I predict these players to be the top ten rookies at the end of the 2008-2009 season, based on overall statistics and player impact on team’s record since their arrival.

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1.) Derrick Rose

Chicago Bulls Point – G

Age: 20

Height: 6-3

Weight: 190

College: Memphis

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2.) Marc Gasol

Memphis Grizzles – C

Age: 23

Height: 7-1

Weight: 265

League: ACB Spain

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3.) Michael Beasley

Miami Heat – SF

Age: 19

Height: 6-10

Weight: 245

College: Kansas State

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4.) Kevin Love

Minnesota Timberwolves – F

Age: 20

Height: 6-10

Weight: 260

College: UCLA

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5.) O.J. Mayo

Memphis Grizzlies – SG

Age: 20

Height: 6-4

Weight: 210

College: USC

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6.) Greg Oden

Portland Trailblazers – C

Age: 20

Height: 7-0

Weight: 285

College: Ohio State

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7). Rudy Fernandez

Portland Trailblazers – SG

Age: 23

Height: 6-6

Weight: 185

League: ACB Spain

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8.) Mario Chalmers

Miami Heat – PG

Age: 22

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

College: Kansas

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9.) Russell Westbrook

Oklahoma City Thunder – PG

Age: 19

Height: 6-3

Weight: 187

College: UCLA

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10.) Jason Thompson

Sacramento Kings – PF

Age: 22

Height: 6-11

Weight: 250

College: Rider

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What are your thoughts?

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In an Entertainment Weekly poll, people were asked which particular word is said in the chorus of the Pussycat Dolls single When I Grow Up. The line goes “I wanna have ________.”

-66% said “boobies”-

Are you kidding me? (Actual word is “groupies”) I mean, I have filled in my own share of mistaken lyrics with words from my subconscious mind, but “boobies”, are we in fifth grade? Or maybe there’s some 66% of people out there with a bigger issue on their subconscious minds?

What are your thoughts?

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“swagga like Rose …………………………………………..swagga swagga like Rose”

Rose dazzles in Dallas during his breakout performance with 30pts/7ast off the bench against the Mavericks.  One thing has become clear this preseason for the Bulls, and that is Derrick Rose can get to the basket at will. (whenever he wants)  I thought his size may hinder him in the paint, but his acceleration and hang-time make him a serious threat.

Before this game, Rose had been consistent, yet reserved. His focus was on running an offense and trying to support other Bulls.  After the Bulls had faced a 23 point deficit in the 1st half, Rose’s approach was forced to change.  He can do what no other Bulls can do on a consistent basis, Drive to the basket.  Rose was 13-18 scoring the go-ahead basket with 41.5 seconds left on the clock.  Proving he can be the clutch performer Bulls fans want at the end of tight game.

Rose has brought some much needed swagga back to Chicago.

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Clinton Portis had another great game, but fails to make the list of Sunday Studs.  Reason being, the Redskins lost the game and here at Surge that factors in heavily.  Sunday Studs are based on a very scientific rating system where I pick whoever I feel like picking because they had a good week.  I was also playing against Portis in my fantasy league this week so maybe I’m just pissed that he had another game.  I’ve been known to bump guys on or off the list based on how they effected my fantasy week…so Portis is off the list.  Besides, it was the week of the passing game.

Here’s the rundown…

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans (10 receptions, 178 yards, 1 TD)

Note to the Texans, good things happen when you get the ball in his hands.  Apparently they got that message.  Johnson has posted back to back solid weeks and his good fortune should continue next week as they play the Lions.

Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons (22-30, 301 yards, 1 TD)

Add me to the list of people that think he’s going to be a legit NFL quarterback.  I was a doubter when they drafted hiim, but his throw to Michael Jenkins that set up the game winning field goal was a thing of beauty.  He beat up my Bears this week, but that was a lot easier to do with Tillman, Vasher, and Manning beat up.  Almost makes me forget about their last quarterback, almost…

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints (26-30, 320 yards, 3 TD’s)

Oakland looked severely overmatched in this one.  When they flashed the graphic comparing Drew’s stats to Jamarcus Russell I almost wished they hadn’t, were they trying to get Jamarcus headed down the path to Vince Young syndrome?

Reggie Wayne, WR, Indianopolis Colts (8 receptions, 118 yards, 1 TD)

Wayne topped 100 yards receiving for the first time this season as the Colts finally got their passing game clicking.  Wayne will easily break 1,000 yards on the season and will reach paydirt a minimum of 9 times.

Philip Rivers, QB, San Diegeo Chargers, (18-27, 306 yards, 3 TD’s)

Must win game to get them back to .500 and Rivers delivered mightily.  Very strong performance.  I know this is a bit of a “rivalry” given their playoff history, but this game without Tom Brady was barely worth watching.  I’ll openly admit that I miss Tom Brady this NFL season, because I don’t have a team to hate.

