Vince Gets Another Shot as Titans Starter

After getting a ton of pressure from fans, and ultimately owner Bud Adams, Jeff Fisher finally decided to name Vince Young the starter once again.

It took you long enough.

This season is absolutely going nowhere so why not give the guy you're paying all this money to a chance to prove that he can still be your franchise quarterback. That is why you drafted him as the third overall pick in 2006, isn't it?

With the exception of the meaningless season finale against the Colts last season, the Jaguars will be the first team Young will face as a starter since the 2008 season opener, which was also against the Jaguars.

Young has definitely had his troubles against the Jaguars in his career. However, this is a different Jaguars team. Even though they're 3-3, they're nothing special and still one of the more mediocre teams in the NFL.

No one is expecting Young to completely turn this season around for the Titans. I'm not sure Tom Brady could turn this team around, but he will provide a spark that this team desperately needs.

I haven't seen any passion in this team since the Steelers game to open the season. In fact, after watching that game I thought the Titans would still have a good year. Maybe even a great year.

Obviously I was way off.

The bottom line is, Vince Young is still the future as long as we're paying him all this money. With that said, let's make him earn it and see where this nightmare takes us.

This World Series Has the Potential to Be One of the Best

After a long postseason that started almost a month ago we have finally reached the World Series, and it could not have been set up more perfectly.

No other team in baseball is built better than the Phillies to take the Yankees down. This Yankees team is the best it has been since the last time they won a World Series back in 2000, and the Phillies have talent to crash the party.

These two teams actually met in interleague action back in May and the Phillies won two of three in the Bronx. Take that series with a grain of salt because the Yankees were not playing their best ball at that point in the young season.

There isn't a break for the opposing pitcher in either one of these lineups. You've got Derek Jeter, I raise you Jimmy Rollins. You've got Ryan Howard, I raise you Alex Rodriguez. The list goes on and on. In other words, both teams virtually cancel each other out with their hitting lineups. So now it comes down to the pitching.

If the Phillies wouldn't have acquired Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez they wouldn't even be in this situation for the second straight year. But since they do, they have a decent chance at hanging with the Yankees pitching staff.

Lee is pitching Game 1 tonight which is a no-brainer, and Joe Girardi is countering with C.C. Sabathia, which has also been lights out this postseason with a 1.19 ERA.

Many are leaning towards whoever wins Game 1 will win the series, but I disagree with that. Both teams are too good to be counted out after just one game.

There are actually two key games to this series and it's games two and three. Pedro Martinez is going Game 2 and that is a smart move by Charlie Manuel. No other pitcher in the Phillies rotation is more suited to pitch against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium than Martinez is.

The x-factor for the Phillies in this series is whether the bullpen can hang with the Yankees' dominant bullpen. If the Phillies' bullpen plays like it did against the Dodgers in the NLCS, then this series will easily go seven game and the Phillies may even take this in six.

It's going to be a close series but in the end I think the Yankees bullpen contains the Phillies hitters enough to win this in seven games. Buckle up, because it's going to be one to remember no matter who comes out on top.

Team Advantges

1. Starting Pitching Advantage: Yankees
2. Bullpen Advantage: Yankees
3. Hitting Advantage: Phillies
4. Managing Advantage: Phillies

Prediction: Yankees in 7

The Cinderella Slipper Fits the Broncos Well

Cinderella stories are one of the things that makes sports so great and every sport has them. Almost every season can you find at least one Cinderella story.

For the NFL it's got to be the Denver Broncos. Anyone who tells you they saw the Broncos starting 6-0 are bold faced lying to you. Seeing them start 0-6 would have been a lot more understandable.

The defense has completely transformed from the doormat of NFL defenses to one of the most respected. Kyle Orton is 7th in the league in quarterback rating with a 100.1 rating.

Is this really happening?

Let's analyze some of the facts going into the 2009 season:

• A coaching controversy with Josh McDaniels including questions of whether he could coach an NFL team.
• Lost Jay Cutler and took on who everyone thought was an unstable quarterback in Kyle Orton.
• Their defense was among the worst in the NFL in 2008. ( 29th in total defense)
• Problems with their number one wide receiver Brandon Marshall heading into training camp. He didn't even want to play for the team.
  
