Super Bowl Weekend
Amid all of the hoopla, don't forget that there's actually a football game crammed in there somewhere. I challenge anyone reading this to come up with another event where the actual substance of the event has taken such a backseat to the "sideshow" that's constantly going on (political campaigns don't count as there's never any substance to begin with - that was a trick question).
If you've happened to be watching Around the Horn, PTI, Inside the NFL or simply just SportsCenter, you likely are wishing to everything holy that do away with the off week before the Super Bowl. My gosh, how many times can we analyze the same players and the same game???
OK, just one more time...
Super Bowl XLII: Patriots vs. Giants
Will Brady play? Will he be effective? What will the Giants' depleted secondary due to combat the Patriots' air attack? Is an Eli-led team REALLY in the Super Bowl?
All good questions and the simple/easy answer is who knows. First off, Brady will be fine and probably be his usual self (dominating) for the game, especially with THAT offensive line blocking for him. You can apply this logic to just about any football game at any level and it will be true - if the Giants can get pressure on Brady, they've got a chance. The Chargers evidently had something going well as Brady threw 3 picks in the AFC title game - and I'm not positive, but I think those may have been his first INTs of the season....
Look, we all know the Patriots are the Patriots. Frankly, they're probably going to win this game. Hell, Vegas has the line at 12 points last I saw and these guys know more about how games will turn out than any talking head you see on television. What does this tell me? Not that the Pats will necessarily cover the point spread, but that they'll probably win. The operative word here being "probably". As far as the Giants are concerned...well, as Lloyd Christmas said in Dumb and Dumber, "so you're saying there's a chance".
We can try and create all the formulas we want for beating the Patriots, but we must remember one thing - THEY HAVEN'T LOST YET THIS YEAR!! So, there is no formula for that, but there is one for "keeping it close" and when it comes down to it, that's the only chance the Giants have. And to do this it really comes down to 2 key areas:
1) First and foremost you simply cannot turn the ball over because chances are very good that the Pats will turn it into points. The Giants know how to move the ball on them as we saw them do it 4 short weeks ago. But, if you take points away from yourself and hand them to New England, game over, it's done. If I remember correctly, Eli had a costly INT in the fourth quarter of the first meeting that really hurt them - especially since they lost by 3 points.
2) Make 'em kick field goals - we all know that Brady and company can move the ball; teams must resign to this fact. But, if you can do the "bend don't break" game in the red zone and force a couple of field goals rather than TDs it's a pretty big moral victory.
The Giants definitely have a lot going for them - first and foremost they play tremendously better on the road than at home - just a couple of short years ago we saw a wild-card Pittsburgh team go on the road throughout the playoffs and win it all so it can be done. They're defensive line is playing great and really turned it up in the second half of the Cowboys game and haven't looked back since. There are issues with the Secondary with injuries (ex-Longhorn Aaron Ross is still questionable), which could be a serious issue, but the D-line may be able to get some pressure and keep Brady from sitting back and picking apart the secondary. Eli Manning is also playing great ball right now - he's not throwing up record numbers, but he's making the right throws when he needs to, keeping the chains moving and not turning the ball over. I doubted this kid quite a bit this year and rightfully so, but he may well prove a lot of folks wrong this Sunday. That coupled with the running game is very encouraging for the G-men.
At the end of the day, the Giants can beat the Patriots, they just probably won't. Nothing would make me happier than to see them pull off the upset - as well as squash a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Pats (I swear to you right here and right now that they will not go undefeated again....ever). The Giants are a great story this year and it's great how they've come together with Caughlin, but at the end of the day there are 3 key things for the Pats: 1) Offensive weapons, 2) Team Chemistry - like nothing I've seen at the pro level in my lifetime, and 3) Belichick with 2 weeks to prepare. I'll be routing like hell for the Giants, but at the end of the day...
Patriots - 32
Giants - 22
Baseball:
OK, so you guys know I'm not a big baseball guy - never have been really. But, that doesn't keep me from spewing my thoughts on a couple of big issues.
First off, the Santana trade to the Mets. I'm not sure what the Twins' were thinking here, but they essentially got a bunch of prospects who have played very little or zero games at the major league level....for arguably the best pitcher of the last 3 or 4 years. If I'm the Mets I'm still pinching myself to be sure that this has really happened. I know, I know, they still have to agree on an extension in order for the trade to be finalized, but let's just pretend it's a done deal as I'm sure it will be. I just don't get pro sports franchises that continuously recycle good talent to keep payroll down. You don't have shareholders, you've got fans and fans want to see big talent and winning teams. I just don't get it. Either way, I really thought the Twins could have gotten at least one current player who's an upper echelon talent for this. Or, they could have just kept him....and had arguably the best pitcher over the last 3 or 4 years. Weird.
