Well, we're in the middle of another NFL season.  God this one is moving so fast.

Most of the key games this week are divisional matchups.  In the NFL's version of college football's Big East, the NFC North, Detroit faces Chicago.  Now from a pure playoff perspective, this game matters.  However, if the division winner didn't get an automatic berth, none of the NFC North could look forward to the playoffs this year. 

Now I still have Detroit winning the NFC North.  However, they were blown out earlier this year by the Bears, and whether or not Garcia can provide enough offense to put them over the top this time is very questionable.

Another key divisional game is Washington and the Giants.  All four teams in the NFC East are crammed at the top, and while I dispute the belief that it is the toughest/best division in the league - the AFC West and NFC South are both a step above - it is highly competitive, and every game definitely counts.  I see the Giants continuing their winning ways, but just barely.  They'll be on top of the NFC East when it's all said and done.

Speaking of the AFC West, Philly faces Denver in the game of the week.  Denver has been decent as of late, beating the then-undefeated Redskins the defending world champion Patriots before stumbling against the Giants due to a last minute heave by Eli Manning.  However, they can make up for last week by beating the Eagles and putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy.

The sleeper matchup this weekend is Arizona/Dallas.  Dallas is at 4-3 and is on the outside looking in.  They've had problems covering receivers, and Arizona has some very good young ones.  It'll be interesting to see what kind of schemes Parcells comes up to try to negate them.

Here are my picks:

- Dallas over Arizona

- Cleveland over Houston

- Jacksonville over the Rams

- Carolina over Minnesota

- Giants over Washington

- Chicago over Detroit

- Cincinnati over Green Bay

- Oakland over Tennessee

- Miami over New Orleans (tossup)

- San Diego over Kansas City (they better win, or they won't catch Denver anytime soon)

- Denver over Philly

- Tampa Bay over the Niners

- New England over Buffalo

And Monday night....Pittsburgh over Baltimore.

No upsets this week.  I considered Arizona over Dallas, but wasn't comfortable enough in making that pick.  Besides, a lot of the matchups this week are fairly even, so if some of them go the other way, you really can't call it an upset.

Enjoy the games.

Because he definitely deserves one for sounding the alarm on one of the biggest idiots in the blogosphere.

First, let's explain:  black leftist blogger Steve Gilliard takes a picture of Michael Steele and doctors it by blackening his face and putting red lips on him in order to make him look like a minstrel.  The name of his blog post title was "Simple Sambo wants to move to the big house".  The picture was named "Mantan" on his URL.

Robert George, who's often featured on the black news website "Booker Rising", was tipped off about the piece by a reader of his.  He rebuked Gilliard on his website, and then tipped Andrew Sullivan on it.  Sullivan, who has a huge readership, made a small post about it on his website.

Between Sullivan and George, Gilliard's post reached the campaign of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine.  The Kaine campaign had purchased an ad on Gilliard's website, and when they saw that, they sent this to Gilliard:

Mr. Gilliard:

Please remove all advertising for Kaine for Governor from News Blog (http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/) immediately.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 202-465-4238 or at john@kaine2005.org.

John Rohrbach

Internet Director

Kaine for Governor

Ha. 

Needless to say, Gilliard's pissed.  He called Kaine a coward, said George has a yellow streak down his back, and referred to Sullivan as a racist.  He was also salty because the Kaine campaign never asked for an explanation (as if one was needed for that picture), but you can easily see the contact's name, phone number, and email address.  He could have explained it as soon as he got the email.

Now Gilliard says this was due to the fact that Steele, Maryland's current lieutenant governor, blew off the news that Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich had a fundraiser at an all-white country club.  The story broke back in July, over three months ago, and Gilliard didn't mention a word about it in his blog post.  Steele later apologized for being "flippant", and called on the club to include blacks.  And according to the Boston Globe, a few Democrats have fundraisers at that club as well, including a member of the Baltimore City Council.

