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The 2009 edition of "Free Agent Frenzy" kicked off at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday and by 12:14 p.m. ET, the hockey world learned, via the Twitter account of  Kevin Allen from USA Today, that Mattias Ohlund(notes) had signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Four days after the signing was announced, the Vancouver Province's Tony Gallagher believes there's something fishy about how quickly the former Canuck and his new club finalized the 7-year, $26 million deal; a deal that has a different dollar amount almost every year of the contract:

"How the hell do you agree to a contract structured so bizarrely 15 minutes into free agency without any tampering going on? How does that work?

Who proposed this deal? Did Ohlund's agent J.P. Barry have this all conceived going in and say to the first team that called: 'This is the asking price,' at which point Tampa simply said 'sold' without the slightest haggling?

Did Tampa get enough time between the hassles in their own ownership to formulate this generous payout and then present it to Barry, who was so bowled over he took it immediately?

Either scenario is about as likely as Darcy Hordichuk(notes) winning the Art Ross trophy next year, and Barry was not returning my calls to explain how this sudden meeting of the minds on such a complicated, unusual deal came to pass in nanoseconds."

The National Hockey League punishes any teams involved in tampering with players under contract through heavy fines and possible loss of draft choices. Players involved don't get off scot free. They could be fined and face a possible suspension if found to be guilty of talking to another team while still under contract.

It is sort of odd that one of the top defenseman on the open market finalized a deal so quickly. Maybe he was just too excited at the prospect of mentoring fellow Swede Victor Hedman? Whatever the case, like Gallagher writes, stuff like that goes on all the time between players, agents, and general managers, but some go about it without causing eyebrows to raise.

Over 18 days, Devil Ball is running down our top 18 golf holes in the game. We'll jump all over the planet, digging out both the famous and the not-so-famous. We continue with a rather scenic hole.

The hole: Pebble Beach's 7th hole

The stats: 106 yards, par 3

The story: What a lovely little green! And 106 yards? That's nothing! Well, except for the fact that you've got to deal with the ocean winds coming straight back at you, winds that can turn your wedge shot into an iron. And if you miss even slightly, you're looking at pit-like bunkers, or worse, trying to chip off of one of those rocky faces there in the waves. (There's a legend that some players have simply pulled out the putter and sent the ball rolling down the cart path to chip up and in, dodging the ocean winds entirely.)

Jack Nicklaus birdied this hole in 1972 en route to winning the U.S. Open. Ten years later, Tom Watson yipped a two-foot birdie putt but ended up winning anyway. Ten years after that, Tom Kite's birdie pitch gave him his only major win. The Open returns to Pebble Beach next year, and you can bet that the 7th will play a major role in the major.

Tomorrow: Don't think about all the glass in your path.

My home state doesn't generate much positive news, so we Mississippians hold the heroes we have close. Without question, Steve McNair was one of the biggest, a small-town quarterback so prolific at tiny Alcorn State that Sports Illustrated, the Downtown Athletic Athletic Club of New York and the NFL couldn't ignore him, and so tough as a pro that he brought home an MVP award after his extraordinary scrambling ability had been beaten out of him. McNair was the last great product of Mississippi's historically black colleges, a tradition that nurtured Deacon Jones, Walter Payton, Jerry Rice and countless others before integration diverted their pipeline to the bigger schools, and at Alcorn, he was the biggest.

McNair's sordid, senseless death Saturday doesn't diminish any of that. Godspeed, Air, wherever you are. You came from nowhere, and you came back often.

John Lackey hasn't been all that impressive since coming back from the DL on May 16 (and being ejected two pitches later). Over his first eight starts, he went 2-3 with a 5.83 ERA.

But are things turning around for the guy who seems like he could use a really good nickname? Lackey earned a win against the Orioles on Thursday with eight innings of four-hit and two-run ball. He also finally perfected the stupid human trick above. 

So have at it, amateur Internet copy editors of the world. How should this caption read?

Follow the jump for winners from Thursday's C-a-C featuring Andy Van Slyke:Read More >>

The final lap at Daytona is always a nailbiting experience, but the finish of Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 will go down as an all-timer. Tony Stewart had led most of the race, but on a late restart, Kyle Busch took the lead. And then Tony decided he wanted it back. Things didn't work out so well after that, as you can see starting at about 1:50 of the clip below:

Who's at fault here? Did Stewart turn into Busch? Did Busch make a mistake in trying to reclaim the line? Was it just good hard racing? Where you fall on this one probably depends on whether you love or loathe Kyle Busch.

Still, let's not be too hard on the guy. Busch took an entire year's worth of punishment in the space of about 100 yards, getting spun hard into the fence by Stewart, jacked up in the back by Kasey Kahne, and finally t-boned in the driver's side by Joey Logano. The fact that Busch is still even breathing after that sequence is a testament to the strength of the Car of Tomorrow.

Busch was later shown on camera trying to refuse NASCAR officials' demands that he go to the infield care center for treatment, but to no avail. He declined to speak publicly about the wreck, which is probably for the best for his sake, if not ours. Stewart, for his part, seemed downbeat in his postrace interviews, not willing to celebrate at Busch's expense and, apparently, not entirely certain he wasn't to blame.

Bottom line, this was one hell of a wreck that capped a fine race, and the fact that Stewart took out Busch just yards from the finish line will no doubt give a large chunk of the NASCAR fanbase an extra reason to celebrate the Fourth of July. And say what you will about Kyle Busch, both fans and detractors have to agree that it's a very good thing that he's still around.

For more daily NASCAR news, click here to bookmark The Marbles and follow us on Twitter.

How's this for a decent little Sunday matchup? Tiger Woods, host of the AT&T National and the unquestioned master of the game now, if not for all time, will pair up with heir apparent and defending AT&T champ Anthony Kim for Sunday's final round.

