As we approach the dreaded “dead zone” in the local sports calendar, here are 10 things that have crossed my mind.

1.) LAKERS:Like it or not, the best team won the title. That being said, if I am LA, I still look long and hard at ways to improve that team. I am not convinced that they have a legit #2 option behind Kobe. Fisher is old, Odom is inconsistent and Ariza may be a flash in the pan.

2.) ORLANDO: I like their young team and with Cleveland and Boston, the East could actually be fun to watch next year. At least when they all play each other.

3.) SHAQ:I hope the rumors of him going to Cleveland for Ben Wallace and some trash are bogus. If you are Phoenix, why just throw away a valuable piece of trade bait? Hold him until the All-Star break and then get something better than 2 turds from C-Town. If I am Steve Nash and Amare, I don’t sign a new deal with the Suns if this is how they are going to tweak the roster.

4.) SAMMY SOSA: ESPN reported that Sammy tested positive for steroids in 2003…In other news…The grass is green!

5.) PIERRE GARCON: So far he seems to be the one that raised his stock the most at the Colts OTA.

6.) DuJUAN BLAIR: If the Pacers decide to draft big, he may be the guy. Is he big enough? Is he athletic enough? He could either be a rebounding machine or a slow and fat waste. I think he is worth the gamble. it is pick #13, roll the dice.

7.) PHIL MICKELSON: I know that Tiger sells the tickets and is the fave to win the US Open, but I find myself rooting for good ol’ “Man Boobs” this weekend.

8.) DONTE’ STALLWORTH:Gets 30 days for driving drunk and killing a guy. Michael Vick got 2 years for killing dogs. Hmmm. I’m not saying Vick should have gotten less, but Donte’ should have gotten more! People are on “Survivor” longer than what Donte’ will do in the hole. (Insert your own prison “hole” joke.)

9.) DAVID LETTERMAN: As a radio geek, an Indy kid and a Ball Stater, nobody loves Dave more than I do. That being said, I wish he would stay clear of his political stances. There is clearly a difference between making fun of politicians and being an advocate to the left. Less attacks on the right, more bits with Biff…please! He apologized, she’s cool with it…game over and move on.

10.) NL CENTRAL:  If you like bad baseball, you have come to the right place. Cubs, Reds and Cards fans can actually bond about their teams less than amazing play so far. All should be doing much better, but all are still in the mix.

Talking OTA’s, Pacers Draft and more….

1.) Peyton: Changed his tune “kind of” since his statement about team communication a few weeks ago. Still, he didn’t sound all that comfortable about the situation speaking to media prior to OTA’s. Sounded like someone told him to say the things that he said. That sounded more like a “I’ll make the best of this” statement as opposed to “We got this, let’s go.” At the end of the day, who cares, as long as he is ready to play, the Colts will be fine.

2.) The Downfall of the Colts: Between ESPN, NFL Network and Fox Sports you would think the Colts were already looking ahead to next years NFL Draft. I know that many media outlets want to be quick on the “Colts are done” story, but last time I checked, they still had a 3-time and defending MVP at qb and multiple pro bowlers and veterans up and down the roster. Are they as good as they were in 2005 and 2006, maybe not, but let’s not get carried away. I still see them in the playoffs.

3.) Pacers: With this terrible NBA Draft in front of us, Pacers are stuck taking the dreaded “Best Player on the Board” as opposed to focusing on a specific need. They need a big man with post moves and defensive ability. At pick 13, hell at pick 2, that player will no longer be around in this weak draft. That being said, maybe take a look at 2 guard since it looks like Dunleavy will not be back anytime soon and Rush still young. I still would love to see them trade up for Tyreke Evans, but that looks unlikely.

4.) Courtney Lee: I feel bad for the local kid. He should have made that layup, but I think his angle was poor and it was a tougher shot than most people think.

5.) Kobe Bryant: Will most likely win this series and that disappoints me. I always sided with Shaq on the Kobe/Shaq feud. Plus, it was fun hearing Shaq talk junk about Kobe not winning without him.

