Odds and Sods

Cristiano Ronaldo fueled the rumor mill be refusing to rule out a transfer to Real Madrid this summer.

Ronaldo, 23, scored an astounding 41 goals in 47 appearances for Manchester United this season.  A transfer, should it occur, would break the world record of £46m by Real Madrid for Zinedine Zidane.  Reports in April claimed that Madrid offered £100m for the Portuguese winger.

The question is where is Real Madrid getting the money?  On paper, they are the world’s richest club.  However, just last month they took out a £30m loan to cover operating costs.  One study estimates that Beckham’s departure cost them between £28.5m and £37m in annual revenue.  How can they afford this?

Recently axed City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson may not wait long to find work.

The former England manager rejected offers from both Benfica and Mexico because he has a “much bigger club” interested in his services, according to the Guardian.  If the sentiment has truth, such a club would have to be a Champions League club in one of the top three leagues.

I would like to know more about these shady “close associates” of Sven.  Does Sven have a posse he rolls with?  Did the Guaridan interview one of his mistresses?  Or, was the close associate merely Sven or his agent?

Colorado Rockies left-fielder Matt Holliday may be a coveted name come July.

Holliday, 28, has posted .973 and 1.012 OPS seasons the past two seasons.  He signed a two-year $23 million contract with Colorado in January, making him a free agent after the 2009 season.  He would likely command somewhere near Miguel Cabrera’s eight-year $152.3 million dollar deal, a figure the Rockies will not entertain.

Rosenthal lists the Indians, the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Tigers, the Blue Jays, the Mariners and the Mets as potential suitors.  He also believes that the A’s could trade for him during the stretch run and trade him in the winter.

Some suitors, however, may be scared off by his home/away splits.  At home Holliday has been a monster with a 1.016 OPS, but away from Coors field this dropped to just .809 OPS.  He has nearly twice as many home runs at home 59, as on the road 30.  His OBP drops from .430 to .343.  His slugging percentage drops from .676 to .466.  Doesn’t look to promising.

Rosenthal’s Latest:Rockies Could Trade Holliday (MLB Trade Rumors)

Here is my first, and hopefully not my last post for the Big Lead.

In an e-mail exchange with Deadspin, Bill Simmons lashed out at his bosses at ESPN, sort of.  Simmons maintained that he is still working for ESPN, but has reduced the rate of his writing for ESPN.com.

I still love writing my column and only re-signed last year because I really did believe that we had hashed out all the behind the scenes bullshit and come to some sort of agreement on creative lines, media criticism rules, the promotion of the column and everything else on ESPN.com. Within a few months, all of those things changed and certain promises were not kept. It’s as simple as that.

Simmons’ contract with ESPN runs through 2010.  Those of us who are fans can only hope differences do not reduce him to “Bill Simmons’ Expiring Contract.”