JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan

Dodgers in 6. I believe they split the season series 4-4, with both sweeping at home. However, this has been before Manny and Furcal. Manny has been such a difference maker in the lineup for the Dodgers, its spread to everyone. For the Dodgers to win however, they need better production from their 4-7 hitters. I think Joe may bat Matt Kemp fifth for this series, and he needs to step it up big. The Dodger pitching has been solid all year, so I don't expect them to tank here. On paper, the Phillies have the clear advantage, but thats what everyone said about the Cubs.

1. Who is the best QB in the league up to this point? 2. What the fuck happened to San Diego's running game? 3. Indianapolis is dead last in the league in rushing and dead last against the run. Baltimore is 4th in the league in rushing and FIRST against the run. Do the Colts need to get lucky again? 4. How long does Rod Marinelli keep his job? 5. Tennessee has two players with 4 INTs this year, and another with 3. By far the most in the league. Can this defense carry them into the playoffs and win there? 1. Eli Manning hands down. Accurate, can throw the long ball, can will his team to win. He might surpass his brother this year. The Giants MVP. 2. LT is getting older, no Micheal Turner and no Lorenzo Neal. I think teams are stacking the box now and daring Phillip Rivers to beat them. 3. The Ravens will find a way to self-destruct, like they usually do. 4. If the Lions bye week is coming up, they should fire him them. If not, they should do it now because this is getting no better under him. 5. In AFC this year, all signs point to yes.

Early Chicago at Atlanta- Both of these teams are hard to put a finger on, but every time Chicago plays a big game, they seem to have a letdown. I like Atlanta in this one. Miami at Houston- Poor Houston. Can't seem to get a break. They are not this bad, so I can give them the nod at home against the Dolphins Baltimore at Indianapolis- This is not the Indy of old. The Ravens should keep the scoring down, but I don't buy Joe Flacco going into Indy and getting a win just yet. Detroit at Minnesota- Minnesota wins because the Lions are just so damn pitiful. However stranger things have happened, and Minnesota has looked lost at times. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lions keep it close to steal this one. Oakland at New Orleans- My homer pick of the year. New Orleans isn't as good as advertised, and Oakland looks to shock the world after an eventful bye week. I think this is the week where the Raiders get on track. New Orleans turns the ball over way too much, and the Raiders have been pretty good so far getting offenses to turn the ball over. I look for the Raider offense to open it up big time, and players who wouldn't be playing under Kiffin to get a lot of looks. Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets- Brett is just going to have fun out there. The Bengals have played hard, god bless them, but they are not going to have an answer for Brett's deep ball. Carolina at Tampa Bay- Big NFC South game. It can go either way, but I like the Panthers in this one. St. Louis at Washington- Washington is the surprise power of the year, and it's going to take a lot for the hapless Rams to beat these guys at home. Late Jacksonville at Denver- Another push for me. Denver has been awesome at home this year, and for me Jacksonville has been a dissapointment, so I like the Donkeys to push their AFC West lead. Dallas at Arizona- This will be a high powered scoring fest. Like 43-41. Both teams have outstanding weapons, but I like Dallas' more. Philadelphia at San Francisco-I like the 49ers to bounce back from a tough loss and beat an overrated Eagles team Green Bay at Seattle- Green Bay owns Seattle, it should be no different here. SNF New England at San Diego- I hate both teams, but I would be tickled to see a 2-4 Chargers team. Go PATS! Football on Monday night N.Y. Giants at Cleveland- New York is the best team in football, this will be a beatdown.

Yeah, I had an itchy trigger finger

Mark Sanchez's bad knee got rolled up by an Oregon defender. I think he's done for the year. Edit: Well I guess it wasn't bad enough, he's playing. HE IS A MAN!!!!

The criminal justice system and civil justice system are entirely different animals though. Even though OJ was acquitted for double murder, that doesn't mean he couldn't be sued for wrongful death for money. This is not a case of double jeopary, because OJ was not charged with the same crime. He was held liable for Nicole and Ron's death. Suing OJ in civil court is not a "bullshit double jeopary" as you put it. As for being happy he got away with is quite sad. Two people died for no reason, you know.

Yeah, fuck the Goldmans for getting some monetary justice against the guy who killed their son. Greedy bastards!

Well, that's karma for ya.

Why wouldn't people be high on the Lakers? The Lakers returned pretty much all the key components of their Finals run plus a healthy Andrew Bynum, who didn't play in Finals (I think the result may have been a little different if he played). I mean, barring injury (and I hope the injury bug doesn't bite us real hard this year), the Lakers are pretty deep and verastile at every position I look at the West and honestly the only team that scares me is New Orleans. San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix look to be on the downside of their runs, Houston, in my mind, will always be overrated by everyone, Portland is a little too wet under the ears right now, and Utah will be good, but won't have the size and speed to beat the Lakers in a 7 game series. I look at the East, and I see the Cavs, Philly, Miami and Detriot as threats to the Celtics. Plus I think Boston is going to miss James Posey big time in the playoffs.

I think a lot of the Cub hate comes from the totally arrogant and annoying rep the fans get. I went to a Cub v. Dodger game in May this year, and the Cub fans were so fucking unbearable and loudmouthed for a franchise that hadn't won anything in 100 years. In 2003, I actually felt sorry for Cubs fans, but my sympathy has turned into schadenfreude in five years. I don't really participate in baseball talk round these parts, but I lurk and you, Bruiser, I respect and like reading your insight, because you are level headed and realistic unlike Czech, who is so fucking annoying at times with his sky is falling shit, I relish it when the Cubs eventually lose in the playoffs in the most agonizing way possible.

