Quick Hits...

Well, not much is going here today except football, and plus it is snowing outside, so I am confident that the return of winter will surely make things interesting for Monday morning. I don’t still don’t have high cable back yet and dial-up is sorely testing my patience. Now that it’s snowing, the likelihood I’ll sneak out will be slim to none.

This week, I am going to work on preview for perhaps selected teams, or for each division, since I also work on a few other blogs – I haven’t decided. I still need to work on my Ballpark article, so I’ll get trucking on those this week.

The Saints dream season is over, but let’s give them applause for all they have done. However, the Bears dominated them, so in the end they are going to Miami. The big game is coming up, and I’m going with the Patriots.

Oriole Article:

The Baltimore Sun’s Tim Plachke has a great article on Cal Ripken.

Around the Blogosphere:

My Baseball Bias has a post comparing Diasuke Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa. The site chooses Matsuzaka.

Read what the Joy of Sox has to say about Bud Selig and the new DirecTV deal, ouch.

Baseball News:

Chase Utley and his deal: According to MLB.com, All-Star second baseman for the Phillies, Chase Utley, agreed to a seven-year, $85 million contract that will keep him in Philadelphia through the 2013 season. The deal will average more than $12 million a season. Great move by the Phillies to lock one of their core players.

John Donovan of CNNsi.com goes over how a few teams including the Orioles were able to upgrade their bullpens. Also, there’s a photo gallery looking at the top 10 bullpen pickups around baseball.

ESPN.com looks at candidates for the commissioner position after Selig leaves in ’09.