Sports Week in Review

Baseball playoffs have started, and it's anything but predictable. Another athlete admitted to using performance enhancing drugs (and the country let out a collective yawn). NBA training camps began and Kevin Garnett looks like a kid in a candy store. And I smell a conspiracy in the NCAA, I'll tell you all about it in this week’s week in review.

Filling Up Fast
I'm officially rooting for the Rockies. Never really liked them in the past. I usually lumped them in with the Royals and the Devil Rays before this year. But the team has won 16 of their last 17 games. They came from out of nowhere to steal the wild card spot from their division rivals, the San Diego Padres. They play hard all the time. And they have also been doing with pitching as much as hitting. Throw in a controversial play at the end of the 13th inning of the 1 game playoff against the Padres to decide the wild card, and you have a bandwagon team in the making.

The Rest of the Playoffs
Shutouts and walkoffs. If that doesn't say Boston Red Sox, nothing does. They have to scare just about everyone right now. Josh Beckett continued his postseason success with a shutout in game 1 versus the Angels. Manny Ramirez ended game 2 with a walkoff 3 run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Cleveland followed up a blowout win in game 1 with a 2-1 victory in 11 innings in game 2. They should complete the sweep against Grandpa Clemens tomorrow night.

And Arizona is wrapping up their exhibition series against the AAAA Chicago Cubs. The only danger at this point for the D-Backs is if they start looking ahead to their series against Colorado (that's right, I'm calling it now!).

NBA Season is Around the Corner
Here are my predictions for the 2007-08 season. San Antonio will win at least 60 games and everyone will act shocked. If Shawn Marion stays with Phoenix, we won't hear another word from him after his first perfectly timed feed from Steve Nash. Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will compete for the record for most smiles in one season. And in January, Isiah Thomas will be charged with sexual assault after he makes a pass at Bud the cotton candy vendor at MSG in an attempt to distract fans from the lousy product he put on the floor every night.

What's that? You want real predictions? OK, top four teams in each conference: East - Celtics, Pistons, Cavs, Bulls. West - Spurs, Rockets, Mavericks, Suns.

Is It Shocking When Anyone Admits to Steroid Use Anymore?
Marion Jones publicly admitted this week that she used steroids before the 2000 Olympics (sort of). She claimed that her trainer gave her a cream that she thought was flaxseed oil. Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't that Barry Bonds' excuse? You would think that Jones could have at least come up with something original, like moisturizer or aloe vera. I wish I could say I was surprised. I think her confession was about as anticlimactic as Jason Giambi's almost confession, "I'm sorry for that thing I did that time that you all know about but I can't mention." Personally, I think Marion was done anyway and she wanted to see her name in the papers one more time.

I Finally Figured Out What's Going On in College Football
What's been the biggest complaint about NCAA football over the last few years? The BCS system. How do you solve the problem without blowing up the system? Make sure that only two teams deserve to play for the championship. Cue the upsets! I would never suggest that the NCAA would fix games, but this sure does make their case for the BCS system easier, doesn't it? Speaking of upsets, add Wisconsin and Georgia to the list (and almost South Florida). At this rate, LSU and USC might be the only two legitimate teams with winning records.

Looking ahead, NASCAR is at Talladega and only 11 points separate the top three drivers in the Nextel Cup points race. We have a full slate of NFL games on Sunday, most notably Cleveland-New England, Tampa-Indy, Seattle-Pittsburgh and San Diego-Denver (we'll call this the last gasp game).

And my son's soccer team is going for the top spot in their U7 boys rec league. Go Fireballs!