Today's Top Sports Rumors......

Today's Top NFL Rumors


Pats make news again

After signing RB Fred Taylor, the Pats are set to reportedly trade QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel to Kansas City for a 2009 Second Round Draft pick (Chiefs 34 overall pick).The trade is expected to be announced this weekend.
SI.com


Niners interested in Warner

The 49ers have a "legitimate shot" to land veteran free-agent quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl this season, a league source said. A second source with knowledge of the situation said there have been no serious contract discussions. No visit has been scheduled that would bring together 49ers representatives and Warner. One source said the 49ers might get together with Warner in the next day or two. If the discussions heat up, the 49ers could send a group of three, including Mike Singletary and general Scot McCloughan, to Arizona to visit with Warner, the source said.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat


Patriots trading Vrabel to Chiefs

New England's Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Vrabel is in Kansas City undergoing a physical so that he can then be traded to the Chiefs. General manager Scott Pioli is reaching out to bring in a player familiar with his system, and New England is a willing trade partner.
NFL.com


Why the Browns got rid of Winslow

The first significant decision by the Browns' new brain trust is bold and to those fans who want a new direction from their favorite football team -- well, the Browns shipped former Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a pair of draft picks, a second round pick in 2009 and a fifth- round pick in 2010. The message from General Manager George Kokinis and head coach Eric Mangini is that the Browns wanted no part of an ugly contract dispute with a 25-year-old tight end whom they considered to be self-absorbed. Winslow is tough on coaches and the front office. He's had four knee surgeries, meaning it's difficult for him to practice between games. His shoulder often aches, his body never has been the same since a major motorcycle accident after the 2005 season. Mangini and Kokinis correctly believe the Browns have had too many sideshows in the past few seasons, Winslow being at the center of some of the major distractions, such as demanding at trade at mid-season and claiming the front office treated him "like a piece of meat." On the field, his knee problems have severely hampered his blocking. His speed also has decreased, and he no longer can sprint past defenders to get open as he did a few years ago. In 10 games, he was flagged for seven offensive pass interference penalties - because he had to illegally push away a defender to create space to catch a pass. Another part of Winslow's game that bothered the Browns was his tendency to line up in the wrong spot and not be in the same strategic sentence with the rest of the offense. He was something between a tight end and a wide receiver.
Cleveland Plain Dealer


Eagles-Jets trade in works

New York and Philadelphia are completing a trade that will send cornerback Lito Sheppard to the Jets while the Eagles will receive a 2009 fifth-round pick and a 2010 conditional draft pick. The pick could be as high as a second-round choice in 2010 and as low as a fourth. But the Eagles will get two picks and the Jets get Sheppard, who will be in New York Saturday for a physical.
NFL.com


Dawkins-to-Denver not done deal

There appears to be a chance one of the greatest and most popular players in Eagles history will depart the team. Free agent Brian Dawkins visited with the Denver Broncos yesterday, but the 35-year-old safety had not signed with the Broncos as of early today, an NFL source familiar with the negotiations said. "It is not done," the source said. The Oakland Raiders were apparently also interested in Dawkins, and the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Dawkins had agreed to a two-year deal with the Broncos. A Broncos spokesman told The Inquirer that no announcement was scheduled. A report out of Denver, where Dawkins attended last night's Nuggets basketball game, speculated that Dawkins might resume negotiating with the Eagles.
Philadelphia Inquirer


__________________________________________________________


Today's Top MLB Rumors


Dodgers-Manny feud getting ugly

For the Dodgers, this spring is about Manny Ramirez, with the team losing faith in his agent and vice versa, where the one player not there overshadows the dozens who are, where tempers flare not only in person but via e-mail for all the fans to read. Frank McCourt, the Dodgers' owner, exploded in anger late Thursday night at Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez. Boras shot back, engaging McCourt in an unusually public battle for the hearts and minds of Dodgers fans, the owner and the agent pointing a finger at each other in trying to explain why the player that electrified Los Angeles last summer is absent this spring. As the rebuttals flew, the tension grew, to the point where Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti snapped at a reporter from Major League Baseball's website and Manager Joe Torre declared he would no longer entertain questions about Ramirez as long as the player remains unsigned.
Los Angeles Times


Giants monitoring Manny

Giants managing general partner Bill Neukom said Friday that the club continues to monitor the status of Manny Ramirez's contract talks closely. But the team's No. 1 executive gave no indication whether the Giants would intensify their pursuit of Ramirez if the free-agent outfielder's talks break down with the Dodgers.
MLB.com


