The most wonderful time of the year?

Ah October, the leaves begin to change color, the air changes from humid to crisp, and it is the best sports month of them all.

There are many great times of the year for sports such as early June when the NBA and NHL finals come on every night. Or the end of summer when football is just beginning and golf and tennis are playing their last major. But when it is all said and done, no month is as great for sports fans as October.

The month kicks off with the wrapping of up of the baseball regular seaon, which this year featured a great story of the Twins remarkable comeback. Around the same time the NHL drops the puck for the first time. We are now entering the home stretch of the month, which is no doubt the best time of the month. The NFL season gets to the point where the elite teams assert themselves, and division races begin to get interesting. In college football, the BCS standings first come out and there are multiple great games every weekend. The NHL continues to roll on with teams finding their grooves. The conference championship series in baseball are on every night On top of all this in about a week the NBA regular season will begin which marks the only time all year that all four major sports are going on at the same time. There really is no dull day in the sports world in the month of October so for now, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of the rest of the month.

JG

Houston's Finest Week Six Picks

Overall Record: 50-26

Last Week: 8-6

Houston-Cincinnati: Houston- Houston is coming off of a very poor coached game. Gary Kubiak needs to prove something, and a win against Cincy would be huge for his appeal to the fan base and ownership. This will be a shootout that comes down to the wire. 

Detroit-Green Bay: Green Bay- Green Bay is the far better team here and I look for their offense to over power the Lions in every way. Also this game is in Green Bay, so there is no way they are losing to the Lions. 

St. Louis-Jacksonville: Jacksonville- After being 100% embarrassed last weekend by the Hawks I still think the Jags are going to win. That is how bad the Rams are. The Rams have a serious chance of going 0-16. 

Baltimore-Minnesota: Minnesota- This game being in Minnesota is a huge reason why I'm going with the Vikes in this one. Also though Flacco could have a very rough game going against the tremendous rush of the Vikings and combine that with the crowd noise and that equals disaster for Flacco and the Ravens. 

New York Giants-New Orleans: New York- Eli wants to shine against the team that his dad shined on. The Giants can apply the sort of pressure needed to hinder Drew Brees's game. This one will be a great game though.

Cleveland-Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh- The Browns completed 2 passes last week, and won. That is insane. To bad for the Browns the Steelers are a little better then the Bills...

Carolina-Tampa Bay: Carolina- Tampa Bay along with St. Louis is a real legitimate 0-16 threat. I am just waiting for Josh Freeman to get in there. Carolina is looking to bounce back from their 0-3 start, lucky for them they got to play the Skins and now the Bucs.

Kansas City-Washington: Washington- If this game were in Kansas City I would be picking the Chiefs, but in Washington the fans will not let this team lose. The players and coaches must step up for this game, because if they lose this one at home then heads will be falling in Washington.

Philadelphia-Oakland: Philadelphia- Raiders are just terrible, Jamarcus Russell will not win another game as a quarterback in the NFL.

Arizona-Seattle: Seattle- Seattle just embarrassed a Jaguar team that was on a little bit of a roll, with Hasselback back at QB this team is a good team. Arizona has looked very average so far this season, so the 12th man will carry the Hawks to cruise to victory in this one. 

Tennessee-New England- The Patriots are not losing to a team that has not one a game yet. 

Buffalo-New York Jets: New York- The Bills held the Browns passing attack to a total of 2 completions and 24 yards, that is amazing. What is more amazing is that they lost. 

Chicago-Atlanta: Chicago- This should be a fun one to watch on Sunday Night, two very good quarterbacks and running backs going head to head against one another. I think the Bears D will be able to do enough to win this game, along with a solid performance from Cutler. 

Denver-San Diego: San Diego- I am now more of a believer in the Broncos, but still I could not pick them to win this one. In San Diego I think the Bolts are going to come out strong since they know how big this game is for there division standings later in the year. 

