Mostly football on a hump day but we'll sneak in some baseball after the jump.  

It's not like Eric Mangini to tip his hand so early in the week but on Wednesday the decree came down – Derek Anderson(notes) is going to start against Cincinnati this week. It's easy to bash Anderson off his messy relief performance against Baltimore but let's try to keep an open mind on this; quarterbacks can look a lot better after week of first-team reps. Not that the Bengals don't bring challenges on defense – they've got 10 sacks and CB Leon Hall(notes) is turning into one of the breakthrough players of the year (as Dr. Behrens alluded to earlier today). [Cleveland Plain Dealer, Waiting For Next Year]

The early tea leaves look favorable for Marion Barber(notes) this week; remember he really wanted to play against Carolina Monday night. Denver's defense looks vastly improved through three weeks but a favorable schedule has helped significantly. Meanwhile it's a sprained PCL for Felix Jones(notes) and it's possible he won't return until Week 7. A shame that guy can't stay on the field because he's the most electric runner this side of Adrian Peterson. [Dallas Morning News]

Everybody hurts in Seattle, where Matt Hasselbeck(notes) isn't expected this week and LT Walter Jones(notes) is out indefinitely. Julius Jones(notes) might be a sneaky play at Indy, if the Seahawks actually remember that the Colts defense will let just about anyone run for 4-5 yards a pop all day long. [Seattle Times]

The word out of Buffalo has Fred Jackson(notes) and Marshawn Lynch(notes) getting a fairly even split of the work, but my gut tells me that Jackson will still get the majority of the carries against Miami this Sunday. Mind you, it's not like the Bills are all that successful identifying and utilizing their best offensive weapons (and don't get me started on Dick Jauron's crazy endgame against New Orleans). For all the problems with the Dolphins this year, the defense is still excellent against the run (3.0 YPC). [SB Nation]

Clinton Portis(notes) clearly isn't healthy (knees, ankles) and he didn't suit up for the beginning of Washington's practice Wednesday. In deeper leagues it's time to give a bench spot to Ladell Betts(notes), who at least showed something as a receiver in Detroit last week (four catches, 43 yards). [Rick Maese via Twitter]

Kevin Smith(notes) didn't practice Wednesday and Silent Bob Jim Schwartz says the back is a game-day call for Sunday's match against Chicago. Bidding on Maurice Morris(notes) is never really fun, is it? [MLive.com]

So much for Jose Reyes possibly playing again this year – apparently he might need hamstring surgery. Nothing like figuring that out now. Amazingly enough, I visited Citi Field earlier this month and didn't come down with any physical malady upon leaving. [New York Daily News]

The Indians have lowered the boom on manager Eric Wedge and his staff, though apparently the group will be allowed to finish the season. Should make for an interesting five days. [Cleveland.com]

Make sure you have a couple of hours free before you head over to SmartFootball.com or Advanced NFL Stats, those sites have a way of grabbing you and not letting go. I'm not going to point to anything specific over there, just take a good look around. [Smart Football, Advanced NFL Stats]

Today's musical guest is Pavement. If you don't like this ditty, please donate your ears to science, thank you. [You Tube]

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