This kind of bottomfeeding is normal for black leftists like Gilliard, however.  A black person can't be a conservative or a Republican simply due to rational thought; they must either sell out to the white man's dollar, want to be white, or cater to whites themselves.  They will be automatically branded a house nigger, or in this case, a minstrel. 

As Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, and Clarence Thomas have learned, chicken manure like this don't need excuses or incidents to hurl insults.  Thus, if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.  Of course, Gilliard doesn't see the big deal, thinking because he is black, it's alright to call another black a Sambo.  But it's incidents like these that will keep leftist bloggers on the back burner of the political spectrum, and Gilliard's antics don't help black bloggers, either.

This kind of reproach for black conservatives is obviously encouraging white leftists as well.  Gilliard asks, "What white progressive or liberal would feel free enough to make fun of a black man by putting him in blackface?"  Hey Gilliard; meet Ted Rall.  He didn't put Rice in blackface, per se, but he did everything but that.  Here are some other examples.

As for Steele's comments, he had nothing to apologize about.  Why should I be concerned - or want to be inclusive - in a private group where I nor any other black person isn't wanted?  I wouldn't have anything to do with that club either.  Now Steele should have had some reservations for Ehrich's fundraiser, but as news reports have shown, it isn't just Republicans visiting that club, and it's probably a normal thing for both Dems and Reps to attend fundraisers there.  No matter what, there was no justification whatsoever for Gillard to resort to those tactics to insult Steele.

Malkin also picked up on the story, and had some choice words.  Its time for conservatives - especially minority ones - to stand up and expose these fools as the idiots they are.

I heard the news on the radio while driving this morning.  It wasn't very surprising, as it was totally obvious from the start that Miers was in over her head.  Conservatives immediately questioned her qualifications and judicial philosophy, and once word came in from the bible-thumpers that she'd probably overturn Roe v. Wade, she didn't have any Democrats on her side either.

This is probably Bush's biggest screw-up to date.  Yes; we can talk about some of his bills and actions over the past five years but he had one side or the other supporting it at any given time.  None of them received the kind of opposition that we've seen with Miers.

There's over three years left in Bush's last term.  Maybe he needed something like this to wake him up and realize that he should be drawing from his conservative base, and not by simply talking about God either.  Bush never realized that the evangelical christians were only a difference maker.  They aren't his base, and it'll take more than Roe v. Wade to comfort their worries in the wake of several ridiculous Supreme Court decisions (Kelo, anyone?)  You cannot afford to tell conservatives to "trust you", especially when it comes to a Supreme Court pick.  We have to know that this is the right person for the bench, and Miers simply wasn't that person.

I would say Bush's next pick should be Michael Luttig or Janice Rogers Brown, and if it's one of those two I might cut a flip right inside the house.  However, something tells me that Brown was probably one of those nominees James Dobson was referring to, as a couple of potential nominees that were contacted before Miers refused to be nominated.  You can't really blame Brown if that's the case, as I'm sure she was burned out from all of the attention bestowed upon her and the other nominees, and I'm sure it was a strain on their families as well.  Bush should try very hard to find a prototype, however, of those two judges.

ADDENDUM:  As Matthew Franck of NRO's Bench Notes mentions, the biggest problem stemming from all of this is that this was a waste of time:

Three and a half weeks since the Miers nomination. Nearly eight weeks since the death of William Rehnquist. And we still don't have a nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her intention to retire on July 1.

Now I don't agree with the tone of Franck's post (which seems as if he's saying O'Connor was a bad justice and should be replaced immediately), the fact is that O'Connor is ready to retire, and everything should be done to allow her to do so.  It's possible that O'Connor will get tired of waiting and thus will either force the Court to be one justice short, or will force Bush to make a recess appointment until a justice can be confirmed to the bench.  Neither of those situations are adequate, so Bush needs to get to work.  He needs to get on the phone immediately and get someone nominated.

These are probably the most real comments you'll see this year:

Tuberville, whose team was shut out of the BCS national title game last season, was asked if he thought the same thing might happen to an SEC school again this year. That got him started on the Bowl Championship Series system and the national media, particularly ESPN.

