NFL Power Rankings - Week 8

1. Indianapolis Colts
I guess we'll see how accurate I am this week. I'm still sticking with the Colts.

2. New England Patriots
If Tom Brady gets hurt while they're up by 500 points, we'll see if the Pats are still laughing. I at one time really liked this team. I hate them more every day.

3. Green Bay Packers
I'm still not 100% sold on this team, but they are 6-1 and they do have some good receivers.

4. New York Giants
They may have the best defense in the NFC.

5. San Diego Chargers
I think this is the one team in the league that is capable of beating both the Colts and the Patriots.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers
This team is better when Willie Parker runs for a lot of yards. So is my fantasy team.

7. Dallas Cowboys
Their defense still concerns me. The offense, not so much.

8. Tennessee Titans
They find a way to win close ones. Their offense has to get better if they're going to improve.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars
If they can win half of their games with Quinn Gray, I would consider that a success.

10. Detroit Lions
If they can play like they did in the first half of the Bears game all year, 10 wins will be no problem.

11. Seattle Seahawks
I have yet to figure this team out. This weeks game against Cleveland should be interesting.

12. Baltimore Ravens
I still don't like this team.

13. Cleveland Browns
This team is fun to watch on offense. I wonder what Derek Anderson's future holds?

14. Carolina Panthers
This team would have made the playoffs with Jake Delhomme, I'm doubting they will with David Carr.

15. Washington Redskins
Jason Campbell really isn't that good. The Lions made it seem like he is.

16. Kansas City Chiefs
This is one of those teams where you wonder how they've won as many games as they have.

17. Arizona Cardinals
I think the bye week will do this team some good. If Boldin is healthy, watch out.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Well, Jeff Garcia is human after all. For a minute there, everyone forgot about his years on the Browns and Lions.

19. New Orleans Saints
If this team gets hot, watch out. Drew Brees is starting to look like his old self again.

20. Denver Broncos
That was a brutal loss on Monday night. Please don't take it out on the Lions.

21. Buffalo Bills
Even though he got hurt and really didn't play all that well, I like Trent Edwards.

22. Chicago Bears
I'm thinking the Super Bowl this year is not a possibility.

23. Philadelphia Eagles
This weeks game against the Cowboys could be their season.

24. Houston Texans
I'll admit that was a tough situation they walked into on Sunday. But it was still a horrible showing.

25. Cincinnati Bengals
Not a good performance on Sunday. This team seems like they have quit.

26. Minnesota Vikings
They have a great runner and a great run defense. That's it.

27. Oakland Raiders
Their offense is still horrible. They still need to cut back on the penalties.

28. San Francisco 49ers
Could this be the worst offense ever? Probably not, but it's gotta be close.

29. New York Jets
I don't see Kellen Clemens saving their season.

30. Atlanta Falcons
I can't wait for that Thanksgiving matchup against the Colts. Should be a classic. Joey Harrington has played on Thanksgiving day every year of his career.

31. St. Louis Rams
Maybe Steven Jackson will play an entire half next week.

32. Miami Dolphins
I've gotta say they hung in there on Sunday, but they still are really bad.

Cyber Sunday Recap

1. Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio (Stretcher Match)
This was a fun match, that if given at least 5 more minutes, could have been great. They did a great job with the time given and this was a great choice for the opener. Rey Mysterio gets the victory.

Unofficial Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

2. CM Punk vs. Miz
This was a surprise, as I expected him to get 10% or less. I guess WWE fans are trying harder not to be predictable. This was a solid match and a feud between these two could possibly better than most expect. Punk retains his title.

Unofficial Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

3. Mr. Kennedy vs. Jeff Hardy
This was by far the worst of their small series of matches. Kennedy still seems a bit rusty or something. This was definitely not a bad match, just disappointing. Mr. Kennedy gets the victory, setting up a title match somewhere down the road.

Unofficial Rating: 2 (out of 5)

4. MVP vs. Kane
This was the only let down of the night. I've been dying to see a Hardy/MVP rematch, but for whatever reason this feud is jinxed. Despite all the setbacks, it still is without a doubt my favorite feud of the year. MVP wins by countout. Bad ending, but an expected one considering the circumstances.

