By this point, you know the deal. I'm awful at gambling, but I give you my picks anyway. Bet them if you like. Bet against them if you like. Just don't bet your rent check on them. However, if you win a lot of money on one of my picks, I take gratuity. If you lose a lot of money on one of my picks, I will not pay your rent. All lines provided by BetUS.com.

• LSU -6 vs. UNC; I cannot stress how much I like LSU in this football game. First of all, the SEC is dominant in out-of-conference games. Secondly, UNC might have as many as 16 players out for this game, nine of which were possible starters. It is beyond me how this game is still on the board, and that the line is still this low. (Update: Obviously I'm not the only one who realized the disaster UNC has become. As of posting, this line wasn't on the board. Keep an eye out for things to change.)
• Purdue +11 @ Notre Dame; Notre Dame will win this football game, but not by more than 10 points. Notre Dame has spent all summer learning a new coach, a new system and how to deal with a coach who is so fat things orbit around him. Purdue has had some consistency in their program and puts the best QB on the field in Robert Marve. If you like points, you should watch this game. If you hate Notre Dame, you should not watch this game. I won't be watching.
• UNDER 49.5 UK @ Louisville; If these two offenses were good, coaches would have named their starting quarterbacks earlier than two weeks ago. Charlie Strong knows defense and will be able to keep Randall Cobb in check. Lousiville's offense is awful, so even Kentucky's meager defense will be able to keep them out of the end zone.
• Washington +2.5 @ BYU; Jake Locker would have been the #1 pick in the NFL draft had he been smart and gone pro last spring. Barring a regression, he'll be the best player in college football this year. As long as the Mormons don't do to his shoulder what they did to Sam Bradford's last year, Washington should roll into Polygamy-ville and get a win.
• San Jose State +37.5 @ Alabama; Obviously, Alabama is far superior at every position. But, Alabama has some issues. Mark Ingram is out of the game after having knee surgery. Marcell Dareus is out for two games for receiving improper benefits. These things lead to Nick Saban being very conservative this weekend. Plus, Penn State comes to Tuscaloosa next Saturday, so 'Bama won't want to show much of their playbook to Coach (Jay) Paterno.
• Virginia Tech +2.5 vs. Boise State; Virginia Tech regularly brings in Top 20 recruiting classes. Boise State does not. At some point, players win games and that's what I'm banking on Monday night. If you can get a good number for VT on the moneyline, take it. Thank me later. 

The long national wait is over. College Football begins this weekend and will fill our weekends until January. Sometimes, I wonder how I spend my weekends when there's no football. Then, I remember Keeneland, UK Basketball and all my friends that have pools. Life without football isn't so bad, but life with it is pretty damn good. In honor of the return of football, I thought I'd put some predictions on the internet for the world (4 people) to see. Feel free to remind me of these at the end of the season.

• The SEC will not be represented in the National Championship Game. Yes, I know the four people who read my last post already know I think this. But, I feel like the SEC is going to be a bit down this year. There are a couple teams (Florida & Alabama) that are going to be very good, but I don't see any SEC teams as elite. They will all have one or two losses during brutal SEC play, and won't play in the title game for the first time since the USC/Texas thriller in January of 2006.
• Randall Cobb will be WAY overhyped by UK fans. It started last week, when Mel Kiper said that he thought Cobb was the best player in college football. I thought Twitter might break in the state of Kentucky afterwards. UK fans must have forgotten that Kiper had Jimmy Clausen going 4th overall in April's NFL Draft (He was only about 40 picks off). There's a small chance Kiper is losing his eye for talent. Also, for any of you mouthbreathers who think Cobb is going to win the Heisman... They don't give the Heisman to guys who play on teams that go 7-5. Seriously, find me the last guy to do that.
• Rich Rodriguez will finally be fired by Michigan. Somehow, it's only RichRod's third year at UM. It feels like decades since he started ruining one of the greatest football universities in America. I thought Lloyd Carr was a walking corpse in his last few years at Michigan, but I'd help pay Lloyd's salary to bring him back over Rodriguez. RichRod's biggest sin is that he's a loser. He's won 8 games in two seasons at Michigan. The Michigan fanbase expects at least 10 wins... a season. Not only is he a loser, but Rodriguez is also a cheater. I really don't care about cheating in college athletics, seeing as everybody does it. But, you need to do two things if you're going to cheat: 1) Don't get caught. 2) Win some games when you are cheating. RichRod was able to do neither, so he'll be canned at the end of the year, which can't come a moment too soon.
• Boise State will not go undefeated. In fact, they'll lose on Monday night against Virginia Tech. Thankfully, that will end all the talk of them playing in the title game. Seriously, do you know anyone that wants to watch Boise State play in the National Championship game? No one would be excited if Northern Iowa played Southern Illinois in the Final Four, so why would anyone want to see Boise State play TCU in the BCS Championship? Who are these people trying to force us to like this mediocre football team from Idaho? When they join a real conference and play legitimate football teams every week, let me know.
• Conference Winners: ACC: Miami, Big East: Pittsburgh, Big Ten: Ohio State, Big Twelve: Texas, Pac 10: Oregon, SEC: Florida.
• Joe Paterno will not have any idea where he is, or what he is doing. Can't someone put him out of his damn misery? He has no idea what he's talking about at press conferences, is doing little-to-zero actual coaching and is stunting any chance Penn State has of getting better. Hell, Bobby Bowden still sounds coherent and was let go at Florida State. Look at that picture to the right. I think someone just asked him what year it is and he's completely perplexed. Seriously though, does that guy give you confidence if he's running your football team? I didn't think so. Someone needs to step up at Penn State and do the right thing, get that geriatric out of there.
• Garrett Gilbert will win the Heisman. I've got Texas going undefeated and I've got Gilbert as the best player on that team. The Heisman is no longer given to the best player in college football, it's simply the best player on the best team. It seems as if my logic here is airtight.
• Texas will beat Ohio State in the National Championship. In a year where everyone wants to tell you that traditional powers are down, I'll give you two traditional powers in the title game. Mack Brown wins another title and paves the way for another half-decade of SEC dominance.