"It's done," Tuberville said. "The national media, led by ESPN, wants to see Vince Young vs. Matt Leinart in the championship game. It's going to be those two teams unless Texas or USC get upset.

"Last year, they wanted to see the two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks, Jason White and Leinart. After six or seven games, we were out of it.

Tuberville wasn't done either.  Here's what he had to say about ESPN and notably Lou Holtz:

Tuberville spoke out sharply against ESPN and the influence it wields on the college game. He said the opinions ESPN hosts and analysts put out on the airwaves each week tend to shape the opinions of fans and media people around the country.

And he's not at all happy about that.

"ESPN has gotten so much power lately, it's kinda scary," Tuberville said. "And most of their analysts are coaches who haven't won any games. That's why they're there. I think you know who I'm talking about.

"And Lou Holtz gets on there and talks about what a team has to do win that game, and the guy couldn't beat anybody in our conference. These guys will come talk to you and look you straight in the eye and tell you something, then they'll get on the air and say something else.

"ESPN, I'll tell you, I don't have much to do with them anymore."

Tuberville, you've got another fan right here.

Consider me one of those that believe ESPN has gotten way too big and way too influential in how sports, both professional and amateur, have run.  The setup of college football today only makes it worse, because it's ultimately the media and coaches polls that decide who the national championship is.

A lot of people gave Texas's Mack Brown criticism after he appeared to be lobbying for one of the at-large BCS births after the last game of the regular season last season.  But people have to remember; each school receives $14 million dollars for a BCS invitation.  If you're in a conference that has a conference title game, you get approx. $7 million, and if you're in a major conference you might land $2 million for a regular bowl.

Brown can add.  The difference between $14 million and $2 million (Texas was not in the Big 12 title game) isn't chump change, and it could have been the difference on how Brown recruited in the next few years, whether his players stayed or entered the NFL draft, and ultimately if he would have a job a few years down the road.  This is serious business, folks.

The sports media doesn't simply report college football; they help decide who the top teams are.  The BCS uses a number of polls to help come up with the national championship.  There's the USA Today Coaches Poll, as a number of the top coaches cast votes every week; There was the Associated Press Poll, which was done by sportswriters (after last year's Texas debacle, the AP told the BCS to stop using their poll.  They were replaced by the Harris Interactive Poll, which has a mix of former coaches, players, and some sports journalists); and the rest are based largely on statistics and are done by computers, including strength of schedule, quality wins, etc. 

Thus, is there any question that Tuberville is absolutely right?  The national championship game has already been decided, given both teams don't choke.  It's possible that the SEC champion will be undefeated, which means another controversy.  Until it's decided on the field, in a playoff system, nothing will change.  But the NCAA won't fix it until they start losing money, continuing to place bandages on an exit wound.

Last year, I came up with an idea of a playoff system that could definitely allow more regional action within college football, allow an adequate amount of teams with a legitimate chance of winning the national championship without diluting interest in the sport.  Here are the provisions:

- 14 teams.  The top seven from the West, and the top seven from the East.

- Keep the BCS polling system, but change it to two polls ranking the top 15 from each region every week, instead of 25 within the nation.

- Give the top team from each region a bye from the first round.

- Allow the teams to have playoff games in their respective regions, using neutral bowl sites for the playoff games.

- The New NCAA Championship Game would pit the Western Regional Champion vs. the Eastern Regional Champion.

- Allow the individual bowl committees to organize and run the playoff games.

- The BCS committee could decide which bowl sites would host playoff games, as they do the BCS bowls now.

- The major bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Cotton, Orange...am I forgetting one?) get specific dibs on the Regional Championship games and Championship games.

- NO AUTOMATIC BIDS FOR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS.

If you want to know more about it, click here.  There's a full explanation into each and every provision I made.

It's a dream.  A very good dream for football, but a dream nevertheless.

Another great Sunday for some football. 