Second, and let me point out that this is the most painful thing I've had to say since the Ricky Williams debacle after his 4th season in the league - Roger Clemens is starting to really look like an idiot. And I'm sorry to say this, but I think he's most likely guilty of juicing. This report with graphs and endless dribble about his performance during the time of the alleged doping was asinine at best - it proved nothing. At no point had Clemens showed any ounce of proof that disputes what his trainer said - taped phone calls, angry press conferences, 60-minute interviews and now this white paper on his career - it's all crap and fluff. I love the Rocket, but this is just depressing and embarrassing...for all of us.
Running Horns:
Man, I was thoroughly upset on Wednesday night after the Aggie game. First off, kudos to the Aggies who played, easily, they're best game of the year against their toughest opponent of the year. I swear I think they shot about 80% from the field in the first half. Another impressive point for the Aggies, they didn't let up after halftime. They never once let Texas get within 11 points and that's something - they played great defense.
With that said, this was easily the worst game I've seen a Rick Barnes' team play in the last couple of years. Watching this team play in conference, I'm struggling to figure out how in the world they were able to beat Tennessee and UCLA on the road. The 2 most glaring stats of the game: 52% free throws and 10 assists as a team...for the whole game! DJ is averaging close to 7 a game and they had 10 altogether? That's bad. And the FT % is just terrible - that is completely and utterly unacceptable.
I think the painful reality that I'm seeing is that this team lives and dies by the outside shot and if it's not falling, there's a good chance they'll not be able to win. Johnson and Pittman are some bigger bodies in the middle, but neither of these guys can compete with the more seasoned and "true" big men in the league. I know Pittman had a decent game in terms of points, but his low-post moves are atrocious; I can't understand why he insists on moving away from the basket to get his shots.
This team has a tough road ahead and to be perfectly honest, I can't imagine this team (as they stand right now) doing any better than 10-6 in conference and hovering around the 4th or 5th place spot. Maybe I'm wrong, but this team we've seen over the last 5 games cannot compete with Kansas...not even close. We'll see, but they've could easily lose 2 of their next 3 games.
NBA Update:
If you've happened to be watching Around the Horn, PTI, Inside the NFL or simply just SportsCenter, you likely are wishing to everything holy that do away with the off week before the Super Bowl. My gosh, how many times can we analyze the same players and the same game???
OK, just one more time...
Super Bowl XLII: Patriots vs. Giants
Will Brady play? Will he be effective? What will the Giants' depleted secondary due to combat the Patriots' air attack? Is an Eli-led team REALLY in the Super Bowl?
All good questions and the simple/easy answer is who knows. First off, Brady will be fine and probably be his usual self (dominating) for the game, especially with THAT offensive line blocking for him. You can apply this logic to just about any football game at any level and it will be true - if the Giants can get pressure on Brady, they've got a chance. The Chargers evidently had something going well as Brady threw 3 picks in the AFC title game - and I'm not positive, but I think those may have been his first INTs of the season....
Look, we all know the Patriots are the Patriots. Frankly, they're probably going to win this game. Hell, Vegas has the line at 12 points last I saw and these guys know more about how games will turn out than any talking head you see on television. What does this tell me? Not that the Pats will necessarily cover the point spread, but that they'll probably win. The operative word here being "probably". As far as the Giants are concerned...well, as Lloyd Christmas said in Dumb and Dumber, "so you're saying there's a chance".
We can try and create all the formulas we want for beating the Patriots, but we must remember one thing - THEY HAVEN'T LOST YET THIS YEAR!! So, there is no formula for that, but there is one for "keeping it close" and when it comes down to it, that's the only chance the Giants have. And to do this it really comes down to 2 key areas:
1) First and foremost you simply cannot turn the ball over because chances are very good that the Pats will turn it into points. The Giants know how to move the ball on them as we saw them do it 4 short weeks ago. But, if you take points away from yourself and hand them to New England, game over, it's done. If I remember correctly, Eli had a costly INT in the fourth quarter of the first meeting that really hurt them - especially since they lost by 3 points.
