Chad Johnson has been making the media rounds at the Super Bowl this week. His message to Jim Rome, th NFL Network and anyone else willing to listen is pretty clear - he wants out of Cincinnati. I've been one of the biggest Chad Johnson fans. He flat out made watching the games more fun for me. He is a great entertainer not to mention a great football player. I have defended him to no end. The Bengals failure this year is not to be blamed on him. Chad feels he's being skapegoated for the disappointment of this past season. From my perspective, I tended to agree with him. And up until this point I wouldn't budge one ounce that he was out of line or that we should trade him. Now, I think this is a huge stunt by one of the biggest SOB agents in football, Drew Rosenhaus and one of the biggest cry babies in the NFL. It pains me to say that. It will pain me to not see Chad in Orange and Black. I am concerned that we're damned if we do and damned if we don't at this point. An impotent, arrogant coach who won't deal or address this issue. A miserly, lousy owner who won't take kindly to this stunt. An immature player with a power hungry agent. It's the perfect storm and it's erupting. I think we're at the point of no return now. And that spells the end of 85 in Orange and Black. But now the questions unanswered are troubling. Can the Bengals trade Chad for value (as in a first round pick)? How will this affect TJ Houshmanzadeh, Chad's best friend? Will he also be disgruntled? Will this open the door for others to pull this stunt? Will this actually help the team chemistry? I don't have the answers. The only thing I know, and this may sound melodramatic, but I'm literally sad at how this has played out. I'll be sad for a while. I love Chad Johnson as a player. I love him as a Bengal. Too bad the two can no longer co-exist. I feel like the kid stuck in a messy divorce. Who should I side with? Both parties are to blame and I'm (and all Bengal fans) the ultimate victim.

It appears that Johan Santana is heading to the Mets, assuming that a contract extension can be reached and Santana passes his physical.  But do any of us believe that the Mets wouldn't have traded for Santana if they weren't prepared to pay the extension price?  Right.  Didnt' think so.

But how does the best pitcher in baseball switching leagues affect his fantasy draft value?  Greatly.

According to Mock Draft Central's latest ADP (Average Draft Position) rankings, Santana is going around the 16th pick.  With the switch to the NL, he should skyrocket up your board.  In my Round 1 fantasy draft column, I penciled him in the 4-hole overall.  I read the latest reports and played a hunch that the Mets would evenutally land Santana.  I was right.  I stand by him in the 4th overall slot.  If you're the owner who was thinking mid-to-late Round 2 was about right for him, you better reconsider.  He will, and should be a legitimate Top 5 pick come draft day.

In my previous column, I envoked the possible league switch and the "Antonio Gates Theory" as my reasoning behind having him so high.  Never has that proved truer.  Gates, until this past season, was by far-and-away the best tight end in football.  In fact, coming into the 2007 season, he ranked in the Top 10 in receivers overall, wide-outs included.  The same goes for Santana.

Santana finished last season 3rd in the majors in strikeouts, 13th in ERA (3.33--highest of his career), 18th in wins (15--fewest of his career since becoming a full-time starter), and 2nd in WHIP (1.07).  The ERA and Wins can be directly attributed to the fact that the Twins had a mediocre fielding percentage and had a pretty putrid offense.  The ranked 9th out of the 14 AL teams in average (.264) and 7th in the AL in fielding percentage (.984).  At least one of these issue will be taken care of with the trade.  The Mets ranked 2nd in the NL in batting average (.275), and they still have the same core of hitter returning next season.  Unfortunately, Santana will still have to deal with the same mediocre defense around him, as the Mets fielding percentage (.983) is almost statistically the same as the Twins.

