The NBA free agency scene is a puzzle that's extremely difficult to figure out.  We get clues about where someone is going one day and another clue about how he is staying put the next day.  Basically free agency is one big crossword puzzle.

If you're a fan of crosswords then you understand the basic concepts to try and complete.  You go through each puzzle and look at the clues and answer the ones that you are positive are correct.  The same type basic concepts apply to free agency.

Once we get the correct answer on where someone is going then we can fill in that answer with pen.  Now that we have one answer we can start using part of it to try and solve the other clues.  Bosh is definitely going to opt-out is an answer we're certain of, so we take that info and try then use it to try and determine the places he would go.  We look at the rosters, the coaches, the cap room; basically anything that can give us more information to try and solve the free agency puzzle.

In most crossword puzzles you usually have one or two big answers that can really crack open the entire puzzle for you and in the NBA's case that is LeBron James and Chris Bosh.  Once we can finally fill in their team's name in pen then we'll be ready to figure out the rest of it.

I think at the end of this free agency we will all look back and realize that we shouldn't have been surprised by much of it.  Most of the time the answers that seemed so difficult to fill in at the time are usually the ones where once you see the results you realize you should have known it.

Since the NBA free agency is one big crossword puzzle, I thought what better way to showcase the parallel then by making an interactive one that you can try for yourself.  Remember that once you get some of the big answers out of the way, the other ones should come easy.

We've all heard all the rumors, the hype, who's going here and who's going there.  It's time to stop getting upset over all the free agency talk and instead start making it fun.  That's why I bring to you the Favre Dollar Footlongs NBA Free Agency Challenge.

The Rules:

It's pretty simple.  I will list ten players and you have to decide if they will opt-out or not.  That's the simple part.  Then you will have to decide if they will stay with their current team or not.  Also fairly simple.  At the end will be a column to fill in where you think they will end up if they don't stay with their current team.

Because I am starting this late, it is an earlier you get it in the better maximum points you will have.  I will be allowing entries be emailed me until 8:00pm on July 6th. (If a player already opted out or signed with a team, then you can not gain any points from that).

The scoring:

1pt - Successfully guess if the player will opt-out or not.

2pt - Successfully decide if the player will stay with their current team or not.

3pt - Correctly guess the new team the player will go to.  (You must select that the player will go to a different team for this bonus to incur).

The prizes:

1st Place - $10 Best Buy Gift Card and a Favre Dollar Footlongs Shirt

2nd Place - Favre Dollar Footlongs Shirt

3rd Place - Your name on the web site as Third Place Winner - .....................

Click Here to Enter the NBA Free Agency Challenge!

If you've ever participated in a little league game, coached a little league game, or even watched a little league game then I'm sure you've seen the over exuberant parents that take the game a little too seriously.  Every team has them and no matter the rules or regulations that are set in place to try and deter the constant pressure these parents put on their kids, the fact of the matter is that it's part of the little league game and it isn't going to change anytime soon.

Most of the parents that act in this immature manner are viewed as living vicariously through their kids.  Each swing of the bat, each throw of the football, or each soccer kick that comes off of their child's foot is in essence actually coming off the parent's foot in their own mind.  If the kid fails, then the parents fail, and usually that's a recipe for emotional distress amongst both parties.

There are a whole lot of other parents that have the same emotion and the same desire for their kids to excel except these adults actually act like adults.  They may also feel like every single play that their child is a part of that they are also there, but they respect the game and don't let their emotions go awry.  These are the types of parents that go to every game and enjoy every single moment, while still feeling disappointed when things don't go as they wished.  They just understand it's part of the game and they know how to handle it.

Cleveland Cavalier fans are these type of parents and LeBron James is their child they are vicariously living through.

Cav fans wear their emotions on their sleeve when it comes to LeBron James.  When he has a great game their spirits are up and they feel the same invigorated feeling that LeBron does during these times.  When he plays poorly and the team falters like they did in this year’s playoffs then the spirit of Cleveland is gone in an instant.

