Sweet 16

Ok, now let's talk a little about March Madness.  If you're like me your bracket looks pretty miserable.  To be honest, who could have predicted Kansas to be out before the Sweet 16?  And how about the Big East teams: Villanova, Notre Dame, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Georgetown just rolling over and letting a bunch of mid majors beat them.  In Pittsburgh's defense, Xavier is a very solid tournament team who has made their 3rd consecutive Sweet 16, but for the others, especially G-Town, what a terrible showing.

So my bracket is pretty lame right now with my Sweet 16 not looking too hot.  In the West Region I only have Syracuse left, I picked Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, and BYU as my other picks in the West  I have the same situation in the South Region, only one team remaining that I had picked in Duke.  I had Villanova, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M in that region before they all bowed out.  Thanks Big East!  As the Midwest Region goes I have two teams left.  Yes, I actually called it that Michigan St was going to beat Kansas anyway so having Northern Iowa there doesn't mean much to me and I also had the Buckeyes there, but instead of Bruce Pearl and his jacket I had John the 3rd and G-Town,  Big East teams must have just beat each other up in the Garden for their conference tournament.  In the East is where I'm currently thriving having three of my four teams still in the Sweet 16 with Kentucky, Cornell, and WVU left.  I also had New Mexico instead of Washington.

Now I'm giving you my thoughts on what the Elite 8 could look like and reasons why.  Even with the injury to Lucas the Spartans turn the clocks to midnight and the Northern Iowa's Cinderella ends because Tom Izzo is just an amazing coach and he always finds a way to win in March.  I also think that Evan Turner and the Ohio State Buckeyes squeak by Tennessee, although I have a weird feeling that the Vols are going to pull this one out I don't know why.  Kentucky over Cornell, the Wildcats are just too athletic and fast for Cornell to stand a chance even if they do have the best 3-point shooting percentage in the nation.  Mountaineers over the Huskies because Bob Huggins is just a BOSS with that sweat suite he wears.  DeSean Bulter will pick up the team and carry them on his shoulders with an amazing performance.  The 'Cuse over Butler ending the countries longest winning streak with that stellar 2-3 zone and then upset with Xavier over Kansas St leaving everyone in Kansas looking forward to baseball season and another great year with the Royals, watch the suicide rates in the Midwest go up soon.  Duke over Purdue in a solid game but with the big men inside for Duke and the pale white gingers they have shooting from the outside will overwhelm the Boilermakers and St. Mary's over the Baylor Bears.  St. Mary's is hot and they're playing with a confidence that can not be matched.

If all these games end up like I picked then I will certainly entertain people with taking money from them to give them my "expert" picks.  But from the looks of my bracket it's not very good.  Just a number for you, 3,576,022.  No that's Coach K's salary but that my current ESPN tournament challenge ranking. Wish me luck in the Sweet 16, seriously.

Cups of Joe

Let's take a break from the Madness cause clearly only women and morons have brackets looking pretty right now.  So I'm going to talk about the spring training news that is going around and it all seems to be around the Minnesota Twins with their new stadium opening up (no dome in Minnesota in April and September?), Joe Mauer getting to stay in his home town, basically, and gets a huge contract, and finally Joe Nathan goes under the knife for Tommy John like so many other great pitchers.

Joe Mauer agrees to a contract extension with the Minnesota Twins for 8 years and 184 million dollars.  Not bad for a guy who lives in a log cabin.  But I want to know how a small market team like the Twins have the ability to give that much money when they pride themselves on "using what they have" and seemingly try to trade away every big name guy that has ever come through their farm system.  I'm not saying the AL MVP doesn't deserve a big time contract like that, because he does, he's the best.  Plus, he's a product of the area and I'm sure the fans would have went wild if they didn't sign him because he's a local boy.  Joe Mauer has been one of the best players in the game over the past 3 years and he is a catcher, not a common find.  But I'm guessing with the new stadium the Twins will bring in enough revenue to support that contract and possibly they will turn around and become a contender and learn that spending money will actually result in moving past the 90 win mark and possibly past the ALDS.

As for Joe Nathan, what a loss for the Twins.  Statistically since 2004, no other closer has had better numbers than Joe lets be honest, he has unbelievable stuff.  Losing any solid pitcher in a bullpen will hurt any team as well all know with the Mets losing "K-Rod" (even though it wasn't injury just because he sucks now).  But a guy like Joe Nathan would be like the Yankees losing Mariano or the A's losing Andrew Bailey.  It's just going to hurt them.  Now the replacement?  I'm guessing Franciso Liriano could make the move into the bullpen because he hasn't been able to reproduce the effectiveness he once showed as a starter so why not move him into a 2 inning role guy because his stuff could be very effective in a short span for the Twins.

I still don't see how people or players will want to play outdoors in Minnesota in April or late September but then again they can pull it off in Detroit so I guess they can try and see if those crazy Gopher lovers can go out and see games in probably sub-40 degree temperature.  Either way Joe Mauer is the man regardless just because he didn't want to run away from a place where he grew up, basically he's a country pumpkin through and through.  As for Joe Nathan it's a terrible thing to see, but AL Central teams will be happier, but in about 12-18 months from now I bet he'll be back and sitting batters down again.

March Madness All Over Again

Disclaimer, this is in no way the exact picks that are going to win some loser a ton of money.  If I had that kind of information I clearly wouldn't be running any type of BS blog.  Thank you.

Now this is a great time of the year.  College basketball is at its finest and spring training baseball is on daily and when one ends the other begins, perfect planning.  So, I'm going to try my best to breakdown the bracket to what I think is going to happen in the tournament.

MIDWEST

I'm taking Kansas over Lehigh like a normal person, UNLV over UNI.  5-12 Michigan St will beat up on New Mexico State and Maryland beats the Cinderella story Houston by 15-plus.  Bruce Pearl and his magically suit beat San Diego and the Hoyas plow past Ohio.  Georgia Tech with the upset special and Ohio State over UC Santa Barbara.  Round 2.  Bye-bye UNLV as Kansas moves into the sweet 16.  Michigan St has flashes of earlier on in the year and beats Maryland, G'town beats Tennessee on a buzzer beater, yes I'm calling it.  Finally, Evan Turner drops 25 in the win over Georgia Tech.  Sweet 16.  Tom Izzo and the Spartans shock the Jayhawks to move on and the Hoyas represent the Big East beating the Buckeyes.  Elite 8.  Georgetown and John the 3rd move into the final four with a 65-59 win over Michigan St.

WEST

Syracuse only wins by 10 over Vermont.  Florida State beats an Gonzaga team that was once good this year and yes it's our first 12 over 5 upset with UTEP over Butler.  Vanderbilt beats Murray State by 20 and Minnesota upsets Xavier with great defense.  Pittsburgh gets the win against Oakland and BYU stomps over Florida who has no business in the tournament.  And Kansas St beats North Texas.  Round 2.  'Cuse over Florida St by 15 and UTEP over Vanderbilt so there's a sleeper for you.  Pitt over the Gophers so they go back into their hole and BYU over Kansas St because Mormons have something or someone on their side.  Sweet 16.  Syracuse over UTEP cause the clock struck midnight.  Pitt over BYU in an awesome game, if this actually happens then I think this game will be one of the best of the tournament.  Elite 8.  The Big East prevails again the 'Cuse avenges a loss this year to the Panthers making it to the final four.

