Surprise Surprise

I'm not the least bit surprised to find out over the weekend via Sports Illustrated that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, even though he went on the record last year saying he never took any such things.

Let's face it: when it comes to the Steroid Era is baseball, no one is immune to scrutiny.
Sure, we wanted to believe A-Rod was clean, even going so far as to say he would overtake Barry Bonds' mark of 762 career home runs and return pride and glory to the game.

Instead, Rodriguez brought distrust and shame.

To be fair, A-Rod's admission to Peter Gammons in Monday's ESPN interview was a step in the right direction. Recent history had shown that guys who own up to using performance-enhancers fare better in the public eye. Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte and Brian Roberts are all perfect examples. Each guy, upon being named in a steroids or HGH probe, came out and apologized.

Do we still rail on them? No -- we save our venom for guys like Bonds ("I never knowingly took steroids"), Roger Clemens ("You misremembered"), Mark McGwire ("I'm not here to talk about the past") and Rafael Palmeiro ("I have never taken steroids -- period").

So in that regard, A-Rod deserves kudos.

Still, the revelation proves that no one should be presumed innocent anymore. Even Ken Griffey Jr., a player I've respected since youth, isn't immune to suspicion anymore. I want to believe he's clean, that he played his career and put up Hall of Fame numbers the right way, but until someone actually proves Griffey never juiced, I have my doubts.

Everyone is at fault when it comes to the Steroid Era: the players for taking the drugs; the players' union for fighting so hard against drug testing; Major League Baseball -- specifically commissioner Bud Selig -- for allowing the union to flex its collective muscle in such a manner; the owners and general managers for turning a blind eye to their own players; and the media, for not reporting their suspicions in the height of the game's resurgence.

The union is also to blame for A-Rod's positive test becoming public. Testing in 2003 was for survey purposes only -- the league was testing to see how many players were juicing and to see if a policy in 2004 would be justified. The test was supposed to be anonymous, and the list of names of those who tested positive was supposed to have been destroyed once 2003 tests were complete.

Only that list was never destroyed. Come to think of it ... why were names even on those tests to begin with? If this was supposed to be anonymous, why figure out who juiced? Wasn't the goal simply to see how many?

If I'm one of the other 103 players to test positive in 2003, I'm nervous right now, because what's to stop some intrepid reporter from unearthing their name and dragging it through the mud as well?

A-Rod deserves credit for coming forward, but he also deserves criticism for taking the banned substances in the first place -- regardless of MLB rules at the time, such drugs were still illegal without a doctor's prescription -- just as he deserves criticism for lying to Katie Couric in last year's 60 Minutes interview.

He may not ever face suspension or jail time, but A-Rod has taken a massive PR hit, and 2009 might not be that much fun for him. But by coming clean, if Rodriguez can weather the coming storm (produce on the field, don't test positive for anything else), he might be better off for it in the long run.

He might even still make the Hall of Fame one day. Which is more than McGwire can say.

High on the Pedestal

Sometimes it’s easy to forget celebrities and athletes are as human as the rest of us. That is especially true of Michael Phelps, who because of his inhuman feats in the pool, some might think he has gills.

But Phelps offered up another reminder over the weekend, when a photo of him inhaling from a marijuana pipe surfaced in the British tabloid News of the World. Phelps did not argue the authenticity of the photo, which was taken at a campus party at the University of South Carolina back in November, and immediately issued an apology.

Not one of those typical, half-assed apologies we normally get from athletes. You know, the whole “I apologize to anyone who was offended” thing. No, Phelps took complete responsibility for his actions, calling what he did “regrettable” and an exercise in “bad judgment.” Say what you will about the youthful immaturity that led him to smoking marijuana in the first place – Phelps demonstrated remarkable maturity in owning up for his mistake.

I’m not condoning marijuana use – mostly because it’s illegal almost everywhere – and I think Phelps should suffer some sort of backlash from this (the Richland County Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday they’re considering charges, pending an investigation), but in light of his apology, I’m willing to give him another chance. I realize this would be his third strike, since he was busted for DUI following the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but shouldn’t we allow young people to make mistakes and learn from them, even if they were thrust into the public eye after turning every pool in Beijing into their personal playground?

Eight gold medals landed Phelps a lot of money, but they didn’t make him infallible.

