We'll keep it short this week, since it is Super Bowl week, and god forbid we ask you to pay attention to two sports at the same time.
As the big game ends, and you begin to grasp the fact that there will be no more meaningful football until September, here are some NBA-related things to look forward to, to keep you from going to sleep sad on Sunday night:
- The Western Conference. Right now, the difference between the first place team and the tenth place team in the West is 7.5 games. That is ridiculously close. More importantly, it means that the second half of the regular season will in fact matter for at least ten teams in the West, which means many well-played, tight games.
- The high-powered offense of the Toronto Raptors.
- Everything LeBron does.
- The return of Gilbert Arenas to a good Wizards team.
- Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, and Jamario Moon in the dunk contest.
- Seeing Hawks and Bobcats games just to see what Josh Smith and Gerald Wallace might do.
- Kevin Durant's eventual triple-double
- And, of course, the ultimate and inevitable demise of Isiah Thomas.
This has been one of the best regular NBA seasons in a long time already. The second half is going to be even better. So get excited!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Can you really trust the source?
From the grave OR via the link that is Jessica Alba's eyes...
Ah, the Giants, the Giants. Here's a link for Dan and all the Eli haters. It's a simulation on Madden 08 of the Super Bowl, provided by the Boston Globe. Maybe that's why Elisha throws two picks and hits some TE named Marshall for his only touchdown in a 37-14 loss.
As excited as I am about the Santana deal, I'll pop the bubbly when they announce the signing of the deal and I see him in a Mets hat.
The Hoyas are playing solid basketball right now. Not world-beating ball, but enough to top quality Big East competition. The younger players are looking better each game, but still have disappearing acts (See 4-of-17 from deep at West Virginia in a game that was closer than it needed to be). Nevertheless, the point is to peak in mid to late February and I have faith in JT III to do just that.
I've got other ideas to expound upon, but there's a house haunting course I've got to take and Lucy gets a little red if we're late.
Ah, the Giants, the Giants. Here's a link for Dan and all the Eli haters. It's a simulation on Madden 08 of the Super Bowl, provided by the Boston Globe. Maybe that's why Elisha throws two picks and hits some TE named Marshall for his only touchdown in a 37-14 loss.
As excited as I am about the Santana deal, I'll pop the bubbly when they announce the signing of the deal and I see him in a Mets hat.
The Hoyas are playing solid basketball right now. Not world-beating ball, but enough to top quality Big East competition. The younger players are looking better each game, but still have disappearing acts (See 4-of-17 from deep at West Virginia in a game that was closer than it needed to be). Nevertheless, the point is to peak in mid to late February and I have faith in JT III to do just that.
I've got other ideas to expound upon, but there's a house haunting course I've got to take and Lucy gets a little red if we're late.
It’s Time
FINALLY, THE NEW YORK GIANTS HAVE COME BACK………………………….TO GLENDALE!!!!!
Yes it is officially time to talk about the Super Bowl, the first week of meaningless hype is over and the second week of mostly overblown hype is past “media day” which is just a semi-organized circus. But soon the actually game will be upon us, well not that soon, we will have the interminably long pre game show followed by a concert and then a ten minute coin toss, and then finally the game.
Analyzing most football games is fairly easy and this one is n
********************NEWS BULLETIN*******************
Man in Madison Mississippi’s Head explodes due to his normally sucky sports franchises now at the tops of almost everything all at once. Martin Kester, a local sportswriter, was found by his wife in his car after his head had exploded all over the windshield. When questioned about the bizarre incident Ms. Kester could only say “I guess the Johan Santana deal just pushed him over the edge.”
Martin has been a lifelong New York Mets and New York Giants fan, since his days growing up in the New York suburb of Teaneck New Jersey. His youthful days were spent dreaming of being Carl Banks or Wally Backman, he was never one to root for the team’s star player. Soon realizing that his chances of playing professional athletics were slim Martin changed his focus to becoming a sports writer. Around this time he discovered the Georgetown Hoyas and a little man named Allen Iverson, Kester again was in love.
So it was to be for Martin, the Metropolitans, the Hoyas and his beloved Mets. Over the past ten years each team has enjoyed some success but things like the Craig Esherick and Curt Warner era’s happened. Of course this past fall things almost came to a tragic end for Martin when the Mets completed the biggest late season collapse in baseball history.
“Yeah, that was a rough stretch,” Ms. Kester explains. “I found him one morning in the backyard burning his 1986 “Let’s go Mets” video and trying to cut his wrists with a ballpoint pen screaming, Oh why won’t the curse of Steve Phillips go away.”
But this winter things began to look up for young Martin, the Giants were rounding into shape the Hoyas were playing like a Final Four contender. As those cold December nights turned into January the legend of Eli grew with each playoff victory and the Hoyas began conference play. Eli eventually leading his team to the Super Bowl and Patrick Ewing jr. evoking memories of his father blocked a last second shot securing a huge conference road victory for the Hoyas as they sprint to a 6-1 start in Big East play.
Then came the news earlier this week that the Johan Santana sweepstakes was back on. Presumably as it had been all along the Sawx and Yankees battling it out for who would reap the benefits of this monumentally stupid move by the Twins. But in the 11th hour like the Lone Ranger atop Silver in came Omar Minaya atop his horse Pedro (yes that was a bad ethnic joke) to save the day for Metropolitan fans everywhere.
Unfortunately for Martin Kester he will not be able to enjoy the fruits of any of his teams, it seems it was just too much for one man to handle.
Martin Kester, friend, husband, father and Metropolitan to the end.
In an actual anecdote about the Santana trade; myself and one of the Mets prospects involved in the deal, Deolis Guerra, actually have carnal knowledge of the same girl.
Yes it is officially time to talk about the Super Bowl, the first week of meaningless hype is over and the second week of mostly overblown hype is past “media day” which is just a semi-organized circus. But soon the actually game will be upon us, well not that soon, we will have the interminably long pre game show followed by a concert and then a ten minute coin toss, and then finally the game.
Analyzing most football games is fairly easy and this one is n
********************NEWS BULLETIN*******************
Man in Madison Mississippi’s Head explodes due to his normally sucky sports franchises now at the tops of almost everything all at once. Martin Kester, a local sportswriter, was found by his wife in his car after his head had exploded all over the windshield. When questioned about the bizarre incident Ms. Kester could only say “I guess the Johan Santana deal just pushed him over the edge.”
Martin has been a lifelong New York Mets and New York Giants fan, since his days growing up in the New York suburb of Teaneck New Jersey. His youthful days were spent dreaming of being Carl Banks or Wally Backman, he was never one to root for the team’s star player. Soon realizing that his chances of playing professional athletics were slim Martin changed his focus to becoming a sports writer. Around this time he discovered the Georgetown Hoyas and a little man named Allen Iverson, Kester again was in love.
So it was to be for Martin, the Metropolitans, the Hoyas and his beloved Mets. Over the past ten years each team has enjoyed some success but things like the Craig Esherick and Curt Warner era’s happened. Of course this past fall things almost came to a tragic end for Martin when the Mets completed the biggest late season collapse in baseball history.
“Yeah, that was a rough stretch,” Ms. Kester explains. “I found him one morning in the backyard burning his 1986 “Let’s go Mets” video and trying to cut his wrists with a ballpoint pen screaming, Oh why won’t the curse of Steve Phillips go away.”
But this winter things began to look up for young Martin, the Giants were rounding into shape the Hoyas were playing like a Final Four contender. As those cold December nights turned into January the legend of Eli grew with each playoff victory and the Hoyas began conference play. Eli eventually leading his team to the Super Bowl and Patrick Ewing jr. evoking memories of his father blocked a last second shot securing a huge conference road victory for the Hoyas as they sprint to a 6-1 start in Big East play.
Then came the news earlier this week that the Johan Santana sweepstakes was back on. Presumably as it had been all along the Sawx and Yankees battling it out for who would reap the benefits of this monumentally stupid move by the Twins. But in the 11th hour like the Lone Ranger atop Silver in came Omar Minaya atop his horse Pedro (yes that was a bad ethnic joke) to save the day for Metropolitan fans everywhere.
Unfortunately for Martin Kester he will not be able to enjoy the fruits of any of his teams, it seems it was just too much for one man to handle.
Martin Kester, friend, husband, father and Metropolitan to the end.
