THE BIG SPORTS WEEKEND

Saturday, August 19
FOOTBALL: Miami at Tampa Bay

I'm sure the Yanks will be fired up to take a firm grip on the AL East with a 3rd consecutive win in Boston. However, I can't resist the chance to put the spotlight on some Florida football as today's one to watch. In their annual pre-season meeting, the Miami Dolphins visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I get to see both of these teams each Sunday on my local NFL broadcasts. And I really can't pick a favorite these days either. There's not much or a rivalry here and my rooting interest tends to favor the team with the better chance of bringing a title to Florida. In tonight's game, I'll be curious to see how Dolphins new QB Daunte Culpepper looks coming off major knee surgery. I'm also interested to see which Auburn RB looks better entering their sophomore pro campaigns. In 2005 the edge went to Bucs powerback RB Carnell Williams. While I look for the Cadillac to put together another solid season, I think speedy Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown will emerge as the league's top young back this year.

My pick: Tampa. Both coach Jon Gruden of the Bucs and Nick Saban of the Fins have egos the size of Mars and can never resist the chance to bark endlessly at players even during meaningless preseason ball. Hopefully, nobody will be injured trying to impress and both teams look like contenders in 2006.

Sunday, August 20,
GOLF: The PGA Championship

The last day of the last major of the year is usually fun. Hopefully today will be no exception. This means hopefully Tiger Woods won't run away with the PGA. Though I respect Tiger's game immensely, I usually root against him because I like seeing different players win. And nobody would be more unusual that current co-leader Billy Andrade atop the big board 8 under. Andrade indeed had only manged to qualify as the 7th alternate for this tournament and is lucky to be playing. I like him because he's an Atlanta guy, but I don't give the Cinderella much chance with several top dogs close behind. US Open champ Geoff Ogilve has impressed through 36 holes. He's 1 off the lead and a definite favorite to make Sunday's final pair. David Toms is 2 shots back and is an always dangerous player in majors. Tiger himself also looks strong at one back of the lead, while rival Phil Mickelson has played somewhat poorly but is only a mere 4 strokes back of Andrade.

My pick: Phil Mickelson. I'm going to stick with Mick. Nobody is more streaky than Lefty. I look for him to get hot today and move to the top. Then the only question is whether he can hang after again collapsing at the US Open. A win here would be sweet redemption.

Since I didn't pick any auto racing this weekend, let's end on that note anyway. Sarah Fisher marked her return to the IRL after a 2 year absense last weekend with a decent 12th place finish. She may not have the eye-catching good looks of Danica, but she's every bit as good of a driver. And I still say she's a hottie too!