Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will announce his retirement this Thursday from baseball in Fort Meyers Florida.

In 1997, Varitek was a young catcher (selected in the first round by the Mariners) playing for Mariners AAA affiliate Tacoma Rainiers.  At the MLB Trade Deadline, Mariners GM Woody Woodward dealt Varitek and a young Derek Lowe to the Boston Red Sox for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb who had a 5.79 ERA at the time.

The Seattle Mariners were in first place and were desperate for relief pitching. They also dealt former first round pick (third overall) Jose Cruz to the Toronto Blue Jays for relievers Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric on the same day. This deal makes the Varitek trade even more curious.

Jason Varitek, 39, played 15 seasons with the Red Sox. He ranks first all time for a Boston Red Sox catcher in games (1,546), hits (1,307), runs (664), HR (193) & RBI (757).  Varitek was named captain in 2004 and has caught a record 4 no-hitters. Varitek also has 2 World Series rings and was an all-star 3 times. He has also won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger.

A magician's greatest asset is the gift of illusion, a distraction that takes an audience's attention away from the mechanics of a trick. Onlookers are so focused on a given aspect, they don't see a critical factor that makes the end result so eye-opening, so unbelievable.

The Portland Trail Blazers are banking on that.

They're hoping one aspect flies under the radar not only because of its efficiency, but also because it could decide their postseason fate.

Portland is banking on Nicolas Batum.

His resume doesn't grab the attention of the average NBA fan, yet the Trail Blazers' front office contends that Batum remains a top priority for retention.

The suits at One Center Court failed to lock up Batum as late as January, making the next window to resign the fourth-year swingman after July 1.

For two periods, the Kamloops Blazers showed why they are tied with the Winterhawks for second in the conference.  The defense held firm, and backup goaltender Cam Lanigan turned away almost everything the Hawks could throw at him.  In fifteen seconds, the Hawks showed why they are alone in second in the conference after Tuesday night.

The first period saw only a small amount of action, with Brad Ross of the Hawks and JC Lipon of the Blazers getting under each other’s skin, as they have all season long.  Ross wound up in the box first, called for interference.  Oliver Gabriel kicked off the scoring for the Hawks, scoring off the feed from Taylor Leier less than two minutes into the second period to bestow a 1-0 advantage.  But with Derrick Pouliot in the box for interference, Tim Bozon beat Mac Carruth to even the score.  The Winterhawks only managed a four shot advantage, 25-21, through the first two periods.  The Blazers forced turnovers, and continued to pester the wingers.

It’s an exhibition game; it’s a glorified pick-up game.

-          Tim Legler

Last weekend’s NBA All-Star Game was a display of some of the greatest athletic talent ever gathered in one zip code. Then the players took the floor and ruined the whole thing.

So what? How did the game matter? Did it mean anything? Was it an actual competition with anything on the line? Losers pay for the Cristal and the lap dances? Or was it just another opportunity for the NBA and its marketing and broadcast partners to sell some seriously overpriced advertising airtime?

I understand the appeal of gathering the best of the best and seeing how they fare against one another.  Well, I would if that was what had actually happened in Orlando.

This week on PHATDUX TV, we recap an exciting basketball contest between Oregon and Oregon State.

For those of you not keeping track of the Seahawks free agent situation, the team has two linebackers with UFA status. It has been well-documented that the team is looking to resign at least one of them. It has also been well documented that free agent MLB David Hawthorne is coveted by the team to return in some capacity. However, many analysts believe that Hill would be the better bargain-buy and that may give him the edge in the decision the Hawks have to come to terms with.

On Monday February 27^th, 2012 it was announced that Leroy Hill was arrested in Atlanta for marijuana possession. This could not have come at a worse time for Hill. This is Hill’s 3^rd run-in with the law since being drafted out of Clemson in the 3^rd round in 2005. He had a similar possession charge in January 2009, and also had a domestic violence charge in April 2010. Hill missed the entirety of the 2010 season due to legal and health issues.

After storming out to a 7-3 record to start their season, the Portland Trail Blazers now find themselves clinging to an 18-16 record heading in to the second half of the season.

