Why?
Why has the entire sports world come to a screeching halt for an undrafted basketball player from Harvard?
Why is the Leader of the Free World making public comments about this mystery man? (For the record I nearly gagged when I got a text from ESPN NBA saying that President Obama said that this man's recent success "transcends the sport.")
Why did I just get a text from ESPN saying that he just got 10 points and 13 assists? And why does he get the front page on ESPN.com for this "accomplishment"? This was against the Sacramento Kings. I do not care who you are but that should not get that much attention, but again...he is Jeremy Lin (I refuse to use the term "Linsanity."Any take on the word "insanity" is trademarked by Vince Carter. This is "Vinsanity.")
Jeremy Lin is being hailed as the Messiah of Basketball for New York. I know for a fact that he single-handedly saved Mike D'Antoni's job. He has been the biggest part of a desperately needed 7 game win streak for the Knicks while both Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire were not playing. I cannot argue that he has brought a consistant buzz and excitement to Madison Square Garden that has not existed there for years. In these 7 games he has averaged 24.4 points and 9.1 assists per game. That's very impressive. The teams he's played though over that same span are about as good as Nicki Minaj's Grammy performance. They have a combined win percentage of .383 with the only good team, and I use that term very hesitantly, is the Los Angeles Lakers. I will give him all the credit in the world for inducing a Mike Breen "BAAAANG!" on Asian Heritage Night in Toronto (strange how they plan things that way...).
Did it only take us a week with football to become so deprived that we needed to create a folkhero? I am very happy for Jeremy Lin and his recent successes but let's stop drinking the purple Kool-Aid for a second and step back and really examine this thing. Is there a chance he can come even close to sustaining this kind of stat-line for 5 games? Sure I could maybe see that. But 15? Or 30? Or into the playoffs? There's just no way. Teams will start to get film on him and play him to his weaknesses like going left or they will try and counter his exceptional ability to split the high pick and roll and go to the basket.
The obvious comparison that has been brought up is Tim Tebow. Both guys were just "not suppose" to succeed in their respective sports but both of them succeeded when they were actually given a fighting chance to show the world what they could do in the spotlight. Now having said that Lin is producing on a much, much higher level on a much more consistant basis. Lin actually had the same field goals made to attempted (9-20) in his sixth start as Tebow did completions in pass attempts in his sixth start (wait why am I bringing this up...thou shalt not speak of Tebow in vain). Anyways what I'm trying to say is that this level of play can only last for so long. People figure you out pretty easily and then it's the player's job to beat the defender when the defender knows what you are going to do. And you forget that The Center of the Galaxy has yet to be on the same floor as Lin. Carmelo Anthony is a black hole. Lin will NEVER be able to shoot the ball more than 12 times a game at most, which means he will not be able to get to the free throw line were he has thrived so far.
Listen I want Lin to do well and this Linsanity has legitimate legs thanks to the vomiting ESPN has done since this has started. I mean I guess there is only so much you can talk about in today's 24/7 news cycle. But give it a little rest, a little time to marinate before we are crowning Lin as a "miracle" or "savior" for the sport. Come talk to me when he CARRIES his team to the Finals. Or even the playoffs. Or even this level of play for 10 more games. He has done nothing to deserve any of this over the top credit yet. He's playing well and was misevaluated by NBA scouts. He will never be more than a run-of-the-mill starting point guard. Everyone needs to calm down and breathe, it will all be okay. It will all be over before you know it.
(If you have wondered why my blog posts have been lacking in quantity lately, 3 tests and a 6 page paper in one week will do that to you. School does actually exist despite popular belief. I also received a bid from Delta Kappa Epsilon and have started the pledge process. It has been the best decision in my life and I'm looking forward to the lasting brotherhood that I am now part of, after initiation of course. Expect a more consistant posting schedule in the future)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Special Team Kerfuffles Blind Truth of More Serious Kerfuffles
All everyone was talking about at the end of both NFL Championship games was Kyle Williams and Billy Cundiff. And yes those two individuals played important roles in the demise of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens respectively, but I think there is much more than meets the eye with what happened with these two players and I do not think they should be the social pariahs the sports media is portraying them as.
First of all you have to consider the bigger pictures in both scenarios.
Exhibit #1: Kyle Williams
He's only been in the league for two years. This year he had a TOTAL of 6 punt and kickoff returns combined. Not exactly Devin Hester but slightly above Jacob Hester (he had 3 total returns). What I'm trying to say is this guy was not the right candidate to carry a 49ers special teams unit that was the best in football this year. That was Ted Ginn Jr.'s job until he injured his knee. The very person who prompted this reaction from Dolphins fans when he was drafted. But I digress, where was I again?...oh right trying to explain why it was not entirely Kyle Williams's fault the 49ers lost.
Alex Smith started to look like the Alex Smith we have all come to question for 7 years. Big shocker there. I'm sorry but you just cannot change 7 years of history thanks to a new coach, a freak-of-nature tight end that decides he wants to play, and a naked bootleg and game-winning touchdown drive against one of the worst defenses in football the week before. That's like Nicolas Cage winning an Oscar and people forgetting he put out recent movies as Ghost Rider, Bankok Dangerous, Knowing, Season of the Witch, and the new Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (how this new movie is allowed to be made will remain as confusing as quantum mechanics). It just doesn't work like that. Smith started overthrowing receivers, throwing into double coverage, and channeling his inner Bill Murray by trying to kill the gopher in the ground he thought he saw all day.
San Francisco going 1-13 on third downs will never win a playoff game. Being outscored 90 plays run to 57 will never win a playoff game. Losing time of possession by 11 minutes will never win a playoff game. Just the fact the 49ers were even remotely close to winning this game is a remarkable accomplishment in of itself. This just shows how good their defense is. Eli Manning threw the ball 58 times and only had 316 yards (sorry no John 3:16 connections here) averaging a measly 5.4 yards a completion with what I firmly believe is the best wide receiver trio in the entire league with Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham. Eli also would have had at least 2 interceptions if the 49ers defense did not try and incapacitate each other while going for the same ball.
So yes Kyle Williams gave the Giants some easy points and the ball grazing his knee was no one else's doing but his own (I learned in freshman football that when someone yelled "Peter" to get as far away from the ball as possible to avoid such a situation...still a mystery as to what "Peter" referred to), but I would point more to the offenses inability to do anything except find Vernon Davis wide open twice for touchdowns. Their wide receivers had a combined 1 catch for 9 feet. Case closed.
On to exhibit two.
Exhibit #2: Billy Cundiff
This was a little bit harder of a pill to swallow for Ravens fans. 49ers fans were thankful for just being in the position they were in; Ravens fans had just about booked their tickets to Indianapolis. Baltimore was better on first downs, Joe "I Still Think Handlebar Moustaches Look Good" Flacco threw for more yards than Tom Brady, rushed for more yards, won the time of possession battle, and had less turnovers. So what was the problem you ask? The fact the Ravens were 1 for 4 for scoring a touchdown while in the redzone.
On top of the list of things never to do in a playoff game on the road is to take a field goal when it's 4th and 1 at your opponent's 3 yard line. Your telling me the 6' 6" 245 pound mustachioed menace couldn't get a single yard? Not even a chance for the tree-trunk legged Ray Rice? Nope didn't happen. The offense didn't even come on the field to try and draw the defense offsides or just get a delay of game. There is no difference between a 20 and 25 yard field goal. There is a big difference between 3 points and 7 points and the confidence that you show by putting your offense out there. Worst case scenario: the Ravens don't get the first down and the Patriots have 97 yards of field to go with a shaky Tom Brady and grab bag of running backs. (Tidbit of advice to Cam Cameron because Lord knows he needs all he can get...Julian Edelman was covering Anquan Boldin man-to-man for most of the fourth quarter. Does Cam realize that Edelman is actually a wide receiver and Boldin is WR #1 on almost any teams' depth chart? Absolutely boggles the mind this man's job is to find mismatches in coverage)
Back to the field goal itself.
