The Super Bowl weekend is almost here and America is getting ready for the biggest sporting event of the year. Like Allen St. John explains in his interesting book "The Billion Dollar Game", the economic impact of this game is far-reaching. The most obvious economic impact of this event is apparent on the television screens. The TV ratings for this game this year will be huge as always and the cost of the advertisement spots have only gone up. It's going to cost the companies 3 million dollars for a 30 second spot. Thats a lot of cash especially in this brutal economic climate. Still there are enough companies that are lining up to advertise on super sunday. Some usual suspects have dropped out but new ones like the restaurant chain Dennys have come on board. As always, you can expect a significant contingent watching this game just for the new and funny ads. Las Vegas is hoping to be the other big beneficiary on super sunday as millions of dollars will be wagered on this game. Vegas didn't quite appreciate the New York Giants' stunning upset of the New England Patriots last year as the sports books lost a lot of money.
As for the game itself, it should be a good one. The Pittsburgh Steelers and their top-ranked defense is playing the Arizona Cardinals and their fourth ranked offense. A classic defense versus offense match-up that I think is going to be a lot closer than people think. Very few experts are giving Arizona any chance as they expect the better team Pittsburgh from the superior conference AFC to win it all. But the neutral site, good weather and the corporate Super Bowl crowds blunts the Steelers defense a little bit and plays right into the hands of the Arizona offense. This game would be a lot tougher for the Cardinals if it was played in the cold Pittsburgh weather with it's rabid crowds waving the terrible towels and screaming at the top of the lungs. Though the tradition and the history of the Steelers will pull in way more fans than the relative anonymity of the Cardinals franchise, it'll still be a fairly docile crowd by NFL standards that a veteran quarterback like Kurt Warner should be able to handle.
Speaking of Kurt Warner, he has had a tremendous season and he deserves all the credit for steering this lowly Cardinals franchise to such great heights. He is a classy guy who is easy to root for and even at the ripe old age of 37, Warner is way better than the guy he was supposed to backup - Matt Leinart. One of the major discussion all week has been about whether or not Warner belongs in the hall of fame. As much as I like Warner, I still think he needs to win this game to cement his spot in the hall of fame. This is his 3-Rd Super Bowl with his second team and thats quite impressive to say the least. But still he has been quite inconsistent in his career and he needs this second championship to erase all doubts about his hall of fame credentials. He is going up against Big Ben Roethlisberger who is also working on his second ring and is very motivated to get it. Big Ben didn't play well in his previous Super Bowl and the Steelers won that one in spite of him and not necessarily because of him. One of the interesting stats of this Super Bowl is that it features opposing quarterbacks who were born more than 10 years apart. Thats unusual. They are both very good and they will both be ready to play on Sunday.
It's common for everybody to spend a lot of time talking about the quarterbacks in any football game, but the most important player in this Super Bowl is clearly Arizona's stud receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He is a true freak of nature with incredible size, jumping ability and a pair of great hands that seem to pull in all passes Warner throws in his vicinity. His ability to elevate over his defenders and catch the ball at it's highest point and bring it in safely is just amazing to watch. It should be fun to watch this guy play against a great defense like the Steelers. Pittsburgh strong safety Troy Polamalu is one of the best athletes on the other side and I can't wait to see Fitzgerald and Polamalu go up against each other in this game. If the Cardinals can keep the pressure off of Kurt Warner, he will find a way to get the ball to Fitzgerald and thats how Arizona has been winning throughout these playoffs. This is easier said than done against a tough defense like the Steelers, but if Warner is in rhythm, he is hard to stop and beautiful to watch. Steelers better get after him and disrupt his rhythm if they want to win this game.
For most fans watching the Super Bowl on TV, the game almost doesn't matter. Super Bowl is just a great event when they get to meet friends, drink some adult beverages and have a good time. A good game is just a bonus and I expect this Super Bowl to give us a great game. We have had enough time to slice and dice all angles of this match-up and now it's almost time for the real game. The constant hype for two weeks on TV channels like ESPN can sometimes be tiring even to the die-hard football fans, but thats the reality of this day and age with 24 hour sports TV and radio channels. Thankfully the two week wait is almost over and the kickoff is almost here. Tampa Bay and it's 70 degree weather should provide the perfect setting for this game. I am so ready for this Super Bowl.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Time to rebuild?
This was the first Sunday since August without a football game. It does feel weird and you realize how much this country has become a football nation. There was NBA to fill the void, but you did feel a void for sure even if you are a NBA fan. ABC had the Celtics-Mavs followed by Spurs-Lakers and both games turned out to be one-sided. The Mavs got blown out by Boston much like the Suns last week. This was after they got blown out by Milwaukee and they blew out the Detroit Pistons themselves.
It's interesting to see how both the Suns and the Mavs seem to be in the same boat. Both used to be at the top of the Western heap, but now are fighting for a playoff spot. Both teams are very inconsistent and up and down. Both teams routinely get blown out on the road. It's clear both these teams are just due for a make-over. Given that the talent differential is not that high in professional sports and especially with good teams like the Mavs and Suns, there can be only one reason for frequent blowouts - a lack of effort.
