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August 17th 2010: Daily Sports News – Gossip – Headlines

Sports water cooler headlines and sports gossip for Tuesday August 17th, 2010. Shea Matthews weighs in with his analysis and opinions on today’s sports action…

Water Cooler – August 17th, 2010

Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.

Enjoy!

A handful of comings (and rumored goings) highlight today’s sports news.

NFL news: Brian Westbrook signs with 49ers; Ladell Betts to Saints

Brian Westbrook signs with 49ers

We won’t see speedy scatback Brian Westbrook reunite with Donovan McNabb in Washington after all. Instead, Westbrook has opted for San Francisco. He signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract worth another $1.25 million in incentives yesterday.

The 31-year-old will back up Frank Gore now that Glen Coffee has retired for the priesthood.

Another 31-year-old veteran back, Ladell Betts, has a new team.

The New Orleans Saints needed insurance for Pierre Thomas after Mike Bell bolted for Philly and Lynell Hamilton tore his ACL, so they snapped up the former Redskin Betts for $805,000 over one year.

NBA news: Carmelo Anthony preparing to leave Denver? LeBron loses three-point contest to kid

With the LeBron saga over, it was only a matter of time before media shifted their attention to another huge name from his draft year: Carmelo Anthony. Rumor has it that Melo won’t sign the three-year, $65-million contracted extension the Denver Nuggets offered him.

Instead, he’ll bolt after the 2010-11 season – quite possibly to join Amar’e Stoudemire in New York.

Is there another super team on the way? Chris Paul and/or Tony Parker (according to Eva Longoria) are also rumored to be pining for the Big Apple.

Hey Heat fans – is it time to worry about LeBron James being a bust? He went to Cedar Point last week and lost a three-point shooting contest to a kid – all while being heckled mercilessly.

MLB news: K-Rod  done for the year, done as a Met? Bryce Harper signs; Two college QBs choose baseball

It’s been a brutal week for Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. First, he punched his girlfriend’s father. Then doctors diagnosed him with a torn thumb ligament in his punching hand. Now, the New York Mets are reportedly exploring whether or not they can void his contract. He’s still owed $11.5 million next year with a $17.5-million vesting option for 2012.

Phenom Bryce Harper, the 17-year-old No. 1 overall pick in this year’s MLB draft, will become a multi-millionaire before he even graduates from high school. His deal is worth $9.9 million over five years guaranteed – the most ever for a drafted position player. He batted .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBI for the College of Southern Nevada.

His major-league team, the Washington Nationals, set the contract record for pitchers last year when they inked Stephen Strasburg for $15.1 million.

Two college quarterbacks are now employed by Major League Baseball – but one school’s football program takes a bigger hit over the news than the other.

Clemson breathes a big sigh of relief over Kyle Parker. He did sign with the Rockies but he won’t join them until next spring, meaning he can start for the Tigers at quarterback this fall. He’s the first NCAA Division I athlete to throw 20 touchdown passes and smack 20 homers in one academic year.

LSU isn’t so lucky.

Zach Lee wasn’t slated to be their starter yet but the Tigers (yes, another team called the Tigers) had high hopes for him down the road.

Instead, he’s a Los Angeles Dodger now.

Comments are welcome below!

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