Think again.

This week, NFL over/under total win bets for the 2008-09 season were released and the Giants' mark is listed at 8.5 victories, which is two fewer than the Dallas Cowboys and the same as two teams that missed the playoffs last season in the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints.

According to Sportsbetting.com, a wager of $100 on the Giants (-140) going over 8.5 wins next season would pay $71.43. A bet on the Giants (+110) finishing with less than 8.5 victories would pay $110. The over at 8.5 wins for the Vikings is listed as even and the under is -130. For the Saints, the over is -150 and the under is +120.

While the Giants, who finished 10-6 last season, have a moderate win total projected for next season, the Patriots have the league's highest over/under total to work with at 12. But considering that New England ran the table in the regular season and finished 16-0, 12 victories seem manageable this season. That's why the over is -130 and under is even for the Patriots.

"There are two sides to every door, and our side is wide open," Moreno said. "We'd like to have discussions, but at the end of the day, we have to do what we believe is best for our team, and he and his agent have to make a decision on what they feel is best," he added.

Rodriguez turned down a three-year, $34-million offer last winter and is believed to be looking for $15 million a year. Paul Kinzer, Rodriguez's agent, said there have been no negotiations since the right-hander's arbitration case in late February.

"I haven't discussed it with Frankie since spring training," Kinzer said. "I thought everything was on hold until after the season."

"When Howie went out, we missed him. When Figgy went out, we really missed him," center fielder Torii Hunter said. "He's the igniter at the top of the lineup. He works the count, gets that hit, and when he gets on base, they start throwing fastballs."

Figgins, who is batting .306 with a .421 on-base percentage, ran the bases aggressively Friday. The fact that Manager Mike Scioscia is considering whether or not Figgins needs to play a few minor league games before being activated is an indication Figgins could return next week. Kendrick is not as close to returning. When Figgins is activated, Scioscia can move Erick Aybar, who has been batting second, back to the bottom of the order. The return of Kendrick will add depth and punch.

And a championship was apparently the furthest thing from the mind of Andrei Kirilenko, who opted to miss practice before Friday's must-win to get visas for the family vacation — which might very well start Saturday.

Makes you wonder about the banner hanging over the EnergySolutions court: "One team, one dream."

In other words, Stars goaltender Marty Turco should prepare for more traffic in front of the net Saturday, led by the ever-frustrating Tomas Holmstrom.

"Our players are planning to head to the front of the crease in Game 5," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We're going to continue to do the things we've done all year. Homer will go to his spot. Dan Cleary will go hard to the net."

"I think at some point you have to stand up and take responsibility and realize that you not only represent Cedric Benson and the Chicago Bears and your family," Campbell told the newspaper. "It's bigger than that. You represent the university family. You as a man should have some pride in what you do."

The comments came at a private golf tournament in Texas at which Campbell appeared with another former Texas Heisman winner, Ricky Williams-a player to whom Benson often is compared. Williams also told the paper Benson had invited him to spend that day on his boat on Lake Travis near Austin with the group of 15 friends that included Benson's mom, Jackie.

Colon threw 64 pitches, 45 for strikes. He had five 1-2-3 innings. He did not walk a batter, while topping out at 95 miles per hour. The only hit he allowed was a fourth-inning single by Michael Aubrey. Need further convincing? It's unlikely the Sox will, assuming Colon shows no ill effects from his outing. His next start should come Tuesday night at Fenway Park against the Kansas City Royals. For the record, Colon is 14-7 with a 4.88 ERA in his career against the Royals; the only team he has beaten more often is Texas — he's 17-5 against the Rangers.

Colon opened the season in Pawtucket, but one day after pitching five innings of one-hit ball, he was placed on the disabled list April 4 with a strained oblique muscle. He has made two rehab starts since: a three-inning outing last Saturday against Norfolk in which he gave up four hits and a run, and yesterday's outing in Buffalo, a place where he once pitched while coming up in the Indians' farm system.

"That's a big loss for us," said guard Delonte West, who logged 43 minutes in Game 5 and may see his playing time increase tonight at Quicken Loans Arena. "He was a big key to what this team was trying to do. Just what he brings to the floor, he's not afraid to take the big shot. He's always a constant threat, spreading the floor out there."