In an actual anecdote about the Santana trade; myself and one of the Mets prospects involved in the deal, Deolis Guerra, actually have carnal knowledge of the same girl.
Monday, January 28, 2008
PEDs coming close to home
First off, I didn't mean to post nothing, especially since I don't know how it happened, but...
B) Here's a link to the story that this column is about: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080129/NEWS/801290375/1001/news
I’m sure I saw Jared Foster in my first year at the Madison County Herald. As a sophomore at Canton Academy, he started at quarterback and it was hard to miss him on the basketball court standing at 6-foot-4.
My first distinct memory, however, took place in August of 2005. I was preparing for the football tab and traveled to a Panthers’ practice, sniffing around to confirm the rumors about players getting paid $50 for the lone victory last year.
He was smiling, like he usually was when I spoke with him, and told me how coach Parker Stubbs was going to open up the offense this year. They were going to utilize his strong right arm, not just his surprising speed as a runner.
That plan never really came to fruition as Foster spent more time running for his life than dropping back with time to throw. Needless to say, I wasn’t too shocked when I saw him at that year’s Overall basketball championship at Mississippi College. Foster looked the same, but announced he was making a change and would attend Madison Central in the fall.
Looking back on it now, he might have been bigger at that point, but who really takes notice of things like that. It was hard not to notice the size difference the next time I saw Foster, getting ready to work out on the MC campus.
Before I continue, let me type as loud as possible that I’m not implying or implicating that Bobby Hall or any of the Jaguars coaching staff had any clue of any alleged use, sale or distribution of anything.
Honestly, how could they? How do we expect these men and women who dedicate their times to our children in the classrooms and on athletic fields to also watch over how free time is spent?
Regardless of that, the Jared Foster who started at quarterback for Madison Central was easily 20 pounds heavier than the one who wore a Panthers uniform. In this day and age, it’s easy to blame that on steroids and his subsequent arrests last fall (although charges related to underage alcohol were remanded for two years) and Monday night for the sale of the performance-enhancing drug only helps to strengthen that belief.
But, and I know I’ll sound naïve, as a reporter who watches high school kids for a living, a part of me has to believe that a strong weight room work-ethic and a natural growth spurt can produce results that change boys into men over a summer.
Case in point, there’s a kid named Jack who I saw last spring and he looked one size. I ran into him over the summer working out and in the fall, he looked completely different.
Am I to assume Jack is taking performance-enhancing drugs or PEDs, an acronym that’s quickly found a place in our national lexicon?
I saw Jared’s name flash on SportCenter’s bottom line Tuesday afternoon, so this story is now national and will only widen the discussion about PEDs beyond Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Roger Clemens and Congress.
But all I can think about is the fact that even if the current charges against Foster are thrown out on Thursday when he’s scheduled for his initial court appearance, he’s not getting that scholarship back from Houston Nutt at Ole Miss.
Instead, three years of his past life and countless moments of his future have just been thrown down the drain, and that’s the truth.
----------------
Now playing: John Mayer - Something's Missing
via FoxyTunes
B) Here's a link to the story that this column is about: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080129/NEWS/801290375/1001/news
I’m sure I saw Jared Foster in my first year at the Madison County Herald. As a sophomore at Canton Academy, he started at quarterback and it was hard to miss him on the basketball court standing at 6-foot-4.
My first distinct memory, however, took place in August of 2005. I was preparing for the football tab and traveled to a Panthers’ practice, sniffing around to confirm the rumors about players getting paid $50 for the lone victory last year.
He was smiling, like he usually was when I spoke with him, and told me how coach Parker Stubbs was going to open up the offense this year. They were going to utilize his strong right arm, not just his surprising speed as a runner.
That plan never really came to fruition as Foster spent more time running for his life than dropping back with time to throw. Needless to say, I wasn’t too shocked when I saw him at that year’s Overall basketball championship at Mississippi College. Foster looked the same, but announced he was making a change and would attend Madison Central in the fall.
Looking back on it now, he might have been bigger at that point, but who really takes notice of things like that. It was hard not to notice the size difference the next time I saw Foster, getting ready to work out on the MC campus.
Before I continue, let me type as loud as possible that I’m not implying or implicating that Bobby Hall or any of the Jaguars coaching staff had any clue of any alleged use, sale or distribution of anything.
Honestly, how could they? How do we expect these men and women who dedicate their times to our children in the classrooms and on athletic fields to also watch over how free time is spent?
Regardless of that, the Jared Foster who started at quarterback for Madison Central was easily 20 pounds heavier than the one who wore a Panthers uniform. In this day and age, it’s easy to blame that on steroids and his subsequent arrests last fall (although charges related to underage alcohol were remanded for two years) and Monday night for the sale of the performance-enhancing drug only helps to strengthen that belief.
But, and I know I’ll sound naïve, as a reporter who watches high school kids for a living, a part of me has to believe that a strong weight room work-ethic and a natural growth spurt can produce results that change boys into men over a summer.
Case in point, there’s a kid named Jack who I saw last spring and he looked one size. I ran into him over the summer working out and in the fall, he looked completely different.
Am I to assume Jack is taking performance-enhancing drugs or PEDs, an acronym that’s quickly found a place in our national lexicon?
I saw Jared’s name flash on SportCenter’s bottom line Tuesday afternoon, so this story is now national and will only widen the discussion about PEDs beyond Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Roger Clemens and Congress.
But all I can think about is the fact that even if the current charges against Foster are thrown out on Thursday when he’s scheduled for his initial court appearance, he’s not getting that scholarship back from Houston Nutt at Ole Miss.
Instead, three years of his past life and countless moments of his future have just been thrown down the drain, and that’s the truth.
----------------
Now playing: John Mayer - Something's Missing
via FoxyTunes
Friday, January 25, 2008
Random Stuff
- Dan sure does love the NBA, just read all of his posts. I mean this guy watching more league action that Ric Bucher.
- Speaking of Dan, he also hates Cam Cameron. And really I can't blame him for hating the guy, but it is boarding on obsession.
- While we are ont he subject of obsessions, how bout that Eli Freaking Manning. I lover his retard face and slumped shoulders, as long as he keeps going to Super Bowls.
- The Super Bowl. Don't know if you heard, but Tom Brady may have had a boot on his foot, or he may not have, I wasn't paying close enough attention. I cannot get into the Super Bowl hype too early, next week we will have more to say about this game
- Lastly, I have been slack this fall on my movie watching, as regulars will no I am an avid movie fan. I usualyl write some reviews and always have an Oscar preview. But as I siad this fall I was slack, so I am trying to catch up on films I wanted to see and filsm that have been nominated (usually they are pretty similar). The first movie I had a chance to catch up on was "Juno." All I can say is go see it, it is an amazing film, sharply written, beautifully directed and full of great performances. Go see it, now, stop reading and go.
- Speaking of Dan, he also hates Cam Cameron. And really I can't blame him for hating the guy, but it is boarding on obsession.
- While we are ont he subject of obsessions, how bout that Eli Freaking Manning. I lover his retard face and slumped shoulders, as long as he keeps going to Super Bowls.
- The Super Bowl. Don't know if you heard, but Tom Brady may have had a boot on his foot, or he may not have, I wasn't paying close enough attention. I cannot get into the Super Bowl hype too early, next week we will have more to say about this game
- Lastly, I have been slack this fall on my movie watching, as regulars will no I am an avid movie fan. I usualyl write some reviews and always have an Oscar preview. But as I siad this fall I was slack, so I am trying to catch up on films I wanted to see and filsm that have been nominated (usually they are pretty similar). The first movie I had a chance to catch up on was "Juno." All I can say is go see it, it is an amazing film, sharply written, beautifully directed and full of great performances. Go see it, now, stop reading and go.
Filowitz's Friday Five
1) We approach our first Sunday with no football. What are you planning to do? Me, I'm planning on going out into my neighborhood and paying a couple of homeless looking folks to tackle each other while I sit with my buddy drinking and cracking jokes.
2) I see Cam Cameron has been hired as offensive coordinator for the Ravens. Game recognizes game just like suck recognizes suck, I suppose.
"I just smelled my own coaching!"
3) Did anyone see the ridiculous stretch of the third quarter where the Warriors were intentionally fouling Josh Boone of the Nets? Now, granted, Josh Boone is 34% from the line, which is Legally-Blonde-2 awful, and he did in fact air ball a free throw in this game (and not short but off to the right, which is hard to do.) But this isn't basketball. This is like walking a kid in little league so you can face the semi-retarded kid for the last out. I expect more from what's supposed to be the most entertaining team in the league. Like the 22-0 run they went on in the fourth quarter, for example.
