October 2007 Archives

More important than the World Series this year, I think the question on everyone's mind was who would be the next Yankees manager and how would this affect the Yankees lineup next year? Alright, just kidding. Can someone tell ESPN that I don't need around the clock coverage of Joe Torre? He was a good manager for a really good team for 12 years. I digress...

There wasn't really a question as to whether the Red Sox would win the World Series. The questions going into the Series were more personal curiosities, such as: Why was Todd Helton evolving into David Grohl? Would he come out to play 1st base with a flannel shirt on at some point? And why does Manny Ramirez throw his helmet off on purpose every time he starts running the base paths?

As I sat at home last night watching the Red Sox celebrate their second championship in four years I wondered what I could write about that would be even remotely interesting. I wasn't sure if the Series was actually that bad or if listening to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver had killed too many brain cells. I managed to pick out five things that made the difference and carried the Red Sox over the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series. (It's still weird to type World Series and Colorado Rockies in the same sentence)


5. The Streak- The thing about streaks is...they end. And when they do, the team usually goes cold and loses some winnable games along the way once it has cooled down. The Colorado Rockies were running on all cylinders for six weeks. They were crisp in every aspect of the game. Beyond that, they were getting all of the breaks. No really, they were. Just ask Eric Byrnes. Sweeping the NLCS turned out to be the worst thing that could have happened to the Rockies. The nine-day break cooled the Rockies off, the Red Sox punched them in the mouth in game one and, although they played them close the next night, the series was done. The Rockies no longer came to the plate looking confident. They didn't have the look in their eyes like they knew they would find a way to win. Their body language deteriorated quickly and it became hard to play baseball with giant forks sticking out of their backs.

4. The Rookies- Known for spending insane amounts of money on the top free agents, the Red Sox ended up getting picked up by their rookies. From Pedroia's leadoff HR to set the tone, to Ellsbury finding holes in the Rockies defense and then Matsuzaka handling the altitude and Okajima being their horse out of the pen, the Sox got help from all of their kids. Meanwhile the Colorado rookie's bats cooled down considerably. Tulowitzki's bat was missing and he even had a ball bounce out of the web of his glove during a sox rally that would have stopped the bleeding. Franklin Morales struggled mightily out of the bullpen. The only Rookie who played well at all was Ubaldo Jimenez and even he looked shaky at times, but at least he kept the Rockies in the game.

3. The bottom of the order- After doing almost nothing to help the Red Sox win for six months, the bottom of the Red Sox Order came up huge in the ALCS and World Series. Then, without warning or provocation, J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo played out of their minds. J.D. Drew!!!!! Having watched Drew battle the Giants I had nicknamed him Backwards K. You don't get a nickname like that if you come through in the clutch. Lugo stopped messing with his cup long enough to double his batting average from the season. Meanwhile the Rockies entire lineup was cold. They got no help from Torrealba, Spilborghs or Hawpe (too little, too late). You have to have some unexpected heroes to triumph in the Series and the Rockies had none

2. The Bullpen- I have two words for you Hideki Okajima; or as Tim McCarver likes to call him, Daisuke Matsuzaka. I know he gave up those bombs in games 3 and 4, but he came in for extended relief appearances and prevented the Sox from having to use The Artist Formerly Known as Eric Gagne. Timlin came back from the dead to pitch well. I think everyone knows at this point that if the Red Sox are leading after eight innings, and in many cases after seven, the game is over (all of Paps saves in the playoffs were more than one inning). Papelbon had little trouble disposing of the Rockies when he came in. Jamie Carroll hit the ball the farthest off of Paps. Unfortunately for Jamie Carroll, that was as far as he can hit a baseball. The Red Sox got the innings they needed from the starters and in the two games that weren't blow outs, the bullpen did what was needed to win the game.
The Rockies bullpen had been pitching so well for so long....no one knows how. Important cogs in their bullpen were such vagabonds as Matt Herges, who is going for "The Steve Finley memorial-played for every team in the NL west award." LaTroy Hawkins. who is battling Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders for the largest jersey collection, and Brian Fuentes who Matt and I made fun of mercilessly even when he started the season pitching well. It was only a matter of time before they started to pitch more like they have the rest of their careers.

1. The Rockies- Before the season started Matt and I tried to predict the final regular season standings for every division and both of us picked the Rockies to finish last in the West. Our only explanation was this: "They're the Rockies." And though we were completely wrong about the Rockies, (and the Diamondbacks, I hate the Diamondbacks) there is no way they will win the west next year. I'm more mad about them winning the west than I am about the Giants being unwatchable and having paid Barry Zito sign for 126 million, try to change his wind up only to have Righetti yell at him, hurting his feelings and...ah, hell, never mind) and they are still the Rockies. If we both thought they would finish last there must be some fatal flaws. They are young, their bullpen cannot be trusted, and they let Josh Fogg start a World Series game for them. The Rockies are actually a scary team going forward. They have a great nucleus with Holliday, Tulowitzki, Atkins, Hawpe, Jimenez, Morales and Corpas. For 2007 though, they were still "The Rockies." The team that I could make fun of and know that they would not be good. And really, except for the last six weeks, they weren't good. You know what they were? The Rockies.

So even though the series wasn't very much fun (unless you were a Sox fan, or more likely, one of the countless Red Sox bandwagon fans), there were some good performances (Beckett, Pedroia, Papelbon). Unfortunately, until the National League figures out a way to catch up with the elite American League teams, this is the likely end product of a six month grind; an anti-climactic series in which the AL champ pummels the NL champ.

The College Football season is now through October and still, a clear cut favorite to win the Heisman Trophy has yet to emerge. It seems like the experts change their picks daily and this appears to be a race that is going to come down to the wire. I think people are playing themselves out of it, instead of stepping up and winning and I feel that the person that plays the not worst (as opposed to the best) will win the thing.
Here's a look at the players that I feel are in the running heading into November:

Quarterbacks

Dennis Dixon, Oregon: Dixon hasn't put up huge numbers, but he hasn't had to. He manages the game perfectly and ranks sixth in the country in passing efficiency. He is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes, and though he has just 1,885 yards and 16 touchdowns, he has only thrown three interceptions and has also rushed for 492 yards and eight touchdowns.

Matt Ryan, Boston College: Even though he played his worst game of the season, Ryan is still going to come out of it smelling like roses. If you look at just the stats, 25-for-52 for 285 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions it seems very pedestrian. People are only going to remember that he was 11-for-19 for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as he led BC to a 14-10 win over Virginia Tech with two touchdowns late in the game. His stats overall are good with 2,433 yards, 19 TDs and 61 percent completions, but the 8-0 record is what is working best for his cause.

Colt Brennan, Hawaii: Had Brennan not missed a game with an injury, his stats would be somewhere around 3,200 yards and 30 touchdowns which would definitely strengthen his candidacy. He is still fourth in yards, tied for third in touchdown passes and seventh in efficiency. I think if Hawaii runs the table and Brennan puts up huge numbers they won't have any chance but to invite him.

Andre Woodson, Kentucky: This was the media darling early in the year, but now that Kentucky has proven to be a middle of the pack top 25 team and not an elite top 10 team, people have fallen off the bandwagon. His stats are very good as he has 2,431 yards and 28 touchdowns but it would take Kentucky winning out and him playing well for him to get invited to the ceremony in New York.

Tim Tebow, Florida: Tebow's chances are hurt by two things; the fact that he is a sophomore and Florida has three losses. Tebow has good stats and is a horse, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and rushing for close to 600 more. He has 30 combined touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Brian Brohm, Louisville: Brohm has absolutely no chance because Louisville sucks, but it's too bad. The senior is second in the NCAA in yards, tied for third in touchdowns and fifth in quarterback efficiency. If a couple of those close losses were wins, he would be in the discussion.

