SI Sportsman of the Year

Congratulations Drew Brees!

Doctor Who Christmas Special Trailer

Series 5 of the "new" Doctor Who, featuring the 11th Doctor Matt Smith and show runner Steven Moffat, upped the ante on everything the new series was under Russell T. Davies. Smith was great as the Doctor and followed fan favorite David Tennant brilliantly. The show gained momentum throughout the season and ended with an exciting finale. So what's next for Who fans? The Christmas special, of course:

LSU Bowl Projections

LSU football season is winding down and man, what a wild ride it has been. We've gone from middle of the rankings to let's fire Les Miles to our QBs stinking up Tiger Stadium to an win over Alabama and Miles eating grass to being the #5 team in the BCS rankings. You got all that?

So what does LSU's #5 ranking and 9-1 record get them? Well, it gives them a very, very, very outside shot at the BCS title game, but a good shot at a BCS Bowl. If not one of the big games, LSU will still be playing in one of the better SEC bowl tie-ins.

Here's a look at where a few sites are projecting the Tigers to play in the postseason:

• Sports Illustrated: Sugar Bowl vs. Ohio State
• CBS Sports: Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
  
• College Football News: Outback Bowl vs. Iowa
• NBC Sports: Orange Bowl vs. Virginian Tech
• ESPN's Mark Schlabach: Outback Bowl vs. Iowa
• ESPN's Andrea Adelson: Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma State

Braves Strike First

With MLB's offseason just getting underway, the Braves made the first big move by acquiring All Star Dan Uggla from the Florida Marlins for All Star utility player Omar Infante and pitcher Mike Dunn.

Infante was fun to watch last year, but Uggla is a major improvement in the power area. By the end of last year, most of the Braves big bats were injured, and with Chipper Jones nearing retirement, they needed to bring in someone who could help Jason Hayward in the power/RBI department. Uggla should help in those areas, but his acquisition also means Martin Prado won't be manning second base next year. Prado is set to move to the outfield, or fill in for Chipper if he is slow to return from his knee injury or if Chipper decides to hang up his cleats.

Needless to say, the Braves roster will look a lot different than the one they fielded in the postseason, including the coaching staff.

Pierre Thomas' Days with Saints Numbered?

What is up with the Saints and Pierre Thomas? There is obviously more than meets the eye with this story.

A week or so ago, Jay Glazer talked about how Thomas was in Coach Payton's doghouse and could be inactive, even when he comes back from his injury. Coach Payton then had to address the issue, but never really said anything. He said that everyone is frustrated at the amount of time the injury is taking to heal and both sides said that they are on the same page.

Thomas has a high ankle sprain and the injury keeps lingering. The Saints are tight with injury news and when this first occurred it seemed it wouldn't take long to heal, but that could just be the Saints way of downplaying injuries.

But now the frustration has reached a new level and a new report says Thomas was almost traded to the Patriots for a corner back. So what does this mean in the short- and long-run? Thomas may come back after the Saints bye week, which means he'd return against Seattle on Nov. 21. That's also the target date for Reggie Bush's return. Thomas is a valuable member of the Saints, but he's not irreplaceable. I think the team really likes Chris Ivory and I could envision them with a Ivory/Bush RB tandem next year.

Thomas has been trying to get a long-term contact, paying starting RB money, but he's a platoon guy in NOLA. The Saints aren't going to break the bank on him and he needed a huge year to get the deal he wanted. Now, he's missed most of the season and his replacement may already be in place.

With all these reports on Thomas being on the outs and almost being traded, his days as a Saint are likely numbered. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Hornets Improved to 3-0

Perhaps the biggest early surprise of the NBA season are the Hornets. They are now 4-0, give all-out effort and are fun to watch. I like the new pieces they've added, especially Marco Belilleni. The Hornets may have finally found a legitimate two-guard to start opposite Chris Paul. Hopefully, the team keeps it up and CP3 sees that he can win in New Orleans.