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Defensive end Darryl Tapp is the newest Philadelphia Eagle. He has been acquired by trade from the Seattle Seahawks amidst the first flurry of external offseason activity by the Eagles’ front office.

Tapp was a standout collegiate player at Virginia Tech who could blossom for the Eagles at the defensive end position or falter into a rotational conundrum as did his trade-mate Chris Clemons.

The loss of Clemons is less significant than the additional fourth-round pick that the Eagles bundled into the deal, but the Eagles must have seen something that they liked in Tapp.

If nothing else, he’s an additional veteran presence with upside potential.

“Darryl is an up-and-coming player in this league, in my opinion,” Roseman said. “He’s a good player and a good person…. We believe he’ll be a good addition to our defensive line.”

Apparently the Eagles were interested in drafting Tapp in the 2006 draft. This deal is somewhat reminiscent of Andy Reid’s draft interest in Lorenzo Booker who he ultimately acquired by trade.

“Darryl is a very intense football player and we’re happy to acquire him,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He plays very hard every snap. He’s smart, he’s a good person and he’ll fit very well into our defensive scheme.”

He has definitely had his moments, recording a four-sack game and seven-sack season in 2007. A second round draft pick in 2006, Tapp has made plays and gained starting experience in his four NFL seasons.

Tapp is clearly more valuable than Chris Clemons. He’s younger and he’s cheaper, but he comes under similar auspices as a challenger and potential starter at the left defensive end position.

At 6′1″, 270 pounds, Tapp is a more prototypical end than the 6′3″, 240 pound Clemons and any other of the Eagles rotational defensive ends with the exception of the oft-injured Victor Abiamiri.

He has the build and potential to be a true three down defensive end.

One thing that this tells fans is that the Eagles are talking around the league, looking for young prospective talent and clearing up cap space for future signings and acquisitions.

What kind of impact can Tapp make?

We’ll have to give this trade a chance to prove it’s worth before passing judgement either way, but I don’t think that Tapp has any higher ceiling than Abiamiri although he has unquestionably been healthier.

He’s going to have a tough time taking the job from Juqua Parker as well. Parker has been solid even if fans want more play-making from the position.

I don’t think this really changes the Eagles draft strategy, but simply enhances their ability to simply select the best player available in the first round.

The top four seeds in the Midwest region were introduced by Jim Nantz on Selection Sunday in seemingly rapid fire succession. Kansas. Ohio State. Georgetown. Maryland.

Like rockets fired from Columbia Broadcasting System missile command, the names lit up the Midwest Bracket. Shit just got real.

Kansas is the consensus No. 1 team in America and top overall seed. Ohio State is one of the top two or three teams in America when the nation’s best player, Evan Turner, is in the lineup.

Third-seeded Georgetown has beaten two of the No. 1 seeds in convincing fashion, Duke and Syracuse, and they’ve maintained contact with the top 10 for most of the season.

Maryland shared a conference title with No. 1 seed Duke and the Terrapins have been an NCAA powerhouse under Gary Williams at times.

In your favorite parlor game, that’s called stacking the deck. Jerry Tarkanian’s recruiting coordinator is serving 20 years for similar offenses. Imagine what Bill Self wants to do to NCAA Selection Committee chair Dan Guerrero for loading this deck with Aces.

The Headliners

This one’s easy. Try the top four seeds. Each team is the best of its line seed class and it’s tough to make an argument to the contrary.

Kansas is the best team in America and has the nation’s best point guard, and arguably the nation’s best all-around pivot player.

Sherron Collins is General George Patton and Cole Aldrich is the USS Eisenhower down low. Collins can find shots for a talented supporting cast, but when the Kansas motion game is bogged down or its sets are mucked up, the talented senior guard is going to find offense off the dribble. Paraphrasing a Bill Self interview from last weekend, there may not be another player in the nation who so effectively imposes his will on his teammates. He’s a true floor general.

