NHL Free Agency 2011: Where Will the Top 12 Forwards Play Next Year?

On July 1, all hell will break loose in the hockey world. It marks the first day of open free agency in the NHL with several big names looking for new homes, and too many teams looking to sign them.

The 2011 NHL free agency is dominated by defense and goaltending this year. Names like Tomas Vokoun, Ilya Bryzgalov and Tomas Kaberle will be coveted by numerous teams, either looking to get their team over the hump or into contention.

But this year's free agency may be dominated by a payer that is not a goaltender or a defenseman.

Brad Richards will most certainly be on the move, and teams will be throwing all they have at the crown

San Jose Sharks: The Western Conference Finals Is Not Enough

It took an awkward bounce off the boards, and not a single Sharks player to know where the puck was, for the San Jose Sharks to be eliminated from the 2011 NHL Playoffs on Tuesday night.

The Vancouver Canucks were the dominant team. In fact, the Canucks are probably the best team left in these playoffs, and you may not hear an argument from anyone refuting that. They have speed, defense, goaltending and chemistry, and the Sharks were just trying to keep up.

San Jose was knocked out by the best team in hockey.

Golden State Warriors: Is Jerry West Really That Big Of A Deal?

Jerry West not only knows basketball, being one of he greatest NBA players of all-time, but he knows the corporate side of basketball, as well. West was responsible for igniting the Los Angeles Lakers' three-peat from 2000-02, by acquiring players like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, as well as hiring Phil Jackson as head coach.

West's new challenge is to do with the Golden State Warriors what he did with the Lakers, and somewhat with the Memphis Grizzlies.

West was pursued by Warriors' owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, and they hired him this past week as an adviser to the Warriors' executive board.

Golden State Warriors: Mike Brown and the Best Coaching Fits in Golden State

For once, the Golden State Warriors are one of the bigger stories in the NBA these days. Sure, they cannot compete with the NBA Playoffs, but the recent flurry of coaching candidates that have been interviewed with the team and the news of Jerry West joining the front office has the Warriors being a hot commodity these days.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob is making all the right moves.

One thing is for sure, Lacob wants a big name as head coach of the Warriors next season. For too many years, the Warriors have been swept under the rug because of less than high-profile coaching and players.

San Francisco 49ers: 5 Bold Predictions For the 2011 Season

The 2010-11 NFL Season was franchise-changing for the San Francisco 49ers. The 0-5 start to the season was the first step, and losers in six of their first seven games was the next step, causing them to ultimately fall out of the terrible NFC West division race.

It took until Week 16 for the 49ers to finally yank the cord on Mike Singletary's tenure as head coach, which has led to a total team makeover in Santa Clara, CA.

The 2011 NFL offseason has sprung recent hope into the hearts of 49er fans.

NHL Playoffs: San Jose Sharks Dismantled in Game 2 As the Western Conference Final Heads to the Shark Tank

The Vancouver Canucks dismantled the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night, 7-3, in an ugly loss for the Sharks at Rogers Arena.

Unsportsmanlike penalties and overall bad play for the majority of the game has the Sharks heading to San Jose dazed and confused, as they look to overcome a 2-0 series deficit.

Not sure how a team can come back from a game like that, though. It was an utter and complete meltdown from the Sharks, in which some

2011 NBA Draft Lottery: Initial Reactions For the Golden State Warriors

The Cleveland Cavaliers turned a draft pick acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Baron Davis trade into the #1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft on Tuesday. The Cavaliers' pick had a 2.8% chance of winning the NBA Lottery, and it did just that by beating out the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz.

The Golden State Warriors' role in the NBA Lottery was a bit insignificant, if you will.

No, they were not expected to win the NBA Lottery with their .7% chance, but viewers tune in to see their team move up a few spots from where they

San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey Will Be Changing Positions Sooner or Later

An article written for ESPN caught my attention this past week. The article was by David Schoenfield entitled "Mauer Position Change Becoming Inevitable."

Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins is batting .235 with 4 RBI's in just nine games this season. He has been hampered by a knee injury that has kept him on the DL since April 15, after being rushed back from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during the offseason.

There is no current timetable for his return.

In the article, Schoenfield points that while Mauer's value at catcher may be high, his value

San Jose Sharks' Game 7 Win Slays Many Demons

In what will go down as one of the greatest wins in San Jose Sharks’ history, the Sharks avoided just that and advanced to the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night.