Unofficial Rating: .75 (out of 5)

5. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
Very surprising that this was the 5th match. Match had a lot of good moments, but Orton resorted to his usual rest holds (big surprise) and it had a bad ending. This was still a very good match. Michaels wins by DQ.

Unofficial Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

6. Umaga vs. Triple H (Street Fight)
I think the fans picked the right stipulation for this match. This was an entertaining match even if it was predictable. Triple H wins after hitting Umaga with the sledgehammer.

Unofficial Rating: 3 (out of 5)

7. Batista vs. Undertaker
Stone Cold Steve Austin played no part in this match, except getting a big pop and beating up Foley and JBL. These two picked up where they left off and had another very good match. I could be wrong, but this may be my favorite of their four matches this year.

Unofficial Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

This was a very good show and boy did the WWE need one. After a bunch of disappointing shows, this one was very solid all the way through. I'd like to think this would have been even better had Matt Hardy not gotten hurt. Definitely a top 5 show for this year.

Overall Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

NFL Power Rankings - Week 7

1. Indianapolis Colts
I don't think they'll overlook the Panthers this Sunday. They're just too well coached.

2. New England Patriots
The Washington defense should be able to slow down their passing offense for a few minutes or so.

3. Dallas Cowboys
Is it just me, or is there a huge drop off from 2 to 3?

4. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are in for a tough matchup this week against a Denver team that doesn't lose too often at home.

5. New York Giants
I'm starting to think that they may be the best team in the NFC right now. I think most people were off on their predictions for this team.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers
I'm not sure what happened to the defense this week, but I wouldn't expect too many more performances like that. I think Mike Tomlin may be my favorite head coach.

7. Washington Redskins
Not quite sure how they won this weekend, but good teams find ways to win.

8. Detroit Lions
Another team that found a way to win. They weren't able to pick off Garcia, as I predicted, but watching him fumble twice was close enough.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars
This team won't go anywhere without David Garrard.

10. Carolina Panthers
We'll get a chance to see what this team is really made of when they take on the Colts this week.

11. San Diego Chargers
I don't expect this team to lose too many more games.

12. Tennessee Titans
I'm glad I had Rob Bironas on my fantasy team.

13. Baltimore Ravens
I'm pretty confident this team won't make the playoffs. Maybe McNair will spark them when he returns.

14. Seattle Seahawks
My theory that Shaun Alexander is only as good as his offensive line is starting to look more accurate by the week.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Even with over 400 yards of total offense, they only managed to score 16 points.

16. Denver Broncos
After taking a look at their schedule, I think this team is going to squeak into the playoffs.

17. Kansas City Chiefs
I'm really not quite sure how this team has 4 wins, making them a dark horse wildcard team.

18. Cleveland Browns
Derek Anderson may be this years biggest surprise.

19. Arizona Cardinals
Anquan Boldin is a stud when he plays. I'm saying that because he is on both of my fantasy teams.

20. Houston Texans
Whatever hope the Texans had to sneak into the playoffs just faded away as Rob Bironas' 8th field goal passed through the goal posts.

21. Chicago Bears
If they manage to beat the Lions this weekend, they are right back in the thick of things.

22. New Orleans Saints
I was expecting a more convincing win over the Falcons this weekend.

23. Philadelphia Eagles
Things are not looking good for the Eagles.

24. Cincinnati Bengals
That was a big win against another team desperate to win, but their defense still sinks.

25. Buffalo Bills
Every week, I'll probably just mention how much I like Trent Edwards. I'll also throw in that I wish the Lions drafted him in the second round.

26. Oakland Raiders
They definitely are no longer the worst team in the league.

27. Minnesota Vikings
Tarvaris Jackson is absolutely awful. I've only been saying that since the first time I saw him play.

28. San Francisco 49ers
I guess I'm confused how this team took a turn for the worse. Alex Smith better bring his A game.