It's clear what's happening with both these teams. They are veteran teams bored with mediocrity. They have been close to the mountain top and they don't feel all that excited about their inevitable slide down. Young, up and coming teams get excited about making the playoffs and clinching the 7-Th or 8-Th spot, but the Suns and the Mavs obviously cannot be motivated by just that after headlining the playoffs the last 5 or 6 years and making multiple Western conference finals. Now these vets don't see themselves going that far and are not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. So when they get down by 10 in a game, they just give up. No energy or enthusiasm to fight back.
All this means is that the GMs of the Suns and the Mavs have to start looking at rebuilding. It's not going to be easy given the age and salary of stars in these teams, but it has to be done sooner or later - better sooner than later. If you are not going anywhere, you can either grab a snickers bar or start wheeling and dealing and re-building on the fly. I think both these teams have to cross that bridge. They may have to go the Miami route where the Heat held on to Wade and are re-building around him. They can't be afraid to take a step back for a year or two for future greatness.
Mavs and Suns can't just tweak this roster here and there and catchup with the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs or even the Hornets of the World. I would say the Mavs hold onto Dirk and Suns hold onto Amare and look at gutting the rest of their roster. I am a Suns fanatic and I love nothing more than watching Steve Nash in a Suns uniform, but even I have to say, the Nash trade rumors make sense. He is one of the guys on the Suns roster with some trade value and the new Suns don't use all of his skills anyways. He is a defensive liability who probably can be hidden well in a defensively superior roster. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerr pulls the trigger.
The straight-up Nowitzki for Amare trade rumors are also out there. I don't see the point in these except that it'll shake-up both the teams I am talking about. It's obvious everybody thinks these two teams need to do something drastic to get back in the game. Lets see what happens. Who knows, Nash might be throwing alley-oops to LeBron in a month or so. Speaking of the King, dude has been amazing. He hit the first buzzer-beating game winner of his career on Friday against the Warriors. Then he had another monster game on the road against the Jazz. This guy is on a clear-cut MVP pace this season. He is dominating on all fronts and is unstoppable.
The other unstoppable team in the NBA are the Lakers. Today, they pummeled the Spurs at home. Bynum has been awesome the last week and this guy can put the Lakers over the top. Bynum is coming into his own after his return from injury and getting used to playing with Pau and the new alignment, Add his defense and offense to Kobe and Pau and that ridiculously loaded bench, the Lakers are a scary team. I sure hope the Celts, Cavs or the Magic stop the Lakers. I don't see anybody in the West touching them.
It's interesting to see how both the Suns and the Mavs seem to be in the same boat. Both used to be at the top of the Western heap, but now are fighting for a playoff spot. Both teams are very inconsistent and up and down. Both teams routinely get blown out on the road. It's clear both these teams are just due for a make-over. Given that the talent differential is not that high in professional sports and especially with good teams like the Mavs and Suns, there can be only one reason for frequent blowouts - a lack of effort.
It's clear what's happening with both these teams. They are veteran teams bored with mediocrity. They have been close to the mountain top and they don't feel all that excited about their inevitable slide down. Young, up and coming teams get excited about making the playoffs and clinching the 7-Th or 8-Th spot, but the Suns and the Mavs obviously cannot be motivated by just that after headlining the playoffs the last 5 or 6 years and making multiple Western conference finals. Now these vets don't see themselves going that far and are not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. So when they get down by 10 in a game, they just give up. No energy or enthusiasm to fight back.
All this means is that the GMs of the Suns and the Mavs have to start looking at rebuilding. It's not going to be easy given the age and salary of stars in these teams, but it has to be done sooner or later - better sooner than later. If you are not going anywhere, you can either grab a snickers bar or start wheeling and dealing and re-building on the fly. I think both these teams have to cross that bridge. They may have to go the Miami route where the Heat held on to Wade and are re-building around him. They can't be afraid to take a step back for a year or two for future greatness.
Mavs and Suns can't just tweak this roster here and there and catchup with the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs or even the Hornets of the World. I would say the Mavs hold onto Dirk and Suns hold onto Amare and look at gutting the rest of their roster. I am a Suns fanatic and I love nothing more than watching Steve Nash in a Suns uniform, but even I have to say, the Nash trade rumors make sense. He is one of the guys on the Suns roster with some trade value and the new Suns don't use all of his skills anyways. He is a defensive liability who probably can be hidden well in a defensively superior roster. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerr pulls the trigger.
The straight-up Nowitzki for Amare trade rumors are also out there. I don't see the point in these except that it'll shake-up both the teams I am talking about. It's obvious everybody thinks these two teams need to do something drastic to get back in the game. Lets see what happens. Who knows, Nash might be throwing alley-oops to LeBron in a month or so. Speaking of the King, dude has been amazing. He hit the first buzzer-beating game winner of his career on Friday against the Warriors. Then he had another monster game on the road against the Jazz. This guy is on a clear-cut MVP pace this season. He is dominating on all fronts and is unstoppable.
