If they do, then you can bet your ass the Knicks will be the team to beat next season.

After getting the services of multi – time All – Star Tracy McGrady this 2010 NBA basketball season from a three team trade with the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings, the New York Knicks were able to clear enough salary-cap space for the Knicks to possibly sign two maximum-salary free agents this summer.

That’s right, the New York Knicks could recruit LeBron James by giving him the option of choosing which other free agent he wants from the likes of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire and Dirk Nowitzki.

However, getting LeBron James out of Cleveland won’t be easy since the Cavs, who own the league’s best record, bolstered their lineup with the addition of former Wizards forward Antawn Jamison. If Cleveland advances to its second NBA Finals stint in four years with LeBron, the odds of him leaving his home state figure to be diminished.

Sorry Knicks fans.

The New York Knicks aren’t the only team to clear cap space. The Chicago Bulls, a team featuring point guard Derrick Rose and a better core group of players than…

For the first time ever, the Pro Bowl will come a week before THE big game, as this year’s Pro Bowl kicks off Super Bowl week with a bang.

Yes, the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl will now come before the Super Bowl and this year, the best players from both the AFC and the NFC will play at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida for this year’s annual showcase of the league’s premiere talent.

This way, football fans will be able to further build their anticipation heading to Super Bowl XLIV and as far as this year’s Pro Bowl starters are concerned, both teams’ rosters have some familiar faces.

Leading the pack for the AFC squad is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Other selections include Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and Colts teammate Reggie Wayne.

Dallas Clark, who also plays for the Indianapolis Colts, was also voted in for the Pro Bowl to play tight end, starting tackles will be the Dolphins’ Jake Long and the Broncos’ Ryan Clady. Starting guards for the AFC will be the Patriots’ Logan Mankins and Alan Faneca of the New York Jets.

Faneca’s teammate Nick Mangold will be the AFC’s starting center…

Heeere we go.

The road to the Super Bowl officially begins as we kickoff the 2010 NFL playoffs with a rematch between the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals in what should be one wild wild card playoff matchup.

The Cincinnati Bengals will try to rebound from the 37-0 trashing handed to them by the New York Jets back in Week 17 last Sunday. Yup, the offense that got the Bengals to one of the best starts in the league this season was virtually nowhere to be seen.

Quarterback Carson Palmer, wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and running back Larry Johnson struggled miserably against the New York Jets last Sunday. Sure, they didn’t play star running back Cedric Benson but since the guy, who produced one of the top rushing performances in yards per game this season, struggled when these two teams met, averaging just 4.2 yards per carry, I wouldn’t be too relaxed if I’m a Bengals fan when he takes the field.

None of that bodes well for a Cincinnati Bengals team facing one of the the toughest defenses in the league. The New York Jets just give up less than four yards per carry and just over five yards per pass attempt.

Luckily for Cincinnati, the Jets’ offensive numbers aren’t that impressive, needing…

Bettors Backing NFL Road Favorites

Get ready to watch the men separate themselves from the boys this week in the NFL as the playoff races heat up. It’s the proverbial “go time” for many teams.

Cincinnati at Oakland:

The Bengals are sitting pretty…right now anyway, but they need to keep winning and especially winning games against weak teams.

They head to Oakland this week to face, big surprise, a troubled Raider team. Cincy has been one of this season’s surprises, currently leading the AFC North with records of 7-2 straight up and 6-3 against the spread.

But they’re facing a bit of adversity this week, as the team’s leading rusher, Cedric Benson, is nursing what ESPN is calling a sore abductor muscle. His pain resulted in the team signing recent Kansas City Chiefs castoff RB Larry Johnson. LJ’s attitude wore thin on the Chiefs and his addition already seems to be wearing on Benson. We’ll see how it shakes out.

There have been changes made to the Raiders’ starting lineup as well as QB JaMarcus Russell has been demoted while QB Bruce Gradkowski will start in Russell’s place.

In its last nine when an underdog of more than 8-points, Oakland is 6-3 ATS.

Going into Sunday’s game in Oakland, online sportsbooks have…

Do they really need him?

Whatever the case is, that’s the consensus at this point of the 2009 NFL football season. And while the Bengals already have a solid campaign going this year, adding even more pieces certainly won’t hurt.

In case you didn’t know, Larry Johnson was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on the day he was due back from his second suspension in the past 12 months. This ends his six-year relationship with Kansas City, a relationship that’s anything but smooth.

You see, Johnson was a problem ever since the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him back in ‘03. And after the guy posted some ill-comments about his coach on Twitter this season, that turned out to be the final straw that booted him out of Kansas for good.

Larry Johnson should be excited to have a fresh start with a new team for the remainder of the season and by the looks of things, Johnson won’t have to wait that long.

Apparently, the Cincinnati Bengals have already expressed their desire to sign the disgruntled free agent. The question now is, will Johnson accept his new role in Cincinnati if ever the Bengals do sign him because if anything, he won’t be a starter.

The deal between the Bengals and Larry Johnson is close to fruition and as far as what role will the Pro Bowl running back play, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said…

People from Kansas City saw this one coming a mile away.

To say that the Kansas City Chiefs are having a campaign to forget this 2009 NFL football season could be an understatement. After earning their first win of the season when they beat the Washington Redskins two weeks ago, they are once again losing games. These guys are currently on a two-game losing skid and I don’t see anything that could change the Chiefs’ fortunes for the immediate future.