MH

Fantasy Week Six Studs and Duds

Overall Record: 15-15

Last Week: 2-4

Week 5 Studs:

Brandon Jacobs- 21/67- Miss

Jake Delhomme- 16/25 181 yards 1 TD 1 INT- Miss

Chad Ochocinco- 7/94 1 Fumble- Miss

Week 5 Duds: 

Joe Flacco- 22/31 186 Yards 1 TD 2 INT- Hit

Steven Jackson- 21/84 1 Fumble- Hit

Matt Ryan- 22/32 329 Yard 2 TD 1 INT- Miss

Week 6 Studs:

Brian Westbrook RB-PHI: Westbrook is going against Oakland and he has had a avery poor start to the season so far. But with him and McNabb back at full strength I see a big day for both of these guys. Oakland has the second worst run D in the league giving up 161 per game, so that should result well for Westbrook. 

Ryan Grant RB-GB: Although the Lions are not that bad anymore their defense is still pretty damn bad. Grant has struggled his last couple of games but he is due to breakthrough and this is the game to do it. Grant being a receiving threat as well will help his cause in a pass heavy offense. 

Jay Cutler QB-CHI: Cutler after a shaky opening game in the CHI has really turned his game around. Going against Atlanta should help him also, they have only the 22nd ranked pass D in the NFL. Cutler also has some solid receiving options emerging that will help his cause. 

Week 6 Duds:

Matt Cassel QB-KC: As bad as the Skins are they have a great pass D only allowing around 177 yards per game. Cassel is coming of his best game of the season against the Boys but this game will not be as easy for him. He will be constantly pressured and other than Dwayne Bowe does not have much to help his cause.

 

Donald Driver WR-GB: Greg Jennings has officially filed a complaint, he wants the ball more, and I see him getting the ball more. This means Drivers numbers may go down a bit. The

 Pack also will be trying to run the ball more so against the Lions then they normally do. 

Cadillac Williams RB-TB: Even with Cadillac going against the Panthers run D which is 30th in the NFL he is not going to post the numbers fantasy owners want from him. This Panthers Run D is not all that bad at all, they have a great group of Linebackers and Jon Beason has been a great leader early on in his career and he is going to rally this group, and they will smolder the Bucs offense. 

MH

JG's Week 6 Picks

Kansas City (+6) @Washington- The Redskins will become the first team in NFL history to begin the season against six winless teams. Sadly for the Skins they are only 2-3. In those two wins they won by only a combined 5 points. Washington will be able to pull this one off at home, only because the Chiefs are playing horrible football, yet it won't be by six points.

Redskins 12- Chiefs 7

Houston (+5.5) @Cincinnati- The Bengals come off another impressive win as they beat a tough Ravens squad. They have proved that they are a going to be serious players late in the season. That being said, all of their wins have been decided in the last minute. The Bengals win the game but Andre and the boys keep it within reach.

Bengals 27- Texans 24

Cleveland (+14) @Pittsburgh- The Bills Browns game last week honestly looked more like a Pop Warner game than a National Football League game. The Brownies were able to win despite completing only two passes the whole game. The Steelers are an entirely different animal. The Steelers smash the Browns at Heinz Field.

Steelers 27- Browns 10

Baltimore (+3) @Minnesota- In the matchup of the week, expect the Ravens to send a lot of guys at Favre throughout the game. They will load up the box to stop Peterson and concentrate on putting pressure on Brett. If they can get to #4 early, it could be a long day for the Vikings offense. Unfortunately for the Ravens though, Favre has seen every blitz in the book and will be able to dink and dunk right over top of the blitz.

Vikings 28- Ravens 24

St Louis (+9.5) @Jacksonville- The Rams may be the worst team of all time. Enough said.

Jaguars 31- Rams 20

New York Giants (+3) @New Orleans- This fantastic game features the Giants #2 ranked offense and the Saints #3 ranked O. With the offenses pretty evenly matched thus far, this game will come down to the fact that the Giants D has been lights out and have the #1 ranking in the league.

