The World Series is finally set. After all this time, the Rockies finally have and opponent. The Rockies will be facing the Red Sox. Thanks to the American League for winning the All-Star Game, the World Series will begin in Boston and then move to Colorado, and then back to Boston if needed. Let us take a quick look at what I have to say.

Colorado Rockies 

 By the time the World Series starts, it will have been eight days since the Rockies last played ball. By sweeping the Diamondbacks in the NLCS, the Rockies allowed themselves the luxury of that eight-day layoff. It will be interesting to see how those eight days off affect the Rockies. The Rockies swept the Phillies in the NLDS and by doing that, it allowed them to have four days off before they started the NLCS. The four days off, didn’t seem to have that much of an affect on them. So, what’s four more days? The eight-day layoff could mean one of two things. First, the Rockies won’t play as well as they have in the first two rounds. Or, they will play just as well, if not better as they did in the first two rounds.

 The Rockies are on fire right now. If you add in the end of the regular season and the postseason, they have won 21 of 22 games. They certainly have a lot of momentum at the moment. Another thing going for them is that this is their first World Series appearance in franchise history. That has to be extra motivation for them.

  Starting pitching may not be as strong as they would like, but for the most part the starters should be able to go at least six innings. Ideally, it would be nice if their starters could go at least seven innings. However, if they can only make it five or six innings, they a pretty strong bullpen to back them up.

 In order to get the wins, the Rockies hitters will have to produce, especially in key situations. A hit here and a hit there can go a long ways. The Rockies know their strengths when it comes to hitting, and they’ve got some pretty good hitters who’ll be able to step up when it is needed.

Boston Red Sox 

  The Red Sox don’t have nearly as many days off as the Rockies do. By the time the World Series starts, the Red Sox will have only had two days off since they last played. By only having two days off, it could mean that the Sox will either continue their recent surge, or they will totally collapse. It’s similar to the situation the Rockies are in; the only difference being the number of days off.

 With Josh Beckett pitching in Game 1, the Red Sox are guaranteed at least one win. If Beckett were able to pitch every game, the Red Sox would probably win the series. However, Beckett is not available to pitch every game. So, the Red Sox must look elsewhere. Curt Schilling was a little shaky in each of his outings in the ALCS. Although, he pitched well enough in his second outing to help them force a Game 7. Dice-K Matsuzaka is a whole other story. In Game 3 of the ALCS, Matsuzaka only lasted 4.2 innings. In Game 7, he managed to make just 5 innings. One thing we can be sure of when Dice-K is pitching is that the Red Sox will have to go to their bullpen early. With Beckett, they’ll be lucky if he can go at least eight innings, and they’ll be really lucky if Schilling can go at least seven innings. The Red Sox must also use caution when it comes to Eric Gagne. They will have to look at the situation they are in, before they decide to use Gagne. He hasn’t been reliable for the Red Sox; he’s let them down plenty of times. They’ll be extremely lucky if they don’t have to use him at all. 

  Red Sox hitting can be very dangerous. If they get in the right kind of groove, the Sox should be able to produce enough key at bats. However, Manny Ramirez will actually have to start running this time when he hits the ball. Otherwise, he’s going to be standing at home plate watching the ball sail thinking it’s a home run, only to have to it fall into play and be thrown out at first. Another possibility along those same lines with Manny is that he’ll end up with a single, when he should’ve had a double. If the Red Sox want to win, Manny can’t afford to mess around when he’s at the plate. “Manny being Manny” simply won’t do and it could end up costing the Sox the series.

My Prediction

 This is going to be a great World Series. We have two of the hottest teams in baseball, ready to face each other. The Colorado Rockies will defeat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2, to win their first World Series. And Matt Holliday will be the World Series MVP.

Ohio St. is the new #1 team. Of course, they couldn’t have done it without a little help. #1 LSU and #2 California both lost, which opened the door for Ohio St. to become #1. LSU fell to #5 while California fell to #10. California had a chance to be #1, but they just couldn’t manage a win.

Wisconsin

 This past Saturday, Penn State beat Wisconsin 38-7. I have to say, that I thought that game would’ve been closer than it was. I’ve been hearing all season, that the Badgers aren’t that good. Yet, they have been ranked all season. I actually couldn’t believe that they were #5 a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t think they played well enough to be #5, however that was the same week were a bunch other top teams lost, which allowed the Badgers to squeeze in there. We all know what happened next. That’s right, that big red blob you saw fall after the games played on 10/6, was indeed the Badgers. And after their loss to Penn State, the Badgers continue to fall. The big red blob has fallen out of the rankings, and will continue to fall unless they can find a way to turn around their season. I thought Wisconsin was supposed to be better than this. They had so much hype going into the season, and now it appears that the wheels have indeed fallen off.

