“I feel comfortable here,” said Bradley, who has a career-high 20 homers. “We’ve got a nucleus in place to do good things. It all just comes down to how things work out in negotiations.”

Bradley couldn’t be more right. The team has a solid lineup, that will only be stronger next year as the players age. The problem with this team has been pitching, and will continue to be. A little money in free agency thou should change things and make this team a contender in the American League West. Especially if the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim lose too many players in free agency.

The problem in getting a deal done thou will be salary. This season, Bradley has earned $5.25 million. I have a feeling he’s in for a considerable raise. He should hit near 30 homers and an easy 90 rbis, which should put him in line for a contract around $10 million next year if he really tests the market. He may be happy and wanting to stay in Texas but I’m not sure if someone like Bradley would take a hometown discount.

“We’re very pleased with Milton’s production and how he’s fit in the clubhouse,” Daniels said. “We’ll wait until the end of the year until we make any decisions or have any discussions.”

MLB Fanhouse - AOL’s MLB Fanhouse has a great video up of a fan catching a baseball while holding on to his beer. It’s always great seeing videos like this. No one wants to see a beer go down just to catch a baseball no matter who hits it!

Bitten and Bound - If you haven’t heard yet, one of the great Boston Red Sox players Carl Yastrzemski has been hospitalized with chest pains. His spokesman, Dick Gordon, says it could be pretty serious too.

NY Daily News - The Subway Squawkers are pretty excited about the possible return of Carl Pavano to the New York Yankees rotation this weekend. Don’t get me wrong there is plenty Pavano bashing in it but as a Yankees fan you got to hopefully he finally does well.

NY Post - Ut oh, Carl Pavano missed his bullpen session today and his start Saturday is now in jeopardy. Knew it was to good to be true, who would really think this guy could help the Bombers out.

The Cavs have a couple big contracts that they’d love to get rid of if possible, especially if it helps fill one their needs, one of which is low post scoring. The first scenario would be Wally Szczerbiak for Randolph. Wally is a huge threat from the outside, and we know Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni loves his outside shooters. His career 40.5% shooting from behind the arc would help Mike open that offense up. Wally would be able to step right into the starting lineup too, as rookie forward Danilo Gallinari will be a long shot to start right away. The deal would work under the salary cap as well, Zach is owed $14.6 million this year, while Wally is making $13 million).

Another possibility would be big man for big man. Zach Randolph for Ben Wallace. Big Ben would give the Knicks something they’ve lacked for many years, interior defense. It’s been a long time since the Knicks have had a big man who can strike fear into opposing offenses and at the same time be a rebounding force. The lack of scoring would hurt but hey the Knicks have plenty of players who can pick up the slack. Contract wise? Wallace is due $14.5 million this year, and $14 mil next. While he is under contract longer it wouldn’t hurt the team long term as his deal expires right before the big summer of 2010.

Like I said earlier the Cavs need some scoring in the post and Randolph could definitely provide that. He’s a career 16.3 points per game but played well above that the past few seasons. With a scorer like Zach, the court will REALLY open up for Lebron James to roam free. Not like he needs the open space, but for the Cavaliers to take that next step and become true contenders they need secondary options.

Personally, I’d do the deal that involves Wallace. I’ve always liked Szczerbiak as a player but trading Randolph away for a small forward would devastate this team in the post. This would leave the team with Eddy Curry as their sole option down low, on offense AND defense. And do any Knicks fans really believe he can get the job done?

Unfortunately, I can’t see a deal really happening at this point. If there are still whispers circulating about a possible deal come training camp time, then and MAYBE then we can start taking this more seriously. Till then might as well just enjoy the random rumors while we eagerly await tip off.

The Hoops Doctor - Are you a sneaker buff? Well the Hoops Doctor is holding a Create A Caption Contest, and the winner receives a pair of Chuck Taylor Hi-Top All-Star Classics. It’s a pretty simple contest to, just go subscribe to their RSS feed and then create a caption for the picture. What are you waiting for, go get yourself a new pair of kicks!