• Questions surrounding the running back position. (Ended up starting Knowshon Moreno)
• Lost their last three games of the 08' season by a combined total of 58 points.

Despite all of those disparities, the Broncos have continued to make a believer out of me and the rest of the sports world.

The Broncos will most likely coast into the postseason by winning the AFC West unless somehow the Chargers find a defense overnight. And we all know that anything can happen when the postseason rolls around.

UFC 104 Overshadowed By Horrible Decision

There hasn't been a ton of hype surrounding the UFC ever since the historic UFC 100 occurred back in July, and last night won't help the sport gain anymore popularity among casual fans.

Last night was UFC 104 and the main event featured a guy who had never lost a round or been knocked out in a UFC fight. That guy was Lyodo Machida.

As great of a fighter as Machida is, he shouldn't have retained his light heavyweight belt last night. Mauricio Shogun owned almost the entire fight, giving Machida brutal leg kick after leg kick. Machida's left side of his rib cage was bright red and bruised.

The fight ultimately went the five championship rounds, thanks in large part to Machida never really pushing the fight. Instead, Shogun looked for all the action and capatilized on many attempts.

In the end it didn't matter. I guess if you want a belt in the UFC you got to knock the guy out and completely owning the fight just isn't good enough.

This controversial decision comes during a time when officials from other sports are also being called out. The MLB suspended some umpires from calling the World Series for their calls and in college football there are SEC officials who are under scrutiny for horrible calls in the Florida-Arkansas game last weekend.

I understand that these officials, and in this case the three judges, are only human, but these calls are just ridiculous. It would have been obvious to even the most casual fan that Shogun won that fight.

The belt was stolen from Shogun after all of his intense training and something should be done about it if the UFC doesn't want to start losing fans and respect.

Hilltoppers Should Be Breath of Fresh Air

The first half of the Blue Raiders' brutal schedule is finally behind them and now nothing but Sun Belt opponents remain, which isn't necessarily a cake walk anymore.

Homecoming is tomorrow and they couldn't have picked a better opponent to bring to town for the festivities; the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. Even though the Hilltoppers are probably the worst team in the FBS, no team should ever be taken lightly in college football.

The Hilltoppers come in at 0-6 with their closest game being an 8-point loss last week against Louisiana-Lafayette. I guarantee you the Hilltoppers have upset on their minds going into the game. They definitely ruined the party two seasons ago when they defeated the Blue Raiders at Floyd Stadium as still a member of the FCS, or Division II.

That game marked Dwight Dasher's first appearance at quarterback thanks to then starting quarterback Joe Craddock going down with an injury. Dasher knew little of the offense at that point in his young career and he still looked good at many points of that game.

The Blue Raiders barely lost that game, but this year there are no excuses. The Blue Raiders should win this by multiple touchdowns. If not, then I might just throw in the towel on all my football teams from the state of Tennessee.

This season has been up and down for the Blue Raiders. They strung three consecutive wins together before firing a blank against Troy and then losing to a bigger, stronger, and faster Mississippi State team last week at home.

Look for the Blue Raiders to throw it often and don't be surprised to see Dasher rush for 100 yards or so. It's about time this offense does what it's capable of and they couldn't be going against a better opponent.

Fisher's Stunt Comes At Worst Possible Time

Virtually every Titans fan had to hear of Jeff Fisher's little stunt he pulled at a charity event at Lipscomb University on Tuesday by pulling his button up shirt off and revealing the enemy; a Peyton Manning Colts jersey.

Now I understand that Fisher was just kidding and that it was all in good fun. Former Colts coach Tony Dungy was there and it was a charity event. However, Fisher has the worst timing possible. And his opening comment didn't help things either by saying, " I just wanted to feel like a winner".

Excuse me? Did I really just hear that come out of a coach's mouth right in the middle of the season? Not to mention just two days after a 59-0 loss that probably even had Patriots fans embarrassed for us.

