The player formerly known as Johnson has officially changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco. It has been acknowledged and accepted by his team, his league and the fantasy football outlets. It's about as official as it can get, at this point.

Right now, it's pretty much an isolated incident. Sure, we've seen guys like War Machine and He Hate Me, but right now, it's only the beginning. What if this becomes a trend?

Ocho Cinco changed his name out of defiance. He wanted to be able to wear his nickname on his uniform without fear of penalty, like the fine that he had to pay in 2006. So he did what he had to do, and legally changed his name. Now, the NFL has no choice but to let him wear "OCHO CINCO" in big bold letters on the back of his jersey.

But where does it go from here? We've already seen temporary tattoos on boxers, and NASCAR drivers look like nothing but a walking billboard. Who's to say that an ambitious company won't pay an athlete a few million to change his name? Would it really be all that shocking to see a player taking the field with "NIKE" or "REEBOK" splattered across his back? Nike already named an entire brand after Michael Jordan. But with this latest move by Ocho Cinco, the tables could eventually turn.



Is this an absolutely ridiculous idea? Yes.
Does it seem unbelievable? Yes.
But when you heard that Chad Johnson had become Chad Ocho Cinco, wasn't it just as ridiculous and unbelievable? Chad's doing it essentially just for fun. He's trying to prove a point, and stick it to Roger Goodell and the NFL in a form of peaceful protest.

What will happen when people realize they can do this for money?

Saturday night under the lights, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series enters the equivalent of Week 17 in the NFL!  This race at Richmond International Raceway is appropriately titled the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, and we're certainly going to rock and roll all night, but some drivers won't be partying every day after the race concludes.

It started back in February down in Daytona, a 26-race “regular season” if you will that would determine the 12 drivers who would make the first ever Chase for the Sprint Cup. 43 drivers started the Daytona 500 hoping to not only win the race, but make it into the Chase by September. Those 43 drivers have been cut to just 14, and Saturday night, it all comes down to 400 laps under the lights in Richmond. 5 drivers are locked in, 2 more are in virtually by starting, and 1 other is 90% safe. 6 drivers remain in contention for 4 spots. The rest of the field will have to wait for their chance at the Chase until next year.

What can we expect to see on Saturday? 

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If this was just the first week of "fall," we're in for plenty of drama. We've got political drama, name changing drama, and blessed football, football, football. 

• NFL vs NCAA football debate never gets old, at least not when you're comparing cheerleaders.
• Lebron James needs to work on his H-O-R-S-E skills.
• LaRon Landry got... Jacked Up!
• It's official, Chad Ocho Cinco will be on the field this weekend in Baltimore.
• Completely Useless By September
• JoePa has higher standards in Happy Valley.
• Steal Tatum Bell's job, he'll steal your bags. Moron.
• UFC Fight of Century, or something like that, is all set for November.
• AP Pollsters are already off to a puzzling start.
• George O'Leary is going to have a whole lot more reporters calling into his teleconference next week, and it's not because they just beat South Florida.
• CC Sabathia was robbed of a no-hitter, fourth doublecheeseburger.
• Slick Rick and Norm Chow are going to be some kind of pair in Westwood.
• Michael Phelps is doing what you'd do if you just won 8 gold medals.

It's a calm before the storm type of weekend in college football, but that's OK because it's Kickoff Weekend in NFL Football. Love it. Tomorrow I'll be in Ann Arbor to watch my Redhawks upset the Wolverines, so you might not hear much from me aside from a few colorful pictures in the live thread, but we'll have any big events covered. Our focus is on Sunday. Best of luck in getting your fantasy lineups correct, mine is complete with the entire Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders.

Have a good one. Cheers!

No best of the blog today, because you'll get that in the Week in Review. Instead, here's what to watch this weekend......right after this brief message.

The FanIQ Chasing Joe DiMaggio hitting streak is obviously ending at the end of the month. The goal is to, on a daily basis, predict which MLB player will get a hit. The current high streak for the season is 21 games, which means that you better get on this right now to win. Since's Friday's poll is about to close, here is Saturday's poll. Take it now, or I will never forgive you.

Want to know my current streak? One game, baby.

Now for the weekend on TV. Also, be sure to get your college football and NFL football picks in before the games. Then trash talk your opponents who dared to pick against your team.

FRIDAY

7pm - ESPN - Navy at Ball State
10pm - ESPN - Diamondbacks at Dodgers

SATURDAY

11am - CBS - US Open: Men's Semifinals.
12pm - ESPN - Ohio at #3 Ohio State.
12pm - ESPN2 - Miami (OH) at Michigan.
3:30pm - ESPN - #8 West Virginia at East Carolina.
3:30pm - NBC - San Diego State at Notre Dame.
3:30pm - ABC - Cincinnati at #4 Oklahoma OR Oregon State at #19 Penn State OR Mississippi at #20 Wake Forest
4pm - Fox - Diamondbacks at Dodgers OR Phillies at Mets.
7pm - ESPN2 - #17 South Florida at Central Florida.
8pm - ESPN - Miami at #5 Florida.
8pm - CBS - US Open: Women's Final.
10:15pm - ESPN2 - #10 Texas at UTEP.

SUNDAY

1pm - TBS - Angels at White Sox
1pm - CBS - NFL - Check this map for what game you'll get.
1pm - Fox - NFL - Map link. Ditto.
4pm - Fox - NFL - Map link. Ditto again.
4pm - NBC - US Open: Men's Final.
5:30pm - ESPN2 - 2008 Basketball Hall of Fame Induction
8pm - ESPN - Phillies at Mets
8:15pm - NBC - Bears at Colts

September... Ahh... September. I remember back to the days before I moved to Arizona. September is that time of year when leaves begin their annual deed to turn and fall from the trees, when the local swimming hole turns unfavorable, when the days get shorter while we are warned that soon the winds will get nipplier. September ushers in Autumn which means: Oh, so many marvelous things are coming soon!

The local department store is preparing their Christmas displays, the few remaining farmers of the great land begin their great harvest, the local school's bus stops are crowding up in the morning hours and football is ON!!! Before you know it, NBA and NHL teams will start to gather for training camp and the New York Yankees will be making golf reservations in Scottsdale and chartering fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico.

But more important than all of these - September is the month when baseball lore is forged. If not for the Stalwarts of September there can be no Heroes of October. September is when leads are extended or choked away. September is when the 162 game season rears it's ugliness - when star players succumb to the daily rigors and burn out down the stretch and where newly minted rookies dig deep and find unknown talents and powers to push themselves into legends to be told for decades. It's when the Boys of Summer evolve into winners or losers. When the wheat is done growing and it's time to separate it from the chaff...

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