The other unstoppable team in the NBA are the Lakers. Today, they pummeled the Spurs at home. Bynum has been awesome the last week and this guy can put the Lakers over the top. Bynum is coming into his own after his return from injury and getting used to playing with Pau and the new alignment, Add his defense and offense to Kobe and Pau and that ridiculously loaded bench, the Lakers are a scary team. I sure hope the Celts, Cavs or the Magic stop the Lakers. I don't see anybody in the West touching them.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Suns lose to Knicks
Suns went into New York and lost today like they have been prone to do lately. They didn't get embarrassed like the other day at Boston, but this was bad enough considering they were playing against their old friend and ex-coach Mike D'Antoni. Nash gave him a hearty hug before the game, but his 19 assists were not enough to secure a Suns win. Nash has been raining assists lately, but the Suns are still a mediocre team. Some days they look real good beating the Mavs or nearly-beating the Spurs, but then on other days, they lose to the Knicks.
Terry Porter has made some changes and some people say the Suns are better for it, but things are still not significantly better. The ball goes into Shaq a lot more and they run a lot less, but the defense is nowhere near where it needs to be, Nash gets exposed every night and the others in the team are not much better either. They just don't have the right personnel for defense. For instance, how can David Lee have a 25-16 night with Shaq and Amare in the paint? Amare had a grand total of 4 boards today. I am sure D'Antoni loved how the Lee-Shaq/Amare match-up turned out today. The Suns are nowhere near the class of the Lakers or the Celtics and and with all the changes, this team is still searching for an identity. So I don't know where they are headed, but I would have to guess not too far.
The Suns are really riding one of the most under-rated curses in all of sports. The "Lew Alcindor curse" is now 40 years and counting and it would stick out like a sore thumb in Phoenix if the Cardinals win the Super Bowl. Even Sportscenter referred to Phoenix as a NBA-town last week. Phoenix quite frankly is not the greatest sports-town period these days, but it used to be a hard-core NBA market in the 90's before the influx of all the new franchises. Nobody cared about the Cards back then and the DBacks, Coyotes and Jake Plummer where not in town yet. DBacks got their championship within a few years and if the Cards get theirs next week, the Suns will be left all alone. I hope the Cards win, but I want the Suns curse to end soon too.
In other news, Jeff Kent is retiring. He is the most under-rated baseball player of all time. He is one of the best ever to play at second base, but few people realize that. Dude is not the best human being - who can forget his motor-cylce lie, but he never got credit for all of his baseball exploits. He put up great numbers and it was always credited to him either protecting or playing in front of Barry Bonds. He then went to Houston and now his success was all because of Biggio, Bagwell and Berkman or it was because of the small juice box out there for a baseball park. But Kent went to LA and still put up decent numbers until he got too old the last couple of season. He never got along with Bonds or for that matter with anybody, but Bonds was the only guy who wanted the Giants to re-sign him. Bonds is no fool and he knew how good Kent was and Bonds also knew that the Giants would not spend the money to replace him in the lineup with an equivalent bat. But the fans had no appreciation and thats been Kent's story everywhere. Now he is retired and I would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame.
Terry Porter has made some changes and some people say the Suns are better for it, but things are still not significantly better. The ball goes into Shaq a lot more and they run a lot less, but the defense is nowhere near where it needs to be, Nash gets exposed every night and the others in the team are not much better either. They just don't have the right personnel for defense. For instance, how can David Lee have a 25-16 night with Shaq and Amare in the paint? Amare had a grand total of 4 boards today. I am sure D'Antoni loved how the Lee-Shaq/Amare match-up turned out today. The Suns are nowhere near the class of the Lakers or the Celtics and and with all the changes, this team is still searching for an identity. So I don't know where they are headed, but I would have to guess not too far.
The Suns are really riding one of the most under-rated curses in all of sports. The "Lew Alcindor curse" is now 40 years and counting and it would stick out like a sore thumb in Phoenix if the Cardinals win the Super Bowl. Even Sportscenter referred to Phoenix as a NBA-town last week. Phoenix quite frankly is not the greatest sports-town period these days, but it used to be a hard-core NBA market in the 90's before the influx of all the new franchises. Nobody cared about the Cards back then and the DBacks, Coyotes and Jake Plummer where not in town yet. DBacks got their championship within a few years and if the Cards get theirs next week, the Suns will be left all alone. I hope the Cards win, but I want the Suns curse to end soon too.
In other news, Jeff Kent is retiring. He is the most under-rated baseball player of all time. He is one of the best ever to play at second base, but few people realize that. Dude is not the best human being - who can forget his motor-cylce lie, but he never got credit for all of his baseball exploits. He put up great numbers and it was always credited to him either protecting or playing in front of Barry Bonds. He then went to Houston and now his success was all because of Biggio, Bagwell and Berkman or it was because of the small juice box out there for a baseball park. But Kent went to LA and still put up decent numbers until he got too old the last couple of season. He never got along with Bonds or for that matter with anybody, but Bonds was the only guy who wanted the Giants to re-sign him. Bonds is no fool and he knew how good Kent was and Bonds also knew that the Giants would not spend the money to replace him in the lineup with an equivalent bat. But the fans had no appreciation and thats been Kent's story everywhere. Now he is retired and I would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Supreme Bowl
This is going to be a great Super Bowl. As an Arizona Cardinals fan, obviously I am excited after last weekend. The Cards took it to the Eagles and showed everybody they are very legitimate. Once again, Warner was back in the year 2000 and Larry Fitzgerald was as good as Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce combined. This post season has been the official coming out party for L-Fitz. I mean football people and fantasy geeks always knew how good he was, but he was still not a household name primarily because the Cards are never on national TV. But all that might have changed in that first half against the Eagles. He had three TDs including a beautiful flea-flicker that Fitz caught, stumbled and still took it to the house. Warner and Fitz killed the Eagles time and again. Eagles knew where the ball was going and they still couldn't stop it.
