Not seen: The 11 KC players tapping the ball around to each other and then CATCHING it
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Week 12
I held off on writing this week's football post until today (Tuesday) for the obvious reason of wanting to be able to include the Monday night game in my comments. I was hoping to be able to relate the fall of the Manning machine and the celebration around the country at the homes of the '72 Dolphins. More on this later.
First the Patriots.
A team can only come out playing flat uninspired football so many times before you have to start looking inwards at the coach. We are not at that point yet, probably only because Bill Belichick gets a pass from this community for just about everything, (and even more so on the week of his father's death) but the time is coming when the spotlight will shine on his failures this season as much as the failures of his formerly vaunted defesne.
I am not going to be the man standing on the mountain proclaiming the deficiencies of the Patriots coaching staff when they continue to lead the division, but the fact remains that the team was simply not ready to play in Kansas City on Sunday. You cannot coach talent, this is something we are all aware of after watching this season. You can however, have your team flying out of the gate looking as though they believe they can win, even if they cannot. The Patriots for whatever reason failed to even give the appearance of competition on Sunday and that is a frightening trend.
While I refuse to believe that Bill Belichick was underprepared for this contest it is possible that the people with whom he has surrounded himself, especially his coordinators, were not ready to put their players in a position to win. While the defense has looked lost all year this week they looked simply dead. Chiefs receivers were coming wide open across the middle of the field and while the pass rush was acceptable the same defensive line was completely unable to stop the run for the first 3 quarters of the game.
The highlight moment of this defense's recent struggles came with 4 minutes to play in the 4th quarter with the Patriots trailing by 10. The Chiefs had the ball on about their own 35 yard line and were facing a 3rd and 16 after two excellent stands by the Patriots defense. With a stop on this play the Tom Brady and the offense would have gotten the ball back with approximately 4 minutes to play needing 2 scores to tie. Instead the Chiefs easily picked up the first down with a completed pass over the middle to a WIDE open Eddie Kennison. It was a signature moment for an utterly ineffective defense. Conventional wisdom says that the Chiefs should not have even risked throwing the ball in that situation, but why would they not? The Patriots are so weak in the secondary that a pass in a late game situation is probably just as safe as a run and is almost surely more effective. In years past there is no chance that the Chiefs pick up that first down on 3rd and 16 and while in all likelihood the Patriots were not going to be able to come back to win anyway they did not even give themselves an opportunity. I think that's one of the main differences this year, this defense used to give the team a chance to win every week, now if they have a chance to win it is despite the defense.
Watching the game on Sunday you can tell that losing is starting to wear on the players who are not accustomed to struggling so mightily. Many of the regular starters (the half dozen or so who are left) have never suffered through a season like this in New England and you can see that some of the swagger and confidence has been taken out of the team as a result. There is very little of the traditional New England passion on this team right now, especially on the defense. In the recent past they would set the tone for the game with a big hit early or give the offense a chance to win with a crucial stand late. Now they are getting run over on the first possession of nearly every game and they are rolling over in the end.
The New England defesne was never statistically the best in terms of passing yardage allowed or rushing yardage allowed (regularly in the high teens) but they were always in the top 10 in points allowed. The bend but not break defense relies pretty heavily on the "don't break" part of that theory, this year they are snapping in half. The ability to lock down when it counts is gone and to win they now need 28 per game from the offense.
There is no debating that this game was an absolute disaster but has anything really changed? The Bills also lost on Sunday so the Pats' lead in the division is still 2 games with the lowly Jets coming to town this week. In reality they should finish 10-6 and could easily finish 11-5. Their remaining schedule has exactly 1 tough game on it and that is Tampa Bay at home. In franchise history the Bucs have won 1 game in temperatures under 40 degrees. At this time of year there are not too many games played in New England where the thermometer climbs over 40. Aside from that they have the 2-9 Jets twice, the Bills (in Buffalo which could be tough), and the Dolphins at home (another bad cold weather team).
I'm not asking anyone to climb on a bandwagon here, I'm just saying that although this game reeked of the Devener / San Diego debacles (fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...three times...) the position of this team is still the same. The 4 seed is in the bag and someone will have to come to Foxboro in January. We won't talk about the game after that...
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- Speaking of bandwagons... Colts 26 Steelers 7. Okay, so last week I said that admitting that the Colts might go undefeated was going to be the last nice thing I was going to say about them all year. Were I to break that promise I would have to point out that Indianapolis absolutely dominated the Steelers last night and looked unbeatable. If I were to continue to break my word I would then point out that the NFL Gods continue to shine upon them. Byron Leftwich's injury makes the Jaguars a non-issue for the Colts and after watching the lesser Manning beat the Seahawks on 3 different occasions (HA! I love to see him fail even if it isn't his fault LOVE IT) in Seattle I can't imagine that big brother is going to have any trouble doing so.
Sticking with the Monday night game, how if you are the Steelers can you spot the Colts 7 points on the first play of the game by not covering Marvin Harrison? You didn't think that the Colts were going to try to make a statement at the beginning and take the momentum? You didn't think that Manning could throw it that far or that he would look to Harrison first? What the hell happened? From that moment onward it was not a game. They took the Steelers hearts on that play and never gave them back.
I hope like hell that they lose a game (because if they don't they will unfairly be labeled as THE team of this era of the NFL which they are not - see the quote below) but I can't see how they will at this point. Of course 95% of my predictions turn out wrong so there is some hope.
"At this point, how can you NOT be rooting for the Colts to go 16-0?It would be the greatest single season achievement by any NFL team ever, and arguably by any team in sports." - ESPN's Dan Shanoff.
- Giants fans welcome to Red Sox nation. Just wanted to give you a little advice on what to do in situations like these. Back in our tortured days we would usually insert an expletive between the first and last name of the player who caused us the overwhelming misery we are are currently feeling. For example, Bucky "Bleeping" Dent, Aaron "Bleeping" Boone, Larry "Bleeping" Lucchino. You see? It's easy! Now you try, Jay "Bleeping" Feely... If this doesn't work for you there is always the Pittsburgh option, throw trash in his yard and torture his kids at school.
Sidenote: My best fantasy move of the year bar none was picking up Jeff Wilkins and playing him instead of Feely this week...more on my bad fantasy moves later.
- Note to Jeremy Shockey: Make sure the ball goes THROUGH the uprights before you start dancing, through...before... got it?
- This year's award for "Throwing an Innocent Guy Under the Bus 2 Months Early" goes to the Detroit Lions. I find it hard to blame Steve Mariucchi for this team's failures. You could give the Lions Chuck Knoll, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Tom Landry and that team wins exactly the same amount of games. The real reason? They suck like a Hoover. Dre Bly hit the nail on the head when he blamed "the quarterback" for the firing. Now if we could just figure out which quarterback he was talking about...
- An appeal to Ryan Fitzpatrick: Please, please, if you are half as smart as you must be to have graduated from Harvard, please retire today. You played one amazing, perfect game but this is the NFL, phonies are exposed quicker than Tara Reid's nipple and believe me my friend you will be exposed as an Ivy League quarterback. Ask Kurt Warner how quickly things can turn against you in St. Louis.
- I watched the entire Saints v. Jets game on Sunday night. I have called the NFL and demanded 3 hours of my life back. They have yet to respond. Watching two downtrodden teams try to give the game away to each other is soul crushing, I wept watching the post game handshakes. What were they saying to each other? Were Aaron Brooks and Brooks Bollinger discussing the irony of their names or is everyone involved too embarassed to even make eye contact after a game like that? "Hey nice game, good luck...you know...with umm well with ah..."
- The Vikings' record: 6-5, the Patriots record: 6-5. And lo' there was misery throughout the land. Brad Johnson 4-0? Further proof that Brad Johnson has more than one soul since he must have already sold one to win a Super Bowl in Tampa.
- On Sunday morning my fantasy football starting lineup contained Joe Jurevicious, by 4:00 PM Sunday afternoon it did not. I lost by 10. I made sure I got Brady into the lineup though...
- When Tim Dwight is not resigned by the Pats he will ebark on a wildly unsucccesful career as a juggler.
- The Rolling Stones will play the halftime show at the Super Bowl. The only thing better than the Stones playing the halftime show is NO HALFTIME SHOW AT ALL! At least we're pretty sure we won't see any nipple (oh God did I really just make that joke?) unless one of them goes into cardiac arrest on stage and has to be defibrulated.
- The NFL notified the Seahawks that two of the Giants' touchdowns in their overtime win on Sunday should not have counted. Do you think the response to that call would have been slightly different had Jay Feely made 1 of his 3 kicks to win the game?
"Hi Mr. Holmgren, this is Joe Whipping Boy from the NFL officals office, we just wanted to let you know that you were right about Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer's touchdowns, they shouldn't have counted... So ah, I guess you should have been up by 2 touchdowns and had 2 more timeouts... and you ah probably would have won pretty easily...just FYI."
"Growl..."
"So to make it up to you guys we're going to give you the 9 home games and next year like we gave the Giants and you get to play the 49ers 3 times... Please don't kill me..."
- What is going on with the Mets? Is Steinbrenner running their organization through the pseudonym Omar Minaya? Wagner, Delgado, and maybe Manny Ramirez? Wow, now they're really going to be the best team to ever finish 8 games out of the Wild Card.
Sidenote: Since when do closers get 10 million per year for 4 years? Isn't this kind of like putting it all on black? So risky, not as risky as trotting Keith Foulke out of the bullpen, but risky nonetheless.
- It's all over for Pete Rose, he was left off the ballot in his final year of eligibility. Get used to that idea Raphy.
- Now for my traditional early week appeal to the Red Sox: DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRADE MANNY RAMIREZ!
First the Patriots.
A team can only come out playing flat uninspired football so many times before you have to start looking inwards at the coach. We are not at that point yet, probably only because Bill Belichick gets a pass from this community for just about everything, (and even more so on the week of his father's death) but the time is coming when the spotlight will shine on his failures this season as much as the failures of his formerly vaunted defesne.
I am not going to be the man standing on the mountain proclaiming the deficiencies of the Patriots coaching staff when they continue to lead the division, but the fact remains that the team was simply not ready to play in Kansas City on Sunday. You cannot coach talent, this is something we are all aware of after watching this season. You can however, have your team flying out of the gate looking as though they believe they can win, even if they cannot. The Patriots for whatever reason failed to even give the appearance of competition on Sunday and that is a frightening trend.
While I refuse to believe that Bill Belichick was underprepared for this contest it is possible that the people with whom he has surrounded himself, especially his coordinators, were not ready to put their players in a position to win. While the defense has looked lost all year this week they looked simply dead. Chiefs receivers were coming wide open across the middle of the field and while the pass rush was acceptable the same defensive line was completely unable to stop the run for the first 3 quarters of the game.
The highlight moment of this defense's recent struggles came with 4 minutes to play in the 4th quarter with the Patriots trailing by 10. The Chiefs had the ball on about their own 35 yard line and were facing a 3rd and 16 after two excellent stands by the Patriots defense. With a stop on this play the Tom Brady and the offense would have gotten the ball back with approximately 4 minutes to play needing 2 scores to tie. Instead the Chiefs easily picked up the first down with a completed pass over the middle to a WIDE open Eddie Kennison. It was a signature moment for an utterly ineffective defense. Conventional wisdom says that the Chiefs should not have even risked throwing the ball in that situation, but why would they not? The Patriots are so weak in the secondary that a pass in a late game situation is probably just as safe as a run and is almost surely more effective. In years past there is no chance that the Chiefs pick up that first down on 3rd and 16 and while in all likelihood the Patriots were not going to be able to come back to win anyway they did not even give themselves an opportunity. I think that's one of the main differences this year, this defense used to give the team a chance to win every week, now if they have a chance to win it is despite the defense.
Watching the game on Sunday you can tell that losing is starting to wear on the players who are not accustomed to struggling so mightily. Many of the regular starters (the half dozen or so who are left) have never suffered through a season like this in New England and you can see that some of the swagger and confidence has been taken out of the team as a result. There is very little of the traditional New England passion on this team right now, especially on the defense. In the recent past they would set the tone for the game with a big hit early or give the offense a chance to win with a crucial stand late. Now they are getting run over on the first possession of nearly every game and they are rolling over in the end.
The New England defesne was never statistically the best in terms of passing yardage allowed or rushing yardage allowed (regularly in the high teens) but they were always in the top 10 in points allowed. The bend but not break defense relies pretty heavily on the "don't break" part of that theory, this year they are snapping in half. The ability to lock down when it counts is gone and to win they now need 28 per game from the offense.
There is no debating that this game was an absolute disaster but has anything really changed? The Bills also lost on Sunday so the Pats' lead in the division is still 2 games with the lowly Jets coming to town this week. In reality they should finish 10-6 and could easily finish 11-5. Their remaining schedule has exactly 1 tough game on it and that is Tampa Bay at home. In franchise history the Bucs have won 1 game in temperatures under 40 degrees. At this time of year there are not too many games played in New England where the thermometer climbs over 40. Aside from that they have the 2-9 Jets twice, the Bills (in Buffalo which could be tough), and the Dolphins at home (another bad cold weather team).
I'm not asking anyone to climb on a bandwagon here, I'm just saying that although this game reeked of the Devener / San Diego debacles (fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...three times...) the position of this team is still the same. The 4 seed is in the bag and someone will have to come to Foxboro in January. We won't talk about the game after that...
************************************************************************************
- Speaking of bandwagons... Colts 26 Steelers 7. Okay, so last week I said that admitting that the Colts might go undefeated was going to be the last nice thing I was going to say about them all year. Were I to break that promise I would have to point out that Indianapolis absolutely dominated the Steelers last night and looked unbeatable. If I were to continue to break my word I would then point out that the NFL Gods continue to shine upon them. Byron Leftwich's injury makes the Jaguars a non-issue for the Colts and after watching the lesser Manning beat the Seahawks on 3 different occasions (HA! I love to see him fail even if it isn't his fault LOVE IT) in Seattle I can't imagine that big brother is going to have any trouble doing so.
Sticking with the Monday night game, how if you are the Steelers can you spot the Colts 7 points on the first play of the game by not covering Marvin Harrison? You didn't think that the Colts were going to try to make a statement at the beginning and take the momentum? You didn't think that Manning could throw it that far or that he would look to Harrison first? What the hell happened? From that moment onward it was not a game. They took the Steelers hearts on that play and never gave them back.
I hope like hell that they lose a game (because if they don't they will unfairly be labeled as THE team of this era of the NFL which they are not - see the quote below) but I can't see how they will at this point. Of course 95% of my predictions turn out wrong so there is some hope.
"At this point, how can you NOT be rooting for the Colts to go 16-0?It would be the greatest single season achievement by any NFL team ever, and arguably by any team in sports." - ESPN's Dan Shanoff.
- Giants fans welcome to Red Sox nation. Just wanted to give you a little advice on what to do in situations like these. Back in our tortured days we would usually insert an expletive between the first and last name of the player who caused us the overwhelming misery we are are currently feeling. For example, Bucky "Bleeping" Dent, Aaron "Bleeping" Boone, Larry "Bleeping" Lucchino. You see? It's easy! Now you try, Jay "Bleeping" Feely... If this doesn't work for you there is always the Pittsburgh option, throw trash in his yard and torture his kids at school.
Sidenote: My best fantasy move of the year bar none was picking up Jeff Wilkins and playing him instead of Feely this week...more on my bad fantasy moves later.
- Note to Jeremy Shockey: Make sure the ball goes THROUGH the uprights before you start dancing, through...before... got it?
- This year's award for "Throwing an Innocent Guy Under the Bus 2 Months Early" goes to the Detroit Lions. I find it hard to blame Steve Mariucchi for this team's failures. You could give the Lions Chuck Knoll, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Tom Landry and that team wins exactly the same amount of games. The real reason? They suck like a Hoover. Dre Bly hit the nail on the head when he blamed "the quarterback" for the firing. Now if we could just figure out which quarterback he was talking about...
- An appeal to Ryan Fitzpatrick: Please, please, if you are half as smart as you must be to have graduated from Harvard, please retire today. You played one amazing, perfect game but this is the NFL, phonies are exposed quicker than Tara Reid's nipple and believe me my friend you will be exposed as an Ivy League quarterback. Ask Kurt Warner how quickly things can turn against you in St. Louis.
- I watched the entire Saints v. Jets game on Sunday night. I have called the NFL and demanded 3 hours of my life back. They have yet to respond. Watching two downtrodden teams try to give the game away to each other is soul crushing, I wept watching the post game handshakes. What were they saying to each other? Were Aaron Brooks and Brooks Bollinger discussing the irony of their names or is everyone involved too embarassed to even make eye contact after a game like that? "Hey nice game, good luck...you know...with umm well with ah..."
- The Vikings' record: 6-5, the Patriots record: 6-5. And lo' there was misery throughout the land. Brad Johnson 4-0? Further proof that Brad Johnson has more than one soul since he must have already sold one to win a Super Bowl in Tampa.
- On Sunday morning my fantasy football starting lineup contained Joe Jurevicious, by 4:00 PM Sunday afternoon it did not. I lost by 10. I made sure I got Brady into the lineup though...
- When Tim Dwight is not resigned by the Pats he will ebark on a wildly unsucccesful career as a juggler.
- The Rolling Stones will play the halftime show at the Super Bowl. The only thing better than the Stones playing the halftime show is NO HALFTIME SHOW AT ALL! At least we're pretty sure we won't see any nipple (oh God did I really just make that joke?) unless one of them goes into cardiac arrest on stage and has to be defibrulated.
