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Apparently the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are planning to change their team nickname and team colors. Any change for this dismal franchise would be a good thing.

Seven years in Major League Baseball have thus far proven only futile for this struggling club, which last year was last in league payroll, spending just over $26 million. The Yankees Alex Rodriguez alone makes that in a year.

Last season, the Devil Rays showed some signs of life after the all-star break, but still managed to finish just 67-95. They have yet to win more than 70 games in a season. Their uniforms are a drab green color. So change may very well be in order. But unless management of the team improves and better players are signed, meaning more spending on payroll, the team is destined for the same ugly results.

Devil Rays' catcher Toby Hall would probably appreciate new uniform colors and possibly a new team nickname. But unless there's more substantive change, Hall and his mates are in for more of the same.

Some personal observations from the world of sports over the past few days:

1. I'm glad the Kobe-Shaq fued is finally over. The two kissed (well, not literally) and made up. I was getting tired of hearing about it. Yeah, conflict is more interesting, but that soap opera was getting boring.

2. All but one of the weekend's NFL Divisional Playoff games were marred by questionable, and even downright poor, officiating. It seems to me that the playoffs each year are marred by some gaffe(s) on the part of the refs. The NFL had better start getting very concerned about it. And when a referee spends five minutes (Steelers vs Colts game) staring at a replay and then totally botching the call, the league ought to be very worried.

3. Speaking of bad calls, my main problem with the pass interference call that went against New England was the tardiness of the flag. To me, the referee clearly reacted to the Denver fans' booing and not the play itself. He was influenced by the fans - and again, the NFL should be worried.

4. The Bears defensive playeres complained about not getting repect. Then on Sunday, they showed why they haven't been getting it. Forget the comparisons to the 1985 Bears. This team is comparable to the 2002 Bears that went 13-3 and then were dismantled in their first playoff game, a home game against the Eagles.

5. Because of Tony Dungy's son's death, I'll give him a pass on the poor preparation by the Colts. But they made few if any meaningful in-game adjustments. One does wonder whether Dungy (and Peyton Manning) have what it takes to secure a world championship for the Colts. And one more thing about the Colts - since they beat New England to go 8-0, they were practically anointed as the Super Bowl entrant from the AFC. What happened Sunday shows that champions are decided only on the field.

Things went badly for the Patriots on Saturday. But several controversial calls went their way during their championship run. Things have a way of evening out eventually.

Well, I'm back to my non-winning ways in terms of picking the winners of NFL playoff games, with an 0-2 slate in yesterday's contests. But I'm happy nonetheless, because the teams I was rooting for won.

I'm a road-guy when it comes to football.  I almost always pull for the road team, except when a favorite team of mine is playing at home. There's something about that mentality - us against 60,000-plus people who are cheering for the other guys. And like most Americans, I tend to root for the underdog too, and the team playing away from home usually ends up being the underdog.

The Steelers deserved to win their game against the Colts yesterday. The referee overturn of Troy Polamalu's interception late in the game was the worst overturn call I've ever seen (today the NFL apologized and said the call was incorrect). When a team outplays their opponent for practically the entire game, they deserve to win. The same can be said for the Carolina Panthers, who controlled the game yesterday against the Bears for the most part. Though not as dominant as the Steelers were, they still deserved to win.

Colt's QB Peyton Manning sits dejectedly as the Colts bow to the Steelers 21-18. Manning is 3-6 in playoff games and will have to continue fighting the reputation as a quarterback who doesn't win in big games.

In predicting yesterday's two NFL playoff game results, I went 2-0, making up (somewhat) for my poor 0-4 showing in the Wild Card round last weekend. There are two more games to be played today.

Not only did I pick both outcomes correctly, I  picked the exact final score correctly for one  game and very nearly for the other as well. My Seattle 20, Washington 10 pick was exact, with the Seahawks winning 20-10. Denver beat New England 27-13, just off a bit from my 27-17 predicted outcome.

The Patriots were uncharactaristically sloppy, and one reason that I thought Denver would win is because they always seem to turn their home field advantage into a turnover advantage. Yesterday they won that battle 5-1. New England moved the ball well and actually controlled the game most of the time, but were done in by miscues which included two intereceptions (one returned for 100 yards by Champ Bailey), two fumbles on special teams, another fumble and also a missed FG attempt. A very questionable pass interference penalty also aided the Broncos.

The Seahawks were made to work for every yard they gained by a tough Redskins defense. But their receivers made some clutch plays and their defense got pressure on Redskins QB mark Brunnel without the need to blitz - always a huge advantage for a defense.

Denver's Mike Anderson scored twice as the Broncos, taking advantage of five Patriot turnovers, ended New England's championship reign 27-13.

After a regular-season record of 174-82 picking NFL outcomes, a healthy .679 correct percentage, my prognostication skills took a beating during this past weekend's playoff action. I was 0-4 picking games.

