Pulling a Brian McCann

I've only been a Braves fan for 2 seasons now (I started off as a Cubs fans, but, as Jeff Fisher says, "I just want to feel like a winner") But while everybody has their fan favorites, some like Chipper or the new J-Hey kid, I'm a Brian McCann fan!

Maybe its the fact that he's catching for some of the best pitchers in the league today. Maybe it's his ability to to hit key hits when the game comes down to his batting abilities. But I think it's the SWEET BEARD ACTION!

Come on, the beard makes McCann McCann! Without it, he's just another poor man's Chipper!

So, in honor of him, I've dedicated my facial hair for him! Usually, I'm a smooth, clean shaven guy with a nice long goatee in the middle. But now, I haven't shaven in more than 2 weeks. Hopefully, by July, the Braves should be making a shot at the top of the NL. My beard will also be the making a shot at becoming more like McCann's! Will it happen, I hope so! Does anybody know how to soothe an itchy beard?

Why can't Charlotte ever have nice things?

When I think about great places to live or travel to, Charlotte is always in my mind. It's the Atlanta Lite of Southeastern cities. You have a lot of culture, vibrant night life, even a moderately successful transit system. Plus don't forget about the crime rate. While it is high, the chances of you actually getting mugged are slightly lower!

But unfortunately, in terms of sports, Charlotte lacks some major, major depth. Most people remember the good times when NASCAR Winston Cup series would race 2 big races a year, the birth of a new NFL team in the Carolina Panthers, and the great basketball play of the Charlotte Hornets! However, times have changed in the Queen City.

NASCAR still runs 2 races a year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and, come next month, will open the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown to bring in more tourist dollars to the city. However, that's the only bright spot.

The Carolina Panthers, once promising and new, are looking more similar to the actions of a yo-yo. Sometimes, they are the best, but most of the time, they are barely scraping the barrel of football legitimacy. While trading away the best/worst quarterback in Panthers history, Jake Delhomme, many doubt that the Panthers will be as effective as they once were just less than 5 years ago.

But maybe the worst running joke in terms of Charlotte sports are the Charlotte Bobcats. This weekend, the Bobcats will host their first NBA playoff game in franchise history. But while the fans will crowd the beautiful Time Warner Cable Arena, I have a feeling that the majority of the fans will not be rooting for their hometown team, but to either see Dwight Howard put up a double-double performance or get a shot at a basketball legend and Bobcats majority owner, Micheal Jordan, sitting in his usual seat behind the Bobcats bench.

It took 6 years for the Bobcats to make it to the big time, but will they regain a big fanbase that left when George Shinn took the Hornets across the Mississippi River? As of right now, I think it will take more than a playoff appearance to bring fans back to Charlotte basketball.

If you asked before the Magic/Bobcats series started last Sunday, most fans would have given the Cats one or two wins but knew the Magic would take the series. Right now, the Bobcats sit 2 games behind the Magic for the series win. The hope for a comeback series win will have to start with 3 hard fought wins at home for the Bobcats and a miracle win in Orlando. It's not impossible for the Cats to do this, but it won't be an easy task. Neither are the Cats chances of bringing in more fans to the Bobcats Nation.

Only time will tell if Michael Jordan, through his many connections with Nike and other sports entities, can make the Bobcats as popular and successful as George Shinn did with the Hornets. But if there is one thing on their side, it would be Charlotte's willingness to become the next great sports city in America. And with a city that is only a MLB team away from being a legit sports city (or a NHL team away, depending on who you ask), I think the time is only right for Charlotte to let it's light shine across the Southeast!

How Will You Be Spending Your Sundays This Fall?

Finally, the 2010 NFL Football Season has been set in stone. After weeks of speculation, we can now figure out which games we will actually watch on NFL Sunday Ticket, or, if you're a Lions fan, which game will keep you entertained while the Bears beat your team by 3 touchdowns! Especially with the Draft less than 2 days away, we can figure out which games will matter the most to football purist! Let's take a look at a couple of games that should be earning Game of the Week marquees this season!

Week One

Vikings at Saints

The first game of the year is always at the winner of the previous Super Bowl. And this matchup brings us last year's exciting NFC Championship game rematch! Drew Brees looks to lead the Saints to another great year and possibly, another championship! As for the Vikes, it's a big question whether or not #4 decides to show up or not! If he does, we might have another shootout similar to last time. But if Favre decides to "work the farm" this year, it's going to be hard for Peterson to carry this team on his back! Maybe Brad Childress needs to call Kurt Warner and ask if he was just kidding about retiring right now!

Panthers at Giants

The Giants will get to open the New Meadowlands Stadium with the team that beat them in their last game in Old Giants Stadium (aw, sweet irony)! The Panthers come in relying on their new ace in the hole, Matt Moore, but is he really the answer to the Cardiac Cats quarterback woes!?

Week Two

Giants at Colts

Aw, its time for another MANNING BOWL! It's always nice to see little brother try to take out his bigger, stronger, and most popular brother in this matchup! I could really see Eli, after sitting out last year's playoff, try to make his mark by lighting up the Colts D in the air! But don't count out Peyton. Peyton must be angry about losing his Super Bowl and looks to take it out on anybody. Better hope Archie Manning can pick the right son in this battle!

Week Three

Packers At Bears

Oh, the joys of being a Packers fan! You sit in a division where your former great quarterback plays you twice and you get a easy 2 wins over the Lions a year! But, then, you have to deal with those pesky Chicago Bears! But Packer Nation has begun to rally around Aaron Rodgers as the quarterback of the future. It'll be up to a healed up Chicago Defense to put the Packers in their place!

