Friday

Good morning! If you're solely here to see the Football Panel's picks, click here.

Well, it is another Friday. Not sure about you, but I had a long week that included a test! Half of it was closed book while the other half was open book! I passed! Woo hoo! It has been yet another busy week here at SethSpeaks.net with the Aaron Gleeman Q&A, the Beth Miller Why Baseball article, and James's Thoughts on the 2006 Twins. If you missed any of those articles, be sure to check them out now!

But today, it is all about your favorite players. On Monday, I introduced the Carew Contest, sponsored by the good people at GuardDog Watches. Check out their website and if you're interested in one of their watches, click here for details. The contest basically was for readers of the site to tell me about your favorite player in 100-250 words. I had to put the word constraint on there because I know some of you are like me and could put together a few thousand words on your favorite player. For each entry I received, I put the person's name in a hat. I said that a person could send in just two entries, and if they did, one could be a current player and one could be a former player. Last night, I pulled one name out of the hat, and that was our winner.

New Mini-Contest - Here is another chance to win a prize from GuardDog Watches. Remember last week, when I added The Baseball Cube Player Search at the upper left of my main page? Anyway, the people from the site allowed me to sponsor five player pages for free. I had previously sponsored another player's page. So, the first e-mail that I receive that correctly tells me the six players whose page I am sponsoring will win a prize. So, if you have the six names, send me an e-mail.

Today, I am going to post each entry that I received because I believe every one is worthy of being read. I enjoy reading other people's thoughts on this topic, much like the Why Baseball articles. I am sure that many of you enjoy reading the thoughts of other people besides me here from time to time, right?

For the first Favorite Player, let's here from the owner of our sponsor, GuardDog Watches.

Mike's Favorite Player:

I was raised to root for the hometown boys. In our house, the Twins and Vikings were king. Summer days meant baseball and fishing with dad. The radio was always on, and Herb and the Twins were there, even if the fish weren’t.

My best memories as a kid were hanging with my dad, listening to games. We talked about how great it would be to see a World Series game someday. Even though the series came to Minnesota in ’87, financially it just wasn’t possible. That dream would wait.

In 1991 I was a junior in college. I held several jobs to pay tuition. One job was working at the Duluth affiliate for the Twins. The station had extra tickets and held a drawing. The tickets were for game seven. As fate would have it, I won the tickets. I was thrilled. I called my Dad to share the good news. But would fate smile on us?

The Twins were crushed in game five. Things looked bleak. The night of game six I was driving highway 53 to Virginia to work the night shift. I listened to the game, hands clutched, white knuckle as the game went into extra-innings. I waited for the epic Minnesota collapse to crush this once-in-a-lifetime chance, when Puckett drilled that 11th inning homer sending the Series to game seven and my dad and I to the greatest game seven in World Series history. And that’s why Kirby Puckett is still my favorite ballplayer.

Seth's Favorite Player

I suppose I should share my favorite player with everyone too. It isn't even a question for me. Yes, I have had many players that I really enjoyed watching. There are even a few today that will cause me to stop what I'm doing to watch them bat or pitch. But there is no question that Kirby Puckett was, by far, my favorite player of all time. Now, I know that many Minnesota natives who watched the Twins in the '80s and '90s probably have this same answer. And to be honest, I am not completely sure of my reasons. My first memories were in the early '80s. I don't remember watching games, but collecting baseball cards of Bobby Mitchell and Darrell Brown, the team's previous centerfielders. Then one day in '84, a guy named Kirby Puckett was called up. I remember hearing his name, and thinking it was cool. That night, he had four hits. It was over after that. I remember reading box scores daily to see how he did. I collected his cards. I remember the morning after he hit his first homer, my mom told me before school and I was so excited. Of course, there was the '87 World Series win. There was the parade in which he wore a pilot's hat. The playoffs in 1991 were amazing. Of course, Game 6 was the greatest game ever. The Catch. The "We'll See You Tomorrow Night" call. Incredible. I can still see Puck getting hit by that Denny Martinez running fastball. It hit him, Puckett took a couple of steps back and stumbled. That crushed me. Had I known it was going to be the final at bat of his career, it would have been devastating. However, maybe part of it was that he was a constant. He spent 12 seasons in a Minnesota Twins uniform. I remember when he became a free agent and I was sure he was going to Boston. Before a high school basketball game, my mom came over to me and told me that Kirby had signed, to stay with the Twins, for less money than he was offered elsewhere. Anyway, a group of us went to Cooperstown in 2001 to see Kirby get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Regardless of anything that has happened since, Kirby Puckett will always be my favorite player. (Of course, you can also read about my Favorite Player - Non-Kirby Puckett division, by clicking here!)

