The Angels just swept the "Nation", and since it's just past the All-Star break, let's look at some of the playoff contenders to see which ones best.

ANGELS

Pro: Amazing pitching. Whether it's the starters, who are second in ERA and first in innings or the back end of the bullpen, Halo opponents aren't scoring very much.

Con: Power. With the Angels, it's always about the offense, and the Angels this year just haven't had that many extra base hits.

RED SOX

Pro: The middle of their order. Their 2-5 guys have to be considered the best in the league. Pedroia's been red hot, JD Drew's picked up the slack for Big Papi, Manny's having another great year, and Mike Lowell's been steady. When David Ortiz comes back, look out.

Con: Middle Relief. Jonathan Papelbon is still blowing by hitters, but as evidenced by their series against the Angels, they have trouble there.

MOre to come later.

Firstly, congrats to Josh Hamilton. If you don't know his story, turn on the TV. He's everywhere today, and he deserves it. But shifting from one over-told story to another, the Brett Favre saga needs to end. The second part of his interview with Fox News aired recently, and in general this has been mishandled by all. Here's some advice for all involved.

Ted Thompson (Packers GM): Trade Brett Favre. I know that sounds crazy, and if the Packers keep him, that's fine too. But Brett has given the Packers a lot of great years, and so if you're not going to start him, at least get a third round pick or something. Tampa Bay or the entire NFC North outside of Green Bay will at least give up that. One thing - don't bring Favre back as a backup. That would be insulting to a legend who can start for over half the teams in this league.

Brett Favre: Please stop. This will sound really harsh on one of the best QBs ever, but I think it's needed. To start, Favre needs to stop messing with his team. I understand he wants to play, but he retired. Nowhere in the definition of retire does it say anything about coming back. The interview with Fox was what really put this over the edge. Favre seems desperate now to win over fans, and he seemed self-centered in an interview with a Wisconsin native who has some affiliation with the team. The Packers have moved on from Brett Favre, but he can't understand that.

Your Worldwide Leader in Sports: ESPN is the only real reason why this saga has gone on for so long. Their coverage of Brett Favre needs to be toned down a lot. It's baseball season, so go tell the story of the Upton brothers who are both on surprising young teams. Maybe do a British Open preview instead.

Chris Mortensen: Shut up. Just shut up. I hear enough of your "insights" during the season.

Here are the NL culprits.

1B - Carlos Delgado, NYM - As was the case with the AL, there aren't actually that many candidates because most 1B are pretty good in the NL, but Delgado brings a .246 average to the plate and only Adam LaRoche has a worse OPS among 1B that qualify.

2B - Jeff Kent, LAD - His overrated-ness mostly comes from the fact that he bats in the middle of the order for the Dodgers. He has a decent OPS, but 39 RBIs aren't enough, and his .254 average is OK at best. Maybe this is why the Dodgers are struggling offensively (other than Andruw Jones).

SS - Jimmy Rollins, PHI - I love Jimmy Rollins, but he is the reigning MVP, so his low HR and RBI total plus a .270 average get him on this list.

3B - None - I know, it seems indefensible, but of my two best candidates, one also plays CF ( Bill Hall) and the other has 13 HRs and a .814 OPS ( Troy Glaus). There are a lot of good third basemen in the NL.

OF - Kosuke Fukudome, CHC - It seems that he made the All-Star team because he's popular. It can't be because he deserved it because the likes of Aaron Rowand and Jason Bay have more HRs, RBIs, and a higher BA.

OF - Adam Dunn, CIN - I know he's really strong, but he has 96 strikeouts and a .225 average. Yet everyone thinks he would be a great addition to their club.

OF - Ken Griffey Jr., CIN - It's really tough to pick on a guy who hit his 600th HR this year and did it the right way, but there were people calling for him to make the All-Star team. With a .235 BA and 13 HRs? Don't think so.

C - Benji Molina, SF - Did you know there are only 6 catchers that qualify in the NL? Benji, who I thought was pretty good, has the second-worst average among them.

SP - Aaron Harang, CIN - Wasn't he their ace last year? Well now he's something like 3-11 and has an ERA over 4. (Note: it would be too easy to put Barry Zito here)

RP - Trevor Hoffman, SD - I know, I know, I'm hating on the best closer of all time. But his ERA is over 5. That means that in more than half of the innings he pitches, he'll give up a run. For a closer, that's terrible.

The final two All-Stars have been named - Evan Longoria and Corey Hart. But that got me to thinking who the most underrated and overrated players are. Later I'll post the underrated players, but for now, it's the Andruw Joneses of the league (note: he's not on here because everyone knows he has been terrible this year).

AL

1B - Nick Swisher, CWS - Unfortunately, since Richie Sexson was released today, I can't put him here, but Swisher and .236 average hasn't exactly been what the White Sox were expecting when they traded for him.

2B - Robinson Cano, NYY - I've heard a lot of people mentioning him as a future batting title winner, but a .257 average isn't gonna do it. And he needs to be more patient with an OBP of .289, lowest among AL second basemen that qualify.

SS - Edgar Renteria, DET - Once considered a formidable hitter, he is struggling with a .254 average and a weak .326 slugging percentage, ahead of only Jason Bartlett from the Rays amongst shortstops that qualify.

3B - Joe Crede, CWS - One of AL All-Stars on this list, mostly because his power numbers aren't that much better than anyone in consideration for the All-Star game but his .260 average is, well, average. Because he's an All-Star and, for example, Miguel Cabrera is not, he is overrated.

