I was able to get a sneak peak at the new Michael Jordan's Gatorade Championship Brand that will be debuting in stores across the country soon.

I think most would agree that the two brands you immediately think of when you think of MJ are Nike and Gatorade, so bringing him back into the fold is a no brainer in my opinion.

The "I WANT TO BE LIKE MIKE" Gatorade campaign was one if not the greatest campaign of all time.

Sources inside of Ron Artest's camp have confirmed with me a CBS Sports report that Artest has verbally committed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers is true.

The person right now who is feeling sick is Trevor Ariza while he agent has been blowing smoke about him wanting out of LA privately I heard from his people that he didn't want to go.

He is definitely gone now.

This year's draft was a case study in the false gospel of upside. In the past I've referred to GMs and scouts as worshipers at the altar of potential, and they did not disappoint in 2009. I said a few days before the draft that my philosophy is always to pick people who can play, and to leave the upside drafting to someone else. I've been advocating that for years, and unfortunately very few people seem to be listening. Every June we have mock draft after mock draft full of prospects who are described as having tremendous upside, unlimited potential, etc. but need to 'learn how to play'. And as I always do, I look at these projections and say 'what?' How can you stake millions of dollars and a two to five year guaranteed roster spot on a guy who 'needs to learn how to play the game' or 'needs to learn the nuances of his position' or needs to learn how to play a new position entirely? Well, even in a down economy that you'd think would limit risk taking, NBA GMs and scouts apparently don't consider it to be a bad idea.

The Yankees are leading the Wild Card race in the AL as the season is approaching the halfway mark. It seems silly to think about the wild card so early in the season, but for the Yankees, it is never too early because they have had trouble keeping up with Boston the past couple of years.

Last year Boston and Tampa Bay made the playoffs in the AL. The $200 million Yankees stayed home and collected their checks. Tampa Bay and Boston are still strong and will be looking to keep the Yankees home in the postseason. It's possible that the 3 strongest teams in the AL are all in the AL East, and it is certain that one of those teams will have to miss the playoffs.

ESPN The Magazine's 2009 Ultimate Standings: Ranking of How Pro Sports Teams Pay Back Their Fans

Angels Baseball No. 1 Franchise

According to ESPN The Magazine's seventh annual "Ultimate Standings" the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the best major league sports franchise when it comes to paying fans back for their investment of time, money and passion: and the Los Angeles Clippers are the worst.

Because you know who/ did you know what/ with you know who/ yeah but just keep that between me and you.

Jay Z "The Takeover"

Right now a lot of athletes' nervous right now. As soon as they saw the title they were like:

"Not this guy Rob he can't be manipulated he might say anything and you know my wife reads BlackSportsOnline."

You can say a lot of things about Ron Artest but boring is never one of them.

I was getting my twitter on (http://www.twitter.com/BlkSportsOnline) when this was brought to my attention.

The story is from Businesspundit.com and it spotlights the 25 Richest Athletes that went broke. Some of the list is predictable with the likes Mike Tyson, Travis Henry & Evander Holyfield on it. Then there are some surprises like Bjorn Borg and Sheryl Swoops.

People a lot of times are shocked when they hear an athlete has blown through 5, 10, 100 million dollars. I am never surprised and I am going to explain to you why.

What? Yeah yeah I know it isn't sports related, but it is my site and the joint is hot, so sue me.

*Just in case the Youtube goes down here is a back up*