At first I just thought that he simply shanked a chip shot. A Pro Bowl kicker last year should basically never miss a field goal from that close of a distance if all of the basic conditions were met. The problem was that one of the most important conditions of all was missing: time. Watch this video a you will see the multiple problems that are happening.
#1: Cundiff is running onto the field from what seems to be a considerable distance. Not a good start.
#2: He reaches the holder with about 10 seconds remaining on the play clock and it's running. Still not going well for Billy.
#3: He gets no time to take a breath (remember he just ran 30+ yards to get there 5 seconds earlier), take a practice kick if he wants to, line himself up nicely, etc. Just the situation you want your kicker to be in to put a conference championship game into overtime.
#4: The Ravens still had a time out left.
That last one is the killer.
Assuming that John Harbaugh saw the play clock was winding down as his kicker was racing for the holder what would be the detriment of calling a time out? You are not going to run a play after this. A timeout is not a college meal plan; the meals that you don't use rollover to the next semester, the timeouts you don't use vanish like LeBron in the fourth quarter. The seemingly logical thing to do was to call a timeout, let Billy do his usually warmup routine, and at least give him a fighter's chance.
Kyle Williams and Billy Cundiff became the easy scapegoats to blame entire losses on. But remember, all 11 teammates of theirs on the field during the course of the game and their respective coaches was not named Kyle Williams or Billy Cundiff. Those people should be getting more blame then they are.
On top of the list of things never to do in a playoff game on the road is to take a field goal when it's 4th and 1 at your opponent's 3 yard line. Your telling me the 6' 6" 245 pound mustachioed menace couldn't get a single yard? Not even a chance for the tree-trunk legged Ray Rice? Nope didn't happen. The offense didn't even come on the field to try and draw the defense offsides or just get a delay of game. There is no difference between a 20 and 25 yard field goal. There is a big difference between 3 points and 7 points and the confidence that you show by putting your offense out there. Worst case scenario: the Ravens don't get the first down and the Patriots have 97 yards of field to go with a shaky Tom Brady and grab bag of running backs. (Tidbit of advice to Cam Cameron because Lord knows he needs all he can get...Julian Edelman was covering Anquan Boldin man-to-man for most of the fourth quarter. Does Cam realize that Edelman is actually a wide receiver and Boldin is WR #1 on almost any teams' depth chart? Absolutely boggles the mind this man's job is to find mismatches in coverage)
Back to the field goal itself.
At first I just thought that he simply shanked a chip shot. A Pro Bowl kicker last year should basically never miss a field goal from that close of a distance if all of the basic conditions were met. The problem was that one of the most important conditions of all was missing: time. Watch this video a you will see the multiple problems that are happening.
#1: Cundiff is running onto the field from what seems to be a considerable distance. Not a good start.
#2: He reaches the holder with about 10 seconds remaining on the play clock and it's running. Still not going well for Billy.
#3: He gets no time to take a breath (remember he just ran 30+ yards to get there 5 seconds earlier), take a practice kick if he wants to, line himself up nicely, etc. Just the situation you want your kicker to be in to put a conference championship game into overtime.
#4: The Ravens still had a time out left.
That last one is the killer.
Assuming that John Harbaugh saw the play clock was winding down as his kicker was racing for the holder what would be the detriment of calling a time out? You are not going to run a play after this. A timeout is not a college meal plan; the meals that you don't use rollover to the next semester, the timeouts you don't use vanish like LeBron in the fourth quarter. The seemingly logical thing to do was to call a timeout, let Billy do his usually warmup routine, and at least give him a fighter's chance.
Kyle Williams and Billy Cundiff became the easy scapegoats to blame entire losses on. But remember, all 11 teammates of theirs on the field during the course of the game and their respective coaches was not named Kyle Williams or Billy Cundiff. Those people should be getting more blame then they are.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Inexplicable is Explained (maybe)
I would like to talk about how the Houston Texans dominated on both sides of the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals but it is more of a mirage because the Bengals really are not that good of a football team. And T.J. Yates at Baltimore next week? Let's be real here. Unless Joe Flacco poops the bed, which he very well could because he is Joe Flacco, the Texans don't really have a shot.
I would like to talk about how the New York Giants made everyone agree with Dennis Green about the Atlanta Falcons as a whole but more specifically the awful coaching that is Mike Smith. (Hey, Mike...your running back has thighs the size of my torso. Matt Ryan does not. Forth and short decision made for you right there. Your welcome when you figure that out at your next coaching job.)
And lastly, I would like to talk about while even though the New Orleans Saints look unbeatable, the Detroit Lions beat themselves (again...and again...and again) and the Saints will not have nearly the same success next week against the San Francisco 49ers.
But all of those story lines can be easily explained with these great things called your eyes and common sense so it is not very challenging to talk about and predict.
Then He appeared.
Why of course I'm talking about Tim Tebow and the awe-inspiring, head slamming, Twitter and Stephen A. Smith head-exploding, roller coaster ride that he gave us all against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let's just lay down the stats real quick. The Steelers were 1st in the league in total defense, 1st in the league in pass yards allowed per game, 8th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game, and 1st in the league in points allowed per game. The only hiccup would be the fact that they were DEAD LAST in takeaways in the NFL. Offensively the Steelers were nothing special averaging just a single point per game more than the Broncos. The Broncos were not surprisingly 1st in rushing yards and second-to-last in passing yards.
If we try to go by our eye and common sense test as we did for the first three games, the end result should be something within the realm of the Steelers winning 24 to 16. The thing is though that one Tim Tebow is involved. That means anything you have ever learned about what should happen in an NFL game is nuked and vaporized.
First 2 Denver possessions: 6 plays, 8 yards, 2 punts. Yikes. It's ok though, get your playoff virginity jitters out of the way against the best defense in the league without handing them a pick-six and not to mention your still healthy.
Next possession: 21 yard strike to Eric Decker, who then promptly gets his knee blown out by James Harrison. Now your down to Demaryius Thomas, Daniel Fells, Eddie Royal, and Matt Willis. Not exactly The Greatest Show On Turf but let's see what happens...Tebow throws the ball forward! And it's still going! Thomas on a 51 yard catch against Ike Taylor. What is this? Another forward movement of the ball through the air? Into Eddie Royal's lap for a 30 yard touchdown? I must be dreaming.
But lo He was not finished in the second quarter. After a Pittsburgh three-and-out and a bad throw by Roethlisberger that would have otherwise been a touchdown to Mike Wallace, Denver takes over on their own 27. Second play of the drive...is it a bird? Is it a UFO? No! It's another 58 bomb to Thomas on Taylor (see a common theme here? Someone is also missing from these plays...) After an 8 yard Tebow run for a score it's 14-6 Broncos. Still a one possession game until...
Big Ben throws an interception that the Broncos get back on the Steelers own 18 yard line. Field goal good.
Another Pittsburgh punt, another Denver drive that leads to a field goal.
Pittsburgh driving at the end of the half. Backup center Doug Legursky snaps it over Roethlisberger's head. Drive over. Broncos 20, Steelers 6 at halftime.
Cue the "Is this real life?" kid.
Oh yes it felt good.
Absolutely everything is going the Broncos way at this point between Tebow throwing for 185 yards on only 5 completions(!!!!!!!!!!!), Thomas having 109 yards on only 2 receptions, and the Steelers ineptitude on offense.
