Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.

Yes sir, it is that time again, the moment that you have been waiting for since we last met a week ago, the laugh out loud pile of useless information that I am about to spew, the know it all of know nothing, the crazy, loopy and president of the Ron Artest straight jacket club, the weekend warrior!

Minnesota at Indiana

Could someone ask me if anyone actually cares about this game? Indiana looked good at the beginning of the season, but then the Big Ten Season started and Indiana realized that it does truly suck, no doubt about it. Minnesota, as usual, can not seem to get its act together for entire season, but they won the little brown jug for the first time in 100 years, so at least they got something.

Minnesota 34, Indiana 17

Iowa at Northwestern

This is a showcase of what many people are calling the best two QB’s in the Big Ten, Basanez and Tate. Northwestern came back down to earth last week, you know, when they played against a real defense for the first time all season. Iowa is coming off of the bye and looking forward to erasing the nightmare that still haunts them, losing at home for the first time since 1886. Funny, both of those nightmares were produced by the same team, the Wolverines, who this week have a bye themselves.

Northwestern 44, Iowa 37

Tennessee at Notre Dame

After signing a contract extension that will keep Charlie at ND until sometime in 2119, the Irish look to show all the people out there that this is not a racist thing, it is simply a “please don’t go back to the NFL” thing. Unfortunately for the Irish they suddenly decide to play like their former coaches team, you know the guy who got fired because the Irish are all racists? The players figure that if they play like crap once again it will show it was not a black or white thing but merely an overrated thing. Unbeknownst to Charlie the contract was signed in invisible ink prompting them to rethink this whole extension thing.

Tennessee 27, Notre Dame 24

Wisconsin at Penn State

Look, this game is too important to my Wolverines to joke about, so I will leave all the kidding aside. All right, I do have one joke, but I read it in the paper about this game so it is not really mine. If you look at JoPa (78 years old) and Alvarez (58 years old), who do you think is retiring at the end of the season? You guessed it, the guy that is not by all means already out to pasture, one Barry Alvarez. That being said all of Wolverine fans out there need to pull for our boys in Happy Valley to pull out the victory because Wisconsin has no tough games left after this one (home against Iowa; at Hawaii) while Penn State still has a better shot at losing at least one more (at East Lansing). You guessed it, much like last year when MSU did U of M a favor and beat Wisconsin; I am pulling for them to do the same thing again. So let’s go JoPa, win one for the Wolverines!

Penn State 33, Wisconsin 23

Illinois at Ohio State

I can’t even think of anything funny to say about this one other than to simply throw out the words “sweater vest” because I love that guy so much! Other than that this game should pretty much be over by half time, so go do some yard work or something.

Ohio State 35, Illinois 13

Miami at Virginia Tech

I know, I usually don’t like to talk about these “Florida” schools, let alone pick them to win, but this is the only real marquise match up this week. Look, as much as I am pulling for there to be a bunch of undefeated teams there at the end of the season to screw the BCS once again (when are we just going to go to a playoff people?) I just don’t see Virginia Tech pulling this one off. When you are overrated you are overrated and this is truly the first real team the “Hokies” have played all year. The defense of Miami is just too good and they get the best of “The Other Vick” on this afternoon.

Miami 27, Virginia Tech 20

Hey, sports dude, where is the Spartans game? I mean, you did all the other Big Ten teams, where the hell are the Spartans? I know you are a hater and all, but come on, don’t forget us. Well, I didn’t, you notice what else is missing my dear readers? That is right, it is now time for that feature to end all other features, the:

“MOM DO I REALLY HAVE TO WATCH THIS GAME” – Game of the week:

Purdue at Michigan State

Remember when everyone at the beginning of the season was talking about Purdue running the table in the Big Ten? Remember when, just a few weeks ago, the Spartans were the toast of the town and Stanton was going to win the Heisman? Yeah, I remember that, the good old days, how quickly things change. The Spartans, still basking in last week’s glorious victory over the mighty Hoosiers, fall asleep on this one thinking that Purdue is a gimme. Unfortunately for this squad nothing is a gimme nowadays. Purdue had a shot at running the table in the Big Ten, as in not winning a game, but luckily they ran into Sparty this week. Sorry sports pig, I am picking the upset:

Purdue 31, MSU 23

Upset specials of the week – Miami over Virginia Tech, Tennessee over Notre Dame, Cal over Oregon and the above mentioned Purdue over MSU.