SOUTH
Duke handles Pine-Bluff.  Louisville over whatever Pac-10 team they play and the Aggies of Texas A&M over USU big time.  Sienna over a weakening Purdue team and this upset will be huge.  The Irish prevail shortly after Patty's day and beat Old Dominion.  The Baylor Bears prove there's a good time in Texas this year beating Sam Houston and Richmond wins big, finally Nova kills whatever team they play, watch out.  Round 2.  Duke beats the Cardinals and Pittino goes back to his mistress.  A&M beats the Sienna by 4 probably 75-71 again I'm calling my shot.  Notre Dame beats the Big 12 Bears of Baylor and throw you're V's up for Villanova and Scotty Reynold as they roll past Richmond.  Sweet 16.  Duke finally makes it there with a solid victory over the Aggies and big Luke ends a great career losing to conference rival Villanova.  Elite 8.  This hurts big time but I don't think Nova can handle the big men that Duke has and yes, it's happening again, the Blue Devils will be in the final four, not that I hate them I just don't like seeing Nova lose.

EAST

Kentucky loses Eastern Tennesee, just playing Texas chokes again to Wake Forrest and Cornell is the other 12 over the 5 beating Temple.  The Badgers badger the Wofford team back home, yea I know it's bad and marquette gets upset by Washington, I just have a feeling, remember the disclaimer earlier?  New Mexico Lobos, I believe, over Montana and Clemson beats up on Mizzou.  The Mountaineers stay hot and win by 25 I'll say.  Round 2.  John Wall and company dances into the sweet 16 with a win over Wake Forrest.  Cornell is another underdog in the sweet 16 with a win over Wisconsin.  New Mexico over Washington and I wanted to have them in but the Huskies just don't have 2 upsets in them.  WVU and sweatpant wearing Bob Huggins win against Clemson.  Sweet 16.  Kentucky over Cornell to move past another Cinderella story.  New Mexico loses to West Virginia as they stay hot still.  Elite 8.  Kentucky and their young talented squad move into the Final Four with a tough win over the Mountaineers.

RECAP

Final Four- Duke, Kentucky, Georgetown, Syracuse
Elite 8- West Virginia Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Georgetown, Michigan St

Now I haven't picked a national champion yet because I wanna make sure all my picks make it through Friday once that happens I'll come back and if my final four is intact I'll proceed with the Final Four picks and all that nonsense for whoever cares.

A New LT in New York...Good or Bad?

Usually at this time of the year I would talk nonstop about March Madness but that will come shortly.  Now I wanna talk about the new running back the Jets signed, Ladainian Tomlinson.  I'm not sure that this is going to work out, but it all depends on what happens with Leon Washington.  If Leon stays with the Jets and resigns then there's a good chance the Jets will repeat as the NFL's leading rushing team taking more pressure off Mark Sanchez.

Lets talk about how the Jets didn't want to sign Thomas Jones because he was too old only being 30 but they go out and sign an older and more beat up running back in LT?  "Tank" Jones should have been an All-Pro back but he got snubbed because he's super underrated even in New York.  Even though Thomas Jones has put up better numbers over the past 3 years than LT the Jets opted to let him test the free agent market and he eventually signed with the Chiefs.  The number show that this is a bad move by the Jets front office but maybe LT just needed a change of scenery, lets hope so.

If LT has any flashes of old then the Jets will look like football geniuses, also, he can catch passes out of the flat better than Thomas Jones and that works well with the Jets passing game.  But Thomas Jones is a hard-nosed runner who can run all day and he proved that in his years with the Jets.  He's a hard worker who can just demolish teams, especially with the returning offensive line the Jets have.  I'm going to miss Thomas Jones and I think he's clearly a better running back than LT as of right now.

If Leon Washington comes back to the Jets and performs like we know he can then the Jets will have 3 good back in Leon, LT, and Shonne Greene.  Also, LT can drop some knowledge on those younger guys and help with film and basically help with them like a coach would because he has plenty of things he can share with 2 very good running backs.

If Leon Washington leaves then the LT deal looks bad.  Then we, the Jets, will have an old and some what washed up running back in LT and a young back in Shonne Greene who'll have to take most of the carries because LT has been overused throughout his career and his numbers have been declining for a while now.  So, Mr. Washington please come back to New York, we love you here in the Gang Green and who else will offer you money like we will because you're coming off a nasty injury.  Come back and be part of a good rushing attack and be the special teams all-pro player like we all know you can be.  And if Leon Washington goes else where then the Jets will be kind of skimpy in the backfield pending the draft.  So Jet fans, lets just pray for one of two things.  First, that Leon comes back and if he leaves we have to hope LT somehow turns into Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds and gets better with age, not probable.

"Golden"boy of Boxing is Wack

On the eve of the Manny Pacquiao Josh Clottey fight I want to bring up the fact that this fight should not be happening.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this is going to be a good fight in which the viewer will get their money's worth.  But everyone is still wondering whether or not Floyd is going to man up and actually agree to fight the Pac-man without a zillion ridiculous requests.  Yea so what he agreed to fight, but it was only to save his name.  He agreed to fight only pending certain drug tests that would leave Pacquiao upset and clearly looking like a fool because like a normal person he refused the testing.

We all know Floyd Mayweather may be one of the best boxers in the past 50 years, but the fact is he only fights people he knows he can beat up on so he doesn't lose that perfect record of his.  He's had some good competition over the years and obviously won all of those fights, but Manny Pacquiao is a boxer who is on his level and would give a great fight.  Mayweather is trying to delay this fight so he can say that Pacquiao is the one that is backing out, clearly trying to make Mayweather look better.

Mayweather needs to get over himself and Manny Pacquiao is the guy to prove to the world that Mayweather may be great but he's not perfect and that's what "Goldenboy Promotions" is all about.  Mayweather isn't going to fight Manny anytime soon.  He knows that Pac-man is infact the best pound for pound boxer in the world.  Notice how I didn't use the word "fighter" because my boy GSP (Georges St-Pierre) might be and he is a freak athlete in general.  This fight, if it is to ever happen, would be great for boxing.  Not only will it be the best fight of the decade but it would involve two of the most well known boxers in the world.  Also, I would love to watch the HBO 24/7 on those two guys because the trash talking would be nothing short of amazing.

Again, I'm not saying Mayweather isn't a stud boxer by any stretch of the imagination because anyone with a perfect record has to be pretty damn good.  But he needs to grow some balls and step up to the plate to fight someone who can actually give him a real 12 round challenge, you know someone who can go the distance with him.  So stop with all the stupid drug testing and blood testing requests and finally be a man and step into the ring with a man who can give you a real fight and put your prestige to the test so you can prove yourself to the world and the boxing lovers.  Although, I think the fight would end in a split decision ending in favor of Pacquiao because I think people wanna see Mayweather go down, like me, kind of.

-C.E.

Nomar was Wicked Awesome

So Nomar Garciaparra officially announced his retirement today from professional baseball after signing a one day contract with the Boston Red Sox so he could end his career where he started it.  As a Yankee fan I hated seeing this twitchy, OCD, big nosed weirdo at the plate with his silly rituals and antics, and if the Yankee fans hate you then that means you're probably really good and you usually perform well against the Bronx Bombers.  Nomar did exactly that.  He was a stellar baseball player during his 14 year career although toward the end he was plagued by injuries, but nonetheless he was always a hustling, hard nosed, gritty baseball player.

