A Weekend in Boston Sports

It was a good weekend in Boston. The Red Sox completed the come back and won a spot in the World Series and the Patriots made Miami look like a DIII school.

Boston did what it should have (and the Yankees should have BTW) in beating Cleveland. No disrespect for Cleveland, but I think that the Sox were arguably the better team, though Cleveland may have been the hotter team coming into the Championship Series. Yesterday's game, like many in the playoffs, was not particularly pretty with errors, bobbles and blown calls (Lofton was safe at second...though not from the umps angle and the third base coach should have sent Lofton), but the game did not end up being close. The Rockies are a feel good story, but I say the Red Sox in 5.

Thew pissed me off the other day by saying something to the affect of, "sure...anyone can be as good as Brady with those receivers, show what he does with a lesser team." I replied, "See Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX." Boston sport fans are particularly sensitive about Brady, who is not as self-promoting as Peyton Manning, who talks about team first and is generally humble about his performance. Statistically, Manning has put up bigger numbers then Brady, but Brady has not had the overall receiver core or the run game of Indy. But Tom wins Super Bowls.

Belichick is out to prove something this year though. After everyone dumped on him because of Spygate, he made it his mission to make a simple point: we will crush you anyway. Prior to the Pats first punt Sunday, the 10 prior possessions against the Cowboys and the Dolphins went: TD, field goal, TD, field goal, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD and...wait for it...TD. Sixty-two points. Brady's QB rating is nearly 140 after seven games. The Patriots have scored on EVERY opening drive this year. 16-0 is possible.

Yes, the Pats will play Indy in Indy in two weeks. That will be a game to watch. And, of course, the Steelers, but the real interesting game will be against the Jets. Belichick wants to humiliate Mangini for crying about the camera. December 16 in Foxboro. I expect the Patriots to do everything they can to run up the score....

In the Sports World...

OJ is in a heap of trouble. Any doubt they will throw the book at him? It is a sad story...OJ was a big hero growing up in the 70s and his early biography - USC, Heisman, Buffalo Bills, Hertz - showed glimpses of a class act. But he just lost control. Too bad.

The New England Patriots were caught violating the rules. Peter King is in hysterics. Now every jealous franchise is doubting the authenticity of the Patriots past performances. LaDainian Tomlinson says that is how the Pats beat the Chargers last year and this year would be different. It was: the Chargers were NEVER in the game. Last year's MVP, Tomlinson managed 40 yards rushing.

Donovan McNabb, coming off of two poor performances and in the lower third of QB rankings, has an explanation: he's black, so he is criticized more. Yeah, that's it. He has got a 68.8 QB rating because of whitey. Being black is a factor to McNabb...he is using it as a crutch.

Tiger Woods does not need excuses or a crutch. He is simply the best golfer in the world. When Tiger has a few bad swings he hits the range...not the airwaves. Tiger is an over-dog you can root for because he is a "no excuses" competitor. Black, white, yellow, green...who gives a shit. McNabb are you listening?

USA, USA. The Women's National Team are on to the quarters of the World Cup and will play England Saturday. Go, girls!

And the Yankees continue to close the gap on the Red Sox. The advantage of winning the division is clear...avoid the Angels in the first round. I am also not counting the Tigers out quite yet.

Then Miner, 49er, Soon Began to Peak and Pine

Bill Walsh has died. Most people forget that the success of the NFL is a 20-25 year phenomenon. After the Bradshaw/Noll Steelers and Staubach/Landry Cowboys peaked the public's interest, along came a quarterback named Montana and a classy Coach by the name of Bill Walsh. On January 10, 1982, Dwight Clark caught a pass which became know as The Catch and the Niners beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championships and the torch was passed. Walsh leaves behind an impressive legacy of proteges.

With the Michael Vick saga grabbing the front page, it is important to remember the Class Acts in the sport.

Requiescat in Pace

The Worst, the Best and Just PlainSports

I am really un-interested in the whole dog-fighting thing. It should be stopped, period. If Vick is involved, he should be thrown out of the NFL. SI has a big article on what is going on for those interested. Be warned, the details are not pretty.

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This weekend had two phenomenal lacrosse games. First, Duke beat Cornell 12-11 in the second semi-final and the right to play Johns Hopkins. After being down as much as 10-3, Big Red came back and tied the game with 17 seconds left! Duke wins the face off and as time wound down, Matt Greer put the ball in the net. Time remaining: 0:03.

The title game was just as exciting without the last second heroics. But it was the Blue Jays up 10-4 at the half and Duke coming back. Duke was poised for another Cinderella like ending, but the blistering shot with 9 seconds left was kicked away (yes, kick save!) by the Jays goalie. Final Johns Hopkins 12-11.

