Eric Kay

I'm conflicted. Maybe even more so than the people who work upstairs at CBSSports.com HQ.

Woody Paige dropped some MMOD love on Around the Horn. (fast forward to the last 35 seconds or so)

MMOD love is good.

Around the Horn is a bad show.

Woody Paige is really bad.

And he called us CBS SportsLine.com.

So free promotion? Yeah, that's good.

But does this equation work?

Is free promotion w/Boss Button mention > Woody Paige + Around the Horn + slightly wrong name?

Let's ask tipsy Dana Jacobs.

Tipsy Dana Jacobson: "Touchdown Jeebus!"

That doesn't even make sense, Dana.

Let's move on to something better, like the top four blogs I found today.

With our stable of community whipping boys -- Freeman, Doyel, Prisco et al -- it's always refreshing to hear a blogger take some shots at one of our rivals. What Are You Talking About? goes off on CNNSi's delirous duo of Seth Davis (hey, we went to the same high school) and Stewart Mandel (we didn't).

Do you remember the worst trade you ever made in Fantasy baseball? Fantasy Baseball Q & A Blog: does: It involves the guy who drank too much of Mr. Burns' tonic and the guy who went on the DL for punching a water cooler for a HR king with a big dome, a guy with a bloody sock and Mr. New York Yankees. I can't remember mine, but I pulled off a doozy two years ago with editor extraordinaire Buzz Fagan: I sent him Luis Matos for Josh Towers. Oh yeah.

To my surprise, Gus Johnson's vocal chords surviving two rounds IS NOT on Dantheman4250's College Basketball Blog's Top 10 Storylines of the NCAA Tourmanent.

You know Stephen Curry for the 70 points he dropped on Gonzaga and Georgetown (sob). But did you know he's also a good passer? Basketball blog explains.

There are plenty of questions that keep me up night.

Why are Wendy's spicy chicken sandwiches so good?

How excited will I be Sunday night when I attend the opener of Nationals Park?

Why do people like mayo?

And most importantly: How many 5-year-olds could I beat up?

I know what you're thinking.

"Eric, you could probably take 10, maybe a baker's dozen."

I say good day to that notion.

My "moral compass" is way more flexbile than you think.

I'm good for a solid 21 of those little buggers -- and if it weren't for my, uh, lack of reach, I'd probably be able to bulldoze my way through 25 or more.

So in the spirit of continuing to crush office productivity while March Madness takes a breather, check out this site: http://www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com/

There are 162 games in a season. And It's Gonna Happen in 2008 has 162 predictions for the season. I chalk that up to coincidence. I also chalk up calling Dan Haren a bust to being a delusional Cubs fan. However, I do like Ryan Zimmerman's Gold Glove chances.

Upset with CBS' coverage of yesterday's exciting finishes? dook's buzz! is, and I have two suggestions: Fire up the MMOD on a laptop in order to keep the game on no matter what the suits in NYC switch your TV to and/or take Greg Gumbel off your Christmas card list.

I think we can all relate to Tiger Talking at one point. The blog is pissed to high Hades at the Cardinals, who have driven the blogger to such tender remarks as: "Chris Duncan makes me want to walk on the field and slap him so hard his eye bleeds." I feel that way about my Redskins, who seemingly every year operate in a style contrary to all established paths to success.

Our favorite NBA blogger, The Blog to End All Blogs goes off on the NBA age limit. While good natured and provoking, g8trfan_1 pretty much takes down the argument with one main talking point: while they can't outright discriminate, private corporations can set many hiring standards -- such as a reasonable age limit.

Last night's Lost made two-plus seasons of Harold Perrineau screaming Waaaaaalt!!!!, where's my son?! and more Waaaaaaalt!!!! all worth it.

So what to make of the revealing, yet more question-producing half-season finale?

Let's start with what we learned.

We learned The Others frequent "the mainland." And that Tom, aka, Mr. Friendly, aka, Cammi's Husband from Sideways (naked guy who chases Thomas Haden Church and smashes up Paul Giamatti's Saab) is one of The Others allowed such a privilege.

We also learn that Tom likes to indulge -- nice hotels, nice alcoholic beverages, nice man candy. Whoa! Didn't see that last one coming, did we? M.C. Gainey plays a lot of characters in movies you've probably seen, but suave homosexual wasn't one I ever thought I'd see him cast as -- big or small screen. 

Lesson 1: Some special Others can go to the mainland and when they do -- watch out NYC!

