Michael Phelps first swim... 

Before you spend a first round pick on Tom Brady and go after a top quarterback early, you need to consider the fact that the point-differential between the top 2 or 3 quarterbacks and the No. 8 and No. 9 quarterbacks isn't that great. Sure, when he was putting up 45 points per week mid-season in '07, Brady owners were unstoppable. There is no doubt Brady is a safe bet to be atop the QB rankings again and is a fairly safe first round pick, but waiting on a QB may be a better stategy. Not only will it allow you chance to get a stud RB or WR, but you can still get production at the QB position.

Take a look at the average points per game by QB's over the last six weeks of last season (when it counted most:
Tom Brady NE - 25.7
Kurt Warner AZ - 24.9
Peyton Manning IND - 23.1
Tony Romo DAL - 22.6
Drew Brees NO - 22.4
David Garrard JAX - 21.4
Matt Hasselbeck SEA - 21.2
Jay Cutler DEN - 19.1
Derek Anderson CLE - 18.4
Ben Roethlisberger PIT - 18.3

I continue my division predictions with a look at the NFC West:

ORDER OF FINISH
1. ARIZONA CARDINALS (9-7): While questions remain as who will start at QB in Arizona, the Cardinals still have the best team in the league's weakest division. Larry Fitzgerald and Anqaun Boldin solidify the Cardinals as the division's best offense. They will need to get another trip out of the aging Edgerrin James, at least enough to keep opposing defenses honest, to have success. On defense, the Cardinals boast some great young talent but they did allow 24.9 ppg last year and lost one of their best players in LB Calvin Pace. I am banking on them being respectable, but not great.

2. ST. LOUIS RAMS (7-9): It amazes me when I talk to people who still think that the Rams have the "Greatest Show On Turf".  Attention, Kurt Warner is in Arizona, Issac Bruce is in San Fran, and Marshall Faulk is retired. What's left is Torry Holt, who though he's no longer a top 10 wideout is still a playmaker. Throw in an experienced an slightly above average Marc Bulger, assuming he can stay healthy, and you have a respectable passing game. Steven Jackson is an elite player though and will more than make up for the declining passing game and the fact that St. Louis possesses one of the league's worst defenses. Jackson's good, but he can't get them to the playoffs by himself.

3. SAN FRANCISCO (7-9): This was supposed to be the year 49ers' head coach Mike Nolan was supposed to have it all in place, that was until former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith turned out to be a bust. The team turns to J.T. O'Sullivan as their starter and that leaves a ton of question marks to me. The young defense anchored by second-year linebacker Patrick Willis is impressive and Frank Gore gives them a playmaker at RB. Playing in this division, the Niners should make a run at .500 and a NFC wildcard spot. I am betting against it though.

4. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (5-11): Mike Holmgren is going to which he retired a year earlier. The team already has major injury concerns in its passing game, including quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. They signed Julius Jones to compete with Maurice Morris at running back, but Seattle is about to find out the poor rushing attack was not Shaun Alexander's fault alone. The offensive line isn't anywhere nearly as it was three years ago and the defense is overrated. It's going to be Sleepless in Seattle come playoff time this year.

DIVISION AWARDS
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Julius Jones, RB

BIGGEST SURPRISE: J.T. O'Sullivan, SF

MVP: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Chris Long, STL

MORE STUFF
--Crystal Ball: NFC East
--GetSportsRadio.com: PRO FOOTBALL FACE-OFF (Preseason Picks)

From the Chicago Tribune:

Jay Mariotti, the opinionated and polarizing sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has resigned after 17 years with the paper, he told the Tribune on Tuesday night.

Just back from Beijing, where he covered the Olympics, Mariotti said in a phone interview that he decided to quit after it became clear while in China that sports journalism had become "entirely a Web site business. There were not many newspapers there." He added that most of the journalists covering the Games were "there writing for Web sites."

