I want you to imagine winning the jackpot on any lottery ticket. It could be a few hundred dollars or several million. Now, I want you to imagine giving it back because they didn’t give you crisp, new bills. Unless you already have a lot of money laying around, that sounds pretty stupid. That is how I feel about any team not willing to take a chance on Peyton Manning’s health. At least any team that hasn’t already hit the jackpot with a Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers.

Peyton is due a $28 million dollar bonus in March if he is still with the Colts. Several people believe that he will be cut because of the timing and his health. If that is the case, where would he want to play? Here is my top five if I were Peyton.

5. Tennessee Titans – Manning would get to return to the state where he is still worshiped. Few players are still loved like he is in Tennessee. Even though he never won a national championship, he is arguably the best player to play on “Rocky Top”. The Titans also have a good running back and capable receivers. They also gave up the second fewest sacks last season.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars – Don’t you think Maurice Jones-Drew deserves someone like Manning? The entire team does, really. Last season they finished 6th in total defense and MJD was the NFL rushing leader. The Jags do have first year quarterback Gabbert, but after finishing 32nd in passing yards last season, he could learn a lot from Manning.

3. New York Jets – New York is probably the only city big enough for two Mannings. Peyton would be in a major market, which I think he would like. He has had a ton of commercials and his Saturday Night Live United Way skit is hilarious. He could be the missing piece for the Jets. Shonn Greene ran for over 1,000 yards. Receivers Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress both finished, tied for 11th in the NFL, with 8 touchdowns. I’m not sure he would want to deal with the current Jets drama but winning would fix everything.

2. Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins struggled early last season, but rallied to win six of their last nine. However, that didn’t save their coach. Joe Philbin was hired as head coach and named Mike Sherman his offensive coordinator. Sherman and Manning would make a great pair. Sherman has plenty of head coaching experience, including his time in Green Bay. In 2003, Brett Favre led the NFL touchdowns passes under Sherman. There, he would have 1,000 yard guys in Brandon Marshall and Reggie Bush.

1. Houston Texans – Current quarterback Matt Shaub only has one year left on his contract and is coming off of a foot injury. It would make plenty of sense to trade him and pick up Manning. The Texans could get something for Shaub before he becomes a free agent and Manning would make the Texans a Super Bowl contender. Peyton would give them the right amount of time to decide on Yates or draft a quarterback later. Manning paired with the running game of the Texans and Andre Johnson really doesn’t seem fair. That combination paired with the NFL’s 2nd ranked defense would be tough to beat.

All of the teams except New York are in states that don’t have an income tax. That could be a factor in his decision but I think winning a Super Bowl will be the biggest. Three of the teams are in the AFC South. If I were Peyton I would want every chance to make the Colts regret cutting me. The Texans give him the best chance at beating them twice a year, winning a Super Bowl, and making a little more money.

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Traditionalists continue to fight to keep sports the way that they were 50 years ago. Reasonable thought, however, suggests that some of sports’ traditional rules and practices need tweaking.  “It’s part of the game” is a cop-out excuse that people that cannot undergo a critical thinking process use to argue their agenda.

Players in football are getting bigger, stronger, and faster, resulting in bigger collisions. (Force = Mass x Velocity) Because of these more forceful collisions, concussions over the last few years have become a major problem, keeping players out of games and endangering their livelihoods. What did the league do? They protected their assets and changed the rules. Players making the big hits whined, but who cares? The people paying the players’ salaries have every right to change the rules to protect someone they’re investing 6-8 zeros into.

These players are employees in one of the most major companies in the world. Don’t you think that the employer, the NFL (the one paying them millions of dollars), would want to keep those players on the field and out of the doctor’s office? Yeah, traditionally players wore leather helmets and field goals were worth 5 points. 100 years later, we’re pretty content with those rule-changes.

