Artest to Rockets

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Houston Rockets have acquired forward Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Bobby Jackson, Houston's first round draft pick in 2009, and a player to be named later.

The acquisition of Artest now gives Houston their own "big three" as he will join all-stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. This move puts Houston right back into the thick of things in a very competitive Western Conference.

Artest, one of the best defenders in the NBA, is most recognized for his fighting incident a few years back as a member of the Indiana Pacers. During the altercation Artest went into the stands where is stuck a fan with a heavy punch. He was later suspended for the remainder of the season.

Angels' Big Day Continues

Just hours after acquiring Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves the Angels nearly capped of the day in style. Angels veteran pitcher John Lackey took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of tonight's game against the Boston Red Sox before having it broken up by Dustin Pedroia, just two outs shy. The Angels went on to win the game by the final score of 6-2. The win marks the seventh in a row for the Angels over the Red Sox this season.

Lackey's near no-hitter would have been the first one thrown by an opposing pitcher at Fenway since 1993. Jon Lester threw a no-hitter earlier this season for the Red Sox.

Teixeira To Angels

Breaking MLB Trade Deadline News—

Accord to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, Atlanta Braves 1B Mark Teixeira has been traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for 1B Casey Kotchman and minor-league Pitcher Stephen Marek.

Just two days before the MLB Trade Deadline, the Angels have now made the first splash in the American League. With plenty of action yet to come, things will get interesting for the next 48 hours...

Hester Ends Holdout

Chicago Bears' all-pro kick returner Devin Hester ended his two day holdout on Sunday when he agreed to a new four year extension reportedly worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million. Hester was unhappy with his previous contract which was due to play him just $445,000 this season. He missed the first two days of training camp but is expected to be back in camp on Monday.

These holdouts seem to be a common theme recently in the NFL. Green Bay Packers running back Ryan Grant is a camp holdout. After last year's breakout season he feels that he should be paid more like a star running back and less like a rookie backup. Instead of living up to their contracts many players seem to have a "pay me now" sort of attitude instead of putting in their time and getting rewarded for it down the road, the way it is supposed to be done.

Manny On The Move?

One of the biggest rumors in MLB the past couple day has concerned Manny Ramirez and his future with the Boston Red Sox. Manny's antics over his career in Boston have been well documented and then shrugged off as "Manny being Manny." This year however he has crossed the line and the Red Sox appear to have had enough. He pushed a 64 year old traveling ticket agent to the ground, he got in a fight with teammate Kevin Youkilis, and then most recently took himself out of the lineup before a game against the Sox's arch rivals the New York Yankees.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstien, who has made clear in the past is discontent with many of Manny's antics, has admitted that the Sox are listening to trade offers for the all-star left fielder.

One thing that could potentially be a road block in a trade of Manny Ramirez is the fact that Manny has a no trade clause that kicked in after last season. This gives Ramirez the right to veto any trade agreed to by the Sox in which he is a part of. Today in an interview with ESPN Deportes Manny said that he would not, in fact, block a trade should it come to that. It remains to be seen if he will live up to his word.

"If the Red Sox are a better team without Manny Ramirez, they should trade me; I will not object. I don't have any preferences. I could choose a team that offers me the best conditions or one in the chase for the postseason. I don't care where I play, I can even play in Iraq if need be. My job is to play baseball. If they can get a trade, I'd approve it. If they can't trade me, then they will simply have to inform me by the end of the season that they won't use the options and we'll go separate ways. I don't want to be a problem and a distraction to the Red Sox in such a critical moment of the season. I want to help the team, even if that means I have to go."

The biggest problem I have with this comment is that Manny has been a distraction. He coined the phrase "Manny being Manny." He is the one that makes bathroom trips during the game into the green monster. He is the one who threw a old man to the ground because he would not give him the tickets he wanted. He is the one that brings up his contract situation every time he talks to reporters. He is the one that has put himself and the Red Sox in the position they are in now.

If Manny really wants to not be a distraction he should be a man and live up to his contract and play EVERYDAY to the best of his abilities. Reports have indicated that he thinks he is worth upwards of $25 million a year over the next four years. Even taking out of account his off field shananagans, his play over the last few seasons does not merit $25 million. It is time for Manny Ramirez to stop acting like a child and start acting live a professional. He needs to prove to the world what he is worth as a ballplayer. If he does he will get rewarded, and likely by the Red Sox, the team he has said all along that he wants to play for.

Hot Stove Heating Up!

For the second day in a row a highly sought after player has been dealt to a playoff contender. The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired 3B/OF Casey Blake from the Cleveland Indians for two minor leaguers. The right handed hitting Blake, a free agent to be at season's end, had a line of .289/11/58 this season for the Indians. Blake played a combination of third base and left field this season in Cleveland and is expected to take over as the Dodgers every day third baseman, solidifying a position that has been up for grabs all season in LA.

This is a good pickup for the Dodgers who were in need of another bat as well as some stability on the left side of the infield. Blake's .289 average and 58 RBI led the Indians. As many as seven other teams were rumored to have interest in Blake including the Rays and Mets.

From the Indian's perspective this move made a lot of sense. With Blake's contract expiring at the end of the year they were better off getting something in return rather than watching him walk away and taking their chances with a low compensation pick. One of the players they received in was single A catcher Carlos Santana who is batting .323 with 14 homers and is considered a very good offensive prospect. The other player, a triple A right handed pitcher named Jon Meloan, is 5-10 with a 4.97 era this season.