- The NFL notified the Seahawks that two of the Giants' touchdowns in their overtime win on Sunday should not have counted. Do you think the response to that call would have been slightly different had Jay Feely made 1 of his 3 kicks to win the game?
"Hi Mr. Holmgren, this is Joe Whipping Boy from the NFL officals office, we just wanted to let you know that you were right about Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer's touchdowns, they shouldn't have counted... So ah, I guess you should have been up by 2 touchdowns and had 2 more timeouts... and you ah probably would have won pretty easily...just FYI."
"Growl..."
"So to make it up to you guys we're going to give you the 9 home games and next year like we gave the Giants and you get to play the 49ers 3 times... Please don't kill me..."
- What is going on with the Mets? Is Steinbrenner running their organization through the pseudonym Omar Minaya? Wagner, Delgado, and maybe Manny Ramirez? Wow, now they're really going to be the best team to ever finish 8 games out of the Wild Card.
Sidenote: Since when do closers get 10 million per year for 4 years? Isn't this kind of like putting it all on black? So risky, not as risky as trotting Keith Foulke out of the bullpen, but risky nonetheless.
- It's all over for Pete Rose, he was left off the ballot in his final year of eligibility. Get used to that idea Raphy.
- Now for my traditional early week appeal to the Red Sox: DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRADE MANNY RAMIREZ!
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Gobble Gobble
Happy Turkey Day, and "Innocent Shopper Trampling" Weekend B-Slant land!
Did you see the footage of the obese black woman being over run by crazed shoppers trying to get into a WalMart at 6:00 AM? Luckily the store had emergency personnel on site for just this reason. Are they serious? They knew this was coming? It's freaking WalMart! What are you trampling old women to get to? Cheap electronics, overpriced DVDs, or bargain boxes of CheezIts?
Anyway, I hope you're all fat and still a little groggy from devouring pounds of leftovers over the past few days. Take it easy on the shopping, everything will be there at 6:45 AM I promise.
The top story of the past week in my mind has been the Josh Beckett trade to the Red Sox. Unlike many Red Sox fans I am not willing to throw my support behind this deal yet. Sure we got a potentially great young arm who has proven World Series experience, against the Yankees no less. However, being just one year removed from the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes, which were driven primarily by his post season performance from the previous season (look how that turned out for the Mets) I have my doubts about Beckett being the savior we are waiting for based on one Game 6 in Yankee Stadium.
Don't get me wrong that was a performance for the ages and I will love him forever for crushing the hearts of the evil empire in their house but one great complete game under the brightest lights does not a superstar make. His numbers are solid, last season he was 15-8 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Certainly those stats are better than anything the Red Sox put out this season, but remember he was pitching in the NL East, i.e. against the Braves, Phillies, and company. Take an all star team from the NL East and the lineup does not compare to the lineups he will face in the AL East with the Yankees, Orioles, and to some degree the Blue Jays.
Also, he's never consistently faced the DH. It's been documented that pitchers always improve statisitically when they move to the NL (ex. Colorado) just look at Pedro Martinez. The opposite has to be assumed when moving to the heaviest hitting division in baseball.
Beckett has also never pitched 200 inning in his career and has been on the DL 9 times in 4 years. That does not bode well for a move to a more grueling environment away from pitcher friendly Pro Player Stadium.
The other downside of this deal is Mike Lowell. When Peter Gammons points you out as a player that will likely be affected negatively as a result of the new steroid policy and then you go out and hit .236 the next season that tells me something. His on base percentage was .298, which is absolutely atrocious. For his career he is a .272 hitter with an OBP of .332. Of course you cannot discount his defense, he is a gold glove caliber 3rd baseman but the fact is you already have a light (or non) hitting first baseman, and an offensively underachieving shortstop, no second baseman, and you may be trading the best right handed hitter in the AL. The lineup can't afford this much of a decline at another positiion regardless of how effective Lowell is defensively. Not to mention, what have you been holding onto Kevin Youkilis for if you are never going to play him? If the Red Sox intended to keep stringing him along and never spot him into the lineup they should have traded him when his value was at its highest. Of course I understand that taking Lowell was the only way that the Marlins were going to part with Beckett but if that is the case it calls the whole deal into question.
The final factor is Hanley Ramirez. We've all been hearing about this kid for 3 years now. I have no idea what to think about him, I've barely seen him play. I actually don't have a problem with this part of the deal because if the Red Sox were as high on Ramirez as we all thought that they were they would not have given Edgar Renterria 40 million dollars to play the same position. He could just as easily have turned into Casey Fossum as he could have turned into A-Rod, in baseball potential amounts to less than in any other sport and it is totally unpredictable. It's like stocks, buy low sell high and hope it pays off, in this case the Sox were selling high.
I guess when all is said and done this is a wait and see deal, but if the Red Sox slate Lowell as their starting 3rd baseman, allow Bill Mueller to leave, trade Manny, play (Insert Someone Here) at first base and Beckett has a predictable NL to AL downturn this trade could go down as a desperate attempt to rebuild fan confidence following the Theo Epstein debacle. Of course if Lowell experiences a resugence and Beckett wins 18 games I'll be as happy as a pig in mud.
Hey, if it doesn't work out, who can I blame? Who made this trade?
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- Predictable Thanksgiving game in Detroit. When is the NFL going to realize that it's not the turkey that puts people to sleep BEFORE dinner, it's the Lions. They should put the Lions on Thanksgiving Day probation until they can win more than 5 games in a season.
- A brilliant idea was put out by Mr. B-Slant during Sheryl Crow's halftime performance, "I think they should have a 15 minute football game in the middle of the Grammys." That would be amazing, bring out Brian Urlacher to crush Jake Delhomme right into the stage in front of all those people in tuxes. Fact is though, the Grammy audience would still care more about the football game than a football audience cares about Sheryl Crow. Why do they insist on doing this during every nationally televised game? Do you ever hear anyone say anything good about the halftime performances?
- T.O. gets a stipend? What the heck does that mean? At least he won't be on the field and the Eagels' struggles will continue to make the Pats look strong in their defense of the AFC.
- I wish I could tell you that Ben Roethlisberger in the lineup this weekend was going to make a difference for Pittsburgh. I really wish I could tell you that. With him the Steelers won't get blown out, but I'm having trouble finding a way in which they can beat the Colts. Maybe if they can run the ball for 450 yards and just dominate the clock completely they will be able to limit the amount of touches for the Colts, i.e. limiting them to that many touchdowns (less maybe one).
- Corey Dillon is out for this week's game in Kansas City. Of course he is. Should this be a surprise anymore? This might not be a must have game for the Pats, but KC is always a tough place to play and with a limited rushing attack and no defense they could be in real trouble. Is there any way they will be able to stop Larry Johnson? I doubt it, and Trent Green is much better than the triumvrate of names that have torched them recently (Holcomb, Frerotte, and Brooks). I see this game in the 40's on both sides. Put it all on Brady again.
- Did anyone see the Celtics new alternate road uniforms last night? Darker green with black numbers and trim, very modern NBA, very anti-"We have 16 World Championship Banners Hanging in our Gym." I have mixed feelings on this, the Red Auerbach part of me hates it. I never want to see Boston sports gear on a rapper. The other part of me realizes that this franchise needs to disassociate itself with it's past in order to get out its own shadow and bring in new younger fans that don't remember and base their idea of success on the era of Parish, Bird, and McHale.
Enjoy the leftovers and the truly leftover college football on today. Maryland v. NC State, division I AA playoffs, who cares? Bring on Florida v. Florida State.
Did you see the footage of the obese black woman being over run by crazed shoppers trying to get into a WalMart at 6:00 AM? Luckily the store had emergency personnel on site for just this reason. Are they serious? They knew this was coming? It's freaking WalMart! What are you trampling old women to get to? Cheap electronics, overpriced DVDs, or bargain boxes of CheezIts?
Anyway, I hope you're all fat and still a little groggy from devouring pounds of leftovers over the past few days. Take it easy on the shopping, everything will be there at 6:45 AM I promise.
The top story of the past week in my mind has been the Josh Beckett trade to the Red Sox. Unlike many Red Sox fans I am not willing to throw my support behind this deal yet. Sure we got a potentially great young arm who has proven World Series experience, against the Yankees no less. However, being just one year removed from the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes, which were driven primarily by his post season performance from the previous season (look how that turned out for the Mets) I have my doubts about Beckett being the savior we are waiting for based on one Game 6 in Yankee Stadium.
Don't get me wrong that was a performance for the ages and I will love him forever for crushing the hearts of the evil empire in their house but one great complete game under the brightest lights does not a superstar make. His numbers are solid, last season he was 15-8 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Certainly those stats are better than anything the Red Sox put out this season, but remember he was pitching in the NL East, i.e. against the Braves, Phillies, and company. Take an all star team from the NL East and the lineup does not compare to the lineups he will face in the AL East with the Yankees, Orioles, and to some degree the Blue Jays.
Also, he's never consistently faced the DH. It's been documented that pitchers always improve statisitically when they move to the NL (ex. Colorado) just look at Pedro Martinez. The opposite has to be assumed when moving to the heaviest hitting division in baseball.
Beckett has also never pitched 200 inning in his career and has been on the DL 9 times in 4 years. That does not bode well for a move to a more grueling environment away from pitcher friendly Pro Player Stadium.
The other downside of this deal is Mike Lowell. When Peter Gammons points you out as a player that will likely be affected negatively as a result of the new steroid policy and then you go out and hit .236 the next season that tells me something. His on base percentage was .298, which is absolutely atrocious. For his career he is a .272 hitter with an OBP of .332. Of course you cannot discount his defense, he is a gold glove caliber 3rd baseman but the fact is you already have a light (or non) hitting first baseman, and an offensively underachieving shortstop, no second baseman, and you may be trading the best right handed hitter in the AL. The lineup can't afford this much of a decline at another positiion regardless of how effective Lowell is defensively. Not to mention, what have you been holding onto Kevin Youkilis for if you are never going to play him? If the Red Sox intended to keep stringing him along and never spot him into the lineup they should have traded him when his value was at its highest. Of course I understand that taking Lowell was the only way that the Marlins were going to part with Beckett but if that is the case it calls the whole deal into question.
The final factor is Hanley Ramirez. We've all been hearing about this kid for 3 years now. I have no idea what to think about him, I've barely seen him play. I actually don't have a problem with this part of the deal because if the Red Sox were as high on Ramirez as we all thought that they were they would not have given Edgar Renterria 40 million dollars to play the same position. He could just as easily have turned into Casey Fossum as he could have turned into A-Rod, in baseball potential amounts to less than in any other sport and it is totally unpredictable. It's like stocks, buy low sell high and hope it pays off, in this case the Sox were selling high.
I guess when all is said and done this is a wait and see deal, but if the Red Sox slate Lowell as their starting 3rd baseman, allow Bill Mueller to leave, trade Manny, play (Insert Someone Here) at first base and Beckett has a predictable NL to AL downturn this trade could go down as a desperate attempt to rebuild fan confidence following the Theo Epstein debacle. Of course if Lowell experiences a resugence and Beckett wins 18 games I'll be as happy as a pig in mud.
Hey, if it doesn't work out, who can I blame? Who made this trade?
************************************************************************************
- Predictable Thanksgiving game in Detroit. When is the NFL going to realize that it's not the turkey that puts people to sleep BEFORE dinner, it's the Lions. They should put the Lions on Thanksgiving Day probation until they can win more than 5 games in a season.
- A brilliant idea was put out by Mr. B-Slant during Sheryl Crow's halftime performance, "I think they should have a 15 minute football game in the middle of the Grammys." That would be amazing, bring out Brian Urlacher to crush Jake Delhomme right into the stage in front of all those people in tuxes. Fact is though, the Grammy audience would still care more about the football game than a football audience cares about Sheryl Crow. Why do they insist on doing this during every nationally televised game? Do you ever hear anyone say anything good about the halftime performances?
- T.O. gets a stipend? What the heck does that mean? At least he won't be on the field and the Eagels' struggles will continue to make the Pats look strong in their defense of the AFC.
- I wish I could tell you that Ben Roethlisberger in the lineup this weekend was going to make a difference for Pittsburgh. I really wish I could tell you that. With him the Steelers won't get blown out, but I'm having trouble finding a way in which they can beat the Colts. Maybe if they can run the ball for 450 yards and just dominate the clock completely they will be able to limit the amount of touches for the Colts, i.e. limiting them to that many touchdowns (less maybe one).
- Corey Dillon is out for this week's game in Kansas City. Of course he is. Should this be a surprise anymore? This might not be a must have game for the Pats, but KC is always a tough place to play and with a limited rushing attack and no defense they could be in real trouble. Is there any way they will be able to stop Larry Johnson? I doubt it, and Trent Green is much better than the triumvrate of names that have torched them recently (Holcomb, Frerotte, and Brooks). I see this game in the 40's on both sides. Put it all on Brady again.
- Did anyone see the Celtics new alternate road uniforms last night? Darker green with black numbers and trim, very modern NBA, very anti-"We have 16 World Championship Banners Hanging in our Gym." I have mixed feelings on this, the Red Auerbach part of me hates it. I never want to see Boston sports gear on a rapper. The other part of me realizes that this franchise needs to disassociate itself with it's past in order to get out its own shadow and bring in new younger fans that don't remember and base their idea of success on the era of Parish, Bird, and McHale.
Enjoy the leftovers and the truly leftover college football on today. Maryland v. NC State, division I AA playoffs, who cares? Bring on Florida v. Florida State.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Patriots Monday
I only have enough time for quickie today so I'm going to bang out as much as possible in the 35 minutes I've got.
The Patriots won yesterday but hardly so in my mind. How do you allow the 3rd worst team in the league to be within one play of sending the game to overtime? I know it's overstated at this point but that defense is just atrocious. Aaron Brooks passed for over 300 yards, throwing his hat in the race for the, "Worst Quarterback to Look Solid Against the Patriots" award for 2005, (although I think Gus Frerotte has it locked).
The offense did enough to win, but after starting the game with 2 touchdowns on their first 2 possessions they should have mustered more than 24 points. This game should have been 42-7 or at least more convincing than it was. A lot of their momentum was lost on a Brady fumble on their 3rd possession but a good offense recovers from that. The blame this time falls not only to the defense but also to the offense. This should have been put away early, not on an interception on the last play of the game.
All the credit in the world has to be given to Bill Belichick for coaching his team to a victory just a few hours after the death of his father. This is just further proof of how utterly superior a coach he really is and that his dedication to the team and to the game are unparalled. Jim Haslett couldn't beat him under these circumstances and he probably never will. Belichick is so tough that he didn't even tell the team what had happened until after the game, and he's so stoic that they didn't realize that something was wrong until he brought it up. The man is simply a machine. Obviously the B-Slant's condolences are sent to the Belichick family.
Anyway, back to the game, I fear what will happen when this team plays a decent quarterback. Actually we saw what happened, Manning tore them apart and literally was not stopped even one time. I think that was not an aberrition, this defense could potentially not stop a team once in a game...like say...Kansas City. Luckily the division is pretty much in the bag, if it were up for grabs the playoffs could be a stretch. I think we'll learn where this team is headed next week in Kansas City, always one of the toughest places to play.
Other Football Stuff:
- Reggie Bush is your Heisman Trophy winner. Don't even mention the name Vince Young in my presence again. 513 yards is more than most players, even great players account for in 3 games. It's absolutely the most impressive college football performance of the year and his dominance when his team needs it the most (i.e. Notre Dame) makes him easily the best player in the country. Not giving it to him would be blatent east coast bias. You can't punish a kid because his team plays late at night, he doesn't make the schedule. Stay up later sports writers and watch him play, it's worth it, plus you're writers what the heck do you have to get up early for anyway?
- Donovan McNabb is done for the year. As the B-Slant predicted last week, following their loss to the Giants on Sunday the Eagle's quarterback decided to have season ending surgery on his sports hernia. This is a good move, the season is over anyway, now he'll have a full 8 months to recover and find a new favorite target.
- For Mike McMahon's sake it's a good thing that T.O. is done for the year. Can you imagine him playing with a third string quarterback? He couldn't handle the inconsistent play of Jeff Garcia. Mike McMahon is no Jeff Garcia. Owens may actually have killed him by week 17.
- The exodus off the "Colts defense is the strength of the team" bandwagon has been swift this morning. Even the ESPN guys, who love the Colts more than you love your children, are pointing out the fact that if you give up 37 points on almost any other Sunday you lose. I wouldn't say they were exposed here but it's obvious that they aren't going to beat you like the '85 Bears. You might just have to score everytime you touch the ball.
- The Colts are still 10-0. The offense is ridiculous. They might go undefeated. That's the last time this year I'm saying something nice about them. I hate them. HATE them.
- Ben Roethlisberger needs to get back on the field now. This Steelers team is remarkably ordinary without him. Or maybe Tommy Maddox is so bad that they are remarkably worse with him. Or maybe it's a combination of the two. Either way losing to the Ravens is bad, real bad. Throw the Steelers into the discussion of pre-season Super Bowl contenders that might not make the playoffs and I'm not kidding. If you think they're beating the Colts like this you're out of your mind. That notwithstanding, I'm still rooting for them in that game.
- Aaron Brooks became the all time leader in touchdown passes in New Orleans franchis history with is 116th. Who cares? He topped Archie Manning who was so by far the worst quarterback in that family that it's like comparing Bill and Cal Ripken. Just because his last name is Manning does not mean that he was any good. It's cool to set records but do you really want to be the best quarterback in the history of the worst franchise?
