A. A-Rod . "What is A-Rod doing in the news in October" would be a fair question to ask. And when he is, it generally pertains to the following season-just as it does now. The Yankees' veteran will return from his one-year suspension in 2015, and the team is toying with the idea of playing him at first base.

B. Barnes, Matt . Barnes is currently separated from his wife, "Basketball Wives" reality star Gloria Govan, due to "trust issues." Perhaps that refers more specifically to the fact that Govan allegedly forged the signature of the Clippers' guard to secretly take out a $150,000 loan. That's approximately two and a half games' worth of Barnes' 2014-15 salary, so it's unclear why she couldn't just ask for it. The Clippers' "over/under" season win total at Bovada Sportsbook is 56.5.

C. Cruz, Victor . There will be no more salsa dances in the NFL this season, unless one of Cruz's teammates does it as a tribute to the injured receiver. Cruz tore a patellar tendon during the Giants' blowout loss to Philadelphia last Sunday. Knowing his season would be over, the fifth-year veteran was sobbing while being carted off the field.

D. Durant, Kevin . Durant was diagnosed last weekend with a "Jones fracture" (broken bone at the base of the small toe), which generally sidelines an athlete for six to eight weeks. That will potentially leave the reigning NBA MVP out for the first month of the 2014-15 campaign. Somewhere, Russell Westbrook is first-pumping about what this does for his scoring average. Oklahoma City is a +320 second choice at SuperBook to win the Western Conference.

E. Euro 2016 . They will still almost certainly qualify for the next European championship, but these aren't your older brother's Spaniards. Spain, which won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and Euro 2012, were unceremoniously bounced out of this summer's World Cup and lost to Slovakia last week in Euro 2016 qualifying. Slovakia. Really, Spain? Really?

F. Federer, Roger . Federer won last week's tournament in Shanghai after saving five match points in his opening match. The 33-year-old Swiss took out Novak Djokovic in the semis and passed Rafael Nadal for the No. 2 world ranking. He's not done yet; not even close.

G. Gordon, Melvin . Count 'em up: Gordon has scored 12 touchdowns in his last four games. Wisconsin's junior running back scored four last weekend while gaining 175 yards on 27 carries in a win over Illinois. For the season, Gordon has 1,046 yards and 13 TDs to go along with an average of 7.9 yards per rush. But his most important Heisman statistics are as follows: zero autographs signed for money, zero sexual assault charges, and zero crab claws stolen from Publix. Gordon is +600 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the Heisman Trophy.

H. Harvick, Kevin . Harvick took home the checkered flag from Charlotte Motor Speedway last week, but that was hardly the story. Thanks to Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, and Danny Hamlin, last Saturday night felt more than WWE than NASCAR. If the competitiveness of this new Chase format results in brawls every week, it has to be considered a success. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a +795 favorite at BookMaker to win this weekend's Geico 500.

I. Iggy Azalea . Azalea and Snoop Dogg have been in an Instagram and Twitter feud after a photo was posted of Azalea without makeup. Snoop Dogg responded to it with an insulting post, and with that they were off to the races. Lakers' guard Nick Young naturally came to the defense of his girlfriend, perhaps in an attempt to make sure his relationship with Azalea lasts longer than that of fellow NBA player Andre Drummond and "iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy.

J. Joseph Randle . The Cowboys' backup running back was arrested earlier this week for shoplifting at a Dillard's in Frisco, Tex. He was attempting to steal…wait for it…underwear and cologne. Randle was fined $29,117 (one week of his season salary) but will play on Sunday against the Giants. "This is the poorest decision he ever made in his life," head coach Jason Garrett said. Eh, if you are dumb enough to steal underwear and cologne from a Dillard's, you are probably dumb enough to do even dumber things than that. The Cowboys are -6.5 home favorites over the Giants, according to Carbon Sports.

K. Kansas City Royals . For the first time since 1985, the Royals are in the World Series. In the process, they have set the all-time Major League Baseball record with eight consecutive playoff wins. Lorde has to get some of the credit for this, right? Kansas City is -113 to win it all over San Francisco, per BetCRIS.

L. LeBron James . That awkward moment when you set a pick on your own teammate…. That's what LeBron appeared to do on Matthew Dellavedova during Cleveland's exhibition game against Miami last Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. LeBron-and Dellavedova, for that matter-denied he forgot which team he was playing for and instead chalked it up to a defensive miscue.

M. Mississippi . The capital of the college football world is still Mississippi. Ole Miss and Mississippi State are having the kitchen sink thrown at them in terms of the schedule, and they are beating all comers. The Rebels followed up their win over Alabama by going on the road to hammer Texas A&M 35-20. The Bulldogs, now No. 1 in the nation, took care of Auburn 38-23 in the aftermath of their shootout victory over Texas A&M. Ole Miss is a -16.5 home favorite at 5Dimes Sportsbook to beat Tennessee.