This brings me to my point. Yesterday, Buster Posey blocked home plate while Scott Cousins lowered his shoulder and delivered a devastating blow to Posey. Posey’s ankle turned in what we would assume to be the wrong direction (sideways) and he will be out of work for an extended period of time. Buster Posey is San Francisco’s prized possession at Catcher and they most certainly don’t want him sustaining these kinds of injuries in this young stage of his career. Have you ever injured your ankle? Even after you’ve healed, you still feel it for months.

Tags get made at first, second, and third without fielders blocking the bag. The game goes on. Major League Baseball needs to protect its players. Collisions don’t NEED to happen at home plate, and it’s not like fans need them to enjoy the game. There will still be exciting and close plays at the plate.  Posey’s injury while trying to save ONE run will cost his team more than just THAT run. “It’s part of the game” can change the moment you make it “not part of the game.”

I think the Scubakid surfaced to fast if he thinks that’s how the playoffs are going to turn out. Let’s look at some stats, trends, and ignore the fact that the Chargers are my favorite team.

Let’s see, where to start… AFC. The Chef’s are not walking away with their division. They are 2-5 on the road and are playing the Rams who are fighting for a playoff spot. Matt Cassel just got a hole cut in his stomach… he may not even play. And if he does every time someone touches him they will be going for his gut. Without Cassell; who’s only been good because teams have to stack the box to protect against Jones and Charles, leaving Bowe to run down the field unhindered, they have to rely on Croyle who just contributed to the worst offensive performance since the 60’s.

They then have to play the Titans, who almost beat a much better team in the Colts after letting them start 21 points up. As for Oakland who knows what team is going to show up there. The Chiefs must win two of these games… And they won’t win next week against the Rams without Cassell. If the Chargers and Chiefs both end at 10-6… Chargers most likely take the division. (Based on my picks for all the games for the following 3 weeks).

I agree with Scuba that the Patriots probably don’t lose again. What I don’t agree with is him rewriting playoff rules to give the Jets a bye when they didn’t even win their division. (He’s currently changing this based on what he’s calling proofreading errors).  Also in what world are the Jets going to win out @ Pitt and @ Chicago. After those two games they’ll be lucky to beat the Bills. Who will probably win that game just to make sure Ralph Wilson doesn’t have to pay for the number 1 draft pick.

Baltimore however has two chumps the last two weeks and will finish at least 11-5. Pittsburgh will win out and be 13-3 based on the fact you can’t run on the Steelers and I’m pretty sure the Giants are checking Walmart for receivers at this point. This leaves the Colts, Jag’s and Chargers to talk about…

The Colts are in the same boat as the Chiefs they have only really 1 hard game to worry about and if they lose they are pretty much toast. Losing to the Jaguars would cripple them into hoping for some miracle wild card. And if the Colts could barely win against the Titans, so even beating the Jaguars doesn’t win them this division. The Jag’s finish up against Washington who can’t even kick extra points, and Houston who would give up 100 yards rushing to Scuba’s 8 year old nephew. MoJo should get about 200 yards from scrimmage in that game.

As for the Chargers they get to play the 49er’s, the Bengals, and the Broncos who have a combined 10 wins. I’m more worried about the Bronco’s because Tebow will be starting by then. And my team’s playoff chances will be on the line against my favorite college player. Everything will fall apart. In reality the Chargers should win out.

So to be fair I’m going to list the records of how I think the teams will finish and then go through and rank and seed the AFC.

1. Patriots (14-2)
2. Jets (10-6)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)
4. Ravens  (11-5)
5. Jaguars (10-6)
6. Colts (9-7)
7. Chiefs (9-7) Based on them losing against Oakland in the final week.
8. Chargers (10-6)

So Seeding is as follows

1. Patriots 14-2 (Bye)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3) (Bye)
5. Ravens (11-5) at 4. Jaguars (10-6)
6. Jets (10-6) at 3. Chargers (10-6)

Now on to the NFC.

Straight out eliminating the Redskins, Cowboys, Vikings, Lions, Panthers, and Cardinals.