The Contest Winner - Chris Brown

By far one of the best HUMAN BEINGS to play the game was Fred McGriff. For most of his career he slipped under everyone's radar on his way to 493 HR and 1,550 RBI with a career average of .284. Mark McGwire hit 583 HR and hit a career .263 with 1,414 RBI. Now the debate is whether or not he gets in the Hall of Fame because of steroids instead of over his numbers. McGriff was a better overall hitter and along with McGwire are the only two players to have won the HR title in both the National and American League. Funny that they are never put in the same category when it comes to Hall of Fame voting. You have never heard McGriff come up in any controversy. You never hear a complaint out of his mouth. You never see him not smiling. And you will never see him disrespecting the game he, and the rest of us, love. For this fact, he is, by far, my favorite player.

From Mike Brasel (he did a good job of trying to sway my vote, huh?!)

My favorite baseball player is Seth Stohs. He doesn’t play any more, but in his day he could hit the cover off the ball with his eyes shut. I don’t think most people who read his site know just how good Seth was. He doesn’t really brag about his playing days, which tells you what kind of player he was. Seth loved the game and played the game the way it should be.

I played ball with him all the way through high school. I loved watching him play the game, but most of all I loved to watch him hit. He had a natural swing much like Joe Mauer. Seth had a ton of power. He would literally attack the ball. I’m not trying to overshadow his fielding here at all because he made third base look easy.

Quick story…everyday before baseball practice and games we would run out to the outfield to stretch. Seth had a favorite stretch that he pretty much did the entire time we were out there until we played catch. It was called the ‘Good Day Stretch.’ All he did was lie on his back and look at the sky and think what a wonderful day it was and how lucky we were to be out there playing baseball.

From Sarah from Minneapolis

As many of my friends and fellow posters on the DTFC forum know, my favorite baseball player is J.T. Snow (was the first baseman for the San Francisco Giants last season but is currently a free agent). I've always felt that there are enough fans out there for Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and other superstars of the game. Why not devote your "fandom" to a lesser known player? I first noticed J.T. when he was a young player in one of his first game for the Yankees. I don't remember much, just that he made a really good play at first base that caused me to stop and say, "Wow, nice play!" When he was traded to the California Angels I remembered him when I was watching an Angels-Twins game. "Hey, there's that guy!" Once he started playing every day for the Angels, I started following his career on a regular basis, going to Twins-Angels games at the Metrodome and watching them on television whenever they happened to be playing. When he got traded to the Giants and I started college my friend Sidney mentioned that I should use my newly developed website skills to make a website about him. I searched the Internet and found there was very little information about him so I figured, "Why not?" As both he and I have gotten older, I've come to realize that he's getting pretty old (in baseball years) and is probably going to retire sometime in the next couple of years. I'll sure miss making time in my day to watch that well-spoken, All-American guy over at first base.

From Melissa Lien

Who is my favorite baseball player?
My favorite baseball player is the one that made me fall in love with baseball and the Twins. I remember watching the Twins in the ’87 World Series. I was 11 years old, and would grumble and moan when my dad would have a baseball game on. But I really got into it during the World Series. And then, when I saw Dan Gladden jump into the stands after a win, I fell in love!! From that point on, I would watch regular season games and love it. I think that my dad thought I was sick because I WANTED to watch baseball. But, I’ve been like that ever since. I have no idea why that simple gesture made me fall for Dan Gladden and baseball in general, but it did. It was a very sad day for me when the Dazzle-man went to the Tigers. I’ve always gotten a lot of teasing about liking him (because I still do very much). However, when I met him at the Twins caravan last winter, it made me think I was right all of these years. He was so nice to all of the fans there, and so outgoing, he is just a great guy. And that, is why Dan Gladden is my favorite baseball player ever!!

