Monthly Archives: December 2011

Will the Patriots Make the Super Bowl?

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It’s that time of year again… The Patriots are 11-3 and in sole possession of first place in the AFC after having clinched the AFC East last week. The question most of you are wondering is as follows: Can the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl? It looks like the Patriots should have earned themselves a first round bye and potentially home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The latter part I see to be very important.

Going to Heinz field and facing a Steelers team that isn’t depleted by injuries is not an easy task and that was proven earlier this season. That doesn’t look to be the case though. If the Patriots do meet the Steelers in the playoffs they will have to come through Foxboro and it’s a whole different atmosphere for them. Roethlisberger looks very hurt and an injury like that can keep most players out for a few weeks. The Ravens could be a tough game, but Joe Flacco looks average at best, and even the Ravens defense can get beat by a good offense as that was shown Sunday night. The Texans don’t have the passing game to really take advantage of the terrible Patriots secondary like most teams can. As far as the rest of the AFC goes there isn’t any other team in the conference that would really scare me; especially if they are coming to Gillette.

The Patriots secondary is clearly their weakness and at times has been exposed but it works into the Patriots favor that the list of potential quarterbacks they could face in the AFC playoffs are headlined by Big Ben and followed with QB’s like T.J. Yates, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, and Matt Hasselbeck.

Anything can happen in the NFL, but if I had to put my life savings down on a team to come out of the AFC, it would be the Pats.

Current NBA Salary Structure Not Up To Par

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The way the NBA’s salary structure works today has already lead to star free agents teaming up with each other to form their super-teams. The way I look at it is the NBA is to blame for it. The NBA needed to change this in the new collective bargaining agreement and they did not. I’m sure the players association would have been for what I am about to propose.

I am all for a salary cap, but the league should not be telling teams how to spend their allotment of cap space. There are max contracts allowed in the NBA. When LeBron James was a free agent last summer notice most of the talk was not about money, it was all about where LeBron wanted to play. A team like the Cavaliers did not have a realistic opportunity to sign LBJ. They couldn’t offer more money than any other team. The only reason LeBron would have stayed in Cleveland would have been because he was faithful to his hometown fans. We all know how important that was to him. Why would LeBron rather play for a team that can’t offer a supporting cast over a team like the Heat that had Bosh and D-Wade when money isn’t even a factor? He won’t. No one will.

The NBA players have essentially realized that they can dictate where they want to play and it continues to put their present teams in dreadful situations. Chris Paul didn’t want to go to Boston during recent trade rumors, but what if the Celtics were able to offer CP3 a $30 million per year deal? I’m not saying I would want to do that as a Celtics fan, but I’m sure the extra millions would have made him reconsider. I’m sure the Cavs would have offered LBJ anything he wanted to stay in Cleveland. Losing out on the LeBron sweepstakes ruined their franchise for the near future. Yes, as a free agent the players could still choose where they wanted to play, but assembling super-teams would come at a cost to the players. If the Cav’s were to have offered LBJ $30 million per year, and the Heat only had the cap space for $20 million, it may have changed the situation. Instead we are going to continue to have 5-8 teams in the league with a legitimate title shot, while leaving the remaining teams completely hopeless.

Celtics Still Injured

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20111221-112051.jpgJust 10 months after a spine injury where he was taken off in a stretcher, presumably finished for his career, Marquis Daniels has come back stronger than ever. I know that I felt bad when we let him go last season because we were fighting hard for a championship. At least we made things right and got him back, and now he is better than he was before his surgery. Marquis might have the chance to start on Christmas Day against the Knicks, assuming Pierce is still hurt. He is a great spot up defender and could probably do a better job than anyone (including Pierce) at guarding their best player, I think his name is Carmelo or something…

However, Doc Rivers said that he likes the way the second unit plays together so he may even throw Sasha (remember that utterly useless guy from last season??) into the starting role just to keep his second team together for when our senior citizens get tired. The Knicks are undoubtedly going to be a lot stronger of a team than last year. Do you think we can beat them right off the bat? I believe so since they are a new team and have had limited practice, while the core of our team has been together since 2007.

