Dwight Howard to the Chicago Bulls??

First of all, I like the Bulls team as it is right now. I don't think the Bulls should gut their roster for Dwight Howard, but if I had to trade for D12, I would consider this:

Dwight Howard - $18,091,770
Hedo Turkoglu - $11,015,850
Ryan Anderson - $2,244,601
+ 2nd round pick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bulls would be acquiring 3 players = $31,352,221

Joakim Noah - $12,000,000
Luol Deng - $12,325,000
Taj Gibson - $1,195,680
Ronnie Brewer - $4,710,000
Omer Asik - $1,857,500
+ Charlotte's 1st round pick
+ Bulls 1st round pick 2013
-------------------------------------------------- Magic would be acquiring 5 players = 32,088,180

Magic's depth
Jameer Nelson / Chris Duhon / (John Lucas)
Jason Richardson / J.J. Redick / Ronnie Brewer
Luol Deng / Quentin Richardson
Glen Davis / Taj Gibson / / (Brian Scalabrine)
Joakim Noah / Omer Asik

Orlando gets a lot of depth at their front court with the addition of Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, and Taj Gibson. Joakim Noah would be welcome in Orlando (I think?), having played for the Gators in college. Omer Asik is very raw and has some upside. Taj Gibson is a solid role-player and could actually start ahead of Glen Davis.

Orlando also gets an upgrade at the SF position with Luol Deng, all the while dumping Hedo Turkoglu's contract.

Ronnie Brewer is a solid defender and could help out in late-game situations where J.J. Redick could be a defensive liability.

Orlando should be able to stay competitive with this lineup. What they lack in star power, would be made up for with young players who know their roles well. Similar to what the Denver Nuggets have.

With the Charlotte Hornets in franchise hell, it's a possibility that the Charlotte pick could give them a quality prospect to develop.

Bulls pick would be late but it would still be able to provide them young, decent, cheap role players.

NOTE:
Orlando should trade the likes of Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson to free up some cap space for a prized FA, picks, or prospects down the line.

Chicago Bulls Depth:

Derrick Rose / CJ Watson / (John Lucas)
Rip Hamilton / Kyle Korver
Hedo Turkoglu / Jimmy Butler
Carloz Boozer / Ryan Anderson
Dwight Howard / (Brian Scalabrine)

NOTE: The lack of depth in the middle should be addressed by the Bulls immediately by signing one of the FA bigs. Joel Pryzbilla, Ryan Hollins, Nazr Mohammed, etc.

Hedo turkoglu and Ryan Anderson could both shoot from beyond the arc at a decent clip. This would allow for Derrick Rose to drive and kick-out to the wings for open 3's. Same goes for Dwight Howard when he gets double-teamed.

The young core of Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard would be just flat scary.


I know this is just crazy to think about happening. It's a lot of big-name players and quite frankly probably too many players to be moving around.  Why not just swap teams, right? Not to mention Dwight apparently REALLY wants to play in New Jersey from what it sounds like. This is just some bored, food for thought.

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Cody Ross Signs with Boston

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff 

Link to story

The Red Sox are reportedly negotiating with free agent outfielder Cody Ross and could have a deal done by the end of the night.

Ross, who turned 31 in December, is a right-handed hitter who has primarily been a center fielder in his career but has experience in right and left. A postseason hero for the world champion Giants in 2010, Ross hit a modest .240/.325/.405 last season with 14 homers and 52 RBIs.

Ross is a career .282/.349/.563 hitter against lefties, although it is worth noting that he hit .234/.336/.362 against southpaws last season.

With Carl Crawford not expected to be ready to start the season and Mike Aviles in line to play more shortstop than expected, Ross would give the Red Sox some much-needed depth in the outfield.

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury New reported that Ross is ready to pick a team today.

UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: A team source says the Red Sox, "have made some progress" with Ross today.

UPDATE, 8:50 p.m.: Ken Rosenthal of Fox is reporting the Red Sox have signed Ross. Details to come.

UPDATE, 9:00 p.m.: A team source said the Sox are "optimistic" about signing Ross. That could simply mean he needs to take a physical or the contract language needs to be finalized.

The deal would be worth $3 million and include incentives based on playing time.

UPDATE, 9:35 p.m.: Signing Ross would not preclude the Red Sox also signing Roy Oswalt or finding some other way to help the rotation. There is budget space left to make a move.

According to sources, the Red Sox are hoping to extract value from the market as spring training edges closer. They also could elect to save the money and have some financial flexibility for in-season trades.

Just an opinion, but they didn't trade Marco Scutaro without having some sense about what they could do with the money saved.

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Where Prince Fielder Does NOT Want To Play..

In all seriousness, this is just a fun way of showing respect to a great player. As a Braves fan, I do not want to have to see this guy fifteen times a year. Four times sounds a lot better... In the World Series (sweep).

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Report: QB Dayne Crist leaving ND

via Matt Fortuna & ESPN.com

Notre Dame reserve quarterback Dayne Crist will not return to the Irish next season, according to a report.