Graham Harrell, Texas Tech: He is regarded as a pure system quarterback, but I would be stupid not to at least mention him. He leads the nation in yards (3,979), TDs (35), completion percentage (72.8) and is fourth in efficiency.

Running Backs

Mike Hart, Michigan: Missing the second half of the Purdue game and then not playing at all against Illinois and Minnesota probably ruined his chances, but he is still a possibility if he plays huge down the stretch and if the Wolverines win the Big Ten.

Ray Rice, Rutgers: Rice is fourth in the NCAA with 1,141 yards and has scored 13 touchdowns. What's most impressive about the junior is the fact that he totes the rock like a trooper, carrying the ball 234 times in eight games.

Matt Forte, Tulane: Forte has no chance, because he plays for the Green Wave, but I figured he should at least be in the discussion. He leads the NCAA with 1,539 yards and has not rushed for less than 200 yards in a game since September 29 against LSU. He had 73 yards in the game, averaging over four yards a carry but the Wave had to abandon the run to try and come back. He has rushed for over 300 yards twice.

Darren McFadden, Arkansas: He has just 993 yards and 11 touchdowns, but it's hard to count him out because of what he is capable of. If Arkansas closes strong and he has a big game in the finale against LSU on the national stage, he has a chance.

Jonathan Stewart, Oregon: Maybe the most underrated running back in major college football. He is averaging nearly seven yards a carry and is well over 1,000 yards on only 156 carries.

Receivers

Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech: This guy's stats are ridiculous. He has 100 catches and 1,451 yards to go with 18 touchdowns. Did I mention he's a freshman? Did I mention he's on pace for 133 catches, nearly 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns? If he breaks Manny Hazard's single-season of 142 catches, he has to be considered.

Jordy Nelson, Kansas State: You guys are probably thinking who? But Nelson is pretty legit, grabbing 76 balls for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns.

The invitees: Dixon, Brennan and Ryan will all be invited and I think that Crabtree's numbers are too much to ignore if he stays on pace, but being a freshman he is likely to be snubbed. I am not sure if a running back (or a fourth candidate) will be invited or is even in order, but whichever of the big three (Hart, Rice, McFadden) have a huge finish have a chance at getting the nod. A fourth quarterback could be invited and if so it will be Tebow or Woodson.

There are a lot of people like me, people who wake up on Sunday morning and are either watching or tracking every game in the NFL for anywhere from six to 10 hours.
The reason we do this, is because we are fantasy football geeks and we root as hard for certain players on certain teams almost as hard as we root for our favorite teams. I know there are plenty of people that would not watch as adamantly if they weren't in a fantasy football league and others wouldn't watch at all.
The reason is, fantasy football gives us a stake in the game. There is no other reason that I would cheer a Joe Nedney field goal with the 49ers losing 24-0 unless he was on my fantasy team. It can also break your heart, like when Mike Holmgren opted to go for it on fourth down, trailing the Saints by 11 points instead of kicking the field goal to make it a one score game and attempting an onside kick. Because he didn't kick there, I lost a fantasy game by two points.
But that's what makes it great. What makes it even better, is how we sit around just before the season starts and we all act like experts as we breakdown which players are going to have breakout years, which are on the decline and which will continue to put up numbers.
Without fail, every year, several players fail us as we watch guys we could have drafted performing at a high level for other teams. Some people with Rudi Johnson are watching a guy like Willie Parker go off, and thinking to themselves that they could have had him.
Some people are patting themselves on the back for taking a chance on Brett Favre and staying away from a youngster like Alex Smith.
There are plenty of fantasy busts, but for the biggest one, let's start in the city by the bay.

Frank Gore
The guy came off a year where he rushed for 1,700 yards and said he was going after the single season rushing record. Now, he's going to need about 1,800 yards in nine games for that to happen. Gore is averaging four yards a carry, but he isn't breaking any big plays in piling up 435 yards through seven games.

Cedric Benson
He is high on the list of busts. The Bears traded away Thomas Jones to make Benson the top back, and not only has he not answered the call, but he can't even hear the phone ringing. He has scored just two touchdowns, he is averaging just over three yards a carry and is on pace to rush for just over 900 yards.

Shaun Alexander
A lot of people took him high in hopes of him regaining his 2005 form, which hasn't come close to happening. He has two scores, he's averaging 3.4 yards per carry and barely on pace for 1,000 yards.

Dolphins, Falcons, Jets
If you drafted Trent Green, Ronnie Brown, Joey Harrington, Warrick Dunn, Chad Pennington or Thomas Jones things haven't worked out for you. Why? Because these three teams are a combined 2-21.

Clinton Portis
He's not on pace for a 1,000 yards and he is averaging less than four yards a carry. He does have five touchdowns, so he has produced a bit.

Tatum Bell
What were you thinking if you drafted this guy? You learned that he can't even take the job from Kevin Jones, a classic underachiever.

Larry Johnson
Ya, so he has over 500 yards but he has just two touchdowns and is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.

Laurence Maroney
I know a lot of people probably drafted him high, but he has been battling injuries and has not scored a touchdown yet.

Chester Taylor
See Adrian Peterson later on.

The Rams
What was once a high scoring team has seen Stephen Jackson (274 yards, one TD) and Marc Bulger (3 TD, 8 INT) deal with injuries and has seen a steady decline in Tory Holt's numbers (46-576-4).

Chad Johnson
I know he is second in the NFL in yards, but he has just three touchdowns and has just a single hundred yard game in his last four.

Jerry Porter
Remember how this guy was supposed to be rededicated and was supposed to be the top receiver in Oakland? He has 15 catches.

Deion Branch
He's been battling injury and inconsistency and has 22 catches and a touchdown.

Alex Smith
He's been hurt, but still he is ranked 30th in passer rating.

Matt Leinert
Even before getting hurt, the only quarterback with a worse rating was Tarvaris Jackson, who can't be a bust because he wasn't good to begin with.

Vince Young
Three passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 66.

J.P. Losman
After a breakout year last year, a lot of people were high on him. He got injured and missed two games and couldn't even win his job back from Trent Edwards.

With all these busts, there have to be some surprises, right? We know the Vikings drafted Adrian Peterson that high for a reason, but did anyone expect this right away? He leads the league in rushing!! He has made Chester's 1,200 yard season a distant memory.

Marshawn Lynch
I knew he would be good, but I didn't know he would be on pace to rush for 1,200 yards in his first year.

LenDale White
Apparently you can eat as much as you want, resemble a refrigerator with feet and still have a good season.

Derek Anderson
What? 17 touchdowns and over eight yards per attempt?

Wes Welker
Here's a tip to any slightly above average receiver. Sign with the Patriots for less money.

Braylon Edwards
It's hard to call someone with his talent, who was as high a draft pick a surprise but he is going off and making big plays every week. I expected him to be solid, but he is a legit playmaker in this league.

The teams that can actually win a national title have been narrowed down.

1. Ohio State (9-0): The Buckeyes had their biggest challenge of the year and stepped up big time in Happy Valley.

2. Boston College (8-0): The Eagles got past a big hurdle against VT and did so behind the grit of Matt Ryan. They were lucky to survive, but survive they did.

3. Oregon (7-1): The Ducks look good and USC didn't have a chance. They are one fumble at the goal line away from being the team to beat in college football.

4. LSU (7-1): After a bye week, Saturday's game with Alabama might be the Tigers last test before the SEC title game.

5. Oklahoma (7-1): The Sooners had a week off to get ready for Texas A&M. If they get past that game, the Big 12 championship game is almost a certainty.

