How do we know things have changed in Rocktoberland since last fall? For starters, some analysts are actually picking Colorado to represent the National League in the World Series this year (amazing what 21 wins in a 22-game autumn stretch can do).

Alas, the Rockies began the season 1-5, thanks to dismal starts from Matt Holliday (.182 batting average), Troy Tulowitzki (.192) and Brad Hawpe (.211), who’ve combined for 18 strikeouts (an average of three per game). Why should Colorado fans not be worried? The Orioles are 4-1. …

And we thought our American sports scandals were bad. In London, a tabloid paper ran a story (and has since defended it with a follow-up piece) on Formula One ruling body president Max Mosley’s involvement in a Nazi role-play sex orgy with whores. Say what?

The paper alleges that the 67-year-old Mosley, one of the world’s most powerful sports figures, participated in a torture-chamber scene in a luxury Chelsea flat with five hookers. And to those crying foul, the paper is offering video evidence. …

ESPN has crossed a line with its new “fantasy injury expert” feature on Baseball Tonight. The Worldwide Leader is employing a female physical therapist with a silly grin to break down players’ injuries on the air (but over the phone) so fantasy managers can plan their lineups. Dumb, dumb, dumb. …

On our list of Things You Don’t Do If You’re Fighting For An NBA Playoff Berth: Give up 151 points while losing to a team that is 18-59 ” a club you’d beaten three times by an average of 37 points this year, to boot.

The Nuggets also yielded 72 points to a pair of rookies in their 151-147 double-overtime loss to Seattle on Sunday. They remain tied with Golden State for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, with five games left. …

I’m filing this column before the NCAA championship game has been played, so I don’t know if my Memphis title pick actually came true. (It’s the first time I’ve ever picked both title-game participants but, as irony would have it, so did my bracket foe, my brother; and he’s got Kansas winning it all.)

If Memphis pulls it out, they deserve to be mentioned among the best teams of all time. They won more games than any team in history, and they emerged on top of the first all-No. 1 seed Final Four. Only the few teams that finished unbeaten (1976 Indiana, for example) deserve to be ranked higher than the Tigers. …

Now, if Kansas does it, the most intriguing storyline to come will probably center on Bill Self. Just as Billy Donovan did last year after leading Florida to its second straight national title, Self will have plenty of suitors, most notably Oklahoma State, his alma mater. …

Did you know there are more than 9 quintillion ways to fill out an NCAA bracket? 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to be exact. …

Can’t make this stuff up. A 13-year-old girl visiting Fenway Park last week was attacked by a red-tailed hawk that cut her scalp after swooping in with its talons. The girl’s name? Alexa Rodriguez ” one letter off from the hated Yankee who makes more money than the entire Florida Marlins roster. …

Last week, for the first time in five years, Andy Roddick beat Roger Federer, breaking a streak of 11 straight losses against the Swiss wunderkind. It brings Roddick’s career record versus Federer to 2-15. …

In parting, Browns defensive back Kenny Wright was arrested and charged with possession of 1.875 ounces of pot after a quarter-mile foot chase in the middle of the day last Thursday, which began after an argument in the police department parking lot.

First off, who brings that much marijuana to the police station? Second off, if you’re an NFL defensive back in your prime, no way the cops should catch you in a foot chase.

” Breckenridge resident Devon O’Neil’s $0.02 column runs on Tuesdays. He can be reached at devononeil@hotmail.com.