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UEFA Europa League, Thursday, February 23, 2012 15:05 pm ET
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Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Winnipeg Jets general manager.
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Are they buyers? Are they Sellers? Or… are they neither?
The NHL trade deadline is less than one week away, but what will the Winnipeg Jets do with such an important deadline looming?
The Jets are in the midst of a huge home stand, have recorded seven points in the last four games, and are on the brink of a playoff spot—all signs that point towards a team that will be buyers, right?
Wrong. Or at least for the Winnipeg Jets it is.
There are a few ways the Jets will have to look at this—the most important being their need to think realistic, and not do anything costly.
The Jets have a superb young core, one which blowing up for a crack at Rick Nash, Jeff Carter, or some other rumored superstar would only do more damage to the franchise in the long run.
Aside from that, the Jets still lack the talent to compete for a major playoff run, considering the lack of depth this team already possesses.
Simply put, the Jets are in no position to mortgage the future for a crack at a playoff run.
Going into the season, a playoff run was unexpected, let alone being in the run for the division this late in the season.
However, we’re less than a week from the trade deadline and the Jets are still here. Which means, they have to do something to support a playoff run, right?
Nik Antropov may be one of the few pieces the Jets can move.
Marianne Helm/Getty Images
Well, that’s for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to decide, but the Jets’ best bet may be to stay put and let this ride out.
Or, Cheveldayoff can pull off deals without mortgaging the future.
What do the Jets need? A goal-scoring sniper who can change the outcome in a matter of seconds. How do they acquire such a talent? The same way everyone else does—building from within. Scratch that off the list of needs for the them to fulfill in the coming week.
Don’t expect to turn on your television set on February 27 and hear that the Jets just pulled of a blockbuster trade. In fact, it is likely the Jets may even stay put and do nothing.
However, I’d be surprised if Cheveldayoff didn’t pull the trigger on at least one minor deal.
So, how should the Jets approach potential moves without jeopardizing the future?
They could use a forward who can contribute offensively, maybe a player who is having a down season and wouldn’t take too much to acquire.
One possible move could be a change of scenery deal or a chance deal that would give a struggling player the chance to spark his game with a new team.
Obviously, I haven’t named any names yet, but the Jets have more than a few of these struggling players. Case in point: Nik Antropov, Eric Fehr, and Antti Miettinen.
Another route they could take would involve draft picks. Without doing any long-term damage, the Jets could deal a second or third round pick to acquire underachieving talent or a UFA forward who can come in and help right away.
Ideally speaking, a Teemu Selanne type player (not necessarily Teemu himself, but a veteran who can come in and bring with him that veteran presence). If the Jets can acquire a Selanne-type player, it would do wonders for a playoff run, and it wouldn’t hurt the team’s future too much.
At this point, the Jets’ draft picks should be expendable except for the first-round pick, unless the price is right. With a deep 2012 NHL draft this year, draft picks will probably be their best bargaining piece.
But if the Jets want to stay on course, keeping their draft picks would be ideal.
I don’t think Cheveldayoff will be a busy man this week. Jets’ fans should be prepared for no action at all.
But, whatever direction he decides to go in, I have no doubts it will be the right one.
Posted by Ben Kercheval on February 22, 2012, 1:20 PM EST
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Part of West Virginia’s exit agreement with the Big East states WVU “will use its reasonable best efforts to help Big East members schedule additional football games for the 2012-13 season.”
If the following report comes to fruition, WVU will be absolved of those duties.
Following up on months of speculation, the Temple-to-Big East rumors have heated up, and the results could provide immediate relief for a conference up to its eyeballs in scheduling issues. Pete Thamel of the New York Times reports that the Big East could add Temple as an all-sports member “as early as the next school year” to offset the loss of WVU to the Big 12, and that “a resolution is expected this month.”
Thamel goes on to say “Within the next month, Temple will also have to inform the new conference formed by the merger of the Mountain West and Conference USA of its intentions. Temple has been asked to join that league.”
The Owls were reportedly shocked when the Big East announced earlier this month that Memphis would be the newest member of the conference.
“Temple thought it would receive the Big East’s invitation and was stunned the Big East invited Memphis,” said a report by CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.
Temple was booted from the Big East in 2004 after years of bottom-feeder status, but the Owls have turned it around since the Al Golden era (see what we did there?) and could play helper immediately for Big East schools scrambling to finalize their 2012 schedule.
