Wednesday Quick Takes

It's another one of those days when I've got a lot on my mind. So, here we go with what I call Wednesday Quick Takes:

1. Cal to Kentucky: The only surprise here is that it took John Calipari all of yesterday to make the decision to leave Memphis for Kentucky. I think I know why Calipari took so long to make the jump. It has nothing to do with whether or not he thought he was ready to coach on that stage. He knows he is, and so does everyone else. There was another reason that I think he waited.

I've covered Calipari for a number of years. I covered him when he was with the Nets. When I worked for The Fabulous Sports Babe, Calipari was a regular NBA guest. He always felt that he got shafted by the Nets (he did). He always felt that if he got the chance to prove to the NBA that he could really coach at that level, that he would take it and prove everyone wrong.

My gut says Calipari spent much of the day calling around the league and getting feedback from people he trusts there, like Larry Brown with the Charlotte Bobcats (Brown hired Caliapri as an assistant in Philly). Again, it's only my gut, but knowing Caliapri a little bit that's exactly what he did. And if that's the case, he probably found out that his style, personality, and ego are better off at the college level. And there are few college jobs better than the one he accepted yesterday.

Denver will try to trade Jay: The Broncos have been trying to fix things with disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler. Apparently, Cutler wants no part of making up with new coach Josh McDaniels, so owner Pat Bowlen announced yesterday that the team will try to trade the man they thought was going to be their next franchise quarterback.

Maybe McDaniels made a mistake by looking into a possible trade for Matt Cassel. But, as the new coach, it's his right to bring in his guy. Cassel was his guy last year in New England, knows the offense, and there is some question as to whether or not Cutler can run his offense efficiently, so looking at Cassel made sense.

What made no sense was the childish way in which Cutler responded. Sports is a business. Cutler should know that. And, if he's honest with himself, he should know that his record as a starter in the NFL isn't all that great. He had no right to act the way he did. Now he's going to get what he wants - a new team.

Jay, be careful what you wish for. That new team could be a dog (insert Detroit Lions joke here).

But Cutler's new team should be careful as well. It seems as if the young quarterback has some growing up to do. A lot of growing up to do.

Tigers release Sheffield: The 2009 MLB season starts Sunday, and the Tigers decided with less than a week to go before the opener to release future Hall of Famer Gary Sheffield (there is no debate about this, by the way). It has nothing to do with the .178 he hit in the exhibition games (no one cares what he hits in March). It has nothing to do with money (the Tigers will pick up most of his $14M salary). It has everything to do with where the Tigers are at.

This is a team that is going to struggle in 2009. The 2006 World Series appearance seems a lifetime ago for Tigers fans. And, since that's the case, it makes almost zero sense to keep a guy like Sheffield around. He works best with a veteran team that's either a winner or on the cusp of being one. That's why Philadelphia makes a lot of sense as Sheffield's new home.

Bynum parties with Playboy: With the NBA playoffs only a couple of weeks away, Laker fans are wondering exactly when injured center Andrew Bynum will return from his latest knee injury. Bynum claims he'll be ready to go before the regular season ends, but no one with a medical degree has said when Bynum will be back.

Now, besides working his way back from the injury, Bynum finds himself involved in another controversy. One involving a picture taken at a party where Bynum is shown carrying a Playboy model on his shoulders. Laker fans got their collective nose bent out of joint over that one.

My take is simply this. Bynum's a 22-year old man. He is working hard at coming back from the knee issue, but he can't rehab 24 hours a day. He didn't do anything illegal. He went to a party and had a picture taken with a beautiful woman. How many of you would have done the same thing?

In other words, this is much ado about nothing.

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