#5 College Basketball
OK, there isn’t a single marquee match-up on the docket this weekend. It isn’t likely that Mississippi Valley State is going to knock off #1 ranked North Carolina. But College Basketball is back! The NBA may be taking the year off, but that doesn’t mean a year without basketball. There are 160 games this weekend. To quote the great Dick Vitale: Yeah, baby!

#4 Unrepentant Lions
Ndamukong Suh and the Detroit Lions are unrepentant about their combative, aggressive style that brought them into extra-curricular conflict with the Chicago Bears and pretty much everyone else they’ve faced this season. It will be fun to see how they behave when facing Cam Newton and the nothing-left-to-lose 2-7 Carolina Panthers this week.

#3 Battle of the Bays
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Lambeau Field to face the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Sunday. On paper, the 4-5 Bucs with their 28th ranked defense shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the defending Super Bowl champions. But the Pack isn’t likely to go 16-0 en route to a Super Bowl repeat, and the easily overlooked Buccaneers may be the team to derail the Packers’ quest for perfection. We’re going out on a limb and calling this one our Official Buzzer Eagle Upset Special Guarantee.*

#2 Nebraska at Michigan
Michigan has looked mighty impressive in their eight wins this season, most notably the 58-0 drubbing of Minnesota last month. Lead by a stout defense, the Wolverines have looked better than their #18 ranking in those eight wins. But their two losses, to cross-state rival Michigan State and Iowa, weren’t nearly as pretty. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are also 8-2 coming into this game, with impressive wins over two ranked teams (Michigan State and Penn State) on their resume. Two teams, ranked #16 and 18, who need a win to stay relevant. Winner moves up, loser slides down.

#1 Ford 400
NASCAR, known for starting the year with its equivalent of the Super Bowl, will end the 2011 season with a bang as Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart go head to head for the Sprint Cup. Separated by just three points – three tiny little measly points – it is winner take all at Homestead on Sunday. Oh, and the other forty drivers will be driving for pride – and money – too.
*Guarantee void in all 50 states and everywhere else.

#5 The Pan Am Games
The Pan Am Games are still going strong. Every sport from Archery to Wrestling will be on display throughout the weekend, including such unusual events as badminton, basque pelota (no idea), handball, judo, squash, and table tennis.

#4 Oklahoma at Kansas State
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that Kansas State (#8) would be ranked ahead of Oklahoma (#9) when these two met? But here we are and Kansas State is undefeated heading into the matchup with one-loss Oklahoma, who was burned by Texas Tech last week. It’s almost unthinkable that Oklahoma would lose two in a row. But Kansas State  beat Texas Tech just a few weeks back and is looking to up their standing even farther by taking down the Sooners and their potent passing attack.

#3 Tums Fast Relief 500
NASCAR returns to Martinsville this weekend as the Sprint Cup season careens headlong toward the finale. Carl Edwards is leading the pack, but Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, and Tony Stewart are all lurking close behind. While many of the superstars like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon are falling away, these four are going to be fighting to the very end. Every lap, every spot, every pit stop is magnified as the Chase draws to a close.

#2 Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday Night Football heads to the City of Brotherly Love for a matchup between two of the NFL teams that were deeply disappointed by T.O. during his Tour of Misery through the NFL. Speaking of disappointment, the Eagles haven’t exactly lived up to their Dream Team label so far this year. The Cowboys, on the other hand, are exactly what everyone – except team owner Jerry Jones – thought they’d be with Tony Romo under center: mediocre. Eagles’ Coach Andy Reid never loses after a bye, so the Eagles to slide a little closer to mediocre themselves with a win on Sunday.

#1 New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh is 5-2, playing up and down ball so far this year. When they’re good, they’re as good as anyone in the league. When they’re off… they can be crushed by Baltimore. Pittsburgh will have to be on their A-game if they hope to keep up with the 6-1 Patriots. Home field should give the Steelers enough of an advantage to keep it close. This one should be a great battle between two powerhouses.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

#5 NBA Basketball… Not
After months of negotiations, the NBA owners and players seem to be farther apart than ever. It’s a battle royale pitting the big market owners vs. the small market owners vs. the marquee players vs. the rest of the players. The winner is yet to be determined. The loser is anyone who was counting on a full NBA season this year.

