Rodney Harrison no Favre

Rodney Harrison (who is a safety, which makes me slightly sad that I can't use the 'We Need Corners' tag) has still not decided on whether he is going to return or not. Currently he is rehabbing from his injury against Denver and will make a decision closer to the start of the season.

He explicitly stated that he did not want a Brett Favre situation. Speaking of which, we still haven't heard anything about that. He probably wants to wait until after Superbowl when his decision will draw more media coverage......

Varitek back with Sox, Torre's book looks awesome

Yesterday Jason Varitek signed a 1-year deal to catch for the Red Sox again. I think that this is great. Varitek haters be gone with you. He's been an important part of the team for too long to let go.

Also, I simply must read Joe Torre's book about how insane the Yankees are. Apparently, A-Rod basically stalked Jeter. It's just too easy to make the Yankee jokes on that one.

Tampa Bay 5, Montreal 3

Okay, I'm starting to think that I should stop paying attention to the NHL because my Habs are clearly suffering as a result. Both games I've watched this month were losses. I feel like all the games I've listened to (such as against les Trashers) have been losses. Not good! We are still competing with Boston and need to shape up!

One of the weirder moments of the game occurred when the organist broke out in the 'Beer Barrel Polka.' Not exactly what I think of when I think 'hockey music.' They made up for it by playing 'Get Ready 4 This' just moments later. Much better.

There is a whole discussion waiting to be had about why early 90s techno plays such a prominent role at hockey games. Now, though, is maybe not the time.

More Dallas Cowboys reality

No, Jessica Simpson has not yet talked Tony Romo into doing a second Newlyweds. However, apparently T.O. is getting his own reality show. Because that's exactly what the team needs right now, one of their teammates on a reality show.

I feel like if you took Robert Craft and created an anti-Robert Craft, you'd get the management of the Dallas Cowboys.

Absolutely nothing new to report

Since I am of the 'Who cares about the All-Star game' camp, there is absolutely nothing that I have to report about professional sports right now.

Bo-ring, bo-ring, bo-ring, bo-ring!

And Herm Edwards makes 11

The KC Chiefs let Edwards go today, bringing our Coaching Chaos total up to 11. Like the speakers on Spinal Tap (just rewatched that the other night).

Word on ESPN is that they are courting Mike Shanahan, whom you may remember as 'the coach the Denver Broncos fired.' This move would be super interesting seeing as they are divisional rivals.

I was about to write that 'this off-season has been anything but boring,' then realized that we are not yet at the off-season. For some of us, though, it's close enough.

Dallas Cowboys resort to Survivor tactics

The Dallas Cowboys have started a new reality show in which the winner gets a chance to go to the Cowboys' training camp.

Why does absolutely none of this surprise me?

Please tell me that somewhere they feature a giant cut-out of Tony Romo promoting Doritos as part of their Superbowl promotion; there is one at my local supermarket and when I first saw it, I laughed really, really hard.

Tom Brady does want to go to rehab

Tom Brady was on the radio in Toronto today (he couldn't have been there a month ago?) and reported, in his usual vague positive way, that rehab was just another challenge to face, and that he was facing it, and that even with everyone leaving, the Patriots would be okay as long as they have Coach Belichick and Robert Craft. Collective awwwwwwww. He was probably all dimpled and cute while he said it, too.

Also, he swore. Go Canadian radio! You can do that there, to a point.

In case you were dying to know, les Trashers ont gagné hier soir. Does anyone else find it funny that gagne means win?

Tonight, j'écoute en français

How can you not listen to the game in French when they are playing the Thrashers?

(In French, that's pronounced 'les Trashers').

Les Trashers, at the start of the third (or 'turd' if you prefer) period, lead 3-2.

Superbowl all set

And it comes down to: Arizona vs. Pittsburgh! Okay, who would have called that a month ago? Maybe the Pittsburgh part, but probably not the Arizona part.

That being said, both games were relatively close affairs. It has been a (mostly) exciting playoff year with a few major upsets to keep it interesting.

I was kind of hoping for a Pennsylvania showdown of the Eagles vs. the Steelers, but I guess that was just not meant to be.

My prediction: I just don't know. Arizona has come to play for each of their playoff games and done a great job. However, the Steelers defense can be extremely efficient (as I saw first-hand against New England). It could be a great game, provided that the Other Arizona Cardinals don't show up -- the ones who lost 47-7 against a team that didn't even make the playoffs.

From a QB perspective, though, I kind of like Warner over Roethlisberger. Warner has been here a few times and knows what he's doing. Sure, Roethlisberger won once, but I've come to like Warner during the playoffs.

