Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay smiles during a news conference before Game 2 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)Mel Evans/The Associated Press
GOOD
Roy Halladay
He may not quite measure up to the smoking aces of yore - Yankees legend Don Larsen found time for a cigarette break on his way to the postseason's only perfect game back in 1956 - but the former Blue Jay made it an October no-hitter club of two by pitching the Phillies past the Reds in their playoff opener Wednesday. For Halladay it was the culmination of the 13-year major-league odyssey, a playoff debut for the ages, and while he dazzled with the ball in hand, he was no slouch with the bat either, driving in a second-inning run.
Randy Moss
For a man who has spent much of this season grousing about his contract situation, he'll certainly get a chance to prove he's worth an extension now that he's back in Minnesota. Not only does Moss bring more touchdown catches (three) by himself than the Vikings have had all year as a team (two), but the eccentric wideout will also get an extra audition. With his former Patriots team on its bye week, and the Vikings having come off theirs, Moss, assuming he stays healthy, will end up playing 17 games in the 2010 regular season, becoming just the sixth player to do so.
Jordan Eberle
Showing his usual flair for the dramatic, Canada's career goals leader in world junior tournaments made the requisite splash in his NHL debut Thursday night, scoring twice - including a highlight-reel short-handed tally for his first - as the Edmonton Oilers crushed the provincial rival Calgary Flames 4-0 to put last season's 30th-place finish firmly in the rear-view mirror. Alongside Edmonton's other highly touted rookies, Taylor Hall and Magnus Paajarvi, Eberle made the biggest splash of all, giving Oilers fans reason for hope.
BAD
Roy Hodgson
While Liverpool's ownership situation seemingly moves from the hands of Yankees to those of the Red Sox, the soap opera continues at pace on the pitch, with last Sunday's 2-1 capitulation to lowly Blackpool earning a sarcastic standing ovation from the Anfield faithful. While his arrival was supposed to herald a change in fortunes following the Rafa Benitez era, Hodgson has succeeded only in guiding the 18-time English champions into the relegation zone for the first time in 26 years, making himself a 5-to-1 bet to be the English Premier League's first managerial casualty of the season in the process.
Jay Cutler
The Bears quarterback has certainly taken his lumps since coming over from Denver before the 2009 season - largely self-induced - but never more so than in last Sunday's loss to the New York Giants. Cutler was sacked nine times in the first half of the 17-3 loss at New Meadowlands Stadium, suffering a concussion that ultimately knocked him out of the game and which will keep him out of Sunday's contest with Carolina, too. To make things worse, Kyle Orton - the player Cutler was traded for - is leading the NFL in passing and is on pace for a record 5,676-yard season.