Step Brothers With Steve Nash And Baron Davis??

Another Player Headed Overseas

Nenad Krstic has signed a two year contract worth $9 million a year to play for the Triumph Moscow. He now joins Bostjan Nachbar, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa, Carlos Delfino, Primoz Brezec, Brandon Jennings and Josh Childress. These are the players I know about. Can you feel the competitive level drop?

Ron Artest Coming To Texas, Just Not As A Mav

The Sacramento Kings have decided to trade Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets for ex-King Bobby Jackson, the rights to Donte Green and a 1st round pick in the 2009 draft.

Looks like Josh Howard will remain a Maverick. I think it was a mistake not to trade him. Again. We've now kept Mr. Howard despite having a chance to attain Pau Gasol and now Ron Artest. Both of whom are far more talented than Josh Howard. Even when he was playing well. Hopefully, he'll prove me wrong.

The Rockets, IF they stay healthy, will contend for the championship next year. Yao Ming, McGrady, Rafer Alston and Artest with one of the best defenses in the league. They're going to be tough to beat.

Injury Report: Cowboys Training Camp

Terence Newman missed Monday's practice due to a pulled groin midway through as a teammate accidentally kneed him in the thigh. Details about the severity of the injury are unavailable at this time, although he was seen walking without a limp. Mike Jenkins, the first round corner, spent some time with the first team in his place.

Other injuries involve cornerback Quincy Carter. Just kidding. It's cornerback Quincy Butler (leg), linebacker Justin Rogers (stomach virus) and linebacker Tearrius George (knee).

Mavericks Summer League

The summer league is finished. A few names impressed, some expected and some were a surprise. Gerald Green was our best summer league player and has raised a few eyebrows. Maybe he has figured some things out? But he wasn't the only one with a strong summer.

Reyshawn Terry and Shan Foster are expected to be in camp, but that was expected considering the expectations that this team had when they were drafted.

Charles Rhodes leads the "out of nowhere" camp. A 6-8, 248 lb. rookie power forward who averaged nearly 10 pts and 5 rebounds a game while shooting over 60 percent. However, Brandon Bass has been the anointed backup for Dirk so making the Mavericks squad would probably require Brandon or Dirk to be traded off the squad. I don't see either of those scenarios happening. Especially with the Ron Artest trade at a standoff.

The other notable was James Singleton. A spare off of the Clipper squad played solidly in the Vegas league but wasn't played often in Utah.

Overall, it was a good summer or promising summer as our squad might be a little more athletic next year.

My Favorite Notre Dame Player

The Chicago Cubs, after placing Kerry Woods on the DL, have called up ex-Notre Dame football star Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija has gone 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA in his last six minor league starts.

Lou Piniella has said that he will use him in the bullpen as a middle reliever.

Update to Warning Shot To NBA

Sasha Vujacic, from the LA Lakers, is prepared to accept an offer from a European team if the Lakers don't re up a better offer in the next few days.

Texas Longhorns Football Preview '08

Most of the polls have Texas ranked outside of the Top 10. Not a bad estimation, much to the chagrin of the Longhorn Nation. We lost Limas Sweed and Jamaal Charles. That's enough to make any Longhorn fan sweat a little. Especially since Charles won a couple of last season's games by himself. Colt McCoy, our lone returning star on offense, threw 18 interceptions last year.

Foswhitt Whittaker is supposed to be quick and elusive. Which will be essential in the zone read play made famous by Vince Young. Other than Whittaker, Vondrell McGee will look to pick up the slack left by Jamaal Charles. The receiving corp has two dependable receivers in Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley but won't threaten the secondary deep. Redshirt freshman Malcolm Williams will have to fill that void. Overall, the Texas offense just doesn't seem like a dangerous offense to face off against. There isn't that dynamic player that can score from any point on the field.