- Tonight's Monday night matchup is exactly the reason that in the future the network has the right to change the schedule at any time. Pre-season this looked like a great game. Culpepper against Farve in a crucial divisional contest at Lambeau. Now it's a matchup of the Packers starting Sam Gado at running back instead of Ahman Green against the Vikings and their signal caller Brad Johnson. Yikes, you're telling me the Cincy v. Indy game wouldn't have been switched? Still, if the Vikings win this one they're at 5-5 and not totally out of the picture in the NFC North. That being said, I can't see the Bears collapsing that bad. Either one will lose in the first round of the playoffs anyway.
- Did I mention that Reggie Bush should win the Heisman? 513 #$%!ing yards! Thats like a quarter mile of offense!
Okay time's up. This will be a light week for posting since I'll be spending a good amount of it on the Cape with the family and without internet access. Yeah I'm sure that breaks your hearts...both of you.
The Patriots won yesterday but hardly so in my mind. How do you allow the 3rd worst team in the league to be within one play of sending the game to overtime? I know it's overstated at this point but that defense is just atrocious. Aaron Brooks passed for over 300 yards, throwing his hat in the race for the, "Worst Quarterback to Look Solid Against the Patriots" award for 2005, (although I think Gus Frerotte has it locked).
The offense did enough to win, but after starting the game with 2 touchdowns on their first 2 possessions they should have mustered more than 24 points. This game should have been 42-7 or at least more convincing than it was. A lot of their momentum was lost on a Brady fumble on their 3rd possession but a good offense recovers from that. The blame this time falls not only to the defense but also to the offense. This should have been put away early, not on an interception on the last play of the game.
All the credit in the world has to be given to Bill Belichick for coaching his team to a victory just a few hours after the death of his father. This is just further proof of how utterly superior a coach he really is and that his dedication to the team and to the game are unparalled. Jim Haslett couldn't beat him under these circumstances and he probably never will. Belichick is so tough that he didn't even tell the team what had happened until after the game, and he's so stoic that they didn't realize that something was wrong until he brought it up. The man is simply a machine. Obviously the B-Slant's condolences are sent to the Belichick family.
Anyway, back to the game, I fear what will happen when this team plays a decent quarterback. Actually we saw what happened, Manning tore them apart and literally was not stopped even one time. I think that was not an aberrition, this defense could potentially not stop a team once in a game...like say...Kansas City. Luckily the division is pretty much in the bag, if it were up for grabs the playoffs could be a stretch. I think we'll learn where this team is headed next week in Kansas City, always one of the toughest places to play.
Other Football Stuff:
- Reggie Bush is your Heisman Trophy winner. Don't even mention the name Vince Young in my presence again. 513 yards is more than most players, even great players account for in 3 games. It's absolutely the most impressive college football performance of the year and his dominance when his team needs it the most (i.e. Notre Dame) makes him easily the best player in the country. Not giving it to him would be blatent east coast bias. You can't punish a kid because his team plays late at night, he doesn't make the schedule. Stay up later sports writers and watch him play, it's worth it, plus you're writers what the heck do you have to get up early for anyway?
- Donovan McNabb is done for the year. As the B-Slant predicted last week, following their loss to the Giants on Sunday the Eagle's quarterback decided to have season ending surgery on his sports hernia. This is a good move, the season is over anyway, now he'll have a full 8 months to recover and find a new favorite target.
- For Mike McMahon's sake it's a good thing that T.O. is done for the year. Can you imagine him playing with a third string quarterback? He couldn't handle the inconsistent play of Jeff Garcia. Mike McMahon is no Jeff Garcia. Owens may actually have killed him by week 17.
- The exodus off the "Colts defense is the strength of the team" bandwagon has been swift this morning. Even the ESPN guys, who love the Colts more than you love your children, are pointing out the fact that if you give up 37 points on almost any other Sunday you lose. I wouldn't say they were exposed here but it's obvious that they aren't going to beat you like the '85 Bears. You might just have to score everytime you touch the ball.
- The Colts are still 10-0. The offense is ridiculous. They might go undefeated. That's the last time this year I'm saying something nice about them. I hate them. HATE them.
- Ben Roethlisberger needs to get back on the field now. This Steelers team is remarkably ordinary without him. Or maybe Tommy Maddox is so bad that they are remarkably worse with him. Or maybe it's a combination of the two. Either way losing to the Ravens is bad, real bad. Throw the Steelers into the discussion of pre-season Super Bowl contenders that might not make the playoffs and I'm not kidding. If you think they're beating the Colts like this you're out of your mind. That notwithstanding, I'm still rooting for them in that game.
- Aaron Brooks became the all time leader in touchdown passes in New Orleans franchis history with is 116th. Who cares? He topped Archie Manning who was so by far the worst quarterback in that family that it's like comparing Bill and Cal Ripken. Just because his last name is Manning does not mean that he was any good. It's cool to set records but do you really want to be the best quarterback in the history of the worst franchise?
- Tonight's Monday night matchup is exactly the reason that in the future the network has the right to change the schedule at any time. Pre-season this looked like a great game. Culpepper against Farve in a crucial divisional contest at Lambeau. Now it's a matchup of the Packers starting Sam Gado at running back instead of Ahman Green against the Vikings and their signal caller Brad Johnson. Yikes, you're telling me the Cincy v. Indy game wouldn't have been switched? Still, if the Vikings win this one they're at 5-5 and not totally out of the picture in the NFC North. That being said, I can't see the Bears collapsing that bad. Either one will lose in the first round of the playoffs anyway.
- Did I mention that Reggie Bush should win the Heisman? 513 #$%!ing yards! Thats like a quarter mile of offense!
Okay time's up. This will be a light week for posting since I'll be spending a good amount of it on the Cape with the family and without internet access. Yeah I'm sure that breaks your hearts...both of you.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Rivalries
* One note before I get started on the college football. Last night's Celtics v. Raptors game involved something you will almost never see in an NBA game, 2 red heads occasionally covering each other. Brian Scalabrine for the C's and Matt Bonner for the Raptors. Okay so we're not talking about all stars but they combined for 7 points and no rebounds...never draft a red head in the NBA, never.
Sorry, I have to take advantage of any opportunity to trumpet the achievements of carrot tops whenever they appear.
Anyway, today is one of those days that were made for picture-in-picture. I don't think they even make those kind of televisions anymore but for this afternoon it would be worth the investment.
For example right now I'm fulfilling my alumna obligations by watching the BC v. Maryland game (14-10 BC with 9:00 to play in the 3rd) but I'd really like to keep an eye on the biggest spectacle in college football Ohio State at Michigan. For my money this is the second best rivalry in college sports (Duke / UNC in hoops) and since I've seen a Duke game live at the Dean Dome the UM / OSU game is tops on my list of college events to attend in my lifetime. It's just beyond my comprehension that a college team can fill a stadium with over 100,000 people on a Saturday afternoon, regardless of how good Michigan is at the time. BC can barely fill their 45,000 seat stadium.
As with every UM v. OSU game you can throw out the records and the rankings at kickoff. The emotion and the hype almost always trumps the discrepencies between the two teams. Trying to pick a winner or a score in this game is basically impossible. I just go with the home team, and since my parents live in Michigan now I'm a proxy Wolverine fan.
Some of the other big games today are in state rivalry games like Auburn and Alabama, which is probably the second biggest game in college football.
Marcus Vick and Virginia Tech at Virginia. This game was preceded by a great prank by someone from VTech. Last night someone snuck onto the field and added a T to the V at midfield to change the Cavaliers logo to something closer to the Hokies'.
Clemson at South Carolina, Tennesee v. Vanderbilt, and LSU at Ole Miss round out the great southern rivalry games.
In New Haven it's the nerd bowl as Harvard and Yale play "The Game." It's been a long time since this was "The Game" to anyone outside of the Ivy League but it's still an institution of college football, evidenced by the fact that it's actually televised.
As great as all these games are there is something missing from this weekend for me. Rivalry week makes me think of one thing: Notre Dame v. BC. The Irish have never wanted to admit that BC is a legitimate rival, even though there has been a trophy involved in this game for the last 6 years and the game has been dubbed "The Holy War". To eliminate this rivalry that the Irish consider beneath them they have omitted BC from the schedule for this season. After this year they will play for the next 3 years then Notre Dame has decided to replace BC on the schedule with Rutgers. Huh?
This Notre Dame arrogance has bothered me from the beginning of my time at BC. The fact is that that over the last 7 years the Eagles lead the series against the Irish 5-2 despite the fact that Notre Dame has always been more highly regarded. Someone at Notre Dame must have considered BC a rival when they decided, foolishly to come out in the green jerseys in the 2002 matchup. There is a pilgrimage in either direction whenever the teams meet, the students flock to either location and it's an event for both sides. Everything about the schools and the teams to this point has pointed to a great developing rivalry.
Now I understand that Notre Dame is an emerging program about to simply explode over the next 10 years under the genius of Charlie Weis and that BC will always be mired in mediocrity while they are coached by the ultra-conservative dinosaur Tom O'Brien but to replace the game with a guaranteed blowout against Rutgers makes no sense.
Or maybe it makes a twisted kind of sense. They must be thinking that it is better to avoid a loss and eliminate your second biggest rival than to suffer what you consider to be an embarassing rivalry regardless of the outcome. They hate the association with BC to begin with so to actually lose in a rivalry game, and have all the stats of BC's dominance played all over SportsCenter would be more embarssing than running and hiding from the contest. The problem is that it is no longer embarassing to lose to BC and while they will never challenge for a national title as ND is almost sure to do in the near future they are a legitimate top 25 program. Maybe what they're worried about is a trap game on the schedule every year. Say the Irish are headed to a one loss season with BC coming to town on the last week of the season, there is at least a 50/50 chance that they would end the season with 2 losses, one of which being to a team that they consider beneath them.
It's a strategy of avoidance that reeks of cowardice and stains this great day of college football in my mind.
Play BC every year Notre Dame, at least until you beat them 5 out of 7, then you can consider yourselves above them.
Sorry, I have to take advantage of any opportunity to trumpet the achievements of carrot tops whenever they appear.
Anyway, today is one of those days that were made for picture-in-picture. I don't think they even make those kind of televisions anymore but for this afternoon it would be worth the investment.
For example right now I'm fulfilling my alumna obligations by watching the BC v. Maryland game (14-10 BC with 9:00 to play in the 3rd) but I'd really like to keep an eye on the biggest spectacle in college football Ohio State at Michigan. For my money this is the second best rivalry in college sports (Duke / UNC in hoops) and since I've seen a Duke game live at the Dean Dome the UM / OSU game is tops on my list of college events to attend in my lifetime. It's just beyond my comprehension that a college team can fill a stadium with over 100,000 people on a Saturday afternoon, regardless of how good Michigan is at the time. BC can barely fill their 45,000 seat stadium.
As with every UM v. OSU game you can throw out the records and the rankings at kickoff. The emotion and the hype almost always trumps the discrepencies between the two teams. Trying to pick a winner or a score in this game is basically impossible. I just go with the home team, and since my parents live in Michigan now I'm a proxy Wolverine fan.
Some of the other big games today are in state rivalry games like Auburn and Alabama, which is probably the second biggest game in college football.
Marcus Vick and Virginia Tech at Virginia. This game was preceded by a great prank by someone from VTech. Last night someone snuck onto the field and added a T to the V at midfield to change the Cavaliers logo to something closer to the Hokies'.
Clemson at South Carolina, Tennesee v. Vanderbilt, and LSU at Ole Miss round out the great southern rivalry games.
In New Haven it's the nerd bowl as Harvard and Yale play "The Game." It's been a long time since this was "The Game" to anyone outside of the Ivy League but it's still an institution of college football, evidenced by the fact that it's actually televised.
As great as all these games are there is something missing from this weekend for me. Rivalry week makes me think of one thing: Notre Dame v. BC. The Irish have never wanted to admit that BC is a legitimate rival, even though there has been a trophy involved in this game for the last 6 years and the game has been dubbed "The Holy War". To eliminate this rivalry that the Irish consider beneath them they have omitted BC from the schedule for this season. After this year they will play for the next 3 years then Notre Dame has decided to replace BC on the schedule with Rutgers. Huh?
This Notre Dame arrogance has bothered me from the beginning of my time at BC. The fact is that that over the last 7 years the Eagles lead the series against the Irish 5-2 despite the fact that Notre Dame has always been more highly regarded. Someone at Notre Dame must have considered BC a rival when they decided, foolishly to come out in the green jerseys in the 2002 matchup. There is a pilgrimage in either direction whenever the teams meet, the students flock to either location and it's an event for both sides. Everything about the schools and the teams to this point has pointed to a great developing rivalry.
Now I understand that Notre Dame is an emerging program about to simply explode over the next 10 years under the genius of Charlie Weis and that BC will always be mired in mediocrity while they are coached by the ultra-conservative dinosaur Tom O'Brien but to replace the game with a guaranteed blowout against Rutgers makes no sense.
Or maybe it makes a twisted kind of sense. They must be thinking that it is better to avoid a loss and eliminate your second biggest rival than to suffer what you consider to be an embarassing rivalry regardless of the outcome. They hate the association with BC to begin with so to actually lose in a rivalry game, and have all the stats of BC's dominance played all over SportsCenter would be more embarssing than running and hiding from the contest. The problem is that it is no longer embarassing to lose to BC and while they will never challenge for a national title as ND is almost sure to do in the near future they are a legitimate top 25 program. Maybe what they're worried about is a trap game on the schedule every year. Say the Irish are headed to a one loss season with BC coming to town on the last week of the season, there is at least a 50/50 chance that they would end the season with 2 losses, one of which being to a team that they consider beneath them.
It's a strategy of avoidance that reeks of cowardice and stains this great day of college football in my mind.
Play BC every year Notre Dame, at least until you beat them 5 out of 7, then you can consider yourselves above them.
Friday, November 18, 2005
I Got Nothin'
What can I say? It's a boring sports week. Thus, I got nothin', well almost nothin'.
There are 2 football games this weekend that could potentially drive me into an early grave. BC at Maryland and Saints at Patriots. If either of those teams lose there will be an epic sized freak out on here probably laden with curses and mutterings. Keep the kids away. I just have a feeling that one of these teams is going down, probably BC given the fact that the outcome of this game will drastically affect their bowl bid and that they ALWAYS lose this kind of game.
************************************************************************************
Fighting...impulse...to...blast...T.O.
Oh what the hell?
Reports out of Phili are that T.O. is looking to settle with the Eagles before or during today's arbitration hearing, i.e. "I don't care if I play, I just want my money."
Mr. Owens we seem to have backtracked. He's not the only professional athlete to fall into the "only money matters" catergory, but he is certainly the most blatent. If they pay him to go away I don't ever want to hear him say anything about wanting to help a team win or anything even remotely game related. I want him to say, "I play for money, pay me."
The only ending that makes any sense here is the one the Eagles decided upon 2 weeks ago. The arbitrator cannot tell them to play him, and I cannot see any possible way that he can decide that Owens' myriad of misbehaviors do not qualify as, "conduct detrimental to the team." His suspension should be upheld and then he should be benched. T.O. is an employee of the Eagles and regardless of any paperwork mistakes they may have made the punishment certainly fits the crime(s) and no outside authority should decide otherwise.
Sticking with the Eagles. They're done. With this distraction I can't imagine that their preparation for the Giants will be 100%, not to mention they're now without both McNabb and T.O. In my opinion if they lose this weekend they should shut McNabb down for the year. At 4-6 they might not make the playoffs even if they win out (which they won't) and end up 10-6 since they will be on the short end of all the tie-breakers within their division.
On the positive, their failures make the Patriots' struggles look like a tiny speed bump.
***********************************************************************************
To celebrate the anniversary of the Detroit / Indianapolis brawl I'm going to hire a 6'8" black dude to let me throw a beer on him and then beat the shit out of me in front of 20,000 people.
Wait, I do that anyway. Sweet.
Can you believe they are talking about a fresh start for Artest after that? The guy would be in jail if he did that on the street. He's still a %#!$ing lunatic! Let's not forget that.
***********************************************************************************
It's getting to that point in the fantasy football season where almost every decision you make is an annoyance. Early in the season you have hot players, bye weeks, and difinitive injuries. Now matchups get trickier, half your team is questionable for Sunday and game time decisions have guys like me getting out of bed before noon on a Sunday, a monumental achievement.
Just this week alone I have half a dozen questions that the Yahoo! notes can't answer. For example, will Thomas Jones play, and even if he does do I want to start him against Carolina? On the other hand, my next option is Reuben Droughns with 702 yards rushing, 251 yards receiving and a whopping 1 touchdown.
Can I play 2 Green Bay receivers just because they're playing a Minnesota team that might suck...but who also might not be as bad as advertised? I don't know.
What's up with the Rams wide receiver situation? Is Bruce ever going to get healthy? Do I want him to since I also have Kevin Curtis who has been solid for me? Can I play them both this week since they're up against the horrific Arizona Cardinals who actually made me consider picking up Roy Williams this week (until I remembered who throws him the ball.)
Heath Miller at Baltimore or Randy McMichael at Cleveland? Joey Galloway at Atlanta when I'm starting the Atlanta defense?
Donte Stallworth against the Pats because their secondary would make Quinton Porter look like a Heisman candidate? (Do I really want to put myself in the position of rooting against my team...again?)
And I still smack myself on the forehead every time I remember who I took with my first overall pick...I say again, "#$%!ing Culpepper!"