For all his accolades, Kim has never played a final round with Woods, and now he'll get the chance to see up close how he'll fare in a spot that has crumbled dozens of other golfer. Kim has literally been waiting for this moment for all his golfing life -- as the AP notes, he used to envision playing with Woods and facing a 10-foot putt for the win ... back when he was 10 years old.

Sunday, he'll get his chance. Both Kim and Woods have carded amazing saves and head-shaking misfires. Woods, for instance, gave away three strokes in two holes on Saturday, allowing Kim back into the game. And Kim, after firing a course-record 62 on Thursday, settled down and steadied himself into a -10 performance through three days.  (That's him in the red shirt above, playing with Jim Furyk on Saturday.)

Everything Kim has done has led up to this moment -- but nothing he's done could have prepared him for the challenge he now faces. Woods is 45-3 when holding at least a share of the lead heading into Sunday. It's now up to Kim to see if he'll beat the odds ... or just become No. 46.

Woods and Kim tied for lead at Congressional [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Steve McNair on playing hurt:

"It goes back to high school, when my coach told me that when you're in pain, you tend to stay more focused on what you have to do. I took that to heart, and I think that's how I play now. I can just concentrate better when I'm playing in pain."

That mentality -- not the obscure beginnings, playoff success or shared NFL MVP award -- is why NFL fans will long remember the former Tennessee Titans quarterback, who was found shot to death Saturday in Nashville.

Many who play hurt in the NFL provide constant reminders of their injuries, whether by wincing, limping or sighing every time they know the camera is focused on them. Despite myriad medical issues during his 13-year NFL career, McNair never did this. During a five-year stretch when he played hurt much of the time, McNair led the Titans to a 49-22 record. The only way Steve McNair(notes) needed to remind you that he was hurt was by stepping on the field and winning.

A few thoughts on the big Ryan Smyth(notes) trade last night before returning to our respective potato salad and beer comas ...

The trade, which saw Captain Canada move from the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night to LA for defensemen Kyle Quincey(notes) and Tom Preissing(notes) and a fifth-round draft pick next year, is an interesting leap forward for the Los Angeles. Kings. He'll make $6.25 million against the cap until 2012. He had a nice rebound year for the Avs last season, but his numbers have been in decline. Because of his style of play, the guy is perpetually hurt, even when he plays through it.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi acknowledged some of these points in his chat with Inside The Kings last night, but also noted that his team has coveted Smyth since the trade deadline and had him ranked higher on their wish list than "some of the free-agent guys we weren't willing to extend ourselves on." His most interesting answer came when asked what Smyth brings to the team:

"The position he plays, the role he plays -- as a top-six guy who plays left wing -- and most importantly, the way he plays. That was the most important thing in terms of why we were aggressive. We lack guys who are going to go to the blue (area in front of the net) and score hard goals and pay the price. He's not flashy, he doesn't make highlight films, but he wins hockey games. You've got a guy who is known as 'Captain Canada.' As far as his character and his competitiveness, this is the type of player that we need."

He also mentioned Mike Ricci(notes) in reference to this deal. So now we're changing the Kings' grade to an A-plus-plus-plus, obviously ...

Smyth and defenseman Rob Scuderi(notes), signed from the Pittsburgh Penguins this week, might be a little too blue collar for Hollywood, but they're perfect for this Kings team as mentors and leaders. Brayden Schenn sharing the ice with Ryan Smyth in the near future is pretty much a dream scenario from a developmental standpoint.

As for the Avalanche ... well, rebuilding is now the Rocky Mountain way. The first of what should be many salary dumps with middling returns. (Tom Preissing wasn't even listed on the NHL roster for the Kings.) Mile High Hockey is displeased in a very PG-13 way. Adrian Dater of the Denver Post spells out the owner Stan Kroenke's philosophy as Smyth goes west:

We all knew this day would come, Av-aholics. These are the lean days, the rebuilding times. But it doesn't take a lot to get back to respectability in this game. The Avs are assembling some good young pieces (Duchene, Shattenkirk) and a 1-2 up the middle of Stastny and Duchene should be pretty damn good in the future. But for the present? It's going to continue to be tough for a while.

The Avs still have some salary to shed, but Dater's right: They could be the team in the Kings' situation sooner rather than later with the talent already in the pipeline ... and by completely bottoming out for the next few years. Ask the Penguins how that works out sometimes.

Over 18 days, Devil Ball is running down our top 18 golf holes in the game. We'll jump all over the planet, digging out both the famous and the not-so-famous. We continue with an Augusta hole with a flair for drama.

The hole: Augusta National's No. 16

The stats: Par 3, 170 yards

The story: Augusta National has more than its share of signature holes -- yes, it's a safe bet that there will be at least one more on this list -- but for tournament-changing drama, it's impossible to beat this pleasant little 16 that goes by the name of "Redbud." And while it's just a short to medium iron away from the tee, you'd better stay below the hole, or your second shot could roll right back off the green. 

Take a look at just some of what's happened here. Jack Nicklaus famously birdied this one en route to winning the 1986 Masters. Tiger Woods' chip in 2005 is one of the most famous single shots in recent memory. And Kenny Perry birdied the 16th in 2009 to put a stranglehold on the lead and ... well, let's not go any farther with that one. Anyway, situated as it is -- the final par 3 on the course -- it's naturally won its share of acclaim, and even today golfers will try to undercut (or perhaps enhance) its mystique by trying skip-shots on practice days. Earlier this year, Vijay Singh dropped a routine ace with his skip-shot; just another day's work for the Big Fijian.

Tomorrow: Out to sea ... possibly.