Vikings reportedly trade Percy Harvin to the Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin has reportedly been traded to the Seattle Seahawks. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Seattle has agreed to send draft picks to Minnesota in exchange for Harvin, pending a physical exam.

It is widely believed that Harvin is looking for a massive contract extension that the Vikings either cannot afford or are not willing to pay, which means their only option was to trade him while he still had value instead of letting him walk after next season. The Seattle Seahawks have arguably the best defense in the NFL and exciting potential on offense with Russell Wilson running the show. Adding Harvin to an offense that already includes Wilson and Marshawn Lynch will give opposing defenses plenty to account for.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the trade is also contingent upon a contract extension for Harvin, which should be completed within the next 48 hours. Schefter also said the deal is expected to include Seattle’s first round pick in the upcoming draft.

It’s safe to assume a number of teams did their due diligence on Harvin with it being a known fact that he wanted out of Minnesota. He should be a nice fit in Seattle, where Pete Carroll has turned an inexperienced team into a contender over the last few seasons. Richard Sherman was one of the biggest reasons for the Seahawks’ success last year, and he welcomed his new teammate when the news broke on Monday.

Welcome to the Team bruh @percy_harvin … Happy to have ya

— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 11, 2013

An already dangerous team just added one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in football.

Photo credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

Frank Beamer leads the Harlem Shake for his Virginia Tech players (Video)

Believe me when I say that I want to ignore the Harlem Shake and just patiently what for it to fizzle out, but every time I tell myself I’m totally done with it someone like Frank Beamer comes along and starts cutting a rug.

Like many other collegiate teams across the nation, the Virginia Tech football team decided to get in on the Harlem Shake trend by making pretty much the same Harlem Shake video every other team has made. They did, however, add an X-factor in the form of Beamer showing us his 66-year-old dance moves like a straight up boss.

As much as I dislike the whole Harlem Shake phenomenon, I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t led to a few laughs. Whether it’s Beamer strutting his stuff or this clever mash-up from the hockey world, not all of these videos have been unbearable.

Video via Dr. Saturday

Blues’ TJ Oshie being sued after dogs reportedly trashed penthouse apartment

Owning a dog can be expensive, but I certainly hope my dog never ends up costing me $12,000 because he wasn’t on his best behavior. That may be the case for St. Louis Blues forward TJ Oshie, who is being sued by an apartment complex for more than $12,000 of alleged damages that his dogs caused in a Missouri penthouse suite he used to call home.

According to the lawsuit provided by Courthouse News Services, Ashley Development claims Oshie’s dogs scratched and chewed at the custom screens on his patio doors and also damaged the doors and door frames, which they say will need to be replaced.  Oshie says he usually locked the dogs out on the patio. The suit alleges that the dogs caused “irreparable damages” and it that will cost $11,026.92 to replace what they destroyed and another $1,000 to repaint or stain the door frames.

“Under the terms of the lease, defendant was fully responsible and liable for any and all injury done to the apartment unit or building and in the event the defendant did not leave the apartment in the same condition in which it was received, plaintiff is entitled to recover all of its damages plus fifteen percent (15 percent) overhead to put the lease premises back to its original condition, minus reasonable wear and tear,” the complaint says.

As this picture will show you, Oshie is not the first NHL player to have his dogs (allegedly) destroy his house while he’s gone. At least the last case we showed you happened during a three-overtime game. I wonder what Oshie’s dogs will have to say for themselves.

H/T Pro Hockey Talk

Rachel Robinson says she is ‘sad’ to see Mariano Rivera retiring

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera recently announced that he will be retiring after this season, which means the No. 42 will be officially retired from Major League Baseball after the season. The No. 42 was retired across baseball in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson, and Rivera is the only player remaining who still wears that number.

On Sunday, Robinson’s wife Rachel told the NY Daily News that she was “a little sad” to hear that Rivera will not be pitching beyond the 2012 season.

“You start to think over the life of his career, all that he has accomplished,” Rachel Robinson said. “All players have to face it, but it’s still hard to think about Mariano not pitching anymore. He has had a wonderful career.”

Robinson, who is now 90 years old, said she does not know Rivera all that well but can see similarities between the Yankee legend and her late husband.

“They were both very determined,” she explained. “They are two men with great dignity and pride, and carried that with what they did on the field. Some of the characteristics of Jack, I see in Mariano.