Aldrich mans the paint on defense in intimidating style, erasing dribble penetration with his size and tremendous timing, blocking would-be buckets. The talented post is so dominant on the glass that it allows the other Kansas players to leak out into transition early knowing the board is going to be pulled. On offense, Aldrich is a credible back to the basket player that defenses must often double to stop. Plus, his trebuchet free throw stroke is just plain fun to watch.

The second seed Ohio State Buckeyes would be a No. 1 seed as well had Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner not been injured. His absence alone cost the Buckeyes three losses.

The talented Buckeye wing is essentially a 6′7″ point guard, and he’s surrounded by three shooters and playmakers in Lighty, Buford, and Diebler. Lighty (who saw time on the Oden Final Four team) and Buford can create offense, while Diebler is automatic from range. The key for a deep Buckeye run may be 6′10″ wide body Dallas Lauderdale.

If he can avoid foul trouble and stay on the floor, the Buckeyes have the best starting five in the tournament. Sorry, Kansas, and sincere apologies to Kentucky.

The third seed is John Thompson III’s Big East juggernaut the Georgetown Hoyas. Unlike the great Hoya teams of old, Georgetown butters its bread from the outside to in. There’s no Mourning, Ewing, or Mutumbo manning the paint.

Instead, the Hoyas, at times, play without a true post, moving their own Player of the Year candidate Greg Monroe to the perimeter to facilitate offense. Call the talented sophomore a “point center” if you will. He can be Magic Johnson in the halfcourt with the way he creates.

Monroe is flanked by shooters Chris Wright and Austin Freeman as well as several more plus-athletes.

With all of this talent Georgetown is easily the best three seed in the tourney.

The fourth-seed Maryland Terrapins feature yet another POY candidate, in point guard Greivis Vasquez. He spearheads a talented three guard group that can drive it and shoot with the best teams in the country. Vanderbilt is arguably a better four seed, but if they are better, it’s not by much.

Point blank, this bracket is loaded with elite, top-line talent in every quadrant.

The Sleepers

When you add the four killers mentioned above to the likes of Michigan State, Tennessee, and Oklahoma State, your 5-7 seeds, you have a bracket that isn’t very “sleeper” friendly. Sure, Cinderella is invited to the ball, and she’ll get to dance, but she’s surrounded by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and has a horse and carriage on daylight savings time.

All I can offer you is one potential upset in this bracket.

San Diego State is the one double digit seed with a solid chance to pull a significant upset or two in the region.

The Aztecs play terrific defense and they’re coached by an old tournament war horse, Steve Fisher. Inside, Kawhi Leonard is physical enough to give an undersized Volunteer club all they want. If you’re an upset addict, the 6/11 matchup is your best bet to get a fix.

All Regional Team

Evan Turner’s skills are well chronicled, and any all-region team has to begin with him. If Turner is the best player in the region, James Anderson, the Oklahoma State wing is the second best. He’s an explosive scorer that is open once he leaves the locker room.

In the paint, Georgetown’s Greg Monroe would make one hell of a power forward especially when you put him opposite our starting center Cole Aldrich.

Our guards will be Sherron Collins and Greivis Vasquez and we will mix and match these two creative players based on who we’re playing.

Give me these six guys and I’ll give you the rest of the country and the Midwest group will win nine out of 10 games. That’s how stacked this bracket is.

Prediction

Kansas is the beast of the bracket, and they’ll leave the maimed bodies of Lehigh, UNLV, and Maryland in the wake of their elite eight run.

Maryland gets by a Spartan team in shambles due to injury and suspension (see this story from Adam Biggers who will soon head up the new Michigan State FanTake blog Sparty On ).

On the bottom part of the bracket Ohio State will look lethargic and bored beating Cal Santa Barbara. In the second round, the Buckeyes pull away in the last five minutes against the pesky four-guard offense of Oklahoma State led by all-world guard James Anderson.

The Buckeyes are so confounded by the Cowboy’s unique style that they unveil their 2-3 zone in an effort to protect Turner and keep the talented Cowboy guards out of the lane.

San Diego State shocks Tennessee but is no match for the Hoyas who curb stomp Fisher’s boys in the second round.

