By Soxman
What do you get when you combine Jake Peavy and Alexei Ramirez? Answer: two of four healthy ankles.
Just minutes after the 4:00 p.m. Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline passed, the MLB network announced that Jake Peavy was headed to the Chicago White Sox…again, and this time its for real.
With the move, Kenny Williams once again proved the following:
1. He always gets his man.
2. He is not afraid to do whatever it takes to win now…and later.
For the most part, this trade involves the same names as version 1.0 did earlier in the season.
The difference? Peavy is currently on the disabled list with a strained tendon in his ankle and won’t return until mid-August at the earliest. Not more than two weeks ago, Padres’ GM Kevin Towers noted that Jake Peavy could be done for the remainder of the season, saying, “I think it’s 50-50 if Jake will pitch again this year.”
However, Kenny Williams told the MLB network minutes ago that he believes Peavy will begin a rehab assignment towards the middle of August and could return towards the end of the month possibly on-time for the Red Sox series.
The Padres did pretty well in this deal as they will receive Clayton Richard, Adam Russell, Dexter Carter and Aaron Poreda in return. 
Richard should immediately move into the Padre’s rotation. While he is 4-3 with a 4.67 ERA, [More …]
By Jake McCormick
Editor’s note: More meeting photographs will be posted Monday
A guy in full 1920s ACME Packer garb, a cheesehead with NFL OWNER tattooed on its side, a Minnesota license plate reading GBPCKRS, and beer served at 11 a.m. – sounds like a typical day at Lambeau Field.
Concerns were abound at the annual Green Bay Packer shareholder meeting, but the mood was light and optimistic compared to last year’s gathering. I’ll let you guess the reason why. If you don’t know, please stop reading. That’s like asking what the second highest selling beer in the country is behind Budweiser.
In a simulation of the start of the shareholder meeting Thursday, I’ll quickly remove the “1,000 lb white elephant in the room,” as Packer President Mark Murphy put it.
“The Brett Favre situation did severely test the organization,” he said, looking much more comfortable saying the name than he did last year. It reminded me of the King of the Hill episode where Peggy had to teach sexual education and struggled to say “penis” and “vagina.” When she got past that fear, her mouth was an open floodgate of genital names. Anyways…
“We wanted to be fair to him, but we felt we had to act in the best long-term interests of the Packers,” Murphy added, to a collective round of applause from the team “owners.”
He then drew the first of many ovations at the mention of current quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He expressed total [More …]
By H. Jose Bosch
We here at The Sports Bank understand how difficult it can be to keep up with your favorite sports teams. Sometimes life gets in the way. Your boss keeps you late at work, the Internet cuts outs or your child needs you to create their entire sixth-grade science project the night before it’s due. Whatever the reason, you might miss something funny, interesting, sad or in the case of the Detroit Lions all three.
That’s why every Friday morning/afternoon The Sports Bank will throw up some of the more interesting stories that have happened over the last week (Monday-Friday) involving your favorite teams in the NFC North and Big Ten footprint.
Now, let’s be honest, not every team has interesting news every week. But we are equal opportunity here so we will try very hard to touch any and everything worth talking about. But, if you’d like to share something you thought was left out, please feel free to start a discussion in our comment section.
Now, on to some of the highlights, or lowlights of this past week:
So it looks like Brett Favre will actually stay retired and this awful saga has finally come to a close. But, um, someone should tell the Chinese about it.
It’s so cute when a player and his agent form a bond stronger than that of a mother and child. Unfortunately Joel Segal is erasing all that good will by not getting his [More …]
By the The Sports Bank Staff
1. Chicago (10-6) Jay Cutler hoopla aside, remember one thing, this division isn’t very good. Best Quarterback=best chance at winning week to week. Yes, I know their receivers and overall pass rush is a hot mess, but who else really has the talent to beat a team that was 9-7 last year and greatly improved themselves?
2. Minnesota (9-7) Purple Jesus will have to carry the load on offense, unlike Baby Jesus, the star of the Minnesota baseball team. He has more support in generating offense. What’s with people in the land of 10,000 Lakes nicknaming their sports stars after Jesus? I thought the “Bible Belt” was in the South?
3. Green Bay (7-9) I like Aaron Rodgers, but I don’t think he’ll have a better season than Culter. The Pack’s season will hinge on 1.) The job that new Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers does 2.) How quickly his players adjust from the 4-3 to the 3-4.
4. Detroit (3-13) Much of the old regime is gone, so that’s a good thing, right? Like the title character in “What About Bob?” said “baby steps, baby steps.” Their pathetic excuse for a ground game has been improving and I like 3rd pick DL Cliff Avril. Look for this sleeper pick to augment the pass rush.