Eagles came back in the second half with a more aggressive blitz package and stopped the Cards offense a couple of times. Phily's offense was also better and they took the lead to shock the home crowd. But Warner and the Cards were ready on this day. That drive in the heart of the fourth quarter that took 8 minutes was just a thing of beauty. The Cards did everything right and scored on a screen play to seal the deal. Suddenly, it felt like we were seeing a entirely new franchise with new players and coaches. This was a new feeling to go through as a Cardinals fan and we should thank Warner for all this. The only downer in the whole thing was Anquan Boldin arguing on the sideline with his coach. That took away from the feel-good story a little bit, but it's par for the course and no big deal in the big picture.
The Steelers made it from the dark side as expected. The Ravens D kept the game close, but the Steelers were in control for sure. Finally, the Steelers intercepted the rookie and put the game away. It was an ugly game and was aesthetically nowhere near as good as the Cards-Eagles game earlier. Despite all the hype for defense and toughness, would anybody actually prefer the Steelers-Ravens game to the Cards-Eagles beauty? I don't think so. Give me Kurt Warner's flea-flicker over a 5 man gang tackle after a 3 yard run any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But this sets up the ultimate Super Bowl match-up - good passing offense against a great defense. We have 2 weeks to break it all down, but all I would say is do not count the Cardinals out.
Eagles came back in the second half with a more aggressive blitz package and stopped the Cards offense a couple of times. Phily's offense was also better and they took the lead to shock the home crowd. But Warner and the Cards were ready on this day. That drive in the heart of the fourth quarter that took 8 minutes was just a thing of beauty. The Cards did everything right and scored on a screen play to seal the deal. Suddenly, it felt like we were seeing a entirely new franchise with new players and coaches. This was a new feeling to go through as a Cardinals fan and we should thank Warner for all this. The only downer in the whole thing was Anquan Boldin arguing on the sideline with his coach. That took away from the feel-good story a little bit, but it's par for the course and no big deal in the big picture.
The Steelers made it from the dark side as expected. The Ravens D kept the game close, but the Steelers were in control for sure. Finally, the Steelers intercepted the rookie and put the game away. It was an ugly game and was aesthetically nowhere near as good as the Cards-Eagles game earlier. Despite all the hype for defense and toughness, would anybody actually prefer the Steelers-Ravens game to the Cards-Eagles beauty? I don't think so. Give me Kurt Warner's flea-flicker over a 5 man gang tackle after a 3 yard run any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But this sets up the ultimate Super Bowl match-up - good passing offense against a great defense. We have 2 weeks to break it all down, but all I would say is do not count the Cardinals out.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Go Cards!
It's going to be a great Sunday tomorrow. I have to make sure I watch the Cards-Eagles game one way or the other. It might be another 70 years before the Cards get this far. For all we know, they might be Oklahoma City Cardinals by then. The only thing more intriguing than watching the Cards in the NFC conference game is that they have a shot - a very legitimate shot, at going to the Super Bowl. It is a surprise that they made it this far, but let's not forget this was a weak NFC league this season and I can't see why the Cards can't represent the conference in the big game. The Eagles are not that good either. Both the Cards and the Eagles have only 9 regular season wins and I don't think there's a whole lot of talent differential between the two.
Eagles just have "name recognition" because they have been to many of these games, they have stars like Donovan McNabb, they were expected to be good this year and they started the season strong. But after watching them all season, I would say they are over-rated. So I pick the Cards at home in this one. In any case, the real Super Bowl is probably going to be played in Pittsburgh tomorrow. That game between the Steelers and the Ravens is going to be off the hook. I want the Ravens to win, but I am afraid that Pittsburgh at home is going to win. I grudgingly pick the Steelers at home and either of these 2 teams should be prohibitive favorites in the Super Bowl.
Basketball is fun too these days. Arizona State finally has a team to talk about this season. They won at UCLA today behind a great performance from super-soph James Harden as always. This was ASU's first road win over a top-10 team since 1998. Thats an ugly stat, but in James we trust and today he came through for my Devils in front of LA celebs like Pat Riley and Kevin Love. The story of the day was Jonathan Xavier, the brother of Providence's Jeff Xavier calmly walking onto the court and all the way to the free-throw line to confront the refs after Jeff Xavier's hard fall. That was not even a foul, but the brother was upset I guess. It's kinda scary how easy it is for people to get to the court like that. If people have not seen it yet, they should find it on youtube.
In the NBA, the Magic are on a roll. They walked into LA and punched the Lakers on the face yesterday. Three things stood out for me from this game. It was impressive to see the Magic win on the road in LA and establish themselves as a legitimate contender. They are for real. The second thing was, Dwight Howard showed the national audience how dominant he has become. I almost got a new appreciation for interior defense and strong "big-man" play just looking at him do his thing. It's amazing to see how many shots he changes in the paint and how he patrols the paint. Thats over and above all the rebounds and blocks he is credited with everyday on the stat-sheet.
