NJ.com – Jets safety Kerry Rhodes has a message for Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder, who famously declared the Jets “the OTA (organized team activities) Super Bowl winner,” in May, in response to some brash talk from coach Rex Ryan. Rhodes said that you don’t win the Super Bowl in October, either. The Jets are a bit miffed at the wild post-game celebration the Dolphins enjoyed after running back Ronnie Brown scored on a two-yard run with six seconds remaining to give Miami a thrilling 31-27 victory in a Week 5 game on Monday night in Miami. The rematch is Sunday at Giants Stadium. “I thought they won the Super Bowl,” said Rhodes this afternoon in a fired-up Jets locker room. “We thought we saw some confetti coming out of the sky a little bit. But they were very happy to get that win and win a Monday night game. We definitely owe them one. It’s no doubt. We’re looking at this game as a payback game. It’s no secret about it. We want to come out and get one. That’s the way we’re attacking it.” As the Dolphins players were coming off the field at Land Shark Stadium after the Jets had no answer for the ballyhooed “Wildcat” offense, several Jets players said the Miami players were disrespecting them with their talk. “Granted, they won the game in the fashion that they won it and they’re going to be excited,” said veteran defensive end Shaun Ellis. “But some of the comments they made coming off the field I didn’t like too well. You were hearing a lot of stuff like, ‘We gave it to them.’ Hey, save that for the locker room. It was just one of those games that really left a sour taste in your month and the only way we’ll be able to get it out is we get this win.”

Stop the presses. Was it not the Jets who came out and publicly and said that playing the Patriots and beating them in week two was like their Superbowl? I mean, if you are going to talk shit all season you need to be able to handle guys getting fired up about beating a division rival. The Dolphins acted just like the Jets did when they beat the Pats, but not as extreme. Now all of the sudden it is bad? Fuck that. I had no problem with the Jets talking shit and running their mouths. It is part of the game. But if you are going to dish it out you better be able to handle the repercussions, because that is when I get pissed off.

- Chris

Think you can throw a touchdown pass in high school football? Well this kid can do it behind his back!

The kid definitely should not have done that and I am sure his coach ripped him a new one but it is cool to see someone with a balls to do it and actually make the pass. He could’ve easily passed it to the kid without going behind the back, he really had all day to make it.

-Greg

San Antonio Spurs – With the rest of the NBA looking at the Lakers to easily capture the Western Conference title, the Spurs have built a team that could easily handle LA. The Spurs had a dissappointing season in 2008-09 because they were slowed down last year due to injuries to their key players like Tim Duncan (knees) and Manu Ginobili (ankle). With both of them expected to make a full comeback and the additions of Richard Jefferson, DeJuan Blair, Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff the Spurs have their sights set on yet another championship. Along with those additions, they really didn’t lose out on any impact players, just veterans in Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Frabricio Oberto. The projected lineup will feature Tony Parker at the point, Ginobili at shooting guard, Jefferson at small forward, McDyess at power forward and Duncan down below. They certainly have the defense to be a good team and with the addition of Jefferson they become a strong offensive threat as well. Also, the largest steal of the draft has seemed to be Blair as he was able to fall on the lap of the Spurs early in the second round. He was completely dominant in the summer league and had averages of 14.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the preseason while averaging 18.0 minutes. This is a very strong team that is built almost the same as the Celtics with a lot of veteran leadership and young talent. I look for them to finish second in the West with a much closer record to the Lakers than most people think. At the end of the season they will be losing Matt Bonner, Michael Finley, Ginobili, Roger Mason, Ratliff and Jefferson (early termination option) to free agency. So if they want to make a run then this is the year to do it. Season prediction: 60-22, first in the Southwest.

Dallas Mavericks – For some reason Mark Cuban’s team is always on or near the top of the Southwest Division and it shouldn’t be any different this season. The Mavericks bring back Jason Kidd, obtain Shawn Marion for practically nothing, keep Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard and bring in Drew Gooden. That is practically going to be their starting lineup as well with Kidd at the point, Howard at the two, Marion at small forward, Nowitzki at power forward and Gooden at center. They also still have Jason Terry as their sixth man, and a very good one to say the least. They have lost Brandon Bass, Devean George and Greg Buckner, but even those losses are not very important. The Mavericks always seem to have a pretty good team and with Kidd and Nowitzki back together they should easily make it to the playoffs, but how far can they go? Only Dallas can answer that question. The only problems for their team are that the West is still very good and the Spurs can beat the Mavericks, at least on paper; oh and Kidd is getting old. After the season they have a lot of questions looming with contracts needed for Gooden, J.J. Barea (team option), Howard (team option), Kris Humphries (player option), Nowitzki (early termination option), Quinton Ross (player option) and Tim Thomas. Season prediction: 53-29, second in the Southwest.

