Ever watch the Nutty Professor?  In it, a mild mannered chemistry teacher takes a pill that he invents to become a fine speciman that all the ladies want.  (The original with Jerry Lewis was actually much better.) In reality, no pill can do this.  And yet that is what some people think of steroids. 

I have been defending Barry Bonds for over a year now and this new story about Signature Pharmacy will shed light on why I don’t think Barry will ever be found guilty.  He may very well have taken steroids, legally.  No one wants to even accept this as a plausible scenario, but I am telling you it happens.  The trouble is that even when taken legally, you can still be banned in sports.  Runners taking asthma medication are often found guilty of doping, but the medication is legal and so are steroids when given under a doctor's supervision.  Of course Barry has his own personal surgeon and physician and steroids are often given after surgery.  Remember Barry's knee surgery?  How about his ailing elbow?  Is it possible that he was legally presribed steroids?  Mabye.

Steroids are not only legal but prescribed all the time.  Short people are giving HGH to help them grow.  People with immune problems are giving corticosteroids to aid in healing and lastly older people are prescribed hormone replacement therapy or HRT for short.  If you ever get a chance to watch the old episodes of Coach with Craig T. Nelson which is one of my all time favorite shows, there is an episode where Coach is prescribed a testosterone patch.  The results of this patch are nothing short of, well let's just say, Coach became Mr. Incredible.  But that does not mean that they have not obtained them legally and through a prescription. 

The internet has “muddied” the waters so to speak.  You can go online and order Viagra from Canada and it’s all legal and yet you never see a doctor.  You can do the same thing with steroids.  Should it be legal?  Maybe not, but this case will be one that will certainly set some precedents for future ordering of drugs online. 

 

Let me be very clear in that I believe Barry probably used steroids, but he will never be prosecuted for it.  The DA went after his medical records long ago and we never heard what was in them.  Considering everything else that was leaked, I can only surmise that if he was prescribed them the DA knows he can’t win.  That is why he is going after Bonds on perjury and tax evasion charges.  In Barry's own words, he is not worried about the investigation and this may be the reason why.

 

In the end, the internet will be highly regulated because of such things.  I am not looking forward to that day because I love the freedom and innovation the internet fosters.  Unfortunately there are a lot of dishonest people who always exploit the system.  In this case it is a small pharmaceutical company that really is pushing nutritional supplements and no other medications.  It isn’t even a true pharmacy in the normal connotation of what a pharmacy is.  Potentially, we are now going to see a whole new list of professional athletes who ordered from this online company.  Don’t be surprised if you see names like Roger Clemens and Andruw Jones pop up.  Evander Holyfield and Gary Matthews Jr. already have.  Just my take on it; what’s yours?

 

SoCalSportsFan

      

I had to get up pretty early this morning, finishing a side job, and as I traveled in my car I heard that MLS was playing their championship game today.  Now I listen to the sports channel every day in my car, ESPN on most nights at home, and follow sports on the internet and up until that very moment I did not know that MLS was even in their playoffs let alone in a championship game.  What's more, I learn that this is the 11th such occasion.  Can anyone list the last 5 champions?  I know I can't.

It appears that the Houston Dynamo won against the New England Revolution, 4-3, in what else but a "shoot out."   The average attendance at a game is around 15,000, but how many people are watching? If someone who follows sports as much as I do did not know about this, then I am willing to bet it is just not that important to most Americans.  Soccer may be "all" that in Europe, but over in the USA it is still a high school sport that plays second fiddle to football, basketball, and baseball. 

There is always speculation that soccer is on the rise and that MLS will one day be up there with the NFL and/or MLB, but sadly this is not true.  People overseas basically have soccer, rugby, and cricket.  There is no competition by football or baseball.  Basketball is even more popular overseas than soccer is in the US.  Hopefully all you soccer fans aren't too upset with me, but as I sat and watched the NFL today I wasn't even tempted to turn to find MLS.  I would almost even watch the NHL as compared to MLS and that would mean that I would be totally bored.

