The Houston Rockets have met with Dwight Howard to begin the NBAs free agency period. With Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler joining them, the Rockets pitched Howard on leaving Los Angeles and joining All-Star James Harden in Houston. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey wrote on Twitter early Monday that it great meeting with Howard and that having Olajuwon and Drexler there "made it obvious how (Howard and Harden) could be the next (great) big/wing combo." Howard, who played last season with the Lakers after playing his first eight in Orlando, is also being pursued by Dallas and Atlanta, and the Lakers have said repeatedly they want to keep him. Free agency opened at midnight EDT. Contracts cant be signed until July 10.Cheap Air Max 97 Red China . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Nike Air Max 97 On Sale .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/cheap-air-max-97-gold-china/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Cheap Air Max 97 All Pink China . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Cheap Air Max 97 All Blue China . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain.New York, NY (Sports Network) - Alabama will begin its quest for a third straight college football national championship as the top-ranked team in the country. The Crimson Tide, coming off a 13-1 season and a dominating win over Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game, earned all but two of the 60 first-place votes and a total of 1,498 points from the Associated Press nationwide media panel to easily outdistance Ohio State for the top spot. Ohio State, which picked up one No. 1 vote and 1,365 points in the balloting, finished last season undefeated in 12 games in Urban Meyers first year. The Buckeyes were ineligible for postseason play while serving NCAA sanctions for violations under Jim Tressel. Oregon, Stanford and Georgia round out the top five. Georgia garnered the other first-place vote. South Carolina, Texas A&M, Clemson, Louisvville and Florida complete the top 10.dddddddddddd The second 10 consists of Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska, Boise State and TCU. UCLA, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Southern California and Oregon State are the last five teams ranked. The AP poll is very similar to the USA Today Coaches poll, which was released earlier this month. The same 25 teams are in each poll, with only a few rankings different. As usual, the SEC heads the conference tally with six teams ranked -- all within the top 12. The powerhouse league has won the last seven AP national titles. The Big Ten and Pac-12 each have five ranked teams, while the Big 12 has four. Two ACC teams are ranked, while the lone team from the new American Athletic Conference is Louisville. The AAC features former members of the Big East. ' ' '