Flash-forward to the fourth quarter after the Broncos and Steelers traded a couple field goals and a touchdown and the Broncos are still up 7, 23-16. At this point I'm feeling pretty confident that the Broncos will pull this out with relative ease due to it being the fourth quarter and all and the magic that surround Tebow at this point of the game. On this occassion though the magic did not transfer to Willis McGahee when Tebow touched him. Willis procedes to fumble the ball near midfield and the Steelers recover.
Big Ben suddenly looks like Big Ben again when he starts to utilize his feet more to escape pressure and find open men as he did when he hit Jerricho Cotchery, whom I honestly forgot was even on the team and haven't heard a word about in 5 years, on a 31 yard strike to tie the game with 3:50 left to play. Plenty of time for Tebow to do what they have been doing well all game: throw the ball.
McGahee runs for a yard on first down, followed by a Tebow laser (his version anyway) to Matt Willis for 17 yards. Naturally because of the success of the play, you would think that you would pass on first down. Well, you nor I is John Fox, who proceeds to call a run play that gets only two yards. Tebow then throws his single worst pass of the day, a quail to Thomas that would've gotten a first down.
I'm starting to lose my belief in the Broncos ability to summon any late game miracle at this point. My gut feeling was that Ben and the Steelers were gonna march down with 1:37 left and kick a field goal as time expired to win. After a sack, Ben hits Antonio Brown down at the Steelers 38 but then inexplicably let 20 seconds run off the clock with two timeouts left. Next play, catch by Emmanuel Sanders to the Broncos 45. Well that was a great story and run while it lasted Den...Roethlisberger fumbled the ball. There may still be life here! Last play of regulation the Broncos bring 5 men (someone tell me why all teams don't do this when a team has to get 50-plus yards) and Big Ben goes down.
Overtime
And, as is tradition, the Broncos win the coin toss after referee Ron Winter took 3 days to poorly explain the playoff overtime rules. What was definitely NOT part of tradition was what happened next. The Steelers put 9 men in the box, Tebow hits Demaryius Thomas on a slant. Take a wild guess who was covering him? Ike Taylor! Ike will not be running for President anytime soon after Sunday, but everyone still likes Ike because he allowed Thomas to easily catch the ball, yell "LITTLE BOY!!!!!!!!!" at him, and waltz into the endzone.
Remember earlier when I said that someone was missing from these plays? Um....where was Troy Polamalu at any point during this game. You are a safety which means you are the last line of defense against long plays. Tebow had three passes of 50 yards or more. No other quarterback has EVER done that in a playoff game since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. I know Ryan Clark didn't play but I think more blame should be placed on him because quite frankly I have not heard a single bad thing about his play yet.
Now we get to the "Say What?!?!" portion of the article.
At Florida, Tebow sported eye black with Bible verses. One of his favorite was John 3:16.
I would like to talk about how the New York Giants made everyone agree with Dennis Green about the Atlanta Falcons as a whole but more specifically the awful coaching that is Mike Smith. (Hey, Mike...your running back has thighs the size of my torso. Matt Ryan does not. Forth and short decision made for you right there. Your welcome when you figure that out at your next coaching job.)
And lastly, I would like to talk about while even though the New Orleans Saints look unbeatable, the Detroit Lions beat themselves (again...and again...and again) and the Saints will not have nearly the same success next week against the San Francisco 49ers.
But all of those story lines can be easily explained with these great things called your eyes and common sense so it is not very challenging to talk about and predict.
Then He appeared.
Why of course I'm talking about Tim Tebow and the awe-inspiring, head slamming, Twitter and Stephen A. Smith head-exploding, roller coaster ride that he gave us all against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let's just lay down the stats real quick. The Steelers were 1st in the league in total defense, 1st in the league in pass yards allowed per game, 8th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game, and 1st in the league in points allowed per game. The only hiccup would be the fact that they were DEAD LAST in takeaways in the NFL. Offensively the Steelers were nothing special averaging just a single point per game more than the Broncos. The Broncos were not surprisingly 1st in rushing yards and second-to-last in passing yards.
If we try to go by our eye and common sense test as we did for the first three games, the end result should be something within the realm of the Steelers winning 24 to 16. The thing is though that one Tim Tebow is involved. That means anything you have ever learned about what should happen in an NFL game is nuked and vaporized.
First 2 Denver possessions: 6 plays, 8 yards, 2 punts. Yikes. It's ok though, get your playoff virginity jitters out of the way against the best defense in the league without handing them a pick-six and not to mention your still healthy.
Next possession: 21 yard strike to Eric Decker, who then promptly gets his knee blown out by James Harrison. Now your down to Demaryius Thomas, Daniel Fells, Eddie Royal, and Matt Willis. Not exactly The Greatest Show On Turf but let's see what happens...Tebow throws the ball forward! And it's still going! Thomas on a 51 yard catch against Ike Taylor. What is this? Another forward movement of the ball through the air? Into Eddie Royal's lap for a 30 yard touchdown? I must be dreaming.
But lo He was not finished in the second quarter. After a Pittsburgh three-and-out and a bad throw by Roethlisberger that would have otherwise been a touchdown to Mike Wallace, Denver takes over on their own 27. Second play of the drive...is it a bird? Is it a UFO? No! It's another 58 bomb to Thomas on Taylor (see a common theme here? Someone is also missing from these plays...) After an 8 yard Tebow run for a score it's 14-6 Broncos. Still a one possession game until...
Big Ben throws an interception that the Broncos get back on the Steelers own 18 yard line. Field goal good.
Another Pittsburgh punt, another Denver drive that leads to a field goal.
Pittsburgh driving at the end of the half. Backup center Doug Legursky snaps it over Roethlisberger's head. Drive over. Broncos 20, Steelers 6 at halftime.
Cue the "Is this real life?" kid.
Oh yes it felt good.
Absolutely everything is going the Broncos way at this point between Tebow throwing for 185 yards on only 5 completions(!!!!!!!!!!!), Thomas having 109 yards on only 2 receptions, and the Steelers ineptitude on offense.
Flash-forward to the fourth quarter after the Broncos and Steelers traded a couple field goals and a touchdown and the Broncos are still up 7, 23-16. At this point I'm feeling pretty confident that the Broncos will pull this out with relative ease due to it being the fourth quarter and all and the magic that surround Tebow at this point of the game. On this occassion though the magic did not transfer to Willis McGahee when Tebow touched him. Willis procedes to fumble the ball near midfield and the Steelers recover.
Big Ben suddenly looks like Big Ben again when he starts to utilize his feet more to escape pressure and find open men as he did when he hit Jerricho Cotchery, whom I honestly forgot was even on the team and haven't heard a word about in 5 years, on a 31 yard strike to tie the game with 3:50 left to play. Plenty of time for Tebow to do what they have been doing well all game: throw the ball.
McGahee runs for a yard on first down, followed by a Tebow laser (his version anyway) to Matt Willis for 17 yards. Naturally because of the success of the play, you would think that you would pass on first down. Well, you nor I is John Fox, who proceeds to call a run play that gets only two yards. Tebow then throws his single worst pass of the day, a quail to Thomas that would've gotten a first down.
I'm starting to lose my belief in the Broncos ability to summon any late game miracle at this point. My gut feeling was that Ben and the Steelers were gonna march down with 1:37 left and kick a field goal as time expired to win. After a sack, Ben hits Antonio Brown down at the Steelers 38 but then inexplicably let 20 seconds run off the clock with two timeouts left. Next play, catch by Emmanuel Sanders to the Broncos 45. Well that was a great story and run while it lasted Den...Roethlisberger fumbled the ball. There may still be life here! Last play of regulation the Broncos bring 5 men (someone tell me why all teams don't do this when a team has to get 50-plus yards) and Big Ben goes down.