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown described Gibson's injury, which he suffered early in the fourth quarter when he collided with a teammate while going after a loose ball, as a first-grade AC separation.

"Timmy did a good job defensively," Popovich said. "David didn't shoot it very well tonight. Sometimes that happens. It was a combination of that and Timmy playing well."

Despite his defensive pedigree, Duncan typically doesn't draw such assignments. Instead, Popovich prefers to deploy him as more of an anchor, free to cheat off lesser threats and dispense help to teammates. On Thursday night, however, Duncan spent virtually the entire game focused solely West.

He now is 2 for 2 with reinstated Argentine starters. Fabricio Oberto, a teammate of Manu Ginobili's on the defending Olympic champion Argentine national team, on Thursday replaced Kurt Thomas, who had started at center in the first five games. Oberto did his typical journeyman job on the boards, grabbing four rebounds in 18 minutes and 32 seconds, but he turned into a setup man in the first half, tallying four assists.

Popovich went with Oberto to start and made Robert Horry his first big man off the bench for Game 6 because of their experience in the Spurs' systems.

"The only thing you can do," Bruce Bowen said, shrugging his shoulders, "is will your way through the madness."

That, more than even Tim Duncan's toughness, Manu Ginobili's magic and Tony Parker's quickness, has always been these Spurs' biggest strength. They weathered bad crème brûlée in Dallas in 2003 and near-disaster in Detroit in 2005 and the mayhem that was the Phoenix series in 2007, and every time they put their head down and forged on. The madness never stood a chance.

So it was no surprise that on Thursday, when things started getting chippy and the season hung in the balance, it was the Spurs who looked like they'd been there before. West would say later that he thought the New Orleans Hornets "lost our cool," and he was including himself in that summation. After he was charged with three fouls in the span of a minute, he reacted like Gregg Popovich getting a delay-of-game warning.
Popovich, for his part, was cooler on this night, and watching his team get a few calls probably helped. But even before the game, he appeared as relaxed as he had all series, and that was at least partly because he knew the pressure of an elimination game was something his team was almost certain to thrive on.

D'Antoni is in the early stages of putting together his staff, which is expected to include his brother, Dan. The status of two of D'Antoni's other assistants from Phoenix, Alvin Gentry and Phil Weber, is uncertain. Both are still under contract with the Suns, which could prevent one or both from joining the Knicks. Herb Williams, who shares an agent with D'Antoni, likely will remain on the Knicks' bench while Dave Hanners is expected to be reunited with Larry Brown in Charlotte. Mark Aguirre and George Glymph, who were both hired by Isiah Thomas, are not likely to return.

Pennington called heads — and heads it was, meaning he got to be the "starter" on Day 1. The two QBs will alternate through 15 practices, culminating next month with a minicamp. That they resorted to a coin toss says everything about the quarterback situation — dead even.

Cynics might call it a dead end, considering the way both quarterbacks played last season, but it won't lack intrigue the New York Daily News reported.

That would be double the $4 million salary he's due this season in the final year of the seven-year, $46 million deal he signed in 2002. In a meeting with Giants' officials in March, Strahan was told, "We'll take care of you" financially, according to a source, but the Giants weren't specific about those plans. According to one source, Strahan has been told the team is willing to go as high as $6 million for one season.

Strahan's agent, Tony Agnone, said money has not been discussed. It's not clear whether Strahan is willing to play for less than $8 million, nor is it clear whether he'd be willing to come to training camp as a condition for getting that much. Strahan, according to a source, has not yet been given permission to miss camp again this year without the fear of being fined. That could factor into whether he decides to return, too.

A-Rod's message to those fans? Ramirez's accomplishment has nothing to do with the rivalry, but is rather an historic accomplishment by one of the game's great hitters. "This is bigger than the Yankees and Red Sox," Rodriguez said. "This is baseball history. How many guys have 500 home runs?"

A-Rod also has recorded a similar message for Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr., his former Mariners teammate who stands three homers shy of joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the only players with 600. When the Red Sox contacted the Yankees to ask if A-Rod would take part in the video message — one of several players around the league invited to do so — team officials took the rivalry into consideration before approaching Rodriguez. Ramirez currently has 498 home runs.

The message? "Manny, I'm going to keep this short because I'm probably getting booed. Congratulations and many more."

