Month: July 2009 (Page 27 of 59)

      Market heating up for Knicks’ free agents

      July 18, 2009 /

      Things have been pretty quiet this summer on the David Lee and Nate Robinson front. But now that the unrestricted free agent market has all but dried up, teams are setting their sights on the restricted free agents that are still available.

      Knicks team president Donnie Walsh predicted negotiations with David Lee will come to a head early next week, and indications were Lee will either sign an offer sheet with the Trail Blazers or settle for the Knicks’ five-year offer, which agent Mark Bartelstein still believes is below Lee’s market value.

      he Blazers got back $10 million in cap room when the Jazz matched their four-year, $32 million offer to forward Paul Millsap. Bartelstein is trying to get the Blazers to offer Lee a five-year, $50 million contract, but they have been reluctant, feeling that the Knicks will match.

      With his eye on the 2010 salary cap, Walsh is seeking a deal averaging between $7 and $8 million.

      Isn’t Millsap’s value higher than Lee’s? Millsap is just as good of a rebounder and can score with his back to the basket. Lee is an energy guy and his numbers are a little inflated since the Knicks play at such a frenetic pace under Mike D’Antoni. Walsh has his value pegged (at $7-$8 million per season), but it is Bartelstein’s job to get as much money for Lee as he can.

      I don’t think the Blazers are reluctant because they think the Knicks will match, I think they’re reluctant to give Lee $10 million per season.

      Meanwhile, Olympiakos made a strong offer to Nate Robinson.

      The Knicks will have trouble competing with Olympiakos’ offer to fellow restricted free agent Nate Robinson. A source said the Greek team’s offer is equivalent to $10 million a year, factoring in endorsements and merchandising.

      Robinson can play next season for $2.9 million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he goes to Greece, the Knicks will still hold his rights next summer. Josh Childress will play for Olympiakos for another season after testing the waters this summer.

      The NBA needs to get rid of restricted free agency altogether. If a team can’t work out an extension by the summer before the final year of the player’s contract then that player should become an unrestricted free agent the following summer.

      7/19 Update: The Hoop is reporting that Olympiakos’s offer to Robinson is for $9 million over two years.

      Finally, the Knicks have interest in Ramon Sessions, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times. (Actually, he posted this on Twitter.)

      I hear Knicks covet Ramon Sessions, expected 2 call Bucks soon about sign and trade. Otherwise prepared 2 use mid-level. Yes, Knicks love Sessions

      I’ve been waiting for the market for Sessions to heat up. I think he’s worth the mid-level, so the Bucks better figure out a way to keep him or get something in return.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Odom does damage control

      July 18, 2009 /

      According to Jim Hill, Lamar Odom made a call to Jerry Buss.

      I am told the purpose of the call was to rebuild any bridges that Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz may have burned by not responding to the Lakers offer of 3-years $30 million, and 4-years for $36 million.

      If the Lakers do have (or had) these offers on the table, I don’t know why Odom hasn’t already re-signed. The most the Heat (or any team without cap space) can offer is a five-year deal worth around $34 million. So it makes sense that he’d be calling up Buss trying to convince him to make these offers available again. The market for Odom is not that strong, so he simply doesn’t have the leverage to demand a contract in the $11 million-plus range.

      What’s not clear is if Buss is wiling to let bygones be bygones and sign Odom. He’s a character, for sure, but in the end I think GM Mitch Kupchak will convince him to sign Odom to one of these deals.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Shanahan to return to coaching in 2010?

      July 18, 2009 /

      Former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan recently indicated that he plans to coach again in the NFL, possibly even as soon as 2010.

      “It’s just something that my gut didn’t feel right,” the former Denver Broncos coach said after participating in the American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club. “I probably needed a little time to get away, especially with the way the situation wound up in Denver. I’m glad I did.”

      The Broncos surprisingly fired Shanahan in December after the team failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons as the Broncos’ coach and wielded significant power over most football decisions.

      Shanahan was replaced by first-time head coach Josh McDaniels, who was the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator. The stability that the Broncos had with Shanahan has been turned upside down by the new regime. There have been numerous changes, the most notable being the trade of Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton and draft picks.

      “I don’t think it’s my place to go into detail, but you’ve got to, like with Josh, he’s got to go with his gut feeling with what he thinks is best for the organization,” Shanahan said. “I’m a big Jay Cutler fan. I like Jay. He’s got the intangibles. He hasn’t gotten it done yet, but you’ve got to have a whole football team. It’s not just one position. Josh is probably biting at the bit to get started with Chris Simms and Kyle Orton. Hopefully they can go out and get the job done for Denver.”