Offensive MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Defensive MVP: Lance Briggs
–PAUL M. BANKS
DAVID KAY:
1. Packers- Keeping my homering [More …]
By the TSB Staff
1.Ohio St.
2. Michigan State
3. Penn St.
It will be tight at the top once again this year. Ohio State’s Terrell Pryor is going to come into his own this year; combined with an always stout defense, the Buckeyes will be hard to keep from the title. Michigan St. returns 14 starters and will compete for the title if they can find suitable replacements at quarterback and tailback. Penn St. will have a solid year, but overall their losses on defense will be too much to overcome unless young players step up quickly.
Offensive Player of the Year: Terrell Pryor-QB-OSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Greg Jones-LB-MSU
–JAKE FOWLER
SAM SVOBODA:
1. Ohio State, 2. Penn State, 3. Northwestern
Offensive Player of the Year: Terrelle Pryor, QB, OSU.
Defensive Player of the year Navorro Bowman, LB, PSU
OK, so my picks for conference champ and runner-up are not exactly un-orthodox, but can you blame me?
Last year’s top two have lost some key players to the NFL, but are still loaded with talent- highlighted by my picks for Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. There’s a reason that Buckeye sophomore Pryor has received so much hype over the past few year. I expect him to be a force both running and passing. Bowman, a junior, is coming off a breakout year in which he was consensus All-Big 10 and can only benefit from the healthy return of fellow linebacker [More …]
By Paul M. Banks
When the Chicago Bears reported to Camp Bourbonaiss today, with the first practice taking place tomorrow afternoon, they were greeted with both high expectations and manufactured controversy.
Perhaps no team had a more productive (or publicized) off-season than Chicago, as they swapped QBs with the Denver Broncos, essentially stealing Pro Bowl signal caller Jay Cutler out of the Rocky Mountain state. Your grandparents were in diapers the last time they had a QB this good, and given how that’s, you know, kind of an important position, this move was HUGE- especially considering that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is the only other legitimate starting NFL quarterback in the NFC North division.
The Bears also made tremendous upgrades to their Offensive Line in Orlando Pace and the underrated Kevin Shaffer, augmenting what was previously one of the team’s weakest units. The world of sports betting has taken notice, installing the Bears as the odds on favorite to win the NFC North.
Vegas also thinks the Bears have the best chance of any NFC North team to win both the NFC and the Super Bowl, as the “Monsters of the Midway” have the best odds among the four teams in both categories. When people start engaging in Monday night football betting this fall, they’ll only have one chance (December 28th when Chicago hosts division rival Minnesota) to attempt to capitalize on the Bears’ historic Monday night woes. Avoiding a Monday night road game [More …]
By Paul M. Banks
If you’re a start-up sports blogger, here’s a tip for you. It’s a way to increase traffic quicker and more effectively than any SEO (Search Engine Optimization) program or employing any social media consultant. Write and post pictures about Erin Andrews.
And this isn’t simply saying “sex sells” either. There’s something about her, and just her that seems to rev up the search engines of web geeks, bloggers, and horny sports nerds.
As the major buzz surrounding the peephole video conveyed, as did a half-dozen EA stories on the internet prior to that, no one else in sports has a cult following on the internet this large. But the question is, why the obsession with Erin Andrews? She’s good, but not great at her job, so it’s not that. And it’s not the eye candy thing either; as there’s plenty of other women who are just as beautiful on Eastern Seaboard Programming Network; and many more on competing networks.
Don’t get me wrong, I like blonde hair, boobs and booty as much as the next guy. And I’ll be the first to admit that EA is quite easy on the eyes…but she’s not a modern day Helen of Troy, who mythically possessed “the face that launched a thousand ships.”
Perhaps it’s the geek factor. She’s described herself as a dork and homebody, despite what others may think, and perhaps all the web nerds identify with that. I’ve me Ms. Andrews once in person in [More …]
By Jake McCormick
Facebook and the NCAA might have more in common than the obvious college student-athlete profiles. Excuse me, I meant to say athlete-student. Let’s not try to fool ourselves into thinking the NCAA actually cares if Terrelle Pryor, Tim Tebow or anyone on Florida State goes to class, just as long as they know that 11 players have to be on the football field at all times.
Recently, Facebook users have been circulating a message warning of the network’s abuse of power by means of an automatic agreement that it can use any user’s photograph in sidebar advertisements. It can easily be changed in the settings area of a person’s profile, but the issue at hand is that Facebook can make its own rules and answer to no one because people will continue Facebooking even if a minority of its users complain.
