All the talk today is about the college football bowl game assignments and/or the NFL games yesterday. So, let me change things up here and talk about baseball for a while. The spending spree going on this winter for free agents is mind-boggling. Forget the $136M for Alfonso Soriano; he's a fine player and might actually be worth what he will get for the first four or five years of that deal. But Carlos Lee signed for $100M over 6 years with the Astros. For $16.3M per year, I think I'd be looking for something more than a career .286 hitter who hits 27 home runs a year and drives in 98 runs. I'm not sure he's a bargain at that price.

They say that the Red Sox are in hot pursuit of JD Drew - or maybe that's the story Scott Boras wants other teams to believe as he tries to get Drew a contract that will total something north of $80M. And Drew is a malcontent who does not play hurt and who tends to get lots of injuries. Some GM/owner combination is going to pay him something like that. I don't understand that at all.

On the pitching front, Jason Schmidt reportedly is considering a 3-year offer for $45M. Folks, Jason Schmidt is 34 years old. Forgetting those seasons where he appeared in less than 20 games, his average record is 13-9 and his ERA is just under 4.0. Is that a $15M per year starting pitcher these days?

If you think that's an outrageous deal, consider that Justin Speier signed with the Angels for 4 years and $18M. Speier is 33 years old; he's been in the major leagues for 9 years; he's never started a game; he's had 37 save opportunities and has 17 saves; he's never pitched more than 76 innings in a season and his career ERA is over 4.0. And that somehow worked out to be the résumé of a pitcher that is worth $4.5M per year.

When next season is over, the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano will be a free agent. If he has a year in 2007 that even close to the one he had in 2006 and the free agency money fountain is still running, Zambrano should get something on the order of $120M over 6 years. And that will be for a guy who only plays once every five games…

The Mets seem intent on having the oldest roster in MLB next year. Why else would they sign Moises Alou (40 years old) and Damion Easley (37 years old and re-sign Orlando Hernadez (41 years old) and José Valentin (37 years old)? Remember, the roster already has Julio Franco on it and Franco is so old that he knew Eve when she was just a rib.

Here's a note from Gregg Drinnan in the Kamloops Daily News:

"Joe Cowley, a sports writer with the Chicago Sun-Times placed [Derek] Jeter sixth on his MVP ballot. Cowley since has been inundated with e-mail messages including 'Hope your cancer comes back' and 'Hope you have a short life'."

Folks, I can't agree with Mr. Cowley that there were five players in the AL who were more deserving of MVP honors than Derek Jeter. But even if I were a rabid and lifetime Yankees' fan, I don't think I could bring myself to type a message to someone telling them that I hope their cancer comes back. In my opinion, that message goes way too far over the line.

And just because you knew someone was going to do this, you can check for yourself to see that www.FireLouPiniella.net is up and running. The guy hasn't even shown up for the preliminary activities associated with spring training yet and these folks want him fired and are listing the reasons why.

I don't know about you, but I am having this huge sense of déjà vu regarding all of the "news" about where Manny Ramirez will play baseball next summer. Until and unless the Red Sox trade him somewhere else, can we please give this story a rest?

Fay Vincent was a hugely unsuccessful commissioner of baseball. He maintains his bitterness about being ousted from that cushy job in which he was paid handsomely to do nothing at all by going on every possible sports radio program any time there is any reason to bash Bud Selig or baseball ownership. Some people actually think his opinions are worth hearing. Well, add this factoid to his list of life accomplishments in baseball. Fay Vincent chaired the Hall of Fame's Special Committee on the Negro Leagues - you know, the one that managed to omit the name of Buck O'Neil from the list of men to be inducted into the Hall last summer.

There has been a lot of less than flattering stuff written about David Stern recently as he continues to use his authorities to make unilateral changes in the game of pro basketball. He's been involved in dress codes, changing the ball and encouraging the refs to use a much stricter interpretation of the "technical foul" rules; that's gotten lots of folks riled up. But I've always thought that David Stern was guilty of painting a far too rosy picture of the league, and he's never really been called on that one - - until recently. According to reports, only 17 of the 30 teams were profitable last year; the Blazers project to lose $100M over a three-year stretch and the Timberwolves could lose close to $30M in one year. Eight owners reportedly wrote Stern a letter in last September urging him to impose revenue sharing in the NBA. Stern has not wanted to tackle this issue in previous labor negotiations and would have to explain to the public why this was necessary in light of his universally positive pronouncements about the league.

Oh, the report is that the eight teams whose owners wrote this letter to David Stern are the Blazers, Bobcats, Bucks, Grizzlies, Hornets, Jazz, Pacers and Timberwolves.

Here's a public service announcement: December is National Sign Up for Summer Camp Month. It never hurts to plan ahead.

Finally, a note from Jerry Greene in the Orlando Sentinel:

"In the first week of its release, the My World C D by Ron Artest sold 343 copies, apparently proving it is his world and he can keep it."

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

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