2) Make 'em kick field goals - we all know that Brady and company can move the ball; teams must resign to this fact. But, if you can do the "bend don't break" game in the red zone and force a couple of field goals rather than TDs it's a pretty big moral victory.
The Giants definitely have a lot going for them - first and foremost they play tremendously better on the road than at home - just a couple of short years ago we saw a wild-card Pittsburgh team go on the road throughout the playoffs and win it all so it can be done. They're defensive line is playing great and really turned it up in the second half of the Cowboys game and haven't looked back since. There are issues with the Secondary with injuries (ex-Longhorn Aaron Ross is still questionable), which could be a serious issue, but the D-line may be able to get some pressure and keep Brady from sitting back and picking apart the secondary. Eli Manning is also playing great ball right now - he's not throwing up record numbers, but he's making the right throws when he needs to, keeping the chains moving and not turning the ball over. I doubted this kid quite a bit this year and rightfully so, but he may well prove a lot of folks wrong this Sunday. That coupled with the running game is very encouraging for the G-men.
At the end of the day, the Giants can beat the Patriots, they just probably won't. Nothing would make me happier than to see them pull off the upset - as well as squash a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Pats (I swear to you right here and right now that they will not go undefeated again....ever). The Giants are a great story this year and it's great how they've come together with Caughlin, but at the end of the day there are 3 key things for the Pats: 1) Offensive weapons, 2) Team Chemistry - like nothing I've seen at the pro level in my lifetime, and 3) Belichick with 2 weeks to prepare. I'll be routing like hell for the Giants, but at the end of the day...
Patriots - 32
Giants - 22
Baseball:
OK, so you guys know I'm not a big baseball guy - never have been really. But, that doesn't keep me from spewing my thoughts on a couple of big issues.
First off, the Santana trade to the Mets. I'm not sure what the Twins' were thinking here, but they essentially got a bunch of prospects who have played very little or zero games at the major league level....for arguably the best pitcher of the last 3 or 4 years. If I'm the Mets I'm still pinching myself to be sure that this has really happened. I know, I know, they still have to agree on an extension in order for the trade to be finalized, but let's just pretend it's a done deal as I'm sure it will be. I just don't get pro sports franchises that continuously recycle good talent to keep payroll down. You don't have shareholders, you've got fans and fans want to see big talent and winning teams. I just don't get it. Either way, I really thought the Twins could have gotten at least one current player who's an upper echelon talent for this. Or, they could have just kept him....and had arguably the best pitcher over the last 3 or 4 years. Weird.
Second, and let me point out that this is the most painful thing I've had to say since the Ricky Williams debacle after his 4th season in the league - Roger Clemens is starting to really look like an idiot. And I'm sorry to say this, but I think he's most likely guilty of juicing. This report with graphs and endless dribble about his performance during the time of the alleged doping was asinine at best - it proved nothing. At no point had Clemens showed any ounce of proof that disputes what his trainer said - taped phone calls, angry press conferences, 60-minute interviews and now this white paper on his career - it's all crap and fluff. I love the Rocket, but this is just depressing and embarrassing...for all of us.
Running Horns:
Man, I was thoroughly upset on Wednesday night after the Aggie game. First off, kudos to the Aggies who played, easily, they're best game of the year against their toughest opponent of the year. I swear I think they shot about 80% from the field in the first half. Another impressive point for the Aggies, they didn't let up after halftime. They never once let Texas get within 11 points and that's something - they played great defense.
With that said, this was easily the worst game I've seen a Rick Barnes' team play in the last couple of years. Watching this team play in conference, I'm struggling to figure out how in the world they were able to beat Tennessee and UCLA on the road. The 2 most glaring stats of the game: 52% free throws and 10 assists as a team...for the whole game! DJ is averaging close to 7 a game and they had 10 altogether? That's bad. And the FT % is just terrible - that is completely and utterly unacceptable.
I think the painful reality that I'm seeing is that this team lives and dies by the outside shot and if it's not falling, there's a good chance they'll not be able to win. Johnson and Pittman are some bigger bodies in the middle, but neither of these guys can compete with the more seasoned and "true" big men in the league. I know Pittman had a decent game in terms of points, but his low-post moves are atrocious; I can't understand why he insists on moving away from the basket to get his shots.
This team has a tough road ahead and to be perfectly honest, I can't imagine this team (as they stand right now) doing any better than 10-6 in conference and hovering around the 4th or 5th place spot. Maybe I'm wrong, but this team we've seen over the last 5 games cannot compete with Kansas...not even close. We'll see, but they've could easily lose 2 of their next 3 games.
