On the baseball front, no trades but more news. Apparently, the Cardinals are in the lead for Matt Holliday, and it looks like it might happen. This would be huge for the Cardinals who already improved their team with Mark DeRosa, but are fending off every team in their division (as usual, excluding the Pirates, but now including the Astros who just swept them!).

Mixed reports on the Red Sox, some say they aren’t done, others thinking they still might try and deal for another bat. It appears V-Mart is out of the question however, so I personally don’t see who else they are going to add. Obviously some big names like Adrian Gonzalez are floating around, but what would have the purpose of getting LaRoche been then?

On Sportscenter, Tim Kurkjian floated the idea out there that the Phillies might decide to pursue Erik Bedard instead of Roy Halladay in order to save money. This of course depends on whether or not the Mariners are going to call it quits, they are currently 5 back in the wild card.

Bad news for A-Rod, who lent his car to his girlfriend (?) Kate Hudson who didn’t exactly take care to drive safely.

ESPN is facing criticism over the fact that it failed to report that Ben Roethlisberger had been accused of rape until 48 hours after the story broke. Some are accusing the organization of racism considering its response to the way it handled similar accusations regarding other athletes.

Lastly, I don’t know if I’m the only one who finds this funny, but the Video Professor was featured on a SportsNation commercial. Watch Sportscenter and you’ll surely see it.

The starting line up could be scary: Yao, Luis Scola, Trevor Ariza, (Insert Free Agent here), Aaron Brooks. Combine that with a bench including, Carl Landry, Shane Battier, Kyle Lowry, the revitalized Joey Dorsey and that potential draft pick. Just imagining that team taking the court has Rockets fans salivating. Imagine if Houston were able to snatch D-Wade? Or Texas native Chris Bosh? Houston could make Yao’s 30-32 year old seasons (the same one’s that saw Hakeem Olajuwon rack up his two titles) seasons to remember.

Yao’s injuries are certainly tough to swallow, especially when compounded with those of McGrady. The health issues have plagued this potenitally dominant duo. And it is becoming clear, that nothing much will come of their tenure together. But, season ending or not, Yao’s injury could have handed the Rockets an unexpected lifeline in their search for the city’s 3rd title.

What would be Ariza’s reason to lie here? He has nothing to gain, or in fact lose from saying this. I feel as though LeBron did say that he would be in Cleveland for years to come, but I don’t necessarily think that its true. James is about winning. Even if it means telling white lies to potential teammates to get them to sign for this years Title tilt. Ariza actually suspected as much when his source said, “He thought it was just a recruiting tool, until he signs the contract it doesn’t mean much.” This shows me that Ariza is a smart fella.

To be honest, I don’t really like LeBron’s angle here. Why would you want to lie to a guy so that he commits for 5 years (the length of the contract offer from the Cavs to Ariza), on a deal if you don’t have concrete plans on being there for four of them. If he wants to sign, he’ll sign, but if LeBron does in fact re-sign with the Cavs, it will have been a very stupid basketball move on his part. If he re-signed last summer, for instance, the Cavs could have re-modeled their roster, to perhaps create enough cap room to make a run at one of the other marquee free agents that will be available next summer, either a Dwyane Wade or a Chris Bosh. Instead the Cavs are deliberating on a contingency plan to potentially replace LeBron. For his sake, I just hope he stays, because he wouldn’t exactly be loved in his home state anymore.

Last night, the Detroit Pistons confirmed the acquisitions of Ben Gordon, from the Chicago Bulls and Charlie Villanueva, formerly of the Milwaukee Bucks. While Ben Gordon’s fit with the Pistons, a team who pride themselves on slow deliberate offensive schemes and a team-defense mentality, can be questioned, his talent cannot be. Gordon is a high-impact signing who will, above all else, help the mediocre team of this past season, put points on the board. Villanueva, on the other hand, is an ideal fit in Detroit. His low presence will create another option in the low post, and while giving Detroit’s big men more of a scoring flare. After seeing the first big acquisitions of the offseason, I chose to pick out some other big names, and let you know where I think they’ll end up.

