AL EAST
N.Y. Yankees
Boston Red Sox
T.B. Rays
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays

AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians

AL WEST
LA Angels
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
Oakland Athletics

**Notes:
AL EAST- New York’s Nick Johnson gets hurt more than Evel Knievel did, but he’ll be able to JOG around the bases most of the time; don’t think Beltre and Ortiz will give Boston the ‘pop’ they desperately need to overtake NY. Longoria may be the league’s MVP, but will B.J. Upton rebound? Orioles could finish at .500 as young pitchers like Bergesen and Matusz develop; Toronto won’t get enough outfield production, may lose 100 games, and should hand out handkerchiefs to fans every time Halladay starts for Philadelphia.
AL CENTRAL- Hudson helps Twins A LOT and–even without closer Nathan–Gardenhire will find a way to win the division. White Sox’ starting pitching will keep them near the top of the division, but which Alex Rios will show up? Tigers will score enough but overall team health may be a concern. Royals lack power and just won’t get around the bases; Tribe’s pitching is the reason they’ll occupy the cellar as EVERYONE becomes trade bait in September.
AL WEST- Angels still have enough talent and the best manager in the league while Matsui is a great clubhouse addition; I question the back end of Seattle’s rotation and how much Griffey has left in the tank. Texas has some good young arms, can score, and may challenge Seattle if Josh Hamilton stays vertical. Oakland simply won’t score runs and no player will SNIFF the 100-RBI mark–putting way too much pressure on a decent, young staff.

NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
N.Y. Mets
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL WEST
Colorado Rockies
S.F. Giants
L.A. Dodgers
Arizona D’Backs
S.D. Padres

**Notes:
NL EAST- A good Philadelphia team got better, but will Lidge be closing come October? Don’t know if Atlanta can score enough although their pitching looks decent; I have more questions about the Mets pitching staff than I do about Obama’s health-care plan. Florida will have trouble closing games and their defense is suspect. Nats’ closer Capps had an ERA close to SIX last year–and guess what? He’ll probably be closing AGAIN in 2010.
NL CENTRAL- Third base could be a concern for St. Louis, but Holliday adds some needed power; I question the bridge to Marmol in Chicago and Piniella’s best managing days may have passed. A better-than-average Aaron Harang could be the key to the Reds’ success; I don’t like the Brewers’ pitching staff OR Hoffman closing games in the clutch. Astros need Oswalt to be better but their bullpen still won’t get it done; the Pittsburgh PR people could offer MAJOR incentives/prizes at EVERY home game if the team scores five or more runs–simply because they WON’T.
NL WEST- A high team on-base percentage–along with a healthy Jeff Francis–get the Rockies to the playoffs; lack of team speed–along with a low on-base percentage–will hurt the Giants. Dodgers won’t pitch as well as last season and Manny’s #’s will continue to decline; a non-healthy Brandon Webb seals D’Backs’ fate. San Diego will have trouble pitching on the road and won’t score at ANY stadium in which they play.

*Postseason: Yes, my friends–a replay of last season’s Fall Classic as the Yanks and Phils emerge from their respective leagues. Yankees’ core players get to enjoy a repeat as the edge goes to the NY closer–making all the difference as frigid fall temperatures arrive. Enjoy the season, everyone.

It was the type of mid-season drive that can change a season for both teams, and depending on what happens in the remainder of the 2009 season, it just may. The Chargers had come to the Meadowlands with a 4-3 record, winners of two straight after a very mediocre start to their season, looking to gain on Denver in the AFC West, and also keep pace in the very competitive AFC wild-card picture. The Giants meanwhile, were looking to get back on track after following a 5-0 start with three consecutive losses. So, a big game for both sides, and a bigger finish for San Diego and quarterback Phillip Rivers. Five years after being traded from the Giants for Eli Manning, Rivers got revenge on both, with a brilliant two-minute drill to win the game. Bouncing back from an interception that looked to seal the Chargers’ fate on their previous possession, Rivers and San Diego caught a big break when the Giants couldn’t score after a first-and-goal at the Charger 4-yard line, and New York had to settle for field goal. Rivers took advantage, completing 6 of 8 passes, taking the Chargers 80 yards in 8 plays, in just 1:44, throwing hid third touchdown pass of the game, an 18-yarder with just 21 seconds left, to upset the Giants, 21-20.

#4:  CINCY ‘D’ RIPS RAVENS

In a big AFC North showdown, the Bengals, normally know in past years for their offense, have stepped up the defense this year, and they were all about the ‘D’ in beating the Ravens, 17-7. Shutting out Baltimore over the first three quarters, Cincinnati finished the game with six sacks, while forcing three turnovers, and allowing just 215 total yards. Instead of letting the Ravens tie the Bengals at 5-3, a game behind 6-2 Pittsburgh, the Bengals’ dominant defensive performance allows them to play the Steelers for first place next week, with both teams at 6-2, while Baltimore fell back to .500 at 4-4.