With the exception of the big game of the week, which is Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnatti, and possibly San Diego/Philly, most of these games aren't huge.  Some of them are what I'd call "toilet bowl" matchups, which means both teams are at the bottom of the barrel, or the game has a clear cut winner.

Amazing.

A federal judge Tuesday blocked Georgia from enforcing a new state law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls.

In issuing the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy said the law amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax because the state is not doing enough to make ID cards available to those who cannot afford them.

The requirement "is most likely to prevent Georgia's elderly, poor and African-American voters from voting," Murphy wrote. "For those citizens, the character and magnitude of their injury — the loss of their right to vote — is undeniably demoralizing and extreme."

Let's make this clear:  there isn't one person in Georgia that couldn't afford to buy a $20 ID card.  Not one.  If they can buy a television, if they can buy video games, or cookies and snacks at the grocery store, or any of these things, they can DEFINITELY buy an ID card in order to vote.  Considering most states issue Driver's Licenses and ID's that last from four to six years, it's not as if they are going to buy it every other month.

The state forces stores to check ID's for alcohol.  The feds forces banks to check ID's - and often more - when you make withdrawals and other bank transactions.  Yet we are talking about a franchise where people have fought and died for for hundreds of years, and I'm just as able to pick any name, register, and vote under that name as I am with my own.

For a sitting federal judge to tell the nation that eliminating voter fraud is akin to a poll tax is morally and intellectually dishonest.  This is a shining example of the need for high qualifications and intellectual standards for presidential nominees: this judge has no business being on the bench.  This is more than a difference of opinion; it's a lack of common sense and a failure to interpret law.

Poll taxes were used to purposely keep poor people from voting, and they were issued at the time of registration or when you got to the precinct.  These were added with the grandfather clause, which was an exemption for anyone whose grandfather or ancestors had the right to vote.  Nevertheless, the poll tax was accessed on people in order to vote only.  An identification card, which almost everyone needs nowadays, isn't just to vote.  Even then, the Georgia Legislature has set up a program to allow people to get ID cards for free if they can't afford them.  Thus, that defeats the purpose of a supposed poll tax, correct?

I ran a little check on Harold Murphy...He's the cousin of long-time former Georgia Democratic House Speaker Tom Murphy, which could explain how he got the job in the first place.  An AJC writer wrote about how the Speaker was able to secure a reservoir onto their property, which overlapped against 1,000 acres of property that their family owned.  According to the article, the property value rose greatly, and the state would have to compensate the family if the property was ever flooded.  Murphy was defeated in 2002, and the Republicans took over the Legislature.

He presided over the infamous Georgia crematory case, where hundreds of bodies were exhumed and essentially left unburied behind the woods from the crematory by the owners instead of being cremated.  However, he approved a deal keeping the families from filing civil suits against the crematory's owners, and instead allowed them to sue the insurance company!  And get this one...Murphy also allowed a whites-only affirmative action plan to stand in Alabama, where white applicants were given preference at HBCUs, such as Alabama State. 

- You know what's the biggest slap in the mouth a football team could get?  Having your opponent spot you 17 points in the first quarter, and winning by 17 at the end of the game.  Martz had to love that while he was sitting in that hospital bed.

And please, I don't wanna hear the "if Martz was there/Bulger didn't get hurt" sorta references.  If Martz was there, they would have probably lost worse, because he wouldn't have let Stephen Jackson run the ball (which helped led them to two of those first quarter scores).  Bulger would have helped, but the comeback was inevitable.  Besides, it was Bulger's fault that he got hurt anyway.

- I suppose that makes Indy the best team in the league.  The question is, who's number 2?  This year is starting to look like a free for all, where everyone has a legit chance for a Super Bowl win.  Last year it was New England, Philly, Pittsburgh, Indy, and everyone else.

- Well, it looks like Phillip Rivers will get his wish.  I can't see the Chargers being stupid enough to trade Drew Brees at this moment in time.   My only gripe is that they went on and made a trade before the deadline.  At least he could have gotten to a team that might have needed him (Detroit, Jets, Bills, Ravens, etc).