More red flags for Santana

Uh oh. The Mets and Johan Santana insist it remains nothing more than caution, but manager Jerry Manuel raised more red flags yesterday by announcing the team's $137.5 million ace has been pushed back again because of left elbow soreness. "I want to be extra, extra, extra cautious with this," Manuel said after a 9-8 Grapefruit League loss to the Cardinals.
New York Post


__________________________________________________________


Today's Top NBA Rumors


Source: Marbury's mouth delayed Celtics move

With rumors swirling all summer he would be released, Stephon Marbury phoned Donnie Walsh a week before training camp. Walsh told Marbury indeed he may be waived, but "it's not written in stone." According to a source close to Marbury, the Knicks point guard then asked Walsh if he could talk to the Celtics because he thought there might be interest. One day later, Walsh informed Marbury he was coming to training camp because Knicks owner James Dolan was not comfortable with the idea of him playing for their arch rivals, according to the source. If Marbury had held his tongue, his Boston arrival could have come much sooner. After being held hostage - in his mind - for the last five months, Marbury signed with the Celtics yesterday and after not playing a regular-season game since Jan. 11, 2008, helped the world champions post a 104-99 win over the Pacers at the new Boston Garden.
New York Post


Curry explains benching A.I.

In moving Richard Hamilton back into the starting lineup and benching Allen Iverson on Friday, Pistons coach Michael Curry knows he has pulled his last available string. "Hopefully this rejuvenates us and gets everybody excited," Curry said. "Because this is the last thing we can do. Now, more than anything, it's on the players to come out and perform." If this doesn't work, if it doesn't translate into more cohesive and consistent play -- nothing will." It will be a while before we see how Iverson handles coming off the bench for the first time in his 13-year career. He was sent back to Detroit on Friday to have further tests on his back, which he injured Tuesday in Miami. Results of the MRI were negative, but the Pistons still want him to see a specialist. "We don't expect him back the rest of this trip," Curry said. Curry made it clear that in sending Iverson to the bench, he wasn't punishing or scapegoating him. But the team was 4-12 with Iverson starting and Hamilton coming off the bench, and evidence has been mounting the first unit has a better rhythm without Iverson.
Detroit News


Smith closer to buyout and Cavs?

Several league sources said Friday that Joe Smith and his agent, Dan Fegan, have been talking to the Thunder about securing a buyout. The Cavs have expressed interest, setting up what could be intensifying negotiations ahead of Sunday's midnight deadline for players to be released and still be eligible to join playoff rosters. But with many factors at play, including the public positions on the matter of Smith and Thunder coach Scott Brooks, it is far from a sure thing.
Cleveland Plain Dealer


__________________________________________________________


Today's Top NHL Rumors


Avery closer to joining Rangers

Sean Avery is going on re-entry waivers Monday, the final step in the process by which the Stars are ridding themselves of the most hated man in hockey and the Rangers, mired in a slump that has made a postseason berth problematic, are welcoming him back. If, as expected, Avery is not claimed by any team lower in the NHL standings than the Rangers within 24 hours, the prodigal should be in their lineup Thursday night against the Islanders.
New York Post


Inside Devils' shopping list

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello already has inquired about adding a top-line center to the team, though the available pickings, other than the Coyotes' Olli Jokinen, are slim. He will have more options pursuing a defenseman, though everyone else is, too, as Wednesday's trade deadline looms. Sources say the Flyers and Bruins are already in the bidding in case the Ducks deal Chris Pronger, and the Flyers and Penguins are among the bidders for Coyote Derek Morris, with the Devils expected to be in on each. Ed Jovanovski also has been tipped as a Devils target.
New York Post


Predators in market for scorer

The Predators' winning ways since the NHL All-Star break have done more than just move the team closer to the playoff pack in the Western Conference. They've also altered the mindset of Predators General Manager David Poile, making him more likely to be a buyer than a seller leading up to Wednesday's NHL trade deadline. There's little doubt that a goal-scorer will be at the top of Nashville's wish list. The Predators scored a combined nine goals in their last two games, but scored just four in the four previous games. They are averaging 2.37 goals per game, second-worst in the NHL. Some of the scorers that might become available include Toronto's Nik Antropov, Dominic Moore and Alexei Ponikarovsky; Tampa Bay's Mark Recchi; Atlanta's Colby Armstrong; the New York Islanders' Bill Guerin; Phoenix's Olli Jokinen; and Colorado's Ryan Smyth.
Tennessean


Pronger for Kessel?

