This weekend in the NBA

What happened this weekend in the NBA you ask? Well I'll tell you what I saw.

How dare the fans in Utah boo Derek Fisher. Nearly a year to the day that he flew across the country after being by his daughter's hospital bedside to play for the Jazz and hit some clutch shots in a win, he's being booed during the introductions of Game 3 of the Lakers-Jazz series. Utah let Fisher leave the team to play for L.A. so his daughter could get better treatment over the offseason. There shouldn't have been any ill intentions, so why the boos? This should have been a amicable split but Utah booing Fisher is in poor taste. Why not just boo Kobe? It would make a lot more sense.

It's a good thing that the Celtics have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs because they absolutely cannot win on the road. Its getting a bit ridiculous. Has a team ever won the championship without a single road win? It seems that all it may take to bounce Boston from the playoffs is one win at the Garden. Taking that advantage from the C's may be the equivalent to taking their playoff lives.

And speaking of home court woes, how are the Pistons the only team to win on the road so far in round 2? Not to knock Detroit or anything, but it's pretty sad that contenders like Boston, New Orleans, San Antonio and the Lakers can't win on the road. Of those four, Los Angeles has it the toughest. Utah has been one of the best home court teams in the league all season long and are playing them tough. With the Hornets and Spurs, both of them are playing amazingly and are playing the best seven-game series of this year's playoffs. The fact that San An can't shut down the Bugs offence is a true testament to Chris Paul's play and the fact that they can ratchet up their game is a testament to their entire squad.

And the Celtics, well read one graf up.

So the Phoenix Suns have let coach Mike D'Antoni walk out of the desert to New York for a large amount of money. This move really shows that the Suns aren't going to continue their break-neck-paced offensive style and perhaps move to a game plan based on saving Steve Nash's career. If they can find a way to keep those Nash-Amare pick-and-rolls going while not having Nash take the punishment and wear from the speed game, the Suns could get better. They do have the pieces to do well in the West and really need a find a coach who can change their culture and institute some tougher defensive standards. As D'Antoni's new team, the Knicks may have paid a lot for his services but he'll be worth it. That hiring is such an upgrade over Isiah Thomas that the Knicks could actually contend for the playoffs next season.

A bad day for Clevelanders

Cleveland sports fans and residents haven't had very many super days in their history and yesterday wasn't great either.

First, on what should have been a joyous day for every hungry person or glutton in Cleveland's city limits, Papa John's was giving away large, one-topping pizzas for 23-cents. "What a deal!" you might say. In a move that perhaps every one was too dumb to see happen, there were hour-long waits for said pizzas. Of course, just as predictably, people got mad and police had to guard some shops.

Look, when you have fast food ultra cheap, there will be a whole bunch of people wanting it and it may not be pretty. Prepare for the worst.

Then there was the monstrousity that was called "Game 2" taking place in Boston. TD BankNorth Garden, or whatever they're calling the Garden now, is not a very happy setting for LeBron. In the Cavs two losses to open the second round series, King James shot an outstandingly awful 8-for-42. Yes, he missed 36 shots in two games. I think that every one in the world was expecting more from LeBron, regardless of how touted Boston's defence is. If he can't do better than that in the playoffs, can we really compare him to MJ — regardless of the lack of talent on the Cavs' roster?

Ouch!

A bad thing happened yesterday to the city of Detroit as well as fans of their basketball team. Chauncey Billups went down with a hamstring injury in the first quarter of their game Orlando. This could be the opening the Magic need to dig themselves out of the 2-0 hole the were put in to begin their second round series.

Point guard, as I'm sure you may know, is a very pivotal position in basketball and it is very hard to continually advance if you don't have a decent floor general leading the charge.

If Billups can't get back into the lineup and play at — the very least — 80%, Jameer Nelson might actually be the better point guard in this series. Of course, we've all heard stories of playoff heroics and guys playing through injuries. This whole situation may turn out to just be a single-game storyline.

The final four and more ramblings

Since I was lazy yesterday and not much has changed today, how about some ramblings about some recent going-ons? I thought you'd say that.

There are only four teams left playing for the Stanley Cup. While I'm sure that the NHL isn't too happy the West Coast and Canada not being represented in the final four, having Sid the Kid and the Pens in is great. Matching up Pittsburgh with their natural rival. the cross-state Flyers is going to be a great series. In the West, having Dallas still playing could draw the southern markets; Detroit has always been a hockey hotbed and an original six draw. It'll be interesting to say the least.

