With the college football season starting tonight (North Carolina State vs. South Carolina and Oregon State at Stanford are on nationally), I knew that I had to wrap up the season preview today. There’s a lot to get to, so let’s start with the Pac-10.

PAC-10

Just like the Big 10, the Pac 10 is a one team conference. USC is leaps, bounds, and whatever other piece of measurement you want to use, ahead of the rest of the Pac (get it? It’s a pun!) I honestly believe that USC’s defense is better than half of the defenses in the NFL, led by Linebackers Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga and safety Taylor Mays. The question coming into this season for the Trojans is Mark Sanchez’s health. But really, the Trojans just need Sanchez to be healthy enough to hand the ball off to Joe McKnight and CJ Gable.

The rest of the Pac (still a pun) is led by the Arizona State Sun Devils who, last year, couldn’t keep Quarterback Rudy Carpenter upright. They have their own great tailback in Keegan Herring and a capable defense. However, they also have to play in LA against the Trojans, in Berkeley against the Bears, and, oh, also host Georgia in the second biggest nonconference September game on September 20^th.

A team to watch in this conference is not Oregon as most people believe. Or Cal. It is Oregon State. Remember, the Beavers beat USC two years ago in Corvallis and are returning star wideout Sammie Stroughter (who was injured most of last season). The litmus test for the Beavers will be their first four games (at an improving Stanford team, at Penn State, home against Hawaii, and then the showdown against the Trojans in Corvallis). If the Beavers can go 3-1 in those first 4 games, they’ll likely be Rose Bowl bound.

Here’s the final breakdown for the Pac 10:

1.) USC

2.) Oregon State

3.) Arizona State

4.) Arizona

5.) Oregon

6.) Cal

7.) Stanford

8.) UCLA

9.) Washington

10.) Washington State

Game of the Year: USC @ Oregon State (9/25)

Player of the Year: Rey Maualuga (LB/USC)

SEC

Now to the real muddled mess that is the SEC. I can reasonably see 5 teams winning the SEC this year. I can’t see all 5 winning the National Title like I can see 3 Big 12 teams, but in my opinion, the two conferences are neck and neck. Let’s start in the SEC West, just to be contrary.

The divide between the top and the bottom here is almost comical. Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee are miles better Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It’s not even quantifiable. South Carolina The Gamecocks could finish ahead of the best teams in the conference, or they could lose 6 conference games. Last year they beat Georgia in Athens and lost to Vanderbilt in Columbia. If they can find a solid starter at quarterback, whether it be Stephen Garcia, Tommy Beecher, or Chris Smelley. If any of them can be stable at the QB position, the Gamecocks will be good. is the odd duck of the group.

Ultimately though, this race comes down to Florida and Georgia. I think the Bulldogs are the most overrated team in the nation. And yes, I may be proven wrong, especially if they are undefeated coming into October, after playing September games against Arizona State, Alabama, South Carolina, and a Central Michigan team that is good, even if you have no idea who or what they are. The Gators early schedule sees Miami (FL), Tennessee (in Knoxville), and Mississippi, after a game this Saturday against a down Hawaii team. Most people expect Georgia and Florida’s November 1^st game in Jacksonville to be the biggest game of the year. I can’t envision a real scenario in which both teams come into that game undefeated. In fact, I don’t think Georgia will get into October unscathed and I can see the Volunteers creeping up on Florida in their game September 20^th.

That might leave you thinking that I’m picking the Volunteers to win the SEC East. You’re wrong. They’ll have 3 losses by season’s end. Ultimately, the November 1^st Gators/Dawgs game is going to decide the SEC East Champion, but it won’t, like most are predicting, decide the National Championship game.

SEC East Breakdown:

1.) Florida

2.) Georgia

3.) Tennessee

4.) South Carolina

5.) Vanderbilt

6.) Kentucky

Out West in the SEC there is only one team that I see as the crème de la crème. That team is not the Bayou Bengals (LSU Tigers). It is another Tiger. The Auburn Tigers. Auburn is moving to the spread attack this year and it’ll make all the difference in the world. This team had a great defense already. Capable of carrying them. Now, they will put points on the board. There’ll be some bumps in the road along the way, but luckily for Auburn, most of those games will come at home. I see them losing in Morgantown in a non-conference October game and perhaps losing in conference once, but it won’t matter. LSU does not have the offense to be elite in the SEC. They’ll be very good, especially defensively, but not National Title or even SEC title good.

