What has gotten you in such an uproar in the world of sports that you want to SCREAM? Is it a player, coach, team, league, owner, or fans of a particular team or individual? Do you think you don't have an outlet to express your ire? Fear not, fans, this is the outlet for you to express that ire by throwing the object of your ire under the Bus. See the lovely young lady? She'll take your requests, then tell the bus driver to do his thing. I know I have a few!

NFL

Seattle Seahawks: granted, they were playing the N.Y. Giants on the road. Very difficult to win there. But at least they could have made it more competitive. Was that the Seahawks or a group of imposters? Clearly, Seattle left its game at home and sleepwalked through the game. I'd have preferred a competitive game, thank you very much. The Seahawks get thrown under the Bus.

O.J. Simpson: the former Buffalo Bills great was found guilty of kidnapping, armed robbery, and 10 other charges involving sports memorabilia. The ironic twist is that he was found guilty 13 years to the day after he got away with murder was found not guilty of two counts of first degree murder in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. O.J., just go away. Get thrown under the Bus first, then just go away.

NASCAR

Carl Edwards: pot, meet kettle. He's the one always calling out other drivers for causing wrecks. Today, he effectively gave Jimmie Johnson his third straight Sprint Cup title by causing The Big One, Part 2 that knocked out half of the Chase field and six other non-Chase drivers. I do give him credit for taking full responsibility for the wreck. He still gets thrown under the Bus.

Goodyear: there were a rash of tires exploding at Talladega, starting with Dale Earnhardt Jr's on Friday during a practice session. Today, a tire failure on Brian Vickers' car was responsible for The Big One, Part 1. Time for NASCAR to consider exploring other tire companies to supply tires. In the meantime, Goodyear gets thrown Under The Bus.

MLB

MLB "experts": or more specifically, those that predicted the Cubs to beat the Dodgers in the NLDS, which was just about every one of them. Many of these "experts" had the Cubs in the World Series. According to them, the Dodgers might as well have not even played this series. Only one thing: the Cubs had to play the series. They played, and got rolled. The Dodgers' starting pitching was stellar throughout the series. They got timely hitting. Now they're in the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies. The "experts" get thrown under the Bus for dismissing the Dodgers so blithely.

Those are my nominees for the week. Feel free to come in with yours!  

This is the time for you, Joe Six-Pack Sports Fan, to vent your ire at the dumbasses, retards, idiots, ingrates, and general all around bad guys of sports and throw them Under The Bus. Who do YOU want to see go Under The Bus this week? Here's the forum to throw these retards and a-holes under the Bus! I know I have a few!

MLB

Los Angeles Dodgers: for a team that was expected to do big things in the NL West, they go out on the road for their first eastern trip of the season and promptly get swept by a team they have beaten like a drum in recent years, the Atlanta Braves. Not only did they get swept, they weren't competitive. They are looking like a last-place team rather than a competitive team. If not for the San Francisco Giants, they WOULD be a last place team. The Dodgers get thrown under the Bus.

Andruw Jones: he has gotten WORSE than he was last season. Looks like the Braves made the right decision to rid themselves of a fat, washed-up outfielder that can't catch up to a fastball. And the Dodgers may have made the wrong decision to sign him. Andruw Jones goes under the Bus, along with the rest of the Dodgers.

ESPN: for their chickenshit ambushing of Miguel Tejada during an interview he gave to the network. This brings me to the following.

Miguel Tejada: for LYING about his age when he first signed a professional contract. We already knew he roided up and HGH'ed up. Now he's aged up. Must be from all that HGH and 'roids. BOTH Tejada AND ESPN go under the Bus.

Kyle Farnsworth: for throwing at Manny Ramirez after ManRam took Yankees pitchers deep twice during a recent game. Farnsworth threw at Ramirez' head and said, "It slipped." Sure, it did. What you did was BUSH LEAGUE. Throw inside at his belt buckle to move him off the plate. You're putting a player's livelihood at risk. Now you painted a HUGE bull's eye on Alex Rodriguez and/or Derek Jeter. Now you've been suspended. Now you've been thrown Under The Bus.

Matt Kolbusz: now you're wondering, who the hell is Matt Kolbusz? He's the vendor that was selling offensive Kosuke Fukudome t-shirts. The t-shirts were nothing more than a racial blast aimed at the Asian community. The Cubs pulled the offensive t-shirts. Good for the Cubs. C'mon, M, this is 2008, not 1941. For selling racially offending t-shirts, you go Under The Bus.