Lamar Odom: Someone who has always been enigmatic, Lamar Odom could be one of the most talented players in the game. However, his refusal to impose his own will on games has made him an underachiever. It is clear that he has found his comfort zone in his second stint in Los Angeles. He cannot be the main man, as seen with the Clippers, and is best when deferring to one or, even more ideally, two better players. He has found this with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. This, on top of his famous quote: “I was born in New York, I live in Miami, and I play for the Los Angeles Lakers. What could be better than that?”, leads me to believe Lamar isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Destination: Los Angeles Lakers

Trevor Ariza: Another talented swingman for the Lakers, Ariza finds himself in a very unexpected position. As a restricted Free Agent, Ariza was almost certain to re-up with the Lakers, then enjoy the summer months as a defending NBA champion. However, the Lakers are only willing to offer Ariza the mid-level exception of $5.6m. Ariza took this as a slap in the face, and is now looking for greener pastures. The two teams, I see most competitively vying for Ariza’s signature are the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets. Both are in desperate need of a small forward who can knock down 3s. The Cavaliers’ needs are more pressing as the LeBron contract issue looms large, and a sense of desperation sets in. Ironically, both of these teams only have enough cap room with which to offer Ariza the mid-level exception as well. But it seems the mid-level offer coming from your family is a bit harder to take than from new teams. Or at least that’s Ariza’s logic. Expect him to team up with LeBron and Shaq to make a Title tilt with the Cavs. Destination: Cleveland Cavaliers

Ron Artest: Ron Artest has made no secret of his admiration for the Houston Rockets organization or Head Coach, Rick Adelman. This is the main reason why I find it hard to see Artest leaving. Another reason is that for every other team in the league, Ron poses a very large risk. Who knows what it takes to make Artest blow-up? But the Rockets know, whatever it is, they’ve got the antidote to Artest’s court rage. He was being courted heavily by the Cavs over the past couple days, but the aforementioned freeing-up of Trevor Ariza, who is six years Artest’s junior, has perhaps been the shiny new toy that has adjusted Cleveland’s attention. Expect Artest to re-up with the Rockets, unless of course, the Yao Ming news comes back worse than hoped. Either way, expect Artest’s signing to affect Ariza’s, or the other way around. Destination: Houston Rockets

Jason Kidd: As you know, Kidd’s best years are far behind him, however, he will still be able to help a title-contender on many different fronts. Having a mature, tough point-guard with a poor shooting touch just helped the Lakers win their 15th NBA championship. Judging from the first few days of free agency, there is a two-horse race underway for Kidd’s services. Mark Cuban and the Mavericks are hoping to hang on to their 1, while Kidd seems to have fallen in love with the New York Knicks. One wonders if it has anything to do with the fact that Kidd played just down the road in New Jersey for so many years. Either way, I see Kidd teaming up with his former Team-USA assistant coach Mike D’Antoni in Madison Square Garden. To me, the matchup isn’t right at all, with New York’s young, run and gun system, but alas the heart wants what it wants. Destination: New York Knicks

Hedo Turkoglu: You can read about this case more in my earlier post. But just as an update, Hedo is being shown around Portland’s facilities today, after having dinners with Head Coach Nate MacMillan and GM Kevin Pritchard. The Raptors were reported to have made a 5-year $60m offer, which has since been “pulled off the table” as well as refuted entirely by other sources. Give this one a week before you see Hedo in black and red in the Pacific Northwest. Destination: Portland Trailblazers

If this were LeBron James, for instance, a move like this would be seen as pathetic and, really, pretty sad. But the fact that Gortat is not a star, makes this act kind of endearing. Gortat is sure to be flattered by the gesture, and I’d be surprised if Morey didn’t end up signing the Polish Center. Houston is looking to add to its talented but small front line. Assuming Yao is healthy by playoff time next season (a big assumption), a team with Gortat, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry would not be short of 4 or 5’s. That is what makes this enticing for Rockets fans, Yao or not, Houston is making moves.

