There was a Bruins Game on Thursday?

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Apparently Thursday night's opener at the TD Garden was unbearable to watch. Luckily for myself and all other Directv subscribers the game was televised on (Comcast owned) Versus Network. For now, Directv does not air the Versus Network.

Comcast and Versus are currently engaged in a noisy publicity campaign to distract attention from the fact that they are trying to take advantage of Directv and customers like myself. Directv has posted this message on their website.

Unfortunately, Versus is no longer available on DIRECTV. Comcast, the largest cable company in the U.S. and our largest competitor, owns the channel and has forced us to pull it down. Here is the situation.

DIRECTV was already paying Comcast more than any other non-Comcast distributor to air Versus — and now Comcast is demanding an overall rate hike of 20% on top of that. Comcast also forces DIRECTV to make Versus available to a much larger portion of our customer base at our own expense than they require from other TV providers — most notably, DISH Network. We simply cannot accept these unfair and outrageous terms. All we're asking from Comcast is equal treatment.

If the negotiations don't get hashed out soon there will be many NHL fans that will not be happy. The Bruins alone have 7 regular season games, including last Thursday's opener, that are not available to Directv subscribers. This doesn't even include the playoffs, which Versus has the rights to a portion of games.

Comcast is coming of as very hypercritical. The NFL Network and Comcast had been in a battle for nearly 3 years until an agreement came this past May. Before a deal was struck Comcast wanted the NFL Network on a higher tiered level so it could charge the customer a higher price. Of course, the NFL was not willing to compromise on this stipulation as this would bring down the amount of possible viewers.

Now that Comcast has a Network, and I use the term loosely, that it can distribute it is choosing to bend Directv and its customers over. Comcast has always been angry that Directv has exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket and this is just one way they can get back at Directv. I'm sure the NHL wishes it had a real TV deal with a real sports network, ESPN for example. Although this goes along everything the NHL has done this decade.

Will the Dodgers blow the NL West?

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Despite clinching a playoff spot last Sunday, the Dodgers still can't wrap up the NL West title. They have lost 5 in a row, and now have a one game lead over the Rockies with two games to play directly against them. Obviously, they only need to win one of the final two games to clinch the NL West title for the 2nd consecutive year, but will they do it?

Not only have they lost 5 in a row, but they are 3-7 over their last 10. In that time they have been outscored 49-44. It certainly doesn't help that Manny Ramirez has been ice cold the past week. He's hitting only .167 (2 for 12) with 1 RBI and a paltry 3 total bases. His struggles came to a head last night as he struck out 4 times. The Dodgers have an uphill battle tonight as they face off against the 16-9 Jorge De La Rosa. Clayton Kershaw will be pitching for the Dodgers as he tries to get back on track for the post season. If they can't take care of business tonight, tomorrow's match up isn't much better. The struggling Vincente Padilla will take on Jason Marquis.

It's unbelievable to think the Dodgers still have the best record in the National League at this point. My prediction is the Dodgers win tonight and wrap up the NL West. Jorge De La Rosa is a career 0-5 against the Dodgers with a 7.12 ERA. Most of those losses did come at home as he is only 0-1 at Dodgers Stadium with a 2.20 ERA. Still, I think the Dodgers will finally get a sense of urgency tonight. There is no way they want to go into the last regular season game with the division crown on the line, especially since they held a 15 1/2 game lead on the Rockies earlier this season.

Now all they need to do is play the game

Fantasy Football Friday: Week 4 Edition

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Yes, yes. I know this article is a day late, but I do have a reason. Not one that I'll divulge, but I do have a valid reason. In case you didn't notice, Week 4 marks the first week in the NFL season with teams on the bye. So, if you have fantasy players on the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers make sure they are riding the pine this week. Of course bye weeks do cause a frenzy of waiver wire moves. What I'd like to do for this week is look at a few game match ups and see who's a good play, or who else should be riding the pine this weekend.

Match ups of the Week:

1. Bengals @ Browns - The Cleveland Browns are a god awful team. The Browns are 30th overall in team defense and have allowed 31.7 points per game so far this season. What does this mean for the Bengals. Watch out for Cedric Benson this week. The Browns have allowed 184.3 rushing yards per game. The Browns maybe middle of the pack (#16 overall) against the pass, but that is mostly due to the fact they've given up so many rushing yards. Another good play this weekend is Andre Caldwell. It seems Caldwell has turned into Palmer's 2nd favorite target after Chad Ochocinco. He's averaged nearly 5 catches per game in the first 3 games, so he's not a bad 3rd receiver with the start of the bye weeks. Don't sleep on Cincy's defense either. They're going up against the worst offensive team on the league.

