- SPORTSBYBROOKS brings us the (good) news that ESPN couldn’t come to terms with Stephen A. Smith on a new contract, so he won’t be with the Worldwide Leader for much longer. Apparently, ESPN’s offer was “considerably lower” than Smith’s previous contracts.

- MOONDOG SPORTS has the story of Charles Barkley’s speech at the University of Memphis. Apparently, Sir Charles believes that the NBA should require two years at the college level before a player can make himself eligible for the draft. That’s what David Stern originally wanted, but he had to compromise with the player’s union. Personally, I think a player should be able to go into the draft straight out of high school, but if he goes to college, he has to go for two years. These one-and-dones are wreaking havoc on the college game.

- JORGE SAYS NO has a list of the worst free agent contracts in baseball from 2005 to 2009.

- PRO FOOTBALL TALK says that the Cardinals want a first and a third for Anquan Boldin. For a team on the cusp — Titans, Giants, and maybe the Vikings — I think that would be worth it, but Boldin is turning 29 this year and that might be too much to give up for anyone else.

- DEADSPIN tells us that top linebacker prospect Aaron Curry is defying the spoiled athlete stereotype by bringing a 12-year-old leukemia survivor to the NFL Draft. That’s just reason #43 that Curry should be the Lions’ #1 pick.

Throw the Ravens into the mix of teams interested in acquiring wideout Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals.

In a move that could drastically change this year’s NFL draft, the Ravens have expressed interest in acquiring wide receiver Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals, a league source confirmed Thursday.

It would likely take a first- and a third-round draft pick to acquire Boldin, who had 89 catches for 1,038 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

This is the third time in five years the Ravens have considered trading for a wide receiver. Their trade for Terrell Owens in 2004 was rescinded, and the team failed to complete a deal for Randy Moss in 2005.

Asked whether the Ravens have contacted the Cardinals about Boldin, general manager Ozzie Newsome said Thursday: “With the draft coming up, I’ve had a chance to talk to eight different teams over the past 48 hours.”

Boldin, 28, would be attractive to the Ravens because they couldn’t draft a proven receiver like him with the 26th overall pick.

As the article points out, if the Ravens are determined to take a receiver at No. 26, then giving up a first and a third for Boldin would be wise. Any receiver they take in the first round would need two to three years to develop and even then, they might not be half the player Boldin is right now.

Giving Joe Flacco a highly productive wide receiver like Boldin would be an outstanding move. But is it more important than filling their defensive (their identity) holes? Remember, Baltimore lost Bart Scott to the Jets in free agency and released cornerbacks Samari Rolle and Chris McAlister. They did sign free agent Domonique Foxworth, but that still leaves a hole at the other cornerback position. Then again, the Ravens would have one of the better offenses in the NFL if they brought in Boldin, so it’ll be interesting to see if they put together a trade package.

While the Cardinals are still trying to work on keeping Anquan Boldin in Arizona, head coach Ken Whisenhunt noted that the team is willing to field trade offers for the wide receiver.

“Before the draft, you know there is going to talk about Anquan and his situation and a trade,� Whisenhunt said. “Since not a whole lot has changed with his contractual situation, we know that will come back up.

“It would be foolish from our standpoint not to listen to those opportunities and see what actually exists. But I want to make the point … our goal is to re-sign him to a long-term deal. That hasn’t changed.�

Said general manager Rod Graves, “We just think it is prudent for us to evaluate all our options.�
The Cardinals have already talked some with other teams, although Graves declined to say which ones.

Boldin, who has been looking for a new contract, still has two years left on his current deal. Because of that, the Cardinals don’t feel a sense of urgency to deal Boldin. If a trade isn’t consummated before the first day of the draft April 25, it is unlikely Boldin is going anywhere.

The way this story has developed this offseason has been strange. First Boldin says that his situation with the Cardinals is “irreparable� and the next moment he says he’d like to stay in ‘Zona. Then the Cards say that they’re doing everything they can to retain him, yet now they’re willing to field offers.

