Justice is served: 3 up and 3 down
THREE UP ...
1. No one expected the Red Sox to remain idle this offseason, and the Sox didn't. Looking up at the Yankees, the Red Sox needed to fortify their rotation, so they went out and signed free agent John Lackey. With Lackey, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, the Red Sox have the strongest one-two-three punch in baseball.
2. What am I missing here? Everywhere I hear people talk about history and the importance of the Colts and the Saints going 16-0. But the only history worth making will come in February. Win the Super Bowl, and that's the history that matters. Nothing else does.
3. Jake, Jake, Jake! Can you believe Washington quarterback Jake Locker, a surefire No. 1 pick, decided to stay in college instead of going into the NFL draft and collecting millions? Locker will surely hear people second-guess his decision, but he realized what others didn't: He's having a ball in college, so why give it up just yet?
THREE DOWN ...
1. Call it the Tiger Woods effect, but advertising experts are wondering aloud if companies will ever again pour millions into having a celebrity's name on their products. Image is everything; it always has been. A tarnished image has little value to marketers and corporate giants. A good-guy image can unravel quickly when infidelity, thuggish behavior or drug abuse attaches itself to an athlete's persona.
2. Let's stop it! All the carping about the BCS needs to end. Yeah, some fans, athletic directors and TV talking heads want a playoff system, but is anybody listening to the men and women who have a say on the subject? Hardly. If people were listening, they would have heard what Ohio State president Gordon Gee said the other day: "I can assure you there is no support among college presidents in this country for a BCS playoff system.
3. The NHL needs to come to terms with this simple reality: It will never sell hockey to sports fans living south of the Mason-Dixon line. Its effort to breathe life into the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes prolongs the inevitable: The franchise will die in the Arizona desert. Move the team someplace where the franchise might thrive. Hamilton, Ontario looked like a fine move to me.
NOTHING ACROSS
The Phillies have chased right-hander Roy Halliday for the better part of a full season, and they seem to have landed him if a three-team deal with the Blue Jays and Mariners plays out. Good move on the one hand, but a curious move on the other: To get Halliday, the Phillies have to give up left-hander Cliff Lee. Sounds more like an even swap than an upgrade.
