Via Buc Dugout and the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.

The Pirates have approached shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez about multiyear contract extensions, putting on hold, for now, the possibility that either will be traded by Major League Baseball's July 31 deadline.

But the clock is ticking.

If the parties are to agree on extensions, they will need to do so far enough in advance of the deadline so that, if the Pirates decide no agreement is possible, they still can pursue a trade for one or both. That likely means something must get done within the next week to 10 days.

And there is a catch, one unusual in professional sports: If one player does not sign, the other probably will not, either. Wilson and Sanchez are best friends to the point of being virtually inseparable, on and off the infield dirt.

Well then.

I have no idea what the Pirates are thinking except that they're trying to appease the type of dumb fans that would rather extend aging guys on a terrible team than build for the future (aka people who were upset with the McLouth deal).  I'm so happy we have Z.

On the other hand, this almost seems like an ultimatum for the two.  Sign up now or get shipped out.  I'd still like to see either of them (and Snell) in a deal with the Mariners.  It'll be interesting to see where it goes from here.

Update: Just kidding.  Offers have been declined.

Possibly HUGE news.  Once again via ESPN's Chad Ford, who'll probably sue me for using all his material shortly:

Chicago has talked to the Nets, Bobcats and Pacers about swapping No. 16 and No. 26 to get into the lottery. It sounds like the Bulls are down to one potential trade partner in the lottery.

The Nets are leaning strongly toward keeping their pick at No. 11. And if the Bobcats made a promise to Williams at No. 12, they're out, too. That leaves the Pacers at No. 13.

The Pacers have been one of the hardest teams to peg in the draft. DeJuan Blair, Tyler Hansbrough, Eric Maynor, Ty Lawson and Jeff Teague all are on their board right now. If the Bulls want any of those guys -- or the guys the Suns (No. 14) and Pistons (No. 15) are looking at -- they'll have to make the deal.

I can't understand who the Bulls would be targeting that's worth moving up 3 spots and losing a 1st rounder, but hey, this would be AWESOME.

So I know rosterbation is silly, but in light of some recent subpar ideas, and becuse I'm bored, here's an idea that could work.

Pacers send Jamaal Tinsley and a their 2nd round pick in 2010 to the Grizzlies for Marko Jaric and the #27 pick in the 2009 draft.

It is not as one-sided as it may seem, just because we want to get rid of Tinsley.  According to ESPN's Chad Ford, the Grizzlies are trying to unload the #27 pick.  Marko Jaric is terrible, but his contract matches up with Tinsley, and the Grizzlies have had such bad PG play that they’d be willing to roll the dice on a player who is far better than Jaric.  Additionally, the Grizzlies don't have to deal with the guaranteed contract 1st round players get, and I don't think they're making money in Memphis hand over fist.  As for the Pacers, they have to deal with a bad player, but get to unload Tinsely and get a pick.  It’s a win-win.  (Ok well I think it's far better for us, but Chris Wallace is their GM people.  He's horrible.)

As for the acquired pick, the Pacers could go a few different directions with it:

1. They could use it to draft a PG if they grab a big at 12.  Patty Mills (!!!) and Darren Collison will probably both be available.

2. They could draft a big if they go PG at 12.  There are a wide range of bigs who could possibly be had at 27 including DeJuan Summers, Taj Gibson, Josh Heytvelt, Jeff Pendergraph, Omri Casspi of Isreal, and Sweeden's Jonas Jerebko.

3. They could try and package it in a trade to move up and take a falling player (Jordan Hill?) whose stock is apparently falling to around the 10th pick.

According to ESPN's Chad Ford, it looks like bad times for some of the Pacer's potential draft targets.

Foremost among the troubles is many Indy Cornrows' members favorite target, DeJuan Blair.  Apparently during combine medical testing both Blair's knees are so bad some have described it is "devastating," and at the mildest "troubling."  He tore both ACLs in high school.  The last notable big guy to have to knees red-flagged is probably Greg Oden.  Yeah...  Ty Lawson (toe) and Missouri's DeMarre Carroll (unspecified) have also been red-flagged.

