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2004-05 Hot Stove winners & losers - Part One (NL)

“It may get hot, but you don't have to shovel heat.” – Taken from a posting on the Sons of Sam Horn (SoSH) message board by a member who moved from Rhode Island to a warmer climate years ago.

You have no idea how true that is until you’ve tried to dig yourself out from a six-foot snow drift, or had to put towels in every window of your house because they all spring leaks at the same time. What a week…

So now you can understand why this post is so much later than the normal schedule I’ve been keeping. I wanted to get this up here on Thursday, but I had a very long, and bad week. Between the weather, and the 9-5 job wearing on me, this got delayed. A lot. And considering the topic, and the research I had to do for it, well you get the idea…

Quickly, before I get into my chosen topic for today, I’d like to touch on the Super Bowl. Yes, I have a whole week to do that – that’s fine. I’m sure I’ll have more to say next week. Anyway, I’ve heard about eleventy-bizillion (yes, I know that’s not a real number) football “pundits” talking about the impact that Terrell Owens could have on the game if he plays. Does anyone really think that it matters?

If there’s one thing this Patriots team is known for, it’s not getting too emotionally attached to the game. Normally, when a star player comes back from a terrible injury just in time to carry his team on his back (Willis Reed, Curt Schilling, etc.), it not only energizes his team, but it demoralizes the opponents. With the Patriots, the only thing that might demoralize them would be three first-half turnovers and a halftime deficit. And I don’t think Owens would have much to do with the turnover part of that…

Let’s put it this way: I’m sticking with my original pick of Pats 34-20 (for now). If TO plays, and plays effectively, maybe it’s 34-24. If he’s a decoy, stays at 34-20. And if he never touches the field, it might get worse.

The real storyline should be the number of arrests we’ll see between the perpetually drunk, angry Philly fans and the perpetually drunk, happy Pats fans…

One last thought on this game. I have a bunch of Giants’-fan friends (I want to hear from you on this one), and I was wondering: who do you cheer for next week? None of you are real big Pats supporters, but the Eagles are sworn enemies. Will you even watch the game? Just wondering…

Onto the real topic for this post. There are less than 19 days until Spring Training officially begins. I know – it seems like just yesterday I was laughing at my Yankees-fan friends and being carried out of a Boston bar, reveling in the Red Sox’ success. Actually, that very well could have been yesterday. Anyway…

So who got better since the year ended? Who got worse? Who did nothing, and who made all the right moves? It’s time for my “2004 MLB Hot Stove Winners and Losers…”

Now, I understand that there are still a couple of “big-names” available on the market, most notably Sammy Sosa via trade and Magglio Ordonez via free agency. But those two aside, let’s see what’s happened since last we talked baseball…

(Part One today – National League. Part Two Monday – American League)

Top 5 WINNERS

(Honorable Mention 6^th – Reds. Nice job with the under-the-radar signings.)

5) Florida Marlins

Looking at the list of subtractions, it would be easy to think that the Marlins are in worse shape now than they were in October. But then you realize that they have replaced quantity with quality. Carl Pavano and his $40M for Al Leiter and his $8M. That allowed the contract extension with Paul LoDuca. Armando Benitez or Carlos Delgado, with Guillermo Mota closing next year? Florida’s done a nice job of reloading on a sparse payroll. They’ll make a solid Wild-Card run in ’05.

4) St. Louis Cardinals

The additions of Eckstein and Mulder alone make up for every single loss on the right side of that table. The fact that they upgraded their bullpen and retained Matt Morris (who probably won’t pitch in ’05) is another plus. St. Louis was already dominant on offense – I don’t think losing Renteria and Womack will really hurt them too much. And with the weak NL Central, there’s nothing standing between them and another division title.

