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The Daily Digest for Tuesday, February 26, 2008 |
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February 26, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
 So long, Sam? |
= To Our Readers =
We signed an agreement last August to place a daily audio show on a new Internet site to be called TheGoodSportsNetwork.tv. It was supposed to launch September 4, then September 24, but the site is still not live. Maybe some day it will launch, but we’re not optimistic.
We are delighted to say that our readership has never been stronger and our Web statistics program shows that TheSportsExaminer.com had more than 1,000,000 page views in December. Since you seem to like what we’re doing, we’ll continue for now, posting a weekday note and sending out the Tip Sheet to keep you informed. Thanks so much for your support.
= Tonight’s Menu =
>> The 29-27 Portland TrailBlazers, who got off to a slow start, then win 13 in a row and have now lost seven of their last eight, play the 39-17 Lakers at Staples Center tonight. Brandon Roy is out indefinitely with an ankle injury for Portland while Vladimir Radmanovic is questionable for the Lakers. It’s the first meeting of the year for these two teams, who will see each other three more times in the next 25 games. The Lakers have won eight in a row overall, so they’re a 15 1/2-point choice tonight. With an over-under of 201, the projected final is Los Angeles 108, Portland 93.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin: See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
>> Laker Lines: A quick trade update: Kwame Brown is averaging 2.3 points and 3.7 rebounds a game for Memphis and shooting 35.7% from the field. Pau Gasol is averaging 22.0 points and 7.1 rebounds a game for the Lakers and is shooting 63.2% from the field. Now you know.
>> The Clip Joint: The Boston Globe now has the Clippers on its watch list, at least to see the club will allow Sam Cassell to go elsewhere. “According to a Clippers source, the team will announce today that it is buying out the contract of the 38-year-old guard,” reads today’s story from reporter Peter May.
“NBA sources indicated that the Celtics, Mavericks and Nuggets all are expected to make Cassell an offer once he clears waivers in 48 hours. All three teams have their biannual exceptions available to give to Cassell (a maximum of $1.83 million) while the Mavs have their full mid-level available ($5.356 million) and Denver has $2.356 of its mid-level. The Celtics have spent all of their mid-level.”
= Panorama =
>> College Gridiron: Hawaii awarded new football coach Greg McMackin a five-year contract with a base salary of $1.1 million and incentives for WAC titles and bowl appearances. That’s a considerable increase from the $800,000 that was paid to June Jones last season.
Not retaining Jones was one of the reason that Herman Frazier was released by the school as athletic director. The Honolulu Advertiser reported today that a clause in the “separation agreement” between the university and Frazier prohibits the former A.D. and “current and future administrators, regents and officers” from making “disparaging or negative comments” about each other. The newspaper reported that Frazier has been house-hunting in Arizona; Frazier was an Olympic gold medalist while at Arizona State and had a long tenure there as an assistant and associate athletic director.
>> NFL Ticker: If you think there are no new ways to rip the Raiders, you should read Ann Killion’s column in the San Jose Mercury News today. Among the highlights:
“Lane Kiffin was in Indianapolis, theoretically still the Raiders coach. Though he kept a low profile, he was spotted a few times, notably not wearing Raiders gear. One writer saw him out at a local nightspot dancing.
“Was Kiffin dancing on his own grave? Speculation continues to rage that Kiffin’s time with the Raiders might best be measured in mere weeks. Al Davis always likes to test the NFL’s limits: so can he field a team without a head coach?”
“The perception used to be that the Raiders were renegades. Cool. That they had a different way of doing things that worked.
“Now the perception is that the Raiders are a mess. Incompetent. That their different way of doing things doesn’t work. Randy Moss is Exhibit A, but almost ever ex-Raider from recent years can attest to the sad state of the organization.”
“Give Davis credit, though. He’s still an innovator. Sadly, his specialty is devising new ways to wreck his own organization.”
>> College Hoopla: The award for best analysis by a person who is not an accountant of the Indiana-Kelvin Sampson situation has to go to ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski for recognizing just how good a deal Indiana made with its ex-coach:
So all of a sudden, Indiana’s $750,000 deal looks like a bargain. The school cut its losses and, in a way, came out ahead.
Remember, IU denied Sampson a $500,000 raise this past October as punishment for making impermissible recruiting phone calls. And a donor came up with $550,000 of the $750,000 take-a-hike money given to Sampson on Friday. Deduct the athletic department’s $200,000 portion of the payoff, and IU still is $850K on the plus side. Had Sampson sued (and he likely would have), IU’s legal fees easily could have run abother $250,000 to $500,000. So, conservatively speaking, Indiana saved itself at least $1.1 million, probably more.
And the Hoosiers got rid of Sampson. A weird win-win.
Wojciechowski thinks Indiana should put itself on a post-season ban and skip the NCAA Tournament, hoping this will influence the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in its hearings later this year about penalties. That’s not likely to happen, but the question will be raised why Indiana hired someone with Sampson’s past. As the columnist noted, “He cut so many corners his scissors should be in the Basketball Hall of Fame.”
>> NBA Ow Report: Houston center Yao Ming is out of the rest of the regular season and the playoffs because of a stress fracture in his left foot. The Rockets have won 12 straight games to move into a seventh playoff spot in the tough Western Conference.
But the real pressure on Yao will not come from the Rockets. It will come from the Chinese basketball association, which is counting on Yao as the centerpiece of its team that will play in the Olympic Games in August. Early indications gave no word on when Yao might be able to play again; the Opening Ceremony is August 8.
>> NBA Hoopla: The newest marketing twist for the NBA is advertising shown on the glass backboards.
The Sports Business Journal noted that a demonstration of a rear-projection system created by Spalding was given at the recent NBA Jam Session exhibition in New Orleans.
According to the story, “Initial plans have the system being tested in the NBA Development League next year. The screens would be used before games and during timeouts, and likely be given to teams to sell as incremental ad inventory. During games, they could be used for enhancements, like showing the last ticks of an expiring 24-second clock or quarter. When not in use, the technology is invisible to players.”
>> Kicker: Tales of soccer passion in Europe are as common as rain in London, but the death threats came out after Birmingham defender Martin Taylor’s tackle in the third minute of Sunday’s match against Arsenal left star attacker Eduardo with a broken leg.
Taylor was sent off with a red card and will have to sit out three matches. Eduardo, who plays internationally for Croatia, will not be able to play in the 2008 European Championships, bringing 27,000 messages to a special web site set up after the incident.
But Eduardo told The Sun on Tuesday, “I forgive Martin. It hurt like hell but I'm fine now. I know he did not do it on purpose.”
But two Croatian journalists had to be restrained by security personnel as they tried to get into Taylor’s car as he left the Birmingham training complex.
Eduardo had surgery and is expected to make a full recovery in about nine months.
~ Rich Perelman
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