The amount of All-Pro and Pro Bowl talent still available this offseason is pretty unbelievable. Guys like John Abraham, Dwight Freeney and Charles Woodson, who have 19 Pro Bowls and 13 All-Pro selections between them, are still out of work, and there are plenty more where they came from.

The offseason work will really start to heat up over the next few weeks, and while some teams are satisfied with their rosters others will need to add depth at certain positions. So, those older but still highly effective free agents may start generating more interest soon enough.

With all that in mind, we took a stab at the 10 best free agents still hanging around on the market. There were some tough cuts like linebacker Brian Urlacher, safety Quintin Mikell and tight end Dallas Clark, but that’s only a testament to the depth still out there in free agency.

So, let’s take a swing and see what we come up with.

Check out the top-10 NFL free agents still unsigned >>

Have a question for Luke Hughes? Send it to him via Twitter at @LukeFHughes or send it here.

It’s hard to fathom that just three months ago the Bruins and Rangers were dropping the puck to start the season on the very same sheet of ice. The B’s, like every other team in the truncated schedule, went through their ups and downs. Like every other team, the Bruins felt the impact of playing just about every other night in a furious dash to the end of the regular season.

The shortened season left no shortage of memorable moments and exciting games, though. The B’s ripped through the season with plenty of gripping storylines all the way up until the final day of the season, where they battled (and ultimately fell short) for the Northeast Division title.

As the Bruins (and their fans) catch their collective breath before the playoffs begin, let’s take a look back at the top 10 B’s games from this past season.

Click here for the Bruins’ top 10 regular-season games >>

Photo via Instagram/@NHLBruins

After more than three hours of waiting to get on the clock, the Patriots quickly took themselves off it by dealing away the 29th pick. In return, they pulled off a heist in getting four draft picks from the Minnesota Vikings.

So, entering Friday’s festivities, the Patriots will sit down in the war room with double the load they anticipated. That doesn’t necessarily mean their four picks will turn into four players, but there is a good chance they’ll at least snag three.

Here is a list of the Patriots’ four picks entering Day 2 of the draft.

Second round (52 overall)
Second round (59)
Third round (83)
Third round (91)

The Patriots still have glaring needs at wide receiver and defensive back, and the defensive line always seems to be a priority, too. With a few surprises filling out the first round, there is plenty of talent left over at each of those positions, including guys like Tennessee’s Justin Hunter and Mississippi State’s Johnthan Banks.

So, with four picks to work with on Day 2, here are some players likely to be discussed inside the confines of the Patriots’ war room.

Click here to see the best options for the Patriots on Day 2 >>

From a logical standpoint, it seems that New England’s two biggest first-round needs on Thursday are at wide receiver and cornerback. With Brandon Spikes‘ and Rob Ninkovich‘s contracts coming up at the end of the season, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to see a linebacker or pass rusher taken in the first round either.

The Patriots also have needs at defensive tackle and guard, but the right players would have to be there for the team to pull the trigger. If the intention is to make the New England fan base as mad as possible — as it usually seems — Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio could also go with a tight end or running back, though lets not mention that anymore, we don’t want to give them any ideas.

Fortunately for New England, wide receiver and cornerback are very deep in this class, and there’s so many first-round defensive ends in this draft, one may slip to them all the way at No. 29. One player that seemed to be destined for a Top 10 selection just months ago, but now appears to be dropping, is former Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner. Werner is the prototypical size for a New England defensive end, and could be dangerous across from Chandler Jones in the Patriots’ 4-3 alignment.

Teams also like the proposition of Werner standing up and playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment, and the Patriots have been known to show their fair share of that look with either Jones or Ninkovich standing up on the edge. Werner was highly productive with the Seminoles, totaling 23 1/2 sacks in three years.

Of course, the Patriots could also trade out of the first round entirely, as they’ve done in the past.

Click here to see the Top 10 possible Patriots first-round picks>>

Photo via Facebook/Florida State Football from B/R

The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry is not only one of the most famous, it is also one of the fiercest. From Jimmy Piersall fighting in the tunnel before the first pitch was even thrown with Yankees second baseman Billy Martin in 1952 to Pedro Martinez taking down Don Zimmer in the 2003 ALCS, the matchups are never short on passion or intensity.

