Week 4 Column: Johnny Drama supporting the baseball winners, Sam Kinison, Baseball Playoff Predictions, Managers of the Year, NFL & College Football

For the fans of the 8 teams that made the playoffs and especially Phillies fans, enjoy a Johnny drama moment by clicking here!

I was listening to Howard Stern on Sirius on Friday when they replay classic shows that he has done in the past. They were replaying a show from 1990 and the thing I immediately noticed was that Sam Kinison was on the show that day. There was clearly never a comic like Kinison. He was absolutely hilarious and brilliant. If you are interested, here is Kinison's first appearance on Letterman, and here is the tribute song that Stern and Fred Norris did a few days after Kinison's death in 1992.

In case you missed yesterday's post, click here to see what I had to say about the Phillies and Eagles Sunday along with my picks for baseball awards.

I forgot to mention in my column yesterday my Managers of the Year. In the American League, I give the nod to Eric Wedge with Joe Torre coming in second. Torre did an exceptional job managing the Yanks this year although he likely won't get much credit. In the National League, I pick Bob Melvin, who managed a team that NOBODY (even Ari) expected to be any good to the best record in baseball. I have Jolly Chollie second for overcoming Pat Gillick's incompetence and a slew of injuries, with Clint Hurdle of the Rockies third.

My divisional playoff picks are as follows:

• Los Angeles Angels 3, Boston 1. The Red Sox were the best team in baseball for much of the season, but I think their rotation is not as strong as LA's, and their bullpen has major question marks right now. I think the Angels sneak a split in Boston then win both in Anaheim where they are tough to beat.
• New York Yankees 3, Cleveland 1. I know that Cleveland had a great year. And I know that they are a much superior team to the one that lost all 6 to the Yankees early in the season. And I know the Yanks did not face Sabathia in any of those 6. But the Yankees have been the best team in baseball over the past 100+ games, and they have Cleveland's number. Plus, the biggest question of the playoffs is what will happen with A-Rod. He had one of the best seasons in recent memory this year, and he has flopped dismally in the playoffs the last two years. I think A-Rod busts out and has a big October. If I am wrong, and the Yankees lose, he will be booed right out of town.
• Chicago 3, Arizona 1. Arizona has had a fantastic year, but I think overall Chicago has more talent and has been playing better over the second half of the season.
• Philadelphia 3, Colorado 2. Well, you know if the Phils win it will go 5, because nothing is ever, ever easy in this town. But I think overall the Phillies have the more balanced team right now. Plus home field. And while Colorado has been smoldering winning 14 of their last 15, the Phils won 13 of their last 17 as well. The key to this series is for Cole Hamels to set the tone with a dominant game 1 against a good but not fantastic Jeff Francis. If Hamels pitches as he is capable (and it probably helps that Colorado did not see him when they played 2.5 weeks ago), the Phils will win the opener and have the advantage. By the way, did the schedulers want to ensure that the Phillies had the worst time slot every day (3:00 for first two games on weekdays, then 9:30 and 10:00 pm for games 3 and 4).

While baseball heads into the playoffs, the NFL is at the 1/4 pole. Here are my assessments of the divisions:

• NFC East. Dallas has done what they have been supposed to do: win 4 games in which they were better than their opponent (their opponents have won a combined 4 games). That being said, they looked probably better than expected in all of them (they covered all 4), and their offense looks to be the class of the NFC. The rest of the division is terrible. Washington and the Giants are mediocre at best, and the Eagles have been about the worst team in football with the exception of the aberration against Detroit. Dallas will easily win the division and be the only playoff team.
• NFC South. New Orleans has been a big surprise to the downside (I guess Sean Payton had a one year contract with the devil) while Tampa Bay has been better than anyone thought. Atlanta is awful as expected, and Carolina is not going to be very good. It will be interesting to see if Tampa Bay can keep it up after losing Cadillac Williams and a starting tackle in Luke Petitgout last week. Do not count New Orleans out yet, as they still may be able to make noise and win this division.
• NFC North. Green Bay is far and away the biggest surprise in football, and Brett Favre is playing like he is 25 years old. Detroit is not far behind at 3-1, with the Bears and Vikings bringing up the rear at 1-3 each. I am still not sold on Detroit because, let's face it, any team that gives up 56 points to the Eagles does not have the defense to take them a long way. Chicago is done, as they have turned the page on the Rex Grossman era and are now relying on Brian Griese (and probably soon Kyle Orton) to get them back in the race. After a one year hiatus, the trend of the Super Bowl loser not making the playoffs the following year will be re-born.
• NFC West. Seattle still seems to be the class of the division, with Arizona still a year away under Whisenhunt and Matt Leinart. San Francisco looked good winning their first two games but has now reverted to form in the last two weeks. Plus, who thought the 49ers would be bummed if Alex Smith got hurt. His absence further hurts this teams playoff chances.
• AFC East. Patriots, Patriots and more Patriots. The Jets are disappointing and Stitzer thinks it is time to usher in the Kellen Clemons era. Buffalo may be the second best team in the division, and Trent Edwards looks like he could be a long-term answer at QB. Finally, Miami looks lost.
• AFC South. Indy Colts, Indy Colts, Indy Colts. Jacksonville continues to be an enigma. Houston has been a great surprise, although they clearly cannot win without their best player, Andre Johnson on the field, and he appears to be out for two more weeks. Finally, Vince Young and Tennessee are for real. In fact, I believe they are the 3rd best team in the AFC right now, behind the two juggernauts and just ahead of Pittsburgh. Vince Young may well win a Super Bowl in the nest 3-4 years.
• AFC North. Despite a loss at Arizona last week (revenge game for Whisenhunt and Grimm against Tomlin), Pittsburgh appears to be the best team in the division...by a lot. Cleveland and Baltimore seem like they can both win and home and not the road, and Cincinnati appears as if they are going to be horribly disappointing. One question: how does Marvin Lewis still have a job?
• AFC West. Could Oakland win this division? I mean these are all bad teams. The Chargers may be the most disappointing team in the NFL right now, and that is saying something when the competition is the Eagles, Bears, and Saints. The guy who is stealing money more than anyone else in the NFL is AJ Smith, Chargers General Manager, who should be fired immediately for firing a 14-2 coach after both coordinators left and replacing him with Norv Turner, who is an imbecile, all because said coach and said GM did not get along. What a putz.

While the NFL has been entertaining (while depressing for Eagle fans), college football continues to be amazing. 6 of the top 13 college football teams lost last weekend, and they are giving new meaning to the term "and given Saturday..." South Florida is this year's version of Rutgers or Wake Forest from last year, and the Bulls have already beaten Auburn (who won at Florida this weekend) and West Virginia this year. Can South Florida go undefeated and play for a National title? Stay tuned.

Speaking of National Championships, my friend J. Patrick Lashinsky is going crazy as his Berkley Bears scored 21 4th quarter points to win on the road at Oregon this past weekend. Cal could be a win against USC (at Cal) of playing for a National Championship themselves.

And if you want to see a great quarterback and a surprising team, tune into ESPN Thursday night and watch Andre Woodson lead his 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats (no this is not basketball) as they visit Columbia, SC and my buddy George Rogers' alma mater, the South Carolina Gamecocks. Woodson is completing 67% of his passes and has a fairly decent 16:1 touchdown to interception ratio.