I was afraid that with Dan Orlovsky now starting at QB for the Lions, there was a possibility that they might start actually becoming a semi-competent team. But as this image makes clear, no reason to worry about that turnaround just yet. 

As you can see, Orlovsky seemed to forget where he was on the field, and apparently decided to head for the locker room a little too early.

Only problem is the Lions are beating the Vikings 10-9 right now. Come on Lions, aside from the Rams, you're the best chance we have of anyone going 0-16. Don't fail us now.

Someone should tell Dan Orlovsky what the big white stripe means [Shutdown Corner]

Last weekend at Talladega, Carl Edwards wound up on a lot of peoples hit lists because of the 12-car pileup that he caused. One of the guys he knocked out was fellow Chaser Kevin Harvick. Harvick classically went on to call Edwards "a pansy" later in the week during a TV interview.

Now, reportedly on Thursday during the rained out qualifying for the Bank of America 500, Harvick and Edwards got into a little of a scrape.


Now, pictures were taken during the mini-brawl, but were't made public...until now.

Let's take a look.



Here's Harvick telling Edwards what he thinks of his mother.




Which Edwards doesn't really agree with.




Harvick seems to disagree with his oxygen supply being cut off.




Down goes Edwards!

Unfortunately no photo of the headlock exists yet, but whenever it's available, we'll have it. By the way, I think NASCAR could use more of this. UFC needs some competition now that EliteXC is headed into the crapper.

Harvick, Edwards try to hug it out, fail [From The Marbles]

All right everyone, it's going to be a potentially rough day out there for some of you. Here's what's going on.

Brian  Westbrook will not be playing today, seeing as he has a few broken ribs. Also joining him on the "will not play" list are Jon Kitna, Deion Branch, and Anquan Boldin. Matt Hasselbeck is likely out as well with back spasms.

Brandon Lloyd is also out for the Bears and Devin Hester will get his second straight start at receiver.

Wide receiver Chris Chambers is also doubtful for the Chargers/Pats game with a twisted ankle. Do not expect him to play.

Carson Palmer will also likely not play for the Bengals today either. Ryan Fitzgerald will get the start and Palmer is designated as the team's third quarterback. I wouldn't suggest picking up Fitzgerald if you're looking for a waiver wire QB, even though he did go to Harvard.

Questionables include Laurence Maroney, Roddy White, Kellen Winslow, and Eddie Royal.

Just so you know, Winslow is still in the hospital right now, so don't count on him. Eddie Royal, meanwhile, reportedly has a bone bruise and will be limited, so probably good to look for other options.

Willis McGahee is expected to play, despite all his injuries, but will likely not get the tough goalline carries that'll get you big time points.

Good luck today everyone.

If I had to grade this Sunday's slate of games based on team records, I think I'd give it about a C. If we're going by team potential, it's probably about a B-. The reason I say that is because some of these games sound pretty sexy, but they really aren't. Like the Baltimore/Indy game. It has the rivalry factor since the Colts left Baltimore, plus it's a finesse team versus a smashmouth team. But let's be honest, neither team is very good...at least right now. But the potential is there.

Another example is Seattle versus Green Bay - the Mike Holmgren Bowl. But it should probably be called the Injury/Suckfest Bowl. Seattle is still in the process of working Engram and Branch back in while Green Bay is a complete mess aside from Aaron Rodgers, who's getting almost no help whatsoever.

Anyway, enough of my complaining. Games worth paying attention to - according to me, because I know everything - include Panthers/Bucs, Jags/Broncos, Bears/Falcons (go Matty Ice!), and definitely Cowboys/Cardinals.

And I'd like to highlight that last one. I'm not saying the Cardinals are going to beat the Cowboys, but I think that could be a very intriguing game. Why? Because Dallas's secondary sucks, that's why. And while Anquan Boldin won't be playing for the Cardinals, we know that won't change what the Cards do, which is throw, throw, throw. There's also plenty of reason to watch this game because there's a high probability that TO will explode on the sideline, literally.

We'll also have a live thread for tonight's Chargers/Pats game, which is yet another example of a game that sounds a lot more awesome than it really is.

Each game page is linked on the schedule below, so feel free to chat it up on the individual game page or right here.

Chicago at Atlanta 1:00 pm FOX Regional
Miami at Houston 1:00 pm CBS - HD (Regional)
Baltimore at Indianapolis 1:00 pm CBS - HD (Regional)
Detroit at Minnesota 1:00 pm FOX Regional
Oakland at New Orleans 1:00 pm CBS - HD (Regional)
Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets 1:00 pm CBS - HD (Regional)
Carolina at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm FOX Regional
St. Louis at Washington 1:00 pm FOX Regional
Jacksonville at Denver 4:05 pm CBS - HD (Regional)
Dallas at Arizona 4:15 pm FOX Regional
Philadelphia at San Francisco 4:15 pm FOX Regional
Green Bay at Seattle 4:15 pm FOX Regional
New England at San Diego 8:15 pm NBC

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, politics and sports just don't mix. Last night, as I'm sure many of you know, Sarah Palin dropped the opening puck in Philadelphia for the Flyers v. Rangers game. And if you're wondering why Palin was dropping the puck in Philly - a place that she has no connections to whatsoever - it's because Flyers owner Ed Snider is a big MCain supporter, not because Palin is "America's most famous hockey mom."

The Times hockey blog said the boos were "resounding" and one paper  said it was "an avalanche."

It's actually a little tough to hear the boos after they initially start on the video because the volume for the arena's music was jacked up to near deafening levels to drown them out (and some have said artificial crowd noise was added as well). A poor attempt to cover up the obvious, just like Snider's even worse attempt to pass off Palin as some kind of person critical to the sport of hockey.

Naturally, a lot of people thought this move was incredibly stupid, including Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.


Indeed. But it's also a good reminder that politicians of any party - Republican, Democrat, Communist, Socialist, Green Party, or Purple Party - shouldn't partake in cheap political ploys at major sporting events.

Let sports continue to be what they are - an escape.

Through rain, sleet, snow or cheap political ploy, Philly fans always deliver [Deuce of Davenport]
Booed on the ice [Politico]