Giants 24- Saints 21

Carolina (-3) @Tampa Bay- Last year this game late in the year went a long way in determining the NFC South. This year though, it may go a long way in determining the number one draft pick. The two teams combine for only one win. The Panthers win and cover in a very ugly game in Tampa.

Panthers 20- Buccaneers 14

Detroit (+14) @Green Bay- The Packers are clearly the superior team in this matchup. 14 points is far too many though for a Lions team that has played well the last few weeks.

Packers 34- Lions 21

Philadelphia (-14.5) @Oakland- 14 points may be too many for the Lions, but 14.5 is not nearly enough for the Raiders. Jamarcus Russell misses open receivers like Gary Anderson misses conference championship clinching field goals.

Eagles 41- Raiders 13

Arizona (+3) @Seattle- The Seahawks are starting to return to their form of being the NFC West champions. Matt Hasselbeck's squad has always played well in front of the 12th man at Quest Field. Seattle makes it clear that the NFC West will be decided between them and the 49ers.

Seahawks 28- Cardinals 24

Buffalo (+9.5) @New York Jets- The Bills are disgracing the great city of Buffalo right now. Bills fans have purchased a billboard that asks for Coach Dick Jaurons firing. The Jets have been struggling as well the last couple of weeks. They are coming off a short week and the Bills will play just well enough to cover.

Jets 17- Bills 10

Tennessee (+9.5) @New England- Kerry Collins may be on his way out of the starting role in Nashville. I would not be surprised if after this week Coach Fisher hands over the keys to Vince Young. This is only of course if they lose to New England. Right now that seems like a sure thing.

Patriots 27- Titans 17

Chicago (+3.5) @Atlanta- The Georgia Dome will be rockin for its first prime time game in a while. The Falcons looked great last week going across the country to beat down Singletary's team. The Dirty Birds will keep it rolling against the Bears.

Atlanta 24- Chicago 20

Why Wizard Fans Should Be Optimistic

Being a season ticket holder and huge fan of the Washington Wizards might mean that I am automatically optimistic for the team this year, but let me assure you, there are reasons behind the optimism. 

0. Agent Zero- HES BAAAAAACK, The East Coast Assassin is back and healthy for the first time in a long, long time. He has averaged around 25, 29, and 28 points in his last three fully healthy seasons. Although he may not be a great team leader he is a great competitor and wants to win every game, and the dude can shoot. Prepare for Gilby to take many quality shots because his swag is phenomenal. 

1. Flip Saunders- Flip Flip Flip Game Over, no more fun and games with this team. Flip has the seventh best winning percentage of all active coaches (.597), and he was great in Detroit posting the highest winning percentage by any coach in team history (.715). Saunders does not mess around with a constant rotation of players either, which was one of Eddie Jordan and the joke of a coach Ed Tapscott's biggest flaws. Saunders has said that he likes to use an eight to nine man rotation, and he has a great squad of guys to do just that. Flip is also known as an offensive minded coach yet with the Pistons he had two teams rank in the top three for defense. The Wizards need to learn how to play defense so Flip is just the guy we need to teach them.

2. New Personnel (No more Songaila)- Anyone who does not like the trade made by the Wizards this offseason is crazy. The number 5 pick could turn up to be a good player but who knows, and Ricky Rubio who was taken #5 wont be seeing the NBA any time soon. Mike Miller is a veteran sharp shooter that we were in desperate need for, Deshawn being our best "shooter" was just plain sad, luckily that is no more. Randy Foye though is a much more intriguing player down for now and down the road. Foye is coming in to his fourth NBA season and has averaged 10+ points in all three of his previous seasons, averaging 16.3 last year. He can play both guard spots and can score from the perimeter or in the lane. 

Fabricio Oberto is also a good addition to help on the defensive side of the ball, plus he is a winner and this team was in desperate need of some of those. Also along with Arenas, Brendan Haywood being back in the lineup will be a huge boost to this team, he had a career year two years ago but missed the majority of last year. With these new additions via trade, free agency, and health the Wizards have one of the deepest rosters they have ever had. 

