The rumor mill has had the team interested in free agents Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson. Spring training will soon be upon us and the Boston Globe reports that, as of late Thursday night, Jackson and the Sox weren't close to any deal.

ESPN has reported that Oswalt is Boston's first choice, but if he says no, the team will try to trade for Chicago White Sox hurler Gavin Floyd before making an offer to Jackson.

According to the site, the White Sox "are looking for prospects in return, not necessarily Boston's top prospects, but two or three players with at least one having a high ceiling."

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Industry sources tell the New York Post reports that the 39-year-old Ibanez is of interest to the team and that the Yanks aren't expected to pursue recent Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. He batted .245 last season for the Phils, hitting 20 homers and knocking in 84 runs.

"Ibanez recently had a productive workout with hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo and believes he has corrected flaws in his swing," the Post reports.

Since coming up to the big leagues in 1996, Ibanez has hammered out 254 homers and earned a career batting average of .280.

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"It appeared Rajon Rondo was close to returning to the lineup a few days ago after spraining his right wrist Jan. 18, the Celtics point guard said (Thursday) he is not able to shoot or dribble with consistency and could miss several more days," the Globe reports.

Rondo put his wrist at 45 percent, but also noted that he "played with (his) elbow at 37 percent last year," according to the Globe.

In the 13 games that he has played in this season, the 25-year-old two-time All-Star has averaged 19 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game.

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Now the Phils have sent Valdez packing to the Cincinnati Reds for a young lefty reliever, Jeremy Horst and ESPN has it that people shouldn't "be surprised if the Phillies look to add a utility man who can add a little more pop than Wilson Valdez--somebody like Ryan Theriot."

The 32-year-old Theriot spent last season with the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, hitting .271 with one homer and 26 doubles.

However, the Philadelphia Inquirer points out that whatever the Phillies do next will depend on what happens with right fielder Hunter Pence's next contract. The two sides are currently $2.8 million apart, and as the paper points out, "that's a big chunk."

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"People close to him say he constantly changes his mind on what he wants to do," the paper reports.

"I will decide that in July," the 55-year-old Bird said, the paper reports.

The current incarnation of the team that Bird has constructed is third in the Eastern Conference with a 12-5 record, behind only the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.

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Things didn't start out well. Haley's Chiefs lost the first five games they played. Not long after the team's first win under Haley, running back Larry Johnson very publicly disparaged Haley as not being a very good coach. Johnson was suspended and eventually released, but his actions hadn't helped Haley much.

What did help Haley was taking the team to its first AFC West title for the first time since 2003 the following season. That was all squandered quickly, though, before last season even got underway when Haley decided to play his starters in the final preseason game and then promptly lost tight end Tony Moeaki for the season. The team lost the first three games of the season and then miraculously won four in a row to take first place in the AFC West. Things fell apart after that and Haley was fired on Dec. 12 after compiling a 5-8 record for the season.

Now Haley has one more season left on his contract and XTRA Sports 910 radio in Arizona has it that the team is refusing to pay him those dollars since he was canned for "cause."

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ESPN has it that the team is on the hunt right now, though, as the free-agent marketplace starts to dry up (and the dollar requirements start to fall) for a left-handed hitting outfielder.

The team is monitoring the situation of such folks as Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez, Kosuke Fukudome, Rick Ankiel, and Juan Pierre, the site notes.

So far in 2012 , the Mets have signed six free agents: shortstops Ronny Cedeno, Sean Kazman, and Omar Quintanilla, pitchers Miguel Batista and Fernando Cabrera, and right fielder Scott Hairston.

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The word from ESPN 1500 Twin Cities is that Rice has had surgery on both of his shoulders this offseason. One was for a torn labrum and the other one remains unclear.

In the nine games he played for the Seahawks this season, Rice had 32 catches for 484 yards and two touchdowns. Since being picked in the second round of the 2007 draft, he's only fumbled the ball twice. His lone Pro Bowl season was in 2009-10 with the Minnesota Vikings when he pulled in 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns.

