12:01 tonight the FA market is open for an uncapped season in the NFL.  A safe assumption is that the Cowboys and Redskins are going to be big players as their owners love to overpay for talent.  Especially the Cowboys since owner Jerry Jones'  stadium will be hosting the Super Bowl this year.  This might be the best chance they will have to win a Super Bowl in the next few years. 

Right now it is believed that the Bears and Seahawks are the front runners for Julius Peppers.

The Chargers plan on keeping Sproles, but with the right offer, will they move him?

Will the Giants open their wallets to compete with other NFC teams and improve their D that disappeared in the second half of last season?

Will the Jets go after another DB to go along with Revis and become an impossible team to throw on?

Where will Dansby, LT, Westbrook, Rolle, TO, and others land?  stay tuned

The 2009 World Champion New York Yankees will open their 2010 Major League spring training schedule on Wednesday, March 3 at 1:05 p.m. vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. 

The Yankees will play a 33-game Grapefruit League schedule that will include 16 home games. In addition, the Yankees will play a home exhibition game against their minor league stars in their spring training finale on Saturday, April 3, at George M. Steinbrenner Field, in which all fans in attendance will receive a commemorative championship ring.

2010 NEW YORK YANKEES EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
(All times are Eastern and subject to change. ss=Split Squad)

Date Opponent/Location Time

Wed., Mar. 3 PITTSBURGH 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 4 Philadelphia at Clearwater 1:05 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 5 TAMPA BAY 1:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 6 TORONTO 1:05 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 7 Minnesota at Ft. Myers 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 8 PHILADELPHIA (ss) 1:05 p.m.
         Pittsburgh at Bradenton (ss) 1:05 p.m.
Tue., Mar. 9 PITTSBURGH 1:05 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 10 Detroit at Lakeland 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 11 ATLANTA 7:05 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 12 Washington at Melbourne TBD
Sat., Mar. 13 BALTIMORE (ss) 1:05 p.m.
        Detroit at Lakeland (ss) 1:05 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 14 Pittsburgh at Bradenton 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 15 Off Day
Tue., Mar. 16 HOUSTON 7:05 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 17 Philadelphia at Clearwater 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 18 TAMPA BAY 7:05 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 19 DETROIT (ss) 1:05 p.m.
        Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte (ss) 1:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 20 Houston at Kissimmee TBD
Sun., Mar. 21 DETROIT 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 22 Philadelphia at Clearwater 1:05 p.m.
Tue., Mar. 23 Off Day
Wed., Mar. 24 WASHINGTON 7:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 25 Baltimore at Sarasota TBD
Fri., Mar. 26 PHILADELPHIA 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 27 Detroit at Lakeland 1:05 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 28 DETROIT 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 29 Baltimore at Sarasota TBD
Tue., Mar. 30 TORONTO (ss) 7:05 p.m.
        Atlanta at Lake Buena Vista (ss) TBD
Wed., Mar. 31 MINNESOTA 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Apr. 1 Toronto at Dunedin 1:05 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 2 BALTIMORE 1:05 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 3 YANKEES FUTURE STARS 1:05 p.m.

The Memphis Grizzlies are sending No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet down for a stint in the D-League, the team announced on Thursday.  This prooves once again that just because you are big doesn't mean that you will do well at the next level.  Yes I understand he is still a kid and he has years to proove that he was work that early selection...But didn't we hear this about Darko Mlicic a few years back and now he most likely will be playing overseas next year.

These two aren't the only guys who were drafted early and struggled.  Some other names that come to mind: Shawn Bradley, Michael Olokandi, Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown, Hilton Armstrong, Patrick O'Bryant, and  Desegana Diop to name a few

Although Thabeet was always known more for his defense in college, averaging just 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game for the Grizzlies isn't acceptable for the number 2 pick.

Do you think Grizz fans are wishing their team took Tyreke Evans?  Right now he and Steph Curry are front runners for ROY.

Tiger Woods felt the need to apologize to the world.  Yes, he probably had someone else write the script for him, but honestly I feel he doesn't owe us anything.  All he owes apologies is to his wife and their kids.  All he did was show he is human and well humans make mistakes.   If they decide to get back together, well then great for them, but honestly most fans of golf only care about Tiger on the course.  The PGA needs Tiger back out there because without him it is like watching golf in the early nineties and who can tell me who won the Masters in 93 or the Open in 95?

As we have seen over the last few years, fans forgive when you succeed on the field.  From Ray Lewis involvement in a murder to Michale Vick's inexcuseable behavior with the dogfigting to AROD admitting he cheated.  Fans forgive!  By no means am I am comparing those things to this or to each other, I am just saying that these are examples of how easily we forget until the next athlete steals the spotlight of stupidity

Straighten yourself out Tiger...and get on the course

With the trading deadline about 24 hours away, the Knicks are looking to be players in making some moves.  The two main deals involve Nate Robinson and the other having Tracy McGrady come to NY.

