Ole' 45 Calling It Like I See It

* Brandon Phillips provides a spark off the field for the Red Legs to bad it hasn't happened on the field. Phillips expressed his hatred toward the Cardinals in some pre-game interviews on Monday. I take the move to be a ploy to fire up the troops for the series to determine first place in the Central. The statements lead to a typical bar fight amongst a bunch of frat boys arguing over penis size. I did like to see LaRussa and Baker going at it however. These two have a history from their Cubs vs. Cardinals days and I would love to see Dusty get in the ring against LaRussa. The bottom line is the Phillips statements will only intensify the race for the Central and makes Reds baseball relevant on a national scale.

* The NFL preseason kicked off last Sunday as the Cowboys edged the Bengals. I am not a big NFL preseason guy in fact I rarely watch a snap however I am in the minority on that one. The overnight ratings will likely be 50% higher than the World Series. This number signifies how big football has become in America.

* It may only be me but I really like the Dolphins in the AFC East. I am not sold on the Jets. Yes the Defense is good but to me it's not of the quality of the 85 Bears or the Ravens during their Super Bowl Season. Sanchez should be improved this season as the addition of Holmes adds to his arsenal. But Greene shouldn't just be penciled in to match Jones's production. This team was a Colts "playing to win the game" away from missing the playoffs last year. The Patriots will once again be good on offense but the D is a big question mark. This could be the best division at the top as I could see all three teams as playoff caliber but I love the addition of Marshall and the coaching is second to none.

* It may only be me but could the Raiders really win the AFC West? I just don't like the Broncos unless the true chosen one, Brady Quinn, takes the reigns. I could see the Chiefs making a jump this year as Weis for all his faults is an excellent offensive coach who could make something out of Cassell but I still think they are a year away. The Chargers have regressed the last three seasons and what once may have been the deepest team in the league has lost more over the last two seasons then they have obtained. The Raiders offense will be much better with Campbell under center and this team looked good at times last year when Russell wasn't under center. The lack of a established WR could really hurt but if they can find a way to utilize Michael Bush more and McFadden can finally do something I can really see this squad making a playoff push.

* Tiger Woods holds on to the Number 1 Ranking in Golf. I don't know how the Rankings are determined but I do wonder what it matters. Had Mickelson won the event he would have been the number one player regardless of what Woods did. My point is should Mickelson get the top spot at some point would anyone make the statement that Mickelson was a better player than Tiger? I am a Phil guy, rather than a Tiger rooter but not for one second do I believe that Phil is at the same level. Tiger has just had a bad year both personally and proffesionally. Likely for the first time in his life he is facing some diversity. To this point he has not overcome these issues but once he does I happen to think he will be the Tiger of old. How long will this take is anyones guess but regardless I don't need a ranking system to tell me who the number one player in golf is.

* The College Football USA Today's Coaching Poll was released on Friday and Alabama claims the top spot. The Top 10 is as follows: Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, Boise St., Virginia Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa. I really think this season will be wide open. Both Bama and Florida have question marks coming into the year. The SEC is still the strongest conference in America but it could be a down year for the conference from SEC standards. Ohio State is playing in what should be a good year for the Big Ten. I really like Boise State to play for the National Title. They have the highest preseason ranking ever by a Non-BCS school. Their season will be measured by their Week 1 matchup against Virginia Tech. If the Broncos can beat the Hokies they should coast to another undefeated season. Given their lofty ranking if the Hokies can go 9-3 or 8-4 on the year and given Boise States past success in BCS games that should be enough to put the Broncos in a title game assuming that three of the four team in front of them have a loss(Bama,Texas, Florida, Ohio State). A couple of teams outside the Top 25 that I like in 2010. Washington, 5-7 last season but Jake Locker returns and could be the best QB in the country. I really like Sarkisian as a coach and I really like the Huskies to return to a prominent program under his watch. Stanford, 8-5 last season but the loss of Gerhartt has them under the radar. Stanford had a ground attack last season but could open up the playbook and build the offense around talented QB Andrew Luck. Notre Dame, yes I am a homer so what. Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd could easily be the best TE and WR in the country. Brian Kelly has had nothing but success during his career and his offenses have been amongst the best in all of the NCAA. I have no doubt the offense will be very effective the overall success and failure will be placed on the defensive side of the ball.

- Make sure to follow the 64/60 pages during the season for Weekly Top 25 Rankings. We are your friends house that you stay at occasionally when you have drank to much for college football.

Last Weeks Trivia Question: Seven players have 400SB by their 29th Birthday can you name them? Answers: Cesar Cedeno, Carl Crawford, Rickey Henderson, Eddie Collins, Vince Coleman, Tim Raines, Ty Cobb.

This Weeks Trivia Question: Derek Jeter recently passed Babe Ruth on the Yankees All Time Hits list. Jeter currently has 2876 hits and is on pace to be the youngest player to have 3000 hits. Currently their are six other active players who have over 2500 hits can you name them? Please note Ken Griffey Jr. is still considered active on many list but he is not included in the question. For the record I did not answer this question because I did the research on it.