fiver

I'm not convinced the Auburn D will be able to stop Arkansas, but I am convinced that Auburn will be able to put up 25+ points. I think Auburn wins a close one.

Jump on that line before it's -7. I'm going to go out on a limb on say that the Vikings beat the Rams by more than 9 also. Vikings -9.5 at Rams.

The line on the Georgia-Tennesee game changed to Georgia +2. Can anyone tell me why Tennessee would be favored in this game? Also, my NFL pick for the week is Indy -3.5 at Tennessee

My college football picks for the week: Purdue at Minn. -3.5 Alabama -6.5 at Mississippi Georgia (even) at Tennessee

Auburn looked ok against Tennessee. The game would have been much different if UT had a QB that was even average...Crompton did get better in the 4th quarter though. AU should be ranked for the first time this year, and I think they will be favored against Arkansas.

I'm really not that sure what to think. As you said, I don't think Auburn has a particularly good defense, but that may not mean a lot with Crompton at quarterback. If Tennessee is going to move the ball, it's going to have to be on the ground. Auburn has allowed something like 150 yards on the ground a game, so I would think Hardesty and Brown will have success, but there's no reason for Auburn not to have 8-9 men in the box to stop the run. What are your thoughts on Auburn's run defense? Tennessee has a very good rushing offense, but that's all the offense they have. Defensively, I think the Vols can at least slow down Auburn's offense. The Tigers have scored a ton of points so far, but haven't faced a defense close to comparable to Tennessee's yet. Against what I consider a much more potent Florida offense, the Tennessee defense held them to 23 points. I think if Auburn scores 25+, Tennessee loses. If the Tennessee defense can hold Auburn below that number and Crompton doesn't turn the ball over at inopportune times (deep in UT territory, at the AU goal line, etc), then I think Tennessee wins. It should help that the game will be at Neyland. If Tennessee wants to make a bowl appearance this year, this is a key game. After losing to UCLA, we need to beat at least one of Auburn/SC to make a bowl, if not both. I think you're right. Auburn will probably stack the box early and see what Crompton can do. If he completes enough passes early, Auburn will be forced to loosen their D, and you'll then be able to run the ball for 5+ yards on a consistent basis. I'm interested in seeing how Auburn's O fares against a decent defense...I think the Vols are probably going to win this game.

Dew, what are your thoughts on the game this weekend? Auburn's offense will probably score a few touchdowns, but the D isn't very good.

you don't really choose these things. they choose you. I wouldn't respect someone who 'switched teams'.

First of all I don't think adults are calling a toddler the n word. Then I tried to picture a scenario in which an adult could direct that kind of angry aggression towards a little tyke. All I could picture was a 3 year old version of MB brooding and stomping around which could totally be reality but I still can't see that prompting racial slurs upon him. Okay, that's freaking awful if true, but I don't see anyway that it is true. Parents, teachers and their kids? Seriously? Bradley is getting paid enough that he can send his children to any school he desires....If you have a problem with your child's schooling, yank his butt out of the school and send him somewhere else. Hell, why not just hire a staff to teach your kid? I think the whole thing is horesehowry though. I haven't been to Wrigley this year, but I'm sure Bradley was getting heckled pretty badly about his play from the fans....guess what? The heckling isn't reserved for just african american players. If you don't earn your contract, then you're going to get heckled. Bradley needs to go play for a small market team where no one cares enough to even show up to the game. Earn your pay. quit whining. take some paxil, adderol, or whatever you 'need' so that you can concentrate on playing baseball...in this case..perhaps a lobotomy or shock therapy.

Why is this a foregone conclusion? It's not. However, Soriano will have to rebound for the Cubs to have a decent chance at making the playoffs next year.

correct.

yes, props to Hendry. ](*,) Let's give him a raise.

I think the focus of the discussion should be on Jim Hendry, not Milton Bradley. There was no secret that Bradley was volatile before we signed him. It reminds me of the snake story in Natural Born Killers. If you're going to sign Milton, then you'd better have a pretty solid plan for managing his personality. Cubs executives couldn't even get him through one season before they have to sell him for pennies on the dollar.

