Wednesday, January 25

Are You Kidding Me?

"The only bad thing about it is young kids, whose minds are easily warped, are going to think, 'Ohhh, I am going to go out there and do it' instead of the team concept first,"

"It's remarkable, the execution and the efficiency, but we've got a lot of guys in this league, if they took 70 shots, they'd score a lot of points,"

How can Vince Carter say anything? This is the same Vince Carter that sabotaged his Toronto Raptors so he can get traded to a new team. This is the same Vince Carter that when he went down with injury his team performed better. This is the same Vince Carter who never met a shot he didn't like. This is the same Vince Carter that went to his meaningless college graduation ceremony on the same day of game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship, a game they went on to lose. How does he have any right to say that The Mamba, I love that name, isn't a team player. His comments may be agreed upon by the majority of sports fans and players, but he has no place saying it. When I was watching PTI yesterday and I heard about it, I just laughed. That was the only reaction I can have to that. haha Vince you crack me up.

Tuesday, January 24

Mamba

Let me start this article off by stating that I am a Kobe fan. I love watching him play and while I was home this weekend I was ecstatic to hear that he had dropped 81. This guy dropped 62 a few weeks ago and then took himself out, and I am glad he didn't follow that precedent last night. What The Mamba did on Sunday night is far greater than what Wilt did in 1962. Kobe did it in a league where defense comes first and where teams as a whole sometimes struggle to score 81. Wilt was also a beast for his time, no one on the Knicks had the size to take him out of the game. People in today's game are supposed to be able to stop guys like The Ocho, but Kobe is the best player in the NBA right now. No question about it. Now that Kobe has scored 81 and realizes what it might feel like to drop a century on someone he will go for it. Kobe will drop 100 on someone this year and Phil can't stop him. Now I started this article off by saying I'm a huge Kobe fan, and let me say that while he did drive Shaq and Phil out of town he is still the best player in the game. He may be a ball hog, but wouldn't Shaq do the same if he were the one stuck on the Lakers with Kobe in Miami. It's easy to pass to guys like Wade, Walker, and White Chocolate. Who does Mamba have? Odem, that's it. So don't go saying that Shaq is the better teammate, and Shaq is better at the game than Kobe. Sure Kobe robbed us of the greatest duo since Starsky and Hutch, but wouldn't you do the same thing if you were trying to leave a legacy for this fine game? Because we all know that every sports writer would question his ability to win a championship without Shaq no matter how many they won together. And let me be the first to point out that Shaq has won the same amount of rings without Kobe as Kobe has without Shaq, zero, zilch, nada. And I will also like to add that Kobe will win multiple championships without Shaq, while Shaq will win none without Kobe. Kobe is having one of the greatest scoring burst in NBA history, just enjoy it, and enjoy the Lakers come payoff time.
coming later in the week, my take on the Championship sunday in football, and Superbowl predictions

Wednesday, January 18

Championship Weekend

Many people are talking as if the Patriots dynasty is over just because they didn’t win the Super Bowl. Let’s just state here that just because you don’t win the Super Bowl it doesn’t stop your dynasty. The Patriots dynasty is not over. They will still be a contender next year. On to the rest of the Playoffs…
In a surprising victory over the Colts, the Steelers became the first #6 seed to reach a championship game. They shut down a Colts offense that everyone slurped all year, but couldn’t get it done in the Playoffs, again. I don’t understand why the entire NFL and fans reel like Peyton Manning needs to win a Super Bowl and not only that, they feel bad when he looses. Why? They don’t care when other QB’s don’t win the big game. Peyton needs to show up in big games when the pressure is on. But back to the Steelers, they almost blew that game but thanks to our good friend, Mike Vanderjerk, they held on for a 3 point victory to travel to Mile High Stadium to face a very very good Bronco team. The Broncos were not able to run the ball against the Pats, 96 yards on the ground, but they were able to force the defending champs into 5 turnovers. The Steelers are an easy team to beat. You just have to line up and punch them in the mouth and the Broncos can easily do that, and I think they move onto the Super Bowl in easy fashion. The Broncos win 30-17
In the NFC we see a match up of a very good Carolina team going into Seattle to face the Seahawks. Carolina, like the Steelers have won 2 road games in successive weeks to make the Championship game, is coming off a dominating performance of the Bears. They went into a very hostel place; a place where I thought no one could win in Jan. and won. The Seahawks looked shaky coming off their bye week and they hung on for a victory over a team, Washington that looked emotionally drained after playing 6 consecutive must win games. Now I mentioned in my Playoff preview that I didn’t like Carolina, but they have showed tremendous heart and desire these past 2 games to reach the NFC championship game. They have also won 4 straight road playoff games. They look as good on the road as they do at home, the road doesn’t faze them like most teams in the NFL. Also John Fox is a fantastic coach, and I’m not taking anything away from Holmgren, but John Fox has only lost 1 playoff game in his career as a head coach and that was Super Bowl 38 against the Patriots. I’m giving the coaching edge to the Panthers, as well as the defensive edge. I think Carolina wins in a semi-defensive struggle 24-13.
Back to Peyton Manning, did anyone see how uncomfortable he looked in the pocket? He was moving around like he was on Dancing with the Stars, and he probably would have won had he been on the show. He was overthrowing receivers, he was missing open receivers, and he was missing the people who were blitzing on Pitt. Now I don’t want to take anything away from Manning because he records speak for themselves, but the record that I think speaks volumes is his 3-6 record in the playoffs. He has made the second most starts in NFL history without reaching the Super Bowl. We all have to remember that this was the year the Colts were supposed to go all the way. The Patriots were weaker than the past, the Colts defense was finally Super Bowl caliber, they had home field advantage on their carpeted dome stadium, and the Super Bowl was in the Dome. They wouldn’t have to deal with the cold of Foxboro or anywhere else, but once again Peyton laid an egg when the stage was magnified, and once the Patriots lost on Saturday night the Colts had to feel a sense of relief and perhaps felt like this was actually their year. I’m not saying that contributed to the loss, but its interesting.
Just want to say a few quick notes on the start of the new season of 24. I personally am a huge fan of the show, lots of excitement and I love the fact that its real time. The show picked up with Jack still in hiding and under an alias because of the whole Chinese problem from the end of last season, and if you haven’t seen the show, stops reading now, he has to come out of hiding because President Palmer was assassinated and Michele and Tony were blown up, Chloe was also attacked, but she survived and got in touch with Jack. The show starts off very strong and I am looking forward to see how they develop the story lines with President Logan and his wife and with the terrorist with nerve gas. Jack is also “back” working for CTU. The season begins with lots of promise, and I think it will be one of the best.