Fact is, smoking marijuana isn’t that unusual for a 23-year-old. If Phelps were a typical 23-year-old, this would barely be a blip on the proverbial radar, but given who he is and what he’s accomplished in his athletic career – not to mention the millions of dollars in endorsements he’s raking in – Phelps left typical a long time ago.

In the age of the Internet and cell phone cameras, celebrities and athletes have even less privacy than before; look no further than Arizona Cardinals backup Matt Leinart, who could be seen last offseason entertaining possibly-underage co-eds at keggers with beer bongs and the like. Though the Cardinals never said so, I’m not convinced those parties didn’t contribute to Leinart’s benching in favor of veteran Kurt Warner.

Phelps needs to realize that his fortune and sudden fame make doing most things impossible now – including smoking weed in private. There is no privacy for people like Phelps anymore, and the sooner he realizes that and straightens himself out, the better off everyone will be.

Phelps has said he hopes to compete in London in 2012, but if he doesn’t learn from this the way he promised he would (in the interest of fairness, he said almost the exact same thing after his DUI), he might not be able to compete. The World Anti-Doping Agency and the IOC can’t touch Phelps, since he never tested positive at the site of competition, but if sponsors pull the plug and the law gets a hold of him, that might be a whole different game.

Millions of people, including children, look up to Phelps. This is a chance for them to learn a lesson as well – that our heroes are often as human and mistake-prone as the rest of us, and that athletic prowess is a reason to respect someone, but not a reason to worship.

Though Charles Barkley might argue otherwise, Phelps is a role model. He needs to start acting like one.

Super Sunday

The Pittsburgh Steelers cemented themselves Sunday night in Tampa as the greatest NFL franchise in the league's history. Don't believe me? Count the Vince Lombardi Trophies.

The Steelers won their NFL-best sixth Sunday night, beating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII. The Cardinals scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, taking a brief 23-20 lead when Larry Fitzgerald scampered 64 yards into the endzone with 2:37 to play. Their toughness was impressive, and worthy of respect -- but the Steelers proved why they were the Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger engineered the 17th fourth-quarter comeback drive of his career, marching down the field before hitting Santonio Holmes from six yards out for the winning score with 35 seconds left. Holmes caught four passes on that drive, cementing Super Bowl MVP honors when his toes slid across the red grass before momentum carried him out of bounds.

Then, befitting of the league's No. 1 defense, the Steelers forced a Kurt Warner fumble and recovered for the final play of the game.

The Cardinals, despite two turnovers, didn't lose the game; Pittsburgh just won it. James Harrison's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the first half wasn't a mistake by Warner; Harrison made a fantastic play on the football. Fitzgerald had a wonderful game, catching seven balls for 127 yards and two scores.

If Arizona had held on for the win, he might've been MVP.

The Cardinals defense kept Pittsburgh out of the endzone twice when the Steelers had driven into the red zone -- including a stop at the 1-yard line -- forcing field goals rather than touchdowns. If the Steelers score touchdowns in those two instances, there is no Arizona comeback.

Whether the Cardinals were a bad playoff team will likely still be debated -- since they were a 9-7 champion of a bad NFC West and lost three of their last five regular-season games by three touchdowns or more. Arizona's run through Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia in the playoffs was impressive, a testament to the leadership of head coach Ken Whisenhunt and the mentality he's installed in the desert.

Simply put, these aren't your father's Arizona Cardinals. Maybe not even your big brother's.

What isn't up for debate is the greatness of head coach Mike Tomlin and this year's Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers had the league's toughest schedule, yet went 13-3 -- beating a very good Baltimore Ravens team twice to win the AFC North. Pittsburgh earned the AFC's second seed, beating San Diego and Baltimore en route to Tampa. The offense might not have been as flashy as New England's a year ago, but the running game combined with Roethlisberger more than did its part, while the defense played hard, physical football on its way to being the league's best, even invoking comparisons to the Steel Curtain.

I can't go that far, but the Super Bowl champion this season is as deserving as any other in recent memory. The best team won the championship this year, and in doing so, the Pittsburgh Steelers, as an organization, can officially call themselves the best of all-time.

Going Bowling

It seems like we have this argument every year, doesn’t it? An annual rite of passage, trashing the Bowl Championship Series, lamenting Division I-A football’s lack of a playoff system and trying to find something – anything – that would lend credence to an incredibly flawed system.