From James Mathewson (the only on wrote on a current and former player)

My Favorite Active Player
I don’t take this decision lightly. I have had two favorite Twins before now, Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett. Since Kirby left, I have had no single favorite active player with a team that won three consecutive division titles and one division series. But Joe Mauer has ascended into the rarified air with Sir Rodney and Puck.

Why do I like Mauer so much? Because he is the most complete catcher I’ve ever seen don a Twins uniform. He’s an excellent receiver. He blocks almost every ball in the dirt. He blocks the plate better AJ, who I used to think was the best I’ve ever seen at this skill. He has a great arm. And he has the chance to be a perennial silver slugger at the catching position. No player has a larger impact on the team than the catcher, and Mauer is the best catcher in baseball at age 23. I can only dream about what a wonderful career I will witness.

My Favorite Retired Player
I have written that I was so stunned when the Twins traded Rod Carew that I lost all interest in baseball for nine years. His presence on the Twins roster was so much a part of my becoming an ardent Twins and baseball fan that his absence caused baseball to lose all meaning for me. It wasn’t until he retired, the guy who traded him sold the team, and the Twins had a new hero in Kirby Puckett that I regained interest in baseball and the Twins.

Why was Rod so key to the Twins? Even when the Twins were mediocre at best year after year, we always had something to cheer for in Rod receiving the silver bat. In those days, they only awarded a silver bat to the player with the highest batting average in the league. (Now they give them out to the best hitter at each position.) Yet Rod won six silver bats. And the greatest of these seasons of rooting for Rod was the year he was still hitting .400 in August and ended the season hitting .377. That was one of the best summers of my life, in large part because Rod was the best story in baseball.

From Stick & Ball Guy

Here's 249 words on my favorite player, Barry Bonds.
We’ve all heard the stories about he’s a bad guy. He’s big, he’s proud, and he’s defiant. He’s Barry Bonds, and you’re not. He’s also the best player of my lifetime, and he’s my favorite player.
The results on the field are one thing. Seven MVPs. Only member of the 400 steals and 400 homer club. (He’s got over 500 of each.) Best command of the strike zone maybe of all time. Seemingly hits every good pitch he sees.
His approach is another. Bonds is who he is. He doesn’t care what you think of him (compare that to say, Alex Rodriguez). Maybe he’s juiced, and if so, he’s certainly not alone. But those muscles didn’t just show up because he rubbed some tainted oil on his joints. It was hard work. People who want to discredit Bonds will say he cheated, implying that somehow he didn’t work for what he’s got. I disagree. I think he’s worked extremely hard. His brilliance just makes things look easy.
I also like that he’s never won the ring. His performance in the 2002 World Series was one for the ages, but he still didn’t get the championship. Somehow, reaching that ultimate goal doesn’t seem fitting. And falling short of Aaron might be right, too. Bonds fits more comfortably into the role of a tragic hero. Great, but flawed. Beaten, but unbowed. Cocky, arrogant, prickly, hard-working, exquisitely talent, surpassingly brilliant. He’s Barry Bonds, and I’m not. But I’d sure like to be.

From "Roger"

My favorite player, hmm!
Last spring it would have been Nick Punto. I envisioned a fast, scrappy player making lots of things happen, much like the Cardinals' David Eckstein. You know, the guy you hate to play against. As the season progressed, LNP failed to get bunts down and watched way to many strike 3's...well he isn't my favorite any more.
My next favorite would have been Lew Ford, but Lew never seemed to get on track this season. Finally, I thought why not go with the Twins proven star...Torii Hunter. Well, he lasted until he forgot he was a member of the Twins while watching TV in Dallas and bitching about nearly everything related to his team and teammates.
So Torii made me go to the minors. You all know that I believe Kevin Slowey is a future star. Or how could you not like someone like Pat Neshek who played baseball in Minnesota after midnight during January/February while in high school (bet most of you thought that wasn't possible?). But there are so many great prospects in the system, how do you pick one as a favorite?
Considering that LNP and Torii let me down, I will have to go back a few years and select that crafty old lefty, the best lefty the game has every seen, Warren Spahn. Ah, he was someone you could count on, every fourth day for more than 20 years.

