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Because of my work in the past with Nike Basketball at their All-America Camp in Indianapolis I've had the chance to see player's before they became stars on the big stage. I told friends a few years ago about a dominant young player named Amare Stoudemire and I knew Carmelo Anthony would lead his Syracuse team to the NCAA Championship as he was a man amongst boys that year.Who is my sleeper pick in this year's draft? I'm going with Michigan State's Shannon Brown. Brown has all of the tools to be a star in the NBA. He is super athletic and can play both ends of the court.

The New York Knicks finally ended their relationship with Head Coach Larry Brown after only 1 season today. Read the full story hereThe interesting thing to watch from the business side is that LB signed a 5-year $50M dollar deal with the Knicks when he left the Detroit Pistons last summer. Brown and his agent Joel Glass claim the Knicks owe Brown $40M since they fired him. The Knicks are claiming that they don't intend to pay Brown the full $40M and are looking for a smaller figure to settle on.

Good stuff from Darren Rovell Sports Business Reporter from ESPN.com. Darren points out that Converse signed Dwyane Wade to a bargain of the century shoe deal that pays him a measley $400 000 per year three years ago when Wade entered the NBA. By comparison LeBron James signed a deal with Nike worth an estimated $90M (over 7 years) and Carmelo Anthony signed a deal with the JORDAN brand worth an estimated $18M (over 6 years). Nike owns Converse and purchased the brand for about $300M only months after Converse had signed Wade.

A friend in Toronto makes a case for the Raptors drafting Italy's Andrea Bargnani with the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. There are 400 000 Italians living in Toronto. That makes Toronto the city with the largest population of Italians in North America. Bargnani would help the Raptors reach a whole new audience of fans. My gut still tells me the Raptors are going to trade the pick though....... 

Just a few thoughts. I'm not so sure that pro sports can succeed in Portland Oregon any more. State and city government officials have made it abundantly clear that they are not willing to put a dime towards any of the financing - whether that's with the Portland Trail Blazers or a potential MLB team like the Florida Marlins. Mayor Tom Potter all but told Florida Marlins President David Samson to not waste his time making a trip to Portland because the city has other priorities to pay for other than pro sports.Cities such as Anaheim St.