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Latest Sports Rumors from Yahoo! Sports

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Folks have been down on the work ethic of Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. Yahoo! Sports Jason Cole recently had a source tell him, "I wouldnt draft that kid unless I had someone to wake him up in the morning to get to meetings, someone to wake him up for practice and someone to wake him up for games."

The Miami Herald is reporting, however, that the Miami Dolphins may take him in the upcoming draft. The team supposedly wants to find some targets for quarterback Chad Henne(notes) to hit now that it has improved its defense with the signing of Karlos Dansby(notes).

Of course, this could only happen if the man who pulled in 17 receptions, four touchdowns and gained 323 yards last year is still left when Miami picks at No. 12. The word is that the Denver Broncos could take him just before that.

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The New York Knicks are obviously going to do everything it can to convince LeBron James(notes) to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and make his way to the city that never sleeps. But the general consensus is that there is no way James will end up with the Knicks unless hes got some sort of martyr complex.

The word from the paper of record, the New York Times, is that it is far more likely that the Knicks will have Atlanta Hawks forward Joe Johnson(notes) on its roster next year. Johnson and Knicks coach Mike DAntoni worked well together in Phoenix and the coach would supposedly love to have him back.

The eight-year pro guard is averaging 21.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. The Times says the Hawks are going to try and retain Johnson and the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls are likely going to try and sign him as well.

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Since guard Kyle Lowry(notes) has been out with a hurt ankle, his Houston Rockets have won four games and lost nine. So GM Daryl Morey is apparently saying that hell take care of the man who will be a restricted free agent this summer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"Hes a big part of it, maybe more so than everybody really realized," coach Rick Adelman said. "We knew what he gave us game in and game out. He always gave us energy. He was great to play with Chase (Budinger). And he played with Aaron (Brooks) so well, and Aaron didnt have to play 40-something minutes. That was huge, too. Weve really missed him."

The 23-year-old Lowry may return tonight against the Washington Wizards.

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The Los Angeles Lakers just lost three games in a row, the first such streak of the last two seasons, and Kobe Bryant(notes) says the team is "a little edgy" and "upset," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bryant said even reporter questions were giving him a stomach virus.

Pau Gasol(notes) suggested the problem is simply that the team needs better ball movement to regain its winning ways as well as an adjustment to play up to their own possibilities. "Thats whats disappointing and frustrating," Gasol told the paper. "Thats why I want us to get ourselves going and playing well and being confident and having that swagger of the best team in the league, and lately we havent been carrying that with us."

Bryant said the team didnt play hard in its losses to the Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat while just losing to a good team against the Orlando Magic.

Perhaps the return of Sasha Vujacic(notes), out since February 18, will help change things around when he re-appears on the roster tomorrow night when the team takes on Chris Bosh(notes) and the Toronto Raptors.

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The Los Angeles Lakers just lost three games in a row, the first such streak of the last two seasons, and Kobe Bryant(notes) says the team is "a little edgy" and "upset," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bryant said even reporter questions were giving him a stomach virus.

Pau Gasol(notes) said the team needs better ball movement to regain its winning ways as well as an adjustment to play up to their own possibilities. "Thats whats disappointing and frustrating," Gasol told the paper. "Thats why I want us to get ourselves going and playing well and being confident and having that swagger of the best team in the league, and lately we havent been carrying that with us."

Bryant said the team didnt play hard in losses to the Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat while just losing to a good team against the Orlando Magic.

Perhaps the return of Sasha Vujacic(notes), out since Feb. 18, will help change things around when he re-appears on the roster Wednesday night when the team takes on Chris Bosh(notes) and the Toronto Raptors.

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James Worthy and Michael Jordan were teammates at the University of North Carolina and now its looking like they may be working together on a different basketball team in a totally different capacity.

The Gaston Gazette is reporting that new Charlotte Bobcats majority owner Jordan may be hiring Worthy for a job with the team. "Hes really interested in helping some people I know," Worthy said of Jordan to the Gazette. "Hes talked to myself. Hes talked to (former UNC teammate) Sam Perkins. When he gets ready to hire, he has our numbers. And Im sure hell call people that are interested."

Worthy has done some TV work for his former pro team, the Los Angeles Lakers, but he says that wouldnt be his bag in Charlotte: "It would be more front office-type stuff - player personnel, assistant GM, anything that he needs community-oriented," Worthy told the paper.