- When you try to act like you're the biggest dog in the club, you better be able to back it up.  Else, you find yourself in the hospital slurping food through a straw.

I'mma expound on this in a post later this week, when I talk about the NBA's idiotic dress code.

- Shanahan deserves props.  Like I said last week, I didn't believe he'd coach Denver after this season, but the way he's stepped up and made that defense into a cohesive unit probably makes him the frontrunner for Coach of the Year.

- My frontrunner for MVP?  LaDamian Tomlinson.  I really can't think of anyone else more deserving, except possibly Shaun Alexander.

- Some funny shit I heard on Fox Sports Radio:  Jim Mora said Bill Bellichek was pissed after his son, Falcons coach Jim Jr. pulled a stunt in Week 5 by listing Michael Vick as probable all week before downgrading him to questionable on Saturday, which tricked the Patriots into preparing as if Vick was going to play.  So in retaliation, Bellichek listed all of his injured players as probable for Sunday against Denver.  Too bad it didn't work.

Yeah; I was able to watch the fight on Saturday night.  Here are some of my thoughts:

- Brinkley got outboxed again, but Bosante didn't get the decision. Bosante was definitely robbed, because Brinkley didn't win the second round-on.  Bosante could have made it even more lopsided had he not been scared that he was going to get knocked out.

- Manfredo was definitely better in the second fight, and I thought he won five of those rounds, but I think Atlas was atrocious in calling the fight. There were a lot of times where Mora was getting some good flurries off and Atlas was actually hyping Manfredo! I was wondering whether Manfredo slipped Atlas some cash on the side.

- Speaking of Teddy Atlas, tell him to get off of his boxing elitist drivel.  If you left it to him the only ones that would be involved in boxing whatsoever would be boxers.  They would be the ones writing about it, doing broadcasts of it, and running the show.  Garbage.  He played that same game with Max Kellerman when he first started with ESPN, despite Max having a boxing show in NY for years.

- The guy that fought Gomez didn't deserve to get stopped. I would say he didn't have a chance to win the fight, but after the other two decisions he actually had a chance.  I still say Gomez needs to get in better shape, though.

- if Mora is going to become a better fighter, he needs to learn what a jab is. He's got those long arms; use them. On top of that, he isn't a power puncher, although he gave Peter all he could handle in the 5th (before punching himself out).  But Freddie Roach has done a good job with Manfredo, and he was able to get the better of the inside game better than Mora more often than not.

- Sorry Burnett, but if this was to gain interest for next spring, you failed.  This left a bad taste in everyone's mouths.

Before I go on, lemme say this:  I don't watch a lot of baseball, hence I didn't see the disputed out from last night's NLCS.  As a fellow official (I'm not an ump), I know how it feels to blow a call.  All officials have at some point in time, and continue to do so.  It must suck to do it in the playoffs, though.  Hopefully he can shake it off and have a fine career, as he's doing something that I hope to do one day...become a sports official in the pros.

---

Now on to football. 

- Injuries continue to plague the NFL, as two of the top QB's in the league went down.  Michael Vick didn't play due to injuries sustained in the Vikings game last week, and Ben Rothlisberger went down with a hyperextended knee after a Chargers lineman popped Ben's shin with his helmet.

Vick's knee must be pretty serious, as he missed one of the Falcons' biggest games this year, and it resulted in a close loss to the defending world champions.  A lot of people think Jim Mora pulled a "Bellichek"; letting the Patriots think Vick was going to play and plan their defensive scheme around him before downgrading him, which left the Patriots unprepared for Matt Schaub.  If that was the case, then it worked, because Schaub had a pretty decent game:  18-34, 298, 3 touchdowns.  Gee; when's the last time Vick put up passing numbers like that?  And note:  that was in a comeback effort.  A pretty impressive one too.

