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spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i++] = new Array("","Mets replace Yankees as favorite to win World Series ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060614/060614_mets_vmed_9p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Tim Shaffer", "Reuters", "273", "220", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i-1].body = "BASEBALL
To many the Yankees were the favorites to win this year's World Series, but they were stunned by the Tigers in four games in the ALDS.
Along with Detroit, Oakland advanced to the ALCS, and the NLCS will match the Mets against the Cardinals.
Each of the team's in baseball's final four has at least one area of major concern.
For the Mets, it's starting pitching, as two of their top three starters -- Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez -- are missing the postseason due to injury.
But given its potent lineup and outstanding bullpen, New York's National League team has replaced New York's American League team as the favorite to win the World Series.
TED ROBINSON: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
AGREE
As the Yankees made another early October exit, so did October's most important player.
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is the greatest postseason pitcher in baseball history.
Now, the best remaining closer is clearly the Mets' Billy Wagner.
The Yankees also took home the most dangerous offensive lineup in baseball.
That honor now goes to the Mets with their lethal combination of speed (Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran), contact, bat control (Paul LoDuca), and power (Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and David Wright).
As the Dodgers learned in the NLDS, this Mets team has been characterized by a season-long offensive resiliency.
No lead against them is safe. No inning in which they bat is an easy one.
Caveat: Who could have dreamt that the Yankees would experience a 20-inning scoreless drought in the playoffs?
If the Tigers' pitching could achieve that against the Bronx Bombers, they could certainly do it again in a possible World-Series matchup against the Mets.
Among St. Louis, Oakland and Detroit, the Tigers' lineup is the most potent, and their bullpen is the best match for the Mets.
However, even though New York bemoans the loss of the Yankees, the city is still the favorite to host a post-World-Series celebratory parade.
Sound off in our baseball message boards";
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spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i-1].body = "
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
No team has repeated as Stanley Cup champion since 1998.
The Carolina Hurricanes will be trying to break that streak this season after re-signing all but a few players from their championship roster.
Two key players who are not back with the Hurricanes are center Matt Cullen and defenseman Aaron Ward, both of whom signed with the Rangers as free agents.
But even without Cullen and Ward, Carolina has the veteran leadership and a core of talented younger players that should lead it back to the Stanley Cup finals.
BILL CLEMENT: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
DISAGREE
I disagree, but not because of the makeup of Carolina's roster as much as because of the parity in the Eastern Conference.
With a number of teams seemingly on equal ground talent-wise in the East, I don't think Carolina's lineup can again win a conference championship and get back to the Stanley Cup finals.
While I believe it will be a wide-open race to win the East, two teams that are my early favorites to do so are Buffalo and the New York Rangers.
And also for Carolina, it will be hard for Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford to go out and make key additions prior to the trading deadline like he did last year with Doug Weight and Mark Recchi since he doesn't have the same personnel and draft-choice assets to include in deals this season as he did last season.
Sound off in our NHL message boards";
spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i++] = new Array("","12 regular-season games too many for college football","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061004/061004_lambert_vmed_2p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Al Goldis", "AP file", "273", "192", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i-1].body = "
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Clemson coach Tommy Bowden does not agree with the addition of a 12th game to the regular-season schedule of college football teams.
He says the decision to permanently increase the college football schedule for teams came from university presidents, who were seeking the additional revenue that the schools could produce through an extra home game.
Bowden says players already face heavy academic and athletic loads, and it doesn't make sense to him to play 12 regular-season games.
Bowden is right, and although a 12th game is financially attractive to schools, university presidents should not have voted in favor of it.
ERIC HANSEN: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
DISAGREE
I wholeheartedly disagree, and I respectfully think someone has spiked coach Bowden’s Gatorade.
There’s no question money is at the root of the twelfth game, but I don’t think it taxes the players academically, or really athletically --any more than they already were.
It doesn’t extend the season. These games are filling in where there were bye weeks.
Also, it puts all of college football on equal footing.
