Washington National Player Faked Name And Age

The Washington Nationals are not very happy with one of their top prospects named Esmailyn “Smiley” Gonzalez who they signed when he was just 16 years old they thought. he camed from the Dominican Republic and he he wound up leading the rookie-level Gulf Coast League with a .343 batting average in 2008 and was honored as the league’s MVP.

Major League Baseball has been do some investigating and they have found out he is not Esmailyn "Smiley" Gonazlez in fact he is older and his real name is Carlos David Alvarez Lugo. The Nationals gave him over a 1 million dollar signing bonus based on who they thought he was. Now Washington is still looking at their options and what would be in their best interests.

Now this has been a growing problem in recent years as players want to come to Major League Baseball and many times it is very hard to prove who they actually are. Yes, maybe the Washington Nationals did get duped, but the bottom line is they got a very good player and he still plays for them. I think they just want some of the signing bonus back. I am sure there is plenty of other Latin American players playing right now that could have done the same thing you just do not know anymore.

With the NBA trade deadline looming the NBA is all the buzz right now and let us look at the news and notes as well as games last night. First we will look at the spotlight game which was the Orlando Magic and the New Orleans Hornets.

Orlando is considered one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference with Boston and Cleveland and have been playing like that lately, but against New Orleans that was a whole different story. Chris Paul tossed in 36 points and had 10 assists as they handed Orlando a 117-85 whipping which was the worse of the season for the Magics.

In other news Tyson Chandler was sent back to New Orleans Hornets when he failed his physical so the Hornets will get back the guy they thought they just got rid of. New Orleans can use him so I cannot imagine the players are disappointed in this turn of events at all.

The Chicago Bulls in a effort to clear some salary cap space agreed on sending Drew Gooden, Michael Ruffin, Cedric Simmons and Andres Nocioni to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

Tracy McGrady will have season ending knee surgery as he never told management how bad it was and they were trying to trade him, but now that will not happen. Vince Carter is a name that has been discussed in trade rumors. I guess we will have to wait and see if and real deals are made. Cleveland Cavaliers in talks to get Shaq. I do not know if they will, but they have been talking for two days. I think some trades could be made soon.

Wednesday, February 18th

Denver 101 Final
Philadelphia 89

Cleveland 93 Final
Toronto 76

Indiana 94 Final
Charlotte 103

Minnesota 111 Final
Miami 104

Orlando 85 Final
New Orleans 117

Chicago 113 Final
Milwaukee 104

New Jersey 98 Final
Dallas 113

Memphis 90 Final
Portland 94

Atlanta 105 Final
Sacramento 100

LA Lakers 129 Final
Golden State 121

Phoenix 142 Final
LA Clippers 119

Who is next?

Right now the in thing seems to be bashing Alex Rodriguez and yes he has made mistakes, but so did over 100 others on the same list that Alex was on. My question is whoever leaked Alex’s positive test must had a axe to grind with him or something. Why have we not seen the list of other players on the list. I would expect that A-Rod is probably the biggest name on the list, but that does not mean he should take all the heat.

If your going to release names than all should be released, as A-Rod should not be the only one that we have questions for. The real question is who is on the list and are their anymore big names. My guess there probably is some more big names and we may never see the list. With 100 more names I will venture to guess if they ever become public the fallout could be huge.

The funny part is everyone in Major League Baseball bashed Jose Canseco when he came out and told people about steroid use in MLB. Now it might be time that Bud Selig give Jose an apology as so far he has been right on the money. I guess if we want answers about steroids Jose gives better information than Major League Baseball can give their fans and that is real sad. Major League Baseball owes it's fans much more than just lip service. Congress tossed Vince McMahon the owner of the WWE in front of them when they had steroids issues and Bud Selig should be no different. let us see if Congress goes after him like they did McMahon.

Are A-Rod Answers Good Enough?

Alex Rodriguez had plenty of support yesterday as he had his press conference to talk about his steroid use and how he got to this point. According to A-Rod his cousin injected him with a substance called Boli and he used it for a 2 to 3 year period to become a better player. Of course A-Rod never gave us the name of his cousin to verify any facts about him.

Now this press conference was more about trying to get this thing over than giving the truthful answers. That is a shame, but that is what it really is. He was to vague about things and this really did not help out players or fans and the steroid question with A-Rod. Will this help change the perception people have of Alex right now I seriously doubt it very much. People will probably always look at A-Rod as a cheater and that is just the facts. He had a choice and like he said he made a bad one that in the end could cost him a lot.

Dwight Howard Lead Magics To Win In Overtime

Dwight Howard might have lost his slam dunk contest, but he has not lost his passion to lead the Orlando Magics into the playoffs that is for sure. Last night Howard scored 45 points grabbed 19 rebounds and added eight block shots to give Orlando a 107-102 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats in overtime. For Howard this year he has proven to be a leader that the Orlando magics have needed. With Jameer Nelson going down the Magics will need Howard to continue to be that leader on the court. The scary part about Dwight Howard is he is only going to get younger and will be around for a long time to come.


Tuesday, February 17th

Philadelphia 91 Final
Indiana 100

Charlotte 102 Final
Orlando 107 OT

Minnesota 103 Final
Washington 111

Milwaukee 92 Final
Detroit 86

San Antonio 107 Final
New York 112 OT

New Orleans 100 Final
Oklahoma City 98

New Jersey 88 Final
Houston 114

LA Clippers 100 Final
Phoenix 140

Memphis 99 Final
Utah 117

Atlanta 83 Final
LA Lakers 96

Pittsburgh Beats No. 1 UConn 76-68

UConn knew they were going to have their hands full with the Pitt Panthers College Basketball team and that is exactly what happen as Pitt upset UConn by a score of 76-68. Pitt's Dejuan Blair scored 22 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in one of the most physical games in the Big east in a very long time. Players were hitting the floor, elbows flying everywhere and trash talking at an all-time high as well.

The one great thing about this game is you had two heavyweights battling each other neither one wanted to give an inch. Both teams will be in the NCAA tournament and could play each other again in the Big Dance. Look for them to play each other before that though as the Big East tournament championship game could come down to these two teams once again and I am sure it will be a war once again.

Mariners Looking To Bring Back Ken Griffey Jr

The Seattle Mariners was one of the worse teams in baseball last year, but are looking to bring back one of the stars that the fans loved and is winding down his career. Ken Griffey Jr does not have a lot left in the tank, but could be a good addition to the Mariners helping younger players and showing them the right things to do.

Griffey Jr is a sure Hall Of Famer and wants to retire as a Mariner so hopefully something can be worked out for Griffey and the Mariners. The fans still have a special place in their heart for Griffey Jr as he was one of the best Seattle Mariners ever and he maybe able to help them out some this season as well. I guess we will have to see if things work out for him in Seattle which I think it will.