Hello, friends. The response to the pre-weekend thoughts from last week was so overwhelming, I feel as if I have no choice but to appease our (four) readers and do another this week. I could come up with some witty banter for this italicized part, but I feel like I only have so much witty banter to give, and that needs to be used for the non-italicized parts of this post. If you thought this was going to be written in non-bullet point form, you were sorely mistaken.

• College football starts in less than week. Feel the excitement. I'm sure I'll rue this decision later this fall, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that an SEC team will not play for the National Championship this year. Yeah, I said it. Sure, it's been five years since an SEC team hasn't played for the title, but I see the conference as a step down from what it's been the last half-decade. I think SEC teams are going to beat up on each other and won't have the records to get into the NC game. I'll go ahead and predict Texas beating Ohio State for the title. Feel free to bring this up in early January when Alabama wins its second title in a row. But really, as long as Boise State, TCU, BYU or any other team that plays in a non-BCS conference isn't playing for the championship, we all win.
• It's that time for non-nerds to become nerds. Yes, it's time for fantasy football. It's a time when guys who have social lives and have talked to women before become just as nerdy as those with comic book collections. Look, I'm not ashamed I play fantasy football. Fantasy football is fun, lets you make fun of your friends and usually wins me money. I love fun things, making fun of my friends and winning money.
• The WNBA Playoffs have begun. Brubaker emailed me yesterday to ask why we hadn't done a preview for the WNBA Playoffs. Here is your WNBA Playoffs preview: The WNBA Playoffs have begun. They will end sometime in the next month (I think).
• Miami Hurricane Basketball is going to be thriving soon. Some members of the Heat went to play pickup hoops with the Hurricanes yesterday. John Calipari is the best recruiter in college basketball, but even he can't say, "If you come play for us, you'll get to play pickup with LeBron, Wade, Bosh and friends during the summer." Frank Haith is sitting on a goldmine at Miami and couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag.
• Speaking of the greatest athlete in the world... Per usual, I was thinking about everyone hating LeBron. I was told this week that no one cares that he switched teams, but it was how he did it that makes people not like him. I guess that's fair, but it should be noted that the guy is 25 years old and "The Decision" lasted about 80 minutes. If I were judged solely on 80 minutes of my life when I was 25, I could be called any number of things, the least of which being arrogant.
• Stop making a big deal about moving the Michigan/Ohio State football game. This game is already the biggest rivalry in college football, it doesn't matter when it's played. Ten million people would still tune in and watch if they played it at 4AM on a Tuesday. Seriously, I will listen to anyone talk about why the game shouldn't be moved if they can do so without referencing the past. Thankfully, no one can do that, so I don't have to listen to anyone else's opinion. Things change, usually for the better. Get over it, mouthbreathers.
• The Little League World Series comes to an end this weekend. Georgia and Hawaii play this afternoon and the winner gets to play Texas in the American Championship on Saturday. Japan and Chinese Taipei square off tomorrow in the International Championship. I'll go ahead and pick Texas over Hawaii in the American Championship and Chinese Taipei over Japan in the International Championship. Chinese Taipei will be crowned World Champions on Sunday. That team is loaded.
• Take this weekend to get ready for football. Do what you need to do to get ready. The next five months full of weekends will be taken up by football, beer and football. Prepare yourselves.

Hello? Is this thing on? It's been a few weeks (month) since I've written anything on here. After defending LeBron so eloquently for so long, I felt like I needed to take a break from writing to concentrate on other things... like defending LeBron on Twitter. I desperately need a hobby. Alas, it's Friday morning at work and I've already finished a crossword puzzle and a Sudoku (5-star!), so I figured I'd give some pre-weekend thoughts. It's kind of like when George Michael was going to get pre-engaged on "Arrested Development" except that it is not like that at all. Bullet points used for the reader's enjoyment and comfort.

