phoenixrising

Gagne deserved the Cy Young. He didn't blow a save opportunity and absolutely dominated the opposition. The three runner-ups had good years, but really not good enough for the Cy Young. Prior probably would have won 20 and gotten more consideration had he not missed a month, and Ortiz won 22 in large part to good run support. Schmidt led the league in ERA and was solid every time out, but I think when you try to compare them Gagne had the better season. As for MVP I think Gagne will get consideration, but it will probably be either Pujols or Bonds.

Oh yeah! Brynn! Give me a high five bro! I'd hit that shit! It was a shame Brynn was never at the house much in Vegas so we could see more of her. That girl was smoking hot. Great body, beautiful eyes and a great smile, looks like she's down to earth but has a wild side to her as well. Trishelle's pretty hot herself, but IMO I'd go for Brynn first over Trishelle.

Seemed like Justin Fargas was in school forever, both at Michigan and USC. Currently - Nick Setta, Notre Dame kicker. I think he's gone way beyond the five year plan.

Maybe he'll help Cirillo snap out of his funk. Unbelievable how he went from one of the best hitters in the majors to a complete flop. Molitor could help out Cameron a little too provided he re-signs with Seattle.

I really can't see Oklahoma not being ready to play against Oklahoma State given how they have lost to them two years in a row, and nearly losing to them in their championship season. On the other hand, Oklahoma State has really rebounded from the loss to Nebraska and has been playing well since. Should be a good game.

Marshall's going to be a nice gain for Conference USA. Any word yet on Central Florida? Josh Harris was unbelievable against NIU. With that performance and his performance in the near comeback against Ohio State I'd look for him to start getting some Heisman talk soon. And just to prop my team, UCLA just beat ASU 20-13, making us 6-2 and still undefeated in the Pac-10. Stanford next week, then the Big Three - playing WSU, Oregon and USC to end the season. Offense hasn't been in sync though Maurice Drew got a bunch of yards on ASU, but the defense has been spectacular. Dave Ball may be the best defensive player no one has heard of. He's certainly one heck of a pass rusher.

Karen Sisco - Decided to give it a shot after the gazillion ads ABC showed for it, and it's a pretty good show. I don't think Carla Gugino is all that hot but she pulls off the role very well. MI:5 - Just started watching this on A&E. Awesome show, the episode where they had the drill was some of the best TV I've ever seen.

A few teams I can think of... The 1999 St. Louis Rams - They'd been horrible for about a decade, then got Marshall Faulk and everyone thought they'd be decent, then Trent Green went down and everyone forgot about them until they started unloading on their opposition. I don't think anyone expected them to win a championship with an ex-Arena League QB. 2001 New England Patriots - A team that no one took seriously until Adam Vinateri's Super Bowl winning field goal. 1969 New York Mets - Even more amazing when you consider that they were really REALLY bad up until 1969. 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers - Talentwise probably shouldn't have beaten either the Mets in the NLCS or Oakland in the World Series, but they just found ways to win.

Team Phoenix is ready to roll.

Yeah, I remember Sapp getting something like 14 or 15 sacks a few years ago. The problem with Sapp is that as his play declines (does he even have a sack this year? maybe one?) his mouth runs more than ever. I don't think he can stand not being in the media spotlight for very long. Hence running through warm-ups and the "slave masters" statement.

Navarre played lights out in the second half. Minnesota had something like 400 yards on the ground and still lost. Amazing comeback by Michigan, with 31 points in the fourth after looking like they'd been left for dead in the first half.

Talk about two awesome plays...Quincy Wilson destroying the Miami player, then jumping over him on his way to the end zone, and Kellen Winslow Jr.'s game saving catch. I'm surprised West Virginia is 1-4 now...they have a decent team. Miami...well we'll see if they're ready for FSU next week.

hhjnhjun

Yeah, everything's different. It's weird...Sloane's reformed, Marshall actually hooked up with somebody, etc.. Weird to see people in different positions. I really liked the Sydney/Vaughn scene at the end though. That was cool. And the usual end of episode twist leading into next episode was nice as well. And we haven't seen or heard from Sydney's mom yet. It will be interesting to see how she fits into Sydney's disappearance.

Defense. Pretty much every NFL champion has had a strong or above average defense. Defense makes it easier on the offense. Take Tampa Bay last year. There was no explosive playmaker or a 1,000 yard runner on offense, yet they won the Super Bowl because they were able to completely shut down opponent's offense while theirs only needed to put up 14 or so points to win. Same with the Baltimore offense in 2000...that might have been the worst offense ever for a Super Bowl champion, but it was able to control the ball and avoid turnovers while its defense completely shut down the other team.

