Cliff Lee will decide to pitch next year

Cliff Lee will decide to pitch next year

Baseball world awaits word on where Cliff Lee will decide to pitch next year; the man conducting negotiations on Lee’s behalf is approaching the biggest moment of his professional career. The agent Darek Braunecker, a former minor league pitcher from Effingham, Ill., once came close to becoming an executive with the Cleveland Indians. He does not have the list of clients that Scott Boras has, with Lee and A. J. Burnett as the biggest names, and because of that he has been largely unknown to the sporting public.  

Lee just concluded a four-year deal that he signed with the Cleveland Indians before the 2006 season that was worth $15 million when he signed it. 

Braunecker pitched in college for Arkansas-Little Rock, where both he and Lee reside, and later pitched for the Class A Jamestown Expos, a minor league affiliate of the Montreal Expos. He made 20 appearances in 1991 before a shoulder injury ended his hopes of becoming a major league pitcher. He was released in 1993. 

In 1996, he attempted a comeback in the Indians organization, but the Indians offered him a job on the player development side. He turned it down to become an agent with Stevens Sports Management in Little Rock in 1997. At the time, the firm had only 10 baseball players. Braunecker added 35 in four years before starting his own agency in 2001.

Washington Nationals fans, at least your team was going for it. Word came Sunday night from Sports web MLB.com that the Nationals are now out of the Cliff Lee (notes) derby. Conventional wisdom has had the Nationals as a serious underdog, anyway, but it's got to be nice for Nationals fans to know the last-place team in the NL East is doing all it can to improve this offseason.

Sports web MLB.com also reports that the team is now trying to sign free-agent first baseman Derrek Lee(notes), who batted .260 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs last season for the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. Also, the site reports that the Nats are meeting with free-agent pitcher Carl Pavano(notes) later this week. The free agent has been with five teams since entering the majors in 1998 with the Nationals' forerunner, the Montreal Expos. Pavano won 17 games and struck out 117 for the Minnesota Twins last season.

Urban Meyer stepped down at Florida

Six years have passed its too---Urban Meyer

Urban Meyer was stepping aside as the Florida football coach on Wednesday night; Urban Meyer said the decision was all about family _ that he wanted to spend more time with his kids, two of whom will be playing college volleyball next year. Asked several times on Wednesday and again on Thursday at an Outback Bowl press conference in Tampa he said health was not the issue. 

The Associated Press reported Sunday that a person with knowledge of the situation said that doctors have told Meyer -- who has a recurring burning sensation in his chest -- that continuing to coach would raise cardiovascular risk factors. 

Meyer originally quit the UF job last December over concerns that he thought were heart related then decided to take his job back a day later. Examinations and tests revealed he actually had a throat problem. 

Meyer was reportedly told by doctors last week that the symptoms he continues to experience _ including burning sensations in his chest _ would raise his cardiovascular risk factors. The continued health factors apparently also played a role in his decision to walk away from five years remaining in a contract that would have paid about $20 million. 

However, Urban Meyer career as a coach is sadly over.

Heisman Trophy Cam Newton runs away

Cam Newton hugged his mother and didn't want to let go after he won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night.  The Auburn quarterback found both celebration and security in the arms of Jackie Newton after a season of on-the-field highs that has included leading the Tigers to BCS Championship Game and off-the field lows from an NCAA investigation into his recruitment by Mississippi State.  

Heisman Trophy "It's been hard for me, but it's been extremely hard for her just to see what her son has been through," Newton said. "I just wanted to hug her the whole night, just to make her feel at ease. Letting her know that it's over for this particular moment of our lives."  

The usually smooth Newton choked up after thanking his mother and father.  

Cam Newton, Auburn's third Heisman Trophy winner, ended his speech with a "War Eagle."  It was not a night of drama. It was a coronation.  

Cam Newton was first on 729 ballots, or 93 percent of all ballots in which he received votes. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was second with 78 first-place votes.

A boisterous crowd estimated at 1,000 formed a traditional Tiger Walk to cheer Newton as he went into the Best Buy Theatre for the ceremony. Newton flashed his patented smile to the delight of the faithful.  

"A Tiger Walk of that magnitude just put a joy in my heart," Newton said.   

Cam Newton joined fellow Auburn Heisman winners in quarterback Pat Sullivan, who won it in 1971; and running back Bo Jackson, who won it in 1985. Jackson and Sullivan sat side-by-side at the ceremony watching the newest member of the select Auburn fraternity.  

"I just think Auburn deserves that. It's fun. It's exciting," said Tigers coach Gene Chizik.  

Cam Newton’s statistics and remarkable runs left fans shaking their heads in disbelief and were unmatched in the SEC this year. But stories that alleged Newton had been shopped to Mississippi State in a pay-for-play scheme concocted by his father, Cecil Newton, cast a shadow over the final month of the regular season.  

The NCAA found that Cecil Newton had asked MSU for money in order to sign his son, but the NCAA has found no wrongdoing involving Auburn or the quarterback. Chizik was quick to defend Newton on Saturday.  

GSP - Georges St-Pierre enjoys comforts at home

Georges St-Pierre enjoys

A Canadian artist Georges St-Pierre born May 19, 1981, often referred to as GSP, is a Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC.

 

GSP delighted a home crowd in Montreal by defending his UFC welterweight title with a unanimous decision over Josh Koscheck at UFC 124. 

GSP was in complete control throughout the five rounds at the Bell Centre and was awarded the fight 50-45 on the scorecards of all three judges. It was the challenger's second defeat to St-Pierre, who cements his status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world with another convincing victory.

"I didn't reach my goal tonight. I wanted to take him out, but he's very tough," St-Pierre said after the fight.

"Georges St-Pierre is a true champion," said Koscheck, who waged a war of words with his opponent in the build up to the highly-anticipated fight.

"St-Pierre is the man tonight. He had a great gameplan, he executed very well, and he showed why he's the best pound-for-pound."

Charles Oliveira was also defeated for the first time as a pro as Jim Miller continued his rise through the lightweight ranks with a first-round submission. Oliveira opened up with a series of knee strikes but Miller grabbed a kneebar after a quick transition and it was all over less than two minutes in.

Mac Danzig gave his career a much-needed boost after losing four of his last five fights as he claimed victory over Joe Stevenson in a lightweight contest.

Danzig dropped his opponent with a vicious left hook in the first round, with the referee stepping in straight away as Stevenson crashed face-first into the canvas.

Welterweight contender Thiago Alves managed to halt a two-fight losing streak by securing a unanimous decision over John Howard.

The judges scored the fight 30-27 across the board after three rounds of action, with both fighters standing up and producing the striking battle they had promised.

But it was the Brazilian who clearly had the better of the exchanges and he even dropped Howard to the mat with a straight right in the final round of the lopsided contest.

It was revealed on January 2, 2010 that St-Pierre was considering leaving MMA so he could try out for the Canadian freestyle wrestling team and compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics. GSP is still considering trying to qualify for wrestling in the 2012 Olympic Games, but he has not yet made his mind up 100% either way yet.