Sports Rumors

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Pat Burrell, who loves playing in Philadelphia and would like to re-sign there, shot down the money-as-motivation angle.

"The motivation is the playoffs," he said. "We got a taste of it last year, and we know we're close. I don't worry about that other stuff."

GM Rueben Amaro said it was too early to say whether the team would look to re-sign Burrell, who is third in the National League with nine homers.

Burrell admits to having one personal motivation: making his first all-star team.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

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The Denver Broncos have expressed some interest in free agent running back Shaun Alexander and could wind up bringing him to Denver for a visit. Denver's interest appeared to be more preliminary, yet it represented a third potential team interested in Alexander's services, joining the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints.

Source: NFL.com

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The New Orleans Saints will bring in free-agent tailback Shaun Alexander for a visit this week, a sign that they're still in the market for some insurance in case Deuce McAllister is unable to return to form.

Alexander, 30, was released by the Seattle Seahawks last month after two disappointing, injury-plagued seasons. The former league MVP and three-time Pro Bowl player was scheduled to make his first free-agent visit with the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.

Source: Times-Picayune

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Shaun Alexander is trying to convince the Bengals – for the right price, of course – to try a different approach in building a 1-2 punch in the backfield, using older guys. Alexander turns 31 in August. The theory would be that Alexander and Rudi Johnson, likewise coming off a miserable year, could run like their younger selves without a heavy work load.

Johnson turns 29 in October but has taken a pounding. Alexander averaged 3.5 yards per carry in 2007, Johnson 2.9.

Source: Canton Repository

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The San Diego Chargers are concerned enough about Nick Hardwick not being able to start the season that they are targeting veteran center Jeremy Newberry for a possible signing after June 1, numerous sources confirmed.

No deal is in place, sources said, but the Chargers are the front-runners for Newberry's services.

The Oakland Raiders would be able to keep Newberry from the Chargers by tendering him a contract offer June 1.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

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If the New York Yankees miss the playoffs, GM Brian Cashman's decision to back off on the club's pursuit of Johan Santana and go young will surely agitate Hank Steinbrenner, who has already made rumblings to that effect. Cashman is in the final year of his contract and missing the playoffs could surely result in a change of GMs.

Cashman had previous expressed interest in the Philadelphia Phillies' GM job, and it just so happens that the man in that post, Pat Gillic, will retire in the fall. A possible match, yes, but it would take a collapse in both cities to make a marriage likely.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

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First Ronny Cedeno took flyballs in center field. Then Felix Pie, a left-handed bat, sat with a righty on the mound. The two events were enough to fuel speculation that Pie is on the block.

However, Cubs officials emphatically shot down rumors that had Pie possibly going to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Khalil Greene.

Source: Arlington Daily Herald

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Well, I guess this is it and there's nothing left but to accept it: We have come to the end of the Phil Hughes-Ian Kennedy era wrote New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden.

Who could have possibly seen it coming? And yet, here we are, the first week of May, and the two whiz-kid starting pitchers, on whose sturdy right shoulders GM Brian Cashman had invested not just his reputation but the whole 2008 Yankee season, are both out of the rotation with no timetable for any return.

Just four days after placing Hughes on the disabled list with a stress fracture of his rib (origin unknown), the Yankees shipped his equally struggling rotation stablemate, Kennedy, to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday with the somber acknowledgment that he needs to get away from the big league microscope to get his confidence and command back.

Source: New York Daily News

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A few years ago, country singer Mindy McCready brought a special guest to her mother's North Fort Myers, Fla., home. It was the first time Gayle Inge had met Roger Clemens face-to-face, although they had talked on the phone numerous times and she knew her daughter had traveled to Las Vegas and other cities with the world-famous pitcher.

The man on McCready's arm was as broad as a barrel and played the part of a perfect gentleman to Inge and her second husband. That day, he signed a softball for Inge, since she had no baseballs in the house. In past years, he'd called Inge's home looking for her daughter. He'd flown Inge's sons on his private plane and bought a sleek set of golf clubs for Tim McCready, their father and Inge's first husband, just like the ones Clemens used. He'd even asked Tim McCready for permission to have a relationship with his daughter.

All was fine until the visitor mentioned something that caught Inge off guard. "A conversation about his sons came up," Inge says. Then it hit Inge: Roger Clemens, father of four, was still married.

Source: New York Daily News

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