Is it week 15 already?

It seems like time is flying by these days. I can remember opening weekend and all the hope for the new season. I can remember the breaking news of Camera-gate. I can remember people wondering if Tony Romo would bounce back from his playoff butter-fingers. Now, with only three games to go and the playoffs on the line for many teams, we have a matchup between the Browns and Bills that could have big playoff ramifications. Who’d’ve thunk it?

Bengals (-8) over NINERS

The NFL Network really struck gold with this doozie of a game. Unless you're a fan of either team or your fantasy playoffs involve one of the Bengals or Frank Gore, you're probably going to opt to go out tonight.

Cards (+3) over SAINTS

I really need Kurt Warner to have another big day for the sake of the Coney Island Whitefish who are facing a team with a Moss-Owens tandem this week in the fantasy playoffs.

BUCS (-12.5) over Falcons

Jeff Garcia’s back and this is a poor, sad Falcons squad, then again, they do have the potential to rally after the Petrino bailing saga.

Ravens (-3) over DOLPHINS

This feels like the one that the Dolphins could possibly win but I'm still not going to bet on them.

Bills (+5.5) over BROWNS

With a playoff berth on the line possibly? Really? With inclement weather coming in, I see this being settled by a field goal.

Packers (-8.5) over RAMS

Shouldn’t the Packers be giving more points? Sure the Rams are at home and may have Bulger back but come on now. It’s the Rams we’re talking about!

Jaguars (+3) over STEELERS

Game of the week? This is a game that has playoff-style battle written all over it. With Big Ben questionable, I’m reluctant to give the Steelers a vote of confidence.

PATRIOTS (-21) over Jets

The only thing that can possibly save the Jets is the weather, but the Pats are a great cold weather team so this snow storm will only help them. And how come nobody has questioned Randy Moss’s cold weather abilities? He played in a dome in Minnesota, he played in sunny Oakland, he went to college at Marshall which is in West Virginia and nobody questions how well he will play in the cold? I’m a bit wary about how well he’ll perform on the tundra of Foxboro.

Seahawks (-8) over PANTHERS

Sure the Panthers won their last game at home giving them their first victory there in a calendar year, but two weeks in a row? Yeah right. And for the first time, maybe ever, the Seahawks will cover for six straight weeks. And how many teams have ever started four different quarterbacks in one season? If Matt Moore goes instead of hobbled Vinny Testaverde, that would be the case for your 2007 Carolina Panthers.

CHIEFS (+4) over Titans

Winning in Kansas City at this time of year is tough. Playing behind a struggling Vince Young makes the task even tougher.

Colts (-10) over RAIDERS

I don’t think the Colts will run up the score but winning by ten seems completely reasonable. And you have to like the way the Raiders are easing in Jamarcus Russell. Throwing him into the fire too early and often could have spooked him and wrecked his confidence; by easing him in, he gets used to the speed of the game at a comfortable pace. Kudos to the Raiders.

Lions (+10.5) over CHARGERS

Sure the Lions are free-falling and the Chargers are seemingly pulling it together but ten seems too high for me. Also, how about former sack king and ‘roid user Shawne Merriman being picked on the past few weeks? It’s as if teams are trying to make him look bad when he was already doing that by himself.

Eagles (+10.5) at COWBOYS

The first of three meaningless games for both teams. The Cowboys should start resting guys and the Eagles should start prepping for the future and an intriguing offseason. And give Kevin Kolb some playing time will ya!?

GIANTS (-4.5) over Redskins

What? You thought I’d bet on Todd Collins on the road? Sure buddy. But then again, the only reason Eli Manning has a job still is his last name. Welcome to Frank Stallone land. I can’t wait to bet against him in the playoffs.

VIKINGS (-9) over Bears

Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor in prime time! The Bears don’t have a chance with Kyle Orton – who I actually like – behind centre.