3) San Francisco Giants

Are you kidding me? They made these moves, and I can’t even put them higher than #3 in the entire National League? Kinda tells you something about numbers 1 and 2. Anyway, yes - they got older. And yes - there’s not much left from the (bad) trade of Joe Nathan to Minnesota. But they finally got Barry Bonds some protection in that lineup with Alou, they got perennial Gold Glovers at shortstop and catcher, and they solidified their bullpen with Fassero and Benitez. 2005 NL West favorites – and it isn’t even close…

2) Atlanta Braves

Pretty ugly list of additions up there, until you factor in the trades. But the biggest losses – Drew, Wright, and Ortiz – were all guys who had never been extremely productive until they got to Atlanta. Tim Hudson and Danny Kolb – both All-Stars. Raul Mondesi, well he’s a head case, but Bobby Cox certainly has a strange effect on head cases (see Gary Sheffield). Plus, the addition of Kolb puts John Smoltz back into the starting rotation, and it puts him there as a #2 or even #3 starter where the pressure won’t be a immense. But even with all of that, I can’t put them at #1, because…

1) New York Mets

Omar Minaya had a blank check this offseason, and he’s more than used it. There’s still a chance he may acquire Ordonez or Sosa before all is said and done. In just three players (Martinez, Benson, Beltran), he has committed about $184M in guaranteed money. The losses are minimal, especially when weighed against the additions (actually, the loss of Mo Vaughn’s contract is HUGE). Al Leiter and John Franco were great guys who probably would have preferred to finish their careers in New York. But sometimes, moves have to be made in the best interest of the team rather than the interests of the players involved. The Mets might not make the playoffs (although they’ve got a helluva shot this year), but they will be greatly improved, and maybe even win the all-important New York back page war.

Top 5 LOSERS

(Honorable Mention 6^th – Nationals. Not much to work with, but Christian Guzman, Esteban Loaiza and Vinny Castilla as you “big-name” acquisitions… In THAT market?! Good luck.)

5) Arizona Diamondbacks

You see, this is the exact opposite of Florida. Arizona went for quantity over quality. Granted, it won’t be hard to improve off of a 111-loss season, but look at that lost of Additions. I see a few guys from the “All-Never-Reached-Their-Potential” team. All they’d need would be Junior Griffey, J.D. Drew and Derek Lowe. Speaking of which…

4) Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s tough to call a team with that many acquisition a loser. But $36M for Derek Lowe? He’ll be good in the NL, but not $36M good… $55M for J.D. Drew – a guy with exactly one healthy year under his belt, and it just happened to be in his contract year? Or maybe the $24M deal for Odalis Perez - a second teamer on that same All Never Reached Their Potential team. They needed to replace Paul LoDuca. Paul Bako – not the answer. They needed more offense – J.D. Drew for Shawn Green is probably going to be a wash, not an upgrade. Jeff Kent – past his prime. No longer one of the top five second baseman in the National League, let alone all of baseball. And their “Additions” include names like Scott Erickson, Ricky Ledee, and Wilson Alvarez – these guys were useless five years ago…

3) Philadelphia Phillies

Not too many losses there. But they did lose 2/5 of the starting rotation. Eric Milton and Kevin Millwood – not exactly marquis names. But Jon Lieber isn’t exactly a blockbuster replacement either. The Phillies only needed to do a couple of things this offseason – upgrade the rotation, add offense (preferably in centerfield i.e. Beltran). They downgraded the rotation (Terry Adams might be the new #5) and they never even entered the Beltran foray. Not looking too good in Philly country right now, no matter which sport you follow…

2) Houston Astros

Normally, this wouldn’t be such a bad offseason for Houston. But after last year’s run and the expectations that were built for this team around the resigning of Clemens, Beltran and Kent, only getting one of the three has to hurt. Especially when the one you get is not The Best Overall Player In Baseball. Plus, being forced to shell out $18M for one year with Roger is not exactly stellar GM work either. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Clemens waived or traded late this season; you know – when the Astros are 10 games out of the race…

1) Chicago Cubs

So, your most productive hitter and the best #5 starter in the National League are gone, and they’re replaced by… who? Oh, that’s right. The Cubs still have no left fielder and are short by a starter. I admit – their starting rotation was the deepest in the majors. Clement was a #5 behind Prior, Wood, Zambrano and some guy named Maddux. But he’s still a helluva pitcher, and will probably be the #2 in Boston. Nomar for $8M is not a bad deal, especially since he’ll be playing for (another) contract. Scott Williamson, if healthy, really helps the bullpen. But losing Alou and keeping Sosa are two moves that are probably going to doom Cubs’ fans to another long winter next year.

OK, that’s it for the National League. I’ll write the American League side of the story next week. And, as always, the moves not yet made (Sosa, Ordonez, etc.) could have a major impact on who stands where. At least in my mind.