Said A-Rod: "I was flattered that they asked me to do it."

While his new teammates say they don't pay attention to "the battle for the back pages, the PR moves," as David Wright put it, at least one Met acknowledged that he could see it if Yankee fans felt the Mets were "trying to throw it in our face" by giving Santana an extra day's rest and starting him tonight instead of Thursday against Washington.

"That wouldn't surprise me," Billy Wagner said. Wagner added that he "didn't know why that was being done. You need to win games against your division. You play the Yankees, who (cares)? You want to win every game anyway. There's always that thing with the Yankees and Mets. It doesn't make sense sometimes. People want to make more of it."

Asked if he thought Met bigwigs believed it was meaningful for Santana to pitch at the Stadium, Wagner said, "I don't know." Then, he added, "I'm sure you want the center of attention to be on your team."

"Someone tell me why the ---- you're talking to the closer. I didn't even play. They're over there, not being interviewed."

Wagner paused for dramatic effect. Then, in a scene reminiscent of last year's Paul Lo Duca comments, minus the racial overtones, the closer sarcastically added: "I got it. They're gone. ----ing shocker."

Delgado was Thursday's final batter. He lined out to first, and watched as Carlos Beltran was doubled off third for the final out. Yet when the clubhouse opened to media 10 minutes later, Delgado apparently already had left. Media members who were huddled around Delgado's locker waiting for him were informed of his departure by Wright.

thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers did that with young star Ryan Braun, inking the NL Rookie of the Year to an 8-year, $45 million contract that buys out his arbitration-eligible years and 2 years of free agency. On the surface, this deal has the potential to be extremely club-friendly, provided the slugging leftfielder continues to perform at the level he did last season, when he hit .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBI. But there's another side to it, and Pat Gillick explained that side yesterday.

First thing's first: The Phillies might talk long-term deal with Hamels down the road. But, the Phillies general manager said, "right now, it isn't going to happen. If at some point, if [Hamels is] performing to the level, you're going to have to talk multiyear at some point," Gillick said. "These guys, maybe they are smarter giving guys 8-year deals. I don't know."

"I wanted to make that change in the lines, and I just wanted to talk to them both, to tell 'em my reasons for doing it, and to get some feedback on what they thought," Stevens said last night, after his changes seemed to spur the team to a 4-2, Game 4 victory. The Flyers still trail the series, three games to one, with NBC very relieved to have a Game 5 to show Sunday afternoon, from Pittsburgh.

"They actually looked at each other and were smiling. They said they thought it was a good move, they were all for it - Danny's played lots of wing, Danny and Richie love playing together," Stevens said. "Then I talked to Vinny [Prospal, who moved from Briere's wing to centering Joffrey Lupul and R.J. Umberger] this morning . . . Danny looked like he had his best game of the series, Richie's been a powerhouse the whole way, and I thought Vinny stepped in and did a terrific job in the middle. I liked the result, and I think we'll stay with it for the next game."

In the crucial first period of their 4-2 win, especially, the Flyers put shots on net, set up screens and made life much more difficult for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Joffrey Lupul scored off a defenseman's stick. Danny Briere and Jeff Carter scored off scrums. For a second there, it looked like the Montreal series.

Lupul's goal gave the Flyers their first lead since the first period of Game 1. Briere's goal came off a fat rebound from a Randy Jones shot. Carter's goal also resulted from traffic in front. These were things that were not happening in the series' first three games. Going hard to the net is largely what got the Flyers through the first two rounds. They harassed Washington's Cristobal Huet throughout the seven games of the first round and won the series with an overtime goal off a broken play. But against Pittsburgh, they were unable to get to the net. A big reason was the Penguins were just about always playing with the lead and were able to apply the defensive clamps.

Granted, Briere knows a lot more about scoring in the NHL than most of us. But that quote came to mind last night as the Flyers made a spirited case for getting the puck on net in a 4-2 victory over the Penguins.

Joffrey Lupul offered Exhibit A, a rocket of a slapshot from along the right boards, above the face-off circle. The puck caught the stick of Penguins defenseman Hal Gill and soared over the shoulder of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Exhibit B featured Briere himself. On a power play, R.J. Umberger took a shot from high in the slot. Fleury waved his glove at the rebound, but the puck bounced out in front of him. Briere, who had been by the side of the net, burrowed through Gill and Rob Scuderi, dived to the ice, and swatted the puck past Fleury. Pure effort produced Briere's first goal of this series. Another power play led to Exhibit C. Randy Jones took a big shot from the point. Jeff Carter gathered in the rebound and stuffed it into the net.