My dark horse is Alabama who I think could make a lot of noise this year. They bring in my pick for National Freshman of the Year in wideout Julio Jones. There’s a lot of pressure on their Quarterback John Parker Wilson, but I think that for once, the kid will keep the Tide in games and there defense will be ratcheted up another notch. Watch the Tide.

SEC West Breakdown:

1.) Auburn

2.) LSU

3.) Alabama

4.) Mississippi

5.) Mississippi State

6.) Arkansas

SEC Title Game: Florida vs. Auburn.

Game of the Year: Florida vs. Georgia (November 1)

Player of the Year: Tim Tebow (QB/Florida)

So there you have the big 6 breakdown, though there’s one more conference issue at hand. That is the Mountain West and WAC conferences. BYU, Utah, TCU, and Fresno State have all been cited as possible BCS busters. I don’t see it happening, though all will be very good. The problem is that BYU, Utah, and TCU will have to play each other. If I had to give the nod to one team in the MWC, it would be Utah, who get BYU in Salt Lake City in what should be a great game, with a lot on the line. For Fresno State, there biggest roadblocks to BCS busting will be games against Rutgers and Wisconsin at the start of the season. If they win both games, they’ll likely be bowling big-time.

There’s a little award called the Heisman Trophy that they give out in college football. Here are my 5 preseason Heisman candidates:

Tim Tebow (QB/Florida)

Knowshown Moreno (RB/Georgia)

Chase Daniel (QB/Missouri)

Graham Harrell (QB/Texas Tech)

Beanie Wells (RB/Ohio State)

Okay, it’s real prediction time. Time for fearless BCS bowl predictions.

Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon State (Ohio State winner)

Orange Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Missouri (Missouri winner)

Sugar Bowl: South Florida vs. Auburn (Auburn winner)

Fiesta Bowl: Florida vs. West Virginia (Florida winner)

National Title Game: Oklahoma vs. Southern California (Oklahoma winner)

And there you have it, the Oklahoma Sooners will win the 2008 BCS National Championship. I love their offense. I like their defense. And I love the fact that head coach Bob Stoops will be out to prove everyone wrong after their recent BCS failures. I don’t like Oklahoma (in that I don’t see myself rooting for them), but I really think they are, as constructed, the team with the best chance to win the championship.

Now it’s time for my favorite section, the one game you need to watch every week. And maybe a second.

Week 1: Illinois vs. Missouri (8/30 8:30 p.m.)- Very good nonconference border war.

Honorable Mention to a game at 5 p.m. that day between Appalachian State and LSU.

Week 2: Oregon State @ Penn State (9/6 3:30 p.m.)-A terrible slate of games gives us this.

Honorable Mention goes to UNH @ Army (9/6 1:00 p.m.) for obvious reasons.

Week 3: Ohio State @ USC (9/13 8:00 p.m.)-A great slate of games gives us the best regular season, nonconference matchup ever. I’m not joking.

Honorable Mention to: South Florida @ Kansas (9/12 8:00 p.m.), Wisconsin @ Fresno State (9/13 10:30 p.m.) Georgia @ South Carolina (9/13 3:30 p.m.),

Week 4: LSU @ Auburn (9/20 TBA)- A huge conference showdown.

Honorable Mention to: Georgia @ Arizona State (9/20 8:00 p.m.), Florida @ Tennessee (9/20 TBA), West Virginia @ Colorado (9/18 8:30 p.m.)

Week 5: USC @ Oregon State (9/25 9:00 p.m.)- A bigger game in the Pac 10 than you think

Honorable Mention: Illinois @ Penn State (9/27 8:00 p.m.), Georgia @ Alabama (9/27 TBA)

Week 6: Ohio State @ Wisconsin (10/4 8:00 p.m.)- One of the few potential Big 10 roadblocks for the Buckeyes

Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh @ South Florida (10/2 7:30),

(At this point, we’re doing away with honorable mention, because at this point in the season, there will be plenty of great games that I can’t predict right now. Think Kansas and Missouri last year).

