racingmeridian.com

GRID IRON..only eight teams currently rank in the top 15 on both sides of the ball; Denver (9/2), Green Bay (8/3), Indy (4/9), Miami (15/13), New Orleans (1/11), New England (3/6), the New York Giants (6/1) and Pittsburgh (7/8)…nine teams reside in the bottom 15 on both sides of the ball. The wretched teams include Atlanta, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas, Oakland, St Louis, Tampa and Tennessee…the crucial consideration in the big Green Bay - Minnesota showdown at Lambeau this Sunday isn’t going to be the play of Brett Favre. It’s going to be the play of rookie Packer T J Lang. Who? Lang is likely going to be forced into action at the left tackle position against Jared Allen and the Viking pass rush. The Packers have been inept at providing adequate protection for the gifted Aaron Rodgers and the problem may have just become tangibly worse. In the teams first meeting the Vikings racked up eight sacks, a number which virtually precludes an offence from finding a flow…ICE..the best record in the NHL, at 10-1-2, currently belongs to the Colorado Avalanche. Did not see that one coming. Paul Stastny, who spent the majority of last season in the stands, leads the charge with 13 points. The Avalanche have also received a boost from their top 2009 draft selection, Matt Duchene. Unlike the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nazim Kadri, the Avalanche found a roster spot for their pick and he has responded with six points thus far…Atlanta’s top 2009 pick, Evander Kane, has three goals and two assists in nine games …with the strength and endurance conditioning young hockey players undergo from the time they hit their teens, it may well be an anachronism to send these lads player back to Junior for more “seasoning”…major props to the Hockey News and their audacious claim, in their 2009/10 season preview, that the Phoenix Coyotes were stocked with the best young talent in hockey. You might have laughed then, not many are laughing now as the ‘Yotes contend in the Pacific…Andrei Kostitsyn has been promoted to the top line in Montreal, bumping enigmatic Mike Cammalleri to the second line. Andrei will play with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta…Martin Havlat has registered five points in ten games for the Minnesota Wild. Havlat is also -10. Not much bang for a phat 30 million dollar/five year contract…TURN LEFT..the funny aspect of driver A J Allmendinger’s arrest for DUI (blew .08, lowest level possible for arrest) is the assertion by NASCAR that one does not require a valid driver’s licence to compete in their events. If Allmendinger is given a 30 day suspension by the po-po, he can still tear up the tar at Talladega this weekend. YEEE-HAAA!!!…I started my NASCAR pool covered in shame after botching a pick..well, how y’all like me now? Five weeks to go and the Meridian, off Hamlin’s first place upset of Johnson at Martinsville, has cruised to the top of the leader board. This weekend, at Talladega, we reckon good ole boy Tony Stewart will have some post-Halloween surprises in store for his fellow Chase members…PONIES..the highly respected web site Globeform has been emphatic in their belief that five year old mare Zenyatta can win the Breeders Cup Classic. An interesting development, should she run against the boys, will be the role of favouritism on either side of the ocean. In Europe, Rip Van Winkle is being bet heavily at about 6.5-5. In America it is anticipated Zenyatta will start as about a 2-1 favourite. Choosing where to bet, utilizing various accounts on both sides of the ocean, could be key to making a profit…Horse of the Year, stateside, has already been decided. It’s Rachel Alexandra in a canter, regardless of what transpires on Nov 7^th…Horse of the Galaxy is, of course, Sea The Stars…MEDIA..an excerpt from the Tim Donaghy book the NBA is desperate you do not read is currently available on deadspin.com…PUG LIFE..Hector Camacho Jr and Yori Boy Campas clash tonight on a pay per view card from El Paso Texas. Campas’s last outing was against Camacho Sr and it was a dreadful display by two utterly washed up combatants. Yori Boy has had a long illustrious career but little is left in the tank. Of course Camacho Jr did not help his cause by weighing in 5.5 ponds over the junior middleweight limit. This is one to watch on Justin TV with a few cold pops…oh, man, Manny Pacquiao broke one of the great taboo’s of the glorious sport by looking past his next foe and talking extensively about the prospects of a showdown with Floyd Mayweather. Maybe I’m just feeling superstitious before Halloween, but it sent a chill down my spine to think Pacquiao feels comfortable enough about his chances against Miguel Cotto on Nov 14^th that he can ruminate over future engagements. Cotto is not a fighter that can be overlooked or taken for granted. The sheer implausibility of what Pacquiao is attempting two weeks hence has been overshadowed by his success with two far inferior high profile opponents, Oscar De la Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Let me ask you this - how would Cotto have fared against the aforementioned duo? Would the fights have even been considered anything but mismatches? Certainly the devastating nature of the PacMan’s performance has lent momentum to his campaign. But this is a legitimate welterweight who is desperate to prove his worth after a heartbreaking loss to Antonio Margarito and an undeserved nod over Joshua Clottey. Boxing, like all sports, is ebb and flow, with the attitude of the contestants, as expressed through their preparation period, a critical factor in evaluating their chances. I am of the belief that Pacquiao is the superior fighter but may not have the requisite focus for the battle with Cotto. This fight is starting to shape up as the first stage of another trilogy, with a mild upset occurring in the first encounter…