Crist, who started the last two season openers for Notre Dame, met with coach Brian Kelly on Friday to pursue his release from Notre Dame, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.

"Dayne and I had a good conversation Friday and I have granted him permission to speak to other schools," Kelly said, according to the Tribune. "Dayne has been a valuable member of our team the last two years, and if he feels he needs to look for a better situation then I think we owe that to him."

Crist is scheduled to graduate later this month and will have one year of eligibility remaining since he did not play his first year at Notre Dame. He can transfer to another school and play immediately so long as he enrolls in a graduate program that Notre Dame does not offer, per NCAA rules.

The rule has gained plenty of attention this season because of the success of quarterback Russell Wilson at Wisconsin. Wilson transferred from North Carolina State and led the Badgers to the Big Ten title Saturday night.

Bad breaks on and off the field were the hallmarks of Crist's tenure at Notre Dame.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder appeared in four games in 2009 before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in an Oct. 31 game against Washington State. He won the starting job to begin 2010 before rupturing the patella tendon in his left knee last Oct. 30 against Tulsa. He then got an infection and watched Tommy Rees emerge as the starter to close the season, as Rees went 4-0.

Crist then beat Rees out for the job this past offseason before being benched after the Irish fell behind South Florida 16-0 by halftime in Week 1. Crist completed 7 of 15 passes for 95 yards and threw an interception in the half. Rees started the second half and has been the Irish's No. 1 quarterback in every game since.

The most action Crist saw since then came Oct. 22 against USC, when, with the Irish trailing 17-10, he relieved an injured Rees on a third-quarter drive. Crist completed 4 of 5 passes for 36 yards and brought Notre Dame to the 1 but fumbled the snap on a third-and-goal play. The Trojans returned the fumble for a touchdown.

Rees, a sophomore, started the Irish's last 11 games before he was benched after a rough first half Nov. 26 at Stanford. There, fellow sophomore Andrew Hendrix came in and performed well, further clouding Notre Dame's quarterback picture moving forward.

Add in the fact that another touted recruit, freshman Everett Golson, has yet to take a snap this season, and the situation looked bleak for Crist.

Crist committed to the Irish as ESPNU's 22nd overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback after a successful career at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Crist completed more than 58 percent of his passes for 2,327 yards for the Irish, with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was 4-6 as a starter.

It is unclear if Crist will join the Irish for their bowl game.

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Heading Back to Atlanta: Georgia vs. LSU

For everyone associated with the SEC, the conference championship game has become a game of glory. Those who are a part of the SEC know that this is the best conference in football. Those who aren't are in a sad denial.

But for some people, the 2011 SEC championship game is looked at as a game with no meaning. It's been presumed that even with an LSU loss to Georgia, the Tigers will still be making a trip to New Orleans for the National Championship. 

The Bulldogs are aware of the situation. They know that even with a win over the Tigers they can't make it to the BCS National Championship—something the winner of the SEC championship game has done for the last five years.

Georgia knows the pride that comes with being champions of the greatest conference in college football and it's something they haven't felt since 2005. It was that game in 2005 that the Bulldogs last upset LSU, beating the then-ranked No. 3 Tigers, 34-14. The Dawgs believe they can do it again.

"We've been an underdog ever since those two games we lost," defensive back Branden Smith said. "We're used to it. We believe in ourselves. Even when no one else believed, we still believed. Even though we're an underdog now, we keep believing."

Defeating LSU is a daunting task that has already seen a remarkable seven ranked teams try and fail.

The Tigers have put together a championship season that, should they win out, would go down in history as one of the greatest single seasons in years. It would certainly go down as one of the greatest single seasons for LSU, who believe it or not sit at 12-0 for the first time in school history.

Head coach of the Tigers, Les Miles, believes his team has benefited greatly from the big games his team has already been a part of this year.

"To me, we're used to playing in that environment, used to being on the big stages," Miles said.

Outside of LSU, who have been hot since the get-go, the Georgia Bulldogs come into Atlanta as maybe the hottest team in the country. The Dawgs are currently riding a 10-game winning streak for the first time since 1982 when they finished the season as SEC Champions—before losing to Penn State in the National Championship.

At 10-2, the Bulldogs haven't gained a lot of respect from the BCS rankings, which currently have them ranked at No. 14. 

Many believe it's their relatively weak schedule that is holding the Dawgs back. Having only defeated two ranked opponents—No. 24 Auburn and No. 25 Georgia Tech—LSU will be Georgia's first true test since dropping their first two games of the season to Boise State and South Carolina.

While many thought it was Arkansas' Tyler Wilson that would provide a problem for the LSU defensive backs, it could be Georgia's Aaron Murray the Tigers have trouble with.

“He's the kind of guy that you have to make sure you're responsible,” Les Miles said. “Your coverage, you have to focus your eyes and make sure you're over the top. The guy that can move the ball around to as many receivers as he gets it to, you have to have the ability to play coverage and certainly play coverage with the ability to get some pressure on that quarterback without necessarily calling extra guys in the rush.” 