The NCAA is to Facebook as former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon is to the warning message. The NCAA has always been using game highlights and photographs of players whose careers amounted to nothing but a single tournament basket or last second touchdown catch. Even EA Sports gets into the mix by replicating classic NCAA championship teams in every way except their names, which opens a loophole so they don’t have to pay those players for their likenesses. In turn, players like Gerard Phelan, Lorenzo Charles, and the 1982 California Bear football team get nothing but a warm feeling when [More …]
By H. Jose Bosch
Last season, Michigan’s traditional “3 yards and a cloud of dust” offense transformed into 3 yards and I want to throw up. Actually, I may be giving them too much credit: most of the time it didn’t even feel like they could move the ball three yards at a time.
Michigan fans were warned of it. In Rodriguez’s first season with West Virginia he went just 3-8. We ignored it. This was Michigan. Rodriguez wasn’t going to fall the same way he did in puny West Virginia. We had the nation’s longest winning-seasons streak (40) and the longest bowl streak (33) on the line. But we’re haughty, supercilious and we brag about knowing the definition of words no one really uses to describe being arrogant.
So the 3-9 season was a shock to the system. Not a surprise, but a shock. Rodriguez had not only broken the two aforementioned streaks but he also broke a nine-game winning streak over Penn State, a six-game winning streak over Michigan State and a 24-game winning streak over the Mid-American Conference. The only real good news for Rodriguez was that he wasn’t the coach who lost to Appalachian State.
Now that the Wolverines have thoroughly been beaten to a pulp, 2009 will hopefully be the year Michigan channels its inner phoenix and rises from its ashes. Rodriguez coached the Mountaineers to bowl eligibility the year after his 3-8 debut and since he has that experience there’s no reason to [More …]
By Paul M. Banks
Now that Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago are over, and the cases have been made for the strengths and weaknesses of the league’s 11 teams in the “City of Broad Shoulders,” it’s time to sort the league’s macho men from the weaklings. And, of course these rankings are highly subject to change.
Last year’s record (and when applicable, bowl appearance) is in parentheses
1. Ohio State (10-3, 7-1, Fiesta Bowl loss to Texas) Once again it’s re-loading not re-building in Columbus. With Boom Herron filling it for Beanie Wells and a whole slew of new talent filling in at key defensive positions, the scarlet and grey will have a new look this fall. Although the Bucks have looked terrible in January bowls lately, they’re still the class of the league, and look for the “sweater vest” to maintain that primary position again this season. Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Terrelle Pryor will be fun to watch.
2. Penn State (11-2, 7-1, Rose Bowl loss to USC) Like President Barack Obama said, “it’s not enough to change the players, you have to change the game” and the 82 year old Joe Paterno and his staff have innovated the “Spread HD” enough to make the Nittany Lions consistently win again in spite of turnover. Offseason defections hurt again, but there’s still plenty left. QB Darryl Clark, RB Evan Royster, LB Sean Lee and DT Jared Odrick are all ballers, and [More …]
By Paul M. Banks
Mark Buerhle is not done yet. Following a perfect game last Thursday afternoon over the Tampa Bay Rays, supplementing his no-hitter he threw two years ago against Texas no less, Buerhle pitched a “perfect game” for the first 5 2/3 innings of his next start. In doing so, he broke a Major League Baseball record by retiring 45 straight batters.
The old record of 41 consecutive batters retired was held by two men. One is a teammate: currently embattled closer Bobby Jenks in 2007; the second was Jim Parr of the 1972 San Francisco Giants. When Jenks tied the record in ’07, it was one of the most under-publicized records in baseball history. Only the seamheads and most die hard of Sox die-hards celebrated it. This was partially due to the fact that the Sox were practically eliminated from playoff contention by Memorial Day that season. This time, however the lights will shine brighter. Buerhle’s feat comes the night after he appeared on David Letterman to deliver a Top Ten list in his honor (in case you missed it, the vid is below).
This accomplishment comes in the thick of a pennant race, at the stadium of the Sox most hated rival, the Minnesota Twins, who are right there with them in the standings. Despite the Twins being to the Sox what the Giants are to the Dodgers, or what the Yankees are to the Red Sox, the Twins fans gave Buerhle a standing [More …]
By: David Kay
In a move that seemingly came from nowhere, the Hornets and Bobcats have agreed to swap big men. Tyson Chandler will now call Charlotte home while Emeka Okafor will team up with CP3 in New Orleans.