4) On ESPN the other night, Tim Legler spent about 3 minutes talking about how good the Hornets are without mentioning David West once. He talked about Chris Paul, and Tyson Chandler, and the other shooters like Mo Peterson and Peja. He then closed the segment by saying that what the Hornets need is a forward they can throw the ball to in the low post, a guy who can really score. Um, they have one, Tim. His name is David West. He averages 19 points a game (along with 9 rebounds, with a PER just over 20) and is probably the second-best guy on the team behind Paul. God, I hate ESPN. All they do at this point is yell at me or tell me things that either aren't interesting or aren't true. They never enhance my sports knowledge in any way - you know, showing me things that I couldn't see on my own, like, say, slowing down a key play so I can see who set the good pick or who was slow on a defensive rotation, or something like that. I can barely take 10 minutes of any ESPN program any more, if that much.
5) On the podcast this week, we do a fun NBA challenge that you readers can participate in. We tried to construct a winning team using only people making less than $7 million, with no all-star appearances, not drafted in the last two years, and not about to get a max contract. Listen in, then go HERE and play along. See what you think of our teams, and then tell us your own in the comments.
2) I see Cam Cameron has been hired as offensive coordinator for the Ravens. Game recognizes game just like suck recognizes suck, I suppose.
"I just smelled my own coaching!"
3) Did anyone see the ridiculous stretch of the third quarter where the Warriors were intentionally fouling Josh Boone of the Nets? Now, granted, Josh Boone is 34% from the line, which is Legally-Blonde-2 awful, and he did in fact air ball a free throw in this game (and not short but off to the right, which is hard to do.) But this isn't basketball. This is like walking a kid in little league so you can face the semi-retarded kid for the last out. I expect more from what's supposed to be the most entertaining team in the league. Like the 22-0 run they went on in the fourth quarter, for example.
4) On ESPN the other night, Tim Legler spent about 3 minutes talking about how good the Hornets are without mentioning David West once. He talked about Chris Paul, and Tyson Chandler, and the other shooters like Mo Peterson and Peja. He then closed the segment by saying that what the Hornets need is a forward they can throw the ball to in the low post, a guy who can really score. Um, they have one, Tim. His name is David West. He averages 19 points a game (along with 9 rebounds, with a PER just over 20) and is probably the second-best guy on the team behind Paul. God, I hate ESPN. All they do at this point is yell at me or tell me things that either aren't interesting or aren't true. They never enhance my sports knowledge in any way - you know, showing me things that I couldn't see on my own, like, say, slowing down a key play so I can see who set the good pick or who was slow on a defensive rotation, or something like that. I can barely take 10 minutes of any ESPN program any more, if that much.
5) On the podcast this week, we do a fun NBA challenge that you readers can participate in. We tried to construct a winning team using only people making less than $7 million, with no all-star appearances, not drafted in the last two years, and not about to get a max contract. Listen in, then go HERE and play along. See what you think of our teams, and then tell us your own in the comments.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Dan's NBA League Pass Blast
This will be a new mostly weekly feature where I tell you about the things I’m seeing in the NBA. I see a lot of things, because I have the NBA League Pass subscription, and if I’m home, I’d rather be watching an NBA game than anything else on TV. Plus I’m nerdy and opinionated.
It’s a great week to start, what with just about every team in the league playing on MLK Day. So let’s get right to it:
- It’s a shame the Detroit-Orlando game wasn’t on national TV instead of Miami-Cleveland. That was a much better-played, more entertaining game. Orlando again showed that they can play with any of the elite teams in the league right now. If you follow the league even casually, you already know Dwight Howard is putting up Moses Malone-like numbers this year (by the way, is there a more under-appreciated Hall of Fame player than Moses Malone? I say no. Prove me wrong.) But did you know how well Hedo Turkoglu is playing this year? Let me tell you: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 38 minutes a night, 16.4 PER. He’s as important to the success of this team as anyone, especially in the fourth quarter of games, where he can create shots off the dribble, and he can pass well. I’ve seen him take over games in the fourth quarter at least three times this year, and he did it again against Detroit (even though it was Rashard Lewis that hit the game winning shot.)
- Mike Conley Jr. is finally showing everyone why he was drafted so high. And by “everyone” I mean the tens of people who actually watch Memphis Grizzlies games. He got hurt earlier in the year, but he’s been playing great in January, taking all of Damon Stoudamire’s minutes. His season averages are 12 points and 7 assists, which ain’t bad for a rookie. Memphis is a bad team (again, despite some great young talent) and they won’t be on national TV much. But it looks like sooner rather than later there’s going to be another young point guard to mention along with Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
- I don’t really get the point of the Miami Heat right now. What are they supposed to be? What was the plan to have this be a good team at any point this year? I respect Pat Riley and all, but someone needs to explain this to me. Meanwhile, I am starting to feel bad for Dwyane Wade, and not just because his name is spelled wrong and he can’t get in Barkley’s five.
- I also don’t get the point of the Indiana Pacers. But I do like the way Danny Granger plays. 17pt, 6reb, 15.3 PER, and he has to share the floor with Mike Dunleavy, which can’t help anyone.
- Everyone says about Isiah, “Well, he does know how to draft.” In this case, I would like to draw your attention to Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins. Renaldo is a decent player, but here are some other players they could have drafted instead: Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, Jordan Farmar, Paul Milsap. I’m not saying, but I’m just saying. And not mentioning that the jury is still out on Wilson Chandler, and that jury is not looking too smiley at the moment.
- I seem to end up watching Sacramento Kings games a lot, and oddly enough I’m rarely disappointed that I did. I have no reasonable explanation for this, considering that they’re not a good team by any measure (except for in the ‘surly looking guy with dreadlocks’ category, which is won by the team that employs Mikki Moore.) On the other hand, I rarely ever watch Milwaukee Bucks games. I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for this – they are virtually unwatchable. Their offense is slow (they rank 20th in pace, 19th in efficiency) and there isn’t one of those dynamic guys, like say a Gerald Wallace, that will want to make you pay attention even for a few minutes just to see if something get-out-of-your-seat worthy happens. If I was a Packers fan, and realized that this is all I had to look forward to all winter after that crushing loss to the Giants, and then I further realized that I actually lived in Wisconsin, I’d be pretty bummed out.
That’s it for the first blast. Stay tuned for more, and, as always, tell us what you think in the comments. Even if what you think is shockingly dumb, tell us, so we can mock you, and educate you, all at once.
It’s a great week to start, what with just about every team in the league playing on MLK Day. So let’s get right to it:
- It’s a shame the Detroit-Orlando game wasn’t on national TV instead of Miami-Cleveland. That was a much better-played, more entertaining game. Orlando again showed that they can play with any of the elite teams in the league right now. If you follow the league even casually, you already know Dwight Howard is putting up Moses Malone-like numbers this year (by the way, is there a more under-appreciated Hall of Fame player than Moses Malone? I say no. Prove me wrong.) But did you know how well Hedo Turkoglu is playing this year? Let me tell you: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 38 minutes a night, 16.4 PER. He’s as important to the success of this team as anyone, especially in the fourth quarter of games, where he can create shots off the dribble, and he can pass well. I’ve seen him take over games in the fourth quarter at least three times this year, and he did it again against Detroit (even though it was Rashard Lewis that hit the game winning shot.)
- Mike Conley Jr. is finally showing everyone why he was drafted so high. And by “everyone” I mean the tens of people who actually watch Memphis Grizzlies games. He got hurt earlier in the year, but he’s been playing great in January, taking all of Damon Stoudamire’s minutes. His season averages are 12 points and 7 assists, which ain’t bad for a rookie. Memphis is a bad team (again, despite some great young talent) and they won’t be on national TV much. But it looks like sooner rather than later there’s going to be another young point guard to mention along with Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
- I don’t really get the point of the Miami Heat right now. What are they supposed to be? What was the plan to have this be a good team at any point this year? I respect Pat Riley and all, but someone needs to explain this to me. Meanwhile, I am starting to feel bad for Dwyane Wade, and not just because his name is spelled wrong and he can’t get in Barkley’s five.
