their team. However, they are willing to pay for top level talent like Tom, Matt Light, Richard Seymour, ect.

*Speaking of the Patriots, Bill and Scott sat in the dugout yesterday.

*Rob Bradford talks about judging spring training.

*In 1 second of NHL news, Chris Simon is suspended 25 games for his stick attack on Ryan Hollweg. Simon, meanwhile, is saying the reason he made that hit was a result of a concussion. Now, I'm not saying that that is too light of a suspension, but Todd "I'm a scumbag" Bertuzzi BROKE Steve Moore's NECK. Moore has now been out of the league for 3 years and no doctor will clear him to play because he risks paralysis if he injures his neck again. Simon cut the guys chin open and gets 3 more games? Neither play is acceptable, but giving three more games for Simon's play is ridiculous.

*The Celtics won again! 4 in a row now. According to Paul though, (as in, my brother), even if they win the rest of their games, they will still be one of the three worst teams, and therefore get two ping pong balls in the lottery thingy. (1. Kevin Durant please). Tony Massarotti says that is not the case. He's probably right.

*The Bruins beat the Canadians and Devils this weekend, and are now 4 points out of the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.

*The Patriots had a VERY busy weekend, signing Adalius Thomas, Kyle Brady, and Sammy Morris. I am very excited. The Patriots also have Wes Welker coming to Gillette today. The NFL network was saying last night the Pats are going to offer him a 7 year 38 million dollar deal. Not that the length really matters in the NFL b/c you can cut a player at any time. John Tomase says that the Patriots will put a "poison pill" in the contract. And, we already knew this but, Tedy will be back. (which is good, b/c I love driving by his house on the way to Amy's). Tedy said, "“I feel great. I’m ready to play. I’m more hungry now than I’ve ever been. I want to win another championship.” I love him. (I don't usually like Karen Guregian but this one has some good Tedy quotes).

*In Red Sox land, Papelbon retired all 6 batters he faced, striking out 4 against the Twins. That is great news. Jon Lester is starting for the first time this spring against the Twins in the "B" game (mostly minor leaguers), while Joshua is starting the "A" game against the Dodgers. (Hi Nomar!).

*Forbes ranked the GM's in the 4 major sports. For the locals, Scott Pioli was 20th, Theo 30th, Mike O'Connell (formerly of the B's) 73rd, and Danny Ainge was 92nd.

Now, obviously they aren't going to get a list everyone agrees on, but Kevin McHale is first? When is the last time the T-Wolves won a championship? Have they ever won one? I'm not sure.

Billy King is 3rd. When was the last time the 76er's won a championship? I'm pretty sure Dr. J was still on the team. And, he should have gotten a ring out of the the Allen Iverson era.

And, everyone's favorite a-hole, Bill Polian is 9th. How do you put him 11 spots ahead of Scott? Where are his other two rings? I don't see them...Nope, not there at all. Just one. Actually, in the time it took me to write this post, Polian called up the league to complain he wasn't higher than 9th, and that he got nudged by the 1-8 people on the list.

Some other notes from the list, Joe Dumars is 15th...didn't the Pistons just go back to back? Terry Ryan of the Minnesota Twins is 53rd! 53rd and his team consistantly makes the playoffs and has talent with a payroll subtantianlly lower than the big spenders in the MLB. The GM of the Denver Nuggets name is Kiki. (just thought you should know). Also, I'm sick of hearing how much of a "genius" Billy Beane is. Again, show me the freaking rings. Oh, and Brian Sabean of the Giants paid Barry Bonds 18 million dollars this year when most teams didn't want him, 31. Isiah Thomas is 82 (I know SG will hate that one).

*UNC completed a season sweep of Duke. Tyler Hansbrough took an elbow to the nose and bled all over the place with 14.5 seconds left.

*The Patriots of George Mason are a win away from making the tourney again this year.

Some ramblings this morning...

*The Steelers team doctor charged 150,000 on HGH and other drugs. It's not illegal for him to have that because he is a doctor, but it's a little suspicous that he charged in on his CC.

*"According to a photographer on the scene, team president and CEO Larry Lucchino approached Ramirez behind the batting cage on Field No. 5 at the minor league complex and inquired about the health of his mother, who is currently recovering from surgery. Ramirez put his arm around Lucchino and guided him a few steps away from the cage, where he expressed contrition for the “trouble” he caused by arriving one week after the rest of the position players." from the Herald. The article also says that Manny now decided he wants to stay here the rest of his career. I've said it before, and I'm hopefully not going to say this again, but I don't understand what everyones fascination with Manny is. I want him to be the best right handed hitters in the league. And he is. So there.

