I was actually a top 16 finalist in this competition.  If you don't believe me, check out the main blog page.  Anyway, I looked at the scores this past Sunday and to my surprise, I didn't even have an average listed.  Then I got a call from one of my friends and he said that he tried to vote for me all last week but THERE WEREN'T EVEN ANY STARS NEXT TO MY BLOG!  Don't believe me?  Check out this link to my blog:

http://blogs.foxsports.com/detpack

....hmmmn.  Well.  Ok, this is rather embarrassing.  I just got a call from my Dad and he said I was eliminated two rounds ago.  According to him, I don't know enough about sports to be a sportswriter and he awarded me one star for my last post.  That kind of hurt.  He also briefly mentioned his intention to try and adopt arabchickencurry.  That probably stung a little bit more than the one star.  Anyway, my sincerest apologies to everyone involved.  I will try to return later with some more sports-related posts.  I hope everyone is well.

***I'm going to throw this in there just to be safe. Yes, this is completely tounge-in-cheek and none of it is true (except the elimination part). As always, I was just trying to keep things lighthearted and have a litte fun.

I thought the other finalists did a better job.

Thanks for reading everyone, and good luck to everyone else.

A Blast From The Past (Colts Fans Shield Your Eyes)

The "I don't want to jinx the kicker with a stat that indicates pefection but I'll say it anyway."

This is just maddening and I'm sure quite a few can relate.  Out trots your team's kicker for the field goal and right before the guy's about to kick, one of the announcers has to throw out a stat like the guy hasn't missed from inside the forty in his last 38 tries.  Of course, right on cue, the guy misses.  As if it wasn't bad enough he jinxed him, he's got to make a joke of it and laugh at what he did:  "Hey, I guessed I must have jinxed him.  Ha Ha.  Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut"  No shi* you jinxed him, Al MIchaels.  Why did you have to give that stat before he kicked?  I don't understand.  Why would you say that?!?  Why can't you just wait until he makes the kick and say "that makes 39 for 39."  How many times as this happened over the years? I'd love to see a stat on that.

of returning to my Skins/Hawks list.  But feel free to go back if you want to.  I've got nothing to hide.  For the second time in 24 hours, I've got to take my medicine like a man.  Anyway...

The Confession

Hasselbeck has matured far beyond the point I thought he had.  Looking back, I suppose his "we want the ball and we're going to win" comment can be seen in a similar light as Kobe's horrible misses at the end of some playoffs games when he first faced a pressure situation:  He might not have succeeded the first time, but he definitely had an undeniable confidence and a willingness to put the team on his shoulder's.  Obviously, Hass played inspired ball and was not going to be denied today.  I almost wonder if it would have been better for the Skins if Alexander didn't get hurt.  It allowed Hasselbeck to take center stage and Morris was a very capable backup in terms of keeping the Skins honest.  And yes, I do realize that insinuating the league MVP getting hurt somehow benefited his team is an absurd statement to make.  If you'd like to give a one-star vote before getting to the end of this, I understand.

The Hawks are not this year's Colts.  They ARE a different team and did an amazing job of responding to adversity.  When the Skins recovered that fumble after they pulled within 7, I thought we were going to see the collapse I had expected.  On the contrary, the defense stepped up and the offense mounted a very impressive drive after Hall's miss.  There was no way the team was going to be denied.

As for momentum, I'm not sure who made the point on my last blog but whoever said the Skins were going to be out of gas because of all the must-win games they played over the past six weeks seemed to have hit the nail on the head.  While Brunell and company gave a noble effort and never gave up, it looked like they just didn't have anything left in the tank.

The better team won today's game.  Period.

The Apologist's Take

I'll keep this short because there's nothing more annoying than a fan who goes on and on after his pick loses and says it would have been a whole different game if the ref hadn't missed that holding call in the first quarter.

All I will say is that besides number 4, 6, and 7, I will still stand behind everything I said in that list and I think a lot of it even came true.  After the Skins failed on fourth down and Brown hit the field goal to put Seattle up by 14, it should have been lights out.  The fact that the Hawks let them come down the field after that was very unimpressive and in my opinion, and reflective of the fact that they still don't have what it takes to be a championship team.  Good teams overcome situations like that to win.  Great teams put the game away and don't put themselves in the situation to begin with.  Also, I'm not sure how a veteran kicker can miss a 36 yard field goal in that situation.  Simply no excuse for that.  If Seattle plays the Bears next week, I think they squeak one out and get stomped in the Super Bowl. If they play the Panthers, I think they lose.  I thought Seattle proved that they are not the team they have been in the past.  But I still don't think that means they have any chance of winning the Super Bowl.

