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NBA Columns
March 11
Oakland Tribune
columnist Monte Poole
"
Don Nelson is ascending to the pinnacle of his profession, within walking distance of history, soon to be king of the NBA coaching jungle. Where is the roar? The Warriors coach is seven wins away from surpassing Lenny Wilkens to become the league's all-time leader in wins by a coach. Yet he approaches the finish line not to the sound of cheers, or even a visible or audible countdown. Any sign of anticipation for consummating this lifetime achievement is muffled, if not utterly muted. "I'm OK with that," Nelson said after practice Wednesday. "I really think I prefer it that way.'' His bosses don't have a choice. They're caught in the middle, between their loyalty to Nelson and their ..."
March 11
Orlando Sentinel
columnist George Diaz
"
A rather dapper-looking Dwight Howard — the ascot was a nice touch — started barking in the locker room after the Orlando Magic whacked the defending NBA champions Sunday afternoon. "Woo-woo-woo," I'm a puppy dog," Howard said after beating the L.A. Lakers. "Woo-woo-woo." It was a funny — and pointed — dig at some critics like, ahem, George Diaz, who recently suggested that Howard needs to "become the alpha dog, not the tail-wagging, happy-go-lucky puppy." A lot of people — columnists, NBA Hall of Famers, Joe in the 27th row — have gone Dog Whisperer on Howard, suggesting he isn't fit to be the pack leader because he's just too warm and fuzzy and amiable. Howard's comeback has been to ..."
March 11
Los Angeles Times
columnist Bill Plaschke
"
The shot sailed through the basket, the brightly colored strips of paper fell from the rafters, the fans stood and screamed. And then, see ya. The only thing quicker than Kobe Bryant's game-winning basket against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night was the celebration afterward. The fans hustled out of Staples Center as if leaving a bad movie. The Lakers hustled off the floor as if leaving a messy house. They all know. The NBA knows. If we're going to be honest with ourselves, all of Los Angeles should know. Based on their current attitude and work ethic, the Lakers are not a championship team. If they can't summon the consistent urgency of last season, they are not even a Finals team. ..."
March 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
"
An hour before Wednesday night's tipoff against the Los Angeles Clippers, Michael Beasley had one simple request. "I just want something with white that I can draw on," he said. He found that coveted blank canvas on the toe box of a leather basketball shoe. There, his black marker went to work, producing a passable portrait of Mickey. Mickey, as in Mouse. Not Micky, as in Arison, the Heat owner. That's Michael Beasley. That's fine. So long as he doesn't dawdle on the court, there's no harm in doodling off of it. He's immature, but also earnest, and endearing. It would nice for him to play the next decade here, to see what sort of person and player he becomes. It would also be nice to see ..."
NFL Columns
March 11
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
columnist Alvin Reid
"
While St. Louis fans and NFL pundits are gaga over whom the soon-to-be-sold Rams will select with the first pick in the April 22 NFL draft, head coach Steve Spagnuolo and his staff are also searching for those valued diamonds in the rough. Playoff teams are peppered with them. The Rams need some of them badly. The rosters of the league's best teams seem to always include a solid – if not spectacular - quarterback. The final eight teams playing this season had these starting quarterbacks: Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Joe Flacco, Payton Manning, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez and Kurt Warner. The Baltimore Ravens' Flacco is still a work in progress, but has led his team to the playoffs ..."
March 11
Arizona Republic
columnist Kent Somers
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NFL quarterbacks seeking work should find the Cardinals an attractive potential employer, partly because coach Ken Whisenhunt treats the position much like any other. Kurt Warner announced his retirement more than a month ago, yet Whisenhunt has yet to officially name Matt Leinart the starter, even though he's the only quarterback on the roster. Whisenhunt has professed confidence in Leinart at every opportunity but also joked that he doesn't have many alternatives. After three years under Whisenhunt, Leinart probably expects nothing more. Some coaches coddle quarterbacks. Whisenhunt, however, seems to prefer the creative tension created by competition for the job, and that should be a big ..."
March 11
Minneapolis Star Tribune
columnist Sid Hartman
"
If the Vikings listen to Gophers football coach Tim Brewster, they will sign former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson on his visit here Thursday. Brewster spent three years on the Chargers staff as tight ends coach from 2002 to '04, taking on additional duties as assistant head coach in 2004. "He takes an extremely professional attitude to a job," Brewster said of Tomlinson, perhaps the NFL's greatest running back of the past decade. "He's one of the hardest-working players I've ever been around. He's one of the classiest players. He does a great job of helping young players." Asked if Tomlinson, who turns 31 this summer, has anything left, Brewster said: "Absolutely, in the right ..."
March 11
St. Paul Pioneer Press
columnist Bob Sansevere
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You've heard the talk about LaDainian Tomlinson: He's no longer an elite running back, not nearly as dangerous as he once was. And it's true. Tomlinson isn't a franchise back. If he were, the San Diego Chargers never would have released him. The thing is, he doesn't have to be the LaDainian Tomlinson of old. The current version is plenty good enough to help the Vikings, and not just on the field. Tomlinson is a class act. And a leader. And the kind of player who could have an influence on the entire locker room and, in particular, Adrian Peterson. Tomlinson has eight fumbles in his career. If just that part of Tomlinson rubs off on Peterson, he would be worth his weight and then some in ..."
