Joining “TKras” Today will be:

Tom Jones (Tampa Bay Times)- Talked about the Lightning win streak, the Rays spring training and the Bucs offseason. 

Tom will also talk about the Rays spring training, the upcoming all-star weekend and USF’s chances of making the NCAA tournament.

You can get in touch with Primetime by emailing them at Primetime@ESPN1040.com

You can follow Tom on Twitter @TKras

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In Pinellas, (727) 577-1040

In fact, if it wasn’t for Brady Quinn coming out on twitter defending himself, I never would have heard about it or even cared about it.

Quinn tweeted yesterday that “the comments attributed to me in a recent magazine article are in NO WAY reflective of my opinion of Tim and the Broncos. Tim deserves a lot of credit for our success and I’m happy for him and what he accomplished. Most importantly, he is a great teammate. That interview was conducted three months ago, and the resulting story was a completely inaccurate portrayal of my comments.”

So now I am interested to read what was written.  I believe Michael Silver.  I also understand where Quinn is coming from.  Athletes talk and talk and talk, and we choose the quotes that work for our story.  At times, those quotes are taken out of context.  I don’t believe this is one of those times.  In fairness to Quinn, his quotes represent just part of his opinion, but they are his opinion.  It’s just not the opinion that paints him in the light he wants to be painted in.

Unfortunately for Tim Tebow, we care too much about him.  We follow him to closely and observe his every move.  Even if he absolutely, positively didn’t want the attention, he’d still get it.  He became a cultural phenom.  Sometimes people choose that path, other times it’s chosen for them.

From a distance, it doesn’t appear Tebow has changed who he is or how he operates.  I don’t think he is looking for everyone to notice him praying.  We just do.  And that annoys some people.  It annoys people who don’t like public displays or religion in general, but it also seems to annoy fellow Christians who don’t get the attention they want, or thinks he is getting attention he doesn’t deserve because he isn’t any different than them in their beliefs.

At this point, the whole thing has spun largely out of Tim Tebow’s hands.  Ironic, considering all the “God” jokes.

It’s easy to understand how some players grow to be larger than life.  It’s easy to understand a debate over LeBron James or Alex Rodriguez and see why some people like them and some don’t.  For Tebow though, its more difficult.

LeBron, ARod, and Tebow we debate how good they are and different ways to measure their success, pro and con.  For the first two, it’s more than that because of choices they’ve made off the field/court.  Fair or not, there is some debate there.  For Tebow, the debate over him rages just as fiercely, but it seems odd to be having any debate at all.

Tim Tebow is a good man.  I don’t think its fair that he draws most of his negative attention based on the fact he receives too much attention.  The media basically created an argument against him by simply talking about him too much.

Brady Quinn has become a victim now, at least in his own mind.  Oddly the media paints him as the enemy, when Quinn’s real beef with Tebow actually has little to do with Tebow and more with the media he spoke with about Tebow.  Ironic.

I believe Brady Quinn.  Both what he says in the GQ article and the twitter defense.  I also believe Tim Tebow isn’t going away anytime soon because the media loves him.

Marc Daniels and Scott Adams get Pat Williams’ thoughts on NBA All-Star Weekend, Jeremy Lin, Dwight Howard, and much more…

For more interviews and entire shows, visit:

www.thebeatofsports.com

You can get in touch with the Beat of Sports by emailing them at:

thebeatofsports@gmail.com

You can follow Marc Daniels on Twitter at:

@TheBeatofSports

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This week’s three stars go to:

First Star

Pat Nagle, G, Florida Everblades (ECHL – USA)

Nagle has had an up-and-down first professional season. The free agent signee out of Ferris State has had hot streaks, but also stretches where he’s lost his starting job and Florida has had to bring in competition to push him.

This past week, the 6’2” 185-pound goaltender won all three games in which he played and put up a goals-against average of 1.63 and a save percentage of .944.

He was named the Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for his fine play.

For the year, the 24-year-old Michigander is 17-12-0-3 with a 2.86 GAA and .904 save percentage. He will compete for playing time in Norfolk next season as he tries to work his way up to the NHL. He provides the Lightning with goaltending depth in the system.

Second Star

Alex Hutchings, W, Florida Everblades (ECHL – USA)

A fourth round pick of the Lightning in 2009, Hutchings was first star here at ESPN Florida last week for scoring in his first game in three months and following that up with two points the next game out.

Hutchings hadn’t played since November 12 due to an upper-body injury.