Week 7: LSU @ Florida (10/11 TBA)- On what promises to be a great weekend, this looks like the pick of a very good litter.

Week 8: Kansas @ Oklahoma (10/18 TBA)- See also: Missouri @ Texas. A big weekend for the Big XII.

Week 9: Georgia @ LSU (10/25 TBA)- This follows a Thursday night out of conference tilt between Auburn and West Virginia that could be a BCS Bowl preview.

Week 10: Florida vs. Georgia (11/1 TBA)- The biggest conference game on the schedule this year. Two hated rivals with a lot at stake.

Week 11: TCU @ Utah (11/6 8:00 p.m.)- A very subpar, in comparison to the weeks around it, week gives us a very important Thursday night MWC game.

Week 12: Georgia @ Auburn (11/15 TBA)- This game is even bigger if the Dawgs beat the Gators in the Cocktail Party.

Week 13: Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (11/22 TBA)- This one could be for the Big XII title. And revenge for the Sooners.

Week 14: Auburn @ Alabama (11/29 TBA)- For the first time in a while, the Iron Bowl could actually mean more than just bragging rights in the Yellowhammer State.

Week 15: South Florida @ West Virginia (12/6 TBA)- The winner get a BCS berth, the loser goes to the Gator Bowl.

Before I go, here’s my FCS final four preview:

Semi-Finals:
Appalachian State vs. North Dakota State
Eastern Washington vs. New Hampshire

Finals:
Appalachian State vs. New Hampshire

Mark it down. I’ll be in Chattanooga.

I think that may have been my longest Mid-Atlantic Bias post yet. There’s a little housecleaning I need to do:

1.) I have a job now. A real one. Every day. Money. The whole thing (Berthiaume).
2.) I’m not technically supposed to have a blog.
3.) Rather than keep up this overwrought “Will I post/Won’t I post” nonsense, here’s what I’m going to do: Post when I feel like it. Check back periodically to see if I’ve written anything. Feel free to continue to send me ideas and stuff. I’d love to do this everyday, but it’s just not happening and I would hate to say I was going to disband The Bias. Plus, my next post is my 100th. Got to hit that milestone.

Let’s do some college football preview, shall we:

Big 10

-This breakdown, at least at the top, is very easy. I do not foresee a scenario whereby the Ohio State University does not win this conference. They may lose a game. That’s not the issue. The issue is that there is no other team in this conference that can even approach how loaded Ohio State is. This is the best Ohio State team of my lifetime. And that’s saying something. Find a position where they’re not loaded. They have the best offensive lineman in the conference (Alex Boone), the running back (Heisman candidate Beanie Wells), the best linebacker (James Laurenitis), and the best corner back (Malcolm Jenkins). They also have a really good quarterback (Todd Boeckman), a great Freshman backup (Terrelle Pryor), great wideouts (Hartline and Robeskie…both Brian). And the best coach in the conference. They also have 6 punters on their roster for what that’s worth (which is nothing besides the anomaly of it).

If I need to talk about another team with a chance (there’s none) I’m going to take Illinois. They lose Rashard Mendenhall in the backfield but gain an extra year of experience from Juice Williams. They might beat Ohio State, as they did last year (it’s in Champaign this year). It won’t matter.

Final Breakdown:
1.) Ohio State
2.) Illinois
3.) Wisconsin
4.) Penn State
5.) Purdue
6.) Indiana
7.) Michigan State
8.) Michigan
9.) Iowa
10.) Northwestern
11.) Minnesota

Game of the Year: 10/25 Illinois @ Wisconsin (A battle for a Rose Bowl berth will likely be at stake ( In that they’ll be battling for 2nd).
Player of the Year: James Laurenitis (LB/Ohio State)

Big 12

-Ah, the best conference in college football. “WHAT?” you say. What about the SEC. Yea, yea, yea. The SEC is ridiculously good. However, I think that 3, count ’em 3! teams from the Big 12 can win the National Championship this year. The pundits complain that there is no defense played in this conference and perhaps that’s true. But there is no other conference that can boast about offense quite like the Big 12. At quarterback alone you have Heisman candidates Chase Daniel (Missouri), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), and Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) in addition to Texas Junior Colt McCoy (a freshman sensation looking to bounce back from an up and down 2007 year), Kansas phenom Todd Reesing, and Oklahoma State riser Zac Robinson. Oh, and then there’s the guy who I’ve heard is a potential 1st overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft, Kansas State QB Josh Freeman (compares favorably to JaMarcus Russell).