SoCalSportsFan

Here I am writing another post that is not entirely sports related, but I will begin by reminding everyone that I did choose the Cardinals to win it all.  I posted a short post yesterday declaring it was the National League’s year.  Now on to two burning questions that I have for the liberals in this country:

 

Question Numero Uno: (Just a little Spanish Lingo for the Latin American readers)

 

 

Do you support the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms?  Many liberals are opposed to assault weapons when that is exactly the purpose the founders of this country had in mind when they preserved this right in the constitution.  The right to bear arms was not so that they could go out and kill deer, but rather to protest against an abusive government and possibly go to war. 

 

 

Question Numero Dos:

 

 

Do you support the right to life?  When does an unborn child have rights?  If you get into an accident and kill a woman and her pregnant child you are tried on two counts for murder, but yet a woman can have her fetus aborted right up until the third trimester with no consequences.  If you kill sea turtle eggs on the beaches of Pensacola you can go to jail, but if you abort a baby you are just practicing your right to privacy. 

 

I am just curious to see how North, Brian, and Ultra will answer these questions, but I would love to hear from every blogger on these two points. 

SoCalSportsFan 

Okay, so I knew what their position would be from the start, but it just goes to show liberals are only concerned about the freedoms that apply to them. 

Everytime I turn around the U.S. Attorney’s office is after one more piece of evidence.  Today a San Francisco newspaper reported that the feds now have Bonds’ medical records which include how he was treated for three separate knee operations as well as an elbow operation.  So what exactly is so significant about these medical records?  Barry’s attorneys had tried to keep them private, but yet the federal government once again circumvented the law and managed to overturn a long precedent of doctor patient confidentiality.  Where is the ACLU when you need them?  (Seems they only fight for the rights of teens who want abortions kept private, but that is for another post.)  Rumor has it that they contain the key to Barry's imminent conviction on perjury charges. 

The fact is that these records will not help the prosecution in anyway and I believe they will probably be one more piece of ammunition for Barry’s legal team when and if this ever goes to trial.  The U.S. Attorney, Kevin Ryan, did indicate that his team was keeping all of their options open and potentially going after Bonds for perjury. So why am I so confident these records will not help the prosecution?  Here are my reasons in no particular order:

*If Barry was being treated for an arthritic condition and was using steroids as part of his medical treatment under a doctor’s supervision, then they were legal.  Boy wouldn't that just rain on the fed's parade. 

*If the prosecution had any evidence in these records that was damaging to Barry, then why did they decide against indicting him on Thursday?  They had these records on Wednesday and they had his personal physician’s testimony long before that.  Maybe, just maybe, the doctor and his records tell a different story than the one the feds wish to portray about Bonds.  It is almost like the way they want Greg Anderson to testify again because apparently his first testimony did not give them what they needed. 

* Maybe the records are so hard to read, (Physicians are notorious for bad handwriting) that they need 6 more months to decipher the code.  I can see them hiring medical transcriptionists to elaborate on the meaning of, "Take 400 mg of Ibuprofen for pain as needed."  Surely, Ibuprofen is a code word for "Cream". 

Maybe the US Attorney’s office did not want us to know they had the medical records prior to the end of the grand jury.  After all, the only way we even know they had them earlier is because of a leak in the investigation as reported by this Fox news article; 

Two people familiar with the probe told the San Francisco Chronicle that the U.S. Attorney's office received the medical records Wednesday in response to a subpoena issued to the San Francisco Giants. The sources requested anonymity because of the investigation's sensitivity.

Notice that last phrase, "The sources requested anonymity because of the investigation's sensitivity."  Oh Yeah! Now it is sensitive, but not when the Grand Jury was leaking all kinds of testimony to those San Francisco reporters who wrote Game of Shadows.  So why is the investigation so sensitive?  If those records were damaging to Bonds, I would guarantee that we would have had an indictment by now and furthermore we would have the leaked testimony to that affect.  But so far we only know that they have his medical records and nothing in those records has been reported accept speculation that they might hold the key to his indictment.  My guess, and it’s just a guess, is that you will find notes in there for the treatment of arthritic knees with  a clear “flaxseed” oil and an analgesic "cream."  If I am right, it suddenly begins to make sense why the DA decided not to indict Mr. Bonds.