• College Football starts in less than two weeks. There's going to be an extra hour of College GameDay, for those of us who needed more Erin Andrews in our lives. I'm not complaining. However, I will be complaining about Rich Rodriguez all season long, until that cheating loser gets his ass fired. Members of the Rodriguez family should probably avoid the site (like that will be difficult) for the next few months. The StadiumDrives party to celebrate the opening Saturday of CFB will be epic as always.
• The Little League World Series starts today. Did I go to a bar last weekend and ask them to turn on a LLWS Region Final Game? Yes, you're damn right I did. If I'm going to have to listen to a playlist of Culture Club, Bush, Kenny Loggins and Eminem... I'm going to find something to try and enjoy. You should really try and catch LLWS fever, it doesn't give you herpes. Plus, you can hear that "new" Jack Johnson song 47 times a day. "You, and your heart..."
• I still love LeBron. I've yet to figure out anything he's done wrong. I also love the double standard everyone has with the whole situation as well. Chris Paul is under contract and publicly said he doesn't want to play for the Hornets anymore, but he got a pass. LeBron was a free agent and went to play for another team and gets skewered. People are morons.
• I'm not convinced Reds fans actually like baseball. The only time I hear anything from Reds fans is when they get "slighted." When Joey Votto was correctly left off the initial All-Star team roster, you would have thought someone had murdered every Reds fan's mother. The newest thing that has Reds nerds up in arms is that Colin Cowherd said the Reds were a fraud or something on his radio show. The Reds beat writer even devoted a column to this subject. Then, Grubby's favorite Herald-Leader columnist, John Clay, tweeted, "Heard a little of Cowherd firing back at Reds fans this morning. Could the guy be any more arrogant?" I love this. Why wouldn't Cowherd be arrogant when all of these people who supposedly don't like him and think he's arrogant can't stop talking about him. Also, when did arrogance become the biggest crime in America? Has it superseded terrorism?
• Shawn Kemp Jr. didn't qualify academically at Auburn. Shawn Kemp's son not qualifying would be the least surprising sports story of the week if LeGarrette Blount hadn't punched someone at Titans practice.
• NFL Predictions if you care: Division winners: Patriots, Bengals, Colts, Chargers, Cowboys, Vikings, Saints and 49ers; Wildcards: Titans, Jets, Packers, Falcons.
• I can't handle UK playing basketball in the summer. Dealing with the UK mouthbreathers during the fall/winter is tough as it is, but this is out of control. I actually heard people saying that they would take Brandon Knight over John Wall. How dumb can these people possibly be? Brandon Knight may be a great basketball player at UK this season, but John Wall was the best NBA prospect since LeBron James! Take off the blue-tinted glasses, morons.
• What the hell is wrong with people from Europe? This is how a recent game between Serbia and Greece ended. Sadly, after the game they didn't all go and buy razors so they could shave for the first time (Brubaker's joke).

• TV this summer has been surprisingly great. You need to be watching Jersey Shore because it may be the greatest social experiment of all time. You need to be watching Bachelor Pad for the good looking women and because it is one of the most ridiculous shows to ever grace the airwaves. You need to be watching Entourage because Drama is about to be turned into a cartoon. You also need to watch the Little League World Series.
• It's the weekend, get off the computer. Summer is coming to an end, so go enjoy yourself. Reading sports blogs is for nerds anyway.

But I digress...  This is a sports blog, no?  While trying to think of a new commentary series to start here on our (not always) College (never) Daily (mostly) Sports Blog, I remembered those hot afternoons and evenings all those years ago spent making fun of, well, you.  And the SD Hot or Not series was born.  Installment 2, proceed with the chlorophyll!

HOT: Starting sports commentary articles with "but I digress."

NOT: Brandon Marshall.  With the less-likely-than-the-owners-want-you-to-think 2011 NFL lockout on yesterday's front burner, Marshall came out yesterday with his plan-B to play for an NBA team.

Asked to clarify whether he will pursue a basketball career if there is no NFL season in 2011, Marshall said: "Not pursuing -- I'm going to be on an NBA team. Seriously."

Marshall said he was good enough to play shooting guard professionally.

The Pro Bowl wideout played basketball at Lake Howell High School in Florida and frequently attended NBA games in Denver.

Quick, someone tell 2010 All-American Scottie Reynolds he can come back from Frosinone, Italy.  Also, get Coach Yeary on the horn.  The Hawks could use him.  The guy can bury threes.

Cohron was quick to point out that there is a good chance the NBA will be locked out that year anyway.  Maybe he was talking about the Florida Thundercats of the SPBL.  (League fee: $799, trophies not included).

