Bored

To add to the DeShields talk, using paperofrecord.com which has a big archive of old Sporting News there was this note about the trade a week after the trade was made: But again most average fans always hate a trade of an established player for a prospect. It should be noted what caused the Dodgers to trade for a second baseman was due to incumbent Jody Reed passing on a three-year contract offer from the Dodgers. So it's all Jody Reed's fault the Dodgers traded Pedro Martinez.

WHACKY~ and EXTREME~ Eric Byrnes will be reporting from a kayak during the All-Star Game for FOX. Like I needed another reason to have the entire game on mute.

My favorite has always been, what if Roger Craig doesn't fumble in the final minutes of the 1991 NFC Championship game? Do the 49ers, with Steve Young at quarterback due to Joe Montana's broken hand, win their third straight Super Bowl or do the Bills win their first Super Bowl? Either result causes a huge change in history.

I knew it all along! http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/pre...sp&c_id=mlb

Going to the A's game tommorrow night with Dan Haren making his last bid to be the starter in the All-Star Game. Pitching against Jeff Weaver who has shockingly not pitched like complete shit as of late but I'd hope he's due for one of his more typical starts.

Roy Oswalt will replace John Smoltz on the All-Star team.

ESPN & FOX Games to Posion Our Youth MONDAY Cardinals (Mike Maroth) at Mets (Jorge Sosa), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 WEDNESDAY Cardinals (Anthony Reyes) at Mets (Tom Glavine), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN SATURDAY Mets at Phillies, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Brewers at Cubs, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Twins at Tigers, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX SUNDAY Twins at Tigers, 8:00/5:00, ESPN

Final Vote N.L. Roy Oswalt Carlos Zambrano Chris Young Tom Gorzelanny Brandon Webb A.L. Jeremy Bonderman Kelvim Escobar Roy Halladay Hideki Okajima Pat Neshek

N.L. Reserves Miguel Cabrera J.J. Hardy Orlando Hudson Matt Holliday Derrek Lee Brian McCann Carlos Lee Albert Pujols Aaron Rowand Freddy Sanchez Alfonso Soriano Dmitri Young N.L. Pitchers Francisco Cordero Brian Fuentes (who just lost his job as closer) Cole Hamels Trevor Hoffman Jake Peavy Brad Penny Takashi Saito Ben Sheets John Smoltz Jose Valverde Billy Wagner

A.L. Pitchers Josh Beckett Dan Haren Bobby Jenks John Lackey Gil Meche Jonathan Papelbon J.J. Putz Francisco Rodriguez C.C. Sabathia Johan Santana Justin Verlander

A.L. Reserves Victor Martinez Jorge Posada Justin Morneau Brian Roberts Mike Lowell Carlos Guillen Michael Young Carl Crawford Torii Hunter Manny Ramirez Alex Rios Grady Sizemore Okay Manny will have to find an excuse not to play.

A.L. Starters C: Ivan Rodriguez 1B: David Ortiz 2B: Placido Polanco 3B: Alex Rodriguez SS: Derek Jeter OF: Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez, Ichiro Suzuki This year Manny won't need an excuse to not play.

This Braves/Marlins game will never end....but the N.L. All-Star starters have been leaked. C: Russell Martin 1B: Prince Fielder 2B: Chase Utley 3B: David Wright SS: Jose Reyes OF: Ken Griffey Jr., Carlos Beltran, Barry Bonds Giants fans got their last second stuffing in. I was actually interested to see if Bonds didn't get voted a starter if he'd just skip the game all together.

Here's something you didn't see coming, Mike Hargrove has resigned as manager of the Mariners. I have to wonder if he's having health problems considering how the well the Mariners are playing it seems unlikely at the moment that they would force him out.

Downhome is correct, the suicide clause in most life insurance policies is that proceeds will not be paid if the insured commits suicide within two years after the policy is issued. That's pretty much the standard although there are some where suicide is excluded for only one year.

