The Atlanata Hawks decided to keep restricted free agent Josh Smith by matching the offer from the Memphis Grizzlies.  The deal, reportedly worth $58 million, was made in the hopes of pairing the 22 year old forward with another 22 year old rising star: Rudy Gay.  Those two young players would have made a solid young core for Memphis, especially since the team decided to rebuild and deal their biggest star in Pau Gasol last season.

Josh Smith was second in the league in shot blocking last season while averaging 17.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per contest.

According to various online articles, Brett Favre will end the long 3 month talk of his decision to play on into this upcoming season, as he as packed his bags and left Green Bay, heading for New York.

Around 4pm on Tuesday the 5th of August, reports out of the Packers camp was final - Brett Favre, the three-time MVP, is now a New York Jet. Rumours have it that the trade involved a conditional draft pick that could be of more value, depending upon how the Jets perform in 2008.

Brett Favre apparently had talks with agent Bus Cook, claiming that he was tossing up wether to play for either the New York Jets or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Favre landed in New York on wednesday afternoon with his wife and children, and is ready to get started at training camp.

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Besides this video giving you visual evidence that MJ is the best to ever play the game, Jordan also says a Prime MJ > Prime Kobe Bryant, easily.  Take that #24.

Ron Artest is heading to Houston in a proposed trade with Sacramento that hasn’t been finalized at the moment.  The trade reportedly sends Artest to Houston for Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, and a future first round pick.  Some rumors have Sacramento adding additional pieces in the deal, but we won’t know until the deal is done.  One reason it isn’t done is because of Greene’s recent signing with Houston.   A player cannot be dealt until 30 days after he signs with a team, and that means this deal can be done August 14th.

Here’s the breakdown from Sacramento’s viewpoint:

Ron Artest has been a headache ever since coach Rick Adelman got the boot.  Recently, he expressed regret over his decision to stay, and he isn’t in the future plans for the Kings.  Sacramento hasn’t made the playoffs in the last two seasons, and they are clearly trying to rebuild, and Ron’s antics have been nothing but disruptive.   The Kings have been shopping Artest since last season, when they were trying to make a deal up to the trade deadline.   Rumors about a trade with LA and Denver didn’t pan out.  This season, more rumors about LA surfaced, but they reportedly didn’t want to send Odom and take on Artest and Kenny Thomas.  Houston, with coach Rick Adelman, was probably the only team who was willing to make a deal that interested Sacramento.

Artest is in the last year of his deal that pays him about $8.5 million.   Bobby Jackson, a local fan favorite from his previous tenure in Sacramento, is also in the last year of his deal worth a little over $6 million. Bobby is essentially the primary financial filler, because this deal is really about forward Donte Greene and the future pick.  Greene, a 6′10” 220lb forward, adds some youth and athleticism to Sacramento’s frontline that includes last year’s lottery pick Spencer Hawes, and this year’s first round pick Jason Thompson.

The departure of Ron Artest will help team chemistry on the court for the Kings, especially in the case of forward John Salmons.  Salmons filled in for Artest in the starting lineup last season during Artest’s suspension period, and was the team’s best player during that time.   He showed promise at the beginning of the season but that all changed when Artest returned and took over the starting spot.   Salmons complained about returning to the bench, and wasn’t able to bring that level of play in the second unit on a consistent basis for the rest of the season.   Hopefully, Salmons might show that level of play again if he can gain that starting spot and some confidence once again.

As for the Rockets, this move is two fold: it adds that additional player who can score and make things happen on both ends of the court, and it’s a short term move to win now because I don’t know how long the Rockets are going to keep up the Yao/McGrady experiment.

Team chemistry is something that isn’t just a factor for Sacramento.  Yao Ming also has some concerns:

“When I text messaged with Luis, we talked about team chemistry. That’s only what worries us.

“We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not bad. I don’t mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs some time.

“Also, he was the biggest part of a team in Sacramento. He was a star player. We need more chemistry and more communication.”