A Somewhat Unrelated Note

Today, the Skins officially completed the NFL dagger-in-the-heart  tri-fecta for me.  The Eagles didn't make the playoffs.  Then I moved to DC and watched the Skins advance through the first round.  Finally, when I figured out a way to place a small wager on the Skins, they lost the game.  It's a good thing I didn't bet my crutches because I'm trying to see if I can return them back to my health insurace company for some kind of compensation.  I'm also in negotiations with one of my larger friends.  He has an old wheel-barrow that he said he'd be willing to push me around in--at least on the weekend.

Before I get to my last list, let me say that I completely understand it is a player or coach's right to retire when he wants to.  He should not be arrested for not retiring when he should.  Who am I to tell a great athlete or a coach when he should retire?  Who are you to tell me that if I'm ever on "Soul Train" I shouldn't unleash the Macarena?  Whether or not someone has the "right" to tell someone something does not speak at all to the statement's truth.  Ok, just wanted to address that in case it comes up.  The list...

10.  Doug Flutie

I talked about Doug in a post a long time ago and a fellow blogger let me know he was still in incredible shape.  That I believe.  What I don't believe is that he should still take up an active roster spot on an NFL team.  The most memorable thing Flutie has done since his days with the Bills is come on in the 4th quarter to drop-kick an extra-point.  That was kind of neat but served absolutely no purpose.   If the Broncos game is out of reach one way or the other, are we going to see Flutie back receiving a kickoff as the rest of his team crowds around him in a big circle and they all move down the field.  Then they'll all split up really quickly so no one knows who has the ball?  Again, I'm sure Flutie is in great shape for his age.   So is Jack Lalanne. He shouldn't be in the NFL either.  If Flutie wanted to end his career in New England, he should have taken a page out of Lalanne's book and served juice on the sidelines.

9.  Randall Cunningham

Oh, Randall.  I was so happy for you when you finally got a chance to make a real run at things with the Vikings.  And then you went to the Cowboys for a year.  And then you went to the Ravens for a year.  Did you go to a UNLV homecoming and blow all of your money at the MGM Grand?  It didn't have to end this way, Randall.  It didn't.

8.  Gary Anderson

Gary, you own the league scoring record.  You've played with every NFL team.  You were around when they still wore leather helmets.  I know that you're still solid from 35 and in, but when leg strength starts to become an issue for attempts from the low 40s and out, it's time.  Ok, you wanted to make amends for that kick you missed in the Championship Game when you were with the Vikings.  I understand.  But the Titans weren't going to make a Super Bowl run last year.  When you were with the Vikes, did you and Randall both share the same financial planner?

7.  Bob Griese and Don Shula

I hear you.  I also thought they had retired a long time ago until I saw their press conference after Week 15.  Listen, guys.  If you want to sit at home and cheer against the Colts (or root for them--you really didn't make a whole lot of sense), that's fine.  I see no problem with that either way.  Don't hold a press conference and feed me a load of bull about how much you respect the Colts and Tony Dungy.  If you really respect them, I would have suggested responding to media requests for quotes with something similar to the following:  "While we are extremely proud of our accomplishment of achieving a perfect season in 1972, we respect the Colts' and Chargers' players and do not want to take the spotlight off either the Chargers win today or the Colts' tremendous season.  Therefore, we will have no further comment until the end of the season."  Spare me your act, Don Shula.  You were clearly giddy to have someone put a microphone in front of your face again.  As always, actions speak louder than words.

6.  Chris Chandler

I'm not sure if you have kids or not (couldn't find out with a quick google search) but if you do, I'm sure they'd like to play catch with their Dad one day as opposed to throwing a football through a tire for all of their childhood.  At what point do you put your health and family above a couple of extra seasons?  The man had so many concussions by the end of his career that he stuck a smelling salt up one of his nostrils at the beginning of each game and wore it like the other players wore a mouthpiece.

5.  Bill Parcells

Two championships with the Giants?  I thought you were a winner.  Return to the Pats?  Ok, that's cool.  Over to the Jets?  You're starting to get on my nerves.  Contract extension with the Cowboys?  You are now officially the coach I hate most in the NFL.  Bill Parcells is coaching's version of Steve Howe without the bad press.  The man gets away with everything.  He is self-righteous and self-absorbed, he is ignorant, and he is a horrible role model.  Did anyone see the montage on him before the last Sunday night game?  What a quintessential example of how the media seemingly chooses to vilify or glorify a sports figure depending on the flip of a coin.  It was sickening.  He knows how to "handle the media"?  Say "f this" and "f that" and "I'm not answering your (expletive) dumb questions" is handling the media?  Here's another way.  Say "no comment," then get up and leave whenever you get tired of answering the same questions.  He demands respect from his team?  Grown men (especially at work and in front of a national audience) do not throw punches at other grown men because they try to interject in a conversation they should have stayed out of.  I don't care if every sportscaster in America laughs at the highlight or says that it's just your way of doing things.  You were wrong.  Very wrong.  Whipping your child with a belt, while probably very effective, does not mean that you are simply demanding respect.  Your comment about "Jap plays"?  That was really reflective of your high level of intelligence.  Repeatedly filling your team with aging veterans because they buy into your bully mentality?  Apparently that's great coaching.  Also, I saw you on 60 minutes where you talked about how miserable you are to be around come football season.  Guess what?  That's not a good thing.  See my self-righteous and self-absorbed comment from above.  Dr. Phil would have a field-day with you (no, I am not a fan of Dr. Phil and while I'm at, I don't think spanking your child is inappropriate in case anyone asks.).

