Sources say the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers have interest in Ellis, although the Lakers could get Ellis only via an unlikely sign-and-trade deal. (Chris Broussard – ESPN.com)

Ellis himself also has another team he’d like to play for but they’d have to make somethings work financially to add him.

As I reported back in April, Monta Ellis planned to bolt Bucks. He has told friends he'd like to join Grizzlies, although that may be d …

— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) June 17, 2013

The Mavericks and Lakers strike me as the two most interesting and the reason is, Dwight Howard and here’s why.

Ellis, who originally signed a six-year, $66 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, is close with Lakers free agent Dwight Howard. The two have long desired to play together.

If Howard cannot achieve his top goal of playing with Chris Paul, teaming up with Ellis may become an option he would strongly consider.(Chris Broussard – ESPN.com)

Makes a lot of sense right? Howard wants to play with Chris Paul but if he can’t he’s got another scorer next to him.

If Howard does stay in Los Angeles the team is completely maxed out on money BUT they can add help. They do have their $3 million mid-level exception. Would Ellis accept this? That I’m not sure, especially after the Bucks did offer a 2-year, $24 million exception.

With Dallas, I don’t really see how they could afford to bring Ellis in if they’ve got Howard on board. I’d think Ellis to the Mavs would be something that happens if they lose out on the Dwight sweepstakes.

The only team not mentioned by Broussard is the Sacramento Kings who also have interest but a deal isn’t likely. They’ve already got enough shoot first guards.

The one thing that’s for certain is Ellis will be on the market for a little while. I don’t see many teams making moves till Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have found new homes.

First the Giants optioned him to Triple-A Fresno, then the league suspended him for three games and issued him a fine stemming from a pitch that hit the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen Tuesday night. (CSN Bay Area)

The decision to hold his suspension off till he returns to the big leagues is a huge punch to the gut for Kontos. As a relief pitcher he’ll only get called back up the bigs when the team needs help in the bullpen. Once the team calls him up he’d instantly have to serve his suspension, so now they won’t call him when there is need for help. Kontos will now most likely have to wait till September when rosters expands. Tough break.

Now like the headline says, Not so Happy Birthday. Who’d be celebrating after all this? Strangely enough Kontos might not be too down as he’s had worse birthdays before. Four years ago, Kontos tore his elbow ligament on his birthday which resulted in Tommy John surgery.

If I was Kontos, I think he should just crawl into bed at 12:00 am June 13th every year and not come out till the day is over.

“I have been hearing some things about Vick saying that he wants to know,” Jackson said in an interview with the NFL Network. “At the same time, the team wants to know too. We need to go into training camp prepared and know who is going to be our starting quarterback.” (Birds Eye View – Philly.com)

Just like Vick, Jackson wants whomever the starting QB will be to get as many reps as possible with the first team in preseason games. The only problem is who is that guy? Jackson himself has said that the two have seemed even in OTA’s and mini-camp so how can you choose one before games begin? You can’t!

Whether one outplayed the other on a particular day, or overall in camp, was based on what one was looking for during practice. Jackson, at least publicly, did not think either had an edge.

“So far, I don’t know, it has been kind of even,” Jackson said. “Vick and Foles have been switching off first team, second team. So it is the same thing with them.”(Birds Eye View – Philly.com)

Personally, I have no issues with Chip not choosing a QB before preseason games begin. The team has a completely new offense and both guys seem to be doing well and grasping the concept of it. The only catch is, this is practice. Yes, PRACTICE!

What Chip needs to see is how these two perform in his offense against opposing defenses. Succeeding in practice is one thing but game situations are totally different, even preseason games. What I think Chip should do is select his quarterback before the third preseason game. That’s the most important game, prep wise, and whomever starts that game should be your Week One starter.

Till then all these Eagles players need to shut their mouths and just play some damn football. It’s June for crying out loud, there’s plenty of time to choose your starter. Just be happy you’ve got two guys that are starting caliber and performing well so far.

Broncos released RB Willis McGahee.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 13, 2013

While McGahee may have made the comment about expecting to be the starter he did know the writing was on the wall. He admitted that the team has plenty of younger options and that he was definitely on the bubble.

Asked Tuesday where he would rank this year’s level of competition at running back, he said: “It’s always going to rank high to me because the other guys are younger. I’m always on the bubble,” McGahee said. “Not too much you can do. It’s a business. If something happens it happens.” (Denver Post)

To me this move was totally expected after reading about the teams first day of camp. McGahee had been medically cleared to fully practice but received minimal work with the first team. Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball received the bulk of those snaps.

If healthy McGahee is still healthy he could prove to be an asset for any team as he carried for 731 yards over ten games last season, and 1,199 yards over 15 games in 2011. He’s probably wishing this move happened last week before Ahmad Bradshaw signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

I’m thinking he’ll now have to wait for training camp and the injury bug to take its toll. McGahee joins Cedric Benson, Brandon Jacobs and Michael Turner as power backs that are still on the market.