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The Miami Herald reports that the team is about to sign on former NFL head coach Mike Sherman and Cincinnati Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle to be the Dolphins' offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively.

The 57-year-old Sherman coached the Packers from 2000-2005 and led them to five straight winning seasons before having a losing season in 2005 and getting canned. The team also won three division titles in his time leading the team.

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Morrow, who missed the final game before the All-Star break with an upper-body injury, had 33 goals last year and is on pace for 16 this year, TSN reports. He has two more years left on his contract, which also contains a no-trade clause so he'd have to actually want to get out of Texas.

While one source in Dallas told TSN that the Stars are "probably not" dealing the 33-year-old Morrow, who was selected in the first round of the 1997 draft, an executive with another team is hearing he "might" be available and certainly intends to find out.

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It appears that the 26-year-old five-time All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year is open to adding the Boston Celtics. After all, the Celtics will have a good deal of cash to throw around this summer when the contracts of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen come off the books.

"I'd always listen to a team like that," Howard told the Herald. "I want to win a championship, and it takes a certain type of team to win a championship. You know, there's a lot of teams who are great during the regular season. They play well, but it's different once you play in those playoffs, you know?"

Of course, Howard might just win a championship with Orlando this season. Then what would he do?

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The word is that Chargers GM A.J. Smith is open to exploring that kind of deal, the site notes, and Jackson is happy to hear it. "There hasn't been any communication as far as contracts go," Jackson said, NFL.com reports. "If that's their feeling, that's great. I would like to stay in San Diego. Obviously, that's my home, that's where I was drafted. I've got some good guys around me — Philip Rivers, [Antonio] Gates, Ryan Mathews. It would be a great place for me to stay, so we'll see if that works out."

He also told the site that he'd like to avoid having the franchise tag put on him again: "I'd love to have a long-term deal, just to have security of where you're going to be for a while," he told NFL.com. "That's a decision that they have to make."

Last season, Jackson had 1,106 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

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ESPN is hearing that the 35-year-old Alston is ready to "launch his comeback in the D-League" and he "could have a team by Friday."

Alston's last stint in the NBA was with the Miami Heat in 2010. After 25 games in which he averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, he was suspended indefinitely in March for missing a practice and a game. That suspension ended up lasting the rest of the season.

In his career, the New York native (and streetball legend) has spent time with the Idaho Stampede, Milwaukee Bucks, Mobile Revelers, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets and China's Zhejiang Guangsha.

In his NBA career, Alston has played in 671 games and scored 6,799 points, averaging 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

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Packers starting QB Aaron Rodgers told a Milwaukee radio station Wednesday that, based on the recent conversations he's had with Flynn, he thinks it's a "strong possibility" that Flynn could end up in Florida, too, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports.

Rodgers noted that the Seattle Seahawks are the other "top dogs" that could end up signing Flynn when he likely becomes an unrestricted free agent in March, the site notes.

"I think it's a strong possibility that [the Dolphins] would make a run at him," Rodgers said, the paper reports. "I think it kind of makes sense. Joe [Philbin] in that system, which I'm sure is going to be very similar to this system, and Matt having a great grasp of that and playing well in his recent opportunities. I think it would kind of make sense to bring Matt out there."

The 26-year-old Flynn, selected in the seventh round of the 2008 draft out of Louisiana State, had 518 passing yards and six touchdown passes over five games this past season. He also ran the ball in for a score as well, the first rushing touchdown of his four-year career.

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The Boston Herald reports that though the Pats didn't practice Wednesday, the league required New England and its Super Bowl opponent, the New York Giants, to turn in participation reports anyway. According to that report, Gronkowski would have sat out any practice that actually took place Wednesday, anyway.

The Herald has it that Gronkowski, who had 1,327 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns this past season, is "expected to play" in the Super Bowl, "but he might be limited."