29. New York Jets
I didn't expect this team to be as good as last year, but I know no one thought they'd be this bad.

30. Atlanta Falcons
They're still fighting, but it will be an uphill battle all year long.

31. St. Louis Rams
It just keeps getting worse and worse.

32. Miami Dolphins
The team had one bright spot this year and his name is Ronnie Brown. I think you know the rest.

NFL Power Rankings - Week 6

1. Indianapolis Colts
I can't wait until their week 9 showdown against the Pats.

2. New England Patriots
It will be interesting to see if they can keep this up all year.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers
They're getting back some key players this week, which means trouble for most of the league.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars
I was one of the people that wrote this team off. Right now they're the real deal and it seems like they always have a shot against the Colts.

5. Green Bay Packers
It sure wasn't pretty, but those are the games that make or break seasons.

6. Dallas Cowboys
This team is capable of falling apart. But since they're in the NFC, they probably won't.

7. New York Giants
I have been very impressed with this team's attitude. They're certainly making Tiki Barber look like an idiot.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They keep finding ways to win, but how far can they go without a solid running back?

9. Washington Redskins
I'm not quite sure how they lost in Green Bay, but they did. They've got to just continue running the ball and they should be fine.

10. Baltimore Ravens
I'm not so sure how good this team really is. We'll find out when they play the Steelers.

11. San Diego Chargers
This team seems to have risen from the dead as most people thought they would.

12. Carolina Panthers
I'd have to say that Vinny winning that game on Sunday was one of the cooler moments in my years of watching the NFL.

13. Tennessee Titans
This team needs Vince Young.

14. Seattle Seahawks
This team has looked really bad the past two weeks. They better hope they can fix whatever the problem is.

15. Philadelphia Eagles
This team is still underachieving and I probably have them way too high, but they still have potential.

16. Detroit Lions
Rod Marinelli faces off against his old team for the first time. The defense needs to show up agianst an offense not known for scoring a ton of points. My prediction: Jeff Garcia throws his first interception of the season.

17. Arizona Cardinals
If Kurt Warner is out for more than a couple of weeks, this team is done.

18. Cleveland Browns
Their offense is much better than even the most optimistic Browns fan could have hoped. Unfortunately, their defense is worse.

19. Houston Texans
With Andre Johnson possibly back and Vince Young possibly out, this team may have a chance to sneak out a victory this weekend.

20. San Francisco 49ers
Last year following their bye, the Niners were able to improve their defense. Let's see if they can do the same for their offense this year.

21. Kansas City Chiefs
This team is way too inconsistent. But I think it's safe to say that when Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez are on, this team can win.

22. Denver Broncos
This week against the Steelers could be the most important game of their season.

23. Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson is awesome. Their run defense is awesome. The rest of the team, not so much.

24. Chicago Bears
I know they have a lot of injuries, but boy is their defense bad.

25. New Orleans Saints
In the NFC South, this team is not out of the picture just yet.

26. Buffalo Bills
We all know I like Trent Edwards. But just in case...I like Trent Edwards.

27. Cincinnati Bengals
Last year I predicted this team wouldn't make the playoffs and they didn't. This year I figured they'd be back with about 10 wins. I think I was a little off on that one.

28. Oakland Raiders
They are quite a bit better, but still a ways away.

29. New York Jets
There's no reason this team shouldn't win at least 7 or 8 games. Their defense stinks and the offense is starting to follow their lead.

30. Atlanta Falcons
Poor Joey. I know he's not that good, but just once I'd like to see him with a good group of receivers.

31. St. Louis Rams
Getting Jackson and Bruce back may equal a few wins, but this team is still a disappointment.

32. Miami Dolphins
I figured this team would be bad, just not this bad.

No Mercy Recap

1. Randy Orton vs. Triple H
I'm not sure how I feel about them picking Triple H for this angle, but after seeing how everything went, it worked well. This was a solid match, but sort of had a TV match feel to it. Triple H becomes the second new champion of the night.

Unofficial Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

2. Jeff Hardy, Paul London, And Brian Kendrick vs. Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade, And Trevor Murdoch
This was a bonus match that was a pleasant surprise to see pop up on the card. Nothing too special, but some solid action. Mr. Kennedy picked up the victory for his team.

