Here are my complete NL Central predictions.

This is my 2008 NBA Mock Draft! Let me know your opinions!

I just wanted to wish all the fathers out there and here at Yard Barker a very Happy Father's Day! Enjoy it!

"I had no horse," Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux said after Big Brown came in last place at the 140th Belmont Stakes Saturday.

I was surprised Big Brown came up short, especially after Rick Dutrow's repeated guarantees and reassurances that Big Brown would be victorious. Track temperatures at the time the starting gates were opened was 93 degrees Fahrenheit. The horse looked exhausted, and I think that the cracked front-left hoof of Big Brown had something to do with his apparent tiredness. It's a shame, because I wasn't alive the last time the Triple Crown was handed out. I was looking forward to seeing it.

Da'Tara had 38-1 chances, while Big Brown was a 1-4 favorite to win the first Triple Crown in 30 years.

So, we will have to wait another year to see if a horse can win the Triple Crown. This is the 19th time in history a horse has won the first two legs of the Triple Crown (the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes) but come up short in the final leg, the Belmont Stakes. Only 11 horses have ever won the Triple Crown.

Did anyone seriously here have Da'Tara winning the Belmont? Man am I glad I don't have the guts to bet on Horse Racing.

-Mike Greenspire

I'm getting too anxious for the season to start up again, so here are my picks for the 2008 NFL season a bit early!

Wow, this is incredible! The younger generation gets to witness the best championship sports rivalry ever.

Lakers and Celtics.

I have no clue who Boston is gonna put on Kobe, but I doubt it matters, because I think Kobe will breeze by all of them. Gasol is going to be the one who keeps the offense in rhythm, and keeps his teammates giving the ball to Kobe.

I'm going to take some of the hidden stars of both teams. You tell me which you'd rather have.

Odom or Perkins?

Radmanovic or Powe?

Vujacic or Rondo?

Farmar or Posey?

Mbenga or Brown?

Maybe I'm a homer, but I would take all the Lakers if you presented me with that scenario.

Lakers in 6.

GO LAKERS!

The Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-1 after a very controversial call Tuesday night in San Antonio at the end of game 4.

Joey Crawford, the referee (whom I think is one of the best refs around in any sport) made the call that Brent Barry was not fouled by Derek Fisher, and the game ended on a missed hail-mary shot from way downtown.

Well, yesterday, the NBA reviewed the call and said that it should have been called as a two shot foul. Now, considering Barry made both of those shots, the game may have had a different outcome, but I doubt it. If you haven't led for an entire 48 minutes, I doubt that you will be able to gather enough momentum from 2 foul shots to go into overime and win.

So, with that said, I don't think it would have changed the outcome at all. Hell, I don't even think Barry would have sunk both free throws, but we'll never know, will we?

Even if the Spurs don't win this series, I doubt that Spurs fans will hold that call in their memories as what cost them their season. I think that they are very respectable and decent fans, and wouldn't bame the bad call on the Lakers or their fans.

I'm 100% certain that the Lakers aren't letting the thought of the NBA Finals get in the way of their game tonight, so I'm gonna think about it for them!

Say the Lakers advance and sit around until June 5th waiting for the Celtics and Pistons to hurry up, yada yada yada. Here is what I believe would happen to each possible NBA Finals opponent of the Lakers:

Lakers vs. Celtics

The Celtics get the majority of home game sin this match-up, which up until last week probably meant that they were gonan win. Uh, wrong!

The Pistons, who are a far inferior team to the current boys in Purple and Gold, defeated the Celtics in Boston by 6. Now, if Boston keeps playing how they have played, then I firmly believe the Lakers can steal at least one game in the Garden.

Lakers in 6.

Lakers vs. Pistons

The Pistons make noise every year, but when the get to the East Finals, they lose. If that changes, I doubt that they will be ready enough to face as fast and smart of a team as the Lakers.

If Tayshaun Prince has to guard Kobe, then Kobe will jus pull out his bag of tricks like he did in Game 1 of the West Finals, scoring only 2 in the first half, and exploding in the 3rd and 4th quarters, scoring 25. You can bank on something similar from him and the rest of the Lakers if they have to play Detroit.

Lakers in 5.

Thanks for reading! Take care!

-Mike Greenspire

Hi, YardBarker bloggers! My name's Mike Greenspire, and I love sports! This is my first time ever coming to this site, and I can tell already that it is really cool! I hope to blog here for a long time, and I hope that everyone here enjoys reading my stuff!

If you have seen me around other sites, you probably know that I'm generally a nice guy, I'm a pretty good writer, and I love to read a blog with some good humor!

My favorite teams are:

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers

NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins

MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox

NCAA: Michigan State Spartans and Pittsburgh Panthers

I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA, so naturally, I am die-hard fan of all teams Pittsburgh.

I'll have something interesting up soon, so hold tight while I get that done, and enjoy your afternoon!

If you are interested in reading some of my previous work here are some links:

community.foxsports.com/blogs/Greenspire

realsportsbloggers.com/greenspire

mgkbsports.wordpress.com

E-Mail me: greenspire.mike@gmail.com

-Mike Greenspire