Woods beats Henry 3 and 2 at match play
Peyton redoes deal, saves Colts cap room
Illinois G Smith surrenders to police
Pacers Tinsley, Daniels charged in fight
Dolphins sign Holliday for $20M, 4 years
DUI hearing for Colts’ Rhodes postponed
Cincy’s Thurman pleads no contest to DUI
Chief Illiniwek to perform for last time
Yahoo sports is listing 8 top stories this evening…amazingly half of them are drunken athletes out of control. Three athlete DUIs (counting Illinois G Smith, who was in fact detained over a horrible DUI wreck which left his teammate with a critical head injury). Four liquor-soaked ballers in all counting Pacers Tinsley who was charged with felony intimidation for his bar fight. And Cincy's Thurman has to do 90 days in the slammer for his repeat violation. Sadly, the days of alcohol fueled craziness and athletes are in full swing. Why? Perhaps the $20M in 4 year contract above sheds some light on the sense of entitlement some ballplayers have.
Compare the drunken free-for-all above with the maturity and sacrifice of Peyton restructuring his contract to keep the Colts on top, and the continued slaughter at the hands of the unstoppable Tiger Woods, Inc., and you either have a profound contrast or a world waiting for March Madness and baseball.
Meanwhile Chief Illegalwek has been banned, but is rumored that he will take to the streets of Champaign, IL for bootleg pep dances.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Norv By Norv-west
The Chargers hiring of Norv Turner as head coach today can be compared to a date in which you offer to take your companion to Wendy’s, she objects, you offer to take her someplace better…only to pull your car into McDonald’s across the street. Norv is a poor man’s Schottenheimer – on a good day! Turner was noticeably ineffective in his years with the Skins and Raiduhs – earning a whopping one trip to the playoffs (with Washington). Just ask an Oakland fan about his 1-11 record in division games with the Raiders over his two years, and, assuming you don’t get a silver and black medieval mace to the face, suddenly Schottenheimer’s 5-13 playoff record won’t seem so terrible. Schottenheimer at least brings a successful regular season and a consistent competence at making the playoffs.
The Chargers, fresh off their botched showdown with Belichick and co. were nonetheless Vegas favorites moments after the Super Bowl ended. Vegas knows the casual fan who just suffered through three hours of Peyton in the rain would love nothing more than to dream that next year a new champion will emerge. The gaudy offensive production of Tomlinson and company and their 14-2 record perhaps MUST make the Bolts a favorite in the circular reasoning of America’s millions of brainwashed fantasy players.
One wonders, will Norv immediately have to inherit Marty’s “LaDanian is the best player ever” viewpoint as a condition of taking over? LaDanian can get four touchdowns in every game and they still wouldn’t be an inch closer to the Super Bowl if Norv can’t strategize a playoff win…likely against Belichick and/or Dungy no less. Norv’s inability to lead a team seemed to have him relegated to coordinator status for good, yet clearly the Chargers wanted to go with head coaching “experience” which is like saying we’d rather go with someone predictably mediocre than some young guy who is untested. No one has more experience being predictably mediocre than Marty Schottenheimer, who is a better Norv than Norv is, even.
The powder blue and yellow lightning bolts of SD seem forever doomed with this one to enter the realm of classic teams that apexed short of the Super Bowl. Not even a strategy of giving the ball to LeBron Tomlinson every single play will make these Cleveland Cavaliers of the NFL successful if they aren’t managed properly as a team, and remain unable to adapt to changing circumstances under pressure. Can Norv change that? You know the Raiders are licking their chops at two chances to show the world the answer is “no.”
The Chargers, fresh off their botched showdown with Belichick and co. were nonetheless Vegas favorites moments after the Super Bowl ended. Vegas knows the casual fan who just suffered through three hours of Peyton in the rain would love nothing more than to dream that next year a new champion will emerge. The gaudy offensive production of Tomlinson and company and their 14-2 record perhaps MUST make the Bolts a favorite in the circular reasoning of America’s millions of brainwashed fantasy players.
