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Playmaker Roundup: Michael Robinson cut from 49ers and picked up by Seahawks, Lolo Jones takes second at IAAF Championships, Jonathan Vilma named Saints' Captain and more...

          Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

• MICHAEL ROBINSON: In case you haven't heard, Michael Robinson did not make the 49ers 53-man roster. Coach Singletary, instead chose to roll with up and coming rookie, Anthony Dixon and newly acquired Brian Westbrook as the backup-backs to Frank Gore. The 49ers signed Robinson in 2006 in the 4th round. Robinson rushed for 289 yards and caught 43 passes. The 49ers will most likely miss his leadership on and off the field.

         *UPDATED: Michael Robinson has been acquired by 49ers' division rival,

          Seattle Seahawks.

 

• HELIO CASTRONEVES: The Brazilian race car driver grabbed first place at the IndyCar Series' Kentucky Indy 300 on Saturday. Somehow, Castroneves managed to run the last 53 laps of the race on one tank of gas. This victory marks Helio's second official victory of the season. 

• LOLO JONES: LJ took second place at the IAAF Championships during the weekend in Croatia. The winner is Australian, Sally Pearson, who posted a time of 12.65 seconds; Jones finished a hair length behind with a time of 12.66 seconds. 

• JONATHAN VILMA: JV was recently voted Captain by his teammates. Congrats Vilma! The Saints and Vikings meet this Thursday for the NFL's 2010-11 seasoner opener. If you're not a fan of Vilma's Facebook page, click here.

• DONOVAN MCNABB: DM5 participated in the Redskin's 20 minute practice today, which was open to the media. McNabb is looking to start against the Cowboys next Sunday. 

• STEVE NASH: Throwback---NBA fans on RealGM.com discuss whether Steve Nash is the greatest shooter of all time.

• YAO MING: Matt Moore of CBS Sports asks whether the Houston Rockets will be able to "jell" as one-unit this upcoming NBA season. Yao Ming will be returning to a Rockets team that is a different look from the 2008 version. 

• RAY LEWIS: According to USA Today, B-More's team leader, Ray Lewis, personally recruited former Seahawk's WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the Ravens. Lewis told Houshmandzadeh that if he wanted to compete for a Championship contender, join the Ravens organization---and T.J. did just that, today. QB Joey Flacco now has a great core of WR's to throw to; including, Boldin, Mason and now Houshmandzadeh.

• Contest: Win Saints/Vikings tickets and meet Jon Vilma. Hurry contest ends today, September 6th @ Midnight!

Playmaker Roundup: Jonathan Vilma will NOT need surgery on groin, Brandon Jennings does Lady Gaga impersonation, Donovan McNabb misses Monday practice and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

JONATHAN VILMA: It looks like JV is going to be OK---this according to Dr. William Meyers who wrapped up a consultation on Vilma's groin injury today in Philadelphia. Coach Sean Payton has already decided that Vilma will be sitting out Thursday's pre-season game against the Titans.

YAO MING: It's "Yao Time!" Trey Kerby of Yao Sports has video of Yao Ming's first public practice session since his '08 season ending surgery. From the looks of it Yao seems ready to play this upcoming NBA season. Click here to see the video.

BRANDON JENNINGS: So according to JSOnline.com, Jennings lost a bet of some sort and had to 'dance' to Lady Gaga on video, LOL. YB, just stick to your day job bro.

DONOVAN MCNABB: According to Jason Reid of The Washington Post, DM5 did not participate in practice today and wore a protective sleeve on the lower half of his left leg.

RAJON RONDO: Throwback vid---Rondo's Top 10 Assists of his NBA Career thus far. Click here to see video.

LOLO JONES: The initial Diamond League track and field season ends this Friday in Brussels. Jones is tied with Priscilla Lopes-Schliep with 14 points in the women's 100 meter hurdles. The victor will sport a $80,000 four-carat diamond trophy and pocket $40,000 in cash USD. Not too bad.

Playmaker Roundup: Donovan McNabb will sit out against Jets, Brandon Jennings makes awesome alley-oop to John Wall, Yao Ming ready to play NBA season and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

DONOVAN MCNABB: DM5 will sit out Friday's exhibition game against the New York Jets to rest from his foot injury. McNabb will provide backup QB, Rex Grossman, with play call and Jets defensive analysis from the sidelines.

