(Editor’s note: So the font is smaller than usual. This is a copy/paste attempt gone wrong and uneditable. If you see a mistake, other than my own spelling, in here, please tell me. Thanks)

I’m getting close to running out of people that I admire, so with that, I’m going to throw a curveball and talk about football. The NFL season is well past it’s “half-way” point, but I figured that I should take inventory of what I’ve seen so far with a mega-review. So with that, a sentence about each NFL team, in alphabetical order:

Arizona Cardinals: Dr. Jekyll, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Hyde.

Atlanta Falcons: As Matt Ryan goes, the Atlanta Falcons go.

Baltimore Ravens: The defensive secondary is not good enough to contend.

Buffalo Bills: Nothing is good enough to contend for 3^rd in their division.

Carolina Panthers: A dangerous, sneaky NFC team.

Chicago Bears: Other than Jay Cutler, the only QB on the roster is Caleb Hanie.

Cincinnati Bengals: The best defense in the AFC right now.

Cleveland Browns: The worst everything in the AFC right now.

Dallas Cowboys: Inconsistency is their consistency.

Denver Broncos: What was that Tom Petty song about falling???

Detroit Lions: They might only have 1 win, but there are signs of life.

Green Bay Packers: Their offensive line is keeping them from Super Bowl contention.

Houston Texans: They cannot string together a bunch of wins.

Indianapolis Colts: I am convinced that Peyton Manning is their head coach.

Jacksonville Jaguars: They should change their name to the Jacksonville Maurice Jones-Drews.

Kansas City Chiefs: They’re missing a “Percy Harvin” type dynamic playmaker.

Miami Dolphins: The best sub-.500 team in the NFL.

Minnesota Vikings: The best team in the NFL.

New England Patriots: Their defense is just not deep enough to win it all.

New Orleans Saints: They might be the team du jour, but tell me what they do better than Minnesota right now.

New York Giants: The injury to Aaron Ross is why they’re in 3^rd in the NFC East.

New York Jets: Mark Sanchez is getting this done with that receiving corp?

Oakland Raiders: JaMarcus Russell.

Philadelphia Eagles: All the ingredients with the wrong recipe.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The O-Line can’t protect a QB who likes to hold on to the ball.

San Diego Chargers: Didn’t they do this same thing last year?

San Francisco 49ers: They’re a year or two and an NFL QB away from being very good.

Seattle Seahawks: They’re a lot away from being very good.

St. Louis Rams: Much like with Detroit, they are fighting and there’s a lot to build on in St. Louis.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman is an NFL QB.

Tennessee Titans: They might be 3-6, but they look like a playoff team right now.

Washington Redskins: Even after a disastrous start, they’re only 3 games back of their division leader.

So who’s making the playoffs?

AFC:

Division Champions:

New England

Cincinnati

Indianapolis

San Diego

Wild-Card Teams:

Pittsburgh

Baltimore

NFC:

Division Champions:

Philadelphia

Minnesota

New Orleans

Arizona

Wild-Card Teams:

Green Bay

Dallas

As far as how the playoffs will go, right now I’d see the conference championship games featuring Indianapolis and New England in the AFC and Minnesota and Philadelphia in the NFC.

For the AFC Title game, I just think these are the two best teams in the AFC. They both have flaws. New England’s pass rush is not very good. They’re thin at linebacker. They’re insanely young in the defensive backfield. But they’re offense can keep them in games. I’d see them matching up with a team like Cincinnati in the Divisional Round (I’m assuming the bye for New England). Going for it on 4^th down Sunday night aside, Bill Belichick is far too good and smart of a coach to let a defense like the Bengals beat him and his team. And then they’ll lose to the Colts in the Conference Championship game.

The NFC Title game is obviously a little more random. I’m not actually that confident in my pick of Philadelphia. I continue to hate Donovan McNabb at QB and am almost waiting for the day that he tears his MCL and Kevin Kolb rightfully receives the keys to the car. I’m in the minority, but Kolb, to me, is ready to be the quarterback of this team. A team this young and this dynamic doesn’t need a guy like Donovan McNabb at the helm. McNabb is like a less talented NFL version of Kobe Bryant. He gets a pass from the media, but he’s a glory hog. McNabb tries to be as likeable as possible, but comes off as an unlikeable, uninteresting guy who tries too hard and let’s face it folks, when it comes to the on-the-field stuff, he’s choked (literally in some cases) in every one of the biggest games of his career.

