There is no question that aftermath of the Los Angeles Lakers collapse in the playoffs has given the storied franchise a reality check. Kobe Bryant is no longer young superstar he used to be and this team as a whole isn’t getting any younger. With that being said, GM Mitch Kupchak has to start weighing his options as this championship caliber team might be on the verge of an extensive rebuilding process in the near future.

With Kobe Bryant having about three to five years left in his legs, the Los Angeles Lakers will need a superstar to take over for him when he does decide to call it quits. In the meantime, this team can still contend for an NBA title, but a lot people believe that Andrew Bynum and/or Pau Gasol need to be traded in order to do so. Continue Reading…

Last season was a rebirth of the Bulls franchise in the Windy City as point guard Derrick Rose went from an up-and-coming All-Star into one of the best all-around players in the league. Not only was Rose able to win his first NBA MVP award, but the team came together under new head coach Tom Thibodeau and got people thinking that the Bulls are back in contention for NBA title in the years to come.

With the Chicago Bulls looking as promising as they were last season and the fact the finished the regular season with the best record in the league, the future is definitely bright in the Windy City, but they will need to surround Derrick Rose with some better players in order to make it to the next level. Continue Reading…

Back in his days with the USC Trojans, former Heisman trophy winner Matt Leinart was considered to be one of the greatest college quarterbacks of all-time and a future Pro Bowler in the NFL. Even though Leinart was given a lot of hype out of USC and rightfully so, the promising young quarterback hasn’t been able to transcend his game on the professional level and therefore considered a bust. Continue Reading…

Almost a decade ago, the USC Trojans football program was one of the best in the country and remained that way year in and year out as they could always recruit the most talented players on both sides of the football. With head coach Pete Carroll leading the way and players like Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart headlining this championship caliber team, the Trojans were able to win a BCS title in 2004, but ever since then all sorts of allegations have surrounded this storied football program.

The most recent allegations involving the USC football program were able former superstar running back and Heisman trophy winner Reggie Bush. It has been years since Bush has been in a Trojans’ uniform and since then he has made quite a bit of money in the NFL while winning a Super Bowl title with the New Orleans Saints, but he hasn’t been able to escape the allegations about the running back taking money during his time at USC. Continue Reading…

The defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants have played well in their title defense, but not well enough to hold of the best of the best in the National League this time around. Along with having some stiff competition within the NL this season like the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves, the defending champs are being given a run for their money within their own division.

The NL West division isn’t exactly one of the best divisions in baseball these days with almost every single team within the division still trying to build a winner, but at times teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks can play well in the MLB regular season.

This season the Rockies and the Diamondbacks look like the Giants biggest threats in the NL West division. The Giants have been solid at times and have shown flashes of a World Series title contender, but as of right now the Diamondbacks are in second place in NL West division and are red-hot with a legitimate shot of winning the NL West division title at season’s end.

One of the big-name players around the MLB that have been linked to the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants as of late has been superstar shortstop Jose Reyes. With the New York Mets seemingly going nowhere and the San Francisco Giants looking for another prime time player to bring to the Bay Area, Reyes would be the perfect fit and could be just what the offense needs to become amongst the best in baseball at the plate.

Whether or not the Giants decide to roll the dice and go after the Mets’ superstar remains to be seen, but they would be a drastically different ball club with a much better chance of contending for another World Series title in the years to come.

A few seasons ago, the Arizona Cardinals were one of the best teams in the NFL with future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner under center and arguably the best wide receiving in the league in Larry Fitzgerald downfield. The defense wasn’t that great in Arizona, but the potent offense made up for it and resulted in an appearance in the Super Bowl.

Even though the Arizona Cardinals ultimately lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl with a late touchdown grab from Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes, the Cardinals proved that it was no fluke that they were the best team in the NFC Conference. With that being said, this team had a promising future with Warner under center, but that didn’t last long as the one-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement before last season.

Without Warner as their gunslinger, the Cardinals were just awful offensively and quickly became one of the worst teams in the NFL once again. Despite the fact that this team just fell apart last season and didn’t even stand a chance in arguably the worst division (NFC West) in the NFL, Arizona might have hope for the future as they are possible destination for Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Now that Michael Vick is the undisputed starting quarterback in Philly, Kevin Kolb wants to leave town and no one can blame him as he will just be spinning his wheels behind arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Kevin Kolb has been linked to teams like the Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers, but there is a good chance that he might land with the Arizona Cardinals via trade. With Kolb under center, this team might be able to make it back into the playoffs.

Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans Hornets Fri. April 22, 2011 9:30 p.m. EST

After the devastating loss to the New Orleans Hornets in Game 1, the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers had a lot of problems that they had to address in order to compete with Chris Paul and company moving forward. With the Hornets’ All-Star point guard dominating the defending champs in the Game 1 with 33 points and 14 assists, the key for the Lakers success would be containing CP3 in Game 2. Continue Reading…

Boston Celtics at New York Knicks Fri. April 22, 2011 7 p.m. EST

Ever since the NBA trade deadline, the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics just haven’t been the same team as the trade of Kendrick Perkins turned out to be one of the worst moves that GM Danny Ainge could have made. Even though Ainge was only thinking about the future, the move just tore the team apart as players like All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo and perennial All-Star forward Kevin Garnett were devastated. Continue Reading…

The Eastern Conference playoffs are almost officially underway as the NBA regular season comes to a close. The one team that a lot of people will be watching heading into the playoffs is the up-and-coming Chicago Bulls as they were able clinch the number one seed in the Eastern Conference after barely making the playoffs last season. Continue Reading…

Ever since the beginning of this NBA regular season, the Miami Heat has been in the spotlight and under the microscope. Not only did the Heat put an incredible amount of pressure on them by adding two more superstars to their roster (LeBron James and Chris Bosh) alongside the face of the franchise in Dwyane Wade, but they were considered to be the team to beat in the NBA this season with extremely high expectations. Continue Reading…