The Giants listed running back Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), receiver Hakeem Nicks (shoulder), and safety Tyler Sash (concussion) as players that wouldn't have taken part in practice Wednesday, the Herald reports.

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The two teams just happen to be the ones that just faced off in the World Series, the site notes: the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals.

The Rangers already have an overstuffed rotation but are thought to be the favorite, Fox reports. It likely doesn't hurt that Oswalt is pals with team president Nolan Ryan and pitching coach Mike Maddux, the site notes. The Cardinals also don't have room in their rotation for Oswalt right now and the two sides aren't even in contact, Fox reports. Other teams that have expressed interest include the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers.

The 34-year-old Oswalt went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA for the Philadelphia Phillies last season but also had two stints on the disabled list with back problems.

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A source to the Boston Herald reports that the Sox "are more likely to address their starting rotation needs through free agency than via a trade" at this point in the offseason.

Jackson's agent, Scott Boras, told the Herald that his client has "a variety of options" and could make his choice by the end of the week. He also noted that Jackson is open to signing a one-year deal, a change from earlier in the offseason when Jackson was asking for multiyear offers.

The 28-year-old has gone 60-60 with a 4.46 ERA over the past nine seasons. Last year, he went 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals after he was picked up close to the trading deadline. In the first half of the season, he went 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA for the Chicago White Sox.

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The 31-year-old made his debut in the big leagues with the New York Mets back in 2004 and has played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants since then, compiling a career average of .281 with 32 total homers. Against lefties, however, Keppinger has hit .324 over his career.

If Keppinger passes his physical Thursday, the deal could be announced Friday, the paper notes.

Keppinger started this past season with the Astros, missing 50 games with a foot injury, and then was traded to the Giants and injured his wrist in August. He hit .277 with six homers and 35 RBIs over 99 games.

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"We rely pretty heavily on the post game and so when we don't have that many points and that much of our offense, it's going to hurt," said Raja Bell, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "When you are missing someone of his caliber, obviously that's going to put us in a bind."

The 27-year-old Jefferson is averaging 18.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season.

"Al is a key guy for us," coach Tyrone Corbin said, the Tribune reports. "He's a guy, when you put the ball in his hands, he does something good for us."

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Bargnani missed six games earlier this season due a leg injury and returned to action Tuesday only to re-injure the leg in the first overtime Wednesday after scoring 25 points.

Bargnani called the injury "much worse" than his previous one, the Toronto Star reports, which is a bit nervous-making for Raptors fans. But coach Dwane Casey held out hope that it wasn't too bad, saying, "We'll see what the severity of it is — or if it's severe — evaluate it and go from there."

In the 13 games the 7-0 Bargnani has played this season, he's averaging 23.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocked shots per game.

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Gordon and his fellow 2008 draftees all have till Wednesday night to sign extensions or they will become restricted free agents this summer.

"In terms of my contract extension, [Hornets GM] Dell Demps indicated that it's out of his control and NBA commissioner David Stern has the last determination on the contract extension," Gordon told Spears the other day.

The 23-year-old Gordon spent his first three seasons in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers before being sent to Louisiana as part of the Chris Paul trade. He's only played in two games this season due to a bruised right knee and averaged 21 points per game. With the Clips last season, he averaged 22.3 points, five rebounds and two assists per game over 56 games.

Gordon expects to miss three more weeks of basketball, he told Spears. "The doctor said my knee will be 100 percent sound with rest," he said.

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Teams have till Wednesday night to sign extensions with players that came out of the 2008 draft. Any that go unsigned will become restricted free agents.

The word from Fox Sports is that the Phoenix Suns are ready to let Lopez fall into that latter group. Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said Tuesday night that the team isn't planning to offer Lopez an extension, the site notes.

