Wochenendpartys » Bradley remains publicly confident he beat

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - There is no worse month on the baseball calendar than January. Yes, the Hall of Fame announcement comes and that is always good for some debate, but other than that ... nothing. And thats probably a good thing because with the newly formed College Football Playoff and the NFL postseason in full swing, baseball is really on the back burner in the sports pantheon. More so than usual, anyway. Regardless, it certainly makes for a boring time of the year if you are covering the sport. And while we still may be less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, there are still some big questions that need to be answered. For instance ... WHERE IS MAX SCHERZER GOING TO WIND UP? This may have been the biggest question heading into the offseason and here we are on Jan. 14 and still have no idea how this is going to play out. The process was likely slowed by the notion floated from Scherzers agent, Scott Boras, that it could take up to $200 million to land the former AL Cy Young Award winner. Still and all, its probably the same teams you initially thought would be in the mix for Scherzer that are still in the running, despite statements from both the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers that they were no longer interested. Given Boras past relationship with the Washington Nationals, youd have to think they could be a factor. I thought all along he would wind up in the Bronx, but now I am not so sure. However, it is starting to sound like the Tigers could once again be a factor, which could then lead them to move David Price. And if that happens, it could be a wild few weeks. One team that may be laying in the weeds, though, is the St. Louis Cardinals. They normally dont delve into this type of contract, but it does make some sense. Scherzer is from St. Louis and the Cards have a ton of injury concerns in that rotation. Plus Jon Lester going to Chicago may have upped the ante for the Cardinals. WILL THE RED SOX ADD ANOTHER STARTER? Speaking of Lester, the Red Sox failed to re-sign him and have never really addressed the top of their rotation. And if they werent willing to go over $130 million or so for Lester, it makes zero sense to think theyd do it for Scherzer. Now the Red Sox added some depth to their rotation this winter, bringing in the likes of Rick Porcello, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson. Its a nice group of No. 3 pitchers, but theres no real ace in the mix. Should Scherzer find his way back to Detroit, dont be surprised to see the Red Sox get involved in a potential Price blockbuster. Righty James Shields is still out there, too, and likely biding his time to offer his services to the losers of the Scherzer sweepstakes. WHO IS GOING TO PLAY SHORTSTOP FOR THE METS? Since the final game of the 2014 season, the New York Mets have been linked to almost every shortstop in the league. Yet here we are almost a month away from spring training and the odds-on favorite to be the teams Opening Day shortstop is once again either Wilmer Flores or Ruben Tejada. A Troy Tulowitzki deal was probably always a pipe dream, but the Mets failed to land a Jed Lowrie or Asdrubal Cabrera. The fact they were in on Ben Zobrist last week tells you, though, that they are looking to fill that spot. There are some options left for them. Rafael Furcal is still available, but at age 37, is he any better an option than what the Mets have in-house? If the Mets do truly want a shortstop, why not just give the Toronto Blue Jays a call and ask about Jose Reyes? The wear and tear from that turf is robbing him of the thing that once made him so electric. The Mets have the pieces to get a deal done. Isnt it something to explore at least? Or maybe they do actually believe in Flores? ARE THE PHILLIES DONE WHEELING AND DEALING? One of the busier teams this offseason has been the Philadelphia Phillies. They finally cut ties with longtime shortstop Jimmy Rollins and may be ready to do the same with both Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard, especially the latter. Finding a taker for Hamels shouldnt be that hard, even with the $90 million- plus still owed to him. Hamels is an ace. Any team would want him. For the Phils, its a matter of what you are getting back. Like we mentioned earlier, the Red Sox are a team that could make a move, as well as a team like San Diego. Hamels is from San Diego and despite all the other moves they have made this offseason, the Padres probably still arent a playoff team in the NL. Getting Hamels would change that. Now the Phillies unloading Howard and his $50 million is a different story. The former NL MVP may not be as feared as he once was, but he still slugged 23 home runs and drove in 95 runs last year. However, he only hit .223 and struck out 190 times. Still, there could be a market for him, provided the Phils eat a ton of that salary. IS THE GAME GOING TO SPEED UP? The owners meetings are taking place this week in Arizona, the final ones presided over by outgoing commissioner Bud Selig, and the biggest topic on the agenda is the effort to speed up these games. Its probably unlikely that a pitch clock is going to be implemented anytime soon, but there could be some tweaks to speed up the game, particularly in regards to the replay process. Far too often last season, managers would take a nice little stroll out to an umpire and stay there until he got word from his dugout if he should challenge a play. One of the changes that could be made is that once a manager