LOOKS LIKE NONE OF US GOT SMARTER OVER THE WINTER

** Sports writer Bob Klapisch wrote: "Yanks to monitor Masahiro Tanaka's pitches." Great insight, Bob. Maybe tomorrow you'll say something like "Yanks hope A-Rod will hit," or perhaps " Girardi hopes Brett Gardner can run." As fans, we always appreciate the inside story of what's happening in spring training. 

** Two Tennessee High School girls basketball coaches were suspended after having their teams try to intentionally lose a their game in hopes of a better tournament seeding. I believe the final score was 2-0. The attempt was was pretty evident, so I hope they learned something from this. Leave this tanking business to the pros.

** ESPN has announced their Sunday night baseball schedule thru July 17. The Yankees and Red Sox are scheduled for SEVEN times. It doesn't seem to matter that we could end up watching 4th and 5th place teams battle it out for most of the summer. Meanwhile, the World Champion SF Giants are on ZERO times in that period. The Dodgers are also missing from the lineup and the LA Angels are scheduled for  just two games. There's that old East Coast Bias again. 

** Apparently A-Rod was loudly cheered after blasting a couple of balls out of Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Of course, he did this against 55-mph batting practice fast balls, which puts him on a level with slow pitch beer games.

** The "Evil Empire" New York Yankees were noticeably quiet over the winter while Red Sox CEO Larry Luchino spent $31.5 million on 19-year old Cuban infielder, Yoan Moncada. When asked about the comparison to NY, he responded, " That's very different."    Oh.

***THEY SAID IT***

"Swim star Michael Phelps, the 18-time Olympic gold medalist, announced his engagement on Twitter. In keeping with the theme, it’ll be a five-ring ceremony."  -- Dwight Perry

"It appears that Pablo Sandoval has caught onto and enjoying the Red Sox “Fried Chicken in the clubhouse” tradition. Little Caesar’s has introduced a pizza wrapped in bacon. Sandoval says that would make a wonderful dessert"  -- TC Chong

"The Cleveland Browns have announced a new tweaked helmet with a brighter orange color, and will unveil a new uniform this spring. Unfortunately for Browns fans, the uniforms will still have the same players in them."  -- Janice Hough

" Joba Chamberlain’s new contract includes a Cy Young bonus.Isn’t that like Vin Diesel’s  new contract including an Oscar bonus?”  -- Bill Littlejohn

" The long-overdue Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown is coming. I’m glad to see Manny and Floyd are finally putting aside their differences to fight."  -- Jimmy Kimmel

" U Conn CB Byron Jones made a standing broad jump of 12ft 3in at the NFL scouting combine. Wasn’t that the event that got Tiger in all that trouble?"  -- TC Chong

"To give you an idea how much the Huskers have been struggling offensively, whenever a player makes a basket, fans cut the nets down."  -- Brad Dickson

"Hank Aaron says he is rooting for A-Rod to have a “great year.” Well, getting paid $22 million for sitting in the dugout sounds like a pretty great year to most people."  -- Janice Hough

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