“Mariano has brought attention to (the number), and to Jackie’s career as well. It’s enhanced the interest in No. 42, and that is important for our youth. It’s been such a thrill for me to see the stadiums full of players wearing Jack’s number on April 15 (Jackie Robinson Day). The number has gained a lot in an emotional sense, and certainly Mariano has been a part of that.”

Rivera is one of the most well-respected pitchers to ever play the game, so you can understand why Rachel has been proud to see him keep the legacy alive. But as Google reminded us last month, there will still be plenty of Jackie Robinson tributes to go around long after the No. 42 has officially made its exit from the MLB.

Photo credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Tiger Woods wins Cadillac Championship after putting advice from Steve Stricker

Tiger Woods looked like the Tiger of old on Sunday en route to a victory in the Cadillac Championship. The win at Doral was the 76th in Tiger’s career. It was also his fifth tournament win in his last 19 starts, which has many ready to accept the fact that Tiger may officially be back.

What we saw on Sunday was vintage Woods, as Tiger held a comfortable lead for most of the afternoon and hardly even broke a sweat. There was no choking and no double-bogey to breathe life into Phil Mickelson and the other players who finished in the top 5 but never even got close enough to get the blood flowing. Instead, Woods finished the tournament with only 100 putts in 72 holes — the best mark of his career. For that, he thanked Steve Stricker.

“Thank you to Steve for the putting lesson,” Woods said while receiving the WGC trophy on Sunday, via ESPN.com. “It was one of those weeks where I felt pretty good about how I was playing, made a few putts and got it rolling.”

(more…)

Dwight Howard apologizes to Orlando

Dwight Howard has lost a lot of fans in the Orlando area since last season, and his group of supporters shrunk even more last week when the Los Angeles Lakers center called his former Orlando Magic teammates a bunch of guys that nobody wanted. Howard later tried to clarify what he meant, but it seems like most people don’t want to hear it.

Howard will return to Orlando for the first time as a member of the Lakers on Tuesday. During a recent interview with USA Today Sports, he offered an apology to the people of the city where he began his career.

“In Orlando, I handled a lot of stuff the wrong way,” Howard said. “If any of those people in Orlando are upset with how I did it, I apologize for the way I handled it and the way it was handled in the media.

“I really just got caught up in wanting to please everybody else. I really love that city. That was the hardest thing to do was to leave that city because I basically grew up there. That was my whole life. Orlando was it. I did not want to leave all that behind — the city, just everything about it. The fans. But I wanted a change for my life. I just felt like there was something else out there for me.”

No matter what he says, the people of Orlando are going to feel resentment toward Howard for the way he handled himself and allowed his relationship with Stan Van Gundy to become an embarrassment. Whether the reports of him constantly changing his mind about his future with the Magic were true or not, Howard did very little to clear things up during last year’s roller coaster ride. He acknowledged that he made a mistake in just sitting back and allowing the speculation to run rampant.

“Whenever something happened, I should’ve let my teammates know,” Howard explained. “I should’ve said, ‘OK, this is what’s going on. I know what’s being said, but this is how I really feel.’ Or, ‘Hey, Coach, this is what’s being said, but this is how I feel,’ instead of just letting everything pile on and me not saying anything. I just felt at the time like, ‘I’m not going to say anything. I’m just going to sit back and let it unfold.’ By doing that, everybody was getting mixed signals.”

At the moment, Howard’s priority should be helping the Lakers sneak into the playoffs and earning the respect of the fans and his teammates in LA. The Lakers have won eight of their last 10 games and Dwight is averaging 15.5 points and 14.8 rebounds during that stretch. That may help his popularity in LA, but Howard should expect to hear plenty of boos on Tuesday no matter how hard he begs for forgiveness prior to his return.

Brandon Knight has funny response to being dunked on by DeAndre Jordan (Video)

The Los Angeles Clippers connected for one of the fiercest alley-oops of the season on Sunday night, and Blake Griffin wasn’t even on the floor. This particular lob came from Chris Paul and was deposited by DeAndre Jordan. Unfortunately for Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Knight, it was done so at his expense.

You have to give Knight credit. There aren’t many situations where a 6-foot-3 guard is going to be able to defend a 6-foot-11 center, but he gave it a try. Knight put himself in a position to be placed on a poster, and he even had a good sense of humor about it after the game.

