The Ravens have traded for safety Gerome Sapp, a guy they cut in 2004. While it's kind of funny that the Ravens have now apparently spent a 6th and a 7th rounder on this guy, what I find a little curious is this:
The Ravens waived Sapp after the 2004 season opener, a move not fully endorsed by the entire organization.
I wonder who "endorsed" the move to cut Sapp in the first place. It's a minor thing, but it could be an interesting story. Particularly if Sapp ever develops into any kind of impact player, even if it's only on special teams. And as of now it looks like Sapp is the favorite for a starting safety spot considering the total inexperience on the roster next to Ed Reed.
Bud Shaw's recent commentary on Ruben Droughns is worth a read. The point -- do you really "know" any pro athlete? And what is up with Droughns making a point to say that the recent allegations "aren't me"? Shaw is right -- it would be enough to simply say you didn't do it.
I've been guilty of enough non-criminal things in my lifetime to know that anytime I've ever defended myself by saying, "that's not what I'm about" that I was guilty every time. And at some point in life you realize that a man actually is defined by his actions, not his words. Rueben, you've been great on the field and obviously couldn't have gotten this far without some major league committment. I'd be more inclined to believe you when you say those actions "aren't me" if 1) they didn't happen at all or, if they did, 2) were apologetic that such a scenario could ever be open to such an interpretation.
ProFootballTalk.com has had a string of items on how the supposed "non-contact" NFL minicamps actually do contain quite a bit of contact. To bolster this big story, PFT regularly posts pictures of minicamps showing players engaging in contact. That is just stupid.
It seems pretty obvious to me that it is merely the term "non-contact" that needs revision. This isn't a controversy. It's merely a matter of poor word choice. Of course there is going to be contact of some kind. Even a game of flag football has quite a bit of contact.
Remember back in the mid-90's when the NHL playoffs were exciting and the league was regularly on network television? And Sega Genesis hockey was perhaps the most played game in the dorm?
I had exactly three impressions Monday night when I flipped on the tv and saw that the Stanley Cup Game 7 was on Channel 3.
- Oh yeah, hockey is still going.
- When did carolina get a team?
- Wow, I didn't realize Edmonton still had a team.
World Cup: Go USA. Though I don't think they are a clear favorite to even beat Ghana.
An example of why the Plain Dealer is just not a very good paper. Above the fold on the front page of the PD today is a
capsule on how IKEA might open an Ohio store. OK, I guess that is good for the state, though I doubt that is front page news. Neverming though... it's the lede copy that is weird. In the print edition the story mentions that Northeast Ohio residents have had to drive over two hours to get to an IKEA, alluding to IKEA locations in Pittsburgh and Detroit. And the story goes on to mention how IKEA may open in Columbus and Cincinnati. Which, if you know much about the geography of the state, are both 2 or more hours away (unless you really floor it down I-71). It's not a big story for Northeast Ohio unless the story is dealing with Ohio state tax revenue or perhaps the continued decline of Cleveland in relation to Columbus and Cincinnati.
Interestingly, the actual story makes no mention of driving two hours to IKEA. And in fact is a good read, noting that the real impact of an IKEA store is that it is a "destination store" where people drive from out of town and often even spend the night just to shop at.
The impression I get from all this is that while the stories themselves might be good journalism, the editors at the PD leave a lot to be desired. And we aren't even going to talk about the various columnists employed by the PD, though the sports columnists somehow manage to be the best of the lot.
Jason Johnson is dumped by the Tribe. Well, it's definitely time to shake things up. Johnson has been a monumental dissappointment, and hopefully Shapiro can salvage something for him in a trade, even if it's only to get back part of his salary so the team can potentially afford another move.
Spculation will naturally turn to whether Boone will get traded to allow Marte to come up. That I'm not sure would be a good idea, though Marte has to get a look at some point. Boone is a servicable player but I think his value to the team has really diminished with Broussard and Blake (on IR) having decent years. My only concern with dealing Boone would be getting into a situation where Marte HAS to play. Give Marte a shot, but if he isn't ready then he needs to go back to AAA.
The current bottom line, however, is that the Tribe is going to count heavily on Sowers coming up and pitching well for a month or two. They've got to get to .500 by the all star break, and it's still within striking distance... but not for long.