Next weekend is bye week in preparation. It's good to have bye week so that I can get ready for No Football At All for months and months afterward.

What ever happend to...

Brett Favre?

Is he staying or going? Or retiring? Where is he? Was he waiting for the new coach? Because they have a new head coach of the Jets.

In case you're still confused

NFL.com has created a lovely table with all the coaching details/info you could possibly need.

In other news, Steve Spagnuolo, former Giants defensive co-ordinator, is now the coach of the St. Louis Rams.

Carey Price almost ready to start again

I was wondering what happened to Carey Price, particularly when they started Halak against the Bruins. Now since I did not acknowledge hockey season until early January, I missed the fact that Price has been out with an ankle injury. Apparently, though, he is almost ready to go, which is great news, everyone!

Also, I have discovered that yes, you can hear the radio broadcasts on Macs now. Which is great news, everyone!

Patriots incited Cardinals' defensive turn-around

Yes, it was all about us (with or without corners). And let's not forget that we still destroyed them, 47-7. So there.

Teams Whose Coaches Will Have Changed From Opening Day 2008 To Opening Day 2009

With this afternoon's news, we can add yet another to the list:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - now in case you weren't following this, the Bucs were 9-3 going into the last month of the season. In the last week, all they had to do to make the playoffs was [wait for it] beat Oakland. I mean come on, anyone can beat Oakland, right? <-- except, of course, the Jets. So it's probably not so surprising that Gruden was let go. Looks like they are doing an entire overhaul, also getting rid of the GM.

So the others:
Detroit Lions
Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts
New York Jets
Denver Broncos
San Francisco 49ers
Oakland Raiders
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams

That's 10, meaning that we are now at over 30% of the league. Heck, I may have forgotten a few (how has Cincinnati's coach not been fired yet?) . A full 3/4 of the NFC West will have changed coaches. And we still have not learned the fate of Herm Edwards in KC with the Pioli hire.

Bruins 3, Habs 1

I got to see the game on Versus tonight (one of three...and yay, this time I didn't have to split time with a Pats game...). The good news is that Montreal kept the game close. In fact, had it not been for some spectacular goaltending from Tim Thomas, Montreal would have tied it up in the last few minutes of the game. But Montreal took some pretty dumb penalties, which didn't help them and allowed Boston to get the lead.

Hockey is a long season, so it's possible that Boston will lose their fire as they go along and Montreal will pick it up. I don't think anything is fully determined yet, even though Boston currently has a 12-point lead in the division (Montreal does have a game in hand there). I hope that Montreal can get it together this year; last season's end was definitely more of a whimper than a bang, and a kind of annoying way to end after what should have been a stronger post-season.

One of the sportscasters actually referred to Patrice Brisebois as a rusty, old man, noting that 'there are very few plays a veteran like Brisebois hasn't seen' or something similar.

Tony Dungy Retires

Finally, he actually did it. Each post-season for the past few years has featured Dungy debating whether to retire, then changing his mind. This year, he decided the time has come. While I don't wish him ill or anything, I'd have to say that the time came a while ago. He did coach the team through the Superbowl once, but only once. Considering that the Colts have put up some serious numbers during the regular season then consequently folded almost every year, I would say with change in the air and all, it's time for some change.

Now for those of you on the Tony Dungy bandwagon who want to cite the 2006 Superbowl as evidence against what I just claimed, think hard about that. The Colts were almost knocked off by the Ravens in the second game with their offense completely stuttering. In fact, if Vinatieri had not saved their butts, that game would have gone to the Ravens -- the Colts did not score a single touchdown. And I mean, the Colts are not exactly renowned for their defense, so I still say they were lucky to make it through that one. Not to mention that had Reche Caldwell just caught that freaking ball in the AFC Championship, we wouldn't even be having this conversation (however, we also probably wouldn't have Wes Welker and Randy Moss, so who am I to complain?).

Craziest. Playoff. Weekend. Ever.

Now that the dust has settled and three of the four top seeds are gone, here's how it will be for next weekend:

NFC Championship: Eagles vs. Cardinals. If anyone guessed this at the start of the playoffs, s/he is clearly on crack. I mean, sure I could see the Eagles making it this far, but I never would have guessed the Cardinals. And while the game that they won again Atlanta could have been considered a fluke (or getting to a rookie QB), certainly their definitive victory over Carolina (with 5 interceptions of the QB) was not. However, the Eagles have played tough and in yesterday's game they stayed tough, even though parts of that game really didn't go there way....each of them should be sending Eli Manning some kind of present for choking so badly. My guess, then, is that the Eagles will win in the end because their defense should be stronger. But what the hell do I know?