Nady, Marte Bronx Bound

The New York Yankees have acquired outfielder Xavier Nady and lefty reliever Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for four minor leaguers. According to Sport Illustrated's Jon Heyman the deal is pending physicals for all six players involved.

The addition of Nady is a good one for the Yanks as outfielder Hideki Matsui is expected to miss significant time due to a knee injury.

Marte, who was coveted by many teams including New York's arch rivals the Boston Red Sox, will serve as the lefty specialist coming out of the Yankee bullpen. The position was previously held by Mike Myers who was released by the Yankees earlier in the season.

New Leader In NL East

For the first time since mid April the New York Mets are alone a top that NL East. Led by seven strong innings from starter Oliver Perez and a clutch two-run double in the 8th inning from Carlos Delgado the Mets pulled out the 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. This could be trouble for the Phillies who have coasted most of the way thus far. The Mets, winners of seven out of their last ten games are starting to catch fire at the right time.

With the trade deadline quickly approaching it will be interesting to see what these two teams will do to better themselves for the home stretch. The Phillies earlier this week acquired Joe Blanton from the A's but the price was steep as they had to part ways with the #2 and #4 prospects in their farm system according to the Baseball America rankings. There were rumors earlier in the week about a possible trade between the Phillies and Rockies that would have sent Brian Fuentes and Matt Holiday to Philly for a package of promising young players that would have included rising star Shane Victorino. Those talks however have since quited down.

The Mets certainly have a reputation for not being afraid to pay the price to go out and get what they need to win. With GM Omar Minaya at the helm, they are sure to explore all possibilities to adding what ever missing link they see fit. Given the recent strong performances from their starting rotation, their only real need may be another arm in the bullpen and perhaps a little more depth off the bench. That is assuming that the Pedro Martinez injury is not anything serious. Other than that have no glaring weakness at this time.

It will be interesting to see what the coming weeks bring us. This is sure to be a fun race to watch.

WNBA Reacts to Catfight

For those of you who may not have heard, the WNBA got a little publicity boost Tuesday night when a fight broke out on the court following a hard foul during a Detroit Shock-Los Angeles Sparks game. During the brawl that ensued an assistant coach pushed one of the faces of the league to the ground, another player had to be carted off in a wheelchair after falling while trying to restore peace, and several other ladies passionately pushed each other around.

This may have been the first time in league history that the WNBA was featured during the first 15 minutes of Sportscenter. A league that is often described by the average sports fan as boring, dull, and even robotic finally showed some emotion. On Wednesday one of the top searches for sports news on several of the top sports site in the world was "WNBA Fight."

So how, you might ask, did the league respond to this media blessing? WNBA president Donna Orender released the following statement: "The WNBA and its players represent all that is good about sports: passion, hard work and sacrifice. On a nightly basis our players display extraordinary skill, athleticism and competitive fire. The events Tuesday, however, were inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for. We hold our players to a very high standard and these suspensions should serve notice that the behavior exhibited at the end of Tuesday's game will not be tolerated."

I will now give all of you a moment to stop laughing before we continue on...

For a league that loses millions of dollars yearly, has no major television deals, struggles on a nightly basis to even half fill their arenas, and gets zero respect on the national sports level to come out and say that drawing attention to the league and playing with a little passion is "inexcusable" is absolutely absurd. Emotion is part of sports. It is what makes sports so fun to watch and play. It is why professional sports in this country is a muti-billion dollar a year industry: it entertains, it draws people in, it makes people devote their lives to celebrating it. But apparently the WNBA does not want that.

Instead of suspending 10 players today the WNBA should have sent out a memo to the rest of the league telling them that this is how the game should be played. I am not saying that the WNBA should be turned into a pay-per-view fight night. But please, play with a little passion. Show the world why your sport should be watched and taken seriously.

There is a reason why the NFL is the most watched sport in this country. And there is also a reason why the WNBA is currently one of the least.

King James Foresees Gold.

Joe Namath did it. Muhammad Ali did it. Now its Lebron's turn.

What, you may ask, might these three have in common besides all being tremendous athletes? Well the first two made guarantees that their team would win on the big stage; Namath in the Superbowl, Ali did it for the World Heavy-weight Championship. This time its Lebron James at the Olympics.

The Associated Press is reporting that in a Time Magazine issue that hits newsstands on Friday, when asked if his team would win gold his response was "absolutely!"

Lebron will be chasing something that USA basketball has failed to do at the Olympics Since 2000. He will be doing so against teams like Argentina, Greece, Lithuania, and Spain, all teams who are possibly better than they have ever been in the past...they have all been very good in the past. The NBA has changed. It is no longer the NBA of the 1980's or 90's when every good player, and I mean everyone, was from the United States. Now, like many other sports (baseball and hockey come to mind), many of the best players in the game are not from the United States. You have players like Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, and even Tim Duncan, all outstanding players and perennial all-stars, who are all born on foreign soil.

Team USA will have their hands full at this year's Olympic games. On paper you would have to say they are the favorites to win it all, but not by as wide a margin as Lebron and company may think. We are going to need to see the Lebron James from game 7 the this year's Eastern Conference Finals in every game for team USA to win gold. I'm not talking about the numbers. He will not get the touches to score 40+ points in a game, not with Kobe Bryant on the same team. What I am talking about is the drive, the Jordan-esk glare in his eye that tells you he wants it. That glare does not come out every game. It will need to for him to "absolutely" make good on his declaration.