NBA

Donnie Walsh: this WUSS has NO BALLS. He had the perfect opportunity to rid the Knicks of any traces of Isiah Thomas and didn't. He kept Thomas as a "special adviser." WTF? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! This is the PERFECT opportunity for a weasel like Thomas to undermine Walsh and once again take control of the Knicks' basketball ops. Firing Thomas isn't enough. You MUST go Orkin Man and rid the Knicks of this weasel once and FOR ALL. Tune in for the next episode of, "As The Knicks Turn." Until then, Walsh goes under the Bus.

Enver Nuggets: no D in the regular season means no D in the playoffs. Granted, they are playing the Lakers in the first round, and they'll lose, but where was the defensive effort? No one can take the Enver Nuggets seriously until they learn to play good D. Until then, the Nuggets go under the Bus. (I'm glad the Lakers have perhaps the easiest matchup in the first round!)

NHL

Martin Brodeur: for not shaking Sean Avery's hand after the Rangers beat the Devils 4 games to 1. Avery offered to shake Brodeur's hand as a gesture of respect after a hard-fought series. Brodeur didn't participate in the post-series handshake. You're not only a sore loser, you come off as a small man. You go under the Bus not only for that, but the Devils go under because I DETEST THEM!!

NASCAR

Boris Said: he came across as a sore loser after his dustup with Marcos Ambrose. Then to confront Ambrose's crew chief was totally BUSH LEAGUE. I hope Ambrose kicks your #### the next time he sees you. I know I'd be looking for a piece of you afterwards. Until then, you go Under The Bus that Ambrose is driving.

ESPN: can I say it? I will: their coverage is ####. What was it with the constant pimping of Carl Edwards? Are you ESPN or TMZ? Technical glitches, snafus, Rusty Wallace, etc. They all added up to horrible coverage. And they all add up to ESPN being thrown Under The Bus.

Those are my nominees for the week. Come on in with your nominees!! 

Throughout the world of sports, there is no shortage of people and teams that tick fans off. It could be due to a lack of effort, an "I don't care" attitude that reflects in the player's or team's performance, an overpaid player, etc. I found many sports figures that ticked me off this week. So I'm throwing them Under The Bus (Jerome Bettis Limited Edition, 850 hp). This is a forum for you, the sports fan, to call out the object of your ire and throw them under the bus.

NFL

Oakland Raiders: they overpaid to resign Tommy Kelly and to sign Gibril Wilson via free agency. While Kelly is a decent player, he’s NOT one of the top DE’s in the NFL. Yet the Raiders paid him a king’s ransom. If Wilson were that good, the Giants would have kept him. Overpaying by the Raiders further exposes their inability to draft quality players. The front office is a mess. Lane Kiffin could be on the way out, replaced by James Lofton, who Al Davis DESPERATELY wants as his head coach. For making an unnecessary big splash in free agency and spending money like drunken sailors (I apologize to all the drunken sailors out there for lumping you in with the Raiders) the Raiders are to be thrown under the Bus.

San Francisco 49ers: for overpaying to sign DE Justin Smith away from the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith was a good player on a very bad defense in Cincinnati. He may end up being a good player, who knows? But for overpaying a slightly above average DE, the Niners get thrown under the Bus.

MLB

Sam Zell: this Nimrod wants to sell the naming rights of Wrigley Field. You GOTTA be FREAKING KIDDING!!! This is Wrigley Field we're talking about! The Friendly Confines. One of the last bastions in the entire country to remind us of a purer and more honest era. If some bozo owner wants to sell the naming rights for 30 pieces of silver, he's become the Judas Iscariot of sports. Nothing is sacred anymore in this era of corporate greed. When will it stop? At least I give the City of San Francisco kudos to restoring Candlestick Park back to its original name. No wonder the Cubs are destined to lose for the next 100 years while this Nimrod runs the team. You're messing with the baseball gods, and if you do, they don't take kindly to that. So Under The Bus you go, Sam Zell, being thrown under by baseball fans everywhere.

Roger Clemens: enough said.

ESPN: for showing Clemens' mug during the Rockets-Nuggets NBA game on its network.

NBA

New York Knicks: see Isiah Thomas.

Phoenix Suns: for their effort, or lack thereof, against the Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia was coming off a loss against Golden State the night before. They were playing their second game in as many nights. Yet it was the 76ers that looked like a playoff team and the Suns a lottery team. This was a game the Suns should have won handily. Suns fan, time to beat the panic button to a pulp. For this dispirited effort, the Suns get thrown under the Bus. At least Steve Kerr will have a TNT gig waiting for him starting next season.