6. West Virginia (7-1): The South Florida game is looking more and more like a hiccup. The Mountaineers are for real.

7. Arizona State (8-0): They made it through one test, now the big one comes against Oregon on Saturday.

8. Michigan (7-2): Despite missing Henne and Hart, the Wolverines didn't skip a beat in dominating the Golden Gophers.

9. Missouri (7-1): With an end of the season showdown with Kansas looming, the Tigers took care of business against Iowa State.

10. Hawaii (8-0): They are moving up in the rankings by default.

11. Georgia (6-2): The Dawgs showed up on Saturday and showed that they, and the rest of the SEC, are something to be dealt with.

12. Texas (7-2): The Longhorns took Nebraska's best punch in a big rivalry game and came out on top.

13. Florida (5-3): Even though they have three losses, I still think they are a very good team that nobody would want to play.

14. Kansas (8-0): They stood tall against a tough Aggie defense and the 12th man at College Station. Their defense is very good.

15. Alabama (6-2): They had a week off to get ready for the showdown with LSU.

16. USC (6-2): They gave a very good Oregon team their best shot. The fact is, USC is a good team, just not very good.

17. Virginia Tech (6-2): Had Frank Beamer ran the ball with just over four minutes, VT likely would have been up 13-7 and wouldn't have left enough time for BC to score a touchdown. They got what they deserved.

18. Kentucky (6-3): The Wildcats learned that in the SEC, you better bring your A game every week.

19. Auburn (6-3): Battling through a tough SEC schedule with a tough win over Ole Miss.

20. Connecticut (7-1): Is there a bigger surprise in College Football? Who knew the UCONN/WV game would be the Big East showdown?

21. Illinois (6-3): Looked sluggish against Ball State, but they should still be a handful for any Big Ten team.

22. Wake Forest (6-2): After a rough start to the season, the Deacons are starting to live up to the pre-season hype.

23. South Florida (6-2): Their true colors are starting to show.

24. Penn State (6-3): They are still a good team, but as we saw with them getting blown out by Ohio State, they are not an elite team.

25. Cal (5-3): Three straight losses have turned a season of promise into one of desperation.

It is said that records are made to be broken, and in College Football that seems to be at least partially true. Taking a glance through some of the major records, there are some that seem destined to fall and some others that aren't going anywhere, anytime soon. Here's a look at a few of the key records.

Wins
Now I know this isn't quite the same as an individual record, because it is a record that is broken each time the team with the most victories wins a game. But I still feel it is worth looking at, because of the discrepancy between the team with the most wins, and the team with the second most wins. Here is the top ten heading into this Saturday.

Michigan 866
Notre Dame 822
Texas 816
Nebraska 807
Ohio State 794
Alabama 786
Penn State 786
Oklahoma 775
Tennessee 765
USC 749

Georgia, LSU, Auburn, Syracuse, West Virginia, Colorado, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Washington, Miami (OH), Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Army and Minnesota round out the top 25 winningest schools.

The reason this is worth looking at, is because it is doubtful that we will see another team lead Major College Football in wins during the lifetime of people in my age bracket. For Notre Dame to catch Michigan, they would have to average two wins more a year for 22 years. The gap is only getting wider this year and in fact, Texas might catch ND for second plate. Texas would have to average more than two wins a year better than Michigan for 25 years and we know that Michigan is going to win at least eight games a season, probably nine or ten.
Another bridge we may never see gapped while we are alive is seeing a new team move into the top ten. The distance between USC and Georgia is 42 wins, and USC is probably going to win 10-12 games a season for at least the immediate future.
The chase I am going to be keeping my eyes on is for that No. 25 spot where the Golden Gophers are doing everything they can to hold off (more like give it up to) North Carolina. With Minnesota tallying one win this year and UNC with two, the Heels are one win away from tying for that illustrious spot in the all-time top 25.
In case any Cal fans are wondering, Cal is 31sth with 603 wins. They were just passed for 30th by Virginia which now has 604 after Saturday's win over Maryland. Cal will get back ahead of the Cavs by the end of this season, but they won't go anywhere for a while as they are 17 wins behind the powerhouse Navy program. And in case no one noticed, Beano Cook is super stoked to see Army still ranked 24th with 634 wins.

Rushing
In this day and age of stud running backs leaving for the NFL after their junior year, and with a lot of coaches adapting the two running back system, it seems unlikely that Ron Dayne's record of 6,397 yards is going to be broken any time soon. If it is broken, it will not be by a runner from a top notch program but instead a kid that goes to a mid-major or a small power, someone who can step in and dominate the conference as a freshman, staying for years in the process.
These are some possible candidates in the game right now:

LeSean McCoy, Pitt
The Panther freshman is already the man at Pitt and has rushed for 805 yards so far. He is on pace for about 1,400. If he could increase that production by 200 yards every year, he could do it. If he finishes this year with 1,400 and averages 1,700 a year for three more years, then he could break it.

Deonte Jackson, Idaho
I almost want to pick him as the most likely to do it, but I think McCoy is more of a stud. Jackson is the perfect candidate because he is a very good running back as a freshman at a small school where he will most definitely stay for four years. He also is on pace for 1,400 yards this year putting him in the same boat statistically as McCoy.

Ray Rice, Rutgers
Rice is on pace for his second straight 1,700 yard season and if he does that, he will be around 4,600 yards after this, his junior season. If he stayed for his senior year, he would need roughly 1,800 yards to top Dayne. Rice is a good candidate because he gets so many carries. He is on pace for 350 this year after getting 335 last season. My guess is that he does not go back to Rutgers for his fourth year.

If anyone was wondering what the single season rushing mark is, it's 2,628 by a Mr. Barry Sanders. We don't need to discuss that record because no one is going to get close.

Passing
We all know Colt Brennan throws... a lot. And even with three sensational years under his belt, he is still going to be nearly a full season's stats away from the record holder, Timmy Chang. Chang, also a Hawaii product, threw for 17,072 yards. To put it in even better perspective, Texas Tech's Graham Harrell is going to throw for about 5,300 yards this year. If he did that again in his senior year, he would still be about 1,400 yards short. He would need to throw for nearly 7,000 yards to break it. To stop beating around the bush, there is not a freshman stud in sight this season that I can see making a run.
I will instead pick an outside shot:

Cody Hawkins, Colorado
He's a true freshman who is going to throw for about 3,000 yards this year. His dad is the coach, so you know he is going to be the starter and he is going to stay for four seasons. If he can throw for anywhere close to 4,000 next year and then go increase that by 500 to 800 yards his junior year, he could be in position to have a chance with a big senior year. I am going to say it's highly doubtful with a run first style of play in the Big 12.

Ty Detmer's record of 121 touchdown passes is probably going to get broken by Brennan when Hawaii hosts Fresno State on November 10. He currently has 113, ranking him fifth. He will probably finish with 130 or so, meaning the record could fall next year. Harrell will probably finish this year around 90 and if he has a season next year just as good as this one, he could end up with 140 or so. This is one record you can kiss goodbye.

Receiving
This is a record that has just recently been broken, and within two years you might be able to kiss it goodbye. Taylor Stubblefield brought in 316 passes (somehow only 19 touchdowns) during his run with Purdue from the 2001 season to 2004 but his record is already under siege. What it took Stubblefield four years to do, might take this young man only three.

Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
If you want to catch a lot of passes, go to Texas Tech. Crabtree is learning that the easy way. Just a freshman, he has already caught 88 passes and 17 touchdowns. He is on pace for 132 catches and 26 touchdowns. At this pace, he will have nearly 400 catches in three seasons. Even if he is only a Red Raider for three years, I predict this record will be his. That is, until the next crop of Texas Tech receivers come in.

Davone Bess, Hawaii
Before Crabtree breaks the record, it will already be broken. So the Texas Tech receiver will likely be aiming for Davone Bess of Hawaii's record. Bess will probably end this year with about 280 catches and assuming he stays for his senior year, will finish with around 370. So, he might hold the record for a year.

Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech holds the record for touchdown catches and that mark could be passed by two players next year. Bess should end up with about 55 or so and if James Hardy of Indiana stays for his senior year, he could end up with 56 or so. Crabtree is on pace for nearly 80 TD catches in three seasons, so once again these will be just temporary record holders.

Ohio St. (-4) v Penn St. 5:00 p.m. abc - Under the lights in Happy Valley, this is being billed as Ohio St's toughest test of the year and while that is true, that doesn't mean it's a tough test. The problem here is that Ohio St's defense is really good, shutting down much better offenses than Penn St's in Purdue and Michigan State. Morelli is just the kind of QB to have an above average game against a mediocre Indiana team and get everyone thinking he is actually good. The final score just might be 3-0 OSU.

Boston College v Virginia Tech (-3.5) Thursday 4.30 p.m. ESPN - I remember when VT wasn't even good, but then they took Sean Glennon out of the QB spot and inserted Tyrod Taylor. Now Taylor is hurt and nobody knows who is going to go on Thursday. I'm going to profess my complete ignorance to everything BC, except for the unimpressive Notre Dame performance. Let's just say that I think people are forgetting how poor VT was. They have one convincing win over an average Clemson, as well as squeakers against North Carolina and Eastern Carolina. If Glennon plays I'm very worried.

California v Arizona St. (-3) 7.00 p.m. - If Cal had gotten UCLA on one of their down days they would probably be a favorite in this game, and a Top 10 team. The defense is a huge concern. Patrick Cowan is not that good, and this is a UCLA fan speaking to you now. I had to go look to the Arizona St message boards to find any decent analysis of the team. All the national media gave me is that Dennis Erickson is a good coach, and Rudy Carpenter is the QB. Thanks guys. Apparently the O-Line has been shaky thus far and starting RB Ryan Torain is out for the year. With the 7.00 start the country still won't have seen Arizona St. after this week, but I think they won't need to, Cal pulls this one out.

USC v Oregon (-3) 12.30 p.m. abc - Gameday may be taking another trip to Eugene. This is that game where Oregon has everything going for them, USC has looked shaky (Notre Dame doesn't count as a real game). Is Oregon going to fold up their tents again after 7 games when the nation least expects it? The injuries are a concern for both teams. No word on whether standout O-lineman Sam Baker and the heart of USC's defense Rey Maualuga will be healthy. Oregon looked good without Cameron Colvin and Jeremiah Johnson, but that was Washington. I think this game will come down to the USC QB. Whether or not it's Sanchez or Booty (and USC fans seem to be favoring Sanchez) that individual will decide the game, because I don't see the USC defense completely shutting down Dixon & Co.

West Virginia (-6.5) v Rutgers 9.00 a.m. ESPN - This is better than the usual Iowa v Purdue 9am fare (don't get me wrong though, I love that shit). It's looking more and more like West Virginia is the class of this division and South Florida just seems to have their number recently. The problem at Rutgers is Mike Teel who is fine as the quarterback of an average team, but isn't the guy to take a team to that next level, which is a victory over stacked West Virginia. He was 11 for 29 with 179 yards against South Florida. They won because he didn't throw any picks, which you can usually count on him to do in big games, 3 in the loss to Cincy. West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez said of Teel, "Teel is a veteran guy who has won a lot of games..." If that doesn't prove my point, what does? Nobody ever focuses on the defensive side of the ball in Big East matchups and neither will I. West Virginia will get ahead early and Rutgers will be forced to abandon the Mike Hart game in the second half (just so you know I call the running game the Mike Hart game) and they will turn things over to Teel, who will then turn things over to West Virginia, in the form of interceptions.

Another crazy week.

1. Ohio State (8-0): The schedule got a bit tougher and the game got a bit closer. They are a loss waiting to happen.

2. Boston College (7-0): An off week keeps them safe from a loss. Big, big game on Thursday in Blacksburg.

3. Oregon (6-1): The Ducks are soundly beating all the teams they should beat and now have a chance to assert themselves as the best in the Pac-10 when they host USC.

4. LSU (7-1): They are truly a second half team. They might have not beat Auburn by much, but a win is a win against a ranked SEC team.

5. Oklahoma (7-1): Can't look great every day I suppose. They took Iowa State's best punch and were still standing.

6. Florida (5-2): A nice bounce back win for the Gators puts them in the driver's seat again as far as reaching the SEC championship game.

7. USC (6-1): Sanchez looked like he settled in during his second start. They were playing Notre Dame, but looked very dominant.

8. West Virginia (6-1): Just lambasted Mississippi State, an SEC team that had beaten Auburn and played others tough.

9. Virginia Tech (6-1): Quietly waiting for their big chance to get into the BCS picture with Thursday's game against BC.

10. Arizona State (7-0): What happens when you are unbeaten, have a bye and several teams ahead of you lose? You move up.

11. Michigan (6-2): They have come back very nicely from the opening pair of losses and withstood several key injuries to beat Illinois in Champagne.

12. Hawaii (7-0): See Arizona State.

13. Kentucky (6-2): This is right where I thought they belonged before the Florida game, and I still feel that way after a tough loss to a tough team.

14. Missouri (6-1): Good bounce back win from the Oklahoma loss. They exposed Texas Tech for the pretender it was.

15. Cal (5-2): They are two mistakes by their quarterbacks away from being the Nation's top team.

16. South Carolina (6-2): Thank god they lost. Sixth in the BCS!?! Joke.

17. South Florida (6-1): This where the Bulls should be. They are a good team, but not a great team.

18. Texas (5-2): The Longhorns eventually pulled away from Baylor. They are good for what they are, but this year it's not a BCS contender.

19. Georgia (5-2): A week off before a big game with Florida.

20. Alabama (6-2): John Parker Wilson stepped up and had a big game to get Bama back in the race.

21. Penn State (6-2): Big Ten is still wide open and the Nittany Lions are as tough as anyone in the conference.

22. Auburn (5-3): I watch them beat Florida and play LSU as tough as anyone and I wonder how they lost to Mississippi State.

23. Kansas (7-0): Beat someone.

24. Rutgers (6-0): The Scarlet Knights led at halftime in both of their losses. They are close to being undefeated and they looked tough in that South Florida win.

25. Virginia (7-1): To quote my website cohort Ben Malley, "the loss to Wyoming is perplexing." They don't win pretty and they don't win big, but they have won seven straight.

1. Ohio State .942

2. South Florida .920

3. Boston College .891

4. LSU .840

5. Oklahoma .762

6. South Carolina .743

7. Kentucky .683

8. Arizona State .683

9. West Virginia .662

10. Oregon .637

11. Virginia Tech .630

12. California .600

13. Kansas .517

14. USC .472

15. Florida .435

The nearly full point difference between fourth placed LSU and fifth placed Oklahoma means that if any two of the top four win out they will play in the title game.

Ohio State still plays everyone who matters in the Big 10 (Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn St. and Michigan). The Big 10 may be down this year, but if they can win those games I will have to grudgingly admit they'll have earned their spot in the championship game.

The computers love South Florida ranking them first, with Rutgers, Cincinnati and Louisville still on the schedule. Because the name of the school is South Florida it's hard to see them making it through the year undefeated, but those pesky computers aren't taking into account that South Florida had never even been ranked, ever, before this year.

Boston College only has two tests, a trip to Blacksburg, and most likely a rematch in the ACC championship game. However, they didn't impress at all against a horrible Notre Dame and may slip up against inconsistent ACC competition such as Clemson, Florida St. and Miami.

