Sports Chips...Fielder Goes nuts

Prince Loses It After Dodgers Embarrass The Brewers

LOS ANGELES -- Not even Prince Fielder really knows what he might have done if a phalanx of security guards and teammates hadn't prevented the furious Milwaukee Brewers slugger from entering the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse after a ninth-inning beaning.

And nobody is sure how the Brewers and the Dodgers will react in Wednesday's season finale after Los Angeles' impressive 17-4 victory Tuesday night degenerated into retaliation, recrimination and a regrettable charge through the Dodger Stadium tunnels by the Brewers' All-Star first baseman.

The trouble started when Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch in the seventh while Los Angeles had a nine-run lead, but it didn't boil over until Guillermo Mota was ejected for drilling Fielder with two outs in the ninth. Dodgers catcher Russell Martin acknowledged it was a response to Chris Smith hitting Ramirez with what appeared to be a much less purposeful pitch.

"It's just part of the game," Martin said. "Our premier hitter gets hit, and he gets protection. I understand [Fielder] is frustrated, but you don't take care of that after the game."

Mota and Fielder were teammates in Milwaukee last year, but the veteran reliever and the burly power hitter are no longer on friendly terms. Fielder took off for the Dodgers' side of the stadium after the final out, shouting obscenities all the way to the clubhouse door.

Several teammates trailed behind him in a surreal scene, but Bill Hall and Casey McGehee got a firm grip on Fielder while a wall of security blocked his way.

Most of the Dodgers didn't know about Fielder's march, since the door he reached is at least 30 feet down a hallway from the clubhouse. They'll all hear about it before Jason Schmidt takes the mound Wednesday.

"We don't want the same situation as last year in the playoffs, when Philly threw at Manny and we didn't retaliate," Martin said, referring to last fall's NL championship series against the Phillies. "We don't want to be known as a team that doesn't have each other's backs."

The late shenanigans marred Los Angeles' highest-scoring home performance in 30 years. Brewers manager Ken Macha felt Mota's two-out pitch could have added injury to the insult of a 13-run loss.

"[Fielder] has been hit a lot, but he digs right in there and doesn't budge," Macha said. "He just doesn't like when somebody does it on purpose. I don't blame him. Everybody's trying to make a living, and this type of mentality puts everybody in jeopardy -- myself, the other team, the players on the other team. So, to me, giving a guy a $500 fine and a two-day suspension is not enough. This type of stuff should be cleaned up."

Moments after his trek through the tunnel, Fielder had calmed down enough to reply sarcastically to questions. Macha said he planned to have Fielder in the lineup Wednesday.

"He came inside. It just got away from him," Fielder said. "It happens. That's baseball. He tried to come inside."

When asked about his postgame march to the other side, he deadpanned: "I don't remember that."


I appreciate Prince's intensity as his Brewers continue to fall out of the playoff race, but to run into the opposing teams clubhouse is taking it too far. It is pretty standard when a top player gets hit on one team, you can expect another stud hitter to get hit in response. It seemed pretty like a pretty normal confrontation, until I heard about Prince freaking out. It would have been interesting if he had gotten into the clubhouse, and taken on the whole Dodgers team. More importantly tonite is the last time the Brewers and Dodgers play each other, so there could be some fireworks..nice.- SF 58


Manning Cashes In

Eli Manning has agreed to a new six-year, $97 million contract extension with the New York Giants that will make him the highest-paid player in the NFL with an average salary of roughly $15.3 million.

A person close to the talks who asked not to be identified says Manning is guaranteed $35 million under the deal that will keep him with the Giants through the 2015 season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not signed and had not been announced.

There is a chance the deal could be signed Wednesday, but both sides wanted to review the contract, the person said.

Tom Condon, Manning's agent, was not immediately available for comment. Giants general manager Jerry Reese was hopeful that Manning's contract would be completed, adding it's always important to get the quarterback signed.

"He is a franchise quarterback," Reese said. "He has done everything we asked him to do. He has come in, taken a lot of flack from you guys (the media) and he just keeps going. He does what we ask him on the field and he does what we ask him to do off the field. He is a good football player."

Manning declined to talk to the media at lunch.

This deal will give Manning an average salary that is roughly $200,000 higher than the one earned by All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha of the Oakland Raiders, who agreed to a three-year, $45.3 million contract this year.

Manning's older brother, Peyton, earns an average of $14.17 million annually with the Indianapolis Colts.

Eli Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl upset of the New England Patriots in February 2008 and was named the MVP of the game. He was in the final year of the contract he signed as the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 and will make $9.4 million under that deal this season.


The guy is a heck of a player, probably a little overpriced with this deal. However, when you lead your team to a Super Bowl Victory, and are one of the most durable QBs in the league you deserve the big pay check. Eli also has done an amazing job dealing with the painful NY press, and I applaud him for that.
The only QB drafted in the first round without a super bowl title is Philip Rivers, Big Ben has 2 and Eli 1, pretty impressive. - SF 58



NFL Training Camp Notes

- Reggie Bush Left practice today to ice his surgically repaired knee, Reggie says it feels fine and there is nothing to worry about.
I love Reggie in college, and he is looking like a great college player and a good NFL player, but he is not durable and can't take the ball every down. Look for Pierre Thomas to have a big year for the Saints in the backfield. I personally would mainly use Bush out of backfield as a receiver or line him up wide, he just can't be trusted- SF 58

-Braylon Edwards returned to practice after missing the fist four days of camp with an undisclosed injury.
All I can say is Braylon Edwards better have a big bounce back year, just when you thought a Michigan Grad could actually play receiver in the NFL Braylon comes back last year and couldn't catch a cold. Big year for Braylon or he gone! - Sf 58