U of M update – the Wolverines have a bye, good for the fact that they get to rest some tired, sore, injured bodies and bad because, if you ask me, it creates a perfect trap game. Just when they got some momentum going, just when they started to believe in themselves, they had to stop and take a week off. Why is that so bad, sports dude, they have Indiana at home after the bye? That is exactly it, my friends, the perfect trap game, stop the momentum, look ahead to Ohio State and over look the doormat that is the Hoosiers. Hey, with the way this season has gone for the Wolverines, trust me, I can believe it all I want too and be scared as hell of it happening!

PRO PICK:

Detroit at Minnesota

Yeah, Joey is starting again! Yeah, the Lions have not won in Minnesota in 14 years! Yeah, the Lions are going to lose! Seriously, even if Joey comes out gun slinging, this is a horrible thing. Look, if the Lions pull this off and Joey suddenly looks like the great QB we all expected it spells sudden doom for the Lions. How can you say that sports dude, maybe he learned his lesson? No he didn’t, trust me, it is a trap! I will use one Carlos Pena of the Tigers as an example. Every year we say “Carlos has got it; he is the FIRST BASEMAN OF THE FUTURE”, only to quickly start off slow, fade out and we lose faith in him. Then he has a strong second half and we repeat the same damn thing the following season. Seriously, that is Joey Harrington in a nut shell folks and I for one am tired of the trap. Starts off slow, finishes strong and then we think the kid finally has it all figured out only to shit on us once again. I hope the Lions lose, I hope Joey looks like shit and I hope Joey gets a permanent spot on that bench after this week, I am tired of the traps and I am tired of his lack of skills. Harsh you say? Get over it, the guy has had three years now, it is time to be harsh with that piece of shit that doesn’t even deserve to carry my jock!

Minnesota 37, Detroit 19

That is all I got, see what happens when they say “Joey” around me? I get all pissed and frustrated just thinking about his garbage! Later and remember to football responsibly people! The sports dude.

This post was supposed to take place yesterday, but unfortunately my dumb ass ran out of time, so you will all have to deal with it today. The Pistons looked good last night and even though it was against a lowly Sixers team I was still pretty impressed. Yes I know it was opening night, yes I understand there was probably a lot of adrenaline and such, but none the less I was impressed with the overall look of the Flip version of the Pistons. Anyway, as far as this post goes I am going to focus on not only the Pistons but the three other teams that I think will be there at the end of the season – the Nets, the Pacers and the Heat. I said it in my NBA Preview Post and I will say it here again, the #1 seed in the East to me appears all but set to come out of the Central. The Pistons need to win their division; they need to not have any lapses or a slow start like in seasons past because with this seeding system a #2 finish in the Central equals a #4 seed. They can not afford that, they need to stay focused and look at home court not only in the East but hopefully in the Finals as well so they can avoid anymore game #7’s on the opposing teams’ court. That being said I give you my thoughts on not only the Pistons but the teams I picked to win their respective divisions (Miami, NJ) and the team that will give the Pistons a run for the money in the Central (Indiana).

The only team that I see having a shot at knocking the Pistons off the throne in the Central is the Indiana Pacers. Artest, for all his boxing ambitions and CD producing glory, for all his clear cut insanity, he is (as he puts it) a “caged animal”. Seriously, does this guy have Mike Tyson written all over him or what? All things considered he still is a decent scoring threat and an excellent on the ball defender, not too mention he probably has a chip on his shoulder the size of Hannibal Lector! Rick Carlisle is an excellent coach (come on Detroit, admit it, he really is a good coach!) and knows how to get his guys to play defense with a capital “D”. The only question I have is how is this young roster going to respond with the lack of a true veteran presence, as in the loss of Reggie Miller to retirement? That being said here is their projected starting five and key back ups to each spot:

PG – Tinsley & Johnson
SG – Jackson & Jasikevicius
SF – Artest & Granger
PF – O’Neal & Bender
C – Foster & Pollard

Beyond the starting five, which has a weak spot in Jeff Foster, the depth is a huge question mark here. Johnson is a decent back up, no one knows a damn thing about this Jasikevicius cat, Bender is hurt more often than not but has potential, Pollard is a hack like Foster and who the hell is Granger? However, I give them the benefit of the doubt because there is a lot to prove from last year and the brawl, what they feel it cost them and I like Carlisle as a coach and what he gets out of nothing. The job he did last year with all the injuries and suspensions really tells you what kind of coach he is and I respect the Pacers more for that than anything else because this team really is about four guys (Tinsley, Jackson, Artest, O’Neal) and that is about it.