"We reached out to [Lopez's agent] Arn Tellem and let him know that we were willing to engage in discussions to see if there was any common ground that might make sense," Babby said, Fox reports. "Their preference was to wait and see how things unfolded. We're perfectly fine with that. We just wanted to make sure we made the appropriate overture. Everything was completely amicable."

The 7-0 Lopez is averaging 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game.

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It appears that negotiations could be going right up to the deadline. The Oregonian reports that the two sides "have been in contract extension talks for weeks" and that interim GM Chad Buchanan along with some members of his staff met with Batum's agent, Bouna Ndiaye, in the flesh on Monday and continued conversations on Tuesday.

One source to the paper said that there is "nothing pending" on Batum as of Tuesday night and there is no work on any possible statistics on the deal for the 23-year-old French native.

Batum is averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and nearly 25 minutes per game this season.

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After years of going back and forth, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf "reluctantly will accept" the state's offer to keep the team exactly where it is but in a newly constructed stadium, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

While "nothing is final," the idea would be to move the team to another site temporarily while the new stadium is built, the paper reports. That site is expected to be the University of Minnesota's open-air TCF Bank Stadium and the team would be there for three years while the new stadium is constructed, the paper reports. The word is that the university has "begun talks with the University of Illinois to learn of its experience in hosting the Chicago Bears for the 2002 season while Chicago's Soldier Field was renovated," the Pioneer Press reports.

The new stadium is slated to cost $918 million and will partially be funded through "tax revenue that currently supports the Minneapolis Convention Center," the paper reports.

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Now the time has come.

The word from MLB.com is that Cespedes, who hit .333 with 33 homers and 99 RBIs in his homeland last year, "has established his residency in the Dominican Republic and is now waiting for approval from Major League Baseball to be declared a free agent."

So far, the Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians have expressed the most interest in signing him, Cespedes recently said, the site notes.

The expectation is that Cespedes will sign a more lucrative contract than the one fellow defector Aroldis Chapman signed with the Cincinnati Reds, which amounted to a six-year, $30.25 million deal, the site notes.

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Uehara is set to make $4 million this season and the Rangers continue to try and trade him elsewhere, the site reports.

A source to ESPN has it that Uehara just didn't want to move his family from Baltimore (where he debuted in 2009 and was traded from last summer) to Toronto.

While Uehara played well with the Orioles, striking out 62 in 47 innings pitched and maintaining a 1.72 ERA, he didn't do as well in Texas, where he had an ERA of 4.00 and famously let in five runs in 1 1/3 innings of postseason work before being left off the World Series roster.

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However, it remains unclear what will happen with the Colts and Manning, so the 'Skins may move forward and try another avenue. ESPN reports that execs around the league "expect Washington to make a move" to try and trade for the No. 2 draft pick that the St. Louis Rams now own.

With that pick, the Redskins would select whatever quarterback is available, the site notes, between Stanford's Andrew Luck and BYU's Robert Griffin III, who won the Heisman Trophy this past season. (At this point, it looks like Griffin would be the one available with Luck going to the Colts, the site notes.)

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On Tuesday, the New York Post had it that Davis was "doubtful" about returning Wednesday. "I'm taking it one day at a time, see what happens when I go out and work out and get shots up and see how I feel in the morning,'' Davis said, the Post reports. "I would love to play, but I don't think it's possibly going to happen.''

His first practice with the team on Monday went well, the paper notes, but Davis wasn't totally happy with his performance Tuesday: "I wasn't able to do what I needed to do,'' Davis said, according to the Post. "It's the competitor in me wants everything to happen now. I have a lot of kinks to work out.''

The Knicks decisively ended a six-game losing streak by taking down the Charlotte Bobcats 111-78, though Carmelo Anthony only scored one point in the contest.

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The 6-10, 23-year-old All-Star is "expected to sign a four-year, $62 million contract extension" on Wednesday while in Texas prepping for the evening's game against the Dallas Mavericks, the paper reports.

