SPLOG WEDNESDAY

The votes are coming in great on the zoo question. Keep 'em coming.

Slight change to the blogging schedule; on Wednesdays, I'll be writing a SPLOG, a sports blog, if you will. We'll bump reading/watching/hearing, or whatever it's called, to Fridays to platoon with Pic o' the Week-o... whichever Erin and I feel inspired to do. Or maybe there'll even be a double header. You'll just have to check in to find out. (How do you like that for a teaser?)

A splog warning: you'll get an overdose of St. Louis Cardinal, Florida Gator, and Orlando Magic news here, mixed in with the big headlines and my predictions. With that out of the way, let's get the first splog underway.

Headlines
The Rockies simply cannot lose no matter how hard they try. September 28th, they lost 4-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was the last time that they've tasted defeat. Since, they have won 10 consecutive games, 21 out of their last 22. In other words, they are 21-1 in their last 22 games, a 95.5% winning percentage. It's simply unheard of. They'll have an 8 day layoff before they face their AL opponent in the World Series. It's looking like that opponent will be the Indians. I picked Cleveland in the pre-season to win the whole kit and caboodle. The Rockies would be a great story, good Christian Manager Clint Hurdle, and the win streak. I generally root for NL teams, so I'll be happy whichever team unseats the Cardinals as World Champions.

Speaking of the Cardinals, (segue), they are still looking for a GM, and thus waiting to decide the fate of Manager Tony La Russa. Here's the solution plain and simple, : sign Chris Antonetti from Cleveland as the GM. Hire Terry Pendleton, former Cardinal player, and current hitting coach for the Braves, as manager. With his Atlanta ties, he can bring in Leo Mazzone as pitching coach. Bring back some of the old Redbirds to put on staff to increase morale among nostalgic fans like myself. Voila. Was that so hard?

My NCAA football prediction looks to be in peril. LSU lost last week to the upstart Kentucky Wildcats. They only dropped a few spots, however, and if they win out, should be able to get back into contention for the championship. It's been a wild and crazy year in college football with so many top teams losing. Looks like all the one loss teams who previously thought their seasons were over are back in contention. Maybe even one of the 2 loss teams. Who knows?

The New England Patriots are dominant. Barring injuries to key players, it looks like their focused to have an incredible year. Tom Brady is on an unbelievable pace. I'd obviously take them to win the Super Bowl if I had to pick now. I don't think they'll go undefeated. I'll say 1 loss, last day of the year when everyone sits, or possibly when they play at Indy. My Super Bowl pick, the San Diego Super Chargers, are getting better every week. They just acquired Chris Chambers from the Dolphins. He's a very solid receiver, which should help take some pressure off LT, and give Phillip Rivers a receiving threat other than Gates and Jackson. They've won a couple in a row and play in a weak division, so hopefully they peak at the right time.

Predictions
Cleveland will finish off the Red Sox. They'll have a nice rest before the World Series, where they'll beat the Rockies. The 8 day layoff hurts the Rocks' momentum. That takes nothing away from their marvelous run; one that I have never seen in my lifetime.

5 NFL Games
1. Detroit over Tampa Bay
*Lack of running game hurts the Bucs. Kitna and Co. will air it out enough to pull it out.
2. Houston over Tennessee
*André Johnson comes back this week. This team is really very solid.
3. Kansas City over Oakland
*Possible return of Priest Holmes brings emotion to the Chiefs. KC is better than I thought they'd be, even with a struggling LJ.
4. Denver over Pittsburgh
*Very hard to win in Denver. Shanahan figures out a way to win.
5. Jacksonville over Indianapolis
*Big upset in Florida. They'll run the daylights out of the ball and upset Peyton and his herd of Colts.

5 NCAAF Games
1. Tennessee over Alabama
*Vols playing fairly well of late, 'Bama is barely winning games they should be dominating.
2. Florida over Kentucky
*The Wildcats have to be worn out and beat up after the 3OT win vs. LSU. Florida's coming off a bye and 2 losses, so they'll be motivated.
3. Missouri over Texas Tech
*Bigtime shootout, but Mizzou's just a better team. The team that gets a stop wins.
4. Cal over UCLA
*Cal is better, but is coming off a hard loss, and in-conference games are always close. Cal rebounds.
5. Michigan over Illinois
*Being from Illinois, I'd love to pick my boys, but I just can't. Hart is back for the Wolverines, and Henne is more seasoned than Juice at QB. Maybe next year.