Wolverine

Tim Hardaway Jr., a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Miami (Fla.) has committed to the Michigan basketball team for the 2010 class, TheWolverine.com reported. Hardaway Jr. attended Michigan's Elite Camp last week. His father is|was an NBA guard, Tim Hardaway [of course]. Maybe he can have more luck with his son carrying on his legacy, unlike the Jordans who just quit basketball [because they were not as good as their dad]. I am sure [TJ] can better than Tim.

Like Father Like Son

Tennessee has received its first commitment for the Class of 2013. Evan Berry, brother of UT All-American safety Eric Berry, has committed to the Vols even before beginning his freshman season in high school. Evan Berry [13] told Rivals.com, which first reported the story. ,My dad went there and my brother is there now. I know I can do the same things there." Evan also wants to follow his older brother's footsteps into the defensive backfield. Evan, along with his twin brother Elliot, have been frequent visitors to Tennessee practices. James Berry, the boys' father and former UT standout, told Rivals.com that Evan and Elliot are both further along in their development than their older brother was at age 13.Maybe that's why Tennessee took the highly unusual step of offering a scholarship to a 13-year-old. If he is that good, it will not be his last offer.

Not This Year

Commissioner Roger Goodell is leaning towards suspending both WR Plaxico Burress and QB Michael Vick indefinitely. According to the report, it looks as if both will not be playing in 2009. Not surprised [well kinda am]. I was hoping both [especially Vick] get reinstated. Well keep working for next year guys.

So Flu?

For the second time this offseason, the Minnesota Vikings’ speedy rookie wide receiver has been stricken with an illness. This time, it happened at the NFL Rookie Symposium. Harvin was sent home because of flu-like symptoms after reporting to the event in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Sunday along with the other 255 rookie draft picks. However, Harvin may return as soon as Tuesday, if he feels better. Other than that, Harvin has drawn heavy praise from coaches and teammates for his explosiveness and versatility. He has been preparing for a potential Wildcat role for this season. Hope he does not get sick so easy during the season.

Overseas or NBA

A representative for Ricky Rubio's agency in Spain told The Post yesterday the 18-year-old flamboyant point-guard phenom is receiving offers this weekend to play for a club in Turkey and Real Madrid, which would decrease the likelihood of him playing in the NBA next season. Also Knicks team president Donnie Walsh spoke to Timberwolves general manager David Kahn yesterday. According to a source, Kahn's being patient and is not interested in talking trade yet and is "trying to keep him." If the Timberwolves traded Rubio to the Knicks, it could sway Rubio into playing in the NBA next season. The Knicks are the preference of Rubio's parents. But I highly doubts Kahn will trade Rubio despite Walsh's offers. His parents loved New York and thought it would be the best place because they have a European style coach in Mike D'Antoni.

When Will it End

Suns were double-crossed by Golden State coach Don Nelson. Phoenix thought it had agreed to a deal in which the Warriors would draft Stephen Curry and ship him to Phoenix as part of the package for Stoudemire. Stoudemire can opt out of his contract after the 2009-2010 season. If the Suns aren’t willing to give him a contract extension, they better to trade him now. His agent said the Suns are going to have to really make a commitment to him. Their decisions seemingly are still up in the air but they are going to have to be made at some point. You'll have to talk about either committing to him or trading him. I agree they have to trade or resign him. The commitment Stoudemire is seeking from the Suns is more than just being told he won't be traded. He wants a contract extension when he is eligible later this summer. Stoudemire commented this month to media in other cities about how well he would fit in with other teams if he was a 2010 free agent. That's what he better shoot for because looks like Steve Kerr is staying put.

Career-Ending....?

There is a worry now in Houston as Yao Ming could miss all of the season with a broken left foot that has become a problem as of late. The Rockets have privately told league peers it could be a full season before Yao might be able to return to basketball. Yao will definitely be missing most of next season, if not the entire 82 games. The thing that scares the Rockets the most is that he could be done with basketball. The injury maybe and could be career-threatening. So if was the Rockets I would be looking for an insurance player.General Manager Daryl Morey said last week Yao's uncertain status wouldn't affect any of his plans for trades or free-agent signings. I feel that would be a big mistake for them.