- I also don’t get the point of the Indiana Pacers. But I do like the way Danny Granger plays. 17pt, 6reb, 15.3 PER, and he has to share the floor with Mike Dunleavy, which can’t help anyone.
- Everyone says about Isiah, “Well, he does know how to draft.” In this case, I would like to draw your attention to Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins. Renaldo is a decent player, but here are some other players they could have drafted instead: Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, Jordan Farmar, Paul Milsap. I’m not saying, but I’m just saying. And not mentioning that the jury is still out on Wilson Chandler, and that jury is not looking too smiley at the moment.
- I seem to end up watching Sacramento Kings games a lot, and oddly enough I’m rarely disappointed that I did. I have no reasonable explanation for this, considering that they’re not a good team by any measure (except for in the ‘surly looking guy with dreadlocks’ category, which is won by the team that employs Mikki Moore.) On the other hand, I rarely ever watch Milwaukee Bucks games. I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for this – they are virtually unwatchable. Their offense is slow (they rank 20th in pace, 19th in efficiency) and there isn’t one of those dynamic guys, like say a Gerald Wallace, that will want to make you pay attention even for a few minutes just to see if something get-out-of-your-seat worthy happens. If I was a Packers fan, and realized that this is all I had to look forward to all winter after that crushing loss to the Giants, and then I further realized that I actually lived in Wisconsin, I’d be pretty bummed out.
That’s it for the first blast. Stay tuned for more, and, as always, tell us what you think in the comments. Even if what you think is shockingly dumb, tell us, so we can mock you, and educate you, all at once.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Eli’s Coming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAnVaGv9d2s
Yes sir, Eli is coming to Glendale Arizona and he is bringing with him the best road show this side of Barnum and Bailey’s Circus. Now we are going to get a million comments or even a post from Dan dripping with sarcasm today. He spent all night texting me with why can’t Eli make a field goal or cover a packer receiver. But at the end of the day, Eli keeps producing.
The argument I have always tried to make is that it’s time to give Mr. Manning credit. I have never used the word great yet, just that up to this point in his career he has been worth the number 1 overall pick. Again comparing him to other quarterbacks drafted with the top pick and the list of guys in the Super Bowl by season four stands at Elway, Aikman, Bledsoe and now Manning. Two of those guys are considered all-time greats.
Eli is now the man in New York and has proven himself worthy of being their franchise QB.
Of course again Dan is going to tell you how Eli is like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson and his team is winning in spite of him, and nothing could be further from the truth. He is the unquestioned leader of this team and he has lead his team to victory. Ten straight road wins isn’t a fluke, that’s a team that doesn’t get rattled and knows how to win both offensively and defensively. And just to get the Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson comparisons out of the way, here they are: (these are their numbers through their playoff runs)
Dilfer- QB Rating- 83.1 Com.- 47% YPG- 147 3 TD/1 INT
Johnson- QB Rating- 79.9 Com. – 54% YPG- 223 5 TD/2 INT
Manning- QB Rating-99.3 Com. – 62% YPG-200 4 TD/0 INT
Eli has been a lot better than those two assclowns. Long live Eli.
Yes sir, Eli is coming to Glendale Arizona and he is bringing with him the best road show this side of Barnum and Bailey’s Circus. Now we are going to get a million comments or even a post from Dan dripping with sarcasm today. He spent all night texting me with why can’t Eli make a field goal or cover a packer receiver. But at the end of the day, Eli keeps producing.
The argument I have always tried to make is that it’s time to give Mr. Manning credit. I have never used the word great yet, just that up to this point in his career he has been worth the number 1 overall pick. Again comparing him to other quarterbacks drafted with the top pick and the list of guys in the Super Bowl by season four stands at Elway, Aikman, Bledsoe and now Manning. Two of those guys are considered all-time greats.
Eli is now the man in New York and has proven himself worthy of being their franchise QB.
Of course again Dan is going to tell you how Eli is like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson and his team is winning in spite of him, and nothing could be further from the truth. He is the unquestioned leader of this team and he has lead his team to victory. Ten straight road wins isn’t a fluke, that’s a team that doesn’t get rattled and knows how to win both offensively and defensively. And just to get the Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson comparisons out of the way, here they are: (these are their numbers through their playoff runs)
Dilfer- QB Rating- 83.1 Com.- 47% YPG- 147 3 TD/1 INT
Johnson- QB Rating- 79.9 Com. – 54% YPG- 223 5 TD/2 INT
Manning- QB Rating-99.3 Com. – 62% YPG-200 4 TD/0 INT
Eli has been a lot better than those two assclowns. Long live Eli.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Filowitz's Friday Five
1) Only three NFL games left in the season. As good as the playoffs have been, and as good as this weekend promises to be, it’s always kind of sad to think that in just three weeks, there will be no football on Sundays. What other excuse do I have to go to a bar and drink on Sundays? If I’m not watching football and I’ve been drinking all Sunday afternoon, that just makes me a drunk.
2) The Chargers have absolutely nothing to lose this Sunday. They’re not supposed to beat the Patriots, so if they don’t, they won’t be criticized or face undue scrutiny. So they should feel free to play all-out, take risks, and just give it everything. That could make things a little interesting. It probably won’t be interesting, though. The Pats are too good. They’re not losing to a Chargers team that has most of their good players hurt. The Colts would have been a much better game to watch. So the only way this game is watchable is if the Chargers decide to say “f it” and play insane and inspired, and catch the Pats finally feeling the pressure of the undefeated season.
3) The Giants have absolutely nothing to lose this Sunday. They already have gone farther than anyone expected them to this year. Nobody really expects them to go into Green Bay and win (besides delusional Giants fans, like two who write for this blog, for example, who have twisted themselves into pretzels convincing themselves and anyone who will listen that Eli Manning is a great quarterback because he played decent in two playoff games. Keep up the good fight against the “haters”, guys. You all sound completely rational. Really.). So they, too, should feel free to play loose and take risks. Though it will be hard to play loose and free when the temperature will be in single digits. No single part of your body can be loose and free when it’s that f’ing cold.
4) Hey, did anyone notice that the Knicks won three games in a row? Against good teams? And they’ve been playing really well in the last six or seven games? Like, by moving the ball and getting assists and not taking as many ridiculously bad shots? And by giving at least a professional effort at playing defense? This is so confusing, making the season even more surreal than it has been so far. And it’s not likely to last, since Isiah is still in charge, after all. If you’ve heard the dumb trade rumors that have been floating around (Crawford for Larry Hughes, or Randolph for Vilanueva, Simmons, and Gadzuric, amongst other garbage) then you know there’s still plenty of time to f things up even worse than they already are. But, hey, a winning streak is a winning streak, and the Knicks haven’t had one since summer league.
5) Have I mentioned lately how awesome it is to have NBA League Pass? In a given week, I can flip around to see LeBron drop 51 on Memphis (and Rudy Gay go over 30, he’s having a good year on a crap team), the Wizards beat the Celtics for the second time (Caron Butler is becoming one of my favorite players), Sam Cassell turn back the clock for a night to put up 32pt, 6 reb, 7 ast against Phoenix, and hear a game or two called by Clyde. I get to see the resurgence of the NBA on a nightly basis. And rest assured, the league is in about as good a shape in terms of talent spread across many teams as its been in a decade. I think I need to start a new column on this blog to highlight all of this for you fine people (to go along with the Disciples of Clyde NBA podcast, which I hope you’ve been listening to.) So I will.
Elisha, my captain
It sounds like everyone who criticized Elisha Manning two weeks ago are starting to come around, but they're using annoying words to do it. The same way it's insulting to say a black politician is impressive because "he speaks so well" (Thanks Chris Rock), it's a back-handed compliment to say a quarterback is good at "managing the game".
Did he manage the game with a 22-of-32 for 250 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception against the Patriots? He went 20-of-27 for just 185 yards and 2 touchdowns against a defense that was No. 1 against the pass before the game, then suddenly became overrated, old and slow afterwards.
I've heard they've asked him to do less and run the ball more. Against Tampa, they threw 27 times, and ran it 30. That's not taking into account late drives in the fourth quarter when they're playing with a lead. Last Sunday against Dallas, he was 8-of-13 for 130+ yards and 2 touchdowns at HALFTIME.