The heated exchanges weren’t just limited to New York, however. In 2008, Boston center fielder Coco Crisp was hit by a pitch by Tampa Bay right-hander James Shields. Crisp took offense to the pitch and charged the mound, prompting both benches to clear. But perhaps the greatest example of protecting your pitcher came courtesy of Mo Vaughn, when all 230 pounds of the first baseman tackled George Bell after Bell went after Red Sox pitcher Aaron Sele.

Click here for the top 10 Red Sox brawls>>

But when that many players are being praised, there will be some overvaluing going on. Players are being overrated for their athleticism, statistics and skill sets. Quarterbacks are being especially overrated because of the lack of top options at the position. Tyler Bray has an impressive arm, but there’s no telling whether his head will ever match his arm’s potential. EJ Manuel has the best mobility in this class, but just because Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson had success in 2012 doesn’t mean the Florida State product will in his rookie season.

There are also positions being overvalued. Guards don’t typically go in the top half of the first round, but Chance Warmack has been mocked there all season. Nose tackles who will likely only play one or two downs per drive haven’t historically been drafted in the first or second round, but John Jenkins and Johnathan Hankins are widely considered first- or second-rounders.

There are overrated prospects all over this class, but we’ll touch on the Top 10.

Click here for the Top 10 most overrated prospects in the draft>>

Photo via Facebook/Florida State Seminoles

Boston added plenty of new faces in the offseason, both to the roster and on the coaching staff, so it’s hard to figure out what to expect in 2013. The Sox should be very much improved, but will their overhaul be enough to vault them into contention in the American League East?

We’ll find that out before long, but in the meantime, there were some interesting developments throughout spring training. The emergence of Jackie Bradley Jr. probably stands out to most, but it’s hardly the only takeaway. The pitching staff performed admirably, a few other young faces turned heads, and some veterans look poised to bounce back from last season’s struggles in a big way.

Spring training hardly dictates how a team will perform when the regular season kicks off, but some of what happened over the last month and a half will hold weight as we move forward. Check out the link below to see the Red Sox’ biggest takeaways from spring training.

Click here to see the Red Sox’ spring training takeaways >>

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

For the Yankees, the culprit is of course Alex Rodriguez, who will make $29 million — more than the Houston Astros’ entire payroll — this season. That’s bad enough, but there’s also the fact that Rodriguez may not play at all as he works his way back from hip surgery. He is expected to be out until at least August, but even non-pessimists think he may take a rain check on all of 2013.

For the Mets, Johan Santana has once again provided as much heartbreak as hope. While Mets fans could hope throughout each of the six years of his $137.5 million deal that he would post at least one lights-out season worth his pay, Santana’s chance to show New York what he can do officially ended Thursday. The team has announced that he will likely miss the entire season — and perhaps be done playing for good — after wrecking his left shoulder again. That leaves New York without its ace and on the hook for $31 million. (The Mets, however, did get that no-hitter out of Santana.)

New York doesn’t have the corner on the market on bad contracts, though, and even Santana and Rodriguez’s letdowns may not be the worst in Major League Baseball. Take a look to see which teams are carrying albatrosses into this season, and see who comes out worst.

Click here for the Top 10 overpaid players in 2013>>

In all fairness, the Yankees won’t be paying the entirety of the $21 million owed to Wells in 2013, but they’re already badly overpaying Alex Rodriguez, universally considered to have signed another one of baseball’s all-time worst contracts. With Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira also on the roster, the Yankees have big money invested in aging veterans, which got us thinking: Who will be the most overpaid players in baseball in 2013?

Our criteria is nothing more than how much a player is slated to earn in 2013 — independent of his overall contract. The idea is to look at who will give the least return on what they’re owed in the upcoming season.

Just so you don’t think we’re picking on the Yankees, the Giants also have a pair of pitchers on this list, and even just-signed deals are not immune. The Mets may have purged themselves of a few recent bad deals, but at least one overpaid pitcher is a year away from freedom, and it’s probably none too surprising that Carl Crawford pops up on this list.

Click here for the top 10 overpaid MLB players in 2013 >>

March Madness will always be the best time of year for sports fans. It’s finally time for people to print out brackets and start making their picks, with the upsets and unpredictability of the weeks ahead the best part of the tournament.