The Nets, who surprised a lot of people last year once they acquired Vince (overrated) Carter, should have no problem winning their division easily, barring injury to Kidd. Take Kidd out of the equation and that team is a bunch of lost souls searching for an answer, so as long as his knees hold up the Nets should be in the Eastern Conference Final Four. Here is a look at their projected starting five and key back ups to each spot:

PG – Kidd & McInnis
SG – Carter & Planinic
SF – Jefferson & Wright
PF – Collins & Uncle Cliffy Robinson
C – Krstic & Jackson

Look, is there any doubt that this team is Kidd, Carter and Jefferson and a bunch of other dudes? McInnis is a decent back up and I do like Uncle Cliffy, but the rest of that team makes me go “HUH?” As I stated above they are in an extremely weak division and as long as Kidd’s knees stay in one piece they should at least get to the Final Four.

The Miami Heat, the darling of the Eastern Conference, the team picked to dethrone the Pistons, the team I look at and go “Why?” I have already stated that this team reminds me more of the Lakers team the Pistons destroyed in the Finals two seasons ago than anything legit. Yes there is Shaq, who is clearly aging fast and not the Shaq of old, and there is Wade, who is every bit of everything he is billed up to be, but what about the rest of the misfits? And trust me, this group is a bunch of misfits, I kid you not. This is a paper team, an ego team, and clearly a team that Riley put together to help him kick Van Gundy to the curb and return to the bench. I mean, Riley has to know that there are going to be chemistry issue right? What better way to justify firing a fairly successful coach than to put all this “paper” talent together, watch it implode and then return to the bench with the tag line of “Look, I gave the guy talent, he just doesn’t know how to coach it.” I mean, unless there is a new rule in place, along with that ridiculous dress code, that says there are now three balls in play at once, how are you going to keep all these ball hogs happy? It is damn near impossible, so let us look at the five projected starting ball hogs and the huge egos coming off the bench to back them up:

PG – White Chocolate & Payton
SG – Wade & Kapano
SF – Posey & Walker
PF – Haslem & Simien
C – Shaq & Mourning or Doleac

All I am going to say is this, look at the point guards and I think you will agree there is trouble in ego paradise! White Chocolate (a.k.a. “You ain’t writin’ nuthin’ homeboy”), who loves to throw one ball out of bounds for every “sweet” pass he makes and Payton (my ego is the size of Shaq) as your two top guards? Walker couldn’t stand coming off the bench in Dallas, he was all but a cancer there, what makes you think he will like it now? (Don’t tell me Shaq will police it all, he couldn’t do it with the Lakers and this is no different!) The rumor out there is the only reason Finley turned down Miami was because he didn’t want to play with his old Dallas teammate once again. Turning down a chance to play with Shaq because of Walker, tells you a little something about that cat doesn’t it? I am going to leave you with this diddy and then we will be done with the pour chemistry and cancer stricken Heat, a comparison to this starting unit and the Lakers from a couple years ago:

Lakers – PG was Payton – Heat – PG is White Chocolate and Payton – same
Lakers – SG was Kobe (MJ junior) – Heat SG is Wade (MJ junior) – same
Lakers – SF was Rick Fox (defense only) – Heat SF is Posey (defense only) – same
Lakers – PF was Malone (nasty, scores) – Heat PF is Haslem (nasty, no scores) – same
Lakers and Heat – Center = Shaq.

That is all I am going to say about that, now on to the Pistons and their starting five along with their key back ups:

PG – Billups & Arroyo & Hunter
SG – Rip & Delfino
SF – Prince & Evans
PF – Sheed & Dice
C – Ben & Darko & Davis

