AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST DIVISION PREVIEW

1)  Seattle Mariners (2009 record:  85-77;  2010 prediction:  93-69)

The Seattle Mariners have a lot of new faces this season and most of them are upgrades from last year.  Acquiring Cliff Lee was a great move and it gives the Mariners one of the best one-two punches in the game with him and Felix Hernandez atop the starting rotation.  Ryan Rowland-Smith, Ian Snell, and Doug Fister will round out the rotation.  You could also see Luke French and Jason Vargas getting some starts.  There is an obvious drop-off in their rotation after Lee and Hernandez, but Rowland-Smith is a good young lefty with a career 3.62 ERA in 252.1 career innings pitched.  Ian Snell is finally away from the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates and maybe a winning atmosphere will bring the best out of him.  Fister, French, and Vargas all have good young arms and could be valuable pieces out of the bullpen.  Speaking of the bullpen, the Mariners are looking very strong there with David Aardsma closing (38/42 saves last year), the hard-throwing Mark Lowe setting him up, and other talented pitchers like Brandon League and Sean White.  Offensively the Mariners are looking very solid.  The addition of Chone Figgins (2B/3B) will make a big difference for them,  bringing a better bat, glove, and more speed to the team than the departed Adrian Beltre brought them last year.  Figgins will be starting the season at second base though, not his usual position of third.  Having Figgins and Ichiro (RF) at the top of lineup will give the Mariners’ middle of the order plenty of opportunities to drive in some runs.  The lefty Casey Kotchman (1B) and the talented Jose Lopez (3B) will likely be getting a lot of those RBIs that Figgins and Ichiro will set up.  Jack Wilson (SS) gives them another solid bat, along with Franklin Gutierrez (CF) who had a career-year in his first year with the Mariners last season.  Then they have a legend at DH in Ken Griffey Jr., and although he is nowhere near the hitter he once was he will give the Mariners some decent power and great veteran leadership.  The only big question marks in the Mariners lineup are Rob Johnson (C) and the newly acquired clubhouse killer, Milton Bradley (LF).  The Mariners are pretty loaded though, and with two ace pitchers, a great bullpen, strong defense, speed, and more than a few good hitters I think they will edge out the Los Angeles Angels for the division this year.

2)  Los Angeles Angels (2009 record:  97-65;  2010 prediction:  90-72)

The Los Angeles Angels will be without a few of the star players that led them to a four AL West titles over the past five years.  Their ace John Lackey is now with the Boston Red Sox and Kelvim Escobar is with the New York Mets.  Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero stayed in the division, with Figgins now with the Seattle Mariners and Guerrero with the Texas Rangers.  Although they lost some key players, the Angels still have a good team since they made some moves themselves and Manager Mike Scioscia has proven he can bring the best out of his players.  They picked up Hideki Matsui (DH), Joel Pineiro (SP), and Fernando Rodney (RHP).  Matsui gives them a great all-around hitter at DH, while Pinerio will make their starting rotation much stronger.  Rodney also strengthens their pitching, as he is a former closer and knows how to get outs.  Jared Weaver will be the ace of their staff with Lackey gone, and Earvin Santana will be the number two starter.  Joe Saunders, Scott Kazmir, and Pineiro round out the starting rotation, while Scott Shields will be the set-up man for left-handed closer Brian Fuentes (48/55 saves in ‘09).  Overall, the Angels are pretty stacked when it comes to pitching, but will they have enough offense to go along with it?  I mentioned Matsui being a good DH, but he is getting up there in age, as is Bobby Abreu (RF) and Torri Hunter (CF).  Abreu and Hunter still put up good numbers last season, but they might start to drop-off more this season.  Kendry Morales (1B) had a breakout year last season and will likely be their best hitter this year.  Juan Rivera (LF) had a nice resurgence last season, and if he can stay healthy he will provide another weapon in their lineup. Howie Kendrick (2B) and Erick Aybar (SS) are both good hitters, but Kendrick hasn’t proven he can do it for a full season.  Mike Napoli (C) is one of the better hitting catchers in the league and prospect Brandon Wood (3B) is talented, but hasn’t proven anything at the big league level yet.  Overall, the Angels offense looks very good on paper and they definitely have the tools to win another AL West title.  The age and durability of their outfielders has me a little skeptical though.  Also I think they are going to really miss Lackey, Guerrero, and Figgins.

