Bad one last week (8-6)... Overall= 48-22

Tampa Bay AT Atlanta- After last weeks terrible loss to Green Bay, the Falcons will come out firing. Dont count out the Bucs, they have the momentum going into this one. I just see Chris Simms playing down a notch against Atlanta. He had one good game, hes not a hall of famer yet. My Pick- FALCONS

Carolina AT Chicago- The Bears are a real surprise this year. Their D is crazy. However they havent faced the Delhomme/Smith tandem. The Panthers just have a better overall team. My Pick- PANTHERS

Miami AT Cleveland- Ughh, both of these crappy teams need to go away. Nobody outside of their respective regions (and probably not even many in the regions) gives a you know what about either team. My Pick- BROWNS

Detroit AT Dallas- The Lions surprised me last week. They do however still suck. The Cowboys might just be the best team in the NFC right now. Their D is playing well. My Pick- COWBOYS

Jacksonville AT Tennessee- The Titans are a terrible team this year. They might now even win another game. The Jags are coming off of a STRONG win over the Ravens. Where the hell is Fred Taylor. My Pick- JAGUARS

Arizona AT St Louis- The Cardinals look like garbage. I dont think the Rams are anything special this year, but they will beat down on the sorry Cardinals. Steven Jackson will rip this defense apart. My Pick- RAMS

New Orleans AT New England- I really do feel bad for the Saints. You just will never win with Aaron Brooks at QB. My Pick- PATRIOTS

Philadelphia AT New York- The Giants are pissed. Tom Coughlin is pissed. The Eagles wont have McNabb, so I dont even want to think about how crappy their offense will look against a revitalized Giants defense. Shockey might be out for this one, but it won't matter. The Eagles are now the team everyone looks foward to playing. What a dropoff from last year. They are done this year, plain and simple, sit the rest of the year out and try to get Matt Leinart, trade McNabb while he still has some value (and that window is closing quick.) My Pick- GIANTS

Oakland AT Washington- Oakland just isnt a winning team. They play hard, but just do not win. Joe Gibbs will outcoach Norv gimme a break Turner. My Pick- REDSKINS

Pittsburgh AT Baltimore- Ravens will not win another game, their offense is just to shitty. I dont care if Big Ben is across the street at Pickles Pub drinking, the Ravens have no chance. My Pick- STEELERS

Seattle AT San Francisco- ha, this one is to easy. The Seahawks are an elite team. The Niners are a garbage organization. Alexander is way to sick this year for the Niners, hell, anyone to handle. My Pick- SEAHAWKS

Indianapolis AT Cincinnati- This is the one everyone will be watching. Chad Johnson is talking. Everyone is saying the Bengals will knock off the Colts. Im not. My Pick- COLTS

New York Jets AT Denver- I feel bad for the Jets, I really do. They are jsut a team with alot of problems right now. No chance they knock off the Broncos. My Pick- BRONCOS

Buffalo AT San Diego- JP Losman will have a terrible game. I really like the Chargers offense, I really believe LT is so good he makes Drew and company better than they really are, (see Randy Moss in Minnesota.) My Pick- CHARGERS

KC AT Houston- The Texans suck. KC isnt that good, but the Texans just suck way to bad. My Pick- CHIEFS

Minnesota AT Green Bay- God I just love that they schedule the games in the preseason. We always have great games such as this weeks in the national spotlight. Both teams had big wins last week. Ill go with Favre at home I guess. My Pick- PACKERS

This is an excerpt from a bigger paper im doing for school...

... Three things on this Earth have stood the test of time: Religion, writing, and most importantly sports. While basketball and football go through brief periods where they are #1 in the American spectrum, none have been as steady as baseball. In fact, baseball has been on top for about a century. Often times, a niche crowd of clueless persons question the importance of sports. Perhaps these persons should rewind their minds back to 2001. Specifically, picture the 747 planes flying into the WTC buildings on 9/11, as burning hot fires spread throughout that crowded section of New York. All of the family members who have suffered serious injury, all of those who failed to survive... Destruction. What was the helping hand that assisted these people suffering the devistating loss of family? Baseball of course. Watching the families who lost loved ones in the attack sitting with Mayor Rudy Giuliani at Yankee Stadium cheering loudly; smelling the air of Americana (hot dogs and beer), provided many with a feeling that cannot be described by words. The baseball players kept playing baseball, and by doing so took up the latent task of counseling the emotionally damaged persons of NY. If you did not feel something magical, something otherworldly during these games, you have no soul. If you do not feel baseball was important during this dangerous time in our history, you have no brain. I'll leave you with a hypothetical... What if baseball was not around during the 9/11/01 era, and what if something as natural as baseball just disappeared?