And lastly, the Quote Of The Week:

My mother and I were discussing the Oscar nominations a few days ago (well, I was talking, she was listening. That passes as a conversation…) Now, I expected to get some decent material from her during the Super Bowl, or maybe even in the car during the drive. I did not expect this gift from her a couple of nights ago…

Me: “Yeah, 4 of the 5 best picture nominees are indie films.”

Mom: “Really? Which ones were made in India?”

Me: “Um, no Ma; INDIE, not INDIAN…”

Just too easy sometimes…

posted by Big D @ 10:16 AM 0 comments

Quick Thoughts - Championship Round

Thoughts while trying to estimate how many TO references I will hear in the next two weeks...

§ It’s Day 3 of “D’s stuck in his house”. At least I can get out the front door now, and the snowplow came through around 9AM today. I spent about two hours last night at midnight chopping ice out of my gutter with a hammer. Broke the hammer – didn’t get much out of the gutter. Stupid physics...

§ So, in the last two weeks, The Patriots have held the league’s best offense to only 3 points, and scored 41 against the league’s best defense? Pretty impressive stuff. Guess THAT’S why they’re the team to beat...

§ I wish I had stuck around to write about the post-game trophy ceremony yesterday instead of rushing to publish my journal post. Not only did Bob Kraft give his annual drunken “Yeah, we won, but we really should congratulate the other team, their owners and fans for a good effort” speech, but he was presented the Lamar Hunt AFC Championship trophy by none other than Joe Namath. Broadway even called himself a fan of the Patriots, and Tom Brady in particular. I’m pretty sure Vinny’s head exploded shortly thereafter – haven’t heard from him since.

§ After watching all the replays of the final TD in yesterday’s NFC Championship game, I’ve come to the conclusion that Chad Lewis must have broken his foot earlier in the game, and just finished it off it on that final play. Nothing he did there could have broken it by itself, unless one of his teammates stepped on him and I missed it. Could be a big loss...

§ Of course, the way Eagles’ players heal from broken bones in their legs, he should be dancing on the sidelines by gametime...

§ Very glad I hedged my bets yesterday with about four different combinations of the games and over/under, each involving the Pats covering the (-3.5). At least one of them hit (Pats -3.5, Eagles -5.5, both over)...

§ Falcons showed me nothing yesterday. Just a flat performance after the half. They had the Eagles right where they wanted them heading into the locker room – Close game, fans panicking, etc. - and it was almost like they just quit after the break. Not to mention the two dropped picks – gotta take advantage boys. Just wait until next year, when Mike Vick actually understands the offense they’ve got him in...

§ If this is the last hurrah for both Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, I say the Pats dominate Philly, probably along the lines of 34-20 or so. No last minute heroics necessary this time. (Why do I have a nagging feeling I’m going to eat those words?)

§ In reference to the title of this post – I’m estimating that the “will he or won’t he play” discussion about Terrell Owens will get played out roughly 25,381 times between now and February 6^th. I say he plays, but acts mostly as a decoy. If he even tries to go over the middle at 75 or 80%, I’m sure Rodney Harrison will make him rethink the decision...

§ Poor Big Ben. He finally knows what it feels like to lose in the NFL... It’s OK kid – you’ve got a helluva future. Of course, trying to do it without Plaxico Burress and Jerome Bettis might prove a little tough next year...

§ I feel very special to have comments left by the “Big Irv” himself. Glad to have you aboard...

§ And, before I forget, I should thank Vinny for giving some more information about something I wrote about last week, MLB’s decision to try and control the fantasy baseball market. Never been one to shy away from admitting when I’m wrong, and I was wrong. Thanks Vin.

§ I have a new official theme song for my poker playing exploits... Jet’s “Look what you’ve done”. The chorus is just too perfect a description of my poker abilities:

o Oh, now look what you’ve done

You’ve made a fool of everyone...

Oh, now it seems like such fun

Until you lose what you have won...

.. Sums it up nicely.