Another Piece?

Bucks decided not to offer free-agent power forward Charlie Villanueva [the guy that twitted halftime of a game] an offer to make him a restricted free agent. He now will be unrestricted. According to sources, Villanueva now will be one of the Cavs' free-agent targets when teams are allowed to speak with them Wednesday [July 1st]. Villanueva had his best season last year and has "spoke" of the idea of coming to the Cavs in recent weeks on his Twitter account. Last Thursday, he hinted all the Cavs needed after trading for Shaquille O'Neal was a [power forward]. The Cavs is also expected to consider other players including Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. If they get this they better win the NBA championship or better be there hands down and lose in 7 [to LA].

Deal Done

Eagles that second-round pick LeSean McCoy has signed a four-year deal. His signing leaves first-round pick Jeremy Maclin as the only draft choice without a contract as the opening of training camp comes late next month. McCoy is expected to battle Lorenzo Booker for the primary backup role behind Brian Westbrook

Pray for Nate

N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving was in a car crash early Sunday morning. Irving has a broken leg and collapsed lung and was taken to Wake Med. He was cited with careless and reckless driving, after a one-vehicle crash at 4:40 a.m. near the 314-mile marker on Interstate 40. The report indicates that being tired or sleepy may have contributed to the crash, which occurred in Johnston County. His vehicle struck two trees and came to rest in a ditch. Irving was returning to N.C. State's campus from his home in Wallace, N.C. Irving is expected to recover from his injuries quickly. Irving's status for the upcoming football season was not immediately clear.

Stay or Go

There are plenty of questions about whether Rubio will end up signing with and playing for Minnesota this season or return to his Spanish team. An interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca, the Rubio's dad said: "He might go now or he might remain (in Europe) one more year...or even two. It's all open, although the most likely scenario is that he stays in Europe more time. We have to talk with the folks in Minnesota...and see what happens, because, at this point, we can go to Minnesota or otherwise." The Wolves took Flynn, another point guard, with the pick after Rubio, raising speculation that one will be traded, even though the they [T-Wolves] believes they can play in the backcourt together.

Hedo is a Free man

A day after the Magic acquired Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets, Turkoglu's agent said Friday that he sent a notice to Orlando earlier this week that his client will opt out of his contract to become a free agent. Now that Vince Carter trade makes sense because odds are he won't be back if he's leaving for money. Hedo will likely command a multiyear deal worth around $10-million per year. Re-signing Turkoglu will now be considerably more difficult with them hampered by Carter's contract.

“Vince gives us a veteran, go-to scoring presence, especially at the end of games,” Smith said Thursday. “Our goal remains the same — to win a championship. Any time you can add an all-star to help you reach your goals, you have to do it.”

VC back to FL

The Orlando Magic have acquired All-Star guard Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets in a five-player trade.The Magic also received forward Ryan Anderson, and sent to the Nets guards Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston, and forward Tony Battie. This ships the 32-year-old North Carolina product back to his home state of Florida. Carter currently lives in Orlando. The only reason I can see they trade for VC was in case Hedo does not come back. I mean why would why trade a young and up and coming player for a 32 year old man? Or the reason could have been for money as the deal will apparently allow the Nets to clear almost $18 million of cap space for the 2010-11 season. What ever reason, I cannot wait to see how this trade works out for them.

Crawford to Hawks

The Hawks and Golden State are close to finalizing a trade that would bring Jamal Crawford to Atlanta and send Acie

Law and Speedy Claxton to the Warriors. The trade gives the Hakws a PG in backcourt since starting point guard Mike Bibby and backup guard Flip Murray are both unrestricted free agents. Crawford has been on the trading block for months after Warriors coach Don Nelson made it clear that the prolific scorer was not in the team's long term plans. Neither Claxton nor Law is the Warriors’ answer to their point guard solutions. They are still in the market for a PG, so this trade does not rule out them drafting a point guard. Although the deal can’t be completed until the 2009-10 season begins on July 1. Crawford gets to play point guard on a playoff team. Plus, his son lives in Atlanta with his mom.

