Deadline Dead.

The deadline is over. Manny is still Manny and still in Boston. Jason Bay remains in Pittsburgh. And the Mariners have started the rebuilding process by trading Arthur Rhodes.

UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal is reporting that talks between the Red Sox and the...never mind. Those talks are dead now.

This deadline did prove a little anticlimactic. MLB GM's are clearly unwilling to part with young talent and are resisting bringing in marquee names to do so.

UPDATE: The Boston Globe reports that a Manny deal is done. Go figure.

It's surprising that teams like the Dodgers and the Phillies, both teetering between playoffs and legitimate World Series contender, failed to make a big move.

UPDATE: The Dodgers have acquired Manny. Disregard the previous paragraph. Go Dodgers!

To some surprise, the Mariners only managed to deal Arthur Rhodes. Nice house cleaning. I understand keeping Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre. But I don't understand why they wouldn't deal Raul Ibanez and try to sneak Yuniesky Betancourt on an unsuspecting GM.

Up until the last two months, Washburn has been usually mediocre, with a touch of horrendous during his Mariners career. Dumping Washburn's salary doesn't make sense.

It looks like the M's have realized they cannot count on free agency as the answer to their pitching problems. Taking Washburn's salary off the books clears room for them to overpay on another free agent bust. They already inflated the market by signing Carlos Silva and Miguel Batista to ridiculous contracts. Neither pitcher is currently worthy of calling themself a major leaguer.

So unless they could bring back some prospects for Washburn, the Mariners were better off hanging on to him for next year.

The same goes for Beltre. It's clear that Beltre will never approach his 2004 potentially roided out numbers again. But he's still the fourth or fifth best third baseman in the AL. With nobody waiting in the wings to replace him, and no prospect laden offers for him, the Mariners played it safe and kept him.

For as great a Mariner as Ibanez has been, he fell in the same boat as Rhodes - old, productive and a pending free agent. At the worst, the M's could have dealt him for a prospect and re-signed him after the season. Their thought could be that they're better off with the compensatory draft pick and letting Raul walk. But this is the team that gave Kenji Johjima $24 million to be the worst catcher in the baseball. That probably means Raul has a 5-year deal coming to him.

Regarding Betancourt, he has to go. Even if it's for a bag of baseall's and three packs of Big League Chew. YuBet is not the player everyone thought he was. He swings at every pitch, doesn't get on base and plays erratic defense. If the Mariners want to rid themselves of a contract, it should be his.

The Clock Continues to Tick (2hrs. 30min. left)

More craziness in baseball land...rumor has it that the non contending Toronto Blue Jays are hot for Seattle's Raul Ibanez. Leave it to tough guy GM J.P. Riccardi to get a rent-a-player for no particular reason. Maybe Riccardi wants his successor to get the compensatory draft pick once Ibanez signs with another team in the offseason?

Ken Rosenthal and Jason Stark both say the Manny deal is dead. All that's needed is Buster Olney's confirmation.

As far as previous trades go, the Angels nabbing Mark Teixeira could be just what the Halos need to avoid becoming the Braves of the 2000's. Parting with a solid first baseman like Casey Kotchman might have long term effects, but the Angels needed another bat in that lineup. Teixeira is the first big time bat behind Vlad Guerrero since Jose Guillen went crazy and got kicked off the team four years ago.

The Yankees have gotten themselves a new catcher in Pudge Rodriguez, a new outfielder in Xavier Nady and a new lefty in the pen with Damaso Marte. As always, talk about the Yanks demise was way too soon. Look for a great three-team playoff chase for two spots, ala the NL East.

UPDATE: The Rays are still hot for Jason Bay. Putting Bay in right field would be a huge upgrade for an offense that's struggling right now.

The Clock is Running (3 Hours to go)

Things are getting crazy in deadline land.

Although the major deals (Sabathia to the Brewers/Harden to the Cubs) happened weeks ago, there's still enough time for MLB GM's to make the moves that ultimately get their teams to the postseason...or not.

The big news so far today is the White Sox acquiring Ken Griffey Jr. Sox GM Kenny Williams has been trying off and on to land Griffey for years. This trade does seem a little odd as the Sox have a full outfield with Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher and Carlos Quentin. They also have Jim Thome occupying the DH role. It seems unimaginable that Griffey would play center, while moving Swisher to first and benching Paul Konerko. But Ozzie Guillen is the manager, so anything is possible. It's also important to note how nasty this team would be if it was 2000, not 2008.

Griffey now looks poised to return to the postseason for the first time since 97. Griffey is having a terrible season so far. At times he's looked old and slow. But a divorce from Cincinatti might be all Junior needs to get going.

At the very least, this trade allows me to bust out my collection of White Sox hats from my Jodeci phase.

On the Manny front, it is clearly a case of Manny being Manny. The deal is dead. It's not dead. Nobody knows. For as much as the BoSox want to leave the Manny circus behind, they are naturally playing this one smart by involving a third team. Leave it to the Pirates to jump in and say they'll gladly take Jeremy Hermida for Jason Bay.

