This tale sounds like something that would be on Dave Chappelle's 'When keeping it real goes wrong.'While there's been a lengthy list of ridiculous marriage proposals out there, none may be more ridiculous than that of Dallas Cowboys wide-receiver Roy Williams who's recent marriage proposal takes the cake and gives a whole new meaning to the word 'dumb'. Given the NFL has been in a lockout and most players are left with nothing to do, for whatever reason, the former Pro-Bowl wide-out decided to pop the question with a little help of the U.S. Postal Service. Hoping ex-girlfriend Brooke Daniels, a former Miss Texas USA beauty pageant titleholder would say yes, Williams sent a $76,000 engagement ring along with a tape-recorded proposal through the mail. Though the ring wasn't lost during shipment, that kind of news probably would've been easier for Williams to swallow rather than a rejected proposal which is exactly what happened.
Not only did Daniels decline his offer when asking for her hand in marriage, but she also refused to return the ring. Williams took action by suing Daniels and filing a lawsuit in attempt to regain possession of the expensive gem which she later claimed went missing. After an investigation put on by Williams' insurance company, it was learned that Brooke's father Michael Daniels had the ring all along. Instead of pursuing legal actions in court, Michael told the local newspaper he was returning the ring himself, "I want to wash my hands of it," he said. "It's just a hassle. I'll take care of my daughter. I don't need him."While Williams' failed attempt to tie the knot may be a bit of a disappointment, the same could be said about his performance since being traded in 2008 from the Detroit Lions to the team he grew up watching in Odessa, Texas, 350 miles west of Dallas and as a standout receiver for the Texas Longhorns. Since signing a 6 year, $54 Million contract to play for the Cowboys, Williams has served mediocre campaigns in back-to-back seasons and has become somewhat of a third wheel with the blossoming of young stars Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Since his Pro-Bowl year in which he finished with over 1,300 receiving yards in 2006, Williams has compiled a total of 1,324 receiving yards in his 29 starts with the Cowboys.
If Williams didn't have 4 years remaining on his contract and wasn't owed an absurd amount of money, I'd suggest the best thing for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to do would be to take a similar route he took when releasing problem child Terrell Owens back in '09.
Though the 2011 MLB season has given us plenty of stories to talk about midway through the year, none have been greater than those who have surprised us. And while San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong who I recently blogged about has made an argument for himself, St. Louis' Lance Berkman takes the cake. Berkman who was recently announced to his sixth career All-Star Game last week, has been on an absolute tear since signing in the offseason with the Red Birds. Following the All-Star break, Berkman is among the National League leaders in runs (58), RBI's (66) and home runs (26) which he trails only Toronto's Jose Bautista's 31 long balls for tops in the Majors.Though Berkman has finished multiple seasons on the cusp of an MVP Award while a member of the Houston Astros whom he played with for over a decade (1999-2010), the one nicknamed the "Big Puma" has somewhat revitalized his career which many declared was reaching a climax following a sub-par stint with the Yankees last year as a designated-hitter. During his season donning the pinstripes in 2010, Berkman finished the season hitting a cool .255 with 1 home run and 9 RBI's to his credit. His lack of production resulted in the club declining to exercise his option for 2011, making him a free-agent. After compiling career-low numbers on offense, few teams were willing to take a gamble on the 35 year old Berkman and the one that did couldn't be any happier as his acquisition has certainly paid off.
Most significant of all, Berkman has stepped up during the most trying of times to keep the team afloat and in contention in the division when St. Louis' most valuable player in Albert Pujols began the season struggling before landing on the disabled list with an injured wrist. Like the saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" or in this case, one team's trash is another team's treasure as Berkman has blossomed back into the MVP caliber player we've all grown accustomed to seeing.
