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SO.... I'm reading all my typical news stuff before I jump back on the Q and I came across an article quoting Eamon Sullivan saying that Phelps "was able to break Mark Spitz's record of seven golds at one Olympics through good fortune and some small errors by rivals."

He goes on to explain by stating this: "One hundred flys...always comes down to finishes and some would say Cavic's finish was - it was at that point 50-50 whether you take another stroke or you take a glide," stating that Phelps took another stroke and he took a glide. Thus equally luck on Phelps part. My thoughts???

If they were playing football and the safety spots the ball carrier coming, and the safety thinks he's going left, but instead the ball carrier goes right, busts open and scores a touchdown. The safety then says it's not his fault, and the ball carrier just got lucky.

NO!!! He didn't get lucky. YOU made a bad decision. Don't take away from him because Cavic wasn't good at judging where the poolside was. How crappy of a competitor do you have to be to say that? Much less a sore loser.

Finally the idiot closes with these statements:
"I guess what else is left to do for him except come down and win races he hasn't won before? ... He better bring his A-game because us sprint boys are a different league and we are not going go easy on him."

In closing, I can only wish that this man would read this and see these final words.

You couldn't beat us in what's supposed to be the STIFFEST competition from EVERY COUNTRY! What really makes you think your gonna beat him in something as simple as AUSSIES meets. Give me a break and shut up so that you can return home with some dignity. A second place finish was enough for me to give it to him....but then I read this.......I hope Phelps CRUSHES HIM so we won't have to hear this crap again.

Sullivan Says Phelps Got Lucky [AOL Sports]

It was 4 years ago when NASCAR decided to move Labor Day Weekend away from Darlington and send it westward to California.  That experiment has failed miserably, and thankfully the snoozefest that is Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA will not be hosting NASCAR's Labor Day festivities next year. But before the spotlight rides off into the sunset, leaving California and its lack of excitement behind, we've still got one last race here on Labor Day Weekend.  What will happen this weekend?  Will another bubble driver get knocked out of the Top 12?  Can one of the 5 Winless Chasers finally get back to victory lane?  Will a first-time winner emerge?  Here's the rundown on what to expect when the green flag flies Sunday evening...

First off, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch will be looking to continue their recent dominance over everybody else, but this time they'll have to pass each other cleanly.  If they start beating and banging one another, or any other driver for that matter, NASCAR will give them more than the slap on the wrist they got after Bristol when they were both placed on probation for 6 weeks.  If you thought Shrub was whining after the Sharpie 500, just watch what happens if he messes around this week, NASCAR will give him something to cry about.  Regardless, look for both of these drivers to have solid runs again, as if you'd expect anything less from the 2 drivers who have combined to win MORE than half of the 24 races run so far in 2008.

How about those 5 Winless Chasers?  3 of them are former winners here.  Greg Biffle won the Spring race in 2005, and Matt Kenseth won the Spring race back-to-back the last 2 years.  Ruh-roh...another Roush streak starting?  With Edwards winning the first California race back in February of this year, that's 4 years in a row a Roushketeer has won in Fontana.  Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick have never won here, but don't count them out as they could win any day now, and the same goes for the #24 team.  Jeff Gordon won the first race in Fontana 11 years ago, and last won here in 2004, not to mention he has the most wins of any active driver in the series with 3.  Okay, I know that sounds like a low number, but NASCAR has only been racing at this track since 1997, so give me a break!

What about surprise winners?  We've had a couple at this track before.  The 2 drivers who won at California and have never been perennial threats were Jeremy Mayfield in 2000, and Elliott Sadler in 2004.  Sadler's win in 2004 clinched him a spot in the first Chase for the Cup.  If there's anyone who would be a nice surprise to see win among the current Chase contenders, that choice IMHO would have to be the #83 of Brian Vickers.  He's still on the outside looking in, but that Red Bull Toyota has been there all year long, fighting for that final spot in the Top 12.

How about first time winners?  We've seen that at California as well.  Jimmie Johnson captured his first victory right here back in 2002 as a rookie.  Kyle Busch also captured his first Cup Series victory in this very race back in 2005 as a rookie, becoming the youngest winner in the now 60-year history of NASCAR's top division.  What about a chance for a first time winner this weekend?  Well, the man who seems to be next in line for his first career victory is a man who continues to impress me every week, and just keeps getting better and better.  You might have heard of him, his name is David Ragan.  He's only 12 points out of the Chase, and he can certainly make it into the Top 12.  A win here would vault him back into the Chase, boost his confidence through the roof, and put 4 Roushketeers into the Chase for the Cup.  Last year's Cinderella story was Clint Bowyer, the man he's battling for that final Chase spot.  If Ragan makes it in, he'll be this year's Cinderella without a doubt.

