The Pulse: Tigers or Cardinals?

Which manager's hunches would you trust more?
63% Jim Leyland
37% Tony La Russa

What impact will a week off have on Detroit?
42% Positive
33% Won't help or hurt
25% Negative

Should the Tigers pitch to Albert Pujols with runners in scoring position and first base empty?
57% No
43% Yes

Which veteran would you rather see win a title?
51%Jim Edmonds
49% Ivan Rodriguez

Cast your vote on the World Series!

If the Cards don't step up at the plate the series will be over real fast. Tigers in 5.
Dave (Madison)

Good pitching beats good hitting. The Tigers sweep.
Bill (CT)

The Tigers are going to win it in four games and they are going to bring in a revolution of 'Flyover State Bias'.
Tim (NYC)

Cards vs. Tigers = Worst World Series in history.
Jason (Indiana)

Tigers in 6. And me watching maybe three hours total of the series.
Jonathan (Buffalo)

Easy on the Tiger superlatives. It would be a mild upset at most if the Cards win.
Jack (Toronto)

So, how motivated are the Tigers right now, considering the time off. The Cards are a bit banged up, and the Tigers are healed up. If the Cards injuries are too big, this is going to be way too short.
Rich B. (Nashville)

Everyone seems to think the Tigers are going to just roll over the Cards, which leads me to believe the Tigers are not going to just roll over the Cards.
Matt (Fairfax)

Everybody can hate on the Cardinals all they want, but at least they aren't sitting at home like every other team (expect the Tigers of course).
Dustin (St. Louis)

The Tigers have that 2005 White Sox look about them. Not as good, but good enough to win it all this year.
Dan (Chicago)

Will Billy Wagner decide Game 7?

Which pitcher should Wille Randolph have named to start Game 7?
49% Oliver Perez
30% Steve Trachsel
21% Darren Oliver

Mets are in trouble if they are seriously starting a guy that couldn't crack the Pirates' starting rotation.
Andrew (Wisconsin)

And the season rests on Oliver Perez, Darren Oliver and Steve Trachsel. Not good.
Scott (Silver Spring, Md.)

Billy Wagner scares the hell out of me.
Frank (New York)

Billy Wagner is going to pull a Jose Mesa and blow the game tonight. I can feel it.
Neal (Philadelphia)

I feel it's going to be a bloodbath ... ratings-wise, that is.
Riley (Austin)

People are actually watching the game?
John (Portland, Maine)

I think that since the Mets have no pitchers, and since the Cardinals only have one (who sucked last night), the game will end up 10-7 or something like that.
Jordan (Casper, Wyo.)

Cardinals win 3-2 with Wagner giving up all three runs in the ninth with two on and two outs. Homer by PUJOLS!
Drew (New Hampshire)

Something just screams METS, but that something also screams Tigers will bomb them in four, so really does it matter?
Sledge (Birmingham, Ala.)

With the weekend fast approaching, it's time to check what else is on SportsNation's mind.

College Football Predictions

Who is the best offensive player in the history of the Giants?
32% Tiki Barber
30% Phil Simms
16% Fran Tarkenton
15% Y.A. Tittle
7% Frank Gifford

Which athlete walked away from competition with the most left?
73% Barry Sanders
18% Jim Brown
6% Lance Armstrong
2% Mia Hamm
2% Rocky Marciano

Did Donna Shalala do enough at Miami?

Donna Shelalalala, or however the heck you spell her last name, is the perfect head for the U or the "M," as it is now called. She is as big a moron as everyone that got involved in that fight.
Keith (Pennsylvania)

Don't Notre Dame and USC play for the Golden Donna Shalala?
Sledge (Bham, Ala.)

While the fight was a terrible thing, you can't jeopardize these guys' potential livelihood for one act of ignorance, except for the guy swinging the helmet.
Dave (New York)

Wait, so the schools OWE it to these guys to protect their livelihood? Give me a break. Other schools can get them, the NFL can still give them tryouts; the school should simply say, 'We don't tolerate that - you need to leave!'
Tim (Atlanta)

I'm against pulling scholarship to players. If they forced them to attend every class, that would be a punishment.
Louis (Montreal)

You can't fault Matt Leinart for Monday's loss to the Bears.

