Friday Morning Five-Pack

Here is a 5-pack of sports goodness to get your weekend off to a good start

• The Sounders re-signed my favorite player Osvaldo Alonso for an additional 2 years meaning the Bulldog will be in rave green until 2014. Alonso is still only 25 years old, so locking him up for a few more years is an excellent move.
  
• Speaking of the Sounders, Sigi and crew have some serious decisions to make before the season. Currently their roster sits at 33 players and they need to be down to 28 (30 if they are creative with the injured list again) by opening day. In a test of my objectivity towards the Sounders, I think they need to seriously consider dropping Taylor Graham, Pat Noonan and Zach Scott in favor of younger guys like Leone Cuz, Lamar Neagle and Servando Carrasco. I love Graham and Scott for all they did for the USL Sounders, but the fact remains that their best days are probably behind them (they are both 30 years old and I'm not sure Graham has veer been healthy). Neither make a ton of money, so I can see them sticking with the team for their experience in Champions League, but if they are not going to contribute then the team should go younger. More to come on this as we see how the roster shakes out.
• A new season of Man vs Wild was on last night and I must say I was very excited for it. The past two season have been a bit of a downer for me as Bear was placed into several situations per episodes in which he had to try to survive. He didn't necessarily have to find his way out of the environment, but simply show some survival techniques. Last night though he was thrown into the middle of the Arizona desert and after walking through desert, climbing some mountains and doing normal Bear Grylls stuff (making a home made bow and arrow and eating a scorpion) he came upon a highway that got him home. It was just good to have him back.
• I am still trying to avoid talking about the Carmelo rumors (now the current trade would have us sending Harris, Favors, Murphy, Uzoh and 4 first rounders to Denver), but want to address another rumor that has suddenly come out of nowhere: Devin Harris straight-up for Andre Miller. My first take on the trade is that it might be a good one as we would not be taking a big cap hit (Miller is owed $7.3/yr for the next 2 years compared to $8.9/yr for Harris). Harris seems to be lost mentally and has definitely has regressed since his All-Star year in 08/09. I can actually talk myself into the idea that Miller, a veteran point guard who remains underrated to this day, would actually be better at helping the young front court progress as players. I know he is 34 and some have questioned whether he is a winner, but even as point guards get younger and younger by the day, Miller is averaging 13.2 points and 7.4 assists a game and has a Hollinger Player Rating (18.82) slightly higher than that of Harris. With two years left on his contract, it would give the Nets the opp to draft his heir apparent since it is clear that they will be in the lottery for the foreseeable future
• Finally, two words to sum up my feelings towards the Mets as Spring Training begins: cautious optimism. Maybe it's because Spring Training means the nice weather is on the way. Maybe it's because records in Spring Training mean nothing. Maybe I'm just finally over our collapses. Whatever the reason, I feel good about this team. There certainly is no pressure on us to win the Division this year (as the Phils are expected to win 115 games this year), but there certainly appears to be a new attitude in camp. I'm not sure how long Terry Collins' style will work with the team, but they certainly needed some toughening up after years of Jerry Manuel and Willie Randolph. With David Wright taking over as the undeniable leader of the team and a healthy Carlos BEltran, Jose Reyes and Jason Bay I think we can still make some noise. Of course that is if RA Dickey can have another awesome year, Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese don't self-destruct and Chris Young/Capuano recover from arm injuries...