Baldelli plans to keep playing

Rocco Baldelli is back. The Tampa Bay Rays outfielder who spent the first part of the season as an instructor with the club hit a two-run shot against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday in his first game this season as a player after rehabbing an injured shoulder and dealing with a cell disorder that "leaves him exhausted and limits his time in the outfield," according to the New York Times.

Now the 28-year-old wants back in for longer. "I like playing; I don’t know what else I would do," Baldelli told the Times. "I have some ideas. What I did earlier this year was definitely pretty nice, but there’s nothing better than playing. Coming out here every day, it’s something that I’ve done the last ten years of my life and it’s not something I’m going to let go of easily."

If he can help the Rays get far into the postseason will certainly help Baldelli’s marketability in the offseason.

Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill.

Iowa’s Koeppel to appear on ‘Today’ show

If you’ve seen the video of Josh Koeppel’s motorcycle crash, you can agree the Iowa senior center is one very lucky man.

Koeppel miraculously walked away from the accident last Monday and avoided serious injury after being struck by a pickup truck on his way to class. He sat out Saturday’s opener against Eastern Illinois but is listed as the No. 2 center on the depth chart for the Iowa State game.

Simply amazing.

Koeppel’s story has attracted national attention, and he’ll appear Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show to talk about it. His interview with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira is scheduled to air between 7:30-8 a.m. ET.

It’ll be interesting to see what Koeppel has to say about his good fortune and getting back on the football field.

No Matt Leinart for Bengals

Well, that was quick.

Reports surfaced this past weekend that the Cincinnati Bengals were one of several teams interested in quarterback Matt Leinart. But it turns out the Houston Texans were the first to jump on the former first-round draft pick, signing Leinart to a one-year deal.

This leaves the Bengals with Jordan Palmer and Dan LeFevour as their two backup options behind Carson Palmer. It’s not a strong group, which means it’s vital that Cincinnati keeps its starting quarterback healthy this season.

Report: Eagles trade Stacy Andrews

We knew the Philadelphia Eagles had been trying to move right guard Stacy Andrews, and now it looks like we have a destination. Andrews has been traded to the Seattle Seahawks, according to ESPN.com’s John Clayton. It also looks like the Inquirer’s Jeff McLane has the story.

Andrews never nailed down the right guard spot and the Eagles had reportedly been shopping him as an option at right tackle. Hopefully we’ll have the compensation soon. It looks like Jonathan Wells and Nick Cole will compete for the starting job at right guard.

We’ll keep you posted. I’ll have some analysis on both the Giants’ and Eagles’ cuts in a bit.

Catching up on some reported moves

We’re planning posts on each NFC North team’s cuts once they are official. Announcements could come at any point Saturday afternoon or evening, but for now let’s round up some of the bigger names who are already reported to be on the way off their respective rosters.

• The Chicago Bears are planning to waive a good chunk of their 2009 draft, including defensive end Jarron Gilbert and receiver Juaquin Iglesias. They will also waive former starting left guard Josh Beekman. (Sources: ESPNChicago.com and Chicago Tribune.)
• The Detroit Lions will waive offensive lineman Jon Jansen, the loser of the right tackle competition with Gosder Cherilus. Other cuts include linebacker Vinny Ciurciu, who spent most of the summer as the No. 1 middle linebacker, and safety Ko Simpson. (Sources: Mlive.com and Detroit News.)
• The Green Bay Packers reached an injury settlement with offensive lineman Allen Barbre and also released safety/kick return Will Blackmon. They might also trade tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner. (Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)
• The Minnesota Vikings will waive two cornerbacks, DeAndre Wright and Marcus Sherels. That leaves them with three healthy cornerbacks on their roster, an indication they will make a trade or waiver claim at the position this weekend. (Source: Star Tribune and ESPN1500.com.)

Saints begin cleaning house

Bradley Handwerger writes that WWL Television has reported that Bobby McCray has said he’s been released by the New Orleans Saints.