SoCalSportsFan

Over the years we have witnessed many fights in professional sports.  We have observed Mike Tyson take a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear, Bertuzzi almost decapitated Moore in the NHL, and most recently Mike Barrett punched A.J. Pierzynski at home plate.  In all of these instances when another player takes a punch at someone or tries to hurt the opposing player they usually make some semblance of a threat, but in the World Cup Zinedine Zidane forgot he had hands and feet and decided to use his head as his primary choice of weapons.  I don’t know about you, but when I am sizing up my opponent in a bar brawl or in a case of road rage, the first thing I decide is what weapon I am going to use and you can bet it’s not going to be my head.  Not that I think his attack on the Italian was all that violent, because I did not think so, but the rules clearly dictate he had to be thrown out of the game.  It's just it seems so wimpy to use your head if you are defending your mother's honor or this new charge of being called a terrorist.  (Zidane is from Algiers which is a hotbed of terrorist activity.)

You would think a soccer player would use his legs considering all of the force one can generate with a good swift kick to the groin, but once again Zidane chose his head.  I know he has a reputation for being hard headed and stubborn, but really, your head?  Are you trying to get an endorsement deal from Dodge for their Ram Trucks?  You may be one tremendous soccer player, but a fighter you are not.  If my mother’s honor was on the line, a head butt is the last type of attack I am going to try.

There have been studies which link head butting to brain damage.  Maybe that is what has happened to Zinedine.  He has butted the ball one too many times and has permanently damaged his cerebrum.  Who knows for sure, but in some animals head butting is a way of settling territorial disputes over females.  Maybe the evolutionary instincts in the French evolved from the rams although if history is our teacher I would say it comes from the opossum.  After all, when Germany invaded in WWII, they practically rolled over and played dead.  Whatever the situation, I am sure Zidane regrets the whole ugly incident and if he could do it all over again, cooler heads would prevail. Then again, Zidane has been given the red card 14 times.  Once he stomped on a Saudi Arabian in the 1998 World Cup and sat out for two games.   Therein lies the problem.  We can not undue our actions.  We can only learn from them.  Hopefully, there are coaches and players who are using this ugly debacle as a teaching tool to prevent others from following in the footsteps of this great soccer player.   After all, isn't the French motto, "Make Love Not War!" 

SoCalSportsFan

 

As an American who loves sports of all kinds, why does the World Cup not resonate with me or so many of my fellow Americans?  Before I get around to answering that question I would like to promote the things that I do find positive with the World Cup and soccer in general.

The positives to soccer in general and the World Cup specifically as I see them are:

Soccer is truly a global sport unlike baseball or football.  Soccer is played all over the world and when a champion is finally crowned it is recognized as being the best in the entire planet.  No other sport can make that claim.  (I do know that winning the Super Bowl or NBA Championship is not a true world championship but no team put together from another country could beat us at our game.)

The soccer shoot out to end the game is one of the best ways to settle a tie.  I absolutely love it.  When ninety minutes of regulation and then two fifteen minutes of overtime can not settle a match, the two teams shoot penalty kicks to settle the match.  How macho is that?  Personally, they could save us all a lot of time and just go right to the shoot out, but I know that will not happen.  (After all, Portugal beat England, France won against Portugal, and then Italy beats France, all on shoot-outs.)  There is so much tension between the goalie and the shooter.  It is the ultimate in one on one competition.

