Clemens in? Jones-Drew out?

Jones-Drew to be traded?

- Last year's NFL rushing leader, Maurice Jones-Drew has been mired in a contract dispute for some time now with the Jacksonville Jaguars but now it's beginning to get ugly.  Jones-Drew has two years left on a 30 million, 5 year contract that is well below the market value for a player of Jones-Drew's caliber and has been holding out until the team agrees to restructure his contract.  Because NFL contracts are not guaranteed and players can immediately be released (fired) when they underachieve, holding out is a common technique used by players to ensure that they are paid fair market value when they overachieve.
- Brand new Jaguars owner Shad Khan (who's better at growing a mustache then dealing with player hold outs) vented some frustration at having to deal with his best player not actively participate with his team by saying Jones-Drew's absence "doesn't even move the needle" in terms of stress. Khan reiterated his stance Tuesday by saying, "This is not a team about one person."  Later in the interview he sent a message through the media to Jones-Drew saying: "Train's leaving the station. Run, get on it."
- Now Jones-Drew has publicly said that he would be fine with being traded, something that nearly every team in the NFL has to have some interest in.  Teams like the Steelers, Patriots and Bengals have needs at running back and have shown willingness to make trades if the price is right while the Jets and Redskins might have even bigger needs at the position and will basically trade anyone at any time at the drop of a hat.  So needless to say if the Jaguars do decide to deal their best player, there will definitely be a taker.


Clemens returning?

- A few months after being acquitted of perjury regarding his testimony in front of a federal grand jury, Roger Clemens is starting again to do what knows best, throw baseballs. He is part of an over-50 softball league, which he claims is just for fun and exercise, but Clemens is set to pitch in a minor league game on Saturday as a member of the Sugar Land Skeeters in Texas.
- At 50, Clemens will be one of the oldest players to ever pitch in any level of professional competition, (here are a few other athletes who missed the memo on retirement) but claims that rumors that this is the first step towards a comeback to the major leagues are vastly over-reported. Clemens claims he just wants to go out and compete a bit to get the juices flowing again. The 7-time Cy Young winner has recently been reported to be hitting 87 MPH on a speed gun, a speed that is definitely respectable for the independent Atlantic League that the Skeeters play in.