 3)  Texas Rangers (2009 record:  87-75;  2010 prediction:  85-77)

The Texas Rangers could very well win this division, but it’s not very likely.  A lot of things would have to go right, but mainly they need to stay healthy.  Unfortunately for them, three of their main players are extremely injury prone.  The Rangers traded Kevin Millwood, so they signed Rich Harden.  Harden has great stuff, but the guy can never last a full season.  They also acquired the 35-year-old Vladimir Guerrero (DH), who is still a great hitter but only played 100 games last season with the Los Angeles Angels and has had injury problems the past few seasons.  Then there is Josh Hamilton (LF), who was the come-back player of the year in 2008, but only played 89 injury-plagued games last season and has already had some injury issues (hand, shoulder) this spring.  If those three guys don’t stay healthy, then the Rangers have no chance in this division.  To go along with Harden in the starting rotation, there will be Scott Feldman, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Matt Harrison.  Feldman will be the number one guy and is coming off a 17-8 season.  Wilson had a 2.81 ERA in 73.2 innings last season, while Lewis has pitched great the past two seasons in Japan.  Brandon McCarthy is a talented pitcher and he will get some starts this season, but the Rangers are starting him out in AAA for now.  The starting rotation is decent, but they will have to rely on their bullpen a fair amount and the offense will have to score a lot of runs.  Good thing for them that their bullpen is very strong with guys like Frank Francisco (CL), Darren Oliver, and Neftali Feliz.  Hamilton, Guerrero, Michael Young (3B), and Ian Kinsler (2B) will do a lot of damage with their bats for the Rangers.  Julio Borbon (CF) and Elvis Andrus (SS) are also very capable hitters, but they are also very young.  Chris Davis (1B) is another good young talent, but hasn’t shown as much with his bat as Borbon and Andrus.  Don’t expect too much offense out of Jarrod Saltalamaccia (C) either.  Overall, the Rangers have a very solid club (if they stay healthy), but the Mariners and Rangers have more of a complete package.

4)  Oakland Athletics (2009 record:  75-87;  2010 prediction:  72-90)

The Oakland Athletics don’t exactly have a terrible team, they are just in a very tough division and aren’t up to the same level as the other three teams.  Their biggest strength this year is definitely their bullpen, as it was last year.  They have a very good closer in last year’s Rookie of the Year, Andrew Bailey.  Guys like Brad Ziegler and Michael Wuertz are great set-up men for Bailey.  Joey Devine and Craig Breslow also know how to get outs and have put up some very nice numbers in recent years.  The bullpen may get worn out this season though since the starting rotation is not looking very impressive.  They have one very reliable starter in Ben Sheets, who is their number one guy.  Sheets had a good season last year with the Milwaukee Brewers, going 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA.  After that it is a lot of very young arms.  Dallas Braden is the number two guy, and he had a much improved season in his third year in ‘09 but is still a little unproven.  Trevor Cahill, Vin Mazzaro, and Brett Anderson look like they will start the season in the rotation.  Those three are all in their second season.  The offense doesn’t look much more promising than the starting pitching either, as Rajai Davis (CF) is the only starter who hit over .300 last season.  They do have a lot of good young talent, so a few guys could have some breakout years.  Young guys like Ryan Sweeney (RF), Kurt Suzuki (C), Cliff Pennington (SS), Daric Barton (1B), and Adam Rosales (3B).  Those guys will rely on some veteran leadership from Jack Cust (DH), Mark Ellis (2B), and the new guys Coco Crisp (CF) and Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B).  If the young talent plays up to their potential, the A’s could be much better than expected, but I don’t think they have a chance in this division.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL DIVISION PREVIEW

 1)  Chicago White Sox (2009 record:  79-83;  2010 prediction:  93-69)

