In just under 5 hours, Allen Iverson will become an unrestricted free agent.  With a lack of high named players becoming free agents this year, one would think that Iverson would have options to work with.  However, this is not the case.  According to Chris Broussard on SportsCenter, not many teams are interested in Iverson, except for Memphis only for popularity, and the Bobcats because of Larry Brown.  Broussard also stated that Iverson may be forced into an early retirement.  I just do not see how this can be 100% true.  I thought about a playoff contender for Iverson, and found atleast one match that could work, but is extremely unlikely to happen; a return to Philadelphia.

The Sixers are just one-two players away from being a true contender in the East, as they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round the past two seasons thanks to Detroit and Orlando.  I know that the Sixers worked hard to get rid of him, but if you look at their team now, they lack a point guard.  I’m not getting on Andre Miller who will become an unrestricted free agent, but I think he would be a better back-up point guard.  He’d bring experience and a different type of game than Iverson to the court, creating different styles for opponents to guard.  Miller isn’t as good as a shooter, and passes more than Iverson, averaging 14.6 PPG and 7.4 APG compared to Iverson’s 27.1 PPG and 6.2 APG for their careers.  Also, anybody that has watched Allen Iverson knows he plays more like a one, shooting out of the gym.

Another way that this could work would be to bring Iverson in as a starting two, move Andre Iguodala to the three position, and keep Andre Miller at the point guard position.  With these three running the show in Philly, I think they’d be only a Center away from being very very competitive team.  But once again, I acknowledge that this is a far stretched idea.

With so many dance songs being produced, it shouldn’t be shocking that somebody made a song called “Do the Kim Kardashian”.  So now you want to know how to do the dance?  Just watch this little boy!

How often is it that you see two of the great closers in the game square off against each other?  No, not trying to get the save against the opponent’s team, but one trying to hit the pitch of the other.  As Mariano Rivera went for his 500th save against the Mets tonight, he had to do it while trying to get his first ever RBI at the top of the 9th with the bases loaded and two outs against Francisco Rodriguez.  Believe it or not, K-Rod walked Rivera, giving him his first career RBI and the Yankees a 4-2 lead at Citi Field.

Four outs later, the Rivera closed the Mets out, earning his 500th career saving, a mark only one other pitcher has got to, Trevor Hoffman.  Whoever was watching could feel the excitement when these two pitchers dueled, even if they weren’t a fan of either team.

With all the troubles surrounding baseball, there can still be excitement for fans to look foward to, and this was just a sample.

With a 2-0 lead at halftime of the Confederation Cup Final in South Africa against Brazil, thanks to a goal in the 10′ by Dempsey and one in the 27′ by Donovan, the US and its fans were riding high with emotion and confidence.  It appeared destiny that the US, who was freshly energized with a 2-0 win against Number 1 ranked Spain, would come from an 1-2 record in the first round of the Confederation Cup and become the Confederation Cup Champions.  On the flip side, Brazil did not feel the same way.

Right out of the gates Fabiano scored in the 46′.  In the 73′ Fabiano scored again off of a header to tie the game at 2-2.  The constant Brazil pressure caused the US to collapse, allowing the game losing goal in the 83′ by Lucio.  What seemed to be inevitable was taken from the US, as they watched Brazil celebrate another championship.  Landon Donovan, arguably the team’s best player, expressed his feelings, saying that “There’s no guarantee we ever get back to a final game like this, so it’s disappointing”.

Despite the loss, the US gained respect from thousands, and confidence in the US fans.  They still have some games to be played later this year, all leading up to the team’s return to South Africa for the Fifa World Cup 2010.

Don’t under-estimate the significance of the Magic trade for Vince Carter.  Although he hasn’t produced great numbers like we’ve all seen in the past, Carter still managed to produce 21 PPG and 5 APG, with very very little talent around him (Devin Harris and Brook Lopez being the other best).  Carter is a player that can hit the outside shot (39% from three, 44% FG) and everyone knows how he can dunk, from arguably the best series of dunks in a dunk competition, to his game-winning dunk against the Raptors this past season.  He is still a very good player.  Look at this potential starting line-up:

1. Jameer Nelson – PG
2. Vince Carter – SG
3. Mickael Pietrus – SF
4. Rashard Lewis – PF
5. Dwight Howard – C

If Hedo were able to get paid a larger contract, according to ESPN he’s opting out of his current one, he would return to the SF, where he and Rashard Lewis can switch playing the 3 and 4.  That line-up is crazy and much more impressive than the Cavs:

1. Mo Williams – PG
2. Delonte West – SG
3. LeBron James – SF
4. Anderson Varejao
5. Shaquille O’Neal

With Vince Carter on his way to Orlando, expect to see the Magic back in the NBA Finals.