And after the public unveiling of this year’s BCS bowl games Sunday night, things appear much the same this time around. The National Championship match-up of Florida and Oklahoma was expected, given each team won its conference title game on Saturday, but the controversy still remains with the Sooners because, lest we forget (again), they lost in October to Texas.

The same Texas that gets … Ohio State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl?! Seriously? The Longhorns are one tackle of Michael Crabtree from an undefeated season, and they get a team from the Big Ten that doesn’t even deserve a BCS bid?

Think about it – Ohio State was clobbered by USC this year before losing to Penn State. Okay, so maybe losing to a pair of Top 3-ranked teams isn’t the best example – but you’re seriously going to take an Ohio State team that struggled against the likes of Ohio and Troy, while banishing Boise State (12-0, dominating the WAC) to the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl again TCU?

Tell you what, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that if you put Boise State against Ohio State on a neutral field, Boise State wipes the floor with the Buckeyes. I’m over Texas getting passed over in favor of Oklahoma (that controversy is so last week), but I can’t understand how an undefeated Boise State can get passed over in favor of a two-loss team from the Big Ten.

Then again, it is the BCS.

As for Florida-Oklahoma, it’s an intriguing match-up – certainly better than the blowouts of the last two years. Forget any talk of defense in this game, because these are two of the most dynamic and explosive offenses in all of Division I-A football (I refuse to use the FBS or FCS things – it’s I-A and I-AA). Florida averaged 38.9 points a game this season, while Oklahoma is scoring a staggering 53.1 points per game.

I’ll give you time to read that number again.

The Sooners have scored at least 60 points in each of their last five games, and topped the 50 mark nine times. Oklahoma’s lowest point total this season? The Sooners twice scored “just” 35 points – in that loss to Texas and a win over TCU.

Hello, offense.

Florida’s defense has only given up 13.9 points per game this season, which might just slow down the Sooners – but don’t count on it. This is going to be an old-fashioned shootout, certainly better than the one-sided snoozefests Ohio State took part in each of the last two seasons.

That said, the bowl formula is still woefully inadequate. There are far too many bowl games, and the fact that a team can finish .500 is bowl eligible is seriously worth questioning. Seriously, does Notre Dame really deserve to go to a bowl this year? Sure, it’s the Aloha Bowl against 7-5 Hawaii, but I have a hard time believing a 6-6 team – that lost to 3-9 Syracuse – is worthy of a late December/early January contest.

Then again, if I’m Notre Dame, I take what I can get.

Easy solution: there should be no more than 20 bowl games, and in order to qualify for a bowl, a team has to win at least seven games against I-A competition. I’m tired of seeing I-A teams scheduling I-AA foes to get an easy blowout win, just as I’m tired of seeing 6-6 teams playing bowl games. Ideally, I’d like teams to at least be 8-4, but for the time being 7-5 will be acceptable.

I’d also like to see the soon-to-be President’s idea of an eight-team playoff implemented, but all of this makes far too much sense for college football to actually take it into account. So have fun waiting for Florida-Oklahoma for the next month; I’ll be watching college hoops and gearing up for Daytona.

NFL Week 5 -- and MLB Playoffs

The fact that the Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles 23-17 on Sunday wasn’t the surprising or impressive part – that Washington came back from being down 14-0 to do it was.

Jason Campbell wasn’t spectacular – though he was solid again, passing for 167 yards and again committing no turnovers. Clinton Portis ran all over an Eagles defense that looked gassed at the end, and Antwan Randle-El must’ve had memories of his college days when he lobbed that touchdown pass to Chris Cooley.

More impressively? A defense that held down an offense led by Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, not to mention the fact Washington pulled this off in Philly. The Redskins have already played their three NFC East road games this year, and sit 2-1 in those contests. While it’s entirely possible for New York, Dallas and Philadelphia to walk out of FedEx Field with a win, the fact that Washington came out of the toughest stretch of its 2008 schedule with a winning record is a good sign.

Also a good sign are the next three games for Washington: home against St. Louis, home against Cleveland and at Detroit. Those three teams have combined for one win so far this season, and it’s entirely possible the Redskins could go into their Monday night contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 7-1 record.

Don’t print out the Super Bowl tickets just yet, but the Redskins won’t the doormat of the NFC East this season.