§ I promised no more stories of my suffering horrific bad beats. However, I’m still more than willing to dole out stories of my bad beats laid down upon others... At 1AM this morning, I played in a “speed tournament”, where the blinds increase every three minutes. It’s sick. Anyway, in the span of five hands, I beat a guy by catching runner runner 8’s to make a set and break his two-pair, then busted AA twice in consecutive hands with nothing better than a 10 high. Built a river straight on one and river flush on the other. Not hands I chose to play – both in the blinds. But I’ll take them. Ended up finishing 12^th of 330.

§ Actually catching a decent run in bigger tournaments recently. Finished 2^nd in a one-table $100 buy-in tourney, then 12^th in that speed and 23^rd in a $50 multi. Decent cashes in all...

§ But, much like the song, it was all such fun – until I lost what I had won.

That’s it for today. Tried to keep it short because of the length of yesterday’s post. I’ll see you with some Super insight and maybe even – SHOCK! – a basketball post.

Gotta kill the time somehow...

Lata.

posted by Big D @ 4:31 PM 0 comments

posted by Big D @ 10:21 PM 0 comments

AFC Championship Game - Running Journal

Kept a running journal of the AFC title game today. Ran a little long, but what the hell...

FIRST QUARTER

13:33 – Pass #1 = INT #1 for Big Ben. I’m feeling a little better about this game...

11:26 – I think maybe I’d rather punt here than try the 48 yard figgie... then again, I have blind faith in Bill Belichick and Adam Vinatieri...

11:20 - ...and with good reason. Vinatieri just tied the longest FG in Heinz field history.

6:58 – The wheels on the bus come falling off, falling off, falling off, as the ball hits the ground...

6:49 – YEEEEEE HAW!!! I don’t think I’ll ever see my dogs again – they’ve lost any trust they ever had in me. That is about the prettiest pass I think I’ve ever seen Tom Brady throw...

6:00 – I’ve got a feeling that Bill Cowher is going to pull a Tony Dungy and “Stick with what got ‘em here”, no matter how much the Pats shut it down. They’ve run Bettis up the middle three straight plays for a total of -2 yards and a lost fumble.

4:40 – Hey – it’s not a turnover! An actual punt!

4:30 – Too much dancing by Troy Brown on that punt return. Though you can’t really fault him – it’s not like he spends a lot of time on the field between playing WR, CB and Punt Returner...

Commercial Break – The Bud Light commercial with the guy antagonizing the monkey was funny as hell... they keep churning out solid ads. Although the blatant rip-off of the Miller Lite referees series is kinda sad...

3:43 – Great play by Pittsburgh safety Chris Hope. 3^rd and 16 almost got converted, but that was a hell of a hit on David Patten.

3:32 – First punt for the Pats... Wow, did we resign Ken Walter and no one told me? What was that, like 25 yards?

Another commercial break. This seems like a good time to address the Falcons and Eagles. I’m very disappointed in that game. The Falcons were flat. Not to mention they dropped two sure INTs on defense that probably cost them the game. Those drops and a bad Illegal Contact penalty allowed the Eagles to put 17 points up on the board in each of the affected drives. The Eagles won by 17...

3:20 – Wow, Hines Ward couldn’t have been more open on that first down pass. Nice play action. And of course, it let Phil Simms give us the “That’s how to get your quarterback going – have him throw the ball!” Really? As opposed to having him take a knee? Very insightful Phil...

1:30 – Bill Belichick just had Troy Brown on Hines Ward. Can we get an auto-defibrillator in here?

1:20 – There goes the shutout...

Just so you all know, there was no prop bet this week for “Steelers won’t score a TD: 5000-1”. Thank God, because if I had passed on that again and it hit, I may have killed myself... I’m still trying to figure out why I can’t parlay bets like “Patriots win the first quarter, second quarter and first half.” Doesn’t make sense...

This first quarter is ending much better than the last time these teams played. I can handle 10-3 Pats. 21-3 Steelers was a bit much.

SECOND QUARTER

Stupid laptop battery died. I only get like 35 minutes of battery power on this thing. I missed all three plays of the Patriots first drive, but at least I got to see Antwan Randle El get leveled when he tried to hurdle someone on the punt return.

12:45 – Just noticed that we haven’t see Jerome Bettis in awhile... gee, that’s a shame.

12:00 – Rodney Harrison just got run over on two straight plays by Duce Staley. That’s just not right.

Another winning commercial from Budweiser. The Referee taking a beating from the coach and his wife cracks me up every time. I know it’s old. It’s still funny.

