There is plenty to be said about rushing success in the NFL beginning up front, but you still need to have a capable and diverse stable of running backs for an efficient running game. The loss of Eric Steinbach and injuries to Levi Jones, Willie Anderson, and others left the Bengals with a patchwork offensive line last season. Still, there is plenty of concern at the running back position.

The glimmer of hope could be former first round pick Chris Perry, who is finally at 100% following an ankle injury suffered late in the 2006 season.

Head coach Marvin Lewis said last week that Perry will be on the field the team opens mini-camp on Tuesday.

Perry has had a tough time staying on the field in his brief career due to a variety of injuries, but is only 26 years old and has far less mileage than current starter Rudi Johnson.  Ever since he dropped 20 pounds Johnson has not been the same back and may never be again.

The team surprised many when they failed to use one of their 10 draft picks on a running back. There was talk that they may had hometown favorite Shaun Alexander and the former NFL MVP was cut by the Seahawks. However, a deal with Alexander is unlikely from the Bengals according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

If Perry can prove healthy he can contribute to the offense in many ways and could even become the feature back. Expect Kenny Watson (793 RuYd in '07) and DeDe Dorsey to also have roles within the offense.

Like it or not Interleague Play is back again. Be sure pay close attention to it when setting your lineups. Here's everything you need to know entering Week 7:

STUDS OF THE WEEK
It's hard to imagine anybody having a better weak than Astros' OF Lance Berkman.  He batted .783 and hit three home runs while driving in eight runs to pace the team's attack. He had 18 hits in 23 at bats and added two stolen bases to boot, WOW! The Marlins are starting to reap the rewards of having the young Andrew Miller in the staff. The former Tiger spread six hits through 13 innings over his last two starts, picking up a win with each try. He's really starting to look like the ace everybody thought he would become.

DUDS OF THE WEEK
The D-Backs Eric Byrnes was given the day off on Saturday in hopes to break out his slump. Over the past week he's managed to reach base three times in 27 plate appearances. The 0:7 walk-to-strikeout ratio and 0 HRs and 0 RBIs left owners that had him in the lineup hanging.  Cardinals' closer Jason Isringhausen continues to remind us why he needs to retire. He blew both of his same opportunities this week and pick two losses in the process. To make matters worse for owners Isringhausen has asked out of the closer's role, at least temporarily, to attempt to get a brief mental break as he works through his struggles.

KEY INJURIES
Rafael Furcal (back): Hopeful to return TUE vs. HOU
Brian Roberts (foot): Questionable for series vs. BOS
Chone Figgins (hamstring): Placed on 15-day DL this week
Vernon Wells (wrist, hamstring): 15-day DL, Out 6-8 weeks
Richie Sexson (suspension): Eligible to return 5/16
Rich Harden (shoulder): Hopes to return today vs. TEX
Alex Rodriguez (quadriceps): Eligible to come off DL 5/14
Ramon Hernandez (wrist): Day-to-day, risky play this week
Josh Willingham (back): Begins rehab assignment this week
John Lackey (triceps): Could return from DL 5/14 vs. CHW

TWICE AS NICE
Here are some two-start pitchers to consider this week:

AL
Must-starts:
Erik Bedard - @TEX (Vicente Padilla), SD (Shawn Estes)
Zack Greinke - DET (Justin Verlander), @FLA (Mark Hendrickson)
Clay Buchholz - @SEA (Felix Hernandez), MIL (Carlos Villanueva)

Sleeper Picks:
Kevin Slowey – TOR (Jesse Litsch), @COL (Jeff Francis)
Mike Mussina - @TB (Edwin Jackson), NYM (Nelson Figueroa)

NL
Must-Starts:
Aaron Harang – FLA (Burke Badenhop), CLE (Paul Byrd)
Roy Oswalt - @SF (Barry Zito), @TEX (Sidney Ponson)
Micah Owings – COL (Jeff Francis), DET (Armando Galarraga)

Sleeper Picks:
Jon Lieber – SD (Randy Wolf), PIT (Phil Dumatrait)
Kyle Lohse – PIT (Paul Maholm), TB (Edwin Jackson)

WAIVER WATCH (from leagues played at CBSSports.com)
Five most added:
OF Ryan Ludwick (+31% roster change)
SS Jimmy Rollins (+28%)
RP Justin Duchscherer (+27%)
SP Vicente Padilla (+24%)
SP Rich Harden (+22%)

Five most dropped (non-injured):
SP Chad Gaudin - OAK (-20%)
SP Rich Hill - CHC (-16%)
SP Ian Kennedy - NYY (-12%)
SP Brian Bannister - KC (-10%)
SP Jonathan Sanchez - SF (9%)

GAMES PLAYED
Let's take a look at how many games each team will be playing this week:

American League
7: CHW, CLE, LAA, MIN, NYY, TB, TOR
6: BOS, DET, KC, OAK, SEA, TEX
5: BAL

National League
7: ATL, CHC, CIN, FLA, HOU, MIL, NYM, PIT, SD, SF, STL, WAS
6: ARI, COL, LAD, PHI

Here's a debut of a new weekly blog post - Gadget of the Week.  Aside from sports, one of my greatest passions is technology and the toys the come with it. We start by looking at a hot flash media player that will not only display photos, rock music, and play video that you wouldn't believe possible on something so small.

iRiver Clix Gen2 - $239

FEATURES
•Plays music, video, photos and more
•8GB internal storage
•Supports subscription music services
•Ultra-bright, 2.2?AMOLED color display
•Built-in digital FM tuner
•Integrated voice recorder
•Up to 24 hours of battery life
•Skip-free listening
•Fast USB 2.0 transfers
•1 year limited warranty

MORE DETAILS

Wired magazine says...
Remember when the click wheels found on portable media players were innovative and unique? Yeah, now they’re about as exciting as 3.5-inch floppies. Thankfully, the second generation of Iriver’s Clix foregoes this clichéd control scheme with a clickable (not touch) screen for easy menu navigation.

While it's unlikely that former Duke F/general d-bag will ever become a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he will be inducted into a hall of fame that few other basketball players can boast of: the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame!

Yes, on June 12th, the former Dukie, member of five NBA team, and current part-owner of the MLS' DC United, will be one of four athletes to be welcomed into this hall of fame, at a ceremony in Troy, Michigan, the home of the Hall, which will now house the plaques of 111 athletes.

What exactly is the National Polish-American Hall of Fame (other than a perfectly example of how there are too many hall of fames in this world)?  According to the Hall of Fame's website, the mission of the hall is "[t]o recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field of sports and to educate the entire community with the hope of encouraging and inspiring personal excellence."

Surprisingly, there are quite a few impressive athletes that are of Polish heritage.  Members of the hall include former Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, MLB Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Carl Yastrzemski (as well as the aforementioned Zisk), Laettner's college coach Mike Krzyzewski, Super Bowl winning coaches Mike Ditka and Hank Stram, former world middleweight champion Tony Zale, and professional wrestler Stanley Zbyzsko (how his son, "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyzsko has been omitted is beyond me).

Laettner actually put together a pretty decent NBA career, scoring over 11,000 points and averaging 6.7 rebounds over his 13 years in the game.  Whether you liked him or not, you can't deny that he was one of the greatest college basketball players in history.  Of course, that would be a lot easier to appreciate had he not been so obnoxious on court, typified by his stepping on Kentucky's Aminu Timberlake in a 1992 regional final game.

Regardless, congrats to Christian on his induction into a mediocre hall of fame.  And, in celebration of that, here's a celebrity re-enactment of your game winning shot against Kentucky.