It's that time of week again, sports fans. Is there a sports entity that has you in such an uproar that you want to SCREAM? Do you want to call them out for it? Here is your chance to do so! The young lady will take your requests and the offending party will be thrown under that Bus behind her. I have a few requests.

NFL

Carolina Panthers: WHAT THE HELL KIND OF EFFORT WAS THAT? You have a battering ram in Jonathan Stewart that SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE BALL 25-30 times today! His total: seven carries for 15 yards! SEVEN FREAKING CARRIES!! Jake Delhomme doesn't escape blame for this, either. He was sacked about 100,000 times, or so it seemed (he was actually sacked five times), and fumbled THREE TIMES, losing ALL of them. Stewart getting the ball a MINIMUM of 20 times would have slowed down the Vikings' defense. Look at what the Dolphins did against New England--they gave the rock to THEIR battering ram Ronnie Brown, and he gashed the Patriots for FOUR TDs and passing for another TD. Dolphins WHIPPED the Patriots at Foxborough. YOU CAN LEARN FROM THAT! 

Now let's get to the defense. Aside from Julius Peppers, everyone SUCKED. YOU TURNED A JOURNEYMAN QB INTO FREAKING JOE FREAKING MONTANA! Why didn't you blitz more? Frerotte had ALL FREAKING DAY to pick apart the suspect Panthers' secondary. The coaching staff doesn't escape my wrath, either. FREAKING LIFELESS AND NO IMAGINATION! What did you think, that just by walking out there, you would win? How did you win your first two games? BY PLAYING WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY AND FLYING TO THE BALL. There was none of that today. With a 10-0 lead, you should have been able to choke out the Vikings. You would have if you had fed Jonathan Stewart the rock 20-25 times. SEVEN TIMES IS INEXCUSABLE!! NO WONDER YOU GET THROWN UNDER THE BUS!!

Detroit Lions: this is the saddest sack team in the NFL. But the way Carolina played, the Lions would win their matchup. They were thoroughly dominated by the 49ers. Then to make matters worse, Jon Kitna got injured late in the game. I'll just throw them to the side of the bus.

This blogger: I'm throwing myself under the Bus this week for saying that Carolina would beat Minnesota.

MLB

Colorado Rockies: I'm throwing them Under The Bus for rolling over and laying down to die against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and at home, no less. Arizona came into the series at Colorado having lost 11 road games in a row. Then they go in and sweep the Rockies, two of the games being routs and the middle game being tied going into the ninth, when the Snakes scored two runs. All that good will you earned last year for that amazing run is gone. #### YOU ROCKIES!!

Los Angeles Dodgers: this is for losing half your lead to the D-backs by losing 2 of 3 to the lowly Giants. You turned the Giants' pitching staff into the 1971 Baltimore Orioles' staff. Now it appears you're going to have to win IN San Francisco, NEVER an easy thing to do. For nearly giving back the NL West lead, you get thrown under the Bus.

NASCAR

Robby Gordon: he was racing Jamie McMurray while a lap down. Foolish. Give McMurray the position, and you don't take out a car that could have won the race. McMurray is racing for his future, and finishes like today make it easier for Jack Roush to decide. You get thrown under the Bus twice: for foolishly racing McMurray and for being an ####.

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

I will be doing a team by team breakdown by division. Tonight I start with the National League West.

Arizona Diamondbacks: they are currently in first place in the division. While Dan Haren has made the adjustment from Oakland to Arizona, and Brandon Webb has been stellar, the rest of the team has struggled, particularly away from home. Haren was named NL Pitcher of the Month for June. So far, the D-backs have played a home-friendly schedule. After the All-Star break, it gets tougher, particularly in September with visits to St. Louis, L.A., Colorado, and San Francisco. The series at St. Louis is a four game series in the final week of the season.  

What they must do: be more consistent on the road, particularly against NL Central teams. Another arm besides Haren and Webb needs to step up. They also need a consistent run producer. In my opinion, they sorely miss their former closer Jose Valverde, who was lights out last season.

Prognosis: they will be in contention, but will fall short. A second-place finish is likely.

Current record (as of July 3): 43-43, 1st place.

Los Angeles Dodgers: they have been decimated with injuries since the start of spring training. Jason Schmidt. Rafael Furcal. Nomar Garciaparra. Hiroki Kuroda. Juan Pierre. Andruw Jones. Scott Proctor. Gary Bennett. Tony Abreu. Brad Penny. These are some of the players that have spent time on the DL this season. You play the hand you're dealt with, and frankly, the Dodgers have been dealt a crappy hand. Joe Torre has done a great job with this crappy hand, guiding the youngsters as they get more playing time. Takashi Saito has been stellar again this season, aside from a couple of outings. The bullpen, when healthy, is among the best in baseball. The starting pitching is in flux. The youngsters need as much playing time as possible. Blake DeWitt has been a revelation at 3B, winning Rookie of the Month honors twice this season. It's going to be very hard to take playing time away from him once the veterans return. One possibility is playing Garciaparra at SS, a position he hasn't played full-time since 2005.