Chemistry folks, it is all about chemistry, this is the same starting line up that has been together for 1 ½ seasons (completely) and, if you take away Sheed, for three seasons now. What is the biggest key to this season that was not seen last year? Depth, depth, and more depth and a coach that ain’t afraid to use it! If you look at the Pistons second unit of Arroyo, Delfino, Evans, Dice and Darko/Davis, how many teams wouldn’t want them as their starters? Can you say Atlanta? Can you say Charlotte? New Orleans? Folks, there are components in the Pistons back ups that may be the envy of the league simply because those guys could be starting a lot of other places. Come on now guys, don’t call me a slappy here, you know darn well Arroyo could start somewhere in this league (he was a starter in Utah until he fell into the doghouse!). Don’t tell me that Dice wouldn’t be a starter somewhere in this league, or that Darko (if he was on your typical lottery team) would not be starting, or even Dale Davis isn’t in good enough shape to log minutes. The only two that may not have the edge, as far as possible starters somewhere, may be Delfino and Evans, but I expect Delfino to have a far better year this year because he will be in a system that believes in him. Lastly you all know how I feel about Evans, whom I am describing (along with a lot of others!) as another “diamond in the rough” steal by your very own Mr. Joe Dumars. Quite frankly the depth on this team, along with the chemistry in that starting five (which, by the way, is still the best starting five in the NBA – go on, I dare you to find one that is better!) is the reason why I say the road to the Finals still goes thru Four Championship Drive in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Period, point blank and yes, end of story. Later – the sports dude.

Well here it is, in a nut shell, the sport dudes look at all things NBA as we sit here on the dawn of the new season. Really all this boils down to is me writing a post where I get to look all brilliant and stuff but have no idea what the heck I am talking about. That being said I give you my thoughts, feelings and always expert opinions on the upcoming 2005-2006 NBA Season.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division – Boston, New Jersey, New York, Philly and Toronto

As far as I am concerned there is nothing in this division that makes me get nervous, excited or even giddy. In fact, when I look at this division I kind of have to remind myself to breath and check for a pulse to make sure I am still alive. Philly has A.I., the toughest little man in the NBA but he still lacks a partner because Chris Webber is basically running on blown tires. Boston has Paul Pierce but the rest of the roster kind of makes you go “HUH?” because there really is nothing else to look at. Toronto continues to kid itself thinking that they are an NBA franchise when they truly resemble more of a NBADL squad and New York is such a mess that (sorry Larry!) I don’t even think those guys have a clue. Seriously, for whatever reason Larry wanted his dream job he can have it, that team has no idea what defense is let alone what it means to “play the right way.” I think there will be less visits to the Mayo Clinic this year for Larry and more to the psyche ward at the local loony bin! New Jersey is the only team in this division that has a legitimate starting line up (Kidd, Carter, Jefferson and a couple role players) that even resembles a decent team at all and that is why they get my nod to win the division.

Central Division – Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana and Milwaukee

If you ask me what happens to be the strongest division in all of the NBA my answer is this, look no further than the Eastern Conference and its Central Division. When figuring out who I thought the eight playoff teams were for the East I actually just about had all five of these teams in it, but I stopped myself before I got all slappy on this division. Cleveland retooled this off season to help keep Lebron happy, adding Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes, as well as resigning Ilgauskas. Chicago continues to have a young and exciting group of players, but the lack of defense and a proven interior scorer (Tyson Chandler does not count yet!) may end up hurting them in the end in this physical conference. Detroit is still Detroit, with what I am still considering the best starting five in the NBA period, point blank, end of story. A new coach in Flip Saunders may also help the offense be a little easier on the eyes, but this team will still hang its hat on the old “D”. Indiana is the one team in this division that will give the Pistons fits and the return of Ron Artest should help more than it will hurt this team. The man is a whack job though, already wanting to box Ben Wallace on pay-per-view (note to Artest you wouldn’t even make it out of the first round against Big Ben!) but he still is a good on the ball defender and a scoring threat. Milwaukee should be better this year now that T.J. Ford has returned and his health could be the key to that team and its success or failure this year. The division winner, however, will come down to either Indiana or Detroit, if I could pick a tie I probably would, but I'll give it to Detroit only because I love my boys, but I think it will come down to the seasons final week.