But hats off to Duke. Given the total crap they went through with the false allegations of rape, the spinelessness of the Duke administration and faculty, cancelling their 2006 season and the scrutiny they were under this year, it is truly amazing what they accomplished.

* * *

The CONCACAF Gold Cup starts next week after a US-China warm-up. Comments and analysis to follow. This is Coach Bradley's first real competition as permanent head coach, so it will be interesting to see how the players respond.

Of course, this is just a warm-up for Copa America later this year...

Ruff Life

Again, this is something I will never understand. God has given you talent and opportunity and you just throw it all away. Even when you get a second, third and fourth chance, you keep on throwing it away.

I am not sure what it is. I don't think it is a race thing (white and Hispanic athletes also do it), but WTF is he thinking?

I have mentioned on many occasions that the NFL generally produces "good" characters (as oppose to the nuts of the NBA). But there are exceptions...

* * *

In other news, Floyd Landis' doping hearing got more interesting. Greg Lemond revaled that he was sexually abused as a child and that Landis' manager threaten to reveal that information if Lemond testified against Landis. Now, Lemond is a total asshole, but WTF. What are these people thinking?

* * *

Jason Giambi has admitted to using steroids. Is anyone surprised? Of course, now that the Yankees pitching has settled down, the bats have gone quiet. Good news is they are back in 2nd place, the bad news is that they are 9 1/2 back and the Red Sox are paying .700 ball. (Is it time to Panic? No, let's wait to see how the Red sox do after the All-Star break - Ed.) But at least there is finally harmony in the clubhouse. Oh, wait.

* * *

The Girls are 5 - 0 (7 - 2 as split squads) and generally dominating. As a coach, you definately enjoy these seasons more then the 0 - 5 seasons. I have seven of my 11 girls going for all-stars, but it was funny to watch my girls (who are competeing against their own grade and the next grade up) struggle against the bigger, older girls. They did well, but there were 60 eight and nine year olds trying out for about 33 slots. And, as is usual, the Top 10 are pretty obvious, the Bottom 10 probably apparent, and the remaining 40 girls are all good and very close in skills. I think I am more nervous then they are...

A Rolling Stone Gathers No...

Moss. Bill Simmons' comments are funny and dead-on. Favorite line: Brady to Belichick, "COULD YOU GET ME SOME HELP PLEASE! THERE'S A CHANCE MY EX-GIRLFRIEND PULLED THE GOALIE ON ME THIS WINTER, COULD YOU THROW ME ONE EFFING BONE HERE!" "Pulled the Goalie"?! I nearly pissed myself.

I think Moss is thinking two things: One, there are more important things then money. He will never post HoF numbers in Oakland nor will he ever win a Super Bowl in Oakland. Both are quite possible in New England. Two, there is nothing more important then money and I will be worth nothing in two years if I stay in Oakland. Sooooo, where do I go? I need a top quarterback; a deeper receiving core and an offensive line that will give said QB time. And I want to put up numbers in the play-offs. Hmmmmmm.

Count me as optimistic this is a good move for New England and Moss.

Quinn. Two words: Eli Manning. No one wanted to make that mistake again.

Russell. Good fit in Oakland. He needs a year, but won't get it. The question is is he the next Randell Cunningham or Drew Bledsoe.

Landis. Is there reasonable grounds to believ..Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I love to bike, but I hate TDF politics. The French were going to strip him of the title because he is American.

Yankees. Tom Verducci says they are done. We will see. True Yankee fans see April through September as pre-season ball. Let's talk again in October. They are 5 games below .500, but it is very early.

My Girls. Are 3-0 (5-0, if you view split squads as separate games) for the season and are looking pretty solid. This is my last season with this group of kids, so I am hoping to run the table. The games have been relatively close, but we really have not been threaten yet. We are lucky, we have 4-5 very good players who are very good, but our younger girls (first graders) make our team. It is clear that we have a much stronger young squad then the other teams. Normally, you are happy that the youngsters don't mess up too badly, but we have girls who really contribute.

Gaffe? I Laugh!

Who said the best Super Bowl ads were restricted to those debuting during the Super Bowl rather then just appearing in a Super Bowl?

Super Bowl Ads

Yep, this year was definitely a far cry from past. (Oh, Terry Tate were are you? MJ & Bird? And, the all time best, Mean Joe?)

About half of them were funny in parts. Martha Stewart wanting cilantro and the throw away line, "rookie" when he brings cumin. The lion saying "sexy, like Ricardo Montalban," and the other lion starting to talk and then saying "Ricardo Montalban?" The apes were funny. Rock, paper, scissors...BAM! The Blockbuster mouse was clever.

But nothing like years past. I seem to remember that there was at least one ad that was "must see TV" for days. Oh, well.

