Manager Kash Beauchamp lost his cool the other night during a minor league baseball game.

Publicist Kim Etheredge said Terrell Owens had 25 million reasons to stay alive, well I think Alex Rodriguez has 20 million reasons to participate in the Homerun Derby. The choice of certain star athletes to miss events of this magnitude is the root of the problem with lack of connection between fan and player nowadays. When I noticed the article on ESPN this morning that A-Rod wants to skip the Homerun Derby I wanted to toss my laptop off of my balcony in hopes that it would fly into downtown Manhattan and hit Mr. Rodriguez in his oversized ego-filled noggin.

"I try to stay away from that," Rodriguez said, according to the New York Daily News. "My responsibility is to the New York Yankees. I need my swing to be at its best."

There are two things that really bother me with his quotes. Try to stay away from that? He's been in the derby 3 times in his career. Why not enter the contest that's hosted by your hometown in such a ceremonial setting like the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium? His responsibility is to the New York Yankees, while I do understand that, but shouldn't some responsibilities be owed to the thousands of his fans both men and children who would remember this for the rest of their lives? Not to mention that these are the same fans that pay his salary by buying mass amounts of his memorabilia, scores of tickets, and surrender many a good night sleep by staying awake until 1am to watch him take his swings during games on the west coast. I felt the same way last year when Barry Bonds wouldn't enter in his final All Star appearance in San Francisco too. This is what I mean by loss of connection with today's fan and major leaguers.

The same thing upsets me every year in the NBA Dunk contest when LeBron, Kobe, or even Vince Carter don't participate for the fans. At least Kobe and Carter have performed in it before. Their excuse in the NBA is that it hurts their legs, baseball players will "mess with their swings". I'm not sure how hitting batting practice fastballs, something most pros do over 300 days a year, will mess with their timing.

It's real simple A-Rod. Enter the contest, finish 6th like you always do, have some fun, and get your lousy standing ovation. What's so hard about that for the pre-madonna athlete to understand? Doesn't anyone remember that the All Star festivities are all for the fans???

Although I'm probably way off, who really knows until we watch it all unfold. I'm sure trades will throw all of my selections into the trash bin like a Lakers 2008 NBA Champions T-shirt.

Courtesy of Perez Hilton

www.perezhilton.com

Trouble runs in the family!

The little brother of dog abuser Michael Vick, Marcus, was arrested early this morning in Norfolk, Virginia and charged with DUI.

It gets better!

Marcus, a former football star, could have avoided any troubles had he not been such an idiot.

According to the police report, a uniformed bicycle patrol officer saw Vick and a female passenger sitting in his car having an apparent altercation. When the officer approached and asked Vick for his license, Vick fled the scene at a high rate of speed.

A description of the vehicle was broadcast, and Vick was pulled over a few minutes later.

Idiot!

Perhaps Marcus was afraid of the cops cuz he's got a bit of a history with them?

He's been arrested numerous times and also has various traffic violations.

Get your act together, you're a grown ass man!

The odd but amazing occurrence of the Philadelphia 76ers playing in the 2008 Playoffs managed to make the NBA Draft lottery a pretty stale story throughout the city this week. If you did happen to catch it you would have noticed that the Chicago Bulls "lucked" away the number one pick from the Miami Heat. So just who will be available to the 76ers at number 16? History reminds us that your destined to draft a Rodney Carney, a Jiri Welsch, or a Nick Young type player. It also tells us you could find a Hidayet Turkoglu or a Ron Artest there too. However, I'm beginning my push for who I feel is the player most apt to helping the Sixers advance further in next years post season.

So now I'll officially start the "let's make a move to get Kevin Love" bandwagon. Is $11M in cap room and the 16th pick enough to swing a deal to move up? It's the perception among NBA fans throughout the country that power forward is a glaring need for them to address with their pick. Love produced as a freshman with UCLA last year by using his soft jumper, exceptional passing eye, and big body for rebounding. All of which would work in the league, but mostly it's his outlet pass that makes him the right selection for the new "Running Sixers" of Philadelphia. Love would play a perfect sidekick to for a weaker center hero like Samuel Dalembert on the glass, then begin the break with his signature sling to the sideline.