From Joe Cuchna

My favorite player is Kirby Puckett. (I am talking on field stuff, I really don't want to get into the off the field things that have happened) Anyway, he is my favorite player because he could go 0-5 and still be smiling the same day. He would talk to reporters and say, that's baseball, you win some, you lose some. He played the game the way the game is supposed to be played, hard. Run on and off the field, hustled everything out, even if it was hit to the pitcher. He didn't show up anyone, rarely got thrown out of a game. ( I think the only time that I ever remember him getting thrown out was the year before he retired and that was late in the year when the Twins stunk) And, (even though some things came up after he was out of baseball) he never had off field issues while he was playing.

That’s it, it was just fun to watch him play, and I liked his attitude when he played.

From Adam Roesch

In the third game of the Twins' season this year, I became aware that Carlos Silva is my favorite baseball player ever. The bases were loaded, there was one out. Silva was pitching, and he induced an inning-ending double-play. I was hooked on the man. When he went down for what seemed to be the season with the knee injury, I was crushed. Not just for the Twins' chances without him, but for me not being able to watch him, not being able to count runners on first base as "outs."

Silva is my favorite player because he makes the games exciting, with lots of contact and lots of fielding (at least for infielders). He works fast, and he makes great batters ground out as softly as if they were all Ruben Gotay. Even though they all know exactly what pitch they're getting, they can't do anything about it.

I keep watching his games looking for my ultimate baseball holy-grail: the 9 double-play game. I didn't even know I was looking for that until I started watching Silva. Maybe I'll also see an 27-hit shutout. I love his recent records: fewest pitches in a complete game in decades; fewest walks per 9 IP since 1880!

He threw a three-pitch inning -- with a hit! And, he's one of the few Twins that looks good in the red hat.

From Erich Osborn

My favorite baseball player of all-time is Tony Oliva. I started following the Twins around 1969 when I was 5 years old. I think I originally followed Tony was because his last names was so close to Olives which I liked at the time. Fortunately he was also a very good baseball player as well so it stuck. I lived in the Washington DC suburbs so I got to see Tony play when the Twins played the Senators and the Orioles which wasn't enough. I could also catch the Twins radio broadcast when it got dark enough outside so I remember many nights straining to hear the broadcasts from my little radio. Unfortunately Tony had those injuries to his knees but thank goodness for the DH rule so I could watch him play when he got older. We would go to the Twins games when they were in town and I couldn't wait for Tony's at bats. I was a little young to appreciate him in his prime but to this day he is still my all-time favorite. He has stayed with the Twins organization so I have been able to keep updated with him. I am proud that he is as good a guy off the field as he was on the field which seems to be exceedingly rare - especially with Minnesota athletes.

From Paul Wickstrom

My favorite player has to be Kirby Puckett. He is a big reason why I took such an interest to baseball. The way that Bob Casey would introduce him, and how he would step up to the plate and seemed to always be a home run threat.

I grew up pretending to be him playing wiffle ball with my dad in the front yard. I would bellow out his name doing my best impression of Bob Casey. I don't know what it was about him, I can't pin point that, but he stuck out to me and was who I followed. I respected that he didn't go to other teams, even though he could have. Instead he remained a Twin.

Near the end of his career he had one very productive night. I think he hit a few home runs, a double and something else. This sticks out so well because I had tickets to that game but could not attend because lousy Boy Scouts got in the way. We sat out by the fire listening to the game and how Kirby was tarring up the field. I think I pulled out a few handfuls of hair and let everyone know for miles that I could have been there!!

I will never forget the day his career came to an end, it was as if the Twins I knew and grew up with would never be the same.