Last but not the least, Kobe showed us he can still go knuckle-head, good-ole Kobe on us anytime. I can't believe what he was doing the last minute of this game. He followed one bad shot with another and got completely carried away by his drive to one-up his friend Dwight Howard. He took some horrible shots on Dwight when Dwight was on Kobe on a switch or when he was helping with the double team. Kobe had a triple-double but shot a horrible 10 of 26. LeBron looked a lot better than Kobe yesterday dominating the Hornets at home. When LeBron shoots the jumper like that, there aint nobody that can even come close to stopping him. But both the Cavs and the Celtics better be careful with the Magic. They are coming hard and they spanked Denver on the road today.
Eagles just have "name recognition" because they have been to many of these games, they have stars like Donovan McNabb, they were expected to be good this year and they started the season strong. But after watching them all season, I would say they are over-rated. So I pick the Cards at home in this one. In any case, the real Super Bowl is probably going to be played in Pittsburgh tomorrow. That game between the Steelers and the Ravens is going to be off the hook. I want the Ravens to win, but I am afraid that Pittsburgh at home is going to win. I grudgingly pick the Steelers at home and either of these 2 teams should be prohibitive favorites in the Super Bowl.
Basketball is fun too these days. Arizona State finally has a team to talk about this season. They won at UCLA today behind a great performance from super-soph James Harden as always. This was ASU's first road win over a top-10 team since 1998. Thats an ugly stat, but in James we trust and today he came through for my Devils in front of LA celebs like Pat Riley and Kevin Love. The story of the day was Jonathan Xavier, the brother of Providence's Jeff Xavier calmly walking onto the court and all the way to the free-throw line to confront the refs after Jeff Xavier's hard fall. That was not even a foul, but the brother was upset I guess. It's kinda scary how easy it is for people to get to the court like that. If people have not seen it yet, they should find it on youtube.
In the NBA, the Magic are on a roll. They walked into LA and punched the Lakers on the face yesterday. Three things stood out for me from this game. It was impressive to see the Magic win on the road in LA and establish themselves as a legitimate contender. They are for real. The second thing was, Dwight Howard showed the national audience how dominant he has become. I almost got a new appreciation for interior defense and strong "big-man" play just looking at him do his thing. It's amazing to see how many shots he changes in the paint and how he patrols the paint. Thats over and above all the rebounds and blocks he is credited with everyday on the stat-sheet.
Last but not the least, Kobe showed us he can still go knuckle-head, good-ole Kobe on us anytime. I can't believe what he was doing the last minute of this game. He followed one bad shot with another and got completely carried away by his drive to one-up his friend Dwight Howard. He took some horrible shots on Dwight when Dwight was on Kobe on a switch or when he was helping with the double team. Kobe had a triple-double but shot a horrible 10 of 26. LeBron looked a lot better than Kobe yesterday dominating the Hornets at home. When LeBron shoots the jumper like that, there aint nobody that can even come close to stopping him. But both the Cavs and the Celtics better be careful with the Magic. They are coming hard and they spanked Denver on the road today.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Warner is the man!
This NFL season might end up being a truly inspirational one for me personally! The impossible might just happen and that means I can make such things happen in my life too. The Arizona Cardinals have a legitimate shot at making it to the Super Bowl. Yeah, thats right. The team that won it's first home playoff game in 51 years last week, which of course means they have never won a playoff game in Arizona, can now go all the way to the Super Bowl. The Cards can definitely beat Phily. Eagles are over-rated and they have almost the same record as the Cards. Plus the Cards got embarrassed on Thanksgiving day in Phily. I am hoping that gives some extra "oomph" for the Cards, just in case being in the NFC conference championship game is not enough motivation for a perennially down-trodden team. I am personally pumped up to beat Phily because that game in Nov cost me quite a bit. I was vacationing in Veags and lost all of the 5 bets I placed on that game.
The Cards have to truly thank Kurt Warner. It's his team, it's his playoff run. Plus it frees Matt Leinart to focus on what he truly cares about - cheerleaders and other hot chicks. There's no way the Cards get here with Matt. As a matter of fact, I think Ken Whisenhunt is over-rated too. Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have carried this team on their shoulders. Warner's jump-balls to Fitz is what defines this team. L-Fitz is amazing. He routinely out jumps his double-team and comes down with the ball. I always find an in-form, in-rhythm Kurt Warner to be the most fun QB to watch outside of Peyton Manning. Of course he has many flaws and anything can happen any given week with this guy, but if you give him some time in the pocket, and if he is in rhythm, he can make it rain out there on the field like nobody. He has always been fun to watch since his Rams days. Just don't let the defense touch him, because if they do, the chances are, he is going to fumble the ball or throw it to the wrong team. And he holds on to the ball a little too long at times inviting the defense to get to him often. But with all that said, you give him time, you give him L-Fitz and A-Bold, fun will be had by your fans.