In a Sweet 16 game that’s truly Final Four-worthy, Ohio State and Georgetown battle like the two tournament titans they are. Greg Monroe and Evan Turner go mano a mano for scintillating stretches leaving even Bill Raftery without the appropriate adjective or anecdote or Allium cepa. The Buckeyes win on a buzzer beater by Evan Turner in an 86-84 instant classic.

In the regional final, a game that can’t possibly top the Buckeye vs. Hoya Sweet 16 masterpiece, Kansas and Ohio State take turns going on scoring runs. 8-0 Kansas run here. 12-2 Buckeye run there. In the last five minutes of a two-point ballgame, the pace grinds to a halt leading to a halfcourt battle to manufacture offense between Turner and Collins.

After exchanging buckets for what seems like 10 possessions, Evan Turner finds John Diebler in the corner for a three ball on a drive and kick. Xavier Henry’s desperation three to tie is short and the Buckeyes advance to Indianapolis to face Kansas State.

Rock chalk it up to a karmic deficit caused by Mario Chalmer’s 2008 championship game tying three.

Whether you’re a Jayhawk, Hoya, Buckeye, or just a fan of college basketball, this bracket will provide you with some memorable games for the ages.

I can’t wait.

Look for the South and the East regions tomorrow.

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This article originally appeared on March To March

Follow Kevin Berger on Twitter: @MarchToMarch

The NCAA is loaded with talent this year, and the Midwest Bracket is no different. NBA scouts will flock to games featuring players such as Evan Turner, Sherron Collins, Greg Monroe and Kalin Lucas. Kansas has the No. 1 seed, but is far from a lock with teams it was have to face on its way to Indianapolis. Tennessee, Michigan State, Georgetown, Maryland, and Ohio State all have the talent to knock of the top seed Jayhawks this March.

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When Freddie Roach speaks people listen.

The four-time Trainer of the Year is one of the brightest people in the sport of boxing and has an uncanny ability to see into the future. The last few times his star pupil Manny Pacquiao has laced up the gloves to fight, Roach has accurately predicted the outcome.

Unfortunately Joshua Clottey was hell-bent on proving him wrong this time, and he did.

In front of 50,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex., last night, the Ghanaian pugilist decided the most exciting thing anyone would see was his pre-fight shimmy from the locker room to the ring—a sultry performance that would have made the dance’s originator Prince Naseem Hamed blush. After that, the former world champion locked himself into an Everlast closet and threw away the key.

Heading into the WBO welterweight title fight as a 7-1 underdog, Clottey had never been kayoed. His three professional losses to Carlos Baldomir, Antonio Margarito, and Miguel Cotto all went the distance. Nonetheless, Roach was so confident in Pacquiao’s ability that he went on record with every publication that would listen the past few weeks and predicted that he would be stopped before the end of the fight for the first time in his career.

A prediction that the proud Clottey must have heard and figured he could do something about, if nothing else. A theory that was resounded after the fight.

“There was no way Clottey was going to beat [Pacquiao], even if he took off his gloves and fought him bare-fisted,” Bob Arum, the fight’s promoter said. “If he played offense [tonight] he would’ve been knocked out.”

But he didn’t.

Clottey rarely threw punches and spent the vast majority of the fight standing still with his chin tucked, his gloves up, and his elbows protecting his gut. Pacquiao, the epitome of a prizefighter, did everything that he could to make the fight exciting, throwing an astounding 1,231 punches to Clottey’s 399.

Pacquiao “Bang, Bang, Banged!” and tried to get in, but Clottey wasn’t going to open the closet door.

If you watched the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast last night, you know just what I’m talking about. With 30 seconds remaining in the eighth round, long-time HBO commentator Jim Lampley went on a broadcasting rant for the ages.

“There you go, four-punch, five-punch, six-punch combination. Body shot, body shot, bang bang bang, BANG BANG BANG! Try and stop it, BANG BANG! Here I come, BANG! Do you wanna throw sometime? BANG! This is the Manny Pacquiao who has DOMINATED boxing for the past three years. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG! Do you wanna throw back? BANG! Keep coming!”