From @kimjonessports: Looks like a deal will get done between Colts-Bradshaw. They are negotiating now.

— NFL: AroundTheLeague (@NFL_ATL) June 6, 2013

Indianapolis is actually a perfect fit for the veteran running back. The Colts have arguably the worst backfield in the NFL with Vick Ballard and Donald Brown. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that if he’s healthy Bradshaw will be there Week One starter.

Pep Hamilton, the teams offensive coordinator, runs a West Coast offense and thanks to Ahmad’s pass catching abilities and superb pass blocking he’d be a huge asset. Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the best pass blocking back in the league something that Andrew Luck is going to love.

Bradshaw caught 23 passes in 2012 for 245 yards, and averaged 4.59 yards per carry. Not bad numbers, his problems have just always been injury.

For you fantasy buffs, I’d move Ahmad up in your running back rankings and slide Ballard down. I’d also be prepared to slide Ballard down considerably if Bradshaw looks good in camp and picks up the offense quickly.

“I wouldn’t get into the probability of us pursuing any free agent,” Belichick told ESPN Boston. “Every single player has strengths and weaknesses, but regardless of that, for anyone to have represented that is the way I feel about Tim Tebow is completely untrue, baseless and irresponsible. It is unfortunate that something so inaccurate was reported.” (Boston Herald via ESPN Boston)

So there you have it Belichick doesn’t hate Tebow but then again he’s not letting on if he has any interest in him as a free agent. He just simply wanted to clear the air. Guess he didn’t think about all the hype that could come from it now.

“I heard what he said,” Griffin said. “It is what it is. Everybody is going to have their own opinion. He’s free to have that opinion. So I’ll just leave it at that.” (CSN Washington)

Actually, I’m not surprised one bit by his response. If Donovan really wanted to give the kid some advice he wouldn’t have gone public saying so. Well actually he would but he shouldn’t have included all the criticism about him being out for himself and not focusing on the team. It doesn’t help that McNabb went through the media and didn’t contact RGIII personally.

Griffin had more to his response and it was perfect. He said he didn’t want to meet but did leave the door open for the future. He even took the high road and talked about watching him as a kid, as well as his accomplishments.

“I watched Donovan play when I was younger, so I saw what he went through, the ups and downs,” Griffin said. “I think it was what, five NFC Championship games? So I know the history. It’s not something I would be opposed to. But like I said, it’s just right now I’ve got other things to do.”(CSN Washington)

Personally, I think this was an attempt by McNabb to try and keep himself in the public eye.

Quentin took a bad route to the ball and looked like he wasn’t going to catch up to it. The hit would have easily brought in two runs and gave the Jays a healthy lead. Like I said it would have brought in two runs but Quentin had other ideas. Quentin was able to reach back and make a stumbling catch right at the warning track.

His momentum carried him all the way to the wall. Unfortunately the stumbling after the catch and the momentum him had him run into the wall, head first.

(H/T Gamereax)

I’m torn on which catch is the better catch. Hicks had to make a straight line run to center to rob Dunn but against the Brewers wow. It looked like he had to cover a lot more ground as this ball was crushed to left center and then he had a perfectly timed leap to make the catch.

What impressed me was after the catch Gomez, also a center fielder, gave a tip of the helmet to Hicks. He patrols that area daily so he knows how great of a catch that was even if it came at his expense.

Suh doesn’t feel his demeanor on the practice field and in the locker room exclude him from a leadership role.

“I’m quiet in my own ways,” Suh said. “When I feel the need to speak up, when it’s important and I have something on my mind, I think anybody who knows me, my coaches and stuff, know that I’m not afraid to speak up.”

One thing Suh won’t do is try to be someone he’s not. He feels teammates will reject someone who attempts to aggressively assert themselves.

“You always want to be authentic to yourself, because if you’re not authentic to yourself, no one else is going to believe it. If you can’t believe it yourself, what’s the point?”

Much like quarterback Matthew Stafford, Suh feels the Lions are becoming more his team after several veterans moved on this offseason. (MLive)

Suh’s been in the league for three seasons now so he is no longer that young kid feeling the game and league out. He’s now a veteran and had plenty of time to learn how to act on and off the field. To me this sounds like he’s starting to mature and maybe those questionable actions of his will disappear.

What surprised me is Suh doesn’t just want to be a leader of this team, he wants to be a captain.

“Without question, it’s definitely a honor when your peers pick you as a captain and somebody to lead them,” Suh said. “It’s something you hope for, but you never know. You just wait for it come. If it comes, it comes, but even if it doesn’t, there’s still an opportunity to lead in many different ways.”(MLive)