Perhaps no part is better, though, than the way the games end. The field may start with 68 teams and expectations of who will win, but it all changes when the final seconds are counting down.

The Big Dance started in 1939 with just eight teams, and the field has slowly grown over the years. In 2011, the NCAA expanded the tournament to include 68 teams across four regions, with four play-in games.

Throughout those years, fans have watched games end in ways that will never be forgotten. Lorenzo Charles and Christian Laettner, Bryce Drew and the “David” Valparaiso team, U.S. Reed‘s half-court heave — fans have seen (or watched) some incredible buzzer-beaters, the backbone of the NCAA Tournament.

Every year provides plenty of choices, but which are the best ever?

Click here for the Top 10 buzzer-beaters of all-time>>

NESN.com’s college basketball coverage is presented by Bovada.net. Download a bracket here.

Over the years, the NBA has been gifted with an immense amount of talent and highly competitive athletes, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

Players like Jordan, Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant or Larry Bird were all significant parts within their teams, and each superstar came through when his teammates needed him. But it was an entire team, not just one individual, that played the biggest part in a 72-win season or 33-game winning streak.

While LeBron James and Co. are chasing history, let’s take a look back at the reigning top 10 teams of all time — and wonder whether this year’s Miami Heat could soon join their ranks.

Click here to see the top 10 NBA teams of all time >>

The market for cornerbacks has been brutal. That may be why players like Brent Grimes, Nnamdi Asomugha and Antoine Winfield are fighting for the last penny. Savvy veterans in general haven’t been very sought after. Imagine how shocking it would be to hear just two years ago that guys like John Abraham and Dwight Freeney were still just floating around in free agency.

Jake Long was supposed to set the market for offensive tackles once he signed his four-year, $34 million contract. But plenty of quality players are still available, such as Sebastian Vollmer and Eric Winston.

Most teams still have plenty of cap room available, but with league meetings going on in Arizona, it seems like free-agent transactions have significantly slowed down. Things will pick up again soon, as there are still many top players available.

Click here to check out our Top 10 available free agents>>

Photo via Facebook/Philadelphia Eagles from B/R

While Tom Brady is all but assured that he won’t be run out of Foxboro before he wants to go, few other Patriots can count on being around a second longer than the team considers them useful.

Wes Welker found that out the hard way this week. While Patriots owner Robert Kraft had long said he wanted to make Welker a “Patriot for life,” New England gave Welker just a few hours on the free-agent market before dealing to get his younger doppelganger, Danny Amendola. Welker could have remained with the Patriots, but it would have been on the team’s — and Bill Belichick‘s — terms. That usually means less money and no guarantees.

While Patriots fans are understandably upset that Welker joined rival Peyton Manning and his new team, they really shouldn’t be surprised. Belichick has never given money to veteran players who aren’t likely to produce in the future as they have in the past, no matter how great their pasts. Patriots history in the Belichick era is littered with the names of players who were a huge part of the team, only to be let go quietly when a younger, healthier or cheaper version could be found.

James Sanders, Damien Woody, Ty Warren and Ted Washington were all stalwarts whose time was clipped short, while Randy Moss proved Belichick right when he talked his way out of town.

But those aren’t the big ones. The big ones are those, like Welker, who learned that at some point, the pennies will be pinched, and the players looking for more money will be let go, no matter how mean the Patriots look when they do it.

For that, check out our Top 10 casualties from the Belichick era.

Click here for the Top 10 Patriots that Bill Belichick has let go>>

He’s spun out some incredible performances in his days as a Patriot — both good and bad, and both on and off the field.

The scrappy slot receiver will be remembered for his courage and toughness as well as his likable personality and fiery attitude  He’s the owner of many Patriots and league records that will probably stand for many, many years.

But what are some of Welker’s most memorable moments as a Patriot? Which specific moments stand out the most to you? Check out the list below.

Welker’s crucial drops, horrific knee injury, NFL records among receiver’s top 10 memorable Patriots moments>>

At this point, we all know that Josh Hamilton signed with the Angels, Zack Greinke inked a long-term deal with the Dodgers and the Blue Jays acquired a plethora of big-name players from the fire sale-happy Marlins. But, often times it’s the lesser-known players who make a big impact on roster composition and success, particularly for teams who are already knocking on the door.

