Even with the World Series wrapped up, this weekend is sure to be another entertaining weekend in the sports world. Being from Cincinnati, where high school football is king of Friday night, the playoffs start this weekend. My alma matter St. Xavier takes on another state powerhouse in division rival Elder. Elder beat Independence High School from Charlotte, North Carolina earlier in the season. Independence at the time had a winning streak of over 100 games. St. Xavier on the other hand has been ranked in the top 5 of almost every national poll, including number 1 in many, all season long. Few would argue they have played the toughest schedule in the country. Earlier in the year, St. X beat Elder 18-0. These two schools share an intense rivalry that should provide a great first round playoff matchup. Now on to some things other on this site will care about:

Friday:

The Boston Celtics and their big three, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, debut tonight when they take on the Washington Wizards. While I think the NBA regular season is largely unwatchable, I will still take interest in how the three preform together.

Saturday:

There are two marquee matchups this weekend in college football. The first will take place in Tuscalusa, where the Alabama Crimson Tide will play host to the LSU Tigers. The obvious headline in this matchup pitts first year Alabama coach Nick Saban against his former team. Obviously there will be a lot of emotion from both sides, including their fanbases, because of the Saban connection. This game, however, will be a tremendous matchup of two very good football teams. LSU clearly has the advantage in terms of all around talent level, but Alabama has some play makers that can keep this game close. Also working in the Crimson Tide's favor is the coaching advantage Nick Saban will have over his former disciple Les Miles. Couple that with homefield advantage and Glen Dorsey injury concerns and there is no reason why Alabama cant stay with LSU.

The game of the week however will take place when Oregon hosts Arizona State. ASU has been one of the biggest suprsises in the country this year. They were picked to finish fourth in the Pac 10 before the year, instead they are fourth in the country and one of the few undefeated teams left in the country. Oregon is playing great football as well, led by Heisman candidate Dennis Dixon. In fact, they are about 6 inches away from the possibility of being undefeated. Since they are at home, they will be favored in the matchup. It will be interesting to see how ASU responds to their toughest challenge to date. Oregon has had big wins already at Michigan and at home against USC. This could be ASU's coming out party. Or it could be Oregons next step in a possible national championship appearance.

Other games of note:

Wisconsin travels to Ohio State. The roles were supposed to be reversed coming into this game. Wisconsin was the team that was going to challenge for a national title while Ohio State was supposed to be rebuilding after losing a lot of key offensive starters. Instead Ohio States defense carried them early and their offense is becoming very formidable. On the other hand, Wisconsin has been inconsistent this year and one of their best players, PJ Hill is ####ed up. Couple that with the fact that Wisconsins second string running back isnt allowed to travel with the team and Wisconsins offense could be in trouble. They have given OSU more recent trouble than any other Big Ten school though.

Connecticut hosts Rutgers. UConn is probably college football's most suprising team this year while Rutgers has had a disappointing season after their cinderella run last year. Still Rutgers has the ability to knock off UConn and possibly derail their dream season. The recievers of Rutgers simply cant drop as many passes as they did against West Virginia though.

South Florida takes on Cincinnati. Three weeks ago both of these teams were undefeated. There was even talk that ESPN's College Gameday may travel to Tampa Bay for this game. Since then both teams have lost two games in a row and the game has lost some significance. Still, these are two teams are both rising powers in college football and still have a great opportunity to represent the Big East in the BCS.

Other interesting games include Boston College vs. Florida State, Wake Forest vs Virginia, and Notre Dame vs Navy.

Sunday:

The weekend peaks when the New England Patriots travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. This is the first time in NFL history that undefeated teams play each other this late in the season. These teams have created a huge rivalry over the past 7 years and it doesnt get any bigger than this...at least in the regular season. For weeks we have heard about this game, even before we knew both teams would be undefeated. NFL Network even plans on doing 36 1/2 hours of coverage leading up to the game. I dont think it could be hyped anymore. The good news is the game should live up to the hype. There is too much talent on both teams for Sunday to be a major letdown. The Patriots are on a mission this year while the Colts have to be motivated being the underdog at home. While both of these teams are sure to make the playoffs, a regular season game couldnt be more exciting.