LSU is through the toughest part of their schedule, but they will play either South Carolina (who they've already beaten handily), Florida (an amazing comeback victory), Tennessee or Kentucky (a revenge match up) in the SEC championship game. If an SEC homer reads this (which they won't because I don't think I have any SEC homer friends) they will call me out and say that LSU still has to play Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas. Well what I'm actually doing here is saying that I think LSU is so good, so elite, that they won't have any trouble with those mediocre SEC teams.

Oklahoma is also through the rough part (Texas, Mizzou) of the weak Big 12. Oklahoma looks the most likely to get into the national championship game if someone slips up. They still have to get by the Big 12 North winner where they may be the first test for Kansas who might actually still be undefeated at that point.

I haven't said a thing about the Pac 10 because the computers seem to hate them, making the conference basically as relevant as the WAC with respect to the national title picture. With Cal losing, ironically Oregon becomes the Pac 10 team with the "best loss." Of course, I'm not respecting undefeated Arizona State at all, but then again neither is the BCS ranking system. One of the great things about the Pac 10 is that everybody plays everybody. Much like in the Big 10 this year not too many of the contenders have played each other yet. October 27 will clear a lot of things up with Cal at Arizona St and USC at Oregon.

Nobody is safe in College Football.

1. Ohio State (7-0): The Buckeyes are number one.....for now. They have played six and a half cupcakes (Washington is not bad) and now they have five pretty tough games to end the year with.

2. Boston College (7-0): Didn't look great in beating a horrible Notre Dame team, but BC doesn't usually win pretty. The Eagles have a big game with Va Tech on Thursday, October 25.

3. Oregon (5-1): Destroyed Washington State, and now that teams keep losing they should be kicking themselves for losing that Cal game at the goal line, or they could be in the driver's seat.

4. Oklahoma (6-1): They have bounced back nicely from the Colorado upset, beating two ranked teams in a row after taking care of Missouri on Saturday.

5. LSU (6-1): The SEC has a lot of good (not great) teams and it is very hard to go unbeaten in that conference. Kentucky coming off a loss was a tough task for the Tigers. I still think they and Oklahoma are one-loss teams that will be playing for the National Title.

6. Cal (5-1): Just throw the ball out of bounds Kevin!!! That loss is going to sting for a while and have Cal fans second guessing that final play against Oregon State for the rest of the year if they win out and don't reach the BCS game.

7. Florida (4-2): They get a week off to rebound from that tough LSU loss and now they get a Kentucky team fresh off a big win. I seriously love how the SEC has one or two big games every week.

8. USC (5-1): Looked horrible against Arizona. A win is a win in the Pac-10, which is probably the second best conference in the country this year.

9. South Florida (6-0): Nothing like playing Florida Atlantic and Central Florida back-to-back. They are due to lose......soon.

10. West Virginia (5-1): Coming off a bye week and playing a tough SEC team in Mississippi State team that has been playing all the big teams tough. With Rutgers on the horizon, could be a trap game.

11. South Carolina (6-1): Standing pat after a not so dominating win over North Carolina.

12. Virginia Tech (6-1): The Hokies are starting to play better and have bounced back after getting trounced by LSU in September. The biggie is next Thursday against BC.

13. Kentucky (6-1): Big win over LSU propels them seven spots as the Wildcats make this week's biggest jump.

14. Tennessee (4-2): The Vols are a bad half against Florida and a few mistakes against Cal away from being undefeated. They are in control of their destiny in the SEC East.

15. Arizona State (7-0): The Sun Devils keep winning, but have USC, UCLA, Cal and Oregon left on the schedule.

16. Hawaii (7-0): Avoided the upset on National Television by coming back to beat San Jose State. Fresno State and Boise State are still hurdles in the WAC.

17. Michigan (5-2): The Wolverines pounded Purdue despite losing Mike Hart after the first half and then losing his backup, Brandon Minor shortly after. Big Blue is still a favorite to win the Big Ten.

18. Auburn (5-2): They keep winning tough SEC road games.

19. Texas (5-2): They weren't very nice to Iowa State on Saturday.

20. Georgia (5-2): Should have lost to Vandy, but caught some breaks. You need those to win tough conference road games.

21. Missouri (5-1): Mistakes cost them in Norman on Saturday. Big 12 North is still wide open.

22. Illinois (5-2): Tough loss at Iowa, perhaps looking ahead to Michigan. They still have a chance to win the Big Ten.

23. Penn State (5-2): The Nittany Lions' only losses are two Michigan (five points) and Illinois (seven points).

24. Kansas (6-0): They're 6-0, so why the hell not?

25. Alabama (5-2): Third Saturday in October is a big game as far as the SEC picture goes.

Buster Olney was the only expert on ESPN with enough guts to steer his ship clear of picking the Boston Red Sox to beat the Cleveland Indians, thus advancing to the World Series.
I guess I don't know if that is guts or ignorance, but I appreciate it.
I am not an expert, but I think I know enough to know that the Red Sox are going to beat the Indians in the American League Championship Series. My heart really wants to go with Cleveland, seeing as they haven't won a World Series since 1948 but my brain knows that the Red Sox have the total package.
The Sox hit, pitch and field well and probably own the biggest home field advantage with the quirks of Fenway. Boston also beat the Indians five times out of seven in the regular season, and the last time they faced them in the post-season was in the 1999 ALDS when they won the last three games to come back from an 0-2 deficit to take the series.
I don't think the Red Sox can beat C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona back-to-back, so Cleveland will salvage the split. I also can't see Cleveland winning both games Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd pitch, so essentially I see this series going seven games.
That seventh game will obviously be at Fenway, and it's nearly impossible to pick against Boston in a deciding game at home.
Prediction: Sox in seven.

Does anyone remember the last time the Rockies lost?
It was September 16 and the pitcher in that game was Arizona's Brandon Webb, the very same Brandon Webb that is starting game one of the NLCS for the Diamondbacks.
I wouldn't exactly consider game one a sure thing for Arizona, considering that September 16 start was the only time that the sinker baller beat the Rox in six starts over the season. He was 1-3 against them as the three losses were the most he had against any team. His 5.77 ERA against them was the highest of any opponent he faced during the regular season as well.
The Rockies also took the season series, winning 10 of the 18 games against their NL West rivals.
I guess it sounds like I am really high on the Rockies, and the truth is I am. Not so much because I think they are amazing (which they have been) but more because of how horrible I think the Diamondbacks are.
Colorado is hotter, they have more talent and they are the best fielding team in baseball. I will take a middle of the order with Tulowitzki, Holliday, Helton, Atkins and Hawpe over Mark Reynolds, Connor Jackson, Eric Byrnes and whichever other overachieving bums that happen to be in the Arizona lineup on that particular day.
Prediction: Rockies in six.

1. LSU (6-0): The Tigers are a clear cut number one and in fact look pretty unstoppable. They passed a major test on Saturday by beating a very good, hungry and angry Florida team.

2. Cal (5-0): The only other legitimate unbeaten team is the Golden Bears. They have a few hurdles to clear, but with that many weapons it's easy to see how they could play for a National Title.

3. Ohio State (6-0): The Buckeyes just keep winning and with a very weak Big Ten Conference, they could keep doing so and even without being dominant could play for a National Title.

4. Oregon (4-1): Forget conventional rankings where you lose and drop and have to move up slowly. This poll is who I think the top teams are and Oregon is as good as anyone. They were six inches from taking Cal into overtime. Those two teams are very even.

5. Boston College (6-0): I think they are very good and with the lack of dominant teams in college football, I suppose they are a top five team.

6. Oklahoma (5-1): They bounced back from a tough loss in Boulder to beat Texas in the Red River shootout. I think Oklahoma is going to be okay, and probably won't lose again.

7. Florida (4-2): Two losses or not, the Gators are still very good. They have lost both games by a combined seven points, including a field goal as time expired and lost to LSU in the final minute in Baton Rouge.