Overtime
And, as is tradition, the Broncos win the coin toss after referee Ron Winter took 3 days to poorly explain the playoff overtime rules. What was definitely NOT part of tradition was what happened next. The Steelers put 9 men in the box, Tebow hits Demaryius Thomas on a slant. Take a wild guess who was covering him? Ike Taylor! Ike will not be running for President anytime soon after Sunday, but everyone still likes Ike because he allowed Thomas to easily catch the ball, yell "LITTLE BOY!!!!!!!!!" at him, and waltz into the endzone.
Remember earlier when I said that someone was missing from these plays? Um....where was Troy Polamalu at any point during this game. You are a safety which means you are the last line of defense against long plays. Tebow had three passes of 50 yards or more. No other quarterback has EVER done that in a playoff game since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. I know Ryan Clark didn't play but I think more blame should be placed on him because quite frankly I have not heard a single bad thing about his play yet.
Now we get to the "Say What?!?!" portion of the article.
At Florida, Tebow sported eye black with Bible verses. One of his favorite was John 3:16.
Here's where it gets downright creepy thanks to some work from Will Brinson at CBS. Tebow passed for 316 yards. He averaged 31.6 yards per pass completion. The overnight rating of the final 15 minutes of the game was 31.6. Ben Roethlisberger's interception was thrown on, you guessed it, 3rd and 16. And lastly, the Pittsburgh Steelers time of possession was 31 minutes and 6 seconds.
I am in no way, shape, or form a religious man. But you cannot just look at that stuff above and brush it off as simple coincidence. If it was just his passing yards then fine, I would accept coincidence, but this...this just feels like another level of things. I am not preaching that God is helping Tebow win games. He's winning games because he puts his team in a position to win games more often than not.
I gave it my best chance at trying to decipher whatever is going on in Denver. That is the best anyone can do. Give it a chance. Like the Broncos did with Tebow. Like you should with Tebow. And like the Broncos will have against the Patriots.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The NBA is Coming to Town
It's that time again. The time where people care about the NBA for about a month, couldn't care it existed for 3 months, and then cared again for most of the playoffs.
It is a season that has already had it's share of collusion, free-agent acquisitions, the creation of "Lob City," a pissed off but incredibly entertaining Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard flip-flopping more than Mitt Romney about wanting to leave Orlando, people being amnestied because of their dumb contracts, people that should be amnestied because of their dumb contract aka Metta World "I'm Happy Jesus Gave Me the Ability to Have Teeth" Peace, and because of all of this mess the Miami Heat are now slightly flying under the radar if that was possible.
I'm tired of hearing talking heads debate about this season in the same fashion. I'm bored of it. It's all the same stuff being regurgitated in various forms.
So to counter this I think it's time for a quick and painless bullet-pointed preview intertwined with some non-NBA points to spice it up a little.
It is a season that has already had it's share of collusion, free-agent acquisitions, the creation of "Lob City," a pissed off but incredibly entertaining Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard flip-flopping more than Mitt Romney about wanting to leave Orlando, people being amnestied because of their dumb contracts, people that should be amnestied because of their dumb contract aka Metta World "I'm Happy Jesus Gave Me the Ability to Have Teeth" Peace, and because of all of this mess the Miami Heat are now slightly flying under the radar if that was possible.
I'm tired of hearing talking heads debate about this season in the same fashion. I'm bored of it. It's all the same stuff being regurgitated in various forms.
So to counter this I think it's time for a quick and painless bullet-pointed preview intertwined with some non-NBA points to spice it up a little.
- The Timberwolves will be a scary team this year. Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson, Ricky Rubio, and Darko with Derrick Williams coming off the bench? Not such a bad starting lineup as you would first think especially with this gauntlet-like 66 game schedule. Definitely a team to watch out for.
- The same goes for the Washington Wizards. They now have the best uniforms in the league, a top 5 point guard in John Wall, Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche, Rashard Lewis (who I think could still produce well), and the future first white player to win a Slam Dunk contest since Brent Barry, Jan Vesely.
- In contrast, the Toronto Raptors should just be given the first pick in the draft now out of sheer pity
- If you haven't seen "Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows" yet I highly recommend it. Better than the first one and Guy Ritchie makes this movie a visual masterpiece.
- The Lakers bandwagon has contracted yellow fever or dysentery as if they were the wagon in The Oregon Trail
- The small forwards on the Lakers roster are Matt Barnes, Metta World Peace, Luke "I Get Paid $5.6 Million Dollars To Inbound the Ball" Walton, Jason Kapono, and Devin Ebanks. Their point guards are Derek Fisher, Steve Blake, and Darius Morris. I wish I was making this up.
- So I was watching "The Shining" the other night and one scene caught my full attention and I said to myself, "Holy shit that's David Stern talking!" Let me explain. Jack Torrance (Nicholson) is chasing his wife up the staircase when he says these lines, "Have you ever thought about my responsibilities? Have you ever thought for a single moment. . .about my responsibilities to my employers? Does it matter to you at all. . .that the owners have placed their complete confidence in me. . .and that I have signed a letter of agreement. . .in which I've accepted that responsibility? Do you have the slightest idea. . .what a moral and ethical principal is? Do you? Has it ever occurred to you what would happen to my future. . .if I fail to live up to my responsibilities?" Sends shivers down your spine doesn't it?
- The Thunder are +500 to win the championship
- The Clippers are +1500 to win the championship
- Those are two bets that I would take immediately.
- The NBA is a-changin'. The powerhouses of the last couple years (Lakers, Spurs, Celtics) are starting to be replaced by teams with much younger players and talent. It's not going to be a nice next 5 years for those 3 teams.
- At least one of those 3 teams will be in the lottery.
- If you are a germaphobe, do not see "Contagion."
- What is Fox trying to accomplish with making Napoleon Dynamite into a TV series? The movie came out in 2004. No good will come out of this endeavor.
- Somehow on one fantasy basketball team I ended up with 3 Wizards (Wall, Young, Blatche) and on another team I have 3 Warriors (Steph Curry, Dorell Wright, and David Lee).
- As you can tell I'm high on the Wizards
- Dwight Howard will end up a Laker at some point, but the Lakers will give away both Gasol and Bynum to do so, which will be the final nail in the coffin for the Lakers for a couple of years.
- I still feel bad for the Houston Rockets after Tradegate.
- Christmas Day Predictions: New York over Boston, Miami over Dallas, Chicago over LA Lakers, Oklahoma City over Orlando, LA Clippers over Golden State
- Western Conference Finals: Oklahoma City over Los Angeles...Clippers
- Eastern Conference Finals: Miami over Chicago
- NBA Champion: Miami over Oklahoma City in 6 games
- David Stern will retire at the end of this year or next
- I may be wrong but I feel like the trade debacles with Chris Paul have been forgotten way too easily
- Phil Jackson will be coaching the Knicks by next year
The transfer of power in basketball will happen this year whether you like it or not. The players that we have come to love over the past decade-plus will be retiring soon and these up and coming teams will swoop in and claim their spot on top of the throne. This change will be the main story this year in the always maddening, always unpredictable, but always a topic of vigorous discussion, the NBA.
Merry Christmas, happy sixth night of Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa tomorrow, and happy belated best holiday ever invented, Festivus.
Merry Christmas, happy sixth night of Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa tomorrow, and happy belated best holiday ever invented, Festivus.
Friday, December 9, 2011
"CP3: WoW"
No, I am sorry to say this tweet from Chris Paul does not mean he is joining Chuck Norris and Mr. T to promote World of Warcraft. I am also sorry to say that this tweet just sent the NBA into a death spiral that I'm not sure they can fully recover from.