Sure they could use a back up point guard if Lou Williams is really a two. Sure Kansas tower Darnell Arthur would help them with size up front. Sure Joe Alexander proved to be a big game player during West Virginia's run through the NCAA Tournament. But Kevin Love is just what a team needs while playing in the East against Rasheed Wallace, KG, and rising stars Al Horford and Chris Bosh. He's tough, he's young, and has risen his level of play at each stop along his career so far. I only hope that David Stern won't make a call to keep him out West where he was born. So take at least a peek at this opinion Mr. Stefanski, and remember to check the archives of Yardbarker to see that I was writing to Billy King during this same time last year about doing what it takes to get Horford. But if you're planning on signing Elton Brand during free agency then forget this whole idea....

Just thought I'd give myself a pat on the back after my big win yesterday.....it's always nice to beat the comish in the finals!

Thanks for putting it together ted31. It was a great league where everyone stayed with it all year long. I had a lot of fun. Looking forward to next year.

I'm pretty sure no one will take the time to read my selections, however I just wanted to have them documented for future arguments with my cronies.

Here we go....

NL East

1. xMets 93-69

2. Phillies 88-74

3. Nationals 85-77

4. Braves 82-80

5. Marlins 61-101

NL Central

1. xBrewers 89-72

2. Cubs 86-76

3. Reds 81-81

4. Astros 74-88

5. Cardinals 68-94

6. Pirates 66-96

NL West

1. xDiamonbacks 92-70

2. yRockies 90-72

3. Padres 82-80

4. Giants 72-90

5. Dodgers 71-91

NL Wild card winner Rockies

AL East

1. xRed Sox 95-67

2. Yankees 89-73

3. Blue Jays 76-86

4. Rays 71-91

5. Orioles 60-102

AL Central

1. xIndians 92-70

2. yTigers 90-72

3. Twins 81-81

4. White Sox 74-88

5. Royals 70-92

AL West

1. xMariners 89-73

2. Angels 86-76

3. A's 73-89

4. Rangers 61-101

AL Wild Card winner Tigers

2008 PLAYOFFS

NLDS

Mets over Rockies

Diamondbacks over Brewers

ALDS

Red Sox over Tigers

Indians over Mariners

NLCS Diamondbacks over Mets

ALCS Indians over Red Sox

World Series Indians over Diamondbacks

NL MVP- David Wright, NYM

AL MVP- Alex Rodriguez, NYY

NL CY- Chris Young, SD

AL CY- Fausto Carmona, CLE

NL ROY - Kosuke Fukudome, CHC

AL ROY- Evan Longoria, TB

NL MGR- Ned Yost, MIL

AL MGR- John McLaren, SEA

I'm pretty sure no one will take the time to read my selections, however I just wanted to have them documented for future arguments with my cronies.

Here we go....

NL East

1. xMets 93-69

2. Phillies 88-74

3. Nationals 85-77

4. Braves 82-80

5. Marlins 61-101

NL Central

1. xBrewers 89-72

2. Cubs 86-76

3. Reds 81-81

4. Astros 74-88

5. Cardinals 68-94

6. Pirates 66-96

NL West

1. xDiamonbacks 92-70

2. yRockies 90-72

3. Giants 72-90

4. Dodgers 71-91

NL Wild card winner Rockies

AL East

1. xRed Sox 95-67

2. Yankees 89-73

3. Blue Jays 76-86

4. Rays 71-91

5. Orioles 60-102

AL Central

1. xIndians 92-70

2. yTigers 90-72

3. Twins 81-81

4. White Sox 74-88

5. Royals 70-92

AL West

1. xMariners 89-73

2. Angels 86-76

3. A's 73-89

4. Rangers 61-101

AL Wild Card winner Tigers

2008 PLAYOFFS

NLDS

Mets over Rockies

Diamondbacks over Brewers

ALDS

Red Sox over Tigers

Indians over Mariners

NLCS Diamondbacks over Mets

ALCS Indians over Red Sox

World Series Indians over Diamondbacks

NL MVP- David Wright, NYM

AL MVP- Alex Rodriguez, NYY

NL CY- Chris Young, SD

AL CY- Fausto Carmona, CLE

NL ROY - Kosuke Fukudome, CHC

AL ROY- Evan Longoria, TB

NL MGR- Ned Yost, MIL

AL MGR- John McLaren, SEA

The saying often spoken every spring by players when things are going bad is "It's early and really I'm just beginning my preparation for the regular season". While most would agree that this is common for ball players to utter to the media in early March; at some point struggling spring numbers must start to reflect actual performance shouldn't it? So is the team casually avoiding the talk of their lousy play on purpose or simply ignoring the elephant in the room?

