Morning Jolt: Osi gets angrier

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 4, 2011

Thursday, August 4

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Osi Umenyiora's mere presence at practice hinted at a thaw in the Osi-Giants cold war. That may be the last sign of peace for a while, because according to a source who has spoken to Umenyiora, he is even angrier than he was when this whole mess started. The source said he was fuming Wednesday morning when the Giants told his agent, Tony Agnone, that he no longer had permission to seek a trade for his client after just two unsuccessful days of trying to find a team willing to meet the Giants' asking price of a first-round pick. "He is sure they could've traded him," one source close to Umenyiora told the Daily News Wednesday night. "They had a lot more interest in him than they thought they would." (New York Daily News)Comment

Brown among final Minnesota candidates

Say what you will about the Minnesota's coaching search, but the franchise clearly isn't locked in to a specific age. The Wolves are down to the final two names to interview for their head-coaching job. And, yes, Sam Mitchell is one of them. Larry Brown, of course, is the other. Many Wolves fans have wondered why the man who won Coach of the Year with Toronto and who played two different stints with the Timberwolves wasn't on the team's interview list. He is now. Mitchell is expected to interview Friday or Saturday, Brown next week. Wolves boss David Kahn and owner Glen Taylor already have interviewed Terry Porter, Mike Woodson, Bernie Bickerstaff, Nelson. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)Comment

Lee defends sticking with Cubs

What is it about Chicago? While some wonder why players like Ryan Dempster, Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood refuse to let general manager Jim Hendry trade them from one of the worst teams in baseball to a contender, Derrek Lee empathizes with his former Cubs teammates. Lee didn't want to leave the Cubs last year before finally accepting a deal to Atlanta in mid-August. "It's not that easy," Lee said. "It's easy to look from the outside and say, 'Well, go play on a contender. This team is winning, so why don't you want to go there?' But you build roots in a place. Those guys have families. It's not that easy just to pack up and go. And how many cities are there as good as Chicago?" (Chicago Tribune)Comment

Must-See Photo

Banglasdesh wicketkeeper Mohammad Ashraful, left, reacts after missing a catch off Zimbabwean batsman, Vusimuzi Sibanda, right, during the first day's play of Zimbabwe's return to test cricket after six years, against Bangladesh in Harare. (AP)

Must-See Video

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Game To Watch

NL East-leading Phillies at the NL West-leading Giants, 10:15 p.m. ET

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