This comment had to be demoralizing to many of the Titans players. Especially the ones who have given it everything they have this season. We know for sure it didn't sit well with Keith Bullock who said, "It didn't make me laugh at all". He went on to add that it doesn't matter what we think anyways.

Shortly after Sunday's game, many questions were brought up as to whether the Titans quit or not. Patriots safety Rodney Harrison thinks our players quit on Sunday, and maybe some of them did. There's really no way to know for sure.

I've never seen a team go from one of the premiere teams in a conference to the armpit of the entire league so fast. This team has become nothing but dysfunctional.

There's already talks that Fisher's job may be in jeopardy at the end of the season if he doesn't get things turned around quickly. Owner Bud Adams has even said that he needs to review this whole situation to see if any changes are necessary.

The media definitely doesn't seem to think Fisher is the problem, but they don't make the choices for the organization thankfully.

All I can say to Jeff is don't quit your day job to become a comedian, because most of us didn't think it was too funny.

Hendersonville Native Making Case for Heisman Consideration

It's not very often you see a Hendersonville, Tennessee native making headlines in the national spotlight of the sports world. As far as I know, no Hendersonville native has ever been in conversation for the Heisman trophy.

Former John Paul II High School standout Golden Tate is putting up huge numbers for Notre Dame this season. Tate has 719 yards on 41 receptions putting him well in the lead on the team. He also has six touchdown receptions and one rushing touchdown.

As of right now Tate isn't on the official list of Heisman candidates. However, if he keeps on putting up numbers like he has been, then he'll be in the Heisman talks at the end of the season.

Over the years the Heisman award has become what has seemed like an exclusive award for quarterbacks only. In fact, since 2000 only one player that wasn't a quarterback has won the Heisman. That player was Reggie Bush in 2005, and that would've been an absolute crime to not give him the Heisman that year with the numbers he had.

No one is saying that Tate is putting up Reggie-like numbers, but he definitely deserves to be in the conversation. He also still has plenty of time to add to those numbers, but Notre Dame has to continue to win.

I got the opportunity to meet Golden Tate before he left for Notre Dame and he's a really good guy who is extremely focused on his goals. Hopefully that great attitude will give him an equal opportunity at the Heisman just as national phenomenons like Tim Tebow get their opportunity.

If nothing else, I'm sure we'll see Tate on Sundays real soon.

Top 5 Heisman Candidates

1. Mark Ingram (RB-Alabama)
2. Tim Tebow (QB-Florida)
3. Jimmy Clausen (QB- Notre Dame)
4. Case Keenum (QB-Houston)
5. Colt McCoy (QB-Texas)
   

2009 NBA Preview: Western Conference

The Western Conference use to be the dominant conference of the NBA, but now the power has shifted to the Eastern Conference. So who are the few top dogs in the West? Can the Lakers continue their dominance, or is someone else ready to step up in the wild west.

Pacific Division

Does this division even require any analysis? I will be surprised if the Lakers lose more than two games against opponents from this mediocre division. Phoenix use to be a worth adversary to the Lakers, but they've regressed substantially over the past two seasons. This division race, if you can call it that, will be over after the first two months when the Lakers already have a double digit lead in the standings.

Predicted Order of Finish: Lakers, Suns, Clippers, Warriors, Kings

Northwest Division

The Northwest was a three team race last season with Denver eventually pulling out the division win. In fact, Denver had a great chance at taking out the Lakers in last year's conference finals, but that's neither her nor there. Denver is a trendy pick for a conference title this season, but the rest of the division will make it tough for Carmelo Anthony and company. Even Oklahoma City and Minnesota will be improved from last season so look for a lot of competitiveness in the Northwest.

Predicted Order of Finish: Nuggets, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, Thunder

Southwest Division

The Southwest is hands down the toughest divsion in the NBA. Every team outside of Memphis have great shots at making the playoffs and possibly winning this division. Trevor Ariza was a huge pick up for Houston in the offseason, but it's still uncertain when Yao Ming will be back. Due to the uncertainty of Yao's return, I like the veteran Spurs to take another division title. However, don't forget about Dallas and New Orleans. They'll be in the mix too and probably snatch up one of the eight playoff spots when it's all said and done.

