Good to see that Dr. Evil himself, Bud Selig, made the first correct decision in his baseball dictatorship and forced the two sides in Major League Baseball to come to an agreement and temporarily save the game, for at least the next six days. At around 8 p.m. on Thursday, America's pastime will give way to America's sport, football. And so, I find it to be my civic duty to ignore baseball and instead look into my little crystal ball and divulge my "expert" predictions for the upcoming football season.This season will not only be full of great, unsung heroes like Tom Brady, but will hopefully provide another chance for Randy Moss' take-off plays because he "feels like it." There have also been several changes to the game our generation has grown up with.

If you glance at the Boston Globe sports section, the league standings might confuse you. In fact, they more closely resemble a compass than football divisions. Commissioner Tagliabue decided that it was finally time to have divisions that made sense. No longer will the Arizona Cardinals have to painfully fly on their private plane with lounge sofas to play a division foe in New York or Philadelphia. I am sure Jake Plummer must be so relieved. Its a wonder football players even find the motivation to put on the pads each week with their poor salaries and long work hours. Some can't even find the time to cheat on their wives and girlfriends.

In response to the Patriots improbable Super Bowl victory, the game cannot end on a field goal with six seconds left. Was I the only one who wondered why the game ended prematurely? You don't think that Marshall Faulk and Yo Murphy would have welcomed one last chance to rain on New England's parade? Do you remember the Tennessee miracle of just three seasons past?

Even with all of these name changes, uniform changes, and rule changes the season will kickoff this week and I must follow suit with all other sports columnists worldwide and offer my uneducated predictions. The NFC rests uncomfortably on Kurt Warner's ability to overcome a devestating injury to his pinky almost nine months ago. The West should be theirs to take if he is fully recovered. If not, the Rams will have to bite and scratch their way to the playoffs. A week 17 home meeting against the 49ers could could decide the division and one of the two wildcards. In looking at the division, the Seahawks nor the Cardinals will make any impact for the next few years.

The South division looks even more clean-cut with only one team above .500. Tampa Bay, with its new coach and dueling quarterbacks, will face an easy double dose of lightweights such as the Falcons and the Panthers. The Saints will only prove to make for more interesting games and they too will have a long off-season. Aaron Brooks and his 15 minutes of fame are over.

The North is where things get interesting. The Bears, Vikings and Packers will all be in contention as the Lions will likely be scouting bowl games and not playoff opponents. Look for the Bears to return to normalcy now that the other teams on their schedule will probably pay closer attention. Certain Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre, on the other hand, is due to have one more MVP trophy added to his case thanks to the quick development of budding pro-bowler Ahman Green. Unfortunately, this means bad news for Daunte Culpepper and the young Vikings. They will surely improve on last year's disasterous season and unfortunate death of Korey Stringer. The team has a great coach in Mike Tice who will motivate his players and the Culpepper to Moss connection could turn in record numbers. This year's playoffs may be out of reach, but they are just one player away from being major contenders in the near future. Coach Steve Spurrier will defy expectations yet again and the East will be theirs to be taken.

The Eagles could prove to be the only thorn in their side, with the important late addition of Antonio Freeman to their already potent offensive arsenal. The Giants and Cowboys are both rebuilding and need a few more years of seasoning before they challenge for the East title.

The AFC is shaping up to be more confusing this year than any year in recent memory. The defending Super Bowl champions continue to sound more and more like a Rodney Dangerfield one-liner. Tom Brady had a fantastic run, but teams will begin to double team Troy Brown forcing the third-year quarterback to make more and more great plays. Look for the Buffalo Bills to be riding high at regular season's end with the addition of Drew Bledsoe. He will take every opportunity to prove Bob Kraft wrong for trading him to a division rival and beat up on unsuspecting opponents. Miami and New York will surely frustrate their fans with much promise, but few victories to show.

The Steelers expect to dominate the North, but will face stiff competition from the up and coming Browns. Kordell Stewart is going to continue to make better decisions and offensive coordinator Mike Mularky will be able to make good use of rookie Antwaan Randle El. Tim Couch, local William Green, and Kevin Johnson will challenge the Indianapolis Big Three for AFC headlines. The Bengals and Ravens will be merelypawns without a quality quarterback and key losses to free agency.

The South is a crapshoot. The Colts and Titans should improve and look past their unexpected poor showings from last year. Tony Dungy will instill the concept of defense in Indianapolis and hopefully will allow Peyton Manning to relax in the pocket, and not be afraid to take a chance on offense.

The Titans never got on track last year and Eddie George is too good a running back to have two sub par years back-to-back. Jevon Kearse and Kevin Carter will dominate the line and allow the linebackers to worry about just stopping the run. The Jaguars will continue to fade back into obscurity and the Texans will provide nothing more than doormat for other teams to stomp over.

The Chiefs and Chargers are both coming off good starts, after poor finishes last year. Each will continue to struggle in the West, as the Raiders and Broncos plan on battling it out for the division title. Jon Gruden's absence from Oakland will hurt more than Al Davis will lead on. Leadership is always underappreciated in professional sports, and the Raider players wanted him to stay. Instead, Denver will take the opportunity to win the West and make a deep run in the playoffs.