For once, Redskin's owner Daniel Snyder's money couldn't get him what he wanted.  ESPN is reporting that Giants defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo is staying with the Giants.  The Giants also wanted to make sure that Spagnuolo didn't have the urge to flirt with other jobs, so in the immortal words of Cuba Gooding, Jr., they "showed him the money".  They signed him to a three-year contract, in excess of $2 million per year.  It makes Spagnuolo the highest paid defensive coordinator in the game.

But don't fret Redskins' fans.  You soon will have a Giant among you.  Former Giant head coach, Jim Fassel, is said to be the frontrunner for the 'Skins open vacancy.  May God have mercy on your souls.

A lot is being speculated regarding the upcoming '08 performance of 2007 Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun.  It is pretty much concensus, however, that he will be among the top four third basemen in this year's fantasy draft.  How is a sophomore guy a second round pick, if not better?  Let me count the ways.

First off, let me tell you that this is a standard 5x5 league format.  In the second round, I wanted to sure up another infield position after drafting Chase Utley in the first.  With outfielders being available later and the Trinity of shortstops (Ramirez, Reyes, and Rollins) off the board I chose Ryan Braun.  In Braun's rookie season last year, he posted numbers similar to someone in their prime (.324, 34 HR, 97 RBI, 91 R, 15 SB).  Another plus he gives to a fantasy team is the fact that he'll be playing primarily in left field this year.  Since he stayed at 3B for all of '07, that means he'll be eligible at both positions.  Flexibility is a big bonus when dealing with high talent guys.  His value in keeper leagues is even more dramatic as he is only 24 years old.

Let's compare him to two other third basemen generally ranked above him.  Braun had more home runs than David Wright (30), a better average than Miguel Cabrera (.320), and only 26 less RBI than Cabrera (119) and ten less RBI than Wright (107).  All of this in at least 137 LESS AT-BATS than Wright and Cabrera.  That is astounding!  This guy has so much upside I would have been a fool not to take a shot at him.  Now, I'm not saying this guy is the next A-Rod or anything.  If all remains well with the Brew Crew, however, you could see Braun put up A-Rod-esque numbers this season. 

I'm going to do us all a favor and head off the Michael Vick apologists that are going to come out of the woodwork today - you'll thank me later.  No matter what happens with Pedro Martinez, Vick deserved his sentence and impending NFL suspension for dog fighting, and it was worse than what Pedro is going to go through.

For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, Foxsports.com is reporting that a video surfaced on Youtube last night, which showed Pedro and Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal at a cockfight in the Dominican Republic.  The two "...took part as honorary 'solutadores' - the word used to describe the person who throws the animal into the ring."

Marichal is renowned in his home country for raising fighting roosters on his farm, and apparently Pedro is doing the same on his own property.

So now everyone is going to be up in arms over this, and PETA is going to be calling for Bud Selig to suspend Pedro until the end of time, and the Vick supporters are going to scream that he should be thrown in jail, and use Vick's incarceration as "proof" that racism must have been involved there.

Well, I hate to tell you, but nothing's going to be - nor do I think should be - done to Pedro.  Why?  Because in the Dominican Republic, cockfighting is...umm...what's the word I'm looking for...LEGAL!!!

Understand that this is not an advocation of any sort for cockfighting; it should offend and sicken you.  But like it or not, in the D.R. it's legal, and it's part of their culture, and no matter how warped and disgusting we here might find it, he hasn't broken a single law.

Now I'm sure that the Vick supporters will immediately argue that dog fighting is part of the African-American culture in the South, and if it's ok for Pedro to claim something is part of his culture then Vick should be able to do so as well.  Again, this might be part of their culture, but dogfighting is illegal in the U.S., and if you break the law, you go to jail.

I don't even pretend to be able to grasp how watching dogfights or cockfights is enjoyable, but if we're going to start going after people over what's accepted practice in their own country, we'd better be prepared to spend a lot of time on the whole process, as well as getting some grief thrown that way.  Take, for instance, any Korean player in MLB.  They've probably eaten dog before, that's standard fare in Korea.  Are we going to go after them because we find it disgusting?  How would we react if American golfers or tennis players weren't allowed to compete in tournaments in India because they've eaten cow before?

So before we go off comparing the two cases, let's think about it for a minute, and then not do it.  Hate Pedro for what he did if you want, that's your right.  But let's not try and justify any sort of linkage between the two cases.  One was legal, one was not, and that ought to be the end of it.

Such is the ephemeral nature of the New York sports scene that less than three days after the Giants monumental win in Super Bowl XLII the Mets introduced their newest star, Johan Santana, at a Shea Stadium press conference. With the thunderous cheers from the Giants victory parade still echoing through lower Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes, the excitement shifted to Flushing, Queens, where the 2008 baseball season was being ushered in. 

Less than two weeks to pitchers and catchers. 