HOT: John Daly.  Recently Daly's play in PGA tour events has people talking that his new lifestyle and significant weight loss could have him competing again.  I, for one, hope so.  Who doesn't like hearing "dang" picked up by on-course mics?  Also, his clothing venture, Loudmouth Golf, last week signed their first NCAA deal with my dear University of Tennessee... FOR ORANGE AND WHITE CHECKERBOARD GOLF PANTS!

NOT: Spelling in Alabama.  But then, if you were a season ticket holder, you already knew that.  Good job.  Best part?  The people in Mississippi didn't notice either! ZING!

NOT: This guy.  Nice hat, chotch.  I assume she's now single.

HOT: She is.

That's all folks.  22 days til burgoo and 16 hours of football.  See ya there!

We watch them on Sunday when they put on their helmets, pull their 7 irons, and mash their right foot to the floor.  Tuesdays and Saturdays go by like a blur as we see them shoot jump shots and throw the ball with 300 pound kids driving through their midsections.  The next day we talk about it in the halls at work, at the local bar, over text message, and on our back porches.  But do we really realized what we're asking of them?

A recent article in the NY Times, the quarterback battle at the University of Kentucky, and Tiger Woods' struggles have made me reflect on this.  What do we really want from our athletes?  Should we really expect greatness from them?

I'm not so different from most sports fans.  It's habit to check my favorite college and professional sports teams' websites daily.  ESPN is always on in the background at my house and ESPN radio blares from an old transistor radio on my desk at work when my office-mate is out.  This is all a part of me being a sports "fan."  Quotation marks are essential here, because what truly makes someone a "fan?"

The term sports "fan" is a derivative from the word fanatical.  A quick google search defines this term as "motivated by excessive, irrational zeal."  I can't quite come to terms with that though.  Sports fans, to me, are people who keep up with their team daily, go out of their way to experience their teams successes (and failures), and at the end of the day, people who can always pull for their team (or an individual).  I've always decried those who called themselves fans, yet they didn't watch their teams play, or worse, turned the broadcast off as their team began to crumble.

Yet, if we look at the more strict definition of the term, sports "fans" are the people who go beyond rational thought.  They are the ones that ask everything from their heroes.  Anything less than certain victory is considered deplorable.  Those, and many others who openly attack athletes, need to take a long look in the mirror.

The recent NY Times article is a good starting point for this analysis.  In this piece (which I highly recommend reading) Pat Jordan takes a look inside the life of Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Earnhardt is known as the son of one of the greatest NASCAR drivers in history, and his fans have always expected him to carry on the tradition of excellence his father started.  What many of his fans can't see is that he is just a man.

Possibly the greatest irony of all is that a large part of Earnhardt's fan base is made up of those who want to identify with someone.  They see the guy trying to sell them Wrangler jeans and say, "he's just a guy like me, I'm gonna pull for 'em."  The problem is, they forget all about Dale being a common man come Sunday.  Anything less than a first place finish leaves them feeling let down.  Not one moment's thought goes into thinking about the things that Dale is dealing with at the time, his true level of talent, or what his real ambitions are.

From the NY Times article, it's obvious that Dale Earnhardt Jr. never wanted to be his father.  He never expected to be the greatest driver in NASCAR history.  Put simply, he realized that he had enough talent, and the luck to be who he was, to allow him to drive a car for a living instead of working under one.  People need to realize he is a normal man, and that on any given Sunday his performance will be what it is, but it will not change him.

At the other end of the spectrum we have the case study of Tiger Woods.  Tiger was trained, nearly from birth, to be the greatest golfer on the planet.  He did not dissapoint.  For nearly ten years Woods thoroughly dominated a sport that many feel is the most difficult to excel at for an extended period of time.  Then it came crashing down.

Tiger's personal life has been a true media circus for the last year.  His professional life has followed suit in the past few months.  People everywhere are wondering why Tiger is playing so poorly.  There is only one explanation:  he has lost his focus.

Woods grew up his entire life with one goal, to become the greatest golfer ever.  Not to be good, mind you, but to become the greatest athlete in a sport's history.  Along the way he found a personal life, with a wife and children.  Unfortunately, he found another personal life that consisted of many transgressions.  When these two personal lives collided, he came to where he is now.

Tiger's recent golf performances have nothing to do with age or a lack of skill.  It all has to do with his personal life.  People follow every word of tabloid and traditional media about his personal life and then have the nerve to ask, "why is he playing so poorly?"  Because Tiger isn't the robot that his marketing machine has made him out to be.  While he put his family through unspeakable turmoil, at the end of the day he's a person and he cares for his family.  He is personally responsible for everything that he's going through, but his fans should understand that he's not going to be emotionally invested in golf right now.  Not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday, and sure as Hell not on Sunday when it really matters.

Tiger's fans should understand this.  They don't have to forgive him for what he's done.  He's made his own bed.  But to get frustrated that he's shooting over par every round is ridiculous.  Try going through a public scandal and divorce and continue to work at peak performance in your day job before criticizing this man.