Let's stay in the division, shall we? And while we're on the subject of surprises, it would be a complete mockery if I failed to mention the Pittsburgh Pirates who entered last week's All-Star break above the .500 mark for the first time since 1992. Though the Cleveland Indians deserve a ton of respect as well having led the AL Central for almost the entire season now while being labeled as underdogs, even they don't match up to the Pittsburgh Pirates who have been the laughing stock of the baseball world since the Barry Bonds era in the early 90's. Having endured losing season after losing season for the past two decades now, the Bucco's have finally produced what appears to be a winning team that looks to put an end to their current 18 consecutive losing season streak which is also the longest such streak in North American professional sports.Led on offense by young stud Andrew McCutchen who alongside Kevin Correia and Joel Hanrahan were sent to Arizona for the 2011 All-Star Game, the Pirates currently stand six games above .500 at 51-45 and are a 0.5 game out of first place behind the division leading Milwaukee Brewers. While the division is still up for grabs with plenty of ball to be played, besting either the Brewers, Cardinals or Reds for first place is not only unlikely, but it's also unneeded for the Pirates to call this season a success given both the organization and its fans are starving of a winning season.
Pittsburgh's stellar season thus far has caught the attention of all baseball fans to the point that even non-Pirate fans such as myself are rooting for the black and yellow to finally overcome their struggles of 18 years now. For years, the only thing baseball fans in the Steel City had to look forward to was the pirogi race, now they have an actual team they can head to the ballpark to watch. Not to say they're the up and coming NL version of the Tampa Bay Rays as they're a few blue-chip prospects away from that territory, but it's certainly a breath of fresh air to see fans filing into the seats of what I think is one of baseball's gems as far as today's stadiums go in P&C Park.
Not to mention it's also a bit of relief blogging about something new considering in all of my 2+ years of blogging, I have not once mentioned the Pirates ball club. With that being said, Welcome to the blogosphere, Pittsburgh!
In fear of losing their All-Star slugger Prince Fielder to free agency this upcoming offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers went out and made a trade that they think will help their chances of winning it all this season just hours after watching Fielder take home All-Star MVP honors. In need of some help to fill the back end of their bullpen, the Brewers acquired Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, better known as 'K-Rod' along with cash in exchange for two players to be named later. At the start of the season, the Brewers were chosen by many to not only run away with the division, but to contend for a World Series title after acquiring two All-Star caliber arms in Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.Since then, the Brewers have been one of the best teams in the league at home (33-14), second to only the Philadelphia Phillies (34-15) who also own the best record in the Majors at 57-34. However, they've been unable to separate themselves from the division rival St. Louis Cardinals who they headed into the All-Star break with, tied for first place. While the Brewers have had one of the more potent offenses in the NL for years now with Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks to accompany Prince Fielder, their relief corps has been an issue, ranking 10th in ERA among National League bullpens. Aware of that stat, Brewers GM Doug Melvin addressed that area by dealing for a 3-time AL Saves leader and 4-time All-Star.
With a dominant closer already established in the bullpen for Brewers manager Ron Roenicke in John Axford, the closer role will be shared as K-Rod will primarily be used as a set-up man. Not only does sharing the role of the closer make sense when considering the job Axford has done (23 saves in 25 save opportunities), but also because having Rodriguez finish 21 more games this season would mean his expensive $17.5 Million option for 2012 comes into play. Though he's been among the games elite closers since 2005, the transition to the set-up role won't be an unfamiliar one as he served as a set-up man for Angels closer Troy Percival from 2003-2004 before getting the full-time closing job in '05. Having converted 23 saves in 26 opportunities with a 3.16 ERA though the first half of the season with the Mets, Rodriguez is 3 years removed from his record-setting 62 saves in 2008 which helped him land a 3-year, $37 Million contract in the Big Apple.
The first thing that comes to mind regarding the Brewers' mid-season acquisition, is the move they made in 2008 to bring C.C. Sabathia over from the Cleveland Indians. The trade for C.C. jump-started Milwaukee down the stretch as Sabathia single-handedly carried the Brew Crew to a Wild Card berth, helping them capture their first Postseason appearance since 1982. Although Rodriguez won't have as much of an impact Sabathia did, he certainly bolsters their bullpen which has been their biggest concern.
