This has been posted in one of the threads, but if you're jonesin' for some live spring training, the Giants put up a link.

"The Portland Trail Blazers fired general manager Kevin Pritchard after six seasons with the team, ending months of speculation that he had fallen out of favor with billionaire owner Paul Allen...

He was promoted as general manager in 2007 and was charged with rescuing the Blazers from their "Jail Blazers" reputation as a team of malcontents who couldn't manage to stay out of trouble...

Pritchard appeared to have the support of Portland's fan base. Several online petitions backing him surfaced when the rumors about his uncertain future began to swirl in late March, after the Blazers abruptly fired Tom Penn, Portland's vice president of basketball operations.

Penn was widely considered a salary-cap specialist and key to many of Pritchard's past player moves."

If Larry Riley is on his way out, might Pritchard be a good replacement?

"When I spoke with Emmanuel Burriss last week, he’d just returned from a consultation with the Carolina Panthers’ orthopedist about his broken left foot. Dr. Robert Anderson offered three treatment options, including surgery, and Burriss was on the fence.

Ultimately, he decided to undergo surgery and Dr. Anderson performed it Sunday in Charlotte.

Burriss will be on crutches for a couple days and in a walking boot thereafter. He is expected to be game ready in 10 weeks, meaning mid-June at the earliest."

In light of this, Baggs speculates about a trade for a 2B/SS utility guy.

Duke's addition to the All-Star team gives the Pirates two representatives for just the third time since 1994.

Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel from India's Million Dollar Arm Challenge are about to debut for the Bradenton Pirates. Since we last read about them, they've added a changeup and breaking ball to go along with a low 90's fastball. I hope they make it!

One of the great things about the Bay Area is that it represents four major sports leagues, which means there should be several Giants/Sharks fans on this board (hello, Dave Valentine and serrapadre).

"From 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, more than two dozen players, coaches and others — big names like Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Mike Krukow — will hold court at the Britannia Arms in downtown San Jose. They'll sign autographs and celebrity bar tend, and then they'll head over to the Sharks-Hurricanes game, where Lincecum will drop the first puck."

Sounds like a great time out.

Cool site for the more statistically-inclined of FTF.

"'This was not so much a legal defeat for Cuban as it was an old-fashioned ass-whupping,' said John O'Connor, Nelson's lawyer. 'We couldn't have done any better. This is a home run.'"

Just two years removed from the epic 2007 playoff series, Nellie gets the better of Cuban again, this time in the courtroom. The result: an extra $6.3 million in Nellie's bank vault once he rides off into the Maui sunset.