News broke on Twitter from Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski at around 7:00 PM EST on December 8 that Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. ESPN's Marc Stein then reported that minutes later, Gasol would be traded to the Houston Rockets from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and 2 draft picks.
Being from LA, my first reaction was, "Oh my God, we just got one of the best point guards of all-time!" and then "Oh crap, Derrick Caracter is now the starting power forward with a center who has knee problems and did this the last time we saw him, a shooting guard who went to Germany to get some semi-illegal blood transfusion to help his knees, and point guard who had knee surgery. And Luke Walton is still on the team. This is not what I thought would happen..."
If I were a New Orleans fan this is how I would have reacted: "We just gave up our only superstar we have ever had, our life as a franchise is over...wait who did we get from Houston?! A very good low post player to go with Okafor and now Odom! A shooting guard that averaged 23.5 points per game last year! Two draft picks! THIS GUY! Shhh....don't tell anyone but we secretly got the best deal."
And lastly if I were a Rockets fan, "We are so f!*#ed."
A Twitgasm occurred. Everyone and their mother starting talking about not if the Lakers would win the championship this year, but how many they would win (kind of hypocritical if you ask me because all Laker fans were hating on LeBron for his "Not three, not four, not five" speech). Then Dwight Howard's name got thrown into the mix and the train kept on rolling. "Howard for Bynum" was brought up too many times to count, which would be the single worst trade for the Magic, but everyone was blinded by the shock of acquiring Chris Paul to take a step back to realize this.
Then....BAM!!!!
The equivalent of the apocalypse happened.
Reports started to leak out that the NBA and David Stern vetoed the trade.
I could not find the words in the situation to even formulate a sentence to express what my feelings were. We just went from a blockbuster trade that we knew was going to happen except for the where part, to "I think I am witnessing the downfall of an entire sports organization."
First of all, let's just start with the Hornets themselves. How is it in any way shape or form ethical for all NBA owners, who own and have interests in their own teams, own and have power for another team? There isn't really an analogy to describe this scenario because it just never happens! The NBA put in GM Dell Demps in New Orleans to do what a general manager is supposed to do; make the team better. Because that is the goal of any professional sports team right? Not in the case of the NBA apparently. The Hornets got the best deal that they could possibly get for a guy that was going to leave them anyways at the end of the year and get nothing in return.
The owners of small-market teams threw bitch fits to Stern complaining about losing another superstar to a big market, especially Dan Gilbert, who's email to Stern has now gone public. Hey Dan, you mad bro? Don't be so sour because you own an NBA team that resides in a city that no basketball player wants to play for and live in. Remember, you still own a frickin' NBA team!
So Stern decided to side with these owners and veto the trade "for basketball reasons." You just had the best season in recent memory and this would have made this season that much better even after everyone already forgot about the lockout. But no. This is MUCH worse than the lockout in my opinion and I don't think it's close. The lockout was about a business and it's money, which even though seemed bad, is defensible. What this veto is though is an unethical act of corruption and collusion, factors that you can never defend to the public. You cannot save face after this unless the deal goes through to the Lakers. If it doesn't? Then Paul cannot be traded to another team or else the NBA just wants to implode on itself.
So yes Chris, "WoW" should be your response to your unfortunate situation. But not because you will not be joining Kobe in sunny California. It should be your response because the NBA will never be viewed as a legitimate organization again.
News broke on Twitter from Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski at around 7:00 PM EST on December 8 that Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. ESPN's Marc Stein then reported that minutes later, Gasol would be traded to the Houston Rockets from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and 2 draft picks.
Being from LA, my first reaction was, "Oh my God, we just got one of the best point guards of all-time!" and then "Oh crap, Derrick Caracter is now the starting power forward with a center who has knee problems and did this the last time we saw him, a shooting guard who went to Germany to get some semi-illegal blood transfusion to help his knees, and point guard who had knee surgery. And Luke Walton is still on the team. This is not what I thought would happen..."
If I were a New Orleans fan this is how I would have reacted: "We just gave up our only superstar we have ever had, our life as a franchise is over...wait who did we get from Houston?! A very good low post player to go with Okafor and now Odom! A shooting guard that averaged 23.5 points per game last year! Two draft picks! THIS GUY! Shhh....don't tell anyone but we secretly got the best deal."
And lastly if I were a Rockets fan, "We are so f!*#ed."
A Twitgasm occurred. Everyone and their mother starting talking about not if the Lakers would win the championship this year, but how many they would win (kind of hypocritical if you ask me because all Laker fans were hating on LeBron for his "Not three, not four, not five" speech). Then Dwight Howard's name got thrown into the mix and the train kept on rolling. "Howard for Bynum" was brought up too many times to count, which would be the single worst trade for the Magic, but everyone was blinded by the shock of acquiring Chris Paul to take a step back to realize this.
Then....BAM!!!!
The equivalent of the apocalypse happened.
Reports started to leak out that the NBA and David Stern vetoed the trade.
I could not find the words in the situation to even formulate a sentence to express what my feelings were. We just went from a blockbuster trade that we knew was going to happen except for the where part, to "I think I am witnessing the downfall of an entire sports organization."
First of all, let's just start with the Hornets themselves. How is it in any way shape or form ethical for all NBA owners, who own and have interests in their own teams, own and have power for another team? There isn't really an analogy to describe this scenario because it just never happens! The NBA put in GM Dell Demps in New Orleans to do what a general manager is supposed to do; make the team better. Because that is the goal of any professional sports team right? Not in the case of the NBA apparently. The Hornets got the best deal that they could possibly get for a guy that was going to leave them anyways at the end of the year and get nothing in return.
The owners of small-market teams threw bitch fits to Stern complaining about losing another superstar to a big market, especially Dan Gilbert, who's email to Stern has now gone public. Hey Dan, you mad bro? Don't be so sour because you own an NBA team that resides in a city that no basketball player wants to play for and live in. Remember, you still own a frickin' NBA team!
So Stern decided to side with these owners and veto the trade "for basketball reasons." You just had the best season in recent memory and this would have made this season that much better even after everyone already forgot about the lockout. But no. This is MUCH worse than the lockout in my opinion and I don't think it's close. The lockout was about a business and it's money, which even though seemed bad, is defensible. What this veto is though is an unethical act of corruption and collusion, factors that you can never defend to the public. You cannot save face after this unless the deal goes through to the Lakers. If it doesn't? Then Paul cannot be traded to another team or else the NBA just wants to implode on itself.
So yes Chris, "WoW" should be your response to your unfortunate situation. But not because you will not be joining Kobe in sunny California. It should be your response because the NBA will never be viewed as a legitimate organization again.
Monday, December 5, 2011
December 4, 2011: Just Another Day in Sports
Where do I even begin to write?
Do I start with the clusterf**k that is the BCS and Heisman Trophy race? What about Aaron Rodgers and my man-love for Tim Tebow? Or the fact that something interesting actually happened in the PGA and MLB? I think it would be a crime against humanity if I did not start with college football first, so here we go...
The BCS
Here we are again. It seems that almost every year since the BCS's inception we are at the point where we are at now. A deserving team doesn't get into the National Championship game, a team has no clue how it made it to a BCS game, a team has no clue how it didn't make it to a BCS game, coaches continue to accept "the system", etc. It's like an Adam Sandler movie. You know that it's going to happen once a year and you know that you're not going to enjoy it.
Beginning with the National Championship game, obviously LSU was in because of their SEC Championship victory over Georgia. But people were saying before the game that it was just a formality and an exhibition game and they were in no matter the result. So if that happened, it would have been LSU-Bama in the championship with no team winning their own conference? In what reasonable world does that make any sense. Speaking of not making sense in a reasonable world ESPN put up this nugget during their BCS Selection Show.