The fact of the matter is that most of the Philadelphia Phillies on this year's roster have never defended a division title before, and haven't ever had to deal with being the team to beat. So after watching another Phils starting pitcher get pounded this spring it provided me with some reason for concern, because as we all know, the Phillies have definitely not been able to get off to great starts in April. Even without the added pressure.



Opening Day starter turned closer turned starter again Brett Myers is the only rotation guy that has looked sharp this spring. There is much discussion on whether he is the teams number one or number two on the local airwaves, but so far he really is the real clear-cut ace at this point.



Cole Hamels is the team's future ace that has shown the organization in a year and half that he has the potential to become one of the best Phillies left-handers since Steve Carlton. However lately he's become more involved in media scrutiny over his contract renewal and has shown more of his Steve Carltonish personality than his stuff. Hamels ERA this spring is 12.60. Even Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz has come out and said that Hamels should worry more about opposing batters than opposing Phillies management. Smoltz mentioned how worrying about off the field contract issues had ruined the first half of his season one year. A warning Cole should take seriously.

2008's number three starter is 2007's surprise rookie Bruce Ruffin, er...I mean Kyle Kendrick. The 23-year-old right hander had a wonderfully timed coming of age last summer and showed guts enough to start for the team in the post season. So far in his first ever spring training he's been knocked around with the likes of a 16.43 ERA. It's often said that once the book gets out on a pitcher that that's when you see what the pitcher really is made of. Grapefruit League teams certainly aren't having trouble reading his book or seeing his pitches to this point.



21-year veteran Jamie Moyer will man the number four spot in the rotation. His spring has gone well so far, but when your velocity is in the 70's during the regular season I guess it doesn't take long to get to your peak. He's the older wiser leader of the staff and is also the pitcher who gives me the largest ulcer when worrying about what could go wrong when all of a sudden age creeps up on a pitcher. Will there be a point this year when Moyer goes on the 60 Day DL or starts to get hit like Rocky Balboa in the early rounds of a title fight?

The fifth or should I say highest salaried pitcher not mentioned yet is former Phillies number one draft selection Adam Eaton. When it comes to players not finding they're groove in March it doesn't apply to Eaton. He's getting hitters out with the same regularity he failed to retire them last summer. The 8 million dollar pitcher is now claiming his back might be to blame for his 15.75 spring ERA rather than last year when it was his shoulder that was to blame for his 6.29 regular season ERA.

I wouldn't be as worried about things such as over-confidence, or the results of the spring outings I've witnessed if the young prospects in the organization without books on them happened to be fooling hitters. I've written before that management should start one of their four young starters Carlos Carrasco, Josh Outman, J.A. Happ, or Joe Savery to the wolves instead running Eaton or market bargain injured free agent Kris Benson out to the Citizen's Ball Park mound in April. Unfortunately, neither of them has shown an ability to put together consistency to this point except Happ (2.25 ERA). Carrasco's ERA is 9.53, Outman's 9.45, and Savery's is a lofty 10.80.

Thankfully the New York Mets have been getting injured at the pace of front row soldiers in a storming of the castle and that the majority of the Florida Marlins are younger now than Jamie Moyer's grandchildren. The Washington Nationals will be playing in front of sold-out crowds this year in a brand new stadium, and if they can get some quality starts from their pitching have a powerful young lineup that will and has always given the Phillies fits. However the team we as Philadelphia fans should worry about most this year are the Atlanta Braves, they are only one measly year removed from 14 straight seasons of being in the same font running spot as the Phillies are this year.

Just what is it with all of the young budding superstars in the Major Leagues right now? It seems like I can't get through my morning coffee lately without reading about another player in his low twenties complaining about his current team not offering him a long term deal before they must.

It started with Ryan Howard (who actually has the best case out of all of them for a long term deal), now I'm seeing Cole Hamels and his $500,000 one year contract spew remarks of starting to hold a grudge against Phillies management. Hamels hasn't even played a full MLB season yet without staying healthy. But, it's not just limited to the young twenty-somethings in the "City of Brotherly Love".