Shaq finally a Cav

Well I was just about to post how rumors was circulating that this deal would be done tonight [while i was sleep] or tomorrow sometime, instead it was just a few ago. This better mean NBA Championship for 'Bron & Co. The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement in principle to acquire Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, a league source told Yahoo! Sports late Thursday night. Cleveland will send Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in Thursday's draft and cash to the Suns for O'Neal. I hope Shaq is as effect as he was with the Suns.He averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season.O'Neal had one year left on his contract with the Suns. The trade maybe finalized on Thursday. The Cavs and Suns have been talking about this swap for the last six months off and on and couldn't get it done ahead of February's trade deadline. Great trade for two reasons:it would give them the massive inside presence they have been lacking & if the Cavs don't win a championship [which they better] Shaq's contract will be up and the Cavs could get a big name free agents in 2010. Sounds like a win win situation to me.

Cleveland was also in talks to acquire Tyson Chandler before apparently reaching a deal with Phoenix.

Twitter Trash

Twitter trash talk going on between Bengals receiver Chad Johnson (@OGOchoCinco) and Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman (@shawnemerriman) this afternoon. First, it was Solomon Wilcots, then Mike Golic, and now, Merriman. Here's the vid Merriman respnded to Chad's twits during a workout session:

Here's Chad response

"Happy Camper"

Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers has signed the one-year contract tender that accompanied the franchise tag applied to him on Feb. 19, the team announced on Wednesday. Peppers will earn a guaranteed base salary of nearly $16.7 million for 2009.

Press Remix

Saw this vid and died laughing. LOL for the day.

Happy [Late]Birthday LT

Yesterday was LaDainian Tomlinson's birthday. The day he turned 30, he also learned that he’d been voted to ESPN.com’s All-Decade Team. His 11,760 rushing yards are 1,192 more than any other player this decade. LT’s 126 touchdowns this decade give him 26 more than any other player. LT is one of just three backs in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of their first eight seasons, and he’s scored at least 10 touchdowns in each of those seasons as well. Sounds like on of the best running backs ever to me.

DT Retired Jersey

The Kansas City Chiefs will retire the number of the late Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas during a ceremony Dec. 6. Thomas' family will also be presented his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring at halftime of the Chiefs' game against Denver at Arrowhead Stadium. Thomas wore No. 58 during his 11 seasons with the Chiefs. He died in February 2000 of injuries from a car accident. He'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.

Also the Rams will be retiring Deacon Jones #75 jersey during a 2009 home game. Deacon Jones was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and is arguably the best NFL defensive end of all time.

Staying Home

On Tuesday, Phil Jackson joined ESPN Radio Los Angeles and he talked about only coaching the home games. This was considered because of his health and he wants to finish out his contract if the doctors ok it. I do not know how effective this will be for the Lakers but this was just an idea that was thrown up in the air. Will be interesting on what actually goes down. This is what he had to say on the radio:

“I think the idea has some merit to it…I don’t want to lose control of the team. And I think that’s the one thing that you find out your team needs. I don’t mean control, like control, but like being there with them in the trenches with them, i.e., when things get tough or something happens, you’re there with them. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this idea and it’s certainly not going to be the last. And I’m going to discuss it a little bit with [Lakers general manager] Mitch [Kupchak], that same idea.”

Smash and Dash have had a divorce

Chris Johnson said Tuesday he is leaving LenDale White to find his own nickname. Johnson, in fact, has already found a new nickname “Every Coach’s Dream.’’ White might be leaning toward calling himself “Every Opposing Coach’s Nightmare’’. Well at least that was his first reaction when told about Johnson’s name. Also, Johnson earlier said his goal this year is to lead the league in rushing and win NFL Most Valuable Player. He is really making big plans.