“Welcome to the city of baseball,” said Mets general manager Omar Minaya in greeting the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner. “This is an exciting time for our organization.” In response, the left handed Santana, who will turn 29 on March 13, called his arrival in the Big Apple and the National League, “The next chapter in my career, and hopefully, it will be special.”        

Following the Mets historic collapse in the waning days of the 2007 season that saw them yield a large NL East lead to the Phils, and caused them to miss the postseason, Minaya had little choice but to make a blockbuster off season move to prove to Mets fans that the team was serious about making the 2008 campaign a championship chase. 

However, it took Minaya a while to get the big deal done. But in the end he was aided by the fact the Twins, who had offered Santana a contract extension that the Venezuelan rejected, were forced to trade him. What’s more Minaya had to give up a lot less than the Twins had sought, handing over four prospects and no established big leaguers. That’s a far cry from what the Twins asked the first time the teams talked. Back then the Twins asked Minaya for prized shortstop Jose Reyes, but that was a non-starter, so the teams put their negotiations on the back burner while Minnesota entertained offers from the Yanks and Red Sox.  

But those talks bore no fruit when the Yanks refused to give up promising starting pitcher Ian Kennedy along with starter Philip Hughes and centerfielder Melky Cabrera, and the Sox would not include centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury in any packages. Faced with the prospect of entering the upcoming season with Santana still on their roster, and knowing they’d likely lose him and get nothing back when he hit the free agent market next October, the Twins reopened negotiations with the Mets, eventually accepting outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Umber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra.    

Having made the trade the Mets then had to sign Santana in a 72-hour period, which they accomplished last week. To get his name on the dotted line, the Mets gave Santana a six-year, $137.5 million extension that kicks in after the 2008 season, making him the highest paid pitcher in baseball history.     

So what exactly did the Mets get in exchange for those megabucks? Some would say baseball’s best pitcher. While that could be debated, what’s certain is Santana will replace Tom Glavine as the Mets ace, and anchor a staff that also features his boyhood idol, Pedro Martinez. Going into the 2008 season, Santana is a virtual lock to exceed Glavine’s 2007 performance, which featured his 300th career win, but included a late season meltdown culminating with a horrendous start in the team’s last-game loss to the Phils that cost the Mets the division. Glavine turned down an option to return to the Mets, opting to return to the Braves. 

Examining the numbers, Santana, whose Twins career began in 2000 and encompassed five full seasons, was 93-44 with a 3.22 ERA and 1,381 strikeouts in 1,309 innings pitched. That translates to just under 10 strikeouts for every nine innings pitched. Santana also led the AL in wins in 2005, in ERA in 2004 and ’06 and in strikeouts for three straight seasons, 2004-06.  Santana’s best season was 2004 when he went 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, a package that won him his first Cy Young Award. He won the award for a second time in 2006. But 2007 was sub-par for Santana, at least by his standards. He was 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA and 235 strikeouts, each stat his worst over the past four years. 

Interviewed on New York’s WFAN sports talk radio after his introductory press conference, Santana shrugged off last year’s drop off, preferring to look to the future. “I’m excited to be with the Mets,” he said. “There will be some adjustment to changing leagues, but I’m looking forward to helping the team.” That Santana will help the Mets is a no brainer.  For one thing, the National League doesn’t feature as strong a set of lineups as Santana faced in the AL so he figures to post even better numbers than in the past. Second, Shea Stadium is a pitcher’s park, yielding fewer homers than most major league venues, so Santana isn’t likely to yield as many homers as last season, when he served up 33, most in the league. 

But Santana’s impact on the Mets will be felt in a number of ways away from the playing field. In the immediacy, his joining the team will lessen pre-season discussion of last year’s collapse in favor of speculation of how he will perform. Also, he will help the Mets make the transition from the antiquated Shea Stadium to their new home at Citi Field, which opens in 2009. Finally, there’s the Mets rivalry with the cross-town Yankees. Had the Bronx Bombers landed Santana their dominance over the Mets as the Big Apple’s baseball darlings would have widened. With Santana a Met, the gap should close. 

No wonder Minaya was ecstatic when assessing the Santana arrival. “Today is an historic day for the New York Mets franchise,” he said. “Congratulations to the Giants on winning the Super Bowl, but today unofficially starts baseball.”  

If you are a college basketball fan and enjoy intensity and passion then you have to admit that it doesn't get any better than Duke vs. UNC.

Personally I don't like either team but when they hook up I have to watch because of the battle that wages between the two teams.

Duke hits 13 3-pointers as they beat UNC 89- 78

Tyler Hansbrough scored 28 points and had 18 rebounds.

Their games are always played at the level of a Final Four and as a fan I have to say college basketball doesn't get any better than this.

The only down part is Dukie V seems even worse than ever with his consistent butt-kissing of coach K and the Blue Devils.  I used to respect his knowledge and passion for the game but I have a hard time hearing it anymore over the sound of the lip smacking going on.