When you stand seven feet tall and weigh 260 pounds, you're not just the Next Big Thing. You're a Big Thing right now.

The soon-to-be centerpiece of the 2006 Ohio State basketball team, Greg Oden would probably be headed to the NBA right now if it weren't for a provision in the collective barganing agreement which states that a player "must be at least one year removed from high school and 19 years of age" before entering the draft. As such, Oden will first head to Columbus as part of the "Thad Five", the impressive recruiting class brought in by Buckeyes' coach Thad Matta.

It's not fair to compare Oden to Lebron (these days, is it fair to compare anyone to Lebron?), but much like King James, Oden has long been regarded as the prize of his graduating class, years before his senior season at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. A two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year, Oden led his team to three consecutive state championships, a 103-7 overall record, and the #1 spot in USA Today's Super 25 ranking of the best prep programs in the nation.

David Robinson is the name thrown around most often when referring to Greg Oden, and it's with good reason. Oden is extremely agile for a man of his size, and is explosive around the basket. Since he towered over the majority of the opposition that he faced in high school (the gift and the curse of being so dominant at such an early age), Oden still needs a good deal of work on his low-post game and his range. That will come with time and coaching, both of which Oden has plenty of. Make no mistake - Greg Oden will be one of the more dominant big men in the NBA as we enter the next decade.

Tyler Green. Pat Combs. Carlton Loewer. Wayne Gomes. These are just some of the recent Philadelphia Phillies' draft picks who were projected to be front-of-the-rotation starters, yet never quite reached those lofty expectations. Current #2 starter Brett Myers appears to have the makeup to be an ace, but he hasn't yet put it all together for an entire season. The Phillies haven't boasted a legitimate #1 pitcher since Curt Schilling, and haven't produced a star hurler from their own system in well over a decade. Lefty Cole Hamels is set to change all of that.

Before he was called up to the Big Show last Friday, Hamels was undoubtedly the jewel of the Phillies' minor league crop, a farm system in which all six teams had a losing record last year. Not that Hamels knows that much about losing - in 35 minor league starts, he was 14-4 with a 1.43 ERA. In only 195 innings, he struck out 273 batters while walking only 72, notching an incredible 3.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In two major league starts, Hamels has already displayed why many experts believe he will be the anchor of the Phillies' rotation for the forseeable future. Hamels had a solid start earlier today in Milwaukee, giving up four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision. His debut on May 12 in Cincinnati was far more dazzling, limiting the Reds to one hit over five innings, while striking out seven and walking five.

While it may be far too soon to anoint Hamels as the savior of the Phillies' pitching staff, the young southpaw certainly has the tools to make the failures of recent Philadelphia drafts seem like a distant memory.

Over the years, there have been certain athletes in sports video games that are unfairly balanced in relation to their counterparts. Bo Jackson in the original Tecmo Bowl. Ken Griffey, Jr. in his self-titled baseball game on Super Nintendo. Michael Vick in Madden 2004. And Ted Ginn, Jr. in NCAA Football 2006.

If you were playing against Ohio State, you basically had to assign your best d-back to Ginn on every play to account for his incredible gamebreaking ability. Not that Ginn's 99 speed rating in the game isn't well deserved - Ginn is probably the fastest man in college football today. He's been timed at a ridiculous 10.5 seconds in the 100 meters, and is arguably more dangerous at returning punts than Reggie Bush was at USC.

Ginn's dynamic playmaking talents enabled him to line up on both sides of the ball when he first arrived at Ohio State, beginning his freshman campaign at cornerback before switching to wide receiver at mid-season. Head coach Jim Tressel gave Ginn quite a few more offensive touches during his sophomore year, a season in which he racked up 51 receptions for 803 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ginn added a rushing TD and two touchdowns in the return game for good measure.

The official coming out party for Ginn came in this year's Fiesta Bowl, in which he went off for 167 receiving yards in the Buckeyes' 34-20 win over Notre Dame. As the undisputed #1 wideout in Columbus due to the departure of Santonio Holmes, the only question is: who can keep up with Ted Ginn, Jr?

The New England Patriots own Peyton Manning. Dwyane Wade owns the New Jersey Nets. And wunderkind Rafael Nadal is lord and master over the greatest tennis player in the world, Roger Federer. By the way, Nadal is only 19 years old. It's funny how things work sometimes.

To be fair, it's not as though Nadal has completely come out of nowhere. The ambidextrous Spaniard (he plays left-handed, but actually writes right-handed) is the #2-ranked player in the world, the defending French Open champion and is currently riding an amazing 53-match winning streak on clay courts. Nadal alredy has 16 singles titles to his credit, and has earned nearly $6 million on tour since turning pro in 2001. Yet more impressive than all of that is his 5-1 career record over the man most believe will end his career as the best player ever to step on the court.

If Roger Federer has any weakness (other than kryptonite), it's his inability to play well on clay - his last tournament win on that surface was the ATP Masters Series tournament in Hamburg, Germany in May of last year. And as I type this, the most famous clay court tennis surface in the world - Roland Garros - is being prepared for next week's French Open. Last year, Federer and Nadal met in the semifinals, with Nadal pulling out a four-set victory. The smart money says that the two of them will met on the final Sunday this year. And if form holds, Nadal will own the proverbial lease on Roger Federer for just a little while longer.