Southeast Division – Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Orlando, Washington

Atlanta got Joe Johnson in the off season to help boost its offense, but can one ball hogging money hungry guy that just wants it all to be about him really make that much of a difference? I am guessing from my comment right there you can figure out my answer is no. The only silver lining for the Hawks is that the Charlotte Bobcats are in this division so there is actually a team there that is just as bad, if not worse off, then they are. Miami had the Pistons on the ropes this past season in the Eastern Conference Finals only to take a look at the whole thing and say “Screw team chemistry, let’s blow it all up and put together one of the most dysfunctional starting five of all time.” When your starting five is shaping up to be White Chocolate, D-Wade, Shaq, Haslem and Walker there is only one thing you can ask – how the hell are you going to make that work? Plus don’t forget another “shoot first, second, third, fourth and pass last” guy is coming off the bench, one Gary Payton. It is a nightmare waiting to happen in Miami, but I will get to that conspiracy theory of mine later. Orlando is still searching for an identity as the curse of trading Ben Wallace for Grant Hill continues to bite them in the ass and Washington will take a few steps back this year, but not many. By default I have to pick a winner for this division and I pick the dysfunctional bunch known as the Heat, but not by as much as they won it last year.

Player to watch in the Eastern Conference – Maurice Evans of the Pistons, another one of those diamond in the rough finds by Joe D.

Most overrated player in the Eastern Conference – I could just about pick anyone from that Miami Heat Roster, but I will give it to none other than Vince Carter, one of the most overrated players of all time.

Most surprising thing to happen in the first half of the season – Pat Riley returns to the bench after firing Stan Van Gundy and trades Antoine Walker before it gets too late.

Best record in the division – central champ, either Detroit or Indy (central runner up will have the second best record, but get the #4 seed because of seeding rules).

Eight teams that make the playoffs – Detroit, Indiana, Cleveland, Milwaukee (yes, there are the four of the five from the Central, sorry Chicago!), Philly, New Jersey, Miami and Washington.

Final Four – Detroit, Indy, NJ, Miami

Eastern Conference Finals – Detroit and Indy

Eastern Conference Champs – Detroit (sorry, until someone even looks this deep from 1-12, has a better starting five or more team chemistry I won’t pick against them and I don’t see how anyone else can either).

Western Conference

Pacific Division – Golden State, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Phoenix, Sacramento

The biggest stories in this division to me are the remarriage of Kobe and Phil in Lakertown and the Phoenix Suns loss of Amare Stoudemire for the first half, if not all, of the season. Can Kobe and Phil coexist? Can the “run, gun and fun” style in Phoenix survive without its most electrifying player? Luckily for both of those teams the answer is yes because the other teams in this division did little to improve themselves in the off season. The Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers still remain “those other California teams” out west and have little or no chance of doing anything significant again this season. Kobe and Phil should get along just well enough to help bring some respect back to “Showtime” but it will do little to help the Lakers overcome some of the other bigger guns now in the West. Phoenix, even with the subtraction of some key players (Stoudemire, Johnson and Richardson) should still be exciting enough to watch because as Nash goes so does that offense, the key will be if those guys ever learn to play some “D”. Sacramento did little, if anything, to improve their roster but should still fair much better than the above mentioned other teams in sunny California. That all being said, and everything else taken into consideration here, I give my division nod to the Phoenix Suns because the other four teams really have not shown me anything at all.

Southwest Division – Dallas, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, San Antonio

The Spurs, still basking in their glory from last years title run, added a key component this off season that will only make them that much stronger – Michael Finley, as well as sharp shooter Nick Van Exel. The Mavericks, with coach Avery Johnson now ready for his first full season at the helm, may actually do something never heard of before under previous coach Nelson, that is play a little “D” from time to time. Houston has one of the most over rated players in the league in Tracy McGrady and the lack of a true point guard will eventually catch up to them again this season. Memphis has a shot at being competitive but a roster full of some aging veterans like Damon Stoudamire and Eddie Jones may not be enough to help them survive a full season in this division. New Orleans is young and coupled with the fact they really have no “home” this season leaves little shot for these guys to finish anywhere but the cellar of this strong division, therefore I am going to give the division title to San Antonio in this case.

Northwest Division – Denver, Minnesota, Portland, Seattle, Utah

Denver did little to change its roster this off season, but having worked with George Karl as coach for most of last season and now for a full season should do this squad some good. Minnesota is all but trying to reinvent its identity and build, once again, around Garnett, but about the only thing the fans have to look forward to is no longer listening to Spreewell complain he can not “feed his kids” on 10 million a year. About the only significant thing Portland did this season, besides getting them a no nonsense coach, was dump some dead weight and start to look towards the future. Seattle may have lost its coach, ironically to above mentioned Portland, but it kept an extremely underrated Ray Allen to give it some hope. Utah, although Coach Sloan is one of the greatest in the game, really has no shot in hell this season at doing anything significant, and that is all I am going to say about them. Since I have to pick a winner I will give my nod to the Denver Nuggets, but I think Seattle will still give them a run for their money.