My best guess is that the two teams most likely to come up with a decent trade package are still the Giants and Eagles. But it appears that the Giants are more likely to land Braylon Edwards at this point and the Eagles have more to offer the Cards in terms of trade value because they have two first round picks. But does Philly want to give up one of those first rounders for Boldin? General manager Tom Heckert has said all along that his receiving corps is set, but who knows if that’s just a smokescreen.

On Thursday, ProFootballTalk.com reported that the Cardinals had begun actively shopping receiver Anquan Boldin. But Arizona GM Rod Graves is denying the report.

General Manager Rod Graves denied a report by profootballtalk.com that the team is “shopping” receiver Anquan Boldin to potential trade partners.

The report was attributed to an unnamed NFL source.

Via text message, Graves said the Cardinals position regarding Boldin has not changed.
Boldin first asked for a trade about a year ago, and the Cardinals have consistently said they were not interested in trading the Pro Bowl receiver. Graves, however, has left open the possibility that the team’s stance could one day change.

Boldin has two years remaining on a four-year extension signed in 2005. That extension was worth about $23 million in new money, including $10 million in bonuses.

Boldin recently backed off a promise never to re-sign with the Cardinals. Through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Boldin said he would be willing to re-sign provided an offer was forthcoming in a reasonable amount of time.

Graves could be denying the report in order to keep trade talks on the down low, but it wouldn’t be surprising if this was just another made up report by PFT. More times than not, the site uses unnamed sources for its reports so any content from them must be taken with a grain of salt.

SI.com’s Peter King believes that Anquan Boldin won’t be a Cardinal next season and that the Giants and Eagles are possible trade partners with Arizona.

The Eagles and Giants, two receiver-needy teams, are in position to deal for Anquan Boldin, who I continue to say will not be a Cardinal by July. Philly has 21, 28 and 53, the Giants 29, 45 and 60. I find it hard to believe the Eagles won’t trade for Boldin. Very hard. He’s a perfect fit, and they’ve got the cap room to sign him.

Less than a month ago, Philly GM Tom Heckert said that the Eagles were set at receiver with DeSean Jackson and that’s why the team didn’t pursue free agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh. But Housh is also three years older than Boldin and if the Eagles have had their sights on Anquan this entire time, then Heckert’s comments could have been a smokescreen. As King notes, Philadelphia is certainly in position to offer Arizona decent compensation for Boldin, who could team with Jackson to give Donovan McNabb a quality receiving corps.

Kurt Warner and his agent must have read my latest column because apparently the free agent quarterback is on the verge of re-signing with the Arizona Cardinals according to ESPN.com. If the deal is completed, Warner is expected to receive $23 million over the next two years.

On Monday I speculated that Warner wouldn’t re-up with the Cards after making a free agent stop in San Francisco to talk with the 49ers. I concluded that with the departure of Todd Haley and the eventual/possible trade of Anquan Boldin, Warner might soon jettison as well.

Uh, not so much.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus isn’t making a ton of friends lately with the way he’s decided to make his clients available for trades, without speaking to the teams first.

Case in point:

Drew Rosenhaus, who has represented (Plaxico) Burress since he signed with the Giants four years ago, sent an e-mail to all 32 teams earlier this week in which he indicated Burress could be acquired via trade, according to three people informed of the contents of the e-mail. The people, who requested anonymity because the e-mail was not to be discussed publicly, said it was a list of Rosenhaus’ free-agent and draft-eligible clients as well as three players he deemed trade-able.

All three are wide receivers: the Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin, the Bengals’ Chad Johnson and Burress.

But according to one of the people familiar with the situation — a member of one team’s front office who was on Rosenhaus’ list of recipients — the Giants had plenty to say earlier this week. Giants assistant general manager Kevin Abrams notified the rest of the league that the Giants had not authorized Rosenhaus to pursue trade scenarios on Burress’ behalf, and that any inquiries about Burress’ availability would constitute tampering.

Another person informed of the situation said Rosenhaus sent out another e-mail yesterday in which he clarified he doesn’t have permission to seek a trade for any of the three clients he listed.

This numb nut just decided to send out a mass e-mail letting other teams know that Burress, Boldin and Ocho Cinco were available without talking to their respective teams first. Brilliant! These power agents really do feel like they can do whatever they want.