Sports - Sporting News

Hello, and welcome to Week Ahead. You'll notice your normal leader, George Winkler, is not here to guide you through next week's sleepers and stumblers. Never fear -- while George is visiting relatives in California, I'll be pinch-hitting as your humble prognosticator of all things fantasy baseball.

1. Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco. Only 19 years old, the Giants prospect already has ace stuff and throws easy mid-90s gas from a deceptive release point. Despite an inconsistent slider and a tendency to pitch up in the zone, Bumgarner has the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in the majors for years to come. Already tearing through Double-A after a May promotion, Bumgarner could be in the Giants rotation as soon as late 2009. ETA: Late 2009/Spring 2010.

Try the NFL coaching ranks. Of the 96 coaches and coordinators, there will be 41 new faces this season, for a turnover rate of 42.7 percent. Twenty-two of the 32 teams made changes at head coach or coordinator this offseason. The likes of Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy and Mike Holmgren and their five Super Bowl championships all are now unemployed.

Torry Holt has caught his last pass in a Rams' uniform, and Orlando Pace has thrown his last block with St. Louis.

Baseball is all about tradition, and many" baseball people" -- including many fantasy owners -- are afraid of change.

Usually, I try to ignore announcers on baseball telecasts. There's something about hearing Joe Morgan ramble on about the good ol' days like a senile grandfather and Chris Berman struggling to talk about anything other than football that drives me to the brink of insanity.

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You have three seconds to name a major-league general manager. Ready, set, go …

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We've seen what leaving Colorado for Oakland has done to Matt Holliday's stats. We've enjoyed the surge in Raul Ibanez's numbers now that he's in Philly and not Seattle.

The Cardinals' biggest move this offseason is one they didn't make -- at least, not yet.

Baseball entered open-trading season on June 15th, a six-week period when teams can move players without needing to pass them through waivers. General managers will look to cement a playoff spot with a deal, trying to land this year's Mark Teixeira or CC Sabathia. Can fantasy owners piggyback on these deals to improve their teams? Teams that show a good track record at acquiring talent provide information on which players might be good down the stretch.

We need something besides Brett Favre rumors to talk about from now until the first training camp opens (Bills on July 24). So let's break down the hottest position battles entering training camp.

There was a time when LenDale White and Reggie Bush combined for 3,042 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns.

The NFC champion Cardinals weren't the only NFC West team to have a surprisingly strong finish in 2008. The 49ers quietly won five of their last seven games to end up two games behind Arizona in the NFC West.

Luke Harangody isn't just a tourist in the NBA draft. No one on vacation would be working this hard and watching his money so closely.

Brett Favre's bout with indecision might not have been a big deal in a different time. But in today's NFL, every day Favre stays away is another day wasted.

All that Chris Pronger business the other day got us thinking: Why would the Los Angeles Kings want to trade defenseman Jack Johnson in a deal for Pronger? And would Pronger be a good fit with the rebuilding Kings?

In one of the least surprising decisions of NBA draft season, UCLA freshman guard Jrue Holiday is signing with an agent and will remain on the early entry list.