Hump Day Headlines

In this week's Hump Day Headlines Manny Ramirez may finally be a Dodger, the scary story in the NFL gets worse, A-Rod's newest mess, and hockey's trade deadline comes just hours from now...

• A few days ago I suggested the notion that maybe Manny Ramirez's general apathy to the contract negotiations with the Dodgers might mean that in fact he does not wish to play baseball again. I guess now my theory is being tested. He's had a change of heart, maybe, as he's reportedly warming up to the idea of signing a 2-year, $45 million contract with L.A. These are the same terms he rejected on two occasions this offseason already. Yet, according to ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas, Man-Ram agreed to the general terms of the new deal. However, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says there are still complications that haven't been solved yet, and Jerry Crasnick says the agreement in fact has not been reached. Either way, with all these reports starting to come out, you'd figure this mess will likely end soon. This would be good because as we have already mentioned here at BERNing, a) the Dodgers need him, b) he wants money from them, and c) once he signs, we won't have to hear about this anymore. The last reason is probably the best and most compelling reason for him to sign, but then again, what does he care what we the fans think?
• We know now that one of the men on the boat that went missing this past weekend carrying NFL players Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper, and two former University of South Florida football players was found, thankfully. But that's where the good news ends, unfortunately. Twenty-four-year-old Nick Schuyler was found, but the two NFLers and the other USF football player are still missing. Now the search for their missing boat has been stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard after inspecting 24,000 miles of ocean. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close told reporters that he was sure the efforts of the search were more than sufficient, and the search would have found the men if they had survived. What a scary and difficult story to read. It's not like these men were out to cause trouble, like so many others in the NFL. Instead, what started as a fishing trip for four buddies turned into a tragic ending. Remind me never to take a fishing boat into the Gulf of Mexico.
• If the 24/7 coverage of Alex Rodriguez's lies and admissions about his use of performance enhancing drugs wasn't enough for you, or his inexplicable decision to represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic instead of the United States, where he was born and raised, now there's this: he has a cyst in his hip, and he's going to visit a doctor in Colorado today. Whether this affects his status for the WBC? That question remains unanswered. Yankees GM Brian Cashman had this to say about his embattled slugger's newest problem: "Alex has proven his durability throughout his career, and we will take every precaution and step necessary to ensure his health as we near the start of the 2009 regular season and beyond." No kidding. What a time to get hurt. There's no shortage of news when it comes this guy. I wonder if this will be a nagging injury that keeps him on the bench during any of the regular season. That would only create more fodder for the New York media. As if they need any help getting a story.
• The NHL trading deadline comes at 3 p.m. eastern time today, and some big names could potential be dealt. So, puckheads, beware. Rumor has it Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger could be headed to Boston in a deal. There are also rumors he could end up in Chicago. Basically, if by dinner time Pronger is still an Anaheim Duck, it would be surprising. Scott Niedermayer could be heading out of Anaheim, and Tomas Kaberle could be on his way out of Toronto. All-Star Panther Jay Bouwmeester could be leaving Florida, and so could Coyote defenseman Derek Morris. Over the last three years, there have been twenty-five deadline deals made. So unlike the baseball trade deadline that is often much ado about nothing, hockey fans might be seeing a lot of wheeling and dealing before the middle of this afternoon. Other names I've read could be traded: Islanders captain Bill Guerin, Coyotes forward Olli Jokinen, Wild forward Marian Gaborik, even though he's hurt, Edmonton's Erik Cole (who I've heard could also be traded to Boston), the Penguins Jordan Staal, the Blues Keith Tkachuk, and the Av's Ryan Smyth. There are others too, countless others that I have read could be traded. So for hockey fans, and those of us who are new hockey fans like me, it should be an intriguing day if any of these big named players get moved. If not, it's another ho-hum day as we get ready for March Madness to start already.

Two Missing Boaters Still Not Found

This is a scary story that has gotten worse today.  Two NFL players were out on a fishing trip in a boat off the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday morning.  Expected to return that evening, they never did.  A Coast Guard search today did not find either of them.

The players were Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper.  Smith is a newly acquired defensive end for Detroit.  Cooper is a linebacker for Oakland.  The two were teammates in Tampa Bay.  Also on the boat were two men who used to play football at the University of South Florida.  Officials with the Coast Guard said today was an better day to search for both of them because the high winds and high sea calmed since Saturday.  However, it was still not a good day to search, they admitted.

The Coast Guard reported today it had received no distress signal from the fishing boat, although that doesn't mean the men didn't send one.  Experts say the boat was a bit small for the type of weather they were experiencing, causing the journey to be more dangerous.  However, Smith and Cooper apparently have been going on fishing trips regularly since 2004.

Here's to hoping they are found.