After last night's debacle, is Denny Green living on borrowed time? I thought the coaching was hideous (settling for FG at the half, weird TO call, running when everyone knew they would) - your thoughts?
Ty (New Haven, CT)

Matt Williamson: I don't know if he is on borrowed time, but that game could not have helped his cause. Honestly, I think he is the right man for the job, but that was a huge project that he undertook. I didn't like that they didn't take some more shots in the final minute and settled for a very long FG. Leinart was moving the ball through the air.

What's wrong with the Cards' kicker? He has missed 2 really important kicks this year. Last year, it seemed like those kicks would have been a piece of cake.
Tony (AZ)

Matt Williamson: Not a piece of cake, but he should have made at least one of them. Honestly though, how many clutch kicks has Rackers had to make as a Card? They are rarely in a big crucial game. I would be worried. Was last year a fluke for Rackers? Could be.

Now I know why they say Rex has a little Favre in him - 6 turnovers!
Joe (Chicago)

Attention Everyone: It is one game and sure, Rex played bad, but do you really think he is going to play like that the rest of the year? Loved Urlacher's comment that it was easy, because they weren't blocking him.
Luke (Nashville)

How quickly is tape of last night's game being reviewed by all the other defensive coordinators, to see just how Arizona shut 'em down?
Clinton (Indianapolis)

Who deserves the most blame for the Cardinals' loss?
37% Offensive line
35% Neil Rackers
27% Dennis Green

Is Lou Piniella the right man for the Cubs job?

Does Sweet Lou know what he is getting himself into? He claimed today that the Cubs have done a nice job with player development (see Corey Patterson). Has Lou lost it or he is crazy like a fox?
Rob (Chicago, IL)

Steve Phillips: Well, Lou's a bright baseball man and the reality is that most managers would love the Cubs job and the challenge that comes with it. Because, if he wins the World Series in his tenure, he will go down in history for his successes with the Cubs. Terry Francona in Boston will forever be remembered as the manager of the team that broke the curse. Piniella looked at the Cubs and sees the huge resources of the Tribune Co. Zambrano and Lee are talented to build around, and the NL Central is a division that you can be competitive in quickly. The division has flaws of one sort or another. So, I think he looks at the Cubs with the chance of becoming competitive quickly.

How far will Piniella take the Cubs during his tenure as manager?
39% Won't make the playoffs
29% NLDS
17% World Series
16% NLCS

Miami coach Larry Coker could be on the way out.

Simmering animosity between the teams boiled over toward the end of the first half, with both teams leaving the bench and numerous players appearing to throw punches. Cameras also captured one Miami player using a crutch as a weapon and another slamming his helmet into a player.

So what does SportsNation make of this mess? On Sunday, 13 Miami players and 18 Florida International players were suspended for one game, but voters think that doesn't even come close to fitting the crime. In fact, 70 percent of voters think the punishment should be season-long suspensions or worse.

What do you think of the punishment handed down for the Miami-FIU brawl?
81% Too lenient
16% About right
2% Too harsh

What punishment is fair for the players most involved in the Miami-FIU brawl?
39% Season-long suspension
31% Loss of scholarship
24% Multi-game suspension
6% One-game suspension

Kick them off the team, but let them have their scholarships, because these kids need class in more ways then one.
Jonathan (Buffalo)

The players should be DONE, period. Suspended for the season, off the team for good, and should even go so far as looking into pressing charges. It's completely inexcusable.
Clinton (Indianapolis)

It was completely inexcusable, but kicking them off the whole year and making them lose their scholarships might be a little harsh.
Andy (Ohio)

You've got to be kidding me. Do you really expect Miami officials to do the right and decent thing, like saying no to a bowl game?
Mike (Baltimore)

Isn't it great that these guys get to go to school for free and do this, where as I'm still in debt because I've had to pay for college myself, working a job I hate and not done with college yet?
Sledge (Birmingham, Ala.)

Everyone is all over the Miami kids, when really the FIU players are probably more to blame! Suspend them, certainly. Kick some of them out of school (helmet swingers, for example), but there's NO WAY we should be talking about pressing charges UNLESS someone got very seriously hurt.
Tim (Atlanta)

Will Carlos Beltran keep going deep?

So what will happen the rest of the way? SportsNation voters, who have been tuned in to most of the games, are still bullish on the Mets. But one thing almost everyone agrees on is the winner of Game 5 will become the clear favorite to capture the series.

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