Griffey spurns Atlanta, signs with Seattle instead

In one of the stranger baseball stories this offseason, Ken Griffey Jr. has decided not to sign with the Braves, instead he’ll head back to Seattle, where he started his career 19 years ago.

Here’s how the story unfolded:

The Journal-Constitution first reported Tuesday that Griffey had told a close friend he would sign with the Braves. Wren said Wednesday that communication with Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, had gone smoothly until after that AJC report, which Goldberg and Griffey said was inaccurate.

Griffey told MLB.com later Tuesday that he was still torn between the pull of Seattle, where he had spent the first half of his career, and the Braves, where he would be just a one-hour flight from his wife and children in Orlando, and where he would spend spring training just a 20-minute drive from his home.

By noon Wednesday, Braves officials seemed concerned by the silence from Griffey’s camp and said they expected a decision from him by Thursday.

It’s been a week of misdirection plays for Griffey. Even as it was being widely reported last week that he would sign with Seattle, Griffey called Jones and a Braves official to express interest in playing for the Braves.

He hadn’t been one of the Braves’ preferred options for their outfield job entering the offseason, but the free-agent pool had thinned, plus the Braves didn’t have much room left in their payroll and didn’t want to trade top prospects to acquire an outfielder via trade.

Suddenly the Griffey option looked pretty good, and the Braves figured they would pair the left-handed slugger, one of only six players with 600 career homers, in left field with right-handed hitting Matt Diaz.

As the story goes, Griffey was apparently ticked off that the AJC reported that he chose the Braves over Mariners. Whether or not that was Griffey’s official reason for turning around and signing with the Mariners is uncertain, but nevertheless this situation developed oddly.

Several AJC writers are taking a beating because of their original report. Braves fans are claiming the paper ruined the team’s shot of landing Griffey, but in defense of the AJC, stories are printed like this all the time. If Griffey honestly based a decision of this magnitude (i.e. one that involves his family, where he’ll work and where he’ll live for the next year) off of what a newspaper printed, then that’s ridiculous. Did the paper jump the gun? Probably, but it’s their job to report that the news and they reported what they had.

Either way, Griffey is on his way back to Seattle after signing a one-year contract, and the Braves are still in need of a fourth outfielder.

Soruce..

Read more...

Texas Tech, Mike Leach finally agree to contract extension

Texas Tech and football coach Mike Leach have finally agreed to a contract extension after more than 10 months of negotiations that will keep him at the school through 2013, a source with knowledge of the talks told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.

Leach met with Tech chancellor Kent Hance for almost three hours early Thursday afternoon and the two sides have agreed to Tech's $12.7 million offer that will extend Leach's current two-year deal three more seasons. The contract hasn't been signed but that could take place as early as Friday, the source said.

Tech athletic director Gerald Myers and Leach's IMG agents, Gary O'Hagan and Matt Baldwin, didn't attend the meeting between only Leach and Hance, the source said. Leach and Hance could not immediately be reached for comment.

Leach and Hance hashed out the sticking points earlier today involving four clauses that Tech inserted into its latest offer Jan. 9 that wrecked previous progress. The four clauses involved the guaranteed termination compensation Leach would receive if fired, the buyout amount he would pay if he left early, a penalty for interviewing for another job without permission and who controlled Leach's personal property rights.

A news conference has been called for 6 p.m. today.

The two sides agreed to take out the buyout in the contract altogether, the source said. Tech had wanted a $1.5 million buyout, but now Leach will become the fifth Big 12 football head coach without a buyout in his contract.

The two sides agreed to raise Leach's guaranteed money to $2 million, the source said. Tech had offered $1.5 million in its latest offer. Both parties agreed that Leach is to give notification if he is to interview for another job, the source said, but doesn't need Myers' permission, as Tech had originally asked. Both sides agreed to meet in the middle on Leach's personal property rights, the source said.

The convoluted and sometimes heated contract negotiations first became public after The Dallas Morning News filed an open records request in mid-January asking for documents involving talks between the two parties. On Wednesday, the drama played out nationally as Leach talked to everyone from ESPN to a local radio station.

Tech had set a Tuesday deadline for Leach to agree to its terms, but no deal was signed. A few hours before Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline, Tech's Board of Regents called a "special teleconference meeting" for Friday in which regents were to discuss Leach's contract status and future with the school. Earlier Tuesday, about 40 people showed up outside the football offices for a rally on Leach's behalf.

On Wednesday, Leach formally requested that the regents meeting be open and for him to have the chance to speak. But that won't be necessary after an almost yearlong standoff has ended with Leach able to keep his job following a 2008 season in which he led the Red Raiders to one of the best seasons in school history.

Leach, who just completed his ninth season, is seven wins shy of becoming the school's all-time winningest football coach.

Source..

Read more...

Assessing the president’s mortgage plan

“The president’s new mortgage-relief plan contains clever elements that might indeed help homeowners. However, the superfluous threat of inviting judges to rewrite contracts must dilute the collateral behind troubled mortgage-backed securities. That, in turn, would jeopardize the endangered capital of banks, pension funds and other holders of such securities, including the Federal Reserve, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (02/19/09)


Link: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9988

Source..

Read more...

'Survivor: Tocantins': If we had voted

"Survivor: Tocantins" got down to the nitty-gritty Thursday night, including one tribe dining on fresh termites and a free-for-all water basketball game that led one team to immunity.

The two tribes - Jalapao and Timbira - got to know each other a little better after last week's fast-moving first episode, with Sierra letting fellow Timbira tribe member Brendan in on her secret quest to find the immunity idol.

"Survivor's" very own basketbrawl ended with the Jalapao tribe winning immunity and sending Brendan off to Exile Island. He was able to take an opposing team member with him, choosing Taj George, whose big secret - that she's married to former NFL player Eddie George - is out and has left her feeling uneasy.

At the tribal council, Candace was taken by surprise and voted off the island. Sierra lives to see another week.

Sweet Home Alabama: James "JT" Thomas Jr., a cattle rancher from Samson and Mobile, is quickly establishing himself as a leader of the Jalapao tribe with his outdoor skills. "He's the Alabama country boy," says fellow teammate Stephen. "He's Tom Sawyer." Stephen really likes JT, who seems bemused by his New York buddy. Do we smell a bromance brewing? On the other team, Auburn middle school principal Deborah "Debbie" Beebe seems safe for now - no one has it in for her, and they like being around her.

Who got the boot? Candace Smith, a 31-year-old attorney from Dayton, Ohio.

If we had voted: We'd have taken the opportunity to get rid of Ben Wade, the amazingly egotistical coach and Fabio wannabe in the Timbira tribe. He led the charge against Candace, though, so his team must be listening to him. A side note - Wade lost his job this week as women's soccer coach at Southwest Baptist University. They say he failed to tell them he took time off to be on a TV show. He says he'll go into acting.

Read more...