The 3 teams that I think can win the National Title (and the one that I think will) are Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech (no, I’m serious). Missouri and Oklahoma were close last year. Texas Tech will be better than you think. Like, undefeated when they play at Oklahoma on November 22. They’re toughest game prior to that will be a November 1st matchup in Lubbock against McCoy and Longhorns. This year’s Texas Tech team is different from year’s past for one reason: They have a defense this year. They’re bringing back 8 starters from a year ago as well as a number of star transfers. They will contend.

The other key game on the schedule is the Big 12 title game. I don’t think Missouri will lose a regular season game (sorry SE Missouri State, Buffalo, Baylor, Nevada, and Iowa State). Their toughest test will come in this weekend’s most important non-conference game against the Illinois Fightin’ Illini in St. Louis.

The Breakdown:

North:
1.) Missouri
2.) Kansas State
3.) Kansas
4.) Colorado
5.) Nebraska
6.) Iowa State

South:
1.) Oklahoma
2.) Texas Tech
3.) Texas
4.) Oklahoma State
5.) Texas A&M
6.) Baylor

Game of the Year: Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (11/22)
Player of the Year: Chase Daniel (QB/Missouri)

The Pac-10 and SEC to come later this week (hopefully Wednesday). I’m going to tomorrow’s Dodgers/Nats game, sitting in the third row in left field with a Red Sox shirt on, and booing like a son of gun. Should be fun.

There’s two schools of thought here: 1.) I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Michael Phelps and 2.) Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is talking about the kid (I can call him that. He’s younger than me). Deservingly so. As with anything, there’s a backstory to the next paragraph. As late as last Thursday, I hated Michael Phelps. I rooted against him. I gave Amanda a hard time because she loved Phelps (she was the first person I know on the PhelpsWagon). My dislike of Phelps was rooted mostly in jealousy. Here’s this 23 year old goofy looking kid (with an underbite…just like me) who is in better shape than a 1968 Shelby Cobra that has sat under a tarp, in a garage since it left the assembly line. There was also that “something,” that I didn’t like about him. He wasn’t terribly humble. And really, in my mind, he was just a swimmer. I mean, it’s swimming.

Well I’m an asshole. Because now here I sit with a theoretical (and who knows, maybe literal) hard-on for the greatest swimmer ever and the greatest Olympic athlete ever. Ever. I have watched every final, ever semifinal, and even the occasional pre-semi heat that Phelps is involved in. Sunday night’s 4×100 relay race will sit, deservingly so, on a mantle with the 1980 Men’s Hockey team’s Semi-Final win in Lake Placid.

There’s really not a lot I can say about Michael Phelps that any other media outlet hasn’t said. He’s been more dominant than the 1992 Dream Team. He’s quite possibly the best athlete ever. And I was a fool to dislike him before I found this out.

I’m writing this a day early (on Thursday) because I have to work tomorrow. I just found this out 3 hours ago. Accordingly, there’s no way in the world that I’m going to write a 3,000 word post right now outlining the entire College Football landscape. So what I will do is break down two of the lesser Big Six conferences. I know that a lot of you (Ryan…Matt…Jim) would like to see me break down the UNH/Army game on Sept. 6. I can’t. I mean really, that would be foolish. Army isn’t any good. I don’t think they’ll beat UNH.

With that said, let’s get started with the ACC:

I would and will argue that this is the worst of the Big 6 conferences. There are exactly 0 teams in the ACC that I think can win a national championship this year. The bottom of the ACC is only outdone by the bottom of the Big East, which I’ll look at next. Let’s start with the ACC’s Atlantic Division:

-Last year, the BC Eagles won the ACC Atlantic Division. That won’t happen this year. The loss of Matt Ryan cannot really be understated. The defense is the one thing that can keep BC alive in the mid-tier bowl chase. I don’t see Chris Crane filling Matty Ice’s shoes terribly well. There’s a lot of hype about the Clemson Tigers being the best team in this conference and on paper, they are. And that’s the problem. Anytime a Clemson team has come into the season with high expectations, they finish around 6-5. Wake Forest is the best team in the Atlantic Division to me. They have a capable senior quarterback in Riley Skinner and the best defense in the division. Look for the Demon Deacons to continue their revival with a spot in the ACC Title game. As for the rest of the conference, it’s very mediocre. Not nearly as bad as the bottom of the Coastal division, but still not very impressive.