Tuesday, January 10

cool site

my freind Evan D sent me this link to an amazing site check it out http://www.prosportsdaily.com/ it has all the sports articles from every news paper

Monday, January 2

Playoff Preview

This weekend closed a wonderful year of regular season football. You had the teams that everyone picked to do well, and a few surprises, which are always fun. First off I want to congratulate Doug Flutie on that beautiful drop kick extra point. Now for my preview I am picking the teams I think will win the games, nothing to do with spreads. Onto the NFC…
The ‘Skins, Bucs game should be an exciting one. You have two very good defenses facing each other; you also have two Super Bowl winning coaches in Gruden and Gibbs. You also have two offenses that rely a lot on the running game. You have two QB’s who can manage a game and won’t lose a game for you, but they probably won’t win a game for you either. The ‘Skins are coming in on a five game winning streak. They have played very well in must win games. That’s why I like the ‘Skins to upset the Bucs in this game.
In the other Wild Card match up we see the Panthers travel to Giants stadium to face the NYG. The Giants are the NFC East division winners, and the Panthers got in with one of the two Wildcard spots. The Panthers have had an up and down season, but I think they will exploit the Giants’ defense, and have the ability to shut down Tiki. They also have a team that has been to a Super Bowl before and that goes a long way.
I have two upsets in the Wildcard weekend so that means I have the ‘Skins traveling to Seattle to face the Seahawks, and I have the Panthers traveling to Chicago to face the Bears.
In the ‘Skins ‘Hawks game we have a team that hasn’t one a playoff game in almost 20 years, but that same team has the NFL’s leading rusher, and a defense that can cause a lot takeaways. That will be too much for the ‘Skins so I have the ‘Hawks advancing.
In the other Divisional match up I have two very physical defenses. We also have two very good coaches, this game will come down to the weather and we all know how bad the weather is in Chicago in Jan. I have the Bears squeaking by the Panthers to advance to the NFC championship game to face the ‘Hawks.

In the NFC Championship game the Bears will cause enough points on defense to allow Rex Grossman the freedom of playing with a lead and the Bears will advance to the Super Bowl.

AFC
In the first match up on Wildcard weekend we have the Jaguars traveling to New England to face the two time defending Super Bowl champs who are playing on a roll despite their setback at home on Sunday. The Jags will be boosted with the return of Byron, but that won’t be enough to derail the Pats from facing the Broncos in the second round because..
I have the Steelers going into Cincy and beating the Bengals. The Steelers are too physical on D and will stop Carson Palmer who has had an MVP type season, (although my MVP goes to Tom Brady, but more on that in a later column), and the Steelers will ride The Bus for one more Playoff win.
In the first divisional playoff game we have the Pats going into Denver and looking to avenge their early season defeat, and I think they do it. They are playing with a much healthier team, their front seven on D has been playing excellent ball lately, and last I checked they still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. The combination of those two, plus Belichick doesn’t lose to a QB two times in the same season equals a win for the Pats.
In the second Divisional Playoff game we have the Steelers going into Indy to try and grab a win, but that won’t happen. Just because they have played bi-polar football the last three weeks doesn’t mean anything. The Colts will come out and dominate from start to finish in a huge win for Dungy and the rest of the city who lost a son.
But unfortunately for the Colts they have to face the Pats the following week in the AFC championship game, and I know everyone will be picking the Colts in this game, but I will stick with my Pats. They have picked against the Pats the last two years against the Colts and the Pats came out on top, so why should I believe anything different this year. Sure the Colts D is better than years past, and sure they will still be playing with extra emotion because of the loss of Dungy’s son, but the Pats know how to win in January. And so do Brady and Belichick. In fact the two of them have never lost a playoff game when they have been together. So look for the Pats to move on to face the Bears in Super Bowl XL.

In a rematch of Super Bowl XX, 20 years ago for those of you who don’t know Roman Numerals. The Pats will be seeking their NFL record third straight super bowl victory. They will face a stingy Bears defense, but they will also face Rex Grossman. Bill Belichick will have a field day drawing up defenses against him. The Pats will get at least one score on defense and one more on special teams plus one more on offense and that will allow the Pats to win their third Super Bowl in a row, and their first by more than three points.
Enjoy the playoffs and just to put it out there, I’ve got USC over Texas 48-34 in the Rose Bowl for USC’s record third straight national title.