The current top-five players in the NBA according to RealGM's FIC, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, were all on Team USA's 2008 Gold Medal team. How does the rest of the NBA rank?
Monta Ellis is still at least a full month away from his return to the court for the Warriors, but he recently called RealGM with the full story behind his ankle injury.
Just three installments remain in the series, with this chapter housing names like Michael Jordan, Kevin McHale, and Carmelo Anthony. It was incredibly hard to leave off a number of players, and I’m sure after reading you’ll see exactly whom I decided skip over this time around.
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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by Andrew Perna
I caught a game at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night for the first time, and I came away rather impressed. I’m used to older parks like Shea and Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, which are all on the older side, to say the least.
It was also quite the game, with the Phillies battling back from a 7-0 deficit to force extra innings. Chris Coste won the game for Philadelphia, 8-7 over the Mets, in the bottom of the thirteenth inning with the bases loaded and one out.
Coste was 4-for-4 off the bench, coming into the game in the eighth inning, in one of the most bizarre games I’ve ever seen.
The Magic will officially reveal re-designed jerseys in late September, but it has been leaked that they will feature pinstripes similar to the ones Orlando wore in their early days. I’m a fan of pinstripes, but I hate how teams are changing jerseys constantly. I suppose it’s all about the benjamins.
Jerry Colangelo is expected to remain the director of USA Basketball through the 2012 Olympic Games in England. Assuming he remains in “office” that long, I think it would be a good idea for his son Bryan to take over. Bryan has his finger on the pulse of international ball in Toronto, which could be an advantage.
Nearly 500 fans welcomed Ron Artestupon his arrival in Texas on Monday, something those people could regret in the future. Artest is supremely talented and has behaved well as of late. If both of those statements remain constant, the Rockets will be a force this season.
The Padres are reportedly hoping to draft Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State. Drafting Strasburg could be a nice pubic relations move as well as a shot in the arm for their rotation. He’s one of the top prospects in college and will likely be a top pick.
The Tigers have placed pitcher Kenny Rogers on trade waivers, and he’s expected to be dealt by the end of the week. At 9-11 with an ERA over 5.00, I wouldn’t rank Rogers as a late-season savior of any kind.
The absence of Rogers in Detroit, could soon mean a Major League promotion for Freddy Garcia. The recently-signed pitcher was moved up to Triple-A Toledo earlier this week, and he will start for the Mud Hens on Wednesday night. He wasn’t much better than Rogers last season, but youth could be on his side.
Grady Sizemore became a member of the 30-30 club on Monday night when he homered against the Tigers. Cleveland has won nine-straight, but they are unfortunately still more than ten games behind Chicago for first place in the division.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt claims that Matt Leinart is still the Cardinals’ starting quarterback despite reports that Kurt Warner was given the job earlier this week. Warner might be the steadier of the two right now, but he’s not going to play forever – no matter how hard he might try. Arizona might be better off playing Leinart so they can see if he really is starter material.
The Bengals appear to be offering Rudi Johnson in a trade for a legitimate wide receiver, which could show just how worried they are about the shoulder of Chad Johnson. Marvin Lewis says he knows nothing about any deals, but that doesn’t mean much. However, the lack of top-flight pass-catchers, along with the number of teams in need of one, could cloud the market for Cincinnati.
The Giants have reportedly contacted the agent of retired defensive end Michael Strahan, opening up the possibility that he could return to New York this season. Strahan turned down $6 million earlier this offseason but said over the weekend that he might consider returning for $8 million. It certainly wouldn’t hurt the champs to bring him back.
Henrik Zetterberg is hoping to net 50 goals and score 100 points this season for the defending-champion Red Wings. That would be quite the statistical line, and something that would make him a top pick in fantasy hockey drafts. Be sure to take his goal into account when drafting.