That hot streak continued this past week when Hutchings played in four games and totaled seven points (three goals). He has at least one point in all six games since returning to the ice.

On Monday he had an assist in South Carolina, then followed that up with two assists in a win Wednesday, two goals in Friday’s win (first star), and the overtime winner Saturday (third star) – all against the same team. Florida won their five game mini-series with the Stingrays 4-1.

Hutchings is playing so well he may work himself onto AHL Norfolk’s roster should the Admirals continue to lose players to the Lightning.  He’s a much different player than he was as a pro rookie last season.

For the year Hutchings has 11 goals and 22 points in 20 games with the Everblades. He is also plus-8.

Third Star

Ondrej Palat, W, Norfolk Admirals (AHL – USA)

A seventh round pick of the Bolts in 2011 out of Drummondville of the QMJHL, Palat was watched closely with the Lightning’s entry in the south Florida prospect tournament and throughout Tampa Bay and Norfolk training camps. He eventually earned a contract with the Bolts, his first professional contract. There was some question during Lightning camp if he would return to the Q where he finished fourth in scoring last season with 96 points (39 goals) in 61 games. Alas, he stayed with the Admirals and has contributed in 41 games, totaling 16 points (four goals). Palat, like most pro rookies, got off to a slow start but has played much more consistently as of late.

This past week the 20-year-old Czech had three points in three games for the Ads, including a two-point game Wednesday in a 4-0 shutout of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  He was named second star for his efforts that night. He registered an assist in both of Norfolk’s additional games last weekend.

Palat has good skill and above-average offensive instincts. The more weight he adds (he’s listed at 6’0” 180-pounds) and experience he gains in the professional ranks, the greater his chances of pushing for time with the Lightning in a couple years.

For more Lightning prospect information and daily updates, see ESPN Florida partner Bolt Prospects at boltprospects.com (Photo courtesy of swamphockey.com)

Joining Whitney today will be:

1:00 – Steve Kyler – NBA All-Star Weekend

1:30 – Ken Morrow – Miracle on ice

2:00 – Mike Corcoran – Lightning trades

Call him Toll Free (877) 355-1040

In Hillsborough, (813) 289-1040

In Pinellas, (727) 577-1040

Formerly known as Leo Nunez, Oviedo is working with the U.S. and Dominican governments to obtain a visa, Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. The team’s other pitchers reported for camp Tuesday.

Oviedo has a $6 million, one-year contract with the Marlins, who might trade him if his immigration status is cleared up. They signed All-Star Heath Bell to replace Oviedo as their closer in December.

Oviedo has said he used a fake name and age when he was young to play professionally.

Source: Associated Press

Unable to spend freely on the open market, the Tampa Bay Rays have built the core of their pitching staff through the draft and via trade. In fact, all 162 games last season were started by a pitcher drafted by the organization and no free agent pitcher has started a game for the franchise during the Andrew Friedman Era. In conjunction with a superb defense and a pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field, the staff finished 2011 with the second lowest ERA in the American League (3.58) with the talented rotation posting an AL-best 3.53 ERA.

As a result of solid talent acquisition, the Rays ended the season with more qualified major-league starters than slots in the rotation. Conventional wisdom suggested they would move one of those starters to upgrade their offense; however, the front office was able to add Carlos Pena and Luke Scott without compromising the depth of the rotation. While they still have seven starters for five spots, it is always better to have more pitching than not enough. There is always the chance for an opportunistic Friedman to deal one of his starters in March should another team come calling, but as we have seen before, the Rays makes deal on their own terms and not for the sake of making a move.

While Friedman has been able to build his rotation with precision, bullpen construction is largely a crapshoot. Year-to-year reliever performance is extremely volatile with only a handful of relief aces able to produce at high levels on a consistent basis. Of course, that type of reliever costs money and the Rays are unable to gamble with multi-million dollar contracts by playing reliever roulette.

Instead, Friedman and Co. have mastered the art of the one-year deal, and developed a process for finding flawed –yet talented – arms who can be acquired for less than they are actually worth. Following in the steps of Joaquin Benoit, Grant Balfour, and Rafael Soriano, Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta were underpaid and underappreciated arms that the Rays cultivated into an effective, high-leverage tandem last season. The 2012 bullpen is much more stabilized than the 2011 version; however, there are some risk/rewards arms that could swing the pendulum one way or the other. More bullpen discussion will come in our next installment, but for now let us take a Tampa Bay’s talented rotation.