But what should really vault Santana into a legitimate Top 5 pick in your drafts this year are his stats when pitching against the NL.  One of the nice things about interleague play is that we can get a sampling (albeit a small one) of what a player's stats will do when confronted with a league switch.  Thank you Bud Selig (might be the only time I write that sentence again).  In the years since Santana became a full-time starter (2004-2007), here is what he has posted in interleague games:

16 starts / 10-3 / 2.16 ERA / .184 BA against / .83 WHIP / 9.18 K/9 rate

Put those numbers in conjunction with the fact that this might be the best offensive team he's ever played for, the fact that the NL switch allows him to face much weaker hitters in the 8 and 9-holes (sometimes in the 7-hole as well), and the fact that most NL hitters will be seeing his devastating slider for the first time in their lives, and you should have the definition of fantasy domination.

I fully expect Santana to return to his sub-3 ERA form.  His WHIP will probably hoover around 1, but I wouldn't be surprised to see below that.  And he should easily hit the 250 K mark.  In comparison, last year's NL Cy Young winner, Jake Peavy, led the majors in K's with 240, ERA (2.54) and WHIP (1.06).  Santana already compares with him in the strikeout and WHIP categories, and he was pitching in the tougher AL last season.  Santana should easily lead the league in every statistical pitching category next season.

Sounds like a Top 5 pick to me.

Like last year, there is a lot of optimism for fans of the Cleveland Indians. The team won a tough division, knocked the Yankees out of the post-season before losing to the Red Sox in the LCS. The organization did not make too many changes in the off-season and really did not need to. To get back to the playoffs they just need some repeat performances from their top players. And a few may even get better. Here's a look at top the hitters on the Indians and how they might fare in real and fantasy baseball.

Grady Sizemore, OF - The Indians have one of the best lead-off hitters in the game with Sizemore. Last year, however, his numbers were actually down a bit. He batted just .277 with 24 home runs and 118 runs scored. The biggest drop came in doubles. In 2006 he led the league with 53 but finished with just 34 last year. He tried to make up for that by stealing 11 more bags last season, ending up with 33. Expect his average to be closer to .290 this year - he batted .290 and .289 in the previous two seasons. He probably won't get to 30 HRs but another 25 or so is likely. And depending on what the guys do behind him, he may not need to steal 30 bags. Regardless, all of that combined him to be one of the top outfielders in the game. He may not be a top round pick, but if you have the last pick of the second you probably won't see him.

 
Travis Hafner, DH - This time last year 'Pronk' was considered to be a first round pick in the world of fantasy baseball. He was coming off of a season with 42 HRs, 117 RBI and a .308 batting average, and looked as if he was just getting better. Well, looks can be deceiving. The Indians' slugger finished with just 24 homers, 100 RBI and a paltry .266 average. While there is no concrete reason for the drop in numbers, it is generally taken that Hafner was 'pressing' at the plate. Regardless, his fantasy value has dropped considerably. But don't let him go to far down the list. In the previous three seasons Pronk went from 28 to 33 to 42 HRs, drove in more than 100 runners in each of those years and batted .308 in them combined. There's a good chance that last season was just an 'off-year' for Hafner. Players have them. A-Rod did in 2006 and he bounced back fairly well. Expect Hafner to do the same.

 
Victor Martinez, C - Last year Martinez led the Indians with 25 HRs, 114 RBI and a .301 batting average. Those power numbers were by far the best among catchers and only Jorge Posada had a better average. There is no reason to think he won't lead his position in those categories once again, making him the best fantasy catcher. Last season he also started 24 games at first base, which does not really help from a fantasy perspective. However, it does help to give him some rest and takes away his liability of not being able to throw runners out. Still, when to draft him is a tricky question. There will be more than a few leagues where some owner will take him in the second round - or sooner! That's too early. But don't plan on being able to steal him in round five. 

The Univeristy of Cincinnati finalized the deal with head football coach Brian Kelly on Tuesday, agreeing to a five-year extension. The new deal runs through December 31, 2012. With incentives, Kelly's new deal could have the coach making as much as $2 million per season.

Kelly led the Bearcats to their first 10-win season in nearly 60 years and the school finished in the final top 25 rankings for the first time ever. The success has the appoval rating for UC football at an All-time high and has led to Kelly being a very rich man.

