REDS DUMP GRAVES!!!!

               

*The Cincinnati Reds finally made a bold move by canning "closer" Danny Graves.  Graves was 1-1 with a 7.76 ERA and has become the focal point of Reds fans ire.  He has been booed every time he's taken the mound at Great American Ball Park   The final straw came after a fan supposedly cussed him out...Graves gave him the ol' #1 salute.  Read more reaction to Graves dismissal at Sportz Reds Baseball Bunch.  Also, go to the Baseball Bunch to check out a quick take on the MLB Draft.

UPDATE:  Does it get even worse for Graves??  The Reds called up Randy Keisler to take Graves' roster spot on Monday.  In Tuesday's game against the Nationals, Keisler came on to pitch in the 13th inning [he also pitched the 14th].  In two innings of work, he allowed just one walk.  Oh, did I mention he got the win??  Yeah.  The Reds won the game in the bottom of the 14th for Keisler's first career win.  Oh, did I mention that Keisler drove in the winning run?  Yeah.  The Reds ran out of position players, so Keisler had to hit for himself in the bottom of the 14th.  With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out....the Nats infield was in.  Keisler grounded one past the shortstop for the game winner. 

*Think about this.  The Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs both won Game 1 of the Conference Finals on the road.  If both teams do advance to the NBA Finals...this will be the first meeting of the last two champions since 1987's matchup of the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics.  It has been nearly two decades since two "championship teams" have met in the Finals.  In fact, it is rare no matter when it is.  Since 1987....the only time two "championship teams" met in the playoffs was theLakers-Spurs matchups in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.  That's it. 

*It looks as if the Orlando Magic are ready to announce Brian Hill as their new head coach.  Hill was the Magic's head coach from 1993-1996 when the Magic reached their lone NBA Finals appearance [I think having Shaq around had something to do with it]. 

*Up the coast...the Philly Sixers canned Jim O'Brien [who had been under fire all season] and quickly hired Mo Cheeks.  Mo ran the Sixers in the 1980s as their point guard.  He looks to be a perfect coach for Allen Iverson.  Really, this move has been in the making for quite some time.  The Sixers have bugged Portland about talking to him about their head coaching job over the past 3 years.  After the Blazers fired Cheeks...it was only a matter of time before Philly and Cheeks hooked up again. 

*My fantasy baseball team is going off!!!!  I currently have 3 of the top 4 home run hitters [Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreau, Derek Lee] and 3 of the top 8 RBI men [the same guys].   I have the top two run scorers [Rodriguez and Johnny Damon] and I have the MLB leader in strikeouts [Johan Santana].  My team [which gaines pts for pitching Ws and Ks...HRs, RBIs, hits and runs] is made up of: Sean Casey, Lee, Ray Durham, Michael Young, Rodriguez, Damon, Abreau, Gary Sheffield, Mike Piazza and Santana.

*The Redskins signed FS Corey Hall.  I'm sure SPORTS BLOGGERS LIVE guest Drew Rosenhaus is rethinking his client's [Sean Taylor] financial tussle with the team, eh?  And word is that the Redskins will try to bring in former Bears CB/KR R.W. McQuarters. 

*Looking at the North Carolina Tar Heels football slate.....UGH!  The new ACC will be tough for the Heels to crack and they did themselves no favors by the non conference sked.  They have to go to Louisville and host Utah and Wisconsin.  As far as ACC play goes...the have roadies in Miami, Georgia Tech, NC State and Virginia Tech....while hosting Virginia, Boston College, Maryland and rival Duke.  Duke and Virginia look to be wins....but nothing else does.  When does hoops season start??

*The Indianapolis 500 is this Sunday.  Who cares.

*The Coca-Cola 600 takes place later that night.  Go to The Diecast Dude's (Mostly) NASCAR Blah Blah Blog and The Unofficial Everybody's NASCAR Nextel Cup Blog for all the haps!!

*Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, is at the owners meetings dodging questions about the team's inability to get a new stadium deal done.   The state sees no reason to replace the Superdome [it is ugly, but it is big and does the job.  So, Benson has to now here questions about possibly becoming the Los Angeles Saints.  Uh, Tommy Boy....you've been talking to people in SoCal, the Colts and Cards got their stadium deals done and the Vikings have been sold [pending] to a guy that wants to keep the team in the Twin Cities.  You are gonna keep getting these questions, dude!  Oh, he also stated that he was offered $1 billion for the franchise [only the Redskins are even worth that]. 

*Speaking of that, SI's Mike McAllister lists which cities should be atop each major sports league "expansion list" [ SI.com - Writers - Topping the expansion list - Tuesday May 24, 2005 11:58AM].  He says that MLB needs to go to Portland, the NBA needs to go to Las Vegas, the NHL to Houston and the NFL, of course, to Los Angeles.  Let's see.  The Portland Marlins, Las Vegas Kings, Houston Sabres and LA Saints. 

*Who is better??  Kobe or Wade??  Fight about it here:  L.A. Lakers

*By the way.....I called Afleet Alex winning the Preakness!!!  Look in my blog under INTERLEAGUE PLAY MUST STAY to see it. 

*I might not like the Yankees...but I do have two of them on my fantasy team.  Gary Sheffield and A-Rod.  Keep knockin' 'em out guys!!!!

*A guy dressed as Darth Vader went to a theatre in Springfield, Illinois that was showing Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith and robbed the concessions employee [read: popcorn jockey].  Vader fled the scene and ran into a nearby wooded area.  Classic!!

*Good news for Detroit.  14 of the past 18 NBA Champions have had a North Carolina Tar Heel on theirroster.  James Worthy [1987, 1988], Micahel Jordan [1991-1993, 1996-1998], Scott Williams [1991-1993], Kenny Smith [1994-1995], Pete Chilcutt [1995], Rick Fox [2000-2002] and Rasheed Wallace [2004] are all former Heels with titles in the past 18 Finals.  Well....it may be good news for the Spurs as well.  Two of the four non-Heels teams were San Antonio [1999, 2003].  AHHHH!!!  But the other two were Detroit [1989, 1990].

*The NFL is banning the horse-collar tackle....since I guess the NFL wants to have scores in the NCAA hoops range.  Look, I understand the "unprotected hit".  I can even sorta kinda get with the 5-yard chuck rule.  But no horse-collar tackles??  Why not just have the red flags hanging from receiver's belts??  Why not outfit wide-outs with those red mesh jerseys??  In the NFL's defense, they did see 6 injuries that were directly caused by those types of tackles [4 alone from Cowboys' safety Roy Williams]. 

*Not to be mean....but Jim Carrey's character, Vera De Milo, on "In Living Color" plays for the Washington Mystics under the name "Coco Miller".