What they must do: get healthy, and quick. The All-Star break couldn't have come at a better time. Fortunately, Arizona has fallen back to the pack after their hot start. The starting rotation must stabilize. They may not need to make a blockbuster deal. They could use someone with pop, like an Adam Dunn.

Prognosis: the Dodgers stand pat, perhaps making a minor deal. They get healthy and go on a tear at some point in the year. That will be enough to win the division.

Current record (as of July 3): 41-44, 1 1/2 games back.

 San Francisco Giants: Bruce Bochy is doing perhaps his best managing job of his career. This team was expected to lose around 100 games. There's no Barry Bonds to provide offensive firepower. Tim Lincecum has become a bonafide Cy Young contender, leading the majors in ERA at 2.38 with a 9-1 record. Bengie Molina is hitting above .300 and is a legit All-Star candidate. Brian Wilson has come out of nowhere to lead the NL in saves with 23.

What they must do: Zito needs to step his game up and be at least a .500 pitcher in the second half, and they need another power bat in the lineup. Could Adam Dunn help? Sure he can. What would they give up to get him? Do they have the prospects to give to the Reds? If they want Dunn bad enough, they'll find the prospects.

Prognosis: while this team is better than I thought at the start of the season, it's still a below .500 team. A 72-90 record is realistic as they continue to struggle in the second half.

Current record (as of July 3): 38-48, 5 GB.

 Colorado Rockies: this team is one year removed from an amazing run to the World Series. What could go so wrong in that span? For one, they overachieved. They went on a once in a lifetime winning streak. They came back down to earth big time. Todd Helton is mired in the midst of a horrific slump. While Matt Holliday is having a superb year, it's not like it was last year. Now there is talk of the Rocks trading both Holliday and Garrett Atkins. Jeff Francis, a 17-game winner last year, went on the DL. 

What they must do: find the magic that propelled them to winning 21 of 22 leading into the World Series. Fortunately, this division is weak, and if they get on that type of run where they win games in bunches, they could very easily get back into contention. Helton must break out of his slump and drive in runs consistently. The front office must NOT panic and trade Holliday and Atkins in a knee-jerk move.

Prognosis: I expect Helton to break out of his slump and start driving in runs consistently. That in turn will help Holliday and Atkins. However, the pitching must come around. While I think the Rockies will be a better team in the second half, I think it will be too little, too late. They will leapfrog the Giants and finish third.

Current record (as of July 3): 35-51, 8 GB.

 San Diego Padres: how far the Pads have fallen! It wasn't that long ago they were a consistent playoff contender. Now they have become one of the worst teams in baseball. The starting rotation is in shambles, apart from Jake Peavy. Trevor Hoffman clearly isn't the closer he used to be. He's lost zip on his fastball. There is absolutely NO pop in the lineup, apart from Adrian Gonzalez. 

What they must do: become sellers in a big way. Apart from Gonzalez and Peavy, everyone else is tradeable. It's better to bite the bullet now and ensure long-term success by acquiring prospects this season. Trade Greg Maddux to the Cubs. 

Prognosis: very poor, at least for this year. It depends on what moves the front office makes for the next couple of seasons. Do they let go of Bud Black? I say give him one more season. While they may not lose 100 games this season, they'll come close. A 64-98 record is realistic.

Current record (as of July 3): 33-53, 10 GB.

Standings at the end of the season:

1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks, 4 GB
3. Rockies, 7 GB
4. Giants, 11 GB
5. Padres, 22 GB

What say you? Tell me what you think.

Information courtesy of www.mlb.com, www.foxsports.com, and www.sports-logos-screensavers.com.   

Wow! Happy Rocktober!! We are in the midst of a hot streak of epic proportions, one that I have not seen in my lifetime. We have to go back to the 1920 New York Giants' 26-game winning streak to find a team that's been this hot at any point in the season. What makes this significant is that this streak started in mid-September with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers at home. They have only lost ONCE in that time. ONCE! The streak is now 21 of their last 22 games the Rockies have won. To sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS is utterly amazing.