The real LT is in the Hall of Fame. The real LT was a sack monster. The real LT is smoking crack right now. The real LT is promoting the non-NFL Blitz to support his crack habit. The real LT is a legend. Don't get me wrong, Ladanian Tomlinson is great. However, the LT nickname is taken, and all the lazy writers/announcers need to come up with something original, so I'll help. Here is a Top 11 list since that washed up guy on CBS has the Top 10 list trademarked. Plese dont kill me over the #1 anwser.

11- LD or LTD- same basic sound and syllables. TD of course because he is a touchdown freak. LD sounds like LT. Passable.

10- L-Dub- An old trick of the nick trade. Take the given persons first initial of their first name, and add dub to it. Go ahead, try it with your name, you know you want to.

9- fasT-Lane- His speed is no secret, and with the emphasis on TL, its kinda like LT backwards. Truthfully, when you are rolling with Tomlinson, you are in the fast lane. Again, just throwin these out there, trying to get ideas flowing, get some things workin here.

8-LighTspeed- Again, some emphasis on the LT. But, Tomlinson really plays at light speed. This works, but again, just trying to get ideas flowing here.

7- The Franchise- We hear about the franchise tag alot in football. Ladanian Tomlinson is the franchise of the league, he is simple the best.

6- The Thing- Comic book names are always great, jsut see d-wade as the flash. Comic book names work. Moreover, this is a good old school Kurt Russell movie, good stuff. Tomlinson ability is so otherworldly, he is an indescribable thing in the human mind.

5- Lightning Bolt- He plays on the Chargers, and he really is a lightning bolt. "The lightning bolt up the middle." This can be shortened to L-Bolt or T-Bolt.

4- Model-T- Now this one has potential. Imagine commercials with some kinda car type assembly line producing "Model-T's", but not the car, the football player. Yes, this is good stuff we are getting at here.

3- Ladanian Skywalker- Yes, this is good stuff with real potential here. The name Skywalker is very, very cool, and Ladanian has that epic sense about him. Then he could carry lightsabers and the like around. A much better schtick than Clinton Portis's dress up.

2- L.T.O- O yes, a mix of LT and TO, and it works because he has all of those initials. L.T.O...

1- Uncle Tomlinson- Im sorry, im sorry, that was so wrong, but it needed to be said. Its totally inappropriate, but I swear the guy wants to be white. I truly apologize tho, totally done in bad taste. Im a bad person.

Last Week- 11-3, Overall 40-16

Kansas City AT Buffalo- The Bills have been a pretty big dissapointment this season. After last week's amazing victory, the Chiefs have serious momentum entering this one. Although Holmes is out the rest of the season, Larry Johnson is a more than suitable starter. My Pick- CHIEFS

San Francisco AT Chicago- The Niners offense is horrible this year. No chance they can score anything significant on the Bears defense. Still not sold on Kyle Orton, and the Niners defense isn't that bad. This one will probably be ugly to watch. My Pick- BEARS

Arizona AT Detroit- Ughh. Neither team has a strong running attack. The passing game for both teams has been ugly. Two truly terrible organizations. My Pick- CARDINALS

Houston AT Indianapolis- The Colts are a Super Bowl team this year. The Texans are one of the worst organizations in the league. Edge will run all over the Texans. This one is simple. My Pick- COLTS

New England AT Miami- The Patriots really aren't that good this year. Neither are the Dolphins for that matter. Dillon has been banged up and ineffective this season. I'll take Tom Brady when it comes down to it in this one. My Pick- PATRIOTS

Minnesota AT NY Giants- Brad Johnson looked impressive last week, although the Lions, well, aren't in the same class as a team like NY. The Giants just win. Their defense is playing alot better, and the superstar offense is the most feared in the league. My Pick- GIANTS

Baltimore AT Jacksonville- The Jags have not looked to impressive in their victories. Their offense is struggling. However, they are playing the Ravens. Baltimore's season is over, and they will not have heart in their remaining games. I have no idea where J. Lewis is. My Pick- JAGS

Denver AT Oakland- The Raiders are better than their 3-5 record shows. They might still have a hangover from last week's defeat. The Broncos just look solid this year, great tag team running game, and Jake isn't being the Jake of old. My Pick- BRONCOS

NY Jets AT Carolina- The Jets have no shot in this one. Their QB situation is a joke. On the other hand, Delhomme and Smith are the best QB/WR in the league right now. Davis can run the ball in when they get it near the goal line. My Pick- PANTHERS

Green Bay AT Atlanta- The Packers just do not win this year. Who is Samkon Gado? The Falcons are just way to good for this sorry Packers team. Let's see if Vick can have two good passing games in a row. My Pick- FALCONS