The thing that annoys me about this whole thing, is how the media have handled it. ESPN, SI, everyone loves using those headlines “Will Yao Ever Play Again?” It’s disgustingly bush league and I’ll tell you why. The press conference revealing all of Yao’s injury news was held several days ago. It was not last night, which was implied by the urgency used in every article I read. As much as I hate to say it, the media LOVES career-threatening injuries. ESPN loves bringing on their “medical experts” to discuss the likelihood of a player returning. It brings them an even bigger audience. Furthermore, it gives every Joe in America, that knows how to flip the TV to SportsCenter the feeling that they just completed their Masters in Medicine. Talking about tarsal navicular bones as if they just got out of triage.

Could Yao miss the rest of his career? Yes, but Clanton said the possibility of that is hugely unlikely. Why is that not in anyone’s article? It just frustrates me when the media chooses to take an avenue based on which title will get the most hits. The medical staff in Houston is shocked that the media took this spin on the story, as they had presented the facts, while defining the possibility of career-threatening information. Once the reporters present hear those two magic words, they smell blood in the water. One question was, “Is Yao’s foot healing on its own similar to the odds of me winning the lottery?”. That reporter wasn’t even allowed to finish his question as Clanton cut him off, saying, “No, no, no. We’re not even considering it a longshot.”

The story is an intriguing one. Will Yao play next season? Will he be himself if he does? I’ll be watching this story as close as possible as I am a Rockets fan, as well as a Yao Ming fan, as I don’t think there is anyone in the NBA who works harder. He doesn’t deserve what the media have done to this story, and neither do you.

Okay lets look at the facts. The Minnesota Timberwolves had picks 5, 6, 18 and 28 in the first round of Thursday’s draft. Their needs were almost exclusively limited to the back court, with the exception of a dominant all-out center on the interior. However, seeing as Hasheem Thabeet had already been taken by the time their first pick arrived, selecting a center was ruled out. With forwards, Al Jefferson, the much beligned, Corey Brewer and Kevin Love as the most intriguing players on the Timberwolves young roster, it was clear that their backcourt was what needed re-examining. This much, Kahn understood.

With the number five pick, he selected point guard Ricky Rubio out of Spain, the first player born in the 1990s ever to be drafted. Rubio was a consensus top-five pick, and his selection merited absolutely no objections. Rubio is the pure point guard that every team craves, and Minnesota got him. Here is where Kahn and company lost their way. With the next pick, the T-Wolves selected Jonny Flynn out of Syracuse, another natural distributor and PG. Very similar to Rubio in the sense that they both deliver the ball perfectly, but have trouble knocking down shots. At this point everybody thought that there was a trade in place and it was only a matter of minutes before David Stern strolled out and announced that Flynn was on his way to another team for an outside shooter that Minnesota so badly needs; that announcement never came. Instead, we find the Wolves mired in a situation where, until a trade happens, they’re reduced to thinking they can reinvent the game of basketball, wherein having two assist-minded point guards on the floor simultaneously, will flummox the opposition and liken the Timberwolves’ offense to the Harlem Globetrotters. I personally feel as though selecting USC Freshman, DeMar DeRozan would have been an excellent choice. He has an unbelievably high ceiling, as well as, time to grow with the rebuilding T-Wolves (DeRozan ended up going 9th to the Raptors).  That aside, David Kahn actually believed that these two point guards were the beginning of a new generation. That is until Ricky Rubio realized that as an international player, he had all of the leverage in the situation.

Needless to say, as a player from Spain coming to America, Minnesota is not on the short lists of cities one would want to live in. It is, perhaps, different from Spain in every conceivable way. Rubio, it strikes me, is not the type of guy to complain about his situation just because he can. I feel as though he is legitimately concerned about his situation regarding playing time, as well as, how long it will take the Timberwolves’ coaching staff (which still does not have a head coach, and after these moves, might have to put in a want ad), to realize that their game plan is completely hopeless. So Rubio is claiming that he is willing to stay in Europe for a few years, clearly blackmailing the franchise. Rubio wants out, and he is willing to avoid the NBA for a while, to do so. The Timberwolves have informed Rubio’s representatives, however, that as he is only 18 years old, they have plenty of time, and have no desire to “push him” into coming when he isn’t ready. Thus, calling his bluff. Why bother? Why not trade him or Flynn to a team that is offering you not only a replacement but a legitimate option at shooting guard as well? There are rumors circulating about the Knicks and the Rockets being very interested, both of whom have pieces to trade. Just a side note: I thought about the possibility of Rubio teaming up with LeBron on the Knicks a year from now and I ….