BRANDON JENNINGS: Young Buck dished out a nice behind-the-back assist to the NBA's 2010 #1 pick, John Wall, last night in Boost Mobile's Elite 24 midnight run in LA. See the video here.

OSI UMENYIORA: Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News reports that Giants' Defensive Coordinator, Perry Fewell, is currently using defensive packages to get Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka on the field at the same time. You may recall that Osi and Mathias are still competing for the starting spot on D but the Giants' lack of pass-rushing in pre-season has Fewell tinkering with his play book to allow his two stars to play together.

STEVE NASH: Austin Burton of DIME Magazine recently wrote that Arkansas Razorback, Rotnei Clarke, patterns his game after the best PG in the NBA, Steve Nash. Clarke is one of the best outside shooters in the country and he's a candidate for All-SEC.

HELIO CASTRONEVES: Throwback---HC sits down with Forbes.com Jim Clash. See video here.

YAO MING: According to the Associated Press, Yao Ming is confident he will be ready to play this upcoming NBA season. *Cross fingers.*

RAJON RONDO: HoopsVibeNews.com writes that Rondo's 'poor outside range and inconsistent free-throw shooting' would have been a liability for Team USA. Agree or disagree?

GREG ODEN: Same comment, different day. New Trail Blazer's GM, Rich Cho, recently addressed 1080 AM The Fan stating that Greg Oden's knee is making progress, however no timeline is set for his return on the court.

Playmaker Roundup: Rajon Rondo cut from Team USA roster, Ray Lewis dislikes 18 game season, Lolo Jones looks to rebound at Diamond League finale and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

RAJON RONDO: Team USA and Rajon Rondo part ways. Before being officially cut from the roster, Rondo asked to be dismissed due to lack of playing time. Rondo had started for Team USA's first two exhibition games but surprisingly did not play against Spain. The final roster for Team USA is: Durrant, Rose, Gay, Odom, Billups, Granger, Westbrook, Gordon, Curry, Love, Chandler and Iguodala. The World Championships start this Saturday and run until September 12th.

RAY LEWIS: RL52 is not a fan of the NFL's proposed 18 game season. Lewis states that the 18 game season will put extreme wear and tear on its football players.  A schedule change would require the approval of the National Football League Players Association as part of the collective bargaining agreement. 

BRANDON JENNINGS: Post Jennings and his Under Armour shoes to your computer's background with this new wallpaper from Brandon's photo shoot with SLAM magazine. Click here..

YAO MING: Yao is ready to play basketball. Team doctors recently proclaimed that Yao's foot is fully healed and he'll be ready to play this upcoming NBA season.

OSI UMENYIORA: OU says he's happy playing for the Giants this year. Osi made two key stops in Saturday's game against the Steelers. 

Playmaker Roundup: Greg Oden likely to miss Trail Blazer's home opener, Steve Nash talks about his MLS team, video of Brandon Jennings playing a pickup ball game in New York and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

GREG ODEN: Should Blazer fans get used to seeing Oden out of uniform? According to Joe Freeman of Oregon Live, Oden's status on his knee is unclear. Expectations have definitely been lowered as Blazer trainers are currently unsure whether Oden's left knee will be fully healed by October 26th, opening day. We'll keep you updated on Greg Oden's progress.

STEVE NASH: Marc Weber of The Gazette recently conducted a Q & A session with the PHX Sun's PG. In the interview, Nash discusses his part ownership of the Vancouver White Caps, which enter the MLS in 2011.

BRANDON JENNINGS: YB recently balled it up at The Cage aka the West 4th Street basketball court in New York. See video here.

HELIO CASTRONEVES: Here's a picture of HC and his crew on the historical trolleys in The City by the Bay. Castroneves is in San Francisco for the IZOD IndyCar Series race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma this weekend. 

LOLO JONES: According to RunBlogRun Jones got beat with a late surge by Lopes Schleip, who posted a word leading time of 12.52 in the woman's 100 meter hurdles @ Weltklasse, Zurich, today.

RAJON RONDO: RedsArmy.com writes an interesting article about why they want Rondo to play for Team USA in the World Championships.  Read it here.

DONOVAN MCNABB: Jason Reid of The Washington Post writes that Donovan knows that his team still needs to improve to be competitive this year. The Redskins ended training camp today and have three pre-season games remaining before the start of the NFL season.