A-Rod apparently passed out in the hospital while his wife was giving birth to their first daughter. Am I supposed to care? If an average player — say Morgan Ensberg, who's filling in while A-Rod is injured — had passed out during child birth, would anybody care. Also, this incident happened in 2004. Get over it.

Kobe Bryant deserved the NBA MVP more than Chris Paul did. Whoever is calling this a "lifetime achievement MVP" is an idiot. Bryant was by far the best player on the best team in the best conference and was playing without another all-star — unlike Paul. Don't get me wrong CP3 had an amazing season and was a very worthy candidate, but was not more valuable than the Black Mamba.

Roger Clemens. I don't even know what to think any more about the Rocket.

So Ronaldo allegedly beat up some cross-dressing prostitutes after finding out they were, in fact, men. I've seen the pictures of the prostitutes. Either Ronaldo has severely awful taste in women or he's blind. They were obviously dudes. And it's nice to see he's finding time to get in the news while rehabbing his torn ACL.

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni won't be with Phoenix for long after getting team approval to shop his services around. The best possible fit would be Toronto where his former boss Bryan Colangelo is running the show. D'Antoni could turn Jose Calderon into a surefire all-star.

Nice game, Gavin Floyd! The previously written off starter pitched 8 1/3 innings of no-hit ball before one of the best batters in the game (Joe Mauer) managed to beat him. Floyd is showing more and more this season that the Phillies were wrong to send him packing and that the White Sox were smart to take him on. And just how do you allow a run on three walks and an error in a game? I don't think the were in a row either.

A big congratulations to Big Brown for winning the Kentucky Derby. But with the second-place finisher running on broken ankles, how weak was the rest of the pack? Also, for the record, I did pick Big Brown to win, even if I am just saying it days after the fact.

And, finally, how did LeBron miss that last layup? That seemed a bit ridiculous to me and if you didn't find Game 1 boring, you must have a far better tolerance for defensive tilts than me. Spur-Celtics could be even worse than Spurs-Pistons if San Antonio makes it.

Rooting against, not for

After watching Boston throttle the Hawks yesterday I was very disappointed. Not because Atlanta lost, I'm not a fan. It was because Boston won and advanced. It wasn't so much that I was rooting for the Hawks to win, I found myself cheering for the Celtics — and, to an extent, the entire city of Boston — to lose. It was why I was even watching.

Sure, it's kind of non-sensical cheering on a team with no real shot of winning it all, but seeing the scrappy Hawks tumble the goliath C's with their Big Three would have been a great story even if they would be swept next round by King James.

A Celtics-less playoffs would draw less ratings and I'm sure that everyone wants to see an instant-classic finals like Lakers-Celtics, so maybe it was a bit obvious that Boston would take game 7 at home in a league where referees are — fairly — criticized for questionable, league-friendly calls.

Also, Kevin Garnett's dirty play these playoffs has to stop. I have no clue why he hasn't been suspended. David Stern needs to pull his head out of his ass and actually watch what is happening. For the second time in series, KG throw an elbow at Zaza Pachulia. It is downright filthy and dispicable that an elite player would stoop so low. I honestly would've expected a bit from a guy who was an alleged MVP candidate. I'm glad he didn't win because MVPs are better than that.

Some quick April ramblings

Jake Long's going to be the first-overall pick on Saturday in the NFL draft. Moves like these (signing no. 1 picks before the draft) takes all the suspension and anticipation out seeing the commissioner walk to the podium. The least the could do is negotiate a deal and keep it quiet.

The Seahawks did the right thing by cutting Shaun Alexander. If you watched him at all last season, you could tell he wasn't the same back that ran all the way to a touchdown record and a Madden cover shot. So is this the worst case of the Madden jinx yet?

The Sharks are lucky Jeremy Roenick didn't retire last summer. His performance in game 7 last night was off the hook and a huge reason why San Jose won.

The NHL lost out on a ton of ratings by seeing Alex Ovechkin and his Capitals lose. Had Washington beaten the Flyers, Alex the Great would have been facing off of with Sid the Kid in round two. Hockey could have gained a lot more fans watching those two go at it.