Tough times in fantasy football land, and in sports writing land with so little to talk about I felt that this was an interesting subject. Maybe not a good choice.
I'm going to put up some funny pictures to make up for this lame post.
"Talons of Fury, Get Ready!"
There are 2 football games this weekend that could potentially drive me into an early grave. BC at Maryland and Saints at Patriots. If either of those teams lose there will be an epic sized freak out on here probably laden with curses and mutterings. Keep the kids away. I just have a feeling that one of these teams is going down, probably BC given the fact that the outcome of this game will drastically affect their bowl bid and that they ALWAYS lose this kind of game.
************************************************************************************
Fighting...impulse...to...blast...T.O.
Oh what the hell?
Reports out of Phili are that T.O. is looking to settle with the Eagles before or during today's arbitration hearing, i.e. "I don't care if I play, I just want my money."
Mr. Owens we seem to have backtracked. He's not the only professional athlete to fall into the "only money matters" catergory, but he is certainly the most blatent. If they pay him to go away I don't ever want to hear him say anything about wanting to help a team win or anything even remotely game related. I want him to say, "I play for money, pay me."
The only ending that makes any sense here is the one the Eagles decided upon 2 weeks ago. The arbitrator cannot tell them to play him, and I cannot see any possible way that he can decide that Owens' myriad of misbehaviors do not qualify as, "conduct detrimental to the team." His suspension should be upheld and then he should be benched. T.O. is an employee of the Eagles and regardless of any paperwork mistakes they may have made the punishment certainly fits the crime(s) and no outside authority should decide otherwise.
Sticking with the Eagles. They're done. With this distraction I can't imagine that their preparation for the Giants will be 100%, not to mention they're now without both McNabb and T.O. In my opinion if they lose this weekend they should shut McNabb down for the year. At 4-6 they might not make the playoffs even if they win out (which they won't) and end up 10-6 since they will be on the short end of all the tie-breakers within their division.
On the positive, their failures make the Patriots' struggles look like a tiny speed bump.
***********************************************************************************
To celebrate the anniversary of the Detroit / Indianapolis brawl I'm going to hire a 6'8" black dude to let me throw a beer on him and then beat the shit out of me in front of 20,000 people.
Wait, I do that anyway. Sweet.
Can you believe they are talking about a fresh start for Artest after that? The guy would be in jail if he did that on the street. He's still a %#!$ing lunatic! Let's not forget that.
***********************************************************************************
It's getting to that point in the fantasy football season where almost every decision you make is an annoyance. Early in the season you have hot players, bye weeks, and difinitive injuries. Now matchups get trickier, half your team is questionable for Sunday and game time decisions have guys like me getting out of bed before noon on a Sunday, a monumental achievement.
Just this week alone I have half a dozen questions that the Yahoo! notes can't answer. For example, will Thomas Jones play, and even if he does do I want to start him against Carolina? On the other hand, my next option is Reuben Droughns with 702 yards rushing, 251 yards receiving and a whopping 1 touchdown.
Can I play 2 Green Bay receivers just because they're playing a Minnesota team that might suck...but who also might not be as bad as advertised? I don't know.
What's up with the Rams wide receiver situation? Is Bruce ever going to get healthy? Do I want him to since I also have Kevin Curtis who has been solid for me? Can I play them both this week since they're up against the horrific Arizona Cardinals who actually made me consider picking up Roy Williams this week (until I remembered who throws him the ball.)
Heath Miller at Baltimore or Randy McMichael at Cleveland? Joey Galloway at Atlanta when I'm starting the Atlanta defense?
Donte Stallworth against the Pats because their secondary would make Quinton Porter look like a Heisman candidate? (Do I really want to put myself in the position of rooting against my team...again?)
And I still smack myself on the forehead every time I remember who I took with my first overall pick...I say again, "#$%!ing Culpepper!"
Tough times in fantasy football land, and in sports writing land with so little to talk about I felt that this was an interesting subject. Maybe not a good choice.
I'm going to put up some funny pictures to make up for this lame post.
"Talons of Fury, Get Ready!"
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Another Day - 2 More on IR
This particular incarnation of the Patriots is starting to look like a combination of the Sports Illustrated and John Madden curses. Everyone with face time goes down.
This week the victims are Randle Gay (goodbye and good riddance...unless of course we can't get anyone better...which we can't...) and Dan Koppen (of BC fame). Each were placed on injured reserve and are done for the season.
The Patriots now have 9 players on injured reserve. Most of the teams the Patriots have played this season have not had that many players listed on their weekly injury reports.
I ask you, tossing grammar and manners to the side, what the hell?
The loss of Gay is barely worthy of comment at this point. This season has been a genocide to the secondary, one more loss, albeit one of the players who has actually made a contribution in the past, will not sink this ship. They stink with our without him.
Dan Koppen, a center on the other hand is yet another big loss. He is the lynchpin of the offensive line, i.e. the only thing that keeps Brady from joining the parade to IR list. He calls many of the formations at the line, much like a safety in the secondary, and while his loss will be nowhere near as crushing as the loss of Rodney Harrison, it is too much to hope that there will not be a dropoff with Hochstein filling in.
With this team where it is right now I can't even begin to guess how these losses are going to affect them. In the long run I think the prognosis remains the same. They'll win the division, make the playoffs, go out early. The only x-factor: if there is a total breakdown, even if it's just once, by Hochstein and Brady gets his bell rung it could be all over.
Other Stuff:
- Everyone is praising baseball's new steroid policy and while I agree that's it's an improvement my enthusiasm is tempered by one aspect of it. 50 games for a first offense, 100 for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third all make sense. But there's a catch. If you weren't watching closely you might have missed it on Sportscenter and none of the other news outlets that I've read or watched are reporting it. 2 years after the lifetime ban players are eligible to be reinstated. Why? If it is a lifetime ban they should never be eligible to be reinstated, thus: LIFETIME. In reality it's a 2 year ban, which isn't all that much different from the penalty for a third offense in the original system. Also, if after 2 years a player's appeal is denied can he continue to appeal whenever he wants or does he have to wait another 2 years, or God forbid is he now actually gone for life? I give MLB no credit for, "taking a stand," when Congress had to get invovled before they would act and once they did act they fell short of cementing a Pete Rose style punishment for a crime worse than gambling. Baseball continues to fail to put this wholly behind them, as if they still secretly want the 'roids in the game.
- Donovan McNabb wins the VH1 "Worst Day Ever" award for this week. A game losing interception and a potentially season ending injury on Mondy night may have buried the hopes of an entire city. Even we in New England cannot relate to Phili...yet.
-The question on everyone's mind after the Dallas v. Philadelphia game (not regarding McNabb) was, "Would T.O. have caught that ball?" That ball being the dropped pass at the 20 by Philadelphia backup receiver Reggie Brown which would have put the Eagles in field goal range trailing 21-20. The answer is yes he would have caught THAT pass, but the the more important question is, "Would they have won the game?" No. T.O. would have been double covered and there is no way Mike McMahon or anyone else is throwing that floater up into double coverage when an interception ends the game. Too bad he didn't catch it though, a win in that game would have silenced a lot of doubts.
- Albert Pujols won the NL MVP for the first time. Just rename it the Albert Award because he's not giving it up in the meager NL.
- There is something wrong with the fact that the all of the headlines regarding the NBA today revolve around the matchup between Larry Brown and Phil Jackson tonight. Are they playing? No. This isn't football where coaching matchups really matter on an individual game basis. Over the course of the season of course coaching matters but there isn't anything that Phil or Larry are going to do tonight that warrants this much attention. Unlike the NFL where preparation and game plan can make the difference on any given night the NBA is all about individual performances by the guys on the court not on the bench. Focus on the guys who have to make the plays if you're going to focus on this game. On second thought, don't even focus on this game, the Lakers and Knicks are both under .500!
- Did Chad Johnson guarantee that the Bengals will beat the Colts this weekend yet? Just wait for it, he will. I'm not guaranteeing it but the Bengals are the best team the Colts have played this year.
- The Yankees resigned Hideki Matsui for 52 million over 4 years. Good move by the Yanks, he's been an absolute machine. He hasn't missed a game in his career in the MLB and is only 31. He'll be a stud for another 6 or so. I still hate him.
Don't miss the Northern Illinois v. Toledo game on ESPN 2 tonight. If anyone can tell me why I have a connection to both of these schools (one is easy, one insanely hard) I'll buy you dinner.
This week the victims are Randle Gay (goodbye and good riddance...unless of course we can't get anyone better...which we can't...) and Dan Koppen (of BC fame). Each were placed on injured reserve and are done for the season.
The Patriots now have 9 players on injured reserve. Most of the teams the Patriots have played this season have not had that many players listed on their weekly injury reports.
I ask you, tossing grammar and manners to the side, what the hell?
The loss of Gay is barely worthy of comment at this point. This season has been a genocide to the secondary, one more loss, albeit one of the players who has actually made a contribution in the past, will not sink this ship. They stink with our without him.
Dan Koppen, a center on the other hand is yet another big loss. He is the lynchpin of the offensive line, i.e. the only thing that keeps Brady from joining the parade to IR list. He calls many of the formations at the line, much like a safety in the secondary, and while his loss will be nowhere near as crushing as the loss of Rodney Harrison, it is too much to hope that there will not be a dropoff with Hochstein filling in.
With this team where it is right now I can't even begin to guess how these losses are going to affect them. In the long run I think the prognosis remains the same. They'll win the division, make the playoffs, go out early. The only x-factor: if there is a total breakdown, even if it's just once, by Hochstein and Brady gets his bell rung it could be all over.
Other Stuff:
- Everyone is praising baseball's new steroid policy and while I agree that's it's an improvement my enthusiasm is tempered by one aspect of it. 50 games for a first offense, 100 for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third all make sense. But there's a catch. If you weren't watching closely you might have missed it on Sportscenter and none of the other news outlets that I've read or watched are reporting it. 2 years after the lifetime ban players are eligible to be reinstated. Why? If it is a lifetime ban they should never be eligible to be reinstated, thus: LIFETIME. In reality it's a 2 year ban, which isn't all that much different from the penalty for a third offense in the original system. Also, if after 2 years a player's appeal is denied can he continue to appeal whenever he wants or does he have to wait another 2 years, or God forbid is he now actually gone for life? I give MLB no credit for, "taking a stand," when Congress had to get invovled before they would act and once they did act they fell short of cementing a Pete Rose style punishment for a crime worse than gambling. Baseball continues to fail to put this wholly behind them, as if they still secretly want the 'roids in the game.
- Donovan McNabb wins the VH1 "Worst Day Ever" award for this week. A game losing interception and a potentially season ending injury on Mondy night may have buried the hopes of an entire city. Even we in New England cannot relate to Phili...yet.
-The question on everyone's mind after the Dallas v. Philadelphia game (not regarding McNabb) was, "Would T.O. have caught that ball?" That ball being the dropped pass at the 20 by Philadelphia backup receiver Reggie Brown which would have put the Eagles in field goal range trailing 21-20. The answer is yes he would have caught THAT pass, but the the more important question is, "Would they have won the game?" No. T.O. would have been double covered and there is no way Mike McMahon or anyone else is throwing that floater up into double coverage when an interception ends the game. Too bad he didn't catch it though, a win in that game would have silenced a lot of doubts.
- Albert Pujols won the NL MVP for the first time. Just rename it the Albert Award because he's not giving it up in the meager NL.
- There is something wrong with the fact that the all of the headlines regarding the NBA today revolve around the matchup between Larry Brown and Phil Jackson tonight. Are they playing? No. This isn't football where coaching matchups really matter on an individual game basis. Over the course of the season of course coaching matters but there isn't anything that Phil or Larry are going to do tonight that warrants this much attention. Unlike the NFL where preparation and game plan can make the difference on any given night the NBA is all about individual performances by the guys on the court not on the bench. Focus on the guys who have to make the plays if you're going to focus on this game. On second thought, don't even focus on this game, the Lakers and Knicks are both under .500!
- Did Chad Johnson guarantee that the Bengals will beat the Colts this weekend yet? Just wait for it, he will. I'm not guaranteeing it but the Bengals are the best team the Colts have played this year.
- The Yankees resigned Hideki Matsui for 52 million over 4 years. Good move by the Yanks, he's been an absolute machine. He hasn't missed a game in his career in the MLB and is only 31. He'll be a stud for another 6 or so. I still hate him.
Don't miss the Northern Illinois v. Toledo game on ESPN 2 tonight. If anyone can tell me why I have a connection to both of these schools (one is easy, one insanely hard) I'll buy you dinner.
Monday, November 14, 2005
A Familiar Win
The Patriots always seem to pull out victories like yesterday's. Struggle mightily, allow hope, take the lead, lose the lead, ride Brady to yet another lead, hang on in the end. They usually win games like this ... against the Colts, Steelers, Eagles, etc.
Those were not the Colts. No no, they in fact were the Dolphins, Gus Frerotte's Dolphins.
Now some may look at this game and say, "Hey, that's just how the Patriots win. Against adversity they come up with just enough plays to sneak away with a victory." I choose to look at it and say, "How in the name of Zeus's butthole did they give up 360 $#!&ing yards to Gus Frerotte? What's next, Cody Pickett winning offensive player of the week against them?"
There isn't much else to say about this game or this team right now. The only real positive seems to be that Tom Brady is the best player on the field everytime he steps out there, and luckily that's going to be enough in a division consisting of teams led by Brooks Bollinger, Kelly Holcomb / J.P. Losman, and the afore mention Frerotte.
I guess you do have to give them credit for standing tall on the goal line when the Dolphins were threatening to tie the game at the end. Or maybe you have to give Chris Chambers a paddling for dropping a touchdown pass that hit him the stomach in the end zone on 4th down. The man in coverage on the play was Ellis Hobbs. When asked after the game what grade he would give the Patriots secondary in this game he said he would give them a "V" for victory. I think that is a good way to look at it, they deserve much worse than an F for allowing a 12th string quarterback to shred them like Senate expense reports, but they escaped with a win on the road. Heading into an almost guaranteed win next week against New Orleans I'll take it.
Other Sunday NFL stuff:
- My buddy Dan wins the first memorial, "Luckiest Fantasy Football Mistake" award for this season. He started Joey Harrington against me. My reaction when I saw the matchup on Thursday, "Holy #$%! I'm going to win this easily, the jackass is playing Joey Harrington." My reaction on Sunday night when I saw the result, "Silly Yahoo Fantasy Football, they seem to have made a few typos here, putting 3 touchdowns next to Harrington's name, just let me go find out what he really did in the box score...(sounds of typing)... Oh the humanity! Why oh good lord why!?"
- Cody Pickett was 1-13 for 27 yards on Sunday in windy Chicago, making the Kyles (Orton and Boller) share second worst quarterbacking performance of the day honors. There aren't winds accompanying a monsoon with a hurricane swirling within it to make an NFL quarterback go 1-13. If that didn't make Dick Vermeil cry...
- ... then certainly seeing his team come up with one of the worst performances of the year against Buffalo must have. That's definitely the "Inexplicable Egg Laying" of the week. Hope you took the points on that one.
- Nathan Vashar wasn't even supposed to catch the ball that he brought back a record 108 yards for a touchdown. You only put a safety in the end zone if you're afraid that the kicking team is going to fake the kick and try to throw a bomb, you don't expect or hope for the kick to come up 20 yards short. Think about this. If it's a 52 yard field goal the line of scrimmage is the 35. If a defensive back, who doesn't return kicks, catches a ball in the end zone, he's going to take a knee (okay not this guy but everyone else would). That would give you the ball on the 20, costing you at least 15 yards. Er... Obviously it worked out well but what the hell was he thinking? I wish I could be in that film session.
Coach: Okay, here's the kick...clearly coming up short. So this play should be over...but here you come. Freeze it! Right there, now see you're 8 yards away from the ball there and you're supposed to let it fall but, okay roll tape, but there you go running after it, yup okay now you've caught it in the end zone, costing us huge yardage. Why?
Vashar: Ahh yea coach, I er...thought it was gonna...
Coach: Nevermind, one mistake no big deal. Okay, here you go about to take a knee. Good thinking, it's not as good as the 35 but at least we'll get it on the 20. Freeze it! Now see here you're almost to the ground a few inches from sanity. Did the wind pick you back up and throw you out onto the field? Roll tape, so there you go, inexpicably taking off... Why? Why? WHY?
Vashar: Ahh yea coach, I er...well I'm really fast so...
Coach: Nevermind. So now you run out to the 30, directly towards traffic, stop, do a Barry Sanders, hand on the ground spin and take off up the sideline. Nice run, but did you have money on this or something? That's the only justification I can think of. Good play, you ever do that again and you're cut. By the way do some wind sprints after practice, you looked like you needed emergency defibrulation at about the 15.
- Let's all thank Dick Vermeil, not for showing us that men have a sensitive side and that it's okay to cry... all the time ... in front of national television audiences ... and in locker rooms full of half naked men. Rather, let's thank him for starting the, "Hey it's a game, let's win it," movement among NFL coaches. I wonder if Jon Gruden would have gone for 2 and the win yesterday if Vermeil hadn't gone for the touchdown and the win last week. I love it, and you'll keep seeing it until someone tries it and loses as a result. Then he will be a moron and a scapegoat, likely will lose his job and all coaches will go back into their shells until someone's balls drop back down and the cycle begins again.
