Dangerous Dollar Bill

Champions

2012-02-06T19:55:00.005-07:00

Where to even begin?

The Giants have done it again. Four years after a run that appeared to be once in a lifetime.

24 hours later and I am still trying to fully digest what has happened, but here are a few thoughts.

Eli Manning now has a legacy. Beyond "super clutch" I don't know quite what it is, but I know he no longer deserves being compared to his brother, or anyone. He's his own man, and has his own special chapter in NFL history.

Tom Coughlin is a Hall of Fame coach. I say that for lack of a better term, because the Hall of Fame itself is so arbitrary and has Peter King voting on it. But needless to say, Coughlin isn't on the hot seat anymore. Nor can anyone question whether his players love playing for him, and can still be reached by his methods.

Like I said, for me it's still sinking in, but there is a strange feeling at this point. After being all-in for an entire season that was never short on drama, there is no game next Sunday. No heavily favored opponent. No confident yet nervous feelings leading up to the game. No superstitions. (I can now cut my hair, wash my Sunday t-shirt, and not insist certain people are seated next to me while watching the game.) It's really over. 32 teams, and the Giants were the ones left standing. Again.

Yes, there is no game next Sunday. No game for about six months, in fact. Somehow though, with the tape of this game that I'll probably watch a few times over again, I think I'll make it through the long spring and summer.

(Actually, I'll be able to enjoy it more the second time, after having been too on-edge to do so while it was happening.)

Finally, on another personal note, I couldn't have picked a better year to really immerse myself in a Giants season like never before. I tried to write almost every week, and by the 2nd half of the season, Drew and I had the podcast going almost every week. This all has been a blast, and thanks for coming along on the journey with me.

They got it right

2012-02-04T16:51:00.005-07:00

I was quite critical of the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year when Curtis Martin, the NFL's 4th all-time leading rusher, was passed up for enshrinement. And while it's still a year late, they deserve a small amount of credit for doing the right thing and voting him in this year.

Curtis was remarkably consistent and durable, a great all-around back who could catch and block with the best of them, and according to just about anyone who knows him, is a great human being.

Congratulations to Curtis Martin for now being recognized as one of the greatest players who ever lived - a distinction that most of us who watched him play, knew all along.

Sports Limelight Podcast - Episode 12

2012-02-03T18:31:00.002-07:00

Bill and Drew look back on the AFC and NFC Championship games, preview Super Bowl XLVI, make their final predictions, and count down their top 5 Super Bowls of all time.

Battle Tested

2012-01-23T20:16:00.003-07:00

After being taken to the brink by a remarkably tough opponent, on the road, in terrible weather conditions, the Giants are Super Bowl bound.

It wasn't pretty, and I credit the 49ers for that, especially their defense. And it took some really heads-up special teams plays by Jacquain Williams and Devin Thomas, off of gaffes by 49ers' punt return man Kyle Williams. But championship teams find a way to win, and this team did exactly that, while minimizing their own mistakes.

I can still hardly believe it, but I've got plenty of time to come to grips with it now - as much as I wish this game could be played tomorrow, the Super Bowl is 13 days away. For now, I'll just say I like the Giants' chances. They open as 3 1/2 point underdogs, but I was more afraid of the 49ers than I am of the Patriots.

The Giants have faced so many challenges this year, and I believe those challenges have toughened them up to become what they have become, over the past 5 games.

What a season it's been...but there is still one more game to win.

Sports Limelight Podcast - Episode 10

2012-01-21T11:22:00.002-07:00

Bill and Drew preview and predict the AFC & NFC Championship games, and rank their top 5 favorite conference championship games.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Astounding

2012-01-16T20:33:00.005-07:00

37-20 over the 15-1 Packers. That's not just a big road win, that's domination.

Watching this team make nothing look easy over their first 14 games, I still almost can't believe what I'm seeing.

In the 2nd quarter in Week 16 against the Jets, the Giants trailed 7-3, when Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz on a 3rd and 10 from the Giants' own 1 yard-line. Since Cruz sidestepped two Jets defenders and went the remaining 99 yards for the TD, the Giants have outscored the Jets, Cowboys, Falcons, and Packers, by a combined score of 118-43. It's as if they were sparked into becoming a completely different team.

Now, on to San Francisco for a rematch. The 49ers are awfully tough, and not to be overlooked. When watching their matchup with the Saints the day before, I was struck by how physical they are, and how well they tackle. I'll be shocked if the NFC Championship is a blowout for either side. But the way the Giants are playing, they can beat anyone.

And a last note - I don't usually get into the "bulletin board material" kind of stuff because at this point in the season, no player needs extra motivation. But I was amazed at what I heard from Vernon Davis when he was interviewed during halftime of Giants-Packers.

Davis was asked if he was rooting for the Packers or Giants. Every time I've previously heard an athlete asked this question, they have been diplomatic and not answered it. But Davis flat out said, he wanted the Giants to win. I understand he likes to play at home, but after what he saw done to the Packers yesterday, as the saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for."

The goal now? Finish it.

Shameless promotion

2012-01-16T09:28:00.004-07:00

I have not yet pimped the Sports Limelight podcast with Bill and Drew in this space, so please allow me to do so here.

Both of your esteemed hosts, while very raw at their craft, picked the Giants to defeat the Packers yesterday.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Obviously, more on the Giants thrilling victory still to come.

LOL HOF

2012-01-11T11:53:00.004-07:00

If I may interrupt the awesomeness of a Giants playoff week...Barry Larkin was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 86% of the vote. Okay, fine, 86% seems super high for a guy who, while good, wasn't a superstar, but whatever, he's in...

And Bernie Williams received just 10% of the vote? And still no Don Mattingly? Really? I have vowed to no longer give Halls of Fame the time of day in the past, but this seems especially ridiculous and anti-Yankee. Larkin was pretty good with his career 116 OPS+, played good defense at an important position, and has a ring. But then to mostly ignore Williams with his career 125 OPS+, also good defense at an important position, and 4 rings? And if the voters think Larkin's 3 gold gloves are meaningful...Williams had 4.

But then I guess I'm sleeping on Larkin for his 1995 MVP award. Williams never won one. Larkin's MVP season: .319/394/492, 133 OPS+, gold glove. Williams' best year, 1998: .339/422/575, 160 OPS+, gold glove. He finished 7th in the MVP voting that year.

Also, while Larkin didn't have control over playing on teams as good as Williams did...not for nothing, just look at where Williams ranks in the following lists for all-time playoff numbers:

Runs - 2nd

Hits - 2nd

Total bases - 2nd

Doubles - 2nd

HR - 2nd

RBI - 1st

Walks - 3rd

Halls of Fame don't really matter, we know this. But come on baseball, if you're going to pretend your Hall of Fame is important, at least try to get it right.

Thrill ride continues

2012-01-11T09:21:00.005-07:00

Like the motto they have seemed to adopt for 2011-12, I am "All In" with these Giants.

After a nightmare start with one injury after another to key players, they're the healthiest they've been all season.

The offense, after a hiccup against the Redskins and Jets (pre-Cruz 99 yard TD), is back to its explosive self, and now with finally a threat to run the ball well.

The defense is playing as well as it has all season, after Perry Fewell simplified things towards the end of the season after the secondardy had been leaving gaping holes all year. I'd ask, "Where have these adjustments been the first 14 games?" but that would just be nit-picking at this point. All that matters is the present.

I've been critical of Gilbride and Quinn, and super critical of Fewell, but that's in the past, and I'm 100% behind them for this game, and believe they'll each be prepared with a good scheme for their units. And above all, I believe Coughlin will have them ready, down to every detail, to play a competitive game against a Packers team with an almost unstoppable offense...but a defense that can be scored upon.

Will it be enough? We'll see. A playoff run can end suddenly, so I'm going to enjoy it for however long it lasts. But I'm about as confident as I can possibly be in a 9-7 team going on the road to face a 15-1 team as 9 point underdogs.

This team believes, and they have me believing too.

A New Season

2012-01-03T21:26:00.004-07:00

It's been a sunny and warm start to January here in the Phoenix area, a symbol of the feeling I've had since the Giants defeated Dallas on Sunday night, punching their ticket to the playoffs and a matchup with Atlanta.

Before we look ahead, I'd like to look back at the season that was. Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin have done a remarkable job this season in getting this team to the playoffs, considering Coughlin's ability to keep them fighting in spite of the injuries to key players pretty much from the start of camp, and the depth Reese gave this roster even though it seemed the Giants were sitting on their hands and not improving, while the Eagles were building a "dream team" in free agency. But there's something to be said for stability and continuity. Kevin Gilbride has been Eli Manning's coordinator for 4 years now, and was his QB coach before that. Their comfort with each other shows, and Eli has had a season for the ages. (This is somewhat overshadowed by three other quarterbacks, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers, having even more amazing seasons. A lot of other years, Eli Manning would have been MVP, but I can't blame voters for placing Eli likely a distant fourth this year.)

On defense, I'm still not the biggest Perry Fewell fan, but it seems his unit is starting to peak at the right time, with the secondary finally clamping down after being gashed all season, and the pass rush firing on all cylinders.

If the oddsmakers are any indication, the Falcons and Giants are as evenly matched as it gets. The Giants are a 3 point favorite, and usually the standard in setting the line is to grant 3 points to the team playing at home.

I have no idea what's going to happen Sunday, but I can't wait to find out.

Time to retire this one

2011-12-31T17:43:00.008-07:00

We could probably all name a ton of sayings we are tired of, and I certainly have my fair share. But one lately has vaulted to the top of the list for me, and needs to go, post haste. It's not just a saying, but a specific use of it with a punchline.

You know the thing where someone says, "If I had a nickel for every time X happened..." So far, it's okay. But then they follow up it with pretend thinking, and say "...I'd have a whole bunch of nickels!" (Just tell me you can't close your eyes and picture John Krasinski or Whitney Cummings saying that.) Like, I would have so many nickels I can't estimate an exact number, so I just say 'a whole bunch' and it's cute and endearing! Derp!

Yeah, that's got to stop. It's so used up, and so hacky, that stand-up comedians talking about air travel seems novel by comparison.

So it all comes down to this

2011-12-28T13:36:00.005-07:00

Cowboys at Giants, Sunday night, for the NFC East title.

A Giants win makes this season of hair-pulling ups and downs all worthwhile.

A Giants loss would be a microcosm of the aforementioned hair-pulling Giants fans have been doing all year.

Just in the last two weeks, the Giants lost at home to the Redskins 23-10, looking like they didn't want to be on the field. They then silenced* Rex Ryan and the Jets, in a road game in the new Giants Stadium, 29-14.

(Technically not "silenced" because he kept talking after the game.)

Anyway, what to expect Sunday, besides the unexpected? Let's draw from what we learned over the first 15 games.

Going in the Giants' favor, is that this is a big game, and when they've come out fired up (or at least not completely flat), they've played well against good teams. Dallas is a good team.

Also going in the Giants' favor, they're playing Tony Romo in December. As much as the Giants have collapsed towards the end of the season the last 3 years, the Cowboys have done it just the same.

Going against the Giants however - it's at home. They're 3-4 at home this season, and the wins have come against Miami, Buffalo, and St. Louis. And two of the losses have come against Washington and Seattle. I'd almost rather they be on the road in a big game like this, especially in Dallas where they're 3-0 in that new stadium.

Also going against the Giants, this game has been flexed to prime time. This is more anectodal than factual, and like Peter King I give up on doing actual research that takes more than 2 minutes, but it seems the Giants save their worst performances for night games. (Though more so Monday nights than Sunday nights).

For the 2011 Giants, this was the only way the regular season could have ended all along: One game, with everything on the line. Somehow I have a sneaking suspicion it won't come easy.

Richard Lawson is streets behind

2011-12-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

My friend Chris forwarded to me this blurb in The Atlantic Wire. It's just one paragraph, I hadn't yet talked about the benching and possible cancellation of my current favorite show Community, and as a bonus this crosses into the sports world definitely once and arguably twice:

Good grief. Community, a good show in danger of being canceled by NBC, has fans. Well, saying that Community has fans is sort of like saying the Red Sox have people who like to watch their games from time to time. Meaning, Community fans tend to err on the side of crazy. They are both evangelical and oddly protective of their beloved show and are thoroughly convinced that anyone who doesn't like it is some sort of evil simp. This is a wild generalization to be sure, but it's also totally true. So now, just when we thought they couldn't get more irksome, some Community fans have decided to hold one of modern's society's more annoying events: a flash mob. Yes, they'll be storming 30 Rockefeller Center, home of NBC, tomorrow to protest the show's jeopardized status. They'll be singing Christmas tunes and wearing fake beards and oh god just being so annoying. Sorry, guys. Community is a good show! But nothing merits a flash mob. Just absolutely nothing.

The stuff about flash mobs is mostly true - they are pretty annoying and nothing merits them. NBC executives certainly deserve worse treatment; just not a flash mob specifically. But two snippets merit further inspection...

Well, saying that Community has fans is sort of like saying the Red Sox have people who like to watch their games from time to time.

Here's a little secret that most of us sports fans know about our fellow sports fans across the country: We're all not so different. Red Sox fans are no more passionate than any other fan base. Oh, they sure think they are, so I tend to believe the piece's author, Richard Lawson, is himself a Red Sox fan, and was trying to throw in a, "You see, we Red Sox fans are soooo passionate you guys..." If he wanted to make a comparison to a fan base's uncommon passion in the face of heartbreak, he would have gone with Cubs or Vikings fans. But that's the thing about Red Sox fans - there's more narcissism, more "Woe is us" even after they won a couple titles, more "We care more than you," and especially more "If you are not from Boston you cannot possibly understand what it means to be a fan of sports."

They are both evangelical and oddly protective of their beloved show and are thoroughly convinced that anyone who doesn't like it is some sort of evil simp.

No, we just don't like NBC canceling a great show we love. I've always been fascinated by how often the likelihood of Person A calling Person B's behavior "odd," is the extend to which they disagree with it. It's just about the cheapest troll comment there is, and I could say that about anything; "What's the deal with this bizarre, oddly protective way people get about the Phoenix Suns?" If I don't like the Suns, I just marginalized their fans by saying their level of adoration is inconsistent with where I deem it should be. And that example doesn't even give the full effect, because with the Suns no one is TRYING TO TAKE THE TEAM AWAY and move it to Baltimore or something. Also, unlike Community - champions of Being Awesome - the Suns have zero championships in their 42 year history.

I fear I may have just crossed into troll territory myself with that last comment (no rings LOL U mad?), so I'll just end here. Save Community!

Two different teams

2011-12-13T16:42:00.003-07:00

The headline this week could be a bit misleading.

What I'm not saying, is that the Giants seem to be two different teams: the one that shows up to beat teams like Dallas, New England, or almost beat Green Bay, when they came in as underdogs...and the one that loses to Seattle, the Eagles at home, or got embarrassed on a Monday night in New Orleans.

Nor am I saying Jason Pierre-Paul and most of the rest of the Giants' defense, belong on two different teams - or even, in two different leagues. Though that does often seem like the case.

It's yet a third description: Over the past three games, it's as if the Giants' offense, and the Giants defense, are two different teams, playing against each other. The offense has got to score enough to overcome the defense's ineptitude. Against the Cowboys, this formula worked. Against Green Bay, it almost did but fell just short. Against the Saints, it wasn't even close. This week, a lot of the focus is on the repeated problem of blown coverages.

And looking at the front seven again, I just haven't seen any imagination from Perry Fewell in the way of blitzes - or more specifically, disguising them - all year. I realize not everyone is Dick LeBeau. And many might point out that all the injuries have limited what Fewell can do. However, to that I would say, that creates even more need to be creative and deceptive. And that's when he blitzes at all, which has been rare this season. He finally blitzed when he brought 7 or 8 on that Dallas 3rd down with just over two minutes remaining, when Tony Romo overthrew a wide open Miles Austin, who had torched Aaron Ross in single coverage. The Giants really dodged a bullet there. I did still like the blitz call, though I don't quite understand why he can't just bring one extra guy for the blitz; why do they have to rush either 3 or 4, or 7 or 8...and nothing in between? Like most things in life, the sweet spot is in moderation. Bring the front four plus Kiwanuka (a great pass rusher playing linebacker) sometimes. The opposing QB won't have forever to throw (unless Pierre-Paul beats a double team) and you'll still have 6 in coverage.

