STILL A GAME by ST

I know we all have football fever, and I do as well, but occasionally things go down that remind us how fun these games are. Last night both the Reds and Yankees clinched spots in the MLB playoffs and I always get a kick out of the celebrations that follow the final out. For New York it's kind of old hat as they've qualified for the post season each year but one since 1995. For Cincy, the NL Central champs, it's a big of a different story. The franchise last took part in the playoffs in 1995 when they swept the Dodgers in the divisional series but got swept by eventual World Series winner Atlanta in the league championship series. For guys like MVP candidate Joey Votto it will be a first. Manager Dusty Baker has been there before as this is the 3rd team he's taking into October. Nearly won all the marbles with the 2002 Giants but they blew a lead in game 7 of the series to the Angels. He was also the skipper for the 03 Cubbies who were 5 outs from the Fall Classic before tanking against Florida. Fun stuff!
Donavan McNabb returns to the City of Brotherly Love as the QB for the Washington Redskins this Sunday. Some talk of the reception he'll receive. I know the fans in Philly are nuts, but I can't imagine they'll show anything shy of tons of appreciation for all the great football he played for them.
The experts say Ducks by a TD on Saturday. I'm not all that comfortable with the number. I think it's a pretty even game so allowing a field goal for the home team, I'd set the line at 4. I also think it's a monster wake up call for both teams. I know Stanford is getting big time credit for their 35-love conference road win at UCLA and they dominated at South Bend Saturday, but they have not faced this kind of firepower. The Ducks will also take on an offense the likes of which they haven't seen. Arizona State looked good at times but their line pales in comparison to the Cardinal front. I'm taking nothing for granted, this is gonna be a knock down, drag em out game!