Vindication.

There were sweat and tears in this series, and that was just from the fans sitting at home in front of their televisions. Thursday’s Game 7 epitomized what this series was all about, what the Sharks/Red Wings rivalry is all about and what hockey is all about.

The Sharks avoided what could have been an epic collapse that would have gone down in history, after being up 3-0 in the series, only to see the Red Wings battle back and win three straight

Golden State Warriors Need To Throw the House At Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum is available for trade, or at least we think he is after a "bush league" foul on the Dallas Mavericks' J.J. Barea, paired with speculation that Dwight Howard may be heading west to Los Angeles has sent the NBA media's minds wandering.

Bynum's departure from Game 4 of the Lakers/Mavericks series seemed almost Lebron James-esque. James left his last game as a Cleveland Cavalier in much the same way Bynum did, with their shirts off as if to say "I'm done with this."

Whether Bynum meant to evoke that image or not, we will not know. But it is the Howard heading to L.A. speculation that may play the biggest role in whether or not Bynum is a Laker next season.

Decisions Aplenty As the San Francisco Giants Get Healthy

San Francisco Giants' manager Bruce Bochy will have some decisions to make in the coming days and extending for the next several weeks.

The Giants are finally getting healthy again.

The injuries started back on Opening Night when Andres Torres got injured and ended (knock on wood) with Pablo Sandoval's injury two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, both Torres and Mark DeRosa were activated off the DL and available to play the field. But where?

San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks Have Two Very Different Weekends

It was a tale of two Bay Area teams headed in two very different directions this past weekend.

The San Francisco Giants swept the division-rival Colorado Rockies, and the San Jose Sharks are headed back to Detroit after not being able to close out the Red Wings series in Games 4 or 5 on Friday and Sunday.

Resurgence in San Francisco, and panic an hour south in San Jose.

Jonathan Sanchez Disappointing as the San Francisco Giants Head Home

Jonathan Sanchez has walked 12 batters in his last two starts and the San Francisco Giants could not sweep the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon.

It will be a much-needed homestand spanning seven days for the Giants, in which they will see NL West rivals Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks take the field at AT&T Park.

This was not the most successful roadtrip for the Giants. They finished the trip with a record of 5-5, and saw Pablo Sandoval go down with injury, while encountering two rather disappointing outings from starter Jonathan Sanchez.

Devin Setoguchi and the San Jose Sharks Continue OT Success; Take 3-0 Series Lead

It took a Devin Setoguchi hat trick, including the overtime clincher, to push the San Jose Sharks past the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. The Sharks continued their perfect streak of overtime wins, now five of five, and put the Red Wings into a huge 3-0 series hole.

Instant classic.

Arguably both teams' best efforts of the series, the Sharks managed to get by the Red Wings with solid goaltending from Antti Niemi and a little hockey luck.

Everyone knew the Red Wings would come out swinging in Game 3, being down 2-0 in the series, so it was no

San Jose Sharks...Torture?

The San Jose Sharks currently hold a 2-0 game lead over the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The Sharks seem to have nothing holding them back from reaching the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back years.

But what has some people doubting how far the Sharks can go is history.

The Sharks fall notoriously short when it comes to pursuing the Stanley Cup in April and May. Year after year we see the Sharks become the favorite to win it all, and then see them falter when it comes to crucial games and series.

San Francisco Giants: Pablo Sandoval's Injury Could Not Come at a Worse Time

Have the San Francisco Giants hit rock bottom yet?

Sure, that may be taking it a bit too far, but these are the World Series champion San Francisco Giants we are talking about. Not only is their hitting not getting it done as of late, but the pitching isn't too hot either.

Now, third baseman Pablo Sandoval is out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist. He will have surgery today, May 3rd, or so he tweeted... I mean twittered...I don't know.

NHL Playoffs: Some Things We Learned About the San Jose Sharks In Their Game 1 Win in Overtime

Detroit Red Wings' goaltender Jimmy Howard was good. The San Jose Sharks proved to be better on Friday night at HP Pavilion in San Jose.

That's about all you can say, right?

In such a tightly-played game, it seemed that if either team flinched, it would mean a loss for that team.

Luckily for the Sharks, the Red Wings flinched in overtime.