Terry Shilton

Huge news today in the Nba as more players than expected opted-out of the final year of their contracts to explore free agency, below is the players and latest rumours…

1. Elton Brand, big surprise coming off a injury filled year, many people were expecting him to play out the deal, Philly has become an immediate player, as are Chicago, Miami and Atlanta.

prediciton Elton ends in Eastern Conference, possibly Atlanta

2. Baron Davis, Huge suprise as Baron was in a back loaded deal and was due nearly 18 million, “Boom Dizzle” must have decided to win now, his health has been an issue and he feels that window closing, this situation is very difficult to peg as Baron researched teams like NY, Miami whihc had PG needs in the offseason but not the ability to outright sign him, as Gstate can offer the most money and have Monta Ellis (restricted)

prediction Baron will likely get signed and then dealt.

3. Gilbert Arenas, no surpirse wanted a max long term deal at the new salary cap, interesting developments now with other players available, as many league people believe the wiz are a better more balanced team without Arenas.

prediction Agent Zero resigns as he sells seats

4. Corey Magette, no surprise and he is leaving La he has had problems with the Clippers staff for some time, he should have been dealt at last years deadline, he wants to go to Orlando but it seems unlikely given their cap situation.

I haven’t heard anything about Ron Artest, who is also eligible to opt out of his current deal, which leads me to believe either he isn’t going to or he has waited right to the last second to so, and the announcment is delayed because of this.

Mark Lincir

The hangover from a tournament this good can last for months. Fortunately, it will only last a month or so until all the European leagues start their 2008/2009 seasons in August. I hate having to come down off the high that these types of tournaments induce.

So much world-class soccer…so many world-class players to watch, day in and day out. All gone now, only to leave me with memories and conversations of the old days…those days being Euro 2008…the most memorable three weeks of soccer in a long time.

The last World Cup wasn’t even close to being this good. Even though I was actually there in Germany and can tell you that even though I was home for my daily walk with the wife during this Euro, those couple weeks in Germany from a fan standpoint were truly unforgettable.

The Euros this year brought with it a new dawn in international soccer.

The waning-moment-winner.

No longer will anybody ever leave the room before the final whistle has blown. Stoppage time doesn’t just mean something now, it means everything. A lead will never feel safe until the main man in the middle calls it quits. Turkey started it and now everybody seems intent on following suit.

In a couple hundred words, here are my final thoughts…Spain proved you can look good AND win. Italy proved that it has a lot of work to do before 2010…France who? Germany looked like they felt they deserved it the whole time, but got beat by the better team in the final. I think I may have a man-crush on Cesc…

Croatia still can’t believe they actually lost that game and neither can we. My Dad is STILL watching the replays to see if the outcome changes. Don’t have to worry about using the words Czech Republic and world-class team in the same sentence anymore.

What happened to France (I know I already said something about them…but I had such a pleasant time in Paris when I was there years ago that I had to rub it in)? Romania looks better than I expected. Fatih should bag coaching and go on the motivational speaking circuit. The refereeing could have been worse.

The Netherlands needs to win a World Cup…but now they even have Spain to worry about. Austria and Switzerland repped better than I thought they would. Guus is a genius and worth every penny. Torres had an extra lung in the final.

Ballack’s crushing free-kick beats Beckham’s bends. Lehman could be the least likeable player in modern history. My neighbors are bound to find out that I used their house for the Final party…I feel like playing again, just need to figure out how NOT to run so much in this game.

I wish I was there…I wish you had joined me…we’re all losers for not going…if you were there I hate you…I plan on heading to London for Boxing Day…with the wife…whoever said that you can’t have it all was…well, right.

Your final thoughts? Was it worth losing your job, house or significant other?

Make sure to check back for plenty of transfer talk this week and don’t ever hesitate to comment…unless you disagree with me. Kidding of course…well, not really.