The Sports Review

You’ll likely be watching a lot of the Miami Heat this season whether you’re a fan of the  LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh superteam or not. Miami will certainly be one of the leaders next season in the sale of 2010-2011 NBA tickets, but the league expects to see a number of teams benefit from the busy free agent market this summer. Many NBA rosters have been realigned due to all player movement giving teams like Chicago, New York, and Dallas. A media maelstrom will without a doubt descend upon South Beach once we near the NBA season with James, Wade, and Bosh making the Heat the most star-studded team in recent NBA history. In a short period of time, Riley has added key contributors like Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, LeBron’s teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Heat’s big three. In the East, Chicago could become a legitimate contender this year with their offseason acquisition of Utah Jazz trio Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and Ronnie Brewer. While the originial Three Amigos in Boston could benefit from the addition of the O’Neal brothers -Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal -coming off the bench.

It’s that time of year sports fans! The National Football League will back in preseason action all across the country this weekend. Fans have been aching to see their favorite team on the gridiron smacking shoulder pads. Although the preseason does get a bit tedious after the third game, I love watching guys battle it out for a chance to make the team. Unknown players will distinguish themselves as key contributors as teammates battle for position. We will also get our first look at rookies  like Tim Tebow, Russell Okung, Ndamakong Suh, and Sam Bradford as professionals. The NFL should probably shorten the preseason to just three games, but it’s great to have America’s favorite sport back in our stadiums and on our TVs. Pay close attention to primetime match ups this week, such as, Carolina vs Baltimore (Tebow’s debut, airs 8 PM ET on Thursday on ESPN), New Orleans vs New England, and the New York Jets vs the New York Giants inside the New Medowlands Stadium on Monday night.

Like the 28 other teams in the NBA that didn’t win the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh sweepstakes, the Chicago Bulls can’t truly call the 2010 off season a home run. The Bulls, however, have done a great job improving their roster from a year ago with a number of key signings. Carlos Boozer was the first name to sign on the dotted line in Chicago, providing explosiving young point guard Derrick Rose a top low post scorer to partner with. The Bulls then when on to sign Boozer’s Utah Jazz teammates Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer. Kover’s accurate outside shooting could prove highly effective when Rose attacks the basket on the offensive end of the court. The 6-7 small forward will be a nice option for Tom Thibodeau’s team either as a starter or coming off the bench. Korver’s teammate Ronnie Brewer can, like Rose, score off the dribble. Boozer’s chemistry with former teammates Korver and Brewer will allow the Bulls to hit the ground running next season. Former Golden State Warriors guard C.J. Watson also inked with the Bulls last week, giving the team another shooter to come off the bench. The Bulls will need a complete team effort to compete with the Heat, Celtics, and Magic, but the city of Chicago can expect their team to be contenders in the Eastern Conference this season.

Fans booking their 2010-11 NHL tickets for next season are without a doubt keeping an eye on the fast-moving free agent market. The Toronto Maple Leafs recently signed 22-year-old German Olympian Marcel Mueller to a entry-level deal, and brought in veteran defender Brett Lebda to strengthen their roster. Team Captain of the Minnesota Wild, Mikko Koivu, resigned with the franchise with a seven year, $47.25 million deal. The GM also gained the signature of goalie Anton Khudobin this week. Future Hall of Famer Mike Modano isn’t ready to retire at age, and could be headed to the Detroit Red Wings. The NHL off season right now is almost exciting as the regular season with the amount of player movement we’ve been seeing lately. Who will be the next big name on the move? There should be some very intresting devlopments in the next couple weeks.

The day we’ve all been waiting for is here. At 11:00 PM CT last night, NBA teams were allowed to begin talking to the long list of available NBA free agents about trading teams. At the center of the free agent hoopla is reigning NBA MVP LeBron James. It’s been reported that today that James met with the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets to discuss the possibily of the shooting guard heading East. Franchise executives traveled to Cleveland to present their proposals to “The King” including Nets’ Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni. It was also reported that the Knicks, along with the Atlanta Hawks, offered free agent guard Joe Johnson max contracts today. James has meetings tentively lined up with at least the Heat and the Bulls in the coming days. Other free agents on the market include Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudamire, Rudy Gay, and Paul Pierce. Needless to say this will be the most exciting off season in professional sports history.