Finally, we come to amateur athletics.  Nothing draws my ire more than people who continually bag on 18-22 year-old kids for their performance in an athletic event.  The quarterback situation at the University of Kentucky is a shining example.

Mike Hartline is a senior who has been the starting quarterback for the Kentucky football team.  He has direct competition from both Morgan Newton (a sophomore quarterback who started at times the previous season) and Ryan Mossakowsi (a redshirt freshman thought to have the best raw throwing talent of the bunch).  For two years Kentucky fans have been on Hartline's back, calling him everything from inefficient to an outright bum.  What gives them that right?

There is not one single person in my group of friends that played division one college football.  99.9% of the people commenting on Kentucky's quarterback situation have not either.  Yet these people feel they have a right to talk poorly about a student-athlete.  Why?  Well, they attended the school for one.  Secondly, they pay for tickets so that gives them the right.  I call bullshit on all of that.

I'm not a proponent of sugar-coating anything.  If Mike Hartline throws three interceptions against Louisville in week one, I will be the first to say that he played horribly and that one of the other kids should get a look at that position.  What I do have a problem with is people personally attacking the kid.  People talking about him like he's a used appliance.  People booing him in the stadium.

At the end of a hard-fought game this kid has to go back to his dorm room.  He has to talk to his parents.  Has to eat dinner.  Has to look in the mirror.  You don't think he has enough questions in his mind about his talent?  You need to add to that by going to your blog, your message board, or texting your buddy in section 210 saying, "Hartline's shit, when are we gonna play Newton?"  It's senseless, and doesn't do anyone any good.

American society has been focued on winning since its inception.  It's what has made this country what it is today.

Winning is very important, but at what cost?  Why do we continually ask athletes at both the professional and collegiate level to live up to expectations that we do not on an every day basis?  We expect them to be perfect every time they are asked to perform.  Can we live up to this expectation?  We should ask ourselves this question every time we open our mouths to criticize those that we ultimately turn to as a source of entertainment.

There's a number of moves or transactions I could point to in order to demonstrate the craziness of the NBA this summer, but perhaps this one takes the cake: Darko Milicic will receive $20 million over the next four years from the Timberwolves. If you're not sick after reading that, then you haven't been paying attention.

In recent memory, we've never seen a summer like this one, with the huge free agency deals, multiple multi-player trades, and..shall we say...questionable personnel moves by nearly every team. There were so many rumors floating around this summer that it was nearly impossible to track who was going where and for how much. At one point, I believe there was a sign-and-trade involving David Lee,  Hank Aaron, the late Ted Kennedy and three members of Phish, although it fell through because the band members refused to relinquish the rights to their hit song "Gin & Juice" (that's for you Smooth).

With that in mind, here's a look at each team's off-season, including trades, free agency signings and the draft. For these lists, I've only included new additions to the roster, not players who resigned (you'll also notice I took some liberties with the use of the word "significant"). As I write this, there's still some pieces yet to fall into place, but the majority of the player movement should be completed. Too bad we only have to wait another three months for the actual games.

Here's a look at the Southwest.  Be sure to check out the Eastern Conference's Atlantic, Central and Southeast Divisions, as well as the West's Northwest and Pacific Division.

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Significant additions: Tyson Chandler, Dominique Jones

Significant losses: Erick Dampier

Outlook: Once again, Dallas appears to be talented enough to win a bunch of games in the regular season, but not good enough to legitimately challenge for a title. Jones' scoring ability should help off the bench, although Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Roddy Beaubois are likely to eat up a good chunk of the backcourt minutes. Chandler is a solid defensive center who showed that he can be an offensive weapon when he plays with a good point guard, as he did with Chris Paul in New Orleans, but he's been injury prone his entire career. An aging core of Kidd, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki wil probably lean more heavily on contributions from Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood in the regular season as they try to save themselves for the playoffs. Overall, this team will probably win 50 games again, but they're still a step below the Lakers, and maybe even the Thunder, in the West.

Houston Rockets

Significant additions: Patrick Patterson, Brad Miller

Significant losses: None

Outlook: The Rockets appear ready to crash the playoff picture this year, provided Yao Ming remains healthy and they can integrate him back into the offense with the emergence of Aaron Brooks and last year's mid-season acquisition of Kevin Martin. Adding Patterson and resigning Luis Scola gives the Rockets more depth up front, and if Jordan Hill is able to contribute, this could be one of the best frontcourts in the league. Returning Kyle Lowery in the backcourt will help, as will the continued improvement of Chase Budinger. The Rockets will enter the season with some unknowns, but on paper, this team could be a sleeper in the West and if things fall their way, they could be a top-four seed. Coach Rick Adelman seems to know what buttons to push to get the most out his players, so don't be surprised to see Houston making some playoff noise this year.