The Flyers scored three goals on 17 shots in the first period — more goals than they'd scored in any of the first three games of this series.

But the Busch brothers' sibling rivalry surfaced again this week when Kurt's publicists noted that by the time Kurt had run his 125th Cup race, he already had accumulated nine career wins while Kyle has only seven so far. Kurt, driver of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing, also won the 2004 series title.

Kyle, though, has more top-five finishes than Kurt through 125 races (37 to 25) and more top-10 finishes (59 to 45). At last year's All-Star Race, the brothers crashed into each other in the final segment, knocking both out of contention.

Petty, 47, will miss the June 1 race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway to attend his daughter's wedding, then miss the next six races to reprise his 2007 stint as a NASCAR television analyst.

McCumbee will drive in two races, at Dover and at Chicagoland Speedway July 12, with Labonte driving in the other five races. Petty will return for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Lee entered his last start with an 0.96 ERA. When he was done pitching, it went down. To 0.81. He threw seven scoreless innings - at Yankee Stadium, by the way, the site of this year's All-Star Game - and is 6-0 for the Indians. He has surrendered earned runs in two of his starts. You want command? In 44²⁄³ innings, he has two walks. As in T-W-O. He has 39 strikeouts. He hasn't walked a batter in 28 straight innings.

The Diamondbacks' right-hander is the fourth pitcher in history to start two seasons 8-0. But this year, Webb has a slightly altered arsenal. Along with his patented sinker and complementary curve, he's throwing his changeup more. "A Wiffleball change," teammates call it. As if batters needed to be exasperated further. It all starts with the sinker, a two-seam fastball. As the story goes, the evolution of the pitch began when Webb was in the low minors and throwing a straight four-seam fastball. Under the tutelage of minor-league pitching coaches Royal Clayton (brother of Royce, the ex-Giants shortstop) and Mark Davis (ex-Giants reliever), he was introduced to the sinker. Now it might be the best in the game.

It's just that none of the guys here are named Chad Johnson or T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Houshmandzadeh is working with a personal trainer in California. Johnson is holding out with a trade demand.

"My frustration level? I'm at zero right now," Palmer said. "I'm not frustrated at all. I'm happy and excited to be back on the field myself, whether they're here or not. I'm excited to be back with these guys, the guys that are here. We're definitely missing valuable time. We'll get to work whenever they get here. But timing and rhythm is something you build over time with repetition.''

Still, he's stopped 313 of 334 shots in the Pens' stirring playoff run as the team rattled off 11 wins in their 12 post-season games. Fleury may have only given up two questionable goals in the whole playoffs. He's given the Penguins exactly what Stanley Cup contenders need: safe, reliable netminding. That's what the Penguins were counting on when they picked him No. 1 in 2003, becoming only the second goalie in 40 years to be picked first (Rick DiPietro was the other, taken first overall by the New York Islanders in 2000).

Despite his athletic ability, it took Fleury time to develop. He was rushed into the Penguins' lineup, going 4-14-2 with a 3.64 average right after being drafted, as he played behind an awful team that won only 23 games. He spent the NHL lockout year playing on Pittsburgh's American Hockey League farm team in Wilkes-Barre. When the NHL and its players settled their labour dispute in 2006, Fleury again struggled in 50 games with only 13 wins and 3.25 average, again on an awful club that managed only 58 points on the year.

"This is the marquee market," Leipold said.

Leipold, who sold the Nashville Predators last year and returned to the NHL ownership ranks by buying the Wild in a US$260-million sale that closed last month, spoke proudly of the stability and success Minnesota has enjoyed since entering the league in 2000. Referring to the rest of the league, he said, "They ought to be worried that we're not going out and getting their coaches and general managers. This is where you want to be."

It's great that he had worked 9²⁄³ consecutive scoreless innings entering yesterday's game, that he had opened the season with 7²⁄³ scoreless innings, and that he was 1-0 with a 0.50 ERA (now 0.93). But of the 14 runners he's inherited, 11 have scored, the highest ratio in the American League. He's blown his last four save situations, and is 1 for 5 overall. And he's retired just 11 of 18 first batters he's faced.