leaves the dugout, that automatically triggers his challenge. Another pace of play discussion will center around the experiment MLB used in the Arizona Fall League. A hitter was required to keep one foot in the batters box at all times with exceptions for foul balls, wild pitches and timeouts. With no current major league rule to deter hitters from stepping out of the box, they are free to stroll away after every pitch. With this rule, if a player leaves the box completely, he can be penalized with a strike. Ugh. Spring training cant come soon enough. Vapormax Boty Cz . Adam Lind provided the power and rookie starter Marcus Stroman had the best start of his young career as the Blue Jays dumped the Yankees 8-3 at Rogers Centre. Stroman, making his fifth start for Toronto, allowed one earned run and three hits over a career-high eight innings. Nike Vapormax Damske . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. http://www.vapormaxlevne.cz/ . - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right now. Nike Vapormax Plus Levne . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. Vapormax Plus Dámské . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship.LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Manny Pacquiao won a unanimous decision in his rematch with Timothy Bradley on Saturday night, avenging his 2012 loss and claiming the WBO welterweight title. Pacquiao (56-5-2) pursued and peppered the previously unbeaten Bradley around the MGM Grand Garden ring with an aggressive performance recalling the Pacman in his prime. Bradley fought back with counterpunching and elusiveness, but Pacquiao kept up his attack while Bradley (31-1) struggled down the stretch. Pacquiao left little doubt about the result of the rematch in the same arena where they met nearly two years ago. Bradleys split-decision victory astonished most ringside observers, who felt Pacquiao had earned a clear decision. Judges Craig Metcalfe and Michael Pernick scored the rematch 116-112 for Pacquiao, while Glenn Trowbridge favoured the Filipino congressman 118-110. The Associated Press scored it 116-112 for Pacquiao. After the fight, Bradley said he injured his right calf early on. But he also applauded the decision when it was announced, and he congratulated Pacquiao in the ring. "You won the fight, you deserved the win," Bradley said. "I have no excuses." Pacquiao landed 35 per cent of his 563 punches, while Bradley connected with just 22 per cent of his 627 blow. Pacquiaos jab was much more effective, landing 23 per cent to Bradleys measly 11 per cent, and the Pacman had a slight edge in landing 148 power punches to Bradleys 109. Pacquiaos performance righted one of the biggest perceived wrongs in recent boxing history. Pacquiao was an eight-division world champion on 15-fight winning streak when Bradley was awarded a split decision in their last bout. Pacquiao was more aggressive and accurate from the opening minutes of the rematch, sticking to trainer Freddie Roachs pleas to take the action to Bradley. They exchanged big shots in the opening rounds, but Pacquiao appeared to wear out Bradley with the heavy early pace — and the Pacman never slowed down. Although Pacquiao couldnt knock down Bradley, he answered the questions raised by Bradley about his killer instinct with a consistent attack all night. The arena was crackling with energy when both fighters made thheir ring walks, with Pacquiao in the unusual position of going first as the challenger.dddddddddddd Pacquiao landed a series of big left hands in the early rounds, knocking back Bradley with gusto. Bradley responded impressively in the fourth round, wobbling Pacquiao twice with a right hand. The pace slowed in the fifth, with Bradley showing off his defence and movement while Pacquiao attempted to trap him against the ropes. Pacquiao appeared to wobble Bradley late in the seventh round with a vicious combination, but Bradley stood with his back against the ropes and defiantly encouraged it, blocking most of the shots. Bradley appeared to pretend to have wobbly legs at one point after a Pacquiao miss, but his open mouth betrayed his weariness while Pacquiao steadily racked up rounds midway through the fight. Bradley came on strong in the 12th, and the fighters heads collided late in the round. Pacquiao avoided any trouble until the final bell, when he did a short dance step to his corner. While Bradley remains publicly confident he beat Pacquiao in their first bout despite fighting on two injured feet, that much-derided decision sent both fighters careers on wild spirals. The two judges who scored the bout 115-113 for Bradley are no longer in the boxing business, but their decision ended Pacquiaos 15-fight win streak and forced Bradley to defend himself against widespread criticism of the result. Bradley endured death threats and depression before returning to the ring in unusually reckless style. He brawled with Ruslan Provodnikov in March 2013 in a sensational unanimous-decision victory that silenced critics of his style and heart. Bradley then outpointed veteran Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez last fall, polishing his skills and making himself attractive to Pacquiao for a rematch. Pacquiao was knocked unconscious by Marquez in the sixth round of their fourth fight in late 2012, and he took nearly a year off before returning for an unspectacular victory over Brandon Rios last fall. Pacquiaos last two performances prompted Bradley to declare Pacquiao had lost his killer instinct, noting he was unable or unwilling to stop any of his opponents since late 2009. ' ' '