The Wolves need to solve this problem. Despite what their website tries to say, this will not be a successful partnership in the NBA, it just doesn’t make any sense. Mr. Kahn, do what you have to do, make the tough decision. Here’s Chad Ford’s take, quite a sound opinion, I’d say.

The Suns on the other hand have absolutely blown their team up… The Shawn Marion trade for O’Neal more than a year ago was the beginning of a movement that has since seen their team completely re-examined. Aging, star point guard, Steve Nash is a year away from free agency, and Amare Stoudamire trade rumors have been whispered for weeks. The most prevalant of which was to Minnesota. After acquiring Wallace and Pavlovic, it is clear that their goal is to rebuild. I feel the best thing for Phoenix would be to trade Nash for as much as you can get, maybe even another lottery pick. Odds are he will be gone in a year, and the Suns can now admit that they won’t challenge in a very stacked Western Conference next season. Cut your losses.

This blogger claims that the three most-likely options are Detroit, Toronto and Portland. I like these options, as it is very clear that these teams have cap space, and are looking for offensive ignition. Turkoglu on a young Portland team with two 7-footers could be a devastating combination. A team inluding Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden and Turkoglu would definitely be a powerful force in the Northwest Division.

The only other three options that appear at all viable, would be Sacramento, Oklahoma City or Memphis. Sacramento has been in love with Turkoglu ever since they traded him to the Magic, and would very much like to see him back in northern California. Memphis and OK City, on the other hand do not seem particularly interested as both have options at the 3 and 4 spots and are involved in youth-based rebuilding movements; lastly, Turkoglu is a “win now” kind of player, at the age of 30. Either way, I think it will be telling where Turkoglu goes, as it will reveal his basketball priorities. If he selects a team like Sacramento, who will most likely be able to pay the most, it will be clear that he wants as much money as he can get. However if he re-signs with the Magic, who will offer less because of their massive commitments to Rashard Lewis ($18m/year) and Dwight Howard ($15.1m/year), it will indicate his intention to win a trophy before his glorious basketball career comes to a close.

9. The Los Angeles Clippers have been given their ticket to creating their first successful run in franchise history by winning the Draft Lottery. Don’t throw it away…please.

8. The Pau Gasol trade with the Grizzlies that the Lakers pulled off 16 months ago can now be confirmed as an absolute joke. If a ‘Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol and Kwame Brown’ trade got made in a fantasy league, it would reek of collusion. (Who’s the GM for Memphis? Oh right, Jerry West.) Just a point I had to make.

7. The Houston Rockets should strongly consider trading Tracy McGrady for a young shooter. They would free up space for the, now imfamous, free agency of 2010; and its quite clear they are a better team without him.

6. The Sacramento Kings and the Washington Wizards should consider moving to Europe.

5. Any team in the Eastern Conference other than the big three, and the Chicago Bulls, should not be allowed to play in the playoffs.

4. The Cavaliers won’t win if they don’t improve the talent around LeBron James. There are talks of the Cavs acquiring Shaq, to that I say…please don’t. The Cavs need to find LeBron’s Scottie Pippin not an aging center.

3. The Magic were not ready for the NBA Finals. They had the talent, they didn’t have the toughness. When you’re team is up by 3 at home, with :11 to go and two free throws coming up, you have to win the game, period.

2. It would have been much more enticing to see a Kobe vs. LeBron NBA Finals. We were robbed.

1. The 2009 L.A. Lakers are a championship team, but not a great one. They did relatively cruise through the playoffs, however they never looked like convincing NBA Champions.