This week: 0-1
Last week: 9-6
This season: 95-88-9

The Mitchell Report

It's been analyzed everywhere by everyone who could possibly write about it. I, for one, am not really up for reading 40-plus pages of stuff when I could get the summary everywhere I looked yesterday. People are damning every player, trainer, official etc. that was named in report. That's fair. But should everyone be THIS up at arms over the Mitchell report? I don't think so. I wasn't too shocked about any single name on the list.

The only name close to shocking me is Roger Clemens, a personal hero in fact. But the speculation had already been thrown around before. The old conspiracy theory that Clemens started his ritualistic taking-a-few-months-off thing was actually a secret suspension from the league — trying to cover the ass of one of their greatest players ever. This will tarnish his legacy a la Barry Bonds but Clemens isn't an ass to the public like Bonds is most of the time. How this will play out, we'll see...

One thing I do know for certain is that for a guy on some sort of juice, Gregg Zaun should have a lot better numbers.

I've got the feeling that, while this will hurt the game, some of its' best players and the record books, this is not as bad as people think it is. Even in the last few years, every major North American sport (except the impeccable NFL) has suffered a far worse blow. The NHL lockout, the NBA referee scandal and even WWE's Chris Benoit tragedy are far more crippling than this. The thing is that everyone already suspected a lot of the players named. The confirmation isn't nearly as jarring as the initial accusations to me.

And who would've ever thought that Jose Canseco would come out of all this looking like a good guy? He arguably started this whole snowball effect and could, in a way, be credited with cleaning up the sport now. How delicious is that irony?

Petrino "cowardly" bails

What a week for the Falcons. First their former superstar QB gets sentenced to a stiff 23-month jail term; then they get embarrassed on Monday Night Football later in the day; then, to top it all off, their coach straight up quits — in the middle of the season no less. Bobby Petrino resigned as coach of the Atlanta Falcons and didn't even make it through one of the five seasons he was signed on for. What a bust that move was. Can the Falcons really get lower than this point? I mean they're starting Chris Redman at quarterback because Joey "the boy" Harrington isn't healthy enough to play. This team needs a serious overall and a good coach to help them get back on their feet. The decision of who'll be head coaching the team next is going to be one that will carry the weight of the next four or five years in Atlanta. If they *muck* that one up, they could be toast for a decade. At least Michael Vick could be reinstated by then.

As for tonight's game...

Both teams need this win but I'm becoming less and less sold on the Texans every week. With Denver finally getting healthy, it's not so scary betting on them on this one. And can we please keep football on Sundays and one Monday game please? This Thursday and Saturday mumbo jumbo has no place in my heart. Excluding Thanksgiving day games that is (which there should only be two of by the way).

Broncos (pick 'em) over TEXANS

Last week: 9-6 (and an amazing 15-1 without the spread!)
This season: 95-88-9

MLB movement-mania!

Miguel Tejada to Houston! I'm not so sure that the Astros got the best deal the possibly could've here. Giving up five prospects for a great shortstop is a good move but you have to factor in the Miggy's game is slipping. But, it was also well known that the Orioles' owner was in love with Tejada and wouldn't have shipped him away for anything less than what they got in this deal. This move is a good look into the futures of these teams with Baltimore going into rebuilding mode and Houston possibly making a playoff push in the still weak NL Central.

Fukudome to Cubs! Speaking of the NL Central, the defending division-champ have signed the Japanese star to a four-year, $48 million deal. Apparently he's a mix of Ichiro and Hideki Matsui according to scouts. Hopefully he'll adapt to playing in a big city like Chicago and give them some outfield help.

Aaron Rowand to San Francisco! Would you ever pay a player the calibre of Aaron Rowand $60 million over five years? I wouldn't but then again, we know just how good Giants management is with money after the Barry Zito debacle of last offseason.

Andruw Jones to Los Angeles! I could've written this headline the minute that Jones filed for free agency. That's how predictable this move is. I'm kind of interested to see what the Dodgers do with Juan Pierre, the incumbent center-fielder. He's one of the fastest players in the game but doesn't have much else in way of skills. He'd be a good fit somewhere in the league if it wasn't too bad for his big contract.