The ranked teams that Alabama beat were Penn State (22) who has shown its shortcomings of late, a pretty good Arkansas team (6), and Auburn (25) who hasn't been relevant once this year. Oklahoma State beat Texas (24), Baylor (12) and possible Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III (we will visit this later), Kansas State (8), and ended the season with an absolute pillaging of Oklahoma (14) on national television. Oh and Oklahoma State also beat another 3 teams that were .500 or better to put the icing on the cake. But no that wasn't enough to put them ahead of Alabama. The current National Championship game is equivalent to a rerun of a recent Family Guy episode. We weren't happy with how it turned out the first time, why do I want to sit in pain and watch it again? (Sidenote: Step up your game McFarlane. South Park has officially made you obsolete.) Forget about Oklahoma State getting the shaft. What about Boise State? There is no chance that Virginia Tech who was physically assaulted by Clemson for the second time this year gets a BCS bid over the Smurf Turfers. Two fun facts of the day for you before my head explodes from this incompetence; former SEC Commissioner and Harris Poll voter put 5 SEC teams in his top 11 and 80 year old George Wine, another Harris Poll voter, ranked Oklahoma State 6th behind Houston at 5.
Heisman
So much for my head not exploding. I thought I was done yelling at my computer while in the library when ESPN put up their projected Heisman finalists based on their voters and "experts."
RG3 should win the Heisman and in reality it shouldn't be that close at all. No problem with that at all. But then I looked who was below RG3. Listen, I am all in the bandwagon that Andrew Luck will be a super-duper star in the NFL. But he really didn't show me a whole bunch this year that made me say, "Woah!" The same goes with Trent Richardson. He did very well against teams he was suppose to run over and only had 89 yards and no touchdowns against their best opponent: LSU. To win the Heisman he needed to rush for 100+ and 2 TDs. Didn't happen.
And that is why Montee Ball should finish second and Tyrann Mathieu should finish third. Ball led the NCAA in rushing with 1759 yards, had 6.4 yards per carry and scored 38 total touchdowns. Let me say that one more time so you know that is not a typo. Montee Ball scored 38 touchdowns this year. For Wisconsin. Who is a top 10 team. Who is playing in the Rose Bowl. I'll let you digest that for a second. (You ready now or is your head still spinning?) He did not score less than 2 touchdowns in any game this season. He is 2 touchdowns away from breaking Barry Sanders' all-time record for touchdowns in a season. (Raises hand) So how is he FIFTH, not even fourth or even third, but FIFTH in the Heisman race? Like a Tootsie Pop the world may never now...
The reason for Mathieu is simple; he's the best player on the best team. It started the first game of the year against then #3 Oregon in Jerry's World. He pulled off the defensive trifecta (forced fumble, fumble recovery, touchdown) en route to victory. Against #3 Arkansas, after LSU was down 14-0, Mathieu returned a 92 punt for a touchdown, forced 2 fumbles, and had 8 tackles. He also threw in a 62 punt return for a touchdown for good mesure in the SEC Championship after LSU finished the first quarter down 10-0 to Georgia. Yes he was suspended for one game. But that does not take away from the fact that he is the best defensive and special teams player in college football on the best defensive and special teams team in college football. One last reason: because Honey Badger said so!
NFL
On to another topic that makes people's head spin Exorcist-style: Tim Tebow. I feel like Skip Bayless and I are the only two people on Earth that like what is happening here. He is now 6-1 in actual NFL games that count this season and has thrown one interception this year. That now puts his interceptions per pass attempt at 0.6% which is actually half of what Aaron Rodgers is currently at. I know what you are thinking right now. It's probably something like, "Who is this idiot who is trying his best to make Tebow look better than the quarterback who is having the greatest season ever?"I'm not so just stop the nonsense. Rodgers needs to replace Albert Pujols in that "This is SportsCenter" commerical. Tebow needs to replace "The Most Interesting Man in the World" guy. Not a day goes by where something is either written or said about him in some format. And you know what?
I love it.
Never has someone been as polarizing and confusing as he has been. I watched just about every game he started while at Florida. I saw how those guys always believed that when it mattered most, he was going to carry them to the Promise Land (religious pun intended). I don't care that he throws 12 times a game. I don't care that they run a "college" offense. Go look at some Cam Newton highlights and tell me you don't see speed options and read options. I dare you. I double dog dare you! People are mad and angry and puzzled because it is simply different. That's all. Who made the rule that you can't take what you have and make an offense that works for that player? That would just make too much sense.
I can see it now. Robert Griffin III gets drafted in the top 10 and the coach tries to put him under center and run a "pro" offense. He will be benched halfway through the year for not performing in the system. Question. You drafted him because he excelled in the "spread" offense correct? So you make him become a pro-style quarterback because....? This is how I view 90% of NFL coaches.
Tiger (because that's essentially what the PGA should be called)
Golf poked its head in the spotlight for all of 5 seconds on Sunday when Tiger Woods won his first tournament in 2 years. I only knew about this because it started trending on Twitter. And then it stopped trending and that was the end of it. Sorry but unless its a major event no one really cares. It was buried so deep in SportsCenter that night that I needed that Chilean mine contraption to get it out. Good for him for showing us that he still has a little left in the tank but how dare he impeded us from more of "The Blitz."
Mets
And last (again, and again, and again...) but not least is the first major move of the MLB off-season when Mets star shortstop José Reyes ditched the Mets for the Miami Marlins at a tune of six years and $106 million. Everyone is asking how this big move will shake up the baseball landscape. Pump the brakes (unlike Ndamukong Suh). Say "hi" to the Philadelphia Phillies. Sources say that the Phillies are still in the NL East. The Marlins are playing for second place. If they somehow land Pujols as well, then it will get a little interesting. But nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, they do will make up for this Fisher-Price toy of a homerun display. And as for Mets fans, well, you already know what's coming.
Do I start with the clusterf**k that is the BCS and Heisman Trophy race? What about Aaron Rodgers and my man-love for Tim Tebow? Or the fact that something interesting actually happened in the PGA and MLB? I think it would be a crime against humanity if I did not start with college football first, so here we go...
The BCS
Here we are again. It seems that almost every year since the BCS's inception we are at the point where we are at now. A deserving team doesn't get into the National Championship game, a team has no clue how it made it to a BCS game, a team has no clue how it didn't make it to a BCS game, coaches continue to accept "the system", etc. It's like an Adam Sandler movie. You know that it's going to happen once a year and you know that you're not going to enjoy it.
Beginning with the National Championship game, obviously LSU was in because of their SEC Championship victory over Georgia. But people were saying before the game that it was just a formality and an exhibition game and they were in no matter the result. So if that happened, it would have been LSU-Bama in the championship with no team winning their own conference? In what reasonable world does that make any sense. Speaking of not making sense in a reasonable world ESPN put up this nugget during their BCS Selection Show.
Heisman
So much for my head not exploding. I thought I was done yelling at my computer while in the library when ESPN put up their projected Heisman finalists based on their voters and "experts."
And that is why Montee Ball should finish second and Tyrann Mathieu should finish third. Ball led the NCAA in rushing with 1759 yards, had 6.4 yards per carry and scored 38 total touchdowns. Let me say that one more time so you know that is not a typo. Montee Ball scored 38 touchdowns this year. For Wisconsin. Who is a top 10 team. Who is playing in the Rose Bowl. I'll let you digest that for a second. (You ready now or is your head still spinning?) He did not score less than 2 touchdowns in any game this season. He is 2 touchdowns away from breaking Barry Sanders' all-time record for touchdowns in a season. (Raises hand) So how is he FIFTH, not even fourth or even third, but FIFTH in the Heisman race? Like a Tootsie Pop the world may never now...
