Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Beasley, Clemens, Bonds

By Dan Shanoff
Today’s Calls: Michael Beasley vs. Kevin Durant, Barry Bonds vs.
Tampa, Tony LaRussa vs. Management, Roger Clemens vs. the Department of Justice, DeShawn Stevenson vs. Gilbert Arenas, Reggie Bush vs. Inevitability, Carl Edwards vs. Jimmie Johnson and More!
The Opening Pitch: Michael Beasley may be the new Kevin Durant, but Texas is the new Florida.
[img=http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/7111/beasleymc3.jpg]
While Durant had all your attention last year, it turned out that Texas had a pretty good cast behind him.
Good enough that this Texas team is vastly superior to last year’s “Durantified” version, which flamed out in the NCAA’s opening weekend.
Without Durant, everyone else has stepped up their game, and a talented crop of freshmen is now a powerhouse group of sophomores. (Check the similarity to the star-heavy Florida dud in 04-05 and the championship team in 05-06, led by previously eclipsed sophs.)
UT’s win at Kansas State (which hadn’t lost a Big 12 game at home this season) was Texas’ 8th straight. And no team boasts a triumvirate of quality wins as good as Texas’ Ws over Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas.
If they can beat the Vols by 19 on a neutral court, who CAN’T they beat? It would sound astounding a year ago, but Texas is better without Durant, and they’ll prove it in March with a very deep Tourney run.
(For those paying attention over the last two days, I have filled 3 of my 4 Final Four slots with Tennessee, UCLA and Texas. Obviously, they have to be sent to different regions, but I think odds are they will.)
Meanwhile, Beasley had yet another monster game: 30 points and 15 assists. I would like to see Beasley in the Tournament, if only because he is the most dominant player in college hoops this season.
But I don’t expect K-State to fare any better than Texas with Durant: They wouldn’t survive the first weekend.
The fact is: Neither Beasley nor Durant is Carmelo (who, for my money, is not just the greatest freshman, but the best college player PERIOD over the last 25 years).
Tampa Bay Rays going after Barry Bonds? Let me be clear: This is something they ABSOLUTELY SHOULD DO.
I’m no expert on the Rays’ lineup, but I do know they have zero cachet. Bonds brings the franchise instant attention, at home and on the road.
Will the team be vilified? Who cares? What matters is they will be relevant, on a national scale. Andrew Friedman: Make this deal.
(Hey, no less a baseball purist than Tony LaRussa wanted Bonds for the Cardinals; most recently as this offseason, the new GM -- and old ownership -- overruled him.)
Clemens to be investigated by the Justice Department for lying to Congress? There is a draft of a letter created by House staffers asking for a DOJ investigation, but it hasn’t been sent yet. (h/t: NYT)
Presumably, they wouldn’t write it (or leak it) if they didn’t want someone to read it (or know about it). That could be the DOJ -- or it could just be the Department of Public Opinion.
That said, one House lawyer told USA Today that sending the letter to the DOJ wasn’t necessarily happening (then again, the lawyer was a Republican staffer).
CBB Top 25: Tennessee on top for the first time in school history. They get their first test as No. 1 against a far bigger in-state rival than Memphis -- Vanderbilt, in Nashville. (Upset Special!)
Kelvin Sampson Fall-Out: Who else finds it sort of appalling that IU had to WRITE IN to Sampson’s settlement that he would HAVE TO cooperate with any inquiry into his behavior.
Women’s CBB: UConn beats LSU, in yet another one of these sick non-conference regular-season matchups that seems to define women’s college hoops. UConn super-frosh Maya Moore had 29; with apologies to Candace Parker, if you factor in that Moore is a mere freshman (and leading the No. 1 team in the country), she is the most talented player in women’s college hoops.
NBA Stud of the Night: DeShawn Stevenson, whose career-high 33 points included the game-winning 3 at the buzzer to lead the Wizards past the Hornets in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, it was “Classic Kidd” in his Dallas homecoming: 8 assists, 11 points, 9 rebounds... and a win over the Bulls.
NFL Draft Combine: Chris Long goes big. His workout at the Combine solidified his spot at the very top of the draft.
Reggie Bush skipped his deposition yesterday, presumably because he didn’t want the NCAA to end up hearing what he had to say. (Why doesn’t Bush save everyone the trouble and return his Heisman now? And while he’s cavalierly skipping testimony to Lloyd Lake’s lawyer, maybe he will respect USC fans enough to explain to them why their championship season will be forfeited because of him.)
More Clemens: Working with Astros prospects? Only if it doesn’t involve Clemens’ legendary-turned-notorious workout “regimen.”
Red Sox sign Bartolo Colon: (1) Is he healthy? (2) Is he hungry?
NASCAR: Carl Edwards beats Jimmie Johnson, wins Auto Club 500. I don’t know about you, but I watch NASCAR for the back-flips.
CFB Scheduling: Texas and Texas A&M, back on Thanksgiving... where the rivalry belongs. A fantastic holiday just got even better.
Does anyone really care whether Michael Strahan is considering retirement?
The Last Word: Spring football! It’s still February? Bah: It’s never too early to start spring practice. The U., coming off a Top 5 recruiting haul, starts today, as does Stanford.
(Stanford?! I guess if I beat USC at USC in the Upset of the Decade, I would want to get back on the field, too.)
Meanwhile, Texas, Mississippi State and Auburn have already started.
Based on the way he finished 2007, Auburn dual-threat QB Kodi Burns is one of the Top 10 most intriguing players to watch this spring.
Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.↵