James Shields – Followers of advanced metrics pegged Shields as a prime candidate for positive regression after disappointing 2010 season. It would not be long before mainstream audiences caught on to the phrase “regression to the mean.” After leading the league in hits, earned runs, and home runs allowed in 2010, the right-hander led the league in complete games (11) and shutouts (4) last season. He was named to the All-Star game and set a career-best in traditional marks like wins (16) and ERA (2.82) while posting excellent peripheral marks in terms of defensive-independent metrics like strikeouts and walks. Some may point to a 46-inning increase in workload as a cause for concern going forward; however, a more efficient and effective Shields threw just 225 more pitches in the 2011 regular season than he did in 2010.

Not all of Shields’ success from last season was a product of improved luck. He spent the offseason ironing out inefficiencies in his delivery and controlled the running game with 12 pick-offs. In addition to the work on his mechanics, Shields was the sensei of pitching backwards or “Pitching 2.0” as Joe Maddon called it, throwing his signature changeup as well as a fantastic curveball in traditional fastball counts. While it was clear he was not as bad as he was in 2010, he probably pitched a little above his head in 2011. That said, with a high worth ethic, and an advanced knowledge of pitching, he should have another extremely solid season in 2012.

Jeremy Hellickson – The 2011 AL Rookie of The Year, Hellickson, posted an impressive 2.95 ERA in his first full season. That said, his peripheral statistics suggest negative regression ahead. The good news is the 24-year-old possesses attributes that may help stave off a sophomore slump. His .220 batting average on balls in play was well below the league average and will likely increase going forward. Meanwhile, if his ability to induce pop-ups at a high rate is a legitimate skill and not statistical noise, he may outperform the league average on a consistent basis.

For a pitcher who struck out better than a batter per inning as a minor leaguer, his 5.57 K/9 was rather disappointing. On the other hand, Hellickson continued to get whiffs at a rate above the league average. Perhaps with better sequencing, he could get some more punch outs. Speaking of sequencing, Hellickson, like Shields, was a believer of “Pitching 2.0,” using his highly effective changeup and breaking ball in fastball counts. Looking ahead, he will need to improve versus the platoon split –again perhaps better selection – and continue to miss bats in bunches. Though regression is a legitimate possibility, the tools to defend against it could be legitimate as well.

David Price – On the surface, Price took a step back in 2011 after finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award vote in 2010. The lefty followed up his 19-win season with a 12-13 record and added nearly a full run to his ERA. However, maintaining 2.72 ERA on an annual basis is not easy, and a 3.49 ERA while pitching most of the time against talented AL East lineups is still very good.

Results aside, Price was actually a better pitcher in 2011 than he was in 2010. He increased his strikeout rate while decreasing his walks. He expanded his repertoire slightly to include more changeups and cutters, relying less on his fastball. The development of the changeup and cutter could be keys for Price as the off-speed offering was effective going against the platoon split. Despite the 2011 results, Price heads into 2012 as a better pitcher than ever before. If his good processes continue, the results should soon follow.

Wade Davis – Davis has not lived up to expectations in his first two seasons, pitching slightly below the league average in 352 innings. The most concerning part of his game has been a lack of strikeouts and whiffs. After posting solid numbers in the minor leagues, he has struck out less than six batters per nine over the last two seasons. He came to the big leagues with a good fastball and a solid curveball, but has seen his velocity fluctuate and the effectiveness of his secondary options fade since then. In addition to the inconsistently in performance, he has missed time with arm injuries.

Deemed healthy in late July after missing 15 days with a strained forearm, Davis returned with a more effective breaking ball. Perhaps with increased health and confidence, it can become an out pitch – something he has lacked. He has also toyed with a cut-fastball; perhaps to combat some of the reverse-splits he shows at times. Still, he may fall victim to the numbers crunch and be moved to the bullpen or traded this spring. If he remains in the rotation, the hope is his stuff returns and he can bring a positive return on the $12.6 million investment the organization made in him last season.

Jeff Niemann – Injuries have made for an inconsistent performance from Niemann. When healthy, he is an above-average starter with a hammer curveball and a split-finger that can miss bats. Unfortunately, back problems limited him to 135.1 innings last season, and when he was off…he was way off.

A healthy Niemann has the potential of a middle-of-the-rotation starter for most teams, but for the Rays, he has become somewhat expendable. Although he has performed better than Davis over the past two seasons, he does not have the same cost certainty or upside. With that said, he is the most likely to be moved if a deal can be made before opening day.