 

Bruins Take Care of Business

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Yesterday the NHL Power Rankings came out for the week, putting the B’s at 2nd place behind the Blackhawks. Not too bad, considering we did move up three spots since losing our 1st place ranking two weeks ago. What gets me is the fact that the Flyers are still ranked third after the Bruins destroyed them Saturday. Correction…Absolutely EMBARRASSED them on their home ice. Without Pronger and Giroux there is no way this team keeps pace with top teams, and the B’s game was just the beginning of that slide. But who cares, we’ll just take care of our business and let Philly’s misfortune pan out.

Taking care of business is exactly what the Bruin’s did last night at the garden. Despite struggling so far this season, Montreal always poses a threat when they come into Boston. It doesn’t matter how well either team is doing, the rivalry brings out the best in both squads. Last night the B’s held their ground with a 3-2 victory, and sent the Canadiens back across the border with their heads down. Krejci, Pouliot, and Marchard netted the goals for Boston, as Timmy stood solid once again between the pipes. The B’s scored a late goal off a turnover in the Montreal zone, which would prove crucial as the Habs pulled their goalie and netted one with under 2 minutes to play. With a few days’ rest, the Bruins are looking for revenge at home when the Florida Panthers come into town Friday.

Rex Ryan vs. New York

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You know, I used to think Rex Ryan was a fantastic coach, especially for the Jets. I mean this guy has the charisma and swagger to actually survive in a city that chews people up and spits them out. He handles the media like a true New Yorker should, but as of late I really think that he is losing his touch. Every year, everybody is all over the “new and improved Jets” and how that this will finally be their year. Rex constantly makes some serious promises and goals, but everything seems to be coming up short. Is it me or does it still feel like Mark Sanchez is a rookie (and plays like one sometimes)? I know it’s his third year in the league, but I swear he just got drafted in April. With that being said, it appears that Rex has decided to back off the AFC East and is looking to pit the Jets against a new cross-town rival, the Giants. Last night, after coming off a truly demoralizing defeat to a very hot Philly squad, Rex had this to say about the upcoming match next week against the Giants: “There’s no way I’m going to be second fiddle. If we were playing the New York Yankees, I don’t want to be second fiddle to them. This is the same type of deal. I want to be the best team in football, not just the best team in this city. But we’ll start by being the best team in this city.” I really like the fire out of this guy, but at what point does an 8-6 record speak for itself? You can’t survive in the AFC with that. Every year we see the Jets losing to the same, consummate teams in the AFC after making a miraculous run late in the season to get into the playoffs. He is creating yet another rival for his Jets, trying to motivate them through his words to the media, but has this tactic worked yet? I hate to say it but if the Jets fail to at least make it to the Superbowl this year (which they won’t) I think it’s time to make some serious changes in that organization.

Golf Cart Takes Out Crowd At Cowboys Stadium

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Fortunately no one was seriously injured in this accident but this video is just hilarious. The funniest part of this video is the guy that gets taken out, but ends up landing in the driver’s seat. What’s his first instinct? Lets kick my legs up on the front of the cart and hope for it to stop. Once his first brilliant plan failed the guy decided to gracefully barrel roll out of the cart. Wouldn’t your first instinct be to try to stop it by moving the pylon out from under the brake? Nah, screw it. I’ll just jump off and let someone else handle it. Thank god they had that well-educated guy that works at the stadium there to move the bright orange pylon out from under the brake or this really could’ve gotten ugly.

