March 29th 2010: Daily Sports News-Gossip-Headlines

Monday Water Cooler – March 29, 2010

Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.

Enjoy!

After a hiatus, the daily news beat is back and there’s plenty to discuss. We’ll give you the lowdown on something other than the Final four because, let’s face it, if you don’t know who made it in, you don’t know sports.

NBA news: Vince goes down; Bradley goes the political route; Artest steals more than basketballs

In an event that should surprise 0.0 people, Vince Carter succumbed to an injury yesterday. While battling the Denver Nuggets, he went down with a sprained toe. J.J. Redick seized the opportunity to fill in, scoring 23 points while setting career highs with eight assists and seven rebounds over 46 minutes.

Though Shawn Bradley hasn’t played since 2005, he lives on in our hearts. The 7’6” former center has become a YouTube legend thanks to getting constantly posterized on dunks by high-flyers. Now, Bradley is turning heads for a new reason. After spending several years on staff at a private school, he is reportedly running for congress in Utah.

Hey, sounds good to me.

It’s almost a guarantee that he’ll never sleep around or do anything shady, as it’s simply too tough to hide when you’re Shawn Bradley.

If you ever wonder why Ron Artest is so good at stealing (basketballs), look no further than an interview he gave in 2001, which was just recovered by The Orange County Register. Artest claimed that he used to steal Little Debbie cakes from a local store, sometimes swiping as many as four per day.

If that’s how Artest got good at stealing, Scottie Pippen must’ve grown up robbing banks.

NFL news: Weekend crime wave overshadows other rumors

We’ll get to the Pacman rumors but first let’s cover all the criminal activity in the NFL over the weekend. First off, we have Joey Porter, who recently signed with the Arizona Cardinals. Porter was arrested in Bakersfield, California over the weekend on suspicion of drunk driving and also accused of assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. In theory, this should be a cut-and-dried jail case. Assaulting an officer?

Come on. But it’s the NFL and we can’t be surprised if Porter escapes with a fine or community service.

Ryan Leaf, one of the biggest draft-day busts in NFL history, agreed to plead guilty on a burglary charge stemming from a 2008 incident in which he broke into a football player’s apartment to steal the painkiller Hydrocodone. In exchange for his plea, he’ll receive 10 years probation.

Hey – at least your 15 minutes of fame isn’t over yet, Ryan!

Now, on to the Adam “Pacman” Jones news, which is somehow not related to any crime. Still tempted by Pacman’s natural abilities, the Lions, 49ers and, of course, the Bengals have all expressed interest in him. Jones’ agent, Ray Savage, said his client plans to meet with each of these teams in the next week or two.

MLB news: Prospects Heyward, Desmond, Davis crack major-league rosters

Our Rookie of the Year candidates in the 2010 MLB season are starting to crystallize. First off, we have Jason Heyward, the consensus No. 1 offensive prospect in baseball. After wowing folks by launching balls into parking lots this spring, he wound up making the Atlanta Braves’ Opening Day roster (assuming he overcomes shin splints).

Also cracking their big clubs: middle infielder Ian Desmond (Nationals) and starting pitcher Wade Davis (Rays).

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