Michigan Wolverines

Top high school players, including Michigan and Michigan State recruits, joined college players in James' hometown to work on their games.

Football recruiting is far from over, but the Spartans have five commitments from Michigan while the Wolverines have two. What does it mean?

The former Michigan football coach and the ex-Tigers pitcher will be the featured guests at a dinner to benefit Detroit-Mercy and Loyola High.

INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Phelps broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. national championships today, giving him ownership of five individual world marks.

The coaching staff has been waiting for weeks to find out if speedy slot receiver Jeremy Gallon, an incoming 5-foot-8, 165-pound freshman from Apopka, Fla., would qualify academically to play this fall. According to recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt, he has.

In an ideal situation, Michigan would add as many running backs as they are expected to lose through graduation, but with few spots left in this class, that is a luxury they may not be able to afford. At least one more addition for 2010 is crucial, however, and they have several legitimate options on the board.

Ross Millman was named an NCGA Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar, becoming the 10th Wolverine to earn the prestigious honor.

Forward Jeff Rohrkemper of the Sioux Falls Stampede becomes the sixth member of the Wolverines' 2009-10 freshman class.

The nation’s top returning punter, Zoltan Mesko, has been named to the 2009 Playboy Magazine annual preseason College Football All-America Team.

Kentucky's senior class is one of the winningest classes in it's history and Rich Brooks and his staff have their work cut out for them in replacing them. Here are some of the top prospects UK is involved with that could soften the blow for the Cats.

Apopka (FL) star Jeremy Gallon had been waiting with bated breath to find out if he had qualified. When he received the news a few days ago that he had finally achieved his goal, the talented youngster finally allowed himself to unleash his excitement about donning the Maize & Blue.

Sam Bergen was building a huge reputation as an underclassman until he tore his ACL. After that schools were playing wait and see, however after putting on very solid performances at camps this season his first three games could prove very fruitful for him.

Dear MZone Reader,The first post ever here on the MZone, way back in on October 5, 2005, was short, brief and (sadly) semi-naked co-ed free:And so it begins...What is this blog? Well, it's about Michigan football. Comments, critiques, compliments, criticisms and a little funny thrown in for good measure.Three of my M alum friends and I have been emailing back and forth, everyday, during each

* Big Ten, Comcast reach deal.* Ball boys saved Michigan's '97 National Title run.* Indiana's football field ruined in flood.

Still on my sabbatical but had to get these videos up of a Russian cubicle worker going absolutely berserk. Oh...my...God.Now, I'm not saying what the guy did was right. But for anybody trapped in a cubicle hell job, you can at least understand it.First is the security camera footage...And here's another angle of the craziness from a co-worker's camera phone, complete with sound...Okay, back to..

At the start of the 2009 season, the Atlanta Braves had two options for closing games: Left-hander Mike Gonzalez and right-hander Rafael Soriano.  Both have had injury issues during their big league careers, but if both stayed healthy the Braves would seem to be in good hands in the late innings.

Through Wednesday, Soriano has 10 saves to go along with a 1-1 record and a 1.55 ERA so far this season.  He has been very effective, with 53 strikeouts (11.7 K/9) and 15 walks (3.3 BB/9) in 40.2 innings (39 appearances) in 2009. 

Gonzalez has nine saves to go with a 3-1 record and a 3.05 ERA in 44 appearances (41.1 innings) this season.  Like Soriano he has pitched very effectively, with 54 strikeouts (11.8 K/9) and 17 walks (3.7 BB/9) this season.  Gonzalez also has nine holds through Wednesday. 

Atlanta manager Bobby Cox has effectively alternated using Soriano and Gonzalez in save situations this season, but Soriano has four saves so far in July and appears to have taken hold of the job for the moment.  Perhaps not coincidentally, Soriano has gotten all of the team's save opportunities since Gonzalez blew a save on June 30.  For the season, Soriano is 10-for-11 in save opportunities and Gonzalez is 9-for-13 in save situations.

Going forward, both Soriano and Gonzalez could have nice fantasy value.  Each seems like a good possibility for 15-20 saves (if they continue to split save chances) with nice peripheral numbers.  So even if you own the guy who is not getting the save oppportunities for a stretch of time, he could still help you in strikeouts, ERA and WHIP if your league uses those categories.  But if one guy is able to hold on to the job for a long period of time or even the rest of the season, that man would obviously have more fantasy value than the other.