As of yesterday, Shaquille O’Neal is now a Cavalier.  I know most people think that he will bring a great inside game to the Cavs, giving the perimeter shooters (Delonte West, Mo Williams) open looks, but I don’t feel that this will work out for the whole season for a few reasons:

1. Shaq is old –> People, this is not the MVP Shaq of the early 2000′s.  This is the Shaq that couldn’t play in back-to-back games.  According to the ESPN Game Log of Shaq, Shaq either missed the first game of back-to-backs, or didn’t play in the second game.  Sometimes, he didn’t have any involvement in back-to-backs (12/10 @ LA, 12/12 Orl).  In games were Shaq did play back-to-backs, the Suns were not very lucky, losing atleast one game in the two-game span.  This is the injury-prone Shaq that cherry-picks because he is too tired to consistantly play both ends of the floor.
2. The Cavs now have two old centers –> Shaq is 37 going on 38 and Ilgauskas is 34.  For any professional athlete, especially Centers with bad knees, this is ancient.
3. Shaq will clog the lane for LeBron –> Since Shaq is so huge, people will be sucked into the lane to guard him.  This will not allow LeBron to drive as easily, forcing him to take more outside shots.  Even though he is becoming a better shooter, LeBron is still very inconsistant from 3-point range (34% last season, 33% career).
4. “Hack-a-Shaq” –> It is known world-wide that when Shaq is in the game during a clutch stretch, foul him.  He is terrible from the free throw line, shooting 53% for his career.

Expect the Cavs to start the season hungry and play in rapid fire mode.  However, the wear and tear on the two centers, along with a lack of  “go-to players” will force LeBron James to do it all once again, which we’ve come to see is not going to get Cleveland a championship.

Once the game started, Spain was controlling the ball a lot more than the US was, but they could not get a goal.  After seeing this, I thought the US would put up a fight for about 10-20 minutes.  Then Landon Donovan got yellow carded for a minor penalty.  Knowing how soccer players around the world react to cards, I was hoping the squad wouldn’t lose hope, and my hopes came true.  19 year-old U.S.A. sensation Jozy Altidore scored a goal in the 27th minute of the game, using his big frame to box a Spanish defender out from stealing the pass and getting the ball in the net.  After this goal, my hopes rised, and you could see the USA defense rising to the occasion.  They cleaned the garbage and made up for positional mistakes by clearing the ball out.  The US had some more chances, and Davies almost scored off of a bicycle kick, but missed the shot wide left.  As the half went on, Spain gained more possession, but couldn’t capitalize on anything.  At half, despite only having one corner kick to Spain’s seven, the US led 1-0.  Can I say shocker?

Second half.  I was so nervous that I couldn’t keep still.  If the US were to pull this off, this would just turn the soccer world upside down.  Most of this decade the team has been in a rebuilding mode, looking for the right mixture of players and coaches.  A win against Spain, in my eyes, would symbolize great progress and something very good to look for next year in the Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
In the first half of the final 45 minutes of the game, the U.S. offense played conservative, and didn’t control the ball much, which resulted in Spain having the ball near our goal.  I was ready to wet my pants.  But Tim Howard, the US goalie who I have doubted at times, played out of this world.  I can rightfully say, he was amazing a martian.  Spain had shots left and right, but his glorious will kept the score 1-0.  In the 74th minute, Rick Dempsey harnessed this will and scored off a rebound pass by Landon Donovan.  I was jumping up with my arms in the air.  2-0 against Spain!!! The team was so close to a major upset.  In the 87th minute, Michael Bradley got a red card, putting the US down one man.  Spain looked desperate, and this was their chance.  I’m hoping that I was the only one in the room that could hear my heart pounding…  It felt like the clock wasn’t ticking fast enough.  Three minutes of stoppage time was added and the score remained 2-0 USA  Spain players started putting their heads down, fans left the stands, and it became clear what was going to happen.  The heart that the U.S. had was too much for the talented Spanish team.

This was a huge win for the US in terms of confidence, and publicity.  To beat the number one ranked team in the nation is a huge boost, and they should feel like they can play with anybody.  USA’s fans should be very pumped, blogging and tweeting about the win.  There is a high chance more people will hop on the bandwagon.  There’s a good reason for this.  Jozy Altidore is an up and coming 19 year-old, who reminds me of LeBron James.  Big body at a young age, and amazing talent.  Then you have the heart and soul of the team with Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Tim Howard.  This was a very special win for the US and its fans.