He would only throw five more passes, completing four of them before they handed the ball off for the last two drives, going three-and-out on each. They totaled 23 carries for the game. You do the math, but what you should come up with is that the Giants are 50-50 run-pass and Elisha is playing his best right now. If that's not enough for you, think about the 7 play-70 yard TD drive in 35 SECONDS to tie the game at 14-14 at the end of the second quarter.
I've used stats to prove a point, but the only thing that matters is the 53 guys wearing blue believe in Elisha and we should too. Yes, he's had horrible games and made poor decisions. Yes, he might do the same thing on Sunday night with everything on the line, but if I told you before the first Packers game that they would get this far, however you would have to watch a young man grow up before your eyes and deal with all the pain of expectations unfulfilled, only to watch him shine at the end - would you have taken it?
I'm a Giants' fan, true and true. I cheered for Phil Simms just as hard as I cheered for Danny Kannel. We've never been a pass-first team, never had a annual Pro-Bowl quarterback or an explosive air attack - Why would any of that change now?
Then again, why would I expect the quick-decision, judgemental attitude of the Tri-State area fan to change now? It will take a Super Bowl victory to do that...and even then, I can already hear how it was really the defense and the running game, how he's no better than Trent Dilfer (Ravens) or Brad Johnson (Bucs)...
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Now playing: Nas - One mic
via FoxyTunes
Did he manage the game with a 22-of-32 for 250 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception against the Patriots? He went 20-of-27 for just 185 yards and 2 touchdowns against a defense that was No. 1 against the pass before the game, then suddenly became overrated, old and slow afterwards.
I've heard they've asked him to do less and run the ball more. Against Tampa, they threw 27 times, and ran it 30. That's not taking into account late drives in the fourth quarter when they're playing with a lead. Last Sunday against Dallas, he was 8-of-13 for 130+ yards and 2 touchdowns at HALFTIME.
He would only throw five more passes, completing four of them before they handed the ball off for the last two drives, going three-and-out on each. They totaled 23 carries for the game. You do the math, but what you should come up with is that the Giants are 50-50 run-pass and Elisha is playing his best right now. If that's not enough for you, think about the 7 play-70 yard TD drive in 35 SECONDS to tie the game at 14-14 at the end of the second quarter.
I've used stats to prove a point, but the only thing that matters is the 53 guys wearing blue believe in Elisha and we should too. Yes, he's had horrible games and made poor decisions. Yes, he might do the same thing on Sunday night with everything on the line, but if I told you before the first Packers game that they would get this far, however you would have to watch a young man grow up before your eyes and deal with all the pain of expectations unfulfilled, only to watch him shine at the end - would you have taken it?
I'm a Giants' fan, true and true. I cheered for Phil Simms just as hard as I cheered for Danny Kannel. We've never been a pass-first team, never had a annual Pro-Bowl quarterback or an explosive air attack - Why would any of that change now?
Then again, why would I expect the quick-decision, judgemental attitude of the Tri-State area fan to change now? It will take a Super Bowl victory to do that...and even then, I can already hear how it was really the defense and the running game, how he's no better than Trent Dilfer (Ravens) or Brad Johnson (Bucs)...
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Now playing: Nas - One mic
via FoxyTunes
Monday, January 14, 2008
What Now?
I mean seriously people, you knew the Eli column was inevitable win or loss yesterday, and a win only adds fuel to the fire. But the Eli haters always win the argument because they can always find a way to bring it back on the young man. Last week when defending my position, as if I was defending the Nazi’s at Nuremberg, I would point to a fact like his receivers lead the league in drops. Eli hater response, he doesn’t throw a catchable ball and that stat doesn’t really mean that much. Oh okay, you win. Or point out the fact that of any starting QB in the league Eli was sacked the 5ht most times this year. Eli hater response, well he holds the ball too long. Oh okay, you win, again.
I point this out again because the Eli hater with his excuses will rear his ugly head again today. Eli’s first touchdown was a 10 yard throw and Toomer took it to the house. Well every other QB gets credit for a TD pass except Eli. Then Eli’s second TD drive was only possible because the Cowboys committed a stupid penalty, had nothing to do with Eli’s poise and precision passing (on a side note, one of the big Eli haters text me as he is leading this drive downfield to tie the game with only 50 seconds left and says Eli still looks uncomfortable, thank god for that precision analysis). And of course on the game winning drive they went to Brandon Jacobs to score the touchdown, of course not trusting in Eli. Nothing to be said of on 3rd and 6 to open the 4th quarter Eli finds Steve Smith for what would be a crucial first down, maybe the most crucial of his career so far. Again just like last week after making a crucial third down throw against Tampa in the 4th Eli would not be required to throw another pass because he had put his team in position to win the game by that point. I could also point to Eli’s 121.0 QB rating but the Eli hater will tell me he doesn’t know what QB rating means so he automatically dismisses it as unimportant, only when it comes to Eli though.
Again all I am saying is even the ardent Eli hater has to begin to admit that the guy is good. Like I said last week ultimately QB’s are judged on wins and losses (fair or unfair). They guy has won games as the starting QB for the New York Giants. And also as a number 1 overall pick there is pressure on him, he has handled that and developed at a rate faster or better then most top overall QB’s, he has reached the same level as Terry Bradshaw, Bledsoe and Elway went to the Super Bowl and lost and Aikman went to the Super Bowl and won. So again, what’s the problem? I have layed all the facts out, truly I am not defending him, his play and his record do that for him I am just highlighting for the world to see. By the way he has now won 2 road playoff games (one against the best team in the conference, so Dan can’t give me the excuse about Tampa’s weak offense anymore) and is 9-1 overall on the road this year and for his career 18-10. You don’t like the guy, you think he is a putz, you think he is a dumb southerner, you think he shrugs his shoulders too much, you think he looks like he is retarded that’s all well and good but pleas stop saying he is no good and robbing him of all credit at all times.
I point this out again because the Eli hater with his excuses will rear his ugly head again today. Eli’s first touchdown was a 10 yard throw and Toomer took it to the house. Well every other QB gets credit for a TD pass except Eli. Then Eli’s second TD drive was only possible because the Cowboys committed a stupid penalty, had nothing to do with Eli’s poise and precision passing (on a side note, one of the big Eli haters text me as he is leading this drive downfield to tie the game with only 50 seconds left and says Eli still looks uncomfortable, thank god for that precision analysis). And of course on the game winning drive they went to Brandon Jacobs to score the touchdown, of course not trusting in Eli. Nothing to be said of on 3rd and 6 to open the 4th quarter Eli finds Steve Smith for what would be a crucial first down, maybe the most crucial of his career so far. Again just like last week after making a crucial third down throw against Tampa in the 4th Eli would not be required to throw another pass because he had put his team in position to win the game by that point. I could also point to Eli’s 121.0 QB rating but the Eli hater will tell me he doesn’t know what QB rating means so he automatically dismisses it as unimportant, only when it comes to Eli though.
Again all I am saying is even the ardent Eli hater has to begin to admit that the guy is good. Like I said last week ultimately QB’s are judged on wins and losses (fair or unfair). They guy has won games as the starting QB for the New York Giants. And also as a number 1 overall pick there is pressure on him, he has handled that and developed at a rate faster or better then most top overall QB’s, he has reached the same level as Terry Bradshaw, Bledsoe and Elway went to the Super Bowl and lost and Aikman went to the Super Bowl and won. So again, what’s the problem? I have layed all the facts out, truly I am not defending him, his play and his record do that for him I am just highlighting for the world to see. By the way he has now won 2 road playoff games (one against the best team in the conference, so Dan can’t give me the excuse about Tampa’s weak offense anymore) and is 9-1 overall on the road this year and for his career 18-10. You don’t like the guy, you think he is a putz, you think he is a dumb southerner, you think he shrugs his shoulders too much, you think he looks like he is retarded that’s all well and good but pleas stop saying he is no good and robbing him of all credit at all times.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Filowitz's Friday Five
Best NFL weekend of the year edition!
1) Nobody gives
2) The conventional wisdom here seems to be, “hey, look out for
3)
4) I’m glad the Giants beat the Bucs, because Giants-Cowboys is infinitely more interesting than Bucs-Cowboys. And, hey, did you guys hear that while Romo was in
5) Have you subscribed to the Disciples of Clyde NBA Podcast? A new episode is now ready, and we’ll be doing this weekly for the rest of the NBA season.
We’d really appreciate if you did. Here’s the link to get it at iTunes.