Week Four

Redskins at Eagles

Welcome back, McNabb! Maybe this may be one of the best revenge games of the year! After years and years of demanding, the Eagles fans got their wish as the team traded McNabb. But McNabb should have some tricks up his sleeve, especially if Dan Synder and new coach Dan Shanahan can try the free agent trail and bring in some nice quality wide receivers. Word is that McNabb wants to bring T.O. in to give the skins a fighting chance at the playoffs. Is Washington ready for the T.O. Show though? Hopefully, the Skins should make a trade for another #81, Randy Moss!

The Eagles return the favor in Week 10, playing a Monday Night Football game in Washington.

Week Five

Vikings at Jets

It's a Brett Favre reunion of sorts (but only if he shows up)! A year removed from New York, Favre could come back to face his former team. This could be a battle of the old school and new school. Coming off a remarkable season, Mark Sanchez will battle a proven warrior in Brett Favre. And then, as a side show, it's LT, donning the Gangrene jersey instead of Baby Blue against the youth of AP! This may be "Game of the Year"worthy!

Week Six

Browns At Steelers

Big Ben will be suspended for actions after his actions at a nightclub in Georgia this past offseason.If the league hands down a 4 game suspension, this game will be a very important one. Can Big Ben come back from nearly a month away from football and lead the Steelers to the postseason? We might joke about the Browns being terrible, but possibly, the Browns could get the best of a untested Big Ben!

Week Seven

Bengals At Falcons

This has the possibility of being a nice little showdown in my opinion. If both teams have a great start, we could be seeing a showcase in defense. I believe Matt Ryan's sophomore slump is finally over and we could see him have a great year and lead the Falcons to a playoff run. The Bengals also have the chance of at least making another playoff run, but will the duo of Palmer and Ochocinco be able to dance their way around this tricky Atlanta defense? (Hey, did you catch the Dancing with the Stars reference?)

Week Eight

49ers At Broncos

It's always a good time when the NFL takes the greatest sport in the world over to England to show Europe how worthless soccer is (that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it)! The Niners actually have a chance to win the NFC West outright! Cardinals are without Warner, the Seahawks are starting over again, the Rams...are the Rams! But hopefully, the 49ers won't sleep on the Broncos! Remember,before they collapsed near the end of the season, the Broncos went 8-0 and shocked some pretty good teams along the way! The NFL has finally put a good London game to look forward to!

Week Nine

Cardinals At Vikings

Ok, maybe on paper, it just looks like a playoff rematch from last year! I'm more focused on how the Cardinals plan on filling the hole created by Kurt Warner's retirement. Matt Leinart has been waiting in the wings for a second opportunity to lead the Cardinals. But will he be the starting quarterback in this game?

Week Ten

Titans At Dolphins

These two teams could be good next year and I think might be looking at another good matchup! For one, the Titans made a strong comeback near the end of the season, almost making the playoffs on the fantastic running of Chris Johnson. It will be good to see if the Titans Defense has managed to find a way to stop the Wildcat offense, something the Dolphins continue to pride themselves on doing good. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams should put together a great run in a great showdown.

Week Eleven

Colts at Patriots

Around this time in the season, we get a good view of the landscape towards the playoffs. And possibly in the AFC, these two teams could be in the mix of it for the top seed in the playoffs! It's always great to see Brady and Peyton put on a clinic on passing the ball and this should be a great game!

Week Twelve

Saints At Cowboys

Week Twelve starts with a nice Thanksgiving game in Cowboys Stadium, maybe the best matchup in years! Tony Romo managed to lead a rag tag team to victory against the Saints, ending the Saints undefeated season and helping the Cowboys make it to the playoffs! The Saints will be looking for revenge, so don't fill yourself up on turkey, because I feel this is going to be a very high scoring game from beginning to end.

Week Thirteen

Steelers At Ravens
Jets At Patriots

Don't you just love inter-divisional rivalry games with possible playoff implications? These two matchups should be good. If the Ravens can improve on offense and keep Big Ben on his toes, Ray Lewis might be able to help his team get a crucial win. As for the Jets/Patriots, this should be a dog fight! Now that the Rex Ryan has found a way to lead the Jets to a win against their foes from Beantown, it'll be up to Tom Brady to return to his old form and get a hard fought win!

Week Fourteen

Eagles At Cowboys

If you really want to know if the Eagles made the right move to trade McNabb, this game might answer the question. If Kolb or Vick are the starting quarterbacks for the game and has lead the team to a possible playoff birth, then this should be a great matchup. However, if the Eagles season is all shot to hell, this will only help the Cowboys walk into another postseason and add another notch to the Cowboys pole in this great NFL rivalry!

Week 15

Jets At Steelers

Could this be a possible AFC Championship game in the making? Yeah, it'll all depend on Big Ben's leadership after missing 4 possible game to make a run for the playoffs. I can see a battle of the defenses. Steelers 'Blitz-Happy' defense faces last year's dominant defense in the Jets! Let's see how both teams handle the pressure just 3 weeks before the end of the season.

Week 16

Chargers At Bengals

Last year, these two battled it out for the second seed in the AFC playoffs. Now, with LT out of the picture, the Chargers will have to rely on Philip Rivers arm to get them the win. Ochocinco may run his mouth off before the game, but trust me, we could be on the verge of having the game of his career in this one.

Week 17

Every Game Scheduled!

If you're a fan of drama in the NFL, you'll love what the NFL has done. All the games in Week 17 are all inter-divisional games. So, if your team is on the verge of clinching the North, South, East, or West, this game could make or break your playoff dreams. Also, with matchups like Cowboys @ Eagles, Panthers @ Falcons, Bengals @ Ravens, Bears @ Packers, and Chargers @ Broncos, this is the ultimate make-or-break weekend!

Now, you may all speculate on who will win the Super Bowl in Dallas! Not me, I'll just wait on training camp to make mind up!