Nomar came up in 1996 with the Sox at a time when the American League had 3 of the best shortstops in the game.  It was agreed upon all over the league that A-Rod was the best hitter, Jeter was the best fielder, and Nomar was the best overall shortstop in baseball.  That he was.  In 1997 he won the AL Rookie of the year award as well as the Silver Slugger award.  Not bad for a first year player in the best division in baseball and in a town that will shun you if you don't perform. 

To add onto his accolades, and yes this is killing me as a Yankee fan to admit that he was an amazing baseball player but I'm a baseball fan first, he was also a 6 time all star and won the 2006 NL Comeback Player of the Year award.  He is also one of 13 players in MLB history to hit 2 grand slams in the same game and the only player to achieve this feat in his home ball park.  I can imagine the curtain call the Fenway faithful gave him after an 8 RBI, 2 HR day, again not too shabby. 

In 2001 Nomar suffered a wrist injury which basically lead to other injuries to somewhat hurt his career.  After these injuries, similar to Griffey, his numbers declined a little bit.  Then in 2004 he was traded right before the trade deadline and it landed him in Chicago with the Cubs and as we all know that was the year the "Idiots" ended up winning the World Series.  It must have hurt to watch your former ball club that you were the face of break the Curse of the Babe while he was in bed with Mia Hamm watching, probably being happy for his former club because that's the type of person he is.

With a career batting average of .313 and a hand full of awards to his name Nomar Garciaparra will be forever known as a very good major league baseball player and he'll be forever remembered for his wild antics in his pre-at-bat rituals.  He will now join the crew of ESPN's Baseball Tonight and I know I'm excited to listen to his insight and knowledge of the game.  So, Mr. Garciaparra my hat goes off to you for a great career.  Yes Yankee fans we have to give credit where credit is due.  Nomar, you are the man.

71 (no asterik)

I really think that everyone should take a step back and appreciate what UCONN's women basketball team is doing.  The streak started over a year ago, I believe November 16th 2008, and they haven't lost since.  Pretty remarkable to say the least.  This team is on another level, for any team (regardless of the level or sports) to win even half of as many games is just silly.  But this team could probably compete on the professional level in the WNBA.

Another unreal stat is that the Huskies have only trailed 86 total minutes in the 71 game winning streak.  Let's break that down.  A math lesson here for those who aren't stellar with numbers- there are 40 minutes in a college basketball game, therefore, 71 games times the 40 minutes in each game is 2,840 total minutes played in the 71 game winning streak.  So 2,840 minutes-the 86 minutes they've been behind is 2,754 minutes they've led during their 71 game winning streak.  This is just an unreal feat to accomplish. 

They are also 13-0 against top 10 teams during their streak.  Some more math here, sorry but the only way for people to really see how great this streak is, is to throw silly numbers at you, 5.5% of their wins have been against top ten teams.  This is including both the Big East Tournament as well as the NCAA tournament.  And in these tournaments every game is a possibility to be upset, but UCONN has gone through this without a problem.  Just a fact, UCONN is about to win it's 16th Big East tournament.

This team has beat up on opponents on average by 26.2 points.  I can't even imagine the spreads for these games.  UCONN must be giving up close to 30 points a game depending on who they are playing.  It's just unreal for a college team to be a dynasty the way UCONN has been.  I'm honestly hoping that they can continue to win and win and win so this streak goes into triple digits and set them apart from every other team in collegiate and professional sports, by far.  They may be considered the "Evil Empire" of college basketball, but what girl wouldn't want to go to a program that doesn't lose?  Don't worry I'll respond to anyone who cares to comment on that question. 

Really Big Ben?

Come on Ben, seriously come on already, learn your lesson.  Big Ben was once again in the media for a non-football related incident.  Mr. Roethlisberger was charged with another crime against a female, this time assault on a woman.  Let's review now.  He's been in a motorcycle accident with no helmet on sidelining him for part of the season and requiring surgery, last year he was accused of rape and the entire time he declined to comment on anything (meaning he was probably guilty), and now he is in the media for assault on a woman, sexual assault, and it will be investigated.  Get a clue Ben.  You're a 2-time Super Bowl Champion and the quarterback of one of the most storied franchises in the NFL.

When will Ben Roethlisberger realize that everything he does will eventually be in the media because of his high profile status.  This time he was at a club in Georgia and witnesses claim that he sexually assaulted a woman.  Now, the police are going to investigate this one meaning that people will be called and questioned to move this process along.  But how does a guy like this not learn lessons from himself and others? 

Let's review some of the more high profile situations in which athletes were in trouble with the police.  Clearly we all know about Kobe, he's moved on and is as dominant as ever.  Next, we have Pacman Jones.  He was a multiple offender, just like Ben, and he was basically given a second chance with the Cowboys and now he's in the CFL.  Josh Hamilton was the second coming of Christ himself coming out of high school, was the number one overall pick in the MLB draft in 1999 and ended up blowing 4 million dollars in drugs and booze, even though he is one of my favorite players, he's got issues.  Michael Vick was in trouble with police for his dog-fighting ring, did just about two years in prison, learned his lesson big time, and was a back-up quarterback for a good Eagles team.  Good ol' Plax brought a gun into a club, wearing sweatpants in a club mind you, and eventually ended up shooting himself in the leg (how ironic would it be if he shot himself in the foot).  And most recently, we come to Tiger Woods who didn't get into police trouble but was in sex rehabilitation for his dozen-or-so females that he had on the side of his wife, he's a swinger.

But we get back to Big Ben, he's made mistakes before but continued to go out and get into more trouble.  I just wish that these people will learn from their mistakes.  All of the aforementioned athletes learned from their "disgressions" other than Pacman, have returned to the field of play on the highest playing field and have basically turned over a new stone by producing as well.  But Ben, come on, stay away from bad situations-meaning don't go to bars or clubs, get belligerent, and touch a female.  There are plenty of people out there who would kill to be in his situation and plenty of girls who would want to be with him, but as he hasn't learned there are tons of people who are out there to get you in trouble.  Now, we don't know if something was said or happened that triggered this, but it's inexcusable regardless.  Lets hope this is the last of this kind of thing from Ben and lets hope that other athletes learn from this and start to act more like Captain Clutch (Derek Jeter!)

Wild Wild West-Seatle Mariners

As I start looking forward to spring training and watching the teams get ready I was thinking about the teams who improved the most or the teams that had the best off-season moves and the first team that jumps to mind, other than the New York Yankees, are the Seattle Mariners.  Last year its fair to say that the Mariners were just about a joke in the worst and least competitive division in the American League.  Other than Ichiro batting .353 and King Felix having yet another impressive year, there wasn't much to talk about when bringing up the team from Seattle.

All that has changed with this past off-season.  Acquiring Cliff Lee could make their rotation the best in baseball, yes that's right the best in baseball.  If Erik Bedard has a good year then this rotation will be lights out to say the least.  Let's just say that Bedard goes out and pitches like he did when he was with the Orioles,  add this to two very well established pitchers in Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee.  Watch out, seriously.  This team has the potential to win the AL West taking down the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or whatever they call themselves now-a-days.  Not just talking about their rotation right now, but their line-up is very solid.  With the addition of Eric Byrnes, Casey Kotchman, and Chone Figgins basically completes this line-up to make them a contender.

Ken Griffey Jr., Eric Byrnes, and Franklin Gutierrez will have 2 ridiculous guys in front of them in Chone Figgins and Ichiro.  These 2 pests will clearly add speed to any line-up but also they bring professionalism to hitting by working counts and being able to move runners along, oh yea and lets not forget how much they are going to be on base.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Chone and Ichiro are going to work well together and set each other up for success by doing "the little things" coaches always preach about, oh and then they have two possible all-stars and a Hall of Famer waiting to drive them in.  Great.