Also, if you felt like leaving us a review at iTunes, that’d be cool, too. Subscribers and reviews will help us get more placement and promotion from them, which could lead to even more people listening.
I thank you for your support (and forgiving this shameless self-promotion.)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Rocket's final flare
Let me start by saying - It's over. Finished. Done with. Completed. Signed, sealed and delivered for public consumption just the way it is.
Roger Clemens is done saying anything different than what he just laid out for the same media that worshiped his every move minutes ago. He's had his peace and there's nothing anyone can
or will do in the future to change his stance. You know why?
It's a great place to be standing, like on the Greek side in the Battle of Thermopylae, so bloodily replayed for the masses in the movie 300. My point is a simple one - This has become a classic "He said, He said" in which neither side has any reason to change their story.
Brian McNamee may say over the phone, legally taped by Roger Clemens, that's he living in a one-room apartment. That his kid is sick and he's no longer with his wife and he's been offered '7 figures' to tell his side of the story AND one day he might take the money.
But the point is, his side of the story, the same one he told the government and former Sen. George Mitchell, isn't going to change. If it does, he goes to jail. And not the happy-go-lucky jail like Kenny from Half Baked. He's going to the one the Michael Vick is trying to reduce his time from by completing a drug addiction program.
For all the hits he's taken, and there's been tons, Roger isn't gonna change his statements either. There's no need for him to because he'll never get tested again. There's no proof that he did anything and he's really pissed because those same people who loved him have now turned on him.
And that whole Hall of Fame doesn't matter line is pure malarky. If he didn't care about the
history of the game, there wouldn't be tons of camera footage of him kissing plaques in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
Clemens expected everyone to keep the same company line they've been spouting for the past decade, that his dedication to an off-season workout plan was the reason he was still throwing gas into his mid-40s, like another Texas great Nolan Ryan. We weren't supposed to take the same angle we took with Barry Bonds and immediately find him guilty. He was supposed to get the benefit of the doubt. He hasn't and now he's pissed, but as I said from the start, I'm done with all of it.
Wake me up in March when it all starts over again. The MLB season, I mean.
Roger Clemens is done saying anything different than what he just laid out for the same media that worshiped his every move minutes ago. He's had his peace and there's nothing anyone can
or will do in the future to change his stance. You know why?It's a great place to be standing, like on the Greek side in the Battle of Thermopylae, so bloodily replayed for the masses in the movie 300. My point is a simple one - This has become a classic "He said, He said" in which neither side has any reason to change their story.
Brian McNamee may say over the phone, legally taped by Roger Clemens, that's he living in a one-room apartment. That his kid is sick and he's no longer with his wife and he's been offered '7 figures' to tell his side of the story AND one day he might take the money.
But the point is, his side of the story, the same one he told the government and former Sen. George Mitchell, isn't going to change. If it does, he goes to jail. And not the happy-go-lucky jail like Kenny from Half Baked. He's going to the one the Michael Vick is trying to reduce his time from by completing a drug addiction program.For all the hits he's taken, and there's been tons, Roger isn't gonna change his statements either. There's no need for him to because he'll never get tested again. There's no proof that he did anything and he's really pissed because those same people who loved him have now turned on him.
And that whole Hall of Fame doesn't matter line is pure malarky. If he didn't care about the
history of the game, there wouldn't be tons of camera footage of him kissing plaques in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.Clemens expected everyone to keep the same company line they've been spouting for the past decade, that his dedication to an off-season workout plan was the reason he was still throwing gas into his mid-40s, like another Texas great Nolan Ryan. We weren't supposed to take the same angle we took with Barry Bonds and immediately find him guilty. He was supposed to get the benefit of the doubt. He hasn't and now he's pissed, but as I said from the start, I'm done with all of it.
Wake me up in March when it all starts over again. The MLB season, I mean.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Here Come The Warm Jets: Season Wrap Up
In the spirit of trying to be positive in 2008, the less said about the final Jets game of the season the better.
What can be amusing, though, is to read through all of my Here Come The Warm Jets posts, so you can see someone go from cautious optimism to abject depression laced with profanity in only four short weeks! This is strangely familiar to fans of the New York Jets.
Of course, the dark humor of a 4-12 season is that the draft becomes that much more fun when the team has a higher pick. It's far more tantalizing to picture Chris Long or Darren McFadden or Jake Long or Glenn Dorsey in a Jets uniform than to try to figure out who the best fit is at the 24th pick or some such thing.
There will be many interesting decisions for this offseason:
1 - What to do about Chad? So far, they say they'll keep him around, in competition with Kellen Clemens for the starting job, since Clemens wasn't exactly inspiring in his starts this year. I think I may prefer this, over trading him for a fourth round pick or something like that. What do you really get in the fourth round, and is it worth the possibility of having to see Marques Tuiasosopo trot out if Clemens gets hurt?
2 - What to do about Jonathan Vilma? Most assume they'll trade him. But what can they get for a linebacker coming off a bad knee injury? Is it enough to compensate for the fact that he was a first round pick only a few years ago?
3 - Who can they get to fix the offensive line? There is cap money to spend, and the line stunk this year, and no team can win with an offensive line that stinks, I don't care who the QB or RB is.
4 - Will Mangini prove to be a long-term good coach, or a one-hit wonder? How he responds to a bad year will be very telling.
5 - Will they make another Pete Kendall-like mistake, and let another good player go for no reason besides (not really that much) money? Coles is asking for an extension, as are a few other key players. The early indications are that they'll be smarter this time, lesson learned, but this is the Jets, after all, so we'll see.
That'll be it for Here Comes The Warm Jets, until the draft in April, or if some other huge thing happens (free agent signing, trade, etc.) that warrants comment. I hope for a better season in 2008, so these columns can be full of sunshine and flowers, instead of the usual gloom and over-use of the word "fuck." Because that what 2008 should be all about.
What can be amusing, though, is to read through all of my Here Come The Warm Jets posts, so you can see someone go from cautious optimism to abject depression laced with profanity in only four short weeks! This is strangely familiar to fans of the New York Jets.
Of course, the dark humor of a 4-12 season is that the draft becomes that much more fun when the team has a higher pick. It's far more tantalizing to picture Chris Long or Darren McFadden or Jake Long or Glenn Dorsey in a Jets uniform than to try to figure out who the best fit is at the 24th pick or some such thing.
There will be many interesting decisions for this offseason:
1 - What to do about Chad? So far, they say they'll keep him around, in competition with Kellen Clemens for the starting job, since Clemens wasn't exactly inspiring in his starts this year. I think I may prefer this, over trading him for a fourth round pick or something like that. What do you really get in the fourth round, and is it worth the possibility of having to see Marques Tuiasosopo trot out if Clemens gets hurt?
2 - What to do about Jonathan Vilma? Most assume they'll trade him. But what can they get for a linebacker coming off a bad knee injury? Is it enough to compensate for the fact that he was a first round pick only a few years ago?
3 - Who can they get to fix the offensive line? There is cap money to spend, and the line stunk this year, and no team can win with an offensive line that stinks, I don't care who the QB or RB is.
4 - Will Mangini prove to be a long-term good coach, or a one-hit wonder? How he responds to a bad year will be very telling.
5 - Will they make another Pete Kendall-like mistake, and let another good player go for no reason besides (not really that much) money? Coles is asking for an extension, as are a few other key players. The early indications are that they'll be smarter this time, lesson learned, but this is the Jets, after all, so we'll see.
That'll be it for Here Comes The Warm Jets, until the draft in April, or if some other huge thing happens (free agent signing, trade, etc.) that warrants comment. I hope for a better season in 2008, so these columns can be full of sunshine and flowers, instead of the usual gloom and over-use of the word "fuck." Because that what 2008 should be all about.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Heeeerrrrreeee’s, ELI
Wow, it must have been a long sleepless night in the Zoltan and Reinitz households. Eli won a playoff game and looked damned good doing it against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday. Of course guys like Andrew and Josh will give everyone else credit on the team; like the defensive backfield, who played extremely well, or the wide receiving corpse for actually catching passes (something they didn’t do most of the regular season, leading the league in dropped passes), but alas they will have to give Eli some credit.