Memphis Grizzlies

Significant additions: Xavier Henry, Greivis Vasquez, Tony Allen

Significant losses: Ronnie Brewer

Outlook: It's hard not to like the talent on the Grizzlies' roster as they enter the season. They have two young perimeter stars in OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay to go with two solid big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Xavier Henry is a ready-made NBA shooter, and Tony Allen is a terrific defender who brings playoff experience. Plus, they've got a host of young forwards who could break out this year, including Sam Young, Darrell Arthur and DeMarre Carroll. However, there's still some questions that could keep this team from being a playoff contender. Will Mayo stay at shooting guard, or will he try to move to the point? Can Mike Conley finally demonstrate some consistency? Will Hasheem Thabeet contribute anything? The Grizzlies appear to be on the way up as an organization, and their commitment to Gay shows that they may have a plan for the future, but they may still be a year away from being a serious playoff contender, especially in the loaded West.

New Orleans Hornets

Significant additions: Craig Brackins, Quincy Pondexter

Significant losses: Morris Peterson

Outlook: Poor Chris Paul. A couple years ago, the Hornets appeared to be one of the brightest young teams in the league. Now, following some questionable trades and front office decisions, they'll be lucky to even contend for the playoffs this year. Adding Brackins to a thin frontcourt can't hurt, but he's not likely to have a huge impact as a rookie. Pondexter gives the team another young, talented backcourt player to go with Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton, but he's likely to take some lumps as a rookie. Paul is still one of the most dynamic point guards in the league, and David West is a talented forward, but there's not much beyond them. Emka Okafor and Peja Stojakovic are injury-prone, while Julian Wright has yet to capitalize on his immense potential and James Posey has done nothing of record since signing a massive free agent contract. Perhaps the most interesting storyline out of New Orleans this season will be how long Paul is around, as trade talks have been swirling.

San Antonio Spurs

Significant additions: Tiago Splitter, James Anderson

Significant losses: None

Outlook: The Spurs have done a nice job of filling in pieces around Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, and this summer was no different. Splitter should be an instant impact player with his rebounding and toughness, while Anderson will give them another perimeter threat. The continued improvement of George Hill and DeJuan Blair should be enough to keep the Spurs among the best in the West, although it remains to be seen if Richard Jefferson will be brought back, following an inconsistent year. As usual, this team may not challenge for a top seed, but you can bet they'll once again be in the playoff hunt.

Predicted finish: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Memphis, New Orleans

Apparently last year's Sugar Bowl may be even more meaningless than I originally thought.

ESPN is reporting that former Florida center Maurkice Pouncey is being investigated for possibly receiving money from an agent after the Gators' loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game, but prior to their Sugar Bowl win over Cincinnati. If this turns out to be true, Pouncey would be declared ineligible, and in all likelihood, Florida would have to forfeit that victory.

I'm not too concerned with giving up that Sugar Bowl. Once they lost to 'Bama, the Gators' season essentially ended, as they entered the year in the unenviable position of failing with anything less than a national title. Yes, it was great to win and great to see UC fans put in their place, especially since I live in Cincinnati and I was incredibly sick of hearing about how good tthe Bearcats were, despite the fact that they routinely played high school teams last year on their way to a 12-0 regular season record. No, what concerns me now is the image of Florida taking a big hit and the doors being opened for more investigations.

If Pouncey took money, then even as it pains me to admit it, I'm sure he wasn't the only one. Florida has a ton of players looking toward NFL futures, and like any elite college football program, agents are going to be crawling over campus trying to work their way into those players' inner circles. If the staff doesn't make it absolutely clear that any contact with agents is prohibited, and then do their best to enforce that, than they're responsible when something like this happens. No excuses, no turning a blind eye or pretending they didn't know what was happening. Discipline starts at the top, and when something goes wrong, they have to be accountable.

Even if nothing comes of this, the national image of Florida is now going to be the same as USC...which isn't good. It's one thing to be hated for what you do on the field, it's quite another to be mocked and hated for being perceived as dirty and cheating. While some may argue, I feel Florida has definitely fallen more into the former category the last few years; now it appears they could be heading toward the latter.

We'll see what happens with the investigation, but the fact that there is an investigation in the first place doesn't bode well for Florida. Thanks a lot Maurkice - hope it was worth it.

There's a number of moves or transactions I could point to in order to demonstrate the craziness of the NBA this summer, but perhaps this one takes the cake: Darko Milicic will receive $20 million over the next four years from the Timberwolves. If you're not sick after reading that, then you haven't been paying attention.

In recent memory, we've never seen a summer like this one, with the huge free agency deals, multiple multi-player trades, and..shall we say...questionable personnel moves by nearly every team. There were so many rumors floating around this summer that it was nearly impossible to track who was going where and for how much. At one point, I believe there was a sign-and-trade involving David Lee,  Hank Aaron, the late Ted Kennedy and three members of Phish, although it fell through because the band members refused to relinquish the rights to their hit song "Gin & Juice" (that's for you Smooth).