Other Random NFL Musings

-Where did Aaron Rodgers go? After lighting up the professional football world for the first two weeks, Green Bay’s new quarterback has lost three straight games – including an inexplicable home defeat on Sunday to Atlanta. Add a nagging shoulder injury to the equation, and Cheeseheads everywhere have to be wondering if Ted Thompson made the right move running Brett Favre out of town after all.

-Sure, the Colts are 2-2 right now, but they could easily be 0-4. Houston practically gave that game to the Colts in the final five minutes on Sunday, and there is definitely something wrong in Indy. The team has yet to win in its new building, the offensive line appears to be a large revolving door, and I’m not sure how much more Marvin Harrison has in the tank. Yes, Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy are still there, and Indy might still make the playoffs, but the ship’s starting to take on water.

-It was nice to see Denver finally bring a defense to the game in Sunday’s 16-13 win over Tampa Bay. If the Broncos are hoping to become a serious force in the AFC, they’ll need a defense. I’ll grant that the Buccaneers aren’t the most explosive offensive team in the world, but Bronco fans have to be pleased with the fact that their team managed to hold a team under 20 points. Jay Cutler’s got that offense going; the Broncos need stops to be a legitimate contender.

-Am I the only one noticing that the Titans are a better team without Vince Young? I almost hate to suggest it, but Tennessee is 5-0. Kerry Collins isn’t turning the ball over, Chris Johnson’s proving to be a very good running back and the defense is hitting people upside their collective heads. Even if Young’s healthy, I consider keeping him on the bench, but if I must use the No. 3 overall pick from 2006, I start using that Wildcat offense Miami seems to have mastered.

-All the credit in the world to Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli for refusing to quit on his team, in spite of the Lions’ woeful 0-4 start. While Marinelli said he wouldn’t argue if management fired him – the way it did two weeks ago with general manager Matt Millen – Marinelli said the last thing he wanted to do was quit, and that he took the suggestion as a personal insult. I love guys who pledge to stick with it in spite of tough times – any players who fall in line with Marinelli will be better for it in the long run. Former Falcons coach Bobby Petrino could learn a lot from Marinelli.


Then There Were Four

The Dodgers and Phillies will face each other in the National League Championship Series, while the American League Championship Series will have a decidedly AL East feel, with the Red Sox and Rays squaring off. While MLB executives, guys whose entire lives sometimes revolve around television ratings are probably praying for a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series – and the bevy of potential storylines therein – that’s not necessarily a given.

The Phillies haven’t been this far into October since 1993, when Mitch Williams served up the World Series to Joe Carter and the Toronto Blue Jays. But Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Co. are primed for this trip, though Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers won’t be a tough out. I have a hard time picking against any team managed by Joe Torre, but I think the Phillies have too strong a lineup and a good rotation.

Not to mention, Brad Lidge hasn’t blown a save all year.

As for Red Sox-Rays, I can easily see this going seven games. I can understand why everyone might pick Boston, really I do; the Red Sox have won two of the last four World Series, and they have all this postseason experience and pedigree. But the Rays have shown tremendous grit over the season, winning games when they absolutely had to.

Tampa Bay won the season series 10-8, and it seemed every time the Rays needed to win to hold off the Red Sox, they did. I also like the resolve Tampa Bay showed after losing Game 3 to the White Sox, bouncing back to win Game 4 and take the series. I think this is that rare team that won’t let a lack of experience bother it, so I like Tampa Bay in seven.

So sorry, guys – we won’t see Manny, Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Lowe invading Fenway in Dodger uniforms. No “Manny Being Manny” as the Boston faithful rain down the boos. Phillies-Rays in the World Series, where I like Tampa Bay in six.

Is there a reason for that pick? Not really, but the Rays have been defying reason the whole season.

Did I Pick the Cubs? What, oh, What Was I Thinking?!

Is it too late to go back on my World Series pick from Wednesday? You know, the one where I said the Tampa Bay Rays would face the Chicago Cubs?

The good news is, I appear to have potentially been somewhat on the nose with the Tampa Bay pick; granted, it was only Game 1 of the ALDS against the White Sox, but the Rays looked intense and ready in a 6-4 win on Thursday. I don't think the White Sox have the pitching and offense to keep up with the Rays, who are virtually unbeateble at Tropicana Field.

