NFL Week 1It's football season!!
This is easily my favorite sport, pro football to be exact. I am not sure why I don't love the college game as much, it could be purely due to the fact that I can't find a fantasy college football league.
"One week a season doesn't make" Woody Paige said something like this on around the horn and I have to agree, but it can display some signs.
"Signs of the Future?"Eagles Can Be Beaten – As a Giants fan I lay around at night and dream of this and Kelly Clarkson laying in my bed. I thought I wouldn't see either for a long time. However the Falcons just flat out "brought it" to the Eagles on Monday night. They played them straight up, smash mouth style and the Eagles just couldn't handle it. If you didn't watch the game the score doesn't tell the story, you never once thought the Falcons might let that lead slip. Don't give me the Trotter excuse either, the Eagles offense was much more to blame then the defense allowing 14 points. Where was David Akers in that game anyway? If he made 2 field goals they would have one.
Kurt Warner/Drew Bledsoe – I am a fan of both these guys but did we ever do a test to see if they brothers separated from their true parents by some kind of horrific and dramatic story? They sure seem like it, two serviceable QBs both past their prime by about 4 or 5 seasons. Warren Sapp moves better than both these two. They both apparently love grass so much that they refuse to pass the ball just so they can get down and smell it about 5-8 times a game. That being said, they are accurate, they can read defenses and have decent arm strength for their age. The point is, if you give them good weapons they can produce. Dallas has weapons, finally, they have so many the recently signed Peerless "Winless" Price probably won't suit up for them for the time being. The Cardinals have WRs, they don't have weapons. There is a difference here. JJ Arington is not Julius Jones. If they have a tight end he is not Jason Whitten (I am not sure if they do because the Cardinals offensive line is so bad that they played max protect most of the game last Sunday and kept the world in to block).
Broncos - The Denver Broncos have always reminded me of 11 O'clock on a Friday night at the local club. You see this amazingly beautiful girl around 8 and she is just put together exactly the way you like it. So you take down a few drinks, let her get a few in her to loosen things up and you go to talk to her around 11. Then you realize something… up close she is a total mess. Those four drinks you had were multiplied by 20 for her. While you are just loose, she is stumbling over herself and over her words and there is a small hint of vomit on her that you later learn must have been from when she ran into the bathroom covering her mouth (why did you try to kid yourself that she just heard a funny joke?).
The point is this, everything seems right about the Broncos: a solid but not great QB, an aging but aggressive defense, and an offensive line that usually opens up holes big enough to drive an Oldsmobile through. This team can just not get it all together long enough to make any type of legitimate run at anything over the course of a full season. I am not saying they won't make the playoffs, they may even win a round. The problem is these 2 AM Betty's won't be able to keep it together to get past teams like the Ravens, the Colts, and the Pats. It's time someone saw this and started building from the ground up.
P.S. Ron Dayne is no good, not at all. Just ask the Giants. Their hasn't been a prediction for thunder for one of his games since the guy was in college, you were better of with Mo Clarrett, at least he fits the image of your team – making a mess of himself.
AFC – The Jets are done unless they can find someone off the streets that can hold the ball and it to Curtis Martin the whole game, apparently Chad Pennington can't do this (as an aside let me thank Chad for the privilege to write that sentence). It seems that if you can shut down Gates somehow this season you can shutdown the Chargers. The Pats are still the Pats, some of the adjustments made by Belichick were great and I was once again reminded why he is a great albeit horribly dressed coach. The Colts looked good on defense again – wait, what? The Colts got a defense? Shit… Look for the conference winner from this division to come from the team playing at home throughout the playoffs.