Predicted Order of Finish: Spurs, Rockets, Mavericks, Hornets, Grizzlies

Conf. Finals Predictions

Celtics over Cavaliers
Lakers over Spurs

Finals Prediction: Celtics over Lakers

2009 NBA Preview: Eastern Conference

It seems like the NBA season just came to a close as the Lakers won another NBA championship at the expense of the Orlando Magic. And what about those Orlando Magic? Are they a lock for another conference title, or is LeBron ready to finally get the NBA ring? I got answers for you.

Atlantic Division

The Celtics have completely dominated this division for the past two seasons, and it's probably going to continue for the 2009-2010 season. The only negative thing I can find with the Celtics is their age, but I actually think that still benefits them more than it hurts them. The Celtics also added another seasoned veteran in Rasheed Wallace who will add rebounding, perimeter shooting, and down right attitude. And there's not exactly the best competition in the Atlantic division. The Sixers will be the only team that will even make it interesting, but it will still be another easy division title win for the Celtics.

Predicted Order of Finish: Celtics, Sixers, Raptors,Nets, Knicks

Central Division

This division is the most competitive division in the East by far. Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago all have valid argument for winning the division this year. You all know about Cleveland acquiring Shaq to give LeBron some help. One of the reasons the Cleveland couldn't get by Orlando last season was because they had no size in the middle. Well they definitely fixed that problem. Detroit will be an average team at best but will be nowhere near where they were just two seasons ago. I see Cleveland winning this division by just a few games over Chicago.

Predicted Order of Finish: Cavaliers, Bulls, Pistons, Pacers, Bucks

Southeast Division

Orlando won this division pretty convincingly last season, and now they have aging veteran Vince Carter to help out with the scoring. They lost Hedo Turkoglu, but frankly they're better off without him. And of course Dwight Howard will continue to be the beast that he's always been. Don't sleep on Miami making some noise this season. They snuck into the playoffs last season without a lot of experience and they can do it again this season. They have Dwyane Wade for crying out loud, so anything is possible.

Predicted Order of Finish: Magic, Heat, Bobcats, Hawks, Wizards

Eastern Conference Winner: Celtics over Cavaliers

Longhorns Have A Lot Riding On Red River Showdown

The annual battle between Oklahoma and Texas continues on Saturday to mark the 104th meeting between these two powerhouses. Virtually every time these two teams meet they're both ranked.

This season the Red River Rivalry will be close again. Expect both defenses to show up, especially Oklahoma's defense which is one of the best in the nation.

Now that Sam Bradford has a game under his belt since coming back from his shoulder injury he suffered in week one, I think the Sooners have a great chance to steal this game and damage the Longhorns' national title hopes.

Parody has never been stronger in college football and don't sleep on the Sooners just because they have two losses this season. They would have beaten BYU if Bradford hadn't come out so early in the game. As for the loss to Miami, the Sooners got out-played in that game but they still played well enough to win.

On the other hand, the Longhorns haven't looked so strong despite being undefeated. This is really their first true test of the season. They've particularly looked rough at the start of games, and you can't start slow against a Sooners team that looks to jump on teams early. If Texas starts slow against Oklahoma and spots them a couple touchdowns early on, it'll be over before you know it.

Now that Bradford is back, I see Oklahoma cruising to another Big 12 championship. The two losses make it unlikely that the Sooners will get a shot at the national championship, but another BCS bowl game is still very much a possibility.

Prediction: Oklahoma over Texas, 24-20

Not So Fast Mr. Limbaugh

A near disaster was averted today as a group of investors bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams dropped the controversial conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh from their group.

This is great news to say the least.

If Limbaugh would have became a minority owner of the Rams, do you realize the negative implications that would have meant for the Rams organization and the NFL as a whole.

The NFL is made up largely of minorities, mostly being African Americans. How are these minorities playing for the Rams suppose to feel if one of their owners has nothing but hateful things to say about them? I know I wouldn't like working for someone who had ignorant views of myself and I wouldn't expect them to either.