A little insurance Matt Holliday is greeted in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the Philadelphia Phillies as the Rockies won Game 1 of their playoff series. (Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press)

Anything but Rocky Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis pitches in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the NL Division Series in Philadelphia.
(Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press)

  What a sight Colorado Rockies fans cheer on their team during Game 3 of a National League Division Series playoff baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007, at Coors Field in Denver.
(Bill Ross/Associated Press)

I can fly

Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki fires to first over the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz to complete a double play during Game 3 of its NLDS.
(Will Powers/Associated Press)

The big hit Yorvit Torrealba #8 of the Colorado Rockies hits a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Fundamentally sound Colorado Rockies' Kazuo Matsui makes a sacrifice bunt in the third inning in Game 2 of the NLCS on Friday.
(Eric ####/Associated Press)  

On the board

Willy Taveras scores from third on a sacrifice fly by Todd Helton during the fifth inning in Game 2 of the NLCS.
(David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

Celebration

Matt Holliday and Kazuo Matsui celebrate after Holliday's three-run HR in Game 4 of the NLCS. The Rockies will play either Cleveland or Boston. For those who think the NL is the Junior Varsity of the MLB, think again. As a Dodgers fan, I have seen the Rockies PLENTY of times and know that they are worthy of being in the World Series. I will go on the record as saying that the Rockies will finish and beat Cleveland in five games.

The Dodgers' playoff chances just went bye-bye with getting swept by the Rockies. Here are a few reasons why the Dodgers' chances are done:

• Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson: when the Dodgers' starting staff was hit with injuries, this dynamic duo of arsonists stepped in and torched the Dodgers' chances early. Rather than calling up one of their young studs in the minors, Grady Little chose to start these never-weres. Now look where the team's at. Between these two bums, that's AT LEAST 15 LOSSES.
• Starting the underwhelming Wilson Betemit at the start of the season rather than moving Nomar Garciaparra to third base (where he played when he was with the Cubs) and making James Loney the opening day first baseman. Betemit hit BELOW .250 in spring training; Loney was raking to the tune of ABOVE .400. TWO problems would have been solved at once.
• A hellish early August in which the team lost 10 of 12 at one point. Break even, and they're still in the wild card and division hunts.  
• Starting Luis Gonzalez on Opening Day rather than Andre Ethier. While I like Gonzalez, he's on the downside of his career. Ethier is capable of being a .300-30-100 player. And he's in his mid-20's, as opposed to Gonzalez, who's nearly 40.

Here is the opening day 2008 lineup the Dodgers should trot out:

1. CF Juan Pierre
2. SS Rafael Furcal
3. RF Matt Kemp
4. 1B James Loney
5. C   Russell Martin
6. 3B Nomar Garciaparra/Andy LaRoche
7. LF Andre Ethier
8. 2B Tony Abreu (in the event Jeff Kent has retired)
9. P  Brad Penny

The Dodgers' starting staff should be as such:

Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, David Wells, and Hong-Chih Kuo (with Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald waiting in the wings).

Unfortunately, it looks more and more likely the Dodgers are going to lose Logan White, as he is a hot target of several teams to be their GM. White almost singlehandedly built back up the Dodgers' farm system in five years from being on life support to one of the majors' best.

• 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!!

Now that interleague play is over for now, and the NL West teams are playing each other, I want to make a few observations:

• The Dodgers have suddenly seem to have got well. They have taken the first two games from Arizona. Brad Penny won his 10th last night in a dominating performance. Tonight the two teams went 10 innings, the Dodgers winning 6-5 on a Tony Abreu home run in the top of the 10th. Takashi Saito nailed down the save.
• The Padres and Giants have split the first two games of their series in San Francisco. Giants won yesterday 4-3 and the Padres won tonight's game 3-2 in 10 innings.
• The Cubs have feasted on Rockies pitching in their series. If the Rockies are for real, their pitching has to hold up. Something tells me they're still a year or two away, since they have some studs in AA and AAA.
• After the D'backs, the Dodgers get some home cooking against the Padres. The Dodgers will face Jake Peavy probably on Friday night. I'd LOVE to see a Penny-Peavy matchup, but they'll more than likely miss each other by a day or so. The Dodgers did have some success against Peavy earlier in the year.
• Is it me, or does every NL West series not involving the Giants have a postseason atmosphere? I can sense the postseason intensity in the Dodgers-Snakes series. The Dodgers-Padres series will be FILLED with intensity.
• The top 3 NL West teams will beat up on each other between now and the end of the season. The winner of that division will most likely be favored to represent the National League in the World Series (GO Dodgers!)
• If you're weak of heart or stones, the NL West race is NOT for you. If you're a fan of exciting, competitive division races, this is the division for you. At this point in time the Padres are percentage points ahead of the Dodgers with the Snakes a half game back. It's quite conceivable there could be a THREE WAY TIE for the division title at the end of the regular season.
• The team that goes on a hot streak while playing within the division will run and hide from the rest of the division. Second place in the division will get the NL Wild Card.