As a host city, Vancouver far from golden

TODAY’S LINEUP

A look at the top sports stories in today’s edition of The Herald:

1. Gold is the color of choice in B.C.

Lindsey Vonn was one of three U.S. Olympians to win a gold medal Wednesday. The downhill skier overcame a shin injury and was joined by teammate Julia Mancuso on the medal stand. It was also a golden day for halfpiper Shaun White and speedskater Shani Davis but not so much for Vancouver as a host city.

2. Because a two-man rotation won’t work … will it?

As the M’s get closer to spring training, manager Don Wakamatsu is trying to fill a few spots open for competition. Among them is the pitching rotation, where Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee need help in the three, four and five spots. There are plenty of options, and we’re just thankful none of them rhymes with Barlos Milva or Biguel Matista.

3. On this U.S. team, No. 2 is OK for now

A win on Wednesday night has put the red-hot Silvertips in second place in the WHL’s U.S. Division. We’re thinking the Tips are in a pretty good position … as long as they don’t have Team Canada on their schedule.

4. His back is a long, long, long way from the Wall

UW freshman Abdul Gaddy was supposed to be make a big splash on the college basketball scene, and yet he’s still struggling as the season winds down. While Kentucky’s John Wall is on pace to be the national player of the year, good friend Gaddy is on pace to be the most-publicized eighth scoring option on any Pac-10 roster.

THE WARMUP PITCH

Calling together a few of his closest mute friends

Tiger Woods is finally ready to break his silence, except Friday’s scheduled press conference isn’t so much a conference as it is a lecture. Woods will meet with selected media members and won’t take questions. We’re assuming he’s already fielding plenty of those at home.

His back was beginning to tire from all that heavy lifting

LeBron James was the big winner on the eve of the NBA trading deadline, as his Cavs added scorer Antawn Jamison to the mix. Several other rumored deals could be on the horizon, none of which involve an NBA team getting traded to Seattle.

It’s starting to feel like a congressional hearing down there

Mark McGwire made another steroid apology this week, then asked the public to “move on.” If we’re ready to “move on” in regards to McGwire, Tiger and the lot, the people at TMZ, the New York Post and National Enquirer would be out of a job. Oh, wait: so would The Closer.

CURVE BALLS

The wild and wacky news from the world of sports …

Oh yeah? Well, Closer celebrated his by running out of Doritos

Former NFL cornerback Darrell Green celebrated his 50th birthday earlier this week by running a 4.3-second 40-yard dash. Upon hearing this, Al Davis immediately offered Green a nine-year deal.

She would’ve asked Peyton Manning why his head was so oblong

Oprah Winfrey is one of the busiest women in America. So busy, in fact, that she never saw Drew Brees’s face before the famous quarterback came on her show. With a Super Bowl ring, the love of a city and charities galore, Brees had plenty of things to talk about, but Oprah felt it necessary to ask him why he had a blotch on his face. Fortunately, Brees didn’t ask her what was on his mind: “Why all the swelling around your midsection, Ms. Winfrey?”

THE RUNDOWN

Today is the NBA trade deadline, and a few big names have already started changing places. Here are five trades that we still hope might go down:

5. Jamal Crawford to the Nets: The pride of Rainier Beach High School has never been to the postseason, yet he’s on pace to make it this year with the Hawks. We liked it better when he was the lovable loser.

4. Nate Robinson to the Blazers: We’d love to have this kid a little closer to home, especially if he gets teamed up with B-Roy again. The only time we see him, he’s winning a dunk contest and reminding us how exciting he can be to watch.

3. Allen Iverson to the Thunder: Because whenever he gets traded to a new team, it sinks like a stone.

2. The Closer to the Cavs: Gary Payton and Karl Malone got to ride others’ coattails to an NBA ring, so why not me? I know my role: pick for LeBron … unless Dwight Howard happens to be the one coming my direction.

1. Jon Brockman to the Sonics: Hey, as long as we’re dreaming …

Contact The Closer at inthebullpen@heraldnet.com.