The White Sox have arguably the best starting rotation in the American League, with former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy leading the way.  The Sox acquired Peavy late last season, even though he was injured most of the year.  He is coming into this season healthy and ready to go though.  You can see why Ozzie Guillen thinks he has the best rotation in the AL when you add in the reliable lefty Mark Buehrle, the proven young talents in Gavin Floyd and John Danks, and then the veteran Freddy Garcia and talented prospect Danny Hudson competing for the fifth spot.  The Sox also have a strong bullpen with closer Bobby Jenks coming in 15 pounds lighter, a newly acquired set-up man in J.J. Putz, and the hard-throwing lefty in Matt Thornton.  The offense will look different this season without guys like Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik, but they have made a few upgrades.  The acquisitions of Juan Pierre (LF), Mark Teahan (3B), Andruw Jones (DH/OF), and Omar Vizquel (SS/2B) gives the Sox some quality veterans who will not only give a boost on offense, but also give them some more reliable defensive players.  They will also have the dangerous Carlos Quentin (RF) healthy (at the moment), who missed 63 games last year due to injury, but had 36 HRs and 100 RBIs in 2008.  Alex Rios will be in CF and has stated he feels much more comfortable with the Sox coming into the season.  He never really settled in with the Sox after they acquired him late in the season last year, but he looks to be ready to go this year.  Then they have two of the best young talented middle infielders in the game with Alexei Ramirez (SS) and Gordon Beckham (2B), and longtime Sox veterans Paul Konerko (1B) and A.J. Pierzynski (C) providing some more punch to the lineup.  This White Sox team has the talent, pitching, and depth to build a healthy lead in the AL Central and possibly get back to the World Series, which they won in 2005.

2)  Minnesota Twins (2009 record:  87-76;  2010 prediction:  85-77)

 The Minnesota Twins had one of the best home-field advantages in baseball with the Metrodome, but opposing teams will no longer have to deal with the hassle of playing in the unorthodox dome anymore.  The Twins built themselves a new stadium, and it is completely outdoor.  I think this is going to end up hurting the Twins, because they were a team built around playing in that dome.  They also received some devastating news early in spring training, when their closer Joe Nathan tore a ligament in his elbow.  Nathan is out for the season, meaning the Twins are without a closer who had 47 saves and a 2.10 ERA last season.  Jon Rauch will likely fill in for Nathan at closer, who is 24/39 in save opportunities over the past 3 seasons.  They have a solid starting rotation, with Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Carl Pavano, and Nick Blackburn.  Brian Duensing and Francisco Liriano are battling for the final spot.  The pitching isn’t going to lead them to postseason though, so they will need a strong offense.  Having one of the best hitters in the game in last year’s MVP Joe Mauer (C) will help, and he will be in Minnesota for a while after recently signing an eight-year $184 million contract.  The Twins also have a healthy Justin Morneau, an all-around talent in Delmon Young (LF), Michael Cuddyer (RF), Denard Span (CF), and Jason Kubel (DH).  Jim Thome will give them some power off the bench, but their offensive production from their infielders may be lacking.  J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris, and Orlando Hudson all had their offensive stats drop last season.  They are contact hitters with some speed too, so they will miss the benefit of the dome and its quick turf.  The Twins could very well repeat as AL Central Champions, but without a healthy Nathan closing, no dome benefits, and a much improved Chicago White Sox team, I don’t think it will happen.

3)  Detroit Tigers (2009 record:  86-77;  2010 prediction:  80-82)

The Detroit Tigers no longer have Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson, Placido Palanco, or Aubrey Huff so it looks like they will be taking a step back this season.  They have some big question marks offensively with Gerald Laird (C), Adam Everett (SS), and Brandon Inge (3B), who are all coming off seasons where they hit under .240.  They will likely be starting two rookies in Scott Sizemore and Austin Jackson (CF).  Ryan Raburn (OF) had a very solid season last year and could end up starting, but he has been battling injuries this spring.  The newly acquired Johnny Damon (LF) will definitely help the offense, and veterans like Miguel Cabrera (if he can stay sober), Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen will need to stay healthy and carry a big load on offense if the Tigers want a chance in this division.  The starting pitching looks pretty good with ace Justin Verlander atop the rotation, who is followed by some good young pitchers.  Rick Porcello will be the number two guy, after going 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA last season as a rookie.  Jeremy Bonderman will be the third guy in the rotation and has good stuff but has not had a ton of success.  Look for the newly acquired young Max Scherzer to have some impressive starts this season.  He is a hard-thrower and can rack up a lot of strikeouts, but can be wild and will give up the deep ball at times.  Eddie Bonnie will be the fifth starter and he will struggle in that spot, but overall the starting rotation looks decent.  Jose Valverde gives them a solid closer, while Bobby Seay and the newly acquired Phil Coke will give them some reliable arms out of the bullpen.  The Tigers will compete this year, but with the combination of aging veterans and inexperienced youngsters, I don’t see them having too much success.