8. USC (4-1): I wish I could drop them, but I just kept looking at teams to rank them behind and I couldn't do it. They certainly deserve to be dropped after allowing Stanford to convert on fourth and 20 and then win the game on fourth and goal. They have struggled with Washington and Idaho as well, so they aren't as good as we thought going into this year.

9. South Florida (5-0): What is wrong with this picture? What? If I didn't think so highly of West Virginia, there is now way I would have the Bulls this high.

10. West Virginia (5-1): Despite the Big East being weak, I do think WV is legit. They just can't beat South Florida. Two years in a row they have had their title hopes dashed by the Bulls.

11. South Carolina (5-1): Perhaps I am overvaluing the SEC, but their only loss is by 12 to LSU. The Cocks are a solid squad.

12. Missouri (5-0): I think the Big 12 is awful, but the Tigers keep winning convincingly. They pounded Nebraska and have a nice win over Illinois to their credit.

13. Virginia Tech (5-1): I don't think they are that good, but I think the ACC is worse. I guess beating Clemson is a nice win.

14. Illinois (5-1): Ron Zook has got himself a good team in Champagne. I feel they are easily a top 15 team considering the field this year, and perhaps the Big Ten favorite.

15. Wisconsin (5-1): It was just a matter of time before they got beat. They are a solid squad, just not an unbeaten, BCS contender.

16. Arizona State (6-0): They are an upset waiting to happen, but they keep getting by.

17. Hawaii (6-0): Colt Brennan's nickname is throw. The Warriors offense is trouble for anyone they play.

18. Cincinnati (5-0): Danny Fortson and Nick van Exel are stoked.

19. Tennessee (3-2): They have losses to Cal and Florida. Can't get too many better losses than that. Pummeling Georgia showed they are a good team. Or is Georgia just terrible?

20. Kentucky (5-1): Again, the SEC gets some love. They are a top 25 team, but I don't know if they are any more than that.

21. Michigan (4-2): They aren't exactly dominating as they bounce back from starting 0-2, but they are still better than all but 20 teams in the country. At least for now.

22. Georgia (4-2): I love the SEC. Who else? Everyone sucks this year.

23. Auburn (4-2): The South Florida loss doesn't look bad now, but the Mississippi State loss does. A win over Florida shows they are still a good team who went through a rough stretch.

24. Texas (4-2): The name on the front of their jersey keeps them ranked. Despite looking bad in starting 4-1, they looked better in losing to Oklahoma by just a touchdown.

25. Florida State (4-1): Whatever.

The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks are going to play for the rights to go to the World Series. I repeat; one of these two teams is going to play in the Fall Classic.
How? Why?
The Diamondbacks were outscored by 20 runs this season, yet found a way to win 90 games and took the National League's best record into their National League Division Series with the Cubs.
At least, I think they played the Cubs. Did that series even take place?
I thought it was supposed to start on Wednesday, but I don't remember hearing about it.
In all seriousness, the series was a joke. The Cubs scored six runs in the three-game sweep and four of those runs came in a game two loss.
I'm not going to pretend to know how the Diamondbacks are good. I mean for the love of god, they have Mark Reynolds and Jeff Salazar in their lineup. This can't go on any longer, or can it?
Well, they are playing the Colorado which has never been to the LCS and hasn't had a winning season since going 82-80 in 2000.
The scary thing is that I have to imagine that the Rockies are the favorite. They won 14 out of 15 just to get into the playoffs and then just kept steamrolling through the LDS, sweeping a Phillies team that was nearly as hot.
The Phils won 13 out of 17 to end the year, snatching the NL East from the Mets, but looked inept against Colorado. They hit .274 as a team in the regular season but scored just eight runs in three games against Colorado as five of them came in game two.
The Phils had their hearts ripped out in the fourth inning of game two, leading 3-2 and threatening to get back into the series when Kazuo Matsui (a Mets castoff) launched a 900-foot grand slam off Kyle Lohse (because that's what he does, allows home runs that don't land) and the Rox never looked back.
So now, by default, one of these two teams will be in the World Series as unimaginable as that is. Whichever team it is better soak it in as soon as they get there, because it will probably only last four games after the American League champs pounds them into the ground.

Central Division

1. Detroit (2)

The Wings get older every year, but they are always a Stanley Cup contender. The over 34 brigade are Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Chris Chelios, Nick Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and Dominik Hasek. With a backup in Chris Osgood it seems the Wings may be one groin pull away from not having a legitimate number one goalie, but Hasek was able to make it through all of last season injury free. If he can do that two years in a row it will be a minor miracle.

There are some younger players coming through the system. Valtteri Filppula looked great in the playoffs last season and of course Datsyuk and Zetterberg are both in their 20s. Brian Rafalski was added to make up for the loss of Matthieu Schneider and he should be good for about 10 more points a year now that he is out of New Jersey's defense first system. The Wings are a cup contender, but it will depend on Hasek's health. You get the feeling that one of these days the 42-year-old just isn't going to be an elite NHL goaltender anymore. But that day hasn't yet arrived.

2. Chicago

The Blackhawks haven't been very good recently. Chicago's success or lack thereof will hinge on Mark Prior and Kerry Wood (or Martin Havlat, Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu). Even new acquisition Robert Lang has an injury history. Highly touted prospects Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes are both expected to be major contributors to the team and their upside may be enough to get the Hawks into the playoffs. There is actually quite a bit of talent here and we may see it gel into a pretty effective team this season.

Remember Nikolai Khabibulin is being paid $6.75 million for a reason, he is quite good. The Blackhawks have the 34-year-old for three more years and he has the ability to take them back to the playoffs with the right group of guys around him. This team is probably the most exciting story of the season and the team I will have my eye on for the first month and a half. They could make the playoffs if things go right. And playing in probably the weakest division in the league, they just might get to the estimated 95 points needed to do it.

3. Nashville

The Predators better hope they don't draw the Sharks in the first round of the playoffs again this year. In fact, they might do better just hoping to make the playoffs at all. Tomas Vokoun is in Florida and Chris Mason, who has performed competently, will be the starter. But Mason is the kind of goaltender that can backstop a good team, not the game stealer that Vokoun has the capability of being, and the Predators aren't exactly a good team anymore.

Paul Kariya is gone and so is Peter Forsberg, who wasn't much effective anyway. Steve Sullivan, who is always hurt, is hurt again. This time it's his back and he will be out for months. Things are completely up in the air and he may not be Steve Sullivan ever again if and when he comes back. Scott Hartnell took the money and ran to Philadelphia and so did Kimmo Timmonen. To make up for this Alexander Radulov in his second season should see a huge boost in ice time. Marek Zidlicky will hope to see a resurgence this season alongside young blueliners Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Playing in a weaker division will help this team, but it's hard to see them making the playoffs with the amount of talent they have lost.

4. St. Louis

Everyone loves GM John Davidson and Coach Andy Murray and want to see them succeed. They seem to be on their way. Signing Paul Kariya will be a big help, but alongside him are old people like Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight. Unfortunately, these players probably won't be effective in two or three years when this team will challenge for the playoffs and actually need them.

The 19-year-old Erik Johnson is the top rated prospect defenseman in the game and will see a lot of ice time right away. Questions abound in goal with 23-year-old Hannu Toivonen, who had one good year in Boston and looked like the latest in a large crop of star Finish goaltenders. He still has quite a bit of upside. And then there is Manny Legace, who had one good season behind a great Detroit team two years ago and proceeded to fail in the playoffs when it mattered. St. Louis is a ways away from success, but if Toivonen finds his past form they could have found themselves a goalie for many years. However, that's a big if.

