I've never partied in this part of the country so I can't speak from experience but the news reports are adding up to this conclusion: professional and college athletes who choose to party in the night life scene of Southern Florida are putting themselves in harm way. Now I know there are numerous other clubs in major citites throughout America that have presented danger for high-profile individuals but harmful incidents, over the last 10 to 12 years, seem to be highest in areas surrounding Miami. I'm sure some of these incidents have been exxagerated and its never as bad as it seems on TV but after Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Lineman Richard Collier was shot several times late Tuesday night while seated in his car, it has become apparent to me that there are a surplus of 'Haters' in South Florida. And there all looking to make a name for themselves by capitalizing on the downfall of rich-popular athletes who play ball (mainly football and basketball) for a collegiate or professional team in the Florida peninsula. What makes these incidents worse are the fact that most go unsolved

Some of the past victims didn't necessarily play on a team from the area but were raised in the area and were back visiting family and friends. Its not enough that these guys are receiving life-threatening injuries but it seems half of these cases are straight murder situations. Luckily Jags lineman Collier was not murdered but he is in a critical state as I write and his agent stated "he's not out of the woods yet"; which can also describe the overall party atmosphere for persons that make a living in the entertainment industry (sports would fall under entertainment). In todays social climate you can't be flambouyant and naive at the same time like u could 15 or 20 years ago, you do that in the 21st century and you might end up in a very uncompromising situation

I'm not sure what can be done about the South Florida Scene but there needs to be some serious safety consideration injected if it hasn't already. To be totally safe maybe we should  do what our parents use to tell us when were young-pups having fun in the neighborhood.."Be home before the street lights come on"

The NFC isn't as competitive and complicated as the AFC so I won't have to give u a breakdown of every team, I'll just go by divisions:

NFC North

Outside of Jon Kitna with the Detroit Lions every other team in this division has a yet to be proven quallity QB, which means the winner of this division will be the QB who makes the least mistakes and plays smart ball control offense. With that being said I'm going to announce my 1 upset-surprise pick of the '08 season and pick the Detroit Lions with the veteran Kitna behind center to win the division and move on to the playoffs as the only team in the division to do so. It won't mean all that much because they'll get bounced in the first round but in the eyes of most Lion fans it will be like winning the Super Bowl considering the poor playoff history with the franchise

NFC West

This division will come down to 2 teams, finally, the Cardinals and Seahawks. After years of waiting on Arizona to step up to the 'playoff contention' belt they finally do with the aging but effective Kurt Warner (Matt Leinart's days in AZ are numbered, he'll be cut or traded next offseason). This is the last season of an effective good run for the Seahawks and they should ultimately win the division when its all said and done but the Cardinals will push them. I see only Seattle making the playoffs from this division

NFC East

The Super Bowl winning Champs New York Giants are in this division but by mid-season they won't look the part. They hardly played like a S.Bowl Champs last year during the regular season but they got on a incredible run in the playoffs and with the 'choke-job' collapse play of Tony Romo and Brett Favre marched their way to a Championship. I can't take that title away from the Giants, they earned it, but this year the continued issues they had last regular season will re-manifest this year; average running game, inconsistent WR play and yet to emerge to 'super-star' qb status of Eli Manning will slow this team to a halt. The 2 teams to make the playoffs out of this division will be the Cowboys and Eagles. The Cowboys are stacked and should be capable of learning from there mistakes the last 2 playoff seasons and march through the playoffs. The Eagles are a sleeper team that nobody is looking out for but McNabb looks healthy and seems to have a solid complimentary group of players at every position and wouldn't be surprised to see Philly advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs. The Redskins on paper look like they should be serious playoff contenders but qb Campbell is still involved in that professional learning curve, there receiving corp has the ability to show up 1 week and disappear the next 2 weeks and on the defensive side of the ball they don't have any stud players that scare you. The Redskins will take a step back in the maturation process this year

