Eric Wright apparently returned to practice today, and there is a good possibility he will play on Sunday.

Naturally, now is a good time to see if Devone Bess or Brian Hartline are available on your league's waiver wire.

There are a few more PD tidbits in that article, including the news that Joe Haden is the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November.  Always nice to see a 1st Round pick not busting.

NFL Power Rankings abound on the Internets, but the one I pay attention to (for no particular reason) is on CNNSI.com.  They had the Browns actually fall despite the almost-loss to Carolina... which is probably just.

Click Me

God is on our side.  Last night He did what the Cavs defense will unlikely be able to do come tipoff; make the Heat nervous.  The crew of the Heat's plane reported a "flap issue" during their approach into Hopkins airport last night.  It turned out to be a minor issue and the plane, thankfully (that is our official stance here at TCF), landed around 2:30 AM without incident.  The plane was met on the tarmack by 2 fire trucks.

Obviously, nobody would wish anything bad to actually happen, but now that we know everyone is OK, I can smile at the thought that there may be a bit of an ominous feeling cast over the Heat organization this morning.  I think it's the perfect way for them to start off their trip to Cleveland.  If I had known, I might have been inclined to head on over to the hotel and use my old ghetto blaster to pump some spooky sounds through the duct work.  Then maybe pull the fire alarm around 4:45 AM.

Really get them nice and jittery for the game.

Breaking news from Yahoo Sports on the eve of The Return.

According to their anonymous league sources,  Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Midwestern law firm to investigate suspicions that the Heat broke NBA tampering rules while pursuing The Whore of Akron.  

According to Yahoo’s sources, Gilbert will spare no expense to uncover whatever evidence he can to take to the league office and that law firm staff includes several former prosecutors with backgrounds in investigating and constructing cases.  Also, the report states that the firm is probing an alleged meeting between James and Heat president Pat Riley in November 2009 and a meeting between James’ inner circle and Wade in Chicago last June.

Seems like Dan The Fan is hellbent on forcing the NBA to deal with this issue as the league steamrolls towards a possible lockout next season.

Good for Gilbert.  And here's hoping the entire report is written in Comic Sans. 

Mike Salk of 710 AM out of Seattle is reporting that the Mariners are likely non-tendering 2B/3B Jose Lopez before Thursday's deadline.

The Indians, expected to look for "bargain bin" type acquisitions this offseason, might be interested according to new Indians.com beat writer Jordan Bastian. 

Lopez has decent power (52 HR over the last three seasons) but almost never walks (73 over the last three seasons) and had just a .609 OPS in 2010. More importantly for the Indians, he had a .960% FPCT at 3B in 2010 and a UZR of 8.1. Without going in depth, an 8.1 value for UZR means he is very above average in terms of 3B.

Jayson Nix, the anticipated Opening Day 3B, by comparison, had an .895% FPCT at 3B and a -5.9 UZR.

Apparently Derek Anderson Is really really sorry for making an ass out of himself after the game on monday.  We've all seen the video and the ridiculous way that he tried to pretend he wasn't actually yucking it up with Deuce Lutui, who has just shot into the top 10 "players who have cool names" list.

In his apology, Derek insists that his "mom and dad didn't raise him to act like that in times of adversity.", all available evidence to the contrary.  Anderson acted very similarly upon his release from the Browns, he just had time to make an ass out of himself in an email rather than screaming it directly into a camera.  The truth of the matter is, Derek Anderson seems to have as much control over himself off the football field as he has on it, and that's his main problem.

Tim Hightower tried to come to his QB's rescue:

Running back Tim Hightower said he felt for his quarterback over the last two days.

"People don't realize exactly how much pressure he has on his shoulders," Hightower said. "For people to point the finger at him and say he's the problem, it's easy to point out the problem when you haven't walked a mile in that guy's shoes. You have no clue the preparation that he does on a day in day out basis.

I'll tell you what Tim, send me a pair of DA's shoes.  I'll walk a mile and tell you what I think.  You're probably not going to like what I have to say.

The Browns made a minor signing today, adding safety Sabby Piscitelli.  Based solely on the fact that one of the best pictures I could find of him was this image of him getting owned by a fierce Deion Branch stiff arm, I'm not sure how much impact Sabby is going to make here.  I bet he can make a mean veal parmigania though.

Ironically, the Bucs waived him to pick up Larry Asante, who the Browns drafted out of Nebraska before releasing him in training camp.

Piscitelli played his college ball at Oregon State and was a second round pick of Tampa in the 2007 Draft after running a 4.44 forty at the combine.  He broke his foot his rookie season, but logged 20 starts over the next two seasons for Tampa.  He lost his starting job to former Brown Sean Jones this fall after leading the NFL in missed tackles last year.

For what it's worth, Bucs defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake feels he will do well elsewhere.

Desperate to add arms to their bullpen, the Pirates have signed former Tribesman Andy Marte (and how many people thought those 4 words would never be strung together in that order), based on the success of his one inning of relief work against the Yankees last years.

What...the announcement calls Marte “an infielder”?

I forgot that he played a position way back when. My only memory of his tenure here was on the mound that fateful night, whiffing Nick Swisher en route to a scoreless inning.

Ironically enough, Pittsburgh's AAA team is the Indians...the Indianapolis Indians, but still.

In case you were wondering, the Over/Under on Marte HR in 2011 is 25.

I just haven't decided if that number's coming as a Pirate or as an (Indianapolis) Indian. Given the (Cleveland) Indians' recent run of luck (or lack thereof), I would say as a Pirate. That is, until you consider Pittsburgh's run of luck (again, or lack thereof), then the answer is obviously as an (Indianapolis) Indian.  Surely, it will not be the Indians' uniform that we once thought he would be swatting 25 HR a year in.

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge tipped off on Monday night, and through two nights of competition, the Big Ten holds an early 4-2 advantage.

The ACC got off to a good start on Monday when Virginia traveled to Minnesota and upset the 13th ranked Golden Gophers. But on Tuesday night, the Big Ten dominated, going 4-1 in the five matchups. Ohio State beat Florida State by 14 (despite the fact that the Seminoles are coached by a man who looks like pure rage in a suit), the Fighting Illini held off North Carolina at home, Northwestern throttled Georgia Tech and Michigan notched a surprising victory on the road against Clemson. If it weren't for a deep three at the buzzer during the Iowa - Wake Forest game, the Big Ten could have swept the night.

With the good guys leading the challenge 4-2, the Big Ten only needs two more victories to secure the conference victory. Five games will be played tonight:

• Purdue @ Virginia Tech
• Indiana @ Boston College
• North Carolina State @ Wisconsin
• Maryland @ Penn State
• Michigan State @ Duke

Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin look like the best opportunities for the Big Ten to collect W's. Obviously Michigan State could go into Cameron and knock off the top ranked Blue Devils, but it's going to take their very best game to do so. 

The 2010 All-MAC team is out, and Kent State defensive tackle Roosevelt Nix has been named MAC Defensive Player of the Year as well as Freshman of the Year.

Nice double.