NFC Takes Over the NFL Power Rankings

Heading into this season the AFC looked like the dominant conference, but the NFC has narrowed the gap with the emergence of the Falcons and the Eagles.

The Patriots (11-2) still hands down have the number-one spot in the rankings. They've made it look easy over the past few weeks.

In fact, the Patriots haven't scored less than 31 points during their current five-game winning streak.

Coming in a distant second is the Steelers (10-3). These guys will be tough to beat in the playoffs whether they win the AFC North or not.

That defense makes this team a contender for the Super Bowl no matter how they look doing it. If the NFL counted for style points then the Steelers wouldn't be as high, but it doesn't.

In third sits the Eagles (9-4). Now I know what you're thinking. How can you put the Eagles ahead of the Falcons, who are 11-2? For the simple fact that the Falcons don't have Michael Vick. This guy single handily makes the Eagles a playoff team. That defense isn't so bad either.

They also lost to Philly head-to-head in Week 6.

As for the Falcons, who come in fourth on the list, they're a product of their schedule in my opinion. I need more from them.

Six wins over the likes of Carolina, San Francisco, Arizona, Cincy, and Cleveland just doesn't make me a believer of them being any higher that No. 4.

With that said, they will be tough to beat at home.

Rounding out the top five list is the Saints (10-3). They've quietly won six in a row after looking like another ordinary NFC team early in the season.

I don't think a 10-3 defending Super Bowl champion has ever received this little of attention, but they're not getting talked about as much.

A huge showdown with the Falcons in Atlanta comes next week. That game is sandwiched between Baltimore and Tampa Bay, which will be no picnic.

Will found out real quick through these final three games if New Orleans is capable of defending their Super Bowl title.

With the dominating win for the Chargers over the Niners tonight, they are as close as you can get to getting in the Top 5.

I still have trouble putting a team in the top five who needs help from other teams to get in the playoffs. If not for their horrible special teams play, they might be No.1 on this list.

The Ravens join them in knocking on the door of the Top 5 after losing a tough game to Steelers the previous week. They'll most likely finish with one of the AFC wildcards.

Bottom Five

28. Detroit (3-10): This team has played tough football all year and they're so much better than the record. They could easily be 5-8 if not for a questionable call in Week 1, and Ndamukong Suh being forced to kick an extra point. Godspeed Detroit.

29. Arizona (4-9): Decimated by injuries, but they have a manageable remaining schedule to try to save face.

30. Denver (3-10): A later coaching change means this team is going nowhere fast. The Broncos have one win since starting 2-2. Enough said.

31. Cincy (2-11): Really wanted to put this team dead last because they have zero heart at this point. However, I couldn't because they defeated Carolina head-to-head and managed to hang with the Steelers this past week. Still a horrible team, and T.O. needs his bottle now.

32. Carolina (1-12): We all seen this coming heading into the season. No experienced quarterbacks and no help for Steve Smith. This week against Arizona will probably be their last real opportunity to avoid a one-loss season. The other two come against Pittsburgh and Atlanta.

LeBron Makes His Epic Return to Cleveland Tonight

Possibly the most anticipated regular season game in NBA history occurs tonight in Cleveland at Quicken Loan Arena.

Cavaliers guard Mo Williams compared it to an ex-girlfriend coming to your wedding. In this case the ex-girlfriend ditched you for a super model that ended up not being so attractive. At least not so far.

Going into the season many expected the Heat to be better than their record (11-8), and for the Cavaliers to be worse than their record (7-10).

It's hard to imagine how the passionate Cavaliers fans feel heading into this game, and for a lot of them this will be the equivalent of the Cavs winning a championship if the they pull off the win.

Don't be surprise if that happens tonight. We've already seen a few ordinary teams rise up above their normal selves and get the win. The Grizzlies are the only team with a record below .500 to take down the Heat, which was just less than two weeks ago.

The Heat have gotten every team's best shot this season, and the Cavs are going to multiple that by a 100 to try to bring this win home to the Cleveland fans.

Security will be extremely high compared to a normal game and rightfully so.

I'm hoping to see LeBron fail miserably tonight for making a deal with the devil and doing it in the most classless way possible.

With that said, I hope no one does anything overboard tonight, like threatening LeBron's physical health. We all have to step back and remember this is just a game.

Cleveland fans need to focus all that rage into harming LeBron mentally, but certainly not physically in any way. I'm sure some bonehead will go overboard and I hope that person gets the punishment they will deserve by being an idiot.

Moss Won't Talk Super Bowl, But Seems Ready To Go

Well I officially feel like a six-year-old kid on Christmas Eve as we lead up to Randy Moss's debut in a Tennessee Titans uniform.

We won't know for sure how this acquisition will turn out for the Titans, but we'll get a decent idea after tomorrow's game against the Dolphins.

It may be a week longer before we get the opportunity to see how Vince Young does working with Moss, but Kerry Collins is still very much capable of running the offense effectively. We've already seen that once this season against the Jaguars on Monday Night Football.

Moss made his first official interview as a Titan a few days ago and kept it short and sweet. He really didn't have too much interest in talking Super Bowl. Instead he gave the cliche answer of "taking it one game at a time".

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that answer. I think it's important that Moss stays away from negative publicity during his time in Tennessee. No matter what his stats are, if the Titans are successful then he'll be successful as a future player in the NFL.

Moss isn't a young man anymore and the reality is only one team claimed him. Just one and he's a future Hall of Famer. That blows my mind, but clearly teams were afraid of him starting trouble inside the locker room.

They face the Dolphins tomorrow, a team that can't be taken lightly. Much like the Titans themselves, the Dolphins have suffered some tough losses that should've been wins.

