Nine Thoughts For the Ninth

9. Lakers will repeat if not three-peat. A world class organization that out-Raiders the Raiders by “just winning, baby”. They talk the talk and walk the walk. They have the most elite scorer in the game in Kobe, and just added arguably its top defender in Artest. Wow.

8. Lance Armstrong – Still has that competitive drive at 37 - where does he rank among the greatest athletes of all time? Is he in the same breath as Ali, Jordan, Drysdale, Howe? Is cycling really a legitimate sport?

7. McNair – Tragic. Now we’ll have to watch his on-field legacy take an endless beating by a bored media and witness as exploiters vie for life rights for the book/movie deal. You want irony? Word out of Tennessee is that state officials were preparing a youth suicide prevention public service announcement featuring McNair before he was shot and killed last week.

6. Houston Rockets – on the cusp of greatness, then lose Yao and Artest, but add Ariza. Huge blow to this quality franchise. If Yao’s injury is as serious as some suspect it is, did playing for China’s Olympic team damage him physically? Did patriotism, even forced patriotism, contribute to the demise of his NBA career? How will this effect NBA/China relations? Probably won't at all, as long as we can sell Kobe jerseys in Beijing.

5. Seattle Mariners – Coming off a 100-loss season, this team is hovering at .500 and staying in the playoff picture on pitching, chemistry and pure guts and determination. Makes you wonder if desire and effort trump talent and ability in baseball. Imagine if the bullpen wasn’t imploding. To be honest, this is not a very talented team - which makes this team's ability to hang around all the more impressive. Looks like the front office, manager and team chemistry have drastically improved. That bodes well for the future of the franchise.

4. Who is America’s team in the NFL? The Cowboys are winless in the playoffs in 12 seasons. The Lone Star ain't shinin' too bright these days. Desperate moves like adding PacMan Jones, tabloid fodder Romo and his head case girlfriend, botoxed Jerry Jones and his need to control have turned this team into a laughing stock and the antithesis of the Cowboy lore created by Landry and Staubach. So, who takes the throne now? Pittsburgh? New England? Anyone else even close?

3. Whose running for the Dawgs? David Freeman and Brandon Johnson have been declared ineligible, adding to a depleted backfield already without Brandon Yakaboski and Terrance Dailey, last year’s leading rusher with an embarrassing 338 yards. Cougar Rueben Mayes had 356 in one game against Oregon by himself. With do-everything Jake Locker maturing into a more pass-oriented mentality, how does this hurt his progress?

2. Favre-to-Vikings speculation. Genius or boneheaded? How much more damage can Brett Favre do to his legacy? He hasn’t finished a season healthy or with a shred of dignity in two years. He’s embarrassing himself....right out of the Hall Of Fame? Not likely, but C’mon, Brett....call it a day and take that cushy gig in the broadcast booth before it’s too late and you’re a walking punch line. Or limping punch line.

1. Blunder did not get Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin. That warms the cockles of my heart. Not because it hurts the fans or denies the team – but because it denies jackass-supreme Clay Bennett the benefits it would have brought to him – like the sappy marketing of a “local boy comes home to play” garb and the potential increase in season ticket sales as a result.

More Corndogs, More Losses, More Blunder!