Every season the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals face each other in one of the biggest rivalries in Major League Baseball. Jack Cobra (Cubs) and Buck Rampage (St. Louis) couldn't wait for Opening Day to get here before having their say as to who would be the better team this season.

Opening Day is only about a week away and the 25 man Roster is nearly set. That means it's time to look at what has happened this Spring and see where the Cubs stand heading into the season. (The following are not necessarily in any order)

When Mark Prior was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2001 he was heralded as the player who would take the Cubs to the World Series. Following his stellar 2003 season (18-6 record) it seemed like the Cubs had the next Jim Palmer. Four years later, and with only 18 more wins, Cubs fans are left wondering what will become of Mark Prior.

I've been in a land far, far away and finally I'm back from vacation. Those are my guides in the green and my hunting advisor in the beard; all huddled around my trophy catch. Sorry, the only pictures of me remain in the top dresser drawer of an exotic, ruthless woman to protect my identity and fuel her fantasies. You can see the rifle my hunting advisor is carrying, but I can assure you that I conquered the wild animal with my bare hands. I just wanted to reward your patience while I was gone with that picture...

While lesser men might quit the site or just take the day off from writing following vacation; I've decided to dig deep and come up with a little something for those of you who missed me while I was gone (Mom? Dad?). With the power of technology I was able to watch the NCAA Tournament (recorded) while preparing for each day's hunt and while on my flight home. Following are my EXPERT observations for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

They say the road to the Road to the Atlanta starts with 65 teams, but in reality...only 8 are good enough to walk away with the Championship. Before the seeedings come out, before the brackets are filled out at your workplace; I'm going to tell you the 8 teams that can win the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship.

There are roughly ten weeks to go in the NBA Regular Season, so for the last two and a half months I'm going to write about the ten players that are making a run at the MVP Award. These are in no particular order up until the final week, when I will make my selection for NBA MVP. Today it is the man-child known as Amare Stoudemire, who has been on a tear recently.

My first memory of the Chicago Cubs is watching them lose to the San Diego Padres in the 1984 Playoffs. Watching the agony of defeat somehow drew me closer to the franchise I would grow to love. Now that I write for 3ManLift.com I am able to write about the Cubs whenever I want, but not like I'm about to.

Pitchers and catchers have finally reported and baseball season is here again. The Chicago Cubs open their camp with a new manager (Lou Pineilla), a new superstar ( Alfonso Soriano), and what seems to be a new outlook on this upcoming season. Following is the 2007 Season Preview for the Chicago Cubs.

It's about that time when people flock to Vegas or their local bookie to place bets on who will win the 2007 World Series. For those of you who have difficulty understand odds and other gambling 'mumbo jumbo', I'm going to translate the odds for you into terms that are easy to understand. (Jack Cobra does not encourage you to gamble and does not condone losing child support payment money while gambling)

With the Slam Dunk Competition about ten years past its prime, the Three Point Shootout never being a factor and all of the other random events surrounding the NBA All-Star Weekend being boring; this upcoming weekend usually leaves NBA fans wanting more. Luckily, this season our dreams have come true.

NBA All-Star Weekend is usually filled with all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood party. All the celebrities, fans and NBA Stars come out to play during a weekend that is rarely intense....Until this year! Finally, beyond all the hoopla, there is something that everyone should watch during NBA All-Star Weekend!

Less than a year ago I wrote that I thought that LeBron James could overtake Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player ever. After watching LeBron coast through the regular season this season, I've changed my mind.

Growing up I enjoyed watching Bobby Knight's Indiana University basketball squads run their man to man defense and motion offense to near perfection. It was fun to watch, it was an education in basketball fundamentals for a boy, and it allowed me to have some pride for my home state university. Unfortunately, I lost that love during the Mike Davis reign. It seemed that the fluid offense and suffocating defense left the state and it made basketball hard to watch. Luckily, after letting Mike Davis go at the end of last season the Hoosiers hired Kelvin Sampson and the Hoosiers have now put themselves back on the College Basketball Map.

From 1992 to 1995 Greg Maddux controlled a baseball game unlike any pitcher seen before him. It was pure joy to watch his pitches cut and slice through the strike zone. From 2005 to the present, Steve Nash is controlling the basketball game like very few players before him. From his quick drives to the basket to his precision passing, Nash is running the Phoenix Suns offense on a higher level than we've seen in awhile. Maddux was a 'Master of his Trade' then and Nash has become a 'Master of his Trade' now.

The NBA announced who would be the starters for the All-Star Game to be played in Las Vegas on February 18th. The voting for the starters is always controversial because fans do the voting, and this year is no different. Following are the starting lineups, along with my thoughts on them.