Rothlisberger's knee, according to the Steelers, isn't that bad.  They're even claiming he could play on Sunday, but if I were them I wouldn't take that chance.  I have two reasons:  first, Jacksonville has a great front line that will put pressure on him from time to time, and the Jags did a great job covering the Cincinnati Bengals' young receivers.  Second, it's better to let him rest and take a week off, because next week they are facing the Bengals in a game that could decide the AFC North.  If you're going to come in with a disadvantage, it's better to do so against a non-divisional opponent and not risk your QB being put on the shelf longer than he should.  Let Charlie Batch earn that minimum contract.

- Mike Tice and Jim Haslett both should have been gone last year.  Making excuses for them this year doesn't make up for their screwups in the past.  It just makes the owners look stupid for not taking care of the situation before it got to this point.  The same goes to Mike Martz, although I sincerely hope he does get better.  His health is more important than football.

Brian Billick, guess what?  You're on the hot seat too.  And with the way the Steelers and Bengals are playing, you're not going to get off anytime soon.

I don't think I have to mention Dom Capers, do I?  I have some sympathy for him, because he was the Panthers' first coach.  But damn, he's going to get David Carr killed.  How he's still walking upright is an amazing feat in and of itself.  Dude's got guts, but I would have forced a trade or something.  I can't stand for my QB to take shots on Madden.

- A word to Joe Gibbs:  I know you're the grandfather of the NFL, and you have the Redskins ripe for a playoff bid this year.  But cmon...either play Arrington or cut him.  The guy deserves another chance, and the Skins aren't helping themselves by keeping him on the sidelines.

Hell; the way the Panthers' D has been playing, we can surely use him.

- Speaking of the Panthers' D, it's amazing how things can change within a week.  Chris Gamble was the big hero by batting down a Bret Favre pass during the Monday night game last week, and on Sunday he stunk up the field.  It took Marlon McCree to save the Panthers this week, getting two picks off of deflections.  One of those was in the endzone before halftime, which saved the Panthers from getting into a bigger deficit.  McCree was a good pick up by the Panthers.

- Tampa Bay is in trouble.  Their Cadillac is just coming out of the shop, and they face a Dolphins team that will see the return of Ricky Williams to go along with Ronnie Brown.  Cadillac hopes to play Sunday, and they will need him if they don't want to lose two straight. 

- The Pats aren't out of the fire yet, as they have to travel to Mile High for arguably the Game of the Week.  I would have bet during the preseason that Shanahan would be in the hot seat by this time.  Now they have the second best record in the AFC.  Not bad.

And if anyone hasn't noticed, that offensive line is gelling again for the Pats.  Brady threw 350 on a decent Atlanta defense.  G'luck Champ (Bailey, that is).

I'll have some more thoughts later in the week. 

This really ticks me off:

North Carolina State basketball player Gavin Grant may be deported as an illegal immigrant.

Eyewitness News has learned that Grant was detained last week by campus police and immigrations officials, amid allegations that he was smuggled into the country, from Jamaica, as a child.

NC State officials are saying they believe Grant will be able to play with them this winter, but that's far from the point.

Alright, so he have a kid that's playing college basketball, presumably on scholarship, trying to get his degree and make something of himself.  Meanwhile, North Carolina has over 300,000 illegal immigrants, with the majority of them being Mexican.  Yet, the feds want to ship this kid back to JAMACIA, of all places.

It would be one thing if the feds actually enforced immigration law evenly, but as Michelle Malkin and others can attest to, they don't.  Hence, you have a kid who is a relatively high-profile basketball player at State (he was supposed to start this season) being cherrypicked by the INS, when they could probably go on the other side of the city and detain as many illegal immigrants as they wish.

And note:  this is only a few months after the North Carolina General Assembly proposed a measure that would have given illegal immigrants in-state tuition if they lived here over a year and graduated from an NC high school.  It took the wrath of a couple of local talk radio hosts in Raleigh to draw enough outrage to shelf the proposal.  However, former Gov. Jim Hunt and other supporters are still lobbying for it to be passed.  Hence, how many of those recipients were going to get detained and deported?

The answer:  little to none.  And it isn't as if they don't know where to look.