It's safe to say that the N.L. MVP race this year may end up being as wide open as the A.L. MVP race was most of last season. After never having a different #1 last season, I now place a 3rd different player at the top spot for this entry. I really didn't see it coming but the new #1 was the slam dunk choice this time around although I'm not sure if the media has noticed yet. For the rest of the list, Brad Penny rockets into the Top 5 and we'll see if he'll avoid a second straight, second half burnout. The previous #1 Prince Fielder is starting to level off which had to be expected but I think he'll keep himself in the Top 10 during the year. And my wire-to-wire MVP from last year Albert Pujols makes his first appearance in the Top 10 this season although he's still quite up to his usual level of greatness. Fantasy tip: If you have Edgar Renteria in your league sell now! 10. Edgar Renteria, Braves .328/.386/.502, 55 RC, 137 OPS+, .311 EQA, 30.9 VORP, 13.8 Win Shares 9. Albert Pujols, Cardinals .298/.401/.527, 54 RC, 147 OPS+, .318 EQA, 24.3 VORP, 15.1 Win Shares 8. Russell Martin, Dodgers .299/.365/.480, 51 RC, 121 OPS+, .294 EQA, 25.7 VOPR, 14.9 Win Shares 7. Eric Byrnes, Diamondbacks .315/.368/.514, 54 RC, 125 OPS+, .294 EQA, 25.8 VORP, 16.3 Win Shares 6. Barry Bonds, Giants .294/.504/.578, 55 RC, 187 OPS+, .373 EQA, 35.4 VORP, 13.2 Win Shares 5. Prince Fielder, Brewers .282/.372/.622, 59 RC, 158 OPS+, .320 EQA, 31.2 VORP, 14.1 Win Shares 4. Brad Penny, Dodgers 213 ERA+, 2.50 K/BB, 1.13 WHIP, 41.6 VORP, 14.7 Win Shares 3. Jose Reyes, Mets .314/.395/.447, 60 RC, 129 OPS+, .299 EQA, 32.5 VORP, 15.9 Win Shares 2. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins .326/.392/.594, 64 RC, 163 OPS+, .330 EQA, 37.1 VORP, 15.5 Win Shares 1. Chase Utley, Phillies .331/.413/.586, 62 RC, 159 OPS+, .331 EQA, 41.2 VORP, 17 Win Shares It was about this time I thought Magglio Ordonez's shocking ressurection would be coming to an end but he's still holding the top spot over some very stiff competition. Ichiro's contract year goodness continues as he's seemingly on his way the best year of Major League career and if the Mariners continue to not suck a second writer's MVP could very well be in his future along with a $20 million/year contract. Alex Rodriguez continues to hold strong even if the Yankees are holding him back. 10. Orlando Cabrera, Angels .334/.372/.446, 51 RC, 120 OPS+, .285 EQA, 28.6 VORP, 16 Win Shares 9. Derek Jeter, Yankees .343/.418/.483, 66 RC, 143 OPS+, .300 EQA, 32.5 VORP, 14.8 Win Shares 8. David Ortiz, Red Sox .319/.433/.573, 59 RC, 162 OPS+, .322 EQA, 35.0 VORP, 13.5 Win Shares 7. Grady Sizemore, Indians .281/.395/.471, 63 RC, 131 OPS+, .302 EQA, 33.6 VORP, 16 Win Shares 6. Victor Martinez, Indians .318/.379/.536, 60 RC, 142 OPS+, .304 EQA, 31.9 VORP, 16.7 Win Shares 5. Dan Haren, A's 224 ERA+, 3.21 K/BB, 0.94 WHIP, 44.6 VORP, 13.9 Win Shares 4. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels .330/.424/.565, 67 RC, 165 OPS+, .325 EQA, 39.2 VORP, 18.6 Win Shares 3. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees .331/.429/.694, 79 RC, 198 OPS+, .350 EQA, 54.9 VORP, 17.4 Win Shares 2. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners .364/.419/.466, 72 RC, 141 OPS+, .316 EQA, 42.9 VORP, 20.2 Win Shares 1. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers .377/.453/.634, 80 RC, 185 OPS+, .352 EQA, 52.8 VORP, 19.2 Win Shares

Mark Cuban is suing Don Nelson for knowing too much about the Mavericks. No, really.

The Stephen A Smith hecklers were back Sadly no footage this year of him eating cheese doodles.

NOT VAL VENIS!

He wasn't that good a wrestler Who? Chris or Christ? Are you trying to say Jesus Christ couldn't hit a chinlock? Jesus never tapped out to the crossface. Nancy on the other hand...

and on the fourth day, he rested Slayer wins.

Dammmmmn watching the tribute show on the west coast now is just incredibly creepy after the leak about the murder/suicide especially with the comments about how much he loved his kid. Hey I wonder what Kevin Sullivan is thinking right now...