Why this makes sense for the New Orleans:
Swapping Chandler for Okafor is a slight up-grade in terms of talent. Okafor is a little more well-rounded on the offensive end and provides the same amount of rebounding, shot blocking, and physicality that Chandler brought down low for the Hornets. Naw’lins does lose Chandler’s ability to run the floor which complimented Chris Paul’s game quite well.
Why this makes sense for Charlotte:
This move only makes sense from a financial standpoint. Chandler only has one guaranteed year left on his deal with a player option for 2010-2011 that would pay him almost $12.8 million. Other than that, this is a bit of a head scratcher.
Click here to read the entire analysis
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By Peter Christian
thecallouts@gmail.com
Commonly, the weekly ruse known as “The Call-Outs” are an avenue to point out all that is wrong, stupid and moronic in the world of sports and pop culture. Most often I compile things that defy logic, raise eyebrows and cause a laundry list of medical maladies that include (but are not limited to): rise in blood pressure, grinding of teeth, scratching at face and shaking of heads. Today, however we stray from the normal list to point out someone who deserves an edition all to himself.
Miller Park Drunk
Recently it has come to our attention here at The Sports Bank that the fellow who hides behind a pseudonym that could refer to literally tens of thousands of people in Eastern Wisconsin (a ploy to avoid direct criticism of some of his questionable material, no doubt) took some time to attack our site and its writers.
Well MPD, it is about time that you get yours. Buckle up, pal. It’s gonna get bumpy. You might want to pack a paper bag if you are aptly titled.
First things first, sir, it is bad form to accuse someone else of plagiarism in a forum style that even you admit you are blatantly ripping off from another site. Don’t get all high and mighty because someone used the same [More …]
By: Melissa S. Wollering
The Milwaukee Brewers’ starting rotation, questionable from Day 1, incurs injuries and declines in quality start production. That triggers work overload for the bullpen as Bill Castro cracks a figurative whip on exhausted arms. The outfield starts running down long balls; the infield must save their pitcher’s derrière as he walks batters, throws wild pitches and loads bases. Last but not least, Ken Macha sends a desperate S.O.S. to Doug Melvin by putting Carlos Villanueva on the mound. This domino effect immediately before the trade deadline probably has you asking: is a major trade worth it when no single pitching acquisition could fix a force as destructive as Prince Fielder swinging blindfolded in a glass factory?
Prior to Tuesday, the Milwaukee Brewers lost 15 of their last 22 games of duck-duck-goose. If you call it duck-duck-grey-duck, you must enjoy Twins baseball.
Looking at the schedule, the months of July and August were supposed to provide the Crew with an ego boost greater than what Elisha Cuthbert and Kate Hudson could do for your depressed roommate by macking on him. Between playing the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals, as many as 12 games could have made Jake H. from Madison richer as he places bets in Vegas while on his honeymoon. By the way, Jake, the SportsBank.net officially wishes you a blessed, sports-filled marriage!
Instead, because a Vegas blackjack table is more reliable than betting on a Brewers-Nationals game with Carlos [More …]
By Paul M. Banks
At Big Ten Media Day he discussed the rivalry with UM, the upcoming season in the Big Ten and much more.
”The” Ohio State University Head football Coach Jim Tressel wears an article of clothing, a red sweater vest, so much that he’s often referred to as “the sweater vest.” Especially by ESPN’s Jim Rome. Like Tom Landry and his fedora hat or Bill Belichick and his grey cut-off hoodie, Tressel and his sweat vest are now a part of immortal football coaching lore.
The vest replaced John Cooper in 2001. Since then, his OSU teams are 1-2 in National Championships games, and his 2002 team pulled off the amazing feat of going 14–0; the first time its been done in college football in over 100 years.
Tressel’s won 5 Big Ten Titles, but he’s likley best loved in Columbus for his mastery of Michigan. After all, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is often considered the best rivalry in college football, perhaps in all of sports. It’s certainly the only rivalry to be profiled in a HBO documentary.
highlights of Tressel versus Michigan
-seven wins, second in school history to Woody Hayes’ 16.
-only OSU to win seven of eight against the Wolverines
-only Buckeye leader to win 5 consecutive over the maize and blue.
On Michigan’s getting back on their feet soon to help improve the image of the [More …]
By Paul M. Banks
If the Big Ten Football Media Day were Christmas, then talking to Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno is like visiting Santa Claus at the local mall. Not only does JoePa have the most illustrious resume, {NCAA record holder in wins (383), bowl appearances (35) and bowl wins (23)} he’s also the most interesting and candid interview subject. The 82 year old College Football Hall of Famer and 5-time Coach of the Year has been at Penn State since 1966.