Although McCray was a starter for much of last season and in the Super Bowl, this move isn’t a huge surprise. He already was released once earlier in the offseason, but came back at a much lower rate of pay this summer.

Although his reputation was as a pass-rusher, McCray had only 1.5 sacks last season. New Orleans has Will Smith set as one starter and Alex Brown appears ticketed for the other spot. Brown and Jimmy Wilkerson were signed as free agents and both are able to play the run as well as rush the passer.

The Saints haven’t announced any other roster moves yet. But McCray’s release could be a sign that Jeff Charleston and undrafted rookie Junior Gaulette may stay on the roster.

Also, there are reports that the Saints have released veteran running back Ladell Betts. He was battling Chris Ivory to be the third back behind Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas. The release of Betts could be a sign that the knee injury Ivory suffered Thursday night might not be serious.

Eagles-Jets: What did we learn?

Let’s take a quick look at what folks are saying about the Eagles’ performance:

• Jonathan Tamari of the Inquirer thinks that seventh-round pick Kurt Coleman made a strong case for sticking around with his two fumble recoveries — and touchdowns.

• Michael Vick is curious what his role will be in the Eagles’ offense, writes the Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.

• Paul Domowitch of the Daily News also has a note about Vick.

• Here’s a transcript of what Andy Reid said following the game. He was thrilled for Coleman.

• The NFL Players Association is taking a closer look at a recent trade by the Eagles. The union wants to know if the Eagles made a trade in order to avoid putting money into the rookie salary pool.

Hawks want Horford extension

Al Horford averaged 14.2 points per game last season for the Atlanta Hawks (along with 9.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 2.3 assists). According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the team would like to have the 6-10 forward/center continue putting up those kinds of numbers for the team for a few more years.

"Indications are that the Hawks plan to make an aggressive push to sign … Horford to an extension but that process hasn’t started," the paper reports.

Horford for one hasn’t heard anything about it. "I think anything will start coming once training camp gets going," he told the paper. "I am just kind of leaving to that to the owners and my representation and just seeing what happens. I am going to keep working hard and keep doing what I’ve been doing."

Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill.

Carlos Delgado done for good?

Carlos Delgado has collected 473 home runs in the big leagues and 1,512 RBIs since he entered the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.

Now the 38-year-old is with the Triple-A team for the Boston Red Sox and his career may be over, according to the Boston Herald. His agent tells the paper that Delgado has a small muscle tear in his left hip.

Delgado went out to Colorado the other day to see the doc who worked on his hip in two previous surgeries.

He signed a minor-league deal with the Sox on August 7 and his agent tells the paper that his client "felt fine when he signed."

But his agent also suggests that it isn’t clear what’s going to happen next for Delgado, telling the paper, "All of a sudden, he felt pain there. Everything at this point is up in the air. He’s going to need some time to think about the next step."

Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill.

How Bodden’s loss makes Pats susceptible

The loss of New England Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden won’t cut their defense in half. Those kind of statements are reserved for superstars like Darrelle Revis.

But Bodden’s season-ending injury shouldn’t be underestimated, “Monday Night Football” analyst Jon Gruden said on a conference call Wednesday.

“I think it hurts them,” Gruden said in a story on BostonHerald.com. “That was the one corner they had that was an NFL-experienced corner. … Losing a guy like Leigh Bodden, who they thought a lot of and paid a lot of money to retain, I think it really hurts the Patriots.”

Gruden then explained how, noting the Patriots’ lack of depth. The projected starters would be second-year pro Darius Butler and rookie Devin McCourty, giving the Patriots the NFL’s least experienced cornerback duo. The rest of the depth chart consists of Jonathan Wilhite, Terrence Wheatley and Kyle Arrington.

“Teams are going to put three and four receivers out on the field to try to get your third and fourth corner,” Gruden said. “And God forbid [the Patriots] have another injury at that position.

“So not only have they lost an outstanding player and arguably their best corner, they’ve lost depth.”

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