The Philadelphia Eagles will visit the Dallas Cowboys this coming Monday in what will be each team's first NFC East Division rivalry game of this season. Both teams come into this battle at 1-0, where both franchises had relatively....

Do we realize what we are currently witnessing in these 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing? betsportsweb sure does. Michael Phelps is shattering records left and right. He is just not breaking time trial records, but also gold medal records.

Today Phelps waltzed towards the capture of his career 10th and 11thgold medals, which happens to be the most in Olympic history. "To be the most decorated

The East Carolina University Pirates are poised for a run to the Conference USA Football Championship in the upcoming 2008-2009 season. Skip Holtz, head football coach at ECU, is coming off back-to-back winning seasons, along with two Bowl invitations. Moreover, the Pirates return 21 lettermen on offense, and 24 lettermen on defense.

Although relatively young, the offensive line is projected to be one of their best in the past 10 years. 300 pound junior Doug Palmer will lead a platoon of experienced players that are 2 deep at all positions. Palmer will be joined by the 6-5, 282 pound senior Stanley Bryant, which started 8 games this past season. .

Similarly, the defensive line is stacked with 9 returning players, whom are lead by the tandem of pass rushing ends in junior CJ Wilson and senior Zach Slate. Standing at 6-4 and 271 pounds, Wilson is a dominant pass rushing force that will terrorize C-USA lines. Likewise, Slate is a proven pass rusher, who has shown a keen nose for the ball.

Winning Conference USA will not be easy with the departure of the dynamic running back Chris Johnson, who was a 1st round NFL Draft selection of the Tennessee Titans. So, the Pirates will likely feature a running back by committee that is comprised of a stable of talented backs. Dominique Lindsay, a 5-10, 210 pound senior, is the most experienced carrier in the group. Lindsay is complemented by the skilled sophomores Jonathan Williams and Norman Whitley.

Like the running back position, ECU appears to have a quarterback by committee situation as well. Senior Patrick Pinkney and Junior Robb Kass both split time at the helm last season. Neither of the two signal callers were able to distant themselves from each other coming out of Spring Camp. Kass is your "prototype" tall, big armed passer, while Pinkney is your swift-footed play-maker. Look for Pinkney to get the nod in ECUA¢a‚¬a„¢s opener against Virginia Tech and their suffocating D.

Speaking of Virginia Tech, the Pirates play an out-of-conference schedule that is ambitious to say the least. ECU will face the likes of West Virginia, NC State, and Virginia, in addition to the Hokies. Such a schedule will truly show whether or not the Pirates are capable of playing with the big boys on the block.

So, could the Pirates finally take that C-USA Championship home? Well, that is the primary goal according to Skip Holtz and his players, besides going to a 3rd consecutive Bowl game. If it is true that football games are won in the trenches, then the Pirates should be ready for battle against their C-USA foes.

Thankfully for the Pirates, those non-conference games have minimal bearing on their ultimate conference objective.

Check out all the exciting NCAA Football action at http://www.betsportsweb.com/.

by Steve Earnhardt

Can you imagine Brett Favre and Steve Smith playing together? Boy, I sure can.

Do not get me wrong, I like Jake Delhomme as much as the next, but Favre sure would make things in Charlotte much more interesting this season.

When I think to myself about this very plausible possibility, it truly brings back memories of a young Brett Favre hooking up with an explosive Sterling Sharpe on countless fantastic plays. Steve Smith may not be the same type of receiver as Sterling was, but he is certainly one of the most prolific receivers in the game today.

Likewise, Brett Favre is not the young man he once was, but he can still sling it with the best of them. The guy passed for 4,155 yards on 535 attempts, and completed 66.5 percent of his passes this past season.

Moreover, Brett chalked up 28 touchdowns while throwing only 15 interceptions, and earned a QB rating of 95.7. Let's face it; those numbers are not too shabby for an old man.

Other than playing with Steve Smith, why would Favre like to play with the Panthers this year? Well, how about a bolstered offensive line and running game?

This offseason the Panthers went out and acquired some beef with the signings of three free agent guards in Keydrick Vincent, Milford Brown and Toniu Fonoti, who weigh in at an average of 332 pounds.

