The NFC demolished the AFC 55 – 41 in the Pro Bowl on Sunday. The Pro Bowl returned to Hawaii after taking a one year hiatus in Miami, but it was still the week before the Super Bowl which lends itself to better ratings.  The game is a true exhibition because the rules in place prevent hard hits and plays that would cause injury, so it makes for bad football all around.  The NFC jumped out to a 42 – 0 lead as they walked through the AFC’s defense.  How does that even happen with all those all-stars on the AFC side?  Then the AFC goes on a 41 – 13 run in the rest of the game to make it interesting.  I know they have to have these exhibition games, but they sure can be bad to watch.

The Boston Celtics handled the Los Angeles Lakers 109 – 96 in  a game that really was not even that close. The game revealed a lot about the Celtics resolve to win another title, and the Lakers  seemingly content with winning the last two.  If you compare the two teams games against the elite teams in the NBA this season you can see where they are both headed at this point.  The Celtics have now beaten the Lakers, Spurs, Bulls, Magic and Heat twice.  The Lakers’ best win was probably over the Bulls at home in November when Carlos Boozer was injured.

The Cleveland Cavaliers extend their losing streak to 20 games courtesy of the Orlando Magic. Cleveland hasn’t won since Dec. 18. That’s one victory since its last meeting with LeBron James and Miami, who the Cavs face on the road Monday night. Orlando heads to Memphis.  Dwight Howard had a double double, and Ryan Anderson poured in 23 points as the Magic cruised to a 103 – 87 victory over Byron Scott’s team.  It is becoming more apparent now just how much Lebron meant to that Cavaliers teams as they have gone from the best record in the East with him, to the worst team in the NBA without him.

The Cincinnati Bengals are not inclined to trade their star QB Carson Palmer. Despite Palmer’s trade demand the Bengals ownership has come out and said they will not trade him, but instead focus on fixing the team that surrounds Palmer so he can be successful.  The Bengals even let Palmer off the hook for under performing this season, citing the quality of team they surrounded him with was to blame.  It seems that Palmer was bluffing when he used the “retirement” threat during his initial trade demand, and will be playing football for the Bengals again.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Friday that five of the 13 players hospitalized this week with a muscle disorder following grueling offseason workouts are being discharged.  The players had been hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis, a stress-induced syndrome that can damage cells and cause kidney problems.  It is unclear what caused the 13 players to all end up in the hospital and the University is launching an investigation into the incident.  This is the problem with college football, these players are not being paid millions of dollars for this and there is little to no oversight of the workouts and practices of the football teams at major universities.

The beginning of the 2010 NFL season is just around the corner, and while there are still a few moves that will likely be made before week 1 games get underway, we have a solid good idea of what each team is going to look like this season. Based on what has happened so far during the off season; here is a look at my 2010 NFL predictions.

AFC East: I have the New England Patriots repeating as division winners in 2010, but should get a strong push from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Even after the Jets amazing run to the AFC
Championship game last year, I believe that the Dolphins are going to top them for the No.2 spot in this division, while the Buffalo Bills finish way back in last place.

AFC North: The Cincinnati Bengals dominated this division in 2009, going a perfect 6-0, but I don’t think we will see that happen again in 2010. I have the Baltimore Ravens slated atop this division, as
they figure to be one of the more balanced teams in all of football. I then have the Bengals slightly ahead of the Steelers, who could dig a huge hole to start the season without Ben Roethlisberger. The Browns figure to be much improved this season, but I don’t think we will see them make a run at the division title just yet.

AFC South: As long as Peyton Manning is quarterback of the Colts, they are going to be the favorites to win this division. They do however figure to get a strong push from both the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans this season, both of whom have the talent to make the playoffs. I have the Jacksonville Jaguars finishing last, as I just don’t think they did enough to truly compete in this division.

AFC West: The Chargers are the clear cut favorites to win this division, and should have no problem doing just that. I do however see big improvements coming from both the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs had a huge off season when you look at the draft and coaching changes, while the Raiders finally cut ways with quarterback JaMarcus Russell. I have the Denver Broncos falling back to the bottom of this division, as I just don’t think there are enough weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

NFC East: This is arguably the toughest division in all of football, making it very hard to predict just who will come out on top. As of right now I have the Dallas Cowboys as my clear cut favorites to take
home the top spot. Despite the trade of quarterback Donovan McNabb, I have the Philadelphia Eagles slated second in this division, just ahead of McNabb and the Washington Redskins. That leaves the New York Giants to finish in last, but this team is much better than any other last place team you will find, and could easily finish atop this division.