Matt Moore - The top pitching prospect in baseball, Moore did not disappoint in his brief big-league debut. In 19.1 innings (regular and post season), he struck out 23 batters while walking just six. Equipt with effortless delievery that allows him to hit the high-90s with relative ease, Moore is the most complete pitching prospect in Rays’ history.

While he possesses similar talent to David Price, the younger lefty is a much more polished pitcher at the ripe age of 22. As Price continues to develop secondary options, Moore already posseses two plus-pitches beyond the fastball. He throws a good breaking ball in the mid-80s and an extremely effective changeup that is harder than most others. The off-speed offering will keep right-handers honest and make him strong against hitters on both sides of the plate. It will be tough to temper expectations, and there will be a speed bump or two along the way; however, even whenMoore struggles, his stuff and advanced development will prevent slumps from lingering. With an eight-year extension signed this offseason, the New Mexico native will be a mainstay in Rays’ rotation for the better part of the next decade

Alex Cobb – Similar to Jeremy Hellickson and James Shields in style (changeup/curveball), Cobb was highly effective in 52.2 innings last season as a rookie. Forced in to duty as the team’s sixth starter, he showed an advanced feel for pitching, making adjustments on the fly and using his secondary options to set-up the opposition. He will be overshadowed by the flashier prospects (Matt Moore), but has a legitimate future as an MLB starter.

Season-ending surgery to relieve a blood clot cut his 2011 short and could cost him a chance to make the majors out of camp this spring. For all the good he showed, he has just over 100 innings of experience above the Double-A level and has not pitched in a game since early August. With plenty of options available, the Rays do not have to rush Cobb to the big leagues and can save his service time for when they need him to fill a rotation spot full-time.

Alexander Torres – If Cobb is to become the Rays sixth starter iin 2012, Torres would be 6a. Torres also has the look of an MLB starter; however, with the Rays, is likely headed for more development at the minor-league level in 2012. A smaller-framed lefty, he shows good velocity and solid secondary options in the form of a slider and changeup. Acquired in the Scott Kazmir trade, he is a bit Kazmir-like in the way of needing more command and becoming more economical with his pitches. Even if he and Cobb are not needed in the rotation this season, both could help later in the season as members of the bullpen when rosters expand.

Next up in the series: Bullpen

The deal is pending a physical.

With Raul Ibanez officially announced on Tuesday and now Chavez on board, the Yankees have completed their roster. Barring injury, Chavez will join Eduardo Nunez as the team’s backup infielders.

The Yankees like Chavez’s ability to spell Alex Rodriguez at third base when Rodriguez has a day off or takes a half-day as the team’s designated hitter. If Rodriguez were to end up on the disabled list, the Yankees have confidence in Chavez’s ability to play every day.

Chavez, 34, has a history of getting injured himself. The last time he played more than 100 games was 2006. Last year, he played 58 games for the Yankees, hitting .263 with two homers and 26 RBIs.

Source: ESPN

At least as regular as you reasonably can expect at age 36.

The brother of a couple of other two-time World Series winners, Bengie and Yadier Molina, signed with the Rays this offseason. Manager Joe Maddon envisions a healthy “J-Mo” starting somewhere between 80 and 90 games as the Ray chase their fourth playoff berth in five years.

Molina says he preparing as if he’s going to play 162, even though he’s never appeared in more than 100 during parts of 12 seasons with the Cubs, Angels, Yankees and Blue Jays.

Source: Fred Goodall – AP

The last remaining second-round quarterback on the roster, Chad Henne, becomes a free agent on March 13. Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via NFL.com) reports that the team won’t make Henne an offer.

With a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator, it’s not a surprise.

Henne entered the 2011 with plenty of hype, and he delivered a 416-yard passing performance in Week One against the Patriots. (That accomplishment became less significant as the season unfolded, given that pretty much everyone who faced the Patriots defense delivered a 416-yard passing performance.)

And so Henne will join A.J. Feeley (2004, via trade), Daunte Culpepper (2006, via trade), John Beck (2007), and Pat White (2009) as failed Dolphins quarterback who arrived via the investment of a second-round pick.

It’s unclear what the team will do in 2012. But here’s hoping that they don’t pick a quarterback in round two.

For Henne, the head coach who drafted him in 2008 (Tony Sparano) is now the offensive coordinator of the Jets. So don’t rule out Henne becoming the new backup to Mark Sanchez.

Source: NBC Sports