Love, the No. 5 overall pick in 2008, has averaged 15.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game over the first four seasons of his career. This year, he's averaging 24.9 points and 13.9 rebounds per game for the 7-10 Timberwolves.

"It will help Kevin to have all this over with," coach Rick Adelman said, according to the Pioneer Press. "It has to be wearing on him. He's really been doing a good job of staying focused."

Teams have till Wednesday night to sign extensions with players from the 2008 draft. Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, fellow draftees to Love, have already signed extensions.

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The paper notes that San Francisco 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely interviewed for the job on Tuesday while Marc Trestman, the head coach of the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, got his turn in the interview chair last weekend. Trestman spent a lot of time as a coach in the NFL before leading the Alouettes to two Grey Cup wins in his four seasons in Montreal.

Other folks the Colts have spoken to include Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray and former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, the Star reports.

While Tressel "isn't expected to get the position," the paper also has reason to think the team also has an interest in Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, New Orleans offensive line/running game coach Aaron Kromer and former Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress.

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Sports Illustrated has it that the Grizzlies are "looking for a No. 1 pick" in exchange for the man who was the third overall pick in the 2008 draft out of USC.

Mayo now comes off the bench for the Grizz and has been delivering this year. He is averaging 24:30 minutes, 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He's averaging 44 percent for his 3-pointers (much higher than his 38.1 percent overall average) and he scored a career-high six in a game last weekend. His rebounds-per-game is also up from 2.4 last season.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Monday that Mayo probably won't be moved. "Griz management isn't seriously thinking of dealing Mayo nor is his possible, restricted free-agent status this summer a major concern," the paper noted. "Mayo likely will remain with the Griz this season because of his productivity and the Grizzlies' ability to control his future with the right of first refusal on contract offers."

Memphis came back from 20 points down Monday night to beat the Golden State Warriors for the team's seventh straight win.

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Now Oswalt is looking for another team and one thing has been made clear: It won't be the Detroit Tigers. The folks in Motor City were trying to get Oswalt to sign on and even had American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander give him a recruiting call, according to CBSSports.com. However, Oswalt told the team that he wasn't interested, the site notes.

The consistent rumor is that Oswalt will end up with the Boston Red Sox this season and attempt to show the world that his 34-year-old back is all healed up and he can pitch like he has in previous seasons so he can find a better long-term deal next offseason.

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According to MLB.com, Zimmerman "has informed the team of the exact terms he would accept long-term." Two sources tell the site that "an agreement between Zimmerman and the Nationals is within reach."

The 27-year-old Zimmerman, who hit .289 with 12 homers last season in 101 games, is scheduled to be paid $12 million next season and $14 million for the following year.

UPDATE: Fielder was signed by the Detroit Tigers.

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Gordon wasn't at the team's shootaround Monday or at its 104-102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs later that night because he was receiving further examination on his bruised right knee at a location the team did not disclose, the paper reports. The team wouldn't even say exactly what tests the 23-year-old shooting guard was undergoing, the paper notes.

Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears has it from Gordon that he was seeing a team-appointed doctor in New York Monday and that he was told that he shouldn't return to basketball activities for another three weeks.

Spears also reports that Gordon is "waiting to learn whether NBA commissioner David Stern will grant him a contract extension before Wednesday's deadline." Spears reports that Gordon's agent, Rob Pelinka, has had talks with the team recently about getting his client a new contract, but no official offer has been made.

Gordon told Spears that he'd like to re-sign with the team, but he can't do anything till Stern gives the go-ahead.

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MLB.com reports that Morrow and the Jays will announce a new long-term deal Tuesday. The contract is rumored to be for three years and $20 million, the site notes. It is said to have a club option for 2015 worth $10 million.

That would set the top end of the Jays' rotation of Ricky Romero and Morrow to be around Toronto for four more seasons.

