-Well it's almost August and you know what that means (no, not just another month til the start of pre-season hockey or the stretch-run of the WNBA)...PRO FOOTBALL!!! Yes, the long "winter" (ie, baseball season) officially takes a back-seat to the only real "man's" sport (sorry MMA-men in bare feet kicking each other just doesn't cut it). As we speak, rookies, undrafted free agents and grizzled veterans are on their way to places like Davie, FL, Latrobe, PA and Flowery Branch, GA to begin the annual rite of passage that we have come to know as pro football training camp. I'm getting goose bumps already thinking about that first 7 on 7 "no contact" (haha) drill. Anyway, I know it's early and there's still plenty of time for a "Plaxico" or "Pacman" (aka, star player shooting himself or someone else) to be pulled, but let's look into the magic 8 ball for some predictions about the 2009 season with what we know now.

-Pro Football is a game of 22 players, 11 on offense and 11 on defense. But really only one player matters in the team's ability to win the big game and that's the quarterback. Just ask the Patriots who lost Tom Brady after one quarter last year. Yes, you can win with an average QB (see, Johnson, Brad 2002) but in order to do so you must compensate with an outstanding defense (see Tampa, 2002) or otherworldly special teams (see, Chicago 2006-and they didn't even win the Super Bowl). So for argument's sake, you must have a very good to great QB to win the whole enchilada. So who are the best QB's and how will they do in 2009 with their respective teams?

1) Ben Roethlisberger-Still not getting the same love as the subsequent quarterbacks that will be named, but no one can argue two SB wins in his first five years in the league. No one this side of Joe Montana has led a game-winning last minute touchdown drive in the biggest game until Big Ben did it to the Cards last February. But much like the motorcycle accident prevented a repeat in 2006 for the Steelers, a civil suit for an alleged physical assault in Nevada will test Ben's ability to concentrate in 2009.

2) Tom Brady-The model marrier returns after tearing his ACL and then dealing with a subsequent infection in 2008 after a record setting 2007 that saw the Pats fall one win short of perfection. He's older now (31) and still wants to win but when a QB's legs start to go (through injury or age), so does accuracy.

3) Peyton Manning-He has a new coach and a new O-coordinator but he's still the most technically sound QB in the game. Nobody does more prep that Manning. The coaching changes may actually motivate Manning to still prove he can be the best in the NFL no matter who's calling the plays.

-Other good QB's to watch: Matt Ryan: Has already made Falcon's fans forget about Michael Vick. Now will take the team to the next level. Jay Cutler: Even though he weasled his way out of Denver (which calls his leadership abilities into question) no one can doubt the rocket arm. Together with the Bears D and special teams, they could surprise in the NFC North. Byron Leftwich: After resting most of last year backing up Big Ben, Leftwich comes to Tampa healthy and with little or no expectations. That's a dangerous combination for a guy who played very well as a starter for Jacksonville and can still throw it through a wall.

-OK, so now we can sit back, grab a cool one and let the 2009 season begin to unfold. Who will be this year's Cinderella? Can the Steelers repeat? Will Brett Favre finally retire? Who knows? Who cares? It's men in heavy equipment hitting each other. That's why we watch.

-Yeah I know, it's been awhile but the past few weeks have been nuts. I got a little break today so on with some sports thoughts...

-See where reigning NFL Defensive POY James Harrison of the Picksburgh Stillers is declining yet again (didn't go in 2005 either) to meet the President of the US as part of being on the Super Bowl Champs. Harrison's reasoning?  "If the Cardinals had won the Super Bowl, they'd be invited so I'm not going unless the Prez would have invited us no matter if we'd won or lost"...or some such convoluted thinking. Uh, James, you're invited specifically because you won the game. While Obama likes football he doesn't have time to invite all of the teams to the White House just because. So don't go if you don't want to, but as the Defensive MVP of the Super Bowl Champs, expect folks to wonder why. BTW, I read from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that James really doesn't want to go becasue he's afraid of flying. Why doesn't he just say that? That's legit to some extent (never mind that he flies about 2000 miles every football season or that DC is about a three hour drive from the Burgh) but saying the President should invite them win or lose is just a little odd. 

-Hear Jon Gruden is taking over MNF for Tony Kornheiser: not super thrilled with the move. I didn't like Tony that much but at least he'd challenge Theisman when he was still in the booth and making inane comments. Tony, citing fear of flying, (what's going on here?) stepped down from the booth yesterday and Gruden will take over for him. Here's my question: why? Tirico and Jaworski would do just fine as a two man booth. I don't hear enough of Jaws as it is and I think he's the best in the business as far as anaylists go. As for Gruden, did you catch any of him on NFL Network during the Draft? I got nothing from him on that set except the Great Gazoo head shots from the crew. I give this one year and then hopefully, mercifully, Jon will be back on someone's sideline.

