| Don Banks: With four weeks left, expect what we know of playoff race to change and NBA owners, players approve 10-year labor deal |
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Four weeks remain in the regular season, and this is the time of year when we begin to convince ourselves that we see the 12-team playoff field taking shape in great clarity. But there are almost always developments and postseason drives that we didn't anticipate, and assumptions that get proven false as the final weeks of results roll in and upsets play havoc with our preconceived notions.• In 2005, the Redskins were 5-6 and barely on the radar screen in late November, but then Joe Gibbs rekindled a little late-season magic and Washington won its last five games to finish 10-6 and beat out Dallas and Minneosta (both 9-7) for the NFC's final wild-card berth. The Redskins even won a first-round playoff game.• In 2006, it was the Eagles' turn. They were 5-6 and playing without quarterback Donovan McNabb, who had suffered a season-ending knee injury in November. [Read the full article] DALLAS (AP) -- Albert Pujols could have been a wealthy Cardinal for life, planning for the day his statue would be erected outside Busch Stadium next to those of Stan Musial, Bob Gibson and the other St. Louis greats.Instead, exactly six weeks after leading the Cardinals to a second title in one of the most thrilling World Series ever, he decided to accept the second-highest contract in baseball history for a new future in southern California with the Los Angeles Angels.The three-time NL MVP agreed Thursday to a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Angels, leaving behind a heartbroken fan base by jilting one of the sport's traditional teams for an expansion club with only one championship in its half-century.Many top stars have changed teams in their careers, from Babe Ruth to Willie Mays to Barry Bonds. But this is perhaps the best player in the game over the past decade, exiting shortly after one of the great postseason power shows. [Read the full article] The Hornets are owned by the NBA, which took the team off the hands of previous owner George Shinn one year ago when he couldn't find a buyer. That means the Hornets are the shared property of 29 rival NBA owners, who, in conversations that have nothing to do with New Orleans, have been unable to find agreement among themselves on all kinds of issues involving each other's money.The 29 owners of the Hornets spent the last two years arguing over whether the NBA should be ruled by a hard salary cap or a soft cap, and whether the Lakers, Knicks and other rich franchises should be sharing a larger portion of their locally-generated revenue with teams that earn far less money.On Thursday, the Lakers struck a complicated deal to acquire Paul from New Orleans. That deal was a well-conceived attempt by the Hornets to make the best of Paul's imminent departure, but it was quashed by the Hornets' ownership and commissioner David Stern. [Read the full article] 
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