35-year old inside linebacker Brian Urlacher has decided to retire from the NFL.  He said he lost his passion for the game and his knee wouldn’t allow him to be the player he once was.  That being said, he was kind of forced out of Chicago.  The signed D.J. Williams to replace him for 2013 and they also drafted ILB Jon Bostic in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Urlacher played in 12 games for the Bears last year and he had 68 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception (he returned it 46 yards for a TD) and he had 7 passes defensed.  Urlacher played in 182 games in his 13 years with the Bears and he had 1,353 tackles, 41.5 sacks, 90 tackles for a loss, 12 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 22 interceptions (2 returned for TDs) and 91 passes defensed.  It is sad to see Urlacher’s NFL career this way, but it would have been very odd seeing him play for someone else in 2013.

36-year old QB Donovan McNabb will retire as a Philadelphia Eagle in September.  He finally saw the light and decided to call it quits after no team called him last year.  McNabb was an outstanding player for the Eagles, making it to 6 Pro Bowls in 11 years with them, but he faded big time after leaving Philly.  He only lasted one year with the Redskins and one year with the Vikings.  McNabb played in 167 games (161 starts) in his 13 years in the NFL during the regular season and he completed 3,170 of 5,374 passes (59%) for 37,276 yards with 234 TD passes and 117 INTs (85.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 616 times for 3,459 yards (5.7 ypc) with 29 TD runs in his career.  McNabb was 98-62-1 (61.3%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his career.  McNabb also played in 16 games (all starts) in the playoffs and he completed 341 of 577 passes (59.1%) for 3,752 yards with 24 TD passes and 17 INTs (80.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 72 times for 422 yards (5.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs in the playoffs.  McNabb finishes up his career #17 in NFL history in passing yards (37,276) and #22 in TD passes (234).  McNabb is a border line Hall of Fame player, and he would have been a shoo-in if the Eagles would have beaten the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

The Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic Independent League have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano.  Zambrano pitched in 35 games (20 starts) for the Miami Marlins last year and he was 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 354 games (302 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 132-91 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  Zambrano is also a pretty darn good hitter for a pitcher.  He is 165 of 693 (.238 avg, .636 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 24 homers, 71 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Zambrano goes to the plate hacking as he has only walked 10 times while whiffing 240 times so far in his major league career.  Zambrano joins Vladimir Guerrero and Dontrelle Willis with the Long Island Ducks as they all try to get back to the major leagues.

UPDATE:  (5/14/2013) - Zambrano didn’t sign his contract with the Ducks yet as he is trying to get a minor league deal from a major league team right now.

Earlier today the Jets cut 25-year old QB Tim Tebow.  The handwriting was on the wall for this move as the Jets passed up Tebow for Greg McElroy when Mark Sanchez was yanked out of the starting lineup.  The Jets then went out and signed free agent David Garrard and they picked Geno Smith in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Tebow played in 12 games (2 starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 6 of 8 passes (75%) for 39 yards without a TD pass or INT (84.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 32 times for 102 yards (3.2 ypc) for the Jets last year.  Tebow has now played in 35 games (16 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has completed 173 of 361 passes (47.9%) for 2,422 yards with 17 TD passes and 9 INTs (75.3 QB Rating).  Tebow has also carried the ball 197 times for 989 yards (5.0 ypc) with 12 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Tebow is 8-6 (57.1%) as a starting QB during the regular season.  He has also started two games in the playoffs so far in his NFL career (he is 1-1) and he has completed 19 of 47 passes (40.4%) for 452 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (90.0 QB Rating).  Tebow has also carried the ball 15 times for 63 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career in the playoffs so far.  If the NFL is truly about winning football games, some team will sign Tim Tebow.  Don’t be shocked if it’s the Patriots.

I think the 2012-13 NBA Playoffs are going to be classic this year as the first round matchups look pretty darn good.  Here is how I see things shaking out:

Eastern Conference:

Round #1:

Celtics over the Knicks in seven games

Nets over the Bulls in six games

Pacers over the Hawks in five games

Heat over the Bucks in five games

Round #2:

Heat over the Nets in six games

Pacers over the Celtics in six games

Eastern Conference Finals:

Heat over the Pacers in seven games

Western Conference:

Round #1:

Nuggets over Warriors in seven games

Clippers over Grizzlies in seven games

Spurs over Lakers in six games

Thunder over Rockets in six games

Round #2:

Thunder over the Clippers in six games

Spurs over the Nuggets in six games

Western Conference Finals:

Spurs over the Thunder in seven games

NBA Finals:

Spurs over the Heat in six games