Many fans feel the same way about their city, but not too many cities feel this way about a single player.  It's really a special situation that could change if LeBron decides to leave.

We've seen the "Please Stay LeBron" video, the automobiles with The Witness poster plastered across the body, the LeBron James day in Akron, the baseball team willing to rename the stadium to LeBron James field, and many other spectacles to try and convince Ohio's homegrown child to stay in the state he was born.  While others city neglect to provide their star players the same star treatment, Cleveland continues to keep trying as hard as they can in hopes that they can continue to live their lives through LeBron James.

You don't see people in Toronto going crazy trying to keep Chris Bosh above the border or Miami Heat fans doing much to try and convince Dwyane Wade to stay other then wearing t-shirts with his name on them.  Instead you see fans in every single city that has a viable chance to get LeBron James' services make pushes to capture LeBron.

I want to see Mavs fans have a Dallas Dirk Day or Suns fan make an accelerated effort to try and keep Amare around.  Unfortunately, we just don't see.  

Maybe it's because LeBron James is the king of the class of free agents, that he grew up in nearby Akron, or the fact that Cleveland has been without a championship in nearly half a decade, but these fans absolutely adore LeBron and not only want him to stay, but need him to stay.

The best part about Cavalier fans living vicariously through LeBron is that they understand the situation.  They know they aren't the big market that could attract hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing money or their not a team that has that second supporting perennial all star that may guarantee LeBron a trip to the finals year in and year out.  This understanding by the fans is what makes this off season such a difficult situation to deal with.

Should LeBron stay?  I don't know.  Will LeBron stay?  I don't know that either.  

All I know is that these fans look at LeBron James as the son they always wanted and the player they always dreamed to be.  These are fans that are the parents who show up to every game and yearn for greatness from their child, but don't go crazy and lash out at him or the refs when it doesn't.

If LeBron leaves it’s going to be a tough time for all, but just like understanding parents, the fans won't be mad, they're just going to be very disappointed.

While many of you were getting ready to watch the USA vs. Algeria soccer game, I was standing in the heat, waiting for a cab to pick me up from a local auto shop.  I didn't plan on being there; I actually didn't think there was any chance I'd get to watch the group deciding game, but somehow, four hundred bucks later, I was able to.

My fortunate misfortune actually started on Tuesday night.  I drove home from work, parked, and ran inside to grab my checkbook as I was going to go open a checking account nearby.

I just moved to Hartford, Connecticut three weeks ago and started my new job less than two weeks ago so requesting off a day so I could watch the soccer game was never a thought in my mind.

Running back outside, I went to start my car and it wouldn't turn over.  I checked the battery and it seemed alright, but the engine just didn't want to start up.  Immediately all I could think about was how I was going to get to work in the morning.  I had a couple meetings today, including one at 8:00am and I didn't think it would create a good precedent to skip out on them already.

I called AAA and they came out about an hour and a half later to check the battery.  The guy that came was pretty nice and after running a couple of tests he determined that it was the starter that went bad.  Since he only did the tests he told me he wasn't going to file it or charge me.  I don't know if he realized that I called AAA so the service was free for me anyway or he was just stating the gesture because he was nearly an hour late, but there I was with a car stuck in the parking lot and me worrying about trying to find the bus schedule so I could get to work in the morning.

After returning to my apartment I opened up my laptop to email my manager to let him know what was going on.  He was actually online at the time and I told him the story and he said not to worry about it and that to just deal with the car and that I could work from home.  At the time it didn't even cross my mind, but later on in the night I finally realized that this meant that I would be able to watch this important soccer game.

The auto shop opened at 7am so I called them early in hopes that I could get my car fixed during the day.  They said if it was just the starter then it would be done today so I proceeded to call AAA again so I could get it towed to the garage.  The tow truck driver came and hooked up the car, I hopped in the passenger seat, and we were on our 4.5 mile journey to the mechanic.