I think after their playoff loss to the Jazz, Houston felt they needed another player who could step up and impact the game if (or when) injuries hit Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady.   With Yao and Alston both missing playoff games due to injury, the Rockets, specifically McGrady, struggled offensively and really had to carry a large load.  Offensive options were thinning against Utah, and the team needed another player to step up. The Rockets may think Ron can be that player.  Last season, he was second in scoring on the Kings, averaging 20.5 PPG, 5.8 REB, and 3.5 AST.

With the Rockets having yet to make it past the first round of the playoffs with stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, it’s hard to believe the team won’t pick a direction with one of those players in the near future, and the outcome of next season might be vital to that decision.

Overall, I think it was a good deal for both sides.  The Kings are rebuilding, and needed to dump Artest and his antics, and get an expiring contract, a young prospect, and a future first round pick to help the rebuilding process.   Looking at the short term, the Rockets dump an aging guard, a young prospect, and a future pick for one of the best two-way players in the game.   Artest is a headcase, but he has a good relationship with Rick Adelman which may help him keep his act together.   Now Houston fans are hoping Artest can help propel the Rockets past the first round.

• Chron - Ron Artest traded to Houston for a bag of chips and OG Bobby Jackson.
• Cuzoogle - Oprah’s book club with an NBA twist.
• WithLeather - Shawn Kemp aka the Reignman playing professional ball again?
• TheBigLead - Another NHL player that you don’t know lucks out with a Playboy Playmate.
• Youtube - BMW mechanic gets a surprising shock.

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This video, which I share because it is newsworthy and is not meant to detract from potential MLB profits, shows Mr. Giambi on his NEXT at bat, hitting the ball equally as hard but this time elevated and just out of reach of the Oriole second baseman.

As the Yankee rounds first, you can see him with middle finger extended towards Brian Roberts.

I’m not sure what the bigger crime is in the following video: Jason Giambi flipping the bird to Brian Roberts or Jason Giambi’s rediciulous 90’s porn mustache.

And is it just me, or does Baron always portray a nerd in all of his short films?

Affliction is coming back this October with even more star studded names.  With the names Tito Ortiz, Babalu Sobral, Fedor Emelianenko, and Andrei Arlovski rumored to be on the card, MMA fans worldwide are expecting another knockout hit from Affliction.

Sources have told Yahoo! Sports that free agent Tito Ortiz will fight Renato “Babalu” Sobral in the co-main event at Affliction’s next fight card, on Oct. 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas. The main event will feature a heavyweight bout between WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski.

It’ll be interesting to see what Dana White and the UFC does to counter Affliction’s upcoming event. May I suggest Any 185′er vs Anderson Silva with both arms tied behind his back?

One thing that all sports fans enjoy is looking at the private lives of their favorite athletes (Okay, so I generalized all sports fans enjoyment to what I enjoy).  One athlete who is anything but private is Gilbert Arenas.

Agent Zero allowed WashingtonPost to post pictures of his MILLION DOLLAR pool.  Naturally, we got ahold of the pictures and now Arenas’ gift to WashingtonPost is our gift to you.

* The stone for the “mountain” cost nearly half a million dollars.* There are three different fish tanks, one going in the “grotto,” one in the front hall, and one in the basement. Their normal retail price would have been about another half-million.

* The tank in the basement will have a recess with a couch in it so Gil can “relax and look up at the fish.”

* The work is scheduled to be finished in August.

• Adam Jones vs Law - Law wins
• Adam Jones vs Professional Wrestling - NFL Wins
• Adam Jones vs Car Commercial - Unfair to declare anyone a winner, therefore both are losers
• Adam Jones vs Strip Clubs - Strip Club Wins
• Adam Jones vs Speed Limit - Speed Limit wins

With yesterday’s Cowboy’s training camp, Adam Jones faced another battle - TO.  Needless to say, Terrell Owens won in convincing fashion.