Looks like C.C. Sabathia reads this blog. He finally stepped up his game and got back to his winning ways last night. Now, I'm just going to have to wait to see if he can keep up this form against non-Royals.

The Raptors are outmatched by the Magic. They can win one game but I'd doubt if they can take two. That might have been the worst play I've ever seen drawn up to end a game last night.

The Suns had better start turning up the Heat on the Spurs if they don't want to make an early exit. They have to play as hard as they did in game one opposed to how the started to fade down the stretch in game two if this series is going to live up to its billing.

And congratulations to Jay-Z and Beyonce for finally getting married. Those two have been together for what? like ten years?

Lucky Game 7s

It's starting to look like the only thing that the NHL has going for it is playoff game sevens. No league can build up to head more the NHL, not the NBA and not Major League Baseball; that's right, hockey actually wins at something.

The thing that makes an NHL game seven that much better than the rest of series-style playoff sports is the physicality of the game. In Basketball, you have intense matchups — some one-on-one throughout the series — but if you were to hit a guy, inflict some physicality, you'd be called for a foul. In baseball, there's no physicality except occasional dustups that are nothing special and series are more based on managing strategy than the other sports.

This is especially the case when it comes to one of the longest-running rivalries in sports like the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. And, in a surprisingly predictable turn of events, the Canadiens put the beat down on Boston 5-0.
The rivalry will continue with the same result for decades.

Tonight, the lucky fans of hockey get two more game sevens. First Alex Ovechkin — the most electric player in the game — and his Capitals face off with the rough and tumble Flyers who are well on their way to getting back their image of low-life goons. Then, after east coast fans will probably be asleep, the Flames try to take down everyone's chic choice to win it all, San Jose.

And for the record, I'll only be watching because I've got work.

A quick look at the NBA's game 1s

There’s a few things you should be surprised by after this weekend’s NBA playoff opening games. The top seeds (Lakers and Celtics) rolled through their opponents. Orlando didn’t have too tough of a time with the Raptors while Dwight Howard put up a 25-22 game. And San Antonio and Phoenix played a great game that went into double OT before the Spurs made the Suns set.

Then there were some surprises. Philadelphia, who has looked frisky throughout the season, went into Detroit and beat a talented, deep team in a very close game. I don’t think there’s been this much happiness or optimism for Sixer fans since their finals appearance when Iverson was still carrying them. It surprised me that a team that people had started to write off - even if they were only a game out of first place – the Hornets, took it to the Mavs like they did. Maybe playoff experience and coaching matchups don’t matter that much.

One quick case of surprising some: LeBron and the Cavs beat the Wizards. A lot of people took the Wizards to win this series despite Cleveland having the best player (and not much else). We’ll have to see if King James can keep up the winning ways against a deep opponent.

And in case you’re one of the few people who care about who the Lakers play next round, the Jazz beat the Rockets in game 1.

Now we’ll see how every adapts to their opponents.

The playoffs are here!

Now that the whole mess of teams near 50 wins has been sorted out in the West, we finally know what the match-ups are for the only conference that really matters in the NBA. You could argue that the Celtics and the Pistons have a chance to come out of the East and bring some noise, but who are we kidding here? The only chance they really have is the eventual Western champion getting banged up on the way to the finals.

First, let's just bang out some unimportant East predictions so they're out of the way.

Celtics vs. Hawks: Boston sweeps Atlanta with little resistance.
Pistons vs. 76ers: Philly is better than you think but won't hold up Detroit's march onwards. Detroit in 5.
Magic vs. Raptors: Matchup-wise, Toronto may have an advantage, but I really can't see them winning this series. Orlando in 7.
Cavaliers vs. Wizards: Is actually the Wizards vs. LeBron and i'd still take that one man over the whole Washington team (Do you think the league would let King James get bounced early?). LeBron in 6.

Heading out West, where some of the best basketball in many years will be played:

Lakers vs. Nuggets
The Nuggets look so good on paper because of their big names but facing the Lakers in the playoffs when Kobe Bryant is around is a tough task. The Nuggets are not nearly mentally focused enough to take down the West's top dog. And seriously, do you really expect an 8-over-1 upset two years in a row? Lakers in 4 although Denver could steal a game.