 

Best Players in College

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Just over a month in and there have already been a few different #1 teams in the country.  There have also been many players who have stepped up, or fell off the radar.  I thought it would be fun to vote on who has been the best player in the NCAA ( I only did ranked teams players).  If you are unsure, do not just vote for North Carolina players because I’m pretty sure thats what everyone in the coaches poll does…

 

MNF Pick ‘Em – Week 15

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Steelers @ 49ers 8:35PM

In what could be one of the best battles of the season, a few players on one side might be watching from the sideline. My guess is that Big Ben will play tonight, but with Lamarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu’s hamstring concerns, along with James Harrison being out on suspension for his hit on Colt McCoy last week, the Steelers defense might not be exactly what we are all used to. That being said, I still am not convinced the 49ers offense can make them a Super Bowl contender. The Steelers are going to have to throw the ball around tonight if they want to escape with a victory against a team that has one of the top run defenses in the NFL. I’m going to the Steelers tonight.

Prediction: Steelers-21 49ers-17

 

Yesterdays Picks: 9-5

Season Total: 23-10

All Is Well In Boston

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20111219-121540.jpgIt’s been great writing these weekend recaps lately. Of course it helps being a Boston sports fan, but Monday always seems a little brighter when there isn’t much to complain about in the sports realm.

The Bruins absolutely embarrassed the Flyers on Saturday, capping off a two game road trip with a 6-0 stomping in Philly. They now sit tied with the Flyers in points atop the Eastern Conference. Tim Thomas was once again a rock in net, recording his 30th career shutout. The B’s take the ice at home tonight against the struggling Canadiens team as they look to expand their new winning streak to 5 games and pull ahead to sole possession of the conference lead.

Order was restored in Denver this Sunday, and “Tebow Time” was put on standby. As expected, the Pats took down Tebow and the Broncos, putting an end to all the miracle boy chat (at least for the next week). Oh how about Timmy boy running for his life towards the end of the 4th quarter? I mean how do you let yourself get sacked for a 29 yard loss? Brady would never allow that. Speaking of the legend, Tom threw for 2 TDs and rushed one in himself, capping off the score with a “Gronk-esque” type spike. With the win, the Pats claimed the AFC East title for the 9th time in 11 seasons with Brady at the helm.

For the first time in 7 months we got to watch the Celtics squad take the court. First things first…it was an ugly game, but basketball is back so I’ll take it! Doc played everyone, giving the starters some late game rest and the newcomers a chance to show what they got. After giving up a commanding lead in the 4th quarter, the C’s were able to hold off a late game push by the Raptors to seal off a 76-75 win in Toronto. The Raptors come to Boston Wednesday night for both teams’ final preseason game before the regular season tips off Christmas Day.

With another passing weekend, again Boston sports fans cannot complain. Our two division leaders have continued to advance, one moving ahead in their conference and the other clinching a division title. Our lost boys in green are back in action, looking to make one more run at the Larry O’Brien trophy. Once again, all is well in Beantown. Happy Monday!

 

Weekend College Round Up

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Previously unbeaten Xavier lost their first game Sunday against Oral Roberts… Wait, What? Oh yeah, 3 of their best players are suspended because of their brawl against Cincinnati last week (in case you somehow missed it) so they lost against a team with “Oral” in their name…  Since these 3 didn’t play, I don’t see Xavier dropping far below their previous rank of #9, just as Ohio State remained near the top even though they lost a game last week when they didn’t have Sullinger, who got hurt again on Saturday.  In my opinion he is the most dominant player in college right now, when he is healthy that is.  I hope they drop below UConn who should climb a little bit higher with another win on Sunday.

On Saturday night, Syracuse almost felt the curse of the #1 but somehow held on against North Carolina State, which would have been a huge upset once again.   #19 Illinois lost but I wouldn’t be surprised if they stay in the top 25 since it is their first loss, even though they have not played anyone that tough.  #21 Alabama and #25 Vanderbilt both lost, which will most likely move both of them out of the top 25 come Monday morning.  Every other team that played and should have won, did win.  Unfortunately, that includes the Tar Heels.