You can bet your ass they certainly hope so.

New Orleans Hornets president Hugh Weber both told CBSSports.com that they plan to sit down face-to-face with Chris Paul to sell him on the team’s new direction for the coming 2010 NBA basketball season. Paul can’t go public with his trade request — if he did, he’d be subject to a fine under NBA rules — but those with knowledge of his plans believe his desire to pair up with another superstar (or two) has gained too much momentum to stop.

In late June, Chris Paul, 25, spent several days in Akron, Ohio, with James, who was busy orchestrating his own exit strategy from Cleveland. The two friends and superstars picked each other’s brains, with each persuading the other to make significant changes in their branding strategies.

For Paul, it was a big step to persuade James to join the social networking phenomenon that is Twitter. For James’ part, he finally persuaded Paul to join his Cleveland-based marketing company, LRMR.

Paul’s decision to sign with LRMR, headed by James’ close friend and advisor, Maverick Carter, was only the first step in his exit plan from the New Orleans Hornets. Paul officially severed his representation agreement with Octagon earlier this month and will soon officially join the influential stable of clients represented by Creative Artists Agency.

With a stranglehold on the top free-agent talent…

Football has long been America’s most popular sport.

While baseball is the American pastime and holds a special place in the hearts of sports fans, it has yet to surpass football in terms of either broad appeal or revenues especially now with the 2010 NCAA college football season just around the corner.

Nor is the National Football League the only beneficiary of football’s enduring popularity. Indeed, in parts of the country with unsuccessful NFL teams (or no NFL teams), college football is just as popular – and just as lucrative. Likewise, an accomplished head coach at a prestigious college program can easily command several million dollars per year in salary, and the football teams themselves figure prominently in the entire cost structure of their universities.

So what are these teams you ask?

Let’s start with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Valued at $108 million and boasting profits of $38 million – the Fighting Irish have long been one of the most widely followed teams in NCAA football. Seven Heisman Trophy winners have played for Notre Dame, as well as 95 consensus All-Americans.

Furthermore, Notre Dame Stadium (where the team plays its home games) seats more people than some NFL stadiums do – 80,795 at last count. The team has also won eight national championships, and owes much of its current value to consistently being a contender year in and year out.

Another highly valued NCAA football team with a rich history is…

Looks like T.O. might finally have a home.

You read it, the St. Louis Rams have intensified discussions in hopes of signing free agent Terrell Owens for the coming 2010 NFL football season, according to sources close to the player and team.

The Rams asked Terrell Owens through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, if he would consider a serious contract proposal, even though they are not considered a playoff contender. Rosenhaus told the team Owens would definitely consider it, sources said. A high-ranking Rams official said a formal offer for Owens could come soon.

The St. Louis Rams believe Owens would take heat off their young wide receiver corps that includes Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson and rookie Mardy Gilyard, as well as loosen up opposing defenses from focusing on running back Steven Jackson.

The Cincinnati Bengals, as reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, are also engaged in talks with Owens. The Bengals signed free-agent receiver Antonio Bryant during the offseason but Bryant has struggled so far. According to a team source, that has motivated the Bengals to take another look at Owens.

One source said the Rams have gotten very aggressive in their pursuit of Owens, however, the Bengals still have given no indication they’re ready to offer a contract. They want to get a good look at their young wide receivers and have five preseason games to do it. They need some of those guys to play special teams.

Chad Ochocinco, Bryant and Owens would not be special teams-type…

Yep, nobody has… YET.

For the second-consecutive year, Terrell Owens, the notorious wide receiver, is on the market as he remains unsigned with only a couple of months before the 2010 NFL football season begins but according to agent Drew Rosenhaus that will definitely change.

Rosenhaus said that Terrell Owens, who played for the Buffalo Bills last season, will have a new team “within the next few weeks.”

He added that five teams were interested in Owens. However, the San Diego Chargers aren’t one of them, despite Vincent Jackson being suspended three games by the NFL and threatening to hold out over his contact situation. “We’re all set right now with our receivers,” general manager A.J. Smith said in an interview.

The Seattle Seahawks are also out of the picture. “No, you know, I go way back with T.O.,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “I was there [as an assistant coach] when he showed up with the 49ers when he was a rookie and nobody knew he had any initials or anything. And I really liked Terrell. But we won’t be able to do that this time around. I think at our time in our program development, we’re going to continue to work with the guys that we’ve got and go in a different direction than that. We’re really looking to get the young guys going as much as we can.”

Owens said recently that he believed teams are swayed by the perception he’s a troublemaker. It’s a perception he believes he disproved with his agreeable behavior in Buffalo during a disappointing season in 2009.

“There were a number of times where prior I probably would…”

For the sake of the sports fans in Boston, let’s hope not.

There seems to be a problem in the contract negotiations between the New England Patriots and superstar QB Tom Brady coming to the 2010 NFL football season.

Yep, rumors say that there is a growing sense of disconnection between the New England Patriots and Tom Brady’s representatives as the sides try to strike out a deal to keep the three-time Super Bowl winner in New England.

The deal Tom Brady has, like that of four-time MVP and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, is set to expire at the end of the 2010 season. He declined comment for the story, but the reports said that there has not been substantial talks between the sides on a new contract.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said last week that the team want Brady “to be our quarterback for a long time into the future.” He had said in March that Patriots would not allow Brady to leave via free agency.