11:44 – Just heard Rodney Harrison had to limp off the field. Great.

10:13 – So far, the Steelers have run 21 plays on five drives. That’s pretty lousy by itself. You’d think they’d have figured out by now that the Patriots are not going to let them run the ball. Nope. 15 runs, 6 passes (Big Ben: 3/6, 41 yds, INT). This drive resulted in -3 yards on two runs and an incomplete pass.

9:00 – Corey Dillon for Tebucky Jones is looking like the best trade in NFL history at this point.

8:25 – My mom just walked in as I screamed for the second bomb to Deion Branch today. I think I scared her more than the dogs...

7:08 – What a call! Saw that developing before they even snapped it. That’s why the Pats are the best team in the NFL – they see the tings other teams don’t

2:15 – AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Amazing. Just before Harrison’s pick I was thinking to myself “Wow, nothing big has happened for over five minutes...” Walking the last ten yards in was a nice touch...

2:00 – I don’t think it’s a good sign when your team’s leading rusher at the half is also the QB, and his last name isn’t Vick, McNabb, or Culpepper...

(OK, I guess we can add Flutie...)

1:49 – Oh God I wanted that pick too... Plaxico Burress mugged Asante Samuel to stop him from grabbing that pass...

1:02 – Roethlisberger fumbles out of bounds. Tedy Bruschi grabs the ball and spots it for the official as both men grin... Priceless.

0:00 – 24-3 to end the half as Phil Simms tells us that the Steelers focused all week on Tom Brady and the passing game... looks like they didn’t practice real hard. Guess this is why the Pats were 3-point favorites on the road against a 16-1 team...

Halftime Dinner-time... I just had a scary thought. We’re only six quarters away from having Joe Buck call the Red Sox and Patriots’ championships in the same year. Personally, I have no problem with Joe Buck (although his reaction to the Randy Moss “mooning” was a tad over-the-top). But for every Joe Buck out there, we have to deal with a Tim McCarver, Cris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman. And something tells me we might end up getting Tony Siragusa on the Super Bowl sidelines... Glad I’ll be watching on mute...

I wonder if FOX plans a “Scooter”-type gimmick for the Super Bowl? Can’t you just see some little animated guy diagramming the Cover2 defense, or showing us how to execute a chop-block? That’d be fun.

THIRD QUARTER

8:45 – Just came back from dinner. Apparently Pittsburgh has decided that the game is, in fact, not over... Hmmmm...

8:00 – Absolutely crushing penalty on the Steelers. 3^rd and 17 for New England, and Kevin Faulk gets held by Aaron Smith. Automatic 1^st down... Talk about a momentum killer for the Steelers.

7:49 – Now THAT’S a momentum killer... 20 yard pass, then a fumble after another solid hit on David Givens... Good thing his knee was down. And let’s add the 15 yards on the personal foul after the play too...

7:49 – After multiple replays, yes, I’m right. His knee was down. Now let’s challenge this one coach...

Commercial Break. Wow, I’m stunned - a commercial for erectile dysfunction during an NFL game. Never would have expected that...

7:49 – And the ULTIMATE momentum killer... this play is about to be overturned.

7:49 – AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! We keep the ball, we get 15 more yards, AND we don’t lose the timeout... Wow. I think every Pittsburgh fan just threw up simultaneously.

7:27 – And naturally Corey Dillon breaks off a 25 yard TD run on the very next play. I think I’m spoiled as a Patriots fan – I actually expected them to score on that play, one way or another. I can’t imagine what Cardinals fans look forward to every game... Maybe the fact that they don’t have to shovel out from under 6 foot snow drifts.

Yes, my front door was covered by about a five foot snow drift this morning, after the 27 inches or so that we got yesterday. I haven’t left my house except to force my door open enough to grab my shovel and let the dogs outside. They didn’t know what to do – immediately after jumping into the drift they were swallowed by it. Pretty funny actually – I’ll try to get the pictures up later this week.

7:12 – Another pass that should have been picked. If Asante Samuel could hold onto the ball, Ben Roethlisberger would have 4 INTs already; those are Brett Favre-type numbers...

6:30 – I’ll give him credit, for a big guy, Big Ben really does run well. Too bad his passing skills aren’t up to par today...