4.  Michael Jordan

He obviously doesn't belong on this list.  But I had to put him on.  Alright, alright, even in his last years, he probably still made the Wizards a better team.  But I will always remember him in that follow-through pose after he brought Karl Malone and Jazz fans to tears.  I wish he wouldn't have clouded the memory.

3.  Emmit Smith

Apparently Emmit didn't get the memo from Troy and Michael that they had nothing left to prove.  When he went to the Cardinals, Emmit said he still loved to play the game.  I can see that.  But I love to have a few beers and go to the club.  When the club closes at 4 a.m. (depending on what city you're in), the fun's over for that night.  It means it's time to go home.  It doesn't mean it's time to find the techno after-hours club that closes at 7:30 a.m.  There's no way the Cardinals were going to contend for anything in Emmit's last years.  You can call me a cynic, but I wonder how much Emmit loved to play the game as compared to how much he loved to pad his career stats.  Considering he kept all of the footballs he scored a touchdown with, things like that seem to mean a lot to him.

2.  Jerry Rice

Again, a great player who nobody ever called out simply because he is a great player who doesn't run his mouth every second.  I'm sure you have a great work ethic, Jerry.  By the end of your career, however, you didn't make the teams you were playing for any better.  Your year with the Seahawks should have told you something.  If you couldn't contribute significantly to that receiving corps, Canton should have been your next stop, not Denver.  By the way, remember what I said about Rice not being called out?  Rice asking a hall-of-fame player like Largent if he could wear his number even though it has been retired has to be one of the most classless moves of all-time.  Especially considering Rice's role on that team.  We barely heard a peep about it.  It's like asking someone for his last cigarette (I used to smoke a long time ago, I don't anymore)-it doesn't matter what the person's response is; you never should have put him on the spot to begin with. I also will love to hear Rice's response if someone asks him to allow the same thing someday.

1.  Dan Marino

Proving that if you're a famous figure, you're never going to be able to please everyone, I'd feel remiss here if I didn't mention that Dan Marino is my all-time least favorite NFL player.  What's the difference between Marino and the rest of the guys on this list?  While they may not have helped their team, they didn't hurt them that much either.  By the time Marino retired, he was so immobile that he had to use the handicap entrance to the stadium.  We all feel horrible that you have to live with the fact you were probably the greatest quarterback in the game who never won a Super Bowl.  I can't imagine the anguish.  But in your last years, your selfishness ruined your team's chances of making a real run.  If you recall, the Dolphins were not a bunch of schleps.  They had an awesome defense.  If you don't believe me, go back and check out the studs on there.  Zach Thomas, Patrick Surtain, Jason Taylor, Trace Armstrong, Larry Izzo, etc.  The offense didn't have a lot of playmakers, but Marino wasn't doing them any favors by sticking around.  If you repeatedly got bent out of shape when a reporter asked you how you felt knowing you would most likely be remembered as the best QB who never won a Super Bowl, you could have just responded "how do you feel knowing you most likely won't be remembered for anything."  A little harsh?  Sure.  But it probably would have helped your complex and shutting people up might have made you realize that you had nothing to prove and it was time to retire for the good of the team. 

Ok, I said I'd be back with a more substantive top ten list and here it is.  If anyone has been around this site over the past month, he or she would know I give the Seahawks no respect.  I think they've proven nothing and I think Shaun Alexander, although very deserving from a statistical perspective, did not warrant the league MVP (gasp!).

Now I tried to write a preview of last week's Jags/Pats game, and with the help of some others, I saw that it was too opinion heavy and it lacked a lot of statistical backup in certain areas like special teams.  So I took it down.  Lo and behold, the game unfolded exactly as I had said it would.  I also picked the winners of the other three games.  Guess how many stats I looked at before the game?  That's right, zero.  I firmly believe that if you watch enough NFL, you can just as accurately predict the outcome of a game without stats as you can with stats.  I'm not being lazy, I'm being serious.  In many respects, stats are like Bible verses to me.  Whenever you show me one stat that indicates a certain thing will happen, I can probably find another one that will contradict it in some way.  No matter how much they seem to favor one side, stats don't win games.  That's why I prefer to take everything into account and make an educated guess, minus the stats.  You agree?  I didn't think so.

