MANNY TO STAY PUT...MAYBE

English translation of ESPN Desported article

"No hay cambio. Voy a quedarme en Boston, donde conozco el sistema y tengo mis amistades, especialmente mi compañero David Ortiz."

"there is no change. I am going to remain in Boston, where I know the system and I have my friendships, specially my companion David Ortiz."

Manny says he wants to stay in the American League. He says he wants to play for a competetive team. A trade with the Mets would put him in the National League. A trade to the Orioles would put him on a non-competetive team. It looks like he is here to stay.

Were the Boston Red Sox simply incapable of moving Manny or did they simply know that he would change his mind after a few days of trade talk? They seemed to take their time and didn't really seem to put that much effort into making the deal. They'd make an offer one day then wait 24 hours or more to come up with some new offer. It took almost 3 days for the Orioles to make it clear that they wanted Andy Marte thrown into the deal. Did the Sox know that they could slow down negotiations until Manny was going to decide to stay? I have no idea. It is possible.

The precursor to this was when Manny asked for a contract extension to be part of any trade. This request was simply ridiculous considering how much money he will already be paid. I think when Manny asked for this, he was having second thoughts about being dealt to the Orioles.

THE BEST COLLEGE GAME I'VE EVER SEEN

I swear to God that this is true. Before the Rose Bowl started, I predicted a score of 42-38 with Texas as the winner. The game ended 41-38 with Texas as the winner.



I am an Oklahoma fan so normally I don't root for Texas. In fact, I became an Oklahoma fan because I hate the state of Texas. However, ever since Pete Carroll took over at USC, I've not liked them. Then they started winning titles and people started calling Carroll a good coach. This was despite the fact that Carroll had the most talented teams in the country by far. Furthermore, Carroll had nothing to do with the offense and for the past two seasons, the offense has carried the Trojans.



I also don't like Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart. Ever since Bush celebrated early against Notre Dame and then took a kickoff away from his own teammate in the same game, I haven't really liked him. I also find the "619" on the eye black to be retarded. Even if he were from Boston and it was 617, I'd still hate it. I also don't like the hype around Bush. He's a talented running back with multiple capabilities. But he also runs behind an amazing offensive line, has a great passing game to support him, and he can rest because of Lindell White and his 57 career TDs. White runs up the middle and wears out defenses then Bush goes to the outside and outruns them. It's a great combination, not just Reggie Bush.



I don't like Matt Leinart because I think he's afraid of the NFL. Why else would he stay at USC? To get his degree by taking a dance class? To complete the normal 5 year red-shirted college experience? I think that any true competitor would always want the bigger challenge once they've conquered a level. Leinart won every game he started in 2004, took the Heisman, and won the national title. His second. But he didn't want to leave. Then all the morons on ESPN are praising him. God knows why.



I think this guy should have won the Heisman. He had a QB rating of 111.6 and was one of the most efficient passers in college football. Throw in 850 rushing yards (led the team) and 9 TDs on the ground and then the fact that he was essentially the entire offense of an undefeated offensive powerhouse (60+ points in 4 games, 50+ in 7 games, 40+ in 12 games) and you've got yourself a Heisman winner. The Longhorns had 6,101 yards of total offense. Vince Young accounted for 3,619 of those. That's 59.3% of a teams total offense from one man's arm and legs. Texas rushed for over 3,200 yards this season as they were well ahead in most of their games. Furthermore, Young didn't have amazing WRs. They were good, but none were great.



The best college football game I've seen in my short but sport-filled life. Two teams superior to every other system in the country squaring off in front of more than 90,000 fans. A team from LA with glamorous superstars getting all the attention and all the accolades. Then a team from the college town of Austin from the state where football is King. Tommy Trojan oppositte Beavo summed it all up. Then the unheralded, and somewhat overlooked Longhorns went to war with the Trojans. It came down to inches and 4th downs. Broken plays turned into big gains. Masterful plans executed to perfection. This game had everything. Even defense in the 1st half. If someone could come up with a better game in the past 20 years, let alone a better bowl game, let alone a better championship game, I'll be most impressed.