Boston Herald plans on cutting 20 jobs

22 News (WWLP) in Chicopee, Mass. reported that the Boston Herald will cut 20 jobs at the newspaper due to the struggling economy. The paper will also be offering buyouts to full-time editorial and commercial guild employees and full-time exempt non-union employees.

It's a race of who will fold first in Massachusetts.

The fall of newspapers: Goodbye Rocky Mountain News

It was reported on NBC World News with Brian Williams last night and today, The Rocky Mountain News published it's last ever newspaper in Denver, Colorado. 

After its existence for 150 years, it's just the sign of today's tough times and down falling of the newspaper industry. Unemployment will continue to go up, thousands of more people losing their jobs, losing what they've known for so long, and losing a daily newspaper reporting the everyday news and happenings of Colorado. 

The paper wrote its own obituary and there's even a video tribute.

Now the question is, who will be next? Some people have asked/told me that they believe The Boston Globe will be the soul daily newspaper in Massachusetts one day. They'll be a Globe East (Boston), Globe Central (Central Mass.), and Globe West (Western Mass.) edition with office bureaus across the state.

Do I see that happening? Who knows, but that would be quite interesting.

Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

Youk's new do = eeewww

First it was the unveiling of the new Red Sox logo, but now it appears Kevin Youkilis is turning back the clock as well.

I hope this isn't permanent, but who knows, they'll be Sox fans that'll sport the new Youk do.

I suggest shaving the mustache off only with those ridiculous "mustache sidebars" and keeping the mini goatee. Then again, I was never really into style and fashion so maybe I'm just out of touch. 

What's next?

Bard with the knuckleflies

Check out this video of Red Sox catcher Josh Bard, catching Tim Wakefield last night against the Minnesota Twins. 

Bard was kind of doing a shaky job, letting about four balls pop out of his glove or skip off to his right side. 

Hhhhhmmmmmm. Good thing it's only spring training. 

Flash back: Isn't this familiar...I hope the Sox don't police escort Doug Mirabelli back again.

Red Sox vs. BC/Twins afternoon/tonight

Spring is in the air...well not exactly up in Massachusetts...but today is a great day for Red Sox fans at least. The Sox take on Boston College and the Minnesota Twins in a day/night split squad action.

The BC game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. and the Twins game is at 7:05 p.m. which will be on NESN.

UPDATE:

Here's a TV schedule of all the Sox games via redsox.com.

Artists display results of cultural grants

And for something not related to sports at all...

Two Agawam High School students were awarded $1,000 grants from the Agawam Cultural Council last week in their newly funded, Grant of the Arts program, which recognizes high achievement of pursuing further careers in the arts. 

Here's a snippet of the article.

By AMANDA BRUNO

AGAWAM - It's one thing to write about being musically and artistically inclined, but quite another to prove it in person.

The Agawam Cultural Council was treated to such a demonstration recently when Jeen-Hye Kim and Shannon R. Stephens displayed their talents at the Agawam Public Library.

Kim and Stephens are the winners of $1,000 grants through the council's new Grant for the Arts program, which recognizes high achievement of pursuing further careers in the arts.

Click here to read the full story.

Welcome back Globe 10.0

After its feud with NESN that cancelled the show, Globe 10.0 with host Bob Ryan is back and cranking on boston.com. The game plan is to have two fresh topics appear online around noon time Monday-Friday as Ryan and a fellow Globe sports writer debate on various sports topics. 

The new setup is pretty cool, and I'm a big fan of the graphics. The newsroom in the background gives me fond memories when I would sneak through the news department to grab the New York Times, and proofer copies when ours was down in sports. 

Lets see how it goes this time.

Lets talk rotations; my starting 5

My Red Sox pitching rotation:

1. LHP Jon Lester

2. RHP Josh Beckett

3. RHP Dice-K Matsuzaka

4. RHP Tim Wakefield

5. RHP Brad Penny

John Smoltz is due to come back in May (or June) and may be another force to recon with, maybe flip flopping with Wakefield.

Why I think Lester may this year's "Ace":

This kid is in his prime and last season he came out of nowhere. No one expected to be consistent all year, no one expected him to surge towards 20 wins, no one expected him to throw a no-hitter, he arguable was the Red Sox ace last season over Beckett, but we only hope that Beckett will return healthy and the pitcher all Sox fans know and remember in 2007.

Will Penny that much of an impact?

