The WWE is completely botching the push of Sheamus

We now turn our attention (while keeping the numberless multiple-team Luis Castillo trades in our peripheral vision) to the free agent names, big and small.Given the frequent reports of the Mets’ interest in Bengie Molina, it seems that Omar Minaya has retained his attraction to the slugging backstop, who he offered a contract to after the 2006 season when he was last a free agent. Molina’s alleged demand of a 3 year, $20 million contract is a little unreasonable in the eyes of the Met fan, given his age, low OBP (only at .285 last year), and hard-to-watch speed on the basepaths. So begins the waiting game.This battle of wills can go either way for a GM or player. A player can wait too long for his demands and the market will not work out in his favor, and he will be forced to sign a contract that is less to his liking, evidenced by the one-year deal signed by Bobby Abreu during last year’s offseason. Or, the GM will wait too long trying to whittle down a player’s asking price, only to have the player slip through their fingers to another team. The opposites, however, could play out, with a team in need going overboard on the salary of a waiting player to secure his services, or the GM successfully wheedling the player into signing a lower contract than they or their agent desired (see Fransisco Rodriguez).Read the rest at Mets Paradise!.

Not like this. It just cant happen like this. The WWE is completely botching the push of Sheamus. Ive made it clear in the past how I feel about the WWEs initial build of Sheamus, and I still hold the same feelings. The company has done nothing to adequately build Sheamus as a main event talent, andaside from one cheap-shot and bodyslamweve seen him show nothing in the ring against John Cena. Ive got absolutely no problem with the WWE pushing new talent. I ranted and raved about the direction the company took with Kofi Kingston, and I am a converted fan of the way CM Punk is being slowly built as a major heel after his initial quick turn. Those facts notwithstanding, I still feel that the company is doing itself and Sheamus a major injustice by tossing him into the main event scene. No one in their right mind actually expects Sheamus to win the title at the upcoming TLC pay-per-view because to the average viewer, Sheamus is a nobody. Since his debut on RAW just six short weeks ago, weve seen Sheamus squash Jamie Noble, dominate a stagehand, kick Jerry Lawler in the face, beat the 600-year old Finlay, win a battle royal in which he avoided confrontation for the majority of the match, cheap-shot John Cena and put him through a table, and we saw him squash Santino last week. Yep, thats it. I know all of this so well because the WWE has been showing video montages almost non-stop to try and prove to viewers that Sheamus is a main-eventer and worth paying $40 to watch on pay-per-view. The montages, entitled The Celtic Warpath, fall short because all they show is Sheamus beating up on jobbers and non-wrestlers. Sheamus has been incredibly overmatched on the microphone and appeared weak by not physically confronting Cena. The build-up figures to be strong over the remainder of the week to convince viewers that Sheamus could win the match by putting Cena through a table and his brute strength might be all he needs. Theyll undoubtedly pimp the fact that Sheamus doesnt have to pin Cena or make him submit; all he needs to do is toss him through a table, which hes already done. If theyre smart, theyll have Sheamus obliterate Cena in the Championship Showdown at the end of RAW and put him through a table once again, thus proving that Sheamus has what it takes to win the title. Heres the problemeven if they build up Sheamus enough to make him seem like a viable number one contender for this Sunday, what comes next If Sheamus doesnt win the WWE Championship, it proves hes out of his league. Whats worse is that it proves hes out of his league in a match that is painted as being in his favor. If Sheamus loses this Sunday, hell probably get a one-night rematch on RAW, but any legitimate shot he has at being a main-eventer goes down the toilet with the pay-per-view loss. John Cena was in a similar situation back in 2003 when he was pushed into a main event program with Brock Lesnar. Any potential title reign would undoubtedly be a short one, after which he would once again return to the mid-card. Either way you look at it, the end-game is the same. Sheamus returns to the mid-card and John Cena moves into a program that builds for WrestleMania. Im glad that the WWE didnt shove another Cena vs Orton/HBK/Triple H match down our throat, but pushing Sheamus this quickly with no real resume to speak of only hurts themselves (buyrates) and Sheamus (potential) going forward. Hopefully, the WWE will learn their lesson when, in six months, Sheamus has become another Kane. No longer an unstoppable monster, but rather just a big, bad heel who is occasionally thrown into title matches that hell never win. For Sheamus its just too much, too soon..

One of the best stories in college football this year has to be Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. He was absolutely dominant all season. If you like numbers Gerhart definitely caught your attention. The former Gatorade High School Player of the Year amassed 1736 yards and 26 touchdowns through 12 games this year. With only two games rushing for under 100 yards (82, 96), the senior running back is atop many Heisman lists. And its not like hes playing against cupcake defenses. Versus USC's still a talented defensedespite their recent performancesGerhart rumbled for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 6.1 ypc. The week prior, Gerhart was even more impressive as he shredded Oregons stingy defense for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Numbers and accolades aside, Gerhart is also coach favorite. Jim Harbaugh has essentially built the Stanford offense on the back of Toby Gerhart and he has carried it to an 8-4 record and contributed to their 36 points per game averagesecondbest in the Pac 10. His hard-nosed grind-it-out style of play is contagious. But he is more than just grit. He has a unique skill set similar to that of Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants. He has linebacker size (6'1," 235) and is deceptively fast. He is a fantastic athlete, especially for a guy his size, and it really shows in his body control, quick cutting ability, and burst through the hole. Gerhart displays good footwork and is an overall fluid runner. He is also fantastic in pass protection and really shows great effort in that area. What scouts really like is his stamina and effectiveness through all four quarters. Coaches really like a running back that will run just as hard in the fourth quarter as he does in the first. NFL teams are concerned Gerhart will opt to play baseball since he projects as a top prospect in that arena as well (yet another attribution to his natural athleticism). But if he sticks to the gridiron, Gerhart is an ideal prospect for a pro team looking to add toughness to their backfield and enhance their power rush attack. This scouting report was written by Mark Dulgarian, Pac-10 Scout for Optimum Scouting. Based on Ember's ZigBee technology; helps homeowners cut energy usage andcostsBOSTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ LS Research, a leading product developmentcompany specializing in RF design has teamed with Ember, a leader in ZigBee(R)technology, to develop a ZigBee certified energy monitor Rate$aver(TM) enabling homeowners and utilities to collaborate on conserving energy andreducing costs.LS Research's Rate$aver is a ZigBee Smart Energy-certified and FCC/IC-approvedin-home-display (IHD) energy usage rate monitor based on Ember's ZigBeetechnology. It provides reliable, wirelesscommunication of consumption data from the utility meter into the home. Withit, homeowners can now make more informed decisions about their energy usage,promoting energy conservation and helping electric utilities to reduce peakload demand.Rate$aver is the first battery-powered, wireless graphical display employingthe ZigBee Smart Energy public application profile, which supports pricing,security, simple metering and messaging clusters, and is interoperable withother ZigBee Smart Energy certified products including electric smart meters.Rate$aver runs for up to two years on two AA batteries and uses a uniquedisplay technology that allows the display to remain visible even after theradio and the power are turned off."The Rate$aver plays an important role in helping consumers manage energyuse," said Benno Ritter, vice president of marketing for the ZigBee Alliance."ZigBee Smart Energy makes connecting in-home displays to a ZigBee home areanetwork easy and affordable.