NHL

Bryan Murray: let me preface this. He was the head coach for the Ottawa Senators last season, when they came up short in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Anaheim Ducks. He then became the Senators' GM and hired John Paddock (the head coach of their AHL affiliate at the time) to be the Sens' head coach. Fast forward to last week. The Sens are second in the Eastern Conference and first in goals scored. They are going through a rough patch. Every team does at some point in the season. So what does Murray do? He FIRES Paddock and takes over the head coaching duties and bogarts all of the credit for any success the Sens may have. What a greedy, selfish, Machiavellian son of a ####. Machiavelli thinks that's messed up. I will be rooting for every team the Senators face, until Murray is no longer in the Senators' organization. Even if I have to root for the other teams in the Atlantic Division that face the Sens. For this Machiavellian stunt, Bryan Murray is to be thrown Under The Bus. I'm giving the keys of the Bus to John Paddock. 

Those are the objects of my ire in sports for this past week. What were the objects of your ire for the past week? Come in here and tell us!! 

If you think this is a horse racing post, think again. It's a capsule preview of this weekend's series that affect the pennant chase.

AL EAST

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

This is a golden opportunity for the Yankees to tighten the AL East race. As of this post, the Red Sox are winning 7-2. Tonight's starting pitchers are Andy Pettitte for the Yankees and Daisuke Matsuzaka for the Red Sox. UPDATE: Yankees win, 8-7. Bruney gets the win, Papelbon gets the loss, Rivera notches his 27th save of the season. The probable matchups for the weekend:

Saturday: Josh Beckett vs. Chien-Ming WangWinner has the inside track for the Cy Young.

Sunday: Curt Schilling vs. Roger Clemens. Two old warriors who are going to leave it all out on the field. It's going to be interesting to see who comes out on top.

NL EAST

Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets

The Phillies drew first blood in the series, winning tonight's game 3-2 in 10 innings. Tom "Flash" Gordon got the win, while Aaron Heilman took the loss. The Phils are now 4 1/2 games behind the Mets and for now are 1 game behind San Diego in the NL wild card. Probable pitchers for the weekend:

Saturday: Pedro Martinez vs. Kyle Lohse. Martinez has been out most of the season. A healthy Martinez will be HUGE for the Mets, as he can still deal. Recently he notched his 3,000th strikeout, joining the elite pantheon of hurlers that have 3,000 strikeouts. Lohse has been up and down.

Sunday: Oliver Perez vs. Adam Eaton. Perez has pitched reasonably well and appears to be a late bloomer. I'm waiting for Eaton's potential to show up. Sometimes it does. For the Phillies' sake, Eaton needs to step up with a stellar outing.

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals

The Cubs rose up for a HUGE win in St. Louis, further dimming the Cardinals' chances. Carlos Zambrano matched his career high in wins, winning his 16th. The final score: Cubs 5, Cardinals 3. The Cards are now six games behind the Cubs and fading fast. They can ill-afford to get swept. A Cubs' sweep will mean the Cardinals should start making tee times soon. A Cardinals win in the series and they are still alive for defending their championship. Probable starters:

Saturday: Braden Looper vs. Ted Lilly. Lilly has pitched very well in his first season in the National League. Looper is a converted reliever and for his first season as a starter has been serviceable.

Sunday: Mark Mulder vs. Jason Marquis. Mulder has spent most of the season on the disabled list, so this season is a wash. He's giving it his best shot. Marquis has pitched reasonably well this season. You think he wants to stick a fork in his old team that sent him to the scrap heap after the division playoffs?

NL WEST

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers

This is one of the most pivotal series of the season for both teams. The Dodgers have to win this series in order to keep at least their wild card hopes alive. Brad Penny is on the bump tonight against Dodger-killer Doug Davis. Davis is #### against the rest of the league but always seems to get up for the Dodgers. As of tonight the Dodgers are 5 1/2 games behind the D-backs and for now a half game behind the Phillies. The probable starters for the weekend:

Saturday: Derek Lowe vs. Livan Hernandez. A key matchup of pressure pitchers that both own World Series rings, Lowe with the Red Sox and Hernandez with the Florida Marlins. Lowe is coming off an injured hand he sustained earlier in the week, causing him to miss a start.

Sunday: Esteban Loaiza vs. Edgar Gonzalez. Gonzalez is coming off a superb start against the Giants in which he was dealing. Not bad for his first start since late June. Loaiza had a bad outing after his first two outings went well. Loaiza has been on the DL most of the season and it's too soon to tell how effective he'll be. Let's hope the Loaiza of old emerges.