The reason for Mathieu is simple; he's the best player on the best team. It started the first game of the year against then #3 Oregon in Jerry's World. He pulled off the defensive trifecta (forced fumble, fumble recovery, touchdown) en route to victory. Against #3 Arkansas, after LSU was down 14-0, Mathieu returned a 92 punt for a touchdown, forced 2 fumbles, and had 8 tackles. He also threw in a 62 punt return for a touchdown for good mesure in the SEC Championship after LSU finished the first quarter down 10-0 to Georgia. Yes he was suspended for one game. But that does not take away from the fact that he is the best defensive and special teams player in college football on the best defensive and special teams team in college football. One last reason: because Honey Badger said so!
NFL
On to another topic that makes people's head spin Exorcist-style: Tim Tebow. I feel like Skip Bayless and I are the only two people on Earth that like what is happening here. He is now 6-1 in actual NFL games that count this season and has thrown one interception this year. That now puts his interceptions per pass attempt at 0.6% which is actually half of what Aaron Rodgers is currently at. I know what you are thinking right now. It's probably something like, "Who is this idiot who is trying his best to make Tebow look better than the quarterback who is having the greatest season ever?"I'm not so just stop the nonsense. Rodgers needs to replace Albert Pujols in that "This is SportsCenter" commerical. Tebow needs to replace "The Most Interesting Man in the World" guy. Not a day goes by where something is either written or said about him in some format. And you know what?
I love it.
Never has someone been as polarizing and confusing as he has been. I watched just about every game he started while at Florida. I saw how those guys always believed that when it mattered most, he was going to carry them to the Promise Land (religious pun intended). I don't care that he throws 12 times a game. I don't care that they run a "college" offense. Go look at some Cam Newton highlights and tell me you don't see speed options and read options. I dare you. I double dog dare you! People are mad and angry and puzzled because it is simply different. That's all. Who made the rule that you can't take what you have and make an offense that works for that player? That would just make too much sense.
I can see it now. Robert Griffin III gets drafted in the top 10 and the coach tries to put him under center and run a "pro" offense. He will be benched halfway through the year for not performing in the system. Question. You drafted him because he excelled in the "spread" offense correct? So you make him become a pro-style quarterback because....? This is how I view 90% of NFL coaches.
Tiger (because that's essentially what the PGA should be called)
Golf poked its head in the spotlight for all of 5 seconds on Sunday when Tiger Woods won his first tournament in 2 years. I only knew about this because it started trending on Twitter. And then it stopped trending and that was the end of it. Sorry but unless its a major event no one really cares. It was buried so deep in SportsCenter that night that I needed that Chilean mine contraption to get it out. Good for him for showing us that he still has a little left in the tank but how dare he impeded us from more of "The Blitz."
Mets
And last (again, and again, and again...) but not least is the first major move of the MLB off-season when Mets star shortstop José Reyes ditched the Mets for the Miami Marlins at a tune of six years and $106 million. Everyone is asking how this big move will shake up the baseball landscape. Pump the brakes (unlike Ndamukong Suh). Say "hi" to the Philadelphia Phillies. Sources say that the Phillies are still in the NL East. The Marlins are playing for second place. If they somehow land Pujols as well, then it will get a little interesting. But nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, they do will make up for this Fisher-Price toy of a homerun display. And as for Mets fans, well, you already know what's coming.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The Redemption Game
"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."-Vince Lombardi
A leader was made in this game, and his name is Aaron Rodgers. I have to admit, I underestimated his abilities going into this game. He beat an overrated Atlanta Falcons team as well as the Chicago Bears who, being led by Jay Cutler, it was no surprise that the Packers took care of business. Going into this game and even up to the kickoff I was continually asking myself and my peers, "Why are the Packers favored by 3 points against an extremely experienced Steeler team captained by one of the best playoff quarterbacks of all-time?" The answer: Aaron Rodgers.
The experience of the Steelers never came to any fruition like I thought they would. They had 29 players on their roster with past Super Bowl experience; the Packers had none. The stats were relatively balanced between the two teams regarding first downs (Pitt 19, GB 15), 3rd Down efficiency (Pitt 7-13, GB 6-13), and even penalties (Pitt 6, GB 7). They both basically attempted and completed the same amount of passes and the Steelers out-gained the Packers on the ground 126-50. So what stopped the Steelers from winning their 3rd Super Bowl since 2006? Turnovers (and the combination of Christina Aguilera's remix of the Star-Spangled Banner and whatever that the Black Eyed Peas did at halftime). The first turnover, the pick-six by Nick Collins, looked like it had put the proverbial nail in the coffin for the Steelers as the team that has thrown a pick-six in the Super Bowl has never won (now 0-11). I believe however the biggest turnover was the Rashard Mendenhall fumble on the first play of the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh was ready to deliver the final blow but instead Mendenhall fumbles, the Steelers lose all sense of the momentum the had by coming back to only a 4 point deficit, and it seemed like the fat lady was only minutes if not seconds away from making her appearance. But as they always say, "The fat lady doesn't sing until the winning players are celebrating rather awkwardly on the sideline."
Big Ben almost put the team on his back and drove his team down on another epic Super Bowl winning final drive after the inexplicable 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty, but it's hard to throw a pass when your hands are around your neck. The list of receivers targeted on that drive were Heath Miller for 15 yards (Wait...Heath Miller played?), Hines Ward for 5 yards, throw away, confusion on incomplete pass to Mike Wallace, and lastly a high throw to Mike Wallace. First off I was waiting for Gus Johnson to randomly pop into the booth and say "Mighty Mouse Hines Ward...with the reception!" Secondly haven't all of us figured out that Mike Wallace can only do one thing and one thing only, which is "Run deep and I'll throw the ball as far as I can, except for when I overthrow you or throw a duck to you in the Super Bowl." So why would Ben throw the ball to Wallace in traffic, who is about as worthless as Charlie Sheen's digestive tract who collectively at this point are just saying "F**k it, this guy is out of control, it's not worth the effort." Why not go back to Hines Ward or try and let Heath Miller know that "There is a game going on, you should really be involved"? These are the questions that need to be answered soon.
So at this point your probably wondering "Why is this column named The Redemption Game?" Well I'm glad you thought of it. This game had many story lines that were in play waaaaaay before the fly-over at the end of the National Anthem over a domed stadium (Can we get a round of applause for the NFL please! Also not their last screw up of the night...). The alleged rape of a girl in a bathroom by Ben Roethlisberger highlighted the sports media conversation leading up to the game. But instead of a rapist, accused on two separate cases I recall, winning the Lombardi Trophy, it was the team that Lombardi turned into a household name and put the town of Green Bay on the map (Let it be known that the entire population of Green Bay could have fit inside the stadium with a couple thousand seats to spare).
Aaron Rodgers, who was drafted to replace The Anointed One, The Traitor, Is He Still Playing, and my favorite, That's Not Mine, finally gained the complete acceptance as a leader and champion, league-wide.
Charles Woodson, winner of the Heisman Trophy, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has finally added a Super Bowl ring to the list. Remember Woodson was the player that hit Tom Brady and created the Tuck Rule in the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff game. Thank you NFL gods for prying Woodson from the cold, dead hands of Al Davis. Seriously, check out this video and try and argue that Davis is alive. Woodson shattered his collarbone on a touchdown saving pass deflection and played the next play! If that and the emotion he showed at halftime isn't deserving of a Super Bowl win, I don't know what will ever qualify.