The Real #5 – It’s Timmy Time
Tim Tebow is not the prototypical NFL quarterback. Despite his impressive college credentials, many observers think that Tebow does not have the skill set to make it as an quarterback in the NFL. Even the Denver Broncos, who drafted Tebow, never seemed sold on Tebow as a real, live starting QB. But Sunday… what, the Broncos are off this week? That’s it. No number 5 this week. Moving on to the Top 4 -

#4 Bank of America 500
The balance of the NASCAR universe has been off kilter all year as ever-Champ Jimmie Johnson slugged along near, but not at, the top of the heap. In two weeks he surged from the brink of elimination to the cusp of victory. He’s now just 4 slim points behind points leader Carl Edwards (Kevin Harvick is in between the two, one point behind Edwards). Saturday could be the day (well, the night – the race starts at 7:30 PM ET) that Johnson takes back what’s been his for the last five years.

#3 San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions
The San Francisco 49ers look like winners. Two weeks ago, the pulled out a plucky, come-from-behind win. Last week they put on a clinic, annihilating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-3 in the most one-sided game in recent memory. The Detroit Lions are 5-0. I can’t believe I just typed those words. But it is true – the Lions are, in fact, 5-0 for the first time since the late Precambrian Era. Will the Niners suffer a let down after last week’s nigh-perfect performance or will they be the ones to knock the Lions from the ranks of the unbeaten?

#2 MLB Conference Series on the Cheap
The teams from Milwaukee, St. Louis, Detroit, and Texas are baseball’s final four. The sight of the Brewers, Cardinals, Tigers, and Rangers battling for the crown is a beautiful thing for fans of parity in Major League Baseball. The big market teams in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago could not spend their way to the World Series. The total payroll for the four remaining teams combined is $388.9 Million. Put into perspective, the Philadelphia Phillies’ and New York Yankees’ combined payroll expenditures were $374.7 million, and both were ejected from the hunt in the Divisional Round.

#1 Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson
Bernard Hopkins, the 46-year-old WBC Light Heavyweight Champion, will make his first title defense Saturday against relative youngster Chad Dawson. BHop waxed eloquent about their age difference this week. “I could be his father… If you do the math, he could be my son.” Hopkins philosophized. “I’m 46, he’s 29. I had him early; it all fits into the scheme of the professor versus the good student who wants to be a great student.” Paternity potentialities aside, Hopkins does have more career knockouts (32) than Dawson has fights (31), although that particular statistic could change Saturday.

#5 Florida Free Fall
There are no Florida schools in the AP Top 25 Poll this week. Not the University of Florida. Not Florida State. Not the University of Miami. None of the above schools are listed among the top 25 teams in the nation this week for the first time in almost thirty years. There’s always one on the list. Usually two. Often three. Now – none.

#4 Kansas City Beats Indianapolis
Peyton Manning returned this weekend… to the sideline, at least. For thirty minutes it looked as if Peyton’s advice / support / mere presence on the sideline would be enough to spur his team to victory. His replacement, Curtis Painter, played well enough in the first half and the Colts took a ten point lead into the locker room. The second half – in which the Chiefs outscored the Colts 14-0, was another story altogether. And the end of that story is the Colts are now 0-5.

#3 The Real Jimmie Johnson Stands Up
The faux Jimmie Johnson who ran the qualifying laps on Saturday for Kansas Speedway was only good enough for 19th position to start. Johnson allegedly spent until late in the evening in the garage tooling around with the car. The real deal came to race on Sunday, lead 197 of the 167 laps, and won going away on a thrilling Green-White-Checkered finish. Could a sixth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship be in the offing?