No other sporting event evokes the passion that the World Cup does.  This past week I took my wife shopping at a mall here in San Diego.  At the mall, there is a restaurant called the Brazilian Steakhouse and it is situated close to Gamestop.  So while the wife did the shopping thing, I ran my kids up to Gamestop, always guaranteed to help me baby sit my Nintendo age kids while she enjoys her night out.  As we left the store, I saw an elderly woman who was weeping and wearing a yellow jersey.  We walked closer to the steakhouse and I saw more people, all wearing yellow jerseys, pouring out of the front doors, some angry and others crying.  Then it dawned on me that these were World Cup fans who had just witnessed their team losing.  The passion these people have to meet up from all across town and support their team half way around the world is amazing and ties into my last point.

Soccer or football as the rest of the world calls it, truly has the best fans in the world and some of the hottest.  Yes they are crazy and often trample each other to get into a match just to see a game that will involve a 1-0 score, but they are loyal to their team like no other fans.  I heard about a fan in America who plays MLS soccer and left his team to go to Europe to watch Germany play in a match.  He was seen on TV by his employer who plans on disciplining him when he gets back, but can you imagine calling in sick to go overseas and watch the World Cup? Unbelievable.  On a side note, Brazil has the hottest fans.

Now on to the negatives:

While I can appreciate the footwork, deft passes, and the heading of the ball, soccer truly is boring.  Games end in ties way too often and end up in shoot-outs which I absolutely love.  Of course I am not criticizing soccer without some solutions, but I will save those for the end of this post.

I also do not like the every four year format that the current World Cup scenario poses.  In some ways it does work because the tension builds up over that long period of time, but when a team loses, their chances of getting back are minimal.  At least in the Super Bowl or World Series loss, you can always look to next year.  Not so in the World Cup.  In four years the players could change drastically. 

Lastly, I do not like the fact that soccer fans, especially those in the United States, try to cram the World Cup down non soccer fans throats.  I like soccer.  I am glad my kids have the opportunity to play it, but I will never be a huge soccer fan.  Like classical music or a painting by Picasso, I can appreciate it from afar without truly enjoying it. (I swear that I can paint as well as Picasso.  Some of those nudes of his look like sculptures my kids make out of Playdo.)  Americans have MLB, NBA, and NFL to keep us busy during every season of the year.  If that is not enough, we have NCAA football and March Madness.  Please do not insist that we have to love soccer because we never will.  Appreciate it, yes!  Love it, never!

As always, I hate to critique something without being constructive and giving my solutions to the problems as I see them.

One problem that I see as an easy fix is to take the running clock out of the game.  Hire an extra official who runs the game clock just like every other sport does.   If a scoreboard had the official time with a neutral official then the guesswork would be gone.

Take away the offside’s penalty.  It would be fair for both teams and it would change the defensive as well as offensive strategy a bit.  I loved watching the Portugal goalie come down the field at the end of that one game to try and help his team score, but had a player cherry picked as I often did in basketball, he would have been off sides.  This is no good.  Make teams play their opponents and allow them to move up and down the field at will.  Scoring will increase and the game will be more exciting, not to mention that it will take away one of the biggest controversies in the sport.  Whenever an official does or does not call off sides it causes a bigger stir than a phantom call on Dwyane Wade.

Two points for every score outside of the goal box.  This will also increase scoring and shots on goal. 

Americans as a whole are not fond of games we did not invent or think we invented.  Baseball, basketball, and football, (NFL) all had their birthplace in the USA.  As a nation which practiced isolationism well into WWII, we have never really had to entertain ourselves with other nations’ sports.  Soccer, cricket, and rugby have never been a part of our heritage and never will be.  This may be in part a rebellion to our English heritage much the way we changed the side of the road from the left to the right, we do not drink hot tea like the English, and we never picked up a cricket bat.  Whatever the reason, Americans love our own sports and no one will ever change that. 

 

SoCalSportsFan

 

 

A month and a few days have passed since I wrote my first post on Muhammad and I ran across a tremendous article online that fits so well with what that post was all about that I felt compelled to bring it to the attention of the blogging community.  In my previous post, I had asked the question, “Where are the peaceful followers of Islam and why do they not denounce the violence?”   Well, here is a peaceful American who was a follower of Islam but has denounced that religion because of her own personal experiences within the religion of Islam.  Dr. Wafa Sultan is an American because she moved to California from Syria and changed her citizenship to this country.  She is a medical doctor and her life was forever changed when she witnessed her professor shot to death as she was listening to him lecture.  Several radical Muslim gunmen entered into the classroom and shot him to death shouting, “God is Great!”  At that point she realized that this was not a God that she wanted to serve.  Keep reading as I promise I will weave sports into this diatribe on Islam.