YAO MING: The Rocket's center recently surprised kids from the quake-hit Sichuan area of China with a cameo appearance. Yao is still touring his home country in order to raise money for his charity.

Playmaker Roundup: Jerry Jones says Eagles are better off with Kolb, Rajon Rondo misses practice, Brandon Jennings to have another break-out year and many more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

DONOVAN MCNABB: Jerry Jones thinks the Philadelphia Eagles are better off without McNabb at QB. I'm sure McNabb will be pulling a LeBron James and filing Jones' opinion into his mental Rolodex for motivational purposes.

BRANDON JENNINGS: Adam Figman of SLAM magazine writes that Young Money is slated to have another break-out year.

LOLO JONES: Throwback vid---The Lolo Jones Story on Iowa Public Television.

STEVE NASH: According to The Gazette, the Toronto Raptors will look to score in Steve Nash country. The Raptors will play Nash and the PHX Suns in an exhibition game on October 6th in Vancouver.

YAO MING: HoopsVibe state the obvious---Yao Ming will not participate in the World Championships in order to stay healthy for the upcoming NBA season.   

OSI UMENYIORA: Mike Garafolo writes that Osi Umenyiora showed flashes of his old self at Giants' practice on Tuesday.

GREG ODEN: Basketball fans at RealGM discuss how the 76ers could land Greg Oden and Anthony Randolph.

RAJON RONDO: RR missed practice on Wednesday due to a death in the family. He's expected to be in Boston today.

JONATHAN VILMA: According to the News Star, JV and the Saints hope to emulate the Patriots' Super Bowl Championship runs. The Saints versus Pats pre-season game is tonight @ 7:30pm in New England.

Playmaker Roundup: Donovan McNabb gets pranked, Keyon Dooling eager to mentor Brandon Jennings, Lolo Jones takes third at Stockholm and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

DONOVAN MCNABB: DM5 gets a good scare from teammate Chris Cooley in a locker room prank. Click here to see video of McNabb's reaction. His reaction is priceless.

JONATHAN VILMA: Mike Triplett writes that Jonathan Vilma is a master at making calls on defense.

LOLO JONES: Olympian Lolo Jones finished third at the women's 100 meter hurdles in Stockholm, Sweden on Friday. Lolo posted a finishing time of 12.70.

RAY LEWIS: So what's the story behind Ray Lewis' new T-shirt that he's sporting at training camp?

BRANDON JENNINGS: New Bucks' backup PG, Kenyon Dooling, recently mentioned to Slam Online that he's willing to mentor Brandon Jennings about anything and everything. 

OSI UMENYIORA: According to NJ.com, Giants' Umenyiora says playing this season is more important than surgery to correct his hip injury. 

YAO MING: Yao will team up with numerous other Chinese celebrities in television commercials that will be aired worldwide in hopes of improving China's global image. 

RAJON RONO: CelticsLife featured Rajon Rondo as their video of the day. Click here to view Rajon Rondo's video/mix tape featuring Drake's single Over. 

GREG ODEN: The Trailblazers' center recently showed some love to people of his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. Oden was in town to visit family and to attend the Travis Smith golf outing. 

Playmaker Roundup: Shaq teams up with Rajon Rondo and company in Boston, Steve Nash is the greatest PHX Sun of all-time, Greg Oden and Blake Griffin will go toe-to-toe in exhibition game and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

RAJON RONDO: The Celtics' PG will be dishing the rock to Superman...I mean The Big Shamrock aka Shaquille O'Neal this upcoming NBA season. Shaq signed with Boston for two-years at the veteran's minimum. 

BRANDON JENNINGS: Register for Brandon Jennings' basketball camp that begins on August 12-14th. Click here for more information.

RAY LEWIS: Raven's teammate Jameel McClain is the biggest surprise at training camp and could start next to Ray Lewis on defense come opening day. Stay tuned.

STEVE NASH: So is Steve Nash the best PHX Sun of all-time?

GREG ODEN: The Portland Trailblazers will open their pre-season schedule against the LA Clippers. Look for Greg Oden and Blake Griffin to battle for about one quarter. 

JONATHAN VILMA: Nola.com reports that Jonathan Vilma is looking pretty good out there at Saints training camp. 