#2 Cardinals beat Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies did the only thing that seemed impossible for them this year – they failed to reach the National League Conference Series. With four Ace-caliber pitchers and a murderer’s row on offense, virtually every sports writer, prognosticator, fantasy baseball enthusiast, and casual fan had them pencilled in to represent the National League in the World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals pulled off their own nigh-impossible feat by beating the Phils and reaching the Conference Series a month after they were 8 1/2 games out with practically zero chance of even reaching the playoffs.

#1 49ers Almost as Good as their Name
The San Francisco 49ers put a good old fashioned beat down on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Niners came within one point of matching their namesake, racking up an impressive 48 points against a totally-overmatched Bucs. While San Fran’s offense was busy embarrassing the Bucs D, the defense was doing their work as well. San Francisco’s defense forced three turnovers, scored one touchdown, and reduced Bucs Coach Raheem Morris to a screaming crybaby.

#5 Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are what we in the business call “a bad football team”. The Buffalo Bills shocked the world on Sunday by beating the New England Patriots and putting an exclamation point on their 3-0 record. We’ve seen that Buffalo can get up for a big game. But can they keep their heads together for what should be a gimme? It’s ironic that T.O. felt he was lost in football purgatory when he went to Buffalo because no one was watching but now that T.O. is gone – the team has our attention.

#4 Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys
Are the Lions for real? Hard to say. Dallas has shown some pluck the last two weeks, but I don’t think anyone’s really sold on them yet. Now that we’re hitting week four, the good teams will begin to show themselves. This is the game that will define the direction these teams are heading for the heart of the season.

#3 AAA 400
It’s time to separate the men from the boys in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Chase. With two wins in the first two races, it’s safe to put Tony Stewart in the “Men” column. As for the rest… things haven’t been going exactly the way anyone expected. Consider that Kyle Busch has dominated NASCAR this year and Jimmie Johnson owned it for the five years prior, yet neither one has found his way into the top 10 in either of the Sprint Cup Chase races so far. A bad finish at Chicago on Sunday most likely means bye-bye to one or both of these drivers.

#2 Alabama at Florida
The Alabama Crimson Tide is ranked #3 in college football. The Florida Gators are #12. If this game were being played in Alabama, I’d have to give a solid edge to the Tide. But this game is in the Swamp of Gainesville. Despite the obvious advantages held by Alabama, these really are two very similar teams. There should be lots of scoring, lots of passing, and some just plain old good football to be seen.

#1 Playoff Baseball
The first playoff games are on tap for Friday night. We don’t know all the details as of this writing. The division winners are all settled, of course. The Yankees, Tigers, Rangers, Phillies, Brewers, and Diamondbacks are in. The Red Sox, Rays, Braves and Cardinals seem to be trying their best to avoid making the playoffs, but one from each conference has to make their way in. Maybe they all realize that they’ll be served up as sacrificial lambs to a superior team. But still, how  ’bout a little effort? There’s some prestige in just making the playoffs. Whichever lamb winds up being served, it’s still the playoffs.

Editor’s Note:  The teams that round out the playoffs are the Rays and Cardinals.

#5 The Sylvania 300
Now that the Chase is on, perennial champion Jimmie Johnson is running out of time to make his move toward a sixth consecutive Championship. At just 300 miles, the Sylvania 300 is one of the shorter races on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup circuit. Will this prove to be the launching pad for Johnson’s glorious return, or the beginning of a new era?

#4 Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
It’s too early to know anything for sure, but the Detroit Lions look good, really good. The Minnesota Vikings who play the first half look pretty OK, too. But whoever it is that takes over for them at the half play some absolutely awful football. This game will be worth watching just to see how the Vikings manage to pull defeat from the jaws of victory once again.

#3 Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
Not only is the Oklahoma State – Texas A&M game a matchup of two top 10 teams from the Big 12, but they’re two evenly matched top 10 teams from the Big 12. OK State leads the NCAA in passing yards per game so far this season and is third in scoring. The Aggies, on the other hand, have allowed just 21 points total in their first two games. Only one can remain undefeated after Saturday.

