All Mackey Sasser Team Catcher: Mike LaValliere

Mike "Spanky" LaValliere was a catcher in the major leagues from 1984-95. He was most notably a member of those early 1990's Pittsburgh Pirates teams who could not quite get over the hump. Ironically this fate followed Mike into the world of baseball card trading. He was even a throw in player in a real life MLB blockbuster trade, you know one of those times where real life imitates the art card trading. He and Andy Van Slyke (who became a Pirates legend) were traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Pirates for another catcher you might have heard of, Tony Pena.

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Things continue to get uglier with Major League Baseball as the latest Congressional hearing is being called a waste of time. California Democrat Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said that the session probably did not need to take place.

A number of committee members felt that the affidavits and depositions leading up to the proceeding provided enough information to move forward. However, they allowed the hearing to take place because Roger Clemens wanted to give his side of the story and make sure the report was fair. While it's true that he has the right to defend his name, it's time for baseball to take control of the issue for good.

Continue reading "MLB Needs Season to Begin"

For the third time this month, a Western Conference title contender in the NBA has made a move to strengthen its team. This time, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed in principle to acquire point guard Jason Kidd, returning him to the team that he began his career.

Both the Mavericks and Jason Kidd publicly said they didn't feel the deal would happen, but the Mavericks and Nets reached an agreement Wednesday. New Jersey will get Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager, a first round pick in 2008 and 2010, and $3 million in return. The Nets are also giving up veteran Malik Allen along with Kidd.

This trade looks good for the Mavs in the short term, and the Nets have invested well in their future. It's not surprising that Dallas Owner Mark Cuban could not remain complacent while multiple teams around him made changes to their rosters. Hopefully all of these teams from the West don't forget about the two favorites to win it all: Eastern Conference powers Detroit and Boston.

Continue reading "Another Big Western Conference Trade"

Indiana's head basketball coach, Kelvin Sampson, appears to have put the Hoosiers in a pretty ugly situation with the NCAA. Sampson practically disregarded the sanctions placed on him and his coaching staff for violations made while at Oklahoma.

During his time as the Sooners' head coach, Sampson made 577 impermissible phone calls from 2000-2004. In 2006, he was given further restrictions on phone calls to recruits as punishment for his actions. Indiana was aware of the violations when it hired him, but the restrictions weren't handed down until two months after he took the job in Bloomington.

We're amazed that Sampson blatantly ignored the rules for contacting recruits. Part of the coach's job in recruiting is to find loopholes to circumvent the NCAA. We've seen it with Urban Meyer calling a player's girlfriend and having his wife make phone calls. So it begs the question, is Sampson just lazy, or does he just straight up not care? We truly appreciate any coach that takes a stand against the NCAA, but no one can defend what Sampson is doing.

Continue reading "Kelvin Sampson Loves Three WayPhone Calls"

When I was growing up Mackey Sasser, a catcher for the Mets from 1987-95 and later for the Giants, was one of those baseball cards no one wanted. So of course when you rushed to open your new pack of baseball cards inevitably you would end up with at least one Mackey Sasser card for every two packs you opened. As a result Mackey was used as a throw in for some of the most legendary baseball card trades ever transacted in my neighborhood.

He was not the only baseball card that was constantly on the trading block, in fact there were enough of these guys around to construct an entire expansion franchise. In honor of our second rate childhood idles we have come up with the All-Mackey Sasser Team, comprised of guys who might not be good enough for Cooperstown, but are legends in the minds of TSP. The team will be announced position by position over the course of the next couple weeks.

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Controversial Finish in College Hoops

Georgetown pulled another close win out last night at home, beating Villanova 55-53. Jonathan Wallace drew a "foul" with 0.1 seconds left in a tie game, hit both free throws and the game was over. There was contact between 'Nova's Corey Stokes and Wallace, but it happened 70 feet from the hoop and did not warrant a foul call given the situation. Even JT III shook his head as he shook the hand of Villanova coach Jay Wright, he knew the Hoyas stole won as well.

Clemens and McNamee Alone on Capitol Hill

It was determined late yesterday that Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, and Kirk Radomski would be dropped from Wednesday's much anticipated public hearing. Leaving Roger Clemens and his accuser, Brian McNamee as the only participants. Not sure if these two will ever be in the same room, but if they are could you imagine the tension and intensity if they in fact are? Clemens has already said he will talk to Congress tomorrow and will not plead the fifth, talk about great reality TV.

Continue reading "So About Last Night Novas Plight Clemens All Alone Rick Barnes is King"

Former Braves pitcher John Rocker is back on our radar after making a number of strong statements and accusations on an Atlanta radio station Monday.

Talking to The Regular Guys on Rock 100.5, Rocker said MLB Commissioner Bud Selig made him take a drug test in 2000. After he failed it, Rocker accused Selig of ignoring the results. Along with that, he claims a league doctor and a players association doctor informed him and some fellow Rangers which steroids to use and how to use them.

Rocker went on to say, "Bud Selig is a clown and should do the entire world a favor and kill himself." While that statement won't gain Rocker any support, his claims do raise some eyebrows. More and more accusations continue to surface against baseball and it's leadership, each more damning.

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As for the entire fan experience, it had its peaks and valleys. First of all, the parking situation was convenient and cheap compared to other big cities I have attended games in, we only paid $10 to park!! We had to walk about a 1/2 mile to the arena, but walking through the picturesque Boston Common, City Hall section of the city was well worth the trek. Something about walking in Boston makes me feel smarter, not sure why it just does. Me and the group I was with stopped at a sports bar right across from the arena named The Harp. Looking to get a quick burger and drink before the 1pm start of the game, we were surprised to find out that the bar did not serve alcohol until Noon!! Other then that the place was great and I bought a burger and a beer (Blue Moon) for $15.00, not bad at all.

Continue reading "TSP Venue Reviews TD Banknorth Garden"

The Red Sox announced recently that they would be wearing an EMC Corp. logo on the sleeve of its jersey during the team's opening series with the A's in Japan. According to the Sports Business Daily, the deal will likely cost EMC a six-figure fee.

Unfortunately, we believe it's only a matter of time before professional American sports teams adopt the strategy of European teams and brand their uniforms with the logo of a high-paying company. As long as the culture of sports continues to center around the dollar and less around the game, this will become all too common.

We'd like to think there is a purity that remains in the fabric of the sports played in this country. The level of competition and athleticism it takes to succeed in any of the major professional organizations is unlike anywhere else in the world, but it seems like that is becoming more and more tarnished every year. Surely teams like the Red Sox profit enough from the vast support it receives, or that maybe - gasp - the team could corral its spending so that it won't have to turn to this style of advertising.

Continue reading "Jersey Advertisements on the Horizon"

Theresa already ran Junior off to Hendrick Motorsports from his late father's team, where he will drive the #88 Mountain Dew Amp Chevrolet. Now she can't even laugh at a humorous billboard. Junior was entertained when he heard about it, but had his sister, who also acts as his business manager, file a complaint to suffice Theresa.

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! NASCAR has to be loving the storylines heading into this season, so much so that they've neglected updating the driver section of their website. This must be where we make the point that NASCAR fans don't have access to the internet, so it doesn't really matter right? 

Continue reading "Theresa Earnhardt Has To Have It Her Way"