From Drew Boatman

Barry Bonds. Two reasons: 1. October 20th, 2002. World Series, game 2. In the 9th inning, with the hometown Angels leading 11-9, Aurilia and Kent fly out to open the inning. There are two outs, Bonds at the plate. His run, in this situation, doesn’t matter. The announcers begin talking like "Well, EVEN if Bonds hits one out here…" and "Assuming Bonds can do something here, we’ll see Santiago up next". Meanwhile, Santiago is taking practice cuts in the on-deck circle like he’s destined to get up. In fact, the Angels fans don’t even bother getting too excited – they know where this is heading. Percival puts a fastball in the sweet spot, and nobody even flinches when Bonds launches it 485 feet. Santiago, predictably, pops out to end the game. But the way Bonds was locked in at home plate, with one of the best closers in the game throwing 100 mph, and everyone just seemed to know he was going to hit a homerun… wow. I can’t ever remember a situation like that happening, especially in a World Series game.

2. August 30th, 2003. In his first game back since his father died, Barry faces Randy Johnson, only the most menacing left-hander in major league baseball. In the 4th, leading off, Barry steps in. Almost predictably he cranks a homerun, to which Johnson just watches it go, and motions for another ball. The emotion is so high, Barry eventually has to leave the game with heart palpitations. Amazing.

From Matthew Rauseo

My Favorite Player – Tim Raines

It was 1986 and I was 9 years old, and Tim Raines was a baseball god. To this day I still remember turning on TBS and watching the Braves because my dad wouldn’t subscribe to the cable station that carried the Red Sox. Well summer night when I should have been doing my home work I stumbled on a Braves – Expos game, and the Rock was all over the field, a classic game for a top of the order hitter had a few hits and stole a few bases. Considering I was a Boston kid, whose team stole about 40 bases a year the idea of one guy stealing 2 in a game was unheard of. I made every effort over the next few years to watch every televised Expos game that I could, I even watched some in French, which I don’t speak.

Two years ago within minutes of the Expos announcing they were retiring the Rock’s number I was online buying tickets for the game. A buddy and I drove the 6 hours for the weekend, and was among the 13-15,000 RABID Expos fans at the game. He was given a standing ovation; the only disappointing part was that they couldn’t draw any more than that for the retirement of my favorite player. Of course if I knew what cocaine was at the time he might not have been one of my favorites.

Tim Raines for the Hall of Fame.

From John Welsch

As you grow up from youth to adulthood, I believe everyone focuses on a personal "hero" to emulate in life. As a baseball player I wanted to be like Minnesota Twin "should be Hall of Famer" Tony Oliva. In his rookie season Tony won the American League batting championship in 1964, I learned to bat left handed just like Tony did. He won the championship again his second season, since I was the youngest baseball player in our neighborhood and always had to play right field, I didn't mind since it was where Tony played.

He always played hard, stealing bases, running down fly balls into the gap, throwing out runners trying to take the extra base. In the 60's and early 70's he was part of the best 3-4 hitting tandem in the major leagues, the "K-O or O-K Punch" (depending on the line-up that day) with Harmon Killebrew.

After he destroyed his knee on that damn sprinkler head and could no longer run (sometimes walk) he continued to take his spot in the batting line-up on an increasingly average team, and not wanting to let his teammates down, still went out and won a third batting title. Proving to a young teenage boy that there are more important things in life than the pain, sorrow, and self pity that came with his own knee-of-linguini.

I still see Tony at the Dome, his knee a worthless piece of junk, his legacy denied by the baseball writers who don't appreciate his career statistics, he always has a smile on his face because he played, loved, and lives baseball. Seeing him smile makes me smile, thinking back to 1964 and all the years between then and now, knowing that I made the right choice in choosing my "hero".

From Beth Miller

My favorite player is Michael Cuddyer. I’d love to say "I’ve been following him since he was signed in 1997," but that’s simply not true. Thinking back, I’ve probably followed him with vague interest since his first call-up. I’m not sure when he became a favorite player, but I was upset in 2003 when he got sent to the minors early in the year (and tried in vain to get him voted to the All-Star team, so the Twins would have to call him back up!).