Mariotti, whose public battles with fellow staffers, team owners, managers, coaches and rival columnists are legendary, didn't disclose any specific plans except to say he will continue doing his regular stint on ESPN's "Around the Horn."

He said he "is talking with a lot of Web sites" and added that the future of his business "sadly is not in newspapers."

****
Mariotti is one of my favorite columnist in the country and he will land on his feet. The newspaper industry though is taking a huge hit and those organizations not smart enough to capitalize on new media opportunities are going to continue to see a decline in their content and business as a whole.

Rotten Tomatoes has compiled a list of the top 75 sports movies:

What's different about this list is that it ranks the films by the best-reviewed, so it's not a subjective compilation. That is why some of these movies will make you say what?

Personal Best barely makes the cut at No. 75, and Dodgeball somehow squeezes in at No. 73. Let's take a look at the top 10...

1. Murderball - (I like it, but No. 1 is a big statement)
2. Touching the Void - (Huh???)
3. Bigger, Stonger, Faster - (a fast riser)
4. Offside - (a freakin' soccer movie...are you kidding?)
5. Raging Bull - (a classic, true top 5)
6. Million Dollar Baby - (Hillary Swank will kick your ass!)
7. Bull Durham - (my No. 1 pick)
8. Hoop Dreams - (one of the best documentaries ever)
9. Lagaan - (never even heard of it)
10. Surfwise -  (another huh???)

COMPLETE LIST

Every year at this time as a Reds' fan I find some pennant race to grab onto and take a hold of. It is what us REAL baseball fans in Cincinnati are forced to do if we want to enjoy the sport we love. The problem is every year more and more Reds' fans just stop watching altogether as they gear up for high school, college, and pro football. Sadly, the game of baseball loses more fans every year in this city and other perpetually losing franchises small markets.

With that in mind, I am clinching onto the NL East this year, where once again its a dogfight beteween the Mets and the Phillies. Currently, Philadelphia leads the Mets by 0.5 game. That lead didn't come easy though. The Phillies rallied back from a 7-0 deficit in the fourth inning to beat the Mets 8-7 in a marathon game at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday.

It was unbelievable! This year looks just like last year. We all know about the Mets' collapse down the stretch last season, one that led to the eventuall firing of Willie Randolph this year. The Phillies are back at it again.

Jim Salisbury, of the Philadelphia Inquirer penned it perfectly, in words that as I as Reds' fan can only dream of:

"Citizens Bank Park, filled with electricity and victories, became the place to be in Philadelphia.

It has continued this season. Contenders once again - and back in first place after last night/this morning's surreal win - the Phillies have had 44 sellouts. You can bet on number 45 tonight, because the Bank is still the place to be, and the New York Mets are in town for one more game.

The two teams renewed their entertaining rivalry - it isn't Yankees-Red Sox but it ain't bad, either - with a first-place showdown that twisted stomachs until 12:24 this morning, when Chris Coste gave the Phils an 8-7 win with a bases-loaded hit in the bottom of the 13th inning.

The 5-hour, 17-minute game had a little bit of everything. Tension, drama, excitement. There was even some humor."

It took them until August 26th to do, but the Cincinnati Reds finally have a complete game in the books. They were the only team left to have a pitcher go all nine in a season before Bronson Arroyo went the distance to beat the Astros 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Arroyo gave up one earned run and five hits with two walks and three strikeouts on 107 pitches to give the Reds' bullpen, playing without its closer Fransico Cordero (birth of his son), a much-needed rest.

It's hard to imagine it taking this long for the Reds to pick up a complete game, but with so many young arms in the staff and workhorse ace Aaron Harang dinged up for most of the season it's not surprising.

Last season the Reds were second in the National League with 6 CG's - Harang (2), Arroyo (1), Kyle Lohse (2), Matt Belisle (1).

The bullpen despite being taxed though has been effective, boasting one of the best ERA's as a unit in the league and being third in NL in converted saves at 81% (64/79).