I guess the Mariners have learned from their past signings, Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson because they went out and acquired some stellar ball players to round out their line-up and rotation.  Watch out American League.

Possible Tradition Men's BBall Powerhouses Out

UCLA Bruins, UConn Huskies, and Arizona Wildcats.  These school's Men's basketball programs have enough prestige that for each school Disney can adapt a story for any of them and make a movie out of them.  But this year all of them are "down" compared to other years.  Are the kids spreading out else where?  Prestige definitely still matters to kids coming out of high school because Coach K at Duke is still getting the cream of the crop high school recruits.  Is it the coaching this year?  Or maybe the schedules are tough with a lot of road games?  Whatever it is the schools we've been so accustomed to these schools winning and they aren't exactly doing all of that this year. 

UConn has been through a tough season with head coach Jim Calhoun missing 7 games for an illness, that, plus the 2nd hardest schedule in the country can lead to a tough season, but nonetheless, they're UConn, they're supposed to be battling for the Big East title year in and year out.  Although, out of these teams they have the best chance of getting into the NCAA tournament, I'm saying a 8 seed, this isn't your typical "UConn" year.  They have a good squad bringing back a good core from the year before, but loosing Thabeet may be the missing link because it was obvious he was a fixture in the middle of the floor.

It seemed as though the older Lute Olson got the worse the Wildcats of Arizona became.  This is what could have led him to retirement, or maybe the fact that he realized that having a tan as a senior citizen was actually detrimental to his health.  Either way, the Arizona Wildcats, as well as the entire Pac-10 conference (what a joke), are down and out to say the least.  16-14 is not what Arizona basketball is about, they're used to being a top 3 seed in any given region for the NCAA tournament.

As for UCLA, what's your excuse? Come on, this school is supposed to be one of the most storied college basketball programs wiping the floor with the competition when it comes to counting NCAA Championships (11).  This could just be a fluke year for the Bruins because they've been to the Final Four from 2006-2008, but haven't won a national championship since '95.  UCLA at one point had won 7, yes 7, consecutive NCAA championships.  That's the definition of a dynasty, now I'm wondering what happened? 

Now I know that UNC, I'm noting this because of the picture I put in, hasn't had the greatest year ever.  But something about Roy Williams gives me confidence in them to see them in the 64 team field.  Now remember we're looking at a team that graduated one of the best college basketball players ever.  He was comparable to Tim Tebow (imagine hanging out with both of them) with his intensity and winning ability.  Now I get back to the whole point of this topic, can anyone recall a time when UConn, UCLA, or Arizona weren't in the NCAA tournament?  Exactly.  I'm excited to see a new school like BYU, K-State, or Purdue start a new college basketball franchise.

An Ode to a DAMONic Man

First, I love America and watching the USA Hockey team beat Canada in their own country was nothing short of spectacular.

Johnny Damon signed with the Detroit Tigers for a 1year 8 million dollar contract.  I think I'm upset? Yea, I'm really upset to see Johnny go.  Even though he's getting old at 36 and the fact that we (the Yankees) traded for an amazing athlete in Curtis Granderson, Mr. Damon brought so much to the table for the Yankees.  After reading Joe Torre's "Yankee Years" and Damon's naked push-ups and pull-ups to loosen the mood the Yankees locker room what else can you honestly ask for in a player?  He was the definition of a team player, he put up good numbers, and was an absolute fan favorite even when he was injured.  I loved the way he played the game, even though his swing and throwing style was unorthodox to say the least.

Once Michael Kay designated the middle deck in right field "Damon's deck" I would always check to see if tickets were available there, but it always seemed to be sold out in that area so the 300 level seats or bleachers would work well regardless.  Now, Johnny Damon also changed the Yankee Stadium Bleach Creature "roll call" (for those who do not know what that is the fans in the bleachers chant every players name until they acknowledge them, usually with a raised hand) but Damon would turn and give a rockstar salute with with tongue out and the crowd would go wild for him.  He brought a fun, loose, relaxed demeanor into the somewhat serious and uptight Yankee team.

Now, for a lead-off man, so what he's a lefty at Yankee Stadium, he put up some serious numbers when he was in the line-up on a everyday basis.  In his four years with the Bronx Bombers he hit 77 homeruns, had a .285 batting average, and averaged over 100 runs each year with the Yankees, not bad at all for having missed time for injury.  He's a good old boy who just enjoyed being on the field and winning, and winning he did, as we all know he won a World Series this past year with the Yankees and the world was great to him.  But the guys in the head office decided to part ways with him this year mainly because he wanted a long term deal and for a 36 year old outfielder it doesn't seem possible cause the Yankees have made that mistake before.

I'm going to miss Johnny at the top of the line-up for the Yanks this year, as I'm sure many others will as well.  After we stole him from the Red Sox we cleaned him up and made him cute and cuddley, kinda like a stray dog.  Regardless of his "Judas" like acts he's going to be better known for his "Idiots" theme he implemented on Bo-Sox team.  But he was a good Yankee always playing hard not worrying about his body running into walls and coming up with big hits giving him a nice pie in the face.  So here's to you Mr. Damon, I'll miss you in Pinstripes, but I'm sure you'll do well in the AL Central then we can see you in the first round of play-offs at the House that Ruth Built.  Thank you Johnny.

New York Knicks

The last time I seriously cared about the Knicks was when then they decided to part ways with Patrick Ewing.  That was devastating to me, like seeing Paul O'Neil retire.  But the fact of the matter is that the Knicks haven't been any good since then, only now they're starting to put things together with next years unbelievably talent laced free agent market.  For starters, I just want everyone to know I never thought that Larry Brown was the answer in New York, he could never handle the pressure in New York.

David Lee has been a fixture in New York under the radar and under the rim for the Knickerbockers over the past few years.  He is a smart hard working player who busts his butt all day up and down those 94 feet.  He is complemented by, I think, a very good "classic" point guard in Chris Duhon.  Now, lets talk about the trades yesterday.  The Knicks put themselves in the playoff hunt by acquiring seven time all star Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez in a 3 way deal.  Part of this deal is that they have to pick up the rest of McGrady's contract for the rest of the season which isn't bad considering we're basically only using him to get into the play offs.  The Knicks trades Larry Hughes, Jared Jefferies, and Jordan Hill to get these two good professional players, not a bad deal Donnie Walsh, it's about time you started acting like your baseball counterpart the World Champion New York Yankees.

This trade is only the start of what is going to happen in the off-season, the Knicks are going to go wild to say the least.  With a fair amount of cap room to use they can go out and get the all-stars that New York fans desire.  I'm not saying Lebron is coming to the big apple, I can't see it happening to be truthful, he'd basically have to take part in the rebuilding process of a storied franchise.  Now, lets talk other possible options.  D-Wade and Chris Bosh.  BOOM!  They'd work very well together with Gallinardi and Lee giving them a stellar line-up full of players that can produce and work together.  Now I'm sure Bosh will be easier to persuade because honestly, who doesn't want to live in America or play in the big apple.  But trying to get D-Wade over might be harder because Miami is an awesome city with great weather and I'm sure he owns enough beach front property there to make anyone jealous.