#3:  TURNER TURNS IT UP

Atlanta running back Michael Turner was turned loose against Washington and he made the Redskins pay with a game-high 166 yards on just 18 carries, for a 9.2 ypc average. He also rushed for two touchdowns. His second came in the fourth quarter, on a 58-yard run, just 1:42 after Washington made it a game at 24-17, early in the fourth quarter. Turner accounted for all but 15 of the Falcons’ 181 rushing yards in helping Atlanta get to 5-3 at home.

#2: WARNER’S HUGE TURNAROUND

Talk about a change! Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner threw five touchdown passes one week after throwing five interceptions, in the Cardinals’ 41-21 win in Chicago. Warner led first-half drives of 81, 74, 70, and 86 yards the first four times Arizona touched the ball, with all resulting in touchdown passes. The Cardinals built a big 31-7 halftime lead on the strength of those scoring drives, and Warner finished the game 22 of 32 for 261 yards, and this time, no interceptions.

#1:  IN THE OLD THREADS, THE BUCS STOP LOSING

I know a lot of people don’t like them, and I do like the new threads, but I still have a soft spot for the old light orange Tampa Bay uniforms and the old logo. The Buccaneers might like them better this season now, too. It took wearing their throwbacks, giving 2009 first-round pick, quarterback Josh Freeman his first start, and comebacks from 14-7, 21-14, and 28-17, but Tampa Bay finally got their first win of the season and broke the league’s longest losing streak, which stood at eleven games, dating back to least season. Freeman was only 14 of 31 for 205 yards in his NFL debut, but he threw just one interception and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to rally the Bucs to a 38-28 victory. Tampa Bay also had a blocked punt returned 31 yards for a touchdown which tied the game 14-14 in the second quarter, and iced the game, returning a touchdown 35 yards with 35 seconds left.

“Our defense,” Brand told the Associated Press after the Los Angeles Clippers’ 90-80 victory against the New York Knicks, “is what we pride ourselves on, and that’s what kept us in ballgames. So we’ve got to be out there blocking shots, deflecting balls and rebounding. That’s how we win.”

Brand had tallied 15 points before the game was eight minutes old, but didn’t score his next field goal until tipping in Cuttino Mobley’s errant 12 foot shot midway through the third quarter. In between, however, he blocked seven New York attempts; as a unit, Los Angeles blocked 16 shots. The Clippers, which opened to a 51-38 advantage at the half, extended their margin to seventeen as a result of Brand’s defensive excellence.

“It didn’t have anything to do with tired legs,” said David Lee, who led the Knicks with nine rebounds. “We just had poor execution.

“We don’t have anyone who can score 50 points on his own, so we need to really work hard, and have all five guys in the right spots.”

While Los Angeles has won the first two games of their three-game homestand, New York is winless on the road over the last five. They remain one game behind both New Jersey and Toronto in the Eastern Division. The Knicks [13-20], 0-8 when they play the Clippers at Staples Center, resume their five-game road trip when they visit the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

At that point, they will re-introduce themselves to the leather ball. Three weeks ago, it was announced that the NBA’s microfiber basketball experiment would officially end on December 31.

“Whenever we tried to move the ball to the weak side, we had poor spacing,” New York’s Isiah Thomas said. “When we drove the ball, it was contested, and we had to take tough shots.”

A few of those shots went to Mardy Collins, who was making his return to the line-up following a six-game suspension for his part in the brawl with the Denver Nuggets on December 16. Collins was actually one of the few players to perform well, as he hit for a career-high 11 points in 22 minutes.

“After sitting out, I just wanted to get back out there,” he said. “The NBA decided that six games were enough, so I had to deal with it. We’re still short-handed at guard, so it’s time for me to get some playing time, and show people that I can actually play basketball the right way.”

“We were a united group before the brawl, so we didn’t need an artificial stimulus to unite us,” the coach defended. “They’re better men than that.”

Collins’ presence was a fair enough reason to sit Steve Francis, who -because of tendinitis in his right knee- has seen a mere 46 minutes of game action in the past three games.

“I was just trying to hold on until one of our other guards came back,” said Francis. “So, I was grateful that Mardy was able to return today.”

Los Angeles [14-16], winners of both games against the Knicks last season, has now beaten them in four straight, five of six, and eight of the past 11 meetings. They remain 7½ games in back of the Pacific-Division leading Phoenix Suns.

New York finished the month with nine wins in 16 games, and has not had a winning month since December 2004, when they were 9-7. However, it is a significant improvement from a year ago, when they dropped 12 of 14 to close 2005.

“We were 3-0 on the homestand,” Brand said, “and we’re getting our swagger back. There’s no better time than now, as we go back east for six games. Every year since I’ve been here, this trip has been a make-or-break stretch for us.”

The same can also apply to the Knicks, who have now stumbled on the road after splitting its first ten games away from the Garden.