Notes from the Coast:

With Defensive backs Asante Samuel and Eugene Wilson hitting the open market and probably leaving the Patriots soon, there is a rumor that Ty Law may want to come back to Foxboro. In his 13th season, Law is defintely on the down-side of his career but still might perform effectively within the Pats' defensive schemes and could help tutor young players like Brandon Merriweather and Mike Richardson. Also, a return to the Patriots could improve Law's chances of entering the NFL Hall of Fame one day.

• I think Bartolo Colon was a nice pick-up for the Red Sox. The cost is minimal and as Theo always says, it's a long season and you can never have enough pitching. Now with Schilling out for an undetermined amount of time, the Sox will have Colon, Buchholz, Tavarez, and Snyder to help fill in the gap.
• The Sam Cassell watch continues. Should a Clipper buyout occur, it appears the Celtics are the team Sam Cassell would most want to sign with. However, time is crucial because Cassell must be on another roster by March 1 to be eligible for the playoffs. Also, once a buyout is finalized Cassell still would have to sit through a 48-hour period to clear waivers and like sharks in the water, both the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets also appear interested in Cassell's services and have as much as $2-$4 mill more to offer him under their exceptions.
• Interesting to note how the New York Jets are the first team to covet (and at times illegally pursue) Patriots' personell, yet when Jets' Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was granted permission to seek a trade this off-season, the only team he was told not to talk to was the Pats.
• Why is having the best record so important to the Celtics? Because whoever finishes with the second best record in the East has to play LeBron James and the much improved and healthy Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA play-offs.
• Congrats to Terry Francona on his much deserved contract extension. Hard to imagine that his year Francona will become the first Red Sox Manager to skipper the team for 5 consecutive years since Joe Cronin did it 60 years ago. Tito even passes three Managers (Dick Williams, Darrel Johnson, and John McNamara) who all took the Red Sox to the World Series.