But the Cubs? The best team in the National League this season? A team that won 97 games with a high-flying offense and a pitching staff that featured the likes of Rick "Can't Beat Me at Wrigley" Dempster, Carlos "Fireball" Zambrano and Rich "Hey, This is Much Better than Oakland!" Harden. Even Kerry Wood was in on the fun, giving the Cubs a reliable bullpen arm while actually managing to stay off the disabled list ... most of the time.

This looked like the year the Cubs might finally end the Billy Goat Curse. And the Bartman Curse. And the We're-Not-the-White-Sox Curse. After all, if Boston could exorcise its baseball demons in 2004 and the cross-town White Sox could forever banish Shoeless Joe a year later, why couldn't the Cubs finally win that elusive title 100 years after their last?

Because they're the Cubs. Losing is just a way of life for them. And I should've known better when I picked them to go to the World Series. Granted, I didn't forsee Dempster getting smacked around the ivy in Game 1, and I didn't think the Cubs' defense would implode to the tune of four errors in Game 2. But the thing with the Cubs in October is, you're probably better off betting on the unforseen. Conventional wisdom just doesn't work for this team.

So between the Dodgers' 2-0 lead heading back to Los Angeles and the way the Phillies are dispatching of the Brewers -- even knocking C.C. Sabathia out of Game 2 in the fourth inning on Thursday -- it's looking like we may be staring at a Philadelphia-Los Angeles NLCS. And if that's the case, I need to completely re-think my choice.

I find it almost impossible to pick against Joe Torre after the first two games of the Dodgers-Cubs series. This is a man who has made 13 consecutive postseason appearances as a manager, dating back to his Yankee days, and this time Torre did it without a plethora of high-priced free agents. Sure, he had Manny Ramirez tossed into his lap at the trade deadline, but the Dodgers were in NL West contention before then.

But the Phillies have Ryan Howard. And Chase Utley. And Jimmy Rollins. And Cole Hamels. And a rejuvinated Jamie Moyer. And Brad Lidge. Wait ... what was my argument for the Dodgers again?

So, Phillies-Dodgers in the NLCS. I'm gonna go with the Phils in six, mostly because of their rotation and that three-headed monster in the lineup. If Pat Burrell can get his back situated enough to be consistently effective, the Phils' chances of meeting the Rays in the playoffs look that much better.

But if I'm a Cubs fan, there is no longer any such thing as a lovable loser. If the Cubs do in fact finish this specatcular display of choking, there will only be one brand of loser on the North Side of Chicago, and it won't be very lovable. Then again, Cubs fans should take solace in three simple facts:

1) Bartman has absolutely nothing to do with this one.

2) Give it a few more days; the White Sox will likely join you in Chicago playoff futility.

3) The Bears might just give the Packers a run in the NFC North -- assuming Kyle Orton can keep from coughing up the ball. After this postseason, I think Chicago's had enough choking.

NFL Week 4 -- and Baseball Playoffs? Already?

Pipe Down: Terrell Owens was mad after Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Washington Redskins, Dallas' first loss of the season. Apparently, T.O. didn't get the ball enough, thus explaining why the Cowboys' offense looked so stagnant.

Stagnant being his word, not mine.

But examine the facts: Tony Romo threw T.O.'s way 17 times on Sunday, 15 in the second half. Owens ended the game with seven catches for 71 yards and a touchdown -- and could've had more if not for Washington's secondary hounding him like a lost puppy. That's not even taking into account the two times Dallas gave the ball to T.O. on a sweep.

Marion Barber had eight carries against the Redskins. Owens had a quarter of that, and he's not even a running back.

T.O. had his touches, which was actually part of the problem. Romo and head coach Wade Phillips appeared so set on getting the ball to T.O., they virtually ignored their other playmakers -- specifically Barber, Felix Jones, Jason Witten and Austin Miles. If Dallas had actually bothered to balance its offense and try to keep a depleted Washington defense off-guard, Sunday's game might've been a completely different story.

That said, though, the continued progression of Jason Campbell and head coach Jim Zorn's offense is nothing short of impressive, particularly considering the season-opening egg the Redskins laid against the Giants. If Washington can beat the Eagles this week -- a potentially tall order, given Philadelphia's pass rush -- then notice will be served that the NFC East is a four-team race.

In the meantime, let's just bask in the glory that is the Redskins beating its most hated and historic rival.


Cause: Just when you think Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders couldn't get more ridiculous, Tuesday's firing of Lane Kiffin happened. Kiffin's dismissal wasn't surprising -- Davis had hinted at wanting the young coach gone as early as January -- but the press conference that ensued was nothing short of astounding.