ESPN & FOX Games to Poison Our Youth MONDAY Red Sox (Curt Schilling) at Braves (Chuck James), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY Red Sox (Julian Tavarez) at Braves (Buddy Carlyle), 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN SATURDAY Tigers at Braves, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Astros at Rangers, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Yankees at Giants, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX SUNDAY Tigers at Braves, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN

The NBA Draft is this week so time for a NBA Draftback. Now I've done this twice before for past NBA Drafts (1989 and 1993) but I do them differently from the NFL and MLB ones as I rank the players from the draft by their career totals in the basketball version of Win Shares. As always I have no idea how reliable the basketball version is but it is interesting way to compare the careers of players from an individual draft class. Like when I chose the 1987 MLB Draft this year I picked the 1992 NBA Draft because most of these players careers are over or winding down. Also like the 1987 MLB Draft this draft featured one of the most hyped #1 picks ever and like Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987, Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 would go on to become an all-time great in his sport. Hey it also featured Baby Jordan! 1992 NBA Draft per Career Win Shares 1. Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando - 501 Win Shares (1st pick) 2. Alonzo Mourning, Charlotte - 262 (2nd) 3. P.J. Brown, New Jersey - 243 (29th) 4. Robert Horry, Houston - 199 (11th) 5. Christian Laettner, Minnesota - 176 (3rd) 6t. Doug Christie, Seattle - 167 (17th) 6t. Latrell Sprewell, Golden State - 167 (24th) 8. Clarence Weatherspoon, Philadelphia - 163 (9th) 9. Tom Gugliotta, Washington - 128 (6th) 10. Jim Jackson, Dallas - 112 (4th) 11. Jon Barry, Boston - 110 (21st) 12. Walt Williams, Sacramento - 97 (7th) 13. Anthony Peeler, L.A. Lakers - 94 (15th) 14. LaPhonso Ellis, Denver - 90 (5th) 15. Matt Geiger, Miami - 83 (42nd) 16. Bryant Stith, Denver - 79 (13th) 17. Hubert Davis, New York - 76 (20th) 18. Adam Keefe, Atlanta - 75 (10th) 19t. Tracy Murray, San Antonio - 66 (18th) 19t. Oliver Miller, Phoenix - 66 (22nd) 21. Popeye Jones, Houston - 57 (41st) 22. Malik Sealy, Indiana - 50 (14th) 23. Todd Day, Milwaukee - 48 (8th) 24. Sean Rooks, Dallas - 46 (30th) 25. Brent Price, Washington - 35 (32nd) 26. Don MacLean, Detroit - 27 (19th) 27. Lee Mayberry, Milwaukee - 21 (23rd) 28. Harold Miner, Miami - 13 (12th) 29. Sasha Donilovic, Golden State - 12 (43rd) 30. Byron Houston, Chicago - 11 (30th) 31t. Elmore Spencer, L.A. Clippers - 7 (25th) 31t. Chris Smith, Minnesota - 7 (34th) 33. Marlon Maxey, Minnesota - 6 (28th) 34. Tony Bennett, Charlotte - 5 (35th) 35. Litterial Green, Chicago - 4 (39th) 36t. Randy Woods, L.A. Clippers - 3 (16th) 36t. Chris King, Seattle - 3 (45th) 38t. Reggie Smith, Portland - 2 (31st) 38t. Robert Werdann, Denver - 2 (46th) 38t. Matt Fish, Golden State - 2 (50th) 41t. Dave Johnson, Portland - 1 (26th) 41t. Corey Williams, Chicago - 1 (33rd) 41t. Duane Cooper, L.A. Lakers - 1 (36th) 41t. Darren Morningstar, Boston - 1 (47th) 41t. Brian Davis, Phoenix - 1 (48th) The Zero Club Isiah Morris, Miami (37th) Elmer Bennett, Atlanta (38th) Matt Steigenga, Chicago (52nd) Never Played in the NBA Steve Rogers, New Jersey (40th) Henry Williams, San Antonio (44th) Ron Ellis, Phoenix (49th) Tim Burroughs, Minnesota (51st) Curtis Blair, Houston (53rd) Brett Roberts, Sacramento (54th) Most Win Shares with the Team they were Drafted by 1. Shaquille O'Neal, 142 2. Latrell Sprewell, 81 3. Alonzo Mourning, 73 4. Clarence Weatherspoon, 72 5. Byrant Stith, 64 6. Robert Horry, 59 7. LaPhonso Ellis, 57 8. Christian Laettner, 48 9. Hubert Davis, 46 10. Jim Jackson, 38

And now the trade is off. The guy whines about not being activated from the DL a day earlier and then comes up with another injury in his first game back. So that ends any chance the A's can trade him and now they'll have to eat his salary. Wonderful. In other news the A's are apparently interested in Ol' Dirty Dukes. This has been quite a miserable 48 hours as an A's fan.