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.

2008 NBA Draft

Well, I haven't been overly excited about the NBA Draft because the Dallas Mavericks don't have a first round pick. Yet again. But I decided to blog about the question on who should be the No. 1 pick.

Derrick Rose. No doubt. Especially the way penetration is paramount in the NBA. The way games are officiated. If you get into the paint, you're usually rewarded with a layup, free throws or a wide open shot. Everything you wish for on every possession in basketball. I don't even think Beasley has the most talent. Did they watch Rose during the Final Four tournament? The guy has every chance of being THE best point guard in the league for a very long time. Think of a taller, stronger Chris Paul.

Now, Michael Beasley has all of the physical tools to become a franchise forward in the league but watching him play brings back memories of Derrick Coleman. Almost to a tee. All the potential in the world but missing that one element to make his team win. Don't get me wrong. He'll put up numbers for you, but his team will lose.

Well, there's my quick blog about the draft. Here's hoping the Mavericks pull off a miracle trade and pair up Nowitzki with Derrick Rose.

The Return Of Tim Donaghy

So, the proclaimed "rogue, isolated" official is in the news again. This time he is alleging most notably that "company men" officials rigged the 2002 NBA Playoff matchup between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers. In the game referenced, the Los Angeles Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Now, I know most of you consider Tim Donaghy as the lone official who would ever alter the outcome of a game. Because that's what David Stern and the NBA want you to believe. And because the FBI has cleared the NBA and other officials of any wrongdoing or illegal activity. Whether or not that just means that David Stern is intelligent enough not to have those conversations recorded is up to you to decide.

But ask yourself this. How did David Stern know without a doubt that Donaghy was the only official involved? Or fixing games in general for another reason? Wouldn't a CEO of a major company extensively research film to determine whether or not other officials were involved? What would have happened if they only investigated one executive from Enron?

Furthermore, for a league that freely admits to treating "superstars" differently and repeated altercations between certain players and officials, is it really that far fetched for the league to make games or playoff series more exciting through a little more manipulation? Isn't keeping Shaquille O'Neal from fouling out during his glory years manipulating the game in Shaq's team's favor? Why is protecting Kobe Bryant or any other superstar from fouling out any less of an offense as Tim Donaghy protecting a spread? And that's just one of the "rules" that Stern has implemented. We won't even delve into traveling and hop steps being "legalized".

Since Jordan's retirement, the NBA has experienced a sharp nose dive in ratings. Since an 18.7 rating during Jordan's last championship series, the NBA Finals has only surpassed a 10 rating five (now probably six) times. Only one of those series hasn't involved the LA Lakers. I've heard the media suggest that it would be the New York Knicks that would receive Stern's bias if it existed. What they fail or refuse to recognize is that the Lakers have far more appeal to the general public than the New York Knicks.

So, what does that mean? For advertising dollars, receiving half the amount of viewers could and has cost Stern and the league billions of dollars. What would you do to recapture billions of dollars? Do you think that might affect his paycheck just a little bit? Funny, the NBA Finals featuring the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers last year captured an all-time low 6.2 rating. This year, it featured two of the most storied franchises the league has to offer. The Boston Celtics and........the Los Angeles Lakers.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_Nielsen_ratings