Le Basketbawl - Can you believe Shawn Kemp is still trying to play basketball??? Kemp just signed with a team in Italy and Jeff gives you all the details including his opinion of the Euro League. I’m sure he’s trying to play his way back to the states, but that will never happen.

NBA Rumors - In other off-season rumors, it sounds like Theo Ratliff is craving a Philly Cheesesteak. I can’t blame him wanting to go back to the Philadelphia 76ers and their now competitive team in the Eastern Conference. Remember his best season in the league came while a Sixer.

Hornets247.com - The NBA has lost another player to international competition, this time it was Jannero Pargo. Ryan takes a look into Pargo and how his opinion of the guy has changed over the past year. It’s a pretty good read check it out.

Cuzoogle - Can’t talk NBA and not include an article by my boy Cuzzy. He likes to stay up on the current betting sites and Vegas lines when it comes to anything regarding the NBA. Well today he gives us the most updated odds to win the Eastern Conference championship via BoDog. Is there anyone that can give the Celtics a run for their money?

AND TODAY’S EYE CANDY COMES VIA ON205TH.com - Today’s eye candy is Adriana Lima. Why’s this in an NBA article? Well it turns out she’s still engaged to Marko Jaric. Not a bad deal at all for Marko. Go check out the pics.

How do you apply? How do you earn chances? Well you have to head over to The Sports Dollar and read all the details of one of the BIGGEST Sports blog contests to date.

Lombardiave.com - They take a look at the trail of destruction that Brett Favre has left behind him.

The Fantasy Football Geek Blog - Remember the book and movie 21, about the card counting whiz from M.I.T. Well, he and the facebook team, have teamed up to make a fantasy football game for the huge social networking platform.

John Smallwood - Philly.com - John takes a look at the special teams of the Philadelphia Eagles.

NE Patriots Draft - James broke some news earlier today that John Lynch may be joining the New England Patriots. Not only does he write comedy, but he’s also breaking news now, definitely a blog you want to bookmark.

Foxsports.com - They break down the 10 greatest sports games of all time. I disagree with their list thou cause everyone knows Tecmo Super Bowl is the best ever.

NOW, for your eye candy. Cuzoogle hits us off with The Seven: Fall Show Girls we look forward to.

In all honesty when I started this blog it was just for fun, wanting to talk about rumors I thought were interesting to me. Then I started to read sites like The Sports Dollar as well as others, and saw that this could make a little bit of side money. So after seeing sites like that, I began the process of networking and trying to grow readership. Don’t get me wrong I’m still not looking to make money out of this, but getting a little side cash and people who enjoy reading my material makes it all worthwhile. So if you’re a smaller struggling blogger, start networking. Send emails to the blogs you read, comment on their articles, etc etc. Those sites, especially the ones who participate in the Sports Blogging Pack will reciprocate. All of this will help you make a little side money from your own blog. Personally, I’ll be using last month’s profit this way, half to advertising, part to web hosting fees, and the rest well some bar owner and hot bartender will get to enjoy.

Here’s a summary of July’s earnings:
Private Ad Sales - $215
Ad Networks (Yardbarker, Google, Pepper Jam) - $63.90
Affiliate Earnings (AllPosters, Stub Hub) - $21.01
Total Earnings - $299.01

Not substantial numbers by any means. But it’s more then enough to put a smile on my face. I never thought I’d make that throughout the entire time of having a blog. Believe me once you start making some money off of your blog, you’ll be even more interested in promoting it and posting.

To all of you who think this is a waste of a post, don’t worry they won’t happen often. Income reports will only come at what I consider milestones in my blogging. Hopefully that means they continue to come your way.

Oh and the chick up above. Like Brooks and Dunn say “Till you put a girl in it, you ain’t got nothing.”

