Kevin Garnett is back, Rajon Rondo is signed, Rasheed Wallace has arrived and Paul Pierce is as bad as ever. The Celtics are very, very easily ranked first in our first rankings of the 09-10 season. How do the other 29 teams compare?
The Pistons had a positive net PER at three positions during the 08-09 season, which were the three positions Joe Dumars attempted to improve in free agency and the draft.
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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by Andrew Perna
I thought this site nuTsie.com was pretty cool. I can never figure out which songs I’m missing on my iTunes, and this has certainly helped me fill up my library.
The Warriors have reportedly offered Elton Branda rather large contract afterBaron Davis fled Golden State for the Clippers on Tuesday night. The deal is reportedly worth between $85 and $90 million, which seems about right for the elite power forward. Unfortunately, Los Angeles can’t offer him nearly that much.
The Sixers met with Josh Smithon Wednesday as they begin to court the forward. The Hawks will be able to match any offer the versatile player receives this offseason, but Philadelphia could offer him a five-year deal worth as much as $67 million. Don’t ask me why, but I see Smith remaining in Atlanta.
The Hornets are currently talking with free agentsJannero Pargo and James Posey. Pargo would like a three-year deal to remain with New Orleans while the team looks to lure Posey into town. Adding Posey will be difficult as it seems as though a majority of contending teams are interested in signing him.
The Spurs are preparing to make Corey Maggette an offer. As he battles Posey in the race to become the most-coveted mid-level free agent this summer. The Magic and Celtics are just two of the other teams rumored to be interested in Maggette, who turned down roughly $7 million to remain with the Clippers.
Rudy Fernandez took much less money to come to the NBA and play for the Blazers this season. He’ll earn less than a million dollars next season while he would have likely made several million overseas. Portland has become the ‘sexy’ team, with a host of talented players ready to help an already solid roster.
Michael Beasley, who was signed by the Heat officially on Wednesday, had his first practice cut short after taking an elbow in the chest. Not a very good start to the Beasley era in Miami, but he shouldn’t miss any of next week’s Summer League play in Orlando.
DeSagana Diophas agreed to become a member of the Mavericks once again, according to league sources. Dallas sent him to New Jersey in the Jason Kidd trade, and it was believed that Mark Cuban and Co. wanted the center back. If you ask me, the reported mid-level deal is a pretty nice agreement for Diop.
The Angels are expected to be without Kelvim Escobar for the rest of the season. That’s bad news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (still not used to that), who are trying to keep the surprising Athletics at bay in the AL West.
Rookie Evan Longoria has made some waves by labeling his Rays as the best team in the AL East. Technically, he’s right as Tampa Bay holds a decent lead over the Red Sox in the division; but, with the Yankees and Red Sox in the same “zip code”, the young Rays still have a long way to go.
Roy Oswalt hopes to make his next scheduled start against the Braves on Saturday. Houston is struggling, but my fantasy baseball team is in the thick of the playoff hunt, and I need ol’ Roy to produce a solid two-start week for me.
Hank Steinbrenner thinks that the Yankees' hitters need to wake up as the offense has struggled lately. Surprisingly, New York has pitched extremely well. The Yanks could very easily be just a few games behind the Rays in the AL East if had they scored just a few more runs over the last week. Jason Giambi helped them “wake up” a little bit on Wednesday night with a grand slam.
Phillies' hurler Brett Myers has accepted a demotion to Triple-A as he aims to find himself on the mound. He has struggled mightily this season but definitely has good stuff. Heading into Wednesday night’s action, Philadelphia had a one-game lead over the Marlins in the NL East with the Mets and Braves lurking close behind. If Myers can right himself heading into the stretch run, the Phils would be in much better shape.
Brett Favre is reportedly thinking about returning to the gridiron just four months after retiring. I’ve discussed this briefly before, but I really hope he remains on the sideline. Personally, I don’t think it’s fair to Aaron Rodgers, and I think he’d be doing him a disservice by rescinding his tearful goodbye. With that said, I know he can still play.
Falcons' rookie Matt Ryan understands that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell isn’t thrilled with the money rookies are getting paid right off the bat. Ironically enough, Ryan is also enjoying the millions he’s already been guaranteed without having played a single game in the league. He could actually retire right now and come away with tens of millions.
Titans' receiver Mike Williams has lost more than thirty pounds this offseason as he attempts to resurrect his career. It’ll take more than some weight loss to right his ship, but getting into shape is certainly a start.
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Marian Hossa has signed a deal with the Detroit Red Wings after playing with both the Thrashers and Penguins this season. The deal is only for one-year but has made some waves after he battled the Wings as a member of the Pens just last month.
Pittsburgh did receive some good news on Wednesday, though, as they inked Evgeni Malkin to a five-year extension. He’ll be a fixture alongside Sidney Crosby in black-and-yellow for quite some time, and I think there’s a chance he’ll battle former teammate Hossa and the Wings for the Cup again next year.
I still haven’t decided if this is worth going to the theaters for…