 4)  Kansas City Royals (2009 record:  65-97;  2010 prediction:  74-88)

The Kansas City Royals have a lot of new faces this season with newly acquired starters Jason Kendall (C), Scott Podsednik (LF), Rick Ankiel (CF), and Chris Getz (2B).  They also picked up some decent bench players in defensive specialist Brian Anderson (OF) and a solid bat in Josh Fields (3B).  I really like the moves the Royals made this offseason and I think it will result in more wins this year.  Jason Kendall gives them a great veteran leader at catcher, although his offense has really dropped off the past few seasons.  Scott Podsednik gives them a good lead-off hitter with speed and Rick Ankiel has shown he can be a great all-around player with good power.  Both have struggled to stay healthy in recent years though, so the Royals need them to keep it together and be everyday players.  Chris Getz proved he can play at a high level in the pros after having a very solid first full season last year with the White Sox.  The rest of the starting lineup includes Billy Butler (1B), Alex Gordon (3B), Yuniesky Betancourt (SS), David DeJesus (RF), and Jose Guillen.  Butler and DeJesus are both coming off great seasons at the plate.  Betancourt is a proven bat, but struggled last year, while Gordon is still renowned as a great young talent despite his lack of production at the plate.  Look for Gordon to have a breakout season this year.  Pitching wise, the Royals have one of the best in the game in Cy Young Winner Zack Greinke, but unfortunately for them they don’t have much after him with Gil Meche, Luke Hochevar, Brian Bannister, and Kyle Davies rounding out the starting rotation.  They have okay stuff and will compete, but they all had ERA’s over 5.00 last season besides Bannister (4.73).  Joakim Soria gives them a good closer, while Kyle Farnsworth should be a good set-up man for them.  The Royals have definitely improved in my opinion, but they still are not at the level of the top teams in this division.

 5)  Cleveland Indians (2009 record:  65-97;  2010 prediction:  63-99)

The Cleveland Indians will not be any better this year than last, but they are rebuilding right now and are taking the right steps to be good down the road.  They acquired some good young prospects, but they will be in the minors for the time being.  Indians’ fans won’t see any results this year , and it could be another very ugly season in Cleveland.  They still have a superstar in Grady Sizemore (CF), and two very good hitters in Shin-Soo Choo (RF) and Asdrubal Cabrera (SS).  Travis Hafner (DH) gives them good power, but it seems like he can never stay healthy.  Matt LaPorta (LF) should continue to improve after having a good showing in 51 games as a rookie last season.  Jhonny Peralta (3B), Russel Branyan (1B), and Luis Valbuena (2B) aren’t very impressive at the plate.  Peralta has some power and can get hot at the plate sometimes, so they are going to need him to step it up and be more consistent this season.  Since the Indians really only have three good hitters, the offense will struggle.   The pitching isn’t much better this season either.  The rotation looks like it will be Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, David Huff, and Aaron Laffey.  Huff was the leader in wins last season of that group, with only 11 wins.  Kerry Wood was expected to be the closer, but the injury-prone Wood is going to be out 2 months after injuring his shoulder.  That means the bullpen, which was probably the Indians strength, will be in some disarray as well.  Chris Perez will likely close until Wood is back, but this season will not be a fun one for Indians’ fans.

Everyone may have March Madness on their mind, but Major League Baseball’s opening day is less then three weeks away.  Baseball’s opening day is always a great time in sports, and although football may have surpassed baseball in popularity, baseball is still our National Pastime.  Opening day gives fans new hope and its the real sign that spring has begun.  Spring training is now into it’s third week, and baseball fans are starting to get excited about the upcoming season.  Let’s be honest though, spring training can be one of the most boring things in sport.  So, you will probably be busy watching a lot of college basketball the next few weeks as spring training winds down, but remember that the NCAA National Championship is April 5th, the same day most MLB teams start their season.  So, once your brackets are out of the running and you get your basketball fix, it is time to start thinking about baseball.  I am starting my predictions for the 2010 season and I am going to start with the American League East Division, which looks to me like it will end up the same as it did last season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION PREVIEW

1)  New York Yankees (2009 record:  103-59;  2010 prediction:  101-61)