But after watching LeBron James betray the city of Cleveland on national TV, nothing is really certain until the guy in question signs on that dotted line.

Brady’s current deal was worth $60 million when he signed it in 2005. A new deal would likely thrust him into the stratosphere of the highest-paid players in the NFL.

But the negotiations for Manning’s contract with the Colts and…

Kevin Pritchard, the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, has been fired.

After spending six seasons with the Blazers, it ended months of speculation that he had fallen out of favor with billionaire owner Paul Allen. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, no, he won’t be running the show in Portland once the 2010 NBA basketball season kicks off.

“This process was more public and took longer than any of us would have liked, but that was indicative of how critical a decision this was for the franchise,” Allen said in a statement. “We want to thank and acknowledge Kevin for his solid work in getting us to where we are today. Parting ways with a popular general manager is not something we take lightly. In the end, we decided to make a change.”

Portland Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said Pritchard met with Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Miller would not specify why Pritchard was let go. Pritchard is under contract through next season and the Blazers will honor his contract. A search firm had earlier been hired to vet candidates for the job.

A rumored possible replacement, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti, recently denied that he had been contacted about the job. Miller said Denver Nuggets executive Mark Warkentien, also said to be interested, was not being considered.

Kevin Pritchard joined the Blazers as director of player personnel in

Brett Favre is a man stuck in limbo, he just can’t make up his mind to retire from professional football or not.

In case you haven’t heard, Brett Favre recently said that he can still play at a “high level” if he returns to the Minnesota Vikings for a 20th NFL season. Favre has not yet said if he plans to play, but he’s not sounding like a retired quarterback.

You see, Brett Favre told the Sun Herald on the Mississippi newspaper’s website he would “love to go beat the Saints” in the season opener Sept. 9. New Orleans beat Minnesota in the NFC championship game in January.

“If my body was a wreck, the decision would be made,” Favre said. “But that is not the case. I know the Vikings want to know.

“Hell, I want to know. But I am not going to press it. If I do not play, it does not cost the Vikings a dime. They keep the $13 million. I know they have confidence in the players they have. They had a chance to draft Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen in the first round, but they didn’t want one.”

Favre said his healing on schedule from surgery on his left ankle, and cycling is part of his rehab.

Agent Bus Cook was asked if the 40-year-old Favre has made a decision on playing. His reply? “Nope.” The Vikings declined comment.

Favre enjoyed one of the best seasons of his…

Apart from the door opener in Bahrain, we’ve had a few great races, thanks to wet tracks, close racing, tire influence, and a few brilliant and explosive racing incidents.

The 2010 F1 season drivers championship remains wide open, with a maximum of 25 points for first, leaving us with a maximum of 250 points on offer. Despite this, there is really only five who you would consider likely to win from here.

Lewis Hamilton sits atop the Driver’s Championship standing with 127 points followed by Jensen Button with 121 points. RBR-Renault driver Sebastian Vettel takes the third spot with 115 points while teammate Mark Webber and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso round up the top five with 103 and 98 points, respectively.

Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg are definitely not out of it. However, Rosberg’s Mercedes team will need to storm to an unlikely number of wins to challenge from here.

The main reason Red Bull Racing aren’t way out in front after their early season pace is due to reliability and poor strategy. (And probably because of the dissension between teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber too…)

Although McLaren and Ferrari rarely fail to capitalize on an opportunity, Red Bull are one team that can shoot themselves in the foot.

In addition, particularly bad tyre choices at Melbourne, Shanghai and even Montreal didn’t help their cause, as well as the famous coming together of Vettel and Webber in Turkey. It’s very likely that the winning driver will come from the winning constructor, as the teams each have closely matched drivers, which gives teams an equal footing.

McLaren and Ferrari know a lot more about winning, and…

Chemistry, perhaps that’s the key to winning a Super Bowl.

Or is it defense? A hot shot quarterback with reliable receivers? The wildcat? Those are just some of the questions NFL teams are trying to answer as they prepare for the 2010 NFL football season in a few months.

That’s probably why some of these teams are signing names here and there to get that perfect combination they are hoping will win them the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals, for instance, have scheduled a visit with Chargers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, a restricted free agent, as they explore adding depth as well as potential competition for Matt Leinart for that QB spot.

If the Cardinals sign Whitehurst and the Chargers decline to match the offer, Arizona would owe San Diego a third-round draft pick, which is the qualifying contract tender that was used on the quarterback, who was a third-round choice in 2006. That tender is worth $1,176,000 for the 2010 season.

The Cardinals have two third-round draft choices next month, having acquired Baltimore’s third- and fourth-round picks in a deal that sent wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Ravens.

Leinart is the only quarterback currently under contract on the Cardinals’ roster.

On the other hand, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to re-sign reserve defensive back Leigh Torrence to a one-year contract.

Torrence has been with the Saints since being claimed off waivers in…

2010 WORLD CUP TEAMS
Here come the Black Stars.
Ghana, known as the Black Stars, qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in 2006. Their record on the African continent is far more impressive. They have won the African Cup of Nations four times, but the last of those victories was in 1982. They [...]