Last season was only Morrow's second as solely a starter and he went 11-11 with a 4.72 ERA. However, in his final 21 innings of the season, the 27-year-old allowed only three earned runs. He joined the team in 2009 after being traded by the Seattle Mariners for Brandon League.

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MLB.com has it that Cordero will choose from four teams by the end of this week. One of the teams supposedly still in the hunt for the services of the 36-year-old are the Los Angeles Angels, the site notes. The other three teams, according to the Los Angeles Times, are the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles.

Cordero has 327 career saves, second in line only to Mariano Rivera for active pitchers. Last season, he notched 37 for the Reds and had a 2.45 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 69 innings.

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Uehara joined the Rangers at the trading deadline after being dealt from the Baltimore Orioles, where he went 1-1 with 13 holds and a 1.72 ERA. His stint in Texas wasn't as successful. He went 1-2 there with a 4.00 ERA. He made three appearances in the postseason and let in five runs, which earned him a suitable-for-framing ERA of 33.75. He was left off the roster for the World Series. After all, the batting average against him in the postseason was .556. Ouch.

Since joining the bigs in 2009, the 36-year-old has a 5-9 record with a 3.13 ERA and 188 strikeouts.

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"It's about trying to keep this team together, because we've got something really special here," Rogers said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. "There's always bits and pieces you need to fulfill, and coaches and general managers will decide that. But keep this team as close as we can and we've got something special from the top down."

The 30-year-old Rogers pulled in a career-high six interceptions this season and said that he'd like his next deal to be for four or five years, but he'd leave his agent to figure that out, the Mercury News notes. But Niners fans should know that the team is telling Rogers that they'd like to get a deal done as quickly as possible.

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Soon, though, that won't be an issue. ESPN Chicago is hearing that Garrard will be fully healthy in April and ready to return to the NFL.

He will join the list of free-agent quarterbacks for teams to select from that includes Matt Flynn, Alex Smith, Jason Campbell, Kyle Orton, Drew Brees, Vince Young, Chad Henne and Byron Leftwich.

The 33-year-old Garrard has thrown for 89 touchdowns and 54 interceptions in his eight seasons with the Jags. He threw for  16,003 yards, gained 1,746 rushing yards and scored 17 times while running the ball.

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Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau noted Monday that Deng is getting "multiple opinions" from various doctors to figure out his course of action and wasn't sure if Deng would need surgery: "Ah, I don't know. I don't think so, would be my guess,'' Thibodeau said, according to the Sun-Times. "There are people he wants to talk to. He's gone down this road with an injured wrist before. My guess would be it will be day-to-day."

Deng, the 26-year-old native of the Sudan who was picked seventh overall in the 2004 draft, is averaging 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.l 

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"Is this my last game as a Raven? Absolutely not," Lewis said, according to the Baltimore Sun. "Let me answer that question before somebody asks it."

Lewis was out for four games earlier in the season due to a toe injury, but he was really back in form for the game against the Pats, tallying 12 tackles.

"God has never made a mistake. Ever," Lewis said, according to the Sun. "Somebody is going to feel like this tomorrow, and somebody is going to feel like this in two weeks in the Super Bowl. And whomever wins it, that's their year. That's a fact, and there ain't nothing nobody else can do about it. That's the irony of sports. There is a winner, there's a loser, and when you lose, you've got to suck it up like a man and say 'You know what, Father? If it's your will, so be it. As a man you got to keep moving, and a team keep building, remembering this taste."

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"There's a protocol that guys have to go through, in terms of injuries and things," Del Negro said, according to the Times. "We went through that [Saturday] in terms of his workout and conditioning. He felt good. It's just that I think we have to be smart about the process. Chris understood how hamstrings are and that was explained to him. We just felt that was the best way to go right now."

Paul, who joined the team in the offseason via trade, hasn't played since Jan. 14, missing five games for the Pacific Division-leading Clips.

It remains unclear if Paul will be back in the lineup when the team takes on the rival Los Angeles Lakers.

