Tuesday links...

You have to scroll down to the "Around the Horn" section of the article for this, but Ken Rosenthal was told that the Braves offered Kotchman for LaRoche to the Pirates before agreeing to the same deal with the Red Sox...

Came across this the other day - did anyone realize that George Halas played for the Yankees?

Still a lot of unsigned 1st round picks from the MLB Draft with the deadline being this Sunday. No surprise for some, especially Aaron Crow who was a top 10 pick before playing independent ball. He does not have the same deadline as others and can negotiate until just before the 2010 draft. One interesting development from this week is that #3 pick Donovan Tate from Cartersville HS is in Chapel Hill and may not sign...

It may sound weird that Aaron Maybin's publicist is blaming his holdout from Buffalo's training camp on Michael Crabtree. That is, until you find out that his publicist is Lavar Arrington...

Tough news for ACC fans hoping this was the year they finally produced a nationally significant team. Leading returning rusher Darren Evans has torn his ACL and is out for the year...

Georgia Tech's transition from the 2004 Final Four may have been a lot smoother if Austin Jackson had made it to campus. However, the high bonus paid to Jackson by the Yankees may finally pay off for them as Jackson is closing in on the big leagues...

The Red Sox can only hope their investment in Parkview High's Brandon Jacobs works out just as well. He just received a bonus that was $600,000 over the recommendation from MLB...

Good read on the next Georgia high school pitcher to go high in the MLB Draft...

Here is a pretty good prediction on what the 2009-2010 EPL final table will look like. I agree with this blogger that Manchester City will struggle even with their trio of stud strikers due to their inability to bring in top tier talent for their back line...

Good to see Stephen Nicholas stepping up his game at Falcons camp...

Mark Reynolds has been on fire lately for Arizona, hitting 8 homers in his last 10 games. He is now hitting .290/36/80 and is one of the most feared power hitters in the NL. He is also on pace to shatter his own major league record for strikeouts in a season. After setting the record with 204 last year, Reynolds is on pace for a whopping 216 in 2009...

Finally, if you anyone ever doubted the Francoeur for Church trade, take a look at this stat. With 2 walks tonight, Church now has 13 in 20 games with the Braves. Francoeur walked 12 times in 2009 in 82 games with the Braves...