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My sincerest apologies on the delay this week; the combination of October Reading Days and me not wanting to preview a theoretical playoff series between either the Detroit Tigers or the Minnesota Twins against the New York Yankees are to blame. This week is filled with games to watch as the Major League Baseball Playoffs begin and it becomes more apparent who are legitimate contenders in both college and professional football. As John Stewart would say, “here it is, your moment of zen”:

Monday October 5^th

NFL: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

If you are under the age of fifty (and thus not old enough to fully remember Vince Lombardi), one man comes to mind when the Green Bay Packers are brought up; Brett Favre. The man’s career speaks for itself. With three MVP trophies, a Super Bowl ring, the most career touchdown passes, passing yards, consecutive starts, and career victories as a starting Quarterback, it is not unreasonable to throw around his name in the argument for greatest Quarterback of all time. Missing from that list is leaving without a scene. Last year, after jerking around the Packers for long enough, Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets and though he started well, he ended his stint in the city that never sleeps quite poorly. In his attempt to “be like Mike” (Michael Jordan), Favre decided to retire and come back a second time as well. Instead of joining a lowly team who in no way competed with his former team like Jordan though, Favre joined the main division rival of his former team. This year, the rivalry game between the Packers and the Vikings is that much more intriguing because of Favre. For all the intrigue though, the Minnesota Vikings are a much better team. They were a playoff team without a good quarterback and have arguably the best running back in the league. Their defense was also the sixth best in the league last year. Though the Vikings winning was no surprise, the game was good and showed Favre was lucky not to be the Packer’s Quarterback (as Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times).

Tuesday October 6^th

MLB: Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins

After finishing the regular season with identical records of 86-76, these two AL Central Division rivals had to have a 163^rd game to complete the AL Playoff bracket. In my opinion, there was not a more exciting way to end the season than this four and a half hour 12 inning instant classic. What makes it even more amazing is the fact that not a month ago the Twins were seven games out of first. It also is the second year in a row that the Twins played in a 163^rd game tiebreaker with an AL Central foe, as last year they lost to Chicago. With Brett Favre and playoff baseball, looks like Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the place to be.

Wednesday October 7^th

MLB: Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies

The defending World Series Champions Philadelphia Phillies are back to try and repeat but will have to beat the streaky Colorado Rockies before they can even think about winning the NL. Last year the Phillies did not lose a game at home and this year they have had the best road record in the league but their pitching has a lot of question marks. During the season the Rockies were 10 games under .500 and finished twenty two games over and there’s no denying that the thin air in the mile high city will provide quite an advantage. Of all the playoff series this is the toughest one to predict. Expect a close five game series that the Phillies pull out.

MLB: Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

For all the excitement of winning a 163^rd game to make the playoffs after being seven back with less than a month to go, the Twins excitement will (if it hasn’t already) quickly turn into sadness. The Twins, holders of the worst record of the eight playoff teams, played seven games against the New York Yankees during the regular season and lost all seven times. They have had 21 probably hungover hours to prepare for the 6’7”, 290 pound giant CC Sabathia (who is in the top 4 in five major pitching categories, including first in wins) and the star studded Yankees lineup. The Yankees on the other hand have the best record in baseball (16 games better than the Twins) and had two days to rest up. With better pitching and much better hitting, anything less than a sweep will be seen as a failure for the Yankees. Expect a World Series Championship to be brought back to New York after a nine year drought unless they play the Red Sox in the ALCS in which case it could go either way.

Thursday October 8^th

MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals, the NL Central champions, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the NL West champions, had very similar records with the Dodgers having won four more than the Cardinals. During the regular season the Cardinals won five of seven against the Dodgers, with two of those wins coming from former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter. Carpenter will pitch game one for the Cardinals and after a 17-4 season could soon be named Cy Young winner again. Because of Carpenter the Cardinals will win game one, taking away homefield advantage from the Dodgers. With Albert Pujols leading the charge the rest of the way with his bat and the inexperienced Dodgers pitching staff bound to fail, I predict the Cardinals win the series in four games.

Friday October 9^th

MLB: Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

This series much like the Cardinals-Dodgers series is one of two teams with very similar records. The Angels have the second best record in the league, the Red Sox the third best record in the league. In what is the third playoff series in three years (fourth series in six years) between these two teams, there is no reason for me to believe that the result of the Red Sox winning won’t remain the same. Both teams had to fight to get here and both teams have good pitching staffs but only one team will remain after this series. Because of the injury problems that plagued Vladimir Guerrero and Tori Hunter for the Angels this year, I will be surprised if they can come through enough in the clutch. My Prediction is Boston Red Sox in 4.

Saturday October 10^th

College Football: #1 Florida Gators at #4 LSU Tigers

The biggest questions surrounding this game involve Tim Tebow. Will he play? If he does play will he be half as sharp as he usually is? If he doesn’t play what will that mean for the Florida Gators offense? Urban Meyer has said it will be a gametime decision, and thus far (as of Wednesday October 7^th) he has yet to practice.  Big SEC clashes in general bring a playoff type atmosphere and usually end close. Not being at the swamp will also be to the advantage of LSU, but LSU has yet to impress this year having squeaked by Georgia this past weekend as well as Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Washington. Without Tebow though, who and what Florida team we will see is up in the air. Expect a close game, regardless of whether Tebow plays, and look for Meyer to have some tricks up his sleeve as Florida barely pull this one out.

Sunday October 11^th

NFL: New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

It should be hard for everyone who follows the NFL to believe that a team with Kyle Orton as the Quarterback could be undefeated through the first four games. That said, beating the horrid Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns, sneaking out a first game win against the perennially inconsistent Cincinatti Bengals and upsetting a team searching for an identity in the Dallas Cowboys is not exactly what legitimate teams have on their resume. Nonetheless, the Broncos are undefeated. The New England Patriots on the other hand have had a slower start than usual that can mostly be attributed to the fact that Tom Brady was injured for a whole year and the veteran laden team got a year older. Brady is still as clutch as ever, keeping his composure and pulling out close games versus both the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. I think it is safe to say that of the five undefeated teams, Denver is the most likely to lose, and I think they will lose big, even at home.