It was a priceless call that added some excitement to a fight that Clottey practically refused to participate in. Pacquiao went on to win unanimously, 120-108 119-109 119-109, taking 34 out of 36 rounds on the three judges scorecards.

“Manny fought a good fight,” Roach said. “He pitched a shutout against a middleweight (Clottey weighed nearly 160 lbs. at the time of the fight). But that middleweight should’ve used his [expletive] power.”

*

For additional reading, please take a look at:

Manny Pacquiao Is Everything Floyd Mayweather Jr. Is Not

Manny Pacquiao: From The Gutters Of Manila To The Bright Lights Of Hollywood

Photo: Joshua Clottey (L) and Manny Pacquiao (R) courtesy of The Associated Press/David J. Phillip

Chip Kelly has it all wrong.

This is 2010, coach! It’s the golden age for lies, cheating, violations, and keeping players on the field no matter what.

You have a team in your very conference that won seven straight league titles, and even they might be bending the rules.

News flash: Chip Kelly has it all right.

The second-year Oregon Ducks’ head coach suspended quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for the season Friday, after Masoli pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor burglary charge.

It’s the second time in as many years that Kelly has been faced with a suspension of his star player.

If anyone reading this suffers from chronic amnesia, Kelly suspended LeGarrette Blount for what amounted to 10 games for sucker punching a Boise State player after the Ducks’ 19-8 loss in the 2009 season opener.

Kelly doesn’t care that this is an era where only 11 years ago Florida State neglected the suspend star wideout Peter Warrick after he pleaded guilty to robbing a department store. It just so happened that the Seminoles were in the midst of a national championship run.

Oregon clearly has players in its system right now that are out to deface the program. Is this Kelly’s fault? Not entirely. While he was a part of the coaching staff before taking over as head coach, it was Mike Belotti who recruited Masoli, Blount, and LaMichael James, the starting tailback who police arrested two weeks ago on domestic violence charges.

Should Kelly be keeping a closer eye on his players, and trying to lead them in a better direction (preferably one that steers clear of Eugene Prison)? Absolutely, but you can only do so much. Every team deals with this problem.

Urban Meyer is famous for giving players second and third chances. From Marty Johnson at Utah to Marcus Thomas at Florida, Meyer penalizes his players for their actions before giving them back the gift of playing football.

The suspension of Masoli shows that Kelly is a man of integrity, and he also has quite a pair of you-know-whats. He doesn’t delve from his word, and if you screw around in his program, you will pay for it.

This also leads to another safe assumption for the Oregon program during the Kelly era: The NCAA will never slam them for recruiting violations. If coach Kelly is as strict on his players for following his rules, he will surely abide by the ones set for him just as closely.

So before anyone goes off on a wild tangent about how the Oregon program is a mess and they are more concerned with jacking computers from frat houses or beating their girlfriends, just remember who is pulling the strings on those players’ careers.

Kelly’s got one heck of a grip.

Talk about one giant nutshell.

With one play late in North Carolina’s 62-58 loss to Georgia Tech Thursday night, the Tar Heels’ season was summarized perfectly.

Trailing by four with 1:30 left in the game, point guard Larry Drew tossed a soft pass across the perimeter, which was intercepted by Tech’s De’Andre Bell.

As Bell sprinted toward the opposite basket, he was stopped only by a foul on Drew.

Never mind that for 38 minutes, Drew had reversed the fortunes of a forgettable 2009-10 season.

At one point in the game, the maligned sophomore had seven assists and only two turnovers.  He finished with eight assists, and five turnovers, none more devastating than the pass to Bell.

The game had much more buzz than many would have thought halfway through, when Carolina led 34-24 at the break.

Bodies were hitting the floor. Runaway Tar Heels dove for loose balls and deflected passes left and right, creating a scene unfamiliar to anyone who followed the team this season. Most of the time, the hustling culprit was 7’1’’ sophomore Tyler Zeller.

Zeller played the best game of his career, bar none. He finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

On the other side, however, Zeller and the Heels had no answer for Jackets’ freshman sensation Derrick Favors. Favors hit his first seven shots en route to 18 points while also adding nine rebounds.