- Last night the ESPN bottom line ticker listed Mike Tice's knee injury following the score. There wasn't something more important they could have mentioned first like say... Eli Manning's 4 picks? Oh right I forgot, this is ESPN, worshiping at the altar of Manning is their credo. I feel a little bad for Tice on this one. First, obviously you don't want to see someone get hurt, but the embarassing thing is the question that comes after. Why the hell wasn't he watching the play? The guy that hit him had the ball! Pretty embarassing to get taken out on the sideline and at the same time get caught day dreaming about what you'll do with all that free time next season...
Finally - The MVP.
You can't say that A-Rod didn't deserve it. What you can say is that Ortiz deserved it more. While A-Rod was the king of the meaningless home run, Big Papi was the best clutch hitter in baseball. Nothing is more valuable to a team tha big, late inning hits, not even great third base play.
The only assumption I can make is that the DH thing tipped the scales. This voting should be like a jury trial. I as the opposing attorney should be able to poll the voters and make each and every one of them tell me to my face that what Ortiz did this year wasn't worthy of an MVP trophy.
Sure I don't like it, but I don't like the way the Red Sox season ended even more and in the grand scheme of this season it's just another disappointment to add to the many that have piled up since October 1st. Remember how good things were in Red Sox nation last year at this time? Ahh memories.
Those were not the Colts. No no, they in fact were the Dolphins, Gus Frerotte's Dolphins.
Now some may look at this game and say, "Hey, that's just how the Patriots win. Against adversity they come up with just enough plays to sneak away with a victory." I choose to look at it and say, "How in the name of Zeus's butthole did they give up 360 $#!&ing yards to Gus Frerotte? What's next, Cody Pickett winning offensive player of the week against them?"
There isn't much else to say about this game or this team right now. The only real positive seems to be that Tom Brady is the best player on the field everytime he steps out there, and luckily that's going to be enough in a division consisting of teams led by Brooks Bollinger, Kelly Holcomb / J.P. Losman, and the afore mention Frerotte.
I guess you do have to give them credit for standing tall on the goal line when the Dolphins were threatening to tie the game at the end. Or maybe you have to give Chris Chambers a paddling for dropping a touchdown pass that hit him the stomach in the end zone on 4th down. The man in coverage on the play was Ellis Hobbs. When asked after the game what grade he would give the Patriots secondary in this game he said he would give them a "V" for victory. I think that is a good way to look at it, they deserve much worse than an F for allowing a 12th string quarterback to shred them like Senate expense reports, but they escaped with a win on the road. Heading into an almost guaranteed win next week against New Orleans I'll take it.
Other Sunday NFL stuff:
- My buddy Dan wins the first memorial, "Luckiest Fantasy Football Mistake" award for this season. He started Joey Harrington against me. My reaction when I saw the matchup on Thursday, "Holy #$%! I'm going to win this easily, the jackass is playing Joey Harrington." My reaction on Sunday night when I saw the result, "Silly Yahoo Fantasy Football, they seem to have made a few typos here, putting 3 touchdowns next to Harrington's name, just let me go find out what he really did in the box score...(sounds of typing)... Oh the humanity! Why oh good lord why!?"
- Cody Pickett was 1-13 for 27 yards on Sunday in windy Chicago, making the Kyles (Orton and Boller) share second worst quarterbacking performance of the day honors. There aren't winds accompanying a monsoon with a hurricane swirling within it to make an NFL quarterback go 1-13. If that didn't make Dick Vermeil cry...
- ... then certainly seeing his team come up with one of the worst performances of the year against Buffalo must have. That's definitely the "Inexplicable Egg Laying" of the week. Hope you took the points on that one.
- Nathan Vashar wasn't even supposed to catch the ball that he brought back a record 108 yards for a touchdown. You only put a safety in the end zone if you're afraid that the kicking team is going to fake the kick and try to throw a bomb, you don't expect or hope for the kick to come up 20 yards short. Think about this. If it's a 52 yard field goal the line of scrimmage is the 35. If a defensive back, who doesn't return kicks, catches a ball in the end zone, he's going to take a knee (okay not this guy but everyone else would). That would give you the ball on the 20, costing you at least 15 yards. Er... Obviously it worked out well but what the hell was he thinking? I wish I could be in that film session.
Coach: Okay, here's the kick...clearly coming up short. So this play should be over...but here you come. Freeze it! Right there, now see you're 8 yards away from the ball there and you're supposed to let it fall but, okay roll tape, but there you go running after it, yup okay now you've caught it in the end zone, costing us huge yardage. Why?
Vashar: Ahh yea coach, I er...thought it was gonna...
Coach: Nevermind, one mistake no big deal. Okay, here you go about to take a knee. Good thinking, it's not as good as the 35 but at least we'll get it on the 20. Freeze it! Now see here you're almost to the ground a few inches from sanity. Did the wind pick you back up and throw you out onto the field? Roll tape, so there you go, inexpicably taking off... Why? Why? WHY?
Vashar: Ahh yea coach, I er...well I'm really fast so...
Coach: Nevermind. So now you run out to the 30, directly towards traffic, stop, do a Barry Sanders, hand on the ground spin and take off up the sideline. Nice run, but did you have money on this or something? That's the only justification I can think of. Good play, you ever do that again and you're cut. By the way do some wind sprints after practice, you looked like you needed emergency defibrulation at about the 15.
- Let's all thank Dick Vermeil, not for showing us that men have a sensitive side and that it's okay to cry... all the time ... in front of national television audiences ... and in locker rooms full of half naked men. Rather, let's thank him for starting the, "Hey it's a game, let's win it," movement among NFL coaches. I wonder if Jon Gruden would have gone for 2 and the win yesterday if Vermeil hadn't gone for the touchdown and the win last week. I love it, and you'll keep seeing it until someone tries it and loses as a result. Then he will be a moron and a scapegoat, likely will lose his job and all coaches will go back into their shells until someone's balls drop back down and the cycle begins again.
- Last night the ESPN bottom line ticker listed Mike Tice's knee injury following the score. There wasn't something more important they could have mentioned first like say... Eli Manning's 4 picks? Oh right I forgot, this is ESPN, worshiping at the altar of Manning is their credo. I feel a little bad for Tice on this one. First, obviously you don't want to see someone get hurt, but the embarassing thing is the question that comes after. Why the hell wasn't he watching the play? The guy that hit him had the ball! Pretty embarassing to get taken out on the sideline and at the same time get caught day dreaming about what you'll do with all that free time next season...
Finally - The MVP.
You can't say that A-Rod didn't deserve it. What you can say is that Ortiz deserved it more. While A-Rod was the king of the meaningless home run, Big Papi was the best clutch hitter in baseball. Nothing is more valuable to a team tha big, late inning hits, not even great third base play.
The only assumption I can make is that the DH thing tipped the scales. This voting should be like a jury trial. I as the opposing attorney should be able to poll the voters and make each and every one of them tell me to my face that what Ortiz did this year wasn't worthy of an MVP trophy.
Sure I don't like it, but I don't like the way the Red Sox season ended even more and in the grand scheme of this season it's just another disappointment to add to the many that have piled up since October 1st. Remember how good things were in Red Sox nation last year at this time? Ahh memories.
The Top 3
So 48 hours later I'm halfway recovered from Saturday's ridiculous football marathon ending with a five mile walk home from IHop down the Charles at 7:30AM. On that note, the top 3 BC football moments of my era.
3. Notre Dame v. BC, 2001. It was the only time BC played Notre Dame at home in my college career so naturally the hype was huge. Neither team was highly ranked, BC was 5-2, Notre Dame just 3-3 but the rivalry still garnered as much attention as any meeting, especially in Chestnut Hill. My team (swimming) had a meet the next day so weren't "supposed" to drink. Oops. Willie Green had his best day as an Eagle, rushing for 195 yards, including a 71 yard touchdown, and had 262 yards of total offense. BC took the lead for good at 21-17 early in the 4th but tried mightily to lose with Green fumbling and the defense allowing the Irish to move to the BC 16 before standing tall and running out the clock. The game may not have meant as much as other meetings in terms of the standings but it was the most impressive atmosphere at BC in my time there.
2. Tie. BC v. Stanford, 2002. I almost didn't go to this game, I don't think a lot of people did. It was one of the most beautiful days for BC home game I can remember. For some that would guarantee a trip to the stadium, for us it just meant that we spent more time outside tailgating instead. From what I remember I don't think it was supposed to be close, Stanford was starting a freshman quarterbak and hadn't really been competitive recently. It ended up being the only buzzer beater I've seen at Alumni. BC was down 27-17 going into the 4th. Derrick Knight scored with 12 minutes to play, they got a field goal with just over 6 to go, and then with 36 seconds remaining Knight scored again from 12 yards out to seal it. It was one of the few truly exciting games that I can remember coming down to the last play.
Tied with the Stanford game is BC v. Rutgers, 2002. The game itself was unmemorable, a predictable rout 44-14 by the Eagles. I remember it because it was the last home game of our undergrad career. That day we did something that I don't think I did more than 3 times in 4 years, we stayed until the very end of the game and heard "Alma Mata". It's incredibly cheesy but it was a great moment watching the players salute the fans and vice versa knowing that it was the last time we would do as actual BC students.
Okay, wipe the tears and on to number 1.
1. BC at Notre Dame, 2002. As if there was any doubt. This was the second best sporting event I have ever seen live (2004 ALCS game 7), but it was the weekend as a whole that made it the climactic event that it was. Unlike my first ND pilgrimage in a Chevy Blazer Sport, this time we flew to Chicago and spent the first night (Halloween) with a roomate's friend from high school at Depaul. During the day we were shameless tourists, going to the art museum, the Sears tower, etc. The night invovled one of the best meals I've ever had at a Brazilian steak house called Fogo de Chao (they bring you meat on a stick...as much as you can eat), some of the highest comedy at a friend's expense when an unnamed roomate had substantial stomach problems and spent the majority of the night running for the border, and one of the worst nights of sleep of my life on a love seat about 2 feet shorter than I am.
The next day (Friday) we took the train the South Bend. After a stop at a great ND sports bar called Corby's we headed back to the bar I mentioned in the blurb about the first Notre Dame trip the Boat Club. (Why in the middle of Indiana would you have a bar named the Boat Club?) In the two years since I had visited things had changed very little, although now when you entered you had to sign a waiver asserting that you were 21 and that the bar was not liable for anything for any reason. That should have been a sign. The pitchers were a dollar, the shots were a dollar, every freaking thing was a dollar. Much drama and madness ensued. On the walk home we got jumped by townies and two of my buddies took pretty good shots to the face. To celebrate one went home and made out with a St. Mary's girl while sleeping on the floor, with blood literally on his face. She was a classy lady.
The next morning the St. Mary's ladies who housed us, (who were so incredibly awesome the entire time we were there) woke us up at 7:30 to start drinking. I think we went to bed at 5:00. They are so hardcore I could barely handle it. Finding the BC tailgating area was a nightmare, they stuck us in a field about 2 miles from the stadium and didn't tell anyone about it. What happened on that field is still one of the greatest times of my life. A few thousand BC fans of all ages on a sunny cold day just going crazy, there is no way to describe it, it was just amazing.
The game itself should not have been close. Notre Dame was 8-0 and the Irish fans were thinking national championship for the first time in decades. Most everyone assumed that the Irish were going to roll over BC and head into their matchup the next week with USC at 9-0 with a legitimate chance to knock off the Trojans. The entire world was basically looking past the Eagles. Then, in quite possibly one of the worst coaching moves of all time, they came out in the green jerseys. The Irish had not worn green since 1985 when they changed into them from the blue at halftime of a rout over USC. What was Ty Willingham thinking? Everyone at ND been saying all weekend that BC wasn't a real rival...but the green jerseys were supposed to be a rallying point for a team that needed a little something exra to get a victory. Notre Dame should not have needed anything extra to beat BC, they were the better team. Not on that day however. They fumbled 7 times losing three of them, prompting NBC to send a sideline reporter over to the ND bench to feel the jerseys to find out if they were more slippery than the blues (worst job ever). With BC leading 6-0 in the second quarter, in what was likely the greatest moment of Josh Ott's life, the ND backup quarterback Patrick Dillingham tried an ill advised shovel pass to his left which hit Ott in stride and he was gone for a touchdown. It proved to be all that BC would need, they won 14-7.
We won't discuss the fact that I threw up twice on the train back to Chicago the next day. It was one of the best 4 day spans of my life capped by best moment of my BC football patronage.
That's my list, I'd put the Florida State, Gameday scene this season on a sidenote, but they should have won that game and I'm still disappointed.
3. Notre Dame v. BC, 2001. It was the only time BC played Notre Dame at home in my college career so naturally the hype was huge. Neither team was highly ranked, BC was 5-2, Notre Dame just 3-3 but the rivalry still garnered as much attention as any meeting, especially in Chestnut Hill. My team (swimming) had a meet the next day so weren't "supposed" to drink. Oops. Willie Green had his best day as an Eagle, rushing for 195 yards, including a 71 yard touchdown, and had 262 yards of total offense. BC took the lead for good at 21-17 early in the 4th but tried mightily to lose with Green fumbling and the defense allowing the Irish to move to the BC 16 before standing tall and running out the clock. The game may not have meant as much as other meetings in terms of the standings but it was the most impressive atmosphere at BC in my time there.
2. Tie. BC v. Stanford, 2002. I almost didn't go to this game, I don't think a lot of people did. It was one of the most beautiful days for BC home game I can remember. For some that would guarantee a trip to the stadium, for us it just meant that we spent more time outside tailgating instead. From what I remember I don't think it was supposed to be close, Stanford was starting a freshman quarterbak and hadn't really been competitive recently. It ended up being the only buzzer beater I've seen at Alumni. BC was down 27-17 going into the 4th. Derrick Knight scored with 12 minutes to play, they got a field goal with just over 6 to go, and then with 36 seconds remaining Knight scored again from 12 yards out to seal it. It was one of the few truly exciting games that I can remember coming down to the last play.
Tied with the Stanford game is BC v. Rutgers, 2002. The game itself was unmemorable, a predictable rout 44-14 by the Eagles. I remember it because it was the last home game of our undergrad career. That day we did something that I don't think I did more than 3 times in 4 years, we stayed until the very end of the game and heard "Alma Mata". It's incredibly cheesy but it was a great moment watching the players salute the fans and vice versa knowing that it was the last time we would do as actual BC students.
Okay, wipe the tears and on to number 1.
1. BC at Notre Dame, 2002. As if there was any doubt. This was the second best sporting event I have ever seen live (2004 ALCS game 7), but it was the weekend as a whole that made it the climactic event that it was. Unlike my first ND pilgrimage in a Chevy Blazer Sport, this time we flew to Chicago and spent the first night (Halloween) with a roomate's friend from high school at Depaul. During the day we were shameless tourists, going to the art museum, the Sears tower, etc. The night invovled one of the best meals I've ever had at a Brazilian steak house called Fogo de Chao (they bring you meat on a stick...as much as you can eat), some of the highest comedy at a friend's expense when an unnamed roomate had substantial stomach problems and spent the majority of the night running for the border, and one of the worst nights of sleep of my life on a love seat about 2 feet shorter than I am.
The next day (Friday) we took the train the South Bend. After a stop at a great ND sports bar called Corby's we headed back to the bar I mentioned in the blurb about the first Notre Dame trip the Boat Club. (Why in the middle of Indiana would you have a bar named the Boat Club?) In the two years since I had visited things had changed very little, although now when you entered you had to sign a waiver asserting that you were 21 and that the bar was not liable for anything for any reason. That should have been a sign. The pitchers were a dollar, the shots were a dollar, every freaking thing was a dollar. Much drama and madness ensued. On the walk home we got jumped by townies and two of my buddies took pretty good shots to the face. To celebrate one went home and made out with a St. Mary's girl while sleeping on the floor, with blood literally on his face. She was a classy lady.
The next morning the St. Mary's ladies who housed us, (who were so incredibly awesome the entire time we were there) woke us up at 7:30 to start drinking. I think we went to bed at 5:00. They are so hardcore I could barely handle it. Finding the BC tailgating area was a nightmare, they stuck us in a field about 2 miles from the stadium and didn't tell anyone about it. What happened on that field is still one of the greatest times of my life. A few thousand BC fans of all ages on a sunny cold day just going crazy, there is no way to describe it, it was just amazing.
The game itself should not have been close. Notre Dame was 8-0 and the Irish fans were thinking national championship for the first time in decades. Most everyone assumed that the Irish were going to roll over BC and head into their matchup the next week with USC at 9-0 with a legitimate chance to knock off the Trojans. The entire world was basically looking past the Eagles. Then, in quite possibly one of the worst coaching moves of all time, they came out in the green jerseys. The Irish had not worn green since 1985 when they changed into them from the blue at halftime of a rout over USC. What was Ty Willingham thinking? Everyone at ND been saying all weekend that BC wasn't a real rival...but the green jerseys were supposed to be a rallying point for a team that needed a little something exra to get a victory. Notre Dame should not have needed anything extra to beat BC, they were the better team. Not on that day however. They fumbled 7 times losing three of them, prompting NBC to send a sideline reporter over to the ND bench to feel the jerseys to find out if they were more slippery than the blues (worst job ever). With BC leading 6-0 in the second quarter, in what was likely the greatest moment of Josh Ott's life, the ND backup quarterback Patrick Dillingham tried an ill advised shovel pass to his left which hit Ott in stride and he was gone for a touchdown. It proved to be all that BC would need, they won 14-7.
We won't discuss the fact that I threw up twice on the train back to Chicago the next day. It was one of the best 4 day spans of my life capped by best moment of my BC football patronage.
