Never too early to start talking Yankee trades. The Yanks were supposed to have great pitching depth this year, but Michael Pineda and Mariano Rivera are gone for the year, Phil Hughes is struggling and who knows what Andy Pettitte has left. Like every year the Yanks will be buyers at the deadline; who they can trade for will be based on who the sellers are and who’s out there.

The first guys they could look at are aging veterans whose contracts are up after the season like Tim Hudson, Gavin Floyd and Jake Peavy. All these guys would be very short term solutions who would really need to show something to be considered reliable again.

They could also look right in their own division at the man who’s pitching against them tonight, James Shields. There’s no way the Rays will be able to afford Shields after the season ends and he’s always pitched well against the Yankees. However, the Rays are tied for the best record in the AL right now so any big trade seems unlikely.

The best place to look would be the Brewers who may lose Shaun Marcum and/or Zack Greinke. It’s hard not to like Marcum more. The Yanks know him well from his time in Toronto and he’d be the cheaper option.

Against all odds Baron Davis left MSG to a standing ovation. It’s no coincidence that following the injury the Knicks won their first and probably only game of the series. Not only that, but Baron’s replacement Mike Bibby hit a clutch three with about a minute to go. Davis’s playing time was based more on desperation then ability. Mario Chalmers has destroyed Davis in the series averaging 12.3 points and 4.8 assists to Baron’s 7.8 points and 3.3 assists (and 3.3 turnovers). Every player on the Knicks roster not named Carmelo Anthony or Iman Shumpert (who’s lost for this series and probably part of next year) is a liability on either offense or defense. Baron found a way to be a liability on both.
Despite how much I despise Baron as a player it was hard not to feel bad watching his knee (or patella, whatever) dislocate. You know it’s bad when players on the court can’t even look at it. This will probably end the career of one of the most overrated players of the last decade (the guy made only two all star teams and advanced past the second round just twice). I guess that’s what happens when an old overweight man tries to play in the NBA. Now Baron can sit on his couch and gain weight this offseason. Only this time no one will care.

Coming off a TKO loss to former champ, Amir Khan, Judah looks to jump right back in to title contention with a win. The winner of the bout becomes the mandatory challenger for the IBF junior welterweight title, which is currently held by Lamont Peterson. Peterson will rematch Amir Kahn with the WBA and IBF titles on the line for the second time after their highly controversial split decision going to the way of Peterson.

I believe that Judah can win this fight if he uses his jab efficiently to set up his left. Also that lead hook of his is very dangerous and can cause problems if he can land it on Paris. My prediction for the fight is that Judah will win a rough and tough fight via Unanimous decision. If you cannot make it to the fight do not worry, you can catch the fight on NBC at 10 p.m. EST.

As great as it was to see the guys behind them on the depth chart step up and produce, one can’t expect this trend to continue year in and year out. So what are the Giants biggest draft needs? Let’s explore.

Jake Ballard, Bear Pascoe, and Travis Beckum got the job done when it mattered most, but are any of these guys the tight end of the future for the Giants? Probably not. Eli Manning already has a slew of young receivers to catch his passes, but if he had a big, athletic tight end taking the pressure off of these guys, the offense would be virtually unstoppable. The Giants could take a tight end with their first pick in the 2012 draft, and have been linked to Dwayne Allen, a tight end from Clemson who has been characterized as extremely athletic and fairly close to NFL ready.

The Giants have several other needs that they must address in the draft, most notably a linebacker and help for the offensive line. There is no doubt that they will miss out on Matt Kalil and Riley Reiff, the two best linemen in the draft, but GM Jerry Reese will almost certainly find hidden talent somewhere in the 2012 class, as he has become known to do.

Winning the Super Bowl automatically gives the Giants the 32nd overall pick, so they will miss out on some of the top talent this year, but at the same time, a few good draft choices will almost certainly bolster an already solid core. With regards to the linebacking situation, the Giants will look to bring back Chase Blackburn and Jonathan Goff, who was sidelined for all of 2011 after tearing his right ACL before the start of the regular season. Goff was projected to have a break out year at middle linebacker.

At the end of the day, winning the Super Bowl will cost the Giants an opportunity to draft some elite talent this year, but with an already championship caliber core, GM Jerry Reese will be able to analyze more carefully the lesser known players in this year’s draft class.

Is it a coincidence that Carmelo Anthony returned to the starting lineup just before the skid began? The answer is unclear. But there is an entire second half to play, and we will learn what this team is made of very soon after play resumes.

The Knicks defeated the Hawks in impressive fashion before heading down to Miami to face the Heat in the first half finale, but stumbled down the stretch and often looked significantly inferior to the current number 1 seed in the east. They just didn’t look quite ready to take their play to the next level, but there is still a lot of time for them to do so, and they will have stiff competition to test them before the playoffs.