Dr. Sultan is writing a book and I plan on buying it and reading it.  I want to see first hand from a former Muslim what her thoughts are on the Islamic faith.  We hear it is a peaceful religion from many but the deeds of many Muslims in the Middle East prove otherwise.  From Dr. Sultan’s experience we now may see why the peaceful Arabs are afraid to speak out.  She has received numerous death threats because of her stance.  She is afraid for her family living in Syria as well but feels she has reached a point where she can not turn back.  As for my own personal experience, my wife was horrified when I wrote my first post on Muhammad because it generated nearly 150 comments and many of them were hateful.  I will not mention names, but it obviously offended some Muslims and for that I apologize.  That post and this one are simply looking for peaceful Arabs to take a stand.  I believe this book will be the start for many who are afraid to say what they think, but even under the anonymity that writing a blog gives people, no one would acknowledge that the radical terrorists overseas were wrong.  Burning down embassies because they are angry is wrong and I just wish other Arab nations and everyday Arab citizens would somehow have the courage to verbalize this viewpoint if it actually belongs to them.  You can not live in fear every day of your life.

Salman Rushdie found out what it meant to live in fear when he wrote his book Satanic Verses.  He had to go into hiding as a price was set upon his head.  Is this the religion of peace or hatred?  And although as one picture I posted of Mr. Rushdie shows that he has weathered the storm quite well, it does not change the fact that he has had to live in hiding.  (I had to post that picture of him because as Tiffany Marie taught us all so well, sex sells!)  I encourage you to read the link to the article on Dr. Sultan and her family.  In it she goes on to point out how Israel has become a respected nation without having one suicide bomber.  Her comments on Israel alone are worth reading.  I don’t know about anyone’s personal religious beliefs online, but for me I was taught you should, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which is second only to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.”  For those who do not recognize those passages, they come from someone even more famous than Muhammad; those are the words of Christ.

 

I know by now many of you are saying, “What does this post have to do with sports?”  The fact is that sports are a great avenue for one to release hostility.  When I get upset, I can go out to the local driving range and hit a bucket of balls or go play some tennis and slam my racket on the ground like John McEnroe.  Sports allow one the avenue to release frustrations in life.  Just maybe our Arab friends need to take up a few friendly games of competition.  Except for soccer I am not sure that Muslim countries put a value on competition.  Certainly in the Olympics we do not see many medals coming from Saudi Arabia or Iran.  Now if we had a suicide bomber category, I am sure Al Qaeda would take home the gold although I feel many would hate Osama almost as much as they hate Barry Bonds.  The media would have a field day with Bin Laden.   Communist countries like Cuba have long seen the value of sports.  Fidel Castro was a tremendous athlete in his prime; a pitching sensation.  Who knows were Cuba would be had he turned pro, but from the parks and the push by his government we know he still loves competition. 

My solution; take up sports.  The injuries sustained are not life threatening as compared to the ones mentioned above and you might find out you just feel good about yourself. 

 

SoCalSportsFan

I am including this link in response to one comment at the bottom comparing our treatment of prisoners at Gitmo to how our prisoners are treated by Al Qaeda and insurgents.  If after looking at this picture you feel it is the same then there is no way that you should be living in America.  I refuse to post this picture out of respect for the dead.