The sophomore set a school record with 32 touchdown passes to compliment just 10 interceptions. Murray will be throwing the ball to big, physical Georgia receivers. A position the Dawgs are extremely deep at with players who aren't afraid to matchup with the tough corners from Baton Rouge.

The Bulldogs are expecting freshman running back, Isaiah Crowell, to play on Saturday. Crowell missed almost all of last week's game with an ankle injury, but head coach Mark Richt said the injury shouldn't be a problem.

"Unless there's a setback, I think he will play in the game," Richt said.

It will be imperative that Georgia establish a run game versus the Tigers for Aaron Murray to have any success through the air—something Murray is aware of.

"We really want to be able to run the ball," he said. "I think we need to be able to run the ball against LSU to get the victory and put some points on the board."

To those who are writing the Bulldogs off in this one, don't. 

While it is hard to foresee an outcome that favors Georgia, it's not far-fetched to believe they can pull off the upset. This is a different team walking into the Georgia Dome on Dec. 3 than the one that played there Sept. 3.

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Espresso Book Machine: A Vending Machine for Books

This isn't sports related so if sports are what you're looking for currently, I apologize. This is the kind of thing that normally I wouldn't even glance at, but this really is an innovative machine. 

The Espresso Book Machine or EBM was installed and demonstrated for the first time in 2007. A vending machine for books, pretty cool right? 

It can print up to 500,000 books at 100 pages per minute and can even produce out of print books. 

You can now write your own book, and have it printed on the EBM in minutes. I'll say this about myself: I despise reading, but I'm fully infatuated with this machine.

While the EBM is environmentally friendly, printing books on demand rather than in mass, it does eliminate jobs in warehouses and shipping.

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Alabama vs. LSU Rematch: Venting It All Out

First and foremost I'd like to apologize for the vent you are or are not about to read. Please forgive me if some part of this either doesn't make sense or has grammatical errors. I'm just typing away.

Quite frankly, I'm sick of the talk surrounding college football and the BCS. Often times when your "team" is the one being talked about in a relatively positive light, you love hearing anything and everything you can. This couldn't be further from the truth for me.

It all REALLY started around late October. As an Alabama alumni, I knew of the importance of the Alabama vs. LSU matchup that was coming. America did too.

For a week straight all I saw on ESPN was talk about the two schools and the November 5 game. All I heard anyone talk about was how this was "The Game of The Century," how these were the best two teams in football, and that this game was the National Championship. Did it bother me then? Slightly. I have to admit, even being a fan of Alabama I was annoyed at the constant coverage. I can't even imagine what it was like for the non-Alabama or non-LSU fan watching ESPN that week.

Then there was the game. If you tell me that the game played between LSU and Alabama on November 5 was a bad game, I may lose all respect for you as a sports fan (if I had any to begin with). I won't dive too much into the game, but it was a classic. The following week the talk had shifted.

"Well the game did go into overtime. The game was decided by a field goal. Alabama did outplay LSU. I would be alright with a rematch if there wasn't another team better than Alabama."

It was and has been the talk of college football for the past month.

The weeks following the LSU-Alabama game we saw madness ensue. Top 10 teams were dropping like flies and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, we had a rematch.

The BCS is designed to take the two best teams in the country and place them in the National Championship.

STOP COMPLAINING.

The BCS has done its job to perfection. The two best teams will play for a National Championship and there simply is no disputing that.

Why are people so mad all of a sudden?

To me, it's bitterness. I'm sorry if that makes any reader mad, but it is. Your team either lost, was upset or simply didn't win enough games and now you've found your scapegoat in Alabama.

There really is no simpler way to put it other than the two best teams in football will play for the BCS National Championship. That's the way it should be, that's the way it is.

A team who loses to a 28-point underdog doesn't deserve to even be mentioned. Goodbye all Oklahoma schools.

A team who plays in a conference that would be won by Boise State, I'm pointing at you ACC and Big East, doesn't deserve to be mentioned.

I honestly never thought I would be saying this, but outside of Alabama, Stanford and Oregon have the best cases as to why they should play in the National Championship.

Now I keep hearing how unfair it is for LSU to have to beat Alabama twice to win the National Championship, but that Alabama only has to beat LSU once. I'm not going to say this is a ridiculous argument being made because I can understand it.

What happens in the NFL is San Francisco beats Baltimore in the Superbowl? Should they have to play again?

Don't give me the playoff argument either. I've heard the argument and to put it kindly, it's slightly retarded.

If Alabama was to beat LSU in the National Championship, each team would have defeated the other on the road (the game is in New Orleans, it's a home game for LSU whether you'd like to admit it or not).

I don't know what I'm proposing. Maybe play an extra game if Alabama wins? Maybe split the National Champion-title? Maybe get over it and come to terms with the fact that the BCS has done it's job?

Whatever you choose, please stop shooting down the BCS. Please stop telling me Alabama doesn't deserve another shot. Please, to the media, stop giving people a reason to complain about a rematch. There isn't one.

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