5:50 – Hey! Bettis is back! Glad to have him... maybe he can cough it up again for us...

5:15 – I really love the shot (that every network uses in a cold game) of the line of scrimmage where the players’ breath is coming out like a group of bulls snorting at each other... nice camerawork, even if it is an overused shot.

3:30 – How is it possible that a New England player can come out of a pile with the football, but the officials say Pittsburgh retains possession?

2:45 – Would SOMEBODY please get Asante Samuel some gloves or something? Some Stick-‘Um? Geez, that’s THREE now!

2:35 – The Patriots have been unable to get pressure on Roethlisberger all game long, and it finally hurt them. When a QB can stand around like that and not even worry about the sack, bad things happen to a defense. ESPECIALLY on 4^th down.

2:35 – I just realized that I recommended the under in this game, and was unsure about the over in the NFC title game... sorry about that.

1:30 – I think the Pats need to realize that Pittsburgh is shutting down the run, and fast.

0:50 – Yep, that pass/catch certainly shows that they’ve realized it. Too bad it wasn’t a catch...

0:27 – Damn. Couldn’t snap it fast enough... too bad. Although, if his arm is under the ball, it’s allowed to hit the ground without overturning the catch...

1:00 – That’s gotta be the quickest challenge in history... The ref (Walt Anderson) actually sounded disappointed in his crew members for ever thinking it was a catch... “The receiver never had possession of the ball... I think it’s pretty obvious. Sorry for wasting everyone’s time... Oh, and Pittsburgh isn’t charged with a timeout. Plus, we’ll give them some more time on the clock to boot...” I don’t know why there’s a minute on the clock – they started that play with 0:58 to go, so that’s like an extra 10 seconds...

0:36 – Pittsburgh fans seem to be cheering Rodney Harrison’s apparent concussion/separated shoulder. Classy.

0:07 – Anybody feel like covering Hines Ward? Anybody?

0:00 – Think Peyton Manning’s sitting at home saying “So THAT’S how we should have played that beat-up secondary...”

Three quarters done. 31-17 Pats. Steelers driving, holding all the momentum, and now the crowd is back into the game. I’m not nervous, but this one isn’t salted away yet either...

FOURTH QUARTER

15:00 – First play of the fourth quarter, Ted Johnson just speared Jerome Bettis. Bettis got up, shook his head, and went back to the huddle. Tough, tough guy.

14:17 – ANOTHER one Samuel could have had... ridiculous.

14:12 – SHUT THEM DOWN on that run... This is a huge play call...

13:30 – Phil Simms is right, nothing says “we’re playing to win” like kicking a field goal when your team is down 14 points and you’re on the 2 yard line... Those three points don’t mean anything if your defense allows even one more solid drive (6+ minutes)...

Commercial Break. OK, the Nike “Masks” commercial – Kinda creepy. I never thought I’d see the day when SlipKnot would get a Nike endorsement... (I’m hoping that at least some of you have heard of or seen SlipKnot – that joke makes no sense if you haven’t. And very little sense even if you have...)

13:20 – Jim Nantz: “The Patriots have been true to form and not turned the ball over in seven playoff quarters. Not once.” No announcer jinx there...

11:23 – Only one play in-between these last two lines. I once read that if you eliminated all the time from the whistle to the next snap, along with commercials and halftime, you could watch an entire football game in twenty minutes. So the players get paid millions of dollars for twenty minutes of work every week. Sweet gig.

8:06 – Heckuva defensive play there by DeShay Townsend there on 3^rd down. Knocked away a sure TD pass. Have to settle for the figgie...

8:03 - ...which sailed through the upright like a wounded duck... yikes.

This brings me to another point. In last week’s Pittsburgh/NY game, Doug Brien went 1-3 on field goals and was skewered in the NY media. Now, granted, the two kicks he missed were game winners. But in the Super Bowl last year, a decidedly more important game, Adam Vinatieri went 1-3, only making the game-winner. And he’s a folk hero in New England. Nothing against Vinatieri, just that Brien deserves better than he’s gotten in New York. He had a bad day; give him a break... and his unconditional release.

What? You thought I’d show a New York team/player some compassion? Not in this lifetime...