So why am I picking Philadelphia to not only win their division, but also make it to the conference championship game? Because, well, they’re good. I love (as a football player) De’Sean Jackson. I love Jeremy Maclin. I love Brent Celek (and his endzone celebration). Le’Sean McCoy is an explosive running back. Their offensive line is good. Their defense might not be as good as it was under the now passed Jim Johnson, but it’s not the Kansas City Chiefs. They can still get the job done. They haven’t been blown out of any game except the Saints game in Week 2. And they don’t play another sure-fire playoff team until, well, the playoffs.

My other pick, the Vikings, is much easier for me to explain. Nothing about the Vikings is bad. Their QB is a viable, top 3 MVP candidate with a 17:3 TD-to-INT ratio. Their RB is one of the best in football. Their receivers, who were the question mark coming into the season, are great. That’s right. Great. Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice are dyanamic speed guys. Rice is, right now, a top-10 receiver in the NFL. And Bernard Berrian gives them a very good possession guy. Their tight end is a huge red zone asset. They have the best offensive line in football. They have one of the best defensive front 7’s in football. And when Antoine Winfield is healthy, they have an above average secondary. And a very good kicker. And a very good punter. And a great return man (Harvin). They’re as close to a flawless team in the NFC as there is. Apologies to New Orleans and their unproven running backs and receivers and shaky defensive secondary.

Clearly, I see Indianapolis and Minnesota in the Super Bowl this year. I’ve jinxed a lot of teams so far in this crazy NFL season. First it was the Chargers, Falcons, and my previous Super Bowl pick the Packers. Then I was touting the Giants. There’s a good chance now that neither the Vikings or Colts will face each other in the Super Bowl. But where we stand right now, they’re the two best teams in the NFL and I think destined to meet in Miami in February.

Mid-Season Awards:

MVP: Peyton Manning

Rookie of the Year: Percy Harvin

Coach of the Year: Sean Payton

LVP: JaMarcus Russell.

Rookie Bust of the Year: Darrius Heyward-Bey

Awful Coach of the Year: Eric Mangini

Two sports posts in a row (and a third to come this weekend with my picks post). What can I say? There’s only so much room for me talk about race. Judging by the total lack of comments on Tuesday’s post, either I summarized everyone’s feelings or no one read it (latter!).

My favorite sports season began yesterday and you likely didn’t notice. That would, of course be, the Hot Stove season. The Hot Stove season is where baseless arguments are made. And I love those. No one has any idea how a player is going to fit on a club. No one knows if someone is going to click on a club. Everyone just likes to think they know. Myself included.

With that, I’m going to build my All-Free Agent team. A number of players filed for free agency yesterday and looking at the list, I realized that I could build a great team. So, I’m going to. Complete with the salary that I think is fair to ink them at, based on the current state of baseball. Yesterday, Bobby Abreu re-signed with the Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of California for 2 years/ $19 million. He played last year for $5 million. So yea, it’s going to be a wallet busting season on the stove. Here is my All-Free Agent Team (with middle relief men missing because I don’t want to fall asleep looking at their names). (Teams listed are who they played for last year)

Catcher: Josh Bard (Washington Natinals). As a general rule in baseball, if you have a very good catcher, you don’t get rid of him. Hence, there are so few quality, everyday catchers available right now. This came down to Bard and Pudge Rodriguez, but I think Bard has more, albeit marginal, upside at this point in their careers. But make no mistake about it, this is a weak spot.

Contract: 1 year/$1,500,000

First Baseman: Aubrey Huff (Detroit Tigers). This came down to Huff and Delgado, but I have my concerns with Delgado and think Huff can be had for cheaper. Keep in mind that Huff, over the last two years, has hit 47 Home Runs and 193 Runs Batted In. He’s a marginal to below marginal on-base guy, but there is certainly pop in his bat.

Contract: 2 years/$11,000,000

Second Baseman: Orlando Hudson (Los Angeles Dodgers). Much like Bobby Abreu, Hudson was a very late signee going into the 2009 season, and much like Abreu, he was a key contributor on a division winner. Hudson played 149 games for the Dodgers and put up quality numbers (for an albeit light-hitting second baseman): .283/.357/.417. And he played quality defense with only 8 errors in those 149 games. And he made the NL All-Star team. Not bad for a guy who was jobless in Februrary.

Contract: 3 years/ $15,000,000

Third Baseman: Mark DeRosa (St. Louis Cardinals). I really like Mark DeRosa. I don’t know why. His numbers aren’t great. He’s not stellar defensively. But he is a gritty “ball player.” And I respect that. He’s hit 20+ Home Runs in each of the last two seasons and even though he doesn’t get on base as much as I would like, clearly that’s not a direction I am going in at the moment with this team.