The rumor for the past month or so has been that Boise State could make a jump to the Big East early, but that’s been uncertain at best.
If the Temple addition becomes official, that would bring the total number of Big East programs to 13 in football and 18 in basketball. There’s been some continued rumors that Louisville could still find its way to the Big 12 at some point in the future.
VIERA, Fla. — Three months have passed since Wilson Ramos’ budding baseball career was interrupted by a gunpoint kidnapping in his native Venezuela.
Yet there the 24-year-old catcher was Tuesday, smiling and laughing alongside his Washington Nationals teammates during their first full workout for pitchers and catchers.
Immediately following his ordeal, Ramos was emotional and candid in talking about the harrowing two days he was held in the Venezuelan mountains before being freed by an equally daring, bullet-filled rescue.
Now as he prepares for his second full season in Washington, Ramos said he has put the ordeal behind him and wants to only talk about baseball going forward.
“I feel like I’m living again,” Ramos said. “I’ve got a new life. Everybody in my family is happy with me. My family before was a little separated, and now everybody’s together. So that’s good for me and my family. I’m happy for that and I will play hard for my family and my team.”
Last season Ramos became the primary catcher for the Nationals, appearing in 113 games.
In line to be the Opening Day starter in 2012, he decided to go home to Venezuela to play winter ball to prepare.
Before he could play his first game, however, Ramos was seized outside his parents’ home one night and driven away by his abductors. It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, and the abduction set off an outpouring of candlelight vigils and public prayers at stadiums as well as outside the family home.
After his rescue he spent only about a week recuperating before rejoining the Aragua Tigers. Just 13 days after his rescue he was on the field and in uniform for their opening day.
He initially struggled during the Tigers’ 25-game regular season, hitting just .217 with one home run and 21 strikeouts. But following the car accident death of teammate Rosman Garcia, who pitched for the Texas Rangers in 2003 and 2004, something clicked for Ramos and his winter league teammates.
They reached the Venezuelan Winter League playoffs and eventually won the championship series, with Ramos going 9 for 20.
“I was more relaxed and not thinking too much at the end of the season,” Ramos said. “That thing helped me a lot to finish strong. When we lost one of our teammates, it was very hard for us. And we concentrated on winning the finals…That thing helped the team to play harder. We dedicated that final to him.”
Ramos said there was never any hesitation about continuing his winter league season after his kidnapping.
“I played there because I wanted to get my mind on baseball,” he said. “If I stayed in my house I was thinking too much. I played baseball there because I was trying to clear my mind.”
He said the reception he got from the fans there was equally helpful for him.
“They give me a lot of support,” Ramos said. “They believe in me, so they helped me a lot with everything. During the games everybody clapped their hands and said a lot of good words for me. “
Nationals manager Davey Johnson watched Tuesday as Ramos caught for Stephen Strasburg during bullpen work and said he has no doubt that Ramos can live up the expectations they have for him this season.
With a productive Ramos, he said he thinks the Nationals’ catchers are among the best in baseball.
“He was catching Strasburg and I asked him how much baseball he got in after that ordeal and he said ‘A month and a half.’ And so to me … as far as I’m concerned that thing’s over. It’s history,” Johnson said. “And it tells me that he was eager to get on the field and eager to put it behind him by playing a month and a half of winter ball after something like that.”
Likewise, since reporting to the Nationals, Ramos said his teammates have honored his wishes and not discussed what happened to him.
Mechanically, Johnson said Ramos looks “awfully good” and has made improvements in areas he suggested for him heading into the offseason.
While Ramos is clearly moving on from his kidnapping, he did get a living memorial to it tattooed on his arm recently.
First there is the date — 11/11/11 — for the day he was rescued. There are also words written in Spanish, which Ramos happily translates.
“I put everything in Jesus because he’s got my back,” he says.
Ramos said he anticipates Opening Day in Washington to be extra special after everything he’s been through.
“Yeah, because I want to catch the first game,” he said. “If the team gives me that opportunity, I will be very excited. … Hopefully fans will stand up, wave their hands and say a couple of good words for me. I want to hear that.”
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Euroleague, Thursday, February 23, 2012 14:45 pm ET
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Nike has extended its contract with Knicks guard Jeremy Kin, according to a Beijing Business Today report cited by China.org.cn.
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but there are reports that a Lin signature shoe and ad campaign around the NBA star are in the works.