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Dont you dare think probable Hall of Fame pitchers John Smoltz(notes) and Pedro Martinez(notes) are finished with their careers just yet. These guys are very likely to be coming back for one more payday later in the season as the playoff race begins to sort out, according to FOXSports.

Neither one of them is expected to join an American League club. FOXSports reports that the likely teams to come after them will be the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Smoltz was 3-8 last year in 15 games and racked up a 6.35 ERA for the Boston Red Sox and Cardinals. Meanwhile, Martinez was 5-1 in nine appearances with an ERA of 3.63 for the National League champion Phillies.

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News came via Twitter yesterday from the NFL Network that cornerback Leigh Bodden(notes) was re-signing with the New England Patriots.

But his rep, Alvin Keels, is saying via Twitter that Bodden hasnt signed anything yet even though hes always desired a return to the Pats. "Reports of Leigh Bodden re-signing with the Patriots are not true and premature at best," Keels tweeted.

The Houston Texans apparently also would like to have Bodden in its uniform and he went out to visit the team earlier this week. Still, the general belief is that hes about to cross the ts and dot the Is on a new contract with New England.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are working hard to bring in some new wide receivers. Yesterday the team was linked to trying to make a trade with the Denver Broncos for Brandon Marshall(notes). Today the team is apparently hosting 36-year-old former Buffalo Bills WR Terrell Owens(notes) and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Antonio Bryant(notes), according to ESPN.

Of course the 29-year-old Bryant is a much younger man than T.O., but hed likely take more money to sign. Plus, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco(notes) is supposedly involved in the decision-making process and he would probably pull the lever for Owens in this situation.

And when Ochocinco pulls a lever in Cincinnati, things happen.

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The Minnesota Vikings are apparently interested in signing free agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson(notes), according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Tomlinson, who tearfully got released from the San Diego Chargers last week after playing there since he was drafted in 2001, would apparently be more of interest to the Vikes than former Philadelphia Eagles running back (and fellow free agent) Brian Westbrook(notes).

The Oakland Raiders also might be interested in signing the 30-year-old Tomlinson, who had 12 touchdowns last year on 223 carries that earned him 730 yards.

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Sundays Sprint Cup race had at least a dozen cars dealing with tire problems and Goodyear has a bunch of upset folks who want some answers, according to the Associated Press. One of them is NASCAR favorite Jeff Gordon.

The overriding complaint is that Goodyear delivered a tire to drivers that worked well on the speed front but didnt work so well on the durability side of the equation

"When they come here and test, you expect them to build a tire that we can abuse and that we can race hard with," said Gordon to the AP. "That obviously wasnt the case. There is a good chance we were too aggressive, but until we go back and analyze everything its hard to say."

Driver Ryan Newman also wasnt happy. "Goodyears got some work to do," he told the AP. "Its a safety situation. We popped one. There are a lot of guys who popped one."

Kurt Busch, the race winner Sunday, said popping a tire was a definite concern for him as he raced.

As you can guess, Goodyear disagrees. The companys racing chief, Stu Grant, says the tire is fine.

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Josh Beckett(notes), the 29-year-old hurler who has won 106 games and lost only 68 since he debuted in the big leagues in 2001, becomes a free agent at years end and the Boston Red Sox are doing all they can to keep that from happening, according to the Boston Globe.

The talks have started pretty smoothly, according to a source of the papers, and it is marked by hopefulness and supposed productivity.

One thing Beckett will likely have to agree to in order to make the big bucks for a long time is some kind of medical language in the contract to protect the team from losing him to a bad right shoulder, according o the Globe. When the Red Sox signed John Lackey(notes) this offseason for five years and $82 million, the Sox threw in the provision that Lackey will have to pitch a sixth year at the league-minimum salary if he gets Tommy John surgery at some point in the first five years of the deal. And J.D. Drew(notes) apparently has some sort of similar deal with J.D. Drew if he hurts his shoulder. Plus, the team wouldnt sign Jason Bay(notes) supposedly because he wouldnt sign a deal with any kind of medical limits in it.

For now, though, hope springs eternal and talks for the 2003 World Series MVP (with the Florida Marlins) and 2007 ALCS MVP (with the Sox) have supposedly started off well.

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New York Knicks forward David Lee(notes) is an unrestricted free agent this summer. And he sounds like he wouldnt mind heading to the 7-55 New Jersey Nets, according to the New York Post.