Matsui to San Francisco? Unless the Yankees are going to get excellent young pitchers Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain in return, I wouldn't even be talking about dealing Hideki.

A delicious coincidence

How appropriate is it that on the same day that Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison, his former team was on national television for Monday Night Football against the Saints? A cruel twist of irony in my eyes.

And how about the two players (DeAngelo Hall and Roddy White) who actually made tributes to their former teammate? Hall had MV7 written on the shade underneath his eye while White had written "Free Mike Vick" on his undershirt and exposed it during a celebration. While it's nice that they're supporting a comrade who has fallen on hard times, I think that's a little much.

You can tell just how well your season is going when Chris Redman is making his first start since 2002 at quarterback for your team. Poor Falcons fans.

The Saints did play a lot better than I expected but maybe losing Reggie Bush (reports say for the season) helped them. By forcing them to concentrate on passing the ball, they looked strong. Not as strong as last season's incredible offence but strong none-the-less. But then again, they were facing Atlanta.

I really can't believe I picked Atlanta in this one. Maybe if I had known about the Vick schedule and paid some attention to the outside factors, I would've gotten this one right.

Also, facing a fantasy team in next week's playoff match up that feature Terrell Owens vs. Philadelphia and Randy Moss facing the Jets has already got me thinking about clearing my proverbial locker.

This week: 9-6
This season: 95-88-9

Courtroom dramas

Mike Vick gets sentenced. 23 months seems like a lot to me. While I have taken turns arguing for and against Vick in various conversations, I still feel a bit bad for how fast and hard he's fallen from grace.

Pundits are no saying that had Vick accepted more responsibility for his actions and kept his indiscretions to a minimum, his sentence could've been far less and in the range of 12-to-18 months. Now that I would've agreed with.

It's a shame such a gifted athlete and revolutionary quarterback will probably never get the opportunity to play again... Expect in his prison's league that is.

Barry Bonds waits a year for trial? There is some reports speculating that Bonds, after entering a plea of not guilty of his charges, could only be going in front of a judge after the 2008 baseball season.

Now he could potentially sign a one-year deal somewhere and play, but who would want the media circus that will follow him now? And what will be buzzing around in his rather large head? It's never been riskier to take a chance on the home run king and I can't see a single team tendering him an offer.

What happened?

Remember those Ravens who nearly beat the still-undefeated Patriots last week? Well they're nowhere near as good as people might have thought they were. Going into half-time against the Colts, Indianapolis was up 37-7 and had allowed only 8 yards passing. When the playoffs come around and the Pats and Colts have their rematch, it's going to be one hell of a game.

Also, I've come to grips with the fact that New England is more than likely to go 16-0 this season. Anything more than that I'm not sure about though.

The headline on ESPN.com should say enough about why the Dolphins are still without a victory. "Winless Dolphins make Bills look like juggernaut."

In wrapping-up-division-title news, the Packers and Seahawks both earned their playoff tickets with convincing wins yesterday. Green Bay blasted Oakland while downed rival Arizona 42-21. If the Seahawks keep on playing like they are, they could be a hard match-up when the games matter most.

The Cowboys sealed a great comeback win when Jason Witten scored with 18 seconds left against Detroit. These Lions are in serious free-fall mode. At least Detroit natives have the Red Wings to watch and a great season of Tigers baseball coming up.

Brooks Berlin lost in his first NFL start. Are you surprised? I'm sure not.

The Chargers are really starting to come around and play some good football. They got gutsy efforts from Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates in their overtime victory over Tennessee. If the Broncos had lost instead of absolutely crushing Kansas City and the weak Brodie Croyle, the Chargers would've clinched the not-so-hot AFC West.

Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor are one of, if not the best two-headed running-back combo in the world. The only other combo I'd consider is Dallas' Marion Barber-Julius Jones pairing but I'd rather have either Viking than Jones.

This week: 9-5 (With Atlanta +4 tonight)
This season: 95-87-9