It's really iffy and Red Sox fans don't like "ifs." If Penny is healthy the Red Sox could have the best rotation in the A.L. East (depending on what is happening over in the Bronx). If Penny racks up a 5.00 ERA and more walks than strikeouts then there is going to be an issue especially if Smoltz and Buccholz (no clue what is going on with Clay) can't fix it. 

Is Justin Masterson more valuable in the rotation or bullpen?

Masterson was all the Sox hoped for in the 2008 playoffs. He was the setup man for Papelbon, he got out of multiple major jams (ground ball double plays), you gotta admit being nervous having this rookie trying his luck in the ALCS, but Masterson may be more deadly in the pen than the rotation for right now anyways. Boston is stacked with starters so there is no urgency, perhaps in the future roles could change.

More thoughts on the Red Sox progress throughout spring training to come.

WNEC vs. Colby-Sawyer hoops

Player Profile: Krystal James

This week in “Golden Bear Profile” we’re going to take a closer look at senior guard Krystal James of the Western New England College women’s basketball squad. James, who stands at 5-2, is a native of West Haven, Connecticut.

Quick Bits:

Major: Marketing 
Favorite Professor: Bruce Clemens
“He just really cool and down to earth. He’s not wild, but very creative and he knows what he’s talking about.”
Favorite class: Business Strategy 
“There’s a lot of presentations and we have the opportunity to express ourselves. Right now we’re playing a business strategy game that we have to make decisions for a footwear company.”
Dorm: Evergreen 
Favorite food: steak and macaroni and cheese 
Favorite movie: Finding Nemo 
Favorite sports team: Tennessee Volunteers  
Top jock: Candice Parker 
Role model: My Mom
“She worked really hard to get to where she is today, which makes me who I am. She’s a mentally strong person.”

What’s your most memorable moment playing basketball at Western New England College?
“Freshman year when we beat Emmanuel at home.” 

Has Coach Chaszar made any kind of impact on you during your stint at WNEC?
“She gives me a lot of knowledge of the game of basketball and taught me how to be a person in general. After practice I feel I can do anything because she makes you more mentally tough and helps you build yourself as a person.”

What do you plan on pursuing with your marketing degree?
“I don’t know exactly, but I definitely want to travel and experience other business cultures on how they operate. Living aboard for a couple of years would be really cool too.”

--- Compiled by Amanda Bruno, Western New England College, athletic communications assistant.

Live blog tomorrow: WNEC vs. Colby-Sawyer hoops

Thanks for another ridiculous offseason New York

Just leave it to New York. For another offseason in-a-row there's controversial, breaking news brewing and this year has just topped it all.

Those clowns had to find ways to get themselves in the news. Whether it's signing three superstars totaling triple digit figures in the millions, to releasing a book about his tenure managing the Yankees, and now topping all of this, having a player who is already feeling the heat and pressure of it all, admitting using steroids from 2001-2003. I mean gee whiz, that's just amazing.

The A-Rod story has dramatically downplayed Joe Torre's new book "The Yankee Years" where Torre gets close and personal revealing his true thoughts and feelings and what exactly was going on in the Yankee clubhouse. 

All I've been hearing anyways is certain players like Carl Pavano and A-Rod being ripped as well as Steinbrenner and company. Not sure how exactly true it all is or not. 

No one cares anymore about the Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira signings. I mean people probably care, but no one is hacking away at it.

All I know is if the Yankees once again have an awful first outing, well, all hell is going to break lose in that city. Now that the Rays have proven to be contenders this year it's a three team race in the AL East to make for a very interesting season.  

Former major league manager Bobby Valentine visits WNEC

Ok, here's that article I promised a week ago...

SPRINGFIELD - When you think of Major League Baseball managers, you think of guys who are serious and in-your-face. Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen are known for being hot heads while Joe Torre just chills out on the bench in the dugout.

Western New England College played host Jan. 20 to former Texas Rangers and New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine. The Stamford, Conn., native was greeted in Sleith Hall by a full crowd of mostly young business and sports management majors as well as regular baseball fans.

Click here to read the full article.

Video: Bobby Valentine speaks about Mets turnaround

We made a new friend on YouTube and now we are able to access all newly uploaded videos of Western New England College.

Here's a nice treat of former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine speaking at WNEC about his "fake mustache" episode. The article should be in The Republican sometime within the next week or two.

NY Post reveals the true A-Rod

Only the New York Post would be bold enough to have a headline like that in its newspaper. 

That's the "power" of a tabloid folks.

But honestly, wow, that is hilarious. 