AL MVP 1. Alex Rodriguez 2. Manny Ramirez 3. Carlos Delgado 4. Miguel Tejada 5. Alfonso Soriano 6. Vernon Wells 7. Frank Thomas 8. Bret Boone 9. Nomar Garciaparra 10. Carlos Beltran NL MVP 1. Albert Pujols 2. Barry Bonds 3. Eric Gagne 4. Preston Wilson 5. John Smoltz 6. Jim Thome 7. Gary Sheffield 8. Todd Helton 9. Edgar Renteria 10. Mike Lowell AL Cy Young 1. Roy Halladay 2. Esteban Loaiza 3. Jamie Moyer NL Cy Young 1. Eric Gagne 2. John Smoltz 3. Russ Ortiz AL Rookie of the Year 1. Hideki Matsui 2. Rocco Baldelli 3. Jody Gerut NL Rookie of the Year 1. Dontrelle Willis 2. Brandon Webb 3. Scott Podsednik AL Manager of the Year 1. Tony Pena 2. Grady Little 3. Jerry Manuel NL Manager of the Year 1. Jack McKeon 2. Dusty Baker 3. Larry Bowa

In baseball, the San Diego Padres are definitely a team of the future. They've been down and out for a few years but they're really building a nice group of talent with young guys like Sean Burroughs and veteran stars like Brian Giles and Ryan Klesko. Add in a new park opening next year and things are looking up for San Diego.

USC would really have to have some kind of big foulup or a bunch of injuries to key players in order to not go undefeated. They're so much better than the other Pac-10 teams it isn't even funny. Oklahoma is the best team in the nation, but it's going to be hard to get through the Big 12 unscathed. Ohio State juuuuuuuuuuust gets by everyone every week, but they find a way to pull their butts from the fire every week it seems. I think they still will lose this season though. Miami...we'll see if they can get by FSU and Virginia Tech. Apparently now just having the Heisman hype is enough to doom players. Chris Perry was the favorite before Oregon held him to 30 yards. Does anyone want a Heisman?

Is Kevin Swayne still in the league? I remember one year he managed to play in the Arena League, the XFL and then the NFL. Something like 40-odd games. Talk about an ironman. Last I remember he was on the Jets. Another ex-XFLer, Jermaine Copeland, plays for Montreal in the CFL.

I'd like to see Arkansas in the Big 12, they got a nice rivalry against Texas and they play more like a Big 12 team than an SEC team, even though they did win the SEC West last year. But who would you get to replace Arkansas? Sure as heck not Baylor. Southern Miss? They're in the area but they'd need a few years to get up to snuff, if they ever did. The good news for UCLA...they won. And the defense is pretty good. But their offense sucks when Manuel White isn't carrying the ball. It is not going to be fun next week in Oklahoma. I know Derek Strong is good, but every lineman on Oklahoma is as good or better as Strong, and they couldn't stop Strong. UCLA will have to rely on their defense and get some running going to have a chance of beating the Sooners in Norman.

Ha ha. I prefer to jump my opponents early, beat them into submission and then cruise in the final three quarters. That way I don't need to worry about stopping a final drive.

I just got my second greatest game, using #19 Florida against #3 Miami in the Orange Bowl. I managed to go into the fourth quarter holding on to an 18-17 lead. Miami drove down the field, then fooled me by handing off to their fullback Quadtrine Hill for a twenty yard score. They went for two and missed so it's 23-18. I started a drive down the field and had a third down with 5:08 left. Under heavy pressure (as I was the entire game) I got off a pass to Carlos Perez, who broke a tackle and took it 60 yards for the score and a 24-23 lead. I went for two and missed. With just over 2 minutes left, Deshawn Carter picked off a pass and returned it 40 yards for a score to make it 30-23, 31-23 with the extra point. Miami got the ball to the Florida 23. I then stopped them on four straight pass plays, the last with 21 seconds on the clock. I just kneeled down twice to kill the clock. Florida 31, Miami 23. Greatest game score was a 609.

Three times wasn't a charm for Florida. Leak went back to Baker for the third time on that drive and Alfonso Marshall was just waiting for it. Miami pulls it out 38-33.

ABC finally switched over to Florida/Miami out here. I got home after being gone all day so I missed the early games. Kotz, I did see the fourth down pass by Croyle though, that was nice. On a good note perhaps it was good that I didn't see the UCLA game. Otherwise I would have been cursing at the screen wondering why UCLA chose to put a true freshman in for the final drive. And man, Auburn sucks. Some preseason #1 pick, Sporting News.

1. Didn't see the pre game stuff, I wished the game was in Philly so the fans could boo another pop icon they way they did Destiny's Child at the NBA Finals a couple years ago. Memo to NFL: We want football, not Britney. If we wanted Britney we'd go on the internet and download her pics. 2. The new rules about the injuries mean less sideline reporting so I guess you won't have to worry about seeing Lisa G much. I think she looks pretty good but didn't look that hot tonight. 3. Could be worse. Wait until you watch a St. Louis game and showing Brenda Warner every time Kurt throws a pass. 4. I agree. The Skins are all right at best. They gotta learn how to finish drives. But there's something to work with - they don't look as bad as last year. The Jets...uhm someone tell their recievers to look for the first down marker, then turn around in front of it. Defense looks decent, but that O sucks when Martin is shut down.