Oh yeah and if you have any suggestions for Johnson's celebration twit them to him. Johnson asked fans following his Twitter account for touchdown dance ideas since he plans on being in the end zone more than the 10 times he was there last season. Well sounds like Chad "OchoCinco" has some competition.

Another deal

The Wolves have agreed to trade Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Wizards for Etan Thomas, “Buckets” Pecherov, Darius Songaila and the 5th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft which gives the Wolves the 5th and 6th pick overall. Minnesota with four first-round choices and plenty of room to get that number two pick. If they do not they have plenty of options with the picks that they have. Maybe they can fill the seats back up since KG departure. I do not see the point of the Wizards trading out of that pick for who they got. They only possible thing I can see is maybe Foye and Miller can step in to provide insurance, if injuries occur again. But they should have focused on trying to get a good post presences. I do not think Haywood will cut it for you.

NCAA '10

Congrats to Blake Griffin who will be on the cover of NCAA Basketball 10. NCAA Basketball 10 builds on a new game engine introduced last year, refining and improving core gameplay functions, and adding more depth to the popular “styles of play” and “set your tempo” features, making it a strategic and entirely unique basketball gameplay experience.

Bobcat No More

I hope Sean May enjoyed his time sitting beside NBA Legend Michael Jordan because his time as a Bobcat is over. Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins just said the team has decided not to make a $3.6 million qualifying offer to Sean May. That means power forward May, the 13th pick in 2005, will be an unrestricted free agent in July. Higgins said the team is still open to re-signing May, but his lack of production last season, combined with his qualify offer number, made them pass on restricting his movement.There was speculation that May could have returned for the 2009-2010 season, but Higgins’ comments show that the Cats are looking to head in a new direction.

May was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming one of a record four Tar Heels to be drafted in the lottery picks. He has not been the dominate big man that they wanted him to be since his constant injuries occur.

Contenders Again

Well Spurs have official put there name in the mix for next season's Finals. They acquired Richard Jefferson from the Nets in exchange for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. This will give the Nets a veteran cast and financial flexibility. Jefferson's contract has two years and US$29.2-million remaining on it. The trade was a shock to at least one Bucks player: Charlie Villanueva posted "RJ traded to Spurs. Wow" on his Twitter account before the trade was official. ESPN.com first reported details of the deal. I am glad after worrying what they would do with aging players. Great trade just stay healthy.

Celtics trade?

The Boston Celtics offered Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo to the Pistons for Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey, according to a report.The Pistons rejected the offer, according to Yahoo Sports. The only reason I could see this is to wake up Rondo who I heard was thinking he was the [shxx] in Boston. Or the reason could be salary cap dumping some room to draft higher. Whatever reason it was, it did not go down. Dumars thought it was not a good trade for him and I agree.

Forbes

Forbes unveiled its list of the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2009. This of course is when you combine salary and endorsements together. The #1 athlete is Tiger Woods. He is banking 110 million. And even that's with the knee problems. Then in second you had Kobe and Michael Jordan . Lebron came in 6th [tied with Manny Pacquaio & Phil Mickelson] but he was ahead of Kevin Garnett. I did not know Kobe was banking up there with MJ. Wow!

Oh yeah, Kobe [4] Rings shirt is now on sale because it was so popular when Kobe was wearing it.

Baller turned Rapper

Ok I don't know if you remember a few years ago when the Spurs won the championship and Tony Parker started rapping, but he is at it again. He teams up with Fabolous and they make a single called [Top of the Game].

-viaDime

You on that List?

