CC seems to generally want to be on this team for the long haul, so why the paranoia? The Tribe are in a tough spot when it comes to the 2007 Cy Young Award winner. They love his makeup as a pitcher and as a person, but the funds just might not be there.Shapiro and Company would like nothing else but to offer Sabathia a contractcomparable to his market worth, somewhere around the Peavy/Zambrano range (five years, $90 million). The problem is, Sabathia will get pressure from the MLB Players Association to shop his wares to all of the other 29 clubs in order to gauge his maximum worth.If this occurs, the Indians will not enter into a bidding war, since Cleveland’s market size just can’t justify an outrageous contract. It would restrict all future roster opportunities (free agents, trades) the Tribe would be able to make, virtually eliminating any payroll flexibility down the road.Cleveland is, unfortunately, a mid-market team, so GM Mark Shapiro is forced to reinvent his ballclub every few years.The minor-league system seems to be ripe with pitching talent, as the names of Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, Adam Miller and David Huff bring the potential of prosperity to the big-league club.Whether they maintain a track record of excellence is up for debate.

As a suffering Tribe fan who has yet to see a World Series Champion, give me a Cy Young award winner anchoring my starting staff for the next five years any day of the week.. By Parvathy Ullatil and James Pomfret HONG KONG, April 23 (Reuters) – David Webb says he hasreceived plenty of congratulations since a court in Hong Kongblocked Richard Li’s buyout bid for PCCW (0008.HK), in a moveaimed at protecting minority shareholders in the strickentelecoms group. [ID:nHKG148241] “I got a lot of congratulatory e-mails from the generalpublic,” said Webb, a British-born investment banker turnedactivist investor who has lived in Hong Kong for 17 years. “Noone said ‘damn you’; maybe some hedge funds are thinking that.” Webb earned his place as hero in this David vs Goliath taleafter he first alerted the local securities watchdog toallegations of vote-rigging in the deal back in January.

“Whenever we think of investor protection, we think of DavidWebb,” said Christine Loh, who runs the independent thinktankCivic Exchange and who was a colleague of Webb’s on the board ofthe city’s stock exchange. “We’ve always said he’s like a singlewhite knight.” Wednesday’s verdict on PCCW may have come as sweetvindication for Webb, who might have become less effective as avoice of shareholder activism after giving up his stock exchangepost last year. In a scathing resignation letter, Webb pulled up Hong KongExchanges & Clearing (0388.HK) for its ineffectiveness inregulating listed companies. Far from quietening down, Webb took on Abraham Shek, a locallegislator, earlier this year in a debate over a proposedtrading ban on company directors ahead of corporate earningsannouncements. He exposed details of Shek’s links to 15 companies where hewas a paid director after the lawmaker accused a seniorregulator of being on Webb’s payroll.

Webb says he divides his time between his pro-bono work,detailed through colourful narratives on his webb-site , andhis investment portfolio which consists of “undervalued but wellgoverned” companies. “The conflict of interest allegation is often levelledagainst me, especially when I make my Christmas stock pick,”said Webb, whose annual Christmas selection of a “well-managed,mid-cap stock” often affects its shares. “What I say is, if the professional analysts in town wereforced to invest their bonuses in the stocks they recommend, wemight actually see the quality of recommendations improving.” LONG TUSSLE Webb and PCCW’s Li, son of Hong Kong’s richest man LiKa-shing, also go back a long way. In 1999 Webb exposed an investigator with Kroll Associates,an investigative firm, who was posing as a reporter from Seattleprobing a large property development project in Hong Kong. The project, Cyberport, had been awarded to Richard Li’sPacific Century Group and Webb had railed against thecircumstances under which it had been handed to the company. An articulate stickler for financial detail, Webb has longbeen a thorn in the side of Hong Kong Inc and regularly stirs upshareholder meetings held by Hong Kong’s blue-chip companies,where he often succeeds in wresting greater transparency anddisclosure from flustered executives.

One journalist recalls seeing a company official shudder atthe sight of Webb walking into an annual meeting. “He asks toomany questions,” she remembers the spokeswoman saying. Functioning as a one-man watchdog, Webb has won plaudits andenemies and has evoked mixed feelings in the local media, but heremains committed to speaking out for private investors in acity whose tycoons wield significant influence and power. “There are individuals we know in the market who’ve beenquite critical of how things are, but they haven’t made it theircareer to fight from a civic corner like David,” Loh added (Editing by David Holmes). While reading through many different articles, blogs, and emails, all I keep hearing is that Boise State is in a rebuilding year.  The Broncos have a small offensive line, no returning quarterback, and are losing talent in the defensive backfield. Returning the majority of their starters on defense, the Broncos shouldn’t have much problem getting back on track.  Yeah, they are losing Marty Tadman and Orlando Scandrick, but Kyle Wilson will do fine along with some help from new blood. I thought the defense had a great spring.  The scrimmages seemed to have the defense right on cue.  With David Shields sitting out his senior season due to injury, sophomore Daryl Acrey should be able to step in and create some confusion. Returning two explosive ends, Mike T.