Super Bowl Chattering Teeth

A majority of people have the same opinion on this ridiculous outdoor Super Bowl, that it is, well, Ridiculous. But the NFL was in near consensus on selecting the location and a few people who are in agreement with them.

But as my pops said, “This idea will die a quick death”.

Okay, the biggest issue by far to most people is the weather. And let me first start out by saying that last year at the time of the Super Bowl the NYC area had perfect weather… for the Ice-Sculpting Championships not the NFL Super Bowl. There was 30 inches of snow being layered on the already frozen ground when the Saints and Colts took the field.

What Drew Brees will look like at Super Bowl 2014.

And don’t give me the ‘Football is played in the elements’ or the ‘I love watching snow games’. Cause I don’t think you’re telling the truth. And the 2 examples the league brought up were the ‘Tuck Rule Game’ and the ‘Ice Bowl’. I don’t think so:

1. The ‘Tuck Rule’ Game- The 2002 AFC Championship Game and the only play that everyone remembers is the ‘Tuck Play’. What if that happened in the Super Bowl? Do you want a shaky call at best decide the biggest game of the year? Wouldn’t that be the biggest controversial call ever?

You don’t want the cold and the snow to affect the game like that. And let’s not forget that the end score of the game was 16-13. The past two Super Bowls have been undoubtedly 2 of the best ever and they had 50 and 48 points scored respectively. People want to see high scoring/high flying offenses.

2. The ‘Ice Bowl’- The 1967 NFL Championship Game was considered by many people as the best game ever because of the climate, rivalry and outcome of the game. And although this all may be true times have changed. Who wants to play in -48 degree weather? Or more importantly watch in that weather? Are there any real rivalries in the NFL between conferences?

The game was played in Green Bay with the Packers playing, so it was practically a home game and all the spectators were probably Wisconsin natives and big time Packer fans. And it was the 2^nd Super Bowl ever, and with players and coaches this game would only later become historic.

But now the game isn’t just about the game anymore, it’s a spectacle and all about the fans and their experience. And a majority of the fans that attend the game aren’t really even fans of the teams. 25% of tickets are raffled off from the NFL. Another 25% is given to sponsors and people associated with the NFL. 9% is given to the team that hosts the Super Bowl. 35% are given to the teams playing in the game and the rest is split up and given to every other team in the league.

Q: So those numbers are nice but how many fans are actually going to go?

A: Very few. Some of the tickets raffled by the NFL probably go to some big time fans. The majority of tickets that are given to the teams in the big team are given out to family and friends of the players/coaches, not fans. And why in the world would a random corporate businessman or family member want to sit in the freezing cold bleachers to watch a game they really don’t care about when they could be inside watching in the comfort of their hotel rooms?

And don’t give me the New York atmosphere for a Super Bowl is going to be head and shoulders above any other experience on Earth. Okay, NYC is one of best cities in the world and is the media capital of the world. Okay, so the media is going to have a hay-day. And NYC in the summer is nice, but in February… no thanks. (And people like David and his family probably wouldn’t be willing to go NYC in February but Tampa where it’s 60 degrees, oh yeah. It’s a well known fact that people have more fun when wearing khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirt than when they wear a parka. And who doesn’t get a good laugh when you see Warren Sapp wearing short shorts covering the game? Too far??)

The new Meadowlands stadium isn’t even in New York; it’s in nearby New Jersey. And although the parties in NYC would be killer and unlike anything else driving to the game would be a pain like no other. With the all the tourists, corporate/business people, normal NYC people and all the media the major highways getting to the games would be a parking lot. And you don’t want people driving in any type of weather with that amount of people.

And people keep saying that it may not be a onetime thing. That giving the Super Bowl to NYC would open the door to allowing the Super Bowl to other markets for the big game to be held at. A Super Bowl in Chicago/Denver/Seattle/Kansas City would be fun? It would be cool for the home town to host it, for the rest of the league it would suck. It would be like the NBA All-Star game coming to your town every 30 years or so… only worse.

All and all I’m glad they decided to do a Super Bowl in a cold weather climate… so it can slap them in the faces and get the NFL’s attention on how stupid they sometimes are.

Grooving

If you watched the Rockies game today like I did there is one thing that stood out more than anything else. And I have seen it before, just not this early in the season.

No, it's not the back-to-back-to-back homeruns. (Which was extremely cool) No, it’s the pitching staff that looks unhittable. But those can be part of it.

It’s the ROX SWAG.

