FanHouse

Manny Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but he'll enter the ring as an underdog when he moves up from lightweight to welterweight to fight Oscar De La Hoya on December 6.

Bodog has posted the odds on the fight, which was first reported today:

Who will win the fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao?
Oscar De La Hoya -400
Manny Pacquiao +300

How many rounds will the fight last?
Over 9 ½ Even
Under 9 ½ -135

Those odds show a clear expectation that Pacquiao will struggle to move up from 135 pounds to 147 pounds, and that De La Hoya, fighting at closer to his natural weight, should be able to finish his smaller opponent.

I'm not so sure. I think Pacquiao might just have the punching power to knock out the biggest opponent he's ever fought. I can't wait to find out.

Shot the day before Team USA left for China, this latest must-see video from Chris Bosh is a quick, candid and entertaining look at what it's like to sit down for some Wendy's with Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and LeBron James. Honestly, when was the last time you rolled into a San Francisco gas station and stumbled upon five of the best hoopsters on the planet? Such scenarios just do not happen all that often.

LeBron James: "Man, you get a burger, get you some gas, and get you some coffee then stay on the road for another five hours in this joint."

Chris Paul: "... and some Slim Jims ..."

Deron Williams: "I'm from Dallas ... I eat Rudy's ..."

I don't get all of it, but ... classic.

Tennis star James Blake describes himself as "getting old" and being "a veteran on the tour," but as proven by his recent victory over Roger Federer in the Olympics, he's still got plenty of game left. So how does he feel about this year's U.S. Open? Who does he think is better, Federer or Nadal? And what are his thoughts on all the partying that went down in the Olympic Village? FanHouse talked to the native New Yorker about all this and more between matches at this year's Open. (For more from Blake, check out American Express' special Open coverage.)

Randy Kim: "So what are your expectations for this year's U.S. Open?"
James Blake: "Well, I just come in and try to prepare the best I can and be ready for anything, because I never try to set expectations in terms of getting to a certain round because I feel like sometimes that's out of my control. If a guy comes out and plays the best match of his life, you know, there's not much you can do. So I try to do my best and be ready for anything that comes my way."

Kim: "How are you feeling personally, though? Are you at the top of your game? Healthy, everything?"
Blake: "Yeah, I feel confident. I'm trying to take some positives out of the Olympics and the fact that I beat Roger Federer for the first time and won a few other pretty close matches, so I'm excited about that and I've definitely had some success this summer, so I'm definitely looking forward to this U.S. Open. Every time I get to the Open, it's a whole new shot of adrenaline for me, and the excitement of having my home fans here is just great."

Remember two weeks ago when the deadline for signing draft picks came and went without a lot of drama from Scott Boras? How it seemed like he caved to the Pirates' and Royals' offers for the second and third picks, Pedro Alvarez and Eric Hosmer? When it comes to Alvarez, at least, things are never that simple with Boras. What seemed to be resolved on August 15th with the Pirates and Alvarez slowly devolved when Alvarez never showed up in Pittsburgh to take a physical and sign his contract. Today, things apparently hit the fan.

The ball got rolling when the MLB Players' Association filed a grievance with the Commissioner's Office (more details being constantly updated here), charging that Alvarez signed his contract after midnight on the 15th. The Pirates responded by refuting that charge and placing Alvarez on the restricted list, saying that Boras had since tried to renegotiate the contract and his client has refused to officially sign the deal that was agreed on in principle the night of the 15th.

What does all this mean? Where does this go? It's a good bet that this is rooted in Boras's dislike of the August 15th signing deadline, even though there's not much being said right now beyond run-of-the-mill finger pointing. As it stands, Boras feels the Pirates signed Alvarez to an illegal contract and the player's union is on his side. The Pirates feel that Boras is posturing for more money and the MLB higher-ups are on their side. A hearing is scheduled for September 10th, but I imagine both sides will have a lot to say before then.

Usain Bolt set a new world record of 9.69 seconds in the 100-meter dash in Beijing. But he started celebrating his victory after about 80 meters, and had slowed considerably before he crossed the finish line.

So how much time did Bolt cost himself? His coach, Glen Mills, estimates that it was at least .17 seconds, which means Bolt could have run an other-worldly time of 9.52.

"If he had continued, the slowest he would have run would have been 9.52," Mills told reporters ahead of Friday's Weltklasse athletics meeting in Zurich, where Bolt is due to run the 100.

"This is his first year of running the 100 meters," Mills said. "In two more years he should be peaking at this distance and by then I am certain he will be down to there."

The very idea of a 9.52-second 100-meter dash is hard for me to wrap my head around -- I remember when people thought no one would ever match the steroid-fueled 9.79 that Ben Johnson ran in 1988 -- but I think Mills is right. And at age 21, Bolt will have many more opportunities to shave time off that record. I just hope he doesn't celebrate until the race is run.

The Braves, buried deep inside a depressing NL East vault of mediocrity, today traded starting centerfielder Mark Kotsay to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder and prospect! Luis Sumoza. At least so sayeth my Braves.com email alert, not that no one saw this coming (quote from DOB at the AJC FYI).

The teams finalized the trade Wednesday morning after spending much of Tuesday negotiating details of the deal, which sent the 32-year-old center fielder to Boston in time to be eligible for their postseason roster.

"It'll be a fun experience for the next 30 days, that's for sure," Kotsay said as he prepared to board a flight for Boston on this afternoon. "Just one of those deals, we'll get through it."

Despite the Braves' disappointing season, Kotsay said this of his eight months with the organization: "Great experience, man."

Yay! That was almost as optimistic as the Braves' email which made little or no mention of Kotsay and pimped the hell out of Sumoza's stats. Now, interestingly, Atlanta traded Joey Devine last year for Kotsay, making this a Devine for Sumoza trade.

The man pictured to the right is Will McDonough, and apparently he's Tom Brady's right-hand man. McDonough's is a fascinating and interesting, if not completely curious, story about a young man who started off as an intern with the New England Patriots back in 1997, and eventually worked his way to the top of the Tom Brady enterprise. All while maintaining a cloak and dagger lifestyle, and staying completely out of the public spotlight.

Luke O'Brien at Boston Magazine chronicles the story of McDonough and his meteoric rise to the top, and how he's handled much of Brady's personal affairs, from helping the star quarterback assemble a team of financial advisors and modeling agents, to allegedly introducing him to his current squeeze, Gisele Bundchen.

Although his duties are shrouded in secrecy, McDonough is a de facto manager; he brokers deals and acts as a gatekeeper. Brady seems to trust him implicitly. McDonough has had a major hand in the quarterback's metamorphosis-and along the way has become an important man in his own right. One weekend, the Boston College grad might be hobnobbing with hedge fund managers. The next, he could be jetting to a celebrity-studded party. Always, he remains deeply connected to Brady as both a business associate and a best friend. Their relationship raises eyebrows, not least because of its clandestine nature. On the Patriots' payroll until this past February, McDonough has now left the team to handle Brady's affairs on his own. He has no official title. His business card simply lists his name, phone, and e-mail. It's all so East Berlin.

While other hockey writers are grasping at straws trying to manufacture storylines, the New York Post's Larry Brooks, whose Slap Shots column is on hiatus until the middle of September, keeps pushing out newsworthy copy. The latest -- a report saying that ex-NHLPA head Ted Saskin is prepared to testify against his former employer and on behalf of the league when it comes to an important detail inside the CBA regarding European-based players:

The issue at hand concerns the status of drafted European players who do not sign before June 2 of the second calendar year following their selections. Article 8.6 of the CBA states that clubs lose their rights to such players if they are not signed on or by that date.

[...]

The NHL, however, is claiming that the absence of transfer agreements with European hockey federations renders that portion of the CBA obsolete. It is the league's position that those unsigned players revert to what was known as "defected status" under the CBA that expired on Sept. 15, 2004, and thus remain the property of their drafting clubs forever.

So what's the angle for Brooks? Of immediate concern to his hometown Rangers is the status of 2007 first round pick Alexei Cherapanov, currently playing with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. That would mean that Cherapanov, among others, would be eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal if he remains unsigned. The arbitration hearing where Saskin will appear is scheduled for tomorrow.

But here's where it gets a little hairier. Cherepanov, who announced last month that he'd be playing in Russia this upcoming season instead of in North America, is represented by The Puck Agency (they're blogging these days too) the same folks who represent erstwhile Nashville Predators winger Alexander Radulov. If this interview uncovered by Beyond the Blueshirts is any indication, Cherepanov is all to aware of the potential mine field he has to negotiate these days.

Unlike our friend Mats, who apparently has issues with this "decision-making" thing, Joe Sakic has figured out what he wants to do.

The future Hall of Famer announced Wednesday that he intends to play again in 2008-2009. He signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, setting him up to begin his 20th season in the NHL.

"Ultimately, it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," said Sakic, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996 and 2001. "I'm comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I'm ready for the start of [training] camp."

When healthy last year, Sakic was still effective, averaging around a point per game in the regular season and exactly one point per game in ten playoff games. However, he wasn't the impact player we're used to seeing.

He's still a great leader and a super representative for the Colorado organization, but if the Avalanche are leaning on him to lead them to a Stanley Cup, they're crazy.

Not only that, but Sakic's return doesn't even begin to make up for the loss of Jeff Finger.

Right?

And the hits just keep on coming.

Less than two months after losing Baron Davis in free agency to the Los Angeles Clippers and anointing Monta Ellis as their point guard of the future (a risky proposition in and of itself), the Golden State Warriors have now lost Ellis to an ankle and shoudler injury for 3-4 months, keeping him out until near the beginning of the year at least.

ESPN reports that Ellis was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn deltoid ligament, and also has sustained a severe ankle sprain that will require his leg to be immobilized for six weeks. That would be when training camp starts, for those keeping score. The injury occured when Ellis was working out at home in Jackson, Mississippi.

So just to review, the Dubs lost their star player to free agency, signed Corey Maggette who's not really considered elite by anyone's standards, almost lost Kelenna Azubuike to an offer from the Clippers before matching, traded for the Nets' Marcus Williams, and then started to hear Stephen Jackson grumbling about his contract. Now they are face to face with the reality that their $66 million dollar investment is down and out for the first two months of the regular season at least. So if you know a diehard Warriors fan, you might want to give them a call, send them a candygram, possibly talk them off the ledge. The sky may not be falling, but it sure looks closer than it did three months ago.