If you believe what you hear from various NHL sources, you can bet the Bruins had many sets of eyes trained last night on Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger. And the Ducks were sizing up talent on the Bruins side, as well. It's believed the Ducks will deal away the multi-talented 34-year-old Pronger, and that the Bruins could be interested shoppers. That was certainly a hot topic at the Garden last night, site of the B's 6-0 victory. The obvious speculation is that the B's end of the deal would be young speedster Phil Kessel, their top goalscorer and one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the game.
Boston Herald


__________________________________________________________


Today's Top MMA Rumors


Kelly moving to lightweight

Following a 2-1 run in the UFC's welterweight division, British fighter Paul Kelly (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) plans a move to the lightweight division. Kelly, who defeated Troy Mandaloniz via unanimous decision this past weekend at UFC 95, recently informed Setanta Sports of the decision. The 24-year-old , who had previously suffered a second-round submission loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 89, said he wanted to make the drop after leaving the division on a winning note.
Yahoo! Sports


St.-Pierre camp fires back at Penn

The team for Georges St. Pierre has fired back with a response to the NSAC against the allegation's from BJ Penn that the GSP Camp cheated during their UFC 94 bout by applying excess vaseline to the UFC welterweight champions body in between rounds. In the letter, Camp St. Pierre says they "vehemently deny any allegation as to the intentional and illegal use of 'grease' for Georges' benefit during UFC 94." The statement goes on in great detail, with supporting letters from St. Pierre's coaches, that it was his skill and training that made him the better fighter over Penn that night, not the application of Vaseline. The controversy stems from cornerman Phil Nurse being seen between rounds using his hands to apply Vaseline to St. Pierre's face then placing them on the welterweight champion's chest and back. Penn's camp has alleged since the incident that the application of the Vaseline was done intentionally as to give St. Pierre an advantage over the Hawaiian, thus negating his guard game on the ground. The filing by Camp St. Pierre talks in great detail about the breathing technique used by Mr. Friend that was implemented by Phil Nurse during the fight, and how this technique has been used in previous MMA fights, by other fighters as well.
mmanews.com


Rumored Final UFC 98 Card

Main Card

Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar
Josh Koscheck vs. TBA
Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague

Preliminary Card

Houston Alexander vs. Andre Gusmao
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Brandon Wolff
James Irvin vs. Drew McFedries
Phillipe Nover vs. Kyle Bradley
George Roop vs. David Kaplan
ufcfightclub.com


Joe Lauzon out for 12-14 months

ACL Surgery
by Joe Lauzon on Feb.26, 2009, under Blog
Well, it looks like I will be having ACL surgery next week. I have had a history of bad luck with my knees. I have already had two knee surgeries… meniscectomies on both knees. Those surgeries were relatively simple because they just go in arthoscopically and shave down the meniscus. There is no stitching and no repairing done.
The surgery scheduled for next week will not be so simple. Unlike the last two times, I will need my meniscus repaired. Instead of just shaving that little piece out, they will be stitching it up and getting it to sit back in place.
To make things much worse, I need to have my ACL repaired as well. They think my torn ACL is causing my knee to shift ever so slightly and its destroying my meniscus. They could stop after the meniscus repair but its just going to happen again. ACL surgery should fix that, but its a very long rehab and my knee may never be the same again. There are three options for the surgery (patella, hamstring and cadaver). Each has different advantages and disadvantages. I was going to do the Patella but have been convinced to go the Cadaver route.
Long story short… I will be off my feet for a month to a month and a half… training SUPER light in about 4 or 5 months… training decently hard in about 9 months and fighting in around 12-14 months. Its going to be a long rehab… but thats how it goes.
joelauzon.com/blog


Couture Vs Nog rumored for UFC 101

A day after it was learned former UFC champion and hall-of-famer Randy Couture (16-9 MMA, 13-6 UFC) had been approached about a possible UFC 101 fight with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC, a source close to the Brazilian fighter told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Nogueira, too, has been pitched the bout.
The fight, first reported as a possibility by MMA Weekly on Thursday after speaking to sources close to Couture, is expected to take place in August.
A source close to Nogueira said the fighter is open to the bout but that negotiations remain in "very preliminary stages."
The UFC has made no official announcement regarding the possible bout or a date or venue for the upcoming show.
mmajunkie.com