Michigan 

 After falling out of the rankings after the first week, Michigan has fought their way back into the rankings. After Week 1, that blue and maize blob continued to fall, but it appears that they have found their way back. Here’s to hoping that the Wolverines stay ranked for the rest of the season.

Colorado Rockies

 If someone had told me at the beginning of the season that the Rockies were going to be in the playoffs, let alone the NLCS, I probably would’ve laughed at them. Now, if someone tells me that the Rockies are going to the World Series, I’d have to agree with them. The Rockies are just one win away from making the World Series. A win tonight will put them in. I underestimated the Rockies; I thought for sure they weren’t going to make it out of the first round. Now, they have a chance to go all the way. I’m a little surprised that the Diamondbacks haven’t won a game yet. I expected them to play a little better than what they have been.

ALCS

 The ALCS is all tied up at one each. The Red Sox won game one and the Indians managed to win game two. It took eleven innings for them to finish game two. Going into the top of the 11th, the game was all tied up at six. Eric Gagne started of the inning. As we have seen since Gagne became a Red Sox, he once again blew it for them. The Indians scored seven runs in that 11th inning, three of which were charged to Gagne. If you are the Red Sox, you have to be careful on where you use Gagne. The best option would be to not use him at all, but for the most part, that probably isn’t going to be an option. Cleveland did what they needed to do in Boston, get a split. The series now move to Cleveland, and I like Cleveland’s chances at home.

NASCAR

 The Chase is starting to heat up. Jeff Gordon has finally opened somewhat of a sizeable lead over Jimmie Johnson. Gordon leads Johnson by 68 points. The first few weeks of the chase, everybody was so close. Then it started to spread out some more. So much so, that going into Saturday night’s race, 6th place Kevin Harvick was closer to 12th place then he was 1st place. As of right now, there are only 78 points that separate 1st and 3rd. You could pretty much say that this a three man race right now, but it appears that Jeff Gordon is the man to beat.

LeBron James was spotted at last night’s Yankees/Indians game. So, you ask what the big deal is. Well, he was there wearing a Yankees hat. That’s right folks, Cleveland’s own, was seen wearing a hat of the opposing team. Now, I have no problem with that. It’s a free country; he can wear whatever he wants to. Just because he grew up in Ohio and plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, doesn’t mean he has to support the other teams in Ohio. There is no written rule that says, because you live in that state/region or play for one of the teams there, that you also have to like the other teams there.

Fans weren’t all that appreciative of LeBron’s choice of hats. One of the fans who appeared on the big screen at Jacob’s Field yelled, “Go to New York then.” Another fan, Joe Dickinson, said this, “I think he should be traded for that. Cheer in secret.” And former Indians great Bob Feller had this to say, “I’m going to a Cavaliers game and sit right by their bench, wearing a Detroit Pistons cap. Let’s see how LeBron likes that.” I personally don’t think LeBron would give a hoot. Rob Fath, a Yankees fan had this to say, “I can’t understand it. It’s pretty low of LeBron, to be honest. Why would he do that to his city?”

I can guarantee you that, not all athletes are fans of the other teams in the stay they play. One example would be David Ortiz. Ortiz plays for the Red Sox, but he is a Green Bay Packers fan. Another example would be Tom Brady. He plays for the New England Patriots, but I guess we aren’t really sure what baseball team he pulls for. He has been spotted wearing a Red Sox hat, as well as a Yankees hat. So, it’s not that uncommon for an athlete to be a fan of another team outside the state they play in.  

Jason Makey, a fan, had this to say, “Who cares? I love LeBron. How can you not? He can wear a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey for all I care. It had nothing to do with basketball.” Mr. Makey put it best, “it has nothing to do with basketball.” If you ask me, fans in Cleveland shouldn’t worry so much about LeBron’s choice of hats. They should be grateful to LeBron for helping to get the Cavaliers into the finals. And they should also focus on the fact that the Indians are in the playoffs for the first time since 2001. It shouldn’t matter what LeBron James is wearing, Ohio fans should just be glad that Ohio’s teams (most of them) are doing well.