Yikes, I meant the Hornets, but I think the Blazers are going to be deadly this year, so I guess I'll stick with my mistake.

1. Who will win the MVP? LeBron James will claim his first of many MVP trophies 2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? Derrick Rose 3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? Larry Brown will win COY for guiding the Bobacats to their best record in history. 4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? C:Dwight Howard PF:Tim Duncan SF: LeBron James SG: Kobe Bryant PG: Steve Nash 5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? A bold prediction: Lamar Odom 6. What team had the best offseason? New Orleans Hornets, following by the LA Lakers for just bringing everyone back healthy 7. What team had the worst offseason? Golden State Warriors 8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Miami Heat 9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? Out on a limb: Philadelphia 76ers 10. What was the best offseason move? Posey to New Orleans 11. What was the worst offseason move? Clippers signing Baron Davis, only to lose Elton Brand 12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Miami Heat 13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Atlanta Hawks 14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, DeWayne Wade, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul 15. Who will be the division winners? Pacific: Los Angeles Lakers, Northwest: Portland TrailBlazers, Southwest: New Orleans Hornets Central: Clevland Cavs, Atlantic: Boston Celtics, Southeastern: Miami Heat 16. Eastern Conference Final: Celtics v. Cavs 17. Western Conference Final: Lakers v. Blazers 18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Los Angeles Lakers will take the title and will beat Boston in six 19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? Don't know 20. Make one bold prediction. The Phoenix Suns will not make the playoffs this year.

No. A good manager would've ditched Pierre prior to when he finally did. Haha good point, but with the injury to Furcal early, and really having to play Andruw Jones in center (kinda have to, since you are paying him a shitload), he really had no choice but to bat Juan Pierre leadoff in some instances. I mean could Grady Little have guided this team to really stay close all summer to Arizona?

Wade comes in and retires Fukudome. Ok, worry time done. Man, as a person who was alive during 1988, but is too young to remember, I can't remember being this excited about Dodger baseball. For a while now, this team was irrelevant (I blame that on the fucking Fox regime, that fucked up nearly all that the O'Malley's had built). Its nice to have meaningful October baseball back in Los Angeles. The fans here have been rabid about this team and hungry for a winner, I really commend the McCourts for sticking to our kids (and not giving up on our good vets), because its really paying off in spades. Is Joe Torre a contender for NL MOY? Because, with Andruw Jones, injuries and a lack of offense, he guided a sure loser to an unlikely playoff berth.

7-1, now. I'm about as elated as anyone, but the Cubs can come back. They have a little something going now. It's not over yet, guys.

One solution could be to just switch out the Bucks and Grizzlies. The Bucks would fit in the Northwest somehow, are Memphis is at least closer to the Central teams than it is to the Southwest teams Edit: In response to VX

Dude, only you and a few others here really give a shit about this. Its just sports dude. Maybe I'm just different since people here in SoCal have a different and less antagonizing view on so called "sports allegiances" that you guys on the East Coast do.

My bad, coulda sworn that they were in the Pacific Division.

Speaking of the Thunder, are they still in the Pacific Division, or was there an adjustment and I didn't hear about it?

Well to be fair, Matt is from Illinois, so I can see where he does get his Bull fandom from and he does live in Riverside, CA now, so its not out of the realm of possibilty he could pick up the Lakers as a new team. VX, was a Laker fan, but adopted the Blazers since he does live in Portland now. Does that make VX any less of a fan? No way. Anyways, what makes the quality of the sports folder go down is people that just can't ignore others. Just ignore Matt if you don't like him really. It's not hard, folks.

I'll defend Matt here. Honestly, who gives a shit about what sports teams Matt Young likes. It's not hurting anyone, it doesn't affect any of your lives what so ever. Let him like the fucking Lakers and Bulls, doesn't make a difference in my life, or any of yours. Its just fucking sports, entertainment really.

Add to the fact, I don't recall Matt ever really talking about the Dodgers at any detail this season. The only Dodger fan of note that I recall is 909 (I think there may be someone else. Darthtiki maybe) I have nothing against you Matt, but it is pretty lame that you come in the thread and exclaim GRAND SLAM DODGERS as if you were some die hard. I could really care less, but you have to acknowledge that it rubs people the wrong way. I'm a Dodger fan as well, but I'm not going to rub it in people's face, especially since I never particpate in any baseball discussion here. It makes you look like a bandwagon jumper (and we have enough of those in SoCal as it is).

Eh, I really don't care anymore. Al got what he wanted, Kiffin got his out (with no money), a new head coach is in, and I just want the Raiders to just play some fucking football. Both Al and Lane are probably spinning the real truth it in their respective positions. Both these guys look like fools IMO. Nobody gained anything from this. I'm just glad its over for now.

Week 6 Games to Make Picks For THURSDAY Oregon State at Utah FRIDAY Cincinnati at Marshall SATURDAY Indiana at Minnesota Boston College at N.C. State South Carolina at Mississippi Illinois at Michigan Florida State at Miami Arizona State at California Navy at Air Force Auburn at Vanderbilt Connecticut at North Carolina Ohio State at Wisconsin Oregon at USC Missouri at Nebraska Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Ohio State/Wisconsin game? 30 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will USC's Mark Sanchez have against Oregon? 245

Point taken, but what good is it to keep a head coach that has been feuding with ownership for almost a year? I mean the Lane/Al saga has been going on long enough and it had to end someway. Whether you agree with move or not (I'm not a fan of firing coaches midseason myself, but enough was enough something had to be done to stop this HE'S FIRED/HE'S STILL HERE crap) it was the only move really to make at this point in time. Someone needed to go, and its sure as hell wasn't going to be Al Davis. I'll reserve judgement on the new head coach when games have been played.