Doctor #11 Coming Soon

There's been a ton of speculation as to who would replace David Tennant as the Doctor on Doctor Who, almost as soon as Tennant took the role a few years ago. Now all the speculation as to when Tennant will actually leave the series can come to an end, as he himself has confirmed that the 2009 specials will be his last as the Doctor.

Rumors have been going strong over the past few weeks as to who will be Doctor #11, including Paterson Joseph, who would become the first black doctor. Fans are mixed as to who should be the replacement, but the same thing happened when each actor left the series.

I for one will be sad to see Tennant's tenure end. I didn't grow up watching Doctor Who but came to love the new series (and have since gone back and checked out the classics). As a lot of fans have said about the first doctor they watched, Tennant is my doctor. He has become a fan favorite, dispite a small bit of concern from the fan base when he took over for Christopher Eccleston.

It all depends on who you got into the series watching, and for me, it was Tennant. I can't wait for the 2009 specials to see how he finishes his time as the Doctor. He is a life-long fan of the show, so he will definitely go out in style.

So who do you think will be the next Doctor?

Hornets win season opener 108-103

The Hornets didn't play their "A" game, but they still did enough to get the opening night win over Golden State. Chris Paul continued to show why he's one, if not the, top point guards in the league with 21 points and 11 assists. David West added 24 points and Tyson Chandler was a force under the basket grabbing 16 rebounds and scoring 13.

The Hornets biggest offseason acquisition James Posey fit in nicely, playing 28 minutes (eight more than starter Mo Peterson, so this is something to watch) and finishing with 11 points leading the team with three made 3-pointers.

Coach Byron Scott should be pleased with his team pulling out the victory in a tough arena on the road. The Hornets will now travel to Phoenix to play the Suns in their home opener. The Hornets will finally get to play their opener at home on Saturday against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Hack a Shaq

Some call the San Antonio Spurs one of the more bland teams in the league. Sure they win every year, but there's not much flair surrounding them. But their coach Greg Popovich showed that he does have a sense of humor:

Saints try to improve kicking game ... again

Olindo Mare, Martin Gramatica and now Taylor Mehlhaff. This is the list of players who have kicked, and kicked poorly, for the New Orleans Saints since the "hindsight is 20/20" silly move to cut John Carney two seasons ago.

After the rookie Mehlhaff missed an extra point in London, the Saints let him go and held open tryouts this week. Their conclusion is to go with another rookie kicker, Garrett Hartley of Oklahoma. Hartley will get an extended tryout this week, since the Saints are on a bye. The rookie was signed by Denver after the draft but was released before training camp. In his senior season at OU, he made 13 of 15 FG and 71 of 74 extra points.

The Saints have also gone through punters this year. After the Carolina game, the team waived Steve Weatherford and signed Ben Graham. This week, Graham was cut and Glenn Pakulak was brought in. Pakulak has never played in a regular season game, but had been with six teams throughout his NFL career. He also played in NFL Europe for the Amsterdam Admirals.

LSU's Bowl Projections

LSU's defense. It's the quarterback. It's the scheme. The wrong players are starting. Two defensive coordinators. Every Tiger fan has an opinion as to why LSU is sitting at 5-2 right now. After another blow out loss, this time at home, Tiger fans need to take a deep breath and realize where we are.

LSU is still the two-time BCS champion. No other school can say that right now. We are starging a red-shirt freshman quarterback who, while improving, still stares down receivers and throws interceptions. We've played two of our three biggest opponents already and Alabama is looming. There are some issues on defense, but its not the end of the world. There's still an opportunity to have a great season, and a win over Alabama would make it a great season. The SEC Championship might be hard to come by this year, but there will still be a good bowl game awaiting the Tigers at the end of the year.

Here's where LSU is projected to play in January:

ESPN's Mark Schlabach:
AT&T Cotton Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma State

ESPN's Bruce Feldman:
Capital One Bowl: LSU vs. Minnesota

CBS Sportsline:
Outback Bowl: LSU vs. Minnesota

NBC Sports:
AT&T Cotton Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma State

Scout.com:
AT&T Cotton Bowl: LSU vs. Missouri

Sporting News:
AT&T Cotton Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma

Saints vs. Chargers in London

The Saints take on the San Diego Chargers this weekend in London. It will be a home game for New Orleans and the stadium will be decked out with Black and Gold to make the Saints feel at "home."

This is an important game for both teams. The loser will go into their bye week at 3-5 and will basically be out of playoff contention. Both of these teams had playoff and Superbowl dreams before the season, so sitting at 3-4 right now was not the plan.

Earlier this week, the Saints trip to London was tainted with reports that Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant had violated the league's steroid policy. I'm not sure what to think of these reports and the fact that the players were taking water pills and not steroids.

These three players are leaders on the team and fan favorites, so its unfortunate for them to be involved in something like this. But ultimately, they are responsible for themselves and it looks like they made a major mistake that will cost them 4 games. All three will play this week, as will rookie Sedrick Ellis who is returning from a knee injury. Reggie Bush is out after having knee surgery, but the Saints offense did well without Bush last year and shouldn't miss a beat with him out now. As long as Drew Brees is able to spread the ball around, the Saints offense will be fine.

Prediction:
Chargers 23
Saints 28