 

Now, here's my projected opening day 2010-2011 New York Knickerbocker Line-up:
Dwyane Wade
Danilo Gallanardi
Al Harrington (Union County whats up!)
David Lee
Chris Bosh

Not bad lets hope the Knicks can manage to pull something like this off and hope none of these signing end up like Eddy Curry, yes I know he's a Knick but he's the biggest bust of all time, thanks Isiah Thomas.

The Big East Beast

As I'm watching the Villanova vs. UCONN game on ESPN for the "Big Monday" match-up I start to realize how unbelievable Big East basketball really is.  It's unreal.  It's ridiculous.  It's absurd.  Any of those words work.  As of right now there are five teams ranked in the country that are part of the Big East Conference and they are all in the top 20 as of right now.  Not bad.  But what really makes this conference special is that it could be the best college conference of any college sports and any team can be upset on any given day in this competitive conference.

Take yesterday (Sunday) for the best example of the year.  Louisville walks into the Carrier Dome and beats Syracuse by 6 in a great back and forth game.  Syracuse was ranked third at the time and first in the Big East, while Louisville was unranked in country and seventh in the Big East.  Yes, Rick Pitino is a great coach but his team is currently on a "down" year, even though most teams would kill to have a down year like that Syracuse is still a better overall team.  Now, the Hoyas of Georgetown come into Jersey to play the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers at the RAC and anyone who actually thought Rutgers had a chance to win was crazy.  They were 2 and something insane against teams ranked in the top 10 and lets be honest, Rutgers isn't exactly a dominating figure in the Big East sporting a 13-12 overall record and a 3-9 conference record putting them one spot above last place DePaul.  But somehow, someway Fred Hill Jr. and the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers pulled off possibly the biggest upset of the year thus far. 

Seriously, think about it.  What other conference, in any sports, is this competitive?  Maybe Big XII or SEC football?  But the bottom half of those conferences will never beat a Texas or a Florida/LSU.  One conference that matches up is NJAC Baseball.  Just playing I had to give it a plug once this year and I couldn't refuse comparing my college baseball teams conference to Big East basketball.  Now back to reality.  If a sub-par team who is second to last in the conference can upset the third place team in the conference who knows what else is possible.  I'm also excited for the tournament because I think about 3 years ago Syracuse needed to win the conference tournament to get into the NCAA tournament and ended up doing that being the 6 seed.  Really? The 6 seed winning any conference tournament?

As of right now the Nova-UCONN game seems to be another upset.  There's 1:26 left in the game and UCONN is up 7.  Let it be known that the game is being played at Villanova (well the Wachovia Center in Philly) and every game Syracuse has lost this year has been home to an unranked team.  This is where I'm going with this, it seems most "upset" games are lost with the home team being ranked and the visiting team being extremely underrated.  Maybe the students just figured it wasn't good enough to go to.  But regardless this conference is out of control, any team can win at any time regardless of conference standings. 

Winter Olympics Preview

Now is there really any question as to who we think is going to win the 2010 Winter Olympics? No, it's clear that we KNOW that the U.S.A is going to win.  But I'm going to tell you why.  We're the best!  As the great Kenny Powers put it, "Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism."  Now on a serious note, the U.S. will walk away, yet again, with the highest number of medals thrusting us into the top spot and overall winner of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The U.S. has the most dominant athletes when it comes to the Olympics ever since the Russians and Germans stopped feeding their athletes anabolic steroids.  I present you Shaun White and yes he is an athlete.  So what he doesn't have a lot of muscle definition or size (or skin pigment) the tricks he performs require a good amount of athleticism.  Going twenty-some odd feet in the air and having the body control to start twisting and turning his body to make perfect moves and then having the control to land those wild moves is pretty gnarly.  Also, these athletes watch a good amount of film to analyze where they go wrong with their moves.  All that stuff involves being athletic and not only that they do it in the freezing cold.  Now, the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team was made popular by the 1980 Lake Placid team that won the gold and defeated the "unbeatable" Russians in the semi-final round then going on to beat the Germans in the final round to capture the gold.  For those who do not know this story, and if you are one of these people just leave the country, watch the Disney movie "Miracle" it's stellar to say the least.  But ever since that magical Olympics the U.S. has dominated in the hockey scene and I can't imagine them getting anything less than the gold yet again.  Apollo Anton Ohno may be the most popular speed skater of all time and he is good.  The name is legit to being with and the fact that this man goes around bends at high speeds with sharp blades on gives him a ton of respect.  Yes, he'll win the gold and if not definitely a medal at least.

I would go on and talk about skiers and other sports but the honest truth is the only other person I know is Bode Miller who is basically notorious for being a drunk.  Regardless I'll be rooting for American athletes no matter what the sport is.  This is our country and who couldn't be proud to be here.  So I'll leave you with one final thought on supporting our winter athletes in the 2010 Olympics, "If you don't love, leave it". 

NHL Has Caught My Eye

For whatever reason I wasn't a huge hockey fan growing up.  Yea of course I went to the D.A.R.E. sponsored events where they give out t-shirts, everyone gets a free hot dog, and we learn about drug and alcohol abuse (maybe Miguel Cabrera should have been there).  But being in elementary school and watching sports that aren't huge in the U.S., like hockey, I didn't grasp the game and how awesome it actually is.  And to be honest the only time I actually watched was when I was told, yes I had to be told, that the Devils were in the Stanley Cup Finals, pitiful I know. 

The honest truth is that I'm only starting to get into enjoying hockey now, at the age of 21.  This could possibly be because I'm finally realizing that these hockey players are unbelievable athletes, plus their lack of teeth and Mick Foley beards make them even cooler.  They have to be agile on the skates to change direction, powerful to hit a slap shot, and strong to check another man into the boards.  All of this for 60 minutes doesn't sound easy to me.  Another facet of the game that I like is their toughness.  We always hear on ESPN when a hockey player gets hurt that "he's a hockey player he'll return" and he always does.  These guys really are tough men.  They get into fights, sit out for about 2 minutes, then come right back in for revenge on the boards.  And thinking it about it now, you almost never hear about hockey players on the DL or IR unless it is a serious injury like a huge laceration from a stick.  These guys go out and play 82 games hardly missing one of them and perform a very hard game with incredible skill. 

Again, I can't get over how ridiculous these athletes are, honestly they're studs.  They're tough as nails, powerful, agile like ballerinas, and grow great playoffs beards.  The latter of this list has my most respect, playoffs beards are pretty American and that's kinda what I'm all about in case you haven't noticed.  When it comes to a favorite team I'm not too sure who I like the best.  Obviously the Devils will have my heart because they're from Jersey like me and don't play too far from me at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.  But I've watched Flyer games and like most Philly sports fan, they're out of control to say the least.  I enjoy teams that have great fans because I'm the greatest fan in the world, a Yankees fan.  Also, the Rangers are always on MSG and although the Knicks haven't been too brutal to watch, the Rangers are enjoyable as well.  I understand that I can not all 3 of these teams because they're all rivals but being a hockey fan first I can watch all of them regardless.  I hope many of you start to watch hockey because it truly is an awesome sport and if you realize the abilities of these men on the ice, it only gets better.  

Saints Ain't the "Aints" No More

Another year and another stellar Super Bowl game to watch on a cold night in Jersey when I wish I was in South Florida just for the fact that it's nice and warm in Miami.  With the Saints winning the Super Bowl it seems to give hopes to fans and people associated with other teams that don't have any prestige, like the Jets, Chiefs, and especially the Lions right now.  The Saints have always been a team that opponents have just rolled over.  Even though playing in the Super Dome is tough, the Saints haven't been remotely close to being as tough.