Unofficial Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

3. CM Punk vs. Big Daddy V
This was a huge disappointment. CM Punk in his hometown should have at least gotten 5 minutes to work with. My God, a match that's less than 2 minutes? What a joke. Then they do a screwjob ending that makes no sense. Punk wins by DQ.

Unofficial Rating: .25 (out of 5)

4. Triple H vs. Umaga
This match got cut short because of the whole title angle. With a few more minutes, I think it would have left more of a lasting impression. Triple H retains by pinfall.

Unofficial Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

5. Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio
This was the match I was most looking forward to and I was pretty disappointed. Once again, it needed more time and a clean finish would have been nice. I do have to say I got a good chuckle out of Finlay pulling the fake on Mysterio. No contest in this one.

Unofficial Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

6. Beth Phoenix vs. Candice Michelle
This was not nearly as good as their first meeting. Beth Phoenix is the third new champion of the night.

Unofficial Rating: .25 (out of 5)

7. Great Khali vs. Batista
This wasn't as bad as expected, but it still wasn't pretty. I liked the ending, it added some excitement to a slow match.

Unofficial Rating: .75 (out of 5)

8. Randy Orton vs. Triple H
This was a great main event, as both guys brought their A game for this one. Possibly the best match in quite some time in WWE. Randy Orton is your new champion (once again).

Unofficial Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Well, the main event definitely made this show seem better than it was. However, there were a lot of missed opportunities on this show. I give it a mild recommendation, just because it had a little bit of a different feel to it.

Overall Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

NFL Power Rankings

1. Indianapolis
Until they lose, they are still the champs.

2. New England
This week should be quite interesting as the Pats travel south to the big D.

3. Dallas
They sure got lucky up in Buffalo Monday night. They better hope they don't play like that this week.

4. Pittsburgh
That was quite the impressive bounce back for this team. I like Mike Tomlin a lot.

5. Tennessee
I'm not quite sure how they keep winning, but they always seem to find a way.

6. Green Bay
That was a bad loss on Sunday night. Favre and company didn't even look like they wanted to win at the end.

7. Washington
Remember, Jason Campbell's career best performance came against the no name secondary of the Lions.

8. Jacksonville
As long as the running game is dominant, this team should be right in the hunt.

9. New York Giants
This team is exceeding my expectations, but being in the NFC East means they have some tough games ahead.

10. Seattle
That was a really bad performance in Pittsburgh. With Deion Branch out, that's not going to help.

11. Baltimore
This team has not been very impressive, but the defense is still playing well.

12. Arizona
We'll see if Kurt Warner can bring some of his magic to the desert.

13. Detroit
Yes, I know they've gotten killed twice in the last three weeks, but they're still headed in the right direction.

14. Tampa Bay
They would be higher if they didn't lose two key offensive players.

15. San Diego
I want to see one more impressive win before I shoot them up into the top 10. That win should come this weekend.

16. Houston
When they get Ahman Green and Andre Johnson back, this team could do some damage.

17. Carolina
With the NFC South so weak this year, this team still could take the division. How far they go is up to David Carr.

18. Chicago
That game Sunday night was a season saver. Let's see where they go from here.

19. Philadelphia
This is a must win situation for Philadelphia.

20. San Francisco
I still can't get over how bad this offense is.

21. Denver
This team needed a bye week big time. They could be in trouble.

22. Cincinnati
I have a feeling this team will bounce back and make a run for the wild card.

23. Oakland
This team is definitely improving, but the passing game has to be better.

24. Buffalo
That was a tough loss for the Bills. They could be 3-2. Yes, I'm still upset the Lions took Drew Stanton instead of Trent Edwards. I may even get an Edwards jersey.

25. Kansas City
Things seem to be getting ugly in KC. Larry Johnson is turning into the player I thought he would be in the NFL. He's much better than how he's been playing.

26. Cleveland
The offense is still playing well, but the defense still stinks. I give Derek Anderson credit though, he's handling the pressure pretty well.

27. New York Jets
I certainly thought Thomas Jones would be more successful than he has been so far.

28. Atlanta
Well, Joey's streak of good games ended at two. We'll see if he's able to bounce back.

29. Minnesota
Their pass offense will never be good with Tarvaris Jackson.

30. New Orleans
I still can't believe they're down this far. If they would have won on Sunday, they would have been right in the hunt in the NFC South.