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Apparently soccer players in African swim in croc infested waters (With Leather)

Reggie managed two punt return TD’s, but the game was really lost on this play (ProFootballTalk)

Not everyone is a fan of Michael Phelps (Best Week Ever)

Any excuse to get a little Hayden into your life is worth mentioning (Tasty Booze)

My Recent Stumbles

How to be annoying online, #1 is my favorite (Chiprowe)

This came out years ago, but I was surprised to find it was still very entertaining (Numanuma)

Great site for people who get pissed off when people park like idiots (I Park Like an Idiot)

A little insight into the world of elephants (Ricky Gervais)

Courses for men and women, one of these made me laugh out loud (James S. Huggins’ Refrigerator Door)

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Kyle Orton - QB - Chicago Bears

How far he’s come.  Orton completed 24-34 passes for 334 yards, 2 TD’s, and a QB rating of 121.4.  Guys who are playing the woeful Lions usually get a downgrade on their performance, but when Kyle Orton throws for 334 yards against anybody he has to be in there with the Sunday Studs.  The Bears offense looks, dare I say, good?  Although his performance Sunday was pretty, I made sure to include this picture to remind you that his physical appearance is anything but…contrary to whatever Lindsay Lohan tells you.

Clinton Portis

Portis graces the Sunday Studs list for the 2nd week in a row after another week of solid numbers (29 carries, 145 yards, TD).  More importantly, the Redskins won against an NFC East opponent for the 2nd week in a row.  The last 5 weeks Portis has put up great yardage (84, 96, 68, 121, 145) and is no doubt the main reason behind the ‘Skins success.  He’s also very entertaining.

Brandon Jacobs

In one of the less entertaining games of the week, Jacobs ran wild on the Seahawks D for a YPC of 9.1 (15 carries, 136 yards, 2 TD’s) as the Giants cruised 44-6.  Expect the Giants to maintain the #1 spot in the Power Rankings tomorrow night.

Reggie Wayne

His stats won’t get you overly excited (7 catches, 97 Yards, TD), but his game winning catch in the Colts comeback victory over the Texans is worth watching at least 5 times…ok, 6.

Deangelo Williams

It pains me to have him on this list, because I just dropped him in my fantasy league.  Of course he rewards me by scoring 2 TD’s on the ground, and 1 through the air.  I don’t see a scenario for him to make this list for the rest of the season, so I figured I’d give him deserved props in Week 5.

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He may be anti-clutch when it comes to buzzer beaters but at least his defense is sub-par. And even though he may be vertically challenged he makes up for it with unreliable ball handling skills and multiple turnovers.  Okay, okay… but he did lead the Bulls in scoring last year with an astonishing 18.8 ppg.

Thank you Bulls for not signing him to a big money multiple year contract because maybe, just maybe he will have a high scoring year thanks to Derrick Rose.  And if he does have high scoring year, Gordon’s trade value will increase and of course Paxton  will probably want to keep him instead of trading him and that would be a mistake. Gordon belongs to a veteran championship caliber team who needs a high scoring sixth or seventh man. He would flourish on a team like that but not in Chicago.  Ben Gordon is a crutch for the Bulls and feeds into their inconsistency in scoring and defense. If you take ball out of Gordon’s hands it will force players like Deng, Sefolosha, Thomas, and Rose to step up in scoring and minutes.

Keep the crutch of anti-clutch one more season and hope he plays well enough to trade him for something worth while.

What do you think?

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Latrell Sprewell held out for more money because he had to feed his family — and this is probably the most plausible reason that Henry was selling drugs.  He does, after all, have 9 different children from 9 different mothers.  Henry had to borrow money from the Titans to pay his child support and was threatened with jail time.  Keep in mind, this is BEFORE he signed the $22.5 million dollar deal with the Broncos.

Let’s just say that he did need the money to feed his 9 children.  We’ll use the guaranteed $12 million as an example.  McDonald’s is trying hard to make you believe in the value of a dollar these days, so we’ll use double cheeseburgers as an example.  With $12 million dollars, you could have one double cheeseburger a day for 32,876 years.  So, in theory, he should have enough money to feed his family.

This is just another example of a pro athlete doing something incredibly stupid.  It’s not even the first time that a pro football player has been charged with selling cocaine - remember Jamal Lewis back in 2000?

The sad thing is, selling drugs is one of the less frequented dumb things that athletes do.  Pot possession, or alcohol related charges, or any of things the Cincinnati Bengals roster has done are far more common.

The average length of an NFL career is 3.5 years.  Let’s assume a player has a good career, let’s say they play for 10 years.  That’s ten years of gamechecks and endorsements.  That’s 10 years to not smoke pot, sell drugs, run around with an unregistered handgun, or drive around town after drinking a fifth of Grey Goose.  Is that really so much for the NFL to ask players?  Get a cab when you’re drunk.  Don’t ride in a vehicle that has weed in it, that way the cops won’t mistaken your “friends” weed for yours when you get pulled over.

Even Ricky Williams is realizing how much he has to lose.  Maybe the NFL should require meditation classes so when their players have the urge to smoke pot when they have 3 days off, they’ll be able to resist that urge.  Something to consider.

Other News from the World of Sports

• Lee Evans signed a $37.25 million dollar extension with the Bills
• The Cubs are getting ready for another 100 years
• Ocho Cinco wants to kiss the Dallas star.  Chad, that would require scoring a touchdown.

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Released to DVD on August 28, 2008 season two of Heroes continues four months after where the first season had left off. Memory loss, sins of the parents, and viral epidemic, are just a few words to describe what takes palace during the 11 episode stint.. I mean season (YouTube - Writer Strike). Unfortunately what starts out to be a captivating series of plots/subplots becomes awkwardly condensed without the appropriate time for the season to develop it‘s potential depth.