Tyler Hansbrough must really want a national championship

Tyler Hansbrough has announced he'll be staying for his senior year at North Carolina.

The AP national player of the year, who averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, has decided to stick around and pick up his degree. That, and take one more shot at the national championship.

The siren song of the NBA draft has already lured the likes of OJ Mayo, Michael Beasley, and DJ Augustin. Hansbrough's teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will also declare for the draft but do not plan to hire agents, so a return to North Carolina is still possible.

The sky is the limit for Mayo and Beasley, who fared well in their season-long auditions for the NBA. But Hansbrough, tremendous heart and toughness notwithstanding, is still 6'9" post man that will never dominate at the next level.

That's why this decision makes sense. Why jump prematurely into a journeyman career? Hansbrough will put up more solid numbers next season, maybe get that coveted championship if Lawson and Ellington change their minds, and still be a mid-first round draft pick in 2009. And if an NBA career really doesn't pan out, Hansbrough will have a college degree in his back pocket.

Kudos to Hansbrough for putting the money on hold while he pursues things that matter more.

Shaun Alexander cut by Seahawks as the "Madden Curse" continues

It really shouldn't surprise us anymore when something bad happens to a former Madden cover man.

We all know the sad endings of Garrison Hearst and Michael Vick, and Daunte Culpepper hasn't exactly panned out as expected, either. Several others have had injuries in the season after they lent their image to the world's hottest sports video game franchise.

But this really shouldn't surprise anyone: the Seahawks have severed ties with Shaun Alexander. Two seasons removed from his MVP year -- 28 touchdowns 1,880 yards and a trip to the Super Bowl -- and a $60 million dollar contract, Alexander is a man without a team.

Seahawks release former MVP Alexander (ESPN.com)
Madden Curse (Wikipedia)

Steinbrenner to world: Joba Chamberlain belongs in the rotation!

If there was ever any doubt, let's put it to rest now: Hank Steinbrenner is a chip off the old block.

Steinbrenner made headlines again yesterday, announcing that it was time for Joba Chamberlain to enter the starting rotation.

"I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now," Steinbrenner told the New York Times. "There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a set-up guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."

There are two problems with the statement. First, Steinbrenner is wrong. The Yankees have an assigned Chamberlain an innings limit, and if they plugged him into the rotation now, they would have to shut him down come September. No one, except maybe the Red Sox, wants that.

But even if he was right -- blind squirrels have been known to stumble upon the odd acorn -- Steinbrenner isn't in charge of personnel decisions. His job is to help supply the cash, steer the team in a general direction, and keep his nose out of Brian Cashman's and Joe Girardi's business.

Cashman, for his part, held his ground and diffused the potentially tense situation.

"Joba's staying in the bullpen right now," Cashman told Newsday. "That's where we're at. [Putting him in the rotation is] not something that's going to happen here early on, and [Hank] knows that. We've talked about it. I don't know what set him off."

Well said, Cashman. You can tell the man has dealt with Steinbrenners before. Girardi, though, has to be scratching his head right about now. What was so bad about the Orioles' job again?

Hank wants Joba to start (Newsday)
Chamberlain will start, later than sooner (NY Times)

MLB Power Rankings - 4/20

I'm participating on a power rankings panel over at Odds and Sods, but I figured I would cross-post my rankings in their entirety here. In case you're wondering, #6-25 didn't disappear. I just don't have that kind of time.

TOP 5

1. BOSTON – Perhaps the burial and subsequent unearthing of the Red Sox t-shirt in the new Yankee Stadium is having some sort of positive effect. More likely, though, the big Red Sox Machine is clicking on all cylinders and Boston looks like the team to beat.

2. ARIZONA – Remember when the Diamondbacks won the West despite scoring fewer runs than their opponents last season? Thus far, Arizona leads the Majors in runs scored by 14, and its team ERA of 2.80 is tops as well. The Brandon Webb-Dan Haren combo has been as expected, and the return of a healthy Randy Johnson makes Arizona a very dangerous team.

3. CHICAGO (NL) – The Cubs are the best team in the Central, hands-down. Derrek Lee is en fuego (.356, 7 HR), and Kosuke Fukudome (.317, 13 runs, 3 SB) has been a great addition to the lineup.

4. NEW YORK (NL) – The loss of Pedro Martinez was a blow, but the Mets didn’t exactly have his services available last season and shouldn’t have needed him to reach the postseason. Santana hasn’t been breathtaking, but he hasn’t been disappointing either. And when this offense starts to heat up, watch out.

5. CHICAGO (AL) – With Cleveland and Detroit off to abysmal starts, the White Sox have quietly assumed control of the AL Central. A rotation without Jon Garland is thinner, but third baseman Joe Crede (.305, 5 HR, 18 RBI) has been a huge part of a surprisingly productive offense.


BOTTOM 5

26. DETROIT - The Tigers may rank near the top of the game in talent and experience, but so far those intangibles haven't translated into victories. We'll see if Curtis Granderson's return is the boost they need.

27. SAN FRANCISCO – It should tell you something that the Giants’ 8-11 start is considered a pleasant surprise by this longtime fan. Every day ahead of the Dodgers in the standings is a good day.

28. PITTSBURGH – Despite terrific starts from no-namers Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit, the Pirates are battling it out with the Astros for last place in baseball’s worst division. Something tells me this race will go down to the wire.

29. HOUSTON – The Astros have the offense to compete, but the pitching staff is suspect at best. And with longtime ace Roy Oswalt on pace for a 6-plus ERA and 25 losses, things could go down the tubes fast.

30. WASHINGTON – The walk-off home run to usher in the new stadium seems like a very long time ago. A nine-game losing streak is part of a current stretch in witch the Nationals have lost 14 of 16.