DeSean Jackson To Recruit Nnamdi Asomugha

Pro-Bowl WR DeSean Jackson is taking it upon himself to help the Philadelphia Eagles fill their most glaring hole by recruiting soon-to-be free agent (whenever free agency begins) CB Nnamdi Asomugha who along with Darrelle Revis of the NY Jets is considered to be one of the best corners in the NFL. The Eagles were mightily exposed on defense last year late in the season and no more so than in the corner back spot opposite Pro-Bowler Asante Samuel. Philadelphia gave up an astonishing 31 pass TDs last year and were killed in the red zone.

It is clear that the Eagles are going to make a run at the prized free agent who will command a massive salary. They didn't address CB until the 3rd round of the draft and have no one on the roster currently who could step in right away. They also have no really financial limitations as the typically frugal front office amassed a payroll of just over $80 million last season compared to other teams like the Jets who were close to $130 million.

Jackson and Asomugha both went to the University of California and DeSean has already begun pitching Philadelphia to Nnamdi starting at this year's Pro Bowl. On a Philadelphia-area radio show this week Jackson confirmed that he planned to follow up with Asomugha and continue to sell the former Raider star on the city of brotherly love. Asomugha is going to be the most highly sought-after free agent this year and it is shaping up to be quite a battle for his services.

Carlos Beltran Improves His Trade Value With 3 HR Day Against Colorado

2011 has so far been a season composed of around 66% bad news and 33% good news for the New York Mets. We all know about the financial woes of the ownership and the patchwork pitching rotation that is basically the exact opposite of what the Phillies have assembled. There has also been plenty of bad news on the injury front with top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia scheduled to have Tommy John surgery, SP Chris Young having season-ending shoulder surgery and most recently 2nd-year Slugger Ike Davis was sent to the DL for an ankle injury. However despite all this adversity there have been some bight spots for the Mets.

The pitching has improved significantly since the Mets started the year 5-13, especially in the bullpen which hasn't allowed an earned run in almost 20 innings. Even closer Francisco Rodriguez is tossing some of his best ball in recent memory en route to racking up 10 saves in 11 chances.

On the offensive end we have seen a Renaissance in the career of Carlos Beltran who appears to have recovered from the chronic knee injuries that rendered him almost completely ineffective for the past couple of seasons. Playing RF this year Beltran has made significantly more starts than was expected of him after he battle arthritis in his right knee all spring. Beltran has been swinging a hot bat over the past 4 weeks or so and that power of old was on display yesterday as Beltran blasted 3 home runs against the Rockies in Coors field. Beltran now leads the Mets with 8 HRs and 24 RBIs and is hitting at a .295 average which is about 30 points higher than his career average.

Beltran is in the final year of his contract and with the Mets likely to flounder at around .500 this year it is becoming more and more likely that he will be dealt before the July 31st trading deadline. The Mets have missed this kind of production from Carlos over the past couple of unsuccessful years but fans can take some small consolation knowing the team should be getting something good in return this summer.

The Battle For The NBA Championship Is Taking Shape

This year's NBA playoffs have lived to up to all expectations after a terrific regular season that saw no fewer than 7 teams have a legitimate shot winning the NBA crown. With the first two rounds all but over and the Conference Championship Series set to begin next week it appears we have a thrilling fortnight or two of basketball before us.

The Eastern Conference has shaken down much as people expected it to with the Orlando Magic bowing out early to Atlanta, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls making relatively easy work of the 5th and 8th seeds and of course the 2nd round showdown between the Miami Heat and Boston. I must admit that the Heat have impressed with their 4-1 series win over the Celtics. It should be noted that the Celts did not appear to play up to their usual standard of playoff excellence as they appeared old and injured and sorely missed Kendrick Perkins' presence in the middle. Having said that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, with a little help from Chris Bosh, elevate their game from the regular season and basically beat the Celtics playing 3-0n-5. I was most impressed with Miami's 16-0 run to close out game 5 and win the series, they dominated the Celtics late and LeBron even hit a big 3 late to seal it. The Chicago-Miami matchup should prove to be one of the best Conference Finals we've seen in recent memory.

The Western Conference playoffs have seen a changing of the guard as the top-ranked but aging San Antonio Spurs were bounced in the first round by the surging Memphis Grizzlies who battle for their lives tonight against the Thunder in game 6 facing elimination. However more surprising than the Spurs fall or the Grizzlies elevation was the demoralizing performance of the two-time defending champion LA Lakers who were unceremoniously swept at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs exceeded expectations all year long but stepped their game to a new level against the Lakers and showed the rest of the league that they aren't as soft as they used to be. Fueled by resurgent play from Jason Kidd, the star-power of Dirk Nowitzki, the physicality of Wilson Chandler as well as 6th Man Jason Terry who is playing some of the best ball of his career right now (he went 9-10 from 3 in game 4 against LA).

If the Thunder can play their game than we should have two great series to watch as the Bulls, Heat, Mavericks and Thunder battle for a trip to the NBA Finals. I still maintain my prediction that the Thunder and Bulls will play for the Championship but even if I'm wrong this should be fun to watch.

Overcome By Injury, Tiger Woods Withdraws From TPC Sawgrass After 9 Holes

After coming close to his old form while making a final round charge at last month's Masters, Tiger Woods has been hobbled by injuries to his knee and Achilles. Woods had maintained that the injuries were minor but the former best golfer in the world was unable to play or practice before this week's TPC Sawgrass. Woods shot a dreadful 42 on the front-9 including a triple-bogey before he withdrew from the signature tournament. Woods was visibly limping and looked to be in pain from the very start.

Woods was suffering from a knee injury that he incurred last month. It was the same left knee that has required 4 surgeries since Tiger won his last major, the US Open at Torrey Pines in 2008. This was the 4th time in Tiger's career that he has withdrawn from a tournament that he has started and the first since he was forced to retire from last year's TPC in the final round with a neck injury. This was also the 4th time Tiger has shot a 42 or higher on a 9 hole stretch, 3 of which have happened in the last year.

Tiger's ranking recently fell to 8th in the world as he has failed to truly regain his former glory. Woods had been showing continuing signs of improvement this season and was stinging more about more flashes of brilliances together. However the debate remains whether Tiger will be able to catch Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships which had been a foregone conclusion just 2 years ago.