3. Progress of the Young Guns- Nick Young, JaVale McGee, and Andray Blatche have all gotten another year of experience. These three guys all have tremendous upside and it is going to really show this year. Nick is entering his third year, the same year that RIP averaged 20 points for the Wizards (Unfortunately Michael Jordan had to kill our organization) but I see Nick following in these footsteps, he is a born scorer and that is what he will do for us. McGee has been very solid thus far in the preseason scoring more then 10 points in 3 of the 5 games. He is a physical freak who has amazing athletic ability even at 7 feet. Then there is Andray Blatche, the mystery man. He is going in to his 5th season but is still very young, coming from high school. Blatche has gone nuts some games dropping over 20 but then will follow it up with games under 5 points. He has said he is starting new this year and switched his number to 7, lets hope it brings a more consitent Dray. These three guys could make or break the Wiz Kids season this year, they may not start or get a huge amount of PT due to the depth of the team, but they will be called on in pressure situations, I think they trio is ready to take on the pressure.   

4. Depth, Depth and More Depth- This team has never seen so much talent, never. With the Big Three back and healthy this team has three stars. Caron and Twan are great leaders who did not deserve the year they had to endure last season, luckily for them they wont have to. The Big Three is great, but I'm even more impressed with the supporting squad. Mike Miller and Randy Foye are both capable of starting at a few positions and it is highly likely one of them will be coming of the bench. Haywood could be the weak link in the starting rotation but he is certainly the anchor of the defense which is something this team desperately needed last year. Then you have the young trio of Nick, JaVale and Andray, all three of these guys are highly capable of coming of the bench and posting big numbers. Then there are the three other spots on the roster, I assume they will be Deshawn, Fabricio and Dominic McGuire. Each of those three players have a specialty essential to every team. Deshawn can shoot...well sometimes, Oberto can help lock down the lane, and Nic provides the type of energy that can change a game, even if he is only in for a minute. Looking at the roster of this team it is hard not to get excited, this team has the talent to make a run in May and possibly June.  

Projected Rotation:

G-Gilbert Arenas

G-Randy Foye

C-Brendan Haywood

F-Antawn Jamison

F-Caron Butler

6th-Mike Miller

Sub-Andray Blatche

Sub-Nick Young

Sub-JaVale McGee

Sub-Deshawn Stevenson 

If this article does not get you excited for the upcoming Washington Wizards season then I don't know what will. The only bad thing is that I am going to have to wait till the third game of the season to see the Wizards at Verizon. 

MH

Fantasy Week Five Studs and Duds

Overall Record: 13-11

Last Week: 4-2

Week 4 Studs:

Kevin Walter- 1/41-Miss

Aaron Rodgers- 26/37 384 yards 2 TD 1 INT 1 Fumble- Hit

Matt Forte- 12/121 1 TD 2 rec 19 yards- Hit

Week 4 Duds: 

Brett Favre-24/31 271 3 TD- Miss

John Carlson- 5/39- Hit

Maurice Jones-Drew-6/14 1 TD 3 rec 26 yards- Hit

Week 5 Studs:

Brandon Jacobs RB-NYG: Jacobs is going up against the Raiders, and their Run D has not been great. Plus if the Giants do what the Texans did last week (Get up big early then run) it will be a very big day for Brandon.

Jake Delhhome QB-CAR: The Panth

ers MUST win this game against the Skins, and to do so they are going to need solid play from 17. Jake is going to do more then play solid in this game, after a very shaky start to the season he starts to pick it up here. 

Chad Ochocinco WR-CIN: Ochocinco says that he sees holes in the Ravens secondary, and when Chad sees holes he gets catches. I have the Bengals winning this one, and the only way the get the dub is if Chad shines. 

