Sports fans, it's that time of week again. Time to call out the objects of your ire for their sheer idiocy, incompetence, arrogance, and general all-around #####ry. I know you have some sports personality, team, coach, owner, league, commissioner, etc., that you want to throw under the Bus. This is the forum for it! And away we go!

MLB

Hank Steinbrenner: Boss Jr. is at it again. He’s crying sour grapes over the Yankees missing the playoffs while the Dodgers under Joe Torre (who Boss Jr. got rid of) are on the verge of making the playoffs, despite having a worse record than the Yankees. He's complaining about the unfairness of it all!! Wah, wah, cry me an #### river. If your team were GOOD enough to make the playoffs, you wouldn’t be crying the Hudson River. The Yankees are old, slow, and there is not enough young players to step in. It’s going to be SO GOOD to see Torre managing in the postseason while Yankee Stadium is dark and awaiting the wrecking ball. For crying sour grapes, Boss Jr. gets thrown under the Bus, then the Bus backs up to run him over again, then the Bus drives forward to run him over again.

Minnesota Twins: for not putting away the Chicago White Sox by losing two of three to the lowly Kansas City Royals. Now the Sox have to play a makeup game at home against the Detroit Tigers. If the Sox win, they host the Twins on Tuesday for the AL Central title. The Twins had their chances against the Royals and blew it. Losing 2 of 3 to the lowly Royals at home will get you thrown under the Bus every single time. 

NFL

Denver Broncos: this is for losing to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs by committing four turnovers. Just when many of us were starting to buy into the hype, you go out and lay an egg. You should have been able to beat the Chiefs in your sleep. But you didn't beat them when you were awake. Just for that, I'm going to put the Chiefs in the Good category. Then I'm going to throw the Broncos under the Bus.

Oakland Raiders: for blowing a fourth quarter lead and rolling over. You had a chance to step on the Chargers’ throats and choke them out. But you didn’t. Even the CHIEFS won, for crying out loud! Seemed like you WANTED Lane Kiffin fired by the way you played in the fourth quarter. And what was that FG attempt from Danville all about? (Actually, it was a 76-yard FG attempt to end the first half) For allowing the Chargers to come from behind and making key mistakes in the fourth quarter, the Raiders get thrown under the Bus.

Plaxico Burress: why did you leave the Giants in a lurch? All it would have taken was a simple phone call to the GM on Monday morning stating that you needed some time to tend to some family issues and all would have been well. But you didn’t even give the team the courtesy of a phone call. They blew up your cell phone trying to reach you. Then you issue a lame statement through your agent. Now the G-men clipped you off for a game for insubordination. Now you get thrown Under The Bus.

NASCAR

Joe Nemechek: Field Filler Joe was at it again. He was racing the leaders while NOT on the lead lap. What the hell was that all about? You're a field filler, know your freaking role: to move over and let the leaders race for the win, NOT race WITH them. I was waiting for Carl Edwards to punt you into the wall, then for him to kick your #### if you said squat about it. For being an #### and racing with the leaders late, Field Filler Joe gets thrown under the Bus.

Juan Pablo Montoya's crew: the #42 car failed inspection after winning the pole, handing the pole (and the win, in effect) to Jimmie Johnson. You're responsible for making sure the car passes inspection any time an inspection is required. Since the car failed inspection and Montoya had to start from the back of the field, his crew gets thrown under the Bus.

And now for a few off the Beaten Path:

Royal Caribbean: the cruise line is experimenting with adding a premium charge for steaks in its main dining room on each of their ships. Ever since cruises began, it was standard practice that premium meals WERE INCLUDED in the price of each ticket. Understandably, many long-time customers are PISSED. I throw the idiots that thought of this cockamamie idea Under The Bus. 

Clay Aiken: SO FREAKING WHAT that you come out of the closet. WHO THE #### CARES? This non-news item was plastered all over the Internet early last week. What, the presidential campaign was too boring? (Oops, it probably is!) All this stunt is for is to bring attention to your flagging career. Celebutard formula: my career is flagging and circling the drain, hmmmmmmm, I'll announce that I'm ####. Listen, I don't care if you're #### or not; just don't beat us over the head with it, like it's the most important news item in the history of the world, because it isn't. Aiken gets thrown Under The Bus for boring 99% of the earth's population that don't give a rat's #### with his non-news item. DISCLAIMER: I'm one of the 99%. I merely reported it for the sole purpose of throwing Aiken Under The Bus.

The Geico Cavemen: what a couple of whiny, snively mamma's boys! I HATE THOSE COMMERCIALS involving them! Especially the one where they pose as tough biker guys, but when they see the Geico billboard, they turn around and leave. The actors that play them get thrown Under The Bus for giving men a bad name and portraying them as whiny, snively mamma's boys.

Those are my nominees for the week. Feel free to come in with yours. As an added bonus this week, I'm allowing nonsports figures to be thrown under the Bus.  

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.