Quick Hits

I think the Today Show made a good choice by hiring Meredith Viera....instead of going for some young tart, they selected a mature veteran who has already made a name for herself....in the short-term, I think Viera will be more successful, but overall, Ms. Katie should do fine at CBS....

The Wood Memorial runs today.....this is a big prep race before the Kentucky Derby.....

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to be steamed at the NFL schedule makers....the Bucs have to come north 3 times in the month of December – to Cleveland, Chicago, and Pittsburgh....

Early line for the NFL opener....Pittsburgh - 5 against Miami....

Surprise – the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers are the only unbeaten teams left in Major League Baseball.....

I’ll stay take Tiger Woods to win the Masters....

Whatever happened to Raymond Floyd??......

Will Randy Johnson go into the Hall of Fame as either a Seattle Mariner or Arizona Diamondback???.....

The Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti is a rare breed....Mariotti cranks out a column almost everyday....

Yesterday, the Indians traded Brandon Phillips to Cincinnati....for the last three years the Cleveland media bragged that Phillips was a five-tool stud and the next coming of Robbie Alomar....and the Cleveland media also wrote that Russ Branyan was going to be the next Mark McGwire?.....makes you wonder about Andy Marte....

Quick Hits

As a New York Yankees fan, I miss Pedro Martinez in a Red Sox uniform.....

Joakim Noah should stay for his junior year at Florida.....I bet Vince Young wished he would have stayed for his senior year at Texas.....

Why hasn’t any college coach taken the time to teach the "skyhook" to any of their centers?.....that was Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s bread and butter shot in the NBA.....

I think Katie Couric should have stayed at NBC.....she had a nice gig going....

Did you see NBC’s Campbell Brown got married on Sunday.....who was the lucky guy?.....

I joined a fantasy baseball league this year for the first time....already having fun by building toward next season....

This Saturday marks four weeks until the Kentucky Derby.....

You have to go to Applebee’s for their Happy Hour – half priced drinks and appetizers....

I can’t believe "The King of Queens" may be on the chopping block with CBS.....

I’m tired of hearing about Barry Bonds and this steroid flap.....let’s just play some ball....

I don’t care if Jimmy Rollins does get a hit in 57 straight games.....Joe DiMaggio stills owns the record because his hitting streak occurred in one season not over the course of two seasons....

By the way, the next time anyone bitches about Alex Rodriguez’s salary, they should also include the lovely Katie Couric.....Ms. Katie was making $15 million a year at NBC, and sources report that she will be making more than that at CBS.....just something to think about....

Senior Circuit Scenario

N.L. East
1. Mets - the streak finally comes to an end for the Braves....the Mets went out and got some key parts to go along with Pedro and Beltran the year before....I love David Wright at third base...he is a future MVP.....
2. Braves - Bobby Cox will not go down without a fight....the Braves are the Braves and will end up in the playoffs as a wildcard....
3. Phillies - Jimmy Rollins is the best shortstop no one has heard of.....Ryan Howard is a STUD at first base.....but remember, Charlie Manuel is the manager – so that is worth at least 5 loses right there....
4. Nationals - look for the Nats to move Alfonso Soriano during the year in order to add more pieces to the puzzle....Ryan Zimmerman is supposed to be a good one at third base....
5. Marlins - I ain’t even wasting my time on this team.....

N.L. Central
1. Cardinals - a new stadium, but the same result – a Central Division title...
2. Brewers - this is my surprise team of the year....I love their young talent in Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Prince Fielder....this team will win the division in 2007....
3. Astros - Houston made their run the last two years.....Roy Oswalt will nail down a Cy Young this year....
4. Pirates - I would love to see the Pirates have a winning season....I give them credit, they spent a few dollars to show the fans they are at least trying....Jason Bay is a stud....
5. Cubs - with Prior and Wood injured again, this team has no hope....when will the Chicago brass get tired of the injury bug with these two and trade one of them?....besides Lee and Ramirez, who else is in the lineup?....
6. Reds - this once proud franchise deserves better.....Junior was solid during the WBC....they do have nice uniforms....

N.L. West
1. Dodgers - why not?.....who else is going to stop them, the Padres???....this may be Nomar’s last shot at resurrecting his career....
2. Padres - last year’s divisional champs post the same record – just barely above .500
3. Giants - yeh Bonds is back.....but it takes more than just Barry to win....
4. Diamondbacks - this team has some young talent coming up....they will dominate the division in two years....
5. Rockies - this team needs to move elsewhere....better yet -- one word -- contraction...

Divisional Playoffs
Cardinals over Braves
Mets over Dodgers

NLCS
Cardinals over Mets

World Series
Cardinals over White Sox

American League Crystal Ball

March Madness may be over, but it only serves as a prelude to baseball season....and more specifically, baseball predictions.....below are my guesses, hunches, and wishes for this year’s baseball season.....

A.L. East
1. Yankees - New York should be steady as usual and make the playoffs.....look for the Rat, Randy Johnson, to improve after a sub-par first year in the Bronx.....
2. Red Sox - this doesn’t even resemble the same Red Sox team that won the title 2 years ago.....but they still have Ortiz and Manny....the key to their success lays with Keith Foulke and his ability to close games....
3. Blue Jays - give this team credit, they have spent some money in the off-season and are trying to win – unlike other teams....if they want to get back to their winning ways, they should start by going back to the old Blue Jay uniforms from their glory days....
4. Orioles - this team is just stuck in slow motion....they dropped a ton of money on the steroid induced stats of Miguel Tejada....Nicky Markakis, a Greek, may be the next Gus Triandos....
5. Devil Rays - this team is just oozing with young talent – BJ Upton, Delmon Young, Carl Crawford, Seth McClung, etc.....if they improve this year, look for the new owner to spend some money during the offseason....

A.L. Central
1. White Sox - this team is loaded on offense and starting pitching.....but their Achilles heel is going to be at closer....I just have a feeling that Bobby Jenks is just another one season wonder such as Mark Wohlers and John Rocker.....the Sox will need to get another closer....look for Jim Thome to win Comeback Player of the Year....
2. Indians - don’t get your panties stuck in your rear Indian fans!!!....Cleveland will have a very good team, but they will not make the playoffs....think about it, they lost Millwood, Elarton, Crisp, and Howry.....Wickman is a year older as the closer and they never spent the money to get that big right handed bat they needed.....
3. Tigers - what the heck, let’s go out on the limb and take Detroit for third.....they have a good pitching staff with Bonderman, Maroth, and the new youngster Verlander....Granderson is going to be good in centerfield and Rodney will be solid as the closer....
4. Twins - this team is in transition....gone are the heart and soul of the teams from the early 2000s.....they are banking on Johan Santana and Joe Nathan....they need to hit on Francisco Liriano in order to move back up in the standings.....
5. Royals - the crown heads have a stud coming up in third baseman Alex Gordon.....

A.L. West
1. Athletics - Huston Street is sweet as the closer....and their rotation is once again formidable after losing former aces Hudson and Mulder....
2. Angels - the Angels will always be solid as long as Mike Scioscia is the manager....he is highly underrated....it also helps to have a healthy Vlad in your lineup too....
3. Rangers - the Rangers and Orioles are like twins.....both teams seem stuck in slow motion....I love Mark Teixeira....he wins the MVP this season....
4. Mariners - how many days until the Seahawks open training camp???...

Divisional Playoffs
Yankees over Angels
White Sox over Athletics

ALCS
White Sox over Yankees

National League predictions will follow in another blog