San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres

The Giants are officially eliminated from the divisional title race and are playing for pride (and a job next season). The Padres are leading in the wild card race by a game (for now) over the Phillies and a game and a half over the Dodgers. Let's hope the Giants don't mail it in and give a concerted effort to win (that's the Dodger cynic coming out of me). Tonight's starters are Barry Zito for the Giants and Chris Young for the Padres. The probable starters for the weekend:

Saturday: Brett Tomko (I'm snickering now) vs. Matt Cain. If the Padres are intent on going to the postseason, why did they pick up Tomko? Actually, I'm GLAD they picked him up!! He can burn down Petco Park like he did Dodger Stadium!! Cain is an up and coming stud that will be a mainstay of the Giants' rotation for the next few years at least.

Sunday (I'm still laughing at the Padres' acquisition of Tomko): Jake Peavy vs. Tim Lincecum. Peavy has the inside track for the NL Cy Young Award. Another stellar performance like his last start could go a long way towards wrapping up the Award. Lincecum is a future Cy Young Award winner. He'll be the ace of the Giants' rotation perhaps as soon as next season.

I can feel the pressure of the pennant chase from here. Five series that directly impact postseason hopes, including two in the Wild, Wild West. GO DODGERS!!!!!

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

After months and months of waiting and anticipation, it's HERE! College football makes its triumphant return to the sports scene. 

Thursday: eleven games are scheduled with four ranked teams taking the field: #2 LSU (at Mississippi State), #10 Louisville (vs. Murray State), #16 Rutgers (vs. Buffalo--no, not the Bills!), and #24 Boise State (vs. Weber State).

Friday: only two games are scheduled--Navy at Temple and Washington at Syracuse.

Saturday: a full slate of games are scheduled. Out here on the west coast, the first game starts at 9 am and the last game won't end until after midnight because Hawaii is at home and they start at 9:05 pm PDT, hosting Northern Colorado.

Monday: two games are scheduled--Texas Tech at SMU in a matinee matchup at 4 pm EDT and the Bowden Bowl, Florida State at Clemson at 8 pm EDT.

NASCAR

The race this weekend is at California Speedway in Fontana. This has enormous Chase implications, as the field could be set before the final race before the Chase at Richmond. Currently Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 158 points behind Kurt Busch for the 12th and final spot in the Chase. That means he has to make up an ENTIRE RACE before the end of Richmond. His chances are not dead, but they are on life support. He HAS to win this race and hope Busch has a very bad finish. All Busch has to do is finish ahead of Dale Jr. and he's in. For that matter, all Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. have to do is finish ahead of Dale Jr. and they are in the Chase. The key is avoiding a HUGE mistake that would put a driver in a bad position.

NFL

The preseason winds down with 14 games on Thursday and two on Friday. The final week of preseason is often the worst, as teams typically play their scrubs for the final spots on the roster. Stellar play can make the difference between being on an NFL squad and driving for UPS or FedEx.

MLB

In the National League, the only series where contenders play each other is out in San Diego, when the L.A. Dodgers come to town for a huge three game series. This is where the spoilers can wreak havoc on the pennant contenders. There are no such series in the American League. Contenders vs. Spoilers. On Labor Day, the Dodgers begin a series in Chicago against the Cubs. San Diego and Arizona tangle in the desert.

Labor Day weekend means the overall intensity and drama in the sports world is amped up exponentially. The Chase in NASCAR. Pennant races coming down to the wire in MLB. College football starting up. And soon thereafter, the NFL begins. Can you feel it? CAN YOU FEEL IT? CAN YOU FEEL IT?

• Congratulations to Natalie Gulbis (she was in France, hence the French spelling of her name) for winning her first LPGA Tournament, the Evian Masters in France. It's good to see her shed the "Anna Kournikova of the LPGA Tour" label.
•  Congratulations to Tony Stewart for winning the Brickyard 400. He had the dominant car and earned that win.  
• Don't look now, but the races in the NL Central and West have tightened up considerably. In the wild wild West, there are three teams within a half game of first (Los Angeles, Arizona, and San Diego) and another within 3 1/2 games (Colorado). In the NL Central, the Cubs have closed to within hal####ame of the Brewers.
  
• NFL training camps have opened, and that means REAL football is coming soon. It can't come soon enough!!

