To really get to know him. Joe Smith wasn't a part of the Thunder future, and he will no longer be part of the present -- http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3944828

Not a big loss since he hadn't been a part of the rotation, but it still hurts since Smith acted like he wanted to be in Oklahoma City. Cleveland now has the upper hand to sign him with Ben Wallace going down, but do we really care now?

While I like one of the deals made, the other only makes sense if Malik Rose is following the Joe Smith method out of town. Rose was a Spurs' sparkplug back in the day, but I forgot he was even still in the league.

Smith didn't get traded again, and Chris Wilcox got his wish. To 'make' room for new guard Thabo Sefolosha, OKC waived Sene -- officially labeling yet another first round pick as a bust.

Sene wasn't playing at all, but it is still a curious move when other players could have been cut. The Thunder needed some new life, and there is only one way to do that in today's NBA. 

My hope is that D.J. White is almost ready to make his debut, and Thabo finds a home in the starting five. Not too much to ask, right?

GM Sam Presti has his hands full. I didn't even know what to write over at After The Lighting. Once the shock wears off, it will be time to get to business.

Where do the Thunder go from here?

Some options are still out there, but are any of them as good as Tyson Chandler...

I think there are a few desparate GM's that want to make a splash, but it should be a fun day of playing 'Guess Which Rumor is True!'

Someone is finally starting to take notice of what we already know. The NBA made a great decision today, and it is time to put my DVR to work.

H-O-R-S-E

Might be my new favorite game to watch! KD is going to own All-Star Weekend as long as we find a way to get him in the game on Sunday -- who's got a crowbar?

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2009/news/story?id=3896766

You all want drama...how bout our own little soap opera down in Springfield?

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Props to the Cards on renaming the Press Box after two Hall of Fame writers -- Bob Broeg and Rick Hummel. As I was reading Bernie's column on the announcement, a certain blurg caught my attention.

Many St. Louis fans, including myself, have been wary on Keith Law's views of the Cardinals. I'm not sure where he is getting his info from, but here is one more tidbit for the rumor fire.

'On a chat on ESPN.com, baseball analyst Keith Law gave more airing to the rumors that Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty and manager Tony La Russa are leaving after the season. "Both in Cincinnati (next season)," Law said in response to a question. "(Jeff) Luhnow takes over as GM." ...

Thoughts?

While over at Future Redbirds, I found that first-round draft pick Peter Kozma still had not played in a game. Not knowing where he would be starting his Cards career, I did a little hunting.

He wasn't listed on the Johnson City or Batavia rosters, and I knew that Q-C was out of the question. Sure enough, wearing 41 for the GCL Cardinals is Peter Kozma. The game yesterday was rained out, but hopefully he will see some action this weekend.

Tyler Henley signed as well and will be playing in Batavia next week so all that is left for the front office is to pony up and get Russell playing ANYWHERE in a redbirds jersey.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=1370

Today's main post got me thinking of the big picture for the rest of this year and for 08. TLR will have a much harder choice than he has had in the past. Sounds like the team is leaving it up to him, and I think that is the right decision.

You take the good with the bad, the quirks and commitments when LaRussa is your manager. He is a smart guy, and most of his moves have paid off before this year. I really feel he lost this year's team in ST with the DUI, but it could have been leftover feelings from the problems with Rolen and Edmonds.

But this season has turned from hopes of a repeat to finger-pointing and name-calling. Is it any one person's fault -- highly unlikely. I listened to the pre-game interview with  H.G. Bissinger during the Philly series, and that got me thinking about his book with Tony.

Everyone knows he is one hell of a manager, and we couldn't have won the WS without him. After reaching that unexpected high last October, there was bound to be a drop-off.

Whether or not he comes back for next year is probably going to be a combination of things.

1. Will Carp pitch next year? Without a true ace, the rebuilding process will be big as the Rasmus watch takes center stage.
2. LB has pointed out that unless some contracts are traded this month, the team has very little money to throw at anyone after the year.
3. Would Duncan stay if LaRussa left? That is something I have been curious about.

More than likely I see him coming back for one last run with this core group. 2009 is the target year for most of the youngsters, and Walt is under contract for next year as well. But hey, what do I know -- the Cardinals only get to the WS when I'm in Iraq, and I'm not ever going back.

Not a Simpsons post, but that is how I feel. I found the article about Brett Zawacki in an Illinois newspaper that recently (as in today) took down the link. Since I don't want to subscribe to their online service to read it, I will summarize it.

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(WARNING -- Crazy thoughts about to begin)

Okay, now that's out of the way. With the firing of Jerry Narron, the door is now open for the rumors to start flying. I know the P-D did a story on WJ and his 'disinterest' in the Reds' GM job, but I can't help but think the three-headed beast of WJ, TLR, and Dunc could be brought in together somewhere.

Add in the fact that the Reds ownership group has a lot of St. Louis tie-ins, and it becomes almost believable. Yes, Cincy has a good GM now, but in today's era of baseball -- what have you done for me lately is the norm.

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