Nobody seems to be worried that Okajima is not Mr. Automatic, as he was a year ago. It's been more than a season of scouting reports and trends and batters seeing him over and over. Maybe they're starting to figure him out. Maybe they now have an idea of what to expect in different counts.

With the series tied at 2-2, Rondo responded in Game 5 by helping the Celtics hold serve at TD Banknorth Garden, 96-89. Was it the most important game of his two-year career?

"Yeah, I think so, but I hope it's not the last important game of my career," Rondo said, casting a hopeful eye toward Game 6 in Cleveland tomorrow night. "Definitely, Game 5 tonight was a big game for us."

It was even bigger for Rondo. He submitted a career playoff performance: 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including huge back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter, to go along with 13 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals, and just 1 turnover in 42 minutes of yeoman work the Boston Globe reported.

James converted just one of his five shots in the period, accounting for 2 points as the Cavaliers were throttled by the hot-shooting (12 for 16) Celtics, 29-17. The Cavaliers shot 38.9 percent (7 of 18) from the floor and now must win Game 6 tomorrow night in Cleveland to avoid elimination in the best-of-seven second-round series.

"We start off well, but we go through a lapse on offense," James said. "Tonight it was the third quarter. They made us turn the ball over. They came down and scored, they got us on our heels, and we were down 12. You can't go down 12 on the road, especially in a place of this magnitude."

The Spygate investigation began after the NFL confiscated tapes from a team employee who recorded the New York Jets' defensive signals during the 2007 opener. Belichick was fined $500,000, while the team was fined $250,000 and forced to forfeit its 2008 first-round draft choice. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell essentially declared an end to the case after a 3½-hour meeting Tuesday with Walsh, who supplied the league with tapes of coaches' signals made by the Patriots. After meeting with Walsh later Tuesday, Sen. Arlen Specter called Wednesday for an independent investigation. The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Specter criticized Goodell, saying he has made "ridiculous" assertions that wouldn't fly "in kindergarten."

You'd think the Pistons had won a regular-season game in January rather than become the first team since the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s to advance to the conference finals six years in a row. But that demure reaction says a lot. It says that they've been there before. It says that they aren't surprised to be back. And it says that they know they still have a lot of work to do.

"It's not easy at all. We're just getting started," point guard Lindsey Hunter said. "This is where we were last year. Everybody here knows how it felt for us not to advance to the (NBA) Finals, and that's our focus now."

And yes, they will make the Cup finals. They are up, 3-1, with two of the final three games of this series at home — but more than that, there is no doubt they are the better team. They clearly outplayed the Stars in the first three games and could have won Game 4, too. The Wings did not wake a sleeping giant here. They woke a sleeping medium-sized dude.

But Franzen, who leads the NHL in playoff goals (12) this spring, still is experiencing headaches, and there's no timetable yet for his return to practice, let alone games.

"He's been given the green light to start doing a few things," Holland said. "Nothing major, just riding the bike a little bit. We'll continue to monitor the headaches and we'll see how he responds."

How well, and how quickly. But his status for the Stanley Cup Finals — assuming the Wings make it — remains in doubt.

"The referees said his skates were outside the crease but his rear end was in the blue area," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "That's a call I've never heard of."

NHL Rule 69, interference on the goalkeeper, never mentions the word "butt." It specifically says a goal should be disallowed only if an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalie's ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or if an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with the goalie, inside or outside the goal crease. Neither came into play on the Datsyuk goal.

"It was a reputation call, totally," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "It's disappointing. Just don't make stuff up."

With his team facing elimination, Tippett wasn't really looking for chemistry when he tinkered with his lines. He needed a spark more than anything, which is exactly what he got from Eriksson, Lundqvist and Petersen. They spent some time on the same line with the Stars' minor-league affiliate, Iowa, in the AHL playoffs two years ago.

"It was mentioned that they had played together, but I don't think they played against Zetterberg and Datsyuk," Tippett said, smiling. "With the injuries we have, we're trying to give ourselves a chance with a little extra offense. There's less guys available so you've got to clump them together."