It's not all gloom this week, of course. Pierre-Paul is force. Eli Manning is truly a great quarterback, and the Giants are never out of a game with him under center. (Or with him in the shotgun, with inconsistent snaps from otherwise solid Kevin Boothe.)

Speaking of the offensive line, whenever starting center and big money free agent signing David Baas is healthy, I'd like him to stay on the bench - the combination of Boothe at center, Mitch Petrus at guard, and David Diehl at tackle on the left side, has really sparked the run game, which had flat out stunk until two weeks ago when this change was made.

And to take a step back...what a game. One for the ages, and the Giants have bought themselves three extra weeks to get their act together on defense so they could actually make some noise in the playoffs if they can get there. Next up, a Redskins team that has nothing to play for, but is still playing hard. On paper this should finally be a game the Giants win big. But I know better than to expect that. And John Mara said it best: “It’d be nice to have an easy one, but I don’t think that’s in our DNA.”

Same movie, different week

2011-12-04T18:52:00.007-07:00

I've really run out of creative ways to say "this Giants team drives me crazy." Instead I'm just going to shoot from the hip.

I am sick of trying to put positive spins on losses that should have been wins. I couldn't care less that the Giants "hung in there" against an undefeated team. There are no moral victories. You need to actually win the game.

For an undefeated team, the Packers weren't very impressive to me. They dropped a lot of passes. They got a gift TD when Greg Jennings never had possession of the ball in the end zone before Prince Amukamara knocked it away. They got another gift when a 4th and 20 was turned into a 1st down on a ticky-tack illegal contact penalty on Jacquian Williams. I realize that "fan of the losing team whining about referee calls" is just about as low as it gets, and I try never to be that guy...but if you get one "Referees blew the game" challenge flag per season, I'm using it here. A few friends and I like to joke that touching Tom Brady is a penalty...apparently "being a rookie against the beloved Green Bay offense" is also going to cost you dearly.

Nonetheless, this was another game lost by the coordinators. And it will never change. Coughlin, who I still believe to be a good coach, is too loyal to these morons and won't fire them.

Tom Quinn's special teams. If the Giants got one explosive play from special teams, just one, it would be a miracle.

Kevin Gilbride's offense. I've seen a lot worse from ol' Killdrive, and for the most part I liked what he did today. But the 3rd and 8 quick screen attempt to D.J. Ware was a joke. And he got lucky on the shotgun draw working for the 2-point conversion. That was the first time that play worked all year.

Perry Fewell's defense. I think I could call a better defense on my Madden video game. You know why I think that? Because I CAN CALL A BETTER DEFENSE ON MY MADDEN VIDEO GAME. Fewell calls an awful game, but oh can he talk tough during the week! What a great approach it is to talk tough during the week, hoping to distract from the fact that you suck at your job and not get fired. I don't know how many more times Fewell can possibly call his stupid 3 or 4 man rush, with a soft zone behind it, on 3rd and long, only to watch the QB have forever to throw, and find someone wide open beyond the sticks. It's more predictable than a punchline on the NBC sitcom, "Whitney." Oh, you don't watch Whitney? That's okay, neither does anyone. But it's staying on the winter schedule yet Community is going away. Maybe NBC is run by Perry Fewell too.

I'm also sick of the injuries. Injuries are part of the game, but why are the Giants among the most injured teams every single year? At some point they should take a look at the strength and conditioning coaches. And the field turf in the new Giants Stadium (I don't care if it's called the "New Meadowlands," I've made my choice) is no excuse. The Jets play on the same field and don't have nearly the same amount of injuries the Giants do.

And you know what the worst part is? I can't do the logical thing and simply admit what's staring me in the face, that this 6-6 team simply isn't very good. I'll be furious over this loss until about Wednesday...then the rest of the week I'll be deluding myself with playoff scenarios, and how they just need to manage to beat Dallas twice and they're champions of a mediocre NFC East. Beat Dallas twice? This team can't beat anyone right now.

Step right up!

2011-11-21T08:47:00.005-07:00

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Inside Madness: A Live Blog

2011-11-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

I hope to truly "live blog" at least one Giants game this season - I still haven't gotten around to it yet with just 6 games left - but in the meantime, here's the next best thing, a rundown of every comment I made on NJ.com's live blog during the Giants' 17-10 loss to the Dream Team Sunday night.

Some of the comments lack context as I'm replying to people, but if you watched this game you will understand anyway. (And also if you watched this game...I'm sorry.) So, if you want to relive the 2nd worst regular season loss in Giants' franchise history,* read on!

*I don't know how official any of these rankings really are.

--------------------------

WELCOME TO THE NFL PRINCE AMUKAMARA! WOOOOO!

8:46PM

For 9 weeks we were saying "Kevin Who..." Suddenly I miss Boss.

9:57PM

Plenty of football left to be played, including this drive. Get some points here!

9:58PM

Injuries seem to sweep through the Giants by position...looks like it's RB now.

10:01PM

F for the offense, F for special teams, and D- for the defense. (Grading on a curve because Young is horrible...a halfway decent QB would be up 28-0 right now the way the Giants played in the 1st half.)

10:03PM

Silver lining...as horrible as the Giants have played in this first half, they're only down 7. They play a decent 2nd half, and can win this game running away.

10:11PM

For the life of me I cannot understand how the Giants are the only team this year that can't run on the Eagles. 120 yards per game for the Eagles' run defense, and the Giants can't do a thing on the ground tonight.

10:17PM

7 more games left in Jacobs' Giants career. I don't know if it's a physical breakdown at his advancing age, or a lack of will, but he's a shell of his old self. If we can see this from our couches, surely the Giants coaching staff sees it.

10:21PM

Was just thinking on that last run...eventually, while McCoy's fighting for extra yards carrying the ball like that, the Giants have got to punch it out.

10:24PM

Might have been a season-saving INT there for Ross.

10:36PM

True to form in the 4th so far! 10-10, let's go Giants! Keep the momentum now defense.

10:53PM

No pass rush whatsoever tonight. Even VY will find someone open eventually.

11:00PM

How many times have we seen a 2nd and 15 or so, Giants rush 3, opponents picks up 12 or more yards. Don't make it so easy for them to get chunks back.

11:03PM

Just can't get off the field on 3rd down. Iggles are what, 4-for-4 on this drive?

11:04PM

Annnnnd Kiwanuka's down...just perfect. That's the 2011 season in a nutshell, eh?

11:08PM

Back in...huge sigh of relief.

11:11PM

And the Giants turn another scrub QB into a hero. To update list: Grossman, Whitehurst, Smith, Young.

11:18PM

One for the "You're gonna wish you could have it back" column

2011-11-16T09:53:00.004-07:00

A brutal loss for the Giants Sunday, 27-20 in San Francisco. They committed way too many mental mistakes, something you just can't do against a playoff team on the road.

But here's the positive outlook. In spite of all of the following:

-Being unable to stop Alex Smith

-Allowing a surprise onside kick recovery

-Leaving Vernon Davis uncovered for an easy 31 yard TD

-Mario Manningham running the wrong route leading to Eli Manning's 2nd interception (a 3rd was nullified when the defender didn't get both feet down in bounds)

Again, all of this on the road against a 7-1 team...

The Giants didn't quit, fought back, and had a 3rd and 2 from the 49ers' 10 yard line before being stuffed on a draw to D.J. Ware for no gain (nice call, Gilbride), and a batted down pass on 4th down to seal their fate. It takes a talented team to be that close to a win in spite of all those maddening mistakes. Call me a delusion homer if you must, but although the 49ers are legit, I came away with the sense that the better team didn't win.

Going forward, I want to see less zone defense and more man-to-man, and more plays for Da'Rel Scott and less for D.J. Ware. To quote Jerry Maguire, when it comes to Ware and his skill set, "That's not what inspires people." This loss isn't the end of the world, but it's one that could really come back to haunt the Giants when they're losing out an a tiebreaker for playoff positioning at 10-6, or 9-7 or whatever.

They've got the Eagles this week, a game that has suddenly become crucial. The now 6-3 Giants can deliver a knockout blow to the 3-6 "Dream Team" and essentially make it a two team race between them and Dallas, while staying one game ahead of a Cowboys team that has a much more favorable remaining schedule than the Giants do.

Not Afraid

2011-11-10T08:05:00.005-07:00

Giants 24, Patriots 20. What a game, what a win, and what a nice 6-2 start. And can the Giants play the Patriots every year? The Giants keep winning close games, and give fans blood pressure tests in the process.

I try not to put too much into one game, win or lose, but with all the injuries, this was really a character-building type win. It wasn't perfect, but like the other 5 wins the Giants had banked against lesser opponents earlier in the year, they did what it took to get the W. The (depleted) secondary had their hands full but for the most part kept a top tier passing attack bottled up. The fumble by Ross on the punt return hurt, but the Giants didn't quit when they had seemingly lost all momentum. Jacobs ran like the Jacobs of old - and like he should have been running all along. Eli Manning continues to play like an elite QB...as one NJ.com commentor wrote, "I wonder if Tom Brady thinks he is in Eli's class?" Ramses Barden looks to belong, and Jake Ballard and Victor Cruz continue to prove they do. And the Pats had a 20 game home winning streak coming into the game. Again, the Giants seem to be pretty good at ending Patriots streaks.

As my friend Matt often points out, the Giants played to the level of their competition. Another theme to come from this win, is I am no longer afraid. Firstly with regards to anyone getting injured - with the only exception being Manning. This team really has a "next man up" quality to it. I'm also no longer afraid of the remaining schedule. Antrel Rolle is just about my least favorite Giant, but he produced the season's best quote last week and it's now even more meaningful..."We're not worried about our schedule, our schedule should be worried about us." Really, after beating a good team on the road without your #1 receiver, running back, and center, is there any reason to be afraid of the 49ers, Cowboys, Saints, or Jets? I think not. They are capable of beating anyone. There could be something special about this team.

Another escape...and heavy hitters await

2011-10-31T19:04:00.008-07:00

Before I get started, let me mention the Star Ledger and NJ.com's Mike Garafolo and his game reviews. As a fan I feel like I'm lucky he writes for the Giants. Here's this week's, you'll see what I mean. He covers everything so thoroughly that anything I thought about saying about a game Sunday night, as maybe the one key observation that I feel no one else will have...MG will say it in his review Monday, along with about twenty other observations that are even better. Of course, the downside to reading a guy this good, is that anything I say I feel like I'm copying him because he's already covered it. So when it comes to the Giants, I like to try to stick with the "macro" view at a given time knowing Mike's got the micro locked down. To that, then...

The Giants are now 5-2. First place in the NFC East by a full two games - but as I see it, still merely "par" for the first seven games, having won when they should have won (except for the Seahawks), and lost when they should have lost (except for the Eagles).

The "playing with fire" nature of the way they've had to come roaring back after sluggish starts to beat teams like the Cardinals and Dolphins, is concerning with respect to measuring up against the elite teams coming. But the good news is, once the game is over, all that matters is the win. (Barring of course, a wacky tiebreaker scenario where it goes all the way down to point differential.) Having banked 5 wins at this point, no matter how they came about, is a great position to be in. Granted, this team has a brutal schedule coming. But on the other hand, it's a team that hasn't really peaked yet - at least compared to the past three years when they looked unbeatable at this point in the season and were generally considered the NFC Super Bowl favorite.

First up in this "murder's row" is a visit to New England Sunday. The Patriots have won 20 consecutive regular season home games. But the Giants do have a pretty good history of ending Patriots streaks.

Bye Week Breather

2011-10-18T20:40:00.005-07:00

It's been a roller coaster ride over the first 6 weeks of the Giants season. They're terrible (losses to Redskins, Seahawks), they're great (win over Eagles), they're just okay enough to squeak by bad teams (wins over Rams, Cardinals), and finally, there's hope (win over Bills).

At this point I'll stick with how I saw it playing out so far. They're not very good, but with the exception of the brutal Seahawks loss they've won the games they needed to win in order to buy themselves some time to actually get good.

This bye week is coming at the perfect time. Tuck, Jacobs, Snee, and Amukamara were all out Sunday, but should all be ready for the Miami game in two weeks. And by then maybe they can finally start to see what they have in 6'6'' Ramses Barden, who has been on the PUP list.

I wrote two weeks ago about the apologies I owed people with relation to the Giants, and that included GM Jerry Reese. Let me further expand that by adding Plaxico Burress to the list of guys that for the most part have been non-factors with their new teams, along with Kevin Boss and Steve Smith.

Over their first 6 games, here is how these three have performed:

Burress - 14 receptions, 218 yards, 2 TD.

Smith - 5 receptions, 63 yards, 0 TD.

Boss - 7 receptions, 149 yards, 1 TD. This includes a 35 yard TD reception on a fake field goal during which he was uncovered.

Meanwhile, their replacements:

Jake Ballard - 15-273, 2 TD.

Victor Cruz - 21-398, 3 TD.

I can't really think of who the third replacement would be here, as Burress has been gone 3 years now anyway - but I don't even need one, as the Ballard/Cruz combo (36 receptions, 671 yards, 5 TD) has outperformed Smith, Boss, and Burress combined (26 receptions, 430 yards, 3 TD). And Eli Manning looks just as comfortable with Ballard and Cruz as he did with any of the guys who left. In fact, Manning has had one of the best stretches of his career over these first six games: 296.3 yards per game, 63.8%, 11 TD, 5 INT, 101.1 QB rating. These are elite numbers.

The competition gets a lot tougher after the Week 8 Miami game, but I'm looking forward to seeing what this team really is. So first, a bye week to rest up. And then...Let's go have ourselves a season.

Apology time

2011-10-03T12:49:00.006-07:00

The season's 1st quarter is complete, with the Giants sitting at 3-1. It hasn't been easy, but it's been a pleasant surprise for many, including this blogger, who expected doom in 2011. As a result, I owe apologies to the following people after a Giants 3-1 start.

GM Jerry Reese

Losing Steve Smith and Kevin Boss hurt. And with inexperienced Victor Cruz and Jake Ballard taking their places, it appeared Reese had really dropped the ball, having failed to find suitable replacements for key players. Instead, Cruz and Ballard have been just fine, and should only get better going forward. The time to pine for lost free agents is over.

Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride (often affectionately known as Kevin "Killdrive")

Gilbride had been my default whipping boy for whatever went wrong with the Giants' offense. He doesn't know what he's doing, I would say. No consistency. Doesn't play to the personnel's strengths. Sure, I'd still like to have the Redskins game back, in which Brandon Jacobs didn't touch the ball in the 2nd half. But since then, Gilbride has called good games, especially the last two. The offense has found a rhythm and come to life.

Osi Umenyiora

When a guy is injured while sulking over his contract, it's so easy to just say, "Who needs him, trade him and be rid of the headache." But Osi can still make an impact, and he was especially valuable yesterday with Justin Tuck out. What a boost a healthy Umenyiora can give the Giants over the remainder of the season.

Victor Cruz and Referee Jerome Boger

My immediate reaction was to be furious with Cruz for letting go of a seemingly live ball, after not being touched on the ground during the Giants' go-ahead drive late in the 4th quarter yesterday. But by rule, Boger made the right call. Although, Cruz should just take the ball back to the huddle with him for the rest of his career from now on, to be on the safe side. It would have been maddening to lose a game that way.

There is still a long way to go, and plenty of teams have started 3-1 or better in the NFL and not made the playoffs...but so far, so good.

Utterly Satisfying

2011-09-26T16:21:00.005-07:00

Giants 29, Dream Team 16.

It's been a rough past 3 years for the Giants, so at the risk of overreacting to one regular season victory...I'm going to savor this one. Make no mistake, this post isn't analysis, it's gushing. So here we go!

The Giants didn't play a flawless game, but they put it all together and showed what they are capable of. Eli Manning played mistake free. Victor Cruz made the most of his opportunity, in Mario Manningham's (temporary) and Domenik Hixon's (permanent) absences. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs ran hard, and Jacobs contributed unexpectedly in the passing game. Aaron Ross really responded after a subpar performance, and benching, last Monday night. The offensive line kept Eli upright and the running game on track. The defensive line made Vick uncomfortable all day (more on this in a moment). The linebackers, and the rest of the secondary, kept the Eagles' playmakers in check.

