Save the Sonics!

Over at ESPN.com, Bill Simmons has been campaigning to keep the SuperSonics in Seattle for a few weeks now. It's an admirable cause and seriously should be on the tips of more peoples' tongues. The fact that they could be leaving town after a 41-year stay makes no sense. And basically, it's all because their owner doesn't think the arena there is good enough. Also, he wants to move the team to his hometown of Oklahoma City.

Granted, I see nothing wrong with moving a team to, or maybe even expanding to, Oklahoma City. They proved they can support a team when they had the Hornets following hurricane Katrina. But stealing a team from a city with loyal fans is border-line despicable. Why not move a team that's struggling for support in their market? How about taking the Grizzlies or Bobcats or even the Hornets away from their cities that are giving them fledgling support at best? It makes more sense than stripping Seattle of the team that gave the city its' only championship.

The fact that David Stern is sitting on his hands, doing nothing at all, makes this whole situation worse. What makes it exceedingly worse is the fact that he's stated

There was some good news yesterday though: A group of local investors have upped their bid to buy the team as well as refurbish KeyArena in order to keep the team in town. Of course, it probably won't happen, sadly, because the NBA seems more concerned about screwing over Seattle and its' fans than saving them.

Enter Aaron Rodgers

Trust me, it’s not too often that big news happens on a Tuesday. Seriously, look at the archives and see if anything significant really happened on a Tuesday. Please note, I’d probably post it on a Wednesday. But an event like this; an event several years in the making has come to fruition: Brett Favre has retired from pro football. An era has ended.

Everywhere you look you can find a story about how great Brett Favre is/was so I won’t delve too far into that. The real question that should be asked is: Can Aaron Rodgers led the Packers? The one game I can point to this season, when he played was against the Cowboys when Rodgers looked every bit as good as the Brett when Favre had to be replaced because of an injury.

But in almost chance that Rodgers has had to play, he’s gotten injured it seems. In terms of durability, he’s like an anti-Favre. Durability is essential to becoming a top-flight quarterback in the NFL; it’s one of the reasons why Favre was one of the best ever.

And how about this: Eli Manning ended both the Patriot’s dynasty, undefeated season and Brett Favre’s career. That’s quite the resume. If he wasn’t playing for the Giants, I’d be tempted to call him a giant killer.

Oh, what a race!

Manu for MVP? It's getting pretty easy to build a case for him after the incredible run he's been on. Leading the loaded Spurs back to the top of the league, for a time without Tony Parker, is worthy of mentioning. But honestly now, a white guy winning the MVP for the fourth season in a row is utterly ridiculous. So let's move onto the the two real candidates. Kobe and LeBron.

It's been a few seasons since I've seen such a tight heat for the prestigious award. And let's get this straight, I don't think Steve Nash deserved his two MVPs, but he did deserve to win over Dirk (who was great, but not the best) last year.

While many will look at numbers to judge who the winner should be, there's a lot more to it. Both Kobe and LBJ have exhibited stunning leadership, taking hold of teams that were thought to be not quite top-rung, and carrying them (sometimes singlehandedly) towards the apex. There have been times when you would have been shocked had they missed a circus shot, that's how on they can get.

The case for Kobe is intensified by the situation he was in to start the season. After demanding a trade after failing to get help in the offseason, he still gave it his all and even raised the talents of his teammates. Who would've thought that Andrew Bynum would get this good (before getting injured). How about Sasha Vujacic who now looks like one of the better shooters out there? Now, with Pau Gasol, it's not unrealistic that the Lakers could not only take home the championship this year, but next as well. He's consistantly called the best scorer — even player — in the league and he's living up to that title this year. Oh, and let's not forget that he's playing through a torn ligament in his pinky finger.

Then there' LeBron James. It seems like every game he's got his motor running all out which he didn't have going for the first half of last season. He's getting better on defence and at rebounding while leading the league in scoring. He's the guy that the powerhouse Celtics and the Pistons don't want to face any time in the playoffs because they and everyone else know that when King James steps on the floor, there's nobody better out there. At crunch time, the only player who comes close to his ability to score is Kobe, but I'd take James nine times out of 10.

The race in the West may get billed as the one to watch in the NBA's stretch run (nine 50 win teams? are you serious?) but Kobe vs. LeBron for MVP is what I'll be looking at.

NFL free agent frenzy

It's that time of year when the NFL's new season officially starts and players are let loose on the open (and sometimes not so open) market. Players are dealt, college players are scouted for the coming draft and even some trades are made. So what happened over the weekend you might ask? Well I'll tell you.

Dallas dealt oft-injured defensive tackle Jason Ferguson to Miami for pretty much nothing. When he's healthy, Ferguson is a solid guy to have in the middle of your line. If Jason Taylor does stick around, Miami could have a decent pass rush going on. Even better depending who they draft first-overall.

Shaun Rogers had his own battle of Ohio going on. Before being sent to the Browns, the Bengals had a deal in place for him that fell through.

Derek Anderson cashed in on his Pro Bowl season and is staying with the Browns for three more years. I don't expect him to be around after one when Brady "The Future" Quinn takes the starting job from him. Look for Anderson to be traded around this time next year.

In Jets land, Alan Faneca and Kris Jenkins have hopped on-board. Faneca inked the biggest deal in the league for an offensive lineman while Jenkins was traded from the Panthers. The team sent stud linebacker Jonathon Vilma packing to New Orleans also. Vilma is a great young player and I'd want him as my middle linebacker.

The 49ers are the new owners of old Isaac Bruce. At this point in his career, he can still play a bit, but is more so collecting some cash for retirement. The Niners also picked up Justin Smith to play defensive end. Their defence has quite a few big names now; let's see if they can play together though.

The over-rated Michael Turner and his highly inflated 5.5 yards per carry landed in Atlanta. They will be disappointed when that number crashes back to earth without the Chargers' line blocking and the increased pressure of being a number one guy.

I still don't know why the Falcons dropped Alge Crumpler, the best player the had pretty much, but he's signed on with the Titans now. I guess he likes playing with scrambling quarterbacks and missed having a Michael Vick-type throwing to him.

Lance Briggs is staying with the Bears but Bernard Berrian is not. Smart move signing Briggs, he's worth the cash and keeps the Bears LB core around the top of the league. Dumb move letting Berrian walk, he was the best wide out they had.

Just a quick note to Dolphins who inked quarterback Josh McCown: He is not the solution. You might have been better off keeping Joey Harrington if you think McCown's going to help.

And nothing makes me happier than seeing the current Pats exodus. While star cornerback Asante Samuel left to sign a huge deal with Philly, their other starting corner Randal Gay signed on with the Saints. New England may have to play d-back again if this keeps up.

Quick note on Samuel for Eagles fans. He's soft and he's more than likely not going to work in your system. You would have been better off keeping Lito Sheppard.

Randy Moss is more than likely not staying with the Pats. He's going to make some big money from any team that needs receiving help. Jacksonville, looking your way.

And alas, Daunte Culpepper is unemployed still. There's talk he may follow Moss wherever he goes in an attempt to resuscitate his career.