By Zack Cimini

I?m an All Pro athlete that has earned millions of dollars in five years in the league, so why not retire? I can enjoy my life without taking any random drug tests (hint), and live off the money I?ve made the rest of my life. Even if I decide to come back, I shouldn?t have too for a good three to four seasons. So how about I make things even smoother by telling my team I?m retiring right before training camp? If this sounds like a re-run story, that?s because it was brought to you by Ricky Williams.

So in late July he announced his retirement from the league, and left his team from being a Super Bowl contender to the bassment of the NFL. The trade off for Williams deciding so late, lost the respect from all his teammates and cost the job of Dave Wannstedt down the road. Not even two weeks after Wannstedt was fired, Ricky Williams reinstatement is almost finalized. So what is the real reason for Williams wanting to come back so early? Has he found a true love for the game that all of the sudden is back in him? Or was it because Miami won an agreement that Williams must pay $8.6 million because of breaking his contract? Hmmm, it doesn?t take a die hard sports fan to figure this out. Williams real reason for coming back is because M. I A. M. I is the true meaning for his come back.

The letters spelled out are the team he is currently under contract with, but the underlying meaning is that Money Is A Major Issue. It?s what rap artist Pitbull named his CD, but it doesn?t matter what profession your in money is always the biggest issue. If you?re working at a local store as a manager making $20 dollars an hour, you?d be living fairly well in today?s society. The money is good, but doesn?t mean that you?re necessarily happy. Say if a few weeks later you won the lottery, you?re going to obviously quit. Imagine though, that somehow your lottery ticket was found to be illegal and you lost out. You?re going to go back to that same job, and try to get your job security and life together.

That analogy is the problem with sports today. They?re making so much money that they?re winning the lottery every year they play under contract. All of the sudden they come in as hungry rookies, and then three or four years later their play starts to go down. Just take a look at how much money the Indiana Pacers player?s are losing that got suspended. Jermaine O?Neal is losing twenty five percent of his $15 million contract, and Ron Artest is losing out on almost $5 million. More than likely that player is mad about what they?re missing out on, but it?s nothing that they can?t gain back in a heart beat once they step back on that court.

There is no way that any organization could count on Williams as the main guy on their team. Not even if he comes back and has three straight pro bowl seasons, there will always be the chance of him deciding to hang it up. Once you show that you are a quitter, there will always be people second guessing him. Miami worked hard to get Williams from New Orleans, and now they?re going to have to end up getting a meaningless second, third, or fourth round pick for Williams talents. Teams know what they?re going to get from Williams physically, but mentally that is going to be the concern.

There is no doubt that Williams should succeed next year, but how he undermined the roots of the NFL is a blemish that will always be tacked on to his career.

By Zack Cimini

The football season kicks off with plenty of action, or should we just say the season is starting? We all know that the first couple of weeks of the season showcase some of the worst rust a team can have. Whether it is a receiver dropping a pass, extra penalties, etc they all can be seen as early season mistakes in week one.

Indianapolis at New England
Here is the rematch that the Colts have been waiting for. They?ve lost four straight to the Patriots, which is strange because of the Colts dominance over recent years. It just seems the Patriots know how to shut down Peyton Manning better than any other team. One of the other major reasons is because Ty Law can actually cover Marvin Harrison one on one, which not many cornerbacks can do. Peyton better be careful tonight, as he threw three interceptions in the preseason but still looked solid. Someone needs to end the Patriots string of victories dating back to last season, so why not have it start in week one?

Arizona at St. Louis
Here is a team that can make Marc Bulger look great and add to his confidence. The Cardinals should be able to stay in this game if their defense can contain Torry Holt. Josh McCown will need to protect the ball and just take what?s there. He has little time to practice with Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson because of their injuries. Watch out for wide receiver Kevin Kasper though, because him and McCown have developed a great chemistry.

Baltimore at Cleveland
Can the Browns actually hold Jamal Lewis under 200 yards? It?s pathetic when a player can make a prediction the day before the game and go out and do it. But it?s even worse if he does it again later in the same season. It?ll be interesting to see the Browns new look with Jeff Garcia at the helm. If he can bring his Pro Bowl caliber style to Cleveland, than they could be a dangerous team.

Cincinnati at NY Jets
Here are two teams on the rise that might see each other when the playoffs come along. The Bengals all of the sudden have one of the top five offenses in the league, and are not just considered to make the playoffs. On the Jets side they have a new wide receiver in Justin McCareins to go along with deep threat Santana Moss. This year Chad Pennington will start off the year healthy and try to build on where he left off a couple of years ago. Pennington hardly makes mistakes, and that?ll help the Jets win an extra two to three games that?ll prove pivotal down the stretch.