OSI UMENYIORA: Osi recently told the media that he's no longer selfish and would actually embrace the backup DE role if the Giants decide to not start him. Umenyiora's actions of humility and hard work have won over many salty Giants' fans who were skeptical of Osi last year. 

YAO MING: The Houston Rockets will play two exhibition games in China against the New Jersey Nets, starting October 13th. 

DONOVAN MCNABB: In his state of the team address Eagles' owner Jeffrey Lurie expressed no uneasiness about his team's decision to trade Donovan McNabb to their division rivals, the Washington Redskins. 

Playmaker Roundup: It's a wrap for Helio Castroneves' 2010 racing season, Rondo and Celtics get Heat for season opener, Jonathan Vilma annoyed with Brett Favre and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

HELIO CASTRONEVES: Due to Helio's post-race actions at Edmonton on July 27th, the Brazilian driver was fined a whopping $60,000 and put on probation for the remainder of the IRL racing season.

JONATHAN VILMA: JV recently posted his thoughts of the whole Brett Favre retiring fiasco on his Facebook page. Check out Jonathan's update below...

Jonathan Vilma favre, favre, favre, favre, favre, FAVRE....smart man, what a way to get all the attention back on him without saying a word! still too early to worry about him and the vikes, im trying to beat drew brees everyday. Via Facebook.

BRANDON JENNINGS: Basketball fans @ RealGM discuss Jennings vs. Derrick Rose.

OSI UMENYIORA: Osi practiced with the starting unit at Monday's defensive practice. Experts advise the casual fan not to read deep into Osi practicing with the first squad because switches happen all the time in training camp. 

RAJON RONDO: The new big three vs. the old big three: It's official, the Miami Heat will open the NBA season against the Boston Celtics. The Heat will be bringing the "heat" despite Rondo's comments about their lack of team chemistry. In other news, Rondo's new teammate could be Super man aka Shaquille O'Neal. Stay tuned.

YAO MING: The Rocket's center recently invited Harvard-NBA Summer League sensation, Jeremy Lin to participate in an all-star game in Taiwan. See video of the event here.

STEVE NASH: Jersey Chaser has video of Steve Nash and Baron Davis, who both participated in Yao's charity all-star game to benefit a children's hospital in Taiwan.

RAY LEWIS: RL's enthusiasm remains strong for his upcoming 15th season in the NFL.

DONOVAN MCNABB: According to Philly.com, Donovan McNabb is happy to be a Redskin but is not necessarily happy to be a former Eagle. Expect Donovan to bring the noise against his former team twice this upcoming season. 

Playmaker Roundup: Jonathan Vilma is ready to lead Saints' defense once again, Indy Car to meet with Helio Castroneves this week, Donovan McNabb brings hope to DC and more...

Louis Ceaser IV, Playmaker Intern

JONATHAN VILMA: Chris Harry of Fanhouse writes about the greatness that is Jonathan Vilma. Chris writes, if one were to ask Saints' Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams, who got the best of Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLIV---the answer would be Jonathan Vilma. A rare combination of star linebacker, field general and unquestioned leader, JV is set to become the Saints' defensive leader once again.

HELIO CASTRONEVES: According to Fan Nation blog, IndyCar officials plan to meet with Helio this week regarding his behavior at last Sunday's race in Edmonton.

RAJON RONDO: The Big Lead blog mentions that Rajon Rondo has the best contract in the NBA, with 5 years, $55 million guaranteed. Can't hate on that.

YAO MING: The NBA Cheap Seats blog writes about an interesting subject that many basketball fans ponder, "What would be Yao Ming's legacy if he retired from basketball today?"

RAY LEWIS: The National Football Post writes that Ray Lewis is still one of the best LB's in the game today and has no plans of retiring anytime soon.

DONOVAN MCNABB: Mike Wise writes that Donovan McNabb brings new-found hope to Redskins' fans. 

GREG ODEN: According to Pro Basketball Talk, Oden says he's confident that he will be ready for the start of training camp. 

BRANDON JENNINGS: Brandon "Young Money" Jennings' YouTube Mix Tape/Video.

STEVE NASH: Basketball fans @ RealGM discuss the question of "Who's the greatest PG of all-time---Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, or Steve Nash?"

OSI UMENYIORA: Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News writes that Osi is not the only Giants' player with health concerns.