-Turning to the aforementioned Coastal division, this is really supposed to be Virginia Tech’s division. You have Georgia Tech transitioning to the wishbone, Duke being Duke, and Virginia without a quarterback. That leaves the Miami Hurricanes and the trendy (ahhhh!) North Carolina Tar Heels to contend with the Hokies. I’m always willing to go out on a limb. I think this is the Miami Hurricanes year to return to some sort of glory.

Here’s the final breakdown for the ACC in my mind:

Atlantic Division:
1.) Wake Forest
2.) Clemson
3.) Florida State
4. Boston College
5.) Maryland
6.) North Carolina State

Coastal Division:
1.) Miami (FL)
2.) Virginia Tech
3.) North Carolina
4.) Georgia Tech
5.) Duke
6.) Virginia

(And no, I’m not kidding. I think Virginia is going to go winless in the ACC this year. Duke will win a game.)

Game of the Year: 10/9 Clemson @ Wake Forest.
Player of the Year: Riley Skinner (QB/Wake Forest)

-We now transition to the Big East. This is a two team race conference. (Don’t worry, the NCAA Football Season Preview will get much more interesting next week). Last year, West Virginia suffered a crippling loss to the South Florida Bulls in Tampa that helped to put the Bulls on the national map. South Florida returns junior quarterback Matt Grothe and this season’s front-runner for Big East Defensive Player of the Year George Selvie. Their biggest loss will be cornerback Mike Jenkins, but they should be able to fill his vacancy easier than, say, Louisville trying to fill the vacancies left by Brian Brohm, Mario Urrudiha, and Harry Douglass. The other contender here is the West Virginia Mountaineers who lose their top back (Steve Slaton), top receiver (Darius Reynaud), and bruising fullback (Owen Schmitt). Everyone seems to think that the Mountaineers are the favorite though because Pat White is a “big game quarterback.” I remind those people, as a fan of West Virginia Football, that in the 2 biggest games of the season last year for WVU (@S. Florida and vs. Pittsburgh) Patrick White got hurt in both games, and had exactly 0 touchdowns passing or rushing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Patrick White, but I’m a little hesitant to say that he’s a “Big Game Quarterback.” In terms of replacing Slaton, the Mountaineers should be fine plugging in sophomore speedster Noel Devine, so long as he stays out of trouble in Morgantown.

Beyond WVU and SFU, there’s a smattering of middle-of-the-road teams in the 8 team Big East with party crashing potential. Pittsburgh is young, but loaded with talent (think a Big East Miami). UConn is mediocre, but a mediocre team that finished tied for the Big East title last year. Rutgers lost Ray Rice, but they’re deep at receiver and return Mike Teel at the quarterback spot. And Cincinnati may get an extra year out of quarterback Ben Mauk, if his suit against the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility goes his way. If Mauk does not return, the Bearcats will still be in capable hands with senior QB Dustin Grutzka. Any one of these teams can win the Big East if we have a season like last year’s in college football (upset laden). While SFU and WVU are the cream of the crop, the rest of the crop isn’t so far away from the cream stage. At least most of it.

Here’s the Final Breakdown:

1.) West Virginia
2.) South Florida
3.) Cincinnati
4.) Pittsburgh
5.) Rutgers
6.) UConn
7.) Louisville
8.) Syracuse

Game of the Year: 12/6 South Florida @ West Virginia
Player of the Year: Noel Devine (RB/West Virginia)

So there you have it. That is what you can expect in the coming week(s). The next time I do Mid-Atlantic Bias, I’ll have the Big 12 (remember, my national champion comes from this conference) and the Big 10.

Have a great weekend, anyone who took the initiative to read this without an alert.

