The Dissolution of Latrell Sprewell

It took awhile, but every NBA free agent eventually found his way to a team. Curry is with the Knicks, Allen is with the Sonics, Johnson is with the Hawks, and free agency is pretty much over. Wait...I'm forgetting someone. Hey, where's Latrell Sprewell? Yes, Minnesota's separation of Cassell and Sprewell has gone so well that Sprewell isn't even in the NBA right now. In fact, he might never come back.

Just how bad was Sprewell's season last year: how about no-job bad. In a Marketing Evaluations Q-rating for sports athletes, Spree was dead last, that's right, the worst. First came his quote about having to feed his family with a $14.6 million salary. Then there was an incident where he cursed out a Clippers fan within earshot of television cameras. Finally there was the chemistry issues mixed with his T-wolves teammates and his horrible production that kept Minnesota out of the playoffs one year past from having the best record in the league.

Sprewell had the absolute worst year of his career last year, suffering career-lows in Points, Rebounds, Assists and Minutes Per Game. Combine that with his unforgettable altercation with P.J. Carlisemo and the high contract he'd surely demand, and the Nuggets, Clippers and Lakers have all stopped taking phone calls. And lets face it; Spree is the one guy (who if he were still playing) that has a worst reputation than Ron Artest. Except, Sprewell doesn't act as innocent as Artest does.

Hold on a minute; maybe we're being a little too quick to jump the gun. Let's let Sprewell speak for himself: "I stopped at Cub Foods for the first time since 1991 and picked up six packages of Pork Ramen for 78 cents. I barely had enough for the 58-cent box of Best Yet Mac and Cheese, but we'll just pinch our pennies for the next day or so." Now that was pretty moronic, but let's see if we can go a step higher: and I quote: "One of my boys got teased by a sixth grade girl on the bus, that stupid little whore." There we go. And yet, people don't seem to like him. A real head-scratcher.

Overall, Sprewell might not play at all this season, and he deserves no excuses. Choking a coach is more than enough to get you thrown out, but he got a second chance. Sure he did okay at first in New York, but he's really collapsed since then. A guy as separated from the real world as anyone, Spree turns 36 in 2006. Getting paid millions of dollars to play basketball is a hell of a privilege, and Spree has worn out his welcome. No team will dare pick him up, because of the negative press they'd receive. Not only that, but it was Latrell Sprewell who monopolized those stupid rim-spinners on cars (AKA Sprewells). Add it all up, and that $7 million extension the Wolves offered him a year ago is starting to look awfully good now, especially if he never plays again.

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NFL Predictions - 2010 Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens finished 9-7 on NFL Picks in 2009 and made the playoffs where they lost in the 2nd round to the Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens went 8-7-1 against the spread on football odds, going over the total 6 times, under 9 times and had one push. The Ravens signature defense was again the nucleus of the team, which ranked 3rd overall in total yards giving up a little over 300 per game, #8 overall in passing yards giving up an average of 207 per game, the team was 5th against the run giving up only 93.2 yards per game and opponents scored 16.3 points per game which was good enough for 3rd in the National Football League. The Ravens usually boast on e of the teams best defense but analyst everywhere continue to rated quarterback Joe Flacco among the best in the NFL but I'm not so sure of that, Flaccco has all of the physical skills but lacks something and this sports handicapper thinks his backup, former Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith is a better fit for the team. Ravens coach John Harbaugh has done an excellent job since taking over for Brian Billick a few years ago and expectations are high again this year at Ravens camp.

The 2010-11 Ravens will again be led by the defense, some think this unit is getting old but with the statistics they have been posting it just looks like they are getting better. Ray Lewis is the man in the middle and both the emotional and physical leader but fellow linebacker Terrell Suggs is vastly becoming of the best the in the National football League also. The defensive line is also solid with long time veteran Trevor Pryce, who led the team with 6' sacks last year. Haloti Ngata is also becoming one of the best defensive lineman in football and should dominate at his position again this year. The defensive backfield lost Samari Rolle to retirement and the leader of the group Ed Reed has had a nagging injury, Reid also thinks he is underpaid and so do I, this guy has been a playmaker ever since he came into the league out of the University of Miami and the Ravens can ill afford to loose him.

The Ravens offense made great stride with running back Ray Rice gained 1,339 yards in 2009 and should be one of the elite backs in the league this year. His back up Willis McGahee would be a starter on any team but he knows his role with Baltimore and is quite happy with it, he gets his touches and like Rice he can also take it the distance at anytime, fullback Le'Ron McClain is also a pro bowl caliber back. The tandem is one of the best in football, that is why Baltimore ranked 5th overall in rushing yards averaging 137.5 per game. The offensive line hasn't been the same sine lone time offensive Tackle Jonathan Ogden retired, this unit will have to gel this year, especially in their pass blocking. The wide receivers are good and now add Donte Stallworth and Anquan Boldin into the mix. THe real question mark is still Joe Flacco, he will struggle this year and that is why the Ravens finish 2nd in the AFC North behind the Cincinnati Bengals and will struggle with the Pittsburgh Steelers but this division could have 3 teams in the playoffs in 2010-11.

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Greg C Nelson

NFL Football Picks and NFL Expert Predictions - Tennessee Titans Preview For the 2010 Season

The Tennessee Titans started the 2009 season by going 0-6 and turned their season around once Vince Young got the start to finish the season 8-2 just missing the playoffs. Although the tide changed for the Titans when Young was named the starter, the most significant impact player on the team and maybe in the entire NFL other than Peyton Manning was running back Chris Johnson.

Johnson is one of the most dynamic runners the NFL has seen in a long time and became the NFL's best running back by rushing for 2,006 yards and an amazing 49 carries of over 10 yards or more last season. With Johnson's unique talents and unmatched speed by anyone in the NFL, the Titans are now a run first offense that brings a lethal combination with Young at the quarterback position who had an 82.8 passer rating but is also a dynamic runner.

The Titans will pose an offensive threat with these two skilled players but they will need to improve their receiving core as they will count on a 2nd year player in Kenny Britt who will be their number one receiver going into the season. Britt produced big numbers in his first year catching 42 balls for 701 yards which was fifth in Titans history for a rookie while he scored three touchdowns averaging 16.7 yards per reception. If Britt can step up and improve this year bringing a third dimension to this offense, the Titans who were 12th in total offense last year will be hard for any NFL defense to stop.

The Tennessee defense that was considered to be aging cleared house and added 10 new defenders to a roster that was ranked 28th in total yards and scoring last season. The most noted players that are gone on defense are Kyle Varden, Jevon Kearse and Keith Bullock who played 10 years for the Titans and was the defensive captain. They have added players who will make an impact this season in linebacker Will Witherspoon and a rookie pass rusher Derrick Morgan who was ranked 10th in the draft overall amongst NFL experts although the leadership of the defense will be in question.

Jeff Fisher has been one of the NFL's top coaches for years but he will be faced with the challenge of putting all the new pieces together coming into this season. The Titans have brought in a lot of talent and will improve from 2009 but someone will have to take over the leadership role and form an identity for this team. The Titans will have to gain some confidence and win early especially playing in the tough AFC South Conference with the Colts and Texans. Our NFL experts for NFL Picks report that Chris Johnson has a chance to be the first running back in NFL history to gain 2000 yards in consecutive years and if he does complete that feat, the Titans will have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs.

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