Detroit at Chicago
One of these teams will be 1-0 after Sunday. The Lions and Bears have both actually improved over the off season, especially the Lions. Matt Millen is finally making some right decisions, and has this team poised for dominance in two to three years. If they can keep the youth of this team together, they?ll be taking over for Brett Favre and the Packers. The Bears are going to try to give Thomas Jones the show and see how it handles it. It?s a shame that the Cardinals let him go so early, and now they?re finding themselves struggling at running back.

Jacksonville at Buffalo
Drew Bledsoe?s years are quietly winding down, and he knows that he needs to do something this year. They have a solid all around team that should pose threat for a wild card. One thing that could get in a way is another position battle. Willis McGahee and Travis Henry don?t get a long too well, and the same thing use to happen with Doug Flutie and Doug Johnson. You have to wonder why the Bills drafted McGahee in the first place. Sure he?ll be a great running back, but they already have one in Henry. It?s only going to lead to team chemistry problems that could knock them out of the playoffs in crunch time. With Jacksonville it all will fall on Byron Leftwich?s shoulders. If he learned enough his rookie year than he could shock the league, especially with the most underrated running back in the league in Fred Taylor.

Oakland at Pittsburgh
Here are two teams that are trying to get back to the dominance they had a few years ago. Both teams still have plenty of talent to do it, but is the motivation factor there? The Raiders parted ways with Tim Brown and will try out youngsters Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry. The good thing for them is they still have Jerry Rice to guide them. On the defensive side it?ll be interesting to see how Warren Sapp plays in silver and black. Pittsburgh?s whole downfall could end up being at quarterback where Tommy Maddox just hasn?t done it, and it?s going to take awhile to bring along their first rounder.

San Diego at Houston
David Carr and the Texans are a mini version of the Indianapolis Colts. They have explosive fire power and a solid young defense. This could actually be a rout considering the way the Chargers have looked in the preseason. You have to feel bad for Tomlinson, because as long as he stays in San Diego his efforts will be for nothing.

Seattle at New Orleans
New Orleans could possibly be the most underachieving team in the league. This year could be different though if they can play productive for the whole year, instead of in spurts. Seattle seems to be a popular favorite to come out of the NFC, and who can blame anyone with the talent they have on both sides of the ball. This should be one of the most exciting games of week one.

Tampa Bay at Washington
Mark Brunell and Clinton Portis will get their new debuts and will try to take advantage of the new look Buccaneers defense. If Brunell can get this offense clicking the Redskins could emerge as a sleeper in the NFC. Tampa Bay just has too many question marks at running back and wide receiver to pose any serious threat this year. Any team that can score more than 16 points should be able to win against them.
Tennessee at Miami
It seems like these two teams are playing each other every year in the regular season. Miami could be on the verge of losing their second straight regular season opener, after having a streak of 13 years snapped against the Houston Texans last year. This should be a sloppy game but in the end, it?ll come down to Jay Fiedler. Will he actually try to make plays or will Miami?s offense be stagnant and punting all game.

Atlanta at San Francisco
Tim Rattay gets his shot at controlling the 49ers for the whole season. It will more than likely be a rough one because of his young group of receivers. Kevan Barlow should be able to help out a lot, and Brandon Lloyd has looked exceptional in preseason play. The fact is first year starters always struggle and Rattay will be no different.

Dallas at Minnesota
The Vikings are once again without Michael Bennett for a good period of time. Culpepper needs to learn to protect the ball better even though he may have to run more without Bennett. He still has the best player in the league in Randy Moss who may have a career year statistically with the way he has played in the preseason. Dallas will more than likely not follow up on last year?s success, but they should finish around .500.

NY Giants at Philadelphia
Donovan McNabb will finally get his revenge against Kurt Warner in this game. This could be the biggest blowout of the weekend. The Giants just aren?t ready for the regular season, and that?ll show on Sunday. Hopefully Terrell Owens doesn?t break out too many new dances, because he?ll have plenty of more times this year to show them.

Kansas City at Denver
When these two teams play you know you?re going to get one thing? no defense. It should be another high scoring affair, and we?ll have to see which running back can out duel the other. Both of these teams know that even though it?s week one this game could have a huge outcome on a tie breaker at the end of the season.