Landon Donovan had just finished scoring the biggest goal of his career, and while fighting off tears the 28-year-old midfielder likened the US squad to regular Americans saying “We embody America is all about”. Donovan has developed into a full-fledged American hero with his last minute goal over Algeria in the US’s final group stage match of the World Cup. The Los Angeles Galaxy’s stoppage time goal sent the Americans through to the round of 16 in South Africa in the most dramatic of fashions. None of the US men’s national team players are house hold names in America. The team is comprised of American soccer players from different backgrounds and different races, but it’s was plain as day to see how much they care about each other when they mobbed Donovan in the corner after his goal. USMNT head coach Bob Bradley is a man completely devoted to his team has instilled a sense of determination that hasn’t been equaled by any other team in the World Cup. The United States can progress to the quarterfinals on Saturday when they face Ghana at 2:30 ET, but this team of unsung heroes has already captured America’s heart.

With UFC 117 tickets selling like crazy in anticipation for Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen’s top bill fight, the fighters are already sparing in the media ahead of their August 7th fight. Underdog MMA veteran Chael Sonnen told the media that Silva scoffed at his opponent saying “This isn’t going to be a war”. The former National Champion Greco-Roman wrestler likened himself to a hammer when describing “the pounding” he’d issue Silva at UFC 117. When looking at the fight history of Silva and Sonnen one would think that perhaps the American was being a bit over dramatic in his words. Silva has never lost a single match in his UFC career while Sonnen has lost a number of times. Brazil’s Anderson Silva is looking to defend his title justly after putting out a poor display in his UFC 112 victory over Demian Maia. Silva has defeated world class wrestlers in the past and is one of the most intelligent mixed martial artists to ever enter the ocatagon. Let’s all hope fight lives up to pre-match banter this summer in Oakland.

Nebraska has played both Oklahoma, Colorado, and Missouri in football for almost 100 years, but their conference affiliation has come to an end. The Cornhuskers announced today that they would be leaving the Big 12 conference and moving to the Big 10. The move followed Colorado’s move to PAC-10 Conference earlier in the week. Many expect the Big 12 Conference to eventually fold as other schools scramble to find other conferences to join. The Big 12 was created in 1996 with the addition of Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Baylor University to the 89-year-old Big 8 conference. I’d expect Nebraska to continue some of its Big 12 rivalries with Oklahoma, Colorado, and Missouri, but college football history will certainly be different going forward. Expect to see more and more schools looking to jump conferences in the coming weeks.

United States men’s national team leaves for the World Cup in South Africa on Sunday, but before they leave for the world’s biggest tournament, they will face the nation of Turkey in a friendly match Saturday afternoon. Turkey did not qualify for the World Cup, but they will be a stern test for the Americans. Crescent Stars’ Nihat Kaveci, Halil Altintop, anr Emre Belozoglu are all top quality players who have proven themselves on an international level. The USMNT put out a squad mostly full of reserves against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, losing 4-2 in East Hartford. Head coach Bob Bradley will likely put out his starting lineup against the Turks featuring Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and captain Carlos Bocanegra. Turkey will be motivated by the watchful eye of new coach Gus Hiddink, so the US can expect a solid effort from their opponent. A win over a top quality side could give the US some confidence headed into South Africa. The Yanks will face Australia in a final friendly in South Africa on June 5th.

It certainly is a great time for fans to buy ultimate fighting tickets with a primetime bout like Rampage vs Evans coming up. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, but he’ll have his hands full with Rashad Evans. Both fighters are former UFC light heavyweight champions who come from a wrestling background. Evans is coming off a big win over Thiago Silva on January 2nd. Evans lost the light heavyweight championship to Brazilian Lyoto Machida (who just lost the belt to his fellow countrymen Mauricio Rua). Evans has beaten former champs Chuck Liddell and Forest Griffin in his career. Jackson has big wins in his career against Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, and Wanderlei Silva. It should be a fairly even match so fans should get their money’s worth in Las vegas on May 29th.