Here's a detailed breakdown of the deal:

BASE SALARY: $300,000 (will be reviewed at least annually)
RADIO AND TELEVISION: $400,000
PUBLICE RELATIONS: $300,000
SPORTS CAMP: $100,000
SHOE AND APPAREL CONTRACT: $100,000
*Includes use of automobile and golf club membership; $1.2 million base will increase $50,000 (Jan 1, 2010 and every season after)

INCENTIVE BONUSES
Top 25 Finish (AP and/or Coaches Poll): $50,000
Victory over top 25 team: $10,00 per win
Appearance in BCS Bowl Game: $100,000
Appearance in any other Bowl: $40,000
Big East Regular Season Championship: $50,000
Big East Coach of the Year: $20,000
National (AFCA) Coach of the Year: $50,000

REGULAR-SEASON INCENTIVES
Seven wins: $5,000 ($3,000 per win after that)
*$20,000 possible - 12 wins

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Team GPA exceeds 2.75: $5,000
Team GPA exceeds 3.0: $10,000
Graduation Rate (each academic year): 75% based in four years from initial enrollment of the current class: $100,000
Academic Progress Rate (exceed the standard set by NCAA): $10,000 after first four years (must be exceeded after that)

ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE
Over 15,000: $12,500
15,000-20,000: $25,000
20,000-27,500: $32,500
27,501-32,000: $50,000

BOWL, FAMILY TRIP ALLOWANCE
The University will make available to Kelly in each year of the term of the contract a budget of $25,000 and 200 bowl tickets to any bowl in which the university participates.

TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE
Before Dec. 31, 2008: $2,000,000
Before Dec. 31, 2009: $1,500,000
Before Dec. 31, 2010: $1,250,000
Before Dec. 31, 2011: $750,000
On or after Dec 31, 2011: $500,00

IF KELLY LEAVES FOR ANOTHER SCHOOL OR NFL, HE PAYS
Before Jan 15, 2009: $2,000,000
Before Jan 15, 2010: $1,000,000
Before Jan 15, 2011: $750,000
Before Jan 15, 2012: $500,000
On or after Jan 15, 2012: $250,000

PRACTICE FIELDS
The University agrees to "use its best efforts" to build or acquire two practice fields on campus by Sept. 1, 2009, and an indoor facility, which shall be understood to include a bubble over Nippert Stadium or some other campus facility by Dec. 1, 2009, or by the conclusion of the last home game of the season, whichever occurs later. If the deadline is missed, the buyout payment for Kelly taking another job will be reduced by half until the Jan. 15, 2010, or the date on which the two practice fields and indoor facility become available.


This definitely puts the pressure on UC to get the job done, but still shows the University of Cincinnati and its president, Nancy Zimpher, are committed to athletic success, when acheived in a manner that sheds good light on the rest of the university. This is a huge win for everyone involved!

After batting .313 with 58 homeruns in 2006, Ryan Howard entered the 2007 season with high expectations.  To say he started the season disappointing is a bit of understatement. In fact, after batting just .213 with 3 HRs in April many owners didn't hesitate to unload the Philly slugger.  The Phillies didn't give up on him though. Instead, they placed him on the DL to let a quad strain that plagued him rest. It was just what the doctor ordered too, upon returning in May Howard homered in 11 of his first 14 games.

A final look at the '07 numbers reveals some pros and some cons. He did finish with 47 homeruns and 136 RBIs. However, his .268 batting average was less than desireable and only Adam Dunn strikes out more than this guy (199 strikeouts in '07).

The Phillies did add some offense to their line-up by signing free agents OF Geoff Jenkins and 3B Pedro Feliz, but their line-up still lacks consistency from top to bottom. Chase Utley will likely hit third, in front of Howard, with Pat Burrell hitting behind the slugger in the five-hole. It's not terrible, but Burrell doesn't provide the best protection and that should lead to plenty of walks again this year for Howard.

Looking at his three-year average - .291, 42 HRs, 116 RBI's - keeps Howard No. 2 on in my first base rankings and should be good enough to keep him as first round selection in most formats, with an increase in value in leagues where strikeouts don't count against hitters.