      Even though “Skeletor” was public enemy No. 1 for fantasy football owners, Shanahan has always been incredibly classy and he deserves another shot to coach. Taking the year off to reflect is probably a good thing, but there is going to be job openings next year – there always are in the NFL.

      Too bad he wanted nothing to do with the Lions, because I could have seen him taking full control and turning that sinking franchise around. Even though he had his ups and downs as a GM, there’s no question Shanahan is an outstanding coach and would bring a lot to an organization. It’ll be interesting to see where he winds up.

      NFL

      Saturday MMA Review: 7/18

      July 18, 2009 /

      Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

      – Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, and Dan Henderson were dominant at UFC 100 — but Lesnar’s post-fight antics made him a villain in the eyes of many fans.

      – The UFC’s new ring girl is hot, blonde, and all-natural.

      – Kimbo Slice’s “Ultimate Fighter” housemates should be thankful he wasn’t allowed to bring a gun on the set.

      – Fedor Emelianenko will probably never face Brock Lesnar in the UFC due to disagreements on contract terms. But that isn’t stopping some bookmakers from offering bets on the non-existant fight.

      – Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg visited New York to hype the biggest women’s MMA match of all time. Sounds like a perfect time for Carano’s scumbag ex-boyfriend to release that sex tape.

      – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is not a fan of either Rashad Evans or Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

      – PRIDE legend Igor Vovchanchyn will return to action in September, while Jose Aldo and Mike Brown will get it on for the WEC featherweight belt in November.

      – Floyd Mayweather Jr. says white people invented MMA because they couldn’t compete in boxing. What a fascinating theory, Professor Money…

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Top 10 active NFL field goal percentage leaders

      July 18, 2009 /

      It’s almost fantasy football time, and many of you, like me, have already been doing your research. So let’s take a look at a category that you may not pay much attention to, and many experts will tell you not to anyway. That’s field goal percentage. I realize choosing a kicker is like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks, but good references are to pick those on good offensive teams, or those that can’t score TDs and create more field goal attempts. But it’s also good to pick an accurate kicker, whether that kicker plays in a dome or not. I mean, why take your chances on someone who kicks 25 field goals but misses another 25? So here is a list of the active Top 10 in field goal percentage. You can thank me later.

      1. Nick Folk, Dallas Cowboys (86.79%)—For as good as Folk’s rookie season was in 2007, he had less attempts but was even more accurate in 2008, kicking 20 of 22 field goals (90.9%). Which reminds me, what the hell ever happened to Mike Vanderjagt?

      2. Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers (86.13%)—Sure, he kicks mostly in warm weather, but Kaeding is about as automatic as they come.

      3. Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears (85.94%)—If you’re hitting better than 17 out of 20 times when your home field is in the WINDY city, you’re damn good.

      4. Shayne Graham, Cincinnati Bengals (85.64%)—One of the lone bright spots on a team that is perpetually going nowhere.

      5. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots (85.56%)—No Adam Vinatieri? No problem. This kid stepped in as a rookie in 2006 and has improved each year, hitting 36 of 40 field goal attempts last season (90%) and leading the NFL in total points (148).

      6. Rob Bironas, Tennessee Titans (84.50%)—Bironas is extremely dependable, but nothing topped his 2007 All-Pro campaign, when dude kicked an NFL record 8 field goals against Houston.

      7. Matt Stover, free agent (83.70%)—The amazing thing about Stover is that he’s been doing it for so long. He broke in with the Browns in 1991 and moved with the team to Baltimore in 1996, where he played until last season.

      8. Phil Dawson, Cleveland Browns (82.81%)—One of the original “expansion” Browns, Dawson, like his counterpart Graham in southern Ohio, has been a bright spot on a bad team for years.

      9. Jeff Reed, Pittsburgh Steelers (82.65%)—Every year they seem to talk about how hard it is to kick in Heinz Field, so the fact that Jeff Reed is even on this list says a lot about his ability. I’d love to know what the guy could do playing in Minnesota for a year.

      10. John Carney, free agent (82.59%)—Carney stepped in for Lawrence Tynes last season and all he did was hit 35 of 38 field goal attempts, an amazing 92.1% clip. It’s even more amazing because Carney played half his games in windy Giants Stadium, and because he did it at the age of 44.

      Source: Pro Football Reference

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