The Eagles have a tough schedule… You have to assume they beat the Vikings and Dallas though.

The Giants have it just as tough. I can’t see them winning more than 2 of their last 3 games. This hinges on Aaron Rodger’s health.

Chicago beat the Vikings, toss up against New York and again Aaron Rodgers is the key to the Green Bay game.

Green Bay will probably lose out without Aaron Rodgers. And will struggle to win even 1 game with him.

Atlanta wins at least 2 out of 3, their only test is New Orleans.

New Orleans has 3 tough games… But they probably pull it out against Tampa winning 2 of their last 3.

Tampa also wins 2 of their last 3 beating Detroit and Seattle.

And then we get the WAC, I mean the NFC West.

Seahawks are going to lose to Atlanta and probably Tampa making them, at best, possible spoilers for St Louis the last week.

The 49ers are a game back meaning they have to win out. I don’t think they beat San Diego and St Louis, not on away games.

If Cassel is out, St. Louis could win out, but will likely at least take 2 of its last 3.

So to keep this from becoming a novel… I’m going to assume Rodgers is healthy enough to play. And I’m going to plug in my NFC picks into the ESPN Playoff Machine and we get the following.

1. Atlanta (13-3) (Bye)
2. Philadelphia (11-4)(Bye)
6. Giants (10-5) at 3. Chicago (11-5)
5. New Orleans (13-3) at 4. St Louis (8-8)

Notes:

1. Even if New Orleans loses to Baltimore it doesn’t affect either teams seeding’s.
2. If the Rams don’t beat the Chiefs like I’ve predicted San Diego would be 6th seed and KC would be 3rd and would play against each other in a Wild Card match-up

Vince Young is showing Titans fans that he still has some fight left in him. Unfortunately he was showing it off the field. This incident earned him a class C assault citation.

Any guesses where all of this went down? Want a clue? Pacman Jones can’t be blamed this time. If you guessed a Dallas strip club you would be right. Someone should tell him that it’s the NBA finals not the all-star weekend.

No one will get in much trouble for this, but we can learn a few things from this. First thing we learned was not to throw upside down hook em’ horns to a former Texas player. That’s right, reports are saying that is what got VY all riled up. Second, is that strip clubs cure depression. The last time Vince was in the headlines was because he wouldn’t return phone calls and was suicidal. This headline made it all the way to Lil Wayne’s last Album. Third, is that you can meet famous athletes at strip clubs. Everyone from A Rod to Rodman have been linked to strip clubs. So, next time you are getting all your dollar bills ready, don’t forget your sharpie.

Go directly to jail, do not pass GO, do not collect $33 million. Only way around this is to have a get out of jail free card or to play for a professional sports team. You may get around this if you play for a college team or have a nice bank account, but your odds go way up if your name is on the back of a jersey.
Rarely does a week go by where a professional athlete doesn’t make headlines off the field. It’s also rare that they don’t get off with little more than a slap on the wrist. Sometimes they get what they deserve, but it is the exception that proves the rule. For every Mike Tyson there is Roethlisberger and Kobe. For every Plaxico there is a Stephen Jackson and Gilbert Arenas. Getting away with killing someone isn’t hard either when you are playing sports. Just ask Leonard Little, Ray Lewis, Marvin Harrison, and Donte Stallworth. Just don’t get busted fighting dogs. Those PETA people hate Monopoly.
Doesn’t matter if you have played a single game in your league. Golden Tate just proved that rule. Not only did he go into a place that wasn’t open (breaking and entering), he helped himself to some maple bars (theft). If you, I, or some starving homeless person had done this, I doubt we would have chatted with the police then went home. I’m sure he couldn’t help it; they say those maple bars are irresistible.

Game 4 prediction: Artest gets in foul trouble, Pierce scores at least 30, Rondo get triple double, Kobe scores 40 and the Celtics win 101-93.