Counting down the days until the first Red Sox-Yankees series at Fenway Park...

A-Rod did steroids in 2003

While doing some web surfing this afternoon, I was shocked to get a glance of this headline...

"Report: A-Rod tested positive for steroids"

According to Sports Illustrated, Rodriguez used two types of anabolic steroids during his MVP season with the Texas Rangers. That was also the same year that A-Rod won the American League home run title.

Anyone remember that 60 Minutes interview, days after the Mitchell Report was released where A-Rod denied using steroids???

Hhhhmmmmm.

What do you think about all of this? 

I can't wait to get my next issue of Sports Illustrated next Thursday. 

Now when Red Sox fans chant, "A-Fraud," it will be for real this time. Way to go man.

Kotsay out til May; Wilkerson makes sense I guess?

Better late than never. With Truck Day tomorrow in Boston, the reality is setting in that spring is coming and will be here in six days, even though tonight's projected forecast is -12 to -4, awesome.

So Mark Kotsay apparently had back surgery on Jan. 29 to remove a displaced disc fragment and will be out until May. Looks like Brad Wilkerson will play the fill in role until Kotsay's return. 

It could be worse, at least it's only til May and not during August. The key this season will be everyone's health, which played a devastating role, but the Sox still made it to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. However if everyone was in good health (Beckett, Lowell, Ortiz) there is no question that Boston would have won its third World Series championship in five years.

Within the next couple of weeks, we'll have the team breakups from the starting rotation to the bench to see how the Sox are playing out on paper. 

A Manny with no planny

So what do you think about Manny Ramirez rejecting a second Dodgers offer of a one-year $25 million deal?

Does he really think he can get better somewhere else?

Does he not want to play in good ole Dodger blue after only praising them when he was ousted out of Boston?

Does Manny realize that there are no teams out there that even want to part with his known laziness and not a 100% guarantee quality player? 

Forget the Yankees, they can't sign another "Type A" Free Agent, not after the "Type A" spending spree they had. 

Albert Pujols wants the Cardinals to recruit the slugger, but will his say be enough to actually get the front office to pull some strings? 

And the Manny saga continues...

Coming up this week...Bobby Valentine, live blogs, Player Profile

Here's a sneak peek of what's to come this week:

On Wednesday we have a very special treat. Former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine visited the campus of Western New England College two weeks ago and we'll have a recap of his time there and what he shared.

Valentine discussed his time managing in Japan and about his documentary film, "The Zen of Bobby V," which chronicled a whole season of him managing the Chiba Lotte Marines. The film makers from NYU were also present. 

Also on Wednesday we're going to have a doubleheader live blog special from WNEC of the women's and men's basketball games, which kick off at 5:30 p.m. vs. Eastern Nazarene College.

Friday we should finally get back on track with "Player Profile" a.k.a. "Golden Bear Profile," which features a Golden Bear athlete. 

Hello February; Spring Training 9 days away

Now that the Super Bowl is all said and done, now we can concentrate on one of the single most important dates in Major League Baseball besides "Truck Day" for the Boston Red Sox...

Spring training.

That means we are inching closer to warmer weather, spring training game, and the start of the new baseball season. Here is the unofficial checklist.

The MLB/Red Sox fan checkoff list:

1. Truck Day

2. Spring training

3. First spring training game

4. Opening Day on the road

5. Opening Day at home

6. All-Star Game

7. Trade deadline

8. Playoff berth

9. NLDS/ALDS

10. NLCS/ALCS

11. World Series

12. World Series parade

13. World Series trophy tour

According to Groundhog Day, we have another six weeks of winter, which means the week of Spring Break dubs the unofficial end of old man winter. But a lot of us are praying that isn't the case. 

There are only nine more days until pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Florida and that's definitely a reason to celebrate.

Super Bowl XLIII Pittsburgh vs. Arizona, who's gonna win?

We have about six hours to go until the pre-game ceremony and this year the Super Bowl is quite different especially here in New England. No records to be broken or set, no powerhouses that everyone hates, honestly it's not really too exciting.

The only cool aspect of this year's Super Bowl is the fact that the Arizona Cardinals are in it and Kurt Warner is going for his second ring since he won one with the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans. 

And yeah, I almost forgot, the Steelers are going for their sixth title in franchise history, whoops. 

I'm hoping the Cardinals pull out an upset and hopefully this won't be a blowout either way. There's nothing worse then a boring Super Bowl. 

Well...

Maybe a couple of things.