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