The Knicks open the second half of the season on Wednesday at home against the Cavaliers before going on the road to face the Celtics, the Mavericks, the Spurs, and the Bucks, a five game stretch that could really tell the world what this team brings to the table. They then return home for one game against the division leading 76ers before heading to Chicago to face the current number 2 seeded Bulls.

This 7 game stretch is important both for the Knicks’ record as well as the team’s confidence. If the Knicks can manage to win 4 out of these 7 games, they will have survived their toughest test so far this season and could gain a lot of confidence heading into the season’s final months.

The schedule does not get a whole lot easier after these 7 games, as the Knicks will have to face the Pacers twice, the Bulls two more times, the 76ers, Heat, Hawks, Clippers, Magic, and Celtics one more time each before the regular season ends.

The Knicks will have to win the games in between against inferior teams in order to have a chance at being considered a legitimate contender this season, and will also have to win several of these key match ups in order to feel confident at a chance to do some damage in the post season.

Overall, the Knicks are in a position to make a run. The All-Star break provided a much needed break for some of the Knicks’ key players, like Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert, who have looked out of sorts at times due to the condensed schedule and increased frequency of big games. That being said, we will finally be able to see what this team can do with a fresh slate, a healthy team, and a formidable schedule the rest of the way.

He told the newspaper that there is a 75% chance that he will leave. He has been linked to the Buccaneers, who are desperate for a talented receiver to complement their talented but still young quarterback, Josh Freeman. Former Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan recently signed a deal to become the Bucs’ offensive coordinator, so the move would make sense.

GM Jerry Reese has said over and over again that he wants to keep Manningham, but has said so in a way that seems like he is expendable when it is all said and done. And with the amount of other moves that the Giants need to make before the start of the 2012-2013 season, a new contract for a third receiver doesn’t seem to be a top priority.

Osi Umenyiora and Brandon Jacobs both need extensions on their contracts, as Umenyiora’s presence on the defensive line clearly takes the Giants’ pass rush to an elite level, and Jacobs’ presence in the backfield is an essential complement to Ahmad Bradshaw’s speed. These new deals are unquestionably the ones most important to the Giants.

On top of that, the Giants will also need to find a way to re sign injured CB Terrell Thomas, who was poised for another pro-bowl year before tearing his ACL in the pre-season. Other notable free agents include Aaron Ross, who ended up doing a good job filling in for the injured Thomas down the stretch.

On top of wanting a larger paycheck, Manningham has also said that he would like a bigger role in an offense, and proved he deserves one after his memorable fourth quarter performance in the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay is a perfect fit in this case, as the Bucs’ passing game was one of the worst in the league this past season. His acquisition would certainly help Josh Freeman develop his game and make the Bucs’ offense somewhat more formidable.

In addition, on the Giants’ end, they will need to pay receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz big salaries in the coming years, and will most likely want to save the money for the two explosive young wideouts who proved their worth in this past season. Although Manningham did as well, he was unquestionably the clear cut third option for Eli Manning, and it is because of this that the Giants will most likely let him go. It has been rumored that either Jerrel Jernigan or Ramses Barden would take the place of Manningham as the Giants’ third receiver.

Nothing is set in stone though, as there is still time for negotiation. But all signs seem to say that Super Mario has collected his last coin in New York.

The Hawks will be without star shooting guard Joe Johnson, so the Knicks will look to capitalize on his absence. Johnson’s injury is even more important because the Knicks will again be without rookie Iman Shumpert, who has established himself as the team’s best perimeter defender. The Knicks will be looking to avenge the bad loss to the Nets and get back to .500 before heading down to Miami on Thursday for a huge match up with the conference leading Heat to close out the first half of the season.

After the All Star break, the light at the end of the tunnel for the Knicks will still be nowhere in sight. After a home game against Cleveland on February 29, the Knicks will hit the road for a 4 game road trip against very stiff competition, and have 6 straight tough games overall.

They will begin the road trip in Boston, and then travel to Dallas where the Mavericks will certainly be looking to avenge their recent loss at Madison Square Garden. It doesn’t get any easier, as they will leave Dallas just to head to San Antonio, where the Spurs will surely be licking their chops before facing a Knick team that will surely be fatigued after facing the Celtics and Mavs consecutively, and all the travel time in between. After the Texas tour concludes, the Knicks will head to Milwaukee, where they always seem to have a tough time, even though the Bucks are currently 6 games under .500.

After the tough road trip, the Knicks will return home to face the division leading 76ers, who they did defeat earlier in the season, but this Sixer team looks like a force to be reckoned with coming down the stretch.

The tough 6 game stretch concludes with a road game in Chicago where the Bulls will most likely have Derrick Rose back from his injury.

This is certainly do or die time for the Knicks, and it is coming upon them very quickly. They will need to get the chemistry between Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and recent stud Jeremy Lin working immediately, and there is no time for excuses if mistakes occur.

The Knicks need to rack up as many W’s as possible in order to get a decent seed in the playoffs, and it all starts tonight against the Hawks.