He dominated in the post. He blew by defenders off the dribble. When it was all said and done, Favors left little doubt that he should be a Top Five pick in June’s NBA draft. His blocked shot on a Zeller fast break lay-up attempt helped thwart a late push by the Heels.

Meanwhile, Gani Lawal manhandled Deon Thompson, frequently beating the senior Tar Heel to rebounds on both ends of the floor, and taking the ball right at Thompson’s chin with the ball in the paint.

Lawal and Favors exposed Carolina’s big men for what they are–long, athletic, but weak.

Both teams received performances from their backcourts that can only be described as shaky at best.

Will Graves obliterated Carolina’s hopes with a one-for-eight mark from three-point range. Most of those shots were open looks that were simply off the mark.

In limited minutes, freshmen Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald provided much more consistent play than Graves. At the very least, the rookies played energetic defense, something Graves has never been known to do.

The Yellow Jackets saw guards Iman Shumpert and Glen Rice, Jr. make an equal number of outstanding plays as awful ones. Both players hit big shots during the early second-half comeback, but they both forced several shots at inopportune moments late in the game.

Even after Tech erased the double-digit halftime deficit, Carolina hung tough until the end.

It all came back to that Drew turnover and subsequent foul. High hopes thanks to an outstanding first half were unfulfilled, in similar fashion to the entire season. With a late glimmer of glory seemed within reach, a lazy, ill-advised, poorly timed turnover effectively ended the game, as it did the season.

I’ll start out agreeing with Jim McCurdy.  This mock draft is a boat load of fun.  And I’m glad to be part of the mock representing the Houston Texans Nation.

If you looked at the photo, you’ll know who I selected for the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft.  But before we talk about that selection, let’s briefly touch on some other players who I also considered.

Already off the board in this mock was Mike Iupati, the mauling guard from Idaho.  Sure, Idaho isn’t exactly a bustling football factory, but a massive and mean guard to shore up the interior of the offensive line and the running game is just what the doctor ordered. 

Iupati would have been a great selection, but he was drafted by the Steelers in this mock.  Sigh.

I don’t really think there is another interior lineman worth taking at pick No. 20.  I briefly considered Maurkice Pouncey out of Florida, but I think 20 is a bit high for him. 

Sure, he’s a winner and a good football player, but rare is the guard worth taking at No. 20.  That should tell you how highly I think of Iupati.

In addition to the offensive line, the Texans could use a talent infusion in the backfield.  Specifically, the Texans need a bigger back to split carries with Steve Slaton. 

We won’t know what Slaton can do till next season, but assuming he returns to form somewhere between his remarkable rookie season and his slumping second season, the Texans should have a player who excels on the boundaries and in space.  Which also means the team needs a bell cow to plow between the tackles. 

With backs like Stanford’s Toby Gerhart (too slow, too upright a runner for the NFL) and CJ Spiller (already taken), the Texans could go in those directions in the first round.  But I don’t see that happening, do you?

Another position of need is the defensive backfield.  Too bad top-notch safety prospects like Earl Thomas and Eric Berry are long gone. 

And I don’t see Taylor Mays as a star in the NFL.  Sure, he can run and hit, but he can’t play centerfield.  He can’t cover in the passing game. 

The Texans have a guy who can run and hit in Bernard Pollard and need a running mate for the big hitting strong safety.  Mays is quite an athlete, but I’m not sold on him as a football player.

Finally, let’s not ignore the obvious.  Sam Bradford has slid all the way down this first round mock draft. 

In this mock and in this mock only (as I can’t imagine a Brady Quinn-esque slide for Bradford) why wouldn’t the Texans auction this pick off for a major ransom?  It would be bad business to ignore trading this pick if Bradford is still there.

All of which brings us back to Kyle Wilson.  Wilson might not be the biggest player in the draft, but at 5′10″ and 190 lbs., he’s still a good sized prospect. 

Plus, Wilson is fast, quick, and can flat out cover.  He has high awareness and intelligence and should be rising up draft boards quickly.

Adding a corner back with Wilson’s skill would help the Texans in a division that plays home to Peyton Manning and the pass happy Colts. 