What can we expect from the Chase bubble drivers?  I look for every single one of them to run as hard as they can.  They all know what's at stake, and will stop at nothing to keep their Chase hopes alive.  Jamie McMurray isn't going to make the Chase, and if your name is Martin Truex Jr., you better win the damn thing on Sunday and hope the next 5 guys in front of you in points finish outside the top 30 if you're going to have any hope of making the Chase.  That leaves us with 16 drivers in contention for the 12 Chase spots.

Before I reveal my pick for this week, it's time to whip out the calculators again as we look at some more number crunching.  I called Johnson and Earnhardt IN for the Chase after Bristol, because barring a major injury where a driver can't start, everyone in Chase contention will take the green flag on Sunday.  HOWEVER, the "official" magic number is 196.  You can have a maximum of 195 points in a race by winning and leading the most laps, so one point over that after the Pepsi 500 will earn you a spot in the Chase.  Sooo, even though I said they were both into the Chase, they're not 100% in just yet.  Here's the scenarios needed to clinch, compliments of Jayski...

-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Will clinch his spot in the Chase IF he finishes 40th or better OR finishes 41st or 42nd and leads at least one lap. (So in plain English, Jr. is in.)
-Jimmie Johnson: Will clinch his spot in the Chase IF he finishes 40th or better OR finishes 41st and leads a lap. (So all Jr. and Johnson have to do is finish 39th and 40th and they're in, although I look for them both to run much better than that.)
-Jeff Burton: Will clinch his spot in the Chase IF he finishes 15th or better, OR finishes16th or 17th and leads a lap, OR finishes 20th and leads the most laps. (used to be a piece of cake for Burton earlier this year)

The next 6 drivers can clinch a spot, but need to increase their lead over the 13th place driver...
-Tony Stewart: He's 170 points ahead of 13th going into this race.  He'll clinch his spot in the Chase if he can increase his lead over 13th by just 26 points. (very doable)
-Greg Biffle: The Biff sits 141 points ahead of 13th.  He can clinch his spot in the Chase if he increases his lead over 13th by another 55 points. (doable, but will take a bit of a falter by some drivers lower down in the standings)
-Kevin Harvick: Needs to increase his lead over 13th by another 67 points. (see Biffle above)
-Jeff Gordon: Needs to increase his lead over 13th by 88 points. (That would mean finishing at least 15 spots ahead of whoever ends the night 13th in the standings, and that's a bit of a stretch.)
-Matt Kenseth: Needs to increase his lead over 13th by a staggering 118 points. (That's not happening unless someone has a monumentally miserable night!)
-Denny Hamlin: Needs to increase his lead over 13th by a whopping 139 points. (Denny ain't clinchin' this week either.  The most you can make up in a race is 161.  For Denny to make the Chase, he'd need almost the entire field to finish between he and whoever is 13th at the end of the night.  I'm not joking about that either, he'd need to finish AT LEAST 35 positions higher than whoever winds up 13th when the checkered flag falls.  That's asking way too much.)

-Clint Bowyer: Can't clinch a spot in the Chase as long as David Ragan takes the green flag...so that means he's not clinching a spot in the Chase.

My Chase clincher prediction: At night's end, there will be 6 drivers into the Chase, and Martin Truex Jr. will be officially eliminated from Chase contention, possibly along with 1 other driver.  That will leave us 9 drivers to fight for 6 spots at Richmond.

Okay, yinz can all put your calculators away now, the number crunching is done...at least until the postrace wrap-up.  Without further adieu, here's who to watch on Sunday...

My pick: David Ragan...Yes, I realize this is a bold pick, but he nearly won at Michigan, which is a virtual twin to Fontana.  He'll run strong, and he'll be there at the end.  This will get him into the Chase, and give him even more confidence than he already has going into the Chase.  Ragan has finished 16th, 12th, and 14th in his 3 Fontana races, all lead lap finishes.  But now he's grabbing top 10s everywhere, and he led laps finishing 8th and 3rd in the 2 races this year at Michigan.  This could finally be the night for Ragan's breakthrough into victory lane.

Dark Horse: Brian Vickers...Vickers sat on the pole at Michigan and finished 7th a couple of weeks ago.  He finished 4th at Michigan after leading in June.  He came all the way from 39th to finish 11th here back in February.  Last year in the first Fontana race, he gave Toyota its first top-10 finish in the Cup Series.  He then backed that up by leading laps and finishing 8th here in this race last year.  In fact, he has 4 top-10s at California and has only finished off the lead lap twice.  He also knows how to qualify well here with 3 front row starts including a pole as a rookie back in 2004.  Now he has the car to stay up front when he qualifies there, and he's done just that.