I have been really busy lately at work and home and not had time to write a single post.  I have continued to read a few blogs here and there but I have noticed very few really original posts lately.  There has been very little to write about.  The Sports Intellectual and Dudski have kept me entertained, and Fatmaw wrote a nice post about his trip to Tobacco Road.  So I find myself sitting at my computer this morning trying to find something, anything to write about before my wife wakes up and banishes me from the computer and this blog for the weekend.  Here are just a few of the questions I have that need answers:

1.  Does anyone really care if Michelle Kwan skates or not?  Personally, she did not deserve to be in the Olympics.  She did not qualify like the other skaters because o####roin injury and now that she is there she is considering giving her spot up.  She should have done that before forcing herself into that spot so the other participant would be ready both physically and mentally.  Skating for the Olympics is as much a mental task as it is a physical one.  If she could not complete her routine in practice, what made her think she would be able to compete in the Olympics.  Wanting that gold will make you do some crazy things.

 

2.  When did Rogaine become performance enhancing?  Zach Lund was robbed of an opportunity to participate in the Olympics because of Rogaine.  You have to be kidding me!  He took a hair restoration pill and that is considered a performance enhancing pill.  In my book it only countes as performance enhancing if it helps you score with the ladies.  Maybe having more hair does.  These "doping clowns cops" have gone too far when they knowingly deny a man a spot when even they admit this was not an instance of a man trying to gain an edge in his sport.  Common sense should prevail, but it doesn't.

 

 

3.  When did gambling become illegal in NJ?  Wayne Gretzky is in trouble because his wife has a gambling problem and her bets maybe tied to the mafia.  Isn't all gambling tied back to the mafia in some way?  With online gambling and the casinos in Vegas and all over San Diego, I find it pretty hard to condemn a man or his wife for wagering more than I make in a year.  It is his money and his wife.  Leave them alone and let Wayne go to the Olympics in peace.

 

 

 

 

4.  Who would like to see Bode Miller win the downhill or slalom this week totally drunk?  I am no Miller fan, but I would have to be drunk to go down that slope wearing two boards on your feet and two tent poles in hand.  Miller at least brings excitement to one of the dullest sports around.  Don't get me wrong, I think skiing takes skill and certainly lots of training to be at the top, but basically once you get up the nerve to go over the edge of that huge slope, there is not much you can do to stop short of breaking a femur.  I will pull for him just because he is on Team USA, but certainly not after his big mouth accusations of Lance Armstrong.  That was the most assanine thing he could have done to tarnish his already sagging image.

 

 

5.  Do Muslim countries have winter Olympic teams?  I remember a post by James Morisete about a winter wonderland in Dubai and I started wondering if countries like Iran and Iraq have an Olympic Bobsled team.  Do they participate in figure skating or downhill skiing?  There was a movie made a few years back about the boblsed team from Jamaica or one of those island countries, so I know it is possible for any country to have a team.  I could probably look it up under Olympic teams, but it is not really a question I need answered.  The winners are always German, Italian, Russian, Austrian, and American in the winter olympics.  At the summer Olympics in Australia, someone from Ecuador or Peru took a spot as a swimmer and the guy learned to swim that summer just so he could travel on the country's dime and participate.  He almost drowned in his event.  I am going to have to look that up now and write a new post.

I could probably come up with a few more, but the baby is crying and that means the wife will be up soon.  Maybe I will add a few more later on today.  Thanks for any and all comments.

Every year a debate rages when the privileged few who choose the new inductees to the NFL and MLB Halls of Fame make total fools of themselves and leave off someone that deserved to be included.  Why can the major sports associations not come up with a system like the LPGA and award points to enter into a HOF?  The LPGA is the only major sports association that I know of that does this.  Please tell me why this system or one like it could not work?   The entry process would no longer be arbitrary and it would take out all of the nonsense like a player’s personal life.  Pete Rose would be in the HOF based upon his career stats and not his gambling problem.  I will not digress into the whole argument for or against who else I think should be in the HOF for football of baseball as enough posts have been written this year about those individuals.  I am simply going to offer a suggestion on how to make the entry into each of these halls a little more non-political and a lot more equitable.