Player to watch in the Western Conference – I stated it above that I think Ray Allen is one of the most underrated players in the conference, so for this section he gets half of my vote. The other half goes to Kobe and how he reacts to the return of Phil, whom he really loved in the first place, right?

Most overrated player in the Western Conference – take your pick, I am going to give you the first three names that pop into my head, Kobe, T-Mac and Dirk Novitski.

Most surprising thing to happen in the first half of the season – Kobe and Phil both coexist, but Phil is actually forced to coach for the first time in his career because he is on a team that does not have the NBA’s best player. Come on, the dude rode MJ and the dude rode Shaq, are any of you going to tell me this man has ever coach a day in his life?

Best record in the division – San Antonio, does anyone doubt it?

Eight teams that make the playoffs – Suns, Kings, Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, Rockets, Sonics, Nuggets

Final Four – Suns, Spurs, Mavs, Lakers

Western Conference Finals – Spurs, Mavs

Western Conference Champs – San Antonio Spurs

NBA Finals – San Antonio against Detroit, and no I am not just recycling my post from last season! From all the things that were done this off season, as in what other teams did to improve so they could surpass these two, I saw nothing and no one that even came close to matching either of these teams depth, talent, but most importantly, CHEMISTRY!!

NBA Champ – not going to do it this time, see you all in June with that prediction!

Thanks for reading and my close up look at the Pistons will come tomorrow, later! The sports dude.

Well, what a strange and exciting weekend in sports! Well, maybe not really, but I came close on two of my three upset specials. I got the Georgia game right, came up way short on the Ohio State/Minnesota game and was geeked for three quarters with my Texas pick. Anyway, here is a quick wrap up of the weekend in sports.

The Wolverines, my Wolverines, looked pretty darn impressive there in Evanston this weekend if I do say so myself. The depth at running back continues to amaze even me and I can honestly say that the bye week comes at an opportune time. If nothing else it should give Mike Hart enough time to rest and recover fully because we may not need him in two weeks against Indiana but we sure as hell will need him against Ohio State. Yes the depth is nice, but the running game is that much better when Hart is in, make no mistake about it. Henne continues to seem like he is in a daze at time, although his hail mary interception at the end of the first half really doesn't count in my book too much. He spread the ball around to a decent number of different receivers, but he really needs to brush off whatever funk he is in before the Ohio State game in three weeks. He has what I like to call "John Navarre Syndrome", as in he locks onto Jason Avant and doesn't throw until Avant is open. Navarre was infamous for locking onto one receiver and Henne has the same trait. In his defense I am sure it is still holdover from last year when as a freshman he was told to "just throw it up for Braylon" but he does need to learn to not lock his gaze on one guy so often. He still is only a sophomore so I give him the benefit of the doubt, I think he will still only get better. The defense looked really solid once again and I can now say that they survived to this point against the spread offense and are now 3-0 against it this season.

The Spartans got a much needed win against one of the Big Tens perennial door mat teams, the Indiana Hoosiers. They needed a band aide to stop the bleeding that was coming out of Lansing and they got just that. I can not comment too much on this game because I was at my nephews birthday party so I really did not watch it, all I saw was the final score later in the day and it looked like the Spartans had their way with the lowly Hoosiers all afternoon.

The Lions lost in OT on a poorly throw pass from Jeff Garcia which resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown. The defense seemed to play decent enough all afternoon, but yet again the offense did little to back it up. I know, you are expecting the sports dude to be singing the mighty Garcia's praises here, but he took a gamble and it failed in OT. Plenty of blame to throw around on offense everywhere, but the bottom line is they are still not getting it done. Huge loss here because now they must finish with a better overall record than the Bears which is something that I do not see happening at this point in time. I also think it is safe to say that there won't be a wild card team coming out of the JV North Division here, so this was a huge loss for that reason as well. Bottom line, however, is the sports dude will still take Garcia over Harrington all day, even with that piss poor pass in OT. I am a Joey hater my friend and I still am waiting for that glorious day when Andre Ware Jr., I mean Harrington, gets ridden out of town on the first bus the Lions can find.

Later, and check back for my Pistons preview coming sometime tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on when I get off my lazy ass and get it done. Peace! The sports dude.