The New York Yankees won their 27th World Series Title last year, but it was their first since the year 2000.  The Yankees look to be the favorites once again this season.  They have another stacked lineup this year, led by a healthy Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter (who is coming off one of his best seasons), a powerful Mark Teixeira, a newly acquired and speedy Curtis Granderson, and a few other good veteran bats.  To go along with their great offense, they have a deep and experienced pitching staff.  C.C. Sabathia is the ace and he has proven he is an elite pitcher.  He is followed by A.J. Burnett who has number-one caliber stuff, the veteran Andy Pettite following him, a horse in Javier Vasquez who has pitched at least 198 innings every season the past 10 years, and a solid Phil Hughes to round out the rotation.  They also have a great bullpen with Joba Chamerlain (who could end up being a SP) and the greatest closer of all-time in Mariano Rivera.  The Yankees will miss Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, but with very fast Brett Gardner coming into his own last season and Granderson, they won’t miss them too much.  Vegas has the Yankees as the favorite to win the 2010 World Series, and there isn’t too much you can argue against that.

2)  Boston Red Sox (2009 record:  95-67;  2010 prediction:  92-70)

The Boston Red Sox are still going to be one of the best teams in the American League, but to me they just aren’t at the same level some of the Red Sox teams of recent years have been.  On the plus side, they have a lot of experienced, veteran players.  That also means they have a pretty old team.  The 34-year-old David Ortiz is coming off his worst season ever and has been getting hit by the injury bug the last few seasons.  That being said,  the Red Sox still have a dangerous lineup that most pitchers won’t want to face.   They made some decent moves this offseason, getting Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and Mike Cameron, but Beltre and Cameron are well past their prime.  Scutaro could be the best move they made, as he is coming off his best season last year with Toronto.  Don’t forget about guys like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Victor Martinez, and J.D. Drew, who have proven they are great major league hitters.  They also have Jacoby Ellsbury, who is one of the best young talents in the game. It will be their pitching though, not their hitting, that is going to keep them among the top teams of the AL.  They arguably have the best starting rotation in baseball.  It includes Jon Lester, Josh Becket, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzak.  Then they have Jonathan Papelbon, who has proven he is one of the top closers in baseball.  The Red Sox lineup may be aging, but as long as their pitching stays healthy they will challenge the Yankees for the AL East Title and will likely get the AL Wild Card once again.

3)  Tampa Bay Rays (2009 record:  84-78;  2010 prediction:  88-75)

Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Rays, they are stuck in a division with the two AL powerhouses that are the Yankees and Red Sox.  I wouldn’t completely count them out though, because they are still a talented team with a lot of the core group of players that got them to the World Series in 2008.  They have a lot of young talent, with Evan Longoria headlining that group of young talent.  Longoria, in only two seasons in the Bigs, has already proven to be one of the best in the game.  He won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards at 3B, so he is an all-around talent.  Then they have B.J. Upton, Ben Zobrist, Dioner Navarro, and a real up and coming talent in Matt Joyce.  They also have Carl Crawford, one of the best base-stealing threats in the game.  Upton and Navarro had real bad year’s at the plate last season though, so they are going to need to step up this season and play like they did in 2008.  They are both good at their position though, and the Rays need good defense if they want a chance at making it to the postseason.  Pat Burrell gives them a solid DH, and Jason Bartlett is coming off his best offensive season, but he did make 20 errors last season.  Their starting pitching is iffy, and I’m still up in the air about them, but they do have some guys who have the ability to be very good.  James Shields is their number one guy and had a decent season last year, but nothing to write home about.  Matt Garza follows him, and he has great stuff with three straight seasons with a sub 4.00 ERA.  Jeff Nieman and David Price will be the other big two guys the Rays will rely on and the young Wade Davis looks like he will get his chance at the 5th spot.  The bullpen is solid though, with guys like Grant Balfour, Randy Choate, Dan Wheeler, and Rafael Soriano gives them a strong closer.

4)  Toronto Blue Jays (2009 record: 75-87;  2010 prediction:  70-92)

The Toronto Blue Jays rotation is going to sorely miss their former ace, Roy Halladay.  Halladay is arguably the best pitcher in baseball and the Blue Jays will miss the 32 starts (239 innings), 17 wins, 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, and a 2.79 ERA.  With Halladay gone, Ricky Romero is now their number one guy.  Shaun Marcum, Brandon Morrow, Marc Rzepczynski, and Brett Cecil look to round out the rotation with Kevin Greg closing.  Greg has never been a closer and the back end of the rotation doesn’t have a lot experience starting.  Although Marcum and Morrow had success last year, they aren’t exactly the best one and two guys in the league.  Fortunately for the Blue Jays’ staff, they have a great defense behind them, as they had the fewest errors in the league last season.  They may have some great gloves, but a lot of them need to work on their hitting.  Adam Lind, Aaron Hill, Lyle Overbay, and Vernon Wells are the only proven hitters in their lineup.  Alex Gonzalez, who was a good acquisition this offseason for defense, hit only .238 last season with Cincinnati.  They’ll need more on offense from him this season, as well as from Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and the young Travis Snider.  The Blue Jays may take a step back record-wise this season, but with the young talent and money they got from the Halladay deal, they will be an up and coming team soon.