By the way, this is not a promotional stunt of sorts.  I seriously think the Skins are going to win the game straight up.  And I also realize not only that many people will give me a low score for making an assertion based on very little statistical evidence, but also that whatever happens, they are very unlikely to return.  But, if you've read either of my other two serious pieces over the last month, you would know that if I think I'm right, I'm not afraid to hold an unpopular view and stand by it until proven wrong (which very well may happen).  Regardless, here are my top ten reasons the Skins won't need the nine points this weekend.

10.  Home field advantage means nothing in this case.

I've heard a lot of talk about the advantage the Seahawks will hold this year with home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  I don't agree.  It's not as if the Skins are a warm-weather team heading into a cold-weather climate in the middle of January.  They are also not a dome team going to play outdoors.  Speaking of dome teams, did everyone forget when the Seahawks team had home field advantage in last year's playoffs and they lost to the Rams?  The Rams.  They lost a home playoff game on grass to the Rams and a year later home field is supposed to give them a great advantage?  Bah!

9.  The power of the U.

Love'em or hate'em (mostly hate'em), you can't deny that Miami's football team is a consistent winner.  In my opinion, having the mentality of a winner is very often underrated when it comes to sports and making predictions.  You can be the most athletically gifted human being, and if you don't have it up top, it means nothing.  Clinton Portis, Sean Taylor, Santana Moss?  They're all from the U and they all play a major role in the Skins' game plan.

8.  Skins took the last one.

This is just baffling.  Back in week three, the Skins won the game outright.  Fast forward to the end of the season where the Seahawks haven't played a meaningful game in weeks and the Skins have won six games in a row, all of the sudden the Seahawks are 9 point favorites.  If I could bet my crutches, I would.

7.  The momentum factor.

See above.  The Skins have won six games in a row.  They're hot.  When a team goes on a tear like that into the playoffs, they're always dangerous, especially when the other team hasn't been tested in a long time.  Period.

6.  The Seahawks are this season's version of last year's Colts.

Does anyone remember last year's playoffs?  I seem to remember hearing a lot of "The Colts have finally turned the corner and this time they're going to get the job done.  Their offense is just too good for the Patriots to stop."  The Colts then proceeded to get their butts handed to them-again.  You can talk about not getting respect all day long.  Do something that deserves respect (i.e. not beating up on the Niners and Cardinals or shellacking a depleted and demoralized Eagles team) and then you might get respect.  You don't get respect by talking about not getting it.

5.  Seattle's atrocious schedule

I'm not making this up.  You can check this out.  Here are the Seahawks' wins from this year:  Cardinals (2), Niners (2), Rams (2), Texans, Falcons, Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Titans, Colts.  I see two wins against playoff teams:  Giants (a gift courtesy of Jay Feely) and the Colts (a completely meaningless game for the Colts).  We've touched on the Eagles game and the Cowboys game was also a gift.  I completely understand that a win is a win.  I've taken that into account.  But tell me why a 13-3 record against those teams warrants respect?  The Seahawks don't deserve respect.  They deserve a pat on the back for not screwing up.  That's about it.

4.  We just can't trust Matt Hasselbeck.

Remember what I said about having it up top and being a winner.  If during the coin toss of an overtime playoff game, you say into the ref's microphone, "we want the ball and we're going to win" and then you throw an interception that is returned for a touchdown to lose the game-you don't have it.

3.  Seattle's defense has not impressed.

I admit that they're better than they used to be.  But again, look at their schedule.  Also, they were down 24-14 against the Titans in a game that meant absolutely nothing to the Titans.  If you can't put a team away with nothing to play for (not even a rival or a team playing spoiler in the last game of the season) when you're still trying to gain home field advantage, I'm not impressed with your defense's ability.

2.  Coaching

Ok, Holmgren won it all with the Packers.  I'll give him that.  But what has he done since?  And who couldn't win it with Brett Favre when he was entering the prime of his career?  Joe Gibbs has multiple rings and has taken a team no one could turn around and once again make them a force to be reckoned with.  Advantage Skins.

1.  I am the most tortured sports fan in the history of man.

This might be the most convincing reason right here.  I made this point a while ago.  Last Philly championship?  1983.  I can remember watching sports back to when?  1984.  What's worse than not seeing your team make the playoffs?  Moving to one of their division rival's city and having to watch that team in the playoffs while you listen to all of their fans talk about it.

Well, there they are.  Let the name-calling begin.  I can't wait to hear the comments in response to this post.  I hope no small children with an advanced reading ability walk by my computer.  You know what, though?  Even if the Skins get beat 45-0, I'm happy with the fact that I had the guts to say what I thought was truly going to happen.  And I don't think anyone is betting his paycheck based on my expertise anyway.

***featurepresentation made a good point that I forgot to make.  If I were betting, I'd definitely take the points and not the money line.  But I still really do think the Skins will take it outright.