Friday Tidbits - 1/30/09

Scott Linehan is Detroit’s new Offensive Coordinator. Kansas City fired Herm Edwards.  Seattle’s Leroy Hill kicked off the NFL Criminal Offseason with a weed possession arrest.  Dude was passed out behind the wheel.  Pittsburgh’s Jonathan Dekker got busted for obstruction of justice.  

The Browns hired George Kokinis as GM.  Jeff Fisher told Kerry Collins that he’s his starter next year if he agrees to a contract.  Greg Mattison will be Baltimore’s new Defensive Coordinator.  Shawne Merriman came out and said the peeing match between LT and A.J. Smith needs to stop.  I don’t know about you, but I really dislike A.J. Smith. He was a jerk when Marty was shown the door, too. 

Tom Cable had the Interim tag removed as he’s Oakland Head Coach.  Fitz said he’d restructure his contract to keep Boldin.  I really like that guy.

Avery Johnson declined an offer to coach Memphis.  Lionel Hollins accepted the position.  Jose Calderon returned for Toronto.  Elton Brand returned for Philly.  Michael Redd is out for the year after tearing his knee.  Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady returned for the Rockets.  

Chris Paul messed around and got a Triple-Double.  Not to be outdone, LeBron had one the next day.  Memphis cut Steve Francis.  Andray Blatche (knee) will miss a couple of weeks.  Gerald Wallace has a partially-collapsed lung and a rib fracture.  Desmond Mason (knee) will miss the rest of the season. 

Baron Davis returned from injury.

The NHL suspended Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom for one game for skipping the All-Star Game festivities. Sounds like an NFL move. Alexander Ovechkin won the breakaway challenge, Evgeni Malkin won the shooting accuracy, Zdeno Chara won the hardest shot breaking the record, Andrew Cogliano won the fastest skater, and Shane Doan won the elimination shootout in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition. 

The Rookies beat the Sophomores in the YoungStars.  Blake Wheeler won the MVP.  The East beat the West in a Shootout to win the NHL All-Star Game.  Alex Kovalev took home the MVP.  Mike Sillinger (knee) will miss the rest of the season for the Islanders.  

Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke was suspended two games for a hit to the head on Scott Walker. Columbus’ Jason Chimera returned from a groin injury.  Henrik Zetterberg signed a 12 year, $72 million deal with Detroit.  Tampa Bay lost Olaf Kolzig (bicep) for the year.  Detroit will be without Brad Stuart (rib) for at least a week.

Minnesota traded Erik Reitz to the Rangers for Dan Fritsche.

Shutouts:  Dallas’ Marty Turco vs. Atlanta, San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov vs. Colorado and Phoenix

Hat Tricks:  Columbus’ Rick Nash vs. DET, Buffalo’s Drew Stafford vs. Edmonton, Calgary’s Michael Cammalleri vs. Buffalo

 

Brandon Lyon signed with Detroit. Oakland signed Justin Duchscherer. Sean Casey is calling it a career. Andy Pettitte signed a one-year deal with the Yankees. Zack Greinke signed a four-year deal with Kansas City. Milwaukee signed Craig Counsell.  Ubaldo Jimenez signed with Colorado. Seattle sent Aaron Heilman to Chicago for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson. 

Jon Garland signed with Arizona. Seattle signed Mike Sweeney to a Minor League deal.  Oakland signed Russ Springer. There was nonsense with Clemens, Bonds, and a Yankee book that I don’t want to get into. Every player is asking for Manny, but the GMs haven’t bit.

 

#5 Oklahoma beat #23 Baylor behind Blake Griffin’s 20 points & 17 rebounds.  He followed up with 26 points and 19 rebounds in a win over Oklahoma State.  Washington knocked off #11 UCLA.  #3 UConn beat #19 Notre Dame.  #12 Louisville beat #8 Syracuse.  Seton Hall upset #14 Georgetown.

Alabama Coach Mark Gottfried resigned.  #8 Marquette beat #22 Notre Dame despite 29 points and 17 rebounds from Luke Harangody.  Syracuse will be without Mookie Jones (hip) for the rest of the year.

#4 Wake Forest beat #1 Duke.  #21 Villanova beat #3 Pitt.  Providence beat #15 Syracuse despite 35 points from Jonny Flynn.  Cincinnati beat #23 Georgetown.  Georgia fired Coach Dennis Felton. 

Washington State beat #14 Arizona State.  #24 Minnesota beat #20 Illinois for the first time in 20 tries.  #25 Gonzaga beat #18 St. Mary’s.

 

Tennessee WR Jordan Shipley (shoulder) will miss Spring Practice. Pat White took home the MVP as the South beat the North in the Senior Bowl. Bobby Bowden will be back for a 34th season at Florida State. Georgia RB Richard Samuel (wrist) will miss Spring Practice. Mark Whipple will be Miami’s new Offensive Coordinator.

 

Shane Mosley defeated Antonio Margarito to win the WBA Welterweight title.   

Catriona Matthew won the HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup.  She is five months pregnant.  Alvara Quiros won the Qatar Masters.  Pat Perez won the Bob Hope Classic.  Colin Montgomerie was named Europe’s Ryder Cup captain.

Matt Kobyluck won the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. David Donohue won the Rolex 24.

The Australian Open wraps up this weekend.  Roger Federer seeks a 14th Grand Slam title, which would tie Pete Sampras.  Venus and Serena won the Women’s Doubles title.  It was their 8th Doubles Slam title. Serena seeks her 10th Singles Slam.

 

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned.  Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.