NFC North: As long as Brett Favre comes back to be the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, they are going to be the top dog in this division, but they don’t have a very big edge over the Green Bay
Packers, who many believe will win this division even if Favre does come back to Minnesota. The Chicago Bears should be better than their 7-9 record a year ago, and could be a surprise team out of the NFC.  The Detroit Lions figure to show some big improvements from a year ago, but not enough to get them out of the basement in the North.

NFC South: Despite the fact that there hasn’t been a repeat winner in this division since the realignment back in 2002, I have the New Orleans Saints winning the South once again in 2010, as they look to defend their Super Bowl Championship. The team that has the best shot at taking over the top spot are the Atlanta Falcons, who should make a strong push to get back to the postseason. I have the Carolina Panthers slated to finish third, but this team could be another one of those teams that surprises everyone. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to improve, but will likely finish in the bottom again this season.

NFC West: With the retirement of Kurt Warner from the Arizona Cardinals the West figures to be wide open this season, as there really isn’t a clear cut favorite. I am giving the early edge to the
San Francisco 49ers, but I believe that the Arizona Cardinals will be right there with a great shot at winning the division again this season. I have the St Louis Rams finishing slightly ahead of the
Seattle Seahawks, but neither team figures to be much of a threat at all this season.

If you are interested in beating the NFL spreads this season, be sure to stop back for our expert NFL picks from the top handicappers in the world.

The Cincinnati Bengals signed Terrell Owens to a 1-year $2 million dollar deal this week.  I think Owens will be an asset to the Bengals receiving corps with his “homeboy” Chad Ochocinco on the other side.  Most fans and pundits will bemoan the signing of Owens, and the cries of how Owens is a cancer and will ruin the team chemistry will surely start.  Owens was correct when he said the media was one of the reasons he had not been signed by a team, all sportscasters have been saying on the radio is they don’t see how Owens will help a team.  They forgot the fact that he had no problems in Buffalo last year, and was a model citizen, and to top it off has never been in trouble off the field.

This article is not about Owens signing though; this is about the Bengals General Manager Mike Brown assembling probably the biggest group of misfits in the league.  I talked in a previous article about each team needing to have a certain element of “Bad boy” or flamboyant players on a team as a path to success.  There are a few teams who can make it without that element, but most teams need to have those fringe players who can cross the line anytime.  That is what makes these players good they play with confidence even bordering on cockiness that they will take risks to make plays that not many others will.

Maybe that is why the Bengals have taken the road less traveled and signed the NFL all trouble team over the past few seasons.  The Bengals have signed Adam “Pacman” Jones, Tank Johnson, Antonio Bryant, Cedric Benson, Matt Jones, Chris Henry, and Terrell Owens all of them had off the field issues with the exception of Owens.  Throw a unique and cocky Chad Ochocinco in there and you have a team of big personalities.  The haters have started commenting already, this will never work, these guys won’t function together, they are going to argue over catches and whatever other negative things they can come up with.

I like what the Bengals are doing here, they need to get over the hump and find a way to get past the Jets, Colts, Patriots, and Chargers in the AFC.  In the end it comes down to how many wins and losses you have, no one gives a crap about a team of good guys who never get in trouble when the team is 0 – 12.  Mike Brown is sending a message that he is trying to win this season, and adding a multiple time pro bowler like Owens is not a bad thing if you are trying to win games.

All the people doubting these moves are forgetting something, this is the NFL where the contracts are not guaranteed.  So if Johnson, Jones, or Owens become too much of a headache they can cut ties with them and not be forced to pay that player all that much in return.  There is a money side to this as well, you have two receivers on the same team who have reality T.V. shows, Pacman is known for “making it rain”, and Cedric Benson’s mugshots and police run-ins are legendary.  That all sounds like entertainment to me, and that is why people will buy tickets and tune in on television to watch the Bengals.    People want to see if that T.O. blow up comes, or if Pacman gets in trouble at another strip club, it is all for entertainment value.  When fans realize the NFL and other pro sports are entertainment businesses more than anything, then maybe they can see the hidden brilliance in these moves.