Link-O-Rama: The Mets' final destination - MLB

* Things have gotten so bad for the Mets on the injury front
that Jose Reyes and trainer Ray Ramirez were rear-ended by a firetruck
yesterday while driving to the hospital for a check-up on the
shortstop’s strained calf. Seriously. No one was hurt, but the Mets’ season is starting to resemble the plot of those Final Destination movies.

* During a radio interview
this morning, Ryne Sandberg said that fellow Cubs great Sammy Sosa
shouldn’t join him in the Hall of Fame. Coincidentally, today is also the 25th anniversary of “The Sandberg Game.”

* Joe Mauer is on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, which means that doofuses can focus on the silly “cover jinx” when his batting average inevitably falls below .400.

* Speaking of the Twins, general manager Bill Smith doesn’t seem to care that the bullpen has been an obvious weakness since the middle of last season.

* Alex Speier of WEEI.com wrote a lengthy and interesting behind-the-scenes look at the Red Sox’s draft.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.