More to come shortly...

"Good golly, Miss Molly!"

Forget losing Kevin Durant, Robert Swift's exotic snake collection, or even Squatch. Aside from the non-competitive basketball on the court, what will truly be missed by all Sonics fans is play-by-play man Kevin Calabro's iconic voice.

Over 21 seasons, Calabro called everything from Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp connecting on devastating alley oops to Vitaly Potapenko securing his place as arguably the worst Euro baller in NBA history.

But instead of following the Sonics (soon to be Shit Kickers or the Thunder) to Oklahoma City, Calabro stood his ground and honored Seattle and the franchise known as the Sonics. Calabro said he won't go if they go.

In staying behind, Calabro has been tapped to become the voice of the Seattle Sounders FC - Seattle's MLS franchise that debuts in 2009. This just doesn't seem right.

Calabro is to basketball as Vin Scully is to baseball. It's like telling Lil' Wayne to cover "Just the Way You Are".

Calabro will go insane calling a 0-0 barn buster. There's no doubt that Calabro will make MLS more exciting than Becks prancing around and getting hurt. But soccer is too boring for Calabro's style.

Calabro needs basketball. Basketball needs Calabro. It doesn't have to be on the pro level. The "Master's League" at the Mercer Island JCC is looking for a new play-by-play man. Sure, it might be a little degrading, but at least it's the right sport.

While having Calabro voicing soccer games will surely attract non soccer fans to the Sounders FC, it won't be the same as having him lose his breath while calling the final 30 seconds in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. And it's a damn shame Calabro won't have that chance again.

Stevie Pt. 2

It took Stevie Wonder over 20 years to return to Seattle last summer. So few would have thought that Stevie would be back in less than 11 months. But there he was, perched upon his piano stool, surrounded by an 11-piece band and multiple synthesizers.

Stevie's Friday night concert at Auburn's White River Amphitheater proved to be a nice bookend to last August's concert at Chateau St. Michele that was cut short due to a 10PM politically correct bill(it's from the same bill that states fans cannot boo at Seattle Mariners games).

Knowing that Stevie's previous concert sold out in about 0.7 seconds, I put myself in perfect position to snatch anything I could get my hands on. I failed to realize that the White River has capacity for 20,000, compared to the Chateau's 4,300. I quickly purchased 8 tickets together for $1,200. Then I got buyer's remorse and wanted to make sure I had the best seats. I started searching for a pair. Up came two seats that were better than the original 8. I had to buy those. Then I checked again. Two seats in row 6. I'd have to be an idiot not to bite. Suddenly I had 12 tickets to Stevie and a $2,000 bill.

After unloading 10 tickets, my remaining two just happened to be those sixth row seats. For a genuine Stevie fan like myself, sixth row was an unreal experience.

Stevie started the show off with "As If You Read My Mind" from the Hotter Than July album. An interesting choice to start since it wasn't a single and is one of the album's weaker tracks. Stevie proceeded to stick with the Hotter Than July theme as he ran through nearly half the album to start the show. Since his previous tour focused more on Songs In the Key of Life (in my opinion the second best album ever), the album shift was understandable.

Throughout the show, Stevie interacted with the crowd. At one point he openly wondered how many people in the crowd had made love to his songs (when I'm looking to set the mood, I put on "I Just Called To Say I Love You"). Stevie writes songs that make people cry (Saturn, A Place In The Sun, Lately). Not songs that people make love to. Sorry Stevie.

But Stevie's openness with the crowd took a turn for the worst when someone in his camp agreed to a contest with the local oldies radio station to let listeners vote on a local singer to get on stage and sing with Stevie. All of a sudden, the county fair came to town. Then things got real bad.

During Stevie's encore, one of his backup singers came up and whispered in his ear. Next thing I know, Sanjaya is prancing around the stage, singing "Superstition". My dad put it best when he said, "Having that clown sing with Stevie is like me having you play one-on-one with Kobe. It was a disgrace."

Being such a Stevie enthusiast, I couldn't help but feel like some songs could have been replaced by others. For instance, I've heard "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" a few too many times on FedEx commercials.

Regardless, under no circumstance would I ever pass up a Stevie concert. It could be the In Square Circle Anniversary Tour and I'd still be there. Me and my 12 tickets.

Goodbye My Lover. Goodbye My Friend.

First Seattle loses it's basketball team. Now we lose our stud first baseman. What's next? Microsoft?

Just as quickly as he inked his name to a $50 million contract in 2004, Richmond Lockwood Sexson's storied Seattle Mariners career is over.

Today's news comes right as many were wondering if new GM Lee Pelekoudas planned on making any player moves aside from placing Erik Bedard on the DL. Again.

Sexson's tenure as the M's first baseman got off to a promising start. He clubbed 73 home runs over his first two seasons. But after hitting a paltry .218 pre All-Star game in 2006, Sexson quickly became public enemy #1 for disgruntled fans like myself, who hated watching the team get run into the ground.