5)  Baltimore Orioles  (2009 record: 64-98;  2010 prediction:  69-93)

The Baltimore Orioles had probably the worst pitching staff in baseball last season, but the acquisitions of Kevin Millwood, Chris Ray, and closer Mike Gonzalez should help some.  They will still be pretty bad though, especially since the 35-year-old Millwood is in his 14th major league season and will be at the top of their starting rotation.  The only other experienced starter they have is Jeremy Gunthrie, who went 10-17 with a 5.04 ERA last season.  Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz, and Chris Tillman will likely round out the starting rotation, and they are all coming into their sophomore seasons.  They don’t have a big offense to rely on either, so it looks like it will be another ugly season for the Orioles.  The offense isn’t terrible, just not enough to get over their weak pitching.  Miguel Tejada will still be their top guy on offense, and despite his age he has proven he can still be a very good hitter.  Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Luke Scott, and the young Nolan Reimold will also give the Orioles a boost on offense.  Reimold had a great rookie season last year, and I expect him to have a breakout season this year.  The Orioles may be stuck in the basement of the AL East again, but fans should be optimistic about the future since they have a lot of young talent.

It was recently announced that Allen Iverson will not be returning to the Philadelphia 76ers this season so that he can focus on a serious family situation involving his daughter’s health.  This got me thinking on whether or not Iverson will ever return to the NBA.  At one time, Iverson was one of the most electrifying players to ever play the game.  In his first ten years in the league (all with Philadelphia), Iverson was always near the top of the league in scoring and always had his 76er’s teams overachieving. In the 2001 season, Iverson averaged 31.1 points, 4.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 steals and brought a 76er’s team to the NBA Finals.  It was a Sixers’ team that had no business making it to the Finals.  Iverson put that team on his back and it was one of the most impressive individual playoff performances in years.

In recent years Iverson has been nowhere near the player he once was.  In the past three seasons his production has dropped significantly and his 6-0, 165-pound frame has taken a beating over his 14-year career.  It looked like all those years of putting his body on the line finally caught up with him.  This season he was averaging only 13.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.9 rebounds.  Those numbers were all career-lows for Iverson.  His small 34-year-old frame wasn’t holding up like it used to and he seemed mentally drained as well.  After being deemed a “superstar” and a team’s number one guy for so many years, Iverson had no interest in coming off the bench and was not afraid to let people know that.  He was becoming more of a distraction and was killing teams’ morale when he was with Denver, Detroit, Memphis, and his most recent stint with Philadelphia.

That being said, Iverson is one of the best players of his generation and is probably the best “little man” to ever play in the NBA.  He is the shortest player in NBA history to win the MVP and he has career averages of 26.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and has shot 43% from the field, 32% from three, and 78% from the free throw line.  In his 914 game career, he has played around 40,000 minutes (41.1 mpg) and always played hard.  He may not like to “talk about practice,” but this guy always gave his all during games.  Whether Iverson decides to retire or give the NBA another go, he is a sure Hall-of-Famer.  He has been an MVP (2001), Rookie of the Year (1997), 11-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA All-Star MVP (2001, 2005), four-time NBA Scoring Champion (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005), three-time All-NBA 1st Team (1999, 2001, 2005), three-time All-NBA 2nd Team (2000, 2002, 2003), and All-NBA Third Team (2006).

UPDATE (3/8/10):  News has now surfaced that Iverson has some serious gambling and alcohol problems.  His gambling is so bad that he has even been blacklisted from a few casinos.  His life is being called a “train wreck” by many who were close to him in the basketball world, most notably journalist Steven A. Smith who has followed Iverson’s career for years and was about as close a journalist could be to an athlete.  This is some sad news and it looks like Iverson’s playing days are over, as he needs to get his life in order before he can even think about returning to the game.