And much respect to the Giants' coaching staff on the game plan. On both sides of the ball, the Giants were well-prepared, and seemed to have the Eagles off balance.

A couple more things that brought me personal joy:

*The Giants just have a knack for making opponents cry, don't they? If you'll recall, it was the Giants who beat the Cowboys in the 2007-08 Divisional round, resulting in Terrell Owens' "That's my quarterback..." moment. Then last night, we saw Michael Vick whining about being on the ground all the time, implying that referees don't protect him enough. Maybe your offensive line couldn't protect you enough, under relentless pressure from the Giants' front four, Mike.

*Eagles' WR Steve Smith was a non-factor in this game, and Aaron Ross's first interception came after it bounced off Smith's hands. This isn't to say one game proves the Giants were vindicated for not being able to re-sign Smith and letting him go to the Eagles. And it is still disappointing to think about his defection. But over the past month or so, Smith sort of became better than he was in hindsight. Yes, he was good, but he had his flaws (drops from time to time, and not a deep threat), and wasn't the world-beating superstar that it's sometimes tempting to think of him as when remembering his time as a Giant.

I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this win for the next few days. But it's time for the Giants to keep the momentum going and immediately shift their focus to the next opponent, Arizona. A golden opportunity to take care of business and move to 3-1, in a stadium where they achieved the greatest victory in the history of sports less than four years ago.

This win doesn't solve all their problems, and there will surely be plenty more bumps along the 2011 road. But for now, as I said before Week 1, let's go have ourselves a season!

Case study on how not to run a business

2011-09-21T09:13:00.004-07:00

I am having fun reading the comments at the bottom of this Netflix announcement. For all the jokes we make about the average person or consumer being dumb, this is a great example of not a single customer being fooled by an egregious rate hike and accompanying corporate spin-job.

I'm honestly impressed...Netflix has handled things so badly, that they've united 100% of respondents' opinions in one direction. Do you realize how hard it is to get every last person to agree on anything? Especially on the Internet? If I posted a blog called "Food and water are necessary to live," and enough people respond, I think a disagreement would break out eventually.

The great thing about our free market is that a company run this poorly, is going away. Blockbuster, Hulu, and Amazon are coming for you Netflix.

Classless

2011-09-15T12:33:00.005-07:00

In an interview this week, Patriots' Quarterback, troll genius, and spygate beneficiary Tom Brady urges fans to get nice and drunk before their home game Sunday against the Chargers.

Great idea. Fans are stabbing and shooting each other, and beating each other into comas, but by all means everybody get "lubed up" before coming into the stadium. Oh never mind, the Patriots' PR person just explained he meant to drink water and stay hydrated. Don't you just love when you're talked to like you're stupid?

Say, wasn't Brady the opposing QB for the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory, the greatest in the history of sports?

The single dumbest thing ever said about baseball

2011-09-14T16:08:00.011-07:00

Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th career save yesterday. He now trails current record holder Trevor Hoffman by 1. Saves are one of the least important stats in baseball, but some people think they are important. Rivera is the greatest pitcher who ever lived, but when he breaks the record for saves, that will not be the reason why.

Anyway, I don't know how I missed this a couple weeks ago, but better late than never...

Ted Leitner, San Diego Padres' radio play-by-play announcer, on August 22, at the ceremony to retire Trevor Hoffman's number:

"And I know baseball fans...baseball broadcasters...we love to argue. So we argue who's better, who's the best. But there is no argument. This is not a Padre broadcast bias, it's not a Padre fan bias. We know this. The only true measure of a closer is how many saves did you get. So today without any fear of argument I tell you that today the San Diego Padres retire the number of truly by that benchmark - the only benchmark - the greatest closer in the history of major league baseball."

Stare. Blink. Stare. I don't even know where to begin. This statement has already been torn apart, and this is one of those times I wish FJM was still around because no one did it better...but it would be kind of lazy for me to say absolutely nothing, so here goes...

But there is no argument.

NO ONE DENIES THIS!

This is not a Padre broadcast bias, it's not a Padre fan bias.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

We know this.

Have you seen Mariano Rivera pitch?

The only true measure of a closer is how many saves did you get.

Some might offer up that ERA, or WHIP, among other things, might be a better measure. How about postseason performance?

Hoffman: 13 innings, 3.46 ERA, with 4 precious, only-measure-being saves.

Rivera: 139 2/3 innings, 0.71 ERA, 42 saves. And 5 championship rings.

Is that cherry picking? How about just leaving it at regular season performance then...over their entire careers, Rivera's ERA has been greater than half a run less than Hoffman's (2.22 to 2.87). Hoffman pitched his entire career in the National League. ERA+: Hoffman, 141. That's really good. 14th all-time, in fact. Rivera, 205. That's highest of any pitcher who ever lived. To put it in perspective just how far and away Rivera is the best, Pedro Martinez is 2nd in ERA+, at 154. But by all means go on, Mr. Saves...

So today without any fear of argument

Again with the "No one dare argue with me, the subject is closed" gambit. Always a secure move. "Vin Diesel is the best actor ever and I fear no challenge because there is no other way to measure this other than how many cars blew up in his movies."

I tell you that today the San Diego Padres retire the number of truly by that benchmark - the only benchmark - the greatest closer in the history of major league baseball."

The sad thing is that Mo is about to pass Hoffman on the all-time saves list - the one metric Leitner thought was safe, and could use to call Hoffman "the best." What, like Mo wasn't going to get another 10 saves or so in his career at that point in August?

Look, I know you were there to honor Trevor Hoffman, but you could have done that by talking about his longevity, how he was beloved by the fans of San Diego for so many years, or how he's among the best of his generation. But you can't just say whatever and not expect to be called on it.

2011 Giants Preview

2011-09-08T15:55:00.014-07:00

I like to play the "win-loss-win-loss" game with the schedule every year, but it doesn't seem like it would work this year. (As if it works other years, right?)

Every time I look at the schedule game-by-game I come up with 8-8, yet the way the preseason went, I just want to throw up my hands and proclaim, "Season's over, 5-11." And that disastrous preseason came after losing Steve Smith, Barry Coefield, and Kevin Boss to free agency. Either way, I can't confidently predict playoffs, and I'm trying to fight a feeling of impending doom that would make me the kind of "Woe is us" fan I have always vowed not to become - even though that would arguably be understandable the way the past three seasons have gone. I wouldn't call it "karma" because that would imply the Giants have done something to deserve the bad luck, but I do have a theory that because 2007 was so incredible - greatest victory in the history of anything, remember - that the football gods feel they need to punish the Giants to balance things out in the grand scheme of things.

As you can already tell, much like my league preview I don't have a cohesive approach here. But what I do have, are a few reasons the Giants could have a good season. In spite of six defensive players lost for the season, I'm selling optimism!

*The Giants have too much talent on paper to go 5-11, or be a team that's out of the hunt early. Sure, they lost some key players, but in a league with so much parity, it takes a special kind of dysfunction to win 5 games or less. You almost have to go out of your way to be that bad.

*The 2007 Giants were not predicted to be a juggernaut before that season began. And this team seems to perform best when expectations are low.

*The first half of the schedule appears to be soft. A good chance for the new players to gel, and time for the injuries that actually didn't put the players out for the season, like those to Prince Amukamara (foot) and Osi Umenyiora (knee), to heal before the competition really ramps up.

*Hey, at least the Giants don't have the Colts' problem: Franchise QB out indefinitely. As irreplacable as Terrell Thomas and Jonathan Goff seemed, neither are Peyton Manning. I believe in Jerry Reese's ability to evaluate talent and build a deep team with capable backups. Aaron Ross and rookie Greg Jones, it's your time to shine.

Now, let's go have ourselves a season!

2011 NFL Preview

2011-09-08T15:49:00.002-07:00

In past years, I've released more of a structured season preview, for both the Giants, and the NFL as a whole. This year, I either didn't have the time, the heart, a cohesive enough vision...or all three...to be able to put it all together.

But to do the bare minimum (What do you think of someone who only does the bare minimum?)...here are my playoff picks.

NY Jets

Baltimore

Houston

San Diego

New England (WC)

Pittsburgh (WC)

AFC Championship: NY Jets over New England

Philadelphia

Green Bay

New Orleans

St. Louis

Atlanta (WC)

Dallas (WC)

NFC Championship: Philadelphia over Green Bay

And in my nightmare scenario Super Bowl, which I will title "Unbearabowl XLVI," the Eagles defeat the Jets, as the Eagles' dog killing QB narrowly escapes Jets' defenders, and sideline-tripping strength trainers, to lead the Eagles to their first Lombardi Trophy. Like Alien vs. Predator, the headline for this one: "No matter who wins, we lose."

Understatement of the (early) season

2011-09-08T15:16:00.004-07:00

The normally money Greg Cosell, on WTEM 980 in Washington with Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban, when asked where the Giants will be hurt most by their injuries:

"I think defensively."

Moneyball

2011-09-07T21:18:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite books was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt that opens September 23. While the book was great, I wonder how they'll give it the kind of story arc one would expect from Hollywood. Unnecessary love story for Billy Beane?

I'm going with a Fight Club type twist...BILLY BEANE AND PAUL DEPODESTA WERE THE SAME GUY ALL ALONG!

Also, I wonder if Joe Morgan will pan it without having seen it.

Just wonderful

2011-08-07T10:19:00.003-07:00

If you haven't seen Steve Sabol presenting his father Ed Sabol for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and have 10 minutes to spare, give it a look.

It's got a short biography on Ed Sabol, pre-NFL Films, the story of the start of NFL Films, and one last Ed Sabol directed short, including so many of the classic captures we've come to love, with narration from John Facenda underneath them.

I really hope the rumors aren't true, about what the NFL Network is doing to NFL Films. But even if they are, and this amazing company will never be the same, nothing can take away the 50 years of gems NFL Films has given us.

Quick joke

2011-07-17T19:15:00.002-07:00

I am very much against tattoos. To show this, I have a giant tattoo on my back of a man with no tattoos.

Do us a favor

2011-06-28T14:18:00.002-07:00

If anyone from Yahoo or ESPN reads this site, please take note. When posting a headline regarding the NBA lockout, you'd be best served to specifically denote - with bold, italicized, or even different colored print, that you are talking about the NBA, and not the NFL.

See, when I read a headline like, "Players, owners still $8 billion apart" or "Negotiations deadlocked," with no denotation of what league you're referring to, I'm not going to assume you mean the NBA lockout, which Bill Simmons and 5 other people care about. You know very well that the NFL is the default setting for the rest of us. Stop misleading us into clicking your headline because we think it's the league we actually care about. This is akin to putting something like "New York 4, Boston 2" on an update crawl, and not indicating that it's a women's soccer score and not a baseball one.

First ever guest post

2011-06-28T13:41:00.001-07:00

My buddy is a fan of the Phoenix Suns (but I love him anyway, harf harf harf), who wrote a number of articles for "thebrightsideofthesun" on SBNation.com. However, last week, after posting a commentary about censorship and tolerance, his post was deleted and he was banned from further participation on that site. In short, he was censored and not tolerated.

Because it is provocative, topical, and touches on one of my favorite topics - control through language manipulation - I felt his banned commentary deserved posting here. I can only guess that some reader of this blog skimmed the post, saw it used the word "gay" a lot, and while missing the point completely, deemed my friend to be a hate-monger and reported him to whatever entity controls the site. Then that entity went ahead and banned him, while not actually reading it either. But you can judge for yourself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why Censorship, The NBA, & Grant Hill are gay".

Once upon a recent time, Kobe Bryant called someone gay. I have no idea if he used the word gay, or something some would find more derogatory, like faggot or queer. For his non-crime against no specific person, he was fined $100,000. That is a lot of dinero. There may very well be some other instances around the league, but I did not bother wasting my time looking into it because it is ultimately irrelevant. What is confusing here is that the NBA is trying to promote tolerance, while being intolerant.

I do not know when it came out, but Grant Hill and Jarred Dudley were involved in an NBA commercial urging individuals to use the word "gay" as only a term for homosexuals. I did not bother to verify whether or not Steve Nash did a similar thing, but I heard he has. To my fellow Sun's fans, let me say, "BAMF is the BAMFiest of any BAMFer who ever tried to BAMF". I would like to apply that statement to both Steve and Jarred. Classy is another word I would like to use for these three. Do you recall Grant's response to Jalen Rose calling him an "Uncle Tom"? Remember how powerful that answer was? Where is that response to this issue? I can tell you. It's missing. Because of that, gay is the word I am using to wrap up my feelings about these commercials. Gay, gay, gay.

It is fine that these three are involved in the NBA commercials. The NBA, and subsequently, the teams and players, have a desire to present themselves in the best manner possible. Totally cool. It's why they acknowledge things like Hispanic Heritage (Los Suns anyone?). It is why they do any number of promotions. To be an all inclusive organization. Fantastic. But let's be a bit more honest with ourselves.

When the NBA, government, individual, and so on and so on, engage in telling people how to use a word, they are not being active participants in a conversation. They are trying to control the use of words and their definitions, or, to cut to the chase, mind control. It is your individual responsibility to decide how you will use a word.

And seriously, how many openly gay players are in the NBA? Zero at my last count. Who is the NBA defending here? Why is it a big deal when the Phoenix Suns' executive Rick Welts admitted to being gay? Because this is not about tolerance, it is about controlling how you think.

What did the Kobe Bryant incident show us? He used a slur, got fined, there is no actual victim, and behind the scenes, anti-gay sentiment remains within the league, teams, and locker rooms. Let us even be more clear. Kobe Bryant is an American Citizen, who has the right, per the 1st Amendment, to say stupid, stupid things. Even in the NBA, this right cannot be taken away. It doesn't matter what K.B. actually said. What ever it was, that word does not say anything about homosexuals, at all. It only exposes the mind from which those words came. Same with any other word. So, where is the tolerance for morons?

Finally, words gain, or change, meaning within the context (society) in which they are used. The "N-Bomb" has a different meaning within black culture than it does white culture. It is viewed differently now than it was 200 years ago. I may only be 31, but I remember when "gay" meant happy. Anyone else? Throughout society, with the way words, change, or add, meanings, "gay" has become synonymous with homosexual. "Gay" is now adding on the definitions of stupid, idiotic, and so on. But really, what's the problem here? By the NBA, Grant Hill, Steve Nash, & Jarred Dudley making these 'gay-mercials', they are showing a distinct lack of tolerance while simultaneously pretending to endorse it!

I think the most important lesson here is the one we were taught as children. I believe it goes something like, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". But don't take my word for it, I'm really gay.

Too easy, but I'll take it

2011-05-25T09:05:00.005-07:00

The Penn State men's basketball team lost their main arena for a week in February so that the band Bon Jovi could practice. I don't think any amount of rehearsal could help Bon Jovi sound better.

Trent Dilfer is a champion

2011-05-23T22:02:00.002-07:00

Any argument that plays to an exception, rather than a rule, annoys me. In sports, I don't hear any example more than when someone says that any lousy quarterback can win a Super Bowl, and point to Trent Dilfer. I have no choice but to veto its use in any discussion.

Dilfer played with perhaps the best defense ever assembled. But was he really that bad? Let's compare him to the man generally known as the best QB never to win a Super Bowl, Dan Marino...

Dilfer 2000-01 playoff stats (fun with small sample sizes): 3 TD, 1 INT, 83.7 Rating.

Marino career playoff stats: 32 TD, 24 INT, 77.1 Rating. (8-10 career playoff record)

For comparison, Marino's career regular season record was 147-93, with 420 TDs to 252 INTs, and an 86.4 QB rating.

Dilfer had an okay career, but this speaks to the importance of playing your best in the postseason, and especially the Super Bowl.

And even if you still consider him a scrub, using the Dilfer argument just affirms that you realize 43 of the other 44 Super Bowls were won with a good-to-great QB. Take any other QB who won even one ring in his career, and I have respect for him as a champion. Doug Williams, Len Dawson, Ken Stabler, anyone...except Tom Brady who was cheating.

Yes, this is the kind of worthless sports drivel I occupy my mind with while the NFL is locked out. Next week, helmet power rankings! Wait, never mind, that's already been done. Uuuggghhhh.