AFC Championship: Ravens vs. Steelers. Wow, grudge match. During the regular season, these two teams met each other twice and both games were extremely close (Steelers won both in the end, the second one with barely a TD). Should be a defensive battle and I'm actually finding this one too close to call.

Note that if the Ravens and Eagles win, then it will be a Superbowl pitting #6 from the AFC vs. #6 from the NFC. Insanity.

McDaniels to become Broncos head coach

Josh McDaniels -- aka Baby Belichick -- is the new head coach of the Denver Broncos. I am curious to know if he continues the hoodie tradition in his new garb. While he will be missed, I do have to say that it could be great if we get a new offensive co-ordinator because I did not always agree with his calls (see: Superbowl last year, Colts game this year). However, all the best to him and now we will see who is his replacement!

Hot dayum!

Better not be an upset tonight, I'm running out of ways to express 'damn.' Eagles beat Giants in a game that was...man...I don't even know how to describe that! Turnovers, Eli throwing directly to the opposition, 36 yards (or something) for the Eagles in the first half, that was a wacky game!

Note to Steve Smith: when you get the ball, make sure that you hold on to the ball.

The definitive play

If I had to sum up 'Manning being Manning' in one play, it would be that interception that just happened in the Philly vs. Giants game, 1st quarter. It just resulted in a TD for the Eagles.

Also, even though I am not so fond of them, the Giants' defense still seems quite good, particularly so far at stopping the run. Had it come down to Manningbowl, I would have cheered for the Giants' defense.

Damn again

I do have to say that after seeing Arizona keel over and die against the Patriots in Week 16, I didn't expect them to be much of a playoff threat. But Kurt Warner brought it again, although he was aided by the fact that Jake Delhomme, the Carolina QB, threw 5 interceptions. Five! And the ones that I saw were just plain bad. Final score was 33-13. I'm not going to lie, I turned the game off at 11pm to watch 'The Soup' on E!

Damn

As my prediction below will show, I did not expect Tennessee to lose to Baltimore today. However, I also did not expect that a Tennessee player would be hit hard enough by two Ravens to have the ball knocked loose, thereby turning it over in the late 4th quarter. It was a close one to end: 13-10. Was it just me, or did Kerry Collins (Tennessee QB) look scared on that last drive? Scared is no way to QB.

Also, was it just me or did the entire Tennessee team seem to have weird eyes, like they had all ingested that spice from Dune?

Peyton Manning Vitriol

If you had asked me to rank myself on a scale of Peyton Manning Despisers, I would have placed myself relatively high. I was prepared to make NO MANNINGBOWL t-shirts and would even wear said t-shirt in front of either Manning (or Archie for that matter). However, apparently hell hath no fury like a divisional rival scorned. From the Jacksonville Jaguars' Vic Ketchman (and yes, this is posted on the Jaguars' website):

'Manning did his job? What is it with you Peyton Manning apologists? He was nearly intercepted four times and three of those should’ve been intercepted and returned for touchdowns. The only play he made in the second half was catching the Chargers off guard and lobbing a touchdown pass to an uncovered receiver. In his last four possessions, with the game on the line and the Colts only needing one more score to clinch the win, Manning managed a total of 20 plays for 38 net yards. Hey, that’s crunch time, baby. A day after he wins the league MVP, he gags with the game on the line and does his usual one-and-done routine. When are you people gonna get off your knees? The guy is 7-8 in career postseason games and six times he’s lost in the first playoff game of that year’s postseason; three times in the last four years. Manning did not do his job. His job is to win. His job is to get it done at crunch time.'

That's some good statistical analysis, there, Vic. Nicely done.

A Mangenius, he ain't

'Mangini acknowledged mistakes were made with the Jets, but said he enjoyed his time there.

"You learn so much from your experiences," he said. "I tell players, win or lose, be honest. I ask myself that all the time. Nobody stops improving. I learned so many things over three years. There's no Dummies Guide to Head Coaching."' An article documenting his 'vision' for Cleveland (but is there a 'Mangenius Guide to Head Coaching'?).

Next time, try for the field goal and hand it off on 4th and 2.

Red Sox filling in bullpen, outfield

It looks like there will be two signings today: John Smoltz from Atlanta and Rocco Baldelli from the Rays. Smoltz would be a closer presumably in that 'oh God, when does Papelbon go in?' void that we've been experiencing; however, he has been injured and would probably still be rehabbing until June. That's okay. We will probably need him more August/September.