The gloves are off, the battles are ready to unfold, and the fireworks on the track may be better than the fireworks in the sky after the race.  What will we see this weekend?  There's only one way to find out, coverage begins Sunday at 7 PM ET...NOW LET'S GO RACING!

BK over and out

The arrival of football was going to make this a great week regardless, but Jay Mariotti leaving Chicago put it over the top. Here's our highlights of the week...

• Jay Mariotti, see ya!
• Redeem team accomplishes their goal, earns back our respect.
• Dream Team vs Redeem Team. Who do you like?
• Michael Phelps is doing SNL. He's got a tough act to follow.
• 9-year-old told he's too good to pitching little league. We're a bunch of panzies.
• Kid falls out of the stands at Citizens Bank Park. Turns out he's a Yankee fan. Fitting.
• Chad Johnson says he's officially changed his name to Ocho Cinco. You're cuckoo if you believe him.
• Erin Andrews crowd shots. Yep, it's football season.
• Florida Gators RB Chris Rainey is about as smart as, well, a college football player.
• You'll never guess where Pacman Jones was when he found out he was reinstated. OK, you probably will.
• Slick Rick has put Slick Pete on notice.
• You'll never believe this, but Chris Mortensen reported another story incorrectly.

No weekend TV guide this week, we think you know what's on. If not, here's your guide. Find a couch close to cold beverage, or find a seat at the bar. Park yourself there at 11 am ET Saturday. Stay there all day and keep yourself full hydrated. Sound good? Then on Sunday and Monday, don't do any work and enjoy what remains of your summer.

We'll be up and at it early tomorrow with some pre-game thoughts along with observations all day on the college football's first week. Sunday and Monday might be a little light. It is Labor Day after all. Have a good night, we'll see you tomorrow.

Go State!

What fun is the coming season without putting some bold predictions out on the table. Last year I didn't do so bad, calling Notre Dame's debacle, sort of calling that Kentucky would pull off a huge upset, predicting that Rutgers was going to take a few steps back, and that the Big Ten champ would lose to LSU in the national championship game. Not bad, right?

Since I'm feeling extra confident, we're taking it up a few notches with 10 9 bold predictions and one guaranteed to be right.

10. Lou Holtz Will Be Wrong Every Week, Especially In Predicting 10+ Wins From Notre Dame
In typical Lou Holtz fashion, we'll state the obvious right off the bat in the hopes you'll think we're intelligent. Whenever I'm in doubt picking a game, I wait to hear what Lou has to say and then go the other way. It's as good a bellwether as any other.

Holtz got off to a great start last night by claiming that Notre Dame would win at least 10 games and that his other school, South Carolina would win the SEC East. Neither will happen, particularly the Irish prognostication.

Charlie Weis will have a better team this fall, no doubt, they aren't going to embarrass their fan base on a weekly basis, but they're also not going to light the country on fire. The one huge asset the Irish have in their favor is a schedule that is much more manageable.

A winning record is likely, but lets go ahead and chalk up losses to Michigan State, Pittsburgh, at Boston College and USC just for starters. I'm guessing Holtz wasn't much of a math major, because that's four losses. Anyways, onto some more serious predictions...

9. Pittsburgh will be 9-1 when West Virginia visits November 28th
Hard to believe, but yes a Chicago Bears fan is fully on board the Dave Wannstache bandwagon. LeSean McCoy is a legit Heisman talent, the Panthers get big play receiver Derek Kinder back, and have several quarterback options from which Wannstedt should feel comfortable. The schedule isn't terribly difficult and the defense is good enough for the Big East.

8. Kansas Jayhawks will fall back to 6-6
I realize they have a lot of the same players back, but this time the Jayhawks play the best of the Big XII South. Chalk up losses to Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, in addition to Nebraska, Kansas State and South Florida. It's not that they're that much worse, but the schedule doesn't help out nearly as much.

7. Fresno State, not BYU is the non-BCS party crasher
Brigham Young is the better football team, but Fresno State has a schedule that sets up a little more favorably. After the Bulldogs upset Wisconsin September 13th, they'll vault into the Top 15 in the country and with an easy stretch during the heart of the season will rack up enough wins to climb them into the Top 10 before they visit Boise State for the deciding game. QB Tom Brandstater might be the quarterback who makes the biggest vault up draft boards this fall.