The list for the NBA's draft Green room was released. The list consist of

• James Harden
• Blake Griffin
• Hasheem Thabeet
• Ricky Rubio
• Jordan Hill
• Tyreke Evans
• Stephen Curry
• Jonny Flynn
• Demar DeRozan
• Jrue Holiday
• Gerald Henderson
• Brandon Jennings
• Tyler Hansbrough
• B.J. Mullens (potentially declining)
• James Johnson (declining invite)
• Eric Maynor (potentially declining)

UFL

This past weekend was the United Football League's [UFL] draft. This is a new league that will start it's play in October of this year. Right now there are four teams based in Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, & San Francisco. They will play a six game schedule that will last until Thanksgiving. As of right now the league is still a go for this season but you never know with upstart leagues. Congrats to those people who were drafted and get to play football again. Some stars that were drafted were:

J.P. Losman [Bills starter before Trent Edwards], Adam Archuleta [w|Super Bowl Rams], Brian Johnson [QB for Utah;on cover of NCAA 10], Chris Perry [Heisman finalst], Mike Doss [All-American;drafted 2nd round by Colts], John David Washington [Denzel Washington's son], Marcus Fitzgerald [Larry Fitzgerald brother], and Ken Dorsey [UMiami Heisman Finalist;38-2]

I wonder if anybody in this league drafted Mike Vick?

Predicted Season

Whatifsports has simulated this NFL season and their results were that the Super Bowl will be a repeat of Super Bowl XXXIX which was the Pats vs Eagles. The results were that the bonus McNabb received help motivate him to win his first Super Bowl. The game was a high scoring game that went to the wire with the Eagles pulling out the win 34-31. The Pats trailing 34-31 with 1:21 remaining and the ball on their own 34, Brady helps New England pick up 37 yards in less than a minute. Facing a fourth and four with 33 seconds to go, another Philadelphia rookie, defensive back Victor "Macho" Harris, blitzes from the blind side and gets to the frantic quarterback before he can release the ball. The Eagles had other rookies like McCoy and Cornelius Ingram to step up and score touchdowns. The playoffs look similar to last year but you have [what I feel] 3 surprise teams [Cowboys, Texans, & Saints]. The seedings are as follow:

NFC AFC

1. Steelers 1. Eagles

2. Pats 2. Cards

3. Colts 3. Vikings [w|o Favre]

4. Chargers 4. Saints

5. Jets 5. Cowboys

6. Texans 6. Giants

Oh and they predicted the Lions to win actually 5 games this season.

MVP - Adrian Peterson

Off POY - Drew Brees

Def POY - DeMarcus Ware

Off ROY - Michael Crabtree

Def ROY - Aaron Curry

Coach - Rex Ryan

Exit Interview

Adam Morrison's [for you Bobcats fan]

Consolation

Alex Ovechkin had a Lebron-like performance at the NHL Awards grabbing three trophies. I say like Lebron because he might have not reached the Finals and won [Crosby|Kobe], he did get MVP of the league. Not only that but he receieved the Rocket Richard Trophy [top NHL scorer] and also the Lester B. Pearson [top player voted by players]. Even though nothing can take the place of a Stanley Cup, he sure did get a heck of a consolation prize.

First time in 11 years somebody has won back-to-back NHL MVPs

Fight of the Century??

Well Solomon Wilcots has said somethings about Chad Ochocinco that I think he might have to take back. The Bengals reciever responded to what Wilcots said on his twitter saying:

They always find a way to say something negative no matter how focused i am, damn Solomon Wilcox, i want to fight him now, somebody set itup

I find this pretty fun. I mean it is Chad trying to fight a [former] Bengals reciever who is an analyst. Chad will not get by this easy as Wilcots responded back saying:

"Chad has dropped more balls than Jay-Z has dropped albums. But we certainly can get in the ring. I'm lovin' this. I'm lovin' it. ... You can get in a training ring for, what, two months, and now he think he's the heavyweight champ. Let's do it, brah! Let's do it. Ya better ask somebody, Chad."

HaHa! Wow this is too funny for TV. It was so funny Wilcots decides to blog about his explaination on why he was baggind Chad. Here is the link because there is no way I am about to read all of it for you.