The deal could also spark a fire sale for the Mets who are also rumored to shop All-Star's Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. With both players in the final year of their contracts and expected to test free agency this December, the Mets are looking to shed as much salary as possible. For months, Jose Reyes was rumored by many sources as potentially being traded to the San Francisco Giants. Those talks have cooled down since then, with the stove now heating up on Beltran. With a lackluster offense that's been piggybacked by a dominant pitching staff thus far, either player would be the perfect piece to San Francisco's postseason puzzle in hopes of winning back-to-back World Series titles.While Reyes who's six years younger than Beltran would make more sense for the long-term, Beltran's presence for the remainder of the season could also provide a significant jolt to the Giants' postseason campaign given he had one of the best series' in postseason history in '04 while a member of the Houston Astros. With All-Star's Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum along with blue chip prospects Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner officially all off limits, who exactly could the Giants deal to pry Reyes/Beltran out of New York's hands, Jonathan Sanchez?
If you're looking for the perfect comeback story, look no further than Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong. To begin the season, the Giants knew they had a cast of All-Star quality pitchers. What they didn't know was Vogelsong would soon be one of them. Since being drafted by San Francisco in the 5th round of the 1998 Major League Draft, the soon-to-be 34 year old right-hander has overcome just about every hardship in the book. After making his debut with the Giants in 2000 as a September call-up, Vogelsong was packaged a year later to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Jason Schmidt among others. Though the deal worked in favor of the Giants who saw Schmidt blossom into a 3-time All-Star, Vogelsong would appear to be on a downward spiral after needing Tommy John Surgery just two starts into his campaign with the Pirates, keeping him out of the bigs until the end of the 2003 season.
Vogelsong would continue to struggle at the Major League level, causing him to pursue his baseball career elsewhere in Japan where he spent three seasons from 2007-2009 before stints in the Minors for the Phillies and Angels. While being hung out to dry on the free-agent market, general manager Brian Sabean of the defending World Series Champion Giants signed Vogelsong to a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training where he impressed skipper Bruce Bochy, but was left off the Opening Day roster due to a crowded pitching staff. However, Vogelsong would get his chance less than a month into the season, when Bochy saw his number 4 starter in Barry Zito fall to injury, resulting in a call up which saw Vogelsong fill the void of the former Cy Young Award winner. Little did he know Vogelsong would pitch his way into the rotation for good, despite being four years removed from his last start in the big leagues.
With a disappointing win-loss record of 10-22 and a mediocre ERA of 5.86 to show for after 6 Major League seasons, it would've been nearly impossible for anyone including Vogelsong to predict he'd make the Giants roster with as big of an impact he's made, let alone earn a spot on the All-Star team. After making his season debut on April 28, it wasn't long before the Giants struck gold as the right-hander paved his way to success by making nine consecutive starts where he allowed two runs or fewer to highlight his All-Star campaign. In the midst of his stellar season that's been nothing short of a Cinderella story, Giants manager Bruce Bochy has taken heavy fire lately as many believe his decision to name Vogelsong (6-1) to the All-Star Game was a homer move considering he already has two of his starting pitchers being represented in the Midsummer Classic. 
Though his ERA of 2.17 is tops in the NL, he doesn't meet the number of innings pitched required to qualify for the ERA title which is a result of his late-April call-up. While Vogelsong's story of rags to riches alone merits a trip to the Midsummer Classic, arguments could also be made for Atlanta's Tommy Hanson and Pittsburgh's Kevin Correia who coincidentally served under Bruce Bochy as a Giant. The only starter Vogelsong would stand in the way of however, would be Hanson as Correia was a late add to the roster, replacing Philadelphia's Cole Hammels who took the mound on Sunday. And though I do think Hanson was snubbed from the All-Star team, I won't discredit Vogey for all he's done to get here, not to mention Hanson who at the young age of 24 will make multiple cameos in the Midsummer Classic before his career is all said and done. After all, it's unlikely Vogelsong will ever get this opportunity again.If I'm going to make the argument to defend Vogelsong, I might as well stick up for Bruce Bochy too who fans are making it sound like he's made the only mistake when in fact it's the fans who get the voting wrong time and time again. Who's to judge Bochy's decision when the fans are the ones who vote Derek Jeter and A-Rod in every year regardless if their stats are All-Star worthy or not. It's bad enough that fans have the power to select the starting position players, but if they were in control of who the pitchers are also, it might as well be a Yankee-Phillies game given all the All-Star game really is is a popularity contest. And given the game decides which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series, the smart thing to do would be to outlaw the fan-voting. Besides, Bochy isn't the first All-Star manager to choose a player of his own. Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel did it two years ago when he decided to elect Shane Victorino over Pablo Sandoval who finished the season as the runner-up for the NL batting title behind Florida's Hanley Ramirez.
