Water Cooler – August 4th, 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!
We open today with a “break” in the Brett Favre saga – but do you believe it?
NFL news: Favre says he’s retiring but Vikings sweeten their offer; Suh signs
I’m not convinced yesterday resolved anything. Yes, Brett Favre told the Minnesota Vikings that his ankle hasn’t responded well after surgery and that he’s retiring. But we’ve heard that song and dance a thousand times and the plot has already thickened since that announcement.
The Vikings have reportedly dangled an extra $7 million in front of Favre to coax one more season out of him.
No. 2 overall pick Ndamukong Suh is good to play in 2010. The defensive tackle signed a five-year deal with the Detroit Lions worth $40 million guaranteed and up to $68 million.
NBA news: Shaq to Celtics?
The Heat and Lakers get the headlines but the Celtics should still make noise in the 2010-11 season. Vets Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are still on board, not to mention star guard Rajon Rondo.
Now, the Celtics are ready to add another solid, albeit old, piece to the puzzle.
Reportedly, four-time NBA champ and future Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal is on the verge of signing with the Celtics. He’s a good fit because the Celtics need a big man presence with star defender Kendrick Perkins expected to miss more than half the season with a knee injury.
NHL news: Modano signs with Red Wings
In the end, Mike Modano, the all-time leading scoring among American-born NHLers, won’t get the honor of playing his whole career with one team. But you can’t blame him.
The Dallas Stars essentially handed him his walking papers. And Modano is at least going home.
The Livonia, Michigan native signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings and will likely be a sneakily helpful acquisition. He can still skate and play special teams.
MLB news: Tempers flare between Red Sox and Indians
The Red Sox treated fans to a wild one last night. Not only did Mike Lowell help win the game with a dramatic two-run homer on his first pitch back from his DL stint, but a bench-clearing brawl also went down.
Shin Soo-Choo got beaned on the knee in the third inning and Adrian Beltre flipped his lid after Jensen Lewis threw behind him in the eighth inning. By baseball brawl standards, the melee was pretty tame; no punches were thrown.
UFC news: Koscheck calls St-Pierre “frenchy”
The UFC did a good job matching Josh Koscheck and Georges St-Pierre to coach the next Ultimate Fighter season and compete for the welterweight title. They’re polar opposites – Koscheck brash and outspoken, St-Pierre calm and polite.
Koscheck cemented the bad-guy-versus-good-guy matchup this week when he said he “has a frenchy’s ass to kick.”
Not surprisingly, GSP hasn’t responded to the slur. He didn’t take the bait in the past when Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, the only two guys to beat him, attacked his ethnicity. Instead, he just got even by beating them both.
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