"I like Utley from the Philadelphia Phillies," Bush said in a transcript at politico.com. "He's a middle infielder, which is always, you know, they say strength up the middle. There's nothing better than having a good person up the middle that can hit."

Utley, who is not expected to be campaigning for any candidate any time soon, took the news in stride. "It's obviously a great compliment to have," Utley said. "It's kind of cool."

Bush, the former managing general partner of the Texas Rangers, also said the first pitcher he would want is Toronto Blue Jays righthander Roy Halladay.

These are the types of concerns Phillies fans anticipated with Adam Eaton, but Eaton is the fifth starter. Myers and Cole Hamels are supposed to be the meat of the starting rotation. Myers is not supposed to be a pitcher who is 2-4 with an ERA racing toward the stratosphere.

Right now, Myers is more of a detriment to what the Phillies are trying to achieve. If they had another option, they would have to consider yanking him out of the rotation. That's how badly things are going for Myers. He was brutal in last night's 8-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Within his first six pitches, Myers gave up home runs to Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones and dropped the Phillies into a 2-0 deficit.

"We'll see how it feels [today]," Coburn said. "I had a good workout. I feel a little bit tired, having been off a few days."

Coburn said the eye reopened late Tuesday after he iced it.

"This morning, it opened a little more," Coburn said. He said his vision was not preventing him from performing on the ice.

"Richie and Danny have had an awful lot of success together this year - mind you, mostly on the power play, but they're two of the best offensive players on our team and in the league, two of the leaders on our hockey team for years to come," Stevens said. "So we thought we'd give it a look."

R.J. Umberger will center for Vinny Prospal and Joffrey Lupul. The only line to be left intact will be Jeff Carter's unit, with Scottie Upshall and Mike Knuble. Changing three lines smacks of desperation. And it is. Patrick Thoresen will replace the turnover-prone Steve Downie on Jim Dowd's fourth line, with Sami Kapanen.

"I'll be honest with you, I pretty much know what I'm going to do right now," Strahan said Wednesday night at Cipriani in Manhattan, where he was a presenter at the Dreams in the City fundraiser for the Diabetes Research Institute. "But you know what the thing is? If I say it, I can't change my mind. So I would rather wait until I know I'm 100% sure that when I say what I'm going to do, I'm going to do it."

Strahan originally had promised a decision by early April, or at least before the NFL draft on April 26, but he said Wednesday night he regretted ever declaring a timetable. He also said he hasn't thought at all about whether he'll be at the Giants' mandatory three-day veteran minicamp, which begins on June 11. The 36-year-old also insisted money won't be the determining factor. He's due $4 million in salary in 2008, and according to an NFL source he met with Giants officials in March and they promised they'd increase his salary, at least a little. But Strahan has broadcasting options that would pay him well, too according to a report in the New York Daily News.

Minaya said Martinez likely would pitch in another simulated game, ramping up to 75-80 pitches, before advancing to a rehab game with St. Lucie. That scenario would mean Martinez would return no sooner than the May 29-June 1 Dodgers series at Shea.

This isn't Sophie's choice. You would think there really isn't much of a decision at all, that Option A is the only option. Except that the opponents today at Shea are the softball girls from Washington, while the game tomorrow night is against the Yankees. And you have to think that the Mets - despite their great protestations to the contrary - are sticking it to the Steinbrenners, with a lefthanded changeup to the noggin.

There is nothing wrong with such antics. It's only fair to flaunt Santana in the face of Brian Cashman, considering the Mets are paying $137.5 million for the privilege. But the least they can do is admit to their conceit; tell the world that the games against the Yankees mean more than just three early-season, interleague games against a sub-.500 club from up North. There was no such confession Wednesday night, however, before or after Aaron Heilman imploded in the seventh inning during a 5-3 loss to the Nationals. Santana refused to speak on the subject, or any subject, to English-speaking media outlets. Willie Randolph was absolutely insistent that he was not doing anything special to scheme or plot against his former team.