-PGA Tour is in the middle of their "new" Fall Series (ie, Texas swing) this week for the Byron Nelson, sandwiched between the forgettable Viagra Texas Open and Shell Houston Open (or is it the Ben Hogan Invitational?) Anyway, they're in Texas for three straight weeks, in late May and June. And you thought it was hot at the Players last week. The point is, Tiger doesn't play in any of these events, so we have to go a month without him. In the interim we get fields more apropos of Le Season Sillie'. C'mon PGA Tour,  find someway to get Tiger at least every other week. The viewing just ain't the same.

-Watched pretty much all of yesterday's Masters  from the comfort of my bedroom (Me: "Please hon, can you just give me four hours of absolute silence so I can watch this in peace?" Wife and Kids: "No.") For 16 holes we had what was amounting to the...best... Masters...ever. Tiger and Phil were battling it out, trying to erase a 7 stroke deficit and then see which one of them would wear the green jacket. Both had climbed to within one of the lead as they stood on 17 tee. And then...nothing. Tiger hits a horrible drive, is forced to hit out from trees and takes bogey. Phil hits to four feet for birdie and doesn't even glance the hole with his effort. Both then hit terrible drives on 18 (Phil in a trap and Tiger (nka "in the") Woods, again with tree issues) and make bogey to end what was a scintilating run. (BTW, when was the last time you saw Tiger hit a tree with a club other than a driver?) So what started out as 1986ish drama ended with a fizzle. Oh yeah, we still had more than an hour of golf left with the actual leaders, but did anyone really care about Angel, Kenny or Chad after #1 and #2 were through and couldn't win? 

-I did feel bad for Kenny Perry. At 48 his chances at these titles are dwindling and he knows it. He stood in the middle of 17, after a great drive, with a two stroke lead and a 7 iron in his hand. He was a hole and a half from thinking of what to serve at next years champions dinner (Okra?) and blew it. Cabrera and Campbell have years left but Kenny may have to be content with winning something big on the Champions Tour and that's a shame.

-Went to the final Panthers game of 2008-2009 last Saturday at the BankAtlantic. It was actually a pretty good game (a 7-4 win over the division champ Capitals) but it really had the feel of an exhibition to me. Panthers ended up with 93 points which is good for the playoffs most years but not this year. The Cats can look back on a myriad of lost chances but three games stand out to me. They lost a few weeks ago (when they knew what they needed to do to get into the playoffs) at home to the woeful Tampa Lightning in a shootout after leading by 2 with 8 minutes to go. They lost a few days after that, again at home, to the Columbus Blue Jackets after leading by one with less than three minutes to go and then giving up three goals. The worst part being that they didn't even force OT and get a crucial point out of it. And finally, just over a week ago, the Panthers lost, where else, at home to the lowly Atlanta Thrashers 3-1 in what was probably their worst effort all season in a critical situation. Cats have no one to blame but themselves and will have all offseason to think about what might have been but we can ask: where do they go from here?

-I don't think they need to panic. They have a pretty good core of young and old and the coach is good. But they have to go in one of two directions: First, they must boost their second and third lines. Dvorak, Weiss and Frolik are good players but they need more scoring. If they don't want to splurge on multiple free agents they can go with my other suggestion: get a top notch goalie. Don't get me wrong, I love Vokoun and Anderson but they are not good enough with the current Panthers scoring ability to shut down opposing teams like they need to. And yes I know the Panthers goals against is good, but it has to be top three in the league if they're going to make it into the playoffs with their current scorers. We'll see what moves they make. It was really gut-busting this year to come so close and miss again.

-Saw that T. O. decided to skip the Bills' initial voluntary conditioning program. I really don't know what to say especially after Coach Dick Jauron indicated that he would "love Owens to be here, this being his first year with the team", blah, blah, blah. Oh boy. Ah, Coach, citizens of Buffalo, owner Ralph Wilson...HE'S TERRELL OWENS!!! The most egomaniacal, self-centered, self-absorbed athlete OF ALL TIME!!! Of course he's not showing up for the first workout. He wants to show you right off the bat who the boss is and it ain't any of you. If you look up the term Caveat Emptor in the Latin dictionary, you'll see a picture of Terrell Owens. Doesn't matter if it's his first  year with the team, or if he's learning a new system, or if he's working off a one-year contract or any of that. He's Terrell frickin' Owens and what you see is what you get. I don't feel sorry for the Bills one iota. No sir. This goof is what they wanted and he's starting off as expected.