Signing Drew Brees was the best thing that ever happened to the Saints.  They brought in a guy that was injured at first, but he is the definition of a professional the way he goes about his business on the field.  Now that he is a Super Bowl winner and Super Bowl MVP he just put himself into the "elite" group of the NFL quarterbacks.  His performance last night was nothing short of amazing.  I'm not going to say he outplayed Peyton, but last night Drew Brees was the better quarterback which lead to him being the winning quarterback.  Mr. Brees deserves it, he just seems like a good dude with all the charities that him and his wife partake in and in his post game interview he was so overwhelmed that it was impossible to hear what he was saying through that enormous smile he had on.

The game itself was great.  There was a balanced amount of defense and offense to make the game enjoyable to watch and not only that, it was some what back and forth for a little, plus the Saints overcame a 10-0 deficit.  Now, the commercials absolutely blew.  I can't remember another year where I didn't laugh at all during the commercials.  Only the E*TRADE baby was good.  I mean come on Bud Light get your act together for the Super Bowl, you're paying an unreal amount of money the least they could do is step their game up for a great commercial, but they didn't.  Next, The Who looked like a bunch of skeletons on stage during the halftime show.  The last couple of years with Prince (or whatever he is now), Tom Petty, and Bruce Springsteen the half time shows have be great, especially when you compare them to Nelly.  This year just didn't do it for me.

On a final note, I'd consider selling a kidney if someone were to tell me they could get me a plane ticket to New Orleans and spend this week leading up to Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street.  I mean talk about perfect timing, the Saints make and win the first Super Bowl in franchise history and only about a week away is one of the biggest parties in the world, Fat Tuesday.  I can only imagine the bar scenes going on down there and the nonstop partying....maybe one day.

The No (Pro) Bowl

I tried, I honestly did, I swear, but I couldn't bring myself to watch and enjoy the Pro-Bowl yet again, not to mention I had plenty of important things to do like laundry, homework, and catching up on sleep.  But it just isn't appealing to see David Gerrard as an all-star.  David Gerrard being a Pro-Bowler is like Pedro Feliz being in the MLB All-Star game, it just doesn't work for me.

Another, thing about the Pro-Bowl I didn't like was the uniforms.  Could they have gotten uglier jerseys for these elite athletes?  Maybe they should take a page from the NBA All-Star game and have P. Diddy design their uniforms.  Or maybe just have the players where their team's uniforms like the do in baseball.  Either way the Pro-Bowl just doesn't seem appealing to me, and apparently a lot of other people as well.

I'm sure that actually going to the Pro-Bowl and being around the festivities would be legit, but I'd be upset this year considering it's usually in Hawai'i which can do a lot more for the whole tourists scene and player appeal.  For instance, most of these men already played in Miami at Landshark Stadium (Jimmy Buffet is the man) and for them I'm sure Hawai'i would be a lot better to go and experience a whole different level of football.  Now let's think about the MLB and NBA All-Star games, they have awesome day-before "shows" for the fans to watch.  The Home-Run Derby, especially with Josh Hamilton at Yankee Stadium, is something a fan of any sport can enjoy.  Watching these men destroy baseballs is exciting regardless of who you root for.  Next, the NBA has the 3-point contest (which I actually enjoy watching) and of course the Slam-Dunk contest.  Even though every contest seems weaker and weaker ever since Vince Carter stole the show for the rest of eternity, it something that is excellent. 

The Pro-Bowl doesn't have any of this, it is a joke.  They should try and institute something similar like the NBA and MLB offer.  Maybe a long ball contest where a quarterback will see how far they can throw the ball or a kick off between kickers to see who has the best foot, to be honest they just need anything.  Part of the reason I tried to even watch the Pro-Bowl was to see what Mr. Esteban "Child Please" Ochocinqo was doing. I really hope they can start and make this game slightly more interesting.

Mens College Basketball Curse of #1

I don't get it right now.  For the exception of Kansas, any team to go into the number 1 ranking in the top 25 this year has found a way to falter.  Noticeably Texas who got beat like they stole something in three of their past four games.  The three teams who have been in the number 1 overall position this year all have had double digit wins and zero loses at the time, pretty, pretty, pretty good.  While Kansas held this position for the longest time and could quite well be the best team amateur basketball has to offer, the other two teams (Texas and Kentucky) couldn't hold on for more than a week, now that's weak.

First we start with the most recent team to fall from the top, Kentucky.  With the sensational freshman class they have it's easy to see why they were number 1, that, and they were 21-0 at the time when they were picked number 1.  Then came a seemingly easy task of traveling to SEC opponent South Carolina and playing there.  But of course, our President wants to be Jay Bilas so he gave his 2-cents to the Wildcats.  Although he was calling them and thanking them for raising money for the disaster in Haiti, I'm not hating, that was a great moment for both the Kentucky team for fundraising and for President Obama for noticing when something special is happening.  Now, the President called to wish good luck and spoke of how when teams get to the top they seem to get complacent.  They all clearly voted for McCain because not one of them, not even Calipari, took any of what he said to heart.  They went out and got beat by a sub-par GameCocks team who was brewing up a upset special.  Kentucky lost at South Carolina 68-62 and the courts were stormed by drunken college students excited by the fact that they just took down the best team in the country.

Kansas may well be the best team in the country.  They have it all.  Lightning fast guards who know had to distribute and score, a solid defense, and a farm boy under the hoop at all times getting rebounds and altering shots.  Kansas was the team picked number 1 this year and they showed it in the beginning beating teams by 30 the way the 2007-2008 Patriots did.  But them came a big out of conference game at "The Summit" (you think Bruce Pearl is embarrassed by that name?).  Tennessee has a great squad this year with a good group of veterans and another solid recruiting class brought in by Mr. Pearl.  When Kansas traveled to UT it almost seemed obvious for a great game but I wasn't thinking upset.  That afternoon the Vols beat the Jawhawks 76-68 playing in a great game.  These two teams went at eachother hard for all 40 minutes and as a basketball fan you couldn't ask for anything else, well maybe for the NBA to play this way.

Now we get to Texas.  What happened?  Texas was ranked number 1 going into a Big 12 ranked match up against a recently rejuvenated program in Kansas State (K-State, love those jerseys).  They fell 71-62, OK not too bad for the Longhorns playing on the road, but they were number 1 for only a week, tough luck right? No, just bad basketball for Texas in general.  Next, they lost to a Jim Calhoun-less UCONN 88-74 on the road again.  UCONN is a great team in the best conference in the country so this was a tough battle of Texas regardless, but if they want to get that prominent recognition they're going to have to win those games the way big time teams do.  Then they play Texas Tech and win, honestly no big deal to me.  The loss home against Baylor in OT is frightening for those "Burnt Orange" faithful.  Yes, Baylor has been steadily getting better, but for Texas to let them win at home in OT is nothing short of embarrassing.  This is not just a conference game, its an in-state rivalry that should be played with an uncanny amount of enthusiasm.  But they fell again, terribly.

Who is the next number 1 team to fall, probably Kansas again because I can see them getting the top spot again after Kentucky lost.  So, I am a huge Big East fan just for the record, so I think teams like Villanova, throw your V's up, and Syracuse ('Cuse) should be in the talk for number 1 overall teams in the country.  It's going to be great to watch that game because they're neck and neck in the Big East as well as the country.  Also, how about BYU, those Mormons are doing something right with their basketball and football teams excelling so much.  Now good luck to the next number 1 team and I hope they can hold their own and not fall fast.

