Transaction Wire

BALCO gives 'roids to Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Marvin Benard, Benito Santiago, and Randy Velarde... uh-ledge-ud-lee. No huge surpises on this list, especially since all play for or have played for the Giants, Dodgers, or A's. The presence of Benard and Velarde on this list only prove Mark McGuire's old theory: "it doesn't matter what you're on, you still have to hit the ball."
Chicago Bears sign Morrissey stall notes hero Thomas Jones and ND alum Mike Gandy. Bears also release Kordell Stewart and name Rex Grossman starting QB. The Jones deal apparently means that Anthony Thomas is on his way out the door. Some may consider that a risky move, but I say it's a good way to shake things up and hopefully get Da Bears back on the winning track.
Mets consider a trade for Alfonso Soriano, who would probably move to RF. For all the Soriano bashing I do, he is a young star with power, and this would be a good move for the Mets. The Mets have already said no to dealing away Jose Reyes, but now it looks like it would be Soriano for pitching phenom Scott Kazmir. Dave, I know you're high on Kazmir, but I would take this deal. There's no way of knowing how a Class A pitcher will turn out, and Soriano isn't that old himself (until someone finds immigration papers that say he's 36), so he'll be an important piece in the rebuilding of the Mets. If this trade does go down, I would pity Kazmir, however. I can see the Rangers sticking him in the rotation at the beginning of this year, where he'll get off to a rocky start and then completely lose all his confidence. This of course would scar him to a point where his career would never really get of the ground. (Don't worry, though, because if the Mets have patience with him, I'll sure he'll be great.)
Eagles name Trent Walters secondary coach, and suddenly Philadelphia fans hope that it's Larry Fitzgerald and not Mike Williams drafted into their division. Eagles also sign Jevon Kearse.

Thoughts on St. Patrick's Day

So, I was going through my yearly early March "Why should I celebrate St. Patrick's Day? I'm not Irish! Why don't we have a national holiday for Slovakia's patron saint" rant, I started looking into Slovakia's patron saint, Our Lady of the Assumption (September 15, also known as Our Lady of Sorrows). I came across this site, which also lists all Slovak national holidays. Here's some of the better ones:

• Victory over Facism Day, May 8 (celebrates end of WWII, 1945)
• Slovak National Uprising Anniversary, August 29 (1944 rise against Nazi Germany)
• Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day, November 17 (1939 student demonstration against Nazi occupation, 1989 Prague demonstation against Communism that sparked the Velvet Revolution).

I leave you with some of the better headline's from this week's SportsPickle. NL Central preview tomorrow.
Jamal Lewis cleared of charges after entire Justice Department stabbed to death (Coincidentally, many Baltimore fans think that this is a sign the Ravens will win the Super Bowl this year, as the last time they won was after Ray Lewis's involvement in a double murder. I love SportsPickle's anti-Ray Lewisness, especially when they point out that more people are concerned about the double murder rap tarnishing Lewis's record than they are concerned about the two people who died.)
"Satan" Headlines Cause Buffalo Minister to Predict "End Times" For those of you still confused, check here, and also note that Satan is a captain of the Slovak National Team.