Baldelli has suffered from some kind of disease that has made him fatigued but apparently he can now be treated. He will presumably fill in for J.D. Drew who has been suffering from injuries and vertigo. I was once at a game in Tampa where this hardcore Red Sox fan from New Hampshire (now naturally retired here) kept listing all of the players she 'didn't care for.' Every time J.D. Drew stepped up to the plate, she'd say, 'I don't care for him.' It was hilarious. The game was in September 2007; I suspect the man has redeemed himself, particularly in the post-season, between then and now.

Montreal beats NY Rangers in decisive fashion

Last year, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Rangers in what had to be one of the coolest games ever: they fought back from a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5 in OT. Awesomeness. Last night, they added to that record, beating the Rangers 6-3 with a third period hat trick by Robert Lang. Sweet!

Mangini lands on feet, Browns not quick to learn

Not sure exactly why the Cleveland Browns are so obsessed with Belichick and Belichick-related products. Having just disposed of Romeo Crennel, their previous head coach, the Browns went and hired Mangini. Not much good has come from the Browns and Belichick-related products: Belichick wasn't very good there, Crennel obviously ran into problems, and now this. We shall see, I guess.

In other news, the Cowboys are releasing Pacman. In a way, I find this shocking, mainly because there are other people imploding that team more than he is.

My acknowledgement of hockey season comes early this year

I am fully aware that hockey season has already been going on for a while, but I refuse to acknowledge it until around January/February...basically until when the Patriots stop playing, although surely that is a co-incidence. Anyway, here's what's been happening with the Habs:

-they are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the team

-they are currently 4th overall in the conference and second in the division. The Bruins, who in recent seasons sucked, have been on fire. Montreal currently has the same number of points (50) as Philadelphia overall, but the Habs have a game in hand. The Bruins have 62 points. Crazy.

-Carey Price has been the regular goalie with a GAA of 2.30 and a .921 save percentage, although Halak has seen some ice time as well (about 2/3 Carey, 1/3 Halak).

-Patrice Brisebois is still playing. I hereby dub him 'Rusty Old Man' seeing as I can remember when he was in Junior.

Make that 100%

Seeing as there are no 'extra credit' AP voters, Jerod Mayo scores perfect.

Weekend summary

Due to the fact that I (stupidly) chose to travel on Wildcard Weekend and the fact that, you know, I have a job that sometimes requires my time, I did not manage to see a full game. However, thanks to a remarkable delay at the Atlanta airport, I did see much of the Chargers/Colts game, mostly because we spent the entire first half (and then some) at the gate...which is longer than the entire flight to Tampa. Fortunately for me, the pilot turned on our in-flight TVs and we were able to get NBC, so the delay wasn't as bad as it could have been. Unfortunately for me, my shuttle came right at the end of regulation time, so I missed out on OT. And you know that I would have loved to have seen that.

I need to recommend to you this summary as well, which had me laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing. Just like The Hater Nation, I too questioned what the deal was with the 'Peyton's Haircut' segment (which was especially obtuse for me seeing as I had no volume and was sitting on an airplane). Basically, they said much of what I was thinking about Dungy and Peyton choking, plus the questionable awarding of the MVP.

Arizona beats Atlanta -- unless you are a heartless bastard, some part of you wanted Atlanta to transcend and win this game. They have been a great story this year with a superb team turnaround after circumstances out of the players' control pretty much screwed them last year (Dog fights? Coaches walking out? Parcells?). Not to mention that Matt Ryan has emerged as a real talent and a QB to keep watching in the future. However, Arizona showed up after a month's vacation and quieted all those critics who thought that their relatively lousy record indicated that they were a relatively lousy team. Also, Kurt Warner provided a lesson to all rusty old men in how it's done. If you can still play like that in your late 30s, then by all means, go on playing.
Arizona now meets Carolina next weekend. While I didn't see Carolina play all season, they seem to be pretty strong (and emerged out of a quite strong division). Arizona, as was seen in the game against the Pats, would seem to have some wicked massive weaknesses. I'm picking Carolina.

San Diego beats Indianapolis -- Peyton must really hate San Diego. Sure, this year he didn't manage to throw 6 interceptions/game against them. But somehow, they definitely have the Colts' number in the playoffs (and for those of you thinking 'Hey! He didn't throw any interceptions,' from my little tiny TV screen in the seatback in front of me, he sure came awfully close). LT is injured (shocking), but Sproles the running back definitely came to play. The Colts' rush defense looked vaguely like it did back in 2003/04, when pretty much anyone could run as far and as often as he wanted. I took great schadenfreudlich joy in this game and am pleased that yet again, I do not have to make NO MANNINGBOWL T-shirts. Peyton's post-game interview failed to unveil any major gaffes, much to my disappointment.
San Diego meets Pittsburgh next weekend. I would say that this is unquestionably in Pittsburgh's favor, except that Rothlisberger has that concussion and all, so we will see.