Hornets vs. Mavericks
The upset that everyone is going to pick. Does that really make it that much of an upset any more? Dirk and the Mavs have looked great recently and are rolling heading into the post-season. I see a lack of playoff experience ultimately killing the Hornets. Dallas in 7.

Spurs vs. Suns
Any NBA fan's dream. The Suns traded for Shaq simply so they could beat the Spurs playoff time. Now they have to prove that move paid off. The Spurs also are out to prove they still have since doubters have been riding them all season. Amare Stoudemire has been an absolute force since the Shaq trade and will cause problems. But you also have to count in that the Suns have no one capable of guarding Manu Ginobili. In the end, whichever team can turn the "it" more will take the series. I think it's the Spurs in 7.

Jazz vs. Rockets
The least appealing matchup in the first round and whoever takes this series is going to just be fodder for the Lakers — who may have Andrew Bynum back at that time. Utah is a great team at home and will ride the Rockets there while taking at least one on the road. Jazz in 5.

I'll call the second round matchups when I see them, simply because the Spurs-Suns series will impact the entire playoffs. But if I was calling it now, I would have the Lakers beating the Pistons in 5 games.

What's wrong with the NHL: Apr. 08 edition

How a league changes a rule any time during a season, let alone in the PLAYOFFS, like they are thinking about doing now is a reason for outrage. Especially when this new rule contradicts what the league has been trying to accomplish (increase scoring). And worst of all it can be argued that this rule change is only in the fast-track because it "victimized" a great, top-tier player and it was perpetrated by one of the sports biggest "villains."

Let me set the scene for you: With the Rangers on a power play against the Devils, New York's super-pest did what any coach would want a player to do in front of the net, screen the goalie — in this case, Martin Brodeur, a future hall of famer. What Avery did though, instead of the conventional stand-in-front, watch-the-play-develop style you would normally see, is face Brodeur as if he was guarding him basketball style. Avery would wave his hands and stick in Marty's face without touching him, obviously taking the Devils netminder's mind off of the puck. The play resulted in a goal that Avery tucked in while in front of the net and then was warned by officials he would get a penalty if he tried that sort of antics again.

Now, I don't see what was wrong with the play — which is soon to called under the umbrella of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. I think it was a great, innovative idea. If you have no qualms with about being hit in back with a potential shot, you should be allowed to face-guard goalies.

Netminders have gotten away with cross-checking, slashing and abusing opposing players in front of their creases for far too long. It's absolutely preposterous that —during the playoffs — a rule is being added because a villian thought up a sound idea.

And, finally, why the hell wasn't there a Devils defenceman around to clear out Avery? That may be the worst part of all of this.

This is all yet another reason why the NHL is dumb.

The Wild West

After the Nuggets victory over the Warriors on Thursday night, 2008's playoff teams are pretty much set in the NBA. Golden State is now one game out of eighth place but since Denver holds the tie-breaker, Golden State would have to finish a win up on them. Each team has three games remaining each but the odds of the Warriors winning all three while Denver only takes one seems a bit out of reach. The Nuggets do have a tougher schedule with Utah, Houston and Memphis remaining while the Warriors have the Clips, Suns and Seattle.

Now, the seeding is a huge jumble in the West. While New Orleans is looking like the King of the Mountain, four teams in the one and a half to two and a half games out. The last three games on the schedule are going to be very interesting seeing how a team like the Lakers could potentially drop from second in the conference to sixth. Utah seems to be the luckiest team in all of this, firmly locked into the fourth spot.

In the East, where nobody really cares, the Hawks have a two game lead on Indiana, seemingly clinching the right to be swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.

The other playoffs

While every sports fan waits in anticipation for the NBA playoffs to start, another sport is on the brink of starting their post-season. That's right, the red-headed step child of the sporting world, the NHL, is about to start its extended run towards the Stanley Cup.

So who're the favourites? Well you can start with last year's champs, the Ducks of Anaheim who have the fourth seed in the West but will have a tough matchup in the second round with the Red Wings — the best team in the league — if all four top seeds roll.

An upset wouldn't be out of the question as Colorado has a good chance of knocking off Minnesota and the Sharks could choke against Calgary if the Flames catch fire.

In the East, Washington went from the ninth-seed to the three seed with one win and will meet the up-and-down Flyers. It will be interesting to see who Philly sends out to try to injure Alex Ovechkin.