With that said, I see no reason why the Titans don't win this game. They're facing a quarterback in Chad Pennington who hasn't taken a snap since early last season.

Hopefully the simple presence of Moss will open things up more for Chris Johnson. On the defensive side of the ball I just don't see the Titans giving up much to the Dolphins.

Expect another close game but in the end I see a modest stat line for Moss in his debut, but a win by the Titans.

It's Official: Randy Moss is a Titan

You read the title correctly. No need to adjust your computer monitor.

Despite 21 other teams having a shot at Randy Moss on the waiver wire before the Titans, Moss is still the newest addition to the Tennessee Titans.

Saying that I'm completely shocked right now would be an understatement. I never saw this coming.

According to multiple sources, the Titans were the only team to put in a waiver claim for Moss. That's shocking in itself.

So now the question is how Moss fits into this offense that is historically, run first and pass short. With Moss on the roster, we're obviously going to see the Titans go deep more often than we're accustomed to.

Even though Moss has major character issues, it's hard to argue with the move. It's instantly going to free up running room for Chris Johnson, who has struggled finding lanes all season.

It also will allow for my space to work in the middle of the field for guys like Bo Scaife and Damian Williams.

With it still unknown how long Kenny Britt will be out for his hamstring injury, this move makes even more sense.

Hopefully the trash of the Patriots and the Vikings will prove to be the Titans' treasure.

The key to this move being a success will depend on whether or not Jeff Fisher can appease Moss, which is something that Brad Childress failed to do with the Vikings.

The Titans still have five division games remaining, including two games each against the Texans and the Colts. Both the Colts and the Texans have high-powered offenses and questionable defenses.

Career Stats for Randy Moss

• 194 games
• 948 receptions (9th all-time)
• 14,778 rec. yards (5th all-time)
• 153 rec. TD's (2nd all-time)
• 76 yards per game (5th all-time)
  

The LeBron Era Starts Off Slow in South Beach

The Celtics have been coined as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA ever since they assembled their own Big Three just a few seasons ago.

They proved that last night by holding the Miami Heat to just nine first quarter points, something that LeBron and company struggled to fight their way out of the rest of the game.

There was way too much one-on-one action going on at the beginning of the game. In fact, LeBron did the best job at trying to get his teammates involved. His unselfishness led to a lot of unforced turnovers, which he pointed out after the game.

Despite not being a big LeBron fan to say the least, I though LeBron played great last night. It almost looked like he was playing for Cleveland all over again, just with different players around him.

In the second half LeBron began to play more of his game and take on the form of the LeBron we all came to know in Cleveland. He began slashing to the basket and putting points on the board while everyone else on the floor were spectators.

He finished with 31 points even after the slow start. His rebound and assist production was down though as he finished with four rebounds and three assists.

Dwyane Wade was almost a non-factor the entire game, and understandably so. He was rusty due to sitting out all but three minutes of the preseason.

Chris Bosh didn't look all that great either if you judge him based on his offensive performance. He still showed how good he is in the rebound department.

It's obviously going to take a few games for LeBron, Wade, and Bosh to learn to play together effectively. They can't all be the players they use to be.

The Celtics proved that they're still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They played smarter from start to finish. This was most likely a preview of a matchup that will most likely happen in this season's Eastern Conference Finals.

It will be interesting to see if LeBron takes on the same approach that he took at the start of last night's game, or will he take on the style of play that he had in Cleveland when he had little help.

What To Expect In Big Ben's Return

Somehow the Steelers managed to not only survive without Ben Roethlisberger, but actually flourish.

They're currently 3-1, with their only loss coming to my preseason Super Bowl favorite, the Baltimore Ravens. The crazy part is the fact that they did most of this with third-string quarterback Charlie Batch.

Now coming off of a bye week they get their franchise quarterback returns to the field after a four-game suspension.

This offense is a lot more dangerous then people give them credit for and Roethlisberger is going to obviously add to that firepower.

Rashard Mendenhall is quickly becoming one of the top running backs in the league, and the wide receivers aren't that bad either with Mike Wallace and Hines Ward.

The Steelers and the Ravens are going to go right down to the wire and the second place team will most likely snatch up one of the wildcards.

As for this weekend Roethlisberger gets a bit of a tune-up game with the Browns coming to town. They have their own questions at quarterback with Colt McCoy getting his first NFL start.

Roethlisberger just has to remember that this team was already a top team without him, so he can't come in and try to do too much. How disastrous would it be if Roethlisberger returns to action and throws a couple picks in a loss?

That's probably not going to happens, but we all know that anything can happen. Just ask the Saints after their loss to Max Hall and the Cardinals last week.

Big Ben's Career Stats

• 127 Passing TD's
• 81 Interceptions
• 91.7 QB Rating
• 19,302 Pass Yards
• 17 Comeback Wins
  

The Doc Is In, And Throws A No-No!

What a way to make your postseason debut! Roy Halladay just became the second pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in the postseason.

He was one walk away from pitching his second perfect game of the year to add to that.

Halladay painted the corners the entire game and lead with a first-pitch strike most of the game.

The mind blowing statistics go on and on in this one. Halladay threw just 24 balls out of the 104 total pitches he threw. He also took the count to three balls just three times.

Want more? He also added an RBI to his credit in the second inning.

If Halladay continues to pitch like this then there's no way the Phillies go down to anyone out of the National League or the American League. He pitched that good today.

The Phillies will have the luxury of sending him out on short rest if things get sticky in any of their series as well.

Don't forget how good this pitching staff is either. They have Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt still to pitch in the next two games before Halladay takes the mound again on Friday presumably.

It's also important to know that the Reds numbers-wise are the best hitting team in the NL so Halladay didn't do this to just anybody.

As we all expected, the Phillies look to be in good shape at making their third straight trip to the World Series.