*My bus made me exactly one hour late. Thank you MBTA. And incase you were wondering, it was a little cold outside for one hour this morning.

*Sean McAdam from Pro-Jo it appears right now that Jo-EL "don't call me Joel" Pinero is in line to be the closer. I still think Papelbon is going to be closing by June.

*Facebook friend Craig Hansen had an MRI on his back yesterday. Everything was normal.

*The B's added some players to shore up the D.

*Rodney is offically coming back for a 14th NFL Season. I am totally in love with him.

*Also, Stonehill College hired a black football coach. He is only the second black head football coach in New England. What I don't understand is how he used to be an assistant for the 49ers and now he's Stonehill's coach? I would think an NFL assistant could do better than the Northeast-10 Division II? Stonehill's locker room is about 2 miles from the football field and was always one of my least favorite places to go. That and me and one of the trainers once got lost walking to the field and almost ended up missing the start of the game. At least they still have those snazzy purple uniforms and fear inducing "Sky Hawk" name.

*Shaun Livingston tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL with that nasty dislocation. Team doctor says he'll be back in 8-12 months. I don't understand how anyone can come back in 8 months from that injury.

*Does any one else get a Netflix pop up ad all the time? I'm thinking about canceling my Netflix subscription in protest. I'm sure that isn't what their marketing folks had in mind.

*Jackie MacMullan talked to Curt yesterday, a few important things of note. First, Curt sees 20 wins in his future. Hopefully he's not talking about in 2007 and 2008. Schilling remains peeved about what he perceives to be media leaks concerning his conditioning. He held Francona blameless and quickly exonerated Epstein as well, leaving the finger squarely pointed in the direction of CEO Larry Lucchino, everyone's favorite piñata. If Lucchino is indeed the subject of his ire, then why not name him? "I don't need to name anyone," Schilling answered. "The person knows that I know. I don't care if the rest of you know, too."

In regards to the Yankees, Curt said, "I'm probably one of the worst hated opposing players for their fans. I doubt they'd want me there. It's got nothing to do with [GM] Brian Cashman. I love that guy. And I love Mr. Steinbrenner. But if I went to the Yankees, it would be me walking out of Boston and putting my finger up to the fans.

*Ben Watson is going on the USO tour to visit troops overseas. He seems like such a nice person. Now if only he could stop dropping freaking passes.

*Peyton Manning and Danny Ainge watched Pat Summit cheer on the Volunteers dressed in a cheerleading uniform? I guess the Vol's knocked of Florida 86-76.

*The 22 year old unmarried Lebron James is going to be a father for the 2nd time. (not that I think this is a big deal, but why isn't this bigger news than Tom? I mean, he's 22, has two babies, and isn't married. Maybe its because he never hung out with the Pope).

Here are some random things from today:

1. I wasn't overly impressed with Grey's Anatomy, and I'm not buying Meredith could just wake up and be fine after being without a heart beat for over an hour.

2. This morning at work was probably the slowest of my career.

3. I am dying for it to be 4:30.

4. I just had a buffalo chicken wrap from my company cafe and it was just like Charlies. I miss college.

Onto the links...

*Eric Wilbur has a great piece about a solider / Red Sox fan.

*David Oritz just gets more and more ridiculous.

*The U of Tennessee football coach is apparently a huge tool. No spring practice should ever start before April, and the fact that the NCAA does nothing to protect its student-athletes from ridiculous amounts of practices is horrible. How can you justify starting spring practice for FOOTBALL less than 2 months after the National Championship and 7 months before the first game. Somewhere in Tennessee there are some pissed off Student Athletic Trainers. I'll tell you that much. Also, from the useless information department, Danny Ainge's nephew, Eric, is the team's QB.

*Dominic Rhodes wet himself when he got pulled over. I'm not sure what is more fun, A-Rod missing sleepovers or the RB of the Colts peeing his pants.

*Old friend Trot Nixon is going to take it easy this spring trying to rehab, and we also learn in this article that Trot has "Dirt Dog" tattooed under his bicep.

*Good luck Corey. I hope you have a great retirement. Of course, if you sign with another team, you will be dead to me. But seriously. Good luck.

*SG has a quality article on the late Dennis Johnson.