We also learn that Michael can't keep a secret. In between screaming Waaaaaaalt!!!!! and asking "where's my son?!" he apparently decided to pass the time on the boat ride from the island to the mainland by playing UNO and telling Walt he killed Libby and Anna Maria. Now Walt won't talk to dad, which makes dad think to himself, "I've made a huge mistake."

So now Walt is on a redemption mission. We've seen this before with Jin most recently and Charley in the past. Is there any doubt this will end with Michael dying? Why else would we know Walt is in good hands with mama Michael? Maybe Walt can go live with Hurley ... they both like comic books.

Lesson 2: The guilt Michael possesses for saving Walt will end up leading to his death. That's why he's on the freighter, right? "I'm here to die," he tells Sayid and Desmond.

We also learn The Island won't let Michael die. He can't run an old Pontiac into a wall. He can't shoot himself. He can't explode himself. He can't star in The Matrix 4: Cruise Control.

I don't think it's that Michael can't die. I think it's that The Island is watching the big guy. They were there watching him run into a wall, and hence got him proper medical care. They were there at the pawn ship, ensuring the gun he'd buy would jam. They were there giving him a bomb that wouldn't blow up Murtaugh's toilet. While this seems improbable, it seems more likely that he can't die because The Others are watching him closely than it does some mystical element from The Island has inhabited his body and given him the ability to defy death. Has he sold his soul? You bet. But soulless people should still be able to die, right? Plus, if there's anything The Island represents it's death (mothers, children, drug dealers, crashing planes, George Minkowski ... the list goes on) not life. Who can Life lay claim to? Well, we have Aaron and maybe Desmond.

Lesson 3: Michael is stuck somewhere between Groundhog Day and The Crow (help me that analogy, please)

We also learn that the war is now Ben + Castaways vs. Widmore's crew. Or do we? I believe it's Claire who says something along the lines of: "So he's now one of us" upon hearing what Miles' crew was sent here to do (kill everyone). But then we learn about The Sanctuary, where Ben wants his daughter, future son-in-law and Rousseau to head to. It's where everybody's hanging out. Convenient he keeps a detailed map in his pocket, huh? Only thing missing from it was the location of Curly's gold. So is Ben with The Others or the Castaways?

I say once an Original Other, always an Original Other. You can't take the O out of the Other. Remember, Ben is a man who gets his way more often than not. Sure, he tells Michael that when Ben goes to war, he no kill women, children or cute Labrador puppies. He only kill bad guy. Ah. That explains gassing a whole community. That explains sacrificing mother after mother in this fertility farm go wrong. That explains setting up his daughter as bait to kill Rousseau and her boyfriend. Oh, I went there.

Ben done did it. He has this problem with women you see. Probably goes back to his raised-by-drunk-janitor-dad-and-blamed-for-mom's-death days. But he killed to get Julia and he'd surely kill to get his daughter back under his, and only his, watchful care. That's assuming she is his daughter. Fill me in, but when did Ben actually do the horizontal mambo with Rousseau?

Lesson 4: Ben is a complicated fella we won't understand for a while

There's more to this episode, lots more. Do you think the captain knows Kevin Johnson is really Michael? Why is Desmond so quiet? Is Ben's daughter dead? Kurt Vonnegut reference? What about Widmore's intentions with the island? Who's not graverobbing in Thailand these days? Why didn't they just blow up the ship, why the "not yet" message?

Thoughts?

Bill James is a smart man. Correction. Bill James is a very smart man.

The mastermind between Baseball Abstract, the 1980s sabermetric guide to baseball and the foundation for Fantasy baseball and Moneyball philosophies has conquered the most important question in college basketball: When is a game over, but not officially over?

You know, like when American University is kicking the snot out of Tennessee Friday with 5 minutes to go. The Eagles are up 10, but is the game over? Of course not. What about if they're up by 10 and have the ball with 2 minutes to go? No. What if they're up by 10 with 45 seconds to go and have the ball? Bingo!

Here's why (the James formula):

-- Take the number of points one team is ahead.
-- Subtract three.
-- Add a half-point if the team that is ahead has the ball, and subtract a half-point if the other team has the ball. (Numbers less than zero become zero.)
Square that.
-- If the result is greater than the number of seconds left in the game, the lead is safe.

So the Eagles' number comes out to 56.25, which is more than the remaining 45 seconds. The lead is safe and the Eagles will always win. Always. Don't trust me, trust Bill James' words from Slate.com:

"Once a lead is safe, it's permanently safe, even if the score tightens up. You're down 17 with three to play; you can make a little run, maybe cut it to 8 with 1:41 to play. The lead, if it was once safe, remains safe. The theory of a safe lead is that to overcome it requires a series of events so impr