2. Rams @ 49'ers - The St. Louis Rams now hold the longest current losing streak in the NFL of 13 games. Look for that to continue as they travel to San Francisco. With Frank Gore hurt, Glen Coffee gets the start. The Rams allow 148 yards per game on the ground. He'll also get the start for me in one of my fantasy leagues. Shaun Hill will also get the start for me in another league. Here's why. The Rams allow 253.3 passing yards per game and an opposing passer rating of 99.0. Nice!

3. Lions @ Bears - As much as it pains me to say this, Jay Cutler has been fantastic since the season opener. Look for him to continue that against a Lions defense that allows 399 total yards per game and 278 yards per game through the air. So, you should also make sure to have both Greg Olson and Johnny Knox in the lineup as well. This should be the week Matt Forte breaks out.Despite the Lions first win, you should also make sure you have the Bears Defense ready for a big day as well.

Make Em' Ride the Bench:

QB - Matt Cassel, David Garrard, Kyle Orton, Brett Favre (I don't care it's a revenge game)

RB - Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, Kevin Smith

WR - Dwayne Bowe, Roy Williams, Donnie Avery

TE - Ben Watson, Anthony Fasano, Todd Heap

K - Nate Kaeding, Jason Hanson

DEF - Seattle, New Orleans

Bye Week Pickups/Plays:

QB - Shaun Hill, Mark Sanchez

RB - Glen Coffee, Aaron Brown, Tashard Choice

WR - Bobby Wade, Pierre Garcon, Andre Caldwell

TE - Jermichael Finley, Mercedes Lewis

K - Shayne Graham, Robbie Gould

DEF - Bengals, Texans

Good luck to everyone in Week 4!

So who's tougher, Baltimore or New England?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

So who's tougher?

We'll find out tomorrow when the undefeated Baltimore Ravens (3-0) travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots (2-1).

I'm willing to bet this game isn't going to be pretty, it's going to be a knock-down-drag-em-out fight with some blood thrown in there, too. Basically, expect a fist fight from the opening play to the final whistle.

Both the Ravens and Patriots predicate themselves on playing physical, and we all know that's what they do, too.

This Ravens team appears to be complete with a very good defense (Ray Lewis, Ed Reed) and many weapons on offense. Yes, I said weapons. I know in year's past Baltimore has relied heavily on its defense to protect the offense, but now the offense is pulling its own weight. It's strange to say, but these Ravens are scary on both sides of the ball.

For the Patriots defense, which has been surprisingly solid in the first three games, they must shut down the Ravens' bread-and-butter which is still the power running game. They can hit you with speed (Ray Rice) and power (red zone and TD vulture Willis McGahee with five rushing TDs, and fullback Le'Ron McClain). But what has made Baltimore so good this year is the quarterback play of Joe Flacco. In his second year, the Ravens have taken off the training wheels and are letting his develop his passing skills. Flacco has thrown for 839 yards -- slightly under Tom Brady's 871 yards -- with six touchdowns and two INTs. He's got a passer rating of 101.4. Yes, he's been better than Brady, hands down.

And while the receiving corps of Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Kelly Washington (remember him in New England?) and tight end Todd Heap don't exactly scare you, they run good routes and find ways to get open. They're solid, bottom line.

I know it's easier said than done, but if the Pats can't limit the ground game -- plus nose tackle Vince Wilfork must play on his bad ankle and be in the middle because he's a game-changer -- and get some pressure on Flacco when he's forced to throw, New England has got a great chance to win. If the run can't be stopped then the passing game will be equally explosive, and that just means the Pats will get blown out.

For New England, I talked about balance -- running and passing -- last week to beat Atlanta, but throw that right out the window this week. The Ravens don't let anyone run on them -- they're allowing on average only 51 yards per game rushing -- and they haven't allowed a back to run for 100 yards in three years. So why should the Pats think they can run? They can't. If you see 3-yard pickups -- Pats will spread the Ravens out and run draws to slow down the defensive ends -- then that's a win for the Pats.

But Brady is going to have to win this game through the air. The Ravens allowing 231.7 yards passing per game, so they can be thrown on. But they also can ball-hawk (6 INTs), so Brady must be smart with the football and take what the defense gives him. Plus, he's got to hit the open receiver with accuracy and timing, something that's been lacking in the first three weeks. Wide receivers Randy Moss, Wes Welker (his knee better be ready to go this week) and Joey Galloway, plus tight ends Benjamin Watson and Chris Baker, should be licking their chops, knowing this is going to be an air show.

I know Brady hasn't been close to the old Brady, but all eyes are on him this week. Do you think he feels the pressure? I doubt it, he's been in much bigger games -- Super Bowls -- than a Week 4 regular season contest. He'll be fine and this is when we see the real Brady emerge.

Prediction: Patriots, 23-20