N. New England Patriots . What's the best way to guarantee a win after losing your best running back and best linebacker to season-ending injuries? Play the New York Jets, of course. New England, which saw Stevan Ridley and Jerod Mayo go down in Week 6, beat the Jets on Thursday night-but not before a surprisingly close encounter ended with a blocked field goal to preserve a 27-25 Pats' victory.

O. Out . That's also what Knowshon Moreno is. Knowshon suffered a torn ACL during Miami's 27-24 loss to Green Bay last Sunday. It almost seems like running backs with UGA ties are cursed right now-except for maybe Isaiah Crowell and Nick Chubb. The Dolphins are +3 road underdogs against Chicago, per Sports Interaction.

P. Panthers . It does not get much less exciting than 1-0 regulation loss in hockey. Luckily for Florida Panthers' fans, almost none of them were there to see it. On Monday night, when Florida fell to Ottawa, an attendance of 7,311 set a franchise-low record and was the smallest for any NHL game in almost three years. The good news for Panthers' fans-and maybe for the Panthers, themselves: they do not play at home again until Oct. 30. WagerWeb has Florida as a -115 favorite at Buffalo on Friday.

Q. Quiet down . Justin Bieber has been told that once or twice before, and he was told it again on Tuesday night in Beverly Hills. Bieber threw a bash upon his return from Europe, and police showed up at his condo twice due to noise complaints. The second visit successfully broke things up, so it must have been a tame one by the Biebs' standards.

R. Ryder Cup task force . It's unclear what exactly a Ryder Cup "task force" is, but the United States now has one after losing the competition on three consecutive occasions and on six of the last seven. Tiger Woods is on it. So is Phil Mickelson. Although it's hard to say that's a good thing considering those two guys' Ryder Cup histories. You know, this "task force" may do more for Europe than it will for the USA. Lee Westwood already joked on Twitter that the fact that the Americans need a "task force" gives his side even more confidence. Sportsbook.ag has Tiger as a +1500 second choice behind Rory McIlroy to win next year's Masters.

S. Smirnoff, Karina . When they hear "Smirnoff," most people think vodka. Well, this Smirnoff somehow managed to sustain wrist and knee injuries during "Dancing With the Stars" rehearsal, and she was promptly carted off the dance floor. Smirnoff has already been booted off the show, too, but she still performs on each episode. Maybe not anymore!

T. Todd Gurley . Gurley's status is still up in the air, but Georgia head coach Mark Richt is not expecting the star running back to suit up for Saturday's game at Arkansas. You can be sure Gurley would be in there if he played for Florida State, or perhaps even for most other SEC schools. Some would call this Richt being an upstanding citizen. Others would call it point-shaving. The Bulldogs are -3.5 road favorites over Tennessee, per BookMaker.

U. USMNT . Landon Donovan played his final game for the U.S. men's national team last Friday. The United States tied Ecuador 1-1 in an international friendly, during which Donovan hit the post with a strike in the 25^th minute before leaving in the 41^st minute. It would have been pretty epic if his feud with coach Jurgen Klinsmann had escalated with no acknowledgement between the two men as Donovan exited the field, but that didn't happen.

V. Vontaze Burfict . The Bengals' linebacker was on the prowl during last week's tie against Carolina. He concussed Panthers' receiver Kelvin Benjamin with a big hit and was fined $25,000 for targeting the ankles of QB Cam Newton and tight end Greg Olsen. No word yet if Burfict tried to inflict bodily harm on his own kicker after Mike Nugent's overtime botch. Cincinnati is +1000 at Bodog Sportsbook to win the AFC Championship.

W. Winston, Jameis . I think we've heard enough about this guy, so let's carry on. GT Bets has Florida State and Michigan State as +600 co-favorites to win the National Championship.

X. Xavier . Xavier University is where the Cavs and Pacers met for a preseason showdown on Wednesday. LeBron scored 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting in just 24 minutes and finished with zero picks of his own teammates as Cleveland prevailed 98-93.

Y. Yusmeiro Petit . Petit, who came within one strike of a perfect game in September of 2013, is back in the spotlight one year later. San Francisco's right-handed reliever has been flawless this postseason. He pitched six innings of one-hit ball during the Giants' 18-inning win over Washington, and he fired three more innings of scoreless relief in his team's 6-4 NLCS Game 4 win over St. Louis on Wednesday.

Z. Zen . Phil Jackson is up to his usual tricks. The Zen Master already has the Knicks going through "mindfulness training," and it will continue throughout the season-and presumably for the duration of Jackson's tenure as team president. Michael Jordan ain't walkin' through that door, but Zen is. Will it be enough for New York in 2014-15? Carbon Sports has the Knicks at +400 to win the Atlantic Division.

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