...so basically Hendry admits he made an emotional decision without thinking about how his action would affect the future. Who cares. This needed to be done. Right. Just because it was a rash decision doesn't mean it was a wrong one. I disagree. In that situation, Hendry should have done everything he could to minimize the significance of Bradley's comments. To the media, you have to assert that you 'understand Bradley's frustration with the season' even if you've decided that you are going to unload him in the offseason. You additionally decrease Bradley's value by suspending him and then publicly saying you don't think the relationship between Bradley and the Cubs is reparable. Executives shouldn't really make decisions based upon emotion. You have to put emotion aside and try to manage the situation whichever way is going to set you up best for the future.

quote from Hendry: ...so basically Hendry admits he made an emotional decision without thinking about how his action would affect the future.

Yes, he's for real. Pods, Fuld, Koye Hill, 'grit', and 'heart' are obviously the answer. Can't you see that?

just realized earlier this week that we've had a five guys for about a year now in midtown...and they are building another five guys on university blvd...going to have to check it out.

Backyard burger is my favorite fastfood burger that is available locally...back in the day, i was always a fan of the whopper.

Central Grocery in New Orleans has a mean muffaletta sandwich..the key is the olive salad they make. In Mobile, I'm a fan of Lenny's sub shop. Their Italian sub is pretty good as they slice fresh capicola and prosciutto. Their Philly Cheesesteak is also good...they make a really good pepper relish they put on this...as close to the real thing as you can get on the gulf coast. Their bread isn't awesome, but it does the job. We have Jimmy John's down here, but I'm not impressed really. There are a ton of places down here that specialize in Po'boys....fresh oyster po'boys are hard to beat.

Aaron Miles was on a rehab assignment. Numbers are not his primary focus for what he was trying to do down there. You gotta get your strength back. You have to get your timing back. What was his primary focus when he was on the big league roster earlier this year? LOL, ok I see what you mean. Who knows, maybe his time down in the minors helped his confidence and helped him work things out in a low pressure environment? I hope he comes up and hits .300 like he did last year. ....problem is that even if he miraculously 'hits .300', he's still only going to get on base at a rate of .330 and slug at a rate of .375 or so and none of that is acceptable....and THATS IF HE BATS .300! Not only is he useless, but he is a severe liability.....own up to the fact that signing him was a folly, DFA him, and be done with it.

Although he has been a heartattack this year, I'm nowhere near ready to give up on him yet. He was an all start last year and arguably a top 5 bullpen guy in the entire league. Something is going on with his mechanics/head or some combination of the two. Maybe somehow it's still residual effect from the WBC or maybe Lou/Larry should dust out the ole' video machine and compare arm angles/release points from this year to last. I understand the value of trading him 'high', but this guy isn't just potential we are hoping pans out as he has proven he can be one of the very best pitchers in the majors. We just need to figure out how to get back to that point. The guy has thrown too many pitches in the last several years in my opinion. As much as the Cubs have used him combined with him pitching in the DR league in the offseason and then the WBC, I'm suprised he hasn't had more problems with his arm this season. He has become independently wealthy by pitching for the Cubs. I'd like to see him do what is the best for the team and rest his arm a little bit in the offseason....I'm not necessarily blaming his control problems on overuse as one would think that loss of velocity, not problems with control would be the primary symptom of overuse..this is just more of a rant I guess. Please rest your arm in the offseason. Thanks.

Nope, you've evaluated that one poorly. I'd suprised if we see him again prior to the rosters expanding...but not because the Cubs have given up on him 'once and for all'.

let's hope it isn't serious and only puts him on the shelf for a few days. cheetos.

very nice!....glad you were able to get into the baseball industry. you would have been bored as hell taking a client services job with my company...all that was open at the time though man. So...do you have access to any free tickets? If so, i might just have something from oskar blues sitting at the house with your name on it.

If he really only does it a few times a year, then I'm fine with it. If he's a habitual user, and it's impacting his performance on the field, then I'm pissed off. However, I'll probably never know for sure. It's pretty easy to obtain a prosthesis, obtain clean/dried urine, add distillled water to the dried urine, place this mixture in an IV bag, warm the IV bag with 'hot hands', attach the IV to the prosthesis running a tube out of it, and pass a test even if you're puffing down everyday.