New Orleans Hornets – Any team led by Chris Paul is going to do well, but with last year the Hornets went down seven games in the loss column and that was something to keep an eye on. This offseason they finally traded away Tyson Chandler and received Emeka Okafor in return. Okafor never lived up to his potential while in Charlotte but with Paul running things in New Orleans there might be a change in play for the former UConn star. In the move the Hornets were finally able to get rid of Chandler who has been dealing with injuries over the years and got a pretty good center in return. Also joining Okafor in New Orleans are Bobby Brown, Darren Collison, Ike Diogu, Darius Songaila and Marcus Thornton. The team did lose a key player from last year in Rasual Butler but the team is hoping that Collison and Thornton can fill in for his departure. Their starting lineup looks like Paul at the point, Morris Peterson at shooting guard, Julian Wright at small forward, David West at power forward and Okafor at center. Wright showed flashes of talent last year but has yet to live up to being the 13^th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He should have plenty of opportunity to prove himself this year as he is expected to start. The Hornets still have Peja Stojakovic and James Posey to come off the bench and those two alone should be able to hold down the second unit with Collison controlling the point. After the season the Hornets have Brown, Devin Brown, Diogu, Sean Marks, Songaila (early termination option), and Stojakovic (ETO) as free agents with Hilton Armstrong as a restricted free agent. Season prediction: 52-30, third in the Southwest.

Houston Rockets – The Rockets have easily taken the largest step backwards out of all the teams in the NBA this offseason. With the loss of Yao Ming for the year with a foot injury, the uncertainty of Tracy McGrady’s health and the loss of Ron Artest to the Lakers, Houston has a lot of work to make up. The team’s only promising player seems to be Aaron Brooks who is a resemblance of Gilbert Arenas with his shoot-first mentality. Down low they have to rely on Luis Scola and Chuck Hayes to handle any and all the rebounding because they lack anything that would be considered a center. Their projected lineup looks like Brooks at the point, Shane Battier at the two, newly acquired Trevor Ariza at small forward, Hayes at power forward and Scola at center. It’s a small lineup and is one that will be running a lot. Brooks is quick and his backup Kyle Lowry is not slow either. Rick Adelman’s group will still try and keep their defensive approach as well with both Ariza and Battier being very strong defensive players. Also, if McGrady is able to return this season and is back to his old healthy-self, then there is a chance that they could easily make the playoffs but if he doesn’t then they might be looking towards the lottery. They also added Chase Budinger from the draft but with the losses of Von Wafer and Dikembe Mutombo along with Artest, they really haven’t gained back what they lost and it’s hard to see them improve from their 53-29 record from last year. After the season they lose McGrady, Brent Barry, Brian Cook, Hayes (team option), Ming (early termination option) and Carl Landry (restricted team option) to free agency with Lowry and Scola both restricted free agents as well. The Rockets are a team in transition and it’s difficult to see where they will be going after this season. Season prediction: 40-42, fourth in the Southwest.

Memphis Grizzlies – The Grizzlies had a very busy offseason and also a very controversial one to say the least. They picked up two players that seem to destroy the chemistry of a team and have added them to a very young and promising group of players in O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley Jr., Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol. Those two players of course are Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson. Randolph will come in and take care of the power forward position that has been fairly unstable for Memphis all of last year. Iverson’s role, on the other hand, has not yet been defined. He’s been out all preseason due to a hamstring injury, but when he returns he’s going to want to be a starter and that’s a problem. It’s a problem because Conley should be the starting point guard, Mayo the shooting guard and Gay will stay at small forward. I don’t think the team will move either Conley or Mayo to the bench, especially Conley after how well he performed in the second half of last season. Hopefully Iverson has changed his ways and will want to contribute any way he can, even if that means coming off the bench. In my eyes the starting lineup should be Conley at the point guard position, Mayo at shooting guard, Gay at small forward, Randolph at power forward and Gasol at center. Gasol should split a lot of time this season with the arrival of Hasheem Thabeet from UConn being the second overall pick in the draft. Although Thabeet is not known for his offense, there is no need for it on this team. He adds a strong shot-blocking and rebounding presence, something the Grizzlies could use to complement all the offense they should have. They were also able to get rid of a lot of big contracts this summer with Darko Milicic, Hakim Warrick, Quinton Ross, Greg Buckner and Darius Miles. After the season they will have Iverson, Marcus Williams and Steven Hunter as their free agents, with Gay being restricted. It will definitely be an interesting season in Memphis and it the team builds some chemistry they can be very good. Season prediction: 34-48, fifth in the Southwest. 

