Thanks for the insight, Dave. Like that wasn't painfully obvious.

Did anyone else have the words "OH CRAP" go through their head when the broadcast came back from commercial in the top of the 11th to a close up of Weathers? I turned to my wife and said "It looks like Dusty has just cashed in this game. I wonder how many runs Weathers will give up. He's usually good for at least two."

And two it was.

Watching Weathers' skills deteriorate by the game is painful. Watching Dusty continue to run him out there anyway is infuriating.

Walt, please help us all out! Cut Weathers and bring Herrara back up! End this madness!

We all know that Griffey Jr. will not play in Cincinnati next year. The sun is setting on his career, and the Reds are in no position to retain an aging HOF player.

I understand the criticism of Jr, but the anamosity some people in Cincinnati have for him baffles me.

The opening game win over the Pirates wasn't pretty, but baseball doesn't have style points. Moment's like Jr's come-from-behind home run ought to be celebrated and enjoyed, not lampooned and ha-rumphed over.

My appeal to Reds fans: enjoy the good moments from one of the true greats of the game while they last, because they won't be here much longer. Greatness is a rare and beautiful thing, even if it is fading into the twilight. Watch the road games, and you will see that fans in other towns recognize and appreciate the greatness of Griffey Jr. Cincinnati would do well to follow suit and end this relationship on a good note.

The Cubs are sitting on the doorstep of win #50. Despite their current 4-game skid, I have to think that it will come tonight at San Francisco.

With the Cubs poised to be the first NL team to get win #50, I got to wondering who might be the last NL team to reach that same mark. There are 3 viable candidates at this point.

1. The Nationals. If we are hoping for any team to do poorly, I think the Nats would be most Cincinnatians' choice. I don't have anything against them personally, but I would like to see Jim Bowden be seen for the disaster that he is and run out the game.

2. The Rockies. Wow, it's crazy to see a team go from the World Series to one of the worst in MLB the next year. Fortune may have smiled on the Rockies last year and took them further than they deserved, but they are paying for it this year.

3. The Padres. It's a good thing they have the Chargers to cheer for in San Diego, because these guys are awful. Only the Reds can make them look good.

Each of these teams is on pace to win about 65 games, which would get them to 50 wins sometime in the seacond half of August. I'm going to guess that the Padres are the last to get there, getting win #50 on August 24. Leave me a comment if you want to make your own guess.

It is never too early to start thinking college basketball, is it? At least college is a venue in which we can feel confident that the results are not as staged as a Wrestle-mania event.

Of course, CBS picks North Carolina as your #1. Big shock.

The Big East is still getting a lot of love, and why shouldn't they? Louisville goes #2, and six Big East teams make their Top 25, with WV just missing making it 7.

My team, Purdue, still tops the Big 10, coming in at #6. That is down from #3 back in April, probably due to the announcement of (F) Scott Martin that he is transferring to Notre Dame. Honestly, #6 may still be a bit optimistic for Purdue because, like Duke (#4), they lack a dominant inside player. The Elite Eight might be stretching it for either team next year.

Sorry IU fans. It's gonna be a while.

The SEC makes a surprisingly weak representation, with only Tennessee (#10) and Florida (#24) making the list. But those boys only care about football, right?