Here’s a list of all affiliates and ad networks:

Webmasters Make $$$

Me, I’d so say screw the playoff race and Paul Lo Duca, just bring in his ex-wife Sonia. Give her the money, let her be a ball girl and watch the crowds you get then!

Miami Dolphins - This is where the smart money is. This would be his best opportunity to start, even if it would only be till second round draft pick Chad Henne is ready to take over. Most people expect Pennington to sign with the Dolphins due to his relationship with Bill Parcells. For those that don’t know, Parcells was the coach of the Jets when Chad was drafted in 2000. Talks between the two sides began to heat up as soon as Chad was released. It’s being reported that Condon and team management spoke twice yesterday, with more talks planned. Dolphins in Depth takes a look at the situation and how aggressive the Dolphins may be in their pursuit.

Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs are another strong possibility as another former coach of Chad’s, Herman Edwards, is running the team. Pennington’s best years came with Herm at the helm, so a reunion would make sense there for both. Even so, Chad would probably wind up a backup in Kansas City as the team seems pretty content with Brodie Croyle as their starter. Chiefs’ General Manager Carl Peterson says “There’s nothing to comment on”, but even with that the Kansas City Star still says that the Chiefs are looking at the former Jet. A move like this would let the team part ways with Damon Huard.

New York Giants - Yes, the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants have interest in the former Jet. The team has struggled for years to find a capable backup for Eli Manning, and what better choice then the former QB of the team who shares your stadium. The team currently has a battle between David Carr and Anthony Wright for the role, and both actually performed well in the teams first pre-season contest. It doesn’t stop the NY Daily News from reporting that the Giants may look at Pennington. General Manager Jerry Reese was pretty diplomatic and honest with the paper saying, “We take a look at everybody that’s out there … That includes him.” While that doesn’t mean the Giants will make a move, he’s just being straight forward and saying of course we looked him. I’ve never been a big fan of Chad, but as a Giants’ fan I wouldn’t mind a signing here. We’d get a capable starter should Eli go down, and someone who understands the notorious winter winds of the Meadowlands.

Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings have also been a popular destination amongst many. Personally, I think they’re a long shot thou. Many think the Vikings would love for a new starter, and move Tarvaris Jackson to a back-up role. I feel the Vikings have a good young nucleus thou with Adrian Peterson and Jackson together. His numbers weren’t outstanding, far from it, but down the stretch he showed glimpses of being a competent NFL starter. Down the stretch he cleared the 90 QB Rating mark 4 times in the final 6 games, including 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, but more importantly leading the team to a 4-2 record. Don’t try and say the teams success was due to Peterson either, he missed two games and played minimally in a couple others in that run. Now that there is no chance for Brett Favre joining the team, I’m pretty sure the Vikings are all about giving Jackson a chance this year.

So are there any other teams looking at Pennington? Probably, but they’re keeping their interest pretty quiet at the moment. I could also see a team like the New England Patriots taking a look as they’ve also never had a true back-up for Tom Brady. Any where Chad goes it will probably be for cheap, with many performance based incentives.

Right now I’ll agree with the masses and say he ends up with the Miami Dolphins, but that Giants scenario really peaks my interest. Would he give an even deeper discount to stay where he’s comfortable? One has to wonder.

The Rays already have a pretty good bullpen but Bradford gives them playoff experience. Bradford is a proven winner in the playoffs, appearing in 15 and 1/3 innings over 17 games giving up ZERO runs. No pitcher has logged more innings before giving up his first playoff run. His post season appearances have come with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets. Bradford is by no means a flame thrower and definitely won’t rack up strikeouts but he will be a solid addition. This year he’s sporting a 2.45 era over 40 and 1/3 innings with only 13 strikeouts.

I’m glad to see the Rays making moves like this, it shows this team truly is serious about winning. It only took 11 seasons, but hey greatness takes time. If you live in the Tampa region you should definitely head out to Tropicana Field for a game.