What I think finally cemented his number one ranking was when he came up with the team in 2004—as a utility man. Until then, I’d only known him as an outfielder! Throughout 2004, I enjoyed listening to the line-ups or going to the games, never knowing where he’d be playing. I was quite happy for him in 2005 when he landed a permanent position, but it was a little sad to lose suspense of "Where’s Michael?" As we all know, he only lasted two games at third, before he suddenly had to move to first when Justin was injured. As much as I enjoy his ability to move around the field, I still think that he should’ve been left at third base the entire year. He deserved it; I saw some very good plays there.

Beyond the baseball field, I really enjoyed his radio interviews and writing he did for mlb.com. He always seemed optimistic and friendly. I just like him.

From Andrew McGuire (The 7th Angel, Home is Where the Heart is)

Current Player

Back in the early to mid-Nineties, you could always count on number 24 being out in centerfield. Let me tell you, I was quite the centerfielder for a nine year old. Did you think I was talking about Ken Griffey, Jr.? You’d be close. I wasn’t The Kid, only a kid who thought Griffey was the coolest guy on the planet. The thing I remember most is how Ken Griffey always came to the park with a huge smile and his hat on backwards. Mom always yelled at me for having my Mariners hat on backwards, but I didn’t listen. If Griffey wore his hat backwards, then so would I. I wore that hat for years, backwards of course, until I left it out in the rain and it shrank. It still occupies a place of honor on my wall right next to my “Ken Griffey for President” poster. That poster has been on my wall for almost ten years now. It may be another ten years before anyone comes along to make me love baseball like Ken Griffey did when I was a lad.

Retired Player

I can still hear the announcer at Bush Stadium: “Here he is - the starting first baseman for your Indianapolis Indians...Raaaaazoooor Shines!” Razor was awesome. You can check out his BaseballReference.com page, but you'll be less than impressed. He was a career AAAA player, too good for Indianapolis but not quite good enough for the big time. I remember going to Indians games as a child and thinking I was in the presence of a god. Razor was the Indians in the Late 80's/Early 90's. Many great ballplayers came through Indianapolis: Andres Galarraga, Randy Johnson, Andre Dawson, Marquis Grissom, Tim Raines, Larry Walker. I was a little young to remember most of them, but I’ll never for get Razor. When they came to Indy, they didn't blend with the town. It was just a minor delay until Montreal. Razor came to embrace the city of Indianapolis, just as the city embraced him. When you thought of the Indians, you thought of Razor. I remember at the old Bush Stadium after Razor retired, they put his portrait up with all the other all time Indians greats: Ken Griffey, Sr., Harmon Killebrew, Nap LaJoie, Al Lopez. And right there, standing majestically with his bat rest upon his shoulders was my hero, Razor Shines, taking his rightful place among the greats of the Indians.

So there you have it! A bunch of favorite players. There are a bunch for Kirby and Tony O. There are a couple of current players and some recently retired greats. There are even a couple of older players. Even when multiple fans wrote about the same person as their favorites, they may have felt so for different reasons. I enjoyed reading your entries, and hope you now have too. Congratulations to Chris Brown on winning the GuardDog Watches Carew Contest!

I hope to maybe have a few more contests over the offseason, so be sure to check back from time to time.

VIKINGS THOUGHTS AND PREDICTIONS

Vikings play the Lions this week in what could be yet another awful game between two awful teams. Of course, the last time we saw one of those, the Vikings beat the Packers on Paul Edinger's 56 yard field goal. So, as poorly the game might be played in terms of football, it could make for a close, exciting game! We can hope for that much, right?

Well, the Lions were a scary team with Jeff Garcia at the helm. OK, maybe not scary, but they weren't too horrible. However, he is hurt and Joey Harrington will again be the starting QB. He will go up against the Vikings' backup QB, Brad Johnson. I would enjoy the 1-on-1 matchup, but in reality, they will never be on the field at the same time. Harrington gets to go against the Vikings Defense. Johnson has to go against the Lions defense. I do think that Brad Johnson will be fine as long as he has any time and protection. If he doesn't, it could be a long day and we could see Shaun Hill, or even Koren Robinson taking snaps. I suppose that will allow some idiots to think that Johnson is a better QB than Culpepper and should have been starting all along.