Baltimore destroys Miami, leaving them to cry little Dolphin tears -- 4 turnovers? On Chad Pennington? Who threw for, like, basically no turnovers all season? They definitely had his number. For anyone who didn't see this coming, Miami had some pretty squeaky wins against some pretty questionable teams during the regular season (and at times got trounced, like, oh, I dunno, around November 23rd to pick a date at random). Baltimore, on the other hand, has played against tough teams and still managed to make the playoffs. The only thing about this game that surprised me was the fact that at the half, it was still close.
Baltimore plays Tennessee next weekend. I have to say that a month ago, I was pretty sure that the AFC Championship game would be Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh. In some ways, I still think that, although Baltimore has fielded a really good team. However, Tennessee was generally strong all year, so nothing is certain. I think that this could be a really good game.

Philadelphia beats Minnesota. Again, not much of a surprise. Minnesota's division was kind of sketch this year and Philadelphia had to overcome some huge obstacles just to get in. Definitely the Eagles are on a roll and that is the best place to be during the playoffs. Minnesota, on the other hand, was pretty inconsistent all season.
Philadelphia plays the NY Giants next weekend. You can guess that I am completely pulling for Philly in this game (and they did beat them during the regular season). Let's see which Eli shows up.

You choose: which was the most painful loss?

I've been meaning to do this since the season ended last week but haven't. So yeah.

Anyway, your chance to vote: which was the worst 2008 loss? In their own way, each was pretty painful. Here they are with a pretty close order:

1) Pittsburgh. Oy. This game was painful to watch. Five freaking turnovers in a row. Ouch. What was particularly awful was that we had held them pretty well with a very good start to the game, then everything went completely pear-shaped. Furthermore, that was the day that the Jets lost to Denver, so we could have gained ground.

2) Indianapolis. Other than the fact that I just hate to lose to Indy, this game was annoying because we had several opportunities that should have worked out for us and didn't. Jabar Gaffney, I'm looking at you (Dave Thomas, less so, that was just a lousy situation).

3) Jets in OT. Brett Favre was allowed to do three things during this game: short left, short right, or up the middle to Keller. When it was 3rd and 15 in overtime, we really should have been able to stop Keller. We didn't and that was it. Also, the Patriots played like serious dumbasses in the first half of this game. Cassel, however, was wicked awesome.

4) Miami. Adjust. Just adjust. Get on that wildcat and *freaking* *adjust*.

5) Chargers. Admittedly, I missed parts of this game, but the net result from my recollection was that it was just plain lousy. We learned that we need corners. Also, this was before Cassel developed any vision in the pocket (as was the Miami game), making our effort look even worse.

While these are in order, they are separated by increments of a very small magnitude. I must say that they did manage to lose in new and creative ways every time. Ah well. There were some pretty good games in those 11 wins too (remember Arizona in the snow? Week 1 after we were pretty sure the season was over? The second Miami game when we schooled them?). Quite a season.

Peyton wins MVP

Really?

This is the most deserving player in the league?

Really?

Here is a pretty vomity article about how 'awesome' Peyton was this year, comparing him greatly with the 'awesomeness' that is Brett Favre.

Really?!?

Happy New Year, I'm not letting it go

I should probably make my New Year's Resolution to stop hating on the Jets, particularly since Mangini is gone. But we all know that lifestyle changes can be difficult to implement and take time. Until I have moved on, here is the latest.

Running back Thomas Jones went on the radio to complain that Favre should have been benched -- he's saying what I was thinking. While my gut reaction is, 'Don't complain about such things in the press,' I remain contented knowing that the Jets will always be...the Jets as long as this kind of behavior continues.

However, I also have a question as to who was Favre's back-up because come on, not even Mangini would not have a back-up for a rusty, old QB, right? And the answer is: Kellen Clemens, who came in last year for Pennington after he was kinda/sorta injured (then benched). So why not put him in when your QB is throwing more INTs than TDs? A question only Mangini can answer, I guess.

You'll also be thrilled to know that newyorkjets.com is profiling each playoff game 'from a Jets angle.' What does that mean? No such nonsense over at the Patriots website.