Maddux Sports Blog

I’m a big Pudge Rodriguez guy – he’s my favorite non-pitcher of all time, I think. That being said, I was really surprised by the news that he will be joining the Nationals. He has reportedly signed a two year, $6 million contract. I’m surprised that at this time in his career he’d be interested in playing in such a hopeless situation. Or at least that’s what I thought until I considered it more and came up with one big consideration in their favor – Stephen Strasburg. Pudge gets to spend likely his last two years in the league catching for the most exciting prospect in baseball in a long, long time. The Nats get to be sure that their prize star is well-handled, and they get to benefit from the veteran leadership and instant credibility he brings to the table.

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I wasn’t entirely sure that it was going to happen, but even the lowly and pathetic Washington Nationals couldn’t screw this one up – they got Stephen Strasburg signed with minutes to spare. His $15.067 million contract is a far cry from what lunatic super-agent Scott Boras wanted, but it is still almost $5 million more than any other player has ever got from the draft. The deal includes a $7.5 million signing bonus, and extends through 2012.

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This Tim Floyd situation is going to get uglier and uglier. His resignation, and the speed and seeming joy with which the athletic department at USC took it, is a clear indicator of his guilt in the alleged cash-spreading incident, and it’s not hard to imagine him being guilty of more, either. The NCAA combined their investigation into the basketball team with their one into Reggie Bush and the football team et al . That would suggest that they are taking it pretty seriously, and this just adds fuel to their efforts. It will be very interesting to see what happens here. It could end very badly – loss of scholarships or post-season eligibility or the like. This really makes you wonder if maybe Pete Carroll will find the next NFL offer too good to refuse. If he does have some blood on his hands then he’d be much better off following the example of John Calipari – get out ahead of the scandal – than that of Tim Floyd.

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It’s about freaking time that the Lakers looked like the Lakers. If it took them that long to get their act together this time, though, then I really have to wonder how they will fare against a tuned up and focused Denver team. They still obviously have to be the favorite, but the margin of error is much smaller than it has been so far, and they have been far from powerful up to this point.

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The Major League Baseball season is more than a month old. Here’s what’s happening with just 136 games to go in the season.

Humanly Possible?

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