The playoffs are finally here. We’ve waited all season for this. This postseason proves to be an interesting one. There are some familiar teams and some who haven’t been in awhile. Let’s take a look at each of the four matchups and my predictions on each.

NLDS

Cubs @ Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks won the regular season series against the Cubs, 4-2. In their last ten games of the regular season, the Cubs went 6-4, while the Diamondbacks went 5-5. The bullpen for each team, my be relied on heavily. Luckily for both the Cubs and the Diamondbacks, they each have pretty strong bullpens. The last time the Cubs were in the playoffs, was in 2003 and the Diamondbacks last appearance in the postseason, was in 2002. So, it’s been a while for each team. Both are ready to go.

Who I would like to see win the series: Cubs

Who I think will win: Diamondbacks 3-1

Rockies @ Phillies

The Rockies won the regular season series against the Phillies, 4-3. The Rockies went 9-1 in their last ten games of the regular season. The Phillies finished their season by going 7-3 in their last ten games. It’s been a really long time since the Rockies were last in the playoffs. The Rockies last playoff appearance came in 1995. As for the Phillies, it’s also been a long time for them. The last time the Phillies played in the postseason, was in 1993. Both teams should be hyped up about finally making the playoffs after all this time.

Who I would like to see win the series: Rockies

Who I think will win: Phillies 3-2

ALDS

Angels @ Red Sox

The Red Sox won the regular season series against the Angels, 6-4. In their last ten games, the Angels went 4-6, not a very promising record heading into the playoffs. The Red Sox finished their last ten games 6-4. Both teams were last in the playoffs in 2005, so it hasn’t been to long for them. The Red Sox bullpen could be a major issue. Towards the end of the regular season, their bullpen was struggling. Eric Gagne struggled the minute the Red Sox signed him. If the Red Sox want to win, they will have to rely heavily on their starting pitching to go at least 7 innings.

Who I would like to see win the series: Angels

Who I think will win: Angels 3-2

Yankees @ Indians

The Yankees won the regular season series against the Indians, 6-0. Now, keep in mind that the Yankees never had to face C.C. Sabathia during those six games. In their last ten games, the Yankees went 6-4. As for the Indians, they went 6-4 in their last ten games. One key factor for the Yankees is a guy by the name of Alex Rodriguez. In last years ALDS against the Tigers, A-Rod went 1-14. He needs to break out of that postseason funk he is in. Hopefully he can ride his spectacular season all the way into the World Series. The last time the Indians were in the playoffs, was 2001, so it’s been a while. As for the Yankees, they were last in the playoffs last year.

Who I would like to see win the series: Yankees

Who I think will win: Yankees 3-2

And I will go one-step further and make my predictions for the NLCS and ALCS. Based on my predictions, the Diamondbacks and Phillies would meet each other in the NLCS. My prediction for that is Diamondbacks win the series 4-2.

Again, based on my predictions, the Yankees and Angels would meet each other in the ALCS. My prediction for that is Yankees win the series 4-3. Therefore, the World Series would be the Diamondbacks @ the Yankees.

So, what are everyone else’s thoughts and predictions on the upcoming series?

Starting next year, Kasey Kahne's #9 Dodge will be sporting a new sponsor. What is that new sponsor you ask? Well, it just so happens that it is a very popular one right now. That's right folks; Kasey Kahne will be driving for Budweiser next year. Some may ask "Is this going to be a good thing?" I for one believe that in the long run, the sponsorship between Evernham, Kahne, and Budweiser will be a great thing. Yes, there will probably be some bitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans who aren't to happy with this, well to bad, deal with it and move on. Kasey has some big shoes to fill, but I'm confident he is the right person for the job. He already has a fairly large fan base. Now, granted Kahne's fan base isn't nearly as big as the fan base Jr. has, but in all honesty, whose is? I have a feeling though, that Kahne stands to gain quite a few new fans next year. And I'll tell you why. I'm sure there are quite a few Jr. "fans" out there who are mad that he is going to be driving for Hendrick Motorsports next year. And I'm sure quite a few of them are no longer followers of Jr. With that being said, a number of those people may just start to follow Kahne, thanks to his new sponsorship with Budweiser.