Jake Delhomme is a poor-man's Kurt Warner himself and he had one of those real bad nights which Warner is known to have too, only Jake's was much worse. I felt bad for the birthday boy as he kept completing a pass to the Cards for every 3 he completed to his own teammates. Steve Smith caught 2 balls and the AZ cardinals caught 5. Of course it felt like L-Fitz caught all of Smith's passes and Anquan's too as he ended up with 8 catches for 166 yards. 33-13 was the final score. Bring on the Eagles! The Eagles beat the Giants rather easily. Both the QBs looked lost in the first half, but McNabb and the Eagles offense looked much better in the second half. Giants and Eli have looked horrible ever since Plaxi-glass Buress shot himself out of this season. Now the Manning brothers can completely focus on the Oreo cookie Double Stuf Racing League.
In the AFC, Baltimore and Pitssburgh got it done like I expected them to. The Baltimore game was a little surprising to me. Tennessee actually moved the ball rather easily against the Ravens D, but they kept turning the ball over. The turnovers are no coincidence with the Ravens. They hit hard! I mean they land some blows like they are looking to separate the ball and even some body parts from thje player. This defense can easily carry the Ravens to their second championship in recent years. San Diego went into Pittsburgh and came back empty-handed. Another tough off-season for the Chargers. They need to figure out a few things. I feel sad to even say this, but LT is definitely aging. Rivers looks like he is the real deal, but Norv might be on the hot-seat again. Baltimore at Pittsburgh is going to be insane! If the weather is good, I think the Ravens and the rookie can get it done. Flacco has a rocket for an arm. He didn't do much this weekend, but might have to step up next week for the Ravens to win.
The Cards have to truly thank Kurt Warner. It's his team, it's his playoff run. Plus it frees Matt Leinart to focus on what he truly cares about - cheerleaders and other hot chicks. There's no way the Cards get here with Matt. As a matter of fact, I think Ken Whisenhunt is over-rated too. Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have carried this team on their shoulders. Warner's jump-balls to Fitz is what defines this team. L-Fitz is amazing. He routinely out jumps his double-team and comes down with the ball. I always find an in-form, in-rhythm Kurt Warner to be the most fun QB to watch outside of Peyton Manning. Of course he has many flaws and anything can happen any given week with this guy, but if you give him some time in the pocket, and if he is in rhythm, he can make it rain out there on the field like nobody. He has always been fun to watch since his Rams days. Just don't let the defense touch him, because if they do, the chances are, he is going to fumble the ball or throw it to the wrong team. And he holds on to the ball a little too long at times inviting the defense to get to him often. But with all that said, you give him time, you give him L-Fitz and A-Bold, fun will be had by your fans.
Jake Delhomme is a poor-man's Kurt Warner himself and he had one of those real bad nights which Warner is known to have too, only Jake's was much worse. I felt bad for the birthday boy as he kept completing a pass to the Cards for every 3 he completed to his own teammates. Steve Smith caught 2 balls and the AZ cardinals caught 5. Of course it felt like L-Fitz caught all of Smith's passes and Anquan's too as he ended up with 8 catches for 166 yards. 33-13 was the final score. Bring on the Eagles! The Eagles beat the Giants rather easily. Both the QBs looked lost in the first half, but McNabb and the Eagles offense looked much better in the second half. Giants and Eli have looked horrible ever since Plaxi-glass Buress shot himself out of this season. Now the Manning brothers can completely focus on the Oreo cookie Double Stuf Racing League.
In the AFC, Baltimore and Pitssburgh got it done like I expected them to. The Baltimore game was a little surprising to me. Tennessee actually moved the ball rather easily against the Ravens D, but they kept turning the ball over. The turnovers are no coincidence with the Ravens. They hit hard! I mean they land some blows like they are looking to separate the ball and even some body parts from thje player. This defense can easily carry the Ravens to their second championship in recent years. San Diego went into Pittsburgh and came back empty-handed. Another tough off-season for the Chargers. They need to figure out a few things. I feel sad to even say this, but LT is definitely aging. Rivers looks like he is the real deal, but Norv might be on the hot-seat again. Baltimore at Pittsburgh is going to be insane! If the weather is good, I think the Ravens and the rookie can get it done. Flacco has a rocket for an arm. He didn't do much this weekend, but might have to step up next week for the Ravens to win.
Friday, January 09, 2009
King's World
LeBron James owns the NBA right now. What we are seeing this year is another step in his evolution. Post-Olympics, his attitude, approach and commitment has gone to an whole another level. Defensively, he is probably 10 times better than he was in the past. It's amazing to see him come flying in for a block from the weak side. Tonight, against Boston, he showed the World who the king is. He killed them systematically and his defense on Paul Pierce was stifling to say the least. LeBron is an amazing player. He looks like a cross between MJ, Magic and Malone - an unique combination of speed, athleticism, court vision and strength. Sky is the limit for him. He has the opportunity and the talent to be a bigger name in all of sports than MJ and Tiger in a few years. I am very interested to see where his career goes from here. He might win a championship as early as this season. The Cavs are tied for the best record in the league with the Lakers and they ain't got no Big-3 or Pau Gasol or a Lamar Odom coming off the bench. It's all defense and LeBron.