Not only did Eli play well, and look poised, he did it all after having an atrocious start to the game. Yes in the first quarter Eli looked nervous, pensive and under threw a myriad of receivers. The Giants lead the Bucs 14-7 at the half and got a quick FG to start the 3rd quarter. Then as the third quarter was winding down Manning had a signature drive, taken over on his own 8 yard line with 1:40 to go in the quarter he lead his team on a 15 play 92 yard marching eclipsing 7 minutes off the clock. One of the key plays on that drive was the last play of the 3rd quarter on a third down and 7 on the 11 yard line Manning found veteran Amani Toomer for a first down. To start the 4th quarter the drive continued with timely throws by Manning and solid rushing by Ahmed Bradshaw. Then on the only other third down of the drive Manning found Toomer again this time in the end zone. The drive and the TD basically put an end to any comeback thoughts the Bucs were having. Manning didn’t throw another pass in the game, he didn’t need to.
Now of course the naysayers will tell me how its only one game and Eli will blow it in Dallas against the best team in the NFC. Well maybe he will, maybe he won’t let’s see how it plays out. But of course I will still provide some context on Eli’s win, and yes I give all the credit to Eli because the haters would be blaming it all on him if the Giants had lost.
Let’s compare Eli to say, ummmm, some guy named Peyton Manning. Now I will throw out each of their rookie seasons; Eli split time with vet Kurt Warner and Peyton was admittedly thrown to the wolves his rookie year. In each of their second seasons they both won their divisions, Eli with an 11-5 record and Peyton with a 13-3 record, both lost in their first playoff game. In season 3 Eli went 8-8 finishing 3rd and Peyton went 10-6 finishing in 2nd, both again making the playoffs and losing immediately. Then in season 4 (current for Eli) Eli went 10-6 and finished 2nd and Peyton went 6-10 and finished in 4th, but Eli went on to win a playoff game, Peyton didn’t. So after three seasons as a starter Eli is 29-19 the same exact record as Peyton over the same span, except Eli won a playoff game. Do you know how many seasons it took Peyton to win a playoff game? Six. I also went back and looked at all 32 starting NFL quarterbacks (opening day starters) to see which ones had won a playoff game on the road. Here is the list: McNabb, McNair, Brady, Peyton, Favre, Delhomme, Pennington, Bulger, Culpepper and Big Ben. This year Eli and David Gerard added their names to that list.
Again I am not trying to tell anyone the Eli is the greats QB of all time, but seriously people stop with all the undeserved hatred. The guy is a good solid quarterback and he has the ability to lead his team to great things. It doesn’t happen overnight, the only time it really happened overnight was with John Elway and Tom Brady and those are perhaps the two greatest QB’s of all time. Yes Big Ben got out of the gate quick fast, but even the Big Ben fans (and I am one) knows that year he was a game manager, but he is talented. Eli is talented and is doing good things with the New York Giants, I am happy to have him as the QB and hope he continues to grow.
Not only did Eli play well, and look poised, he did it all after having an atrocious start to the game. Yes in the first quarter Eli looked nervous, pensive and under threw a myriad of receivers. The Giants lead the Bucs 14-7 at the half and got a quick FG to start the 3rd quarter. Then as the third quarter was winding down Manning had a signature drive, taken over on his own 8 yard line with 1:40 to go in the quarter he lead his team on a 15 play 92 yard marching eclipsing 7 minutes off the clock. One of the key plays on that drive was the last play of the 3rd quarter on a third down and 7 on the 11 yard line Manning found veteran Amani Toomer for a first down. To start the 4th quarter the drive continued with timely throws by Manning and solid rushing by Ahmed Bradshaw. Then on the only other third down of the drive Manning found Toomer again this time in the end zone. The drive and the TD basically put an end to any comeback thoughts the Bucs were having. Manning didn’t throw another pass in the game, he didn’t need to.
Now of course the naysayers will tell me how its only one game and Eli will blow it in Dallas against the best team in the NFC. Well maybe he will, maybe he won’t let’s see how it plays out. But of course I will still provide some context on Eli’s win, and yes I give all the credit to Eli because the haters would be blaming it all on him if the Giants had lost.
Let’s compare Eli to say, ummmm, some guy named Peyton Manning. Now I will throw out each of their rookie seasons; Eli split time with vet Kurt Warner and Peyton was admittedly thrown to the wolves his rookie year. In each of their second seasons they both won their divisions, Eli with an 11-5 record and Peyton with a 13-3 record, both lost in their first playoff game. In season 3 Eli went 8-8 finishing 3rd and Peyton went 10-6 finishing in 2nd, both again making the playoffs and losing immediately. Then in season 4 (current for Eli) Eli went 10-6 and finished 2nd and Peyton went 6-10 and finished in 4th, but Eli went on to win a playoff game, Peyton didn’t. So after three seasons as a starter Eli is 29-19 the same exact record as Peyton over the same span, except Eli won a playoff game. Do you know how many seasons it took Peyton to win a playoff game? Six. I also went back and looked at all 32 starting NFL quarterbacks (opening day starters) to see which ones had won a playoff game on the road. Here is the list: McNabb, McNair, Brady, Peyton, Favre, Delhomme, Pennington, Bulger, Culpepper and Big Ben. This year Eli and David Gerard added their names to that list.
Again I am not trying to tell anyone the Eli is the greats QB of all time, but seriously people stop with all the undeserved hatred. The guy is a good solid quarterback and he has the ability to lead his team to great things. It doesn’t happen overnight, the only time it really happened overnight was with John Elway and Tom Brady and those are perhaps the two greatest QB’s of all time. Yes Big Ben got out of the gate quick fast, but even the Big Ben fans (and I am one) knows that year he was a game manager, but he is talented. Eli is talented and is doing good things with the New York Giants, I am happy to have him as the QB and hope he continues to grow.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Filowitz's Friday Five
NFL Playoff prediction edition!
1) The Chargers should beat the Titans handily. I don't completely trust this Chargers team, but they can score points, and if they do, the Titans don't have the offense to match. The only way this goes wrong for San Diego is if they once again forget that they have the best running back in the league (and in the conversation for best all time) and put it in the hands of Phillip Rivers (in the conversation for most worthless supposedly good QB in the league) to win the game. I assume Norv Turner, despite his myriad flaws, will not do that.
2) Seattle will beat Washington. Seattle wins at home, and Todd Collins will turn into a pumpkin soon enough. What if Washington loses by 42? Does that mean the ghost of Sean Taylor is giving them two middle fingers?
3) Pittsburgh beats Jacksonville. I hate how everyone is assuming Jacksonville will win, on the road, against a legit team like Pittsburgh (despite their injuries.) Really, you can't see Pittsburgh rallying as the "everyone is against us, in our own house!" team, and pulling off the "upset"? Omar Epps agrees with me.
4) Tampa Bay beats the Giants. Because Eli is fucking horrible. How's that for analysis, huh?
5) It's hard to imagine it not being Dallas-Green Bay and New England-Indy in the respective conference championships. Those were the four best teams all year, and they shouldn't lose their first home playoff games. So that means, of course, that this will not happen, robbing us of a satisfying conclusion to the season. Remember I said this if New England is beating Tampa Bay 62-3 in the third quarter of the Super Bowl.
1) The Chargers should beat the Titans handily. I don't completely trust this Chargers team, but they can score points, and if they do, the Titans don't have the offense to match. The only way this goes wrong for San Diego is if they once again forget that they have the best running back in the league (and in the conversation for best all time) and put it in the hands of Phillip Rivers (in the conversation for most worthless supposedly good QB in the league) to win the game. I assume Norv Turner, despite his myriad flaws, will not do that.
2) Seattle will beat Washington. Seattle wins at home, and Todd Collins will turn into a pumpkin soon enough. What if Washington loses by 42? Does that mean the ghost of Sean Taylor is giving them two middle fingers?
3) Pittsburgh beats Jacksonville. I hate how everyone is assuming Jacksonville will win, on the road, against a legit team like Pittsburgh (despite their injuries.) Really, you can't see Pittsburgh rallying as the "everyone is against us, in our own house!" team, and pulling off the "upset"? Omar Epps agrees with me.
4) Tampa Bay beats the Giants. Because Eli is fucking horrible. How's that for analysis, huh?
5) It's hard to imagine it not being Dallas-Green Bay and New England-Indy in the respective conference championships. Those were the four best teams all year, and they shouldn't lose their first home playoff games. So that means, of course, that this will not happen, robbing us of a satisfying conclusion to the season. Remember I said this if New England is beating Tampa Bay 62-3 in the third quarter of the Super Bowl.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I need a haircut
The last time I sat in a barber's chair, it was right before Thanksgiving. If you look at me, it wouldnt' seem that long ago but it feels that way. At least to others. I remember a time when I couldn't care less about my hair, especially when I was young because it wasn't my responsibility.