Of course, that won’t stop the Kansas City Chiefs from making some moves. And they may have made the biggest one yet. You see, the Chiefs have finally let franchise running back Larry Johnson go and for the first time in the Pro Bowler’s career, he’s no longer welcome in Kansas.

After seven years playing in Kansas City, Larry Johnson was finally released by the Chiefs on the same day that he was due back from his second suspension in the past 12 months. Is this just a matter of the Chiefs getting rid of excess baggage or is Kansas City letting go of a solid running back who still has a few good years left in him?

The rest of the NFL thinks the latter.

Teams like the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans have already expressed their desire of signing a player of Johnson’s caliber as soon as they learned that the Chiefs have finally released him. Will we see a deal…

We all know the kind of Cinderella run the Cardinals had last year. But will 2009 be the same?

That is the question Arizona Cardinals fans are probably asking themselves with only a few months left before the new 2009 NFL football season kicks off. In a conference dominated by the best division in football, that being the NFC East, the Cardinals came out of the NFC West, arguably one of the worst divisions in pro sports, to come close to winning the biggest prize in pro sports. Go figure.

The Arizona Cardinals, thanks to a rejuvenated Kurt Warner, had probably the best passing game in the NFL last season. Despite that, they couldn’t go past the defense of the Steel Curtain as they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, failing to win what would’ve been the Super Bowl title that could vindicate their franchise.

That’s why the Arizona Cardinals have decided to make some changes, hoping that they can improve where the left off last year.

For starters, the Cardinals now have a new one-two punch in the running game. RBs Beanie Wells and Jason Wright will make a much better running duo than Tim Hightower, who will handle goal line duty, and the departed Edgerin James.

Kurt Warner and backup Matt Leinart will return, giving them good depth at the quarterback position. LB Cody Brown and S Rashad Johnson are great draft picks that should help them establish a young, strong defense for many years.

The Cardinals are almost certain to be better than last year’s version that nearly won the Super Bowl. The only problem they might have this season is Kurt Warner who is 39 years old since the list of QBs who have been successful at that age are limited to no one. Thankfully, Warner has Larry Fitzgerald to keep the passing game interesting, and their opponents, guessing.

Another deep playoff run might require Matt Leinart to…

Are you ready?

Michigan State, Connecticut, Villanova and North Carolina are all in the 2009 NCAA Final Four as the Big Dance begins Saturday at Detroit’s Ford Field. This sets up several compelling connections to tournament lore.

Let’s start with the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans not only get to play 90 miles from its East Lansing campus but returns to the Final Four for the 30th anniversary of its 1979 NCAA title. The famous showdown between Indiana State’s Larry Bird and Michigan State’s Magic Johnson that season helped shaped college basketball.

Detroit is an extension of home. The comforts are a reward for the Big Ten regular season champions, who are 9-0 all-time as a no.2 seed, the same seed Michigan State earned for the 1979 title run. Using stifling defense and Goran Suton’s offense, the Spartans manhandled top overall seed Louisville last Sunday.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reached his fifth Final Four, all since 1999, joining the ranks of coaches such as Bob Knight, Lute Olson, Guy Lewis and Rick Pitino. MSU’s 2000 championship is the Big Ten’s most recent national title.

Two teams from the mighty Big East qualified, one shy of the record set by their conference in the 1985 Final Four, as the Connecticut Huskies and the Villanova Wildcats make up half of the Final Four.

No.3 seed Villanova feels a connection to the program’s…

Yes, they’re still here.

The Big East may have two teams in the 2009 NCAA Final Four, but it’s Michigan State who will be hosting the party.

The Michigan State Spartans rode by its trademark, defense and rebounding, and threw in some balanced scoring to get to play in a Final Four just 90 miles from campus.

The Spartans capped the four-game run by beating overall no.1 seed Louisville, which was looking to join fellow Big East teams Connecticut and Villanova in the national semifinals.

Eight Spartans scored in double figures over the four games, but it was the steady play inside and sudden offense from Goran Suton allowed the Spartans to reach the Final Four for the fifth time since 1999. They will play the Connecticut Huskies next.

The regional semifinal win over defending national champion Kansas will become the signature win in what is turning out to be Michigan State’s Cinderella run, as the Spartans overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and went 16-of-17 from the free throw line to rally for the win.

Tom Izzo has taken Michigan State to the Final Four four times, winning it…

Steve Kerr sure have been busy since taking over as general manager of the Suns.

After a somewhat less stellar start to the 2008-09 NBA basketball season, Steve Kerr was forced to come up with his second blockbuster deal as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns, barely a year since trading Shawn Marion to Miami for Shaquille O’Neal back in February.

In what Kerr is hoping to be the answer for their struggles this season, the Phoenix Suns acquired shooting guard Jason Richardson from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for forward Boris Diaw and defensive star Raja Bell.

With Jason Richardson coming to Phoenix, Suns head coach Terry Porter will now have another option on the court offensively. J-Rich is one of the best scorers in the league today and he should give the Suns that dynamic threat from the two-guard position back since Joe Johnson left Phoenix for the ATL.

”We felt like we needed to shake things up a little bit,” Phoenix Suns general manager Steve Kerr said in a telephone interview. ”We wanted to add a great scorer in the backcourt to give us better balance to take some of the pressure off of Steve [Nash].”

The Charlotte Bobcats lost a terrific talent in Richardson although their new additions of Raja Bell and Boris Diaw should…