At least, pitchers and catchers report in the next two weeks...

The Game Was Up to Expectations

First, I appreciate the kudos from Thew.

Second, while I agree that Colts played solid football (certainly in the second half), I don't agree that the Bears defense or Grossman is to "blame" for the loss. I do believe that Dungy beat Smith and this was a coach's victory.

Turnovers were a factor. There were two muffed snaps that do not appear on the "fumble" line which were very important in stopping Bear's drives. That would make 8 "fumbles" and picks of which 5 were turnovers. Ouch.

Grossman did not play well, but WTF were the coaches think having him throw deep in the pouring rain? Manning was using short passes, running and the threat of going deep to march down the field. The Bears showed they could do that also, but then lost patience. And Grossman was not playing at the level necessary to make those plays. In summary, the Colts played within themselves and the Bears tried to do too much.

I agree about the whole "black" coach thing. Is the media saying that black coaches in the Super Bowl are a surprise because they are not as good? If not, drop the race thing. Tony Dungy is not a Hall of Fame black coach; he is a HoF coach who happens to have black skin. Lovie Smith (while not at Dungy's level yet) gives every indication that he will get there. Their skin color is not germane.

(In fairness, the media is always looking for an angle: oldest, youngest, first three legged coach, but adding adjectives that have no bearing on the underlying noun takes away from the main accomplishment: getting to the Super Bowl.)

On a final note: the ads were very disappointing. The Tilam family favorite was the Bud Light ad with the hitchhikers (Boy: "But he's got Bud Light." Girl: "And an ax!"). There were several that were cute, but none that were great.

Zebras Doing Their Job

I wanted to clarify one thing below. I don't think the referees made the wrong call on the PI and roughing the passer plays. I think they were accurate.

What I object to is the pussification of the NFL...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

We saw two different types of games on Sunday. In the first, one wonders what one ever saw in the Saints. 4 fumbles (3 lost) and 1 pick. You can't win playing like that. Credit the Bears defense who really showed up and Rex Grossman, who played much smarter when it counted. All that said, it was close until the 4th quarter.

The Colts-Pats game was a great game to watch. You were not sure of the outcome until a minute left to play. The quarterbacks played very well and with the final drive in the 2nd quarter, you knew it was not over. I thought the Pats defense really looked beat in the second half, BUT it were two call emblematic of the problems creeping into the NFL.

The first was a pass interference call on New England's Ellis Hobbs. Of course Hobbs did not touch the Colts receiver, he was called for "blocking his view." Blocking his view? Isn't that what the f*** he gets paid to do? Next year they are changing the rule, so it is interference if you don't say "mother may I" before going for the ball. Ridiculous!

The second was the roughing the passer call on the last Indy drive. While going for Peyton's arm, Tully Banta's hand glanced off of Manning's helmet. (Manning did not even stumble from the blow.) Bam! Half the distance to the goal line setting up the final score.

Those calls should not be in the NFL.

That said, it should not have come down to that. The Pats' defense was sick and tired and spent by the third period, but Manning still had to make the plays...Clark still had to catch the passes (something Reche Caldwell had a difficult time doing), so hats off to them.

So...my predictions: going 0 for 2 this past weekend has not inhibited me a bit. Given my track record though, Bears fans will delight in my pick:

Colts 27, Bears 13.

Grossman will throw 2 picks minimum. Manning will play relaxed and confident after the comeback.

Er, Rational Exuberance?

The Chargers are upset at what they viewed as overly exuberant celebrations by the Patriots.

Puhleeeeeze! Boo-freakin'-hoo.

It should be noted that the Charger's were guilty of over exuberance also - theirs just happen during the game and were followed by two 15-yard personal fouls...

Playoff Prediction Recap (or Don't Quit Your Day Job)

I basically batted .500 this past weekend. The Pats/Jets game was higher scoring then I expected, but what the hell happened to the Chiefs? They really looked like they didn't belong. Of course, the Colts looked like crap too, but in comparison to the Chiefs, they were a rock.

Tony Romo played like Perry for one play and lost the game for the Cowboys. And the Iggles did win, though the game was much better (and closer) then I expected.

Hat's off to Thew, who went 4 for 4 for his weekend picks.

Give me a couple of days to ruminate, but my first cut at next weekend games are:

Pats over Bolts
Ravens over Colts
Bears over 'Hawks
Eagles over Saints

I am going with the "rookie QBs lose playoff games no matter how good they are during the season." But the only win I am confident in is the Ravens. LT may give NE fits, though the Pats have the 5th best run defense in the NFL. The 'Hawks and Bears will be a"who is going to lose it" game. I think the Iggles have an experience edge over the Saints; Garcia seems to be able to pull off the victory whether its pretty or ugly.