Saturday, April 13, 2013

Greinke & Quentin Share Equal Blame for Thursday Brawl

by Kevin Zeni

By now, people across the United States have all let their opinions be heard regarding exactly who is to blame for a brawl between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres on Thursday night that resulted in superstar pitcher Zack Greinke breaking his left collarbone.

Most place the bulk of the blame on Padres slugger Carlos Quentin for charging the mound after being hit by a 3-2 fastball in a one-run game, a situation in which Greinke couldn't have possibly been trying to hit him on purpose. There are also those who blame Greinke for egging on Quentin by saying something after the plunking and charging back towards him as he raced towards the mound.


The real answer is that they're both to blame for the stupidity that resulted on Thursday. Quentin, a veteran of seven big-league seasons, should know better than to assume Greinke is purposefully plunking him on a 3-2 pitch in the fifth inning of a one-run game, while Greinke shouldn't have mouthed off towards Quentin and lowered his shoulder into him.

If any team can withstand the loss of a pitcher of Greinke's caliber, it's the Dodgers, who have lefties Chris Capuano in the bullpen and Ted Lilly rehabbing in the minors. However, it's still frustrating to see the team lose an ace-level pitcher, being paid an exorbitant amount of money, for a minimum of eight weeks, simply because he wanted to be a tough guy.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Jay-Z Dives Deeper into Sports Realm

by Kevin Zeni

Rapper Jay-Z, currently a minority owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, is further diversifying his sports interests by teaming up with sports agency CAA Sports, to create Roc Nation Sports, according to ESPN reporter Darren Rovell.

The man who "made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can" is kicking off his new agency with a splash, reportedly stealing Yankees second-baseman, and impending free agent, Robinson Cano away from super-agent Scott Boras.


For now, CAA is handling all things baseball, but it appears as if Jay-Z is interested in becoming a certified agent himself, not only in baseball, but also for basketball and football.

The fact that the entertainment side of Roc Nation has been thriving with such clients as Rihanna, Timbaland, and Shakira, bodes well for the new partnership, when you consider that CAA currently represents their own roster of star clients in Ryan Braun, Matt Cain, Buster Posey, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Click here for Rovell's full story.