It's embarrassing. It's frustrating, and, well, it's downright annoying. And, so, the Son of Boss is lashing out all over the place these days, much the way his bombastic father used to do, but while the brunt of his anger is vented at his underperforming moneyed players, his veiled criticism appears directly aimed at the general manager, Brian Cashman. This is what the new "Hammerin' Hank" had to say to me Wednesday when I reached him in Tampa with the greeting: "How 'bout those Rays!":

"They're a great story down here right now," he said, "although it's terrible that they're only drawing only 16,000 a game. They're playing a lot better than us, that's for sure. I know we're gonna come on at some point in this season, but right now, other than (Chien-Ming) Wang, (Mariano) Rivera, (Derek) Jeter, (Hideki) Matsui, (Johnny) Damon and (Mike) Mussina, after I got on him a little, we're not doing jack (bleep).

"What bothers me is that these guys are all working for me and my brother and they're all making more money than we are. That's what makes me mad. But while I'm confident they'll come around, we'll just have to wait and see what happens this year. And if they don't come around then changes will have to be made. I've just got to clean up the mistakes of the last five years and make us what we should be."

It makes so much hockey sense. It helps explain how General Manager Doug Wilson persuaded himself to fire Ron Wilson, a coach he defended and kept through previous tense times. Everything about the early stages of the Sharks' search points to Burns — if he's interested in moving to the West Coast and he's healthy after two recent bouts with cancer (it sounds as if Burns is doing fine). It has to start with Burns.

Look, everything points in one direction: To Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Burns is working as an assistant for Team Canada during the world championships. To the big, 56-year-old blue-collar former cop, with Stanley Cup title experience (2003 with the New Jersey Devils), with three Jack Adams awards as league coach of the year, with ties to Joe Thornton but also a history of using tough-love on Jumbo Joe. That's the key thing here: Burns is a known commodity to the Sharks' superstar from their days together in Boston, so Burns wouldn't have to waste valuable energy trying to either placate or agitate the big guy.

Wednesday, Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter would not confirm a report that there is a 10:30 a.m. meeting scheduled for Friday for the 30 team partners, or that Magowan's retirement would be discussed at that meeting.  Slaughter reiterated that, regarding retirement, "there is no final decision at this point," and that Magowan has considered stepping down "from time to time."

With so much smoke billowing from the story for almost a week, there is rampant speculation about the whys and wherefores and what-nexts. One theory is that Magowan, 66, is simply weary. Magowan has been embarrassed in front of Congress, humiliated by the findings in the Mitchell report and subjected to tough questions every time he appears in public. The other theory is that the Giants' multitude of partners would like Magowan out. That they view him as tarnishing their investment with his pandering to Bonds, with his obsession over aging stars while ignoring the farm system, with his overpaying of Barry Zito to dress up the Bonds Titanic.

The thought of the Giants competing in 2008 is startling. Some would call it delusional. After all, as Sabean spoke before Tuesday night's victory against Houston, the Giants were 16-23 and on pace to lose 95 games. They are so unsettled, manager Bruce Bochy has used 40 lineups in 41 games. The Giants are 6-13 on the road. They are second to last in the league in runs scored. A pitcher, Matt Cain, is three homers away from the team lead. They are relying heavily on untested players. And yet, they are not buried in the standings, despite falling to 17-24 Wednesday when the Astros exploited relievers Jack Taschner and Billy Sadler for three runs in the seventh and eighth innings to break a 3-3 tie.

"I've had no trade discussions," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "I've talked with him. Not knowing Junior that well, I wanted to make sure we had a line of communication open. He assured me that he'd like to play here and hopefully win a championship."

Jocketty has talked to Griffey about the situation. As a player with 10 years' experience and five years' tenure with his current club, Griffey must approve any trade. Bruce might force the issue with the way he's playing. He went 3-for-3 with a double, triple and home run for Triple-A Louisville in an 11-6 win over Scranton Wednesday. He's hitting .667 with three home runs and nine RBI over his last five games. He's hitting .611 over his last 10 games, raising his average to .366, tops in the International League. If the Reds had a spot, it sounds like he'd be up already.

Perry's is more dramatic. The Bengals' first-round draft pick in 2004, Perry had not stepped foot on a football field as an active player since fracturing and dislocating his right ankle in a November 2006 game at Cleveland.

Johnson, the team's featured back who smashed his way to more than 2,900 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns in 2004 and 2005, missed five games last season and finished with just 497 yards because of a hamstring injury. He had changed his diet and played, he said, at 212 pounds last season, and his running style changed, too. Johnson, a between-the-tackles bruiser, tried to dance. Now he's put on 12 to 13 pounds of muscle mass in his chest and shoulders and said he weighs in the neighborhood of 225 pounds — his desired playing weight.

