08:13 AM ET 01.27 | The offseason in Pittsburgh just became a little more intersting. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, miffed that Bruce Arians will not return as offensive coordinator, plans to meet with team president Art Rooney II about the matter after playing in the Pro Bowl on Sunday. "When I get back, I'm going to go up to Mr. Rooney's office and ask him what he wants from me, what he wants from this offense, because I think that's a viable question for him," Roethlisberger told the Tribune-Review on Thursday following an AFC practice at Hickam Air Force Base. "He's our owner and our boss, so I really would like to know kind of what he wants and where he sees our offense going because I'd like to tell him where I see us going."

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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08:26 AM ET 01.27 | The Mets are on the verge of setting a dubious record. The largest one-year payroll slashing in Major League Baseball history might not belong to the then-Florida Marlins, whose offseason fire sale six years ago landed Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca with the New York Mets and gutted the team's payroll from $60 million to $15 million. The distinction, it turns out, soon may belong to the 2012 Mets. After general manager Sandy Alderson revealed the organization lost $70 million last year, the Mets appear poised to have the biggest one-year payroll drop in MLB history -- roughly $52 million. That would surpass the former record: $48.4 million by the Texas Rangers from 2003 to 2004, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

ESPNNewYork.com

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08:14 AM ET 01.27 | Kevin Love earned a payday by definition, though perhaps not in spirit. [The] first day of the rest of his career was notable as much for what it seemed to lack than all that it brought. It lacked joy. Love had just received the rich payday for which he has worked his entire life, and his expressions and words suggested he begrudgingly accepted Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor's money. ... To be sure, it's obscene in this economy to suggest $61 million is demeaning. But professional sports has absolutely nothing to do with the real world, and those who know Love well insist the Wolves' stance angered him, although not enough to keep him from accepting [the] offer.

Star Tribune

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08:42 AM ET 01.27 | Tim Thomas's views off the ice may find him in hot water. Could [Thomas'] political protest end up costing him his spot on the Bruins? Even before Thomas' ill-advised stunt, the possibility existed that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli might face a difficult and profoundly important decision this summer on the netminder, who turns 38 this April and has just one year remaining on his contract. Thomas' decision to snub the White House and then release an anti-big government manifesto was an embarrassment for the team and no doubt angered the front office and ownership greatly. ... [While] Thomas has a no-trade provision for the first three years of the deal, that clause expires July 1.

Boston Herald

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08:32 AM ET 01.27 | While there are famous cases of coaches changing their minds, Chip Kelly said he shouldn't be part of the discussion. [Kelly said Thursday] on local radio station KUJZ that he did not agree to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before ultimately deciding to remain at Oregon this week. Sources told The Register-Guard on Sunday night that Kelly had in fact done so before changing his mind. Reports out of Tampa Bay suggested the same. "The only decision I ever made was to not accept the job," Kelly said in his first interview since Sunday's drama. "I never changed my mind; I never committed to the job and then flip-flopped." ... "It was nothing more than, I'd like to hear what they had to say," Kelly said.

The Register-Guard

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02:40 PM ET 01.09 | "I've said this over and over before and I'm saying this again,I want Floyd Mayweather Jr. to be my next opponent and I haven't changed my choice despite recent developments." Thus WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao declared by way of reacting to reports in media partly blaming him should the projected mega-fight not materialize. "I am meeting with my promoter, Bob Arum on Tuesday and I will insist that the fight with Mayweather be given the preference than the four others in the list I will fight next," Pacquiao told this writer in Tagalog in a long distance telephone conversation yesterday from General Santos City.

PhilBoxing.com

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10:47 AM ET 01.21 | Anthony Kim gets it. He knows his record as well as anyone - he has posted only one win and nine top-10 finishes during the last three years - and he knows he hasn't exactly lived like a monk. "I'm not going to deny that I have a good time," Kim admitted after a second consecutive 2-under 70 on the Palmer Course at PGA West put him way back in the pack halfway through the Humana Challenge. But he also knows it won't take much for the critics to quickly reverse course. "I know a lot of people have written me off," he said. "It's nothing that a few wins won't take care of."

Yahoo! Sports

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09:15 AM ET 01.14 | Has NASCAR turned the corner? Is a thrilling finish to the 2011 season combined with higher TV ratings and better attendance at many tracks enough to put NASCAR back on a steady path of growth? No one is more excited about the potential of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season than NASCAR's top executives, but there also is no one more cautious. "It's a moving target, whether it's the economy or different elements that affect the way that you do things or causes you to do things," NASCAR President Mike Helton said Friday at Daytona International Speedway. "I think what we're beginning to see is the return of the level of energy around attendance at the race tracks, viewership, (things) that contribute to the interest level of sponsors and other partners to be involved in a sport. "There is always a lot of work to maintain."

Charlotte Observer

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11:32 AM ET 01.27 | The MLS Soccer website posed a simple question we posed around MLS circles: If you were picking teams for a pick-up game, who are you taking: Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey? Former U.S. national team defender Jimmy Conrad chose Dempsey, citing "would give the edge to Clint, if only because of his ability and willingness to play physical."

MLS

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