Clay Matthews III finally wins a Championship for the Matthews NFL family dynasty. Clay Jr., his father, played linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons for 19 years. He also holds the NFL record for oldest player to record a sack at 40 years, 282 days. His father, Clay Sr., played offensive tackle and linebacker for the San Fransisco 49ers from 1950, 1953-55 with a 3 year stint in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in which he served as a paratrooper in the Korean War. If those two weren't enough Clay III's uncle was Bruce Matthews, a 19 year veteran, a Hall of Famer, 14-time Pro Bowler, a member of the 1990's NFL All-Decade Team, and the record holder of most games played by an offensive lineman in NFL history (296). Out of all of that past experience Clay III, in only his second year in the league, did what his family members couldn't do in a combined 42 years.
That was all of the good that Super Bowl XLV had to offer...these were the other interesting/bad notes that I observed:
A leader was made in this game, and his name is Aaron Rodgers. I have to admit, I underestimated his abilities going into this game. He beat an overrated Atlanta Falcons team as well as the Chicago Bears who, being led by Jay Cutler, it was no surprise that the Packers took care of business. Going into this game and even up to the kickoff I was continually asking myself and my peers, "Why are the Packers favored by 3 points against an extremely experienced Steeler team captained by one of the best playoff quarterbacks of all-time?" The answer: Aaron Rodgers.
The experience of the Steelers never came to any fruition like I thought they would. They had 29 players on their roster with past Super Bowl experience; the Packers had none. The stats were relatively balanced between the two teams regarding first downs (Pitt 19, GB 15), 3rd Down efficiency (Pitt 7-13, GB 6-13), and even penalties (Pitt 6, GB 7). They both basically attempted and completed the same amount of passes and the Steelers out-gained the Packers on the ground 126-50. So what stopped the Steelers from winning their 3rd Super Bowl since 2006? Turnovers (and the combination of Christina Aguilera's remix of the Star-Spangled Banner and whatever that the Black Eyed Peas did at halftime). The first turnover, the pick-six by Nick Collins, looked like it had put the proverbial nail in the coffin for the Steelers as the team that has thrown a pick-six in the Super Bowl has never won (now 0-11). I believe however the biggest turnover was the Rashard Mendenhall fumble on the first play of the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh was ready to deliver the final blow but instead Mendenhall fumbles, the Steelers lose all sense of the momentum the had by coming back to only a 4 point deficit, and it seemed like the fat lady was only minutes if not seconds away from making her appearance. But as they always say, "The fat lady doesn't sing until the winning players are celebrating rather awkwardly on the sideline."
Big Ben almost put the team on his back and drove his team down on another epic Super Bowl winning final drive after the inexplicable 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty, but it's hard to throw a pass when your hands are around your neck. The list of receivers targeted on that drive were Heath Miller for 15 yards (Wait...Heath Miller played?), Hines Ward for 5 yards, throw away, confusion on incomplete pass to Mike Wallace, and lastly a high throw to Mike Wallace. First off I was waiting for Gus Johnson to randomly pop into the booth and say "Mighty Mouse Hines Ward...with the reception!" Secondly haven't all of us figured out that Mike Wallace can only do one thing and one thing only, which is "Run deep and I'll throw the ball as far as I can, except for when I overthrow you or throw a duck to you in the Super Bowl." So why would Ben throw the ball to Wallace in traffic, who is about as worthless as Charlie Sheen's digestive tract who collectively at this point are just saying "F**k it, this guy is out of control, it's not worth the effort." Why not go back to Hines Ward or try and let Heath Miller know that "There is a game going on, you should really be involved"? These are the questions that need to be answered soon.
So at this point your probably wondering "Why is this column named The Redemption Game?" Well I'm glad you thought of it. This game had many story lines that were in play waaaaaay before the fly-over at the end of the National Anthem over a domed stadium (Can we get a round of applause for the NFL please! Also not their last screw up of the night...). The alleged rape of a girl in a bathroom by Ben Roethlisberger highlighted the sports media conversation leading up to the game. But instead of a rapist, accused on two separate cases I recall, winning the Lombardi Trophy, it was the team that Lombardi turned into a household name and put the town of Green Bay on the map (Let it be known that the entire population of Green Bay could have fit inside the stadium with a couple thousand seats to spare).
Aaron Rodgers, who was drafted to replace The Anointed One, The Traitor, Is He Still Playing, and my favorite, That's Not Mine, finally gained the complete acceptance as a leader and champion, league-wide.
Charles Woodson, winner of the Heisman Trophy, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has finally added a Super Bowl ring to the list. Remember Woodson was the player that hit Tom Brady and created the Tuck Rule in the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff game. Thank you NFL gods for prying Woodson from the cold, dead hands of Al Davis. Seriously, check out this video and try and argue that Davis is alive. Woodson shattered his collarbone on a touchdown saving pass deflection and played the next play! If that and the emotion he showed at halftime isn't deserving of a Super Bowl win, I don't know what will ever qualify.
Clay Matthews III finally wins a Championship for the Matthews NFL family dynasty. Clay Jr., his father, played linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons for 19 years. He also holds the NFL record for oldest player to record a sack at 40 years, 282 days. His father, Clay Sr., played offensive tackle and linebacker for the San Fransisco 49ers from 1950, 1953-55 with a 3 year stint in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in which he served as a paratrooper in the Korean War. If those two weren't enough Clay III's uncle was Bruce Matthews, a 19 year veteran, a Hall of Famer, 14-time Pro Bowler, a member of the 1990's NFL All-Decade Team, and the record holder of most games played by an offensive lineman in NFL history (296). Out of all of that past experience Clay III, in only his second year in the league, did what his family members couldn't do in a combined 42 years.
That was all of the good that Super Bowl XLV had to offer...these were the other interesting/bad notes that I observed:
- Brett Favre was not mentioned ONCE during the entire game
- Where was James Harrison and Troy Polamalu when the Steelers needed them most?
- Jordy Nelson's 140 yard performance puts him in 10th place for receiving yards in a Super Bowl
- Ryan Clark guards wide receivers one-on-one worse than the Nazi guards in "Hogan's Heroes". (If you have no idea what that show is because it was aired from 1965-71 and you think you are too young to watch anything before 1992 go and watch it. Now! You will thank me later.)
- The combination of the seat fiasco, National Anthem, fly-over, and the halftime show really put a damper on a fantastic game. First let's start with the seats. A fire marshal ordered that 1,250 temporary seats had to be removed because they weren't approved by him. There's something about that that just doesn't sound right. My guess; someone from the NFL really messes up and the seats were never installed. The NFL gave the fans triple the face value (important detail) of their ticket. Most fans paid triple the face value from scalpers to get the ticket. Also, the NFL made the right decision today to give these poor fans free tickets to ANY Super Bowl of their choice.
- As for the fly-over over a stadium where the fans attending the game couldn't see the fly-over (whose idea?), Christina Aguilera's combination of lines because she was "too into it" (Child Please), and the absolute abomination of a halftime show that sounded more like someone yelling into a megaphone or in some cases had no noise at all. Yikes. I honestly can't remember who performed at what Super Bowl since Nipple Gate. I propose the fans vote for who should perform because the NFL has completely lost touch with society as a whole regarding entertainment, not to mention how many games the players should play (I'll save that topic for when the deadline nears).
Well I guess that's the last game of football we will see for awhile and possibly awhile more than we think. The season was highlighted by concussions, fines, a male appendage, multiple rape charges, the first sub-.500 team to make the playoffs, an extremely productive rookie class, Philip Rivers being mentioned in the same sentence as Dan Marino (shakes head in disbelief), Trip Gate, a barely publicized Trip Gate Part Duex, one of the best "Hard Knocks" seasons to date, and more concussions. Let's do it all again next year.
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