Several years ago, there were all kinds of exempt games, such as the Pigskin Classic, Kickoff Classic, etc.
If Bowden is really concerned about how playing football impacts the academic load on his players, then perhaps he can rail for the ACC Championship game to disappear.
That’ll get the university presidents’ attention.
Click here to continue the discussion.";
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spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i-1].body = "
NASCAR
There’s a segment of NASCAR fans, particularly those of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who feel Brian Vickers should not have been allowed to win the Talladega race on Oct. 8 after he triggered the last-lap wreck that took out both Junior, who was leading, and Jimmie Johnson, Vickers' teammate who was running second.
Their argument is that since Vickers caused the wreck, he should not be allowed to benefit from it.
Officials judged the accident a “racing incident,” and not rough driving, and let the Vickers' win stand.
NASCAR made the correct call by not penalizing Vickers and letting him keep the victory.
ALLEN BESTWICK: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
AGREE
Vickers was absolutely correct during his post-race meeting with reporters in saying that there was no way Jimmie Johnson was going past Junior without Vickers' bump drafting help from behind.
That’s just the way it works on the superspeedways where NASCAR requires carburetor restrictor plates to limit horsepower and speed in the name of safety.
For Johnson to pass Junior, he was going to need a bump draft from Vickers, the very technique frequently criticized by drivers, but used by all in order to make a pass.
Unfortunately for Junior and Johnson this bump draft went wrong, but it was absolutely Vickers' intention to push Johnson past Junior, not to spin him out.
Plain and simply put, it was a racing accident among three drivers fighting for the win on the last lap.
By the way, given the tough start to the championship playoff for Johnson, it would have been understandable if he had communicated to Vickers that he didn’t want to try and make a pass, that he would ride to the checkers behind Junior and settle for second-place points, but I give Johnson all the credit in the world for choosing to go for the win.
It’s unfortunate it went wrong, but when you race at over 190 miles per hour that’s going to happen sometimes.
One more thought: Supposing NASCAR decided to penalize Vickers, who wins the race?
You can’t go back and put Junior or Johnson ahead of the field and pretend the last-lap wreck never happened.
Besides not being correct, imagine the conspiracy theorists that would come out of every corner about “fixing” a championship for Junior.
Do you give the win to Kasey Kahne, the next car behind Vickers?
You’d have to have a pretty solid belief that Vickers’ intentionally tried to crash both cars in front of him to take on all that mess.
I think officials got it right by making no call, although I’m sure that doesn’t make fans of Junior or Johnson feel any better.
Sound off in our NASCAR message boards";
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spt_1012_agreeordisagree[i-1].body = "
NASCAR
Matt Kenseth and Robbie Reiser have the longest crew chief-driver relationship in Nextel Cup racing.
There is, however, speculation that Reiser may leave Kenseth at the end of the season to take on a managerial role at Roush Racing.
Reiser is one of the most talented crew chiefs, and he was a big reason why Kenseth was the 2003 Cup champion.
It's expected that someday Reiser will move on to another challenge, but he should remain with Kenseth until the two win another Cup title.
BENNY PARSONS: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
DISAGREE
I just think it would probably be an even better situation if Reiser moved up to a management position at Roush Racing, and brought in a new crew chief for Kenseth -- someone who could put forth some new ideas for Kenseth, and who could also be a fresh source for the driver to bounce his ideas off of.
I feel that in crew chief-driver relationships, there has to be something very special for these to last a real long period of time.
Crew chief-driver relationships are probably more strained at times than even some marriages.
Getting five good years out of a crew chief-driver relationship is getting a lot. Reiser has been Kenseth's crew chief for six years.
I believe that if Reiser gets a management job at Roush Racing, it will make the relationship between Kenseth and himself even better as he will still have input for Matt, but there will also be a new source of expertise contributing to the efforts of the No. 17 team.
Reiser moving up to management and a new crew chief being brought aboard for Kenseth I believe is a win-win situation for all involved.
Sound off in our NASCAR message boards"; // END editorial data