Big-name deals have much going against them  —  The Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox, who spent two months working on a trade involving Rockies' high-salaried first baseman Todd Helton that went nowhere, became the latest to learn the ugly truth: Trade talks involving players with huge contracts …

Nationals lock up Kearns  —  Another young cornerstone of the Washington Nationals future is under contract to play in the District for at least the next three years.  —  Yesterday, the Nationals signed right fielder Austin Kearns to three-year, $16.5 million deal with a team option for the 2010 season …

Curt answers given  —  Schill and Me.  Like Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.  Like Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump.  —  Cheap shots have flown back and forth.  Immaturity has ruled.  So many insults.  So little time.  —  And now that the Big Lug is back in the news again …

Committee's stance should surprise no one  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — We just hope Ron Santo and Tony Oliva didn't carve a lot of time out of their day Wednesday for their long-awaited Hall of Fame election celebrations.  —  Because they had no shot.  —  And it's clear now they'll never have any shot.

Phils, Myers agree to $25.75M, three-year deal  —  PHILADELPHIA — Right-hander Brett Myers agreed to a $25.75 million, three-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, avoiding arbitration.  —  A former first-round pick, Myers has won at least 11 games each of the past four seasons.

Morneau, Punto, Ford agree with Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — AL MVP Justin Morneau agreed Friday to a $4.5 million, one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins, who also settled their salary arbitration cases with third baseman Nick Punto and outfielder Lew Ford.

Column comes out of left field—literally  —  MIAMI — If the Bears win the Super Bowl on Sunday, Bears coach Lovie Smith will be so popular that another prominent Chicagoan should worry about keeping his job.  —  "You know who should be worried?  Barack Obama should be worried," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen joked on Thursday.

Dark Days Follow Hard-Hitting Career in N.F.L.  —  Ted Johnson helped the New England Patriots win three of the past five Super Bowls before retiring in 2005.  Now, he says, he forgets people's names, misses appointments and, because of an addiction to amphetamines, can become so terrified …

Caribbean Series ready to go  —  Puerto Rico hosts tournament, won last year by Venezuela  —  It's the series before the Series, and the first large gathering of Major League players on a playing field before the start of Spring Training and one of the most anticipated events of the winter.

Yankees' Hughes Looks Like the Real Deal  —  It's already that time of year when people start talking about the top prospects in the game.  To what extent this is the result of the vagaries of publishing schedules and the fantasy baseball calendar is left to the reader to determine …

Feud Over: Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb Hug It Out In Miami  —  Why are we posting at 3 a.m., when nobody's on the internet?  Because we wanted to break the news before anyone else - former enemies Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens buried the hatchet Thursday at Shaq's out-of-control bash on Ocean Drive in Miami.

Pirates sign Armas, spur competition  —  GM says Chacon, Youman, McLeary also in mix for rotation  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Go figure ...  Four of the Pirates' five starting pitchers, all too young for arbitration, will make something close to Major League Baseball's minimum wage of $380,000 this season.

Best Seasons By Yankees Shortstops  —  Continuing with the WasWatching.com Yankees "ten best seasons" (ever) series, today we look at shortstops.  Here is what I believe are the top ten seasons for Yankees shortstops, with stats via the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia:  —  Click on the list below for a larger view ~

The Class of '08  —  Each offseason, every major league team decides who to target in free agency and how aggressively it should build its club for the following season.  One of the oft-forgotten parts of that process is considering the strength of the following year's free-agent pool.

AL East in Far East  —  Yankees, Red Sox take their rivalry to Japan  —  TOKYO (AP) — The New York Yankees hope to introduce a whole new set of fans to their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox.  —  And with Daisuke Matsuzaka now pitching for the Red Sox, playing against Hideki Matsui and Kei Igawa …

Astros take a look at veteran pair of local relievers  —  Righthander Ben Weber and lefthander Kelly Wunsch, a pair of local major league relievers who are trying to rejuvenate their careers, worked out before Astros brass this afternoon at Minute Maid Park.