Archive for December 11th, 2008

WATERCOOLER CHAT: CC TO YANKEES, HEISMAN FINALISTS, NBA UPDATE

BASEBALL

C.C. Sabathia is the hottest free agent in baseball.  Many big market teams have been courting him, and it looks like the C.C. Sweepstakes are over.  Reportedly, Sabathia has signed the largest contract for a pitcher IN HISTORY.  The winner… you guessed it, the New York Yankees.  They shelled out $161 million to get him for the next seven years.  Wow!  Sabathia is known for being a ‘clubhouse’ guy, meaning he’s great for morale on top of his talent.  But man, $161 million for a good personality — that’s tremendous!  Now the question is… can he stand up to the pressure of Yankees fans.  New York has brought in several huge contract players in the last 10 years, and they are expected to be great every single second that they’re on the field.  That kind of stress can seriously affect a player’s performance.  Right now, Yanks fans are cheering, but will they be celebrating come October?

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The Heisman Trophy finalists were announced today.  Yep, big surprise, it’s three good-looking quarterbacks.  They include Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy, and last year’s winner, Florida’s Tim Tebow.  Tebow is the favorite, but Bradford could easily take the prize.  The weird thing is that the committee usually selects three to five players (based on votes) and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, who had a phenomenal underdog season, was not invited.  That’s quite a kick in the face to their thrilling ride to the #2 spot towards the end of the season.  Either way, the top two candidates will be squaring off in this year’s BCS Championship Game.

NBA

A baby Blockbuster trade between the Charlotte Bobcats and Phoenix Suns.  The Suns acquire Bobcats star shooting guard Jason Richardson for two of their mainstays, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell.  The move is essentially an attempt by the Suns to go for the Championship one last time with their aging Hall of Fame point guard, Steve Nash, still at the helm.  Richardson will take some of the pressure off Nash, and with Amare Stoudamire really becoming a dominant force this season — now seems like the right time to just go for it.  That is, before it’s too late.

Finally, the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers tried to win their 10th straight.  And by the way, they won those games easily, with LeBron barely having to break a sweat in the 4th quarter.  Last night, they took on the Philadelphia 76ers, and this one was a little closer, but not that  close.  LeBron put up 29 points, and he and the Cavs look untouchable now.  They don’t play the other Eastern Goliath, Boston, until January 9th, but that game is on every NBA die-hards radar, to be SURE.  Cleveland 101, Philadelphia 93.

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