Some things that I have observed recently:

• Don't look now, but the Chicago Cubs are looming larger and larger in the Brewers' rear view mirror. With Ben Sheets out for a significant amount of time, the Brewers are starting to leak oil at a faster rate.
• Michael Vick's federal indictment is not only for dog fighting, but for conspiracy and transporting pit bulls across state lines. Don't be surprised if Roger "The Hammer" Goodell lays down the law and suspends Vick for a significant amount of time. Atlanta, can you say "First pick of the 2008 NFL Draft?" (Hint: draft Brian Brohm)
• There is an INORDINATE amount of NBA talk on the sports talk shows. At playoff time I can see that but since it's the NBA's off season, why?
• The hype surrounding David Beckham arriving in L.A. to play for the Galaxy is both endless and breathless. Geez, stop the world, I want to get off!!
• Daunte Culpepper was released by the Fins. A lot of people are throwing dirt on his NFL grave. I'm not one of them. He'd be a great fit in Atlanta, if only for one year. And this year is his second year back from major knee surgery. He came back too soon last year. He should have been placed on the PUP list. This is why the Dolphins suck--poor personnel management.
• Now that Dwight Freeney has been signed to a long-term extension by the Colts, Julius Peppers is next. Peppers WILL get paid, perhaps by the beginning of the regular season. His current contract doesn't end until the end of next season, but Peppers' agent and the Panthers are already negotiating about an extension.
• Regan Smith replaced Sterling Marlin in the 14 car for the balance of the season. Did Bobby Ginn bite off more than he could chew by going with three teams to start the year? From all appearances, yes. Aric Almirola will step into the 01 car part-time replacing Smith.
• The NL West is still the most competitive division in baseball. It won't surprise me to see a one-game playoff at the end of the regular season.

We are at the unofficial halfway point of the MLB season. For fans of some teams, it's another season of "let's play our young players and see how they do in the second half" which is code for OUR TEAM SUCKS. Fans of other teams are taking a "wait and see" approach to the second half of the season. That's code for "Our team had a nice run the first half, but they'll fade like they always do in the second half." And for fans of a select few teams, they are amped up for their team to make the postseason and perhaps a World Series appearance.

Let's get the bad out of the way first:

• The Pittsburgh Pirates are on their way to a 15th consecutive losing season. That won't change anytime soon, unless the current ownership has a sudden dose of clarity or has an epiphany and sells the team to someone like Mark Cuban. No wonder Barry Bonds wanted to leave Pittsburgh. He probably saw that far ahead and decided to bail early. That or the fact he'll forever be remembered for throwing a 15-hopper to the plate that Sid "Wheels" Bream beat out in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS to win the pennant for the Atlanta Braves.
• As I write this , the Pirates are actually in FOURTH place. The Cincinnati Reds are dwelling in the NL Central cellar with the worst record in the bigs at 30-50. It's a mess in the Natti. Trade Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle and get some prospects.
• Speaking of Bonds, the San Francisco Giants need to cut ties with him after this season, regardless of whether or not he breaks Hank Aaron's record. (As an aside, Hank Aaron used to be the very first name listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia. Do you know who is the first player listed now?)
• The Texas Rangers are in a mess. While I like Ron Washington, and he's a good baseball man, he's not a good fit there. He's bringing an Oakland A's style of baseball to the Rangers. The Rangers have free swingers. Not a good fit for a manager that demands his hitters be patient.

Now for the good:

• I'll start with the most competitive division in baseball: the NL West. The lead changes hands amongst the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Arizona Diamondbacks about every three days or so. The Rockies are fading fast. It's going to be a three team race until the very end of the season. Runner up in the division will get the wild card. I'm calling my shot: Dodgers win the division, with the Padres getting the wild card. Dodgers beat the Padres in a one game playoff at the end of the regular season.
• While the NL East is fairly close (the Mets hold a four game lead currently) I think the Mets will have enough to hold off both the Phillies and Braves.
• The Chicago Cubs could make a run in the second half. Maybe they overtake the Brewers. IF the Cubs are within three games of the Brew Crew by Labor Day, they will overtake the Brewers.
• Boston is running away with the AL East. The NY Yankees are finished. Done. Kaput. Over. All the Red Sox have to do is play .500 ball the rest of the way and they still win 91 games. I can see them win around 102 games.
• Before it's all said and done, the AL Central will be almost as competitive as the NL West. The Tigers and Indians, along with the Twins, will slug it out. I'm calling my shot: Minnesota wins the division, with the Tigers getting the wild card.
• In the AL West, it's all about the Angels. Seattle will hang in there until the last week of the season, when the Angels clinch the division. I'd put Mariners fan under the "wait and see" label.

Here are my predictions for postseason:

ALDS: Detroit over Boston, Anaheim (they're NOT the Los Angeles Angels, and I REFUSE to acknowledge them as such) over Minnesota.

NLDS: Los Angeles over Milwaukee, San Diego over New York.

ALCS: Detroit over Anaheim, 4 games to 2. (a little sweet revenge from the Ducks' series win over the Red Wings)

NLCS: Los Angeles over San Diego, 4 games to 3.

World Series: Detroit over Los Angeles, 4 games to 2.