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/06/17/my-advice-for-ochocinco-focus-on-football/

Time to Step Up

The explosion is back, and the things Darren McFadden should to be able to accomplish catching passes out of the backfield and in the slot should give the Raiders an short yardage go to guy in the passing game until the deep game comes around.his injury filled rookie year, he ran for only 499 yards and four touchdowns. Shocking, he averaged only 10.8 carries|receptions per game. If the Raiders expect to win, that number will have to double. The Raiders will also need McFadden to step up and become a leader of the team since they do not have one. I hope it is not too much for the young guy.

Losing the Weight

LenDale White, who reported for off-season work at 234 pounds, said he hasn’t been this low since his first season with the club. He was at 230 his rookie season but the past seasons he has played between 240-260. He shed the weight because this a big year for him considering that this is the last year of his contract. He said his motiviation was players that he know that play for Pittsburgh and the Giants that flash their Super Bowl rings to him. I am sure he is talking about Steve Smith and Polamalu.

Lil Wayne Performs "Kobe Bryant" for Kobe

Finals MVP Kobe Bryant on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien”

Dwight Puppet

Sound Quality might not be that great

Kobe...Free Agent...

Kobe has an option to opt out of his contract this summer to test the free agent waters. But all you Lakers fan can rest easy, I do not think Kobe will be going anywhere. He gave hints that he will be staying in LA by saying, LA is his home. This was during the parade that the Lakers had that started at the Coliseum. He said they will be back next year and they are a young team that should be a force for the next few years.

Bulls maybe losing Gordon

Sam Smith, a former Chicago Tribune reporter who now writes for bulls.com, says that the [agent] for Ben Gordon has been talking about a promise his client has from the Pistons. Apparently, it’s a pretty serious promise: [$11-million per year] for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.The writer finds it hard to believe that the Pistons would truly be interested in yet another shooting guard. But that idea winds up pointing to another rumor involving a trade for Richard Hamilton.

First Yr. Starter

The Bucs are re-evaluating the plans for their first-round pick and will consider starting Freeman if he continues to progress in training camp. During voluntary workouts and mandatory minicamp, Freeman took third-team reps as veterans Luke McCown and Byron Leftwich vied for the starting job. The plan was not to rush Freeman because the 17th overall pick from Kansas State entered the draft as a junior. But neither McCown nor Leftwich has done enough to distinguish himself. The decision will be based on how well the Bucs play around Freeman.

Rumor

Rumors have been swirling around that there is a deal in the making for Amare. The deal would send him to the T-Wolves for Al Jefferson and the 6th overall pick. The T-wolves would have one of the most dynamic power forwards in the game [since KG]. This would be an upgrade for the Suns to actually have somebody on their team that plays defense. In Boston, Jefferson was one of the top rebounders in the East. This looks like it will likely happened now that the Wolves GM Kevin McHale is out of Minnesota.

Talk about hate...

Not even less than a week has passed and you have the 2008 NBA champs taking shots at the current NBA champs. Kevin Garnett said that he gurantess they will win it all in '10 and 11. [Wow]! On top of that, on Pirce's twit status was:

"Lakers vs orlando. Looked like a german sherperd vs a poodle that’s ok the rotwieler celtics will b back in 2o10"

Talk about being jealous ha. Man I cannot wait til next year to see what the C's do with a KG.

Lastest MV[Puppets]

Rick Rubio's Interview

Ratings

I am not surprised, but ratings were down this year compared to last season. The five games on ABC between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic averaged an 8.4 rating. That's down close to 10 percent from last season's 9.3 for the six-game Lakers-Celtics series, which was boosted by Boston's large market and traditional rivalry with LA. It's still up 35 percent from the record-low 6.2 for San Antonio's sweep of Cleveland two years ago. But if it was Cleveland vs L.A., it could have beaten last year ratings. Still good ratings for the NBA Finals.

