Morning Jolt: Why Haynesowrth reported to 'Skins
Thursday, June 17
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Why Haynesowrth reported to 'Skins
Albert Haynesworth is taking a beating these days in the press, but, according to Mike Shanahan, Haynesworth bought -- er, brought -- it on himself. The team was willing to release Haynesworth if he would forgo the $21 million bonus he was due. But Shanahan said Haynesworth was only given until April 1 to locate another potential team. "But on April 1, when we owed him a check for $21 million, we said, if you do take that check, we expect you to be the best defensive end, best nose tackle and if we played you at free safety, we'd expect you to be the best free safety -- even though he'd have to lose a little weight -- whatever position we wanted to play him at, that he'd do the best job he possibly could that would make him the best football player," Shanahan said. "Obviously, he took the check ..." (The Washington Post)Comment
Drew bringing unique offense to Hawks
Larry Drew is bringing what he feels is a one-of-a-kind offense to the Hawks, and while it may limit Joe Johnson's touches, Drew believes it will appeal to the player with a decision to make. Q. Do you think he will OK with the idea of not having the ball as much? A. I think he will. I do know Joe has played against some of this offense before, and he's not crazy about playing against it. It's constant movement. It forces you to defend multiple offensive situations within a possession. And now he is going to be on the other end of that, where people have to defend him now. I think he is going to be excited about that. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)Comment
Add Mat Latos to "Year of the Pitcher" conversation. His first pitch of [Tuesday's] game was 97 m.p.h., and his final pitch was 95 m.p.h. -- see, he was losing it -- with two out in the seventh as Latos overpowered the Jays 8-2 before 15,266 fans at Petco Park. The Jays have now dropped eight of 10 games to National League teams going back to 2009. Latos retired the first 11 Jays hitters he faced, three via strikeout. Put that together with his consecutive string of retired batters in his previous start against the New York Mets and he retired 24 hitters in order. ... [Latos is] 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA since May 7, with 54 strikeouts in 52 innings, holding hitters to a .148 average. (Toronto Sun)Comment
Must-See Photo
Switzerland's Eren Derdiyok, center, Spain's Gerard Pique, second from left at top, and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, bottom left, vie for the ball during Switzerland's 1-0 upset of Spain at the World Cup. (AP)
Must-See Video
Assessing Phil Mickelson's chances at the U.S. Open, which tees off at Pebble Beach on Thursday.
Game To Watch
NBA FInals, Game 7, Celtics and Lakers
SI Vault: More Boston Celtics
This Day in Sports
- 1962 -- Jack Nicklaus beats Arnold Palmer in a playoff to win the U.S. Open
- 1976 -- Four ABA teams -- the Nets, Nuggets, Spurs and Pacers -- merge with the NBA
- 2008 -- The Boston Celtics win their 17th NBA championship by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 in Boston