The teams dismal record is going to keep some free agents away. There are some - such as the Phoenix Suns Amare Stoudemire(notes), who could opt out of his contract this summer, and the Memphis Grizzlies Rudy Gay(notes) - who seem attracted to the team that will someday supposedly move to Brooklyn.

Lee is thinking that if the team gets the No. 1 pick in the draft and picks up a good free agent, it could turn things around pretty quickly. "They have a great center in (Brook) Lopez, an All-Star point guard, Devin Harris(notes), great athleticism with wings Chris Douglas-Roberts(notes) and Terrence Williams(notes)."

The Nets will have $23.3 million in cap space to play with and Lee might just want to stay living in the New York area.

Brook Lopez(notes) is into the idea of adding Lee: "It would be great," he told the Post, "a guy who loves to crash the offensive glass for so many extra possessions. Then with Yi (Jianlian), if you had the three of us playing together, it would be a great situation."

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Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is 73 years old and he says that his family isnt going to take over the team whenever his time expires. So he tells the Memphis Commercial Appeal the following: "If the right person makes a reasonable offer for the team I will sell it."

His most ideal group to sell to are the teams current minority owners. "I think they would make great owners," he said. "If its not to be, its not to be."

Heisley says hes not in any financial trouble and doesnt have any real need to sell the team. He thinks the team has been very fiscally responsible. "Everybody says Im cheap. But Ive shown that it does you no good to just go out and spend huge amounts of money," he said.

He also pointed out that the Grizzlies have a contract that tie them to Memphis for 17 years and the team cant be moved before then so new ownership wouldnt mean the 32-31 team would be leaving town. "Its not possible," he said. " If somebody calls up, we tell them (moving) is not possible. Tell the people to wait about 10 years, let attendance never get any better and then they better start worrying. Right now, theres nothing to talk about."

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The Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks apparently want to kick the tires around on University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

Tebow will work out for everybody to see on Pro Day on March 17, but some folks would like a closer look. The Bills could go into next year with the Trent Edwards(notes) as the starter, but the team has apparently asked Tebow for a private workout, according to the Buffalo News.

Tebow has apparently changed his throwing motion since the last time teams saw him in order to shorten his delivery, according to the Seattle Times. It would be nice for Tebow if he ended up in Seattle where he wouldnt have to be the starter right away.

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The San Antonio Spurs have seemingly lost its starting point guard for the rest of the season. Tony Parker(notes) has a fractured right hand and he isnt expected to be healed up till the season ends, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

"Well find a different way to play and hope we can bide our time until hes back," Tim Duncan(notes) told the paper. "Nobodys going to play like him, but we have to find a way to get it done."

The fracture is on his shooting hand and happened close to halftime of Saturdays game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

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The San Francisco Giants apparently arent ready to sign Pablo Sandoval(notes) to a long-term deal even though he tore the cover off the ball in his first full year of the pros, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The switch-hitting 23-year-old batted .330 with 25 homers, 90 RBIS, and 79 runs scored. But the Giants dont have history of signing players with less than two years of experience for long deals. The club is supposedly trying to get him signed to a one-year deal right now.

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The San Francisco Giants apparently arent ready to sign Pablo Sandoval(notes) to a long-term deal even though he tore the cover off the ball in his first full year of the pros, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The switch-hitting 23-year-old batted .330 with 25 homers, 90 RBIs and 79 runs scored. But the Giants dont have history of signing players with less than two years of experience to long deals. The club is supposedly trying to get him signed to a one-year deal right now.

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It appears that Hank Blalock(notes) is getting closer to signing a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the St. Petersburg Times. It had been rumored last week that the Florida Marlins were also in the running for his services but it seems that the Rays have the more enticing offer for him.

The minor-league deal could be signed sometime today. You can be sure itll be for a lot less than the $6 million he was paid by the Texas Rangers last season. The 29-year-old hit .234 for the Rangers but had 25 homers as well.

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin(notes) pulled his groin and will be out for four to six weeks but the team has no apparent interest in making a trade to find a solid backstop or signing a free agent to replace him in the interim, according to FOXSports.

Rookie A.J. Ellis(notes) is apparently going to get the lions share of work to start the season and Brad Ausmus(notes) will act as his backup. The 28-year-old Missouri native Ellis had one RBI for the Dodgers last year and has been slaving in the minors since being drafted in 2003.

Free-agent catchers still out there are 37-year-old Paul Bako(notes), who hit .224 in 130 plate appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies last year, and Michael Barrett(notes), who only played in seven games for the Toronto Blue Jays last year due to injuries.

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