The unease of dealing with aging stars

2011-05-20T14:31:00.008-07:00

Things are getting ugly with two Yankee legends, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. Posada is hitting .183 (with a .672 OPS) as of today, and Jeter is hitting .257 (.636 OPS). These two are the last remaining parts of the Yankee dynasty - along with Mariano Rivera of course - but Mo is as good as ever so doesn’t belong in this discussion.

So, what to do about Posada and Jeter? In a way, the Yanks are in danger of becoming victims of their own success. You can’t just boot a legend out the door, can you? To what point do you let them dictate their final years? As South Park's Funnybot said..."Awkward."

Posada and Jeter gave the Yankees many great seasons that will never be forgotten. But no one owes anybody here - they were paid handsomely for those years, and no one is above the team. I forgot who I first heard say it, but I'll repeat it here: If a legend, rather than a team, was the one to choose when it's time to go, Reggie Jackson would still be playing left field for the Yankees.

I’ve almost accepted the fate that the Yankees are going to miss the playoffs this year, thanks largely in part to Jeter and Posada being so subpar that they’re going to cost the Yankees several wins this season that “league average” players would not have lost in their place. And if these two suddenly go on a tear and play like it’s 1998 again, I’ll be happy to be wrong. But if they don’t recapture their career averages or anything close to them by the end of the season, I hope they’ll do the right thing and retire.

Thanks for the memories guys. But it’s almost time to go.

Side note: Whenever I hear the term “Core Four” used in reference to Rivera, Jeter, Posada, and Andy Pettitte, even now that Pettitte is retired, I always feel like they’re overlooking Bernie Williams. Williams also came up through the Yankees minor league system, was present for all four championships between 1996 and 2000, and played as big a part in winning them as anybody. But unlike Pettitte, Williams didn’t run off to Houston for 3 years with his buddy Roger Clemens (who was totally NAWT a true Yankee).

Tired

2011-05-02T09:38:00.007-07:00

No, this post isn't about the Foo Fighters' 2002 song "Tired Of You" featuring a guitar track contribution from Brian May. (By the way, their new album is terrific if you haven't heard it yet.) Rather, I wonder which is a more tired joke at this point: Charlie Sheen, or Donald Trump? In fact, if someone was to combine the two subjects, he'd have one unstoppable, worn out super-joke! I'm looking in your direction, Jay Leno. "Ehhh, Charlie Sheen in the news again, have you heard about this, have you seen this? He said Obama's birth certificate is WINNING!" {Audience cheers mindlessly}

Also, if I can get on the record on Trump, I believe his "birther" angle was a work. He's actually on President Obama's side, and wants him re-elected. What better way than to portray Obama's opponents as stupid as possible? He played right into the exact stereotype of that tiny minority of conservatives that make the vast majority of conservatives shake their heads in embarrassment. (If you even want to count the birther movement as "conservative" in nature - I don't, but whatever.) See, if I want to make Cowboys fans look bad (as if they needed help), I don't just wear a Giants jersey and list logical reasons why Cowboys fans are not good...I wear a Cowboys jersey, and do the most idiotic thing I can, like kick a bunch of kittens or something.

In sports, age is just a number

2011-04-13T19:29:00.003-07:00

I've played sports quite a bit in my life. And I can chalk up a few nagging injuries along the way - a pulled hamstring here, a minor ankle sprain there, a bothersome hip flexor or two. But for the most part I've been durable (and lucky) when it comes to avoiding significant injury.

Now nearing age 30, I can't help but be more aware of my overall health. And I have to say, I feel better now than I did at 20. I'm not Jared from Subway or anything - I didn't drastically change my lifestyle or lose 200 pounds. For the most part, my workout regimen is the same as it was 10 years ago. The only thing that's changed, is that I'm not playing basketball or jogging anymore. Avid supporters of both these activities surely won't enjoy reading this, but I believe that's been the difference. All other things equal (fitness level, weight, prior injury history), it's not so much your age as it is the amount of abuse you've put your body through.

So how does this relate to the sports world, you didn't ask? Well, I'll tell you. (I'll put jogging aside as I don't know any pro joggers, and the negative long term effects of jogging are well documented.)

You don't have to look too hard for examples in the NBA. Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal of the Celtics have missed a combined 131 games over the past 3 seasons, and look to be in the twilight of their careers. Yet they are only 34, and 32, respectively. They both came to the NBA straight from high school, meaning it would be more accurate to look at their combined 29 seasons in a league with a grueling 82-game schedule, playing a sport that consists of so much jumping, pivoting, stomping, and other unnatural human motions, that you really can't blame these guys for being 34/32 going on 50.

It's not just the jump from high school straight to the NBA that makes one age faster. Tim Duncan's Spurs routinely make trips deep into the playoffs. So many in fact, that Duncan has played in 170 playoff games. That's over two extra seasons of basketball! Not to mention all the summers he played on Olympic or national teams. Like Garnett, Duncan is only 34 but he's really starting to show his basketball age, having just set career lows in points, rebounds, and minutes per game.

Of course you'll still have your Andrew Bynums and Greg Odens who can't steer clear of injuries no matter what their age, but that isn't the point here. Again, all things equal, your joints can only take so much pounding until they start screaming.

We also see this type of real-life mileage aging in the NFL, especially among running backs. The bodies of Shaun Alexander and Marshall Faulk were basically finished at 31 because of the pounding they took from the start...while Thomas Jones is an example of a player who has lasted a little longer, because he didn't take as heavy a beating earlier in his career.

It's not your age that counts, it's your odometer. So stay healthy out there, and spend the tread left on your tires wisely.

Best wishes, Steve

2011-03-23T20:35:00.003-07:00

Sad news from the weekend, as NFL Films president Steve Sabol was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

I've talked about my adoration for NFL Films in this space before, and the work that Sabol, and his father Ed, have done has given so many people so much joy over the years. And I'm sure that the longer the NFL lockout goes on, the more people will look back and rely on the treasures they have captured.

Thoughts and prayers are with Steve, and the Sabol family.

State of the Giants Offseason

2011-02-24T10:26:00.002-07:00

I believe it's about as likely that we have a full NFL season in 2011, as it is that Godsmack will sing about a man desiring someone to come closer in proximity to him. But just for giggles, here is my assessment of the Giants coming into whatever the next season is.

Quarterbacks:

Obviously set with Eli Manning for another 5-7 years. He must cut down on the turnovers, but that will come with a more experienced group of receivers than he had in 2010. Eli has been super durable, with 110 consecutive starts trailing only his brother for the longest active streak. And if he gets injured for any prolonged period of time, the Giants are finished anyway. Still, I like Sage Rosenfels as a backup.

Running Backs:

They can squeeze one more good year out of the Jacobs and Bradshaw combo, but it's definitely time to start layering in new backs. I look for them to draft one in the middle to late rounds. This Giants team, as well as great Giants teams of the past, were all running teams first. And when it comes to running backs, you have to stay ahead of that inevitable sudden drop-off in their production.

Receivers/Tight Ends:

Just by getting healthy and a year older, they'll be better here. I don't think reinforcements are needed - and no, I don't think Burress will be back.

Offensive Line:

Whoever said a player shouldn't lose his job to injury, didn't watch this unit in 2010. Shaun O'Hara, who has had an excellent career, missed several games in the middle of the season. When Kevin Boothe or William Beatty took his place, and Rich Seubert was moved from guard to center, the line was flat out dominant. When O'Hara returned, they struggled. I don't know what to make of this, but it's a fact that this line is aging and is in dire need of young talent. I'd like to see at least two picks, one preferably a 1st or 2nd rounder, used on a lineman. The average age of the Giants' (non-injury altered) line in 2010 - McKenzie, Snee, O'Hara, Seubert, Diehl - was 30.8.

Defensive Line:

They're pretty set here. There is no reason Tuck and Umenyiora can't continue to dominate. Jason Pierre-Paul showed flashes, more and more as the season went on. Mathias Kiwanuka, if re-signed, would be gravy, but I wouldn't consider him a huge priority given he's coming off a major back injury. It would also be nice to see someone emerge from the tackle position, though I admit this is the most difficult position to evaluate from my couch.

Linebackers:

The position most sorely in need of difference-makers, and this has been the case for 3 years now. No one on the current roster interests me, nor scares any opposing offenses I assume.

Secondary:

I was impressed with the growth of Terrell Thomas in 2010. Corey Webster at the other corner spot is fine, and the safety triumvirate of Phillips, Grant, and Rolle are adequate.

One more thing on Rolle though: Shut up and play. Several times last year, having just arrived, Rolle popped off about a lack of leadership, Coughlin's coaching style, and even not having enough fun. I won't be too harsh on Rolle because I recognize the kind of organization he came from, but Tom Coughlin is a champion. Antrel Rolle is not. At least not yet. And I'm sorry you didn't have enough fun in 2010 Antrel - and here I thought the point of the NFL was to win games.

Notable free agents:

Ahmad Bradshaw, Mathias Kiwanuka, Steve Smith, Barry Cofield, Kevin Boss and Domenik Hixon.

I place the most importance on Bradshaw and Smith. Kiwanuka is expendable, as is Boss if they feel Travis Beckum is ready to assume all-around TE duties. They missed Hixon on special teams, but he'll have a hard time getting back into the WR mix. I expect Cofield will be back.

Buddy Blog Cross Promotion

2011-02-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Drew is off to a terrific blogging start, with two great Tecmo-related items. I recommend adding him to your rolodex of "must-read" sports blogs that may not quite be updated every day...along with this one, of course.

Spring Training Quote of the Year

2011-02-17T19:31:00.002-07:00

From an ESPN article titled, Joba Chamberlain obviously heavier - "Everybody's going to say weight, but you know what, scales are scales."

10 Worst Gut-Punching Giants Seasons

2011-02-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

When you get right down to it, being a sports fan is a bad bet. With 30 or so teams competing with yours, even if yours is excellent your season is likely to end in disappointment. And with the past three Giants seasons ending in pretty agonizing fashion, I thought it would be interesting to rank the top 10 worst gut-punching ends to Giants seasons.

10) 1994

Regular season record: 9-7

Coach: Dan Reeves

The streakiest of Giants teams, they started 3-0, lost 7 in a row to fall to 3-7, including an awful 10-9 home loss to the 3-6 Arizona Cardinals, then reeled off 6 consecutive wins...but missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker to the Packers, Bears, and Lions, all 9-7 as well.

9) 1997

Regular season record: 10-5-1

Coach: Jim Fassel

The first Fassel season. In the wild card round, the Giants led Minnesota 16-0 in the 2nd quarter, and 19-3 at halftime. Randall Cunningham led the Vikings back, and the Giants lost 23-22.

8) 2005

Regular season record: 11-5

Coach: Tom Coughlin

A promising Giants team, shut out 23-0 at home by Carolina in the wild card round. Luckily, it would only be two more seasons until the greatest victory in the history of sports.

7) 2000

Regular season record: 12-4

Coach: Jim Fassel

Yes, it was a Super Bowl loss, but the Giants not being expected to beat the juggernaut Ravens keeps this season from being higher on list. Plus it's still overall a good memory, with Fassell's "raising the stakes" speech, and the 41-0 beating of the Vikings in the NFC Championship.

6) 2003

Regular season record: 4-12

Coach: Jim Fassel

Just ugly to watch. It became quite obvious that the team was not playing for Fassel anymore. After starting 4-4, they finished with 8 consecutive losses, outscored by 141 total points. However, this season came with a silver lining: they finished with a bad enough record to be able to trade up for Eli Manning in the 2004 draft.

5) 2009

Regular season record: 8-8

Coach: Tom Coughlin

After a disappointing end to 2008 (see below), the Giants appeared to put it all behind them and resume their winning ways, starting 5-0. But it was all downhill from there, as they went on to finish 8-8. The season finale was an embarrassing 44-7 home loss to Minnesota to close out the old Giants Stadium.

4) 2008

Regular season record: 12-4

Coach: Tom Coughlin

This team started 11-1, and looked downright unstoppable and on their way to repeating. Then Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg. After losing 3 of their final 4 games but still earning a 1st round bye, they suffered a 23-11 home loss to Philadelphia. In my opinion, the passing game still hasn't been quite the same without Burress.

3) 1989

Regular season record: 12-4

Coach: Bill Parcells

My first vague memory of watching the Giants was this game. An overtime loss to the 11-5 Rams, in which Jim Everett (bet I don't call him Chris) threw a 30 yard TD pass to Willie "Flipper" Anderson.

2) 2002

Regular season record: 10-6

Coach: Tom Coughlin

The disastrous 39-38 wild card loss to San Francisco. The Giants blew a 38-14 lead, and the game ended with an egregious no-call pass interference on a botched FG attempt.

1) 2010

Regular season record: 10-6

Coach: Tom Coughlin

Still so fresh in my mind, therefore resonating the most. In Week 15, they blew a 31-10 lead at home against the hated Eagles, losing 38-31 on a DeSean Jackson punt return TD with no time remaining. Having lost their hold on the NFC East but still controlling their playoff fate, they followed that up with a 45-17 loss in Green Bay, in which they let Aaron Rodgers do whatever he wanted.

The Giants are an interesting organization. They've won just enough championships to be rightly considered in the upper echelon of sports franchises...but as the marquee franchise in the marquee city, it seems they should win even more. I wouldn't expect Yankee-level dominance; but at least Steeler-level excellence. So, here's to hoping they live up to that pipe dream in the future...and that they provide no more seasons to land on a future list like this.

Hall of Shame

2011-02-06T08:52:00.013-07:00

Yesterday, the NFL's Hall of Fame class of 2011 was revealed. For Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, and Ed Sabol for what he did for the league with NFL Films, these honors are well deserved, and in Sabol's case long overdue. I take nothing away from these three in the following rant...

Curtis Martin not getting in on the 1st ballot was a travesty. This is officially the end of the Hall of Fame as a legit, upstanding vote. Its new name, borrowed from Steve Czaban: The Hall of Unaccountable, Biased Sportswriters.

Shannon Sharpe was going to get in eventually, but over Curtis? No way. Jerome Bettis not making it was also proof that these voters are idiots.

Richard Dent was one part of a great defense (for a short period of time). Big deal. You don't vote for people because they've been waiting a long time, you vote for the best. And those other two old jabronis who made it, I am not even going to bother to look up their Wikipedia pages because they are irrelevant.

Funny side note: knowing the kind of person Curtis Martin is, I realize I am way more angry over this than Curtis himself, who by all accounts is ridiculously kind and humble. So this snub was in no way a punishment to Curtis Martin himself. But it is a slap in the face to anyone who watched Martin play...or anyone who understands football, really.

One more run for Coughlin, and hope springs eternal

2011-01-12T14:36:00.006-07:00

I hadn't officially gone on record with my thoughts on Tom Coughlin's future with the Giants in this space, and to the Mara/Tisch ownership's credit, I didn't even have the chance. They didn't let him twist, and gave him the vote of confidence a mere two days after the Giants' season ended. But, here's my (after) thought anyway.

I was on the fence about Coughlin returning, to the point that I wouldn't have minded either decision being made - his being extended, or fired. There were certainly arguments for both. My gut feeling was that Coughlin would be back, and he is. With a strike or lockout looming for 2011, it would basically be a lost season in trying to implement a new regime on short time. And this is a team built to win immediately, not rebuild.

Of course now the ideal scenario is, Coughlin proves the doubters wrong, and the Giants win the Super Bowl in 2011-12 - breaking the tie with Dallas, New England, and San Francisco for the most championships in the last 25 years in the process.

Coughlin then retires on top, and Bill Cowher, who has patiently waited one more year and not jumped at any awful coaching jobs open following the 2010 season (Cleveland, Denver, San Francisco, or any other irrelevant vacancies I'm forgetting right now), takes over as Giants coach in 2012, and ushers in a nice extended stay, winning a couple more titles over the next 10 years. Not getting ahead of myself at all, am I?

"Hi America, we've got nothing!"

2010-12-31T11:17:00.004-07:00

The latest Dodge commercial is pretty sad. The founding fathers, scaring off the British with Dodges. "Our cars aren't very good, but...IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS YOU MUST BE A SISSY OR HATE FREEDOM. 'MERCA!"

Meanwhile: Chevy, Chevy, Chevy.

