This particular blog took last week off due to Easter. It returns this week with a vengeance. I'm sure you, Joe Six Pack sports fan, have two weeks' of wrath stored up to throw that player, coach, team, owner/executive, league, fans, and even fellow bloggers that has so pissed you off Under The Bus (Jerome Bettis Limited Edition, 850 hp). I know I have a few. Let's get started!

NASCAR

Matt Kenseth: today was when I yearned for Carl Edwards to teach Kenseth a lesson. Doing the punt and run on David Gilliland was reprehensible and bush league. If NASCAR really wanted to teach Kenseth a lesson, they would have parked him for the remainder of the race for rough driving. David Gilliland will drive the bus that Kenseth is to be thrown under (by Carl Edwards).

Michele Rahal: last week I was sick and couldn't sleep, so I happened to go online to hear Race Day On Fox. His anti-Kevin Harvick rant made me even more sick. Harvick WASN'T EVEN THE SUBJECT OF THE CONVERSATION. Yet Rahal went out of his way to bash Harvick. Rob D'Amico (his co-host) did his best to steer Rahal away, but Rahal would have none of it. For Rahal's anti-Harvick negative rant, I'LL throw Rahal under the Bus that Harvick will drive.

NBA

Shaquille O'Neal: the Big Mediocre lashed out at his former Heat teammates and Heat head coach Pat Riley. What Shaq did was reprehensible. Under The Bus YOU go, Shaq. Your ex-teammates will throw you under that Bus driven by Riley. Shaq, enjoy your one and done in the playoffs.

Los Angeles Lakers: I am as big a Lakers honk as you'll find. This is why it pains me to do this. Losing to Memphis and Charlotte, two of the NBA's bottom feeders, will get you thrown Under The Bus every single time.

MLB

MLB: they get thrown under the bus for three reasons.

1. For selling out their souls for mo money mo money mo money. They now are offering apparel in GANG colors and styles. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, here comes Mr. Milquetoast aka Bud Selig gives a wink and a nod to gang activity. MAY YOU ROT IN HELL BUD SELIG!!!!!!
2. For opening the season in Japan. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY MLB?? WAS IT TAKEN OVER BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE??? Why doesn't the season open the first Monday in April in Cincinnati at 12 noon EDT?
3. The schedule makers. Why are there not doubleheaders scheduled? Why do the schedule makers in their infinite wisdom ALWAYS schedule home games for Cleveland in the first week of the season, when they KNOW it snows in Cleveland until late April? Remember the Seattle Mariners-Cleveland Indians series last April? The ENTIRE series was SNOWED OUT, forcing both teams to scramble for the remainder of the season. The Cleveland Browns vs. Buffalo Bills was played in better weather than the Indians-Mariners series. For these reasons, MLB gets thrown under the Bus.

NFL

The League: they want to ban players from wearing long hair. Why? Put your emphasis on cracking down on the bad seeds of the league, e.g. Michael Vick, Pacman Jones. This proposed rule serves NO purpose. To put it bluntly, IT SUCKS. This rule and the guy behind it gets thrown under the bus.

This blogger: I throw myself under the bus for picking Georgetown to go to the Final Four. Georgetown was the biggest fraud of the NCAA Tournament.

Those are my nominees for these two weeks. Come on in with your nominees!! All are welcome! 

The unofficial Second Half of the season will start on Thursday. A highly anticipated conclusion to the regular season and the crowning of a World Series Champion awaits in late October. At this point in the season, fans can generally separate the contenders from the pretenders. What are we going to see? Here are a few things that I think we'll see:

• The Boston Red Sox will run and hide from the AL East.
• It's going to be a dogfight in the AL Central between Detroit, Cleveland, and Minnesota. Minnesota wins the division, with Detroit getting the wild card.
• Seattle is not going away. Having said that, they will make a run at the Angels, but come up short.
• Atlanta will find a way to win the NL East (again!) Earlier I did say that the Mets would win, but as the grind of the season wears on, their pitching will come up short while the Braves' pitching will prevail. Philadelphia will make a run but come up short. The future is bright in Philly, though.
• The NL Central is the most putrid division in baseball. When all is said and done, the winner will barely be above .500.
• If either the Padres or the Dodgers get a big bat by the trade deadline, the team that does will run and hide. If the Dodgers get another starter without having to give up too much, they will hold off the Padres. Either way, runner up in the NL West wins the wild card.
• Ken Griffey, Jr. will not be traded by the Reds and hit his 600th HR in a Reds' uniform. He's a lock for Cooperstown. If not for injuries, he'd be chasing 700 HR's.
• There will be more managerial changes, including Tony La Russa leaving St. Louis. The Cardinals are (or should be) in a major rebuilding mode. My prediction: he'll end up where he started his managerial career: with the Chicago White Sox.
• The NL West will end up tied and a one-game playoff will determine the division winner.

Like many fans, I'm looking forward to the second half of the season. I'm especially looking forward to the NL West race. GO DODGERS!!!!

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.