For all of you out there, who happen to have a #8 tattoo for Dale Earnhardt Jr., just add an 8 to that and you've got his new number. As of next year, Jr. will be driving the #88. Now, I'm not sure what Hendrick had to pay for it, considering it is currently being used by Robert Yates Racing, but either way, it’ll be 88 for Little E. Jr. will have to primary sponsors, Mountain Dew/AMP and the National Guard. I'm not really surprised with his sponsors. As it stands, Pepsi is one of the sponsors for Jeff Gordon, and Mountain Dew is all a part of Pepsi Co. As for the National Guard, Casey Mears is currently being sponsored by them. So, it will stay in the Hendrick organization, just sponsoring a new driver.

I have to admit, it'll be a little weird at first to see Kasey Kahne in the Bud car, and not Jr. I'm sure by the end of the season next year; we'll all be used to it. Sometimes change can be a good thing and in this case, I believe it is a good thing. It's as if Jr. is starting all over. He is wiping the slate clean. He's got a new team, new number, new sponsors, and new teammates. As for Kahne, the only new thing he will have is a sponsor. And as I mentioned before, he could very well have some new fans.

MLB-NL Central

So, a few weeks ago I said that I thought the St. Louis Cardinals would win the NL Central.  Well, looking at the Division right now, I would say that I have to take that back. I will now say the Milwaukee Brewers, or Chicago Cubs will win the NL Central.

The Cardinals have a very rough September. They have no off days this month and that can be very grueling to a team. They were doing so well just a couple of weeks ago, which led me to believe that they would win the NL Central. That, and the fact that the Brewers and Cubs were playing like ####. And at the point my thinking was that the Brewers and Cubs would be to busy fighting each other for the division lead, that the Cardinals would swoop in and steal it. All that being said, I would like to see the Brewers win the division.

NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not make the Chase for the Nextel Cup this year. That's ok Jr.; you'll be in it next year. You'll be at a great team, one that is competitive and knows how to win. Hendrick Motorsports is waiting for you as we speak. I know he'll fit right in there. Jr. is a pretty good driver; it was just hard for him to showcase it at DEI.

Now, I don't agree with the way NASCAR reset the field for the Chase, but at the same time I'm happy Jimmie Johnson sits in first heading into the first race of the Chase. He's my favorite driver, so I would be wrong for me not to be happy. I will say that Jeff Gordon got the short end of the stick on this whole thing. These last ten races sure will be interesting. We could see a repeat champion or a first time champion.

 I've really got nothing to say about football at the moment. My college team sucks and my NFL team won, however they've got other problems that I have no comment on. All in all, I'm happy football season is here.

I'm still trying to figure where it all went wrong for the Milwaukee Brewers. They were doing so good, and then all of a sudden, and they went south, way south. Their starting pitching isn't great, and neither is their bullpen. The bullpen can't seem to hold a lead, and then the offense can never get it back.

This is how bad things have gotten. Chris Capuano lost his spot in the rotation, and is now in the bullpen. His first appearance out of the bullpen was terrible. Claudio Vargas was put on the DL with lower back pain. Ben Sheets will be coming off the DL today, so that is some sort of a boost. It looks like Yovani Gallardo will stay in the rotation for now. Many Parra is apparently going to start on Thursday against the Cubs. Now, that just sounds like a bad idea. Parra is horrible out of the bullpen, and to have him face the Cubs at a time like this? I just don't know. Their bullpen is almost as bad as starting pitching. Sometimes the starters will give up their own lead, other times; it's the bullpen giving up the lead. And then their offense just can't seem to score more runs to get the lead back. And a lot of the times, they have plenty of chances to get that lead back.

J.J. Hardy is now batting 8th instead of 2nd. I really like this move. He has done really well in the 8 spot. One move I was confused by and still don't like, is Yost switched Fielder and Braun. Fielder now hits 3rd and Braun hits 4th. I still haven't figured out the logic behind this. Neither of them has really done anything since the switch. Put Fielder and Braun back where they belong. Rickie Weeks has done pretty well since coming back up from his stint in the minors. He's been able to get on base more, which is good, because he was having problems with that. Now the only problem is that is seems like nobody can bring him home once he's on base.

This season has gone from sheer excitement to utter disappointment. I'm thinking all of their problems either started shortly after the All-Star break. Same thing happened last season, started out well, and then the All-Star break came and they went bye bye. It's all so frustrating. Ned Yost has to be fired after the season is over. No sense in firing him now, just let him finish the last month, then let his sorry butt go. I'll hang in there for the rest of the season. This team is full of young guys, so for some of them this is a learning experience. So, I look forward to the future when this team will eventually show us what they are made of. I know they have it in them, I just think it will probably take a few more seasons to get going.