On defense, it doesn't look any prettier. The defense ranked 70th in pass efficiency defense and 109th in average passing yards allowed. Combine that with the fact that Texas might be relying on three redshirt freshmen at safety and new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has a long season ahead of him.

Texas will face off against nine 2007 bowl teams and five opponents who ranked in the top 17 in passing offenses last season. In my opinion, Top 20 might be a little too high for Texas and I certainly don't think Mack Brown will extend his streak to eight straight ten win seasons.

Warning Shot To NBA

Josh Childress, a 25 yr old forward for the Atlanta Hawks, has opted to sign with the Greek Olympiakos. Details were not given but the Greek team offered Josh substantially more than the 5 yr, $33 million offer from the Hawks. This doesn't just leave the Hawks scrambling. I think this is just the beginning of a trend.

Brandon Jennings, who was considered the top high school player, decided to join an Italian team just last week rather than accept a scholarship offer from Arizona. Bostjan Nachbar signed a three year deal with Dynamo Moscow. Both Nachbar and Childress have options after every year to buy out their contracts and return to the NBA.

This trend will continue as long as NBA teams are handicapped with salary caps and/or the inability to match offers from foreign teams. This won't necessarily affect the Kobe Bryants or the Lebron James of the league but it will affect the next tier of players who have to take a hit in salary because of the bigger names on the team. If the second tier of players can sign deals equal to or greater than the superstar deals, why wouldn't they leave?

This will severely downgrade the quality of basketball within the NBA. With the Donaghy controversy still fresh in everyone's minds, how many more hits can the NBA take? Does anyone still think that David Stern is a "great" commissioner? Better question, can I get any of these European leagues on Dish Network?

Nowitzki Breaks Thru

If you don't think this guy cares about winning, you need to pay more attention. After getting close for years, Dirk and the Germany squad is headed to the Olympics. After realizing his lifelong dream, he broke down in tears as his teammates celebrated with him.

Germany is within Group B, which contains Spain, Greece, China, Angola and the USA squads. It took Dirk 32 points and a win over a JJ Barea led Puerto Rico squad to qualify.

It's nice for Dirk to feel some sort of success.

Celtics Interested In Devean George

After losing James Posey to the New Orleans Hornets, the Celtics are reportedly interested in Devean George. Ainge is taking the stance that his team is set and will wait for any offers to be proposed to them. Which makes sense since they just resigned Allen and House. Although losing James Posey was a big hit to their team in my opinion.

James Posey reminds me of Devean George or Robert Horry in their prime. Never a primary option but a guy who knows how to win.

Jeremy Shockey Sent To New Orleans

In yet another move by a NFC East team, Jeremy Shockey was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a 2nd and 5th round pick in 2009. The New York Giants are more than happy to get rid of their disgruntled star tight end after Eli and Kevin Boss seemed to develop an immediate rapport with one another. It seemed like Eli Manning played better when Shockey was not in the lineup. So, the Giants will have to repeat without the ex-Miami Hurricane star and Michael Strahan.

On the otherside, the Saints have rejoined Sean Payton with Shockey. While Payton was in NY, Shockey had his best season as a pro posting 891 yards and 7 scores as a rookie. The Saints were looking desperately for another weapon to put alongside Marques Colston. With Reggie at full strength, the Saints looked poised to continue building momentum after a dismal season last year.

In my opinion, I think both teams benefited greatly from this trade. The Giants got rid of Manning's main distraction, the Saints finally have another legitimate passing threat and Shockey is rejoined with the coach that made him a star a couple of years ago.

Romo's New Nightmare

The Washington Redskins trade a 2nd round 2009 pick and a 6th round 2010 pick for Jason Taylor. This move came nine hours after a season ending injury to Phillip Daniels during the first day of training camp.

No offense to Phillip Daniels, but it's not a bad move when you can immediately upgrade your starting defensive end for a 2nd rounder. With an improved offense, the Redskins can make some noise in the NFC East. This is entirely dependent on whether or not their defense can continue the momentum built by ex-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Their defense is headed up by Greg Blache now.

