Brian McNamee | Danny Vinik

A big day in sports today so here we go:

Dolphins Bringing Back Williams: Based on a letter from the Dolphins, Ricky Williams’s agent said that Bill Parcells and Miami are going to renew Williams’s contract for the 2008 season. Williams has served multiple suspensions for failed drug tests and when he was finally allowed to play this year, he tore a pectoral muscle after only six carries. His rehab is supposedly going well though. It must be for the Dolphins to bring him back for another year. Ricky Williams is always a risk, because there is no way of knowing what he will do next. Yet, the Dolphins were 1-15 this season so even if Williams falls apart, they can’t get much worse

Roy Williams Replacing Taylor in Pro Bowl: The late Sean Taylor was elected to the Pro Bowl as a starter to honor his memory. Dallas Cowboys’ safety Roy Williams gets the honor of replacing Taylor in the Pro Bowl. It was a great move by the NFL to let Taylor be elected a starter and I’m sure they will remember him during the Pro Bowl. “I appreciate being the first alternate to go. We are going to do something special for Sean and his family. … It’s an honor to be going in his place” said Williams, who was the 12th Cowboy selected to the Pro Bowl, a league record. Though the Pro Bowl is never that entertaining of an event, it will be interesting to see how the NFL, Roy Williams, and the rest of each team handle Taylors’ absence.

Athletics Send Swisher to White Sox: The Oakland Athletics sent outfielder Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for three minor leaguers. The A’s were hoping to compete next year in the AL West, but have completely changed routes. They sent ace pitcher Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks less than a month ago and now have dealt away their best hitter. They received 9 prospects for both of those players and have begun rebuilding again. If Oakland ever decides to put some money into their team, watch out. Billy Beane has already shown he is excellent at drafting prospects and building a farm system. Think of what he could do with some money. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/3/08” →

It’s been a couple months since my last post, but I am back and plan to post consistently from here on forward. On to the topic of the day: The Mitchell Report

After completing his twenty-month investigation, former Senator George Mitchell published his much-anticipated report today, naming 77 players, 29 of whom were active in 2007. Mitchell’s proof heavily relies upon the testimony of former Mets’ clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee, a former Major League Baseball strength and conditioning coach. For most of the players named, the evidence consisted solely upon the here-say of one of those two men. Before even looking at the names in the report, the question must be asked: Are Radomski and McNamee reliable sources? If the answer is no, then there is no point at even looking at the names. However, both of these sources were confronted by law enforcement and threatened with possible jail time if they did not say names. These men did not come forward on their own to tattle on players. Facing possible jail-time if they lied, we can conclude that neither Radomski no McNamee was willing to risk going to prison and therefore told the truth. Continue reading “The Mitchell Report” →