NBA Update:
- Gotta start with the Lakers here: in the midst of a 9-game road trip and they're 1 and 1 with a win over the Knicks and a close, last-second loss to the Pistons last night. They're playing teams tough, they're just not able to close out games. Kobe is carrying this team and getting dick in terms of help over the last few games.
- Where in the world have the New Orleans Hornets come from?
- Settle down Spurs fans, they'll be fine. There's zero incentive for these guys to try and win as many games as they can right now - they're focus is getting healthy...period. Also, they are just 2 games off of where they were last year at this point so they'll be fine. They'll turn it on starting in mid March, secure that top 3 seed and be ready to go.
- If Jason Kidd ends up in Dallas...look out. Although I think Cuban should hold on to Devon Harris for his youth - the issue with the Mavs is NOT the point guard...it's the big German who's got skills, but is way too soft. If he was on the Rockets it would be perfect (where everyone is soft). Between Dirk and Nash, they've stolen 2 MVP awards from Kobe over the last 4 years. BUT, I do think Kidd would be a boost in the short term - teams have such short windows to win a title in this league and I think Cuban knows his window is closing.
- And why in the world is Portland getting involved in this mess? You're fine as you are - be patient and develop your young talent.
- How in the world did Baron Davis get left off of the all-star reserve roster?
- 3 trades that absolutely need to happen for the good of the respective teams: Shaq out of Miami (good luck finding a taker for that contract though), Kidd out of New Jersey and T-Mac out of Houston. Regarding T-Mac - how many injuries can you tolerate and how much more evidence do you need that they play better team ball without him???? Who's running that organization?
- Back to all-star reserves - no Ray Allen either? Wow.
- Don't look now, but I think Seattle just won 2 in a row. Seriously, these guys may be in a position to get another high draft pick this summer - they have an opportunity to build smart for the future...
- ...which brings me to my first RETRACTION: At the beginning of the NBA season I predicted that the Sonics would be the most improved team after the all-star break. Right, I'm going to go ahead and retract that statement now - these guys are really struggling and I can't imagine that they turn it around before next year. They've got a good start at a young nucleus and are in a good position for growth, but it won't happen this year.
- And for those critics that are hammering Durant for hitting that Rookie wall - remind me again who the second scoring option on the team is? Right, that's what I thought. Lay off the guy. He's plays on one of the worst teams in the league, he's only played one full year of college, and he's still figuring out the speed of the game. Oh, and he's averaging over 20 points a game with no offensive help. He'll be fine.
- Did you happen to watch the State of the Union address earlier this week? If so, you and I make up about 11 people that probably watched around the country. Anyway, did you happen to see Nancy Pelosi in the background? One of two things was going on: 1) She either threw back about 9 cosmos before the speech started, or 2) she purposely infected herself with Typhoid in hopes she would infect Dick and/or George. That poor woman is a train wreck in ever sense of the term.
- Finally saw a couple of new movies recently:
- 3:10 to Yuma - Not bad, but not near as good as I was hoping. Liked the "old-style Western" story line, but I read in a couple of places that it was supposed to be as good or better than Unforgiven. Not even in the same ball park - Unforgiven was MUCH better in my opinion. I did like Russell Crowe though.
- The Bourne Ulimatum - I liked it the first time...when it was called the Bourne Identity....and then the second time when it was called the Bourne Supremacy. Entertaining, but literally, the exact same movies - all 3 of them.
- Rumor is that Microsoft is bidding $45 billion for Yahoo - how do you even comprehend a transaction like that? More interesting than the financial aspect of it is the fact that in this new world of Web 2.0 Google is new Microsoft - everyone is chasing them. Interesting....very interesting.
- Anyone else as fascinated as I am with the Republican primaries? Good entertainment right there.
- If you happen to get a "tax refund" from the Govt, do yourself (and all of us) a favor and do 1 of two things: 1) buy American-made products (not just products from American-run companies), or 2) pay down your debt.
- Memo to cnnsi.com - your advertising on your home page is way too intrusive and it makes me hate your site more and more every day.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 4:50 PM
1 Comments:
Speaking of Ricky Williams...I just watched him on "Pros vs. Joes" on SpikeTV. He ran over some dudes (granted they were not football players), but how sad is it that our former UT hero has stooped to a show like Pros vs. Joes for $$. He should be in the peak of his career with about $80 million in the bank. Mark my word, next stop for Ricky: The Surreal Life.
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