There’s just a certain presence about the team. About the way they dig their toe into the back of the batters box, the way the take the field, the way they warm up. It may be seen as confidence or a streak but I don’t see it as that. There is something more to it, something more profound than that. Cause well all these ballplayers have so much self confidence that it is almost sickening. It’s a groove, a rut that comes along only so often.

Not only this, but the feeling is transferable. And it grows until the whole teams gets it. One person gets the fever and then another and then another until the whole clubhouse is affected and overcome by this ‘groove’, this ‘SWAG’. (I hope I didn’t just jinx the flu spreading around the clubhouse, because Seth Smith although he played fine is in bad shape and doesn’t give it to any of his other teammates.) They feed off each other to the keep it going and stay in the groove.

And as a fan you can just feel it too. You just get this feeling, even if we are losing that we are going to find a way to pull it out. That the outcome is inevitable and there is no chance that we lose. We can’t, we’re that good.

I’ve felt it before. In ROCKTOBER 2007 coming down the stretch when we were making that run it was there. You could feel the electricity in the air and it engulfed the city of Denver and the state of Colorado. There was no way that we could lose, no way that we were not going to make the playoffs. CIP: The play in game with 5^th starter Josh Fogg starting, you just knew that when it came down to it the Rockies were going to come out on top. Unfortunately Uncle Mo left us when the Rox had a week off before the Series.

And yes, it can and will come off a little cocky. But that is constantly misconstrued. You have players that you ‘love to hate’, well this is a team that you can do the same. Unless, of course, you are on our side or the catch the fever.

And I hate to say this, but this may be way too early to make the run. Can the Rockies really sustain this momentum for 100 games? If the run does come to a halt will the team be able to gather enough steam too make the key push into the playoffs? I don’t know, but it scares me.

Ray-Ray

I’m just gonna jump right into it… The Celtics go as Ray Allen goes.

And when Doc doesn’t listen to this saying the offense gets stagnant and they lose. CIP (Case in Point): Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Ray goes 7-12 from the field, a stellar night for most players but a decent, ‘This is what I do’ kind of nights for Ray-Ray. And when the TD Garden max capacity crowd should have seen triple/quadruple/picket fence/rub/ball screens for him they saw the overused NBA Superstar post up at 18 feet with Paul Pierce. He may have kept them in the game to the naked eye, but he really didn’t. He made them lose.

When you give the ball to Ray-Ray, the only logical way to give the ball to Ray-Ray is to send him around a plethora of screens and let do his thing. And when this happens he scores the ball with the best of them, shooting above 45% for the 2^nd half of the season and carrying that stroke into the playoffs with him. And not only has this but he also got his teammates involved. I’ve seen Kendrick Perkins too many times rolling to the basket untouched and KG with his ‘short corner’ shot unguarded. He may have some turnovers but the benefits outweigh the costs.

And all this talk about Rajon Rondo as making the Celtics run, I’m not buying it. Reading screens and giving the ball to Ray-Ray is cutting down on his tough decision making and thus turnovers. And with everyone worried about the screens and Ray-Ray, Rondo is able to sneak through the teeth of the defense and score.

When Pierce gets it in the post* nobody is involved and the offense gets sloppy and no movement happens. Nobody offensive boards and everybody contributes to lack luster performance on the other end of the floor.

Okay, I’m not saying that Ray-Ray has to have 30 points and 9 assists for them to win. And there is no way in the world that he can run off screens all game, but it has to happen the majority of time. Just give Ray-Ray touches; he is experienced enough to know when to give it up and when to unleash the silky stroke.

Prediction: If Ray-Ray shoots 15+ times in game 5 then the Celtics with win by double figures.

Bold Prediction: If the Lakers series goes 7, and Ray-Ray gets 10+ shots a game in the finals (he’s averaging a little over 12 Shots per game) then the Celtics will roll in 5 games. There is no way that Kobe can carry his team miraculously to the Finals, AND then guard a guy who runs off 50 screens a game. I don’t think so. And if you think that Ron Artest will guard him you might as well hand the Celtics the trophy. And if the Lakers win in 6 games in the Western Conference Finals then and Ray-Ray gets 10+ shots a game then the Lakers might make it a series but it will only go 6 games max.

Favritis

Favritis- The disease of being completely whipped by Brett Favre with no hope of winning any big games

Like the call of the Siren his allure can be hypnotizing, and right now the Minnesota Vikings have it worse than my sister has Bieber-fever.

Let me just throw out a few facts that you might have not heard before.