The big matchup probably comes from the running back position where both Mewelde Moore and Kevin Jones should get a lot of carries. It may come down to which is able to make the bigger play, to bust a long run. Maybe that should be my prediction. Whichever RB has the longest single run between these two, his team will win.

Seth's Prediction - Vikings 22, Lions 19

Any thoughts on the Vikings, the Lions, the game or anything NFL, just e-mail me.

NFL "EXPERT" PICKS

Trevor Born's lead in our league is down to just one game over Cory Hepola. What will happen this week? And, tough-guy of the week award goes to Brent Hanson. Please check out his site to see how he is doing after a really rough week! But he still made his picks.Please check out his site to see how he is doing after a really rough week! But he still made his picks.

By the way, also be sure to check out SBG's posting over at The Four Hoarse Men today in which he rants on someone calling the media liberal (which it totally is, although I do think it has been better the last six months or so).

Trevor posts some thoughts on the steroid issue following Matt Lawton's suspension.

Here are our Week 9 picks. (You can see the up-to-date standings by checking out the NFL "Expert" Picks page here.)

	Seth Stohs	Stick & Ball Guy	Ben Jacobs	Aaron Gleeman	Grant Balfour	Kevin Slowey
	SethSpeaks.net	Stick & Ball Guy	Hardball Times	Aaron's BB Blog	Minnesota Twins Pitcher	Twins Pitching Prospect
Atlanta @ Miami	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Dolphins	Falcons
Chicago @ New Orleans	Bears	Bears	Bears	Bears	Bears	Bears
Detroit @ Minnesota	Vikings	Lions	Lions	Vikings	Lions	Lions
Oakland @ Kansas City	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs
Tennessee @ Cleveland	Titans	Titans	Browns	Titans	Browns	Titans
Seattle @ Arizona	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Philadelphia @ Washington	Redskins	Eagles	Eagles	Eagles	Eagles	Eagles
Carolina @ Tampa Bay	Panthers	Buccs	Panthers	Panthers	Buccs	Buccs
Cincinnati @ Baltimore	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Ravens
Houston @ Jacksonville	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars
San Diego @ NY Jets	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Jets	Chargers
NY Giants @ San Francisco	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Pittsburgh @ Green Bay	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers by 16
Indianapolis @ New England	Colts	Colts	Patriots	Colts	Patriots	Colts

	Will Young	Trevor Born	Brent Hanson	Cory Hepola	Mike Brasel	Melissa Lien
	Will's Twins Weblog	Twins Junkie	BrentNet	KTVH-TV	Fantasy FB Guru	SethSpeaks.net
Atlanta @ Miami	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Dolphins
Chicago @ New Orleans	Bears	Bears	Bears	Bears	Saints
Detroit @ Minnesota	Vikings	Lions	Lions	Vikings	Vikings
Oakland @ Kansas City	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs
Tennessee @ Cleveland	Browns	Browns	Titans	Titans	Browns
Seattle @ Arizona	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Philadelphia @ Washington	Redskins	Redskins	Eagles	Redskins	Redskins
Carolina @ Tampa Bay	Panthers	Panthers	Buccs	Panthers	Panthers
Cincinnati @ Baltimore	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals
Houston @ Jacksonville	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars
San Diego @ NY Jets	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
NY Giants @ San Francisco	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Pittsburgh @ Green Bay	Packers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Indianapolis @ New England	Colts	Colts	Patriots	Patriots	Colts

Summary

Looking at the selections of the 12 panelists, here is who the collective "We" think will win each game:

That is it for me for today and for this week. I hope that everyone has themselves a great weekend! By the way, it is unlikely that I will have a new posting on Monday, so check back on Tuesday for a new Q&A. If you have any questions or comments, or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.