Of course Limbaugh blasted out more rhetoric on his show this morning about how this is another example of President Obama's America. Get off your high horse, Rush.

The NFL did the right thing here by not allowing this guy to pollute the NFL with his horrible outlook on people who are different than him.

We're talking about a guy that once referred to the NFL as "a game between the Bloods and the Cripps without any weapons". Really? So you're grouping an entire class of hard working NFL players as gang members now. And this trash pollutes the air waves every morning and conservatives eat it up like candy.

Well Rush, have fun with your radio show because that's about all you can get these days. ESPN definitely didn't want you when they dropped you in 2003 for making degrading comments about Donovan McNabb, and apparently the NFL doesn't want you either.

A Titanic Embarrassment

As much as I hate to say this, the 2009 season for the Titans is all but over. They're 0-5 with New England up next.

I'm as optimistic as the next person, but until our secondary shows something positive to me, then I have no doubt this team will win no more than three games, and that's if they're lucky.

It's natural as a fan of a horrible team to start thinking about the upcoming draft. This 2010 NFL Draft is loaded with talent at many positions. So now the question arises that if the Titans should play for the early draft pick? Seeing where the franchise is at the quarterback position, Colt McCoy is looking really good right about now. And we know how owner Bud Adams loves those Texas boys.

Hopefully the Titans won't start losing games on purpose to get the draft pick, but frankly they don't have to. They're bad enough to where they could play their hearts out and still end up with that early draft pick to get Colt McCoy.

If Jeff Fisher isn't going to give Vince Young the chance to lead this team after starting 0-5 with Kerry Collins, then I don't see any other option other than to go after Colt McCoy. Kerry Collins isn't going to get any better. To put it bluntly, he's one big hit away from turning to dust as far as I'm concerned.

It's definitely not fun talking about this subject only five games into the season, but the Titans are truly that bad. The most we can hope for now is that we don't end up with the worst record in the league. Hopefully the Rams, Buccaneers, or the Raiders will bail us out on that.

Tighten Your Chin Straps...Miss. State Is Coming to Town

There is no denying that Saturday's game against Mississippi State is the biggest game in the history of Floyd Stadium. The Bulldogs will be the first SEC team to play in Floyd Stadium and the Blue Raiders have a great chance to show the nation that we're one of the up and coming programs.

I'm not anywhere close to comparing Blue Raider football to other non-BCS teams like Boise State, but a win against Mississippi State would be a huge step in the right direction.

The problem with the national perception of MTSU is that we've never won any big games in front of a national audience. The last second touchdown to beat Florida Atlantic on ESPN2 last season was a great win for our program, but it was against another Sun Belt team, and most people give the Sun Belt no credit whatsoever.

Last Tuesday the Blue Raiders had a good chance to beat at least one team in the Sun Belt that has a little bit of national recognition against Troy on national television, but they squandered that opportunity and played poorly.

That was a tough loss, but the Blue Raiders are still 3-2 and have beaten some decent teams. By normal standards this season has exceeded expectations so far, but this isn't normal standards. Coach Rick Stockstill has this team believing they can beat anyone and that's great news for Blue Raider fans.

This game against Mississippi State is going to test the MTSU defense like it has never been tested before. The Mississippi State players are going to be bigger and faster than our guys, but sometimes the team that has the most heart pulls out the win. Plus the Blue Raiders are an excellent home team and that will push our players to go above and beyond they're normal abilities.

I can't wait to see my Blue Raiders give it everything they got on Saturday. It's going to be tough, but once again I'm going to say that a loss isn't the end of the world.

A blowout will be the closest thing to it, though. We can't be embarrassed again in front of a national audience or we can wave goodbye to any respect that we might have gained after beating Memphis and Maryland earlier this season.

MTSU/Miss State Statistical Ranks

• Total Offense: MSU (44th), MTSU (46th)
• Rush Offense: MSU (10th), MTSU (84th)
• Total Defense: MSU (71st), MTSU (87th)
• Pass Offense: MSU (100th), MTSU (21st)
  

Phillies Take Step Towards Defending World Series Crown

There can't be too many who are still doubting the Phillies after finishing off a Rockies team that was red hot going into the postseason. The Phillies won both game in Colorado and two of the three wins in the series can be attributed to late season acquisition Cliff Lee.