#2 Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Always a bitter matchup, the Washington Redskins – Dallas Cowboys game this early in the season has taken a turn for the strange. Washington is 2-0 and in sole possession of 1st place in the NFC East. Dallas is 1-1 with a banged up quarterback. Could Washington be for real? Or will the ‘Boys expose the true Redskins? We’ll find out on Monday Night Football.

#1 New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Like scoring? The Buffalo Bills shockingly have the most potent offense in the NFL through two games. The Bills have put up 79 points so far. The New England Patriots are not far behind with 73 points already on the board. Who needs to play defense when the offense can score at will? Whatever the over/under is on this game, we’re taking the over.

Football, Baseball, Golf, NASCAR, Tennis

#5 Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox own the best record in the American League and have a tenuous 1 1/2 game lead in the toughest division in baseball. The Texas Rangers were the American League Champions last year and are currently 3 1/2 games ahead of their competition in the AL West. Both teams are putting their dominance in their respective divisions on the line when they square off for a three game series this weekend.

#4 Seven Days in Utopia
Really good sports movies are too few and too far in between. We haven’t had a treat at the theaters since The Blindside in 2009. Seven Days in Utopia, hitting theaters on Friday, may be just the film we’ve been waiting for. There are no explosions, no aliens – there isn’t even any tackling. But a fictional movie about golf has to be at least as good as watching the real thing, right? (Tin Cup excluded.)

#3 Advocare 500
There are 12 races left in the 2011 NASCAR Season, but for all but 12 of the drivers, there are only two that really mean anything. For the drivers on the bubble, this weekend and next are the last two opportunities they have to make their case for inclusion in the Sprint Cup Chase for the Cup. New rules introduced this season put a huge premium on wins for those drivers on the cusp, so there will be plenty of Ricky Bobby-style “win or crash trying” racing in Atlanta on Sunday.

#2 The U.S. Open
Sure, it’s just the third and fourth rounds this weekend, but considering how much trouble Maria Sharapova had in the first round and the fact that Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has already been kicked to the curb you can’t take anything for granted.

#1 Oregon Ducks vs LSU Tigers
NCAA Football is gearing up this weekend. While most of the top schools are building up to full steam by playing an arranged patsy to start the season, LSU and Oregon have a different plan. The #3 and #4 ranked teams in college football will meet at a neutral site on Saturday to kick off the 2011 season with verve. One will be on the path to BCS recognition, the other will find themselves in a 0-1 hole. That’s a lot to play for in the first week of the Football year.

#5 Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants by Proxy
They don’t play each other this weekend, but the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants are locked in the most competitive race in the National League. Arizona holds a one game lead and has to feel good about their chances to win this weekend at home against a weak San Diego team. But the Giants get to play the worst team in the Majors, the Houston Astros. Each team has a realistic chance of sweeping their respective weekend series and both know that they need it to keep pace.

#4 NY Jets at NY Giants
It has to be an uncomfortable feeling to play an away game in your home stadium. The Jets players won’t enjoy using the inferior visitors locker room on Saturday. The Giants may not enjoy seeing Plaxico Burress on the opposite side of the ball. Think Burress will have a chip on his shoulder against his old team Saturday night? Yeah, I think so.

#3 New England Patriots at Detroit Lions
The Pats have rolled up 78 points in the first two preseason games. The third game of the preseason is typically the only one in which the starters will play the majority of the game. While most players on most teams are either playing to make the team or playing to avoid injury, you can bet the Patriots will be playing to run the score as high as possible against Detroit. But Detroit plays some of their best ball in the preseason. Remember that they went 4-0 in the preseason in the same year that they went 0-16 in the regular season. This will be the closest thing to a meaningful NFL game that we will get until the regular season starts on September 8th.

#2 NASCAR at Bristol
Last Week Kyle Busch became the first NASCAR driver to officially clinch a spot in the Sprint Cup Chase. Barring disaster, Uberchamp Jimmie Johnson will join him on Saturday night at the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. There’s an outside chance that three other drivers could clinch as well, although most likely they’ll have to wait one more week. With just three races left, the drivers on the bubble will throw caution to the wind and go all out from here on in.

