New curse on the block

Someone please stop the Actober madness. Yes, Actober, not October.

The television ads Major Leauge Baseball has force-fed us since the All-Star Game are fast becoming the quickest way to fall out of the playoff race.

Just ask the Milwaukee Brewers or the Chicago Cubs. Both have ads that feature a very annoying Dane Cook trying to get everyone pumped up about all things playoffs that don't include Boston or New York.

When we first saw the Brewers commercial, the Beermakers seemed a mortal lock to reach the postseason. Then along came the commercial -- and a hard-charging Cubs team -- and all of a sudden the Brewers are the '78 Red Sox.

Except MLB decided to shine the light on the Cubs. Oh boy, first the billy goat, then Steve Bartman, now this.

So, thanks to MLB, we now have an NL Central race between two teams who seem more ready to start October golf instead of October baseball.

Thanks, Dane Cook.