Week 5 Duds:

Steven Jackson RB-STL: Jackson is going against a deadly Vikings D. If he does not get off to a huge start before the Vikes go up 30 then he will not be getting much action. The Rams really need to show something eventually, but this game is not going to be the one. 

Joe Flacco QB-BAL: Flacco has proven me wrong so far this season, he is a very good NFL quarterback not just a game manager. Cincys D is underrated though and they are going to be playing inspired ball after their D coordinator's, Mike Zimmer, wife passed away. 

Matt Ryan QB-ATL: Matty Ice is going to be pressured all day by the 49er defense. The 49er defense has been very very good so far this season and Atlanta could have a hard time going against it. Michael Burner Turner is going to need to have a big game for his side. 

MH

JG's Week 5 Picks

Washington (+4) @Carolina- Although the Panthers are 0-3 and the Skins are .500, the Redskins have looked horrible. Their two wins are by a combined five points over winless teams. The Panthers win this one with ease coming off of a bye.

Panters 24- Redskins 16

Dallsas (-7.5) @Kansas City-The Cowboys laid an egg last week vs. the Broncos. This week, the only egg laid is a golden one, as America's team lays one on the Chiefs.

Cowboys 31- Chiefs 14

Raiders (+15.5) @New York Giants- Eli Manning is a question mark with foot issues and 15.5 is a whole lot of points. The Giants win this one but fail to cover.

Giants 24- Raiders 10

Pittsburgh (-10.5) @Detroit- The Men of Steel dodged a late chargers comeback to get back on track. Matt Stafford cannot go, meaning that DAUNTE CULPEPPER gets the start. Sadly for the Lions Daunte does not get the roll going today. Pittsburgh dominates Detroit and caps off a tough week for a city that saw their baseball team blow a 3 game lead with 4 to play.

Steelers 27- Lions 14

Cleveland (+6) @Buffalo- Buffalo looked helpless against a subpar Dolphins team. That being said, the Browns are a serious mess right now and look like the worst team in the National Football League

Bills 20- Browns 13

Minnesota (-10) @St Louis- Last year, this game would have looked like a sure let down for the Vikings coming off of an emotional Monday night victory. With #4 at the helm though, he will keep the guys focused and in great shape for a blowout win over the Rams. It will also be his first victory in his 40s.

Vikings 23- Rams 10

Tampa Bay (+15.5) @Philadelphia- 15.5 points may seem like a lot, but after watching an entire game of the Tampa Bay Bucs, it does not seem like nearly enough. Their Josh Johnson lead offense could only muster 13 points against a mediocre Redskins D, when the Skins offense turned it over 4 times. The Iggles take care of business.

Eagles 34- Buccaneers 14

Atlanta (+2.5) @San Francisco- The 49ers sixth ranked defense will try to stop Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, and crew. Mike Singletary has his team playing tough, but I believe today the Falcons will have success going vertical on San Francisco's secondary. Take the Falcons in the straight up win.

Falcons 28- 49ers 27

New England (-3) @Denver- This is a classic matchup of pupil vs teacher. The Broncos may be 4-0, but the 3-1 Pats are the far supperior team. Bill Belichick shows Josh McDaniels exactly how to run a football team.

Patriots 24- Broncos 20

Jacksonville (+1.5) @Seattle- Jacksonville makes about the longest possible road trip a team can make. The Hawks get their team leader and quarterback back to win a close one but still cover in the Emerald City.

Seahawks 27- Jaguars 24

Houston (+5.5) @Arizona- This is going to be an absolute barn burner. Two stud offenses take on two sub par defenses. Matt Schaub and Kurt Warner both have great days. In a high scoring affair the Cardinals take it.

Cardinals 38- Texans 31

Indinapolis (-4) @Tennessee- Each week I have said that this would be the one the Titans finally turn it around. Sadly for old man Collins and the Titans, this will not be the week. Peyton gets the job done on NBC.

Colts 24- Titans 17

In Week 5 I see a lot of favorites covering...part of me wants to see some dogs for a gret day of football.