Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . . Colin Kaepernick's honeymoon in the Bay area is over. Kaepernick had it easy a year ago when he was handed the No. 2 quarterback role. That won't happen this summer. The 49ers signed free agent Josh Johnson, coach Jim Harbaugh's former quarterback at the University of San Diego, to compete with Kaepernick for the backup job behind starter Alex Smith. It's no secret Harbaugh loves Johnson and it's doubtful Harbaugh brought him in just to bury him as the No. 3 quarterback. So where does that leave Kaepernick? Well, this is likely his most important training camp as a 49er and if he doesn't have a good-to-great summer he'll probably be in a different uniform a year from now.
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JaVale McGee rarely knows what he is doing -- or supposed to be doing -- on the basketball court. He rarely plays hard and he seems to spend more time making You Tube videos than working on his game in his spare time. He has just two discernible skills on the court. He can dunk the ball and he can block shots. And, oh yeah, his public personality is that of a dried out pumpkin a month after Halloween. He left the Nevada Wolf Pack two years early because, well, he is very tall and athletic. But, because he is very tall and very athletic, he will make $44 million over the next four years with the Denver Nuggets. And when that contract is over when he is just 28-years-old, he will make even more money. Don't you just love the NBA?
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Did Ramon Sessions make the right decision to leave the Los Angeles Lakers? Not really. Sessions opted out of a $4.55 million, one-year deal with the Lakers to become a free agent and last week signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Charlotte Bobcats. Is it really worth an extra million dollars to spend two years in the vacuum that is the Bobcats? Who would you rather pass the ball to? Bismack Biyombo, Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas with the Bobcats or Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, not to mention Antawn Jamison and possibly Dwight Howard with the Lakers? Exactly.
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Michael Vick says his Philadelphia Eagles have the makings of a dynasty. In what? A Madden football video game? The Eagles were the biggest busts in the NFL a year ago and now they are going to turn into a dynasty? Dynasties usually have the best quarterback in their conference and likely the entire league. By this time next year Vick just might be the fourth best quarterback in his own division behind Eli Manning, Robert Griffin III and Tony Romo. A year ago Eagles backup QB Vince Young said the Eagles were the Dream Team. Unfortunately, they didn't have Angola on their schedule. This dynasty talk is even more laughable.
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The Big East Conference will receive $20 million combined from TCU, Pitt and Syracuse over the next year in the form of exit fees. It seems the Big East hired Katie Holmes' lawyer. Is this what college sports has become? The Big East is now the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros, selling off assets by the trade deadline. Don't you just love college sports?
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Don't look now but the Oakland A's have a legitimate chance (in theory) at getting a wild card spot this fall. The A's are 10-2 this month (heading into Thursday's game) and they are doing it with a bunch of guys that would struggle in a weekend series at Aces Ballpark. But don't get too excited A's fans (all three of you). This is a green and gold mirage. There is no way the A's will catch the Angels and Rangers in their own division, meaning they will have to outplay, among others, the Rays, Yankees, Red Sox (the two that don't win the A.L. East) and the White Sox, Tigers or Indians (the two that don't win the A.L. Central) for the second and final wild card spot.
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Will the Washington Nationals really shut down Stephen Strasburg after 160 innings this year. Strasburg has already pitched 105 innings this year, meaning he likely has just nine starts remaining this year if he the Nats want to keep him at 160 innings or less. Don't believe them. The Nations have a serious chance at getting to the World Series this year. They do, by the way, own the best record in the National League right now. Do you really believe they will try to get through the postseason with Strasburg sitting up in the press box? If Nats' general manager Mike Rizzo is actually serious about shutting Strasburg down at 160 innings, you can bet Rizzo will be looking for a new job after Strasburg signs with a different organization once his current contract runs out.