I think the Spurs run away with this one but overall it is a very difficult division, even the Grizzlies should put up a fight. Up next: Northwest Division.

By Greg Petersen

Everyone knows he is only a restricted free agent after this year, right? It’s not like if we don’t sign him by this weekend then he is gone forever. The same thing happened with Big Baby last summer. Everyone freaked out that he wasn’t signed, and in the end, no one even sent him an offer sheet.

For those who are out of the loop. The deadline for all 2006 draft picks to sign a contract extension is this weekend. If they do not, they are not allowed to sign with their current team until after the season. At that point, they become restricted free agents. If another team is interested, they can make the player an offer. But even if the player agrees to the offer and wants to go to that team, their current team has the option of matching the offer in which case the player stays put.

Currently, Rondo has zero leverage. The Celtics have calculated what they believe he is worth and offered him that much. If he signs, great, if not, no big deal. The odds of them increasing that offer are slim to none. Unless Rondo comes down from his demands this thing is going to go into the summer, which is fine. The 2010 free agent class is filled with huge names such as Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. Money is going to be flying all over the place. Because of that, someone like Rondo may get over looked by other teams.

But even if he doesn’t, and he gets offered what he wants from someone else, the Celtics will match it. There is no doubt in my mind. Rajon Rondo is a unique talent and a key to this teams future. The big three are aging and there is no guarantee that they will be here a couple years from now. You need Rondo to lead this team into the next decade and Danny Ainge knows that. Rajon Rondo will be a Celtic after the ‘09-’10 season, we just might have to wait until next summer to see how much he will get paid.

- Chris

I felt real good about my picks last weekend and ended up going 3-0 to bring my season record to 16-8 on the season. This week the lines don’t look so easy, but winners don’t complain, winners win. So here are my winners:

Broncos +3 @ Ravens

The Ravens played a hard game last week handing the Vikings their first loss of the season. However, they looked like crap in the first half and the Bronco’s are coming off of a bye week. Despite being on the road, I’ll take the points and honestly think they will win the game.

Texans -3.5 @ Buffalo

The bills are just a pathetic team. They have three wins, but their offense is 24th in points and 27th in total yards. Their defense is a little better ranked 13th in points allowed, but they are 24th in yards allowed, so something is going to give soon. Their wins came against Tampa Bay, NYJ, and Carolina, not exactly the best opponents. Matt Schaub is currently one of the best QB’s in the game and he is definitely going to come into town and tear up the Bills.

Jaguars +3 @ Titans

This is an easy one. Go to NFL.com and look at the different statistical categories. The Jaguars are simply better than the Titans in every aspect of the game. The Titans are still win less and really can’t be feeling to good about themselves. Vince Young is starting his first game of the season and he has done nothing to show me that he can be a quality QB in the NFL. Despite the Jaguars being on the road, I’ll take the points and kind of want to go money line.

- Chris

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

A.J. Burnett certainly earned his money last night as he was straight dirty allowing only one earned over seven innings giving up four hits and striking out nine. Can’t really fault the Phillies for not putting up runs as he brought his best stuff. They had their chances late too. With two on and one out in the eighth, Chase Utley grounded into a inning ending double play. Replays show he was clearly safe but he should have got a base hit anyways and it wouldn’t even have come to that. Raul Ibanez then managed to double in the ninth but the Phils couldn’t find a way to get him across the plate. While it would have been nice to see the Phillies go into Yankee Stadium and take a 2-0 lead, I would have to say the trip was a success for the following reasons.

- The rule of thumb in the playoffs is split on the road and win at home. Taking one of two to start off puts them in the right direction. Now they just need to win two of three in Philly and then split again in games six and seven. The avoided going down 2-0 and that is really all you can ask for on the road in the World Series.

- Pedro looked awesome. How was this guy not signed at the beginning of the year. Even if he is a sub par pitcher, which he is not, he brings so much life and energy to a team. He may have been left in too long again last night, but he still stuck out eight guys over six innings, not a small feat. His fastball may struggle to reach 90 mph, but he still has one of the nastiest change ups in the game at 75 mph darting away from left handed batters.

- A-Rod has gone back to being A-Rod. I blogged about this last night and he went on to go 0-4 with three strikeouts and a pseudo error. Winners win, losers lose, and A-Rod chokes, you can count on it.

