The Weak Ender

Our boy Scott over at Buc Stats has to be thrilled that Jeff Garcia is winning the quarterback battle in Tampa Bay, as that means more shots in the stands of Carmella DeCesare. Actually we are all winners because of that.

The Buccaneers quarterback situation is one of the most interesting position battles at the conclusion of the mini-camps. Garcia should be the starter, and it�s not hard to see him play the same role with the Bucs as Rich Gannon did during Jon Gruden's tenure in Oakland. The Buccaneers would be THN's sleeper pick for the NFC if, say, you were traveling to Las Vegas in the near future and looking to place a futures bet.

And hey, even if they don�t win, the stands will be interesting to look at.

GIAMBI TO TESTIFY

What exactly is Major League Baseball trying to accomplish with this investigation? They have drug testing now, they busted Raffy Palmeriro, it�s time to just move on. Having Jason Giambi admit that used steroids (although he already did) will do nothing other than to remind the public that baseball did nothing about steroids during the late 1990s. Why keep bad press in the news?

Making Giambi testify would be akin to an acquitted murderer publishing a book called, "If I did it."

Yep, quite the build up for an O.J. joke. But the point remains that baseball should move on, yet can�t quit stubbing its toe.

GARNETT CHOOSES LIFE

You can't blame Kevin Garnett for not wanting to go to Boston. Especially with recent anniversary of Len Bias�s death. And besides, who wants to play for that miserable organization that is bad, even for NBA East standards?

But this whole Garnett thing is troubling as he is involved in trade rumors every year. And here�s the rub, if Minnesota can't afford to keep Garnett, or if players don�t want to play there, why do they even have a franchise? Maybe it�s time to jettison franchises such as Minnesota, Memphis, New Orleans, etc. Despite the presence of international players, the NBA talent pool seems diluted. And David Stern is probably the only commissioner in professional sports that could ram contraction down the player�s throats. This needs to happen.

• You have to wonder why the Eagles didn't give any sort of love to Garcia, letting him walk to a conference rival. Donovan McNabb just can't seem to stay healthy and the Eagles still have a pretty good nucleolus and talent to win the NFC East and perhaps the NFC championship.

• Everybody talks about the offensive genius of Norv Turner, but you do realize that the 49ers finished 29th in total offense last season.

• So much for the Yankees charge, as they were swept by Colorado. The Yankees are now chasing five teams in the wild card alone, including the Twins. One of the top match-ups for the final interleague weekend of the season is the Yankees v. San Francisco. Who do you root for there? The Yankees? Bonds? A Mohammad Atta flyover?

• Ken Griffey Jr. also returns to Seattle this weekend. You have to wonder how different Griffey�s career might have been had he spent his formative years on grass, instead of that green concrete in the Kingdom. Griffey also has been involved in some trade rumors recently, being linked to the Chicago Cubs, which would be fun to see.

• A fan in San Diego tossed $1 on the field at PetCo Park on Thursday, causing the under-paid Orioles players to scramble for the bills. It was a nice gesture, but couldn�t PacMan Jones find a better way to spend his last day of freedom?

The LINKS

Figures a dude who loves Erin Andrews would go for Posh Spice.
NCAA loves them some rules.
The Sports Flow looks at recruiting eighth graders. You have to expect that sometime in the near future, Tim Floyd will get a visit from Chris Hansen.
Rumors and Rants talks about Yankee Karma.
A new one from Simon on Sports.
The Sports Hernia breaks down the NHL Draft.


AND FINALLY

People complaining about the current �dead period� of sports is getting a little tiresome. Sure, there might be some truth to that, but look at it this way people, there is no NBA right now. So really, this might be the golden age of sports right now.