With that in mind, here's a look at each team's off-season, including trades, free agency signings and the draft. For these lists, I've only included new additions to the roster, not players who resigned (you'll also notice I took some liberties with the use of the word "significant"). As I write this, there's still some pieces yet to fall into place, but the majority of the player movement should be completed. Too bad we only have to wait another three months for the actual games.

Here's a look at the Pacific. Coming up tomorrow, the Southwest.. Be sure to check out the Eastern Conference's Atlantic, Central and Southeast Divisions, as well as the West's Northwest Division.

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Significant additions: David Lee, Ekpe Udoh, Dorell Wright

Significant losses: Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, Ronny Turiaf

Outlook: The addition of Lee, long one of the most under-appreciated players in the league, should boost a Warriors' front court that badly needs his rebounding and energy. Unfortunately, Lee's move out West isn't likely to get him any closer to the playoffs. Stephen Curry looks to be a future All-Star, and Monta Ellis is an explosive scorer, but beyond them, the Warrior's roster is thinner than Brandan Wright's arms. Andris Biedrins is solid in the post, and Wright could be a good wing in an up-tempo system, but there's very little depth anywhere, and playing in the loaded Western Conference does them no favors. If Wright and Udoh can stay healthy, they could help this team avoid the basement, especially if Curry and Ellis are able to develop more chemistry together in the backcourt. But the smart money says the Warriors are probably headed for a rough year.

Los Angeles Clippers

Significant additions: Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe, Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes

Significant losses: Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, Drew Gooden

Outlook: Once again, the Clippers are loaded with young talent. Bledsoe and Aminu both have the potential to be very good, and when combined with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon, the Clipper can boast as much young talent as any team in the league. Veterans Baron Davis and Chris Kaman can still get the job done, and the addition of Foye and Gomes will help the depth of the team tremendously. But...this is still the Clippers. The franchise seems to be under a constant dark cloud, and bad luck is always lurking around the corner. If they can keep everyone healthy, this is a team with a bright future. But even so, they're still probably too young to make much noise this season.

Los Angeles Lakers

Significant additions: Steve Blake, Devin Ebanks, Derrick Caracter

Significant losses: Jordan Farmar

Outlook: If you're sick of seeing the Lakers win, you're not going to enjoy this season. The Lakers return virtually everyone from their title team, save for reserve guard Jordan Farmar, who was really only used to hand out towels to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Blake is an excellent addition to the Lakers with his basketball IQ and unselfish nature, and second-round picks Ebanks and Caracter both are talented enough to make the roster, although minutes will be sparse. With Kobe, Gasol, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum back, the Lakers will enter the season as the favorite to cut down the nets again. They'll likely have to develop a little more consistent depth as the West has gotten better, but barring injury, the Lakers should be in for another fantastic season.

Phoenix Suns

Significant additions: Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick, Gani Lawal

Significant losses: Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa

Outlook: The post-Amare era begins this year in Phoenix, although his loss might not be felt as much as you think. Adding Turkoglu and Childress to the wings gives the Suns two more playmakers who will thrive in their fast-break offense, and although Warrick lacks the skills of Stoudemire, his athleticism should be a nice fit for their style of play. Lawal is a rugged rebounder who could provide toughness of the bench, and he could turn out to be a nice second-round steal. With Channing Frye back to stretch the floor, and Robin Lopez healthy enough to man the post, the Suns have plenty of weapons next to Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Grant Hill. We'll miss seeing the Nash-to-Amare alley-oops this year, but the Suns still will be heard from in the playoffs.

Sacramento Kings

Significant additions: DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Samuel Dalembert

Significant losses: Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni

Outlook: Perhaps no team is as poised to improve as rapidly as the Kings, with the addition of Cousins in the post. An absolute monster inside, Cousins could become one of the best big men in the league as a rookie if he's able to keep his emotions in check. He's got a nose for the ball off the glass, and he's already one of the strongest players in the league. Whiteside and Dalembert will provide solid depth up front with Jason Thompson and Carl Landry, and Omri Casspi could turn some heads this year if he's able to be more consistent. If the Kings are able to get anything from Donte Greene, they could pose a lot of match-up problems. But this team will go as far as Cousins and Tyreke Evans can take it. They're still a couple of pieces away from being ready to contend, but they've got two important cornerstones in place, and the future looks bright.

Predicted finish: LA Lakers, Phoenix, LA Clippers, Sacramento, Golden State

There's a number of moves or transactions I could point to in order to demonstrate the craziness of the NBA this summer, but perhaps this one takes the cake: Darko Milicic will receive $20 million over the next four years from the Timberwolves. If you're not sick after reading that, then you haven't been paying attention.