Prince Fielder can't even feed his new found vegetarian belly on a measly $670,000 a year. Fielder and his new $670,000 is now feeling "disrespected", which is the stupid catch phrase for athletes now everytime some free agent with worse statistics gets more money than they do. Even though that certain free agent may have 7 to 9 more years of major league experience compared to their 2-3.

I'm so sick and tired of hearing players say that they feel disrespected, in fact I'm sick of everyday people in general saying that stupid phrase. Musicians, Athletes, Parents, Teenagers, will this phrase ever disappear? How about earning the respect from people by being a good person and obtaining it that way? The only person crying about respect to the public should be Aretha Franklin.



Someone please tell these young players that this is how it works in the Major Leagues. Just what would Jackie Robinson say to the "hardships" that these three young players are facing?

This just in, the Philadelphia Eagles have signed the top defensive Free Agent of 2008! Oh wait, they signed a cornerback? Didn't we have already have two starting cornerbacks under contract (although Lito Sheppard may have held out for more money)? After watching the 2007-08 Eagles play, did anyone walk away from that 8-8 season saying to themselves that this team really needed to go out and sign a starting defensive back that wasn't a Strong Safety?



Let me preface this article by saying that I fully believe that Asante Samuel is a great cover corner. However, why did frugal birds management spend close to $50M on a position they already have filled? Let's examine just what the Eagles are getting for their efforts and dollars.

By comparison Lito Sheppard has played 6 years (77 games and one Superbowl), Samuel 5 years (75 games and three Superbowls).

Sheppard 205 tackles, Samuel 208.

Sheppard 2 sacks, Samuel 0.

Sheppard 17 INTs, Samuel 22 (credit two to A.J. Feely last year).

Sheppard 3 TDs, Samuel 3.

Sheppard 2 Probowls, Samuel 1.

Sheppard 0 rings, Samuel 2 (credit Adam Vinatieri and Tom Brady for that stat).

So that means for an extra 3 contract years and umpteen millions the Eagles have added, 3 tackles, 5 ints, 2 rings, and lost 2 sacks, and 1 extra probowl. By simple breakdown of course.



As an Eagle in case some excited fans have forgotten,

Lito is the only player in NFL history with two 100-yd. INT returns for TDs. They are the two longest INT returns in Eagles history (102T vs. Dal. 10/8/06, QB Drew Bledsoe; 101T at Dal. 11/15/04, QB Vinny Testaverde)

and Of Sheppard's 17 career INTS…

3 have ended the game

4 have come in the 4th quarter of a ""close game""

8 have resulted in TDs (3 returns)

8 have come in the 4th quarter (4 in the final 2 minutes)

10 have come in ""close games"" (+/- 7 points)

9 have come inside the Eagles 10-yardline (4 in the endzone)

12 have come while the Eagles are leading

The real difference between the two players is that Samuel has never missed a game and Lito obviously tends to miss many more.



In my personal opinion, the money spent on Samuel could have been better used for positions that actually were a need for this team (like DE, SS, WR, and KR/PR). But it is only two days into free agency and more than a month away from the draft, so the verdict is still out on this off season.

I'm one of those guys who actually enjoys editing rosters and players more than playing the games. Well I love playing the games too, but doing the editing for sports games is my real passion. I update "NBA 2K8" daily for both my 76ers season and in my game's main rosters. Wristbands, Sneakers, Jersey Numbers, attributes, and even tendencies, whatever is needed. The same goes for MLB The Show, I edit Batting Stances, Pitching Styles, along with all the Jersey Numbers and gear. I'm guessing many people do this to their games, but I pride myself in keeping them updated and extremely accurate.

I've been working on my 2008 roster updates for "MLB 07: The Show" for the last week, just so I can play Spring Training games with all the team's real March rosters. Sounds dumb right? I know that I'm wasting my time since there's only 5 days remaining until MLB 08' arrives on store shelves, but I just can't help myself.

I haven't ever played my PS3 online even though I have an account (It's WPSN), and it sounds like a whole lot of fun. I'm not even sure if you can upload your edited rosters to other users online.

I've been an avid Sports Gamer and editor since 1987. You see, it all started with the Commodore 64 and "World Series Baseball". I created the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals roster because of my childhood hero and favorite baseball player Vince Coleman. I actually used a real baseball scorebook to keep track of all of my players stats and made the league leaders and team leader printouts for my own use (I printed them out onto the old green and white stripped printer paper with the holes on the sides for the printer wheels). My hobby then branched out to the NFL and "Superbowl Sunday", another Commodore 64 classic. Both of those games had limited choices for teams and stats. I can remember the first day that I played a season with the San Diego Chargers on "TecmoBowl" and how I jumped around the room excitedly screaming that it kept stats for your season and the rest of the league!