The Suns won impressively today. They pulled one of those Mike D'Antoni quarters as they shot 17/21 and scored 40 points in the 3-Rd. Shaq had a 25-10 night. He is actually having a great season. It's not quite 2001 for Shaq, but he looks closer to the 2004 version than the 2007 version and thats a good thing. He hit all his free throws much to everybody's surprise. Nash and the Brazilian Blur had great games too. Actually everybody did for the Suns and nobody except Josh Howard looked good for the Mavs. Both the Suns and the Mavs are in that cluster of teams separated by 3.5 games in the West holding the 2-Nd to 9-Th slots. It's brutal out there. These teams look like a contender some of the days, but in reality, they can miss the playoffs altogether.
NFL playoffs are back tomorrow and I expect Baltimore to beat Tennessee and want Arizona to beat Carolina, but it'll probably be Carolina. Arizona can pull it off though, especially if Anquan Boldin is in full strength and they don't get scared of the East coast like they have been all year. These games can get out of hand in a hurry on the road and sometimes Warner lets that happen, but if they keep it close, they can definitely beat this Carolina team. in the other game, the Baltimore D should get the job done. How good is Ed Reed? I think he is a better receiver than half of the receivers in the league. It's amazing how he catches the ball almost every-time unlike defensive backs in the other teams who get their hands on the ball only to drop it on the ground. Tennessee is no joke though. The Ravens need their A-game to beat them for sure and the rookie better show up tomorrow.
The Suns won impressively today. They pulled one of those Mike D'Antoni quarters as they shot 17/21 and scored 40 points in the 3-Rd. Shaq had a 25-10 night. He is actually having a great season. It's not quite 2001 for Shaq, but he looks closer to the 2004 version than the 2007 version and thats a good thing. He hit all his free throws much to everybody's surprise. Nash and the Brazilian Blur had great games too. Actually everybody did for the Suns and nobody except Josh Howard looked good for the Mavs. Both the Suns and the Mavs are in that cluster of teams separated by 3.5 games in the West holding the 2-Nd to 9-Th slots. It's brutal out there. These teams look like a contender some of the days, but in reality, they can miss the playoffs altogether.
NFL playoffs are back tomorrow and I expect Baltimore to beat Tennessee and want Arizona to beat Carolina, but it'll probably be Carolina. Arizona can pull it off though, especially if Anquan Boldin is in full strength and they don't get scared of the East coast like they have been all year. These games can get out of hand in a hurry on the road and sometimes Warner lets that happen, but if they keep it close, they can definitely beat this Carolina team. in the other game, the Baltimore D should get the job done. How good is Ed Reed? I think he is a better receiver than half of the receivers in the league. It's amazing how he catches the ball almost every-time unlike defensive backs in the other teams who get their hands on the ball only to drop it on the ground. Tennessee is no joke though. The Ravens need their A-game to beat them for sure and the rookie better show up tomorrow.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
It's Florida again
How good is life down there at Gainsville? Florida is just winning NCAA championships like it's nothing. Urban Meyer has won 2 championships in his 4 years there. He probably owns the state right now. For all the hype that the Ol'e ball coach Stever Spurrier got, he just won one championship at Florida. Meyer has already won 2. While the first one was mostly Ron Zook's recruits, this team is all his. Of course I am sure recruiting in Florida is much easier now with both FSU and Miami struggling, but for him to come in all the way from Utah with a new offensive system, and make Florida a better program than it ever was under the ball coach is indeed amazing. Even his opponent on the other sideline, Bob Stopps, has just one ring and the media treats him like he is some kinda God.
It's good the season is over now. I got a little tired of the Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford hype. Tim came on top as Oklahoma lost it's 5-Th BCS game in 6 years. Thats a lot of losing, but thats lot of money for the University too. The real loser in all this in has always been Texas. They beat Oklahoma and still ended up with nothing to show for it this year. Big-12 wouldn't even let them play for their championship. At least the Fiesta Bowl let them play! There is talk now that USC might share this championship. Thats amazing to me. Isn't the BCS supposed to put an end to all the sharing? Anything can happen with BCS if you lose a game. BCS works well only with unbeaten teams. And that too if there are just 1 or 2 of them. But I love this year though. After all the East coast crap about how bad the Pac-10 is and how great the SEC is, I guess they have to respect USC now after the impressive showing of the Pac-10 teams in the bowls. Plus Alabama lost to Utah. Are you kidding me? If Utah can beat Alabama, how far fetched is to imagine USC beating Florida?
We can now close the book on this year's football season and focus on the NFL and the NBA. Cavs-Celtics and Mavs-Suns tomorrow. Good times!
It's good the season is over now. I got a little tired of the Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford hype. Tim came on top as Oklahoma lost it's 5-Th BCS game in 6 years. Thats a lot of losing, but thats lot of money for the University too. The real loser in all this in has always been Texas. They beat Oklahoma and still ended up with nothing to show for it this year. Big-12 wouldn't even let them play for their championship. At least the Fiesta Bowl let them play! There is talk now that USC might share this championship. Thats amazing to me. Isn't the BCS supposed to put an end to all the sharing? Anything can happen with BCS if you lose a game. BCS works well only with unbeaten teams. And that too if there are just 1 or 2 of them. But I love this year though. After all the East coast crap about how bad the Pac-10 is and how great the SEC is, I guess they have to respect USC now after the impressive showing of the Pac-10 teams in the bowls. Plus Alabama lost to Utah. Are you kidding me? If Utah can beat Alabama, how far fetched is to imagine USC beating Florida?