This is a situation worth monitoring, especially since the Braves don't appear to be going away in NL East race and their offense has not been good, which could lead to close games and plenty of save opportunities. 

Soriano is the guy most worthy of owning or adding to your team if he is available right now, but Gonzalez is still worth hanging onto if you own him and could be worth a speculative free agent addition if he is available in your league.

 

Who is the only other Red Sox infielder aside from Nomar Garciaparra and Dustin Pedroia to win the Rookie of the Year award?

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Fenway!: The Ultimate Fan's Guide, 2009 Edition is the only book that tells fans everything they need to know about going to a game at Fenway: from how to get tickets, to how to get there, and where the eat and drink before the game. In addition, it is the only place fans can find out where NOT to sit. The book is available from Amazon.

Professional sports are by no means a recession proof endeavor, something that Lamar Odom and the Los Angeles Lakers are both coming to grips with. I've had people who vehemently disagree with me, but I think Odom is a fantastic talent with a very unique skill set. He's consistently shown the ability to morph into any type of player the Lakers have needed him to be, and as a result, he might be the most valuable Laker not named Kobe.

In a better economic climate, the demand for Odom would be much, much greater. But for only the second time since it was introduced back in 1984, the NBA reduced the salary cap for the upcoming season to $57.7 million, about $1 million less than this past season. The league will reduce the cap even further for the 2010-11 season.

As a result, a lot of teams are coming to grips with the fact that they will have far less room under the cap than they had anticipated. Soft cap or not, the desire to spend doesn't appear to be there this summer, and that could also have a lot to do with the fact that the free agent crop for next year will have a lot of very attractive options.

For an unrestricted free agent like Odom, this isn't necessarily great news. Oh, it's not like the dude is going to starve, he'll get paid very good money regardless of who's writing the checks. But there's not exactly a stampede of GM's beating down his door. After Hedo Turkoglu spurned the Blazers, I thought they would turn their attention to Odom in order to get the frontcourt addition they're looking for. However, that hasn't been the case, and no other potential suitor is offering Odom much more than the MLE.

But even in the unlikely event that another team backs up the Brinks truck to Odom's front door, I don't think he had that much motivation to leave the Lakers. All indications are that he's happy being a very important spoke in a championship wheel, and if the Lakers flash him the green he feels he deserves, then he'll continue playing that role. However, the same economic factors that have suppressed market demand for Odom are also putting pressure on the Lakers, especially in the wake of their signing of free agent Ron Artest.

In addition to dropping the salary cap, the NBA has also dropped the luxury-tax threshold from nearly $72 million to just under $70 million next season. Just as with the salary cap, the luxury-tax threshold will drop further in 2010-11. If you do the math, the Lakers have roughly $83 million committed to their current roster. That's already $13 million in luxury-taxes that Jerry Buss and Company will have to cough up this coming season, and that's without Odom in the mix.

The result of all of this? There's a pretty significant gap in the number Odom is looking for (reportedly $10 million per season) and the number the Lakers are offering (probably in the neighborhood of $7.5 million per season). Odom is undoubtedly taken aback by this turn of events, but in this market, he doesn't have a ton of leverage to bring to negotiations.

On the flip side, I think this is a very dangerous game of chicken that the Lakers are playing. If Odom does land somewhere else for less money than he anticipated, the dynamic of a championship team is dramatically altered. Don't get me wrong, Artest is a great (albeit quirky) talent whose defensive skills are greatly needed in LA, not to mention his toughness. I'm just not sure the team would necessarily be better by adding him and subtracting Odom.

I think the most likely scenario to this affair is that Odom signs a one-year deal for $7.5 million and then tests the waters again in 2010-11. Even with the greater cap and luxury-tax restrictions, more money will undoubtedly fly around when guys like LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade are on the market. In a potential spending frenzy, Odom could very well realize the type of payday that's not coming his way right now.

Regardless of how this shakes out, I just hope the guys at Lamar's web site don't ever change up song lyrics again. But maybe I'll take them up on their offer and submit my own Odomized version of "Candy Man":

Who can get a million less? Maybe two, three or four?
Help you win a fat gold ring, then be shown the door?
The Candy Man can. Oh, the Candy Man can!
The Candy Man can, 'cause this economy blows!