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GRID IRON…interesting piece in the S N ruminates on the high quality running backs currently available; Thomas Jones and Chester Taylor are “good pickups”, but LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook are “buyer beware”…Westbrook, in particular, requires a cautious approach. The S N views him in “serious decline” with the concussion problems an additional red flag…the Carolina Panthers are expected to release Jake Delhomme today. The move is about one year too late and I wouldn’t expect Delhomme to ever start in the NFL again. The Panthers will turn to Matt Moore, a man sharpies claim is seriously overrated. The bodacious running attack in Carolina will be the key to their success in 2010 - it will be very interesting to see how Moore does against defences that are now prepared for his brand of football…Julius Peppers will likely get a deal approaching one million dollars a game. How will he justify his pouts and mood swings with that kind of stipend? You’re right - he won’t…the Washington Redskins, under new coach Mike Shanahan, are looking to radically alter the culture on the perennially losing squad. The Skin punted seven players from their organization yesterday. UPDATE; interestingly, they didn’t get a chance to snatch up Julius Peppers. The highly coveted lineman signed with the Chicago Bears. This is going to be a very controversial acquisition and smacks, at the reported multi-million dollar price, of the famous “bad move bad teams make”…hopefully Jay Cutler can develop a better relationship with Peppers than the frosty one he has with Brian Urlacher…

ICE…nice line, courtesy of the Calgary Sun, concerning Vessa Toskala, the new Flames goalie (3.66 GAA, .870 save percentage); “If you are thinking of picking him up in your fantasy pool, we would advise you to pick a new sport”…not successful marketing; free agent to be Marty Turco whiffed on four of his first eleven shots before being pulled last night. Dallas lost 6-1 to the St Louis Blues. Turco will not be re-signed by the Stars…Marc-Andre Fleury was also pulled last night, after surrendering his fourth goal on twelve shots. Pittsburgh still managed to prevail 5-4 over the New York Rangers by virtue of a 55 shot assault on Henrik Lundqvist…St Louis Blue sniper Paul Kariya is an unrestricted fee agent at the end of the year…nice rant by John Buccigross on the ESPN site after readers complained that Sidney Crosby is overrated. Buccigross notes Crosby, at the ripe old age of 22, has a scoring title, an MVP, a Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal. Calling Crosby, in my view the best hockey player in the world, overrated is, he writes, “as implausibly mind boggling as calling Lady Ga Ga underrated”…here’s William Houston on Brian Burkes biggest trade, “the Kessel trade…was a reckless, irresponsible decision that has set back the Leafs development for years”…a little faith, Billy boy, a little faith…though, yes, these must be the darkest days since the 1980’s for all Bud supporters…

PONIES…Jennifer Morrison is in Barbados for their Gold Cup tomorrow at the Garrison Savannah Racetrack. The race is contested for under 100,000 dollars, so it usually wouldn’t garner much attention stateside. But this year, due to ownership connections to the island, the Grade 1 Winner Bribon and multiple stakes winner Sterwins are entered. How bizarre. The locals must be thrilled that there money will likely be scooped up by the invaders. Bribon, especially, is a serious runner - he won the Grade 1 Met Mile last year but may be challenged by the nine furlong distance and the grassy surface…Breeders Cup Juvenile winner Vale of  York was dismal while making his three year old debut in Dubai yesterday. He could only manage a fifth place finish and had reportedly drifted in British betting markets as the race approached. He’s an unlikely Kentucky Derby contender based on the historically ineffectual approach of preparing an animal anywhere other than North America for the Run for the Roses…Dan Illman grumbles Rachel Alexandra’s work the other day was somewhat less than sparkling. I agree. I’m a tad worried that her brain trust is pursuing an aggressive schedule to prepare her for the five million dollar race with Zenyatta. It’s too rushed and may not be serving her best interests…

PUG LIFE…it’s startling to hear that Tommy Hearns, who earned over 40 million dollars in the ring, is on the verge of losing his Michigan home. Extremely frugal throughout his career, Hearns had a reputation for tossing nickels around like manhole covers. The Hitman owes just under a million in taxes and delinquent mortgage payments. When I was in Windsor, years back, every fine tailor had a story about the Motor City Cobra’s economical ways. He’d pose for a picture, sign an autograph, anything as long as he was given a sweet deal on his purchase. I’m hoping Tommy has money squirreled away somewhere and is in this mess because he just doesn’t want to part with the cash. Unfortunately, these financial woes might account for the sporadic comeback attempts he’s made over the years…I wish all athletes would investigate the world of finance. No one given even a million dollars should ever go broke. But education is the key. There are safe investments but also, with derivatives like options and warrants, outrageously dangerous (and fun) ways of managing one’s money that should be appealing to athletes. Buying twenty cars and a Siberian tiger are idiotic and costly ways to pare down your fortune. The worst way to proceed, by far, is the propagation of the species with a bevy of different women (see - Holyfield, Evander)…James Toney has signed a deal with the UFC. He’s being mentioned as a possible opponent for Kimbo Slice, a fighter who apparently likes to fight standing up. I’m not sure if Dana White appreciates how shrewd the inking of “Lights Out” truly is. Toney’s constituency contains purists, the types of folks who are appalled by the UFC. But they are also tremendously loyal and will almost certainly venture to partake of any engagement involving their hero. And, yes, I am a Toney fan, and, yes, I will watch that rubbish if Toney is involved…

FOXY KNOXY…though it hasn’t received much attention in North America, the trial judge in the Amanda Knox murder trial has released his “reasoning”, and I use that word advisedly, for her conviction on a first degree murder charge. It’s a muddle of conjecture. Replete with salacious fantasy, it reeks of the feverish imagining of the stuffy librarian. I’m asking, nay, demanding, what should be essential before depriving any human being of their liberty; a shred of evidence linking Amanda Knox to the crime. It’s that simple, and it’s a test that was not met by the prosecution. Hopefully the sheer primness of the document will shame the Italian judiciary into granting Knox another trial…