This weekend's divisional playoff games will hopefully be easier to size up, since the home teams which enjoy bye-weeks win 82% of the time. So here are my picks:

AFC: Denver 27, New England 17; Indianapolis 31, Pittsburgh 20  NFC: Seattle 20, Washington 10;  Chicago 13, Carolina 10

The Redskins, Patriots, Panthers, and Steelers, the weekend winners, face daunting odds in the next round of the playoffs if past performance of first-round winners is any indication. Teams that get to rest until the second round win 82% of the time.

Yesterday's game result for the Detroit Lions, a 27-7 loss to the visiting Atlanta Falcons, cemented in my mind the need for the NFL to get the hapless Lions off the Thanksgiving Day schedule.

The tradition of scheduling a Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit dates back 66 years. Admittedly, there have been some stirring games during that long string of years. But most of the time, the Lions are a long way from playoff contention by late November. So even an occasional good game doesn't change the fact that this team is pretty much lights out by Thanksgiving Day.

Yesterday's embarrassment makes two consecutive seasons that a Lions team with virtually no playoff hopes was obliterated before a national TV audience. The Colts carved the Lions up last season 41-9 behind six TD passes by Peyton Manning. While yesterday's performance was not quite as horrendous, it was pitiful, and this team has evidently given up on its head coach Steve Mariucci.

So the time has come to dump this team. For those who want tradition, the NFL can continue scheduling the Dallas Cowboys, the other Thanksgiving Day home team. The Cowboys are almost always in contention for a playoff berth, and this season is no different. Yesterday's 24-21 loss to Denver was a compelling mathup featuring two solid teams - something we seldom see when the Lions play.

Update: The Lions fired coach Mariucci and several assistants on Monday, November 28.

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The Philadelphia Phillies have hired a new General Manager, ending a search that began after the dismissal of Ed Wade. The new GM is Pat Gillick, who brings with him a record of success wherever he's been.

Though the Phillies narrowly missed making the playoffs this year, many in Philadelphia felt it was time for Wade to go. The Phils have failed to make the playoffs 12 straight years, and in 21 of the past 22. While Wade was around only during the past eight seasons, the Phillies still failed to take advantage of an era of open purse strings and the resultant signing of  big-name free agents such as Jim Thome and Billy Wagner.

As a result, the Phillies' home attendance suffered this past season, dropping off by 600,000 despite playing in a new fan-friendly Citizens Bank Park in just its second year. Despite being in playoff contention all season, and in the past three seasons as well, it seemed as though Wade's fate was sealed. Epitomizing that was a photo, included in the team's media guide, of Wade next to a fan with a shirt that read "I'm With Stupid".

Gillick now faces several dilemmas, such as how to increase attendance and what to do with Thome, whose effectiveness has been very limited due to nagging injuries, and Wagner, who is once again a free agent. But he should be fine as long a he stays away from people wearing slogan t-shirts.

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Wellington Mara, owner of the New York Giants NFL team since 1930, died today at age 89. Mara is the last of a generation of men who helped pioneer the NFL and put football on the map as a major sports entity.

Mara became a co-owner at the tender age of 14 in 1930, as his father Timothy passed ownership to him and his brother Jack. A key decision that the brothers Mara made came in the early 1960s, when they agreed to back the revenue sharing concept proposed by commissioner Pete Rozell. It meant sharing revenue from a team in the nation's biggest market with small-market teams such as Green Bay and Pittsburgh, but doing so paved the way for the NFL to prosper and become America's dominant sports league.

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...Okay, now that I have your attention

Actually, there are allegations of a sex party taking place on two chartered boats and involving several players from the Minnesota Vikings football team.

The allegations are still being investigated, but evidently several crew members became offended at the actions of some of the passengers and cut the boat trip short. Allegedly, there were sex toys being used, sex acts being performed, and booze flowing.

Part of me wishes I were invited to this party, but the more sensible side of me wonders why these people decided to do this among mixed company and out in the open, aboard two boats on a Minnesota lake.

The rich and famous do stuff like this all the time, so I'm not shocked or trying to be puritanical about it. But it calls into question the integrity of an entire professional organization, one that's trying to secure public funding for a new stadium.

When I first heard of this alleged incident, I was not surprised in the least that it inolved players from the Vikings. Of all NFL teams, theirs has been the most dysfunctional. One could cite their head coach's scalping of Super Bowl tickets last year, or their drafting of the talented but drug-addicted Ontario Smith, he of "Whizzinator" fame, or their almost comical owner search last year which at first landed Reggie Fowler, who lied on his resume.

The fact is that the Vikings have been pretty much of a joke ever since stoic coach Bud Grant retired and since their move to the drab Metrodome. This team had some character in the 1970s, despite four Super Bowl losses in four tries. But they've lacked character ever since.

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Trying to get my Major League baseball playoff predictions in before the start of today's first series (Padres at Cardinals), here's my picks for the first round:

American League:

Yankees over Angels in 5 games    Red Sox over White Sox in 4 games

National League:

Cardinals over Padres in 4 games    Astros over Braves in 5 games

My Yankees pick is probably the one I have the most doubt about. The Angels are a balanced team with good pitching. But the Yanks have all kinds of lumber in their lineup, while the Angels have not been hitting as well as they'd like.

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