MLB Really Chaps My Ass

Recently in the world of baseball there has been a trend, admit to taking steroids and it seems as though you've gone through Heaven to talk to God himself and he's absolved you of all your sins.  I don't get it.  These athletes lied to the public, the league, the fans, their teammates, and basically the world about taking illegal supplements and all they have to do is go on an interview and cry a little to have everyone like them again?  Recently it's been Mark McGwire, who's now the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, who came out and finally admitted to the world what I'm pretty sure we all knew already, that he took steroids, and a lot of them I'm sure.  He was my childhood hero growing up, maybe cause I was fat and his nickname was "Big Mac", either way his ability to go yard captured to eyes of everyone in the nation from about '97-'01.  Then came the Congress hearing and he was sweating like a whore in church, because not only was he nervous about being caught, but he knew that everything he was saying was a complete lie. 

Now five or so years later he obtains a dream job with an amazing organization and the first thing he has to do is address the media about his "uncertain" steroid use.  So like other current and former players, he comes cleans and admits that he used steroids.  Also, he states that they didn't make him hit homeruns...really Mark? Like seriously, really Mark?  Everyone knows anabolic steroids increase strength and muscle mass.  So if someone is on steroids and they get that extra strength from the sauce couldn't that be the difference between 5 feet over the fence and 5 feet in front of the fence? Who ya fooling?

This is why I'm upset.  Major League Baseball will continue to accept these cheating mongrels who used illegal supplements to increase their numbers which eventually led to an increase in salary, basically just stealing money and fans souls.  But a guy like Pete Rose whose never once in his life not played this game to 110% and holds one of baseballs most prestigious record can't even be involved with baseball because he bet on his own team?  Now I'm not backing Mr. Johnny Hustle at all because betting on a team you're managing is complete garbage and bush.  But he never bet on the other team and altered the game so he can win money.  He always bet on his team, in a sick way it showed he had complete faith, and he apologized just like these other meatheads.  Pete Rose did multiple interviews throughout the years admitting his wrongdoing.  But still he remains on the outside of the MLB circle.  As a player, there seemed to be no one better than Pete Rose, I mean come on the got the nickname "Johnny Hustle" what more do you need!  He was a 17 time All-Star at 5 different positions, holds 4 Major League records, 3 World Series Rings, 3 batting titles, an MVP, 2 Gold Gloves, and a Rookie of the Year.  But as a player he will not be admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY because as a manager he bet on his team to win.  I just don't get it.  And like I said before, I'm not siding with him, I still think he was wrong, but he admitted his faults like everyone else and should get the same treatment.

One more point about steroid users that came out recently, it seems as though everything Jose Canseco has said is correct.  I read his book, and now I'm a believer.  Keep up the good work Jose!

Reflections on Championship Sunday

I don’t even know where to begin with this post because the two games that we were played yesterday spoiled football fans around the nation. The first game to kick off the great day of football was the AFC championship game featuring the Colts and Jets. I had no doubt in my mind heading into the game that the Colts weren’t going to take care of business. Unfortunately for me, the Jets had me eating my words for close to thirty minutes of the game, but that’s why two halves are played. The games first scoring drive came from the Colts as the Jets bend but don’t break defense only yielded a field goal. This didn’t seem to rattle the Jets, as on their next play from scrimmage Mark Sanchez threw a bomb to Braylon Edwards (yes, he actually caught it), and ran in for the long TD score. It was a brilliant play call to go up top right away, as the Colts were expecting the run. The Jets D then held the Colts to another FG and the Jets were back in business. Once again, the Colts were 100 percent defending the run, and just like that the Jets used a wildcat pass to get back to the red zone. A few plays later, Sanchez threw another TD pass, and it was 14-6 Jets that quick. Was this really going to happen? Were the Jets seriously going to knock off the mighty Colts and Peyton Manning at home? Not much changed on the Colts next drive as they fumbled deep in their own territory and the Jets had their hopes set on a 21-3 halftime score. However, the Colts D bailed out the offense and held the Jets to a field goal. 17-3 Jets late in the 2nd quarter. No one in the nation would have predicted that from this point on it would be all Colts, but that’s basically the story here. Manning led the Colts down the field instantaneously and threw a TD strike to Austin Collie to cut the lead to 17-10 at halftime. This is where the tides turned completely and there was the feeling that Manning was starting to figure out the puzzle that’s the Jets defense.
        The 2nd half saw Manning just pick apart the Jets D hitting Garcon and Collie left and right. Revis did his part for most of the game, but luckily for the Colts there is only one of him. The only 3rd quarter score was a beautiful Manning strike to Garcon to give the Colts the lead for the first time. This is where fans just knew that might be it for the Jets and there rookie QB led offense. The 4th quarter was no different than the third as the Colts were responsible for all the points. A Dallas Clark TD reception was the nail in the coffin that deflated the Jets. A late Matt Stover FG closed out the scoring at 30-17. I’ll admit it was a gutsy performance by the Jets and to their credit no one dreamed they would get this far. This leaves Rex Ryan with some lofty expectations next year and only time will tell if his team will live up to it.

        An even better game followed the AFC championship game, as a battle of two best of offenses in the league took place between the Vikings and Saints took place down in New Orleans. Both teams came out firing in this one, starting with the Vikings. Favre came out throwing, moving the ball down the field with ease. The drive ended with a 19 yard TD run by Peterson and the Vikings took the early 7-0 lead. Apparently the Saints offense was just as ready to score as they followed up with their own impressive scoring drive, eventually scoring on a screen pass to Pierre Thomas. In only about 9 minutes of play, it was 7-7. The Vikings got the ball back and the Saints D failed yet again to keep the Vikings out of the end zone, this time letting Favre connect with Sidney Rice on a 5 yard pass to give the Vikes a 14-7 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. The 2nd quarter didn’t see as much scoring; only a Brees TD pass to Devery Henderson to tie the game at 14. The Vikings blew a huge opportunity late in the half as Reggie Bush muffed a punt that should have been a blatant fair catch call. Minnesota recovered in the Saints red zone but managed to screw up a golden opportunity as Favre and Peterson had a bad exchange on the ball, causing the fumble and the Saints jumped right on it.
        The start of the 2nd half was just like the beginning of the game. The Saints drove right down the field and Garcon found the end zone again. It was the Saints first lead of the game at 21-14. It didn’t last long. Favre led the Vikings right down the field again and the TD drive was capped off by another Peterson TD to tie the game again. The 4th quarter was just like the 3rd as both teams exchanged TDs. The Saints scored on a Reggie Bush TD to grab the lead again. However, once again, the Saints D failed to keep the Vikings out of the red zone as Peterson scored for the third time. This is where the game just got even more ridiculous. Everyone who watched the game knows the Vikings fumbled SIX TIMES and where somehow still in this game. Somehow they survived all the turnovers and found themselves in a position to win the game. With two minutes left and a tie game, the Vikings were driving and looked as if they were entering Ryan Longwell’s FG range. Enter vintage Brett Favre. With only 19 seconds left and after an inexcusable 12 men in the huddle penalty the Vikings were forced to throw on 3rd down to get closer for a FG. Favre rolled out to his right, had running room in which he could have picked up about 8 yards (which would have been enough) but instead threw across his body and into the middle of the field. I don’t care who is throwing the ball, that is a terrible decision, and everyone knows what happens when you do that, INTERCEPTION. Stunned. Shocked. Dumbfounded. Whatever you want to call it, that was everyone’s reaction. The rest is history. Overtime ensued and Favre never got a chance to redeem himself (partly in thanks to hideous calls by the refs that gave the Saints critical yards) as the Saints won the toss and 23 year old Hartley kicked a game winner in OT to send his team into the Superbowl. The game was an instant classic and it’s a shame Favre’s last pass may be a pick. Again.
-PJ

NFL Conference Championship Predictions

As we get into this weekend all eyes are on Sunday and the NFC and AFC Championship games.  Unfortunately, my team, the New York Jets, are playing and for the honesty of this blog I have to be a football fan before a Jets fan, and that's going to suck more than being on Island Revis.  Now I have to make predictions and be as unbiased as possible which is going to be hard because Jet fans have about as much to get excited as Pittsburgh Pirate fans, not a lot.

