Excorcising the demons in Boston

Free agent pitcher Ben Sheets is debating having surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow. The recovery time for that is 9-10 months. Now, if you're a free agent, and know you've got an issue - there's a reason a guy with his numbers remains unsigned, and that is it - why not do the surgery last October or November and be that much closer to a return? Only Scott Boras has been giving worse advice this offseason...Memo to news anchor: when you're discussing one topic, make sure your production staff has the right video lined up, unless you're looking to produce something hilarious like this. Thanks to RM regular TS for this one...Lawrence Taylor and Stevie Wonder are being mentioned as possible contestants on Dancing With The Stars. I can think of dozens of great possibilities for this already...the San Antonio Spurs play one game at home in the next month, so expect them to be more likely to slip in the standings than to overtake the LA Lakers...the latest issue of Sports Illustrated has LeBron James as the runaway winner of the player poll for best all-round athlete in the NBA with 66% of the vote. If you witness LeBron play at all, you're bound to wonder where the other 34% went...you'll be seeing a lot more stories like this one in the coming months that suggest that Derek Jeter should not be the Yankees shortstop because of his sliding-into-the-abyss defence at that spot, and that he'd do his team a favor by moving to centre field...staying with the Yankees, Andruw Jones has declined an invite to the Yanks spring training as a non-roster invitee, claiming he's got other offers that would see him on rosters. Sure, and there's a huge field vying for ManRam...Baltimore Ravens free agent linebacker Ray Lewis will not be taking a hometown discount because "if you don't play less, you don't take less." How awesome is that explanation? He's also not opposed to looking elsewhere, and seems interested in the New York Jets...U.S. Swimming has suspended Michael Phelps three months from competition for his marijuana use, not that anybody will notice as it is in odd numbered, non-Olympic year...how awesome was that LA Lakers overtime win over the Boston Celtics last night? Even better if you were on board with the Prime Time Pick last night!...have a great Friday, back with your PTP by 5pm Eastern.

UPDATE: Your PTP for the night is up, continuing to ride NBA plays as per the last week and more aside from the Super Bowl. That may change tomorrow with a morning EPL play, so be sure to check in early Saturday.

In a move that would more than likely fix all of the Dallas Cowboys discipline, accountability and divisiveness issues by his sheer presence, the squad might be hotly pursuing Baltimore Ravens free agent Ray Lewis. Wonder if Terrell Owens will do his Lewis dance impression again if that happens? Hell, if I'm Jerry Jones, I make the offer, and give him the head coaching job while he's at it...the Super Bowl coverage has yet to start, but one thing for certain: nobody else will be publishing a Top 10 Quarterback WAG's - Wives and Girlfriends - list like this...the Atlanta Braves are looking to add Andruw Jones after he was released by the L.A. Dodgers. Frankly, for a mere $400k, with the Dodgers picking up the other $20 million and change, I'm shocked more teams aren't looking to gamble. Word is Jones has shed a few pounds, that's a start...if anybody can figure out why Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban, in keeping his tradition of matching fines received by the NBA with donations to charities, is looking to make a donation to the NHL Players Association Goals and Dreams Fund in the names of Steve Moore and Todd Bertuzzi, I'd love ti hear it...in a five month period ending last year, 41 WWE wrestlers tested positive for marijuana. Well, if you can't pop painkillers like candy anymore, what else are these busted up guys to do?...interesting English Premier League stat: if you take away the final five minutes of the game, here's how the standings would look with the points on 85 minutes, with the actual position and points in parenthesis. 1. Arsenal - 45 (41, 5th); 2. Chelsea - 44 (45, 3rd); 3. Manchester United - 43 (47, 1st), Liverpool - 43 (47, 2nd), Aston Villa - 43 (44, 4th)...interesting point about the idea salary caps promote parity: in the last 30 years, there have been 20 champions in Major League Baseball. In the NBA, with a cap? 9...Washington Capital star - and one of the world's most electric players in any sport - Alexander Ovechkin has taken over 100 shots on goal more than the next player in the league...quick poll at the right, enjoy...have a great Wednesday.

Memo to Kaka: You'll Soon Belong To Man City

Andruw Jones was at the Duke hoops game Wednesday wearing an Atlanta Braves hat. Odd when you're being paid by the LA Dodgers, no? Unless, of course, the Dodgers are just paying him to eat. One report says the Dodgers are going to release him, which late yesterday they in fact did. The Dodgers might be wise to bring up who will eat the contract. Jones is likely willing if he hears "eat"...Cristiano Ronaldo operates his business dealings under the name CR7. Pretty obvious what that means, right? Does the fact he's since trademarked CR9, and Raul wears 7 at Real Madrid, suggest something?...more soccer moves. Updating yesterday's Manchester City/Kaka story, it looks like a deal could be on again and it could reach as high as £107 million ($196 million $CDN, $158 million $USD) before player terms. That's a wild figure and if you're Milan, how do you not? Another story places the figure at £243 million...the mayor of Pittsburgh Luke Ravenstahl has temporarily changed his last name to Steelerstahl. Clearly, unemployment, poverty and the state of the Pittsburgh Pirates must all be solved in Pittsburgh...who is the best team against the spread in the NBA? The Oklahoma City Thunder. At least they've got that...you know the NFL is crazy huge when the 23-11 score of the Philadelphia Eagles/New York Giants game Sunday is revealed as the first 23-11 score in NFL history. Now you can one day tell your grand kids...blame yesterday's PTP loss on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who gave up four goals in 10 minutes and then just had to get an empty netter to salt away a 6-4 win. Aren't the Grand Salami's fun? This daily wager thing is starting to become a chore. I need a beer to clear my head (see right of page!)..the NCAA has banned recruiting 13-year olds. In response, Michael Jackson is celebrating the reduced competition...back with your PTP later.

PRIME TIME PICK: Tonight, looking to go 2-0 on the year with the Raptors and get back to .500. Raptors +4.5 -106 is the pick.

Here's David Letterman's Top 10 Highlites of My Hall of Fame Baseball Career, with Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice: