Cody Ross Heading for the Desert

Well, boys and girls, it appears Cody Ross is heading west.  He'll join the Arizona Diamondbacks next season through 2015, a deal worth $26 million dollars.

Ross joins a crowded outfield with Justin Upton, Jason Kubel and Gerrardo Parra already established, but with a 22 home run season last year, the D-backs have to hope his power can replace Chris Young, who was traded to the Athletics in October.

A .267 average, those 22 home runs and 81 RBI is hardly a down year for Ross, with the latter two stats being close to career-highs.  The Red Sox were reportedly interesting in re-signing him, but when they signed Shane Victorino after already acquiring Jonny Gomes, hopes were dashed.  Three years may have been a little steep for Ross to be asking for, but hey, he still has great value, he's a great clubhouse guy and he still does the bat flip.  Those kinds of guys just don't grow on trees, you know?

Winthrop Head Coach Pat Kelsey Shows Impressive Passion For Change After Newtown Tragedy

Winthrop men's basketball is by no means a powerhouse in the nation, and on Wednesday, head coach Pat Kelsey led his team in a losing battle with no. 4 Ohio State.  Just five days after the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. that shocked the country, Kelsey managed to steal the spotlight from the Buckeyes for a few minutes after the game.

Kelsey, recognizing the stage he was on after playing OSU, ended his post-game press conference with a passionate speech regarding what happened that one Friday morning.  His words were moving, and it was apparent how heavy this incident had been weighing on him.  The first year coach at Winthrop reflected on all the issues swirling around, and spoke his mind like a true leader.

"I'm going to be an agent of change with the 13 young men I get to coach every day and the two little girls that I get to raise," he said.  "But hopefully things start changing, because it's really, really disappointing.

"I'm proud to grow up American.  I'm proud to say I'm part of the greatest country ever.  And that's got to stay that way. And it'll stay that way if we change. But we've got to change."

I think its awesome that someone like Kelsey got up there and said what he did.  It speaks to how much this tragedy truly affected us as a country, and it echoes President Barack Obama's word: "we can't tolerate this anymore.  These tragedies must end."

There are some who will say it is not a basketball coach's place to speak about politics or social issues.  Why they would even bother, I'm not sure.  These coaches are American citizens just like everyone else, they have every right to speak their minds.  And its not like anyone was slandering the President or saying anything was done wrong, they were just reiterating the sentiment we had heard over the past week. 

I am a huge fan of Kelsey after this, and I will absolutely be rooting for Winthrop for the rest of the season.  I have already listened to this speech 3 times.  This is one of college basketball's most genuine and determined coaches, hopefully his kids can respond with a big win to put them on the map.

Stevie Johnson's Random Act of Kindness

So the Bills won't make the playoffs, no big deal.  That's not going to stop wide receiver Stevie Johnson from being awesome.

While standing in line at Walmart, a couple filed in behind Johnson with a big-screen TV.  Being an awesome guy, Stevie informed the couple that he was going to purchase the TV for them, spreading a little bit of Christmas cheer.

Johnson is already involved in Vizio's "Touchdowns for TVs" promotion, which gives one lucky fan the chance to win a Vizio 60-inch TV whenever Johnson scores a touchdown.  In late November, Johnson personally delivered a TV to a fan who was one of the winners.  A TV is also donated to the Boys and Girls Club when no. 13 crosses the plane.

"I think it's very important that you do give back when you're in a position we're in as NFL players. I mean you have enough to give back so why not and make some peoples lives," said Johnson.

ESPN To Suspend Commentator For Questioning if RGIII is Black or Not On Air

ESPN's Rob Parker, a commentator appearing on "First Take," has been suspended for the next 30 days after he took Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III's race into question.  Sad that this sort of thing still happens, nevermind on live television.  But at least its better than Stephen A. Smith going on a rant and calling LeBron James the n-word.

Parker, who is also black, questioned the "blackness" of Griffin, stating that he has a white fiance and is rumored to be Republican.  Since when did either of those things have anything to do with the color of anyone's skin?  Pathetic, really.  Parker issued an apology saying, "I completely understand how the issue of race in sports is a sensitive one and needs to be handled with great care."

But then again, someone who understands that wouldn't be dumb enough to then go say things like Parker did...

Video Battle: X-Men Vs TNT

Video battle time and this edition comes courtesy of the certifiable masters of distraction at Buzzfeed.  Both are amazingly awesome in a ton of ways but which one rules harder?  Does the painstaking nostalgia of a flawlessly executed stop motion recreation of the 1990's X-Men TV show theme song trump the real-life movie a few lucky passers-by got to experience thanks to TNT? I can't make up my mind so I put it to you, the readers, to name the distraction video of the week.

Reminder: Since the world's ending tomorrow, sign up for the celebration at Game On! for free and close things with a bang. I hear St. Peter gives out extra brownie points to those who stared down Ragnarok within pissing distance of an iconic international landmark. A special thanks goes out to all our readers who keep up with the Strike, thanks for taking us from a few posts to 25,000 views. I hope none of you die tomorrow, for real. All those other jerks are on their own.

Jets Fan Tweets Death Threats Towards Mark Sanchez, Doesn't See It as a Big Deal

Look, the Jets suck.  That's pretty obvious by now unless you're living under a rock.

But as terrible as they are, and as much as everyone hates seeing Rex Ryan's face, or as much as everyone loves seeing the "buttfumble" clip, reacting the way one 25-year-old Jets fan did, is never okay.

Given the recent tragedy in Connecticut, people are more alert and more sensitive to a situation where someone hints at acting out through violence, such as when Bravee Grandcu sending death threats to quarterback Mark Sanchez via Twitter on Monday evening after the Jets lost to the Titans, 14-10.

"KILL YO SELF TONIGHT! OR IMMA DO IT FOR YOU WEDNESDAY AT PRACTICE"

"DON’T COME TO PRACTICE WEDNESDAY I PROMISE YOU BULLETS EVERYWHERE"

Then followed a picture of Grandcu sporting a Jets hat with the accompanying message: "TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT YOUR KILLER!!"

It takes a real rare kind of stupid to do this, or maybe it just takes a Jets fan.  Grandcu's rant was fueled by his $700 in lost bets after Sanchez gave up a fourth turnover in the game.  Grandcu was questioned about the tweets and told authorities that he has never owned a gun and never planned on being violent.

"I don't know why everyone's making such a big deal about the death threats," he said. "I guess it's just because he's Mark Sanchez and he's famous."

Something like that, yeah.

New A's Shortstop Thinks Billy Beane is Sexy and Cool

Seven-time Nippon Professional Baseball League all-star Hiroyuki Nakajima was just signed by the Oakland A's from Japan for two years and $6.5 million.  Why did he come to Oakland, though?

Well, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, its because Nakajima thinks Oakland GM Billy Beane is "extremely sexy and cool."

These are the sorts of things you can't make up, sports fans.  As to how Nakajima said it -- as a joke, maybe through an interpreter -- we're unsure at the time.  But maybe that's why the A's let Stephen Drew walk after the half-season he spent there... he must not have had the same feelings for Beane.  But someone in Boston's front office must've had the hots for Drew to give him almost $10 million, for cryin' out loud.  Nakajima is one year older than Drew, has never faced these pitchers in the US, and gets signed for not one, but two years and $3 million less altogether. I digress...

Anyway, at the press conference, Beane made sure to make his shortstop feel right at home, telling Nakajima that the sexy and cool feeling was a mutual one.  As to how it will help the defending AL West Champions, no one knows, but team chemistry can go a long way.