NFL Season Kickoff: Saints @ Packers, 5:30p

Well, here comes football, the big bully on the block to whom everyone listens and gives up their lunch money. Baseball takes a back seat as of today, and frankly, it's baseballs's own damn fault.

Lack of pennant races makes this September 2011 even more unexciting, thanks in large part to having seven of the eight playoff spots largely locked. Arizona has a seven-game lead, Milwaukee an 8.5 game lead and Philly a ten-game lead. Atlanta is up seven games in the Wild Card, so dont shed a tear for them. Meanwhile, the Yanks are up two over the wild-card lock Red Sox, and Detroit owns the Central by nine.

The only race is in the AL West, with the Rangers only 2.5 games ahead of the Angels. That's moderately interesting, I suppose; in the league's smallest division, half the teams are vying for a post-season berth.

Sure, if the MLB playoffs expand to five teams per league, then maybe we'd be excited for the last wild-card spot in each league (Tampa Bay and the Angels are a half-game apart, while St. Louis and San Francisco are a game apart). But really, would we care that much about the fifth-best team in each league? Probably not.

This isn't so much of a stretch run as a stretch dirge. And without my horse in the race, I probably won't get excited until the MLB playoffs actually begin and the stakes increase.

I was just down at the gym and saw Bob Costas traipsing around on the field, and Kid Rock or someone doing a pre-game concert. Yawn. I honestly don't think I am ready for some football yet. But I am ready for some excitement, somewhere.