AAA Championships

The El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) won the Pacific Coast League title against the Oklahoma City Dodgers last week, thus sending them to a one game, winner take all contest in Memphis against Scranton/Wilkes Barre (Yankees) on Tuesday. Turns out that it was a pitching duel. Walker Lockett yielded three runs in the first inning to the Railriders but held the team scoreless the rest of the way. The Chihuahuas could not muster any offense and only scored once in a 3-1 defeat. It was sad to see them lose, but exciting to see them make it all the way to the title game.

The big-league club is still struggling, but hey they are fun to watch. With just about a week left in the regular season, we ought to just sit back and watch the prospects that we have been heralding the past few weeks do their stuff. Meanwhile, A.J,. Preller began his suspension before the homestand began against the Diamondbacks. I'm not so sure that I feel the way I felt last week anymore. Sure, he deserved to be suspended because he did something wrong, but Andy Green defends him, saying that the Padres were in a transition phase back in spring training where certain things fell through the cracks. Who knew it would come back to bite us. Feel free to read that article and comment on your thoughts. It is my opinion that it would be unfair to judge A.J. Preller and thus not make a trade with him. He can be trusted. It's not like he's some thief trying to take advantage of every general manager in the league. He just neglected one small detail. I look forward to his return next month and know he will do all he can to fix this issue.

In college football, it's time for some upsets. North Dakota State, an FCS team, defeated Big 10 powerhouse Iowa on Saturday. North Dakota State is no small task, might I add. They have won five straight FCS national titles and defeated 7 FBS opponents since 2007, the largest of which came in Iowa City. Former North Dakota State QB Carson Wentz was selected second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles and has started his career 3-0 in the NFL, so it looks like there is some skill there in Fargo. Look out for the Bison. Here are your games for the week:

- #12 Georgia at #23 Ole Miss, Noon ET, ESPN
- #11 Wisconsin at #8 Michigan State, Noon ET, Big 10 Network
- #19 Florida at #14 Tennessee, 3:30 ET, CBS
- #18 LSU at Auburn, 6 ET, ESPN
- Oklahoma State at #16 Baylor, 7:30 ET, FOX
- #7 Stanford at UCLA, 8 ET, ABC
- #17 Arkansas at #10 Texas A&M, 9 ET, ESPN