6. Michigan will go 6-6 in Rich Rodriguez first season
Naturally, I'll be accused of some bias here, but I just don't see this season going any other way. RichRod has said multiple times that his QB situation has kept him up all night. Now I know I shouldn't believe a word he says, but I do trust him on this one. And I don't think he's been up all night because he's thrilled with what he's got. There's no doubt that Michigan will find the perfect QB, someone even better than Pat White at West Virginia... it is Michigan after all. They don't recruit. They select. BUT, this year is going to be a debacle under center. Starting tomorrow against Utah will be former walk-on, former wasn't even good enough to hold a clipboard, Nick Sheridan. It may go well enough to beat Utah tomorrow, but as Big Ten approaches I don't like there odds of finishing any better than 4-4 in conference play. Wait till next year...

5. Kirk Ferentz will be looking, taking a new job after season's end
I'm not going to say he's fired, because he's a good coach, but couple a 3-4 win season with all the other off-the-field issues and I suspect Ferentz will explore other options. The good news though, is that Maine and Florida Int'l are the first two games on the schedule. Enjoy!

4. UCLA beats USC on the final weekend, pushing the Trojans out of the BCS Championship game
BCS madness erupts, again, after the Bruins and Rick Neuheisel stand up to Pete Carroll in their first showdown. It's at home, UCLA will have nothing to lose but another game, and Norm Chow will chew up a defense he knows very, very well. This sends USC behind Ohio State, despite beating them earlier and create a national title game everyone will hate.

3. Terrelle Pryor actually will live up the hype, helping Ohio State reach the BCS Championship
It's rare that a player getting as much hype as he has actually lives up to the hype in year one. Tim Tebow did it, and Jim Tressel will follow his model as far as playing time. He'll put Pryor into situations where he can be successful and slowly take more snaps form Todd Boeckman. In the end, it'll be his mobility that lifts the Buckeyes over Wisconsin and Michigan State on the road in close games, and an easy season ending win over Michigan.

2. Tim Tebow will win the Heisman (again)
Not terribly bold, but then again only one man has ever accomplished this feat previously. Most are predicting that the voters will shy away from voting Tebow simply because of their reverence for Archie Griffin and the Heisman mystique, but he's going to have a more successful season individual, and his team....

1. Florida Gators will defeat Ohio State (again) in the National Championship
Sorry, but it's going to happen. Brace yourself, and start stocking up on booze.

The city of Los Angeles is about to begin its 14th season without an NFL team. The 2nd largest TV market in the country lost the Rams and the Raiders in 1994, and there hasn't been a replacement ever since.

Now, the NFL is reportedly considering sending a team there, possibly as soon as next season. Ed Roski, Jr. is building a new state of the art stadium, with the expectation that it will house an NFL franchise, and it looks like the NFL is cooperating with that vision.

While Roski and his business partner John Semcken wouldn't mention any particular teams, but back in April, Roski mentioned the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers as potential tenants for his new stadium.

I'm not sure that LA even deserves a team. They have had 2 in the past, and that's what Roski would like to see again, but they haven't managed to KEEP those teams. I realize that a lot of that had to do with the ownership, but it does not look good for a city when they have the population that LA does, and can't generate enough revenue to maintain a team.

That being said, LA might be a good move for some of the teams that Roski mentioned. For example, the Saints haven't had great attendance, even with the recent resurgence of their franchise, and they even played half their home games outside their state a couple years ago after Hurrican Katrina. It almost seemed like the rest of the country banded together and supported the Saints more than their own city did.

Roski and his investors are actually anticipating TWO teams eventually residing in LA. Could it really be true? We'll see. Apparently the NFL didn't learn the first time around.

Official: NFL to play in Los Angeles next season [SGV Tribune]

Is there a more non-descript division in any major sport than the NFC South? Even trying to name all the teams at once is difficult, because they’re so forgettable. Given the results they usually put up each year, it’s easy to see why. This year should be at least competitive mediocrity, as three teams could conceivably win the division (only to inevitably lose in round one).  However, we start the team break downs with the team that won’t compete.

4) Atlanta Falcons

The good news for the Falcons is that it’s a new season and no one got arrested for any major felonies in the off-season. I haven’t checked in a few hours though. The bad news is that this team is very much in rebuilding mode, and nothing shows that better than naming Matt Ryan the starting quarterback.  He gets a new toy is Michael Turner, but there’s still no guarantee he’s even better than the incumbent Small Sample All-Star on the team, Jerious Norwood. Ryan will also have Roddy White, who had a very good season for a guy catching balls from Joey Harrington and Chris Redman.  However, Alge Crumpler has left for Tennessee, and the offensive line was atrocious last year. Have fun, Matt.

