THE WINTER MEETINGS MAY BE OVER...

...but the fun continues.
**The Cubs keep piling it on. They have signed the best free-agent position player available - Jason Hayward - for $184 million over eight years. That's $23 million a year and normally you'd say wow, but now it's run-of-the-mill. It's seems that Theo Epstein has brought the Red Sox tradition of  "If you can't win it, buy it" to the windy city. Right now, you'd have to say the Cubbies are the favorites - as long as no one gets hurt.

**When I was a kid, back in the 50s and 60s, professional basketball was the best basketball on the planet and it conformed to the rules. I used to listen to the Syracuse Nationals on the radio and rooted for players like Larry Costello, George Yardley (the NBA's first bald-headed player), Dick Barnett and, of course, Dolph Schayes. Dolph passed away this week at age 87. Most sports fans have heard of Danny, his son, but in his day, Rudolph Schayes was the man. At 6 ft. 8 in, 200 lbs, he was a power forward and I mean power. He averaged 18.4 points/game and 12 rebounds in his 15-year career. He could drive to the basket and was so hard to stop that he actually scored over 2000 more free throws than goals. But his real forte was the two-handed set shot usually from a very long distance. It's been over 50 years, but I can still hear the radio announcer calling that shot.
"Rudy, a bomb from 30 feet!"      (pause)        "Swish!"

**ESPN the Magazine had an article this week that indicated that the Heisman Trophy winner can be directly connected to a part of the country that he played in. The number one area was the southeast. There were many fine candidates this year including Chris McCaffrey from Sanford and Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. The winner was Derrick Henry from - you guessed it - Alabama. 

** Brian Cashman says he's not done dealing. Don't you think it's time he got started? He's trading away pitchers like he's overloaded with them. Gone is Adam Warren and Justin Wilson and he's dangling Andrew Miller for all to see. In return, all he's gotten is two minor league pitchers. They are supposed to be premium prospects  but totally unproven. There better be some good presents under the Yankee Christmas tree in the next couple of weeks or Cashman may have to start wearing disguises. Maybe San Diego Padre's uniform would work.

**How bad are the Philadelphia 76ers?  Mike Lupica said it best on the Sports Reporters this morning.
"After 24 games into the season, the 76ers have exactly one more win than the people on this set." 

***THEY SAID IT*** 
"A new video shows FSU QB Sean Maguire throwing a football over the stadium wall from the parking lot. Well, the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick could potentially do that too, the only question would be if he might completely miss the stadium."  -- Janice Hough"
"Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine said “repercussions would be harsh” if Johnny Manziel acts out again. Very harsh. The Browns are planning to remove the snow tires from Manziel’s party bus."  -- Brad Dickson
"Monday, Dec. 7 was the darkest day in Seattle in nine years, according to the Cliff Mass Weather Blog. What, you mean it wasn’t Feb. 1 — the day the Seahawks threw away the Super Bowl?"  -- Dwight Perry
"Concerning the mental acumen of persons who use his mythical football predictions for gambling purposes: You probably think khakis are what you need to start a car in Boston."  -- Jack Finarelli
"In the wake of Kobe Bryant’s retirement, don’t look for a symbolic passing of the torch, possibly to Steph Curry—Kobe was never good at passing anything."  -- Bill Littlejohn
"Although it was close early, and Tony Parker took the entire night off, the San Antonio Spurs ended up beating the Los Angeles Lakers 109-87 on ESPN tonight. A great game for those who enjoy watching a cat playing with mice."  -- Janice Hough
"What’s the difference between Dez Bryant and Kobe Bryant? One receives passes but doesn’t pass, the other plays for the Dallas Cowboys."  -- RJ Currie
"Larry The Cable Guy criticized Husker coaches on Twitter. I think he’s upset that with all the close losses, the 2015 Huskers’ team motto was “Almost Git R Done.”  -- Brad Dickson
"The 1-23 76ers host the 24-1 Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 30. No truth to the rumor that they’re billing it as S&M Night."  -- Dwight Perry

CP-