Free the #8! I’m sure a lot of you have seen people walking around wearing those shirts that say, “Free the #8!” I myself have one of them.

 So, it turns out that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not be taking his #8 with him when he joins Hendrick Motorsports next year. It turns out that, among other things, Teresa Earnhardt (evil stepmother) wanted to have the #8 back once Jr. retired. Have a heart lady. Just let Jr. keep the 8 and move on. Teresa is the reason Dale Jr. is leaving DEI, his father’s company. She wouldn’t give Jr. what he wanted at the DEI; the least she could do is let him have the #8.

 I have no doubt in my mind the Dale Sr. is probably rolling around in his grave as we speak. It’s such a shame what has happened to DEI. How selfish of a person do you have to be to not let you own stepson take his car number with him? Teresa has no use for it, other than to let the newest DEI driver to use it. Now I’m sure some of you are thinking, “What’s the big deal, it’s just a number?” Well, that is true it is just a number. However, some numbers become synonymous with drivers. You have Dale Earnhardt Sr. (3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8), Richard Petty (43), Jeff Gordon (24), and Tony Stewart (20). I will say that a number doesn’t make the driver, but I will say that a certain number just seems to fit a certain driver.

This is where I got my t-shirt from. They have all sorts of things on there you can get. 

http://www.cafepress.com/free8

 I would love to see Jr. keep the 8, however maybe a fresh new start is what he needs. He'll have a new team, new sponsor, and a new number next year.

MLB Division Races

 The Boston Red Sox lead over the New York Yankees has shrunk to 4. Eric Gagne certainly hasn’t been a good addition to the Red Sox. Brian Cashman was smart not to got out and get him, especially since it meant giving up the likes of Joba Chamberlain and Melky Cabrera. I would love to see the Yankees win the AL East, and it could happen. However, if the Yankees don’t win the division, they will still make the playoffs by winning the AL Wild Card.

 The Milwaukee Brewers have lost their lead in the NL Central, to the Cubs. I should say, the Brewers gave away their lead. They have been playing like #### all month long. Pitching sucks, hitting isn’t very good, they just suck all around. The worst of there pitchers has been Chris Capuano. In his last 16 starts he is 0-10 and the team as a whole is 0-16. Capuano was given another chance on Sunday, but he proved once again, he can’t hold a lead. I’m not sure what the team is going to do with him now. Ned Yost had said that after Capuano’s outing on Sunday, he was going to re-evaluate the situation. I say they need to take Capuano out of the rotation.

 Ben Sheets has been working on making his return. It appears that he is right on track and should be back with the team in the beginning of September. Sheets is the ace of the staff, but let’s face it there is no way he will be able to help the team. All he can do is help them get a win every 5 days, and they need more than that.

 At this point, it’s hard to say who will win the NL Central. The Brewers, the Cubs, and the Cardinals seem to be the front-runners for this race. It really is anyone’s division to win.

 One other division race I find interesting, is the AL Central. The Cleveland Indians lead the Detroit Tigers by a game and a half. These two teams have been going back and forth for a while now. Currently, the Twins sit 6 games back. I would say that the Indians or the Tigers will win the AL Central.

I know some of this is kind of old news, but oh well; it can still be talked about.

 Alex Rodriguez

On Saturday August 4th, A-Rod hit his history making 500th home run. He became just the 22nd player to do so in MLB history. With that home run, Rodriguez became the youngest person ever to hit 500 home runs. Now that Bonds has “broken” the record, I say it’s only a matter of time before A-Rod breaks it. Rodriguez is 32 years old. If here were to play for another 10 years and stay healthy, he could easily break it.  

 Tom Glavine  

On Sunday August 5th, Tom Glavine won his 300th career game. He became only the 23rd pitcher to have at least 300 career wins, and only the 5th left-hander to do so. Glavine may have been the last person we see win 300 games. The next closet person is Randy Johnson, who has 284 wins. However, Johnson keeps have issues with his back, and he may never play again. That leaves Mike Mussina next. He has 246 wins, which means he needs 54 more wins to get to 300. Mussina will be 39 in December. Let’s say he averages about 10 wins per season. At that rate, he would have to pitch for another 5 years and stay healthy, to get to 300 wins. I don’t see Mussina pitching for 5 more years; therefore I don’t see him being the next 300 game winner.