6.) Ryan Lilja: I think having this guy back on the line will be a huge boost to the Colts and the running game. Nice to see him back in pads again. I think his absence last year was a big reason why the running game was so brutal.

7.) The Dos Equis Guy: As I have said before, I hate the Dos Equis Guy. I get the feeling he thinks he is better than all of us. “The most interesting man?”….Please, pass me a PBR and tell that guy to D.I.A.F. I argue that Danny DeVito is the most interesting man. He was dealt the short end of the stick on looks and has to see Carla from ‘Cheers” without pants on and he still gets work and doesn’t complain. Stay thirsty, Danny!

8.) Jeremy Mayfield: METH? Really? Good lord, dude! I think people can look the other way for weed, booze or MAYBE even coke…but Meth? Ouch!

9.) Brett Favre: At this point, since he clearly doesn’t care about legacy or what people think, I hope all this B.S keeps going. Why not? What do we have to lose? I hope he reports to Vikings camp the day before it starts and bumps his gums about Ted Thompson. I want to see Brett Favre go “Jack Parkman” from Major League 2 or “Kenny Powers” and just light up the people, fans and management of Green Bay. Why not? Bring on the circus.

10.) Ryan Briscoe: He may have had the dominant care at that boring Texas race, but you can’t say the pits lost the race for you when you blew an 11 second lead. It sucks Helio had the pit advantage and it sucks the cars can’t pass, however, deal with it and “man-up.” At least an ANNOUNCED 90 grand were in attendance.

Fun week of IMS drama, Peyton bumping his gums and more. Here are my 10 random thoughts…..

1.) Tony George: I still find it odd that it took the IRL owners almost a full week to spit out a “We Support Tony” release that was very short and poorly written. Maybe I am reading too much into that…

2.) Peyton Manning: I still think he could have handled this “lack of communication” issue better, but it is not the end of the world. I am glad that the qb of my hometown team wants to win so badly that he is concerned about the staff and team direction instead of dollars and contract status…HOWEVER, he came across as a little whiny when he was speaking to the media. Unless he said those things first behind closed doors to Polian and the coaches, it looks kind of bad and waaaaay to soon to cry to the media. If the “lack of communication” was still happening a month from now then fine, pop off! Just a few weeks into the coaching transitions seems too soon and to whiny. Not the end of the world, but very un-Peyton like.

3.) Tony Kanaan: If you thought you had a bad week, think about TK. Hard crash at Indy that injured his ribs and left him with a limp followed by catching on fire at Milwaukee!

4.) Pacers Draft: Aside from a precious few, this NBA Draft may be the worst for big men in a while. Knowing that, hearing rumblings that the Pacers may look at a PG. Ty Lawson and Eric Maynor have both claimed the Pacers are looking for a point guard. I like Maynor better than Lawson. Maynor is a little bigger and defends better. Lawson at 5′11 won’t be able to stop anyone and that is a big problem for a Pacer team that is horrible on “d” anyway. Is a 5′11 pg who can’t play “d” an upgrade from Jack and Ford?

    Flynn from Syracuse is not bad and if they can trade up a few spots I would LOVE to see Tyreke Evans of Memphis.

5.) Spelling Bee: Is it wrong that I gambled on it? Anything with a smokin’ hot Erin Andrews IS a sporting event!…right?

6.) Burt Reynolds: I recently started a push to get Burt as the 2010 Indy 500 Grand Marshall. If you would like to see a gum-chomping Burt walk up to Danica, smack her on the rear and say “Hey darlin’, go fetch me a beer” then look for the group on FACEBOOK titled “Burt Reynolds for 2010 Indy 500 Grand Marshall.”

7.) Joey Votto: Reds NEED this guy badly! Hope he gets his personal issues taken care of.

8.) Cubs: Right now, these guys couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat. Soto and Bradley have been disasters and having Aramis and D-Lee miss so much time is not a good recipe for winning baseball.

9.) Orlando Magic: Outplayed the Cavs and deserved that series. They should have won that series in 5! I know the NBA wanted Kobe vs LeBron, but the Magic own the Cavs!

10.) Jon and Kate: Anyone else sick of these 2 DB’s?