NFC – Are the Falcons legit here? Everyone else lost. Carolina? Lost last second to a team they should not have gone to the last second with (I am sorry, it was nice to see the Saints win, but any team with a QB who throws passes backwards should not be beating supposed title contenders) Eagles? They looked exposed, I wouln't be surprised to see them have trouble with the NFC East as it seems the Cowboys style might able to sneak a win or two from them and knock their overall record down to something manageable if the 'Boys or G-Men get a little lucky. Who else is there? Vikings? Let me see a touchdown first. The Packers? I am sorry, Farve seems to be too obsessed with being "Bret Farve" then he is throwing touchdowns (good job demanding Walker come to camp without a new contract, you gonna give him some money now that he won't get a singing bonus next year?). I can't see a legit number 1 from this conference aside from Atlanta, it should be fun to see the battle for which 8-8 team makes it to the playoffs this year from the NFC.
U.S. OpenI used to play tennis.
I used to be in the band.
I used to stay up online all night talking to a girl from California.
I used to never get laid either.
I haven't watched competitive tennis since those days and I really don't think there was a need. Those were the days of Sampras vs. Agassi man. Two of the best players ever. Now what am I gonna tune in for? Tom Brady losing in the first round to somebody from a country I never heard of? – I am sorry I meant Andy Roddick, not Tom Brady although I am sure from looking at him lately Mr. Roddick wouldn't mind the comparison.
So here I am on Labor day, waiting for a poker game to start up (which I lost to this kid who I swear to god has gone from the worst luck ever to the type of guy you wanna just touch his goods to get that luck to rub off on ya) when I turn on the local CBS station. Low and behold there are 2 Americans heading to the semi-finals! One of them is freaking' Agassi?!? So now I am watching tennis again…
Here comes Sunday, probably the greatest day of the year for me next only to the Turkey Bowl (another story for another post) and that one or two times a year I get a pitty lay….. AND I AM WATCHING TENNIS!.. not only am I watching tennis, I am watching it while the Giants are on tv!
Picture it, 4 guys watching TV..wings in front of us, the most intellectually stimulating subject to this point was if offered 3 million would we let our girlfriends sleep with another dude (still don't know how these asses said no to 3 million for giving up one night with your girlfriend, she is probably cheating on you anyway) and we are now watching and talking about tennis.
My friend Sweet Louie, who is the closest thing to a non-retarded Rain Man the world will ever see, is dissecting Agassi's strategy of hitting only to Feder's backhand much better than the 2 "analysts" on television. We are teaching another guy with us about the full rules of the sport. And we are enjoying it. Each of us cheering on Agassi as he battles against Feder in the final. But to no avail, Agassi's legs seemed to give up on him but you can tell his mind never quit, that's how it made it this far in the Open.
I hate Roger Feder. Every time I hear him speak he comes off as cocky. He comes off as arrogant. He comes off as a jerk.
He is half of what American Men's Tennis needs – a villain.
Now we just need a David to this Goliath of tennis. And wannabe superstar Andy Roddick ain't it folks.
BaseballLet me say this, if you don't know me, I hate baseball. I think it's a useless sport made even more useless by having no salary cap and a huge steroid problem (I say huge cause every sport has some type of problem with this issue)
But it does start to slightly excite me this time of year. One night can change who makes it to the playoffs or not. If Bud Selig ever did anything good it was the wild card (and it is open to debate if he ever did anything good), I saw some highlights of Bonds' season debut last night also and I have to admit, I was anxious to see if he hit a home run or not and to be honest even though my guess is he does take steroids, he hasn't been caught, so let the guy slug at it. Even if he gets walked 4 times a game, its 4 more bases then the pitiful Giants would have gotten.
Fantasy Football TipsGrab 'Em: In a touchdown heavy league I saw grab Brandon Jacobs of the New York Football Giants. The guy is a bull and dragged the whole Arizona Cardinals team, along with their front office, coaches, and a couple fans about 30 yards up the field. I see this guy stealing a lot "X and goal" carries from Tiki Barber.
Drop 'Em: It's week one so it's gonna be hard to tell from just one week, but I say get rid of all the Pittsburgh running backs. Unless you are the type of guy that likes to play Russian Roulette how the hell are you going to pick which one of this three headed monster will get the most touches, or the goal line carries even?