That's my list, I'd put the Florida State, Gameday scene this season on a sidenote, but they should have won that game and I'm still disappointed.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Top 10 BC Football Moments
One the morning of the last BC home game of the season I thought I'd take a look back at my 10 favorite BC football memories (not necessarily involving the games). Obviously this is just from my BC era so forget about Flutie.
10. Baylor v. BC, opening game 1999. This is where it all began, my first game as a student. The game itself was awesome, an overtime thriller with BC winning on a field goal. Other highlights, passing a bottle of Rubinoff (Vermont's finest spirit) around with 10 guys from Keyes 3rd floor in a tiny dorm room and chasing it down with potato chips (nothing else available). Of course we got to the game about an hour early, as freshman are known to do and got awesome seats on the field side of the student section in the second row. Things changed quick.
9. ALMOST beating Miami in 1999 when they were undefeated and ranked number 1. This actually turned into a crushing defeat but it was pretty awesome for 3 quarters thinking we were going to bring down the goal posts. A 31 point 4th quarter by the Hurricanes ended that but the energy in the stadium that day was incredible.
8. Virginia Tech v. BC 2000. Sure they lost this one too but this was the Michael Vick experience. V-Tech went up 14 nothing, but BC rallied to tie with two quick TD's. Then for the next 3 quarters Vick single handedly demolished the Eagles. Over 200 yards rushing, he was just totally unstopable, one of the best athletic perfomances I've ever seen live.
7. The Matthias wine incident. I don't remember what game it was, I think it might have been one of the first of our senior year. I remember being in the mod but that's it. He went to cater a pre-season event, afterwards he was aware that he was going to come home to a shit show so he decided to try to catch up...by drinking 2 bottles of wine. When he arrived at the mod he looked like he was made of jello, limbs and goonishness flopping everywhere. Classic. Later in the day he was so passed out that his sketchball roomate thought it was okay to fool around with a girl with him in the room. The girl was not as psyched.
6. 8:00 AM, speakers outside blaring "Move Bitch" and "For Boston". A cop drives by, stops, and in a completely shocked voice says, "Are you guys serious right now? All of Edmonds and Walsh just called to complain about you. Just stop."
5. The "SuperDrunk" t-shirt incident. We made up shirts spoofing the BC student "Superfan" shirts with an Eagle tapping a keg on the front and "Get Wasted" written on the back. We were selling them, at cost in our mod during the first game of senior year. Apparently this was a rather large mistake. The slip and slide in the backyard initially drew the attention of the police, the alleged, "copyright infringment" kept it for the remainder of the afternoon. Come for the slip and slide, stay for the arrest.
4. Notre Dame pilrgimage 1. 8 morons pile into a Chey Blazer sport that comfortably holds 4. 16 hours later they arrive in South Bend, tired, smelly, and hating each other. Madness ensues including a trip to a bar with a $6 cover charge and dollar pitchers. BC loses the game but it's one of those classic trips that I'll always remember.
The top 3 later, M.A.'s calls.
10. Baylor v. BC, opening game 1999. This is where it all began, my first game as a student. The game itself was awesome, an overtime thriller with BC winning on a field goal. Other highlights, passing a bottle of Rubinoff (Vermont's finest spirit) around with 10 guys from Keyes 3rd floor in a tiny dorm room and chasing it down with potato chips (nothing else available). Of course we got to the game about an hour early, as freshman are known to do and got awesome seats on the field side of the student section in the second row. Things changed quick.
9. ALMOST beating Miami in 1999 when they were undefeated and ranked number 1. This actually turned into a crushing defeat but it was pretty awesome for 3 quarters thinking we were going to bring down the goal posts. A 31 point 4th quarter by the Hurricanes ended that but the energy in the stadium that day was incredible.
8. Virginia Tech v. BC 2000. Sure they lost this one too but this was the Michael Vick experience. V-Tech went up 14 nothing, but BC rallied to tie with two quick TD's. Then for the next 3 quarters Vick single handedly demolished the Eagles. Over 200 yards rushing, he was just totally unstopable, one of the best athletic perfomances I've ever seen live.
7. The Matthias wine incident. I don't remember what game it was, I think it might have been one of the first of our senior year. I remember being in the mod but that's it. He went to cater a pre-season event, afterwards he was aware that he was going to come home to a shit show so he decided to try to catch up...by drinking 2 bottles of wine. When he arrived at the mod he looked like he was made of jello, limbs and goonishness flopping everywhere. Classic. Later in the day he was so passed out that his sketchball roomate thought it was okay to fool around with a girl with him in the room. The girl was not as psyched.
6. 8:00 AM, speakers outside blaring "Move Bitch" and "For Boston". A cop drives by, stops, and in a completely shocked voice says, "Are you guys serious right now? All of Edmonds and Walsh just called to complain about you. Just stop."
5. The "SuperDrunk" t-shirt incident. We made up shirts spoofing the BC student "Superfan" shirts with an Eagle tapping a keg on the front and "Get Wasted" written on the back. We were selling them, at cost in our mod during the first game of senior year. Apparently this was a rather large mistake. The slip and slide in the backyard initially drew the attention of the police, the alleged, "copyright infringment" kept it for the remainder of the afternoon. Come for the slip and slide, stay for the arrest.
4. Notre Dame pilrgimage 1. 8 morons pile into a Chey Blazer sport that comfortably holds 4. 16 hours later they arrive in South Bend, tired, smelly, and hating each other. Madness ensues including a trip to a bar with a $6 cover charge and dollar pitchers. BC loses the game but it's one of those classic trips that I'll always remember.
The top 3 later, M.A.'s calls.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Bring T.O. to New England!
And make him play defensive back.
Seriously, he can't be any worse than what the Patriots are trotting out right now can he?
Okay, I don't want T.O. to come to New England. Here's what I do want. When his whole fiasco started I made a concious decision to wait it out and not comment on it until the end. There is no creativity in blasting T.O. or Drew Rosenhaus anymore, everyone has done it and there is no way I'll ever be able to do it as well as Steven A. Smith. (Good lord did he let them have it. I'm not a Steven A. fan by any means but that was quality ranting and raving.) So, what I do want is to give my opinion on the situation and be done with it. Everyone is sick of talking about it, everyone is sick of writing about it, and most of all everyone is sick of hearing about it. A few paragraphs and then as far as the Slant is concerned it's over.
The most encompassing thing that I've taken from this situation is that T.O. is crazier than a kitten in a sock drawer. He's crazy to think that he can badger the Eagles into giving him a new deal just 1 year into a 7 year agreement. He's crazy to think that he can rip his quarterback and other teammates and coaches in the media and not have a backlash. He's crazy to think that his talent will allow him to behave in manner he chooses. He's crazy to think that he is being wronged by his supension. He's just crazy.
But, and I say this only to show both sides, T.O. has some excuses for being crazy. He was literally whipped as a child by his grandmother. Whipped. He was never allowed to leave the yard to play. He developed a potentially incestuous relationship with the girl who lived across the street from him when he was 12 because he was unaware that she was his half sister. (Yes, his father lived right across the street from him for 12 years and he didn't know it.) He was given every opportunity and every impetus to fail from every possible influence in his life.
Forget the movies, television, or other media, parental influences can screw a kid's head up worse than playing Doom, while watching a snuff video, and listening to Marilyn Manson.
Are these set backs excuses for his behavior? No way. Everyone has crosses to bear, his might be heavier than others but it does not justify a fight with a teammate, public slander of your team's leader, and financial extortion of your company.
You simply cannot, in this age of the NFL make yourself larger than the game. We may be heading towards a league in which you can do so, but while the model for success still resides in Foxboro with coaching, discipline, game planning, and execution players like T.O. will always find themselves on the periphery of acceptance.
That being said there is no doubt that he will find a home next year. He's just too talented not to. He's a jerk and a locker room cancer no one can deny that anymore. His past two teams have said, "We'd rather lose without you than win with you." In a league where results hold a premium a step beyond all others this is an incredible statement to see once, nevermind twice. Still, someone will take a chance on him with a one year deal. They'll sign him to an incentive based contract off of a minimum base salary and hope that somehow they'll be able to keep the ship righted from July to February. But no one will go into it with their eyes closed anymore, there are no more second chances for T.O. just desperate GMs.
The ultimate irony is that when this all started in the off season it was about money. Now by getting suspended and proving that he is without a doubt the worst teammate in the NFL and guaranteeing that he'll never see a long term deal again he has probably cost himself upwards of 50 million dollars over the course of his career. So out of all this he has lost a job, lost his considerable salary, aliented a fan base with long memories and spiteful grudges, and distanced his unreachable personality from his undeniable talent. Not even an idiot of Owens' ilk can look at that and be proud.
One last note on this. The Eagles should cut him and let him play elsewhere if someone is willing to take a chance on him. This suspension and subsequent promise to deactivate him is essentially cutting him off at the knees and that isn't fair. He may have been a cancer to their organization but they should just get rid of him plain and simple. If you get fired from a real job they can't tell you that you aren't allowed to get another one, why should the Eagles be allowed to do so here?
Other News:
- Am I the only one who thinks that the manager of the year award is one of the most predicatable awards in sports? The season is so long that it becomes so obvious who is making the most out of what they have that to suggest that there is any mystery in it is just untrue. I don't like Guillen but he combined luck, guts, and an unconvential attitude to make a great team. Cox took probably his least talented Braves team of their 14 year run and still took the division easily. They are both deserving, but not surprising.
- Another potetial BCgate this weekend against N.C. State at home. Prepare for a meltdown if they lose this one.
- I'm done apologizing for why the Patriots lost on Monday, stop antagonizing me about it. Yes they lost, no the Colts are not the Super Bowl Champions yet, and I know that this defense is just bad. Thank you, but I got the picture.
- Speaking of the Patriots (I can't believe I'm about to say this) but this game against the Dolphins on Sunday is a must win. Look how far we've fallen, a game in Miami is now a must in. Hopefully Gus Frerotte won't shred their secondary like P-town.
- If you have Larry Johnson on your fantasy team do a backflip and jump for joy. Not only do you now have a runner in one of the most prolific offenses in the league but you just had your carries per game doubled and are guaranteed every important/goal line carry for your boy.
- I can't write another whole blog on this and keep my sanity, even though it deserves a month's worth. The Red Sox cannot trade Manny right now. From a baseball standpoint and almost as importantly from a public relations standpoint you CANNOT trade your best player after allowing one front office executive to mortage your future in a clash of egos.
- I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier but it's so amazing that I don't care if I did. No bathroom has been so fortunately graced as the ladies room at Bananna Joes in Tampa which was the site of the infamous cheerleader sex scandal. Apparently 2 Carolina Pathers cheerleaders, (get this) a nurse and a student, were occupying the bathroom for a little too long while engaging in...er...Skinemax behaviors. Another woman complained as they exited the stall and one of the cheerleaders punched the woman in the face. Bad thinking, the other was underage with a fake ID. Both were arrested, fired, and then offered shoots in Penthouse. It's the American way.
Seriously, he can't be any worse than what the Patriots are trotting out right now can he?
Okay, I don't want T.O. to come to New England. Here's what I do want. When his whole fiasco started I made a concious decision to wait it out and not comment on it until the end. There is no creativity in blasting T.O. or Drew Rosenhaus anymore, everyone has done it and there is no way I'll ever be able to do it as well as Steven A. Smith. (Good lord did he let them have it. I'm not a Steven A. fan by any means but that was quality ranting and raving.) So, what I do want is to give my opinion on the situation and be done with it. Everyone is sick of talking about it, everyone is sick of writing about it, and most of all everyone is sick of hearing about it. A few paragraphs and then as far as the Slant is concerned it's over.
The most encompassing thing that I've taken from this situation is that T.O. is crazier than a kitten in a sock drawer. He's crazy to think that he can badger the Eagles into giving him a new deal just 1 year into a 7 year agreement. He's crazy to think that he can rip his quarterback and other teammates and coaches in the media and not have a backlash. He's crazy to think that his talent will allow him to behave in manner he chooses. He's crazy to think that he is being wronged by his supension. He's just crazy.
But, and I say this only to show both sides, T.O. has some excuses for being crazy. He was literally whipped as a child by his grandmother. Whipped. He was never allowed to leave the yard to play. He developed a potentially incestuous relationship with the girl who lived across the street from him when he was 12 because he was unaware that she was his half sister. (Yes, his father lived right across the street from him for 12 years and he didn't know it.) He was given every opportunity and every impetus to fail from every possible influence in his life.
Forget the movies, television, or other media, parental influences can screw a kid's head up worse than playing Doom, while watching a snuff video, and listening to Marilyn Manson.
Are these set backs excuses for his behavior? No way. Everyone has crosses to bear, his might be heavier than others but it does not justify a fight with a teammate, public slander of your team's leader, and financial extortion of your company.
You simply cannot, in this age of the NFL make yourself larger than the game. We may be heading towards a league in which you can do so, but while the model for success still resides in Foxboro with coaching, discipline, game planning, and execution players like T.O. will always find themselves on the periphery of acceptance.
That being said there is no doubt that he will find a home next year. He's just too talented not to. He's a jerk and a locker room cancer no one can deny that anymore. His past two teams have said, "We'd rather lose without you than win with you." In a league where results hold a premium a step beyond all others this is an incredible statement to see once, nevermind twice. Still, someone will take a chance on him with a one year deal. They'll sign him to an incentive based contract off of a minimum base salary and hope that somehow they'll be able to keep the ship righted from July to February. But no one will go into it with their eyes closed anymore, there are no more second chances for T.O. just desperate GMs.
The ultimate irony is that when this all started in the off season it was about money. Now by getting suspended and proving that he is without a doubt the worst teammate in the NFL and guaranteeing that he'll never see a long term deal again he has probably cost himself upwards of 50 million dollars over the course of his career. So out of all this he has lost a job, lost his considerable salary, aliented a fan base with long memories and spiteful grudges, and distanced his unreachable personality from his undeniable talent. Not even an idiot of Owens' ilk can look at that and be proud.
One last note on this. The Eagles should cut him and let him play elsewhere if someone is willing to take a chance on him. This suspension and subsequent promise to deactivate him is essentially cutting him off at the knees and that isn't fair. He may have been a cancer to their organization but they should just get rid of him plain and simple. If you get fired from a real job they can't tell you that you aren't allowed to get another one, why should the Eagles be allowed to do so here?
Other News:
- Am I the only one who thinks that the manager of the year award is one of the most predicatable awards in sports? The season is so long that it becomes so obvious who is making the most out of what they have that to suggest that there is any mystery in it is just untrue. I don't like Guillen but he combined luck, guts, and an unconvential attitude to make a great team. Cox took probably his least talented Braves team of their 14 year run and still took the division easily. They are both deserving, but not surprising.
- Another potetial BCgate this weekend against N.C. State at home. Prepare for a meltdown if they lose this one.
- I'm done apologizing for why the Patriots lost on Monday, stop antagonizing me about it. Yes they lost, no the Colts are not the Super Bowl Champions yet, and I know that this defense is just bad. Thank you, but I got the picture.
- Speaking of the Patriots (I can't believe I'm about to say this) but this game against the Dolphins on Sunday is a must win. Look how far we've fallen, a game in Miami is now a must in. Hopefully Gus Frerotte won't shred their secondary like P-town.
- If you have Larry Johnson on your fantasy team do a backflip and jump for joy. Not only do you now have a runner in one of the most prolific offenses in the league but you just had your carries per game doubled and are guaranteed every important/goal line carry for your boy.
- I can't write another whole blog on this and keep my sanity, even though it deserves a month's worth. The Red Sox cannot trade Manny right now. From a baseball standpoint and almost as importantly from a public relations standpoint you CANNOT trade your best player after allowing one front office executive to mortage your future in a clash of egos.
- I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier but it's so amazing that I don't care if I did. No bathroom has been so fortunately graced as the ladies room at Bananna Joes in Tampa which was the site of the infamous cheerleader sex scandal. Apparently 2 Carolina Pathers cheerleaders, (get this) a nurse and a student, were occupying the bathroom for a little too long while engaging in...er...Skinemax behaviors. Another woman complained as they exited the stall and one of the cheerleaders punched the woman in the face. Bad thinking, the other was underage with a fake ID. Both were arrested, fired, and then offered shoots in Penthouse. It's the American way.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Time For Another Installment Of...
Am I taking crazy pills?
What the hell were they thinking?
I'm starting to feel as though the only way you can realistically evaluate Boston College sports is to be an alum and watch the games. Clearly no one in the college basketball or football worlds does this. How, after watching these teams routinely lay down in front of inferior competition and get blown out by superior competition can anyone in their right mind rank them among the tops in the nation?
Not only did BC football climb as high as number 13 this year (only to show their stripes and their inept coaching against North Carolina) but their basketball team is ranked pre-season 11th. And if that wasn't enough Craig Smith, a shorter and blacker Greg Ostertag, was named a pre-season first team All American. How, how, how? Does anyone remember watching this team get run over like a deer on route 81 against Pittsburgh last year? Did anyone watch their tournament game against 12th seeded Wisconsin - Milwaukee? Is anyone aware that Sean Williams, probably the best defensive player on BC's roster is suspended indefinitely? And most importantly did the entire world go to sleep and forget that this team, led by Smith and ... is now playing in the ACC against Duke (1), Maryland (24), Wake Forest (18), North Carolina (defending national champions), and a host of other programs home to impossible places to win on the road?