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MLB.com reports that the M's have signed Millwood to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Since entering the league in 1997, the 37-year-old Millwood has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Colorado Rockies. He's gone 163-140 with a 4.10 ERA and 1,976 strikeouts in that time. Last season, he went 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched.

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Lincecum turned down an "offer of at least $100 million for five years," the site notes, so the team "seems to be focusing on deals of two years or one" with him. Lincecum is thought to want a deal for seven or eight years, the paper notes, but would be happy to sign a short-term extension.

Meanwhile, "there is said to be a fair amount of optimism" that the team can sign "Cain on a long-term deal for under $20 million a year."

Cain will be a free agent next offseason if he is not signed to a new deal. He and Cole Hamels  of the Philadelphia Phillies will be the most coveted pitchers of next offseason.

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The 38-year-old Damon has been in the majors for 17 seasons, batting .286 with 231 homers. He played for the Tigers back in 2010, batting .271 with eight homers and 36 doubles. Last season, with the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit .261 with 16 homers and 29 doubles.

The Tigers are also interested in pitcher Roy Oswalt, the paper notes. Oswalt went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA for the Philadelphia Phillies last year. The 34-year-old, who also has interest from the Boston Red Sox, had a few stints on the disabled list with a hurting back last season.

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Two sources tell the paper that the Dolphins will "aggressively pursue him if he's a free agent and if he's cleared medically." The other options the Fins are considering, the Herald reports, are signing Green Bay Packers impending free agent Matt Flynn or "an attempt to trade up to draft Baylor's Robert Griffin III," the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.

The Colts are due to pay the 35-year-old Manning, who was sidelined for the whole season with a neck injury, a $28 million roster bonus if he is still on the roster on March 8, the paper notes.

Since the Colts have the first pick in this year's draft, it is believed that the team will use it on a quarterback, either Andrew Luck of Stanford or Griffin.

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The Cats are now 3-14 while the Nets improved to 5-16.

"It's unclear when Augustin will be back," the paper notes,  but coach Paul Silas "expressed concern pre-game that Augustin had to sit down to ever get this foot problem healed." The toe has been bothering Augustin for "about 10 days," the paper notes, "and Silas could tell the ailment was detracting from Augustin's play Saturday in a loss" to the Chicago Bulls.

The 24-year-old Augustin, a native of New Orleans and the ninth overall pick of the 2008 draft out of Texas, is averaging 13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game this season.

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Allen's injury came after he collided with the Wizards 6-11, 235=pound rookie forward Jan Vesely, and he had to helped off the court. "Right now there's pain in the back of the ankle,'' Allen said, according to the Globe. "If I had my druthers, I would have tried to come back out on the floor and try to work through it. It feels better, but we'll see by [Monday]. It was the way [Vesely] was setting screens. He was stepping out and extending and every time I tried to go around it, his foot was in the way, so it just seemed like a train wreck waiting to happen.''

The 36-year-0ld Allen, A 10-time All-Star, is averaging 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game this season.

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"It's all good," Gronkowski said, according to the paper, even though a walking boot generally indicates all is not good. "Just watch the replay and whatever you see you see, but it's all good and I'll be ready to go." again.

Gronkowski caught five catches for 87 yards Sunday. During the season, he set an NFL record for tight ends by scoring 17 touchdowns.

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The Tampa Bay Tribune confirmed the report, noting on Sunday that the hope was that the deal would get done within 24 and 48 hours.

Kelly, who currently coaches the son of former Bucs coach Tony Dungy, has only been the head coach of the Ducks for three years, but he's won the conference title each of those seasons and took the team to its first Rose Bowl win in 95 years a few weeks ago.

The Times notes that Kelly, who currently makes $2.8 million annually, according to Yahoo! Sports' Mr. Saturday, and Bucs execs had a secret meeting last week to discuss the position.

But the Eugene Register Guard reports that Kelly has made the decision to not make the move to Florida.

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