NFC South

Outside of the Atlanta Falcons I could see this whole division in the playoffs but when it comes down to it I believe the Saints and Panthers will emerge playoff victorious with the Buccaneers just missing the playoffs. Tampa Bay will ultimately have to start the re-tooling process and find a young-fresh QB, in the upcoming draft, who can take this team into the new downfield pass-oriented NFL...Gruden's stubborness on signing old re-tread qb's will come back to haunt him this year. Falcons have a young rookie stud qb starting for them this year and he along with the team will take lumps but watch out in 2 years, Matt Ryan will be reigning TD bombs all over the Georgia Dome. That leaves us with the New Orleans and Carolina, two strong-solid teams that should ultimately fight it out to the bitter end for division champ superiority with one of them, I believe it to be the Panthers, grabbing a wild-card playoff berth--barely. The Saints have a thin shaky defense to say the least but there ability to put a lot of points should help them along the way (Reggie Bush's days as a dynamic game-changing player won't ever materialize an he'll be realized as just a solid contributor) and that will ultimately shield their weak defense until they reach the playoffs where defensive play is magnified. The Saints should do well enough in the playoffs to win a first round match-up but come 2nd round they'll have to travel north to play either the Eagles or Seahawks and that might do them in, if they can get an indoor 2nd round playoff game they might be able to win. The Carolina Panthers are hard nosed team that should play above average ball all year but when it comes down to it, they have an aging QB who is past his prime and coming off major arm surgery, only 1 effective receiver who'll be double team all year, and defensive backfield that's vulnerable every week. Now I do like there running back tandem and their defensive linemen but that won't be enough to push past teams like the Cowboys, Eagles and Saints who'll be able to put a lot of points in a bunch. Panthers are 1 and done in the playoffs

You've read plenty but you haven't read the best!

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens...by injury default Flacco will start at QB, as a rookie, for the Ravens and it looks like he has tremendous upside. Unfortunately his upside won't show until year 2 or 3 in the league and by that time the proud Baltimore defense will be well past its prime and teams will be scoring on them at will

Cincinnati Bengals...they will again score a lot of points, give up a ton of points and Chad 'Ocho-Cinco' Johnson will contine to be a distraction. That equates to another below avg. season and ultimately the firing of coach Marv Lewis. Now if only the Bengal ownership could fire themselves

Cleveland Browns...'reality bites' for the Brownies. With more pressure to win and every team on their schedule not looking past them this season, their destined for a .500 record. Their defense is unproven and Derek Anderson in his 2nd season as starter will have to avoid the predictable sophomore slump. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow have arrived as prime-time players but the rest of the team has yet to mature fully

Pittsburgh Steelers...the toughest schedule on paper of any team in the league doesn't look so good for the Steel-Men but when u have Big Ben anything is possible. Look for Roethlisberger to step up into the class of P.Manning and Tom Brady and be in the running for Leage MVP, if that happens you can pencil in the black&gold for a deep playoff run

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills...Trent Edwards will play well enough to ensure himself the QB of the present and future for the franchise but outside of a few polished offensive and defensive stalwarts the Bills overall don't have much going for themselves. They should squeak out a home win against their hated rival Patriots but they will fall short of a playoff bid; look for them to make real noise in '09

Miami Dolphins...Chad Pennington was a good short term stop-gap for the franchise but they just don't have enough overall talent to be considered a threat. Matter of fact not until they get Henne on the field and he starts learning the NFL ropes will u start to feel like this team is moving in the right direction. The defensive side of the ball is old and inexperienced, not a good mix, the Dolpins have a ways to go before they start putting up above average seasons

N.Y. Jets....Its Brett Favre or bust. By the time Favre gets a real handle on the offense the Jets will be out of playoff contention in the highly competitive AFC. So all the franchise will have done is stunted the growth of future franchise QB K.Clemons. Look for Brett to retire at end of season and hand the key to the city back to Mangini

New England Patriots...16-0 hell no but a 12-4 or 11-5 is reasonable and a 2nd round playoff exit should also be expected. The Pats are old, tired and devoid of any surplus of fresh-young talent. Not to mention still smarting from the fact they caught cheating last year and will forever be remembered for being coached by the legend Bill Belli-cheat

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans...this should be the year the Texans finally turn the corner and win a bid to the playoff round. But with no sound running game, only 1 receiver who can seriously threaten d-backs and a defense that has a hard time covering receivers I don't see Houston in the playoffs at all, matter of fact they'll be out of contention by mid-november

Indianapolis Colts...is Manning starting to show his age and 11 years of wear and tear? Can the same be said for M.Harrison? I think u can put down yes for both of those questions. Plus Freeney and Sanders on the defensive side of the ball have yet to prove their 100% healthy. This season might be the changing of the guard for this division. Although it will still be a 'rock-em sock'em' fight to the end with the Colts barely holding on to the division champ title. Colts make the playoffs but will be bounced in the first round

