ESPN.com - NFL - Steelers sack-master Porter to have knee surgery

Sports Headlines
Joey Porter to have knee surgery
Arhtroscopic knee surgery tomorrow will keep J Peezy out of off season conditioning programs until traning camp begins on July 28 in the Rolling Rockless Laytrobe.
Rumor is surgeons will be attempting to remove pieces of Jeremy Stephens from Porters left knee.

NBA Draft Lottery
Italian Andrea Bargnani in running for no.1 overall
The Raptors won the draft lottery earlier this evening but the field for the No. 1 overall pick contains four players all with a solid shot. An ESPN.com poll shows Adam Morrisson as the peoples choice to be no.1. Barganani played last season with Benetton Treviso. Also in the mix is the athletic freak Tyrus Thomas that came out of nowhere to spring up the charts during LSU's Final Four run this past season.
LaMarcus Aldridge was widely thought of being the no.1 pick going into his season but that has changed during his less than stellar sophomore campaign. Adam Morrison's Gonzaga career ended a year earlier than expected and probably a game earlier than expected after a last minute choke found his NCAA career come to a screeching halt.
Past No. 1 Overall picks
2005 Andrew Bogut
2004 Dwight Howard
2003 LeBron James
2002 Yao Ming
2001 Kwame Brown

The four way race to be no.1 pick would be a moot point had it not of been for the new NBA rule requiring high school kids to attend one year of college before entering the draft. Clearly Greg Oden, now headed to Ohio State, would have been the consensus no.1 pick. Joakim Noah would also be in this discussion but he went back to Florida after winning the National Title this past season.

Andy Katz:
"Bargnani isn't known here, so there may be an adjustment period, although Duffy said he could be more of a global catch "and a Yao Ming-type because Italy has never had a player of this magnitude and they love basketball."

Chad Ford has Bargnani ranked as his no. 3 NBA draft prospect behind no.1 Thomas and Aldridge.
Bargnani is a 7 foot power forward weighing 225 pounds and one of the younger players in the draft at 20 years old. Already drawing comparisions to Dirk Nowitzki.

NBAdraft.net
No. 4 Andrea Bargnani
No. 31 Mike Gansey
No. 33 Kevin Pittsnogle

2007 Mock Draft
No. 20 Marco Belinelli (Italy)

Rolling Rock Strike
Join on the strike that was started with 15 Laytrobe union members refusing to drink Budweiser products after its purchase of the Laytrobe based beer.

Pirates Q&A
So far, it seems just about everything Tracy preached on a daily basis through spring training has failed to come about. More walks? No, last in the league. Throw more strikes? No. Moving runners along? Not at all, as has been highlighted in these past couple of games. Steals? Good ratio -- 21 of 26 -- but not much of a total. Winning one-run games? Well, you know how that one has turned out. It remains to be seen how much of this is on the coaches and how much on the players, I agree. For the moment, though, it looks bad for both.

Steve_Z: Geez Dejan, Tracy's killing us with Jose H. and Jeremy B.? What's he thinking about?
Dejan Kovacevic: On the first count, Tracy clearly feels a loyalty to a player who did quite well for him on a 2004 Dodgers team that he holds in -- how to put this? -- the very, very, very highest regard. Just as clearly, that player is no longer the same, and one wonders how much longer this can last. As for Burnitz: Don't overthink it. Management signs someone to a guaranteed $6.7 million, and he is going to play. Even Burnitz has acknowledged this much.

Bob_M: How much longer does Dave Littlefield get before he is held accountable for the on-field product? Before this year, one could make the argument that DL didn't bring in his own man to manage the team, but now that argument has been put to rest. When is the GM finally held accountable for all of the losing?
Dejan Kovacevic: Well, considering he was just signed to an extension on opening day that gives him three full years including this one, the day of reckoning hardly seems at hand.

What "saved" the Penguins' season, I think, was their decision to turn the team over to Sidney Crosby and the youngsters. The Pirates could benefit from this approach.

World Cup Coverage
Breaking news from our World Cup correspondent Carlo Prati...
C2thaLo2002: hahahaha usa just lost to morocco...lol

World Cup Odds of the Day
Group A
Germany 1/3
Poland 7/2
Ecuador 8/1
Costa Rica 18/1

The hosts will have no problem advancing and Poland should make a clean sweep of Ecuador and Costa Rica. The only chance for the Ecuadorians is having another native referee in their group, ala World Cup 2002.

Squadro Azzurri
Rome (AP)-
Italy brings a long streak of bad luck and two new strikers to the World Cup. Italy has been eliminated three times on account of penatly kicks since their last title in 1982.
Is it a curse?
An Ecuadorian official Byron Moreno did his best to ensure Italy was eliminated by South Korean after the second round, it happened in overtime.
The heartbreak and Scandanavian Scandal in the Euro Cup was worse. In 2000 Italy was seconds away from a win before Wiltord from France tied it in the 90th minute and Trezeguet finished the game off with a goldn goal. In 2004 Italy was eliminated from the group phased without losing a match, thanks in part to sweden and denmark conspirating.

World Cups
Brazil 5
Italy 3
Germany 3

Lippi's plan is more offensive than that of Giovanni Trapattoni, whom he replaced after Euro 2004. The Italians might need more firepower in Group E, which includes highly ranked opponents from the Czech Republic and the United States, plus newcomer Ghana.
Big, physical forwards Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni provide a new look for Italy's attack.
Trapattoni caused an uproar when he didn't bring Gilardino to Euro 2004 and Lippi was quick to integrate the player into his team.
"Playing my first World Cup at the age of 23 is unbelievable," said Gilardino, who was born July 5, 1982 - the day Italy beat Brazil en route to its last title. "I want to make a name for myself on the international level."
At 29, the 6-foot-4 Toni is a late bloomer who was playing in Serie B with Palermo two seasons ago. He was the leading scorer in Serie A this season with Fiorentina.

With Paolo Maldini having retired from the national team after the last World Cup, the new captain is Fabio Cannavaro, who anchors the defense with Alessandro Nesta in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. But Buffon might be distracted after being involved in an illegal betting probe that has scandalized Italian soccer.
The midfield is solid with Mauro Camoranesi, Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo.
The Azzurri open against Ghana on June 12, play the fifth-ranked United States five days later and then play the No. 2 Czech Republic on June 22.
Moreover, Italy is traditionally a slow starter, and if it doesn't win its group, it likely will face Brazil in the second round.
"What's important is that we are convinced of our strength and feel inferior to nobody," Lippi said.

-n