- Chris

Chapman is a 21 year old pitcher who defected from Cuba and became a free agent last month. Clocked at 102 mph during the World Baseball Classic, Chapman is considered by some as one of the best left handed pitchers not on a major league roster. Peter Gammons seems to believe that the Red Sox have a leg up on the competition, which includes both New York teams among others, because of the signing of fellow teammate Jose Iglesias this past summer.

Adding Chapman would be an easy way to bring reinforcements to the upper levels of the Red Sox minor league system as most of their top prospects are currently at very low levels. Chapman currently has a major league fastball but lacks command and consistency with his secondary pitches. At only 21 years old, Chapman would likely spend a couple years in the minors before cracking the big league squad, but he certainly has the potential to be a big league starter.

- Chris

Orlando Magic – The reigning Eastern Conference champs did something that no one really thought they would this offseason, change up their team significantly. One of their true leaders last year was Hedo Turkoglu, love or hate the guy he was the heart and soul of the team. When the Magic did well, it was because Turkoglu did well and when he did poorly the team did poorly, get the picture? Well by letting him walk this offseason the Magic needed a replacement and what better replacement than Vince Carter? In the deal to get Carter, the Magic had to give up both Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee, two pretty good guards. Carter will turn 33 in January but it seems like he’s been around for so much longer. He’s only played in all 82 games of the season twice and the last time was three years ago, the other time? You have to go back to the 1999-00 season with the Toronto Raptors. The Magic will also have another pretty good guard (”back”) this year as well. His name is Jameer Nelson. Before going down with a shoulder injury that kept him out most of the second half of the year, into the NBA Championship Finals, Nelson was having the best season of his short career. The Magic also added veteran Jason Williams to back up Nelson if his injury is not completely healed. Also coming to Orlando are Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass, who figures to play a large role next to Dwight Howard. It’s tough to tell whether or not the Magic will be a success with the acquisition of Carter, but they are still a very good and deep team and should be right atop the East stadings. After the season JJ Redick (restricted), Barnes, Williams and Anthony Johnson are the notable free agents for the Magic. Season prediction: 60-22, first in the Southeast.

Atlanta Hawks – The Atlanta Hawks are still an up-and-coming team for the NBA, even though they have been to the playoffs the past couple of years. With Mike Bibby leading the point guard position and Joe Johnson in his final year of his contract at shooting guard, the Hawks have a very strong backcourt with a very young and talented front court as well. At small forward they are likely to go with Josh Smith who just keeps getting better every year. He averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 blocks per game last season. He has always been a strong rebounder and shot-blocker which is good but he also can score and shoot from a distance. At 6’9 he is an extremely big small forward and that helps when your center in Al Horford is only 6’10. Horford had a decent sophomore year as he was limited to only 67 games on the season. Although Horford is undersized for the center position he does hold his own against some the leagues premier big men. Also fairly undersized is the Hawks’ power forward in Marvin Williams at 6’9. He’s had a couple very consistent years after coming out of UNC in 2005. The combination of Horford, Williams and Smith can be undersized for a typical front court, but they complement each other very well and have very similar numbers. They are also very young and will look to grow even more this season. This offseason they added two notable players in Jeff Teague (draft) and Jamal Crawford (trade). Although they will both come off the bench, they should provide Bibby and Johnson with much relief. Crawford has been a starter much of his career so a shift to the bench might be a little different for the shooting guard. They lost Acie Law (who didn’t live up to his potential), Speedy Claxton, Solomon Jones, and Flip Murray. After the season their free agents are Johnson, Joe Smith and Josh Childress (restricted). Season prediction: 49-33 second in the Southeast.  

Washington Wizards – The rest of the NBA should watch out for the Washington Wizards this season. They added a lot this offseason while not really subtracting much. They traded away their fifth overall draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller, in which the draft pick ended up being Ricky Rubio who won’t play in the NBA for a couple years, if at all. Good trade for the Wizards. So they add Foye to play the two guard position with a healthy Gilbert Arenas back at the point, Caron Butler at small forward, Antoine Jamison at power forward and Brandon Haywood at center. Jamison is hurt right now with a partially dislocated shoulder and will miss the rest of the preseason but should be ready for the regular season. Arenas hasn’t really played in two years but when he does play he is a scoring machine. He is the definition of the shoot-first point guard and it shows as he averaged 29.3 and 28.5 points per game from 2005-07 respectively. The team has also lost Eddie Jordan in its head coach and has replaced him with Flip Saunders who will use his roster to their ability and not to another system. If Saunders lets them score like they want to, they are going to have a lot of high scoring games, that’s if all their players are healthy of course. Miller coming off the bench will provide a lot of scoring, especially when he’s paired with Nick Young out of USC who has yet to be consistent in his shooting. This team will be a lot of fun to watch, I just hope that they can all stay on the court long enough to win some games. After the season they have Haywood, Mike James, Miller, Fabricio Oberto, Foye (restricted) and DeShawn Stevenson (player option) as free agents. So if they want to win, then this will be a big year; otherwise they will be heading back to the lottery. Season prediction: 42-40, third in the Southeast.

