Every Friday, we pick the winners of the weekend’s hottest matchups. Home team is in ALL CAPS.

LDT over AJ. Yeah, LaDanian Tomlinson may have outlived his usefulness. However, unlike Chargers’ GM A.J. Smith, Tomlinson has actually been doing his job without eliciting the indignation of fans, media, and just about everyone else. Smith had the political capital to get Marty Schottenheimer out of town, but getting rid of Tomlinson will require biting off more than he can chew.

Tonight: PISTONS over Mavericks. Detroit is 13-7 at home, and Dallas is coming off a loss at Milwaukee where the Mavs allowed the Bucks to shoot 58% from the field. And he may not be at the game tonight, but no way in hell Mark Cuban storms the court in Motown.

Saturday: UConn over NOTRE DAME. If Notre Dame wins, they’ll extend their home winning streak to 46 games. In other words, Notre Dame’s home winning streak will not reach 46 games.

ANTONIO MARGARITO over SHANE MOSLEY. Margarito is seven years younger. Plus I’d much rather drink a Margarito than a Mosley. Sounds like some kinda nasal decongestant.

ARLOVSKI over FEDOR. Arlovski will incorporate a straight-up boxing style into his gameplan for this fight, an unconventional tactic that will lend an advantage to the former UFC champ.

Sunday: NHL EAST over NHL West. There are so many stars pulling out of the NHL’s All-Star Game, you’d think they were playing it in Tara Reid.

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