To follow that game up, Dallas and Philadelphia renew their rivalry Sunday Night. Earlier in the week Donovan McNabb said he still believes the NFC East championship goes through the Eagles even though they are in last place right now. Roy Williams took exception to that and some words have been flying. Despite the Eagles early season struggles, including Andy Reids family issues, this game still promises to be a good one in primetime. While it wont top the Pats vs the Colts, it should be an entertaining follow up.

Monday:

The weekend wraps up with the Monday Night matchup of the Ravens and the Steelers. This is a great rivalry of two teams who play extremely physical football. It has been a very even series recently, but the Ravens absolutely crushed the Steelers last year. Dont expect Pittsburgh to forget that embarrassment when they see Baltimore for the first time this season. Baltimore has an extremely difficult schedule remaining with games against the Chargers, Colts, Patriots, Bengals and two against the Steelers. A win in this game would be a huge momentum boost for the rest of the season. Steve McNair is back healthy, which should give the offense some confidence. Pittsburgh is playing very complete football right now though and are deserved favorites. It should be a great matchup to finish up a great weekend.

After days of speculation, the Dodgers finally made it official by announcing Joe Torre will be their next manager. Torre had a losing record before his time with the Yankees, but the Dodgers are still lucky to have him. Torre is great at handling the bright lights of a big city as well as keeping his team together. No current coach is more loved by his players. Torre may not be baseball's brightest mind, but he will be a great fit for the Dodgers. A manager will never be a miracle worker on any baseball team, but Los Angeles couldnt have hired a better candidate.

Joel Zumaya has to be one of the unluckiest current professional athletes when it comes to injury. For such an amazing pitcher that can throw as hard as anyone alive, Zumaya has had two random injuries. First he injured himself playing the video game Guitar Hero. His latest injury came when he was moving personaly items from his home in Southern California because of the tragic fires that destroyed so many homes. Zumaya now will need surgery, wont be able to throw a baseball until March and isnt expected to be back with the Tigers until mid-season. Hopefully, for his sake, this is the end of his bad luck.

Is it Sunday yet? As much as it is deserved, the hype for this weekend's game in Indianapolis where the Colts will host the Patriotes is getting old. Im just as excited as the next guy about this matchup, but the buildup has been endless. Whether its ESPN, the NFL Network or sports talk radio, the game is everwhere sports is being discussed. Two undefeated teams playing eachother this late in the season is unprecedented. They are CLEARLY the two best teams in the NFL right now and they have established a great modern day rivalry. But for the sake of sanity, Sunday cant come fast enough.

How much must it suck to be one of the better players on the Chicago Bulls right now. Virtually the entire sports world is on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen with Kobe Bryant, Bulls fans especially. But players like Luol Deng, Joahkim Noah, Ben Wallace, Tyrus Thomas and more really have no idea for what that means for their future. They go to work every day with the very real possibility that they could be on their way to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers, or for that matter some other city if there is a three way trade that is completed. It is in both teams best interest to get this situation settled as quickly as possible so both teams can move forward, trade or no trade. Especially for the Bulls, who are one of the best teams in the NBA without Kobe Bryant. It would be a shame if these speculations ruined what could be a special season.

Props to LSU head coach Les Miles for doing the right thing with linebacker Derrick Odom and Ryan Perrilloux. Odom was kicked off the team for his involvement in a bar fight. Perrilloux will not join the Tigers in their trip to Tuscalussa for their much hyped game against the Alabama Crimson Tide and the former LSU coach Nick Saban. While this seems like such an obvious move, few coaches would have taken such drastic measures with such a big game this weekend. Nice job Les.

Also props to ESPN for their selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Baltimore Ravens as their Monday Night Football game this week. While the New England vs Indianapolis Colts was the obvious choice, CBS had the right to hold onto that game and they made the obvious decision. ESPN made the next best decision. They have made questionable choices in the past by choosing games like the New York Giants vs the Atlanta Falcons or the Arizona Cardinals vs the San Francisco 49ers. They got it right this week just like they got it right two weeks ago when they chose the Jaguars vs the Colts, despite the game not being an enjoyable one due to the injury of David Garrard. I hope the country tunes into a great rivalry Monday night. The game is sure to display some smash mouth football. I expect a Steeler victory, but it should be an entertaing game nonetheless.