Quick Thoughts - February
Quick Thoughts while thinking of something better to write…
OK, so this will have to serve as my “update” between the Super Bowl recap post a couple weeks ago and the Baseball Preview post that’s still a couple weeks away. Sorry. I guess I’m just running out of ideas.
A lot has happened in the world of sports since last I posted anything worthwhile. There’s been a Super Bowl, an All-Star game, and an Olympics, not to mention a few fluctuations in the baseball Hot Stove off-season. Guess I’ll just run this down in a random order:
n Perhaps the scariest thing I’ve seen in the past few months… I got my copy of “The Sporting News” (amazing how irrelevant this publication has become with the advance of the Internet & 24/7 news & sports coverage) for the week of February 24th… and on the cover was Johnny Damon, in full pinstripe glory, with a facial expression that can best be described as, well, kinda like the face that a very drunk man would make just before taking a wild swing at a bouncer in a bar. That sounds about right. In fact, click here – you decide for yourself…
n Is it possible for anything in American sports to happen without some type of controversy anymore? From A.J. Pierzynski in last year’s ALCS to the referees in the Super Bowl, to the judges in the NBA Slam-Dunk contest… it seems like it’s not interesting enough to just watch a great sporting event anymore – there has to be a controversy to “keep America’s attention”. Are we that much of an ADD society that we can’t just be entertained? Don’t go clicking another webpage because you’re bored… hey, you… get back here…
n Is there a more useless event in sports than the NFL combine? Do scouts really think they’re going to see something in a player’s abilities at this completely staged event that wasn’t there before? Did a quarterback suddenly learn how to throw a football more effectively that he did when the season ended? Plus, two of the consensus top three picks aren’t even going to show up (Matt Leinart & Vince Young), so unless you’re judging everyone together, how can you really know if this Jay Cutler kid is going to be the best NFL QB of the group?
n By the way – as of right now I think Reggie Bush still goes #1 overall, although I could still see a team trading up to get that pick - the Jets come to mind – John Abraham, the #4 overall pick, a third rounder and maybe next year’s 3rd… That just might work. Plus, Reggie Bush in New York City would be an unbelievable marketing bounty.
n Thank God the Olympics are ending today. I don’t think I could handle another Bode Miller joke or pun (“Guess it’s not Miller Time…” If I hear that again, I swear to God, I’m going on some sort of spree.)
n Actually, the reason I’m happiest about the end of the Olympics – I get to watch hockey again. Any chance that the Outdoor Life Network has upgraded from the 1970’s style graphics they used in the first half of the season to maybe something from, oh, I don’t know, the 90’s? I gotta tell ya folks, if you want some serious laughs, go watch a game on OLN. It’s ridiculous. I couldn’t be happier that most of the Bruins’ games are broadcast on NESN.
n Speaking of NESN… hey – it’s Spring Training time! Which I guess brings us completely full circle in this post. I’m still working on the MLB Season Preview. I’m probably going to post it just before the start of the WBC, with the caveat that any injuries during that ridiculous event (or the signing of Roger Clemens) will most likely change any predictions I might make. Once the season starts, I’ll update as necessary…
Lata.
I have the grace of a drunken, three-legged rhinoceros on ice skates...
Yes, I realize I’ve been slacking. Horribly. You can stop bombarding me with e-mails now.
Allow me to at least try to explain. You see, I had planned on watching the Super Bowl and writing an in depth analysis of the game, complete with the satirical jabs you’ve all come to know and expect from me. The only problem was, by halftime my friends and I had lost interest in the game, so we decided to play poker for a couple hours instead. Therefore, the only time I really paid any attention to the television was if a hot chick was appearing, either at the game or in an ad, or if one of my buddies screamed “Holy Shit – that’s a terrible call! How’d they miss that one?”
That led me to Plan B. Watching the Olympics and the Pro Bowl to say something witty and insightful about those events. Or maybe waxing poetic about the impending free agency of such NFL stars as Edgerrin James and 2005 league MVP (hold for laughter) Shaun Alexander.
But you see, the Olympics are horribly boring to me, since I have never even attempted to play any of these sports seriously (although I was a figure skater for some years as introduction to the ice before trying to play hockey. Unfortunately, I have the grace of a drunken, three-legged rhinoceros on ice skates, which kind of precludes me from playing hockey at any level above pee-wees. But I digress…)
Onto Plan C - preparing to write my annual Major League Baseball Season Preview post, which is actually seven posts condensed into one for your ease. This one is actually still in the works, although Mother Nature’s idea of humor – dropping 14 inches of snow on my house this weekend, along with my yearly “Late January / Early February three-week head cold” have kind of slowed me down a bit.
It’s coming. I promise. And I’m giving my honest opinion on every team, no matter how much some of you might think I’m damning your team to the basement of their division (that’s a whole different story – one that will be retold in the N.L. East Preview)…
Oh, and before I forget... I'm glad that, once again, others can get a laugh at my misery... (scroll down the page)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/pete_mcentegart/02/10/ten.spot/1.html
Wish me luck. I’ll try to post something – anything, even if it’s only a progress report – sometime next week.