One wonders, will Norv immediately have to inherit Marty’s “LaDanian is the best player ever” viewpoint as a condition of taking over? LaDanian can get four touchdowns in every game and they still wouldn’t be an inch closer to the Super Bowl if Norv can’t strategize a playoff win…likely against Belichick and/or Dungy no less. Norv’s inability to lead a team seemed to have him relegated to coordinator status for good, yet clearly the Chargers wanted to go with head coaching “experience” which is like saying we’d rather go with someone predictably mediocre than some young guy who is untested. No one has more experience being predictably mediocre than Marty Schottenheimer, who is a better Norv than Norv is, even.
The powder blue and yellow lightning bolts of SD seem forever doomed with this one to enter the realm of classic teams that apexed short of the Super Bowl. Not even a strategy of giving the ball to LeBron Tomlinson every single play will make these Cleveland Cavaliers of the NFL successful if they aren’t managed properly as a team, and remain unable to adapt to changing circumstances under pressure. Can Norv change that? You know the Raiders are licking their chops at two chances to show the world the answer is “no.”
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Hoya Toughness
Georgetown showed Grind It Out tenacity in defeating Villanova Saturday, capturing the latest opportunity for a measure of revenge for the eternal Hoya pain from the ’85 title upset. Nine consecutive victories for Georgetown have fans dreaming that the current “Ewing Jr. Era” will represent not only Patrick’s role player son’s presence on the team, but also a taste of the same NCAA glory his pop achieved. Let’s just say they have at least achieved an “Iverson Era” level of success, which feels good for fans after a lean decade there.
Georgetown’s 7’2” Roy Hibbert may get the publicity, but the Villanova game showed it’s the sharp shooting and toughness of Jeff Green around which the Hoyas revolve. Green’s fake 3 and smooth step-out to drain a laser 15-footer put Georgetown ahead for good at 56-55, and was the last field goal of the game. The fake worked nicely because of Green’s silky quickness and also because he is potentially deadly from outside. Green absorbed a smack in the face in a rebounding scrum a play later and shook off the circling tweety birds to nail two clutch free throws as the Hoyas triumphed 58-55.
The versatile Green, who finished with 19 points, 9 bounds and a career high 8 blocked shots, was aided by the sparkling play of NYC native playmaker Jessie Sapp, who thrilled audiences by sinking a shot at the halftime buzzer well beyond halfcourt in an effortless leaping shot putting motion. Told he was not winning a car for this effort, Sapp continued to hit clutch threes in the tight second half, also showing his ability to slice and dice in the lane.
Hibbert was not allowed to play offense by Nova, and got his only touch in the paint on his second of only two baskets with 2:59 remaining. G-town went right back to him off the inbounds on the next possession, but his sluggish and flat footed up-and-under move was easily blocked by Nova’s Sheridan. For whatever reason the towering Hibbert can’t seem to generate his own offense in the paint at times. Hoya coach John Thompson Jr.’s brilliance has been harnessing the giant project’s contributions while not allowing his rough spots to cost the team the game. With the clutch hands of Green waiting for the ball, Georgetown has been deadly.
Georgetown’s 7’2” Roy Hibbert may get the publicity, but the Villanova game showed it’s the sharp shooting and toughness of Jeff Green around which the Hoyas revolve. Green’s fake 3 and smooth step-out to drain a laser 15-footer put Georgetown ahead for good at 56-55, and was the last field goal of the game. The fake worked nicely because of Green’s silky quickness and also because he is potentially deadly from outside. Green absorbed a smack in the face in a rebounding scrum a play later and shook off the circling tweety birds to nail two clutch free throws as the Hoyas triumphed 58-55.