Green Bay at Carolina
The Packers are coming in thinking that they are the best team in the NFC, and Carolina is trying to reclaim their title. Both of these teams know they?ll be in the playoffs and it isn?t a question of if. They both want to get bye week?s and playing tough from week one to week seventeen is the only way to do that.

By Zack Cimini

Out of all the action that has happened in the NFL this off season, the Arizona Cardinals could possibly be the biggest surprise. Not only have they added Dennis Green as their new head coach, but they will have one of the best young offensive groups in the league. That could play into the hands of the opposing team, or it could ignite a fire into some of the older veterans like Emmitt Smith. We?re not saying that the Cardinals are going to make the playoffs, but there is no reason to not think that they can?t finish around .500.

They should be able to attack any secondary in football with their explosive group of receivers. Larry Fitzgerald, Bryant Johnson, and Anquan Boldin will all have great statistical years, especially if Dennis Green brings out the offense like he did in Minnesota. That is expected as Green has already stated that McCown will be a great quarterback and lead this team. Everybody doesn?t agree with that, but he is the one that drafted Randy Moss and revitalized Randall Cunningham?s career after he was out of football. He has a track record that expands back to his days at Northwestern in the 80?s, where he brought Northwestern from the bottom of the Big Ten.

The Cardinals didn?t shake up their team that much, and could have added a little more depth on defense. They lost David Barrett (Jets) and signed David Macklin, which is a trade off as both players are solid man to man cover corners. The Cardinals are hoping that they can count on cornerback Duane Starks to be fully recovered from last year?s injuries, and return to his form that he had with the Ravens.

One key player the Cardinals did sign is a backup quarterback in Shaun King. He was an after thought cast off from the old Tony Dungy Buccaneers team, and just like John Lynch he found a new home. He really hasn?t done much since the year 2000, but let?s not forget he almost got the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl. He has learned a lot on the bench from Brad Johnson, and if Josh McCown doesn?t pay off than be on the look out.

You have to like Green?s smart philosophy. Almost all coaches main priorities are to go out and get the big name quarterback. Instead of panicking though he looked at McCown and brought in Shaun King for one million a year. Other teams are panicking by trading away draft picks to sign a quarterback that has had few starts in the NFL. It makes no sense to throw down money on a potential great quarterback. This isn?t the NBA, where teams can draft for the future. One costly mistake in free agency can set back a team for a couple of seasons. That?s when the coach is fired, and the team is in the rebuilding process again.

Let?s face it besides Manning, Favre, McNabb and a few other quarterbacks there is a big fall off, and the majority of the quarterbacks are average. So Green figures he can land an average quarterback and build him into a great one. If the quarterback makes it to a high level, than the team can fork out the money to pay off the quarterback. But until then he will only keep hungry young humble quarterbacks on his roster.

Let?s think who tried this same philosophy last season and had it pay off? Yes, that?s right it was Bill Parcell?s. Everyone thought that Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson battling in preseason was just a joke, and even more of a joke when Carter was named the starter. Parcell?s boosted Carter?s confidence though and turned them into a playoff team.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of player?s that you can?t trust in sports anymore. Money is becoming more and more of a factor and it?s showing more and more. More coaches will start going for hungry young player?s instead of going for the middle aged veteran that just wants money off of his success as a young player. Which formula will pay off in the long run, we?ll find out soon.

by Zack Cimini
Overall Record: 74-56

St. Louis over Chicago
Buffalo over Houston
Miami over Baltimore
Washington over Carolina
Jacksonville over Tennessee
New Orleans over Atlanta
Arizona over Cleveland
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Philadelphia over NYG
Jets over Colts
Chargers over Broncos
Seattle over Detroit
Minnesota over Oakland
Green Bay over Tampa Bay
New England over Dallas
San Francisco over Pittsburgh

Overall Record: 69-47

Here are my picks for this week.

Arizona over Pittsburgh
NYG over Atlanta
Chicago over Detroit
KC over Cleveland
Indy over Jacksonville
Miami over Tennessee
Seattle over Washington
Tampa Bay over Carolina
Cincinnati over Houston
Minnesota over San Diego
Jets over Raiders
Dallas over Buffalo
St. Louis over Baltimore
Green Bay over Philadelphia

Overall Record: 64-38

Miami over Indianapolis
Oakland over Detroit
Chicago over San Diego
Dallas over Washington
Jacksonville over Baltimore
Carolina over Houston
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
NYG over Jets
Pittsburgh over Seattle
Cincinnati over Arizona
St. Louis over San Francisco
Philadelphia over Atlanta
Minnesota over Green Bay
Denver over New England