They also drafted bruising running back Jonathan Stewart, who is 5'10" and 235 pounds, to complement the talented DeAngelo Williams.

Now this may be some wildly concocted dream, but maybe not. The Panthers could feasibly acquire Favre for the price of say, a couple of third rounders and taking on his gargantuan contract.

Is it worth it? Probably not, when considering all things, but I would love to see it happen anyway.

Check more exciting NFL news and action at www.betsportsweb.com.

Are these New York Mets for real? They reeled off 10 straight wins in the month of July, which began on July 5th and did not end until July 18th. In fact, the Mets are 19-2 since Willie Randolph was shown the door, and Jerry Manuel took over the reigns as manager.

The major strength of the Mets is its pitching, but can it hold up over the second half of the grind? Pedro Martinez has not been able to assemble a complete season over the past few years. At the moment, Billy Wagner is reportedly experiencing stiffness in his throwing shoulder. Will Mike Pelfrey keep rolling on his win streak?

These are all questions that will begin to be answered in the coming weeks. Tuesday, July 22 starts a 3 game series in NY with the Phillies, who are currently tied with the Mets in the NL East standings. Then the Mets stay at home to face the St Louis Cardinals, who are playing extremely well as of late. Afterwards the Mets finish off July in Miami against the Marlins. These next two weeks will be some gauntlet for the Mets to endure, however, it will really show us some signs to whether or not these Mets are for real.

Get in on the action with a true Dime Line, up to 180, at www.betsportsweb.com.

The Cowboys appear to be primed for another Super Bowl run in 2008-2009. Both sides of the ball are stacked with 13 returning Pro Bowlers from last year's squad. Tony Romo will have what is arguably the league's best all round offensive line to protect him, while he throws to prime targets that go by the names of Jason Witten and T.O. Moreover, the Cowboys aerial attack threat and offensive line should provide for a Marion Barber lead running game that will punish defenses around the league.

Some might say that offense is what traditionally powers the Cowboys, but this year they may have, what is shaping up to be, one of their best defenses in my short memory. Let's start with the linebackers, where potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate, DeMarcus Ware, leads a corps that will make Ray Lewis envious. Greg Ellis, Anthony Spencer, Bradie James, and the new addition of former Dolphin, Zach Thomas, make for a hell of a supporting cast.

The defensive line does not boast the star power of its linebacker corps brethren, however, they are an above average unit that is led by Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff, Marcus Spears, and the gun wielding Tank Johnson. The 6'7, 300 pound Canty will be playing for a contract this season, so I expect him to improve on his break-out season of last year. Similarly, Tank has shown tremendous progress this off season according to the Cowboys defensive coaches.

The defensive line and the linebackers will see their sack totals rise thanks to the drastic improvement of the secondary (pending Pacman's reinstatement). Last year the secondary was a glaring weakness for the defense and it proved to be worse than expected due to the injuries of Henry and Newman. So, bolstering the depth in the secondary was Jerry Jones's primary concern going into 2008-2009. Jerry answered the call by acquiring the infamous rainmaker, Adam Jones, plus drafting 2 gifted corners in Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick. Also, maybe just as important to the acquisitions is the return of former Cowboys head coach, Dave Campo, who will be in charge of the secondary unit. Campo will be expected to make the most of his unit's talent, while finding a way to resurrect Roy Williams's playmaking abilities.

Special Teams play looks to be improved upon from last season as well. The kicking tandem of Nick Folk and Mat McBriar is stellar. The additions of Adam Jones, Felix Jones, and Mike Jenkins will help bolster last season's lack luster return game.

If you have read this far then you are probably expecting to see a win/loss prediction for the Cowboys. After peeking at the schedule, I predict an 11-5 regular season finish. Cleveland will more than likely beat up on the Cowboys newly assembled secondary for a close win. Green Bay will get their revenge from last year when the Cowboys head to Lambeau in September. The Giants are likely to take one of the 2 games played, and probably will be in Texas Stadium. Likewise, the Redskins and Cowboys always seem to split their series no matter how good or bad either team may be. Finally, watch for the Cowboys to concede their final game to the Eagles, since that at this point the game will likely be meaningless for the Cowboys playoff credentials.

Bet on this year's NFL football season at www.betsportsweb.com.