Cheech Tremendous

Supposedly it's true. SOSH crashed right after the announcement, so I don't have any other info yet. EDIT: It's not confirmed. Rumored deal is Manny Delcarmen, Craig Breslow, PTBNL and cash for Gagne.

The Lakers won three straight titles with two superstars and 10 scrubs. Phoenix has been a great team with no bench to speak of. I think Boston will be okay.

Former San Francisco head coach Bill Walsh died this morning. Don't have a link yet.

And they won't. Shira Springer is already backtracking on the earlier article. Jefferson is absolutely in the mix. And Boon, did I notice that you post over at SOSH, too?

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/ce...s/celtics_blog/ The Boston Globe must be misinformed. There is no way this is true. EDIT: Story is false. Springer was mistaken.

Pacman coming to the ring to Fat Joe's "Make It Rain" with a 12-man entourage following him would make me mark out like crazy. I miss the over the top ridiculousness in wrestling.

It was the plan long before Shawn vacated the title. At some point between Survivor Series and February's In Your House (Final Four), Vince made the decision to go with Sid vs. Taker at Mania XIII. Shawn was going to drop the belt to Sid at the Thursday Raw and then do the job to Bret in the semi main event at Mania. Shawn saw two big jobs in his immediate future and immediately "lost his smile."

Accordig to a few sources, Atlanta thinks they can re-sign him. I know that sounds unfathomable given his agent, but he went to college in the area and is not opposed to staying there long-term.

He apparently changed that stance after they acquired Ray Allen. I've read that he is willing to sign an extension if he is dealt to Boston. They really aren't giving up that much. Al Jefferson is a great player with huge upside, but he's not Kevin Garnett. He may be at that level some day but Boston has to go for it now with the team they've assembled. The rest of the pieces are just filler anyways. No one seemed that interested in the Ratliff contract. If things go to hell those contracts all expire in the next few years. They'll just be back to where they were today. I don't really see any downside from Boston's perspective.

Mutiple sources are now saying that Jermaine Dye to the Red Sox is imminent. Chicago will receive Wily Mo Pena and a pitching prospect (believed to be Justin Masterson or Manny Delcarmen). I'll give my comments on the deal if and when it becomes official.

I believe the Garnett deal is done in principle, but they are ironing out whether the last piece will be Gomes or a first round pick. An extension for Garnett is probably in the works as well. Foxsports is saying that there could be an official announcement as early as today. Love this move for the Celtics. They've totally mortgaged the future but they now have a legit shot in the next year or two of competing for a title. They have no bench to speak of, but with three All-Stars on the team it might not matter.

This is actually a great move for TNA. It's the biggest "name" they've signed yet. The guy is going to be a total heat magnet. Pacman's act may be too much for the NFL to handle, but he's practically tailor made for a wrestling role. It might not be the best time to bring him in, but for TNA any publicity is probably good publicity at this point.

Ken Rosenthal says it's done, pending review of medical records. Rangers will receive C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus, SP Matt Harrison (maybe) and another prospect. Nice haul for 1.5 years of Tex. EDIT: Atlanta is getting reliever Ron Mahay in the deal as well.

It freaks me out that VX has descended into my backyard and started frequenting some of my local hangouts.

Career OPS+ of 117. This year and 2004 were the only times that he wasn't really good.

Yes.

I'm boycotting this thread out of principle.

So, will someone (viva, maybe?) explain to me what's going on down in Houston? They trade one of the best set-up guys available in a market that's crazy for relief pitching for a 3B so that they can DFA the incumbent who's a much better player? And they did all of this when they are 10+ games out of the playoff picture?

There are some people who think that Joba has more of a future as a relief ace than a frontline starter because he hasn't developed a third pitch. Regardless, he's going to play a role in the pennant race down the stretch. The Yanks did an excellent job scouting him and his "injury/fat" concerns.

I wonder if Mr. Ensberg likes Boston. I bet there's a 50% chance he's sitting on our bench next week. Wonder if he can play right field... No, but he's an upgrade over Eric Hinske as a bench bat and provides us with insurance for 3B next year if we aren't able to sign A-Rod or find a suitable corner infielder through a trade or free agency. I don't think there's much risk in taking a chance on him. He's one year removed from a 118 OPS+ (and that was considered a down year for him). As far as RF goes, I think the Dye rumors are crazy (Olney says they wanted Okajima... that's insanity). I'd try to swing a deal for Bobby Kielty (who's already been DFA) and use him against lefties. Drew has stuggled but it's not like he's been so bad that we need a wholesale upgrade.

I wonder if Mr. Ensberg likes Boston. I bet there's a 50% chance he's sitting on our bench next week.

Randy Johnson to have season ending back surgery

I haven't seen it since it originally aired, but I remember the crowd being shocked/silent most of the night.

Very few in TNA want to go to WWE. I don't think there's anybody in ROH today who wants to go to WWE. WWE has problems that they need to fix in order make life better for their workers, but they're not the only ones. They are not the only environment that can lead wrestlers down the path of drug use. Way to miss the point. Of course drug abuse will never go away. It's a problem that permeates society and culture and extends far beyond what we are talking about here. What we are discussing is the rabid steroid/PED abuse that is plaguing the industry and leading to an alarming amount of deaths. WWE is wrestling. It is the industry. TNA, ROH and the rest of the indies are not even blips on the radar screen. America's wrestling product is WWE and it has to be cleaned up. Everyone single wrestler in the US has the goal to make it to the WWE and the easiest way to do that is to get big. Clean up WWE and the industry's clean. Simple as that.

If true, we are getting closer and closer to realizing that Family Guy bit.