The phrases being thrown around just two days before Game 1 of the NBA regular season are things like “long ways to go” and “work in progress.”

“To be honest, if I was outside this picture and a betting man, I would probably pick us to be outside of the playoffs considering all the changes and the new guys,” team leader Steve Nash said after Sunday’s team practice.

via: SB Nation

Can’t really blame the guy for his outlook on things down in Phoenix.  Clearly management doesn’t care about winning a championship since they didn’t want to overpay for Amare, Now I know he wanted too much but thats the type of hit you gotta take to buld a championshop team (See Brendan Haywood’s contract) If Nash is smart, he’ll either request a trade to an actual competitor or look to sign with on in free agency.

Allen Iverson has agreed in principal to sign a two-year, $4 million contract with Besiktas of the Turkish professional league, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports.

The deal is expected to be filled with incentives.

Iverson plans to sign the deal this week and will report to Besiktas by Oct. 31.

The contract will give him an opt-out clause after this season.

via: RealGM

Thank the Lord! I was wondering when this dude was gonna get a job. It’s a shame how ESPN totally ruined his name to the point where not a single NBA team is willing to dish out a contract to the fallen superstar. Don’t get me wrong, I still think AI did alot of damage to his perception around the league but you don’t need a company like ESPN blowing it up in his face every second.

Once denied a championship by Miami, Jerry Stackhouse is resuming his chase of a title with the Heat.

Stackhouse joined the Heat on Saturday, one day after the NBA championship hopefuls learned that they’ll be without injured swingman Mike Miller until possibly January. Stackhouse, who turns 36 next month, averaged 8.5 points in 42 games as a reserve with the Milwaukee Bucks last season.

via: ESPN

Not a bad move by Pat Riley since Mike Miller will be out till January with a broken thumb.  Stackhouse made a difference when he signed with the Bucks last year so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of contribution he’ll make to this Miami squad.

On Saturday in the main event of UFC 121 before a boisterous crowd at the Honda Center, a more mature and experienced Velasquez rewarded his coach’s faith in him by putting on one of the most impressive displays by an Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight in a long time.

He decimated Brock Lesnar, stopping the sport’s biggest star in four minutes, 12 seconds of one-sided action to claim the championship and stake his place among the game’s greats.

via: Yahoo

Tough break for Brock seeing that he was looking to rebound from a mediocre performance against Shane Carwin. Oh well, it looks like Junior Dos Santos will be next in line for a crack at the title.

The Bulls have agreed to terms on a contract extension with Joakim Noah, a team source confirmed. The deal is expected to be in the neighborhood of $60 million over five years.

Noah would have become a restricted free agent next summer had he been unable to agree to an extension by October 31st.

via: RealGM

Congrats to Jo Jo for the big extension! From what I’ve heard, there are performance based incentives which could bump it up to a $65 million extension. I still think the Bulls could of held firm on a $55 mil deal. Oh well, atleast Jo Jo has enough money to expand his bong collection.

Renato “Babalu” Sobral asked for it and he’s going to get it… a fight with UFC and Pride veteran Dan Henderson that is.

MMAWeekly.com confirmed with multiple sources that the bout will take place on Dec. 4 when the promotion returns to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. MMAJunkie.com first reported the bout.

via: Yahoo

Can’t wait to see Hendo back in action after his upset loss to Jake Shields. Hopefully he returns back to form and shows the Strikeforce brass exactly why they signed him.

via: Kotaku

If this makes no sense at all, click here!

Earlier in the week Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti suggested Mourinho decided with his head and not his heart when leaving.

Mourinho’s response, however, was an intricate one as he trundled backwards.

“Moratti’s words are like those of a friend who loves me, but knows what I want,” Mourinho told the Spanish press as reported by Sportsbook.net. “For me it was a life choice, Inter gave me everything.

“A return to Inter? I won’t exclude it. But I always want the best for all.”

via: Yahoo

I can imagine the Inter fans welcoming him back with open arms, but I’m pretty sure the Real Madrid fans would feel a bit sour if he doesn’t produce any championships for them.