First let’s take a look at how the LPGA has set up their criteria.  Granted, this is their third change since their inception, but I think they are at least trying to get it right.  LPGA Hall of Fame Criteria:

1.  Must be/have been an "active" LPGA Tour member for 10 years:                   2.  Must have won/been awarded at least one of the following - an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honors; and
3. Must have accumulated a total of 27 points, which are awarded as follows - one point for each LPGA official tournament win, two points for each LPGA major tournament win and one point for each Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honor earned.

The NFL could include some things like this, but each position would have additional requirements:

1.  Must have been an active NFL player for 10 years or more.

2.  WR:  Had to have a minimum of 100 career TD catches.

3.  QB:  Must have had at least one 4000 yard passing year and a total of 35,000 passing yards in a career.  If you can not pass the ball you do not qualify unless you can add your own run totals to the mix and still come up with 35,000 total yards.

4.  RB:  Must have had 8 consecutive years rushing for 1000 plus yards, cumulative of 10,000 yards rushing or more.

You get the idea.

MLB:

1.  Must have 10 years minimum in the big league.

2.  3000 hits and/or 500 HR’s would be automatic for any hitter.

3.  300 wins for a pitcher is automatic

4.  10 gold glove awards would be automatic for any fielder.

I know that no system is perfect, but couldn’t we just try to come up with something that takes the entry process out of the hands of voters who have agendas as well as their own personal favorites?  Entering a hall of fame is supposed to be about a career on a playing field and not who likes what you did or comparing you to those who are eligible that year.  There should not be a limit on how many can enter in one year.  Having standards would eliminate that problem as well.  I do think that most players in the current halls of fame deserve to be there, but each year a few are left out who could make a case to be in compared to others who are there.  The NBA for the most part gets it right each year, but they too could use a set of standards.  I will leave that sport for some other blogger to offer his or her advice.  Just a thought. 

As promised I am going to tell you who will win on Sunday.  It is a lock!  I promise, but once you find out, keep reading and leave me some feedback as  this post is going to be proactive and try to diffuse what I see as the inevitable outcome of Sunday’s playoff games.   By the way, is it me or do these two announcers do just as good a job as any on of the other talking heads on game day?

Either the Seahawks or Panthers will win in the NFC, and either the Steelers or Broncos will win in the AFC.  There has to be a winner from each division and a loser.  Alexander will have a great game or he will be stopped.  Steve Smith will play over his head again or he will be a non factor.  Either way, the bloggers will be in full force.  The bloggers who favor the winning team will start writing post after post saying things like, “I told you the ***** are better than the #####, ” or, “I told you he should have been the MVP.” Jake Plumber is so under rated; I told you the Bus had asthma; Man that Alexander is good after all; East Coast bias, West Coast bias, we get no respect.  Rest assured the blogging will be furious Sunday night.  I dare say some blogs have already been written and the blogger is just waiting to insert a few facts, data, and then post the moment the game is over to rub it in the other person’s blog. 

For me, I have no dog in this fight since the Colts were eliminated.  I have made my picks and I stand by them.  If they are wrong, then they are wrong and the better team will have won.  I personally am happy with any of the teams winning from this point on because the Patriots are out.  I would be happy for Cowher and the Bus to get a ring.  If the Broncos or Seahawks win it all it would be a reward for having a great season and once again validate both Holmgren and Shanahan as two of the finest coaches in the league.  If Fox and the Panthers win, he will deserve it for doing a remarkable job with the Carolina squad.  He did take them to the Super Bowl two years ago and has turned that franchise around.  No matter who wins, I can live with it.

The best part for me now is to see all of the bloggers who will live and die with their team this weekend.  The excuses will be made.  .  If the Panthers lose, I would love to see the bloggers who favor them to just come out and say, “The Seahawks are better and deserve to be there.”  If the Panthers win, I would want the Seahawks bloggers to say, “Steve Smith should have been the MVP and that Delhomme is the man!”    The same could be said for Denver and Pittsburgh, but I will not bore you with the quotation marks.  As much as I want to see that, I know it will not happen and a part of me is glad because I can’t wait to see the great blogs written and all of the discussion that will surely follow.