Skiles was hired as coach of the division-rival Milwaukee Bucks last month. Jim Boylan, who replaced him with the Bulls on an interim basis, will be his top assistant with the Bucks.

"There is really no negative in it," Hendry said. "You're not giving up players. You're not spending a lot of dollars, so you look at things like that and, hopefully, he'll be able to give us at least a great portion of the Jim Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways."

Edmonds, who turns 38 next month, took a physical Wednesday night and signed a one-year deal for around $284,000, the prorated amount of the major-league minimum. He's expected to be in the starting lineup Thursday against former Cubs ace Greg Maddux and could provide his new team with some much-needed left-handed pop in a predominantly right-handed hitting lineup. Manager Lou Piniella said he will bat Edmonds ninth and the starting pitcher eighth. Edmonds could provide Piniella with the option of moving Kosuke Fukudome into the No. 2 hole, where his high on-base percentage would be more conducive than in the 5-spot. Edmonds then could bat fifth behind Aramis Ramirez. The 16-year veteran has 363 career home runs and a .526 slugging percentage, although his last big season was in 2005, when he finished with 29 homers and 89 RBIs for St. Louis.

Probably not, but the Mariners have more problems than they can solve by completing a rumored trade to bring prodigal son Ken Griffey Jr. back from the Cincinnati Reds. Griffey is batting .250 with four home runs, nothing special, but disturbingly better than these batters in the Mariners' lineup Tuesday: Kenji Johjima (.228), Miguel Cairo (.154), Wladimir Balentien (.224) and Jeff Clement (.150). And that was with Richie Sexson (.202) suspended, Jose Vidro (.193) benched and Brad Wilkerson (.232) released.

Yet, the Mariners have bigger problems, for a team playing in Safeco Field should prosper with pitching and defense. The Mariners' ERA ranks 12th in the AL, ahead of only the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers. The Mariners made four errors Tuesday, and they rank next to last in errors. The combination of losses and sloppiness could lead to the firing of John McLaren, a longtime bench coach in his first full season as a major league manager.

They're seven games over .500 for the first time in club history, and they're winning with pitching. They just got ace Scott Kazmir back from the disabled list, James Shields has two shutouts, Andy Sonnanstine is 5-1 and former Dodgers phenom Edwin Jackson has pitched 15 consecutive scoreless innings. The bullpen, anchored by ex-Angel Troy Percival, has a 3.16 earned-run average.

The Dodgers' starters have thrown the fewest innings of any team in the league, but only the Atlanta Braves' relievers and New York Mets' relievers have made fewer appearances than the Dodgers' relievers. If that pattern isn't broken, Manager Joe Torre could wear out his few trusted relievers by the All-Star break according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Jazz went a league-best 37-4 at home while enjoying the confines of EnergySolutions Arena. Utah dropped to 17-24 on the road, tied with the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets for the worst among Western Conference playoff teams. The other two are already ousted from the playoffs. If the Jazz doesn't figure out a road remedy, it is next after Wednesday's 111-104 loss.

"Our backs are against the wall," Deron Williams said. "We have to figure out how to win one on the road and steal one."

The Jazz has lost seven of its last nine road playoff games. Now it faces an elimination game in Salt Lake City on Friday and possibly a return to Los Angeles for Game 7 on Monday.

Louis Johnson, a former Mayo confidant who worked as a sportswriter and has a cocaine conviction, claimed L.A. events promoter Rodney Guillory was given a new luxury sports utility vehicle and about $200,000 in cash, funneling a portion of what he received to Mayo on behalf of a sports agent. Johnson, who made the accusations on a segment of ESPN's "Outside the Lines," said he was an associate of Guillory's before they had a falling out

One win needed, two games to get it. And if the Lakers can't finish off this series on Bryant's back, well, after the fourth quarter Wednesday, we know there are plenty of shoulders around to carry him. There are the shoulders of Pau Gasol, who in a few quick seconds became the giant everyone imagined, grabbing two huge offensive rebounds and scoring twice after the Jazz pulled to within one point in the final minute. Then there were the shoulders of Lamar Odom, who threw down a late dunk that rattled the room while throwing defensive elbows and hands that rattled the Jazz.