Also being named to his first ever All-Star team is the aforementioned Giants infielder - Pablo Sandoval who was a late addition to the roster, filling in for the injured Jose Reyes. Similar to Volgelsong, many believe Sandoval isn't deserving of an All-Star appearance due to a month long stint on the disabled list caused by a broken hand. To his credit, Sandoval entered the All-Star break on a 20-game hitting-streak, finishing the first half on a high note. The addition of Sandoval gives the Giants a total of 5 All-Star's (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Brian Wilson, Ryan Vogelsong and Pablo Sandoval), the club's largest representation since the 1966 season which saw 6 Giants represent the orange and black -- Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylor Perry, Jim Ray Hart and Tom Haller. One thing is for sure and that's that the orange and black will be well represented this year as Arizona's Chase Field gets set to kick off the 82nd annual MLB All-Star Game on FOX (5 p.m. PST).
Just when you thought Lakers forward Ron Artest had done it all, the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year appears in the news once again to prove us wrong. Better known for his colorful post-game interviews and questionable antics both on and off the court which include applying for a job at Circuit City for an employee discount, a near-naked appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel and his unnecessary admittance to drinking during the halftime of games early on in his career just to name a few, you've gotta think the 12 year veteran has done just about everything possible to raise a few eyebrows. However, that couldn't be any further from the truth as his most recent endeavor might also be his most controversial.In November of 2004, Artest took part in arguably the most heinous brawl in the history of sports when he entered the stands, triggering a fight between both players and fans. The incident which later became famously known as 'The Malice at the Palace' resulted in 9 suspensions and fines, but none were greater than those issued to Artest who was suspended for the remainder of the season including playoff games which caused him to lose nearly $7 Million in salary. Since the altercation, Artest has done nothing but good (with the exception of his clothesline on Mavs point-guard J.J. Barea) and has been involved in numerous charities among other life changing programs to better both others and himself. While contributing to the studies of mental health is one thing, Artest went out of the box to do something only a brave few would do and that's auction off his Championship ring.
Though it took Artest over 12 years to finally capture the highly coveted piece of hardware that every player hopes to one day accomplish, it only took him a few days to figure out what he'd do with it. And while most people are calling him crazy for giving up his bling, others are calling him a hero as all the proceeds went to charities nationwide. His positive actions continued throughout the community which garnered the attention of the NBA who recently named Artest as the most recent recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, which is given to a player, coach or trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community. Artest has come a long way since his notorious antics and to prove just that, he's filed a petition through court to legally change his name to Metta World Peace.The World Peace part is self explanatory and is guaranteed to sell a lot of jersey's assuming the Los Angeles County Superior Court approves of the name change, but Metta for those who didn't know (including myself), is defined as the Buddhist virtue of kindness. While appearing as a guest on PTI last week, Mr. Peace said he gained inspiration to change his name from Bengals wide-receiver Chad Ochocinco who went through the same legal process last year, changing his name from Chad Johnson. Though his stats indicate a rather poor year last season, averaging career-low numbers in almost every major offensive statistical category, Artest has easily become one of the most likable Lakers since his quirky post-game interview after Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals where he thanked his therapist. If a lockout threatens the NBA like one has threatened the NFL, there's no telling what tricks Artest will pull from his sleeve next.
