Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Super-Hype Starts Now

Today’s Calls: Tom Brady vs. the Media, Hendricks Report vs.
Mitchell Report, Erik Bedard Trade vs. Johan Santana Trade, Chris Paul vs. Rudy Gay, Duke vs. Maryland, Senior Bowl vs. All-American Football League Draft, Tiger vs. Arnie, Djokovic vs. Shanoff and More!
The Opening Pitch: Steel yourself for the Super Hype.
The week of insanity begins in Arizona, as teams, media, fans, media and more media descend on Glendale to take us the final 7 days until Super Bowl XLII.
If there is one macro storyline -- Pats perfection -- a dominant micro-storyline also emerged last week:
What about Tom Brady?!?! The latest, because I know you’re breathlessly waiting to know:
No boot! No limp! We got a sighting of him on Sunday as the Pats paraded past fans and media to catch a ride to the plane to Arizona.
“I’m feeling good. I’ll be ready to go.” That was Brady, later that day, in his first comments to the media in Arizona, acknowledging the ankle injury, but downplaying its significance (and, according to slurpy NFL reporters, “looking dreamy” in a pinstripe suit, V-neck sweater and open-collar dress shirt).
Sick of it yet? Don’t worry: You will be.
Clemens Watch: The “Hendricks Report?” Clemens agent Randy Hendricks released an 18,000-word rebuttal to the Mitchell Report, a stats log trying to refute claims Clemens could have used steroids.
From Moneyball to Funnyball: Can SABR save Clemens? There has never been even a hint of a “stats defense” in the 5 weeks since the Mitchell Report, and the Hendricks Report disproves nothing.
But Hendricks and Clemens are asking for trouble when they bust out the stats -- let’s hear the SABR community’s forensic analysis of Hendricks’ claims before we put any stock in his report.
(Notably, Hendricks tries to compare Clemens to Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Nolan Ryan: I wonder if they will appreciate having their names dragged into this mess, tainted by association with
Clemens.)
MLB Trade Rumors: Erik Bedard headed to Seattle in the next 24 hours? That’s the speculation, and the Mariners asked top prospect Adam Jones to come back to the U.S. from the Venezuelan Winter Leagues. Bedard and King Felix would give the Mariners a K-heavy 1-2 punch.
More Trade Rumors: Johan Santana dealt in next 10 days ... to the Mets? The destination may still be up in the air (the Mets are rumored to lead the Yankees and Red Sox), but the reports are that a deal -- any deal -- will happen in the next 10 days.
NFL Coaching Carousel: The Dan Snyder Era is back. That’s the biggest lesson of the crazy twists and turns down in D.C.
The latest: Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was interviewed multiple times by Snyder and widely supported in local media, wasn’t just rejected for the open head-coaching job -- he was fired.
Williams will hook on with another team quickly enough, but the real story is that after a placidly brief Gibbs Interlude, the Snyder Era is back in full force in D.C.
Is Lane Kiffin in or out in Oakland? Al Davis reportedly wants him out (though the team denies it -- maybe Al was having a senior moment?). Kiffin reportedly won’t leave without being fired, so he can get paid. What a wonderful example to set for the college kids Kiffin coached at the Senior Bowl this past week.
NBA: Are the Hornets for real? Just ask the Spurs, who took a 24-point pounding in San Antonio from the team with the best record in the West, now riding an 8-game winning streak. I love AI, but Chris Paul deserves to start for the West in the All-Star Game. He’s the NBA’s first-half MVP and should be a lock as an All-Star reserve.
Stud of the Weekend: Rudy Gay, who continued his breakout soph season with career-high 34 in a Griz win over the Clips on Saturday.
Sure, Brandon Roy should have been the No. 1 overall pick of the 2006 Draft, but how about a consensus that Gay should have gone 2nd? (Can you believe the Bobcats took Adam Morrison at 3 and Gay slid all the way to 8?)
Sunday Wrap: Buzzer-beaters! Hedo Turkoglu hit one to lead the Magic over the Celtics (without injured KG) ... Kevin Martin hit one to lead the Kings over the Sonics, who have lost a franchise-worst 14 straight ... No buzzer-beater needed: LeBron 41, Kobe 33 in a Cavs win over the Lakers ... Oh, apparently Scott Skiles talked himself right out of the Bulls job, saying the team needed a change.
Webber Watch: Don Nelson wants him in Golden State ... but does Webber want to be there? What a career bookend THAT would make.
Sunday in the CBB Top 25: Duke foils rival Maryland’s upset bid, coming back from 9 down at the half behind DeMarcus Nelson’s 19 second-half points to win ... Florida routs Vandy by 22 in the Gators’ best game of the season (career-high 19 from Final Four holdover Walter Hodge and double-digit scoring from the rest of the starting 5) ...
CBB Weekend Wrap: Big weekend for Big East. The Big East has few Final Four-quality teams, but the conference is a toughie, proven by two things this weekend: (1) Also-ran Rutgers knocked off its second straight ranked opponent, and UConn went into Bloomington (without 2 suspended guards) and beat Indiana.
Meanwhile: Another team at the top of the Big Ten (and top of the Top 25) took a tumble as Wisconsin lost to Purdue ... Turns out we might have been focusing on the wrong college basketball team in Mississippi, particularly after State beat Ole Miss on Saturday night to remain unbeaten in the SEC.
More MLB: Who says the Twins are the prototype cheap small-market team? They just gave Justin Morneau a 6Y/$80M deal on top of the 1Y/$7M one-year deal from earlier last week. Oh, and Michael Cuddyer got a 3Y/$24M deal. And yet they “can’t afford” Johan ...
Tiger wins the Buick: Really? Never would have predicted THAT one. (He is now tied with Arnold Palmer with 62 all-time PGA wins.)
Senior Bowl Wrap: Leave it to the SEC to finish off the game.
Florida’s Caldwell took a hand-off from Tennessee’s Ainge around the end 2 yards for the winning score on the game’s final play. (The week’s standout? One was The Sporting Blog Archives.