We can now close the book on this year's football season and focus on the NFL and the NBA. Cavs-Celtics and Mavs-Suns tomorrow. Good times!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year!
New Year means one important thing - we are ready for the NFL playoffs. And I am excited for this year's version more than usual. The main reason for it is how the regular season ended in an absolute perfect way for me. Dallas got annihilated in Philly. They lost 4 fumbles and Romo wanted to give back even more to the Philly community. He threw an interception too. A 44-6 drubbing kept Dallas out and also let Philly in to the playoffs. Both results I definitely can live with. I have always maintained Donovan McNabb is kinda overrated, but I like him as a person and I have a lot of sympathy for him. He had to deal with all the crap TO brought to his life in addition to those Philly nut-jobs. Too much for a dude who has a lot to deal with to begin with being a black QB.
The next best result on Sunday was Miami beating the Jets. Nothing against the Jets and Brett Favre, but Miami's win meant New England was out of the playoffs. Sweet! Plus I am fan of Chad Pennington. Another decent guy who is very accurate and always plays under control. How ironic is it that he was let go in New York in favor of Favre and he comes back to rip their hearts out. Of course I don't blame New York for getting rid of him. His shoulder was indeed shot after the surgery. Even with all that, I always felt like Pennington was one of the few athletes who was relatively comfortable in New York. It should have had something to do with the way he handled himself. Even with a Super Bowl ring, Eli Manning seems overwhelmed by New York on a weekly basis. I am very happy that Chad is taking Bill Parcells' team to the playoffs and they both eliminated the Patriots on the way.
San Diego took Denver to the woodshed Sunday night and clinched a playoff spot which looked impossible just a few weeks back. This led to the shocking firing of Mike Shanahan. I would rather have LT, Philip Rivers and Norv Turner in the playoffs instead of Shanahan, Jay Cutler and their 8-Th string running back. I think the Chargers will give the Colts a run for their money though I expect the Colts to win the game. That game also happens to be the best match-up of the wild-card weekend. Couple of other reasons I love this playoffs is of course because of the presence of Arizona after a loooong time. And they are playing Matty Ice and the Atlanta Falcons. What a turnaround for the Falcons and how great is it to have 2 rookie QBs lead their teams to the playoffs? Ice and Joe Flacco with the Ravens. Finally these teams have some hope at the QB position. Matty Ice seems like the real deal. Lets see what he does in the playoffs against our Cards.
The College Bowl Season is also heating up after 3 bowl weeks and the first 190 bowl games. How many bowl games do they actually have these days? More importantly, how many companies are out there in the World? I heard the names of some companies for the first time ever through the stupid bowl games they sponsor. After all the early season bowl games like the KFC chicken bowl played in the parking lot of the new Yankee stadium in front of 7 construction workers that featured the 11-Th ranked team from the Big-10 and some team from the ACC with a robust 2-8 conference record, now we can watch some real bowl games. I am talking about the USC-Penn state Rose Bowl match-up. I want to watch it for sure to start 2009 in style.
The next best result on Sunday was Miami beating the Jets. Nothing against the Jets and Brett Favre, but Miami's win meant New England was out of the playoffs. Sweet! Plus I am fan of Chad Pennington. Another decent guy who is very accurate and always plays under control. How ironic is it that he was let go in New York in favor of Favre and he comes back to rip their hearts out. Of course I don't blame New York for getting rid of him. His shoulder was indeed shot after the surgery. Even with all that, I always felt like Pennington was one of the few athletes who was relatively comfortable in New York. It should have had something to do with the way he handled himself. Even with a Super Bowl ring, Eli Manning seems overwhelmed by New York on a weekly basis. I am very happy that Chad is taking Bill Parcells' team to the playoffs and they both eliminated the Patriots on the way.
San Diego took Denver to the woodshed Sunday night and clinched a playoff spot which looked impossible just a few weeks back. This led to the shocking firing of Mike Shanahan. I would rather have LT, Philip Rivers and Norv Turner in the playoffs instead of Shanahan, Jay Cutler and their 8-Th string running back. I think the Chargers will give the Colts a run for their money though I expect the Colts to win the game. That game also happens to be the best match-up of the wild-card weekend. Couple of other reasons I love this playoffs is of course because of the presence of Arizona after a loooong time. And they are playing Matty Ice and the Atlanta Falcons. What a turnaround for the Falcons and how great is it to have 2 rookie QBs lead their teams to the playoffs? Ice and Joe Flacco with the Ravens. Finally these teams have some hope at the QB position. Matty Ice seems like the real deal. Lets see what he does in the playoffs against our Cards.
The College Bowl Season is also heating up after 3 bowl weeks and the first 190 bowl games. How many bowl games do they actually have these days? More importantly, how many companies are out there in the World? I heard the names of some companies for the first time ever through the stupid bowl games they sponsor. After all the early season bowl games like the KFC chicken bowl played in the parking lot of the new Yankee stadium in front of 7 construction workers that featured the 11-Th ranked team from the Big-10 and some team from the ACC with a robust 2-8 conference record, now we can watch some real bowl games. I am talking about the USC-Penn state Rose Bowl match-up. I want to watch it for sure to start 2009 in style.
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