The versatile Green, who finished with 19 points, 9 bounds and a career high 8 blocked shots, was aided by the sparkling play of NYC native playmaker Jessie Sapp, who thrilled audiences by sinking a shot at the halftime buzzer well beyond halfcourt in an effortless leaping shot putting motion. Told he was not winning a car for this effort, Sapp continued to hit clutch threes in the tight second half, also showing his ability to slice and dice in the lane.
Hibbert was not allowed to play offense by Nova, and got his only touch in the paint on his second of only two baskets with 2:59 remaining. G-town went right back to him off the inbounds on the next possession, but his sluggish and flat footed up-and-under move was easily blocked by Nova’s Sheridan. For whatever reason the towering Hibbert can’t seem to generate his own offense in the paint at times. Hoya coach John Thompson Jr.’s brilliance has been harnessing the giant project’s contributions while not allowing his rough spots to cost the team the game. With the clutch hands of Green waiting for the ball, Georgetown has been deadly.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Rex a Tyranosaurus of Failure
Super Bowl XLI will always be remembered for a stirring, inspiring performance amid a torrential downpour. And in addition to Prince’s halftime show, the Colts won a football game.
Kelvin Hayden’s interception for the Colts closed out a soggy day for the Bears. On the ensuing challenge replays it could be seen that his foot touched down within a single blade of grass of the sideline before he took off on his 56-yard touchdown run, the only score of the fourth quarter, the one that iced it. Rex Grossman’s pass was a lazy looper, floated into coverage.
When Rex was intercepted by Bob Sanders two passes later, it was clear the much anticipated scenario of Grossman costing his team the game would be the story of the day, ahead of the monsoon (first inclement weather in Super Bowl history) and the sizzling opening with Devin Hester scoring while Billy Joel was still performing the national anthem. With Rex unable to sustain a drive (nothing longer than 2:22), the D was left out in the rain for days. Grossman allowed the Colts to control the clock with his inability to get first downs, then allowed them to win the game on his poor judgment on the two interceptions, thrown sloppily and deep downfield.
Peyton’s primary contribution was to facilitate the fine running of Rhodes and Addai by not dropping the ball. The two Colt runners deserved to be co-MVP’s in place of the suddenly monkey-free QB. The Hester return and five first quarter turnovers gave the game a wide open feel early, but Peyton’s conservative ball control march to victory made the second half considerably less entertaining.
Clearly, Peyton’s hours of experience at getting pelted by rain while filming Gatorade commercials proved very useful Sunday. Rex on the other hand could have been benched for his poor decisions and lackluster execution. If some purple shoulder pads could have been found for Prince perhaps the result would have been different.
Kelvin Hayden’s interception for the Colts closed out a soggy day for the Bears. On the ensuing challenge replays it could be seen that his foot touched down within a single blade of grass of the sideline before he took off on his 56-yard touchdown run, the only score of the fourth quarter, the one that iced it. Rex Grossman’s pass was a lazy looper, floated into coverage.
When Rex was intercepted by Bob Sanders two passes later, it was clear the much anticipated scenario of Grossman costing his team the game would be the story of the day, ahead of the monsoon (first inclement weather in Super Bowl history) and the sizzling opening with Devin Hester scoring while Billy Joel was still performing the national anthem. With Rex unable to sustain a drive (nothing longer than 2:22), the D was left out in the rain for days. Grossman allowed the Colts to control the clock with his inability to get first downs, then allowed them to win the game on his poor judgment on the two interceptions, thrown sloppily and deep downfield.
Peyton’s primary contribution was to facilitate the fine running of Rhodes and Addai by not dropping the ball. The two Colt runners deserved to be co-MVP’s in place of the suddenly monkey-free QB. The Hester return and five first quarter turnovers gave the game a wide open feel early, but Peyton’s conservative ball control march to victory made the second half considerably less entertaining.
Clearly, Peyton’s hours of experience at getting pelted by rain while filming Gatorade commercials proved very useful Sunday. Rex on the other hand could have been benched for his poor decisions and lackluster execution. If some purple shoulder pads could have been found for Prince perhaps the result would have been different.
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