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Two blown calls by the umps on tag plays go in favor of the Sox. Nice to see that MLB's best umps are living up to expectations. It doesn't matter anymore since K-Rod just showed a great deal of aptitude for being the next Mets closer by giving up a crushing bomb in the 9th.

You steal my answer and then give another guy credit? A pox on your Pacers in '08-'09!

I tend to not find female comics funny simply because they try too hard to either fit into/avoid racial stereotypes if they're not white, or their whole set is about how hard it is/easy it is to find a man or the pressures of being 30something and childless. The subject matter isn't funny and then they just drone on and on about something that your average guy just doesn't give a shit about at the end of the day. I've had female friends who are funny, but I agree with the person who said women tend to filter their thoughts and I think that takes away from the comedy most times.

1. Who will win the MVP? Chris Paul will edge out LeBron and Kobe since the MVP awards seem to be a year behind where they should have gone in recent years. 2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? Greg Oden if he stays healthy. Beasley if he can't. 3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? Mike D'Antonio. Seriously though I'm going with Phil Jackson since the Lakers should win the most games in the league. 4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? Dwight Howard, Amare, LeBron, Kobe, CP3 5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Vujacic? I can't really think of anyone. 6. What team had the best offseason? Miami. They picked up Beasley, kept Marion and Wade lost the weight he gained last year. 7. What team had the worst offseason? The Clippers or Warriors because of the shenanigans involving Brand and B. Diddy 8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? The Bobcats although Miami will have the best win differential after tanking last season. 9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? The Spurs. Manu's hurt and I see them slipping to a lower half seed and losing early in the playoffs. 10. What was the best offseason move? Brand to the 76ers. It should give them a chance in the East. 11. What was the worst offseason move? The Clippers letting Brand hustle them. 12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Miami 13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Denver 14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe, CP3, LeBron, the soon to be corpse of Tim Duncan and Deron Williams unless Wade is back to what he once was. 15. Who will be the division winners? In the East - Boston, Detroit & Miami. In the West - Lakers, New Orleans & Utah. 16. Eastern Conference Final: Boston def. Miami in 6 17. Western Conference Final: Lakers def. New Orleans in 7 18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Kobe gets # 4 in 7 because LA gets homecourt. 19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? Ricky Rubio, PG from Spain if he decides to come over or Blake Griffin, PF from Oklahoma 20. Make one bold prediction. Kobe Bryant will win the trifecta of MVP awards (regular season, Finals and AS Game) It doesn't match my MVP pick since I think the voters have been wrong for the last 4 or 5 years.

Zambrano's thanking God for a 6-0 deficit? Interesting approach.

That annoying Rick Reilly bit on ESPN explaining why the Cubs can't win seems eerily accurate thus far.

CNN survey scores it 51% to 36% for Biden.

The chick who decided to vote for McCain based on the debate, "I decided to vote for him because Palin uh, eh, eh, uh, uh, eh, yeah".

I was in class for the last few hours. I don't hate the Rays. I'd like to see them win the WS this year. I do however hate phony fans who show up during the playoff run and then start talking about how "I'm a diehard since mid June of '08 baby!" It just reminds me of my cousin who is LeBron James like in his bandwagon fandom across the sports. His favorite team is whoever's winning.

In the same way that Marlins fans are. Those stadiums are ghost towns whenever the teams aren't in contention, but then suddenly all of the "die hards" come out of hiding when it's time for a playoff run. That Longoria kid is pretty good.

Now THAT sounds more like the Tampa Bay fans we all know and loathe.

We're only two batters into the game and those cowbells have already gotten annoying. It's worst than the Rally Monkey/Thunderstix era Angels. I almost want the Rays to lose now just so I don't have to hear that throughout the playoffs.

Congratulations to the Red Sox on getting back to the ALCS. The Angels look like the worst team I've seen play today.

What the fuck was Vlad thinking there?

It looked like he charged in and then realized it was hit harder and higher than he thought initially and he simply overran it. Big Papi didn't deliver though, so that error didn't change anything.

I thought they put Matthews in to be a defensive boost over Vlad. That was awful.

Since when did Met games involve relievers successfully earning saves? The Brewers were playing the role of the Mets almost perfectly. As I mentioned, the so called big names went down swinging.

That top of the 9th was almost like watching a Mets game. Two of their "all-stars" go down swinging in a big spot.

Who was the guy that was whining about Hamels not living up to the hype the other day?

Probably depends on your definition of great as well. I think if you're one of the best in the game (say multiple All-Star games and appearances on MVP ballots) you can be called great. By that definition, Jason Bay is a great player. Matt Stairs and Jason Kendall have also had very good careers (Kendall especially), but both are reaching the end of their playing days. It would be nice to see both of them get rings. Outside of Jason Bay's family I don't think anyone is approaching the playoffs with the idea that "I hope that Bay guy finally gets his ring, he's due". You could make a case that there are (quite a few) people who don't root for the teams in question wanting to see most of those guys win rings, with the only exception probably being Jeff Kent. The biggest issue is that the Red Sox have already won twice in the last few years, the White Sox and Angels also won championships in recent years too so it's harder to want to see those teams continue to succeed just so someone like Griffey, Thome or Vlad can retire a champion. That's why I'd like to see the Rays do it because that franchise has been the epitome of the drizzles since its inception. With the retarded all inclusive rules to AS team rosters, just being the best player on the Pirates for a couple of years does not make you great in my book.

I'd like to see the Angels/Rays with the Rays winning that series in 7, but I don't dislike any of the teams in the mix. I'm just hoping whoever emerges from this league ends up winning the World Series.

I see you have a pretty liberal use of the word "great". Bay, Stairs and Kendall aren't even close to great, and why did you single out Utley like the other MVPs on the Phillies won rings without him?

Different sport. It's been 22 years since the Mets won the WS and the last time they got there they were raped by the Yankees. The last three seasons have just been cruel and unusual punishment.

I'd like to see Brewers/Dodgers in the NLCS, but considering I never get what I want it'll be Phillies/Cubs in a series where the only way I win is if Wrigley Field implodes on itself and swallows up both teams.

Kiffin finally got fired.