This team was already dangerous before acquiring Lee thanks to their potent offense, but the pitching staff is also among the best in the playoffs.

Now the Phillies eye down a series with the Dodgers. The Dodgers have to be hoping that the same thing doesn't happen this year that happened in the 2008 postseason when they defeated the Dogders four games to one.

The first game of the seven game series will be on Thursday and I would think that Cole Hammels would get the start for the Phillies, but that's not certain just yet.

The Dodgers have had plenty of rest since sweeping the Cardinals so manager Joe Torre will have the luxury of starting whoever he wants for game one. I would think he would go with Randy Wolf like he did in game one of the divisional series.

Even though the Dodgers looked solid against the Cardinals, they're still somewhat vulnerable. The starting rotation is nothing to write home about and the LA bats are hit or miss.

As for the Phillies, we already know how well they swing the bats. The x-factor in this series is Brad Lidge. He's been shaky this year but had two saves against Colorado, although he put two runners on base in each of those games.

If Lidge can return to his dominant form that he was in for the 2008 postseason, then start popping the champagne corks because the Phillies are heading back to the World Series, my friends.

Prediction: Phillies in 6

Bengals Defense Rallies Around Defensive Coordinator

There was something special about today's win for Cincinnati against Baltimore, and no it wasn't them gaining sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

This was a special win for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer who tragically lost his wife this past week. Despite the tough time Zimmer is going through, he still made the trip to Baltimore to coach his defense because he said it was what his wife would have wanted him to do.

The Bengals defense played inspired football for much of the game and held a Ravens offense that was averaging over 30 points a game to only 14. One of those scores was on a fluke screen pass to Ray Rice.

Shortly after the game the team was shown in the locker room gathering around Zimmer and dousing him with champagne like they had just won the Super Bowl.

The defense not only held the scoring in check, but they also had seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and two interceptions.

Great win for Cincinatti and hopefully this win will make it a little bit easier for Zimmer and his family to cope with the loss.

Since the Titans are a lost cause, I'm going for the Bengals to go all the way after hearing this story. Go Bengals!

Dodgers Make Huge Statement in Sweep of the Cards

Many people, including myself, were skeptical about how the Dodgers would perform in the playoffs after limping into the playoffs and having an average second half of the season. Those thoughts were mostly erased after the Dodgers secured the three-game sweep of the Cardinals tonight.

This has to be so discouraging for Cardinals fans. The Cardinals were one of the better teams in the NL for much of the season, but much like the Dodgers, they limped into the postseason with some disappointing losses.

The turning point of this short series was definitely the Matt Holliday pop fly drop in Game 2 which would have sealed the win for the Cardinals. The Cardinals lost all of the momentum after that pivotal error.

As crucial as that drop was by Holliday, you can't blame him or start comparing him to Bill Buckner from the 1986 World Series. Yes, he should've made that catch, but there were other factors that led to the demise of the Cardinals.

How about closer Ryan Franklin in Game 2. After the error by Holliday, all Franklin had to do was get one more out and he simply couldn't do it. Not to mention Holliday hit a lead-off home run to in that game.

Also, as a team the Cardinals stranded runner after runner in this series. You can't blame an entire team problem on one player.

The Dodgers made a huge statement in this series. They showed all the critics that they should still be regarded as the team to beat in the NL like they were in the first half of the season.

Cardinal Woes

• 4 for 30 with runners in scoring position
• 6 runs scored in 3 games
• Pujols/Holliday: 5 for 22, 2 RBI, 3 K's
  

Week 6 Upset Alerts!

Upsets are what make college football the exciting sport that it is. Almost every week there is at least one upset that rocks the college football world. So what teams should be worried this week?