While Sexson did rebound in the second half of 06, hitting .322 with an OPS over 1.000, the general argument was he turned it on after the team played itself out of contention.

An absolutely pathetic 2007 saw Sexson hit 35 points below his weight. Most thought this would spell the end for Sexson. But like the guy who spent $3,000 building HD DVD library, then GM Bill Bavasi was too stubborn to know when to cut his losses.

This proved to be unfair for Sexson, Mariners fans and former manager John McLaren, who made the second worst prediction in recent M's history (first place goes to Miguel Batista who boldly claimed the Mariners would become a dynasty).

Sexson's only 33 years old. Chances are he'll sign on with another team and perform well. Rich Aurillia, Scott Spazio and Jeff Cirillo all resureccted their careers after playing the baseball equivalent of "The Love Guru" in Seattle.

Hopefully Sexson is just the start. If anything, Jose Vidro should have been dropped long before Sexson. But with this team, Vidro could easily be batting third until season's end.

Let the rebuilding begin!

4 Minutes to Save His Rep

For the last week, tabloids have been taking batting practice on everyone's favorite Yankee, Alex Rodriguez regarding his marital indiscretions and the possibility that he's dressing up Madonna in his love.

This is newsworthy for the following reasons:

a) It confirms Pay-Rod digs transvestites
b) Following her tryst with Jose Canseco, Madonna has lifted her 20-year moratorium on Latin baseball players
c) Combining Madonna's fake British accent with Pay-Rod's fake persona would arguably create the most irritating couple ever.

This is where sports and Hollywood collide. Remember how well that worked with ESPN Hollywood? This is the slow season for the sports world. Unless you like watching Joey Chestnut gorge hot dogs like Fat Bastard, then baseball is the only thing worth watching. You know SuckCenter producers are jonesing for a way to thrill viewers with, "Who's Now: Celebrity Athlete Couples Edition". Can Nomar and Mia stave off Tony Romo and Joe Simpson? Stay tuned.

It's unfortunate that Rodriguez's marriage is ending due to his "marital misconduct". But at least he's got Kabbalah on his side.

Professional athletes get paid to win games and fill stadiums. And while it's great to have grand visions of them being role models and upstanding citizens, the truth is they rarely are. From Babe Ruth, to the most honest and trustworthy superstar ever, Rodriguez, our sports heroes typically try to score as much with the ladies as they do on the field.

TKO

The skies turned gray. The rolling thunder shook the ground. The lightening blasted through the clouds.

This was the scene hours after the city of Seattle caved in and traded 41 years of memories for $45 million. The skies haven't cleared up since. The basketball Gods are responding.

For anyone who's ever considered themselves a Supersonics fans, they probably feel like someone pinned them down on broken beer bottles and started laying haymakers to their heart.

As bad as it felt watching Dikembe Mutombo lay on the court, holding the ball above his face like he gave birth to electricity when the eighth seed Nuggets beat the top seed Sonics in the first round of the 1994 playoffs, this is infinitely worse.

Sure, the Sonics peacing out seemed like a distinct possibility, but few thought it would conclude like this. The city would have been better off losing the case then taking the greasy, oil stained cash from the Oklahoma City pirates.

What does Seattle plan to do with it's new found wealth? It surely won't go to the bar and restaurant owners around Key Arena who raked in a couple grand extra whenever the Sonics played a home game. What happens when those businesses go in the crapper because the whino throwing back Schlitz beer at the end of the bar is the only one showing up on a regular basis?

Seattle mayor Greg Nickels will probably use some of the loot on the following:

1) Pay off his son's legal bills
2) Daily Krispy Kreme office parties
3) Offer a bonus to newly appointed communications director, Robert Mak

And that doesn't even take into account the extra $30 million the city can net if the NBA doesn't return to Seattle in five years. Think that's happening?

There hasn't been an NFL team in L.A. in 13 years. It took D.C. 34 years to bring back baseball. NBA commish David Stern would rather go clubbing with Stephen Jackson before dealing with the inept politicians from Washington State.

Everyone seemed to make out pretty good on this deal. Former owner Howard Schultz made a tidy profit from the sale. Current owner Clayton Bennett lived out his wet dream and got an NBA team in a fly over state. The city of Seattle got a cool $45 mil.

Everyone made out pretty good except for the fans, the players and Sonics play-by-play man Kevin Calabro. They got screwed.

Newly drafted Russell Westbrook must be thrilled about playing in Oklahoma City. Hope he has a nice pair of shit kickers.

Grown men are fighting back tears on Seattle's sports talk radio station, KJR 950AM. If things seem depressing now, imagine how bleak it will be come November when NBA games start again and Key Arena becomes basketballs Tiger Stadium.

The Sonics provided Seattle with its only major professional sports championship. For the large majority of their 41 years in Seattle, they were the only pro franchise worth following.

And now it's all gone.