Cavs interested in Josh Smith

ESPN.com's NBA insider Chad Ford, said something interesting on yesterday:

The big trade rumor flying around (if you're already tired of the Shaq-to-Cleveland talk) centers on the Hawks' Josh Smith. Several league sources told ESPN.com that the Hawks have been working hard the past few weeks to see whether they can find a taker for Smith. 

The Hawks have some financial issues coming into the summer. Two key players, Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams, are free agents. So are a few others on the roster -- Josh Childress, Zaza Pachulia, and Ronald Murray. Although the Hawks would like to keep those players, they can't afford to pay all of them. That has opened the door to the possibility of trading Smith, who, although talented, has a reputation as a difficult player to coach. 

The Hawks have had no problem finding teams interested in Smith. The issue is the whopping $6 million trade kicker attached to his contract. The trade kicker essentially would require the team that trades for Smith to pay him the $6 million immediately. In this economic climate, many owners will balk at the payment. 

"You are going to see very few owners willing to do things like that anymore," one GM said. "I'm not saying he's impossible to trade. There are a few owners like Paul Allen, James Dolan, Mark Cuban and maybe Daniel Gilbert [Cavs] who would pay the money. But there aren't many."

Smith is neither Amar'e or Bosh [who the Cavs want], but he's great fit for the Cavs. He gives them an athletic player who can play above the rim on offense [like 'Bron] and while blocking shots on defense. Whatever deal the Cavs make for him, they should make sure it is not for a starter but a player for them that comes off the bench. 

Playoffs??? You talkin about Playoffs??

Even with an uncertainty at quarterback, instability at offensive coordinator, questions about the receiving corps and an inexperienced head coach, coach Mike Singletary is stating that they will make the playoffs this year. They have a hurdle to jump first because even though they went 7-9 a year ago, when not one of their victories came against teams that reached the playoffs. The 49ers are coming off six consecutive losing seasons and have made the playoffs only twice since the start of the 1999 season. But Singletary says that his team showed good work ethic and a great mind set during OTAs and that will help them bridge the gap. 

Fast Willie

Look for "Fast" Willie Parker to have a breakout season. At the end of practices, Parker has been staying around running extra sprints and even running with a sled. He is trying to get his speed back like he had a few seasons ago. He wants to stay healthy also after missing some games last season. Parker just wants to go back to the way he started off his career and doing the small things that got him to where he is now. This will be a big year seeing that, Rashad Mendenhall will be back, Parker is 28 and Parker is entering his final year of his contract. As long as he keeps his work ethic up though, Parker should be looking at another Pro Bowl and maybe a Super Bowl.

Busy man

Wow! As busy as Lebron has been, you would think he just won the NBA Championship. Monday, Lebron and some friends visited the White House and were given a tour. Then Lebron went to see the premiere of his movie [More than a Game]. It is a documentary based off Lebron's high school team and their rise to champs. Yesterday, James and pop music star Rihanna celebrated the opening of the Carol's Daughter Hand & Foot Spa in New York. I mean, what is next for him? A trip to the moon?

From the horse's mouth

We finally hear something from Favre. I said i was not going to post anything until I heard something concrete from him not "sources". But Brett Favre still isn't sure if he's going to be playing for the Vikings this fall. Favre was a guest on the HBO premiere of "Joe Buck Live" and he said his decision to come out of retirement again will be made primarily on how his arm feels [he had the surgery on the bicep that he tore]. The Vikings is the only team that he has talked about playing for. So the odds are that he will be playing next season in a purple jersey.  

Reaching Expectations

Sinorice Moss has heard everybody talk about him being a bust. That he'll never be as good as his brother [Santana Moss]. That he'll never reach his potential and that he's only 5-8 and not built for the NFL. This upcoming season he is looking to put all of those talks to an end. He has been looking really good in OTAs and the first few days of camp. He hopes to continue this because this will be a critical year for him since the Giants have drafted two receivers this year. Moss has not been able to show what he can do because he has been hurt for most of his career. As long as he stays healthy, he has the chance to prove the doubters wrong.