Some reports have the Knicks trading Nate Robinson to the Celtics for Eddie House and a draft pick.  This move doesn't do much for this season or next, but at least it gets Robinson out of here.  He never should have been signed as his antics were more common than his scoring.

The other deal that the Knicks are trying to work out is to bring McGrady here from the Rockets.  The most recent rumor has the Bulls looking to get in on him as well.  Both teams have reportedly sent offers to Houston and a deal should be finalized today.

The Knicks are offering Jared Jeffries, Larry Hughes, Jordan Hill, and a 2012 first round pick, which would free up $9.4 million in cap space this summer. The Bulls have countered with Tyrus Thomas, Brad Miller, and either John Salmons or Kirk Hinrich. Rockets GM Daryl Morey is not in love with the idea of Jeffries so the Bulls may have a leg up.

Now that the NFL season has ended it is time to focus on college basketball.  At this time there isn't another conference even close to the Big East in terms of overall talent.  In the most recent polls the conference has 4 of the top 8 teams in the country:

Finally Rutgers will have a large target for Tom Savage.  Today a 4 star WR recruit from Maryland chose Rutgers in the name of Brandon Coleman.  Coleman will be a nice compliment to Sanu who emerged as a potential star this season.

Coleman is one of the biggest players in the country at his position. Coleman towers over defensive backs with his 6-foot-6 frame. Coleman is another long strider who just seems to glide past defenders. He is remarkably agile for a player of his size. He shows the ability to make people miss in the open field. Coleman is very tough to cover not only because of his size, but because of his ability to adjust on the fly.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of many great things to come for the Knights in 2010

Once again David Lee has put together strong enough numbers (19.5 ppg and 11.5 boards) to make the All-Star and once again he was left off the roster. 

Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams and Derrick Rose have been selected as All-Stars for the first time, according to Yahoo! Sports.  It's a well-deserved honor for all three young point guards, each of whom have their respective teams in the playoffs. Al Horford (13.6, 9.8) got the nod over David Lee in the East, but there were no true snubs in the West. Besides Rondo, Rose and Horford, the East reserves are Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Gerald Wallace and Joe Johnson. Other than Williams, the West reserves are Chris Paul, Paul Gasol, Kevin Durant, Zach Randolph, Dirk Nowitzki and Brandon Roy.

This guy goes out every night and busts his butt for a team battling for the 8th spot, often guarding a bigger or quicker guy, and always giving it 100%.  I just have one question...What else does this guy have to do? 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees have signed outfielder Randy Winn to a one-year contract at around $2 million.  This should effectively close the book on the possibility of Johnny Damon returning to the Bronx, though time will tell if it was the right decision. Winn, 35, batted just .262 with two home runs and 51 RBI with the Giants last season and completely collapsed against left-handed pitching, batting just .154 in 120 at-bats. Hey, at least he's a tremendous defensive upgrade.

Thanks for the memories Johnny!  Your bat will be tough to replace in the 2 hole, but hopefully Nick Johnson can get it done.  Wouldn't resigning Hairston been a better move considering Winn has struggled so bad against lefties?  At least he could have filled in on the infield too.

This has to be a rough week to be a Met fan and even worse if he/she is a Giant football fan too.  Let's see the week started with the Jets defeating the Chargers, then the Mets losing out on catcher Bengie Molina, then Joel Piniero, and now today they trade for Gary MatthewsJr.  Here is how it played out:

Giants re-signed C Bengie Molina to a one-year, $4.25 million contract.  Molina passed his physical Thursday night and the deal was officially announced by the Giants on Friday afternoon. Molina is expected to keep the catcher's position warm this summer until top prospect Buster Posey arrives from the minor league ranks.

Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports that Joel Pineiro will make $16 million over the next two year with the Angels.  Alhough the deal isn't officially finalized it looks like it will happen.

Mets GM Omar Minaya said Friday that the center field job will be an "open competition" between Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr.  Pagan, 28, hit .306 with six homers, 32 RBI and 14 stolen bases over 343 at-bats last season and played solid defense in the outfield, but he's going to lose playing time to Minaya's new toy. Matthews, who's now 35, batted just .250 with four homers in 316 at-bats. He has a bad left knee and is no longer a talented defensive outfielder.

Overall this mean the Mets are still weak at C, 1st, 2nd, SP, and 4th OF.  Hopefully for Met fans Minaya knows what he is doing and can still fix this team.