For those who can't read the tiny print on this ad for their Cruze (curse you blogger, and your photo compression), it says, "Like a Civic, but with everything you want." HARF HARF HARF. Yeah, like the benchmark of dependability and value over the past 20 years, except our cars are nothing like that, so instead here are some gadgets like navigation systems to distract you from this industry fact. Besides, don't they know, you don't tug on Superman's cape?

These two ads are the new template for American car companies. They are well aware they can't compete with Honda, Nissan, and Toyota (even post-sudden acceleration scandal), so they appeal to all they have left: Patriotism, the past, and/or hoping the consumer doesn't know better.

What now?

2010-12-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

It took over 72 hours, but I think I've found a positive spin to be put on the Giants' collapse Sunday against the Eagles. It's not that champions have come back from "rock bottom" losses. That's true, but...been there, done that. And this was more a gut-punching loss than a rock bottom loss.

It's simply: Wake-up call. They can learn from it, use it as a rallying point, and come back more determined. The closest comparison I can make to this game, is not the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" (that game decided nothing but draft status for a sub-.500 Giants team), but the 2002-03 Wild Card loss to San Francisco. In it, they led by 24 points late in the 3rd quarter only to let the 49ers come all the way back, and also lost that game on a special teams gaffe.

So, better to learn this lesson (if you have to learn it, I suppose) in the regular season, than in the postseason. As for whether they'll rise to the occasion and come out fighting in Green Bay, or let the collapse define them...we'll find out Sunday.

And while I'm here, I'd also like to put to rest any notion that the best case scenario for the Giants is to miss the playoffs, fire Coughlin, and hire Bill Cowher. I like Bill Cowher, but Coughlin is a proven winner too. Plus, this is a team built to win now. A new coaching staff means a change of schemes, likely on both sides of the ball. That usually takes years for a team to master - and that's for the players who are even kept around. What if Cowher wants to play a 3-4 defense like he had in Pittsburgh, and half the Giants' defensive personnel aren't a good fit for that? There is no reason to go down that rebuilding road any time soon. The best case scenario is to win with what they have, and I think they can still do it.

Mild annoyance

2010-12-21T10:45:00.002-07:00

You know how in advertising, usually with testimonials, they'll do the thing where they use a real person, and give their first name and initial of their last name? Example:

"This product worked great for me"

-Mike P., from Toronto

Well, I think they're stupid. Specifically, including the last initial is stupid. It adds nothing, and just strikes me as really cheesy and hacky.

If you're not going to use the person's full last name, why bother with an initial at all? Does market testing indicate that if you aren't going to learn someone's complete last name, at least if you know the letter it starts with you'll trust them way more or something?

On being at peace with fandom

2010-11-08T20:56:00.008-07:00

What a turnaround the Giants have had. It's hard to believe that less than two months ago, this same team suffered two consecutive "rock bottom" losses to the Colts and Titans. Since then, they've looked dominant and almost unstoppable.

I have no good transition here, so I'll just say this is where I shift the focus to my own fandom. I have a self-created problem that I've never had in any other sport. I've been a Yankees fan since I was a young child, when they were awful. I never strayed. I don't really have an NBA team or a hockey team. And I have not much more than a passing interest in college sports. However, when it comes to the NFL, after having dated three teams over the course of my life, I still didn't feel quite right about calling myself a Giants fan. I didn't feel like I had earned it. Until this weekend.

First, some background. You'll recall here over two years ago when I pledged my full allegiance to the Giants. Re-reading it now, I don't even like my tone there - too much negativity about the Jets, rather than what I liked about the Giants.

The team of my childhood was the Giants. In 1990 they captivated me at age 9 with what was, until January 2008 of course, the greatest Super Bowl ever. I vaguely recall awareness of the 49ers-Bengals Super Bowl being on TV two years earlier, but this was the first sporting event I vividly remember watching. But then Bill Parcells retired, the Giants had some down years, and I began to look elsewhere. I flirted with the team of my father and grandfather, the Steelers. And quite honestly I'll always have a soft spot for them, thanks mostly to that side of my family, and to watching NFL Films make the Steelers dynasty of the 70s appear magical and larger than life. I was genuinely happy for them when they won Super Bowls XL and XLIII. In 1997, I came over to the Jets with Parcells. I thought it was okay at the time. I didn't ask any fellow Giants fans about it - or maybe I didn't want to know - but that's what I did. I had great years with the Jets. Curtis Martin is still my favorite player of all time, and I don't regret the time I spent rooting for him. But when Curtis retired, and the joyless Eric Mangini era began, I knew my time was finished there. They weren't really my Jets anymore. The change didn't happen overnight, but when they jettisoned Chad Pennington for the ol' Dongslinger, that tipped the scale for good.

Anyway, back to my realization. It began on Friday, when I presented my lady friend with a series of complicated options on how we could juggle visits to both our parents' houses but not miss the Giants-Seahawks game. (This wasn't really so she wouldn't miss the game...this was so I wouldn't miss the game.) I then realized, if I care this much about not missing a single snap of this game, I truly deserve to believe I'm a fan without feeling unworthy. I'm living it.

Sure, you can go through photos of me over the years, and see me wearing apparel for three different teams. But I'm okay with it now. This is about the present. Don't be afraid to love again! (Okay, so maybe I couldn't help but gay it up just a little.)

And on another poorly transitioned note, I wouldn't be surprised if Super Bowl XLII - again, the greatest victory in the history of sports - creates an entire generation of Giants fans the way the mid to late 1970s created an entire generation of Steelers fans. Super Bowl XLII was that powerful for me, and I was 26. If that's your first strong memory of football as a lad of maybe 8 or 9 years, how can you not love that?

(Lack of) Cable update

2010-10-29T10:18:00.005-07:00

You may recall I touched on this subject about a year ago. Today, the whole Fox vs. Cablevision thing in New York makes me want to revisit how awesome it is to be free from cable. To date, I'll estimate that I have now saved $680 since my decision last summer to not get cable when I moved into my house last June (17 months, times $40 a month...and that's a low estimate I think).

For the most part, I don't miss it. Though I'll tip my cap to Hulu, SouthParkStudios, and my workplace having cable, for making it a lot easier. Otherwise, all hail the $30 HD antenna you can get from Best Buy or any similar store, which allows reception of all network stations with crystal clarity. What an age we live in.

Taiwanese news service, you've done it again

2010-10-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

From my friend Joe, yet another spectacular Taiwanese news animated reenactment. This time, the Charlie Sheen hotel incident. They've got to keep these coming.

Keep up the good work Taiwanese news service, whoever you are

2010-10-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

You may recall they did an animated recreation of the Tiger Woods cover-up last year. You may recall how hilariously awesome it was. Now, they've given the Brett Favre saga the same treatment.
This begs the question, what scandal should they cover next?

Among eventual champions, "rock bottom" loss rare but not unprecedented

2010-09-20T08:59:00.007-07:00

The Giants looked disgraceful at Indy last night. They were flat, uninspired, and gave up two of the easiest touchdowns you'll see in the NFL: A 1st quarter 7-yard Donald Brown TD run where no Giants' defender got within 5 yards of Brown - the kind of play where, if you were playing Madden and were purposely positioning all your defenders as far away from the play as possible, one of them still would have wandered closer to Brown than the Giants came during this play...then in the 2nd quarter, they let the Colts' most sure-handed yet slowest receiver, TE Dallas Clark, get behind everyone down the middle of the field for an easy 50 yard TD. The Giants allowed 410 yards in all, and lost 38-14.

So where is the positive spin on this blowout loss? In trying to put it into perspective, I thought about how some teams that would go on to win titles, have faced this kind of embarrassment before. The best example is probably the 1994 49ers. They lost in Week 5 to Philadelphia, 40-8, during which Steve Young was benched. Those Eagles weren't world beaters either - they would finish 7-9 in '94. The 49ers went on to win 10 of the final 11 regular season games, and rout the Chargers in the Super Bowl.

Other, less dramatic examples of eventual champions looking awful:

1974 Steelers: Shut out at home by Oakland, 17-0, in Week 3. Went on to stomp those same Raiders in the playoffs, on their way to a Super Bowl IX victory over Minnesota.

1979 Steelers: Lost 34-10 at Cincinnati in Week 7. The Bengals had come into that game 0-6, and would finish 4-12. Pitsburgh used the loss as a wake up call, went 12-4, and beat the Rams in Super Bowl XIV.

1992 Cowboys: Beaten 31-7 at Philadelphia in Week 5, following their bye. Finished 13-3 and blew out Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII.

2006 Colts: Dropped a Week 14 matchup at (eventual) 8-8 Jacksonville, 44-17. It was their 2nd loss in a row, and they'd go on to lose at 6-10 Houston two weeks later. Won Super Bowl XLI over Chicago.

2007 Giants: Several ugly losses, including an 0-2 start in which they gave up a combined 80 points to Dallas and Green Bay, a 41-17 loss in Week 12 to Minnesota (eventually 8-8) at home, and, even when it appeared they had things figured out late in the year, a Week 15 home loss against Washington, 22-10. So several terrible defensive performances, by the unit that would go on to shut down the most prolific offense ever, in the greatest Super Bowl ever.

I'm not saying an embarassing loss means a team is going to win a championship...but it doesn't necessarily disqualify a team from one either.

(Photo courtesy of Kissing Suzy Kolber.)

What would Public Enemy say about Week 1?

2010-09-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

If there was a theme in Week 1 in the NFL, it was "Don't believe the hype." Let's take a look at a few highly touted, trendy-pick teams and how they fared.

*New York Jets: The Super Bowl pick of many, 9-7 a year ago with a miracle run to the AFC Championship, they were shut down by Baltimore. 9 points, 5 first downs, 1 Braylon Edwards beard. Apparently you also need an offense to win consistently in the NFL.

*San Francisco 49ers: In spite of no reason to think they are improved, annointed as the new NFC West favorite (though that's not saying much). They got clobbered 31-6 by Seattle. Yes, Seattle. When will Mike Singletary learn that acting all tough and wearing a stopwatch around your neck, isn't really coaching or strategy?

*Oakland Raiders: Supposed to be vastly improved. I bought into this somewhat, picking them to go 6-10, and I still think they'll win their fair share of games at home. But other than adding Jason Campbell, they're still the Raiders. They were smacked in Tennessee, 38-13.

Week 1 just goes to show - when you're presented with a disagreement between seemingly undeserved hoopla, and common sense, trust your gut. And don't believe the hype.

2010 NFL Preview

2010-09-09T12:45:00.010-07:00

So apparently there's a football league that begins play tonight, or something? Yes, at long last, the NFL is back. Various NFL Films treats on Hulu have helped me to pass the long summer, but nothing beats a new season.

This will be my 3rd year of predictions in this space. Here are my previews from 2008, and 2009, for mockery's sake.

I thought quite a bit about how to approach my Super Bowl pick. I almost bogged myself down with too many rules: Don't pick prior participants because that's too easy, don't pick teams that are popular choices among others, and don't pick any teams you have a personal affinity for. But if you impose too many of these limitations, you're left picking the Raiders against someone from the NFC West. So every option is on the table. Rules? THERE ARE NO RULES!!! And away we go...

2010 Predicted NFL Standings

AFC EAST

New England 11-5
NY Jets 10-6*
Miami 9-7
Buffalo 3-13

TOTAL: 33-31 (Last season: 32-32)

Until the Patriots fall flat on their faces (a day I look forward to), I can't go against them. I can't ignore the Jets as a contender either, but expectations are sky high and Mark Sanchez still has a lot to learn - starting of course with how to not throw almost twice as many interceptions than touchdowns. Miami will be good. Buffalo will not.

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh 11-5
Baltimore 10-6*
Cincinnati 6-10
Cleveland 5-11

TOTAL: 32-32 (Last season: 33-31)

Roethlisberger's suspension is only 4 games, and Pittsburgh's reasonable early season schedule will help them stay where they want to be. And this team just seems to thrive with lower expectations. The Ravens, like the Patriots, are always around. The Bengals, with Owens and Ochocinco together, are bound to implode. The Browns are the Browns.

AFC SOUTH

Indianapolis 12-4
Houston 10-6
Tennessee 8-8
Jacksonville 5-11

TOTAL: 35-29 (Last season: 37-27)

Houston closes a lot of ground, but they're still at least a year away from finally dethroning the Colts. Not much going on with the Titans and Jags, but the difference between these two teams is Jeff Fisher's consistency: only 4 losing seasons in 15 as head coach. So even a weak Tennessee team being terrible is unlikely.

AFC WEST

San Diego 9-7
Denver 7-9
Kansas City 6-10
Oakland 6-10

TOTAL: 28-36 (Last season: 30-34)

Not much to get excited about here. Norv Turner's Chargers will again win the division by default, only to exit the playoffs early. Oakland will improve the most, mainly thanks to the addition of the capable Jason Campbell. The Broncos and Chiefs are just kind of, eh, "there."

----------------------

NFC EAST

NY Giants 11-5
Dallas 11-5*
Philadelphia 10-6
Washington 8-8

TOTAL: 40-24 (Last season: 34-30)

A couple weeks ago, I talked about the reasons why the Giants should be better, even agreeing with Peter King in the process. They're healthy - the biggest acquisition in the NFL might have been the Giants getting Kenny Phillips back from injury - they added more depth to the defensive line, they replaced ineffective defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan with Perry Fewell, and a mostly young offense that was never the problem, is still intact. It will be a close race, but they'll win the NFC East over Dallas and Philadelphia, who won't look much like Super Bowl contenders for many weeks at a time, but will hang around. In Washington, bringing in Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan to run things, replacing dum dum Vinny Cerrato and poor, overmatched Jim Zorn, is worth at least 4 wins alone. And McNabb is an upgrade over Campbell, though not as much as people might think. The Redskins will be a .500 team, with or without Haynesworth.

NFC NORTH

Green Bay 11-5
Minnesota 10-6*
Detroit 7-9
Chicago 4-12

TOTAL: 32-32 (Last season: 32-32)

I see Aaron Rodgers taking another step forward, this time to MVP status. While I see the Vikings taking a slight step backward. This will be the year Favre doesn't start all 16 games. I have a couple friends who are Lions fans, and I think they'd be delighted to see their team go 7-9, especially if it contains shows of promise by their young core. 4-12 for the Bears might be harsh, but if I can alter a quote from Joakim Noah..."What, you think Chicago's cool? What's so good about Chicago?"

NFC SOUTH

New Orleans 12-4
Atlanta 10-6
Carolina 8-8
Tampa Bay 4-12

TOTAL: 34-30 (Last season: 33-31)

I don't see any reason why the Saints can't be dominant again this year. The Falcons will again be tough, but again just miss the playoffs. Carolina just screams out "mediocre," and the Bucs are still years from being competitive.

NFC WEST

San Francisco 7-9
Arizona 6-10
Seattle 6-10
St. Louis 3-13

TOTAL: 22-42 (Last season: 24-40)

What can be said about this division that hasn't already been said about a dirty sidewalk in Calcutta?

PLAYOFFS!???

Wild Card Round:
Patriots over Ravens
Jets over Chargers
Packers over Vikings
Cowboys over 49ers

Divisional Round:
Colts over Patriots
Steelers over Jets
Giants over Cowboys
Saints over Packers

Championship Round:
Giants over Saints
Steelers over Colts

Super Bowl:
Giants over Steelers. That's right, I'm picking the Giants. Forget cautious optimism, forget not wanting to jinx your team, and forget the collapse of 2009. Do not be afraid to love again! Wooooo! And it's going to be all the sweeter when this comes true.

Finally, last season I think I said it well enough that it doesn't need changing, so I'll just repaste...

*And one final disclaimer: Reason # 13,661 that the NFL is so awesome, is that the landscape changes so quickly, and week-to-week it is like looking into a kaleidoscope. So, I fully expect that by week 2, these picks will look as dated as bellbottoms, long sideburns, or the goatee. (2010 add: or "Jersey Shore" references.)

Prediction Season!

2010-08-31T19:47:00.004-07:00

It's a special time of year. The time when all kinds of prognosticators, with varying levels of direct access to the NFL, make bad predictions for the upcoming season - myself included. I'll have mine posted sometime before the start of the season. But for now I wanted to point out that Peter King picks the Giants (video embedded in Ross Tucker's column, for some reason) to win the NFC East. This terrifies me. And the fact that he puts together a solid argument why, terrifies me even more. But I'll set aside the obvious - that it's Peter King making the prediction, which means you should lean...no, run...in the other direction.