So as you can see I'm your typical sports dork who losses himself in the world of video gaming daily.

First of all there is a conspiracy in the NBA as David Stern was pushing Dwight Howard as the replacement for the already taken Superman nickname, which has belonged to Shaq for 15 years now. Anyone remember "Superman Emblem"? Shaq has it tattooed on his left bicep. Stern's jump for joy reaction to Dwight Howard's dunk seemed a bit pre-planned. Don't get me wrong, I have been a huge fan of Howard since he entered the NBA. He just needs to show respect to Shaq or pick a different Super hero to use as his creedo. By the way I've yet to see an interview from Shaq about this. Can you ever remember an All Star weekend going by without interviews and videos from Shaq? That's where my conspiracy theory comes into play.

Part to of my notes from the Superman Dunk is the interview by Cheryl Miller with Howard and Gerald Green as they were waiting for the text messaging votes to be counted. Howard credited Soulja Boy's dance hit "Crank Dat" and it's "Superman dat ho" dance that stemmed from it as his inspiration. Now what if all the suits in the NBA and David Stern really knew what that song was all about? He would go from All Star night hero to the Michael Vick or Don Imus status in the NBA for disrespecting women.

The Urban Dictionary's website defines the term as the following: "when you ejaculate on a girls back then put a blanket on her so when she stands up the blanket sticks therefore making her look like she has a cape."

Good thing David Stern didn't know that, and it's a bad thing that Shaq wasn't involved in the festivities this weekend. I really missed him.

Here's something I don't understand about the Phillies organization. Why must I keep reading all the current rumors about the signing of starter Kris Benson when we have young starters Scott Mathieson(24), J.A. Happ(25), Josh Outman(23), Carlos Carasco(21), and Joe Savery(22) waiting to find a spot in the rotation? According to talent evaluators none of the five pitchers I just mentioned are ready. But if I'm not mistaken, the Diamondbacks and Rockies staffs were too young last year also. Both of those teams went farther into the playoffs than the Phillies. I know what your going to say next, that the D-Backs and Rockies young starters were also higher rated prospects than the Phillies I had mentioned. Prospect is such a vague label, many a top draft selection never makes it to the majors. I say lets get these guys some innings under their belt rather than waste our time and money on Benson, Adam Eaton, Chad Durbin (who I like as a long reliever), J.D. Durbin, and perhaps Kyle Lohse (who pitched well in September). I know the money has already been spent on Eaton and Durbin, but taking a look at the young starters isn't going to hurt you in April. We definitely can't start off any worse than the last few seasons. Savery seems to have the make up and toughness of a winner, Happ's only start was against the Mets (it wasn't much worse than most of Eaton's 2007 starts), Outman brings superb control, and Carasco's our top "prospect". Why not see which of these players is ready for at least Eaton's spot? Oh yeah.....money. This line up is going to score a lot of runs to make up for young pitchers mistakes.

I don't think that anyone in this same organization felt that Kyle Kendrick(23) was going to go 10-4 with a 3.73 ERA in the toughest part of a season, the second half, last year when spring training began. Why can't it someone else this year? What if kendrick takes a step back, will we then see both Eaton and Benson in the rotation? I'm not so sure that's a playoff rotation. Sometimes the unknown is better than the reality. Either way I'm going to spend my hard earned dollars down at Citizens Bank Park this year, can I at least see what the future holds instead of the often injured journeymen they want to trot out onto the mound.

As you might have already heard, the Phoenix Suns are rumored to have traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for a little known center named Shaquille O'Neal. However Rickey Davis, the starting small forward for the Heat, is already wearing number 31. Also Heat guard Chris Quinn is wearing Marion's Team USA number 11. Marion hasn't worn any other numbers in his career (he wore 31 at UNLV too).

So I'm curious to see what number he chooses so that Miami can market it for their jersey sales. Although I might be the only one. I'm guessing he wears the number 4. You have to feel bad for a guy who's team was a lock for the Western playoffs and trying to win a Championship, that now goes to a basement dweller in the East.