Obviously Smith is a good player, but who else do they have to help him when he is doubled and shut down? Jared Dudley? Louis Hinnant? Come on, let's be serious here. The 20-0 start by the Eagles last year was an aberration aided by a weak early season schedule and a couple of good wins. They essentially snuck up on everyone and took teams by surprise. They will not be doing that this year. With 4 starters returning they have basically the same team that finished ranked 19th last season eliminating any mystery about them from the start.
Even more shocking than their ranking is Smith's selection to the All-American first team. At 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a game last season Smith had solid numbers and deserved his first team all Big East commendation. He may even deserve his first team All ACC selection this year, but to consider him one of the 2 best front court players in the NCAA is just absurd. First of all, he's only 6'7" so without Sean Williams in the middle he won't command the interior and at his height it will be difficult for him to maneuver through heavy traffic as the only inside force. Secondly, with all the attention he got after the season last year he will be the target of every opponent's defense. They will be keying on him more than ever before and I don't think that he has the skills, the poise, or the supporting cast to handle the pressure of being a top tier player. Finally, there are other players that deserve to be on the first team more than he does. Rudy Gay from Connecticut is a legitimate star with the tools to be a fist teamer, as is Justin Gray from Wake Forest, although he's a guard so that doesn't really apply. The point here is that we as BC fans know where this is going.
They'll probably start out strong (no worse than 5-1 against Dartmouth, Shawnee State, Buffalo, Drake, Oklahoma State / TCU, and Sacred Heart) but won't blow any of those teams out. They'll stay in low teens in the rankings. Smith will be averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds per game. Their defense will be stout (but not great without Williams) but their offense will be stagnant.
Then they'll play the top 5 worthy Michigan State team and get demolished by 30 on ESPN. They'll fall after that game to somewhere in the mid to high teens. Then 5 days later they'll lose to Maryland in a relatively close, boring game at Maryland and fall in the rankings to the high teens or low twenties. Smith will have one good and one awful game in those two, keeping his averages the same and showing the country that he was not worthy of the pre-season All American status.
Then they will win their next 5 (Texas Southern, Harvard, Duquesne, Rhode Island, and UMass) with at least one very close scare. That will put their record at around 10-3 heading into conference play with their ranking sitting in the neighborhood of 15.
Of their final 17 they have 2 guaranteed non-conference wins (Holy Cross, Stony Brook). Within the conference they have 6 games they should win (2 against Miami, 2 against Virginia Tech, 1 against Clemson, 1 against Florida State). Let's give them 5 of those, assuming that there will be a slip-up somewhere along the way. That puts their record at 17-4.
Now it gets interesting. They will lose to Duke, now they're at 17-5. They will likely split the series with Georgia Tech, 18-6. Give them another split with NC State and they're at 19-7. An interesting matchup could take place on January 25th at UNC. Nobody knows what to expect from the Tar Heels this year having lost most of their championship team to the NBA. However, Roy Williams at home against Al Skinner is like Belichick at home against Dave Wannstedt, no comparison, UNC takes that one to push BC to 19-8.
Now I've left 2 games on the schedule as the highlight "BCgate" games of the season. Every season since I've been associated with BC sports there have been games that have epitomized BC's failures. Huge games against either comparable or inferior competition that have kept them mired in mediocrity and have stripped me of my confidence in them. The first of these games will be at Wake Forest on February 8th. Since the beginning of conference play BC should be at this point somewhere in the area of 16-6 giving them wins at home and losses on the road in their split series. Looking at Wake's schedule they should be around the same level, maybe a little bit better. Their rankings should be similar. The game is on ESPN. Do I even need to draw out this picture for you? They will inevitably lay an egg in this game, similar to the Pitt game last season and if they get blown out their national status will take a huge hit, just like it did last year.
If by some miracle this does not become BCgate, my name for everytime they fail to show up in a big (or even random) game for no reason at all, then we will move to game number 2 which might fit my theory even better. February 21st at Virginia. Virginia is one of two whipping boys in the ACC hoops world. They get beat on regularly by the big boys but usually steal one at home from a top contender (last year they beat Duke). This game will be the Syracuse (football), Pittsburgh, Wisconsin - Milwaukee, North Carolina (football) for this season. If the Eagles get past the Wake Forest game they could conceivably be 20-6 coming in to Charlottesville and could be ranked in the top 18 or so. Even before they play any of the games this looks like it could be the one that makes all of us shake our heads and say, "typical BC." Highly ranked but under achieving BC comes into Virginia and gets beat by 7, never really mounting a charge until 11 minutes left in the second half and by then it is too late for their meager offense led by freshman guard/forward (insert random player who shows up for this one game here) and his 4 second half threes.
They'll lose, fall to 19th, finish the season 20-9, get a 5 seed, and lose in the first round to this year's Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Craig Smith will average his 16 an 6, the numbers will be down from last year due to the extra attention and the stiffer competition. He'll be second team All ACC and everyone who voted him a pre-season All-American will look at BC grads like us and say, "We should have known."
It's just sad that you KNOW that this is going to happen. It's like knowing that Cody Pickett is going to find away to give the Giants a chance to win last week, or knowing that Bledsoe will go color blind on Parcells and cost the Cowboys a playoff berth at some time this year.
Some things are inevitable, BC sports are merely predictable.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
One Man's Take
Shockingly, despite last night's events the sun still rose this morning. So before we start rationing water and finding candles let's take a look at what happened in last night's debacle.
It seems to me that this game draws parallels with 2 games in recent Boston sports history: last season's regular season matchup with the Steelers and the opening game of this year's Red Sox season against the Yankees.
Heading into the Pittsburgh game last year much of the talk was about the Steelers needing to put on a positive show against the Patriots to legitimize their stock as an elite team in the AFC. Both were undefeated but the Steelers were new to prominence and playing a rookie QB. As in last night's game the win meant much more to the Steelers than the loss meant to the Patriots who were coming off of a Super Bowl win and had a huge win streak that was getting far too much attention. Similarly the Patriots had a dominating streak against these Colts which was inevitably going to be broken and better for it to happen now than in the AFC Championship game. In both cases the consequences of a loss for the Patriots' opponent would have been far worse than the consquences of a loss for the Patriots. Ben Roethlisberger may not have been the miracle savior who couldn't lose in the regular season and the Colts would still be haunted by ghosts in Foxboro.
The second parallel with the Yankees is more of a stretch but what hell I'm feeling limber. Opening night in Yankee stadium this past season was a day that came too soon for the Red Sox and not soon enough for the Yankees. As we all know the last time they met on that field the Red Sox completed the greatest comeback in the history of sports and went on to win the World Series while the Yankees went home to contemplate the worst choke imaginable. The Yankees made a huge off season acquisition in Randy Johnson and were going to show him off in the first game against their hated rivals. He was to be matched not by Curt Schilling, which would have made the game more crucial for the Red Sox, but by local fat man and ex/wanna be Yankee David Wells. Obviously the Yankees had to have this game for their fans and for themselves, for the Red Sox it was just the first game of 162 in the "year after." It parallels the Pats v. Colts game because of the matchup. Manning and his Colts could simply overmatch the Pats and their depleted secondary last night just as Johnson and the Yankees overmatched the Red Sox in April. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that this was a game that mattered much more to the Yankees (NY Post headline the next day: Yankees Win Game 8 - ALCS Tied 4-4) just as last night's game mattered much more to the Colts. Both were getting the monkey off their back momentarily, but in the end will it matter?
The point here is what happened in the long run with both of these big wins for Patriots' (and Red Sox) opponents. In the AFC Championship game the Pats pounded the Steelers on their home turf and proved that one game on Halloween does not mean much. In baseball the Yankees and Red Sox tied. So these huge earth shattering games don't mean anything if they are not followed up by a championship. If the Colts are polishing their rings in February they may look back at this as the game that got them over the hump. If not they are just 1-7 against the Pats, and if they lose to them in the playoffs the cloud above Manning's head will get even heavier than it was before he dispelled it last night.
The major difference that may hurt these comparisons is that last night's game was at home while the other two were on the road. Home losses hurt more, but regardless the game was still more important to Indianapolis.
Now a few notes on the game itself: (most of these were written at 2AM last night and only slightly edited, I apologize for their anger)
This secondary stinks. Everyone was open all night. I was there, high up in offensive coordinator type seats, seeing plays develop and it was clear that I could have made those throws. So could Kyle Orton, Chad Penninton, Gus Ferrotte, and Cody Pickett. This game was nothing special for Manning, and everyone knows that he still has to prove he can beat New England when they're healthy.
2 plays decided this game, a fumble by Corey Dillon at the end of the first half. At the time it was 14-7 and the ball was on the Colts' 25. Without that fumble they go into the locker room at worst 14-7, probably 14-14 and everyone would have settled for 14-10. The second play was the on-side kick. I have no problem with that since they hadn't stopped them yet, why not take a shot, worst comes to worst you give them the ball on the 30 and save yourselves 2 minutes. Too bad they didn't get it though, had they this game would have been a lot more interesting.
The Colts scored on 7 of 9 possessions, the only punt came in the last 2 minutes when it was already over and the other was an interception. Had this game been closer they wouldn't have punted at all. The last time we saw this was in the epic shootout in KC during the playoffs a few years ago when Manning and the Colts were "unstopable." Remember what happened that year in New England?
The Pats still own the Colts psychologically - want to know why? Ask Tony Dungee why he went for two when leading by 19 with under 5 minutes left. He won't tell you, but he was scared that they would lose, he was playing for the tie and assuming that that Pats would score 3 times. Didn't happen, but that's how badly this Pats team has damaged their heads.
Throw it, run it, whatever, they couldn't stop the Colts in any aspect of the defensive game. In the first quarter James was averaging over 6 yards per carry, and they still managed to throw it all over the field. I don't even want to know how many third down conversions they made, I really don't. The one that killed me was when the Patriots had them pinned on their own 6 on 3rd and 15 when it was still 21-7. Manning hit a wide open Reggie Wayne at the 22 and the air went out of the building. The crowd was hardly in it after that.
Bill Belichick can't cover wide receivers. Neither can Randle Gay, Asanti Samuel, Eugene Wilson, Dwayne Sparks, or anyone else New England marched out to try to stop the Colts' passing game. Unlike we have thought for the last 4 years, coaching isn't everything when you don't have the horses. Game plan cannot account for lack of talent.
Peyton Manning played a great game, but don't break out the trumpets, meats, and cheeses just yet. He played a great game against a terrible secondary and while it's true that he orchestrated great play calls he didn't do anything that Jake Plummer or Drew Brees were unable to do. In my opinion Tom Brady played a better game against a better secondary and under incredible pressure to score everytime they touched the ball.
Does anyone miss Rodney Harrison? That weak first half hit from Asanti Samuel that allowed a first down and still spawned a chest bump made me sick and Rodney probably broke a crutch off in his ass in the locker room afterward.
Belichick's press conference was 1:42, Brady's was :32 seconds. They're pissed. Sorry Mr. Saban that's really unfortunate scheduling for you.
Dillon's fumble didn't lose them the game but it did cost them a chance at winning it. Manning had just been intercepted and everyone in the stadium knew that the Patriots were back in his head, if only for a minute. For a few fleeting moments he must have been standing on the sideline thinking, "Not again." Then the Patriots converted an improbable 3-23 and you could feel the old energy coming back and the wind was leaving the Colt's sails with similarly improbable speed. Then Dillon lost the ball at the worst possible time, the Colts took the 2:05 left on the clock and turned it into 7 points, effectively ending the contest.
I was shocked when the Colts came out to start the second half and marched straight down the field on the Patriots defense. Belichick is known for his halftime adjustments and you almost always see a positive change in the team to start the 3rd quarter. Something that the opponent is keying on or getting to easily is taken away. Not so this time, further proving that coaching and adjustments can only take you so far, eventually you have to have players who can execute and last night this Patriots team did not.
Guess what. This game means nothing to New England and everything thing to the Colts. If you want to corronate the Colts the greatest team since the dawn of time talk to me in February if they are wearing a ring, otherwise they still aren't as good as we are and Manning is still a chump. Reality is the Pats are winning the division and making the playoffs, chances are they aren't winning the Super Bowl, but they have just as good a shot as the Colts and give them a chance in the playoffs, even in Indianapolis and I'll be thrilled.
That paragraph is in red because it was written last night when I got home from the game and I decided not to change it. I guess my state of mind wasn't exactly diplomatic or rational but I actually had to delete the paragraph that followed it regarding Sportscenter, Manning's manhood, and the Colts fans brushing their "tooth" (singular). I think I might have anger issues sometimes.
And finally, I can't stop thinking this so I'm just going to say it and be damned if you disagree. The NFL wanted this to happen. If you disagree please explain your reasoning to me because I just don't see it. An early season schedule consisting of teams whose combined record at this point is 19-38. An extremely convenient bye the week before the Pats game. More pass interference penalties than 2 years combined. Not to mention the Patriots schedule, set up to exhaust and inhibit them before the Colts come to town, followed by an easy second half. Where's the balance and how is this fair? I know the Colts are sexier on a national level and that the Patriots and Bill Belichick are boring but stacking the deck in order to place your poster boy on top prematurely is bullshit, plain and simple. It's a business, I understand that, but to use the first half of the season as a marketing tool to change the status of the elite teams to more positively reflect a player you want to highlight reeks of blatent commercial favoritism and that is pathetic.
So where do we stand now? Well we're 4-4 with an easy divisional schedule in the second half and only two games that look like potential trouble, at Kansas City and Tampa Bay at home. They have 5 games remaining within the AFC East, conservatively you can give them 3 wins but they'll probably get 4. After Miami they play New Orleans at home, that's a slam dunk, then they will likely only need one of the Kansas City or Tampa Bay games to win the division at 9-7. If they take care of business in the division they could end up at 10-6 or even 11-5. The problem is we're talking about this team going probably the weakest 10-6 in the NFL and winning the second weakest division (NFC North). That does not bode encouraging things for the post season. It's sad to admit but this team is simply not going to get it done this year and if they were in any other division they would be in serious danger of missing the playoffs. Once you get into those playoffs however, anything can happen with Brady, Belichick and some luck they could make some noise. But this season, it's not going to happen on it's own. They'll need help and luck.
Hey, our run couldn't last forever, but this game is not the nail in coffin. If the Colts knock them out of the playoffs I'll give them that distinction, but they haven't earned it yet.
It seems to me that this game draws parallels with 2 games in recent Boston sports history: last season's regular season matchup with the Steelers and the opening game of this year's Red Sox season against the Yankees.
Heading into the Pittsburgh game last year much of the talk was about the Steelers needing to put on a positive show against the Patriots to legitimize their stock as an elite team in the AFC. Both were undefeated but the Steelers were new to prominence and playing a rookie QB. As in last night's game the win meant much more to the Steelers than the loss meant to the Patriots who were coming off of a Super Bowl win and had a huge win streak that was getting far too much attention. Similarly the Patriots had a dominating streak against these Colts which was inevitably going to be broken and better for it to happen now than in the AFC Championship game. In both cases the consequences of a loss for the Patriots' opponent would have been far worse than the consquences of a loss for the Patriots. Ben Roethlisberger may not have been the miracle savior who couldn't lose in the regular season and the Colts would still be haunted by ghosts in Foxboro.
The second parallel with the Yankees is more of a stretch but what hell I'm feeling limber. Opening night in Yankee stadium this past season was a day that came too soon for the Red Sox and not soon enough for the Yankees. As we all know the last time they met on that field the Red Sox completed the greatest comeback in the history of sports and went on to win the World Series while the Yankees went home to contemplate the worst choke imaginable. The Yankees made a huge off season acquisition in Randy Johnson and were going to show him off in the first game against their hated rivals. He was to be matched not by Curt Schilling, which would have made the game more crucial for the Red Sox, but by local fat man and ex/wanna be Yankee David Wells. Obviously the Yankees had to have this game for their fans and for themselves, for the Red Sox it was just the first game of 162 in the "year after." It parallels the Pats v. Colts game because of the matchup. Manning and his Colts could simply overmatch the Pats and their depleted secondary last night just as Johnson and the Yankees overmatched the Red Sox in April. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that this was a game that mattered much more to the Yankees (NY Post headline the next day: Yankees Win Game 8 - ALCS Tied 4-4) just as last night's game mattered much more to the Colts. Both were getting the monkey off their back momentarily, but in the end will it matter?
The point here is what happened in the long run with both of these big wins for Patriots' (and Red Sox) opponents. In the AFC Championship game the Pats pounded the Steelers on their home turf and proved that one game on Halloween does not mean much. In baseball the Yankees and Red Sox tied. So these huge earth shattering games don't mean anything if they are not followed up by a championship. If the Colts are polishing their rings in February they may look back at this as the game that got them over the hump. If not they are just 1-7 against the Pats, and if they lose to them in the playoffs the cloud above Manning's head will get even heavier than it was before he dispelled it last night.
The major difference that may hurt these comparisons is that last night's game was at home while the other two were on the road. Home losses hurt more, but regardless the game was still more important to Indianapolis.
Now a few notes on the game itself: (most of these were written at 2AM last night and only slightly edited, I apologize for their anger)
This secondary stinks. Everyone was open all night. I was there, high up in offensive coordinator type seats, seeing plays develop and it was clear that I could have made those throws. So could Kyle Orton, Chad Penninton, Gus Ferrotte, and Cody Pickett. This game was nothing special for Manning, and everyone knows that he still has to prove he can beat New England when they're healthy.
