In The News: September 27, 2007

McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton is on the cusp of making motosports history, but he literally and figuratively has miles to go before he can become the first rookie driver ever to win the Formula One driver’s championship. Earlier in the season, the incredibly talented driver sat on top of the world, a whopping 14 points ahead of rival teammate Fernando Alonso for the driver’s points lead. But now, having finished behind Alonso in five of the last six races, and with only 3 races to the end of the season, Hamilton finds himself up by a mere 2 points, 97-95.

To make matters more dicey, the relationship between Hamilton and Alonso, and Alonso and Team McLaren is severely strained. Alonso, for one, is essentially driving for himself, as it seems possible that this may be his final season with McLaren, after he snitched on the team costing them a whopping $100 million, as part of the now infamous “spygate” scandal. McLaren team Boss Ron Dennis and Alonso apparently aren’t speaking any longer, with Dennis recently calling Alonso a “remarkable recluse”.

Formula One makes its stop at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.

Kevin McHale looking to wash his hands of past sins

If you’re going to strip a team of superstar talent like Kevin Garnett, you might as well take the rest of the proverbial fat off the bones and try to unload the remaining veteran players and their bloated salaries. It seems that’s exactly the plan for embattled Minnesota Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale. According to reports, McHale is trying his darndest to trade veteran players like Ricky Davis, Trenton Hassell and Juwan Howard, and truly start from scratch with a young core of Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Corey Brewer and Randy Foye. According to the Miami Herald, the T’Wolves may have found a suitor for the services of Ricky Davis in Pat Riley and the Miami Heat.

The Redskins have issues at Wide Receiver

While one team tries to go young, another, in a different sport, is for whatever reason going increasingly old. The Washington Redskins, whose key off-season free agent signing was nine year veteran London Fletcher, is apparently close to signing 37-year old wide receiver Keenan McCardell. There are rumblings out of FedEx field that the groin injury that stud receiver Santana Moss suffered this past weekend is a bit more serious than the team and snake-oil salesman coach Joe Gibbs is letting on publicly, thus the signing of McCardell.

It’s on again, it’s off again. The Shawn Marion trade saga contines

The Arizona Republic, which as would be expected is doing an excellent job staying on top of the Shawn Marion situation in Phoenix, reports that given all of the extranuating circumstances a trade seems unlikely. Marion said he would report to camp and realistically he is still bound to the Suns by the 2 years remaining on his contract, so any potential trade offer would have to be significant for the Suns to make the move. We’re not sure there are any truly mind-blowing, signifcant offers out there for the Suns, at least not at this moment.

An impressive sports streak comes to an end

One of the most impressive streaks in recent sports history is over. The US Women’s Soccer Team, which had previously won an amazing 51 straight matches, lost in the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup to competing powerhouse Brazil by a score of 4-0.

Warrior’s coach Nelson to make rebounding a priority, or is he?

In an interview with the Associated Press, Golden State Warrior’s coach Don Nelson is rather candid in his assesment of the young, surprisingly overachieving team. Nelson, like the rest of the NBA world, is skeptical about whether the Warriors can replicate the success of last season, when they knocked out the Western Conference powerhouse Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. More specifically, Nelson is concerned about the teams lack of height and strength on the boards. Interestingly enough though, Nelson goes on to say that at least early in the season he anticipates playing 6’ 5” rookie shooting guard Marco Belinelli a lot more than 6’ 10” rookie power forward Brandon Wright. What were you saying about rebounding need again? That Nellie, he’s such a wild and crazy guy.

Shawn Marion asks for a trade; May be headed to the Lakers

The Shawn Marion trade rumors have been percolating all summer, but today things came to a boil as the aptly nicknamed “Matrix” flatly asked for a trade out of Phoenix. Marion told the Arizona Republic that he is “tired of hearing” his name in trade rumors and that “it’s time to move on.” It’s the same old song and dance that’s become the MO for disgruntled superstars in the NBA. Marion, who has been unsuccessfully seeking a contract extension at a whopping $20 million per season from the Suns, feels that he has been disrespected and that the organization lied to him, blah, blah, blah. Marion said that he would report to training camp and take part in all mandatory training camp and pre-season activities, but for a team positioned for a serious run at the championship trophy this soap-opera could become a major distraction.

Perhaps to quell the issue before it becomes a full-blown national emergency, it seems that Phoenix is considering some trade scenarios. According to reports, some of which may be wishful thinking than actual intelligence, Marion has been mentioned in trades involving both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz. The key players going to Phoenix as part of these trades would be Lamar Odom from the Lakers, or the disgruntled Andrei Kirilenko from the Jazz. Marion, for his part, would welcome a chance to play with his good buddy Kobe Bryant in LA.

"You have a great organization, great ownership there with the Lakers. I don't see no problems with playing there," Marion told the Sportingnews.com today.

For Utah the trade makes some sense, as they’d be ridding themselves of a head-ache and getting a perennial All-Star in return. But, we’re not sure if Marion, who nixed a trade to Boston earlier this summer (before the Cs traded for Garnett straight up), would welcome a trade to the land of dinosaurs and Mormons. Marion, among other things, is unhappy with being the third option behind Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire on a loaded Phoenix squad, so we’re not sure if he’ll appreciate being the third option behind Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer in Utah.

As for the Lakers, given his comments we’re sure Marion would welcome the trade, but swapping small forward Odom with small forward Marion amounts to a horizontal move for Kobe’s crusaders. The Lakers would be wise to target a back-to-the-basket big man, like Jermaine O’neal for example, that can pass the ball out of the paint, and thrive within the triangle offense. Marion really only excels in the fast-break game, a concept which is almost alien to the current Lakers squad and their coach Phil Jackson.

Then there is the root issue of Marion’s demands for a contract extension with a yearly salary of $20 million-plus. The “Matrix” may be a solid player, but he must be living in an alternate reality if he thinks his game is worth that money – that’s Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant money. What advantage do the Lakers get by trading a small forward that fits somewhat within the triangle for one that will stick out like a sore thumb, and paying the new guy $7 million more per season?

The Sportingnews.com reports that the chances of the Lakers deal happening is about “50-50”. But, if the deal does go through, the chances of the Lakers suddenly becoming a championship contender with Shawn Marion on the roster, and Lamar Odom not, is probably 0 percent.