http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4654711

"The Grizzlies have begun serious negotiations with free agent Jamaal Tinsley, and could sign the veteran as early as Saturday, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis has reported."

""He's on the radar," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said Saturday in a text message to the Memphis newspaper."

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From Oesher

Indianapolis Colts DT Ed Johnson release because of a “lack of production,” Head Coach Jim Caldwell says

Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell on the release Wednesday of DT Ed Johnson: “It was production. It was a lack thereof.”

More to follow.

Here's Phil B's article: http://www.indystar.com/article/20091014/SPORTS03/910140366/1004/SPORTS/Caldwell++DT+Johnson+not+performing

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I know that a lot of people on here do not live in the Indiana area, like myself, putting us at the mercy of the scheduling gods when it comes to watching Colts games.  I also know that a lot of people here love the NFL and want to watch as much as possible.  There are two things I want to tell you about NFL Sunday Ticket (this is not a paid ad, I'm just really excited to have ordered it myself).

First of all, you can almost certainly get it cheaper than the listed price (assuming you have Directv or whoever else offers it).  Just call in and ask for a cheaper price.  Seriously.  The normal price is $300.  I got it yesterday for $240.  Sometimes the first person you call in won't help so just hang up and get a new rep on the phone.  They can give you all sorts of deals.  I've also read that if you had it the year before and call in saying you're going to cancel, they might give it to you for like $50, with Superfan  included.

The other note on finances is to compare it to watching games in bars.  So there's 16 games in a season.  We usually have 5 or so games on primetime TV (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday/Monday night).  And then we can usually get another 4 or 5 games on when there aren't any local competing games (out here I have to hope we don't play at the same time as the Pats).  So there are probably somewhere between 4-6 games you can't watch at home.  If you're like me, you'll find the nearest establishment to watch these games.  Obviously you could be frugal and just order a coke while watching a 3 hour game.  But in my case, I'll probably get lunch/dinner and several beers.  At the all too high Boston prices, that's going to cost me at least $30-$40.  Multiplied by 4-6 games and it's anywhere from $100 to $250.  And when you can get Sunday Ticket for the same price, tada!  It's worth it.

Or so I convinced my wife.....

After a nice positive article from Kravitz the other day, he's back to business this morning.  His article pans the Colts for not allowing media to blog or tweet while at the open practices.  He continually harps on the fact that "Bubba from Beech Grove" can do it all he wants, but Kravitz can't.  I have a few concerns

1 - Who is Bubba from Beech Grove?  I don't think BBS is from BG, but I assume Kravitz has someone in mind.  Anyone?  (I know it's not really someone specific, but if I was new to SB, that would be a GREAT screen name)

2 - It's not totally clear why Bob cares.  He keeps saying that he doesn't blog or use twitter, but he thinks the Colts should allow him to.  What??

3 - Is this just a little man syndrome type deal where he always has to find something to complain about?

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And another swingman that has been discussed around here is going to the Cavs...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4339432

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Not a guy I know too much about, but I read an interesting comment on him and decided to do a little research.  He would be a cheaper replacement for Jack.  Here's what I found:

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[Note by Cornrows, 04/21/09 6:45 PM EDT - From the FanPosts, psvirsky puts point guard prospect, Patty Mills up consideration.]

We've had a few people mention Patty Mills in the comments so it seems like a good time to talk about him.  First of all, he is currently projected at the beginning of the second round.  That means we would have to trade either up or down and our current picks aren't likely to net him.  Nonetheless, he is an intriguing prospect at PG.  He is 6'0, 175 lb - just a bit small but not bad at all.  

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[Note by Cornrows, 04/14/09 9:14 AM EDT - From the FanPosts, Ty Lawson is up for initial consideration. Good timing coming of a game which saw T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack combine for 7 assists and 8 turnovers.]

As we all know, the Pacers were awfully close to getting Lawson last year.  Were it not for an ill-timed indiscretion with the law, the Pacers would have too many PG's and the Tar Heels probably don't win the championship.  I've been looking at a wider variety of mock drafts lately and over the past week or two we've ended up with Lawson more than any other player.  I imagine most everyone has a decent idea of what Lawson is like so I'll try to keep this one shorter than the others.

First off, Lawson is a bit short at 5'11 but is definitely stout enough at 195 to hold his own.  His two main attributes are speed and passing.  The guy is fast as hell and he can drive by pretty much anyone.  His assist numbers are as good as anyone in college.  This year he was at 6.6 assists a game with less than 2 TO's a game all while still finding his own shot for 16.6 points a game.  He also shot nearly 50% from 3 and had a pair of steals a game.  The guy can definitely play and be a big time point guard.

Some negatives.  His shot isn't great, despite his 3 point percentage.  Most or all of his 3's are spot-up jumpers and he doesn't shoot as well when on the move.  He also doesn't have much of a mid-range game.  While he plays great up-tempo ball, he is definitely less effective in the half-court game.  His size could be a bit of a liability on defense (albeit not too much).  Also, as great as he's been in distributing the ball, he had some pretty good guys around him to pass the ball to.  I'm sure there are a number of other college PG's who would have similar assist/TO rates with that NC team.

I'll go ahead and leave it at that.  Here's his draftexpress page: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ty-Lawson-485/.  Personally, I definitely like the guy and think he can be successful, especially in a JOB offense.  My only real concern is that if we draft a PG, we will need to do something with the guys we have as 5 PG's is too many (including Tinsley and Deiner).  

Quick note on his character, since the Pacers will shy away from these kinds of problems.  His DWI last year, while unfortunate, is probably not an indicator of a bad kid.  He was 20 years old and was under the legal limit (if he was 4 months older, he would have been fine).  It was a mistake but not a huge one.  Having read stories about his family, he seems to have a good background (military father) and appears unlikely to have off-court distractions.

[Note by Cornrows, 04/10/09 7:24 AM EDT From the FanPosts, psvirsky pumps up DeJuan Blair as a glass-eating post presence for the Pacers.]

Here comes one of my favorite guys so I'm just going to jump right in.  Blair is the sort of player that you can describe very well with about 5 simple traits.  1 - He's one of the best offensive rebouners college has had in a long while (http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=580).  2 - He's only 6'7 but he's got a 7'3 wing span and weighs 265 lb (pure muscle).  3 - He plays with a mean streak and knows how to use his body down low.  4 - As impressive as he is, he's not necessarily uber-athletic.  5 - He's very competitive and one of the toughest players out there (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5R_k0Sw8nc throwing Hasheem Thabeet on to the ground).  

I'll be honest though, he's got some serious flaws.  He's projected at 22 for a reason.  He plays PF but he's only 6'7 and not a huge jumper or anything.  Offensively, he'll get most of his points off of put-backs or broken plays because he doesn't have a jumper yet.  As for his post moves, he has some instinct but no go-to moves yet.  He's a bad free throw shooter.

However, he is one of those players who just does certain things really really great.  His offensive rebound and total rebounding numbers are off the charts.  He's second in the country in rebounds per 40/minutes and did so in the Big East against some taller guys.  He is a tough, competitive, make energy-plays kind of guy and a player who doesn't need plays run for him to get his points.  His hands are unbelievable - he corrals everything near him.  The dude is pure muscle.  For what it's worth, he's about to turn 20 in a couple weeks.   

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