Davis said he fired Kiffin "for cause," and refused to pay Kiffin the remainder of his deal (listen closely enough, and you can hear Kiffin's lawyers already working on fighting that). According to Davis, Kiffin spent his tenure undermining Davis' authority and lying to the media in an effort to curry favor and make the Raiders' management look bad.

Which, trust me, they don't need Kiffin's help for.

Davis even showed the assembled media a letter he said he gave to Kiffin before the start of the season, outlining Kiffin's missteps and threatening termination if it happened again. That letter, with all its misspellings and grammatical inaccuracies, was released to the media and can be found here.

Kiffin, to his credit, was even-keel when asked about things late Tuesday evening, lamenting how disappointed and embarrassed he was. One got the sense he wasn't really bummed about being fired, only that he didn't appreciate the way Davis handled things.

I won't go into how the Raiders won't amount to much of anything so long as Davis is still pulling the strings -- everyone with an internet connection and ESPN can do that -- but Kiffin was actually starting to show signs of improvement. The Raiders are averaging a full touchdown more per game on offense than they did a year ago, and a run-oriented offense designed to take the pressure off JaMarcus Russell has shown signs of working.

Not to mention, with fourth-quarter leads each of the last three weeks, Oakland could easily be 3-1 instead of 1-3.

Here's hoping Kiffin finds another NFL job soon, even if it's as a coordinator. He's a young, bright football mind, and he deserves to be with an organization -- and an owner -- that knows what it's doing.


Playoff Picks: Major League Baseball playoffs start today, and for the first time since I was in middle school, the New York Yankees are nowhere to be found. But look on the bright side, Alex Rodriguez: at least this year no one can criticize you for an October choke job -- unless you have to have the Heimlich performed on you at some point in the next 31 days.

But eight teams are in -- the Rays, Red Sox, Angels and White Sox in the American League; the Phillies, Brewers, Cubs and Dodgers in the National League. While I struggle to find a clear favorite, I'll try my best -- mostly cause I'm bored here at work with nothing to do.

In the AL, it's tempting to pick the Rays. Like, real tempting. Tampa Bay has this knack for winning when it absolutely has to, something the Rays showed repeatedly throughout September, as they battled injuries and the defending World Series champion Red Sox nipped at their heels. There is something to be said for a lack of October playing experience, but this Rays team strikes me as the sort that won't let that bother them.

The Red Sox will obviously be a factor, but the Angels have Boston's number this year -- and Josh Beckett's injury woes will cast a shadow on the Red Sox. The White Sox are a nice story, and I'm sure plenty of you out there are having dreams of an All-Chicago World Series, but given the amount of energy Chicago had to produce just to get to the playoffs might come back to bite them.

My pick? Tampa Bay and Los Angeles in the ALCS. A seven-game free-for-all between the league's two best teams. Going completely with my gut here, I'll pick Tampa Bay to keep the dream alive and go to the Fall Classic.

In the NL, the Cubs were by far the best team in the league this season, which for any other team would be an automatic ticket to the World Series. But these are the Cubs, a team that falls victim to fluke circumstances and its own ineptitude so often it's almost expected. They should make easy work, though, of the Dodgers, who despite having Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, needed a late-season boost to win the woeful NL West.

Phillies-Brewers could be an interesting series, though Milwaukee will be in trouble. Ben Sheets is out for the playoffs with a torn muscle in his pitching elbow, which will make the Brewers' rotation C.C. Sabathia ... and a couple other guys. And since Sabathia can't pitch every day, I look for the Phils to take this one in four.

Phillies-Cubs in the NLCS. Who goes to the World Series? If for no other reason than starting pitching -- and the fact that Pat Burrell is a big question mark now because of his back -- I'll go with the Cubs.

So. Cubs-Rays in the World Series. Sign of the Apocalypse? Only if the Cubs win. I'll spare the world Armageddon for now and choose the Rays in seven.

Because I can.


Heartwarming: Tired of stories about athletes who are constantly getting in trouble with the law and thinking about "me me me" all the time? Then I direct you Dana O'Neill's piece on ESPN.com about Wisconsin basketball player Marcus Landry and how he balances fatherhood with academics and hoops.

It's the kind of story I'd love to see more of. You can read it here.