SNL, Nate-Gate, Pinstripe pick-ups

First... What's the difference between Tiger Woods and Santa Claus?

Santa stops at 3 Ho's.

Sorry... Anyway.

Sports figures have hosted SNL before on many occasions and provided memorable performances. LeBron, Peyton, etc. However, something tells me that when Charles Barkley gets his shot on January 9th (he hosted once in 1993), it'll be classic. He is a respected NBA analyst for TNT and is one of the best player to never win a championship. He is also a clown. He got himself into some trouble earlier this year after being arrested with a prostitute. He makes ridiculous claims on the regular and has become one of Frank Caliendo's most popular targets ("That call was turrible!"). He also has a hell of a gambling problem. Despite all of his antics, its hard to turn the channel when he is speaking. He is a smart guy when it comes to sports and I anticipate him having at least a couple classic moments when he hosts in a couple weeks.

The Knicks and Nate Robinson are quickly approaching the end of their time together. Robinson has not played his usual role with the team this season and the Knicks are 8-3 in December. The team is responding to coach Mike D'Antoni's desire to play defense and move the ball on offense. Over their past eight games, New York has held its opponents under 100 points with defense Knick fans haven't seen in years. Robinson has played all of eleven minutes this month. He hasn't scored since November. He is visible on the bench, rooting for his team and not being cranky (ie: Allen Iverson). However, the team is moving in the right direction and he has played absolutely no part of it. Donnie Walsh acknowledges it would be impossible to trade his contract (he is owed $4 million this year), but a $1 million buyout and moving him is realistic. The Lakers, Bulls, Kings and Magic have all shown interest in the energetic little man. Walsh is said he is only interested in getting a player with an expiring contract in return. We'll see what happens, but with the Knicks only a game out of the eighth spot in the east right now, don't be surprised if Robinson is on another team in a months time.

The Yankees have had another solid offseason acquiring a handful of quality players without giving up too much in return. This past week Brian Cashman has worked out deals that have yielded Nick Johnson and Javier Vazquez both former Yankees. Johnson will provide a solid backup at first base and consistency at the DH position with the departure of Hideki Matsui. As far as Vazquez, he eats up innings and strikes out a lot of batters. He has pitched over 198 innings in each of the past ten seasons and has finished in the top-4 in K's over the past four seasons (2006-2008 with Chicago White Sox, 2009 with Atlanta Braves-2nd in NL). He is very tough to hit from the wined up, but has trouble in pressure situations. Hopefully the Yankee bats will provide enough run support that the "pressure situations" will be at a minimum. He went 15-10 w/a 2.37 ERA and 238 K's in 2009. Guys that pitch 200+ innings and get 10+ wins every season aren't that common, especially when you can pencil them in as your fourth starter. Not to mention his signing allows Joba Chamberlain to start the season in the bullpen, which boosts the Yankee's pitching overall for 2010.

On a side note, I find it surprising that in Bobby Cox final year, Atlanta is moving an asset in Vazquez for a fourth outfielder. They save some money, which they did by giving away Rafael Soriano earlier this month. Ownership clearly doesn't care as much about competing as it does about saving money. I'm happy to be a Yankee fan!