Contract: 2 years/ $12,000,000

Shortstop: Adam Everett (Detroit Tigers). Adam Everett is one of my least favorite baseball players. He’s not even a baseball player. He is the worst hitter I have ever seen. He is, also, to this point, the only shortstop who has filed for free agency.

Contract: 1 year/$1,000,000

Left Fielder: Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals). Finally, we have a real debate, one that a few teams are going to have to wrestle with in the coming weeks. Holliday or Jason Bay? Holliday is 2 years younger, so that is a big check on his side. Their offensive power numbers (HR/RBI) project out to be equal based on games played (Bay has played in about 100 more games and has about 100 more at-bats than Holliday. Bay and Holliday have very similar OBPs with the very slight edge going to Holliday. As far as fielding, Holliday has committed more errors than Bay. For me though, this comes back to the age. Both of these guys are long-term signs for whoever picks them up. Give me the guy who has fewer miles on his odometer.

Contract: 7 years/$120,000,000

Centerfielder: Mike Cameron (Milwaukee Brewers). His defense is great and he hits home runs. His batting average and OBP will never impress you. Despite his age, I like him better here than Rick Ankiel, who I’m not sure is a Major League hitter without the aid of performance enhancers. Cameron is not a favorite, but he’s the best option until Chone Figgins files for free agency.

Contract: 1 year/ $5,000,000

Rightfielder: Rocco Baldelli (Boston Red Sox). Truth be told, I’d sign Scott Podsednik and move him to right field in this situation, but I’m going to stick to my rules and go with a sentimental choice. Rocco does not do anything very well and there still have to be concerns about how his body would hold up over a 162 game schedule where he would play at least 145 games. But I’d cross my fingers and also sign Reed Johnson as an insurance policy.

Contract (Rocco’s, not Reed’s): 1 year/$2,000,000

Starting Pitchers: John Lackey (LA Angels), Jason Marquis (Colorado Rockies), Brad Penny (San Francisco Giants), Jarrod Washburn (Detroit Tigers), Justin Duchscherer (Oakland Athletics). The only one that needs any real explaining is probably Justin Duchscherer, who I’m frankly willing to take a flier on in the short term and hope that he has his depression in order.

Contracts:

John Lackey: 5 years/$70,000,000

Jason Marquis: 4 years/$44,000,000

Brad Penny: 2 years/$10,000,000

Jarrod Washburn: 3 years/$33,000,000

Justin Duchscherer: 1 year/$2,000,000

Closer: Ben Sheets (Free Agency All-Stars). I’m throwing a curveball because Sheets has been a free agent since last offseason. Injury problems have put a huge halt on his career progress, maybe for good, but I look at this as a project with the opportunity for great success. Will his arm stay in one piece? Maybe not. But at this point in his career and with only mediocrity available to me, I’m in the mood for a project. And I’d do the same thing with Rich Harden.

Contract: 2 years/$10,000,000 (An enormous financial risk, I know, but enough that I think it would interest Sheets in a pitching lifestyle change.)

Finally, my batting order would look like this:

Orlando Hudson

Mark DeRosa

Aubrey Huff

Matt Holliday

Mike Cameron

Rocco Baldelli

Josh Bard

Adam Everett

Starting Pitcher

Predicted 2010 Record: Not good.

My sporadic blogging of late can be blamed on the World Series taking hold of my life. It’s been a few years (2005 ChiSox/Astros) since I have been captivated by the World Series. Last year, I would have rather watched Nancy Grace at the height of a child abduction than have watched the World Series. Despite my years of vocal support for the Tampa Bay Rays coming to fruition, I just wasn’t spellbound by the matchup against the Phillies. And so the World Series dipped off my radar.

This year, however, we were treated to a stellar matchup of big market, star-laden clubs and it did not disappoint. Game 1 brought us the Cliff Lee/CC Sabathia showdown. Game 2 had Pedro Martinez back on the mound at Yankee Stadium (his daddy’s house). Game 3 provided the Phillies fans with an opportunity to show the white-collar Yankee crowd how to “do” a World Series game. Game 4 had CC on 3 days rest, and Game 5 gave us another opportunity to watch the most dominant left-handed pitcher in baseball prove critics and analysts wrong yet again. Game 6, the elimination game, certainly won’t live in baseball lore as a classic, but we did bear witness to one of the best individual World Series games ever by Hideki Matsui, in what will likely be his last game at Yankee Stadium. 6 RBI on 3 hits.