MLB Columns
March 11
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
columnist Cliff Eastham
"
When the Philadelphia Phillies sent Cliff Lee to Seattle in order to make room for Rory Halladay, I shook my head. I couldn't understand the concept of sending a No. 1 starter and picking up another one. Lee was not ecstatic to realize the team he helped to the World Series had the door open for him with his hat in their hand. So much for gratitude, eh? He is currently with his third team in less than a year. The Phillies obviously rented him from Cleveland in the middle of last season. Coming off his Cy Young win in 2008, Lee was less than stellar in his 2009 season. After the 22-8 season he was 7-9 with the Tribe before they decided to dump him. He had a 7-4 mark with the Phillies and ..."
March 11
Minneapolis Star Tribune
columnist Jim Souhan
"
It's mid-March and the race of the reluctant Minnesota stars is on: Who'll make a commitment first? Back-and-Forth Brett Favre or Jockeyin' Joe Mauer? Mauer still has more leverage than Pat Williams on a teeter-totter, but as negotiations have lagged, Mauer's hesitancy to accept a record-setting contract offer from his hometown team has made his signing less than a sure thing and raised this previously unthinkable question: "Won't the Twins have to trade him if he refuses their best offer?" A deal between the All-Star catcher and the Twins is still more likely than not, and at any moment Mauer's agent, Ron Shapiro, could call the team and make it happen, prompting a combination press ..."
March 11
Toronto Sun
columnist Mike Rutsey
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The so-called open spots in the Blue Jays starting rotation appear to be closing just a week into the spring training games. Righty Shaun Marcum and lefty Ricky Romero have always been 1-2 - or 2-1 - and nothing has changed there. Over in nearby Clearwater Wednesday morning, in a 'B' game against the Phillies, two other sure things as far as the rotation goes were on the hill as righty Brandon Morrow and lefty Marc Rzepczynski looked solid in their second outings of the spring. The only way these two guys aren't part of the rotation come opening day is if they get hit by a bus. So that leaves one spot open and that one will close in a heartbeat if recovering right-hander Dustin McGowan is ..."
March 11
Los Angeles Times
columnist T.J. Simers
"
Joe Torre had just taken off for Taiwan, leaving Don Mattingly to manage his first game at any level, Mattingly saying a few hours earlier Wednesday, "It's not that complicated," just before batting the Dodgers out of order. In hindsight, maybe a few games of experience as a Little League skipper might've been a good idea. "Joe's somewhere on a plane, and it's a debacle out there," said Andre Ethier with a laugh after making the second out in the third inning, then two hitters later leading off the fourth with a home run. Two days earlier Torre had Page 2 sign the lineup cards so they might be given to the umpire and opposing team, the Dodgers going on to play the game with no problems. ..."
NHL Columns
March 11
Buffalo News
columnist Jerry Sullivan
"
Lindy Ruff gave Thomas Vanek a break from practice on Tuesday, giving Vanek two days off in a row. Ruff said Vanek was suffering from some undisclosed, nagging injury. They both called it a "maintenance" day. Well, if this is what happens when a Sabre goes in for maintenance, we should all line up outside HSBC Arena for some minor rehab. I'm thinking of bringing my car in for a quick look. And seeing how we've had a nice break in the weather, maybe the trainers could do some maintenance on my golf swing. Vanek scored his team-leading 20th goal midway through the second period to snap a 3-3 tie Wednesday night and lead the Sabres to their third straight victory, a 5-3 win over the Dallas ..."
March 11
Toronto Star
columnist Damien Cox
"
They don't have a name for it yet, but the Mike Richards Rule sounds about right. It was, after all, the vicious blindside hit by the Flyers captain on youngster David Booth of the Panthers in late October that swung all the momentum toward enacting a new rule outlawing blindside head shots in the NHL. That rule was approved by the league's general managers on Wednesday for installation in the rule book for next season."
March 11
New York Post
columnist Larry Brooks
"
For his next trick, Rangers' head coach and travel director John Tortorella will have his players take rickshaws to Atlanta for tomorrow night's match with the Thrashers. It's always about something else with Tortorella, always about establishing turf and about those meaningless catch phrases the coach likes to toss out there to distract attention from the issue at large, which happens to be that his team is largely unresponsive to him and his methods. The particular catch phrase for yesterday was, "Limos flying in all over the place," because Tortorella had taken it upon himself to become offended that prior regimes had permitted Rangers players to travel by car service to games in New ..."
March 10
Chicago Sun-Times
columnist Rick Morrissey
"
The Blackhawks have finally arrived. We know this because Hawks fans booed goalie Cristobal Huet during a 5-4 loss Sunday to Detroit and afterward lamented the sorry state of goaltending in this miserable hellhole of a town they call home. OK, so they were depressed. Blackhawks followers think they'd have a decent chance of posing with the Stanley Cup in the offseason if only the team could find a goalie who didn't have the fine motor skills of an inchworm. They and others are telling us the Hawks can't win with Huet and Antti Niemi. On Tuesday, hockey analyst and former Hawks goalie Darren Pang told WSCR-AM (670) that the Hawks aren't title contenders ''the way that they are playing right ..."