Looking around the world of sports, there are many sports personalities and teams that have p****d you, the typical Joe Six-Pack Fan, off. I have some teams and personalities that have so ticked me off I could just scream. Here is the forum for you to sound off and call out those dumb@$$E$, idiots, and general all-around malcontents by throwing them Under The Bus. I have some nominees this week. Who do you want to throw under said Bus?

NFL

Marshawn ####, RB, Buffalo Bills: this genius stayed silent rather than cooperate with Buffalo police on a misdemeanor hit and run charge against him. Who the hell does he think he is? If he had come correct right away, all this would be behind him now. Instead, he subjected several Bills players, employees, and management to be subpoenaed. Now he's subject to being thrown Under The Bus.

Jevon Kearse, DE, Tennessee Titans: you're a 10 year veteran, with your second stint with the Titans. You're supposedly looked up to as one of the team's veteran leaders. And you get popped for DUI? What were you THINKING? Apparently you WEREN'T thinking. Mix in a cab or a limo to take you home. For knowing better and still being a dumb@SS, The Freak gets thrown Under The Bus.

NASCAR

Kevin Harvick: Happy, what on God's green earth were you THINKING late in the race? Why did you drive it into the corner WAY TOO HARD? You had a Top 5 LOCKED and LOADED into the standings, and you were poised to move up a couple of spots. You took out THREE good cars (Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, and Ron Fellows) with that boneheaded move. Because of that idiotic move, you ended up finishing 30th. THIRTIETH!!! Now you're out of the Chase by two measly points. You finished 30th on a course where you finish in the top 5 IN YOUR SLEEP. For Happy, this continues a season-long slump. Now because of his bonehead move, Happy gets thrown Under The Bus this week.

MLB

New York Mets: they couldn't have handled Willie Randolph's firing any worse than that. You should have clipped him off during one of your long losing streaks. Instead, you allowed him to travel with the team to Anaheim to face the Angels. THEN you clipped him IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. After the first game of the series. I've got no problem with Randolph being clipped; what should have happened is that he should have got fired BEFORE the Mets went on the road. For their egregious mishandling of the Randolph firing, the Mets get thrown Under The Bus.

NBA

Los Angeles Lakers: losing by 40 to the Boston Celtics was inexcusable. It's okay to lose to the Celtics; they are the better team. But losing by 40 means you QUIT. I am very disappointed and disgusted by the Lakers' lack of effort. I hope the Lakers use this as motivation to win an NBA title next season. But until then, the Lakers get thrown Under The Bus.

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

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! They really do the Lord's work. That being said, here's this week's version of "Who Would You Throw Under The Bus?". Time to call out those sports figures that so p****d you off over the past week. And here we go!

NASCAR

Darrell Waltrip: you have to keep in mind he's a shill for Toyota. Yet his constant lovefest with Kyle Busch was downright disgusting and takes away from the broadcast. I like DW; he's entertaining and brings a former driver's perspective to the broadcast. But I have to call them as I see them. Hate to do this, but DW goes under the Bus.

NBA

The Officials: or more specifically, the officials that allowed a Pistons 3-pointer that should have NEVER counted. The clock froze at 4.8 seconds left in the third quarter of Game 2. Any official in the history of the world (except these officials) would have stopped play and awarded the Pistons the ball with 4.8 seconds left. Because the clock froze, the Pistons were given extra time to hit the three. And because of that, the officials get thrown under the Bus.

Los Angeles Lakers: or more specifically, their bench. They were totally outclassed by the Utah Jazz bench today. Going into the series, I'd have rated the two benches even. Did the Clippers hijack the Lakers' bench and play in this game? The Lakers bench gets thrown under the Bus.

MLB

Los Angeles Dodgers: they got swept by the weak-#### Houston Astros. At home, no less. It's one thing to lose to the Mets; they're a good team. No shame in losing to the Mets. Houston is only slightly better than Pittsburgh. And I have to throw Jonathan Broxton under as well. He's the reliever that the Astros took batting practice off of. (Word had it the Astros had a team brawl at the bat rack) He let a stellar outing by Hiroki Kuroda go to total waste. Kuroda no-hit the Astros for 6 2/3 innings. And he has NOTHING to show for it. The Dodgers and Broxton get thrown under the Bus.

NFL

Marvin Harrison: the Colts' WR has carefully cultivated an image of being a quiet, unassuming player that goes out and does his job. That image is being called into question. He was involved in a shooting in a seedy part of Philadelphia at a bar he owns. The gun involved was found in a bucket at a nearby car wash he also owns. Details are sketchy, because no one's talking. Sorry Marvin, gotta throw you under the Bus for being involved with seedy ####.

Cincinnati Bengals: because they have become the league's halfway house for bad seeds, ingrates, and general all around bad guys. And it's a shame for classy players like Carson Palmer and T.J. Houshmanzadeh that they have to be lumped in with their malcontent teammates. The Bengals (except Carson and T.J.) get thrown under the bus.

NCAA

Ryan Perriloux: this guy had the opportunity of his young lifetime to be THE MAN at LSU. Starting QB for a national championship contender. So what does he do? He gets kicked off the team for allegedly failing a drug test. He was allegedly found with chronic in his system. He apparently didn't attend Common Sense 101 in the school of life. Is getting your bong on so important to you that you #### away the opportunity that just about every young man your age would rip his arm off for? For sheer stupidity, you get thrown under a FLEET of buses!