Take, for instance, the 2012 MLB playoffs, when the relatively unheralded Marco Scutaro made all the difference for the Giants in their World Series run. Ditto for the Tigers and Delmon Young. Remember, it isn’t Miguel Cabrera who holds the Tigers record for most home runs in the postseason. It’s in fact Young — hitting eight in just two seasons.

So what under-the-radar players will make the biggest impacts on their new teams in 2013? Who were the best overlooked pickups of the offseason?

Click here for MLB’s top 10 under-the-radar offseason acquisitions >>

It has been a common theme of franchises around the league to upgrade and renovate their home. One that comes to mind is Cowboys Stadium. Dallas owner Jerry Jones invested $1.15 billion in 2009 on the new stadium. Recently, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank followed suit, manufacturing a plan for his team’s field.  The stadium will cost up to $200 million. 

New renovations are important, as they bring different scenery and features for visitors to enjoy and interact with. More often than not, attendance numbers will rise when a new stadium is introduced.

Click here to see the Top 10 best NFL stadiums >>

Photo via Facebook/Seattle Seahawks

Mariano Rivera

Rivera, who enters the 2013 season as baseball’s all-time saves leader with 608, has been awesome during the regular season, and even better in the postseason. He has five World Series titles to his his credit, and he’s been a huge part of all of them.

Joe Torre, who managed Rivera for four of his World Series titles, recently joked that the closer “basically made my career,” and described him as a “security blanket.”

“He is the greatest ever,” Torre said, according to the New York Daily New. “It certainly isn’t a knock at the other guys, but he did it in New York, the biggest fishbowl in the world and in the postseason where everybody gets a chance to scrutinize. He responded.”

It’s hard — OK, it’s impossible — to argue Rivera’s greatness, but there have been other great closers to come through Major League Baseball. The statistic of saves is starting to become watered down a bit, but there are still some ninth-inning hurlers who stood above the rest.

Click here to see the top 10 closers of all time >>

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

All over the sports world teams, players and coaches have been participating in the craze that’s known as the Harlem Shake. The original Harlem Shake originated in 1981, but became mainstream in 2001, when local rapper G. Dep featured the dance in his music video for “Let’s Get It.”

In February 2013, Baauer decided to put a whole new twist on what we thought the Harlem Shake was. Baauer created a song that has now captured the minds of everyone and anyone who owns a camera or has access to one — including many folks in the sports world.

There’s no real choreography to what goes on in this dance like there was in 1981. Now, it’s completely revamped and gathers a bunch of people together to dress up and go crazy like it’s Halloween again — for 30 seconds, that is.

Click here to see the Top 10 best Harlem Shake videos >>

We saw that this week, when the on-court tussle between the Pacers and Warriors led to a pair of ejections. But Roy Hibbert and David Lee‘s shoving match was barely a dust-up when compared to some of the historic brawls throughout NBA history.

One of the biggest — if not the biggest — fight in the league’s history was the so-called “Malice at the Palace.” Few can forget Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal‘s aggressive confrontations involving a number of Detroit Pistons fans.

Fights in the NBA don’t happen often, so they can bring about a sense of wanting to be in attendance to witness the scene. But then again, as is the case with the Malice at the Palace, sometimes it’s better to be watching on the flat screen.

Click here to see the top 10 NBA brawls of all time>>

Photo via Facebook/NBA Fights

Stephen Curry

If Curry is the clear-cut choice as the best pure shooter in the game, he still has quite a few deadeye shooters hot on his heels. From spot-up marksman like Steve Novak to versatile hoop-fillers like Carmelo Anthony, the NBA has no shortage of guys who can light it up from long range.

Deciding who is on the list of top 10 shooters in the NBA is more complicated than just checking off the league leaders in 3-point percentage. The Spurs’ Danny Green might boast a high percentage, but his reliance on the short corner three makes him an even narrower specialist among shooting specialists. Meanwhile, Ryan Anderson can put it up from anywhere despite only boasting the 30th-best 3-point percentage this season.

We took all the factors into account and came up with an objective list of the best shooters still lacing up sneakers. Check it out and share who you think we overlooked or misranked in the comments section.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash Battle for Crown of Best Pure Shooter in NBA »