In 2007, the Giants thrived while little was expected of them. Coming into that season, they were seemingly a team in disarray, with coach Tom Coughlin on the hot seat. Of course, we all know what happened after that - only the greatest triumph in the history of organized team sports. On the other hand, in 2008 and 2009, they came in heavily favored, only to collapse.

Right now I have no clue what kind of Giants we'll see in 2010. But I'll try to keep my expectations low.

One network's bonehead mistake is another network's discovered gem

2010-08-11T12:20:00.003-07:00

We saw two similarly colossal blunders made in broadcasting over the past year, and both have now been righted.

The first blunder happened in December 2009, when Steve Czaban's radio show, wildly successful for 7 years, was canned by Fox Sports Radio. I won't even mention his replacement beceause he doesn't deserve the publicity obtained by being mentioned on a sports blog with 7 readers, but trust me, he's been predictably awful since replacing Czabe.

The second came in January 2010, when NBC yanked Conan O'Brien from the Tonight Show after just 8 months, in favor of former host and current has-been Jay Leno. ("Ehhhhh, Kato Kaelin in the news again...")

Fast forward to August. Conan is less than 3 months from beginning his new late night show with TBS. And this glorious announcement came yesterday: Steve Czaban is returning to the morning sports radio landscape, joining the Sporting News Radio network in September.

NBC's and Fox's losses are examples of how arrogant, clueless network executives can screw up something that didn't need changing. But their losses are TBS's and SNR's gains, simply doing the common sense thing and scooping up tremendous talent that should have never become available in the first place.

The good news for TBS and SNR is, these common sense moves will pay huge dividends for years to come...provided they too don't screw up a good thing.

Today's free agent signing is tomorrow's expiring contract

2010-07-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

For a General Manager in the NBA, the 2009-10 season was largely about expiring contracts. They just couldn't wait to get these bad deals off their books so they could go after the free agent class of 2010. If you listen to enough NBA General Managers, you'd think that these albatross-like contracts just magically appeared all over the league.

2010 was the biggest focus for freeing cap space, but it was hardly the first. We've been hearing this for a generation now. If a team could just get out from underneath these bad contracts, they could rebuild the right way and their problems would be over.

So what do they do when they're finally freed of these terrible contracts? Start being responsible? Nah...they use that cap space to sign more terrible contracts.

I have no problem with the top guys making $20 million a year. They are the ones bringing in the majority of the revenue. What does irk me though, are scrubs and also-rans getting $8, $10, or $15+ million. Also keep in mind, the NBA says it's feeling the recession. With that said, just look at some of the deals signed this summer:

Houston - Kyle Lowry - 4 years, $24 million. Career averages: 9.1 PTS, 4.5 AST, 39% FG.

Phoenix - Channing Frye - 5 years, $30 million. Career: 8.9 PTS, 4.7 REB.

Atlanta - Joe Johnson - 6 years, $119(!!!) million. For a non-difference-making 29 year old shooting guard.

Milwaukee - John Salmons - 5 years, $40 million. Career: 9.7 PPG, 3.0 REB, 2.3 AST. 30 years old.

New Jersey - Travis Outlaw - 5 years, $35 million. Career: 9.5 PTS, 3.4 REB. The Nets lost out on the marquee free agent sweepstakes...so hey, they've got to spend it on someone, right?

Toronto - Amir Johnson - 5 years, $34 million. Career: 4.7 PTS, 4.2 REB. I consider myself well-informed about the NBA and I have never heard of him before two weeks ago.

Minnesota - Darko Milicic - 4 years, $20 million. Career: 5.6 PTS, 4.1 REB. Sure, he's been a resounding bust everywhere he's gone...but WE CAN CHANGE HIM!

So, when it's 2015 or whatever and NBA GMs are giving you the "woe is us" routine over these very contracts, we'll know better. These contracts have to come from somewhere. As The Offspring once said, it all just happens again, way down the line...

The desert is hot now...who knew?

2010-07-22T08:52:00.004-07:00

If you'll recall, last month I beamed about how mild the summer temperatures here in the desert had been up to that point. But now, I'm afraid there's nowhere to hide.

I don't quite have the "kinda-kidding-but-not-really" arrogance of Bill Simmons where I think I can jinx weather the way he can jinx NFL outcomes with his picks...but this is just more of an observation.

Here is how it's been the past 8 days:

87
90
91
91
89
84
91
85

Oops, those were the overnight lows. Let's try again:

106
108
110
108
107
106
107
105

Dagger.

Because I love anything from Steve Sabol

2010-07-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

You might say that much like Michael Bolton falsely claimed in Office Space, I celebrate NFL Films' entire collection. So when I heard NFL Films President Steve Sabol filled in for NFL Buffoon Peter King at SI this week, I couldn't wait to read what Sabol had to say. He did not disappoint, touching on players he felt made the biggest impressions on him, the differences between follies, blunders, and bloopers, and why Hard Knocks is the most challenging show they do.

And I just love the way he wraps up the column:

I think I'd like to close with this: Erma Bombeck once said, "If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally brain dead." I say, "What a way to die."

Soccer jihadists, we're telling you for the last time...

2010-06-29T11:45:00.019-07:00

First, a disclaimer. I don't require people to agree with me, but my plea is always that they argue fairly and within the bounds of logic. And when encountering someone who is genuinely misguided, it is important to respond fairly and logically, even if their position is mind-blowingly idiotic and they're not arguing fairly themselves. Just calling someone stupid won't convince them of anything. Therefore, there is value in practicing how to respond to a bad argument. With that said...

I came across this Youtube video via Uproxx: If George Carlin's Baseball and Football was a 75-yard touchdown pass, then this weak offering by John Cleese about football and soccer is a feeble Monty Burns throw that lands right at his feet as he lets out a lifeless, "feh." Among the cutesy, yet strangely disdain-soaked arguments made:

*Football has breaks in action so TV can have commercials - even though football was invented like 50 years BEFORE TELEVISION.

*Soccer is "creative" (always the go-to saying of the soccer jihadist), like jazz music. (You know, the kind of jazz music where you get grazed in the chest and flop like you've been shot in the head.)

*Coaches call plays. Therefore football players don't use their brains at all. (Interesting. Do you think strategy and playcalling makes for a better quality game, or worse? Would it be better to send the players out to the field with no plan whatsoever? "Alright men, just go out there and be creative.")

*Generic "Dick Cheney is bad" joke. (Even Jay Leno thinks Cheney jokes are tired. "Ehhhh, Monica Lewinsky in the news again...")

I'm not going to blame Cleese fully because maybe he was told to say everything as part of this show, but come on. Other than the name being "foot-ball" he's got nothing. And even then, his beef is with whoever named it in the late 19th century. I wouldn't have chosen "football" myself, but in fairness to the founders, when the game was invented field goals were worth more points than touchdowns so there was more emphasis on kicking than there is today. And near as I can tell, the title came from when the split was made between "association football" (note the "s-o-c" in association), and "rugby football," which was shortened to just "football."

Worst of all, it's supposed to be funny but just isn't. I'd gladly shrug off all the vertebrae-breaking reaches if there were some laughs involved.

The World Cup gives soccer the stage every 4 years to show us just how lame and boring it really is. The reason Americans don't like soccer is that we simply invented better sports.

It's funny how football fans are secure enough to not have to entertain comparisons between the two sports; yet so often we see soccer fans going out of their way to tell us how much better soccer is than American tackle football. As Shakespeare once wrote, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

So please, for the last time soccer fans, enjoy your World Cup but try to tone down the inferiority complex - it's unbecoming. Only 32 days until camps open...

Colin Curtis: A reminder of why we love sports

2010-06-23T11:12:00.012-07:00

A special moment in Phoenix last night, as Yankees rookie Colin Curtis, just called up two days ago, got his first major league hit - an 8th inning two-run double to deep center - in a 9-3 win over Arizona. Curtis is a 2006 4th round pick from Arizona State University who overcame testicular cancer at age 15.

Seeing him earn a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with his family in attendance, just made me think that this is the kind of heartwarming feeling sports can deliver sometimes.

It's good to keep stories like that of Curtis in mind, when hearing about how Albert Haynesworth and his $21 million signing bonus didn't report to Redskins minicamp because they couldn't lure him with a big enough bacon and cheese cart.

Here's to this being the start of a long and prosperous career for Colin Curtis.

Fun with heat

2010-06-21T10:37:00.002-07:00

It's the first day of summer, but here in the desert this rarely marks any type of significance. Most years we're well into triple digit temperatures by now, and usually have been for about a month.

However, this year has been different. The unseasonably cool April and May were absolute gifts. I didn't use my home's air conditioner until late May, and in this region that's almost unheard of. June has also been - dare I say - "not so bad," with highs most days in the upper 90s. And even when it's topped 100, it's been in the 101-103 range. Again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's not so bad. At least not compared to insane 110-115 degree heatwaves, which we're sure to see every summer for at least a few days at a time. Sure, 100 is hot, and 115 is hot, but failing to recognize a difference would be another good old line drawing fallacy.

The Farmer's Almanac long range forecast predicted this June would be 5 degrees below average, and so far they're spot-on. But what about July-September, which are expected to be just as bad as usual? Don't you worry, I've got a positive spin to put on that.

You see, I usually count April and May as part of the heat. And the pain usually leaves as September comes to an end. That makes 6 hot months out of 12 we're working with. Two of them are over, and the 3rd is almost over. Why, after this week we're right on July's doorstep!

So we've barely faced any awful summer heat thus far, and I'm declaring it half-over. Do you like how I did that?

Me neither. See you (outdoors) in October.

Why I don't have facebook

2010-06-10T11:58:00.005-07:00

Facebook has taken the internet by storm over the past couple years. Everybody's doing it. Your boss, your grandma, everybody. ("Stan, why didn't you friend your grandma?") It's essentially the same thing as myspace (more on that later), but I used this transition period of the herd moving from myspace to facebook, as the perfect way to quietly slip out of the social networking business. I love the freedom and privacy, and I don't plan on coming back. Many people ask me why I'm not on it though, and I feel it deserves mentioning here. Not only as a personal explanation, but as a service to those who might be on the fence.

I know I'm out on a limb here. This isn't like saying "Brees is better than Manning," where most people can see both sides and it's maybe a 60% majority I'm going against. While I'm aware that there are people - wise people - who are leaving by the thousands, I know I'm part of about 10% vs. 90%.

So here we go! First, a couple disclaimers:

*Didn't you used to have a myspace?

Yes, and I don't regret it. That was a nice little two year era that helped me pass time while working weekend overnights before I got a house, a job with more responsibility, and in general a busier life. I won't go all the way and say I don't have any time for it - but I don't have as much free time anymore, and certainly not enough to where I'd want to spend it on facebook.

*What about this very blog?

There is a vast difference between a (mostly) sports blog, and facebook - in privacy levels (notice there are no full names, photos, birthdates, or other personal information anywhere to be found here), and in time commitment (with 4-6 posts a month, I admittedly don't devote as much time to this as I could). Failure to recognize the difference would be to fall victim to what the logic community calls a line drawing fallacy; they're not the same, and it isn't an "all or nothing" proposition.

Speaking of myspace, I find it hilarious when someone who is currently all about facebook, will go out of his or her way to rip myspace and say how stupid and worthless it is. I'm afraid this is common in human nature - it's easiest to condemn something that you yourself have overcome...or something you feel are in no danger of doing yourself. Like the insecure person who says, "Not only am I not gay...I hate gays!" Again, this isn't everyone, or even the majority of social network users, but I've heard it enough that it resonates with me. Where will these folks go when the next big site comes along? I bet they'll leave facebook for it, then talk about how lame facebook is/was.

Now, my friends and family don't really use facebook in the narcissistic "Hey everybody, look at me!" way, so I'm going to skip that argument here. But another problem I have is that many seem to feel facebook can take the place of real communication. Social networking communication can be misinterpreted, or missed altogether. A couple weeks ago I had a friend who wanted to put an event together. Whereas he used to email me personally, this time he only sent it via facebook, perhaps thinking it's now his "one-stop-shop" for friend communication. It did get to my girlfriend, but she misunderstood what it was. So if it wasn't for the fact that I called him on the phone out of the blue last week - something friends actually used to do - I may have missed the event altogether.

Still don't accept my reasons? How about this: Facebook owns everything you post...forever...even if you take it down. I don't know about you, but that gives me the willies.

If you're my friend, I hope you'll respect my desire to not have facebook. Please communicate with me directly - I don't care so much whether it's by email, phone, text, or singing telegram...just don't assume facebook is the only way to communicate anymore. I'll never say never, but I can safely say I won't be joining unless I can find a way to make it comfortable for me - such as by using an alias, by creating a page as a different person altogether, like movie hero Zap Rowsdower, or by simply not sharing enough information that it's all a good hacker needs to steal my identity. But it's still a long shot.

Thanks for reading, and happy facebooking. By the way, it saddens me that "facebooking" is used as a verb...

Sometimes, you just don't get to gloat, revisited again

2010-05-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last year, I talked here and here about how the very nature of something slowly fading away, rather than ending with a singular win/loss type of event, robs us of that "gotcha" moment where you'd get to gloat about it to those whose prediction was incorrect.

Well, remember all that panic over how home runs were flying out of the new Yankee Stadium at an alarming pace...like after one week...and how much hand-wringing was done over it? How did that turn out?

Does the NFL know about this?

2010-05-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you knew this before I did, so I hope I'm not going all Peter King on you here ("Hey, I just saw Saving Private Ryan, that's a pretty good movie"). But I just discovered this, and it's spectacular. The NFL section of Hulu.

Every "Super Bowl Highlights" show. An "America's Game" feature on every Super Bowl winner. Greatest Games. Hard Knocks. Game of the Week, going back to over 10 years ago. A section for each team. I feel like I'm stealing, or that the NFL will take all this down as soon as they find out I'm watching it.

I will no doubt spend countless hours between now and September watching these features, to the point where others who care about me will have to pry me away with a pretty good amount of force.

Bad sports logic strikes again

2010-05-24T12:41:00.007-07:00

I have always felt the layperson has nothing to apologize for, or to be ashamed of, when giving genuine sports analysis the way he or she sees it. I often hear regular people bullied off their point by the supposed trump card, where the other person (usually a current or ex-jock but not always) says something like "What do you know, you never played in the NBA/NFL/MLB..."

We the commoners should never be shy to have a view, even if we've never played at a high level. If we watch enough games, and understand the sport, we can have valid and meaningful analysis. Especially if we can easily look at records and/or statistics to back up our arguments.

This sort of leads into another example of poor sports logic I grow weary of: The bitter old man. Even if he was legitimately great, he is not secure with his own legacy. As a result he'll take any opportunity to slight the players of today.

One recent sports dust-up combines elements from both example pools - from the New York Times, the Sayers/Butkus vs. Urlacher feud. In short, Gale Sayers says the Bears stink now, Brian Urlacher puts it in perspective by pointing out that Sayers never won anything, and Dick Butkus says Urlacher wasn't born yet, so what does he know?

True, Urlacher wasn't born yet, but he could use something called THE INTERNET, and see that indeed, the Bears with Sayers never made the playoffs. He could have even added that the Bears were under .500 during those years if he wanted to.

Mike Ditka then added in a radio interview, that had Sayers not gotten hurt, no one would ever be able to break his records. After another look at the Internet, (Pro Football Reference in this case), in Sayers' first 5 years before serious injury he rushed for these yardage totals (with rushing TDs):

867 (14)
1231 (8)
880 (7)
856 (2)
1032 (8)

I'm not sure I understand what kind of record pace Sayers was setting, but maybe Ditka thought Sayers was about to double these totals over the next 5 years had he stayed healthy. And Sayers only missed 5 games combined over those first 5 years. Could Ditka have been thinking of career yards per carry? 5.0 is damn good, but not a record, Jim Brown's 5.2 leads all running backs. (And that's not a volume stat anyway.) Maybe he meant a fumbles record, as Sayers coughed it up 34 times in 68 career games?

Ditka and Butkus came up in a time when there was no internet, so they probably feel they can make any claim and not be called on it. But come on fellas, times are different, people can actually check stuff now. No longer can you just say whatever you want and pass it off as a given.