In other disappointing news, Gonzaga PF/C Josh Heytvelt apparently looked "awful" and "disinterested" and fellow Zag (and current ESPN.com mock draft pick for Indy) Austin Daye has looked terrible in scrimmages (and weighed in at less than Lawson and Flynn; about 30 lbs. less than Durrant coming out.)

Oh and apparently we're looking at Tyler Hansbrough as a possiblity at 13 now because he had crazy athletic numbers at the combine.  This of course is dumb because he NEVER looked athletic in-game and routinely got schooled anytime he had to face an elite big in college.

Gah...this draft is looking bleak.

(Full story for ESPN.com Insiders: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=DraftWatch-090604)

Mike Reilly
6'3" 214 lbs
Central Washington

via images.townnews.com

This kid has has the potential to be a diamond in the rough.  He's projected as a 5-7 round pick mainly because of the level of competition he faced.

Now it's true, Reilly did play on the DII level, but he was originally a Washington State recruit before transfering after his redshirt freshman year.  He went on to become one of the best players in DII history, winning their equivalent of the Heisman last season.

I became aware of this guy after seeing him play against the Montana Grizzlies last season.  He made some of the best throws I've ever seen, one's that translate no matter what the level.

For some video evidence, scroll down and check out the highlights or that game.

http://www.montanagrizzlies.com/pages/media_item.aspx?n=7076&m=18

Since it's a complete highlight package I'll pick the best moments out for you:

2:37 - Reilly completes a pinpoint throw to the back of the endzone where only his man can catch it.

3:41 - An amazing job scrabling away from mulitiple defenders and keeping his balance, then throwing it right between the defenders down the sideline for a big gain.

6:04 - This is the most amazing throw I've ever seen in person.  A split second before getting hit he completes a bomb to a WR who catches it perfectly in stride.  I could watch this throw on repeat, for a day and not get tired of it.  Keep in mind that this is with 4:00 left in the game, trailing by 2 scores against a Top 5 I-AA team (they'd later go on to score again and take the lead, only to have Montana score in the final seconds).

Personally, I believe that if McDaniels thinks he's God's gift to QB development he should prove it.  Reilly clearly has the talent, so maybe we can see if he can get coached up.

As you all know Rick Dennison interviewed for the head coaching opening today.  I think it's safe to assume he's not going to get the job.  So why even bring him in for an interview?  Good faith?  To have an internal candidate?  Why?

My most likely theory is this...he was interviewing to keep his current job.

If you're anything like me, you see that bringing in an offensive head coach would be entirely absurd.  To overhaul an offense that finished 2nd in the NFL is crazy.  Sure, they were not as efficient scoring as they should have been, but the offense is also full of young players and couldn't keep a RB healthy. 

Why bring in a coach from a less successful offense?  Have the Broncos not learned anything from the failure of other coaches from the Pats family in places like Cleveland and Notre Dame?  Are the Broncos really going to look at a coach from Dallas who is less qualified than Bates and couldn't even keep his offensive players' egos in check?

What is needed is a defensive overall starting at the top, all while keeping people like Dennison and Bates in place.  That's where Dennison's interview comes in. 

If he's a realist he knows that he's not the frontrunner for the job.  What his goal should be is to make a case that the offense is fine and if he's not going to be the head coach then the Broncos should go with a defensive coach. 

Is it traditional to lobby for candidates other than yourself?  No.  But again, an offensive head coach means that he the current offense staff are out of a job.  Is it wrong to sell out part of your team and it's coaches?  Not in this case, because the defensive coaches are going to be history regardless of what goes down.  Dennison can only look after himself.

So that's that.  While media outlets will write, "Dennison interviews for Broncos HC job," what it really should read is, "Dennison interviews to keep Broncos offensive staff in tact."

I really hope you did well Rick.  I really hope you did well.