During his tenure at PSU, there have been 838 coaching changes in NCAA Division I. A big part of JoePa’s enduring appeal comes from his always quotable and entertaining interviews and press conferences. And Big Ten Media Day 2009 was no exception. Here are some of the highlights:
On using social media and Twitter…
“hey, you guys have got to talk about something. The fans have got to put something on those — what do you guys call those things, Twittle-do, Twittle-dee? I haven’t got the slightest idea what you’re looking at, either.”
On the overall assessment of this year’s team…
“Who knows? That phone rings on Sunday morning and I shake.”
Regarding scheduling…
“I try to stay out of the scheduling because we schedule so far ahead, and obviously I can’t be looking who we’re going to be playing in the year 2020. I’m dumb, but I ain’t that dumb. (Laughter). And I’m optimistic but I ain’t that optimistic. (Laughter). I think it would [More …]
By Anthony Zilis
The acquisition of Matt Holliday seems to make the St. Louis Cardinals the popular favorites in the National League Central.
But after an extremely disappointing first half, where seemingly everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Cubs, they find themselves in first place today, half a game ahead of St. Louis.
And while it seems that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is tied up by the pending sale of the team as the trading deadline approaches, the Cubs have managed to improve without any major trades.
Aramis Ramirez is showing resemblance to his pre-injury form, (the third baseman is 9-for-16 in his last four games after struggling since coming back from a shoulder injury) which is equal to adding a frontline player like Holliday. Alfonso Soriano could have easily been replaced by an outfielder from the Tennessee Smokies in May and June without a dip in production, but he’s now swinging a hot bat. The left fielder raised his average 28 points in the last 15 games.
The Cubs also hope Rich Harden’s post All-Star break resurgence isn’t a mirage, as he’s allowed only two runs in his last three starts. His Sunday win over the Reds was his first at home since May 12 and his first during the day since April 21.
Couple these major additions with the solid pitching from rookies Randy Wells and Kevin Hart, who has had two solid starts filling in for Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly, [More …]
Peter Christian talks with Sports Bank Prez and Founder Paul M. Banks about the landscape of sports journalism, blogging and mainstream media while looking ahead for The Sports Bank as well.
The Deposit – Peter Christian and Paul M. Banks started talking and decided to not stop for a while.
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By Paul M. Banks
During the past year of covering the Chicago Blackhawks, I’ve discussed one distinctive, but vastly underreported ritual that takes place inside the Blackhawks’ locker room. On that carpeted floor is a beautiful, large Indian head logo; and if any one steps on it, a curse or pox shall come upon them! One day, I did my best to avoid stepping on it while also trying to navigate a media throng, and since I have the gracefulness of Clark W. Griswold, I nearly fell on my face. A locker room usher observed, didn’t care about my almost falling, and simply said “You almost stepped on it there.” I once saw a camera man step on it, prompting a couple reporters to shout “DEATH.”
At the 2009 Hawks Convention at Chicago’s Hilton towers, this tradition was discussed at the breakout session entitled “Inside the Locker Room.”
“We play for that Indian head, we work for that Indian head. And Savvy put it best: you commit to the Indian- maybe I shouldn’t say that, he got in trouble for that. That’s what we do every day trainers, Troy {Murray, Hawks television commentator} up in the booth, I’m sure you’ve heard Troy get pretty passionate up there. I know I have, but you stay off it, it’s just respect that goes with anything. 
As far as superstition, everyone has their little things…But as far as big things, know to [More …]
By David Kay
1. Los Angeles Lakers
Ron Artest knows he will a complementary player, right? I mean he has to, or else he wouldn’t have signed with the Lakers, right? If Lamar Odom is brought back, this team could win 70 games. Seriously.
2. San Antonio Spurs
The only thing preventing the Spurs from finishing behind the Lakers is their health. Love the Richard Jefferson trade, by the way.
3. Denver Nuggets
Was last year’s playoff run a flash in the pan? I say no, especially with Chauncey Billups running the show.
4. Dallas Mavericks
If Jason Kidd still has some gas in his tank and Shawn Marion can show a re-birth of sorts, Dallas will be a step or two behind the Lakers and Spurs.
5. Utah Jazz
Even with the likely Boozer trade, the Jazz should be a solid playoff team.
For the rest of the West, click here
1. Boston Celtics
If their 30-somethings can stay healthy for the majority of the season, the Celtics should be the team to beat in the East. The additions of Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels should help keep their older guys fresh. If Rajon Rando continues to improve as a point guard, watch out.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Over/under on the number of times LeBron James is asked if he is staying in Cleveland this season: 918,274.
3. Orlando Magic
They ultimately swapped Hedo [More …]