31. St. Louis
Another team I expected big things from. Not sure what's going on here.

32. Miami
I figured they'd be pretty bad this year, but at least Ronnie Brown is doing well. That's at least one bright spot.

Fall Premiere Thoughts

Just a quick look at the season/series debuts that I watched over the past week or so:

1. Reaper (Tuesday, 9:00, CW)
Reaper is a show with a fun premise that actually works out pretty well. A slacker finds out that his parents sold his soul to the devil and now has to help bring escaped souls back into Hell. Some of the comedy was hit or miss, but the characters help hold it all together.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

2. Cavemen (Tuesday, 8:00, ABC)
This is possibly the most talked about show, but for the wrong reasons. I had to see how bad this was going to be, and to be honest it was nowhere near as bad as it should have been. It's not that funny or original, but there have been many worse shows on television.

Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

3. Carpoolers (Tuesday, 8:30, ABC)
I haven't seen a show this horrible in a long time. Sure, I don't watch a whole lot of TV shows, but this one is simply awful. I won't be surprised if this is cancelled by the second episode.

Rating: 0 (out of 5)

4. The Office (Thursday, 9:00, NBC)
NBC's comedy kingpin is back for a fourth season and the season opener definitely delivered. A charity run for Rabies is brilliant enough to make an episode good, but all of the other office drama is what makes the show much better than most of it's competition.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

5. My Name Is Earl (Thursday, 8:00, NBC)
Jason Lee is back and better than ever as the show now features him in prison. Most shows would use this as a desperate attempt to get people to watch the show, but Earl finds a way to make it clever and intriguing.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

6. Pushing Daisies (Wednesday, 8:00, ABC)
Definitely the best season/series debut of the year. This reminds me of an adult version of a Roald Dahl fairy tale and it is brilliantly executed. I hope that the rest of the season lives up to the series debut.

Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

7. Desperate Housewives (Sunday, 9:00, ABC)
I've never been a fan of watching TV on Sunday nights because of football, and as a result have missed out on shows like The X-Files and The Simpsons. When this show debuted a few years back, I decided to take a chance on this show, and I'm glad I am, although I do miss it often due to football and wrestling. This year's debut was very strong featuring many new storylines that are sure to keep this season interesting.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

5 Things That Rocked September

1. The Lions Are 3-1
That's right folks, the Detroit Lions are 3-1. Yes, the Eagles game was unwatchable, but they bounced back to defeat division rival Chicago to win 3 of 4 in the month of September. The two home games have been two of the best games played since Ford Field opened its doors back in 2002. In other good Lion news, I got an early Christmas gift, a black authentic Calvin Johnson jersey. I couldn't be much happier with the month of September for the Lions.

2. Cedar Point
After a 15 month drought, I returned to the Point with good friends Steve, Mike, and Homeboy. Despite there being over 35,000 people in the park (one of them being Tayshaun Prince), nothing could bring us down. We conquered all of the major rides (Millenium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Magnum) along with some of the not so major rides (Disaster Transport). The brand new Maverick was a fantastic addition to the park, offering something a little different than most other Cedar Point rides. I also must add that Chick-Fil-A now has a location in the park and it was delicious, even if it cost twice as much as usual.

3. Dashboard Confessional Concert
Chris Carrabba decided to embark on a solo acoustic tour and for one reason or another chose Oakland University for the first show on the tour. Tickets were only $10 for students (I always keep my ID handy) and despite being a bit nippy out, it was a fun show covering most of his best material.

4. Foo Fighters
After the last two Foo Fighters albums weren't up to par with There Is Nothing Left To Lose, I was starting to write the band off. However, they have proven me wrong with a strong set of songs. David Grohl seems to be much more comfortable with the fact that he is no longer "young and hip" and it shows. This is one of the more pleasant surprises this year.

5. The Office
Myth: Three people a year die from rabies.
Fact: Four people a year die from rabies.
Yes, the best comedy on television is back and debuted with an hour long season premier. With many new story lines starting to take shape, season 4 seems to have a strong chance of being the best season of the show ever.