To win the division and make the playoffs, the Texans must be able to beat Indianapolis.  And making the playoffs must be the Texans’ goal in 2010.

By now we’ve all heard about the injury to Joe Nathan, which has the potential to end his 2010 campaign before it even begins.  According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minnesota Star-Tribune (click here for the full article):

“While surgery certainly looks to be imminent, Nathan will take two weeks to let the swelling in the area subside. He’ll work with the trainers to strengthen the muscles around the elbow. And then he will try to pitch. He’s prepared to pitch in pain—given the huge expectations placed on the 2010 Twins—and is prepared to tests the limits of his tolerance level.”

Only then will we know for sure that he’s going to miss the entire year due to Tommy John Surgery.  At this point, if you are drafting over the next two weeks, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to take the gamble on Nathan (who was previously the second ranked closer on my rankings) and if he’s going to pitch.

Let’s first take a look at how this news shuffles the rankings:

1. Jonathan Broxton—Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Mariano Rivera—New York Yankees
3. Joakim Soria—Kansas City Royals
4. Jonathan Papelbon—Boston Red Sox
5. Francisco Rodriguez—New York Mets
6. Heath Bell—San Diego Padres
7. Brian Wilson—San Francisco Giants
8. Jose Valverde—Detroit Tigers
9. Billy Wagner—Atlanta Braves
10. Huston Street—Colorado Rockies
11. Andrew Bailey—Oakland Athletics
12. Frank Francisco—Texas Rangers
13. Trevor Hoffman—Milwaukee Brewers
14. Rafael Soriano—Tampa Bay Rays
15. Francisco Cordero—Cincinnati Reds

Nathan is just too good of a pitcher to completely ignore at this point.  With the potential for him to still pitch, even at 70 percent, he’s still worth taking the flyer on in all formats in the last few rounds of your draft.  Unfortunately, that’s not enough to keep him in the Top 15.

I certainly wouldn’t ignore him, however, until the news breaks that he is officially out for the entire 2010 season.  According to Mock Draft Central, there are 21 relief pitchers with ADPs in the first 200.  After that, why not take the gamble on Nathan, backing him up with Jon Rauch or Matt Guerrier?  When you are drafting guys at that point, you are concerned about them losing their job anyway, right?

What are your thoughts?  Would you take the gamble on Nathan?  What are the chances he actually pitches?

If you would like to see a free preview of the Rotoprofessor 2010 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide (available for just $5) now including a Top 50 Prospects for 2010 List, click here .

Make sure to check out our 2010 yearly league rankings:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Third Basemen
• Shortstops
• Outfielders
• Designated Hitters
• Starting Pitchers

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

With grim predictability, injury has brought a premature end to Michael Owen’s season.

The former England striker scored United’s opening goal in the League Cup final victory over Aston Villa, only to succumb to a hamstring complaint that required his substitution.

Owen has now been told that he must undergo surgery.

The striker said: “I have loved every minute of my first campaign with Manchester United and have already enjoyed some memorable moments. I am determined to come back at the start of next season in peak condition.”

The manager put on the bravest of faces too when asked for his thoughts on Owen’s latest injury blow.

“Unfortunately, it’s more serious than we thought,” Ferguson said. “It’s a terrible blow for the lad and disappointing news for us, too. He has never missed a training session all season. I think the heavy pitch at Wembley on Sunday made some contribution to it but really it is just bad luck.”

Really?

While the Wembley pitch might be a bog fit only for the sowing of potatoes, it is also true that Owen has suffered terrible misfortune yet again and it is poor form to kick a man when he faces an operation and weeks of therapy and rehabilitation.

But, with some justification, there will be a chorus of “I told you so” should United stumble this season due to a lack of goals, especially with the club’s former striker Carlos Tevez on a hot streak at Manchester City.

Owen’s latest trouble is but a new chapter in a familiar story of physical failing and disappointment which have dogged the player for years. The former European Footballer Of The Year may protest, but his pleas will fall on deaf ears when made from a hospital bed.

Like Liverpool’s signing of Aquilani, United were forewarned that Owen’s physical condition posed a risk to effective team planning.