Commercial break. How many CSI’s are there now? Like 37? Is there a CSI: Allston/Brighton yet? I can only imagine the cases they’d have to solve there; everything from Drunk and Disorderly to Binge Drinking to Alcohol Poisoning, to the always riveting Noise Violations...

7:29 – Welcome Back Ben. Pick #3 ought to do it for the Steelers... Nice play by Eugene Wilson.

7:29 – Can’t fault Cowher for challenging this one, but I think it stands. Haven’t seen any replays yet to overturn the call.

7:29 – Well, maybe I have now... That cross-field angle raised some doubts... I say overturned...

7:29 – With Jimmy Buffet blaring in the background (quite a dichotomy with the piles of snow on the sidelines), Walt Anderson announces...

7:29 – Game Over. Thanks for playing. We’ll see you next year. That challenge did take a little too long for my liking though...

7:00 – Phil Simms is still talking about the Steelers getting the ball back for a shot at a TD, onside kick, and another TD, all within the last seven minutes. Not happening Phil...

6:40 – Bonnie Bernstein just told us that The Bus is considering retirement after the season. Wow, we might lose Jerome Bettis and Steve McNair in the same year. Two of the toughest guys ever to play in the NFL – they’ve both deserved better over their careers. Too bad they couldn’t get an honorary ring, although at least McNair actually had a chance to win one back in 1999. Bettis never even got there.

6:33 – That is a ridiculous pass/catch from Tom Brady to David Givens to keep this drive going on 3^rd down. This team never ceases to amaze me.

5:15 – With the game sealed away, Corey Dillon just churned out a six-yard run after getting stopped for no gain. I don’t think there’s a hungrier player in the game right now. He came to New England for no other reason than he was sick of losing. He even too a pay cut and a non-guaranteed contract to play for the Patriots. Now he’s about to be rewarded by playing in his first Super Bowl...

4:24 – Classy move by New England. They could have brought out Adam Vinatieri to kick another field goal and run up the score. Instead they go for it on 4^th and 1. If they make it, they run out the clock. If they don’t, Pittsburgh gets another shot. They make it.

3:40 – And Corey Dillon promptly proceeds to absolutely steamroll a linebacker that made the mistake of trying to tackle him solo. Oops.

2:23 – And for good measure, another end-around for Deion Branch to really end it. 23 yards for the TD, and a little taunting of the few remaining fans in the stands. I’m all tingly inside...

2:23 – Pittsburgh hadn’t allowed over 30 points all year. New England has hung 41 on them so far today, and Big Ben still has to go back on the field. Hey kid – THAT’S what it feels like to lose. (I can say kid – I’m a year older than him)

2:15 – Pats players are waiving their own “terrible towels” on the sidelines. Nice.

2:08 – With zero (yes, ZERO) defensive lineman for NE, Ben Roethlisberger just ran for 11 yards and put an ankle-breaking move on Tedy Bruschi. I love garbage-time football; maybe we’ll even get a Tommy Maddox sighting!

1:53 – Jim Nantz just told us about the upcoming Lamar Hunt AFC championship trophy presentation. Any chance that gets renamed the Robert Kraft trophy in the future? I can dream, can’t I?

This raises another good point. What’s the O/U on how many drinks Mr. Kraft has had tonight? Or perhaps how far into his speech before he slurs his first words? I’ll say seven drinks and two minutes, although all bets are off if he has to hold the trophy and speak at the same time. Not so good at multitasking...

0:52 – TD pass to Burress. Good to see Ben finally hit a receiver on his own team for a score. At least Asante Samuel didn’t even get close to this one...

0:52 – The most exciting play in football, the meaningless onside kick! I can’t wait!

0:00 – So, my Super Bowl pick for three years running finally happens... in the first year I don’t pick it. Figures. I say New England opens at -7, but it might be higher with today’s dismantling...

I’d love to stay and chat about the Lamar Hunt trophy, Bob Kraft’s inevitable inebriated speech, and the post-game show where Boomer Esiason can lob backhanded compliments at Dan Marino again, but somewhere there’s a snow bank that needs shoveling...

I’ll put up a short “Quick Thoughts” post tomorrow. I think I wrote just about everything I had in this one...

Once more into the battle. To Jacksonville, destiny, and a dynasty. This is just starting to get good...

Lata.

posted by Big D @ 10:07 PM 0 comments