1. Boston College (4-1) @ No. 5 Va. Tech (4-1): Even though Virginia Tech has two impressive wins over Miami and Nebraska, I'm still not quite sold on the Hokies as a top five team. I think that will show this weekend against Boston College. The Eagles took a tough loss to Clemson earlier in the year but have since put back to back wins against Wake Forest and Florida State. Probability of upset: 40%

2. Michigan (4-1) @ No. 12 Iowa (5-0): As long as Heisman hopeful Tate Forcier is lining up under center the Wolverines are capable of beating almost anybody in the country. Yes I know they're coming off of an ugly loss to Michigan State and that they should have lost to Notre Dame, but this team is still dangerous. Remember Iowa hasn't exactly looked dominant against weaker teams. The Hawkeyes margin of victory over Northern Iowa, Arizona, and Arkansas State was only a collective 14 points. Probability of upset: 50%


3. No. 17 Auburn (5-0) @ Arkansas (2-2): One of the most important things in college football is home-field advantage, and the Razorbacks will at least have that going for them against Auburn. I realize Auburn is undefeated, but they still have a lot to work out as a team. They're definitely vulnerable to the upset. If you know anything about SEC football then you know that SEC teams have a tendency to beat each other up. This is one of those games where Arkansas can come out on top and have you scratching your head afterwards.
Probability of upset: 60%

Meyer Should Sit Tebow Against LSU

The biggest SEC game of the year is just days ahead of us as No. 1 Florida will take on No. 4 LSU down in the bayou. I don't need to take time to explain the implication of this game, especially for LSU.

Even though this game is so important, Urban Meyer has to set aside football from real life. I know he's going back and forth on trying to decide whether or not to start the recently concussed Tim Tebow. Tebow suffered a concussion less than two weeks ago against Kentucky. As of right now Tebow is listed as a game-time decision.

The worst case scenario far out weighs the best case scenario is this situation. Besides, it's not like Florida is taking on Charleston Southern this week. They're taking on who is in my opinion the second best team in the SEC in LSU. This defense is going to blitz the you know what out of whichever guy lines up under center for the Gators.

All it takes is another massive blow to the head and Tebow's football career could be drastically destroyed. It's not even completely about Tebow's future as a football player. It's about his future as a regular person. Tebow just recently started praciticing with the team again and for a while wasn't even allowed to read a book.

How is a guy going to go from not being allowed to read to leading his team against one of the better defenses in the country in hostile territory? I know Tebow is the closest thing to God when it comes to playing college football, but it's just not a good idea to start this guy.

If something terrible does end up happening to Tebow, Meyer could end up putting himself under horrible scrutiny for starting a player that was extremely vulnerable to another concussion.

I know you're the football genius and I'm not, but you got to make the right choice here Urban. The right choice doesn't always get you the win, but that choice doesn't necessarily make it wrong.

The Battle for the Palladium!!!

The biggest rivalry within the young Sun Belt conference has to be the battle between MTSU and Troy, also known as the Battle for the Palladium.

The nickname of the annual meeting is due to both school's connection to Greek mythology with their mascots.

This will be my first MTSU road game that I will witness in person with the exception to seeing the Blue Raiders take on Vanderbilt back in 2005 at Vanderbilt Stadium.

This game has huge implications as it usually does. Both teams are easy favorite to win the Sun Belt this year and the winner of this game will probably take the conference title.

The Blue Raiders come into this game at 3-1 and riding on a three-game winning streak. Their three wins are against Memphis, Maryland, and Sun Belt foe North Texas.

As for the Trojans, they started off the season with a huge disappointment by getting stomped by a weak Bowling Green team on the road. They then traveled to No. 1 Florida the following week and got destroyed, but no one is knocking them for that.

Since then Troy has returned back to form to get a home win over UAB and a road win over Arkansas State. You can't forget, Arkansas State only lost to Iowa by three, so that road win is actually pretty impressive.

This will not be an easy game for the Blue Raiders. In fact, it may be the toughest game they will play all year. The Trojans have only lost twice at home since 2006. They also beat Oklahoma State in 2007 at home.

Being as unbiased as possible, I believe the Blue Raiders will take this game for two important reasons.

Their offense is by far the best in the Sun Belt as they're averaging 28.5 points per game. Dwight Dasher has the offense running smoothly and he's making smart decisions with the football.