Because Mid-Atlantic Bias leads the sports world in breaking news delivery, allow me to inform you of the Adam Dunn trade. As recently as 2 minutes ago, it was announced that the Cincinnati Reds had traded slugger/strikeout artist Adam Dunn to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 3 prospects, including former highly touted prospect Dallas Buck (a pitcher currently rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery). We now return you to your irregularly scheduled blog.

Call this the precursor to the return of Mid-Atlantic Bias. I have today off. Then I work the next three days. Friday begins unemployment version 2.0 for me. So this is to announce that Mid-Atlantic Bias has returned. As I did last time I posted, here’s what we’ve missed:

Deanna, er, Brett Favre is a New York Jet: I hope he fails miserably, but as long as Aaron Rodgers does well in Green Bay, I don’t care what Favre does. Brett Favre, to this point, has single-handedly ruined the career of Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers should be full of hate. He should be vindictive. He’s neither. I can’t help but root for the kid to succeed.

The Olympics got under way: Last night’s relay was one of those “Once-in-a-Lifetime” sports moments. I’m so happy I saw it as it happened. It was completely improbable. Impossible even. It was so good, it doesn’t deserve to be dissected in my blog. I’ll leave it at this: The picture of Michael Phelps screaming unto the heavens is now the background of my computer, supplanting the image of the TD Banknorth Garden after the Celtics clinched the NBA Title.

The NFL Preseason is under way:

Good riddance to The Manny Ramirez: That’s it. Good Riddance.

And the 2008 Major League Baseball Season continues, which brings us to this:

Your semi-regular playoff update:

AL:
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox
LA Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

NL:
Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies

So, some changes there. Let’s talk about each race:

AL East:
-As much as I want them to, I cannot picture the Rays winning the division. They’re currently 4 1/2 games up on the Red Sox, who continue to barely tread water. I kept saying that the Yankees were going to win this division, but I was wrong. Losing their ace (Joba) after losing their, well, ace (Chien-Ming Wang) has handcuffed this team. Sidney Ponson is a starting pitcher for the Yankees? Really? I’m calling them dead until the start of next season, when they’ll have added Manny Ramirez and Carlton Charles Sabathia. As for the Sox and Rays, I see Boston winning the division down the stretch. This Carl Crawford injury has to hurt the Rays. Right?

AL Central:
-This is the most boring division race that is still a race. I could care less whether the White Sox or Twins win the division. The Twins are in better shape to win the division because of the injury Saturday to White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras. Call me crazy, but I’m not counting the Detroit Tigers out of this race until the beginning of September. They’re 8.5 back currently. If someone in their starting rotation steps up, I think they can win this division still…somehow. Until that happens though, I guess we have to give it to the Twins.

AL West:
-The only way the Angels lose this division lead….there is no way. It’s over.

NL East:
-Three teams can win the NL East. None of them are the Washington Nationals. You currently have 3 teams separated by 2 1/2 games. The Phillies are clearly the best team in this division offensively. It’s their pitching that I’m uncertain about. I’m counting the Mets out early. The injuries to John Maine and Billy Wagner are too much at this point in the season to overcome and the Mets are just not as electric offensively. They’d be smart to overpay for Manny Ramirez in the offseason. Really. They need some offense from the corner outfield spots. Right now, I think the Marlins are the best team in this division on paper. Their rotation is solid (now that Anibal Sanchez and Josh Johnson (one of the truly most underrated pitchers in baseball) are back healthy). Offensively, they can score runs. The questions are in the bullpen and their defense. I’m not counting the Fish out. For now though, because of Philly’s ability to score 10 runs a game if they need to, I’ll take them by a nose.

NL Central:
-I’ve developed a love of the Chicago Cubs, thanks to having WGN on the DirecTV. I get to watch a few games a week and realize that THIS is the best team in baseball, not the Angels. Every baseball writer and talking head has crowned the Angels the World Series Champion. Well call me crazy, but baseball’s two best teams are in this division. And they’re both playoff and NLCS bound. The only 1-2 pitching combo that scares me in the NL more than the Brewers and Cubs is the Diamondbacks. And as you’re about to read, I don’t think they’re making it to the playoffs.