The fun of saving draft day predictions

2010-05-23T20:41:00.007-07:00

Mel Kiper Jr., on draft day 2007:

"JaMarcus Russell's going to immediately energize that Raider nation, that fan base, that football team, on the practice field, in that locker room. Three years from now, you could be looking at a guy who's certainly one of the elite top 5 quarterbacks in this league."

"And mobility's a little underrated."

"The skill level that he has is certainly John Elway-like."

That, or he's a lazy, bloated bust who's going to be cut in May of 2010...

(Photo courtesy of Kissing Suzy Kolber)

Are you sure about that?

2010-05-11T19:56:00.004-07:00

I kid you not, I just heard these words come from Erin Andrews on Dancing With The Stars, and in fact I backed up the video just to make sure I heard her right.

On being in the "bottom two," facing elimination from the show: "That was the grossest feeling I've ever had."

Wow. (Blink. Stare. Blink.)

Another example of life imitating South Park

2010-04-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

There are three television shows throughout history that I feel life imitates pretty much on a daily basis: The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and South Park. Sure, they also happen to be my three favorite comedies ever, but at least in my world that's how it goes. Anyway, I saw yet another imitation this week that I thought would be fun to explore...

There was a South Park episode a few years back called "Stanley's Cup," in which Stan coaches a rag-tag Pee Wee hockey team. Stan's team appears to be the subject of a movie script...until the very end when they are crushed in the championship game by the other team, who had their own movie going all along, and got their happy ending. I probably couldn't have worded that any worse, but if you've seen the episode you know what I mean. (And if you didn't, it doesn't matter anyway right?)

Anyway, in real life the hockey movie appeared to be about the Phoenix Coyotes. They were an underdog story all season, overcoming low expectations, threats of moving out of town, and an indifferent home fan base. But they had a big season, and as my friend Luke pointed out, it had all the makings of a Hollywood script.

On Tuesday, the Coyotes were crushed by the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1, in the 7th and deciding game of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. This exhausts my knowledge of the game of hockey, but my knowledge of South Park is what's driving this thing anyway. So all along, unbeknownst to Coyotes fans, it turned out the movie was about the Red Wings. (Maybe that movie was about how the city of Detroit's economy is in trouble, or that it's just kind of a dump overall or something.)

And even more ironic was that in the South Park episode, the opponent in the championship game was portrayed as the actual, professional Detroit Red Wings. They outscored Stan's Pee Wee team 30-0 in the 3rd Period - my hockey knowledge tells me Stan's 5 year olds were just physically overmatched.

Ridiculously early 2010 NFL schedule "win-loss" game

2010-04-21T11:17:00.004-07:00

What fun would the 2010 schedule's release be without predicting a team's finishing record 4 1/2 months before the first game is played?

Before I get to the Giants, I'd like to clear up a couple myths about the NFL schedule. I have a feeling the percentage of fans who believe these is small - maybe 15-20% of fans - but I've heard both just within the past couple days so for what it's worth, let's help a few people here and there...

Myth 1: "Team X will have a tough year because they're playing a 1st place schedule."

There was a time when the "first place schedule" was a lot more meaningful, but in today's 8-division, 32-team NFL, it's a matter of two games. Which brings me to...

Myth 2: "Oh, Jets vs. Steelers, they scheduled that because of the Santonio Holmes trade."

Not only do just two games vary due to finishing order in the 16-game NFL schedule, but the NFL has control over exactly none of them. Here is how a team's schedule is put together:

*6 Division games (2 against each of 3 in-division opponents).
*4 Out of division, conference games (1 against each of 4 "dance partners" in that other division...for example, this year everyone in the NFC East plays everyone in the NFC North. Rotates every 3 years.)
*4 Out of conference games (again, 1 against each of 4 "dance partners"...this year, the NFC East plays the AFC South. Rotates every 4 years.)
*2 based on division finishing order, vs. in-conference team who finished in the same spot. The Giants finished third in the NFC East last season, so they'll get the third place team from the NFC West (Seattle), and the third place team from the NFC South (Carolina)

And there's your 16 games, folks! If I had to bet, I'd say all of my 4 or 5 readers already knew that, in which case this part was a waste of time. In any event, on we go to the wacky, meaningless, premature predictions! I'm basing the picks on current rosters, pre-NFL draft.

2010 Giants Regular Season Schedule:

Sept. 12 CAROLINA - W
Sept. 19 at Indianapolis - L
Sept. 26 TENNESSEE - W
Oct. 3 CHICAGO - W
Oct. 10 at Houston - L
Oct. 17 DETROIT - W
Oct. 25 (Mon.) at Dallas - W
Oct. 31 BYE
Nov. 7 at Seattle - W
Nov. 14 DALLAS W
Nov. 21 at Philadelphia - L
Nov. 28 JACKSONVILLE - W
Dec. 5 WASHINGTON- W
Dec. 12 at Minnesota - L
Dec. 19 PHILADELPHIA - L
Dec. 26 at Green Bay - L
Jan. 2 at Washington - L

So I've got 9-7, with another late season collapse (this time based more on schedule difficulty, contrasted with ought-nine when it was due to completely giving up on tackling, covering, and in general, life). The NFC East will be challenging as always, so 3-3 in-division seems about right. The split with Washington is due to them being improved, the sweep of Dallas is due to owning them in recent years (and the fact that I really dislike Dallas), and being swept by the Eagles is due to the continual nightmare of seeing DeSean Jackson at least 10 yards behind any member of the Giants' inept secondary, now led by inept Antrel Rolle. Playing Seattle and Carolina will help matters (hooray for the third place schedule, ironic isn't it?), though drawing the NFC North and AFC South makes for a tough group of opponents, save for the Lions and Bears.

And lacking here were adjustments for something you see from just about every team in a given season: winning a couple games they should have lost, and losing a couple they should have won. Upsets will happen. I just don't know where, so I don't believe in picking them here, as I feel that would be like a referee making one bad call, then later another bad call against the other team to make up for the first bad call.

Now all that's left is to actually play the games.

On silly baseball superstitions

2010-04-11T09:04:00.005-07:00

I've heard about some Yankees fans getting miffed at Joe Buck and Tim McCarver for "jinxing" C.C. Sabathia's no-hitter by mentioning it while it was still going on (before being broken up in the 8th inning). These people aren't serious, are they?

We all know it's not just Yankee fans who follow ridiculous superstitions like this, and not all Yankee fans think alike, just like no other fan base in any sport thinks alike. But still, I have to admit I'm embarrassed. I really hope those who complained were just trying to be cute, ironic, or pay some sort of homage to the game's silly, traditional past. And if they were just joking, well then, as our beloved FJM once said, "I've taken the bait, and it's delicious."

So, if any of these people were indeed serious in thinking announcers can somehow jinx what's happening on the field, I'll offer them this plea: Please stop it. You're making Yankee fans look bad, and you're making yourself look like some 17th century dumbass who would also believe that a sneeze means your spirit is trying to escape, and that left-handed people are evil, and that we need to set people on fire to find out if they're witches.

McNabb to Redskins, revisited

2010-04-07T22:10:00.003-07:00

Thanks to some interesting comments by loyal readers and more time to contemplate the trade, I feel like I have enough to say to merit revisiting the McNabb trade topic.

Age-related joking aside, I do think this move makes the Redskins immediately better. A .500 record this year isn't too much to expect, and if they can get 2 or 3 healthy seasons out of him, they could make a deep playoff run in that 2nd or 3rd year.

From the Giants fan perspective, this trade worries me too. The Redskins won't be two "gimmie" wins as they had been in recent years. Yet the Eagles don't seem that much worse, and could continue to have the Giants' number. (In my nightmares I still see DeSean Jackson catching bombs 10 yards beyond any Giants' defender.) Meanwhile, the Giants' big move so far has been signing Antrel Rolle...though they already had plenty of guys in the secondary who can't cover or tackle. (Boom, roasted, Antrel.)

McNabb trade

2010-04-05T09:20:00.004-07:00

You so rarely see a star player traded in-division, but the Eagles had to be okay with trading Donovan McNabb to Washington simply because the Redskins overpaid. I think the price of a 2nd round pick this year - which alone would have been enough, arguably more than enough - along with a 3rd or 4th next year, will prove to be too much. Especially for a Redskins team that isn't quite "one player away," and is getting a 33 year-old, high-mileage player.

And I'll close this post with a hilarious comment from the guys at Kissing Suzy Kolber..."Together with Willie Parker, the Skins are now officially a contender to reach the 2004 Super Bowl."

Farewell, Shawn!

2010-04-02T17:35:00.006-07:00

For my fellow wrestling fans, Shawn Michaels retired from the WWE this week after about 25 years of amazing performances. What a treat it was to watch him, and as far as both mic skills and in-ring performance go, he may have been the best ever.

Grammatical Nuisance #13,552

2010-03-22T08:51:00.001-07:00

Phrases like, "Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night." Either it's a minimum of 7, or, if you think people should really have 8, make the minimum 8.

A sports example we often see is, "Chris Paul will be out a minimum of 4-6 weeks." If you're giving a minimum, it would just be 4 weeks. The 6 isn't necessary, unless that's truly the minimum, in which case you'd say he's out a minimum of 6 weeks. Or, if you feel that 4-6 weeks is the window of time he'll miss, you don't need the minimum part at all: "Chris Paul will be out 4-6 weeks."

Let's try to use the language we've all agreed upon.

Maybe the best line in the history of television

2010-03-18T10:30:00.002-07:00

From last night's South Park...

Cartman (to Kenny): "Oh, dude, here come the cops. We gotta lie to them, hit X to lie."

Kyle: "Wow, I didn't know golf games were this cool."

Congrats, Galdi!

2010-03-05T09:04:00.005-07:00

If you're up early on a Saturday morning, and enjoy radio sports talk, I highly recommend the premiere of Sports Saturday with Al Galdi, tomorrow at 9 AM Eastern, 7 Mountain, on WTEM 980 in Washington, D.C. You may remember Galdi as mostly the update anchor, on the terrific "Steve Czaban Show" (before the show was canceled by the dillweeds at the company that shall remain nameless, as their decision was so bad they do not deserve any publicity from me).

Anyway, Galdi is a rising star in the business and I am delighted he is beginning what I feel will be a long, prosperous career as a show host. Here is an article from the Washington Examiner detailing Galdi's promotion. And here is the link to WTEM's live streaming audio player. The station was recently made into an ESPN affiliate, but don't let that fool you; they're not technically owned by ESPN so they don't have to do things like purposely take the opposite sides of contrived arguments and yell at each other, or worship at the church of the holy athlete.

Because who doesn't love a good women's basketball brawl?

2010-03-04T09:10:00.001-07:00

Yikes.

Now, much had been made of one of the players involved in this brawl, because she can dunk. I think women do themselves a disservice by reacting like this to women who dunk. You can't try to counter the argument that men are better by saying you play a different kind of game, with fundamentals and such...but then also be obsessed with trying to barely drop a dunk over the rim. You must pick one or the other.

Old cover-ups die hard

2010-02-18T09:12:00.010-07:00

So Eldrick Woods is having his little pep rally tomorrow. We can't call it a press conference, since questions aren't allowed. But, with the proper credentials granted, reporters can watch from a bar a mile away, so they've got that going for them. No, this is only an assembly of Woods' "friends." It's kind of sad that ESPN and the rest of the sports media goes along with this, instead of refusing to carry this farce.

Nice try again, Urkel. You're only delaying your comeuppance, not canceling it. FAIL. Also, you're 1/3rd of a mediorce-to-good Ping Pong player, 1/64th of Curtis Martin right up until the end of his career, and 1/18th of David Eckstein (with 1/97th the amount of grit). Oh, and you're uglier than this guy. (Incidentally, that guy is married to the underrated Candace Parker. Who'd have thunk it, right?)

I wanted to spend more time crushing this dirt-bag, given new information such as the yet more women surfacing, but frankly it isn't worth that much of my computer time. I'll instead just relay a couple thoughts from others regarding what to expect tomorrow that I enjoyed - WTEM's Andy Pollin predicting that Woods has been working with an acting coach and will fake-cry...and author John Feinstein joking that pom-poms will be handed out at the door.

2009 NFL Predictions, Revisited

2010-02-09T08:11:00.005-07:00

So I had Saints + 5 1/2, and the under. Let's get that out of the way, as it takes a little of the sting off of my mediocre predictions from September. And let me also say that while my picks were lame, they weren't Peter King bad. (Sure, anything can happen, but the Bears in the Super Bowl? The Bears???)

But saying I'm better than Peter King would be like pushing the weakest kid in school in the mud. Everybody knows you basically go in the exact opposite direction of whatever Peter King says. Let's look at how I did...(Predicted records in parenthesis.)

AFC EAST

New England 10-6 (12-4)
NY Jets 9-7* (9-7)
Miami 7-9 (8-8)
Buffalo 6-10 (8-8)

TOTAL: 32-32 (37-27)

GRADE: B+. Got the order and Jets' record right, but overestimated overall division strength. And bonus points for predicting the Dolphins' backslide after a cinderella 2008. As for the Bills, they wish they could have a .500 season!

AFC NORTH

Cincinnati 10-6 (6-10)
Baltimore 9-7* (10-6*)
Pittsburgh 9-7 (11-5)
Cleveland 5-11 (5-11)

TOTAL: 33-31 (32-32)

GRADE: C+. Close on division record. Predicted the Steelers' struggles. Said the Browns would be 5-11, but really, how hard is that? On the other hand, I sure didn't see the Bengals coming.

AFC SOUTH

Indianapolis 14-2 (10-6*)
Tennessee 8-8 (11-5)
Houston 8-8 (7-9)
Jacksonville 7-9 (8-8)

TOTAL: 37-27 (36-28)

GRADE: C. The Titans got red hot and almost made the playoff run I thought they would, but it was too little, too late. The Colts didn't take the moderate slide I expected. But, again I was close on overall division strength.

AFC WEST

San Diego 13-3 (9-7)
Denver 8-8 (5-11)
Oakland 5-11 (3-13)
Kansas City 4-12 (4-12)

TOTAL: 30-34 (22-42)

GRADE: C-. Almost had the order right, and was close on KC and Oakland. But when it comes to those teams, who cares? I'll avoid giving myself a "D" by virtue of saying the Chargers would again make a quick playoff exit in spite of winning their division easily.

----------------------

NFC EAST

Dallas 11-5 (11-5)
Philadelphia 11-5* (11-5*)
NY Giants 8-8 (11-5*)
Washington 4-12 (8-8)

TOTAL: 34-30 (41-23)

GRADE: C. This was looking like the best division in the league, as I predicted, but that fell apart in December thanks mostly to the Giants. Still, I hit the Cowboys' and Eagles' 11 win records and playoff appearances.

NFC NORTH

Green Bay 11-5 (11-5)
Minnesota 12-4 (9-7)
Chicago 7-9 (7-9)
Detroit 2-14 (4-12)

TOTAL: 32-32 (31-33)

GRADE: B. I've got to hand it to the ol' Gunslinger on a fine regular season. I was correct on Green Bay, and Chicago (take that Peter King, I just put your retainer on top of the chalkboard where you can't reach it), and was close on the Lions and total division record.

NFC SOUTH

New Orleans 13-3 (11-5)
Atlanta 9-7 (10-6)
Carolina 8-8 (10-6)
Tampa Bay 3-13 (5-11)

TOTAL: 33-31 (36-28)

GRADE: B-. Finishing order is essentially correct. And Atlanta took that projected, Miami-like step back. The Bucs were predictably awful, and Saints predictably good. But I sure didn't have the Saints winning it all.

NFC WEST

Arizona 10-6 (7-9)
San Francisco 8-8 (5-11)
Seattle 5-11 (5-11)
St. Louis 1-15 (5-11)

TOTAL: 24-40 (22-42)

GRADE: C. Predicted Arizona would win the division. (Woo, that was hard.) Pinpointed this would be again the worst division in the NFL. (Woo, hard again, really went out on a limb.) I think even the Matt Leinart-led Cardinals can continue to win this slop with their eyes closed for years to come.

So in general, a very average set of regular season predictions. Let's see how I did in the...

PLAYOFFS!???

AFC: 4 of 6 teams correct - Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Chargers.
NFC: 4 of 6 teams correct - Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, Saints.

