The big news in sports this week was not LeBron James winning the MVP, nor was it the Kentucky Derby, Manny Ramirez and his drug test have made a late run at story of the week, but I am giving the sports story of the week to the Phoenix Coyotes and the NHL.

Let's start with the Coyotes. The team has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and it seems that the team is destined to move, although Commissioner Bettman (some who call him Fraudmissioner or Failmissioner) contends that won't happen. Rumors have the team pulling up roots and heading to Hamilton, Ontario - making the Coyotes round trip come back home (for those unfamiliar, the Coyotes started in Canada and were moved). I have long touted the Coyotes as one of the problems of the modern NHL. This is a team that is truly a fish out of water. Even with history stretching back to the halcyon days of the Winnipeg Jets, the team could not (or would not) be embraced by fans whose only exposure to ice was to watch it melt in their iced tea. The ownership was attracted to Phoenix because of the promise of big money, and boy did it backfire.

Something interesting is happening in the world of the NFL as this weekend's draft approaches. With so much talent in the pool, it appears that every team with one of the top 10 picks is trying to trade out of their current draft position.

In the past, teams used this chart to determine the value of draft picks when trying to trade up or down in the draft. Basically, if you wanted to trade into the top spot from the 16th spot with just draft picks, you would have to find a way to get the team in the top spot as much value as possible. The difference between the 16th and the top pick is 2,000 points, so equaling this value could be rather difficult (just ask the New Orleans Saints who traded an entire draft to pick Ricky Williams).

It has become customary to receive "swag" when there is a big event. The Emmys, the Oscars, the MTV Awards, they all give away what is called a "swag bag" -- now Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is getting in on the action.

First off, swag is defined as promotional merchandise that is given away to garner a following for a product. I'm not quite sure when this practice came to pass, but it is now an accepted practice to give away your stuff to celebs. I'm not going to get into how wrong it is for Brad and Angelina to get free stuff just for showing up on a red carpet, but this practice has infiltrated the sports world, too.

Let's take a trip to the "yeah right" files with this entry. Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has again picked up the torch crying for a salary cap yet again. Pot, this is the kettle. The Red Sox payroll is the fourth-highest in Major League Baseball at $133,390,035. Henry's problem is that he was outspent by his arch rival: the New York Yankees. In fact, Henry said that the Yankees spent like Congress.

For history's sake, Henry presented a salary cap five years ago (which was sour grapes in the wake of losing A-Roid to the Yankees) -- obviously this proposal never took hold. I just find it humorous that the owner of the Red Sox is calling for a salary cap. This is a team that is spending a veritable ton of money, and is succeeding. Let's take a look at the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds, the Oakland A's. All of these teams are considered "small market" teams. One would think that one of their owners would be yelling for a cap -- and that isn't the case.

Turns out no one is safe from the economic downturn, not even an NBA franchise. The New Orleans Hornets dumped Tyson Chandler (and his paycheck of $12.3 million next year) on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Hornets received Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox in return, along with the draft rights to DeVon Hardin.

According to various outlets (including ESPN.com), the Hornets have long been shopping Chandler for "financial reasons." The two players received in return have contracts that expire at the end of the season, so this is the classic rent-a-player scenario for the Hornets. New Orleans' payroll was set to hit $77 million next season, and they felt strongly enough about keeping that number in check to deal Chandler.

Perhaps this is a post-season tilt that the Cubbies may actually be able to win. Sorry Chicago, but this blogger is a dyed-in-the-wool Cincinnati Reds fan ... and I love to take cheap shots at the competition whenever I can.

You see, the Cubs are suing Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) for breach of contract (check out SportsOneSource Media for the heads up). The UA logo is emblazoned on the left-center and right-center field doors embedded in the iconic ivy walls of Wrigley Field.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss told reporters Thursday that he would consider trading Kobe Bryant and said he must behave in a business-like manner. To Buss, this means being open to all offers and considering anything where he thought he could get equal value - Yeah right!

I'm sure previous owner Jack Kent Cooke was all ears when Hall of Famers Jerry West and Elgin Baylor played out their careers on the Lakers. After Kent Cooke (also an astute business man) did his listening, he also probably laughed so uncontrollably he was not in a condition to answer the owner or general manager that was speaking to him.

Dr. Buss must be consulting with the very young ladies he has been dating, because it is beyond my imagination that trading Kobe is still being discussed. Besides, what equal value (LeBron? Duncan?) could he be talking about?

Players would think twice about joining a mediocre team with a disintegrating management team that let go of Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal, Derrick Fisher (now back), and traded Caron Butler for disappointing, disappearing center Kwame Brown.

When Jerry West was our GM, you had players that took less pay to come to the southland. Shaquille was right, this owner has lost his touch. Not only would it be silly to trade Kobe for three other players, but I would do the reverse. I actually would trade four for one: our front office, Mr. Buss and kids, plus Mitch Kupchak, to get Jerry West back.

I was arguing about sports with my BloggingStocks colleague Barry Summerlin today. He was shook up by the Mets' melt-down over the weekend, and I guess I wasn't taking it seriously enough.

I know many women who follow sports, almost as fanatically as their menfolk. But I am not one of them.

So I say this out of complete disinterest in the sport and utter ignorance of the mechanism that causes player salaries to hurdle into the stratosphere: Tell the team members who threw the game (Tom Glavine?) that next season they get to live on $50K a year LIKE THE FANS DO until they get it together and improve their performance. Hit 'em in the wallet, where it hurts!

I mean, these guys are getting the really big bucks because they're so talented the franchise is guaranteed the big wins? Apparently that thinking didn't work with the Mets.

They say baseball is designed to break the hearts of fans: just when you think all is well, everything collapses around you. For a perfect example of this dictum, look no further than the New York Mets. With 17 games left to play, the Mets had a seven-game lead over the inconsistent Philadelphia Phillies. All in all, a pretty safe lead, right? Wrong!

The Mets lost nine of their last 10 home games -- no one loses nine of 10 at home! Yesterday, the Mets had only to win the final regular season game to win its division, or at least force a one-game playoff with the Phillies. Twenty-year veteran Tom Glavine was given the ball to start against the Florida Marlins. Yeah, that Tom Glavine, who pitched the deciding Game 6 of the 1995 World Series vs. the Cleveland Indians and won 1-0 for the Atlanta Braves!!

But before the second out was recorded in the top half of the first inning, Glavine was gone and the Mets trailed 7-0. It was over and the tears in the stands began to flow. ESPN showed several fans tearing up and watching what should have been a glorious season go the way of the fish -- like in Marlins.