NL West:
-This is the Dodgers division to win. Manny is hitting some stupid number since he’s come over. Their pitching is good enough to win. They have a veteran manager. And the Diamondbacks cannot score a run (we’ll see if Free-Swinging Adam Dunn changes that). My prediction of the Giants to win the NL West was stupid. They’re a year or two away. The Dodgers have done what they need to to win. Now they just have to, well, win.

AL Wild Card:
If we choose the wild card based on my division champions (Red Sox, Twins, Angels) that leaves us with the Rays, Tigers, White Sox, and Rangers. And even though I don’t really think the Rays can turn themselves around this quickly, they’re clearly the class of that group. Though as I’ve been saying, don’t count out Texas just yet.

NL Wild Card:
The Brewers. That is all.

Rather than do the long-winded explanation thing for the MLB Awards, I’ll just list them with (if necessary) a brief explanation:

AL MVP: Well, there goes my statement about no long-winded explanations. In fact, lets come back to this in a moment…

NL MVP: Albert Pujols. Though we may need to expand our minds a bit about the idea of Manny Ramirez being the NL MVP if he keeps up this pace and the Dodgers win the West. But for now, Pujols.

AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria. A nod to Nick Blackburn and Armando Galarraga of the Twins and Tigers as well for their solid rookie campaigns thus far. Just not good enough to pass Longoria.

NL Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto. Let’s also give a shoutout to Jair Jurrjens and John Lannan who are having nice years for a bad team and an atrocious team (look past Lannan’s W-L record). Not ROY worthy, but a nod to both nonetheless.

AL CY Young: Okay, here’s the AL MVP debate. I think that Francisco Rodriguez has been the MVP of the American League, but not the Cy Young award winner, if that makes any sense. I don’t value closers as highly as some, but I think that as a player, knowing you have a hammer in your bullpen, you have a certain degree of comfort, which allows you to play better. You don’t need to press for more runs if you’re up by only 1 and you’re the Angels. You know that K-Rod is getting that save. It’s more mental than anything. And don’t worry sabremetric people, mental makes up a lot of the game. See, the next time a relative dies or you didn’t get a good night’s sleep, go out and try to play at your highest level in any sport. Anyway, K-Rod’s value is seen there and with no one else having a great year for a club that is truly in contention (apologies to Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers) I give K-Rod the MVP, but not the Cy Young. Why, you ask? Because K-Rod hasn’t been the best pitcher. Cliff Lee has been. Look past the fact that it’s Cliff Lee. If Josh Beckett’s stats were as follows: 23 GS, 16-2, 22 BB, 128 K (that’s a 5.82 K/BB ratio), 2.45 ERA, 1.08 WHIP we’d all be going crazy and annointing him Lord God Almighty. Because it’s Cliff Lee pitching for a last place team, we just shrug. Ready folks? This year, Cliff Lee has been the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. Sorry, stats don’t lie. Real ones at least.

NL Cy Young: Still Tim Lincecum. Beats out the surging Brandon Webb by a hair. Edinson Volquez, where have you gone?

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon.

NL Manager of the Year: Fredi Gonzalez.

That’s a whole lot of baseball. What you won’t get on Friday is any baseball, unless Prince Fielder eats a teammate, Roy Halladay gets traded to the Yankees, Bronson Arroyo breaks another slugger’s pinky finger, or Joe Torre gets less ugly.

What you will get on Friday is the beginning of what I think I’ll call my “Stupid, Mega College Football 2008 Preview.” I’ve never been more excited about a college football season as I am about this one. For the first time in my life, you have a reigning Heisman Champion returning (as a junior no less). You have soon-to-be star freshman, like Alabama WR Julio Jones. You have two of the best LB of the last decade in James Laurenitis and Rey Maualuga. The USC/Ohio State September 13 matchup. Florida and Georgia possibly meeting as undefeated teams in Jacksonville in November. And you have a team from the Big 12 that I think will win the National Championship. And that’s just the Football Bowl Subdivision. I haven’t even mentioned Appalachian State, Wofford, UNH, Montana, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, Richmond, and James Madison.

Here’s what I think will happen: Friday: Big 6 conference breakdown (ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, Pac-10). Monday: Bowl Projections. Tuesday: Player Awards. Wednesday: FCS extravaganza. That’s all tentative based on how insane I really am. Until then…