With the NY Giants coming off a Super Bowl win, it's going to be another rough year in the NFC East.

Trade Offer For Ron Artest

The Dallas Mavericks have made a trade offer for Ron Artest. Unconfirmed rumors are saying that Brandon Bass and Jerry Stackhouse have been offered for Ron Artest.

Sacramento Kings want to unload both Ron Artest and Kenny Thomas. Kenny Thomas is for salary purposes. The Dallas Mavericks would be giving up on their best low post option right now. He's a bruiser down low and takes it strong back up to the hole. No other Maverick does that right now. I definitely do not want to lose Bass. I would offer up Josh Howard instead.

Artest is a better defender, rebounder and low post player than Howard. It's just whether or not he is mentally there with the team or not. I think they should trade Howard for Artest. As currently constructed, they're not going to win the championship anyway. And at this point, it's all about winning that championship.

Ken Hamlin Gets Resigned With A Six Year, $39 Million Contract

Ken Hamlin now joins Terrell Owens, Flozell Adams, Marion Barber and Terence Newman as another pro-bowler with a long, healthy contract this offseason. Hamlin hasn't participated in the offseason workouts after the Cowboys tried using the franchise option on him.

The deal is similar to what Gibril Wilson and Kerry Rhodes were offered by the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets, respectively. It's not a horrible contract for the Cowboys but the problem is that Seattle had to cut Ken because of performance issues after he received a lucrative contract from them. So, it remains to be seen whether or not Ken Hamlin is just a pay check player.

Regardless, Ken Hamlin is the best safety that the Cowboys have on the roster so it serves them well to keep him happy.

Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Ah, another star caught in the dilemma of whether or not he should continue playing. Of course, this edition features Brett Favre. Perhaps one of the most beloved quarterbacks. Ever. Wants off the team that has made him a legend. This isn't the first time that a perennial hall of famer has wanted out of his city. A tussle with Jerry Krause comes to mind. And nothing is more tragic than a guy who has defined a city wanting to play for another team.

The favorites to receive Brett's services are Chicago, Minnesota and now Tampa Bay. It's scary to think of Brett Favre going to Minnesota. It would make the Vikings a favorite to reach the Super Bowl. But I can't imagine it. Seeing Favre in purple would send chills through my veins. It's almost as bad as Michael Jordan in Washington Wizard colors.

I didn't mind it when Emmitt left for Arizona, Shaq for Miami or Nash for the Suns. There are just certain players that should never be allowed to put on another uniform. Michael Jordan was one of them. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jerry Rice, Mickey Mantle, John Elway and plenty of others. But Brett Favre is definitely one of them. Love them or hate them, they belong in their respective team colors.

So, I say he stays. Either in Packer colors or in retirement.

The New (And Renewed) Mavericks

DeSagana Diop: The right move, even though it cost us our entire mid-level exception. Dampier will not be able to keep up consistently with the run and gun offense. Plus, Gana is by far a better defender than Dampier will ever be.

Gerald Green: If this kid ever figures it out, this will beat out the acquisitions of Brandon Bass and Gana Diop. He has the speed and athleticism this team desperately needs. And surprisingly he even has a three point shot to boot. It's everything else that Gerald has to figure out. It's a good thing he's the age he would have been if he came out of college.

Antoine Wright: Hoorah for this resigning. I liked what I saw in limited time last year. He could develop into a very good on the ball, wing defender. Plus he's some more of the athleticism this team has lost over the past five years.

James Singleton: Don't know too much about this guy except he's been nonexistent in the LA Clippers plans for the past several years. Although that's been the MO for players such as Gana and Bass. He's athletic and he's making some noise in the summer league thus far.

Keith McLeod: Seems to be a career 7th or 8th man off the bench. Averages of 5.5 pts, 2.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds. Not much to say except we're 5 for 5 on the athleticism front.