-Tiger's back at this weeks Bay Hill Classic. I know this because the newspaper's are now listing in blurb form when Tiger enters tournaments. Not that he's won them or shot 59 or if he has some quote about the tourney. No, just simply that he has decided to show up. And not show up at a tourney he's never played or hasn't played in a while (which could be considered somewhat newsworthy). But a tournament that he's played for approximately 10 years in a row. Are papers this hard up for news, do they love Tiger this much? I don't know the answer but here's a blurb I think we'll see next week in your neighborhood Inquirer-Post-Gazette-Sentinel: "Tiger commits to Masters".

-My Final Four are still alive (Pitt, Louisville, UNC and Memphis), But I'm willing to guess that most of yours are too. Why? Because with the exception of two number 5s and a number 12, every other regional went chalk. Now we have columnists bemoaning the fact we don't have any "Cinderella's" out there. My response is: who cares? The whole premise of a tournament like this is that any one can win. This year it just so happens, most of the higher ranked teams have won. Doesn't make the tournament any less exciting or "special" to me. Of course I might be whistling a different tune had Pitt and/or Louisville lost yesterday.

-Take care Lance Armstrong after breaking your collarbone. We (the US) needs you to restore our glory in the Tour de France. (Just make sure you don't take any "supplements" to help with the injury-a little tip from me to you.)

-Tiger accomplished what he wanted despite losing in Round 2 of the Match Play- to get back into competition. I believe if he'd lost in Round 1 you may have seen him at next week's Honda. Oh well, there's always next year (and I believe Tiger plays in the Honda next year!)

-Albert Haynesworth getting $41 mil guaranteed?! This has Big Daddy Wilkinson and Dana Stubblefield written all over it for Skins fans. When will Dan Snyder learn? Guys who play only in their contract years are bums. They show you they can play hard but only when it means something for them. These are the worst types of professionals. I'll give ole Albert about three games until a groin starts nagging him. Then he'll lay down and put his weary head on his cash for the rest of the season. Night night sweet prince.

-Baseball's starting and I like the Phils again this year. What's the new guys name in left for Burrell? Ibanez? He's good.

-March is almost here South Florida. If you're new to the region, enjoy. This is absolutely the best month for weather in the country. Man I hope my back holds up, I gotta get out on the links before the heat.

-Those of you who listen to Russ Evans and myself every Sunday morning (8-10am) on the Golf Exchange on ESPN760 know how much I love golf but hate September (Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup excluded) through February. These months serve as nothing more than money grabs with your non-compelling FedEx Cup, excruciating Skins games and other sundry hits and giggles events (like this weeks abomination, the George Lopez Pebble Beach Pro-Am Scramble Alternate Shot). So please, please PGA Tour, for the love of God Almighty and all that is right and just, take a few hints from yours truly and let's condense this thing we call "the Tour".

-First, kick off the year the week after the Super Bowl with two non-sanctioned "fun" events: since the only places warm enough to play are Hawaii and California, let's bag Hawaii (beautliful but way, way too laid back to generate any kind of excitement) and start off at Pebble. Here's the format: a Ryder Cup-like two day event with the captains of the previous year's Ryder Cup (or Presidents Cup) going at it. No gimmes. Throw in the woman's captains from the Solheim Cup and mix and match teams over the weekend and have any money go to charity. Who wouldn't want to see Faldo and Azinger go at it after Valhalla this past year?

-The second event would be called the Tiger Challenge. First off, get Tiger to play. Second, let him choose the course (maybe Cypress Point or Bandon Dunes?) Here's the format-get a corporation to put up say a $5 million purse. The winner gets half but if Tiger wins, he gets it all. You don't think the rest of the players would be going tooth and nail to make sure Tiger didn't win all the cash? (I know, they try hard now and still can't beat him...but go with me on this) And you don't think Tiger'd be going at it like a major, not just for the cash but to once again let all those yahoos know who's boss? This event may only work for a few years but, what the hell, it's more compelling than the bland FedEx Cup.

-Then take a week off and start the season for real the first week in March at the Honda, where the tour truly begins anyway. The rest of the schedule is OK with a few exceptions: no competing tournaments going on at the same time as the majors (sorry, Dear John Classic), and no tournaments the week after the majors (let's let the majors have time to "breathe" before we crown the Hartford Open champion). Couple other items: after the PGA Championship, take a week off and then have the Tour Championship for all of the winners and then....THAT'S IT!! No FedEx Cup, no Fall Series, no crappy taped skins game with forced banter ("Jimmy when you said four iron I thought you had too much club, but great shot." "Thanks Arnie".) Obviously we can still have the Ryder/Presidents Cup but there shall be no other golf during the Fall and Winter. And guess what? It will be more popular than ever because you always want to leave people wanting more. The NFL does this to perfection. I'm still in withdrawal and it's only been two weeks. Golf can be just as compelling (last year's US Open was every bit as good as this year's Super Bowl) but not if it's on every week, and especially not if it's bastardized in form for a good chunk of that time.

-So please PGA Tour, consolidate. We'll all win in the end.