Transaction Wire

Pistons trade for 'Sheed Wallace, eventually. I would have mentioned this trade last week, but I didn't have all my paperwork in. The great thing about this trade is that it reunites some of the "stars" of the mid-90s "we suck because Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Larry Nance retired" Cavs - Chris Mills, Wes Person, and Bob Sura. Sura, incidentally, was the one who inspired me to cut my hair short and comb it forwards my junior year of high school. Ah, good times.
Broncos prepare to trade Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey. Was it a bad call by Butch Davis to take William Green over Portis? No, it wasn't. The Browns O-Line isn't very good, except at getting injured, and since Portis himself is injury prone, it's not a good match. Besides, most of Portis's yards come from a great Bronco O-Line. I watched Portis closely during the Browns-Broncos game this year. All he did was sit there and wait for the line to open a hole for him. Heck, I could do that. Once he got through the line, nothing really happened. So, credit the Broncos O-Line, but don't discredit Davis for not taking Portis.
Cowboys prepare to trade Joey Galloway for Keyshawn Johnson. I believe it was SportsPickle who said that the '02 Bucs didn't have any stars on their team, but Johnson and Warren Sapp told everybody they were stars and the media believed them. John Gruden gets rid of a headache, and Keyshawn goes to a coach he's always wanted to play for. As for Joey Galloway, age isn't an issue, since he's only a year older than Johnson. Maybe Bill Parcells keeps confusing Galloway and Terry Glenn, both WRs from tOSU's streak of #2 finishes in the mid-to-late-90s. I know I make that mistake many times, too.
Yankees release Aaron Boone. You want to talk about player loyalty? How about team loyalty? Sure, Boone's contract said "no basketball," but you can be at least a little faithful to this guy, can't you?
Jamal Lewis indicted for allegdly helping a coke deal. And this wasn't the "$1.25 from the vending machine" kind of coke. Note to Tony Weaver: if one of your teammates invites you to hang out with them in your free time, and his jersey says "Lewis," STAY AWAY.

News from the NFL Combine

Believe it or not, I've had tons of trouble trying to find news from the combine. You'd think at least one site would be all over this. Here's what I found:

• Darrell Campbell is being looked at as either a big, kinda slow defensive end, or a small, kinda quick DT. The word going around says he'll be a good fit as a 3-4 defensive end. In the 3-4, each D-Lineman is lined up directly across from an O-Lineman, whereas in the 4-3, each D-Lineman lines up in a gap. Therefore, you want 3-4 lineman to be bigger and stronger. So, that's why you put Darrell at DE in a 3-4. Teams that have been looking at him include San Diego (who may switch to a 3-4 next year), New England (who runs various defensive sets), and Pittsburgh (a traditional 3-4 team). Go figure my two favorite ND D-Lineman would end up on the Browns' two biggest rivals.
• Reportedly, the Browns are looking at Kellen Winslow, Jr. and scUM South safety Sean Taylor. I think my feelings about Winslow are well known. Taylor is a ballhawk who was also a great return man for the Hurricanes. It would be great to see someone other than Robert "all I know how to do it hit people with my shoulder, which is why the Browns gave up so many 200 yard rushing games this year Griffith. However, with Dennis Northcutt missing the deadline to file for free agency, the Browns will keep an already good punt returner.
• Julius Jones has been impressive so far at the combine. Len Pasquarelli reports that Julius isn't doing one thing very well, but he's still doing every single thing well. Jones has also received high marks for his quickness and receiving abilities. Boy, I'll tell you what, if Julius is the best receiving RB in this year's draft class, wait til these guys see Josh Schmidt.

Sorry if today was a little busy. I'll try to have the NL East preview posted this weekend. Take care.