Those are my nominations! Feel free to come in with yours! 

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!!!!!

It's getting unbearable to watch the Dodgers play. Seems like they forgot how to play basic ball. They can't move runners over. They can't hit with runners in scoring position. They have an inning in a game where they give up five or more runs. And they haven't been able to hit their way out of a wet paper bag. I will give you reasons why the Dodgers are in a very deep funk and are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.

INJURIES: with a 162-game schedule, injuries are bound to happen. It's inevitable. The key is sustaining as few injuries as possible and to keep your regulars fairly healthy. The Dodgers have been hit hard by injuries. Here's but a few:

• Jason Schmidt: injured his shoulder very early in the season. He has one win this season. He's done for this year and maybe his career. He was counted on to be the innings eater of the rotation, the solid #3 that would give the bullpen an occasional rest. Without 200+ innings from Schmidt, it has taxed the pitching staff. Fortunately, Chad Billingsley has stepped in and become a solid #3. Billingsley did lose CONSECUTIVE 1-0 decisions during the Dodgers' slide.
• Randy Wolf: he was counted on to be that lefty that was going to give the team a solid effort week in and week out. He hasn't pitched in nearly two months and may be done for the season.
• Hong-Chih Kuo: was healthy for about a month this season (in which he hit a memorable home run off John Maine of the Mets; the bat flip was even better). Kuo has the tools to be a legitimate starter, if he ever stays healthy.
• Yhency Brazoban: one of the game's best set-up men when he was healthy. He was never healthy all season and he's done for the season.
• Nomar Garciaparra: he was put on the 15-day DL with a calf strain. He's getting older and as an older player it's harder to stay healthy.

HITTING: players will go through slumps at some point in the season. This is the first extended slump the Dodgers as a team have gone through this season. Luis Gonzalez started out slow, then went on a tear, now he's in a funk. Nomar was just starting to hit the ball like he did last year, now he goes on the DL. While Juan Pierre is hitting .284, I'd like to see him take a few more walks and get on base more often so he can utilize his blazing speed. I believe the Dodgers will break out of their funk, but it better happen soon or they'll be making tee times after September.

Overall, it's not quite time to panic yet, as I still believe that the Diamondbacks will hit a skid at some point and the Dodgers will go on a tear. No team can play .900 ball between now and the end of the season like the D-backs are. Everything evens out at the end. It's still going to be a three-team, maybe a four-team race at the end.

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.

After the first quarter of the MLB season, here are a few things that I've seen so far and will comment on:

• Trevor Hoffman is closing in on 500 saves. I would love for him to achieve this amazing mark in San Diego, but the way the Pads are going, he'll achieve it on this road trip. After a slow start, Hoffman is back to his usual dominating self. And his buds in the pen are much better than they were last year (not that they were bad; they were stellar to begin with). Hoffman has plenty left in the tank, at least 2-3 years left at this level. Five HUNDRED saves. This means he has been a GREAT closer for the better part of a decade and a half. IF he goes another three years, at this pace he'll finish with over 600 saves! Trevor, welcome to Cooperstown. Here's your bust.
• Is the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry overrated AND overhyped, or what? The Yankees are finished as a premier AL power; they suddenly got old and there is not enough talent at the AAA level to step in right away. The Yanks do have minor league talent, but at the lower levels, which means it's 2-3 years away before they become a legit contender again (that is, if they don't trade it away by then). The Red Sox are too deep in their starting staff and have big enough (and clutch enough) bats to keep everyone else in the AL East at bay.
• Will the Milwaukee Brewers win the NL Central? I think so. They're the best team in the WORST division in MLB.
• Are the Cleveland Indians for real? Yes. Fausto Carmona is pitching like Cy Young incarnate. The Indians are a gritty team with a very potent offense and just enough pitching to possibly win the AL Central (a wild card awaits them if they don't win the division). Could Carmona steal the AL Cy Young Award? If he keeps up this pace, he'll have earned it. And to think he was garbage as a closer last year!! If Eric Wedge keeps his job beyond this year, he owes Carmona a steak dinner.
• The Mets and Braves are in a slugfest for the NL East. The loser will get the wild card. Philadelphia has to be considered among the most disappointing teams in MLB. So much was expected of them but they have underachieved. Having injuries to your key players doesn't help matters any.
• The NL West is going to come down to the final day of the season, if not a one-game playoff. Three teams will vie for the division: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres. By a nose, the Dodgers win, but any one of those three teams could win the division.
• Back to the Yankees for a minute. Joe Torre will not manage this team next year, and Brian Cashman will not return either. I foresee wholesale changes (code for blowing up the roster and starting over). They will struggle to finish at .500.
• I foresee the same fate for the St. Louis Cardinals. IMHO, Tony La Russa will resign before he blows up the team's roster. He clearly favors veteran players, but most of the Cardinals' veterans have seen their better days. Jim Edmonds is a gamer, but he's clearly on his last legs. Scott Rolen has clearly slowed down. Preston Wilson has an arthritic knee. Juan Encarnacion isn't the player he once was. And on and on. They could learn from the Dodgers: go with young talent, stockpile a veteran that can still contribute (and is willing to be a mentor), and mesh them together.