Cowboys out. The impression that lasts. The body language of Tony Romo in the fourth quarter. Confusion, frustration, a face that was seeing chickens coming home to roost and knew it. Conventional wisdom says the Jessica Simpson Mexican vacation shouldn't matter. But somehow it feels like it did, and sometimes perception becomes reality.
It came down to Billy Volek and Payton Manning and Volek won. I like Manning, Dungy, and the Colts but enjoyed seeing the Chargers backup QB steal the glory. It was a big game for the Colts, but it was the game of a lifetime for Billy Volek.
Alex Ovechin signed with the Washington Capitols for 13 years and $124 million dollars. To put that in some perspective, that is three full presidential terms and one additional year. The last guy to get a contract that long in DC was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The Chicago Bulls players thought Joakim Noah's one game suspension for verbally abusing an assistant coach wasn't enough, so they went to management and had him benched for one more. The lesson? More than we know, professional athletes care about their teams and the game itself.
Then there is Kwame Brown. It's crossroads time for Brown. Andrew Bynum is out for two months and the Laker season will rise or fall on Brown's ability to fill the gap. The Romans said the past is prologue. If so, I suspect LA is going down like a rock. Brown has talent, but the kind that runs and hides when the scoreboard clock starts running.
Johnny Podres passed away yesterday. He was a "Yankee killer" back when the Dodgers-Yankees was the best rivalry in professional sports. It is sad to see the Boys of Summer leaving the stage, sadder still to think that not long into the future few will remember that a team once grew in Brooklyn.
Roger Clemens wants to clear his name. I know how. Forget the lawsuits. Forget TV interviews. Come back. Sign with the Astros. Show up on Day 1 of spring training. Volunteer for monthly drug tests. Invite the press to watch your work out routine. Then gut it out for seven months and 31 trips to the mound. Put up or shut up.
Don't you love hearing Hendrix on that Nascar commercial? But "All Along the Watchtower"? How did they miss "Cross Town Traffic"? 'Tire tracks all across your back. I can see you had your fun.'
Time to start paying attention to college basketball. When did Indiana get to be good again? Twenty-seven consecutive home wins? A second half shutdown of Illinois?
Duke looks like Duke. As the lone University of Virginia basketball fan on the planet I had hopes for an upset this weekend. 87-65. The scary thing is this is a rebuilding year at Duke. Sure wish UVA could rebuild like that. Looks like UNC-Duke is going to be something to look forward to. My money is on UNC, though. There is good, then there is Carolina. They may not lose this year.
Which brings me to college baseball. Which is not but about a month away. I'll be out at the frozen confines of the UNC-Greensboro stadium on February 22 for the game against Kent State. Can't stand hearing the "ping" of metal bats, but you gotta be true to your school and to baseball.
"Andrew Bynum is out for two months and the Laker season will rise or fall on Brown's ability to fill the gap...I suspect LA is going down like a rock."
What an overstatement. It's not like THE BIG DREWSKI tore an ACL.
The Lakers can go .500 in Bynum's absence and still shore up the fourth seed in the playoffs the way the rest of the west is going.
Plus the key for the Lakers is that they've already developed an identity with Bynum. Teams are beginning to feel his PRESENCE.
Once he comes back for the last month of the season, he'll come back strong (remember he's young so he'll be fresh once again) and the Lakers will be back blowing teams out once again.
And if the Lakers sign someone like a Chris Webber for some temporary help, we'll be in great shape.
Now that Bynum's hurt, many people (you're probably one of them) will underestimate the Lakers.
That is exactly what KOBE and PHIL want y'all to do. Remember like RUDY T. said, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."
L.A. has two players, a coach, and several assistants who have those qualities. Dallas has no players who's ever won a title besides Devean George (a former Laker) and he plays two minutes a game. Phoenix as we all know has none, not even a coach. San Antonio is pacing so nothing new there.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, ROGER CLEMENS can ever do to clear his name.
Even if he does what you say, it's not like he'll be able to prove (at his age) that he can win 15 games, strike out 200 batters, and hold batters to a .230 avg.
The damage is done and so is his legacy as arguably the greatest pitcher of all-time.
SUPER BOWL 42: GREEN BAY over NEW ENGLAND, as the incomparable BRETT FAVRE outguns Joe Montana-wannabe Tom Brady and Jerry Rice-wannabe Randy Moss then goes on to say he's coming back for one last year to defend the trophy.
Duke looks like Duke
Isn't it wonderful when a program has been so consistent under a certain coach that this statement is all you have to make and folks immediately know what you are talking about?
Same goes for Indiana. You could have simply said that Indiana is back to playing real Indiana basketball and everyone would know that they are once again a super-competitive team.
I think Romo started listening to his own press clippings (not a good idea whether they be good or bad) and tried to cash his Super Bowl check a couple of months too early.
If Kwame Brown does become a key cog in a playoff team, does Michael Jordan get to say "I told you so"?
If Roger wanted to clear his name, he should have not said anything to the press and immediately launched his defamation suit against Brian McNamee and George Mitchell. His rhetoric is falling under the category of "Methinks thou pretest too much to be innocent".
Joakim Noah...needs to be suspended until someone (anyone!?!) can understand a single word the space-cadet says. In college the reporters loved him for a soundbite. Seeing him come to the podium was like watching two trains on the same track speeding towards each other...you watched with a morbid anticipation of what was about to happen.
JDizzle-Great comments. You're right, I'm underestimating the Lakers as a team. But I've seen Kwame Brown so many times with the Wizards that it's hard to imagine any team relying on him. We'll see.
Dashman-Great description of Noah's relationship with the press. That may be part of the problem. He is still approaching the game like he is a big time player at Florida instead of a sub with the Bulls. I think the other guys are trying to make sure that message gets through.
Yeah, I am sure Tony's vacation with his girlfriend caused the Cowboys to lose. Sure it did.
And the offensive line not giving him time to find his recievers,
or the defensive line not being able to stop the Giants,
or the stupid penalities made by his teammates,
or the drop passes right in the hands of the receivers.
or the good play by the Giants.
No, those things had nothing to do with it. It was him going away with Jessica for a few days of rest and relaxation that did it.
Sad the laziness of the media and the bloggers who can't find the time or have the ability to really analyize the game and have to fall back on the tabloids for their information.
Last edited by Spurcse on January 15th at 9:43 AM.
Dud, you have to be kidding me. You really think that Roger coming back and playing another year even under the circumstances you named would change anyone's mind. Give me a break. It would not even change yours and you suggested it. He could take the Astros to the world series and win it and it would make no difference.
People would just say it proves nothing about the past. Or they would say he has found a way to beat the test.
People all over the blogs, the newspapers, the brodcasts, and the boards said if he was innocent, then let him sue his accuser and prove it. When he does file suit, he is an arrogant jerk who is just too hardheaded to admit what he did. That now he was headed for jail because he would lie under oath.
The only way to prove his innocence failed. If he could have gotten Mcnamee to admit on the tape tha the lied, it might have swayed some people, but it was a poorly planned attempt and fell way short of what he wanted.
So instead of clearing him, it just made him appear a bigger jerk and a bully in a lot of people's minds.
Let's face it, Mcnamee could get up before Congress, swear he lied, plead to be forgiven, and pass a lie detector test to that effect, but it would not change most people's minds. They would just believe there was a cover up or a pay off.
Nope, people have decided on Roger and nothing is going to change it.
Spurce-I agree with you that alot of attitudes are entrenched. But I believe he could better answer his critics by playing this year than by suing MacNamee. I honestly don't know if Clemens is guilty or not. The Mitchell Report is just a collection of statements, not a verdict in a court of law.
