Random Thoughts
Posted July 12, 2006, 10:09 AM ET

Today is the worst sports day of the year.

It is such a lousy sports day that the only event planned is the WNBA All-Star Game. Who actually knew that one existed? Better yet, did anybody know that the league was still in operation?

The World Champion Carolina Hurricanes announced their preseason schedule. It includes three road games and two home games in September. Unfortunately, the Canes will not be making an appearance in Charlotte. That is a big marketing mistake for the Hurricanes. They have all the momentum in the world and they need to maximize this time to get as many people interested in their team and sport. Not tapping into the Charlotte marketplace is remarkably shortsighted for a franchise and a sport that needs to work overtime to get fans hooked. There is no doubt that a Hurricane appearance in Charlotte, even for a preseason game, would be a tough ticket in the Queen City.

Since we're at the halfway point in Major League Baseball, how many of the divisional winners will hold on and make it to the playoffs? Your leaders are as follows:

In the American League it's Boston, Detroit and a tie in the West with Oakland and Texas.

In the National League we've got New York, St. Louis and San Diego.

I think at least one of those teams in each league will not win outright....I'll pick Detroit and San Diego to lose their first place grip before the playoffs start in October.

As for the festivites in Pittsburgh this week, I thought the Home Run Derby lacked any punch...the event needs an overhaul. One good thing was that the guys at HYPE came to their senses by limiting Chris Berman's obnoxius "back, back, back" commentary. The inclusion of the Baseball Tonight crew was a smart move by ESPN.

The All-Star game had "snoozefest" written all over it until the American League woke up from a coma with two outs in the ninth inning. Before the ninth inning outburst, the game had less action than the World Cup finale. The rally allowed the AL to control home field advantage in the World Series and they are now a dominating 9-0-1 in the last 10 all-star games.

Thank goodness, the NFL players start to report to camp at the end of the month...the "real football" season can't get here fast enough.

I read a story that a guy compiled all the preseason college football magazines and gave a point value to Top 25 rankings.....He concluded by saying that Notre Dame is #1, followed up by Ohio State.

I'm telling you right now, there is no way that Notre Dame is the best team in college football....Top 10, yes....#1?...no way.

For the record, the listings included 3 teams from the SEC in the Top 10: Auburn at #6, Florida #8 and LSU at #10. There were no ACC teams in the Top 10...but FSU, Miami, Virginia Tech and Clemson were in the Top 20.

Everybody has jumped on the Panthers' bandwagon. Every preseason football magazine has picked Carolina to make it to the Super Bowl in Miami. I'd rather be picked to be good than to be demanding respect by the national scribes and commentators.

People are waiting for the first confrontation between wide receivers Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson. Maybe we should keep an eye out on Smith and Coach John Fox. It seems that Smith has grabbed the "spokesman" title from Fox when it comes to Rack Room Shoes. I sure hope that doesn't cause any concern in the locker room....by the way, for the record.....I'm joking.

I sure hope Danica Patrick joins the NASCAR Cup Series. She is probably leveraging the good ol' boys for a bigger check in the IRL, but her presence in NASCAR would be hilarious. Maybe the NASCAR power brokers should make it necessary for her to actually win an event in the IRL before defecting to stock cars.

With that said, maybe the PGA Tour should do the same with Michelle Wie...she shouldn't be allowed on Tour until she actually wins something on the ladies' circuit.

Well, it is time to struggle through the next few weeks....July can't end fast enough. I'm already tired of the hot weather and all the main events taking place in Europe...thank goodness the World Cup is history and doesn't return until 2010...Wimbledon is finished with no American in sight...and the Tour de France ain't squat without Lance Armstrong. The only event left is the British Open next week...and it would be nice to see Phil and Tiger both playing well.

In the meantime, how many days do we have left before the NFL training camps open?