Preseason Super Bowl prediction of Titans vs. Packers:
It didn't come close, but I'm not completely embarrassed. For a while the Titans were the hottest team in the league, and the Packers had a nice year. (And if they hadn't been hurt by a couple bad calls in their wild card game, who knows, they could have gone much farther.)

At least I didn't pick the Bears.

Super Bowl pick

2010-02-04T10:56:00.006-07:00

If you're just joining us, I'm 3-1 ATS (Against the Spread, for you non-gambling perverts) in the past 4 Super Bowls. I had Pittsburgh - 3 1/2 over Seattle in 2005-06. I was correct in '07, taking the Colts -9 1/2. I was right two years ago taking the Giants +14 against the Patriots. (Have I mentioned lately that the Giants won the Super Bowl?) And I was wrong last year in taking Pittsburgh -7 over Arizona. So, we're hoping to get back on the right (Super) track, and I think the right play here is Saints, + 5 1/2.

I think the Colts will win the game, and I wouldn't be surprised if they covered the spread too. But on paper, we haven't had a Super Bowl this evenly matched in a while, and I just think 5 1/2 is a good value. Though it's only a slight lean. Also, in a contrarian play, I like "under" the posted total of 57. Wacky things happen in Super Bowls, so I don't think a shootout is quite the lock it seems to be.

On a personal note, I'll be feeling the most relaxed I've felt going into a Super Bowl in 7 years, as this is the first time since 2002-03's Bucs-Raiders matchup in which I don't really have a dog in the fight. No, I'm not a Panthers, Eagles, Colts, Giants, and Steelers fan; my amount of desire of course varied game-to-game on which team I wanted to see win. But I had my reasons each time.

So, this one should just be fun to watch, and I think of all 32 teams, it's the perfect matchup if you don't care who wins either. Though if I had to choose, I'd go for the Colts, as I'd like to see Manning take his rightful place among the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

Enjoy the game, and we'll see what happens!

Grammatical Nuisance of the Season

2010-01-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

I'd like to point out that Super Bowl is two words, not one run-on term. I am confident the vast majority of people already know this, but I've seen even die-hard sports fans write it as "superbowl." I don't think it's because they're any less intelligent; just that they probably haven't seen it written correctly, or taken notice of the right way.

So, go easy on these folks...but now they know, and no longer have an excuse.

Thanks for the laughs, Conan

2010-01-26T09:52:00.001-07:00

I felt like I should throw in my final thoughts on the Conan-NBC-Leno triple threat match, so here they are. Conan's last show was fantastic, and his farewell speech was classy, interesting, and even inspiring. He really took the high road in this whole thing, and I'll certainly miss watching him...at least until he signs on with another network, which can't be far off. (I've heard it's 9 months, in his contract.)

Thanks for all the good times Conan, you're the best in the business.

And with this, I'm back on the "shoot" side again

2010-01-21T10:41:00.003-07:00

This Conan clip was the first, at least that I've heard of, that was pulled from the air, by both NBC and Hulu. Thanks to the Huffington Post for having it.

As you read in my prior post, my main hang-up with the legitimacy of the NBC screwing Conan story was that they weren't censoring anything. Well, now they are, so I'm back to believing the feud is legit.

Favre/Leno revisited

2010-01-20T14:04:00.007-07:00

I'll begin with a link today...Czabe's friend Skip Oliva does a great job of expanding my initial snap comparison of Jay Leno to Brett Favre.

Also today, after hearing from my good friend Andrew, I'm starting to lean towards thinking a lot of this feud, among Conan, Leno, and NBC, is planned. If I can go heavy on wrestling terms now - as after all, I do believe life imitates wrestling almost as much as it imitates Seinfeld, which is an awful lot - this whole thing could be a work. (Originally, I was 90% sure it was a shoot.)

In really thinking about it, who benefits the most from the fued? NBC. They're playing the heel here, yet they're in charge and making the most money off of the situation. Both shows' ratings are up since the controversy began. And with all the sniping from Conan and Leno, both at each other and at NBC, wouldn't NBC be able to silence them if they wanted to? Take them off the air completely, stop them from making any jokes at NBC's expense, or at the very least, have final edit of what jokes/skits make air? This thing is starting to smell.

Or maybe it started out as a shoot, and NBC is turning it into a work after the fact. At this point wouldn't that be their best move? Maybe they'll call the whole musical chairs thing off and keep Conan and Leno where they are. It takes more intelligence and guts to reverse-field on a terrible idea than to go through with it...and with the bump in ratings Conan and Leno have been experiencing since the controversy started, they could really be turning a negavite into a positive. Plus, NBC could pretend it was a work all along even if it wasn't, and not look so stupid.

I'm not convinced of any of this...I'm maybe 60% sure at best that it's all a work. But this thing could get interesting. Stay tuned!

Long overdue

2010-01-16T08:26:00.003-07:00

It was about time they finally made a movie about the life and times of David Eckstein.

No word on when the sequel, entitiled "Grinder," will be released.

Have you heard about this, have you seen this?

2010-01-12T12:39:00.001-07:00

It has occurred to me that Jay Leno is the new Brett Favre: Gets catered to, can't make up his mind about retiring, doesn't know when it's time to step aside, and makes the situation uncomfortable for everyone involved. (One difference though, Brett Favre is the better comedian of the two.)

Stay strong, Conan.

Dawson's Creek*

2010-01-06T12:58:00.003-07:00

Former Expo, Cub, Red Sox, and Marlin Andre Dawson was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today. With seven seasons of an under .305 OBP (.323 OBP for his career), I'm lukewarm on his selection. Though I think it does give hope to fans of two superior position players of the same era, Tim Raines and Don Mattingly, on their future chances.

*Yes, I realize Dawson's Creek makes no sense in relation to Andre Dawson and is not a clever pun. But really, when am I going to get another chance to title a post thusly?

Movie pitch

2010-01-02T13:35:00.001-07:00

A sassy mother has to take her two kids all the way across Canada in just 3 days, to make it to her husband's rap concert. But there is only one who knows the shortcuts to get there in time...and he's not even human! Starring Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, and introducing Mark Eaton as the Abominable Snowman, in...

Are We There, Yeti?

NFL Gallimaufry

2009-12-28T13:21:00.002-07:00

Some thoughts on yesterday's action...

*The 2009 Giants sure had their struggles, but I thought they had a lot more pride and fight than what they showed. However, I am strangely not that bothered by this loss for two reasons: One, I had already pretty much written them off after the Eagles loss a couple weeks ago. And two, if they don't even bother to show up in an elimination game, at home against a 6-win opponent, then they obviously don't care. And if they don't care, why should I? So 2009 is a loss, but I am confident that Jerry Reese will make the kind of offseason moves it takes to get back on track for next year. (Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan being fired is one obvious move.) I think I can live off of the 2007 championship, the greatest in the history of sports, for a year or two longer...but I would love to see another title run in the near future.

*I'm very disappointed in the Colts for not being interested in winning at home against the Jets. It's one thing if you're 10-0 and you've clinched the division, and you rest some starters with six games still left in the regular season. But at 14-0, and leading 9-3 at halftime, just 90 minutes away from a perfect season, they take their foot off the gas? I wonder how many more times the Colts have to go perfect the first 12 to 14 weeks, ease up for the rest of the regular season, then lose in the divisional round, before they learn? And correct me if I'm wrong, but the one year they did win it all, 2006, didn't they go 12-4 and play hard through the end of the regular season?

*If there's any team that knows how to get their fans' hopes up, only to crush them in a new creative way every season, it's the Jets. So, with this team in control of its playoff destiny, I look for them to come from ahead to lose to the Bengals on Sunday night. Maybe by a missed field goal, stupid personal foul, or a Sanchez pick-six. Hey, they're the Jets, they'll probably find a way that's none of the above! So as you can see I suddenly find myself being very anti-Jets, as I feel they don't deserve to be in this position, especially at the expense of Pittsburgh - a team that actually can do something in the playofffs if healthy. But, as Clint Eastwood says in Unforgiven, "Deserving ain't got nothing to do with it."

*As for the Steelers, they do need a win plus a lot of help...but they should have thought of that while they were losing to the Raiders and Browns a few weeks ago.

It should be an intriguing final weekend of the regular season. And coming soon, 2009 NFL Preview revisited.

Incorrect regional grammar runs deep

2009-12-22T11:10:00.001-07:00

Let me start by saying I am a grammar absolutist. Not a relativist. (Nor a nihilist.) There is a right way, and a wrong way, to pronounce something, no matter where you live. Roof, not "rough." Oregon, not "Or-e-gone." And it's Prescott, not "Pres-kitt."

Now, I don't expect to enact change with this one because it's so ingrained in most locals, but I feel it's worth bringing up. Near as I can tell it's a California thing that sort of spread here, but what's the deal with Arizonans putting definite articles in front of numbered freeways? I have lived in this state longer than I haven't, and it never sounded right. It never became grammatically correct either.

Even some folks who came here from another region have picked up on this mistake. Whereas they used to take 287, to Route 1, to get to work, they now take "the 51 to the 10." For people who once had it right, only to come here and be convinced to speak incorrectly, the mistake is even more egregious.

Oh well. I guess it's just one of those little things that doesn't truly matter for anything in life, yet if you focus on it too much it will drive you crazy.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to be getting to the work, which is just located just off of the 24th Street and the Camelback Road.

Wow, thanks for the honesty

2009-12-02T13:11:00.002-07:00

Now Tiger Woods has come clean - only after being caught, of course. Among the egregious details are his cheating on his wife while she was pregnant. And how about the voicemail message to one of his mistresses that Us Magazine got a hold of, where he tells her to take her name off her phone because his wife might try to call? Classy. Also, for the entertainment value alone this Taiwanese Youtube video is worth watching - it's a computer simulation of what may have happened the night of the shady car accident. It's terrific from about the 50 second mark forward, complete with wife's face-slap, wife chasing his car on foot (a la T-1000 in Terminator 2), and telephone pole collision.

Way to go, Urkel. No credit for admitting the truth after first trying to cover it up. Going forward, I can only hope he has the kind of remorse and humility it takes to repair a marriage and family.

And yes, it does matter how sports celebrities act. Now more than ever, we need positive role models in prominent positions. One of the byproducts of guys like Tim Duncan and Peyton Manning winning championships, even if they don't play for the teams we happen to root for, is that these kinds of athletes are in the spotlight more. For this reason alone, I hope the Duncans and Mannings of the world continue to win. (My favorite squeaky clean role model athlete of all, Mariano Rivera, certainly took care of his part this year.)

Well, they do play 82 games

2009-12-02T12:37:00.002-07:00

The Knicks beat the Suns last night, 126-99. Had a 3-14 team ever previously beaten a 14-3 team, by that wide a margin before? I don't quite have the intrigue level to do this research, but I can't say it's that surprising either. With so many games on the regular season schedule - and this is even more true with baseball - it's impossible for the players to care about every one of them.

Another plea for feisty journalism

2009-12-01T13:08:00.001-07:00

Regarding this Tiger Woods phantom "car accident" at 2 AM the morning after Thanksgiving, just outside Woods's driveway...I'm going to make the same plea to the TMZs and National Enquirers of the world, that I did to the sports media when the Bill Belichick/Patriots "Spygate" scandal was covered up by the NFL. And that plea is, Please, please keep pursuing this. Don't just let them sweep it under the rug. Of course the police aren't going to investigate further. But don't let the precious, chosen one skate here.

I really don't have a personal ax to grind against the guy. I just kind of felt pushed in the non-Tiger direction by all the worship of him that goes on. It's the same reason people find Tim Tebow or Brett Favre annoying. It's not their fault they're overexposed or gushed about. In fact, I bet if the exaggerations were dialed back maybe 10%, people could appreciate them for what they are, rather than feel like they have to push back against waves of media fawning over them. And for me, with Woods that effect is multiplied by how I don't believe golf should be paid attention as a major sport at all. (But that was another post.)

So yeah, all that...plus I simply can't stand cover-ups.

The "Zorn Face," and On Temporarily Bad vs. Perpetually Bad

2009-11-09T14:32:00.002-07:00

Great article by Czabe today about the "Zorn Face," and the troubles of his hometown Redskins. It almost - and I stress "almost" - makes me feel better about the demise of the Giants this season.

While it's true that, as Bill Parcells used to say, you are what your record says you are, I believe there are different levels of bad in the NFL. Both the Giants and the Redskins have lost 4 games in a row and are spiraling downward. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the Giants' season is lost. But the Giants are a solid, sound organization and they have what it takes to be back in the mix soon, even if 2009 is a wash.

The Redskins on the other hand, have so many issues that it will take several years to rebuild, and that will only be possible with a change in the way things are done in management. (You then have a 4 or 5 team grouping below the Redskins, that are in such disarray it might take a decade or more to clean up, but they are not the focus of this post.)

World Champs!

2009-11-04T22:52:00.001-07:00

It is wonderful to see the Yankees win the championship - their 27th - and their first in nine years. It seemed fitting that Pettitte started the game, Rivera came on in relief, and Jeter and Posada played prominent roles, just as it went for many playoff games as this version of the Yankees' dynasty began some 13 years ago.

It was a great series and the Phillies were worthy adversaries, but it was clear that the Yankees were the dominant team. Maybe this team will turn into another branch of the Yankee dynasty, and maybe it won't, but either way I will sure enjoy this one on its own merits.

Regarding the series itself, it is easy to second-guess a manager for decisions or moves that did not work out, but rarely do you hear praise for moves that do. So, a job well done by Joe Girardi on the Yanks' 3-man rotation working out perfectly for the duration of the playoffs.

Also, a tip of the cap to Fox for their excellent coverage. Particularly the isolation on each Yankee player with a different camera, for the final out. I thought that was a really neat touch.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to listening to We Are The Champions on a loop...what was the name of the band who recorded that song again?

In bad economy, too much hubris a major turn-off

2009-11-01T11:15:00.002-07:00

It's amazing how some businesses have the moxie to continue to charge draconian prices, or even raise them, in this economic climate. And when I say economic climate, I don't mean the one that's portrayed in the media (super-horrible worst thing ever), but the realistic one (kinda bad; not terrible, but certainly not helped by aforementioned media sensationalism).

I feel cable companies are the best example. It seems they are just begging people to yank it out of their homes. I've said this before about movie theater prices ($10 per person in this era where you could buy the DVD and watch it in high-definition forever for about that much), and it's almost stunning the amount of hubris it takes to price yourself out of a market and assume no one will leave you because they simply MUST have cable. Well not me. I recently bought a house and for the first time in over 5 years, was faced with the decision of whether or not to pay the current rate of over $50 a month for cable. I said no.

I know where technology is going. So much is online now - ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC upload most of their prime time shows, and even some of my favorite cable shows like South Park, Rescue Me and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, are also available. Not to mention everything people put on Youtube. And there's Netflix. In fact, I think the only thing on cable these days that can't be worked around, is a live, cable-televised sporting event. And for that, I submit just any bar or restaurant.

One of my friends has canceled his cable service in the past few months. I have 9 friends so sure it's a small sample size, but hey, counting myself that's 20% of people I know that have said no to cable lately.

I think the backlash is delayed a bit, but in the not too distant future we're going to see record numbers of people cut down on this entertainment expense, from companies that either simply don't understand their market, or have the heap of arrogance it takes to ignore it.

Jumping the gun

2009-10-26T08:01:00.002-07:00

At about noon yesterday during the Vikings-Steelers game on Fox, the local Phoenix affiliate, Fox 10, ran a promo for their sports show, featuring Jude LaCava.

LaCava: "Coming up on Sports Wrap Up Tonight (or whatever the exact title of the show), it's the Yankees and the Phillies in the World Series. We'll preview the matchup, and blah blah blah..."

Nice and accurate, except for one problem...this was a good five hours before the first pitch of Angels-Yanks ALCS Game 6 was scheduled to be thrown.

So either someone at Fox 10 has a sports almanac telling him the participants of the next 50 World Series that he traveled back in time to give himself, or Jude LaCava didn't want to come in on a Sunday so he recorded recaps of several different versions of things that could happen.

I'm reminded of the old SNL skit where Dana Carvey plays Tom Brokaw, and Brokaw wants to go away for the summer and has to record all kinds of news stories with crazy scenarios, just in case. "Former President Gerald Ford dead today...mauled by a circus lion in a convenience store."