Miami Heat – Another summer in which there was no help for Dwayne Wade added to this team. That can mean only one thing; Wade is gone after this season. This team is always interesting to watch, but with the problems Michael Beasley is facing and his lack of stardom in the NBA, there are no other players in Miami that can really complement Wade the way he wants. Wade has a player option to become a free agent after this season and that can only mean that if his team does poorly then he’s gone. Jermaine O’Neal was brought in last year to help the Heat down on the boards but he hasn’t been the same since having multiple knee surgeries. They lost Shawn Marion at O’Neal’s expense but at the time that was fine because they wanted to play Beasley more. They also lost Jamario Moon this summer to the Cavs and he was one of the best defenders the team had. Their starting lineup looks like Mario Chalmers at the point, Wade the two, Beasley at small forward, Udonis Haslem at power forward and O’Neal at center. Not a bad starting lineup, but who do they have on the bench? Shavlik Randolph? I don’t even know who that is and he’s the backup to Haslem, who shouldn’t be the starter to begin with. Carlos Arroyo and Deaquan Cook are decent backups to Chalmers and Wade, but they aren’t anything special. If Beasley gets his head on straight and starts to perform like he did at Kansas State then he and Wade might become one of the NBA’s top duos, too bad there are teams out there that have more than two future hall of famers on it. The Heat have recently extended the contracts to Cook and Chalmers, now they are the only two players on contract after the 2010 season. Haslem, Jamaal Magloire, O’Neal, Chris Quinn, Quentin Richardson, Wade and Dorell Wright are all set to be free agents after the season. Season prediction: 41-41, fourth in the Southeast.

Charlotte Bobcats – Sure Larry Brown is the coach and he has worked wonders before, but I’m not so sure that he can turn this team into a contender anytime soon. The Bobcats starting lineup should look like Raymond Felton at point guard, Raja Bell at shooting guard, Gerald Wallace at small forward, Boris Diaw at power forward and newly-acquired Tyson Chandler at center. Like the Heat, their starting five is not that bad. Reports are saying that Diaw came into camp out of shape, and he’s the last person they need to bring the team down. He was only good for a couple years in Phoenix and is undersized at power forward. Charlotte was able to exchange Emeka Okafor for Chandler, which could be seen as a questionable trade for Charlotte. New Orleans tried to get rid of Chandler last year to the Thunder but he failed his physical due to a foot injury and the Hornets had to keep him. Now for whatever reason the Bobcats wanted the oft-injured center, probably because he can become a free agent after the season and Okafor wasn’t impressing Coach Brown. A plus side for the trade was the Bobcats were able to get rid of Sean May who seemed to get larger every season. As far as the team’s bench is concerned, there isn’t much of a bench outside of D.J. Augustin. Augustin showed flashes of brilliance as he was able to score a career-high 29 points against Chicago last December, but he’s stuck behind Felton and is looked at as the sixth man. After the season they will have a lot of holes to fill as Bell, Felton, and Flip Murray will become free agents and Chandler, Nazr Muhammed and Vladimir Radmanovic all have an early termination option. Season prediction: 33-49, fifth in the Southeast.

The Magic take this division hands down, but if the Hawks build on their season’s pasts then they could very well be up there with Orlando. Also, don’t be surprised if the Wizards become the turn-around team of the year and Flip Saunders becomes Coach of the Year for doing so. Definitely a fun division to watch, well maybe not the Bobcats.

By Greg Petersen

I mean, I guess it is hard to say anything now because he went deep twice and along with Cliff Lee carried the Phillies to a 1-0 series lead. But does he really think this is a good look for him? How much do you want to bet that he went out after the game and still had his choice of whichever chick he wanted? Must be nice to be a professional athlete and not have a care in the world. If I went out like that I would get shit thrown at me from behind. Such is life.

- Chris

Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach apparently is not too fond of his players lady friends. Although, I am not sure you can call a chick both fat and little. Maybe he is just confused on the meaning of the words, because while the females are good looking, everyone from Texas is usually dumb as rocks.

- Chris