Jacksonville Jaguars...Garrard emerged last year, a few of their receivers stepped up as well and to go along with a great defensive backfield I can see the Jags running away with this division. But at the same time I can see them struggling all year to stay in front of the Colts and getting bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs. Garrard is entering just his second full year as a starter and this is typically the year most QB's have trouble because defenses start to figure out their nuances and bad habits..also the Jags d-line isn't close to what it use to be and their LB's don't create pressure like they did in previous years. The Jags will be in there share of low to mid-scoring games this season where defense will be the biggest key 

Tennessee Titans...Another team where defense will have to win games for them. Despite what Fisher says about Vince Young growth, he still looks confused and erratic when he's on the field not to mention they haven't been able to develop any solid 'go to receivers' because Vince completion pct. is low and he still has a tendency to take off and run instead of giving his receivers a lil more time to get open. They'll make the playoffs but don't expect the Titans to hang around too long, they have a very good defense but they won't put up enough points to be a real threat

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos...Jay Cutler looks like the real deal but he's still turning the perverbial 'star-qb' corner and outside of that there's not much to talk about in Denver. There #1 receiever is a huge distraction off the field and coach Shanahan hasn't won a playoff game since the legend Elway grazed the old Mile-High Stadium. Shanahan has slowly eased his way into being an ineffective game-day coach and poor talent evaluator in the draft and free-agency. The Broncos will take a few more steps backwards this year and might finish below the Raiders

Kansas City Chiefs...it seems like the Chiefs had 50 draft picks in this years draft and from that u would have expected to hear more praise coming out of their training camp from at least a few of those picks but bottom line is this: The Chiefs will definitely be the worse team in the division and could contend with the likes of the Atlanta Falcons as the worse team in the NFL. Brody Coyle is nothing to 'write home about', LB Derrick Johnson had a superb rookie year but has since fallen into 'no-man's land' and Larry Johnson is a big physical back who takes way to many hits and seems to be married to the IR list every year. The rest of the team is a bunch of young inexperienced players still wet behind the ears. Oh yeah, their coach Herman Edwards is a good motivator but horrible in-game decision-maker

Oakland Raiders...can somebody check the pulse of owner Al Davis and see if he's still breathing and cognizant. He gave a ton of money to a bunch of overrated free agents this off-season then turned around and shelled out the big-bucks for RB rookie sensation D-McFadden; the latter he had to do. But everything else the Raiders do are confusing  and unexplainable. But just like every team in the NFL the buck starts and stops with a quality QB and right now the Raiders don't have one. Last years #1 pick Russell is just now getting used to be a starter in the NFL and most of the time the play-calling is simplified so he's not to overwhelmed in the huddle. It's a shame the Raiders offense is so plain and vanilla (McFadden and Fargis will be the only bright light) because they have a quality playoff defense but won't matter much this year because the whole organization will be at home watching the playoffs this January figuring out a way to fire coach Kiffin without actually telling him

San Diego Chargers....the only team in this division that will make the playoffs and deservedly so, they have a ton of talent and experienced and they've been there before. The only thing in their way is a rash of consistent injuries and the horrible playoff record of their head coach. But even with all of that they can still make the playoffs and get to the AFC Championship game...making it to the Super Bowl will fall on the relatively young shoulders of their qb Phillip Rivers, if he can turn into a top-shelf elite qb this year then the Chargers should be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl

1. It's that time of year again where everybody is calling for the cancellation of the NFL preseason or at least the reducing of some games. And of course the final conclusion is always 'no' or 'we'll think about it' from the owners. This is a ad-nauseam discussion that should be put to rest and never brought up again. I know there are key players from most teams each year that are loss for the year from pre-season but this is a violent game and injuries are going to occur, period. If it happens during game 1 of the preseason or game 1 of the regular season doesn't make much of a difference. Most teams would rather an injury happen during preseason than the regualar season because they can then have more time to address the situation with replacement playerz. We might see the preseason reduced by 1 game but thats about it, owners make too much money during those games not to mention the most important part of preseason--'player evaluation'. Coaches get to make critical decisions on young players that will be key components to the team during the regular season. Plus I'd rather see sloppy mistake ridden play during 3 preseason games than see it spil over into the first two weeks of regular season as players get re-acclimated to the new season