Nike reportedly wants to hang on to Jeremy Lin. (AP photo)
Lin originally signed with Nike before his rookie 2010-11 season, when he was with the Golden State Warriors.
Nike’s move to renew Lin comes as several Chinese companies, including Li Ning, Peak Sports and Qiaodan Sports, were ready to make bids for his endorsement, according to the report.
SBJ: Jeremy Lin’s agent liked what he saw at Harvard
Nike: Team USA’s Olympic uniform unveiled
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This year’s New York Rangers team is good enough. It’s not perfect, sure, but since when is there such thing as a perfect team?
The Rangers can only move closer to perfection. One way they could do that is by acquiring an additional scoring threat to complement their outstanding defense.
You know where this is headed. The rumor mill has had the Rangers kicking the tires on Columbus Blue Jackets winger Rick Nash, who is easily the best offensive player on the trading block as we speed toward the Feb. 27 trade deadline.
The word from The Columbus Dispatch on Tuesday was that the Blue Jackets have yet to engage in serious talks with the Rangers. Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has met with Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, but the Rangers are one of several teams waiting in the wings, presumably discussing how hard they want to go after Nash.
According to the New York Post, it is merely “believed” that Howson and Rangers GM Glen Sather have “chatted.” It is also believed that Sather thinks Nash would “fortify” the Rangers, which kinda goes without saying.
The problem, naturally, is the asking price:
Rather, Sather is fazed by Columbus’ asking price, believed to be Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan McDonagh or Michael Del Zotto, Boston College winger Chris Kreider and either a first-round pick or another of the Rangers’ top prospects.
Given the various rumors that have come out about the price tag the Blue Jackets have placed on Nash, this package sounds about right. If the Rangers want him, they’ll have to pay a heavy price.
Even if the Rangers were to talk the Blue Jackets down a little bit, they’d still have to pay a king’s ransom to get Nash. His is an expensive price tag. At best, it can only become less expensive.
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The Rangers have virtually no incentive to sell the farm to bring in Nash. They’d be getting a great offensive player, sure, but they’d also be messing with the team’s chemistry in a significant and decidedly dangerous way.
Messing with team chemistry is not something Sather should want to do. The Rangers have a pretty big lead over the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and everyone should believe that the Rangers are a Stanley Cup-caliber team as they are currently constructed. They could use more offense, but their ability to prevent goals will allow them to go far once the postseason arrives.
Even if the Rangers were to bring in Nash without sacrificing a good chunk of the team (fat chance of that happening), things would still be dicey. They’d have to move quickly to find ways to incorporate him, which could lead to some immediate struggles. Even if they were to figure things out, it’s likely that the Rangers wouldn’t be significantly better than they are now.
It’s just not worth it for the Rangers to break the bank for Nash. They’re already in a good place. Trying to get in a better place requires them to sacrifice too much.
Posted by Ben Kercheval on February 22, 2012, 8:19 AM EST
AP
The more things change, right?
Former USC running back Dillon Baxter was hoping for a fresh start when he enrolled at San Diego State just months after being deemed “no longer part of the team” with the Trojans last October.
Instead, it looks like Baxter’s transition to a new school hasn’t resulted in new habits. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Baxter will miss spring practice with the Aztecs because of a “variety of things” that haven’t met the expectations of coach Rocky Long.
“He’s working on personal issues and academics, and if all that turns out all right at the end of the semester, he’ll back with us at training camp (in August),” Long said.
Not that Baxter was going to have a huge, or even moderate, role in spring practices anyway. NCAA transfer rules are forcing Baxter to sit out the 2012 season and Long added that the running back’s main focus this spring was to be on watching others, not taking reps.
“The plan was for him to be out here in the spring, yes,” Long said. “He wasn’t going to get any reps, though. He would have been standing watching everybody else play. He wasn’t going to get handed the ball one time in spring practice. That was our agreement with him from the very start. So this extra time he’s spending on academics is very good for him.”
Indeed. We scoff a lot at the term “student-athlete” nowadays, and that’s fine, but there comes a point where you hope, for Baxter’s sake, he can get it together off the field as it’s becoming more and more apparent whatever talent he has isn’t carrying him.
You don’t have to be a rocket surgeon to go to college — trust me on that one — but it does take a certain level of maturity and readiness. By the sound of it, Baxter is still having a hard time with that.
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