Wigan Athletic’s chairman, Dave Whelan, knifed the ex-England international when he announced early last summer that Owen’s injury record made his transfer too great a risk.

Nevertheless, Sir Alex hoped he could defy the odds and brought the former Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Newcastle player to Old Trafford.

Until then, it had been thought that Owen would wind down his career at the likes of Hull or Stoke.

The manager appeared to have been swayed by Owen’s considerable track record as a goal sniffer and by the salutes to his robust constitution contained in the “come and get me” dossier which Owen published upon his departure from Tyneside.

There were jokes then about the dangers of Fergie’s “catalogue shopping.”
 
Now the injured Owen is no laughing matter.

Wayne Rooney, who has carried United’s hopes this season, is suffering with his knee. Rest, probably the best cure, is unlikely given the unavailability through injury of Owen and the reserve Macheda.

The manager can no longer call upon Danny Wellbeck this term. The youngster, once tipped by Sir Alex to force his way into the England World Cup party, is now on loan at Preston, his star fading after a string of clueless performances when played out of position in the United first team.

Mame Diouf, a new recruit from the Norwegian club Molde, is likely to get more game time. But against the Wolves last weekend, he looked at best inexperienced and at worst, a clumsy innocent with an alarming potential to be United’s Benjani.

That leaves Sir Alex sweating on the form and attitude Dimitar Berbatov, another striker suffering with a knee knack.

No one doubts the Bulgarian’s technical ability. Rather, it is the striker’s application and end product that raise concerns.

Berbatov has scored only nine goals this season. Worse, he appears to be something of a flat track bully, producing his most lethal displays against weaker teams. The Bulgarian failed to trouble the statisticians in the three Champions League games in which he was selected but did score against Everton, Wigan, Stoke, Sunderland, Blackburn, Hull, Burnley, and Portsmouth.

This is not the form to frighten United’s future domestic opponents—Chelsea, Liverpool Manchester City and Spurs—nor is likely to worry the remaining European teams in this year’s Champions League tournament, should AC Milan be overcome.

No one can blame Owen for the difficulties that might await United. For that, the finger should be pointed at those who created the circumstances which left Sir Alex ready to gamble on a player who rightly or wrongly, has become better known for his injuries than his goals.

The manager has admitted that he found it hard to field Rooney and Owen together, given their similarities in stature and the way each likes to play. This is a failure of planning and a tactical mistake that any number of videos would have exposed.

It is hard for United to dodge the accusation that Owen was signed because he was the cheapest option available. All he costs the club is wages and bonuses.

With some £720 million debt to concentrate minds, United did not want to spend £50 million in fees and salaries to keep Tevez and plumped for Owen as a player with the profile to placate the media and one who might get the club out of a hole.

Despite Owen’s winner against City and the hatrick against Wolfsburg, the plan can hardly be deemed a success.

United’s debt chickens could come home to roost if the team, struggling for fit and in form strikers, runs out of goals as it plays for honours at home and abroad.

Last July, Owen bristled with barely concealed fury as he fielded questions from the press about his injury record.

“If there is one thing that has angered me a bit it is this thing that I am ‘injury-prone,’” Owen said. “You constantly read ‘he’s been plagued with injuries’ and things like that but the facts just don’t support it.”

What do you say now, Michael?

The madness has officially begun.

As of 12:01 AM Friday, NFL free agency is underway and the league is in the throws of an uncapped year. While many think that will lead to erratic spending patterns—especially if your name is, say, Dan Snyder—what it did lead to was 212 players ostensibly getting screwed by restrictions.

Counting the two players they released on Friday, the Eagles had 16 players from the 2009 squad eligible for the various levels of free agency. However, only four were unrestricted, and none of them were really worth getting one of the franchise or transition tags the Birds had at their disposal.

That doesn’t mean they weren’t valuable in their own ways, though. Many or even all of them could be brought back, and one already has.

For the unrestricted and released, I’ll look at whether they should be brought back or forgotten; for the restricted, however, it will be whether or not they should be retained if someone offers on them.

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