Secondly, they finally have a great kicker in Alan Gendreau. This kid is a great weapon for a team who moves the ball into the red zone a lot. Sometimes those field goals add up and in the past the Blue Raiders have never had the luxury of kicking the field goal. They've always had to go for it on fourth down or punt the ball away.

No matter which team comes out on top, the game will be close till the final whistle. The Trojans have a good offense of their own and the MTSU defense will have to show up and play a solid game.

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 so look for me in the Blue Raiders section!!!! I'll be one of the nuts screaming their head off!

AL Central Still Up for Grabs

Barring a huge comeback by the woeful Kansas City Royals this afternoon, the Tigers and the Twins will meet in a tiebreaker game to decide who will take the division title. The Twins would get the honor of hosting the tiebreaker game.

The Tigers have squandered opportunity after opportunity to lock this division up a long time ago, but instead they've lost games they should have won down the stretch.

On the flip side, the Twins have had a huge turnaround and have come out of nowhere to possibly make the playoffs. This tiebreaker game can't bring up good memories for the Twins. Last season the Twins lost to the White Sox in a tiebreaker game that forced them to miss the playoffs.

Whether it's the Tiger or the Twins the eventually advance to the postseason, I see neither one of them coming close to beating the Yankees in the first round. It would be surprising to see either one of them take the series to even five games.

The Tigers are reeling right now and I don't see them defeating the Twins in a pressure situation. The Twins are one of the hottest teams in baseball and I see them taking out the Tigers and making the postseason.

Chicago Fails In 2016 Olympic Bid

Having endorsements from the one of the world's most powerful men wasn't enough to get Chicago the 2016 Summer Olympics. In fact, endorsements from President Obama wasn't even good enough to get them out of the first round of voting.

I can't help but think that there are numerous Chicago natives who are furious at not only the fact that they didn't get the Olympics, but also because their long time hero Michael Jordan didn't even bother to endorse the city that he played in for so long. Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

Even though Chicago failed at their attempt, at least it went to a worthy city in Rio De Janeiro, which is in Brazil. Remarkably this is the first time the Olympics will be held on the continent of South America. With that said, I can't disagree with the committee for choosing the site that they did.

The last two times the Olympics were held in the United States were not necessarily what you would call great experiences. The 2002 Winter Olympics had a possible bribery going on and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta had a bombing.

It was still a good effort by the city of Chicago and I'm sure they will be the first in the United States to get one in the future.

Almost Hockey Time in Nashville

It's hard to believe that the Predators are just two days away from starting another season.

The NHL actually starts its regular season tonight with four games on the schedule. The most intriguing of those would have to be the Bruins hosting the Capitals thanks to Alexander Ovechkin.

The Predators had a sting of four straight playoff appearances snapped by finishing three points out of playoff contention. Last season should actually be considered some sort of a success because the Preds lost a ton of players during the offseason. They also had to deal with long injuries to Steve Sullivan and work a young goalie into the system with Pekka Rinne.

The season will open up with the Predators traveling to Dallas to take on the Stars. The Stars finished five points behind the Predators in 2008.

The main issue heading into the season is who will guard the goal in 2009, and that's kind of an important thing to know.

As of right now its between Pekka Rinne, who got most of the starts last season, and Dan Ellis. Both goalies have shown glimpses of greatness, but I would go with Rinne. Rinne had seven shutouts, which is a franchise record. He also came close to winning the NHL's rookie of year award.

It has been noted that Ellis has had a better preseason, but that should be taken with a grain of salt.

The offense stuggled greatly at times last season and a lot of that can be contributed to losing guys like Alexander Radulov and Scott Hartnell. It didn't help that Steve Sullivan missed a good chunk of the 2008 season.

Over the past five seasons the Predators have become one of the more consistent clubs in the NHL, but playing in a division with the Red Wings has always kept them from racking up the division titles. If players can stay healthy then I think the Preds have a shot at another playoff berth.

Key Predators for 2009

• Steve Sullivan (609 career points)
• Jason Arnott (team's career leading scorer)
• David Legwand (141 career goals)
• Shea Weber (team's best defensman)