5. Columbus

This is the team where your career goes to die. Remember Sergei Fedorov and Adam Foote? They didn't retire, they just play for the Blue Jackets. There is some young talent here, as there should be for a team that hasn't made the playoffs once in their five seasons of existence. Gilbert Brule hasn't proven anything yet, but Nikolai Zherdev scored 54 points two years ago, before having a disappointing 2006/2007 season. And then there is always Rick Nash, who looked every bit as good as Ilya Kovalchuk in their rookie seasons, a year before the lockout. However, Nash hasn't been able to turn himself into one of the game's elite players as of yet.

Pascal Leclaire is the goalie of the future and he did as well as could be expected last season on such a poor team. I'd look for Zherdev to rebound and get back to 50+ points, but there aren't a lot of good things to say about this team. For a team that is so well attended by the city of Columbus, it's too bad that after five years they still haven't been able to get it together.

Northwest Division

1. Vancouver (3)

The Canucks have the best goalie in the NHL. Their problem will be finding the scoring to compliment that. The Sedins will have another fantastic year together, but the challenge will be production from former superstar Markus Naslund and his linemate Brendan Morrison. These two and Todd Bertuzzi formed the most potent line combination the year prior to the lockout. Both have seen their numbers decline in recent years. Any average hockey team with Luongo has a shot at making a deep playoff run. Adding some scoring at the trade deadline would be nice.

2. Calgary (5)

Crazy Mike Keenan has been brought in to coach the Flames, a move that had hockey experts befuddled. The Flames still have many of the key players from their cup run of three seasons ago. Built from the net out Miikka Kiprusoff will probably play another 80 games this season. Dion Phaneuf has already established himself as an elite defenseman in this league with his hitting and scoring punch, and the team added Adrian Aucoin and Cory Sarich for probably too much money. They will join the top notch defensive corp with large bodied Robyn Regehr and Rhett Warrener.

Scoring was always secondary in the Flames game plan, but they have more offensive weapons than ever. Alex Tanguay hasn't had Colorado numbers since he joined the team last year, but Daymond Langkow and Kristian Huselius had truly breakout seasons alongside the prolific Jerome Iginla. Both reached career highs in points (77). If you believe Langkow and Huselius won't fall off their point per game pace and Tanguay has a bounce-back year then the Flames will win the division.

3. Minnesota (6)

The Wild have now let longtime goalie tandem Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson go, but they've found a couple of equally capable replacements in Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding. Backstrom played half a season last year and finished with a league leading GAA of 1.97. For his troubles the 29-year-old received a two year $3.1 million contract. The 23-year-old Harding is the goalie of the future, and the two may split time like Fernandez and Roloson used to do. Needless to say the already defensive minded Jacques Lemaire team looks set to be even better defensively this season, and set in goal for years to come.

On offense the oft-injured Slovakian duo of Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra are as good of a one-two punch as any in the league. Saku's younger brother Mikko Koivu looks poised to step up as their first line center, and if they stay healthy he could have a big season. On the second line Brian Rolston should be good for another 60+ points.

In the playoffs it is important to have more than one good line. Last season Anaheim easily shut down Demitra and Gaborik leaving the Wild without much of a chance in their first round five game dismissal at the hands of the Ducks. It's that lack of scoring depth that keeps Minnesota from being one of the elite teams, but as with any Lemaire coached team they will be very competitive if not the most exciting to watch at times.

4. Colorado (7)

The Avs had a good offseason adding Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan. Smyth should play with Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette. The second line will have rookie standouts Peter Stasny and Wojtek Wolski in their second seasons. We haven't even mentioned Milan Hejduk, who has seen his numbers decline and one year wonder Marek Svatos who may be back to his rookie season form. John-Michael Liles is on the cusp of being a top NHL blue-liner and Jordan Leopold, who spent much of last season injured needs to be the number two guy on defense. Obviously goals will be easy to come by.

The question is in net. Peter Budaj and Jose Theodore haven't proven to be anything more than average. Average goaltending should get this team to the playoffs, but it keeps them from being one of the elite teams in the West.

5. Edmonton

The Oilers offseason was characterized by the RFA offer sheets desperate GM Kevin Lowe threw at Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner. Both incredibly overvalued the Sabres matched Vanek's offer not wanting to lose three of their top players in one season. The Ducks had the luxury of letting Penner go so Penner joins an Oilers team that looks to be near the bottom of the Western Conference. A lot of people are beginning to compare Penner to a young Ryan Smyth and that doesn't bode well for him. Penner has gone from being a small part of a successful franchise in a non-hockey city, to being a highly paid go-to-guy on the Edmonton Oilers, a city where pressure will be applied daily. If Penner doesn't live up to his contract early on (and it's hard to see him being able to) expect people to turn on him quickly, especially if Smyth is racking up the goals alongside Joe Sakic.

This is a team that was a game away from winning the Stanley Cup two seasons ago, but Pronger is gone, team captain Jason Smith is gone and Smyth is gone. They splashed the cash for Sheldon Souray, who many experts criticize on defense and expect not to match his stellar offensive numbers last season. If he does he is a top five offensive-defenseman in the league. Ales Hemsky hasn't turned into the player many thought he would. Considering the Oilers probably won't make the playoffs and gave this season's first round pick to the Ducks as compensation for Penner it could be a long year, with little to no payoff.

Pacific Division

1. Anaheim (1)

The Ducks are the defending champions and despite losing two of their best players you can hardly say they've even taken a step back. Sure Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne will be missed, but Todd Bertuzzi and Matthieu Schneider are admirable replacements.

Brian Burke will have been glad to part with Dustin Penner for the price Kevin Lowe paid for him. An Oilers first round compensation draft pick looks nice and tasty this year with Edmonton sure to miss the playoffs and maybe even finish at the bottom of the conference. With two legitimate number one goalies and (number two draft pick behind Sidney Crosby) Bobby Ryan in the mix we are talking about a team that will coast into the playoffs.

2. San Jose (4)

Coach Ron Wilson may have just one more year to get it right. With a couple of seasons worth of playoff disappointments the Sharks come back with no goalie dilemmas (Evgeni Nabokov is the undisputed number one with Vesa Toskala in Toronto) and a young core that is one year older. All 23 or younger, defensemen Matt Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and forwards Steve Bernier, Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek should be even better this season. And much hyped 2005 first round pick Devin Setoguchi has made the team after recovering from the knee injury that forced him to spend another season in juniors last year.

Wilson has been experimenting with Patrick Marleau on the top line with Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo in preseason. If this line stays together it is the best line in hockey. With the loss of defensive stalwart Scott Hannan to Colorado, the Sharks may look to add to their young blueline sometime this season, but their wealth of young forwards and top goaltender make them a cup favorite once again.

3. Dallas (8)

The Stars won't score a lot of goals, but they won't give up many either. Regular season standout goaltender Marty Turco proved the doubters wrong in last years playoffs, his team just couldn't manage enough goals for him in the only seven game series in the entire 2007 playoffs.

The team lost the non-effective Ladislav Nagy to Los Angeles and scoring help is expected from a group of players who had down seasons last year. Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow and Jere Lehtinen, three names synonymous with the Dallas Stars, have seen their numbers decline. Morrow took over the captaincy last season, but only played half the year due to injuries. Modano missed a quarter of the season, which saw one year wonder Mike Ribeiro lead the team in scoring (59 points).

The team is led on defense by Mattias Norstrom who will stick his face in front of a puck if it helps the team. Sergei Zubov and Phillipe Boucher are guaranteed big point getters on the power play. Dallas should make the playoffs if Modano and Morrow can stay healthy and get back to 65 points each. Todd Fedoruk will attempt to make a return to the league with Dallas after having his head bashed in by Minnesota's tough-guy Derek Boogard last year.