 New York Yankees  

The Yankees are slowly gaining ground in the AL East, as well as the AL Wild Card. Over the past week, the Yankees have made a few roster changes. On Monday, they designated their left-handed specialist, Mike Myers for assignment. On Tuesday, they brought up their prized prospect, Joba Chamberlin and sent Brian Bruney to the minors. Jason Giambi was activated from the DL on Tuesday as well. To make room for him, they designated Miguel Cairo for assignment. With both Myers and Cairo, they had 10 days to either trade, release, or reassign them to the minors.

During his time in the minors, Chamberlin compiled a 9-2 record with a 2.45 ERA. In 88 1/3 innings, he struck out 135 batters. He has spent his entire career as a starting pitcher, which means he’ll have to make the transition to the bullpen. Chamberlin made his major league debut on Tuesday in Toronto. He allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out two in two innings of work.

Roger Clemens has been suspended for five games for his actions in Tuesday nights win over the Blue Jays.  In the third inning, Rodriguez was hit by a pitch. Josh Towers hit him in the leg. Well, a few innings later, Clemens hit Alex Rios in the back. Clemens and Torre were both ejected. Kudos to Clemens for sticking up for his teammate. Torre received a one game suspension. Rodriguez, Yankees first base coach Tony Pena and Yankees third base coach Larry Bowa were all fined. As for the Blue Jays, Josh Towers, Matt Stairs and third base coach Brian Butterfield, were also fined.

If the Yankees can't catch the Red Sox to win the division, they will win the wild card. Yankees will find a way to make the playoffs, they always do. I would like to see them win the AL East, but at the same time, I know it's going to take a lot of work for that to happen.

 Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have some how managed to let the Cubs get within a ½ game of the NL Central. It has been very hard and disappointed to watch the Brewers play lately. There have been times were they have had a significant lead and then in comes the bullpen and they give it away. The Brewers bullpen has been terrible as of late, they just can’t seem to get the job done. As for the rest of the team, there have been way too many errors in key plays that should’ve been outs. Their hitting has been good, but it could be better. They have been plenty of key situations where the Brewers had a chance to get a big hit and possibly win the game, but the big hit and the win never came. This is how bad it has gotten: on Tuesday night, Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsch pitched with a broken leg, after getting hit by a J.J. Hardy line drive. The dude had a broken leg and the Brewers still managed to lose. How embarrassing.

It seems as though the Cubs have finally come back down to Earth, and realized they couldn’t keep up there winnings ways anymore. It seems as if nobody really wants to win the NL Central and quite frankly, nobody really deserves it. Right now, it’s the Brewers’ division to lose. Bottom line is this: if the Brewers don’t pick it up, they are going to find themselves in the Wild Card race, not the division race. If they can’t win the division, they really don’t deserve to be in the playoffs at all.  

Brady Quinn

Well, Quinn finally singed a contract with the Cleveland Browns. It’s a 5-year contract, worth $20 million, which could lead to $30 million with all the incentives. Sounds like a bit much for a guy who’ll be warming the bench. With all the time he missed, Quinn has a lot of catching up to do. And really, he can’t complain about that. If he would’ve just signed the contract to begin with, he could’ve been the starter, but I guess now we’ll never know. Quinn said in his press conference the other day, that it was hard for him to sit out and not practice with the team. Of course it was tough not to be able to practice with the team, but that was his dumb fault. JaMarcus Russell take note, just sign a contract already.

NASCAR

Well, there are only 5 races left before the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins. With 10 races left to go, the top 12 in the standings will all compete for the Nextel Cup Championship. Those top 12 will have their points re-set to 5,000 points and will get a 10-point bonus for each race they won during the first 26 races of the season.  As of right now, the top 12 are as follows:

1.       Jeff Gordon

2.       Denny Hamiln

3.       Matt Kenseth

4.       Jeff Burton

5.       Tony Stewart

6.       Carl Edwards

7.       Jimmie Johnson

8.       Kyle Busch

9.       Kevin Harvick

10.    Clint Bowyer

11.    Martin Truex Jr.

12.    Kurt Busch

        Dale Earnhardt Jr. currently sits in 13th, only 7 points behind 12th place Kurt Busch. With only 5 races left, it's anyone's guess as to who will be that final guy. Jeff Gordon has the best chance to win the Championship. I would like to see Matt Kenseth win it.

Photos are courtesy of Yhaoo! Sports.