#1 The Little League World Series
As you know, I love any sport where the US dominates. The US doesn’t always win the Little League World Series, but we’re guaranteed a spot in the finals since half the tournament is US teams. Saturday’s games will determine the winners of the US and International brackets, then the winners will face off Sunday for the big enchilada. California and Pennsylvania, who have won their last four games by a combined total of 33-0, look like the teams to beat from the US. Japan is the defending champ and should breeze through the International tournament back to the final game.

5. Cougars and Broncos

The high school football season begins Saturday in Litchfield, NH, with the first scrimmage of the season.  Starting with their biggest challenge of the season, Campbell High School, a Division V school, takes on the neighboring high school of Alvirne, a Division II school.  Go, Cougars!

4. Arsenal and Liverpool

One week into the Premier League season, football fans (AKA soccer fans) are busily singing chants and wearing their team colors.  According to a trusted source, the highlighted game of the weekend is the match-up between Arsenal and Liverpool.  Perhaps it won’t be in the Nielsen Top 10 list, but it should be popular in homes outside the USA.

3. Danica and Maryeve

In other sporting news based outside of the 50 states, this weekend’s Nationwide race is taking place in Montreal.  The highlight of the race may not be which driver crosses the line first, but simply who two of those drivers are.  Danica Patrick and Maryeve Dufault will be joining the usual gathering of men.

2. Players and Refs

The NFL has implemented the new kickoff rule, moving the ball from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line. On numerous sports shows this week, both hosts and guests lamented the change.  Last Saturday, the Chicago Bears sneakily changed the rule, by placing the ball on the 30 yard line, twice.  We’re watching preseason games just to see if anyone tries that again this week.

1. USA and the World

Eleven days of baseball bliss begin today.  With eight teams representing the US and eight teams representing the world, it is sure to provide some great sporting entertainment.  If you’re looking to see some great ball played by some great kids, South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is the place to be.

#5 Upset Special
The Green Bay Packers are the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Cleveland Browns are… the Cleveland Browns. Saturday’s preseason game between the two may be the only chance the Browns have to win against the Pack for years to come.

#4 Cam Unveiled
The Carolina Panthers ranked dead last in passing yards last season with a putrid 143.1 yards per game. Not coincidentally, they owned the #1 pick in this year’s draft. Maybe, just maybe, last year’s QB performance factored into their decision to spend that first pick on Auburn‘s Cam Newton. With barely enough training camp for Newton to learn the names of his teammates, they’ll trot him out at some point in Saturday’s game against the New York Giants to take the future of their franchise for a little test drive.

#3 Johnson vs. Busch II
Jimmie Johnson passed Kurt Busch on the last lap of the Pocono 500 last week and held that lead for about three seconds before Busch slapped up against the side of Johnson’s car at 200 MPH. Both drivers are skilled enough to bump and push each other without causing a major crash, which means they got away unscathed last week. It also means they’ll feel OK about renewing the discussion on the track next weekend at Watkins Glen. Whether they can do that dance again on Sunday without ramifications remains to be seen.

#2 PGA Championship
The fourth and final major PGA tournament of the year will feature everybody who’s anybody in the world of golf. This one is as big as golf gets (OK, there’s the Masters.  But this is big).  Add in a little of Tiger Woods‘ drama and the Atlanta Athletic Club will be rocking throughout the weekend.

#1 To Dream Team or not to Dream Team
The Philadelphia Eagles have done everything short of taking out a billboard or renting a blimp with a “We Are not the Dream Team” banner to lower the expectations that some of their overly excited new acquisitions have cranked up. Dream Team or not, the heavily-revamped Eagles will be on display Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Who would have thought two years ago when Michael Vick left prison that he’d not only return to Pro-Bowl form, but he’d become the most powerful talent magnet in the NFL?