In my case, it was up to my mom to take me to the barber. As I got older, there was a brief period when I would ask to go. It was about that time, a 3-year run in the late 1980s, that my social scene in suburban New Jersey consisted of playing in the street, walking to and from the library, dancing at bar and bat mitzvahs and gathering for WWF Pay-per-view events with my high top fade.
Sooner or later than that time, my sister dated a barber that lived in my basement. So I was the lucky recepient of free hair cuts at the price of test dummy. Or in this case, test head. It turned out as good as it could with various twists and turns parted into my head.
It went a step too far when "Joker" was stenciled behind me, but I washed it off as part of a high school life that I'd soon forget for various reasons that was never questioned. I mean, it's OK to forget something you didn't want to remember anyway, right? Right, at least that's what I keep telling myself each night as I shudder and shake my way to sleep...
It would be tough to say I slept my way through college, but if we're talking about hair, which I believe was the point of this rant, then it would be kind to say that I was even sleeping.
Without the restrictive hand of God, I mean Mom, I can't really remember cutting my hair at
all. It went wild and wound up under a bandana for a long time. It's funny, but the two biggest hairstyles of my time in Beantown were both brought about by Marva K.
At one point, I had cornrolls and when those grew out and I went back to the wrap, I was convinced to get dreadlocks. It looked like those on the right for a while before they dropped down and it was great. No worries about hair, just wake up, shake and go about your day.
That lasted for close to five years and got down to about shoulder lenght as I moved across the country and beyond. There's a great picture that I love so much I have no idea where it is, and the main problem is evident in that photo. I'm a fan of staying clean and showers without a shower cap meant wet hair for what felt like hours.
In a bold move, I cut them off for a wedding, stayed too close to the open bar and crashed in a basement - not necessarily in that order although it could be. For a time, I worked as a policy service representative south of Ocala and didn't see a barber for months with thoughts of locking them up again, but now I rock a Low Cut Ceasar and just hope to have muttonchops at some point in the near future...
In my case, it was up to my mom to take me to the barber. As I got older, there was a brief period when I would ask to go. It was about that time, a 3-year run in the late 1980s, that my social scene in suburban New Jersey consisted of playing in the street, walking to and from the library, dancing at bar and bat mitzvahs and gathering for WWF Pay-per-view events with my high top fade.
Sooner or later than that time, my sister dated a barber that lived in my basement. So I was the lucky recepient of free hair cuts at the price of test dummy. Or in this case, test head. It turned out as good as it could with various twists and turns parted into my head.
It went a step too far when "Joker" was stenciled behind me, but I washed it off as part of a high school life that I'd soon forget for various reasons that was never questioned. I mean, it's OK to forget something you didn't want to remember anyway, right? Right, at least that's what I keep telling myself each night as I shudder and shake my way to sleep...
It would be tough to say I slept my way through college, but if we're talking about hair, which I believe was the point of this rant, then it would be kind to say that I was even sleeping.
Without the restrictive hand of God, I mean Mom, I can't really remember cutting my hair at
all. It went wild and wound up under a bandana for a long time. It's funny, but the two biggest hairstyles of my time in Beantown were both brought about by Marva K.At one point, I had cornrolls and when those grew out and I went back to the wrap, I was convinced to get dreadlocks. It looked like those on the right for a while before they dropped down and it was great. No worries about hair, just wake up, shake and go about your day.
That lasted for close to five years and got down to about shoulder lenght as I moved across the country and beyond. There's a great picture that I love so much I have no idea where it is, and the main problem is evident in that photo. I'm a fan of staying clean and showers without a shower cap meant wet hair for what felt like hours.
In a bold move, I cut them off for a wedding, stayed too close to the open bar and crashed in a basement - not necessarily in that order although it could be. For a time, I worked as a policy service representative south of Ocala and didn't see a barber for months with thoughts of locking them up again, but now I rock a Low Cut Ceasar and just hope to have muttonchops at some point in the near future...
What’s Wrong?
I don’t really want to turn this into a huge debate over whether the BCS System “works” or doesn’t work, but I always ask this question, What’s wrong with the college football bowls? As I saw over the last week not a damned thing. Oh, so some group feels slighted because they didn’t get a fair shake to play it off for a championship banner? Who cares?
You know who doesn’t care the 15 seniors on Michigan who started the year losing to Appalachian State and ended as there other 3 seasons ended, with loses to Ohio State. In all of those seasons they also went on to lose their bowl game. However, on the first day of 2008 things would be different, one last chance to send their classy coach off with a victory over Florida in the Capital One Bowl, and they did just that. If you are a fan of college athletics you couldn’t help but have tears on your eyes as Chad Henne had maybe the best game of his career and those seniors hoisted Coach Carr onto their shoulder to carry him off victorious one last time.
So at the end of the day we don’t have a playoff system where we can crown one team the champion, I don’t really care. I like these random bowl games that matchup teams you wouldn’t normally see play each other and some turn out to be classic games.
Purdue and Central Michigan played a great football game in the I have no idea dot whatever Bowl.
Texas A&M and Penn State played a knock down drag ‘em out game in the Some sponsor paid a lot of money so we could all go to a warm weather city Bowl.
Then on New Years day while most of the country was transfixed on the novelty of outdoor hockey (I am joking) and the Florida v Michigan game juts up the road in Jacksonville Florida one of the countries best least talked about players was putting on a virtuoso performance, only to be spoiled by a stunning comeback from the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Virginia All-World defensive end Chris Long didn’t have his best statistical game in the Gator bowl (4 tackles, 1 QB hurry, and 2 passes defended) he was like a lion stalking his prey in his relentless pursuit of Red Raider QB Graham Harrell. For those who have watched Long play it was a joy to watch him scratch and claw his way toward Harrell on every play, never letting up for a moment. However, in the end the Red Raiders lead by Harrell scored a miraculous 17 points in the games final four minutes to win the game
I don’t need a playoff or a champion, I just don’t care. To me there is nothing wrong with the system nor has there been for the 100 or so years that bowl games have been around. I enjoy watching them for what they are, superb exhibitions of a great amateur game. Now I can turn my attention to more important things like college hoops, at least they get it right….HA HA!!!
You know who doesn’t care the 15 seniors on Michigan who started the year losing to Appalachian State and ended as there other 3 seasons ended, with loses to Ohio State. In all of those seasons they also went on to lose their bowl game. However, on the first day of 2008 things would be different, one last chance to send their classy coach off with a victory over Florida in the Capital One Bowl, and they did just that. If you are a fan of college athletics you couldn’t help but have tears on your eyes as Chad Henne had maybe the best game of his career and those seniors hoisted Coach Carr onto their shoulder to carry him off victorious one last time.
So at the end of the day we don’t have a playoff system where we can crown one team the champion, I don’t really care. I like these random bowl games that matchup teams you wouldn’t normally see play each other and some turn out to be classic games.
Purdue and Central Michigan played a great football game in the I have no idea dot whatever Bowl.
Texas A&M and Penn State played a knock down drag ‘em out game in the Some sponsor paid a lot of money so we could all go to a warm weather city Bowl.
Then on New Years day while most of the country was transfixed on the novelty of outdoor hockey (I am joking) and the Florida v Michigan game juts up the road in Jacksonville Florida one of the countries best least talked about players was putting on a virtuoso performance, only to be spoiled by a stunning comeback from the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Virginia All-World defensive end Chris Long didn’t have his best statistical game in the Gator bowl (4 tackles, 1 QB hurry, and 2 passes defended) he was like a lion stalking his prey in his relentless pursuit of Red Raider QB Graham Harrell. For those who have watched Long play it was a joy to watch him scratch and claw his way toward Harrell on every play, never letting up for a moment. However, in the end the Red Raiders lead by Harrell scored a miraculous 17 points in the games final four minutes to win the game
I don’t need a playoff or a champion, I just don’t care. To me there is nothing wrong with the system nor has there been for the 100 or so years that bowl games have been around. I enjoy watching them for what they are, superb exhibitions of a great amateur game. Now I can turn my attention to more important things like college hoops, at least they get it right….HA HA!!!
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