First I'm going to start off with the NFC Championship.  This game is going to be awesome and I'm hoping for a down to the wire finish.  So here's the call as I see it: Saints 31 Vikings 24.  I don't see Adrian Peterson breaking out of his slump with the way the Saints defense has been playing.  They shut down a high powered offense in the Arizona Cardinals and basically killed Kurt Warner.  The Vikings will look to the Wrangler jean man Brett Farve for offense and they will get some but I'm calling for 2 interceptions because he's old and the season is getting late, the old dude is tired.  The Saints will have a tough time with Jared Allen and his mullet and his "Daisey Dukes" and his foo-man-choo, this guy is a legend, but in the end Drew Brees will have his way just slicing up the secondary just as John Madden slices into his TurDucken.

This is going to be the tough part.  Like a said I have to be a football fan first and come Sunday I'll be wearing my inside out Jets Farve jersey, Jets hat that I purchased off a man in the parking lot of The Meadowlands before a Jets game, and my Jets pajama bottoms that I washed the last time the Jets lost (they were clean in the middle of the season at least).  So here it comes Colts 24 Jets 10.  The clock strikes midnight and the Jets are done unfortunately.  They'll put up a battle but I just don't see an amazing quarterback like Peyton Manning losing to this team again.  I have too much respect for Peyton, whether it be his on the field play or his great commercial acting skills, he just too good to bet against in a game like this.  He'll find a way to stay away from Island Revis and utilize his other weapons to stomp the Jets hurting defense down.  The Jets will stick to their usual game plan by running the ball down the throat of their opponents.  But at some point Sanchez will have to have the game in his hands and that's when things will go down hill for this rookie QB. 

The Jets will have a lot to build on for next year.  They're going to take away a lot from this special run.  Not only will experience help them out for next years Super Bowl win, sorry I get carried away, but they can start to believe in a team that proved it can show up when it counts and not fall.

One final note Jets fans.  We should be going into this game like we did last game at San Diego, we have no chance to win.  If you go into this game thinking we're going to win then there's a chance you'll be disappointed.  But if you figure that the Jets are going to lose then you won't be upset by the outcome!  Here's my reasoning.  Jets win we're happy regardless, but if we think the Jets will lose then if they do lose then you won't be shocked and on suicide watch because that's what you thought would happen anyway.  This may be shallow but it worked last week, just like wearing dirty pajamas.

Early March Madness Predictions

As the NFL nears the completion of another season, it gives us a reason here at red, white, and blue to voice our opinions on the upcoming March Madness tournament. Although it's about 9 weeks away, the season is in full swing. So without further adieu, here are a few early thoughts on the season thus far.

Surprise team of the year: Kansas State.

 K state has had a relatively quiet year up until this past week when they made a big splash taking down number one ranked Texas. They are currently 16-2 (3-1 in conference) and 2nd in the Big 12, only behind number 3 ranked Kansas. Look for the Wildcats to continue winning games and make some noise in the tournament.

Player of the Year: Luke Harangody

 Although he plays for the subpar Irish, Harangody is having an impressive year. He is currently 2nd in the nation in scoring, averaging 24.7 points a clip, while pulling down close to 10 boards a game. He has been consistent for the majority of this year and the Irish need to have him keep up his big numbers if they want to have any bit of a prayer in the tenacious powerhouse the Big East is.

Coach of the Year: John Calapari

 The coach of Kentucky has his team playing like they never even lost 14 games last year. In fact, there last lose actually dates back that far. The Wildcats are 18-0 beating two ranked teams on the way to this impressive start. They are one of the best teams in the NCAA this year, partly due to rookie sensation John Wall. On the few nights Wall actually struggles, the rest of the team has no problem picking him up. Look for the Wildcats to make a deep run into the tourney, possibly even cutting the nets down in a few months.


Final Four predictions: Kentucky, Villanova, Kansas, Syracuse

 These four teams have managed to dominate the NCAA thus far into the season, combining for a record of 68-3. All four teams obviously have NBA talent on their team and should shine in March. As for who wins it, I can't bet against my Jayhawks. They have a very deep team this year, and although they lost on the road at Tennessee, I feel their seniority will carry them through. It should be mentioned, my partner on this blog, (Mr. Chris "Pauly-D" Esperon) feels the final four will consist of Villanova, Michigan State, Syracuse and Kentucky, with Kentucky fist pumping their way to winning the title.

Initiation Day-Gang Green

First I'd like to apologize for not following through with "Weekend Warrior" yesterday, my friend who runs this with me is basically a "Jersey Shore" stand in and was caught up in the pumping of his fist over the week (not to mention he's a Eagles/Phillies fan), I digress.

Now onto more important issues, The New York Jets.  So do we get excited? Do we start actually believing in our team now?  Is this the year us as fans begin to trust or team to lead us to victories and not disappoint week after week? Probably not, lets not forget who we're talking about here, although this is a huge step in the right direction.  Somehow Rex Ryan's banter, Island Revis, and the mouthing off of Bart Scott gave this team confidence, enough so to walk into San Diego (a whale's vagina in German) and play a stellar game against a team who has won 11 in a row, thanks to the MVP of the Jets Nate Kaeding.

As I previously stated I'm not sure if this is the year the Jets and their fans turn the corner, but I know that coming off this season and going into a new stadium will certainly help.  I'm sure if you ask certain fans like "Fireman Eddy" he knew all along this team was special, but if you can try and tell Mike Francessa that the Jets are for real, he'll attempt to eat you in one bite (p.s. he has a great spray on tan).

I guess I'm just writing this to say how impressed I am with the Jets this post-season.  I mean honestly it's been a decade since we were last in the AFC Championship game and three years since we've been in the playoffs.  Not to mention we're doing this with a rookie head coach, a rookie quarterback, for the past 6 weeks or so a rookie running back getting half the carries, and a passing offense that the school of the blind can compete with (sorry that was shameless).  But with Rex Ryan's defense and a running game/offensive line that seemingly does what it pleases the Jets have found a formula for success.

I'm not sure if I agree with the whole "Super Bowl Itinerary" idea for getting the team excited, but they seem to respond well to being an underdog even though Rex makes them believe they're the favorite to win every game, where was that against the Bills home this year.  Even though Rex Ryan is going to be the next sponsor for "NutriSystem" he seems to be the kind of coach and kindred spirit that this team and town needs.  Not to mention he's compared to the media communist Tom Coughlin.  But Rex Ryan is trying to make believers out of this franchise like Namath did in '62, no I'm not saying we're winning the Super Bowl, but he turning this team around making them into winners, finally.