Etc...

Final thoughts this week...
Is it safe to say that Bill Simmons' dislike for Art Shell now goes beyond "teenage crush" (think "AC Slater" in his prime) and has morphed into "The Crush" (movie with a teenage Alicia Silverstone jonesing for family man Carey Elwes)? Next step Bill? Flava Flav and Bridgette Nielson territory. Eeewwww.

Get well soon to:
Jonathan Papelbon, we hardly knew ya. See you next spring.

Manny. You're too often criticized and not appreciated enough.

Frankie Liriano. Kudos to your bosses shutting you down. But your fantasy value took a hit with this setback.

Trent Green. Underrated QB. Overrated team needs him.

Hannu Toivonen. Ask the Sports Guy, only a matter of time before he lands on this list anyway.

My NFL Week 2 picks (winner in bold):
Buffalo at Miami - Who you want... Daunte Culpepper or J.P. Losman? Not so easy after Week 1 is it?
Carolina at Minnesota- Even without Steve SMith, Panthers offense will be better- the Vikings D can't pressure.
Cleveland at Cincinnati- Rivalry? Yes. Team parity? No.
Detroit at Chicago- Poor Mike Martz. Not the team to showcase your genius against.
Houston at Indianapolis- At a glance, Houston's roster talent mirrors Indy's. Then you get to the QB position.
New Orleans at Green Bay- Say hello to Reggie Bush's 150 all-purpose yards Green Bay fans.
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia- You're about to see Philly stake its claim early for the NFC East title.
Oakland at Baltimore- 13 point favorite. Heck, I'd double it + 1 to last week's final score in Tampa (27-0).
Tampa Bay at Atlanta - Michael Vick is not improving as fast as their D.
Arizona at Seattle- No Deion Branch yet? The Cards thank you.
St. Louis at San Francisco- The Rams are in good hands with... Jeff Wilkins.
Kansas City at Denver- though I don't think a win slows the Cutler bandwagon.
New England at N.Y. Jets - the Jets defensive front shows less pressure than being a finalist on Project Runway.
Tennessee at San Diego- They are good, but starting off with Oakland and Tennessee is a great confidence booster before playing Baltimore and Pittsburgh after the Bye Week.
Washington at Dallas- Take my quote from the Denver game. Substitute "Cutler" with "Romo".
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville- Sorry Shanoff. The Jags are not black and gold yet.