4. Los Angeles

The Kings season will rest on its goaltending questions again this year. Last year when Dan Cloutier wasn't letting beach balls into his net he was injured. This year he was waived and with nobody taking on his contract he will sit in Manchester. Jason Labarbara had an outstanding year in AHL and 19-year-old QMJHL prospect Jonathan Bernier has impressed in the pre-season.

The Kings brought in a group of five marginal free agents to shore up their young foundation. Ladislav Nagy and Michael Handzus hope to find the chemistry they had in St. Louis and Phoenix. Kyle Calder will probably play a third line role, but has impressed in the pre-season and may find his way onto the top six. Patrick O' Sullivan and Anze Kopitar are entering their second seasons. Kopitar was well on his way to a runner-up finish for the Calder behind Evgeni Malkin until he missed his team's last 10 games due to injury. Kopitar will play with Michael Cammalleri whose point per game pace last season led the team in scoring.

The blue line should be one of the best in the league with Lubomir Visnovsky a legitimate elite point scoring defenseman alongside the Lidstroms and the Gonchars of the world. Tom Preissing and Brad Stuart were added along with the first full season of Jack Johnson and Rob Blake in a contract year. Solid goaltending would be enough to get this team into the playoffs, but as of now that's still a huge question mark.

5. Phoenix

The Coyotes shouldn't be very good. They have not added anyone of note and a team that finished near the bottom of the conference last season should stay there during their rebuilding process. With Curtis Joseph gone, three mediocre goalies, Vancouver/Florida cast off Alex Auld, Colorado/Montreal castoff David Aebischer, and former Toronto backup Mikael Tellqvist will fight for the number one job.

Ed Jovanovski is somehow getting paid $6.5 million. They will hope to move that salary at some point this season as it doesn't come off the books for another four years. Young center Peter Mueller is a bright spot prospect on a team that lacks scoring punch. There isn't a lot of good things to say other than the Coyotes may get the number one pick and the honor of drafting Oshawa's John Tavares, the CHL's MVP last season.

National League

MVP

Matt Holliday- Holliday led the league in batting average (.340), RBIs (137) and was fourth in home runs, but it wasn't the statistics as much as it was his performance down the stretch. The Rockies won 14 of their final 15 games to sneak into the playoffs as he hit .367 in the month of September with 12 home runs and 30 runs driven in. He battled an oblique injury and went 24-for-52 during Colorado's final 15-game stretch.

Jimmy Rollins- Rollins talked the talk then he walked the walk. After off-season comments about the Phillies being the team to beat in the NL East, the shortstop played a big part in the Phils erasing a seven-game lead over the final 17 games of the season. He hit .296 and drove in 94 runs as a leadoff hitter, but he also did something nobody has ever done. He is the first ever 200-20-20-20-20 guy as he had 212 hits, 38 doubles, 30 homers, 20 triples and 41 stolen bases. Plus, he went to Encinal High School in Oakland, giving him bonus points.

Prince Fielder- He is a really big human, who hits balls far. The 23-year old did his part to keep the Brewers from sinking as he bashed an NL-leading 50 home runs and drove in 119 runs. Milwaukee's collapse may hurt him, and out of sheer anger the Prince might eat Bernie the Brewer.


CY Young

Jake Peavy- Filthy. Only the sixth player to ever win the pitching triple crown as he led the National League in wins with 19, ERA with a 2.54 and strikeouts with 240. He has absolutely devastating stuff and it's a miracle he ever loses.

Brandon Webb- If Mariano Rivera is proof a closer needs just one pitch, then Brandon Webb is proof a starter can get by with one pitch. He might bore you to death with sinker after sinker, but 18 wins, a 3.01 ERA to go along with four complete games and three shutouts are proof enough. Let's not forget the 42 straight scoreless innings.

Brad Penny- For the second straight year, Penny won 16 games but the difference this time is he lost only four times and had an ERA of 3.03. He had only three wins after July 26 and didn't exactly end the season pitching terrific.


ROY

Ryan Braun- Let's forget that he's a butcher at third base, just look at his offensive numbers. Even though he didn't get to the bigs until May 25 he still had 34 home runs, 97 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. If he had that quarter of a season to his credit his numbers might be something like 42 home runs, 121 RBIs and 20 steals. Scary.

Troy Tulowitzki- He has all the momentum going into voting because of how hot he got during the Rockies run to the playoffs. After a miserable April which saw him hit .244 with just two homers, he turned it around and hit .291 with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs. Also, he led all National League shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage and committed just 11 errors compared to 26 errors and a horrendous .895 fielding percentage by Braun.

Hunter Pence- This guy was on his way to winning the award early, but a broken wrist forced him to miss four weeks. He still wound up hitting .322 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs.


MANAGER

Clint Hurdle- The Rockies are in the playoffs. Nuf Ced.

Bob Melvin- The Diamondbacks have the best record in the National League despite being outscored by 20 runs. Stupid, but also, Nuf Ced, again.

Charlie Manuel- Between threatening to fight baseball writers, he got the Phillies on a hot streak and took advantage of a huge choke job by the Mets.


American League

MVP

Alex Rodriguez- This just in; A-Rod is good. Of course we know he lead the universe in home runs and RBIs, but lest we forget the Yankees were 10 games under .500 and sinking like a stone when he came to the rescue. Also, did anyone notice that he led the AL in fielding percentage for third baseman that played more than 120 games?

Magglio Ordonez-Magglio rode his super-mullet to a batting crown, hitting .363 and he was also second in the AL with 139 RBIs to go with 28 home runs and 54 doubles. Had this guy been playing in the National League he would be bringing home some hardware.

David Ortiz- Ortiz had yet another great year, despite his home runs dropping from 54 to 35. He hit .332 and had 117 runs driven in and 52 doubles. Now if he would only play a position......


Cy Young

John Lackey- I think it is going to get overlooked, buy Lackey had the best year of any AL pitcher by far. He was second in wins, he led the league with a 3.01 ERA and he threw a pair of complete game shutouts. He threw 224 innings and walked only 52 batters. That's less than two per nine innings.

Josh Beckett- Beckett will likely win this award because he won 20 games and he plays in Boston and blah, blah, blah. Don't get me wrong, he had a great year. But his ERA (3.27) is a quarter of a run higher than Lackey's. He also threw nearly 24 less innings and had no shutouts.

C.C. Sabathia- No one takes the ball and delivers as many innings as the Tribe's big fella. He lead the league in innings with 241 as he threw four complete games, had 19 wins and an ERA of 3.19. If I wasn't so sure that Beckett is going to win because the BBWAA loves Boston, I would have picked him second.


ROY

Dustin Pedroia- And the winner by default is......Dustin Pedroia. It's a weak rookie class in the American League, but Pedroia bounced back nicely from a disastrous April that saw him hit .182. He wound up hitting .317 with eight homers and 50 RBIs.

Delmon Young- When this guy's not throwing his bat at umpires, he's a pretty good ball player. This year he played in all 162 of the Devil Rays' games as he drove in 93 runs. He also stole 10 bases and hit .288.

Brian Bannister- I know what you're thinking: "Who in the hell is Brian Bannister?" Well, he's a kid that the Mets gave six starts to last year and gave up on him. All he did was go 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA for one of the worst teams in baseball, the Royals. He also tossed a complete game.


MANAGER

Eric Wedge- 96 wins and you have Paul Byrd in your rotation and Joe Borowski as your closer. He did something right.

Mike Scioscia- The guy flat out knows how to get the best out of his guys. Their lineup is not the most imposing, but he knows how to manage them the right way. He is strategic and surrounds himself with interchangeable parts, which is why the Angels don't get bothered when somebody gets hurt as much as other teams do.

Joe Torre- So if you gave me a team with a $200 million payroll, I would probably win too. But this year Torre took a sinking ship and did his best job of taking what was a near disaster and turning it into a successful season. His best job yet if you ask me.