Say good-bye to Allen Iverson.
       
Word is the Sixers are saying that Allen Iverson will not return to the team this season, and it’s hard to imagine any scenario in which Iverson would be with Philadelphia when training camp opens next October. The former MVP has been on personal leave, reportedly to care for his ill daughter, but The Answer must have questions about his own ability after a so-so 24-game stint in Philly. 
      
Iverson averaged 13.9 points and 4 assists a game for the Sixers, who had hoped that he would inject some life in a team that was underachieving and on target to miss the playoffs. But he’s missed nine of the Sixers’ last 12 games, including the last four, and the Sixers figure that any help he could give them down the stretch wouldn’t be enough to carry them to a playoff spot.
    
Philly was a below-average cover team with Iverson and not much better than that since he left the club.
Northwest is best
    
The regular season home stretch is in sight, and as the dogs of the league start tanking, we can look to the Northwest Division for good basketball. Utah has been on fire since mid-January, Oklahoma City won’t go away and Portland is playing through injuries – all with an eye toward displacing Denver at the top and guaranteeing first-round home court advantage in the playoffs.

LeBron needs history lesson    
     
Interesting that LeBron James says he is in the process of changing his uniform number from 23 to 6, out of respect for Michael Jordan and what MJ accomplished as a professional. Jordan’s teams won 6 NBA championships, and he won the MVP Award 5 times and was voted to the All-Star team 10 times. Boston’s Bill Russell, who wore uniform number 6, was a 5-time MVP, made it to the All-Star game 12 times and led the Celtics to 11 championships.

Food for thought regarding Peppers

1.       There is no salary cap in the NFL this coming season.
2.       Julius Peppers is a free agent and is looking for mega-money.
3.       Does he wind up anywhere but Washington?

The Panthers have cut ties with Peppers, who has shown the ability to dominate games but also to make himself invisible during games. Peppers is reportedly looking for about $18 million a year, with $40 million guaranteed. That leaves out the Patriots and every other NFL team that doesn’t play its home games in Maryland.

Peppers’ problem is that he needs motivation, and the Redskins already have a big-time dog in Albert Haynesworth. Both are much better playing for a big contract than playing with one.

Pats-Jets battles never end
     
The seemingly perpetual Border War between the Patriots and the Jets may be about to be re-ignited. The Patriots can’t wait to cut ties with LB Adalius Thomas, who basically quit on the team after signing a big contract a few years ago and has had barking matches with Bill Belichick. And a likely landing spot for the linebacker is the Jets, where coach Rex Ryan remembers Thomas as an attack-the-quarterback beast from their days together in Baltimore. Thomas never adapted to the Patriots’ read-and-react defense, and probably would be a better fit in the Jets’ more aggressive style.

More stability for Browns under Holmgren?
     
With Mike Holmgren calling the shots in Cleveland, the Quarterback du Jour Era appears over. Holmgren says the Brownies will probably get rid of one QB (90-10 it’s Derek Anderson). Fans have been restless in Cleveland for a while, and the best guess is that Holmgren will try to swing a deal for a QB. He did that in Green Bay (Brett Favre) and in Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck). There will probably be a brief battle in training camp between the newcomer and Brady Quinn, but it’s hard to see Holmgren allowing Eric Mangini to go back and forth like he did last season.

Nats have ulterior motive
       
The Washington Nationals say they will go slow with wunderkind Stephen Strasburg, pointing out that it could help his development to spend some time in the minor leagues before taking on major league hitters. The Nationals say they are confident that their starting pitching can keep them competitive until a supposedly more-confident and poised Strasburg is called up. Maybe. But by keeping Strasburg in the minors for a few months, the cheapo Nationals can delay for a year when Strasburg becomes eligible for contract arbitration and ultimately free agency.