It wasn’t in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol

— Brandon E Knight (@BrandonKnight07) March 11, 2013

We know that’s a lie. Just last week we saw Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin hook up for one of the sickest alley-oops we’ve ever seen during an actual game. Griffin wasn’t this excited when the team traded for CP3 for no reason. Knight knew what he was getting himself into and he didn’t back down. That’s more than you can see for some players who tower over him.

Hooters ballgirl mistakenly fields live ball at Phillies game (Video)

Another spring training, another error committed by a Hooters ballgirl at a Phillies game.

The Philadelphia Phillies make their spring training home in Clearwater, Fla., which is 1.5 miles away from the original Hooters, which was established in 1983. As a result, the Phillies have a nice deal going where they use Hooters girls to guard the lines at spring training games.

On Saturday, the Hooters girl working the left field line mistakenly fielded a live ball in the top of the sixth inning. Tampa Bay Rays DH Shelley Duncan hit a ground ball down the line that was fair, but Hooters girl Priscilla fielded it and tossed it to a fan. Duncan was awarded a double without even having to challenge the left fielder, leading Rays manager Joe Maddon to praise the ballgirl.

“She moved her feet well,” Maddon said, via The Tampa Bay Times. “I thought she presented her hands to the ball very well also. The overall package was very, um, efficient.”

You can always count on Maddon for a solid quote. And you can always count on a mistake from a Hooters ballgirl at a Phillies spring training game. Remember this one from last year? At least we should give credit to Priscilla for fielding the ball well and generously giving a fan a souvenir.

H/T Busted Coverage

Ray Lewis’ impassioned speeches even left Joe Flacco laughing at times

Ray Lewis has an unbridled enthusiasm for the game of football, and he is considered one of the best motivational speakers in sports. But the former Baltimore Ravens linebacker also has a tendency to go overboard with his speeches. His excessive show of emotion even led to him being mocked by the “Saturday Night Live” crew in January.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco even says Lewis’ speeches left him laughing at times.

“Oh, it’s funny,” Flacco told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday. “His speeches come from the heart, but there’s definitely times where I’m sitting there kind of chuckling to myself. It’s all good. There’s nobody that’s more passionate about what he does than that guy.

“So you just sit back and take it all in, but there’s times where he says some stuff and you’re like, ‘Man I don’t know what that meant, but I like how he said it.'”

When Flacco says Lewis’ speeches left him chuckling to himself, we’re sure he means that in an endearing way. As excessive as Lewis can be, his leadership inspired the Ravens. Terrell Suggs even said that Lewis’ retirement announcement helped spark the team’s Super Bowl run.

Flacco’s quote to USA Today came in the context of leadership for the Ravens. With Lewis on the team, Baltimore may have had the best leadership in the league for the past several seasons. Without him, others will need to emerge as team leaders. Flacco says that although he is not a vocal person, he will continue to lead through his play.

Even though we agree with Amani Toomer who says Lewis became a caricature of himself, we still have to credit the man for being an excellent speaker. If you haven’t seen them, you should watch this video of Lewis motivating Stanford’s basketball team last year, and this video of the moving eulogy Lewis delivered at Art Modell’s funeral.

DeAndre Jordan’s alley-oop from Chris Paul may be the dunk of the year (Video)

DeAndre Jordan threw down a powerful alley-oop from Chris Paul Sunday that has him as our front-runner for NBA dunk of the year.

During the second quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers’ 129-97 beatdown on the Detroit Pistons, Jordan charged down the paint, took a lob from Paul and threw it down with amazing force that knocked would-be defender Brandon Knight to the ground.

The incredibly powerful display caused the Clippers bench players, the fans, and TV announcer Ralph Lawler to lose their minds. Coach Vinny Del Negro even had to hold back Blake Griffin, who was supremely fired up from the bench.

Jordan has thrown down quite a few sick dunks this season, but that tops all of them. His distance from the basket, height on the dunk, and powerful display over Knight all combine to make this one of the best of the season.

Who would have figured that on a team with Griffin and Eric Bledsoe, it might be DeAndre Jordan with the best dunk of the season?

For comparison, below is a list of some of the other best dunks from the season:

Video: Blake Griffin takes crazy alley-oop from Jamal Crawford
Video: Kobe Bryant dunks on two Nets defenders
Video: Eric Bledsoe throws down lob from Chris Paul
Video: Gerald Henderson breaks out the go-go Gadget arms for dunk
Video: Jeff Green jams on Al Jefferson