I dropped the car off and called the cab driver.  About 20 minutes later I got picked up and got dropped back off at my place.  Maybe I just don't take cabs too often, but it cost me $18 to take a cab on that short route.  The round trip cost me $36; I could've rented a car for the day for less than that.

When I got back inside ten minutes were already off the clock.  I sat down on my coach, with my work laptop in hand so I could check my emails and be available for anyone to contact me, and intently watched the game.

This was definitely one of the most intense soccer games I have ever viewed.  There were just so many chances for the US to grab the lead early on and each one failed again and again.  It really didn't feel like we were going to win the game at the end and I had hope the entire match, but it was vanquishing very quickly as the clock ticked down.

The stoppage time clock went up and I saw that there was 4' to play.  I knew we had enough time to make another run or two, but at this point I thought it was over.  I'm sure we all saw the Landon Donovan play by now.  I went ecstatic, you went ecstatic, Twitter shutdown; all in all it was a moment that was so amazing that I was literally flailing my arms in the air and yelling all by myself in my apartment.

I didn't know what to do at that point. I am just astonished at this point that such an amazing event happened in front of my eyes and I couldn't believe the miracle goal that just incurred and will live on forever in the history of US soccer.

Once the game ended I started listening to the commentary and reading what people were saying online and the consensus was that the Donovan play, combined with the advancement and winning of the group will lead to a greater soccer audience in the United States.  This single game and single play could single handedly change the fate of an entire sport in the eyes of our nation.

I don't think so.

Soccer is not going to become a powerhouse in the United States anytime soon.  Maybe if we win a World Cup, but without that I just don't see it happening.

Lets travel back four months ago when we had a similar situation occur that was supposed to change the outlook of another sport.  The US hockey team just beat the too big, too fast, and too strong Canadian team in their home country and the US of A created a new found love of hockey that was supposed to transform the sport back to its glory days.  The hype lived on and we made it all the way into the gold cup game and scored with less than a minute left to go to overtime where we eventually would lose, but an effort that was unforeseen by most anyone in the United States, including die hard hockey fans.

We're less than a month removed from the Stanley Cup Finals and I can definitively say that hockey didn't change one bit.  The fans who were there before are still there now and the fans that weren't there before left quickly after the Olympics.

This will be the same case for US soccer.

One of the biggest problems our country has is that we are overwhelmed by so many successful sports leagues.  Not too many countries have four successful sporting organizations like the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.  Add to that we have NASCAR, the PGA, and UFC and we are pretty heavily saturated with a great amount of sporting events.  Trying to force the MLS or the game of soccer into that tight knit top four or even the other three sporting organizations is an extremely tough task.  Probably a task that is almost impossible to happen.

I got the call from the shop that my car was ready and good to go again.  The cab arrived again, dropped me off and paid $18 and I handed the shop my credit card and $375 later I was back on the road, in my car, and headed back to my place.

At the end of the day I basically paid $400 to be able to watch the amazing soccer match between the United States and Algeria.  When the goal went it I thought that it was well worth the price of admission.

Now that I sit here writing this and re-watching the same game on ESPN2 my thoughts have changed quite a bit.  I would've much rather been at work watching the game on ESPN GameCast and have $400 in my bank account then be sitting at home on my couch, teleworking, and waiting for my car to get repaired.

I guess I just realized that just like the hockey game, four months from now, the game will be meaningless and the sport won't change one bit.

Pay-per-view used to be a special thing.

I remember back in the early 90's when I was seven or eight years old and all I wanted to see was a WWF pay-per-view.  Back then it was a privilege if you got a chance to witness one.

Those were the days when the biggest televisions most families had were 27" and if you knew someone with a big screen that was over 40" then you were in heaven.  The big screens weighed about 150 lbs. and consisted of huge wooden base about the size of a large credenza.

Fortunately for me I not only had a friend whose grandparents had a big screen TV, but they also had the next best thing to go with it: The Black Box.

Other than a dog, the black box was a man's best friend.  You could get all the premium channels for free, unscrambled porn, and any pay-per-view event you wanted just by running your cable through this genius piece of equipment.