St Louis AT Seattle- The Rams just cannot hang with the Seahawks in the West this year. Shaun Alexander is having a tremendous year. Hasselbeck can be very efficent with this strong backfield. The Rams are to suspect this year. My Pick- Seahawks

Washington AT Tampa Bay- THe Bucs are fake this year. Chris Simms is garbage. The battle tested Redskins will help the Bucs to continue their losing streak. My Pick- REDSKINS

Cleveland AT Pittsburgh- Charlie Batch is a much better backup than Tommy Maddox. Moreover, the Steelers can always rely on their running game. The Browns are just horrible this year, they have no shot against the Steelers. My Pick- STEELERS

Dallas AT Philadelphia- This is a huge Monday night game. Both teams need this win to keep pace with the Giants. The Eagles will unite around the whole T.O controversy, and have a strong second half of the season. They will not lose this game at home. My Pick- EAGLES

We are finally approaching the end of an era in baseball. The past decade or so is a time period known as the artificial era. Monster numbers and 50 homerun seasons have been commonplace. Chicks do in fact dig the long ball.

The extent to which steroid use has occurred in baseball will never be fully known. However, we do know of some big names that used steroids in their careers. First of course is the Godfather of roids, Jose Canseco. Canseco has obviously knocked himself out of the Hall of Fame, yet he does still have an MVP award in 1988. Unfortunately, it is now known this came under false circumstances. Why should Canseco be allowed to keep this award when he cheated? Runner up to the 1988 MVP, Mike Greenwell who played by the rules his whole career should be granted the honor.

Jose Canseco’s bash brother Mark McGwire also has a cloud of suspicion over his head. In fact, he doesn’t want to talk about the past, he only wants to talk about the future. Give me a break; this is one of the worst defenses ever. You lost all credibility with your laughable appearance in front of Congress Mr. McGwire. Unless you can pull some David Blaine magic out of your behind, you will forever be labeled a steroid user. The classical summer of 98 is now a painful memory nobody wants to look back on. Us fans should have known, but we were blinded by the fact baseball was returning to prominence after the strike. Admit it Mark, you cheated. Your numbers are artificial, and your name should never be brought up in Hall of Fame balloting.

McGwire’s homerun partner in 98, Sammy Sosa has been seen on the backs of milk cartons all throughout Maryland. Seriously, where did this guy go? How exactly is it possible for a professional athlete to go from having muscle on top of muscle, with veins bulging at the seams, to looking like a high school toothpick? Even more ridiculous than McGwire, Sosa needed a “translator” at the Congressional hearings on steroids. So, Sammy in previous years spoke great English, was on a commercial, and gave countless interviews. Yet, he needed a “translator” in front of Congress. How stupid do the roid freaks think we are? Sosa’s incredible run of 60 homerun seasons needs to be wiped away. Sammy Sosa cheated. Why pay artificial records any attention?

Sosa’s teammate in Baltimore, Rafael Palmeiro may have suffered the biggest fall of any roid freak. After terribly shoddy excuses which were proven to be false, Palmeiro now claims he received a steroid, but it came from his B12 shot. Does he realize how stupid he sounds? His 3000th hit celebration now has a phony aura about it. Moreover, his unwillingness to come clean reveals an unsavory sleaziness about his character. Why put an admitted steroid user in the Hall of Fame? While legends Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Eddie Murray legitimately reached the 500 homeruns, 3000 hits club, Rafael Palmeiro cheated to join this exclusive club. He needs to be punished accordingly.

Another famous first basemen, Jason Giambi is an admitted steroid user. However, Giambi is a special case. He has been truthful, and has also shown regret for his wrongful actions. Giambi has at least apologized for his actions, and not treated the fans like idiots. Is it a coincidence he has gotten a second chance, and has again won fans over? Nonetheless, Jason Giambi’s 2000 MVP award needs to be taken away. The honor came under false circumstances. Moreover, his name should not come up in Hall of Fame talks. There is no reason to reward cheating.

Finally, there is the most controversial roid freak of all, Barry Bonds. His steroid use ballooned his head to the size of a small planet. If this cheater passes Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron on the all-time homerun list, it will be a travesty. These two men played the game the way it was meant to be played. Their records records were gained legitimately, with the skills they were born with. Barry Bonds’s records and awards are coming to him by means of his natural born skill, and a foreign substance that boosts his natural skill, creating an unfair advantage.

Cheaters will never prosper. Everyone should live by this statement. What kind of message are we sending the youth if we let these cheaters in the Hall of Fame? Is it fair to today’s great players such as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, or Roger Clemens to reward the cheaters? The awards and accolades need to go to the players who play baseball by the rules. If the roid freaks are allowed into the Hall of Fame, the black eye of this era will never be forgotten, and every player who has done it by the book is getting screwed over.

BTW, I finally got a job, and I hate it. Work sucks.