2. Olympic phenom swimmer Michael Phelps might not be the best athlete of all time (although one can put a good argument for him) but he is the best Olympian of all time and he will shut the door on that debate with authority during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where he is predicted to compete in 5 disciplines which would give him a possible total of 19 Gold Medals, the most ever by any athlete

3. The NFL's Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith was suspended for the first 2 games of the year by the team for his physical attack on defensive teammate Ken Lucas during training camp. Smith gave Lucas facial damage and 2 weeks on the injured reserve list. I have a huge problem with a guy like Steve who's been a great receiver on the field, when healthy, but at the same time been an arrogant self-hyped player that has a history of fighting and injuring teammates dating back to his first couple of years in the league. Instead of suspending Steve for 2 regular season games (expect the Panthers to go 0-2 in those games) they should of maintained his playing status but in turn his punishment would of been a 'self-contained cage match fight' with several key defensive players where Smith would have had to fight 3 or 4 teammates in a row without intermission. Of course he would of taken a major azz-beaten and only then do I think he would of learned his lesson, the hard old-skool fashion way, and started to control his anger mgt and respect his fellow teammates

4. The L.A. Dodgers newest addition Manny Ramirez has played well since his trade to the team in late July but lets be honest Manny is looking for another mega-contract (his agent is nemesis and universally-hated Scott Boras) at the end of year when he'll be a unrestricted free-agent. Here's hoping the Dodger brass plays this situation smart and doesn't fall for the 'Okey-Doke' and re-sign him for the $15-$20 mil per year he's expected to ask for. Let another big market team not named the Boston Red Sox's over-pay for Manny. I can't think of a more over-rated so-called star player in the history of MLB. He's a great hitter--some say the best right handed hitter of all-time--and because he consistently puts up great numbers at the plate analyst predict he will be a sure fire hall of famer but in mind those accolades are a bit short-sided for warranting Hall of Famer induction. Ramirez is a serious liability as an outfielder and has been for most of his prime years, he's disruptive force with coaches, mgt and ownership and he doesn't play hard night in and night out; doesn't run out ground balls and is easily distracted by off the field influences when he's playing defense. Being a 1-dimensional player shouldn't grant a player access to the H.O.F.. For that reason alone I recommend to the Dodgers they let Manny Ramirez walk at the end of the year and use that money to sign younger more all-around skilled set players that are in there farm system or on the free- agent market. Because Manny will continue to be Manny no matter what and that only benefits one person...Manny

5. Brett Favre in New York, playing for the Jets, I've never seemed Brett look more uncomfortable and out of place. To me it should of been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Retirement...only in Tampa did he have a chance to contend for a Super Bowl appearance. In N.Y. he'll be contending for a 8-8, 9-7 record and early exit to his off-season Mississippi home. Next off-season Favre should be able to make a more definitive retirement decision because returning to New York to play for the Jets in '09 will be a NO-NO. The John Madden game cover jinx lives on

I don't have any reservations or concerns about NBA players (stars or role players otherwise) heading over seas to play in International Professional leagues, I applaud it and champion the effort. Kobe, LeBron and others if your thinking about it, keep considering it and if the vote was up to me I would vote YES and Kobe, Lebron and whoever else is considered a NBA elite player would be on the next plane to Italy, Greece and Eastern Europe to spread the basketball wealth

To think the best players and basketball is being played here in America and the NBA is ludicrous. Even with the U.S.A. winning the gold in Beijing, its no longer a foregone conclusion that the best 'ball' is in North America because ITS NOT. International players have better Skill sets and there team discipline is far superior to anything that is being put out in the States. Yes, there are a good 8 to 10 teams in the NBA that play at a high level and have great team chemistry but the rest of the league is pedestrian, arrogant and consist of overplayed spoiled players

I'm wishful this small influx of NBA players overseas continues to grow and maybe within the next 10 to 12 years the quality of basketball being played here in America will improve because hopefully these current defected NBA players will come back home and spread the good word and skill level of international ball to the young kids who are being introduced to basketball for the first time. And when these young kids become of age and are considering playing in the NBA, they will do so with a re-freshed sense of Pride and Skill which wil in-turn make the league better to watch, overall. Long live the NBA in 2018!