I was a little bothered by Matsui winning the Series MVP, because he did not play the entire series. He actually did not start any of the games in Philadelphia. While he was the MVP of the clinching game, Derek Jeter was the MVP of the World Series. His ability to get on-base was the single most important part of the Yankees 2009 postseason run. And it sadly won’t be remembered because he’s Derek Jeter and he’s “supposed to” be that good. It sounds foolish, but Jeter is one of the most underrated players of this generation, perhaps the first athlete in the internet age to be underrated while at the same time be never forgotten by the media (both old and new). Jeter is written and spoken about at great length, yet somehow, I don’t think people truly understand how good he really is. And not just how good he is, but how valuable. Jeter excels on the field. He is one of the 3 best shortstops in baseball history. He’s a 5-time World Series champion. He plays in the largest market, for the most widely recognized American sports franchise in the world, and never, ever says or does the wrong thing off the field. He is as close to a perfect athlete as my generation will ever see and to me, the 2009 postseason was just another opportunity for us to bear witness to his greatness. Even if he wasn’t the “most valuable player.”

At the advice of a colleague, I’m starting a new feature on Monday called “People I Admire.” I’m not so sure that this will be a long feature, as there aren’t a lot of people who I admire, but I’ll try to keep it going for as long as I can without including people like David Draiman or Kevin Sorbo.

For this week, I will talk about why I admire Tony Kornheiser.

Tony Kornheiser, or Mr. Tony as we will refer to him, first crept into my conscious in the late 1990’s on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters.” However, it wasn’t until October 22, 2001 that he really became an important figure in my life as the host of “Pardon the Interruption.”

“PTI” combined all of the things that I love the most in life: sports and banter pertaining to sport. Along with his co-host and longtime friend Michael Wilbon, Mr. Tony helped change the face of sports on TV. Period. Before “PTI” there were no sports talk shows. Now, that’s all there is. Two jerks talking about sports. And it always seems scripted. On “Pardon the Interruption,” that has never been the case.

Imagine my joy when I moved to Washington and discovered that Mr. Tony had a daily local radio show. Not a sports-talk show. Just a show where a crotchety old man complained about things that made him angry. Kind of like that newspaper story from “The Simpsons” where Grandpa shakes his fist at a cloud. If I loved Mr. Tony on “PTI” talking about sports, you can imagine how much I loved Mr. Tony on the radio where he just got to rant about things.

Truth be told, there wasn’t much for me to do when I was jobless for 5 months. I blogged (as you likely know) and I listened to the replay of Mr. Tony’s show from 2-4 (because, really, did I need to be awake at 8 a.m. when it was live?). And life was good.

The Mr. Tony radio show consisted of 2 hours of talk about “American Idol,” begging for free things from people and sponsors, and life advice, like, “If you’re out on your bike tonight, do wear white.”

So the obvious question becomes, “ Jason, why do you admire this man?”

The reason why I admire Tony Kornheiser is because he’s not afraid to be brutally honest and hurtful towards people for no good reason. Statements like, “__________(person x) should have a Metrobus backed over their skull,” and “This person should be thrown in jail,” are used without hesitation for situations that would not normally require a punishment of death or prison. And I like that.

I fully understand the frustration that Mr. Tony so clearly feels towards people who are not himself or at least kind of like him. And I really respect him for his ability to be fully honest with people, even if it is hurtful.

One of the things that annoys me (and who knows, someday I might list all of them as one glorious blog post) is privilege and the idea that some people “deserve” to be treated differently from others because of their status. So it would probably be considered hypocrisy that I appreciate and admire a person who once begged on air for a free Cadillac and who has created a concept known as “The Mr. Tony Experience,” whereby Mr. Tony gets free things because he is Mr. Tony.

The reason why I let Mr. Tony slide when it comes to privilege is simply because he so openly embraces that aspect of his “ness.” My screenwriting professor in college once told me that he liked how I set-up a really cliché scene with the characters openly acknowledging how cliché it was. It was an easy tactic, and frankly, something I did just to get out of a scene I was not interested enough in to be creative with. However, I’m glad I did it that way because his words have always stuck with me. It’s simple really: embrace your own negativity. Don’t put on a show and pretend like you’re different. If you own up to your negative side and are honest with people about it, you’re alright in my book. Just like Mr. Tony.

Next week, perhaps I’ll profile why I admire Manuel Noriega.