My first pay-per-view I ever saw was WrestleMania IX from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV.  I can vividly still picture the main event where Bret "The Hitman" Hart faced defended the WWF title against Yokozuna.  Bret had Yokozuna in the middle of the ring and got him in the sharpshooter and Yokozuna was about to tap.  Yokozuna's manager, Mr. Fuji, threw salt into Bret Hart's eyes and Yokozuna won the title under the bright sun of the outdoor arena.

Immediately following the victory, Hulk Hogan came out, challenged Yokozuna to a title fight and the match began.  Mr. Fuji tried to attempt the same salt throwing tactic, but messed up this time around and accidently hit Yokozuna and gave Hulk Hogan the title in a match that lasted less than 30 seconds.

From that moment since, I have always been in love with pay-per-view events.

Maybe it was just the era that we lived in and we didn't have the access like we had today to watch these events or see the results, but everyone was special.  Maybe it was just my young age loving the WWF, Bret Hart, and Hulk Hogan like so many other kids my age.  It doesn't really matter the reason, it just matters that back then pay-per-view was viewed as a special event.

Pay-per-view continued to be special throughout the 90's decade.  It was still a rare thing to be able to watch these events.  We didn't have the opportunities to watch them on the computer or visit a bar and see any pay-per-view we wanted, we had to find someone who was willing to drop $50 or get a group together and split the cost to be able to view these spectacles.

I guess back than it just felt worth it.

Things have changed so much since then that pay-per-view is dying in my mind.  Changes in sports, in television, and in the Internet; all these things are major factors to why pay-per-view will end within the next ten years.

The most notable changes in sports are the lack of competitive boxing matches and the influx of the UFC.  We all know the success of the UFC and we all know the lack of solid fights from boxing, but neither are the sole reason for the upcoming death of pay-per-view.  The actual problem with pay-per-view is the television itself.

We became a society that wanted television to change from what we get is what we see to a country that wanted 700 channels so we would be able to have a television program for every single person out there.  Not only that, but we also wanted the ability to watch whatever we wanted when we wanted.  Nothing is special to all of us anymore, it's just personalized programs that each individual can decide to enjoy.

Increases in television programs also created an increase in pay-per-view events.  The WWE no longer just focuses on WrestleMania, Summer Slam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble.  Now they have 14 pay-per-views that creates an event, but not a special event.  The same is the case for the UFC and boxing is just in disarray.

I actually looked at my cable box today and Comcast is offering the boxing pay-per-view this Saturday of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. versus John Duddy in a middleweight bout in San Antonio. If a boxing pay-per-view is happening in San Antonio then it isn't going to be that great.

Who's buying this fight?  Julio Cesar Chavez I and Julio Cesar Chavez III?  That's about all I can think of who'd want to watch it.  

The last and most important factor to the destruction of pay-per-view is the Internet.  We now finally have the black box of the new century.  Now with a couple clicks we are able to watch any pay-per-view event we want from numerous available web streams and it's all for free.  I'm not sure if anybody will even be streaming the Chavez/Duddy fight though so you may have to drop the $44.99 if you really want to watch that battle.

Streams already give us decent picture quality and solid sound, but the increase in speeds and advances in technology will allow us to watch any event we want in hi-definition quality in the near future.  Soon we will be able to all watch UFC 148.5 from our smart phones and be twittering about it at the same time.  Our televisions will connect to these streaming services and we can instantly partake in any pay-per-view event we want from our 100" televisions that is just a wall that transforms to a TV screen.

Some people may think this is a bad thing for sports, just like downloading MP3's is a best thing for the music industry.  I think the other way.

Maybe this decades black box technology will help these sports improve their products and go back to the time when the events were actually special.  Maybe we will once again want to gather a crowd of people together and experience the spectacle with friends and be willing to drop the cash on the showcase.

I don't know where it will lead us, but I do know that pay-per-view is not here to stay.