Philadelphia Phillies’ slugger Ryan Howard has two years remaining on his current contract with the club, but the team had no interest in potentially losing him as a free agent. For that reason, the Phillies have worked out a hefty contract extension with Howard that will pay him an average $25 million a year for the next five years. The 30 year old Howard has played his entire career with the Phillies, leading the team to two consecutive World Series including a victory in 2008.

Allen Iverson is one of the most high profile NBA free agents left on the market, and several teams have expressed interest in the dynamic guard. On Wednesday, Iverson sent a Twitter update indicating that the Memphis Grizzlies had made him an offer. Later that night, that information was confirmed by Memphis GM Chris Wallace.

Most NFL head coaches place a priority on naming a starting QB before the regular season begins. The idea is that it helps the chemistry on the team, as well as helping the quarterback define himself as a team leader. Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini hasn’t named his starting QB yet. Nor will he, at least not publicly. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will find out if they’re the starting QB in the next couple of days, but the first public confirmation their coach will give is when they trot out on the field after the NFL regular season begins.

While NFL players may not always be happy with a trade to a new team, more often than not they willingly accept their new assignment and try to make the best of it. That’s apparently not the case with the Oakland Raiders newly acquired defensive end Richard Seymour. Seymour was acquired by the Raiders on Sunday and as of yet has not reported to his new team.

Matthew Stafford has yet to play a regular season NFL game and hes already the Detroit Lions starting quarterback. First year coach Jim Schwartz named Stafford as his starter for as the NFL regular season gets underway. Stafford beat out veteran Daunte Culpepper for the spot, though Schwartz went out of his way to stress that the rookie won the job as opposed to Culpepper losing it.

The worlds best heavyweight mixed martial artist has a new American promotional home. Following Afflictions announcement that they were ending MMA promotional activities, Fedor Emelianenko quickly became the fight world’s most sought after free agent. After rebuffing the UFC’s offer–citing restrictive contractual arrangements–’The Last Emperor’ has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. Terms of the arrangement were not made public, but Fedor will make his debut for Strikeforce this October.

Portland, Oregon has long been considered a hotbed of mixed martial arts. The area is home to numerous MMA gyms, the most famous being Gresham’s Team Quest. Regional MMA promotions like Matt Lindland’s SportFight and amateur MMA draws good crowds, and there’s few markets in the country that have such a strong mainstream acceptance and understanding of mixed martial arts.