BCS, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. After an all out demolition of the Sun Devils in the desert, the Ducks come back home to face the Colorado Buffaloes. For a team known for their potent offense, the most impressive aspect of Oregon's game has been their defense. The speedy Duck D has been outstanding thus far, allowing only 20 PPG in seven contests. And keep in mind, our scrubs gave up all 21 against ASU, so if it wasn't for Chip calling the dogs off so early, the Ducks' defensive stats could be even more impressive. Playing Colorado tomorrow won't help us any in the BCS polls, where the computers give no love to the city of Eugene. I mean, is it Oregon's fault that we are beating the teams on our schedule? Last season they received a lot of scrutiny for opening against LSU, and so far this year, we're being punished by the polls for not having an SEC type schedule where every game is a test. The Ducks have faced two ranked teams this year, and have outscored them 101-21. Now if that isn't taking care of business, I don't know what is.
Today is a World Series travel day, and for the first time this Postseason the Giants have a lead in the series. Tomorrow, the series will shift to Detroit tomorrow for three games, and if I'm a Tigers fan, I want to head back to the Bay only down 3-2. If they can win 2 out of 3 at home, they have a fighting chance in San Francisco. The Giants have been playing with their back against the wall all Playoffs long and I don't think they are going to blow this. This series will be closed out in Detroit, and the Gigantes will be World Champs.

Game Five, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. This is the first time in Postseason history where all four Division Series' have gone to a Game Five. Yesterday the two teams from the Bay fought their way back from an 0 - 2 deficit to force a Game Five, and the Giants ended up prevailing while the A's are headed home to watch the rest of the Playoffs on their couch. San Fran became the first NL team to win 3 straight games after being down 0-2, not to mention this new 2-3 format where the Giants dropped the first two games at AT&T. Their opponent in the NLCS will be determined today between the Nationals and the Cardinals where Jason Werth's walk off homer kept them out of elimination and alive for a Game Five. That game will be played tonight in Washington at 5:30 and the winner advances to play the Gigantes in the NLCS. Over in the American League, the Tigers were able to avoid disaster like the Reds and have advanced to play for a chance at the World Series. They now await the winner of the Orioles and Yankees today at 2:00 in Yankee Stadium. New York will be without a struggling A-Rod in the starting lineup as Joe Girardi decided to bench him after two straight games of being pinch-hit for. I personally do not agree with the decision. I think this team should live or die with Alex Rodriguez at the plate, regardless of his recent struggles. It has been a really exciting week of baseball and it continues tonight for the chance at the Fall Classic.
Speaking of New York, the Jets aren't having the kind of start to the season like they wanted to have. After getting demolished by the 49ers two weeks ago, people were already chanting TE - BOW, and I could not agree any more. On Monday, Sanchez improved but still doesn't have the kind of awareness that elite quarterbacks do in this league. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Tim Tebow is an elite QB by any means, but its time for Rex Ryan to give Tebow Time a chance. The Jets have a tough task on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colt,s and this game will either make or break Mark Sanchez of the starting quarterback role over Tebow.

Win or Go Home, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. 162 games have been played, and it all comes down to tonight for these four teams. In the NL, the Braves and Cardinals take on each other at Turner Field today at 3:00. Atlanta sends Kris Medlen to the mound as they look to win his 24th straight start. That's 23 in a row! He has been incredible this year for them, posting a 1.57 ERA and a 10-1 record , as he broke Whitey Ford's record for the most consecutive starts with a team victory. Not to mention the Bravo's have an extra incentive to win knowing this might be Chipper Jones' final game of his Hall of Fame career. He has not yet said if this in fact will or will not be his last game, but he is a class-act and probably does not want to distract from the game. For the other game over in Arlington, the Rangers take on the Orioles, as both teams had a disappointing end to the season. The O's were in position the win the East, but couldn't pull away with it, however they did not collapse like the Rangers did. Going into a final three game series with Oakland, they were up two games and all they had to do was win one and they couldn't. And that leads me to ask the question, did Oakland really have to celebrate clinching a Playoff birth, when they are two games away from a potential Division Title? Anyway, that game is also played tonight at 5:30, and the winner advances to the NLDS.