With questions looming about their overall talent and ability to not only make the postseason, let alone survive the first round once there; we asked five of our writers to discuss the five most important topics surrounding the Trail Blazers as they approach the March 15th trade deadline:

1) Who should the Trail Blazers ship out before the March 15 trade deadline?

Casey Mabbott: It’s time to pull the plug on the Raymond Felton experiment. For whatever reason, after posting decent numbers for two different teams last season, Felton has regressed to the career low numbers he posted his first two years in Charlotte, and is showing minimal signs of an ability to run the Blazers system. Without a long term deal in place, trading Felton now would make ensure the team gets a return of any kind on such a poor investment.

Today on The Slant, host Brad Stein is joined in the studio by Team Quest MMA head coach Scott McQuary to discuss steroid use, Chael Sonnen, and Randy Couture. Other topics include Ryan Braun, the Los Angeles Lakers, the NFL combine, and more. Listen to the podcast by clicking the "Play" button on the right side of the site. Or download the podcast by right-clicking the link below and choosing "Save Target As" from the drop-down menu.

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Getting into the playoffs as the number one overall seed means more than bragging rights and the Scotty Munro Trophy.  With the talent level of the Winterhawks, the Tri-City Americans, and the Kamloops Blazers so close, home ice could definitely decide which teams will be playing for the WHL crown, and which teams will be watching from home.  Tri-City stands in first place after Sunday with their 5-1 win versus Seattle, while Portland fell in Everett 2-1 in overtime.

Even though Portland outshot the Silvertips 11-4 in the first period, and even with the benefit of two power play chances, the Hawks were unable to score against goaltender Kent Simpson.  Cam Reid would breakthrough two minutes into the second off a pass from Brad Ross.  The Hawks defense held firm, it looked like Mac Carruth would finish the game off.  But Everett’s Joshua Wincrest scored with just over a minute left to play to tie the game.  The dagger would be dealt one minute into overtime, when Everett center Ryan Harrison beat Carruth.

It’s a beautiful, perfect, Saturday morning in early June. It will be warming up to downright hot later today, but right now it’s a perfect temperature to play ball.

Lawn mowers drone in the distance as homeowners attempt to finish their Saturday chores before the heat gets cooking. A small crowd of tailgaters had been cooking earlier in the parking lot. They were now ensconced in the parent section of the bleachers, but the faint aroma of their earlier culinary delights still mixed in with the smell of green grass.

The pitcher comes set, your focus narrows down to the ball. The ball and the opposing teams 3^rd baseman who is trying to disrupt you by dancing around and making faces. Pitcher winds and delivers. The seams are clearly visible as his fastball comes straight at the plate. You shift your feet, swing, drive and crack!

The date? June, 1998. 10-year-old Dustin Ackley runs out his line drive homer, passing the 3^rd baseman who had earlier been tormenting him, he just smiled.

The University of Portland baseball team was scheduled to play a 3-game series at home against Creighton University, but the weather came into play and forced the series to go 2 games and relocate to Longview Community College. “They had the most playable field available,” assistant coach Tucker Brack commented.  The Pilots got the 5-2 win, raising their record to 5-0 before their major contest Tuesday night in Eugene vs. Oregon at P.K Park in Eugene.

Freshman left hander Travis Radke, out of Thousand Oaks, California (Oaks Christian H.S), went 5 innings for the Pilots and gave up no runs. Vancouver native freshman infielder Caleb Whalen hit a solo home run in the 2^nd inning to give the Pilots early momentum. Still in the 2^nd, senior shortstop Kris Kauppila  added a 2-run shot to make it 3-0 to completely swing the momentum.

It is, by far, the best All-Star game.  There’s no question.

First off, it’s a whole weekend.  And yeah, most of the weekend is ehh, but compared to the other ASGs, it’s not completely un-watchable.

Alright, not starting off too strong, but hear me out.

Even the worst parts of the weekend can be enjoyed:

The three point contest is semi-cool.  It’s a world wonder to see how many threes one can drain in a row.  I mean, the three point line is 23ish feet away from a springy hoop that’s 18 inches wide.  Although it may not be exciting, it’s impressive.