Lata.
Super Bowl XL Pick
Super Bowl XL Pick
It’s amazing; when the Patriots aren’t participating in the Super Bowl, the event seems so horribly over-hyped that it’s almost sickening. But if New England were playing on Sunday, you better believe that I’d be reading every article, listening intently to every interview, maybe even following live coverage of Media Day on ESPN. But without the Pats, it’s just another game to me. Weird feeling.
I’ll be honest; I gave serious thought to simply copying last year’s Super Bowl pick into this post. You know, in honor of Groundhog Day and all. But then I thought better of it, since most of you would probably be hugely confused (not to mention disappointed) to read about how I thought New England needed to shut down Brian Westbrook in order to cover a 7-point line…
Also, in re-reading that post from last February, I noticed a note that I had passed along in the end of the post. On December 1, 2004, I crossed the 1,000 unique hits mark for this site. Well, yesterday I crossed 3,400 hits. So thank you all for stopping by, and thank you even more for deciding to return. Like I said last year, I enjoy writing this stuff, probably much more than most of you enjoy reading it. And it’s nice to know that at least a handful of people have decided to make this site a part of their weekly routine…
Alright, enough gushing from me. Let’s get on with the pick…
Seahawks (+4) over STEELERS: No, I’m not trying to be anti-establishment here. I’m not trying to go against the grain, and pick the Seahawks just because EVERYONE else is picking Pittsburgh. I’m picking Seattle for one reason:
They’re really good.
All season long, I railed on about how I didn’t trust Seattle, about how I couldn’t get over their past. About how they never seemed to be able to win the big game, or to exorcise their past demons when the stakes were the highest. Well I’m over all of that now.
Seattle was 13-3, and by far the class of the NFC this year. Only Indy & Denver had comparable or better records (and yes, I know that Pittsburgh beat both of those teams on the way to Detroit). They were absolutely dominant in many of those games. They completely obliterated the Panthers last week, a game in which a lot of people believed that Carolina was an unfair underdog.
Everyone says that Pittsburgh’s defense is too good. That the Steelers will shut down the running game, and manage the clock on offense to eliminate the possibility of turnovers. Isn’t that the same thing everyone said about Carolina last week? That the Panthers’ front four would be able to shut down the running game, and that Jake Delhomme would be a game manager extraordinaire, and eliminate turnovers. Hmm… I seem to remember a lot of “pundits” saying that Carolina would crush Seattle.
Anyone remember what happened in the NFC title game two weeks ago? Shaun Alexander ran against the vaunted Carolina front four to the tune of 132 yards and a couple scores. The Seahawks defense forced THREE interceptions from that amazing game manager, Jake Delhomme. And they won, by twenty.
Now, I understand that Pittsburgh is a great team. The only reason that they were a #6 seed with an 11-5 record is because their quarterback missed games with an injury. But they’re still a young team (aside from Jerome Bettis, who apparently is playing the Super Bowl in his hometown. I was unaware of this. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more about it – it seems like it would be a great storyline). Roethlisberger is turning into a hell of a good quarterback, but I just can’t shake the image of him gagging in last year’s playoffs, first against the Jets, then against the Patriots.
Don’t even get me started on the possibility of Tommy Maddox having to enter the Super Bowl if anything were to happen to Big Ben. Not that I have that much confidence in Seneca Wallace for Seattle either. In fact, let’s pray that both QB’s stay healthy – having either of those two guys play a major role in deciding a Super Bowl would be a complete travesty.
I honestly believe that Seattle has the right to play the “disrespect” card this year. There are probably five other people outside of the Pacific Northwest picking them to even compete in this game. They didn’t get here by accident – they got here because they were by far the best team in the NFC, and probably one of the top three teams in the entire NFL. I think this is the year that the NFC takes back the Lombardi Trophy.
Just don’t get too used to it. It’s coming home to Foxboro next year…
Pick: Seahawks, 27-20
Quote of the Week
So, by some type of complete Brain Fart, I blew it with last week’s quote. Although my exchange with the random woman at the Shuttle Bus Stop in San Diego was funny, it couldn’t compare to my friend Bill Prince’s observation one glorious night in Vegas…
I was in Sin City for six days (Tuesday through Sunday) with my buddies Jay, Tim & Bill showing up on Thursday. Friday was Jay’s birthday, so naturally our plan was to drink. A lot. We began the night at the Monte Carlo Pub & Brewery (a hidden gem in Vegas, by the way. Absolutely great place). After drinking about 10 liters of beer between us (that’s a whole other story) we were sitting at the bar, laughing, randomly calling and/or texting people back on the East Coast (where it was 2AM) when Bill interrupted our conversation with the following:
Bill: (pointing at a neon light on the wall that read “Drink Beer!”) “Guys, when I die, I hope I go into that light.”
Even the bartender cracked up at that one, and I have to imagine he’s heard a lot of stupid jokes in his time slinging alcohol in Vegas…
OK, back next week with a Super recap and maybe some, !gasp!, baseball talk!
Lata.