In recent memory, we've never seen a summer like this one, with the huge free agency deals, multiple multi-player trades, and..shall we say...questionable personnel moves by nearly every team. There were so many rumors floating around this summer that it was nearly impossible to track who was going where and for how much. At one point, I believe there was a sign-and-trade involving David Lee,  Hank Aaron, the late Ted Kennedy and three members of Phish, although it fell through because the band members refused to relinquish the rights to their hit song "Gin & Juice" (that's for you Smooth).

With that in mind, here's a look at each team's off-season, including trades, free agency signings and the draft. For these lists, I've only included new additions to the roster, not players who resigned (you'll also notice I took some liberties with the use of the word "significant"). As I write this, there's still some pieces yet to fall into place, but the majority of the player movement should be completed. Too bad we only have to wait another three months for the actual games.

Here's a look at the Northwest. Coming up tomorrow, the Pacific. Be sure to check out the Eastern's Conference's Atlantic, Central and Southeast Divisions.

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Significant additions: Al Harrington

Significant losses: None

Outlook: Harrington will help provide some depth up front for the Nuggets, which isn't a bad idea given the injury propensity of Kenyon Martin and Nene. Other than that, this will be almost exactly the same team as last year, which can be good and bad. Denver will still be dangerous as long as they have Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and JR Smith, but they still lack the poise and consistency required to be a championship contender. Scoring points won't be a problem for this team but they'll have to prove they can stop somebody if they want to advance in the playoffs. If they can stay healthy, and if role players like Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo can step up, this team has the talent to play with anyone. But unless they show a better commitment to defense, they're not going to challenge the Lakers for Western Conference supremacy.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Significant additions: Wesley Johnson, Michael Beasley, Lazar Hayward, Martell Webster, Luke Ridnour

Significant losses: Al Jefferson

Outlook: For a bad team, the Wolves never cease to provide entertainment. First, they won the bidding war for Darko, although it remains unclear who exactly they were bidding against. Second, they made their run on small forwards, as they drafted Johnson and Hayward in the first round, then traded for Webster and Beasley. Next, one summer after using three first-round picks on point guards and then signing another in free agency, they went out and signed point guard Luke Ridnour. After that, to top it off, they then traded away one of their most consistent players for the one thing Wolves' fans don't want their team to have...more draft picks. On paper, this team actually appears to have some talent, although it won't be enough to keep them out of the basement. But more than wins or losses, we should just be thankful there are teams like the Wolves around to remind us that you can still have a sense of humor and be an NBA general manager. Here's to David Kahn!

Oklahoma City Thunder

Significant additions: Cole Aldrich, Morris Peterson, Daequan Cook

Significant losses: None

Outlook: Two years ago, the Thunder won 23 games. Now they'll enter the 2010-11 season as arguably the second-best team in the West. With Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka and James Harden, the Thunder have as bright of a future as any team in the league. Lacking only some depth up front and some veteran guys for chemistry, the Thunder landed Aldrich in a draft-day trade, and his rebounding and defense should earn him some minutes this year. Peterson will be expected to provide some leadership to the young team, while Cook gives them another shooter to space the floor for Durant and Westbrook. If they can handle the expectations of being a top team, the Thunder could make a lot of noise this season and into the playoffs.

Portland Trail Blazers

Significant additions: Luke Babbitt, Elliott Wiliams, Wesley Matthews

Significant losses: Martell Webster

Outlook: Stop me if you've heard this before - the Blazers can be one of the best teams in the West if they stay healthy. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge can be a potent duo, and surrounded by players like Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum and Andre Miller, this team has plenty of ways to beat you. Adding Babbitt and Williams, two versatile players who can play multiple positions, will only add to the ways the Blazers can attack on offense. Matthews, a rugged defender, should carve out minutes right away with his toughness, adding even more depth for the Blazers.  But as usual, the key will be the health of the big men, namely Greg Oden, Marcus Camby and Joel Przybilla. If those three can stay healthy, this is a team capable of putting a scare into the Lakers. But history tells us this team will once again battle injuries, and have to settle for merely being a playoff team.

Utah Jazz

Significant additions: Gordon Hayward, Al Jefferson, Raja Bell

Significant losses: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews

Outlook: The Jazz appear to have found ample replacements for their losses this summer, trading for Jefferson to fill Boozer's spot in the post, drafting Hayward to fill in for Korver, and then signing Bell to take over Matthews' role as a defensive stopper. However, it remains to see how well the new pieces will mesh under Jerry Sloan. The Jazz still have Deron Williams running the show, and with Andrei Kirilenko, CJ Miles, Paul Milsap and Mehmet Okur all back, this is still a veteran team that's used to winning. If Jefferson can prove to be as adept running the pick-and-roll with Williams as Boozer, and if Hayward is able to provide some quality minutes off the bench, the Jazz could be a top-four seed in the West. Look for Williams to have a monster season.

Predicted finish: Oklahoma City, Utah, Denver, Portland, Minnesota