OF - Jack Cust, OAK - He sure has power, but 110 strikeouts? Ryan Howard has 124 by comparison. Oh, and Cust is only batting .221. (Note: outfielders in no particular order)

OF - Jose Guillen, KC - I know it seems weird that someone from the Royals is overrated, but Guillen was one of the five up for the final All-Star spot. A .299 OBP with six times as many strikeouts than walks means he didn't deserve it.

OF - Alex Rios, TOR - He has a solid average, but he needs to be a run producer. 4 HRs and 38 RBIs aren't good enough for a no. 3 hitter.

SP - AJ Burnett, TOR - This comes from the he's-got-great-stuff-but-he's-still-not-good department. He has 118 strikeouts, which leads the AL now that CC Sabathia left for the Brewers. But that 5.23 ERA is way too high, so the speculation of him being traded makes me wonder why a contender would want someone who's 9-8.

CP - George Sherrill - As was the case with Jose Guillen, it's hard to put an Oriole on this because they're not well known but Sherrill is tied for second-most saves in the league yet has a 3.72 ERA.

Well, surely by now you've heard that Elton Brand is going to the 76ers. I decided to withhold my comments until it became official and Elton had a chance to defend himself. Both happened today on Sportscenter. Many are saying it's the second coming of Carlos Boozer, but I think it's worse, because instead of screwing just a fan base, you're screwing a fan base and a star player ( Baron Davis) who decided to take less money so he could have better teammates. I know Baron's got a thing with a movie production studio, but if he had known Brand and Corey Maggette would leave(and Corey's going back to Golden State, by the way), I don't think he would have left the Bay Area. The only way I don't hate Elton Brand forever is if Baron comes out and says he's fine with the move because on the interview I saw Elton made it seem like Baron encouraged him to do what's best for him. If so, great, but Baron still ends up with a lousy team. If not, then Brand just messed up a franchise that's already second-best to its city.

The All-Star teams were announced yesterday, and three Angels, all pitchers, made it: Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, and Frankie Rodriguez. All three are great choices and you can't say that any of the three didn't deserve to be there. John Lackey didn't make it this year, but he's having an All-Star caliber season so far. But still, I don't think he deserved to make it because he missed six weeks and because the competition this year for starting pitcher was so intense. In any other year, he makes it. I also have to point out that Joe Saunders should be starting the All-Star game. Yes, Cliff Lee has a lower ERA, but Joe has more wins, and Cliff Lee blew his last chance to get 12 yesterday when he lost to the Twins. As far as position players, I don't think any Angel should have made it except Vladimir Guerrero. Three outfielders in particular, one up for the final vote, bug me: Carlos Quentin, Grady Sizemore, and Jose Guillen(up for the final vote). Vlad has a higher average than all three, but for Quentin and Sizemore, it's acceptable because their power numbers are substantially better. But Vlad, in 7 fewer games, has more runs, homers, walks, and fewer strikeouts, as well as a higher BA, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS than Guillen. Why isn't Vlad up for that last spot?

First off great job Mike Scioscia. Lineup changes were certainly needed, and putting Casey Kotchman at the 2 and Maicer Izturis at the 3 was a great move, especially after Kotchman doubled and Mighty Maicer bunted him over.

Two awesome plays really gave the Halos the victory tonight, one on offense, one on defense. Of course, Garret Anderson, who had been something like 3 for 19 against Alan Embree, hit the two-run homer that gave the Angels the lead and had as many RBIs (2) in the game as all the Angels did in the past 4 games. On defense, though, Kotchman made a terrific diving stop on a grounder with a man on third and threw from his back to get the runner. That would have given the Athletics the lead in the sixth.

Tomorrow is the series finale, with Joe Saunders on the mound. It would be a great win to keep the Halos' 7 series winning streak against AL teams.

The second after I posted, ESPN reported breaking news: Baron Davis signs with the Clippers for 5 years, 65 million dollars. I was right about him not making 17 mil, so he must really love LA.

I love all sports, and so the biggest news from today is all related to the NBA and its free agency frenzy.

First I have to mention Baron Davis, one of my favorite players, opting out of his deal. He says he wants to stay with Golden State, but there's no way he's getting more than 17 million now, so why opt out? Of course there has been a lot of talk of him going to the Clippers because he loves LA for various reasons (his movies, his alma mater, etc). But it's all talk for now, so let's just wait and see what happens. But my hope of him staying a Warrior appear to be thinning.

The Wizards also launched a spending spree today, signing Antawn Jamison to a new deal for 12.5 mil a year and are trying to negotiate a HUGE deal with Gilbert Arenas, like 9 figures huge. Gilbert's great, and I love his blog, but is he worth that much? Not only has he not done much in the playoffs, but he played 13 games last year. Thankfully the Warriors were denied when they offered him only 95 million.

Even the Clippers made news, if only because their two best players decided to opt out. Corey Maggette is likely gone although the team has said they'll try to re-sign him. But Baron opting out shakes their whole situation. With Maggette gone, the Clippers will have something like 27 million to spend. That's assuredly enough for Brand and Baron.

Chris Paul is also apparently close to an extension, which shouldn't be a surprise. He's the face of that franchise.

Oh, and LeBron. A lot can happen between now and 2010. Like with Baron, I'm just gonna wait.

Go halos tonight, we need some offense.