If the Falcons have a strength, it should be the pass rush, led by John Abraham and Jonathan Babineaux, which the potential of Jamaal Anderson. However, there’s still no indication Atlanta can stop the run, and with DeAngelo Hall departed, the pass defense has taken a step back. All of this translates into another bad season on the field, with the hope that it at least won’t be an embarrassment off.

Prediction: 3-13

3) Carolina Panthers

Priority #1 on offense is to keep Jake Delhomme healthy so there is no temptation to bring back Vinny Testaverde. Priority #2 is to find Delhomme a target other than Steve Smith. For that, the Panthers brought back Mushin Muhammad and added D.J. Hackett. Those two should be serviceable, which is needed with Smith out the first two games and the rest of the receiving core being a bunch of who-dats. Priority #3 is to figure out how to use DeAngelo Williams and first round pick Jonathan Stewart together in the backfield. No matter what, they should be a better tandem than Williams and DeShaun Foster.

Priority #1 on defense is to figure out what caused Julius Peppers to only have 2.5 sacks last year and fix it. Not helping matters is that Peppers’ usual partners-in-crime on the defensive line, Kris Jenkins and Mike Rucker, are gone. Carolina needs to get back the consistent pass rush they used to have.  On the plus side, Jon Beason and rookie Dan Connor form a very tough linebacking duo, while the secondary is led by safety Chris Harris and his eight forced fumbles last year.

Overall though, the Panthers seem just kind of there, like they always are. Maybe their top priority is to get people to care about them.

Prediction: 8-8

2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Under Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay has mostly built the team through free agency.  Recently though, the Bucs have finally realized they need the draft too. Slowly, the defense, while still having stalwarts Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, has gotten younger.  This is led by Gaines Adams, who has the look of a great pass rusher. This year’s rookie class also has potential, at least when they’re not getting into fights during the rookie symposium.

Youth is starting to reign down offensively too. The Bucs actually have the youngest offensive line in football, filled with solid non-geriatric veterans like Jeff Faine and Davin Joseph. The problem is in the skill players. They are mostly still old. Quarterback Jeff Garcia is 38. #1 receiver Joey Galloway is 36. Ike Hilliard is somehow still the #2 receiver. Earnest Graham is not old, but the Bucs better hope he wasn’t a fluke, since Cadillac Williams’ availability is unknown and unreliable.

With the Bucs, if the skill players stay healthy and productive, they’ll probably win the division. If not, it could get ugly with the drop-off to the other 40 million Tampa quarterbacks and to remains of Michael Clayton and Antonio Bryant’s careers at wide out. This prediction splits the difference.

Prediction: 8-8

1) New Orleans Saints

Lost in Tom Brady’s amazing season was that Drew Brees broke the NFL record for completions in a season with 440. Of course, the reason for that is because the Saints’ running game collapsed when Deuce McAllister went down, and the offensive line was unable to stop anyone all year, forcing Brees to throw quickly all the time.

An offense with a lot of weapons already added Jeremy Shockey to it, which should help if Shockey can stay healthy and quiet. Reggie Bush, however, might be a bigger key. Now in year three, Bush must make progress as a running back with Deuce’s career in doubt. He’ll never be a consistent yard churning back, but the Saints would love a little less bust, even if it means a slightly smaller boom. The line also has to improve if Brees ever wants to take more than a three step drop ever again. However, New Orleans brings back the same line, minus center Jeff Faine who signed with the Bucs.

Defensively, the big problem was that the secondary collapsed, as seen right away in Week 1 against the Colts. Did they fix it? Well, Jason David, who was burnt more than toast last year, remains a starter with Mike McKenzie at corner. They also signed Randall Gay and the ancient Aaron Glenn. I’m gonna have to go with no on that question.  A better pass rush would help though, and that is certainly possible with first round pick Sedrick Ellis joining Will Smith and Charles Grant on the line. The linebackers, led by Scott Fujita and Mark Simoneau, seem solid but not spectacular.

This prediction feels optimistic given what I’ve written. I might be projecting my hope that the more exciting Saints make the playoffs over the duller Panthers and Bucs.

Prediction: 9-7

The Saints will be the only team to make the playoffs, meekly losing in the first round. The Bucs and Panthers, though, we’ll be in the hunt all year, at least in that “oh yeah, them” sense. Once again in the NFC South, mediocrity breeds apathy.

FanIQ Prediction System

Falcons
Panthers
Bucs
Saints