Brett was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the 33^rd overall pick. In his rookie season, he played in 2 games, he dropped back 5 times. He got sacked once and got rid of the ball the other 4 times. Unfortunately 2 of them were to the other team. If that’s not a sign I don’t know what is.

Favre and the Packers won the Super Bowl in 1996. Yep, that’s 14 years ago. I wasn’t even 7 at the time. And he has been quoted as saying he has played with “A lot” of concussions; he doesn’t even know the exact number of concussions he has had let alone does he know how to win the big one. Do you think somedays he thinks his Super Bowl ring is his wedding band, cause I wouldn’t doubt it.

Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren both came to the leading positions for the Packers in 1992. And Coach Holmgren is a genius in his own right. He has only coached for 2 teams, and he has only been coaching for 18 years and still he is considered one of the best coaches of his era. So it can be easy to say that Mike Holmgren helped create this Favre illusion.

And don’t give me the ‘he’s the toughest guy in the league’ spiel.

He has played with a broken thumb, bum knees, back most grandpas would kill for, and an emotional state of havic. Okay, so he plays through some of the toughest injuries, but if the lack of abilities on a certain day will hurt the team; wouldn’t you take yourself out of the game? Let the backup run the team, make the safe throws and give you some rest and possibly a win for the team. He would never do this. As much as he says that he doesn’t think about the consecutive game streak we can all see right through that. And that’s just the beginning of him being selfish.

And his antics at the end of the season are immature. I could ramble on this for days but I’ll try to contain myself. You continually break down, say you’re not going to return, that you’ve played your last day in the NFL and retire to your southern Mississippi home. Then you say you feel better after your 3 month hiatus and make a valiant return to the gridiron. We believed you the first time, maybe, just maybe. The second time, I was sick. And the third time, I just paid you no attention. Okay, you are old and you don’t want to go through summer workouts. I wouldn’t want to do them either, but don’t go down crying then return on your noble stead. MJ could do it a couple times, but you’re no MJ. Make a decision and stick with it.

Now decisions, that’s an ever encompassing word in Brett’s vocabulary. So what he passed Dan Marino in touchdown passes? He also has the most interceptions ever. And I know this is an overdrawn argument but it works. A gunslinger only knows one way to play football and that is to throw it, even when there is no hope for success. And sometimes it works and you look like a hero and other times it doesn’t work and you are criticized. His arm strength has helped with his mentality, but some great receivers like Donald Driver on the receiving end made up for numerous poor decisions.

But that is in the past and he is still a Hall of Famer and able to move a team to Super Bowl. Wrong.

Let’s take a look at the last 2 years. One with the Jets and the next with the Vikings.

1. The year with the Jets was more of a transition than anything. Allow he consistently denies it and such; he was a horrible personality in the locker-room. It was his first year out of Green Bay and he walked into that locker room like he owned the place; and you just don’t do that in New York. (Unless you’re Lebron James and the Knicks) So he waltzed in there and did what he always does, he threw the ball all over that place and ended up single handedly kick the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets out of the playoffs. And then Favre retired again.

The next year, with a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez, and a crazy fiery coach in Rex Ryan they went to the AFC title game. They kept the ball on the ground and played some defense and won games, games that mattered. Short story… the Jets were better off without Brett.

2. This past year when Favre played for the Vikings. The Viking had everything; a stellar defense, hicktastic Jared Allen was a force on defense and deep secondary. Their offense was above average with ‘All-Day’ Adrian Peterson running wild in Minneapolis. The only question mark was at QB, which is a pretty big question mark but as we saw with the Jets, Ravens Steelers you don’t necessarily need an All-Pro quarterback to win. Then Lee Dungaree himself showed up.

Favre proceeded to throw the ball 33 times a game. That was not a misprint, misspell, or whatever. 33 times a game, a game, Favre dropped back to throw the ball. And Peterson only got 19 carries a game. He still racked up 1300 yards and 18 touchdowns. The best player in the league wasn’t getting the back because the old hack wanted to sling it all over the yard to receivers like Sidney Rice and Visathe Shiancoe. Then he proceed to lose to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC title game, with 2 crucial intercepts by… you guessed it Brett Favre.

He is a player that only my grandmother can love. So Brett it’s time to go, and they will welcome you with open arms to the god-awful Fox Sports pregame show.

What a funny game it is?

Site: Coors Field

Date: May 12, 2010

Time: Roughly 4:28 PM

We saw the ball majestically hit my Miguel Olivo and sail over the wall, him skip around the bases, then dive into a pile of men willing to pile drive their comrade into the ground in standard congratulatory fashion.