2 plays decided this game, a fumble by Corey Dillon at the end of the first half. At the time it was 14-7 and the ball was on the Colts' 25. Without that fumble they go into the locker room at worst 14-7, probably 14-14 and everyone would have settled for 14-10. The second play was the on-side kick. I have no problem with that since they hadn't stopped them yet, why not take a shot, worst comes to worst you give them the ball on the 30 and save yourselves 2 minutes. Too bad they didn't get it though, had they this game would have been a lot more interesting.
The Colts scored on 7 of 9 possessions, the only punt came in the last 2 minutes when it was already over and the other was an interception. Had this game been closer they wouldn't have punted at all. The last time we saw this was in the epic shootout in KC during the playoffs a few years ago when Manning and the Colts were "unstopable." Remember what happened that year in New England?
The Pats still own the Colts psychologically - want to know why? Ask Tony Dungee why he went for two when leading by 19 with under 5 minutes left. He won't tell you, but he was scared that they would lose, he was playing for the tie and assuming that that Pats would score 3 times. Didn't happen, but that's how badly this Pats team has damaged their heads.
Throw it, run it, whatever, they couldn't stop the Colts in any aspect of the defensive game. In the first quarter James was averaging over 6 yards per carry, and they still managed to throw it all over the field. I don't even want to know how many third down conversions they made, I really don't. The one that killed me was when the Patriots had them pinned on their own 6 on 3rd and 15 when it was still 21-7. Manning hit a wide open Reggie Wayne at the 22 and the air went out of the building. The crowd was hardly in it after that.
Bill Belichick can't cover wide receivers. Neither can Randle Gay, Asanti Samuel, Eugene Wilson, Dwayne Sparks, or anyone else New England marched out to try to stop the Colts' passing game. Unlike we have thought for the last 4 years, coaching isn't everything when you don't have the horses. Game plan cannot account for lack of talent.
Peyton Manning played a great game, but don't break out the trumpets, meats, and cheeses just yet. He played a great game against a terrible secondary and while it's true that he orchestrated great play calls he didn't do anything that Jake Plummer or Drew Brees were unable to do. In my opinion Tom Brady played a better game against a better secondary and under incredible pressure to score everytime they touched the ball.
Does anyone miss Rodney Harrison? That weak first half hit from Asanti Samuel that allowed a first down and still spawned a chest bump made me sick and Rodney probably broke a crutch off in his ass in the locker room afterward.
Belichick's press conference was 1:42, Brady's was :32 seconds. They're pissed. Sorry Mr. Saban that's really unfortunate scheduling for you.
Dillon's fumble didn't lose them the game but it did cost them a chance at winning it. Manning had just been intercepted and everyone in the stadium knew that the Patriots were back in his head, if only for a minute. For a few fleeting moments he must have been standing on the sideline thinking, "Not again." Then the Patriots converted an improbable 3-23 and you could feel the old energy coming back and the wind was leaving the Colt's sails with similarly improbable speed. Then Dillon lost the ball at the worst possible time, the Colts took the 2:05 left on the clock and turned it into 7 points, effectively ending the contest.
I was shocked when the Colts came out to start the second half and marched straight down the field on the Patriots defense. Belichick is known for his halftime adjustments and you almost always see a positive change in the team to start the 3rd quarter. Something that the opponent is keying on or getting to easily is taken away. Not so this time, further proving that coaching and adjustments can only take you so far, eventually you have to have players who can execute and last night this Patriots team did not.
Guess what. This game means nothing to New England and everything thing to the Colts. If you want to corronate the Colts the greatest team since the dawn of time talk to me in February if they are wearing a ring, otherwise they still aren't as good as we are and Manning is still a chump. Reality is the Pats are winning the division and making the playoffs, chances are they aren't winning the Super Bowl, but they have just as good a shot as the Colts and give them a chance in the playoffs, even in Indianapolis and I'll be thrilled.
That paragraph is in red because it was written last night when I got home from the game and I decided not to change it. I guess my state of mind wasn't exactly diplomatic or rational but I actually had to delete the paragraph that followed it regarding Sportscenter, Manning's manhood, and the Colts fans brushing their "tooth" (singular). I think I might have anger issues sometimes.
And finally, I can't stop thinking this so I'm just going to say it and be damned if you disagree. The NFL wanted this to happen. If you disagree please explain your reasoning to me because I just don't see it. An early season schedule consisting of teams whose combined record at this point is 19-38. An extremely convenient bye the week before the Pats game. More pass interference penalties than 2 years combined. Not to mention the Patriots schedule, set up to exhaust and inhibit them before the Colts come to town, followed by an easy second half. Where's the balance and how is this fair? I know the Colts are sexier on a national level and that the Patriots and Bill Belichick are boring but stacking the deck in order to place your poster boy on top prematurely is bullshit, plain and simple. It's a business, I understand that, but to use the first half of the season as a marketing tool to change the status of the elite teams to more positively reflect a player you want to highlight reeks of blatent commercial favoritism and that is pathetic.
So where do we stand now? Well we're 4-4 with an easy divisional schedule in the second half and only two games that look like potential trouble, at Kansas City and Tampa Bay at home. They have 5 games remaining within the AFC East, conservatively you can give them 3 wins but they'll probably get 4. After Miami they play New Orleans at home, that's a slam dunk, then they will likely only need one of the Kansas City or Tampa Bay games to win the division at 9-7. If they take care of business in the division they could end up at 10-6 or even 11-5. The problem is we're talking about this team going probably the weakest 10-6 in the NFL and winning the second weakest division (NFC North). That does not bode encouraging things for the post season. It's sad to admit but this team is simply not going to get it done this year and if they were in any other division they would be in serious danger of missing the playoffs. Once you get into those playoffs however, anything can happen with Brady, Belichick and some luck they could make some noise. But this season, it's not going to happen on it's own. They'll need help and luck.
Hey, our run couldn't last forever, but this game is not the nail in coffin. If the Colts knock them out of the playoffs I'll give them that distinction, but they haven't earned it yet.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Peyton's Year?
After midnight on Monday will Peyton Manning be wearing his traditional, "I can't believe I lost to New England AGAIN! God everyone on this team but me SUCKS!" face or his Shermanator, "It was just time time, it was just my time," face?
I'm afraid that it just might actually be his time. But let's review. The Colts are 7-0 and the Pats are 4-3. The Colts are remarkably healthy and have not played a decent team in their first 7, the Pats are nicked up all over the place and have played 6 playoff teams in their first 7. The Colts are coming off of a bye week, the Pats are a brutal Sunday night game removed from their bye. The deck certainly seems stacked in the favor of the Colts, but don't start the parade down Main Street Indianapolis just yet.
While this game actually doesn't mean that much to the Colts, they are 2 games ahead in the race for homefield with a further cupcake schedule the rest of the way, it's the biggest game of the year in Peyton Manning's mind. Do you think he wants to endure any more montages of his failures in New England, or answer any more questions about why he can't beat Bill Belichick? He is so psychologically damaged by his inablity to win here that it would not surprise me at all to see him lay down on Monday night.
The problem is that this year, even if he predictably lays down there are other players on his cast that can pick him up. Unlike previous visits he has a running game that is torching the league and keeping his fantasy stats down (damn you Edgerrin James!) and a defense this is much improved although untested against legitimate competition on the road. So theoretically it shouldn't matter much if Manning lays an egg because according to "the experts" this is the most balanced Colts team of their recent run. They should win anyway.
The X factor, as always in these matchups is the game plan. Bill Belichick will certainly have some wrinkles in his defense this week, including an increased role for Tedy Bruschi, and there is no doubt in my mind that the Patriots offense will be able to move the ball. But will it be enough?
Everything on paper says no but you cannot discount the Belichick factor and the Manning choke factor. Say what you will but the Patriots own him at home and even while they're down that has to count for something. However, at best that ownership only brings the Patriots chances up to 50/50. Sean Salisbury has learned his lesson. After 2 weeks of prophesizing aboout how the Colts were going to come into New England and destroy the Patriots in the AFC Divisional game last year, only to eat a huge plate of crow, he has learned to never pick against them in this matchup until Manning proves otherwise. I will do the same.
If Manning proves that he can win in New England then it will be the third curse broken in the last 13 months. If not I will laugh and laugh all the way to Peyton's televised meltdown where he gets in a slap fight with Marvin Harrison and then backs over Reggie Wayne with his car in the parking lot, only to go home and sit in his Ray Finkle-style bedroom with Tom Brady's picture all over the walls and the phrase, "at New England" written in pigs blood on the ceiling.
My pick: Pats by 3 in overtime.
I'm afraid that it just might actually be his time. But let's review. The Colts are 7-0 and the Pats are 4-3. The Colts are remarkably healthy and have not played a decent team in their first 7, the Pats are nicked up all over the place and have played 6 playoff teams in their first 7. The Colts are coming off of a bye week, the Pats are a brutal Sunday night game removed from their bye. The deck certainly seems stacked in the favor of the Colts, but don't start the parade down Main Street Indianapolis just yet.
While this game actually doesn't mean that much to the Colts, they are 2 games ahead in the race for homefield with a further cupcake schedule the rest of the way, it's the biggest game of the year in Peyton Manning's mind. Do you think he wants to endure any more montages of his failures in New England, or answer any more questions about why he can't beat Bill Belichick? He is so psychologically damaged by his inablity to win here that it would not surprise me at all to see him lay down on Monday night.
The problem is that this year, even if he predictably lays down there are other players on his cast that can pick him up. Unlike previous visits he has a running game that is torching the league and keeping his fantasy stats down (damn you Edgerrin James!) and a defense this is much improved although untested against legitimate competition on the road. So theoretically it shouldn't matter much if Manning lays an egg because according to "the experts" this is the most balanced Colts team of their recent run. They should win anyway.
The X factor, as always in these matchups is the game plan. Bill Belichick will certainly have some wrinkles in his defense this week, including an increased role for Tedy Bruschi, and there is no doubt in my mind that the Patriots offense will be able to move the ball. But will it be enough?
Everything on paper says no but you cannot discount the Belichick factor and the Manning choke factor. Say what you will but the Patriots own him at home and even while they're down that has to count for something. However, at best that ownership only brings the Patriots chances up to 50/50. Sean Salisbury has learned his lesson. After 2 weeks of prophesizing aboout how the Colts were going to come into New England and destroy the Patriots in the AFC Divisional game last year, only to eat a huge plate of crow, he has learned to never pick against them in this matchup until Manning proves otherwise. I will do the same.
If Manning proves that he can win in New England then it will be the third curse broken in the last 13 months. If not I will laugh and laugh all the way to Peyton's televised meltdown where he gets in a slap fight with Marvin Harrison and then backs over Reggie Wayne with his car in the parking lot, only to go home and sit in his Ray Finkle-style bedroom with Tom Brady's picture all over the walls and the phrase, "at New England" written in pigs blood on the ceiling.
My pick: Pats by 3 in overtime.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Top 10 Ways to Tell If Your League Might Be Lame
10. Do you have a franchise in Oklahoma City, even "temporarily?"
9. Is your reigning most valuable player a grunge rocker resembling Canadian?
8. Is the number 1 pick in your league a goonish sloth from Australia, selected almost by default and doomed to almost certain failure?
7. Did the best team in your league nearly guarantee a repeat championship by adding 1 bona fide star and a solid veteran ball handler making the entire season a race for second?
6. Are coaching sub plots more interesting than the games themselves? (see: Jackson, Brown, Riley).
5. Are your playoffs 3 months long?
4. Do your players dog the first 3 quarters of every regular season game, only to miraculously come alive during "highlight time?"
3. Is your pilot network TNT?
2. Does the debate about who is your brightest star contain no less than all of the following: rapist, failed rapper, failed actor, choir boy, Gumby, and a kid who can't legally drink?
1. Does the biggest story on the eve of your season concern an off the court dress code? (And did a Sportscenter anchor utter the phrase, "No bling on the way to the ring," when referencing said dress code?)
9. Is your reigning most valuable player a grunge rocker resembling Canadian?
8. Is the number 1 pick in your league a goonish sloth from Australia, selected almost by default and doomed to almost certain failure?
7. Did the best team in your league nearly guarantee a repeat championship by adding 1 bona fide star and a solid veteran ball handler making the entire season a race for second?
6. Are coaching sub plots more interesting than the games themselves? (see: Jackson, Brown, Riley).
5. Are your playoffs 3 months long?
4. Do your players dog the first 3 quarters of every regular season game, only to miraculously come alive during "highlight time?"
3. Is your pilot network TNT?
2. Does the debate about who is your brightest star contain no less than all of the following: rapist, failed rapper, failed actor, choir boy, Gumby, and a kid who can't legally drink?
1. Does the biggest story on the eve of your season concern an off the court dress code? (And did a Sportscenter anchor utter the phrase, "No bling on the way to the ring," when referencing said dress code?)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Pecking Order - The Story I Won't Let Die
24 hours ago Theo Epstein quit, and I just can't let it go. After reading Bill Simmons' piece about it today I think I've calmed myself down from my Luchino lynching rage of last night but another huge question looms in my mind.
A lot of the media attention surrounding this story in Boston has been focused on the fact that the Boston Globe owns 17% of the Red Sox and that as a result their content may be unfairly or unethically influenced by the front office of the team.
Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?
Now if you said that the Red Sox owned 17% of the Boston Globe I could understand how the team could expect to have some say in the publication, but putting it the other way around makes no sense. The more I think about it the more it becomes damning to the Globe's integrity. Naturally since there is a financial relationship between the two parties there is going to be prioritization of information disclosure, i.e. the Red Sox will leak stories to the Globe and leave the Herald scrambling for scraps. However, for the party that has the financial interest of ownership in the relationship to take its cues from a one of it's holdings seems absurd. In reality the Red Sox should have no control over the Globe and so the question remains why would the largest paper in this market allow itself to be used for manipulation and smear?
Of course being involved in a partnership of this nature will lend itself to certain privleges, etc. But to throw your journalistic integrity out the window by running a smear campaign (the Herald's word actually) about a wildly popular GM in the midst of contract negotiations on the basis of that relationship (in which you are the controlling interest) is terribly unprofessional and deplorable behavior by the Globe and Dan Shaughnessy; especially considering that they should be deciding on their own what to publish since they in fact are part of the ownership and not the other way around. Furthermore, for a media outlet to be the deciding factor in any professional negotiation at this level is childish, and while I'm aware that the spotlight of media attention is brighter here than almost anywhere else that spotlight should not cast manipulative shadows based on inappropriate and innacurate leaks from one and only one of the parties. It's kind of like ESPN going to ABC/Disney and telling them to trash Stuart Scott's reputation through billboards in Epcot Center, totally irrational.
Speaking for myself I'm going to have a hard time trusting anything that comes out of the Boston Globe concerning the Red Sox moving forward. How will we know where the information is coming from and if it is unfairly slanted in favor of the organization? We never will and Luchino, Shaughnessy, and the Red Sox front office just robbed Gordon Edes and Chris Snow, the Red Sox beat writers of a lot of trust within Red Sox nation and that isn't fair.
In conclusion I ask the same question that I may have diverted from slightly. Why do the Red Sox have any control over what goes into the Globe beyond what they leak to them, and more importantly why does the Globe allow what is leaked to be published in precisely the slant it was intended without getting any facts from the other side?
This whole situation is a mess and it just keeps getting worse. I promise I'll be able to let it go at some point.
A lot of the media attention surrounding this story in Boston has been focused on the fact that the Boston Globe owns 17% of the Red Sox and that as a result their content may be unfairly or unethically influenced by the front office of the team.
Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?
Now if you said that the Red Sox owned 17% of the Boston Globe I could understand how the team could expect to have some say in the publication, but putting it the other way around makes no sense. The more I think about it the more it becomes damning to the Globe's integrity. Naturally since there is a financial relationship between the two parties there is going to be prioritization of information disclosure, i.e. the Red Sox will leak stories to the Globe and leave the Herald scrambling for scraps. However, for the party that has the financial interest of ownership in the relationship to take its cues from a one of it's holdings seems absurd. In reality the Red Sox should have no control over the Globe and so the question remains why would the largest paper in this market allow itself to be used for manipulation and smear?
Of course being involved in a partnership of this nature will lend itself to certain privleges, etc. But to throw your journalistic integrity out the window by running a smear campaign (the Herald's word actually) about a wildly popular GM in the midst of contract negotiations on the basis of that relationship (in which you are the controlling interest) is terribly unprofessional and deplorable behavior by the Globe and Dan Shaughnessy; especially considering that they should be deciding on their own what to publish since they in fact are part of the ownership and not the other way around. Furthermore, for a media outlet to be the deciding factor in any professional negotiation at this level is childish, and while I'm aware that the spotlight of media attention is brighter here than almost anywhere else that spotlight should not cast manipulative shadows based on inappropriate and innacurate leaks from one and only one of the parties. It's kind of like ESPN going to ABC/Disney and telling them to trash Stuart Scott's reputation through billboards in Epcot Center, totally irrational.
Speaking for myself I'm going to have a hard time trusting anything that comes out of the Boston Globe concerning the Red Sox moving forward. How will we know where the information is coming from and if it is unfairly slanted in favor of the organization? We never will and Luchino, Shaughnessy, and the Red Sox front office just robbed Gordon Edes and Chris Snow, the Red Sox beat writers of a lot of trust within Red Sox nation and that isn't fair.
In conclusion I ask the same question that I may have diverted from slightly. Why do the Red Sox have any control over what goes into the Globe beyond what they leak to them, and more importantly why does the Globe allow what is leaked to be published in precisely the slant it was intended without getting any facts from the other side?
This whole situation is a mess and it just keeps getting worse. I promise I'll be able to let it go at some point.
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