This happens to be my second Rockies game of the season and strangely the first ended in the strange manner. But it doesn’t end there.

Roy Halladay, the home grown son, was pitching his first game ever in his home state of Colorado. He is 6-1, which is unbelievable even by his standards.

Both starting All-Star shortstops Troy Tulowitzki and Jimmy Rollins are injured and got another DNP. And another 3 players got hurt over the course of the game

Earlier this week 2 different catchers hit walk off home runs against the Mets in consecutive games. Walk-off home runs don't happen every day, let alone catchers doing it.

Miguel Olivo was the 3^rd player to ever go 5-for-5 in a game and have a walk off home run. The last player to do this was Fred McGriff in the late 1990’s.

As the Rockies commentators say over and over again throughout the course of the season that you see something new everyday. Something that may say ‘huh’ or ‘WOW’. And all the people out there that don’t understand it. That can’t find the reason why people come back to it. That see it as simple and too easy of a sport. You can’t get this anywhere else, something so intricate, so mentally straining, and so detailed. Every little little thing matters and it can make all the difference.

[People go through life regretting decision, career choices, and personal associations; being selfish, ignorant, irrational and sometimes downright crazy. But there is a certain kind of person that plays a huge role in my life that do ZERO/none of those. They are the type of people that makes the ball bounce their way, they will go out of their way for you, they can make you smile and maybe even make milk come out of your nose at the exact inopportune moment. You are the differences in my life that are there in baseball.

I would like to personally congratulate all the 8orade graduates on ‘Finishing-Strong’. I would like to wish people good luck on their journey ahead of them in Guam. And I would like to thank my friends and family for being there for me. ]

Tiger Titanic

The common analogy is a car wreck. You don’t want to look at the horrific event but you just can’t help it and you continue to look.

But what if there was an audience for… let’s say, the Titanic; you do not want to see the most majestic ship in all the world sink but you can’t help it so you grab the popcorn and squint for a better view.

This is exactly what is happening to soon-to-be number 2 golfer in the world Tiger Woods.

In just another coincidental event that makes my prediction of the greatest golfer our lifetime spot on. We’ve already hit the iceberg; okay there’s no way in the world that the most prolific/clutch/admired athlete in the world can be taken down by this. We’re trying to save face by throwing pale after pale of water over the edge; he came clean, he apologized to his fans, his mother and everyone else. People will forgive and forget. And now the captain (swing coach Hank Haney) has jumped ship. Uh oh.

Less than a year ago the Golden Bear’s record looked eclipseable and there was never a doubt in everyone’s mind that this record would soon fall to the most fruitful golfer ever. Now the 18 majors seem insurmountable and even a ridiculous task to comprehend. The destruction that has occurred is unfathomable.

He may win a couple more majors, but his days as the best of the best are long gone and the sooner people come to realize this the better it is for everyone.

For anyone who has played the game of golf on a regular basis knows that there is no room for any mental lapses. That the all too familiar ‘6 inches between your ears’ is the most important part of your game at all times. And with that lacking in any capacity, let along the struggle and strife on his mind at this point is too tough for us to grasp, there is no way you can focus on a certain shot, in a certain situation.

He surpassed 9/11 for the record of number of consecutive days that have made the cover of the New York Post. His every move is being watched and his scrutinized and there is drainage on him at an emotional and physical level. In effect, he’s done for.

Tiger, like the Titanic looked at one time majestic and profound and all we could ever want. Now the weight is too much; the Tiger is going down.

Keeping it PG

Summer 2010 in the NBA is going to move some big names into different markets. Max contracts are going to be signed and jerseys are going to be sold out on shelves throughout the country. The landscape of NBA basketball as we know is about to change.

But all the PG’s, that aren’t going to be getting these 20 plus million dollar contracts, are rather dishing the ball to the so-called-superstars and taking a backseat in the limelight, are saying not so fast?

Russell Westbrook outdid Kobe Bryant. Westbrook is making just under $4 million dollars this year but the Black Mamba is making nearly 6 times that amount. Kobe had to play lock-down defense on him just to allow his defending championship team to advance to the second round.

Brandon Jennings $2 outplayed Joe Johnson $15. Jennings, a rookie, without the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Redd and the up-and-coming Aussie center Andrew Bogut. He led the team in scoring with nearly 19 points a game and took Joe Johnson and the Hawks to 7 games.

Deron Williams $13 outdueling Carmelo Anthony $16 and now Kobe. Williams was shorthanded; AK47, a starter and All-Star was out the entire series and Okur ruptured his Achilles tendon in the first game. All Williams had to compliment him was Boozer against a stacked athletic lineup. Not to mention Carmelo playing the best series of his career; yet Williams found a way to the 2^nd round.

Steve Nash $13 outwon Tim Duncan $22. Nash finally got past his kryptonite, the San Antonio Spurs who has lost to 6 times prior. 22 points, 8 assist, 5 boards, a black eye and 6 stitches later and ‘The Big Fundamental’ is gone is 4 games.

And Rajon Rondo outMVPed Lebron James. People may say its Lebron’s elbow, the lack of coaching for Brown or an array of different excuses but the reason is most definitely Rondo. He wasn’t even thought to be a good point guard getting picked 21^st overall in 2006 behind JJ Redick and Adam Morrison. The ‘Three Amigos’, were bad, but now are worse. Paul Pierce has no games; his best move is a travel. Kevin Garnett has bad knees, a bad attitude and the biggest instigator in the league (case in point: suspension in the first round for elbowing Quentin Richardson). And Ray Ray would the silkiest stroke in the association but can’t find anyone to screen for him. Nate Robinson, need I say more. Sam Cassel, Leon Powe and Eddie House who were on the team in 2008 when they won the championship are departed the team and have yet to be replaced with the same quality of player. And if that wasn’t enough he went for 28-13-18 last night.

Although big names may put butts in the seats, may sell mass amounts of jerseys and merchandise, may be the faces of the franchise they can’t do it without their little helpers. So if you’re reading this (Any GM out there that is reading this probably should get fired) go after that big name player who can score the ball at will and carry the team, but also remember the Point Guards that can truly take a team to the promise land.

Rockie P&D

[First and foremost I want to apologize to all my faithful fans out there (the 7 of you) for my leave of absence in the last week. Finals took a frontseat to everything else. Sorry.]

The Rockies are 3.0 games back in the division, sitting at .500 through 28 games. But there is no need to fret.

The Rockies pitchers have a 3.75 ERA which is half a run lower than the league average. The pitching staff is 5^th youngest in the NL. The NL West is the toughest division in all of baseball, (All the reporters may claim it’s the AL East, but you can’t tell me with a straight face that the Rays and Yanks could matchup with the Padres, Giants, and Rockies. 3 of the top 5 ERAs in the NL) so that means that there are going to be two teams coming out of this division is October.

But that’s not the best part. Other than Ubaldo, who is getting some recognition throughout the league, finally, the pitching staff is beat up. Aaron Cooke always starts out slow. Jeff Francis, our favorite Canadian (take a seat Nash), who was our ace and started the first game of the 2007 World Series is coming off the DL soon. The hidden-gem, 16 game winner De La Rosa is hurt and again plays better when the heat is on. And the 5^th starter; Chacin could hold it down, Hammel has proven that he can hold his own and a player that has as much stuff as anybody in the league, even Ubaldo, but just needs to throw it over the plate (and he started several games the last few years) Franklin Morales.

And if all 7 of these guys don’t get it done there is no need to worry we have pitchers everywhere else around the diamond. Wouldn’t you like to see the missile launchers in Tulo, Gonzales, Stewart and Hawpe on the bump just throwing gas? I know I would. These guys could easily touch the 90’s. And you have the crafty veteran who used to pitch in The Toddfather. But I hope that doesn’t happen because they all can really play in the field.

And defense wins championships so…

Kentucky Derby Predictions

The 136th Kentucky Derby has been characterized as the fasted two minutes in sports and it can only compare to The Masters in its old-fashioned style and glamour that rest deep in our hearts.

But as the ladies put on their spring hats the lines line up in Vegas to to gamblers take their chances with horseracing. And although I'm not the betting type the first Saturday in May always brings out the Charles Barkley in me.

So here goes nothing...
1. Paddy O'Prado
In the sketchy racing conditions today it is going to be a tough day for racing and an experienced jockey will have to be on top of their game. Kent Desormeaux takes the roses in the mud.
2. Super Saver
Todd Pletcher and Calvin Borel may make a dynamic team to win the Derby. But I think the streak continues as he loses by a hair.
3. Devil May Care.
Just another Todd Pletcher horse in the Derby. He may be the best trainer of all time, but the Jim Kelly of horseracing comes close again but just doens't close the deal.

The Kentucky Derby continues to be one of my all-time favorite sporting events to watch. There is just something that resonates in me that makes me giddy as they race at Churchill Downs.