The struggling Senators who will be without their captain, Daniel Alfredsson and centre Mike Fisher for at least the first round and have to face Sid the Kid and Malkin in Pittsburgh. Look for an easy series for the Penguins.

The Canadiens are the first seed and deep enough to give a lot of teams fits. A concern about Montreal is that they're leaning on a rookie goaltender, Carey Price, to carry them.

As for the poor saps who weren't good enough to crack the NHL's top-16 teams, at least the draft lottery is today.

More and more jinxes

Just thought I’d add a few more things that lost the game for the Patriots, you know, besides their atrocious, uninspired performance on the field.

- Have you ever seen Bill Belichick wear a red hoodie before? Me neither. Why would he change up his style on the biggest night of his season?
- Tom Brady spend time during the week leading up to the Super Bowl getting not one, but two hair cuts by his personal stylist he flew in. Shouldn’t he have been studying some game tape perhaps?
- Both of Bill Belichick’s “girlfriends” were in Arizona during the week. Distractions, distractions.
- Preorders for a book entitled “19-0” went on sale on Amazon.com a week before the Super Bowl. The book was supposed to be about the Patriots’ undefeated season. I hope every skips over the last chapter; the story doesn’t have a happy ending.
- Boston’s mayor already had the Patriots’ Super Bowl parade route planned a week in advance will New York City’s mayor refused to even think about in fear of a jinx.
- And finally, when Elisha Manning and the Giants got the ball and had to travel 86 yards and score a touchdown to win, I claimed to the room: “There is no possible way Eli Manning can drive 86 yards.”

You’re welcome New York but let’s not get our hopes up for a repeat. In fact, people should be flocking to Vegas immediately and putting down their money on, believe it or not, the Washington Redskins. The seasons after the first two Giant Super Bowl wins, the Redskins have taken the title. Remember that.

Giants win!

There are so many different headlines that could’ve worked here. I could’ve gone with “18-1*” -note the asterisk is still present because of Spygate (which is heating up to white hot levels). I could’ve used “Cheaters never prevail,” because quite frankly, they don’t. Or even an open-handed “Eat it Tom Brady,” which I think he kind of deserves for his smack-talking during press week. But “Giants win!” is more suitable and just a great way of showing the surprise behind what happened.

So Thomas, what did you say about getting credit for being a great offence when Plaxico predicted a 23-17 win and you claimed that you would score more than that? If anything, you threw a jinx down on your team and your own play. And the way you choked at the end of the game, with everything on the line? It was certainly Peyton Manning-esque, which is especially fitting after the comparisons between the two QBs’ record breaking seasons.

Was there even a single omen or jinx going against the Giants? It seemed like the deck was stacked in their favour on that front. Well, except for Eli’s Peyton jinx. So, in no particular order:

Gisele was in the stands to jinx Brady.
The league’s leading passer has never won the Super Bowl.
Strong defence will beat a strong offence.
There’s no roman numeral for zero so the Patriots could not go XIX and zero.
The report that the Patriots cheated in their first Super Bowl win was broken days before the game.
The 2008 Giants were eerily similar to those Pats who beat the heavily-favoured Rams.
Plaxico Burris guaranteed a win. Wasn’t that famous guarantee made in Super Bowl III predicted by a New York player on an underdog team? Broadway Plaxico doesn’t really roll off your tongue though.
And, just for Bill Simmons:
The Ewing Theory potential of Tiki Barber’s retirement was off the chart.

And if Elisha Manning can continue playing like he did throughout the playoffs, he might actually have been worth the first overall pick that San Diego used on him. Is it weird that I still don’t believe he’s a good quarterback even though he just won Super Bowl MVP? What a great story that is too. Peyton and Eli winning back-to-back MVPs is certainly something I never would have thought would happen.

In the end, even though I thought the Patriots would mop the floor with the Giants of New York, I’m glad I was wrong. Now, let’s see some heavy Spygate fallout, congress-stlye. Ban Belichick for life.

Final picks roundup.
The playoffs: 3-5-1
The season: 111-117-10

Super Bowl XLII

It's the biggest annual sporting event in the world and its taking place tomorrow. The NFL's championship — the Super Bowl — is set for kick off at 6:17 p.m. ET at the home the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale. It’s the Giants of New York representing the NFC against the undefeated* Patriots of the AFC and, if it all goes down like I expect it to, it’s not going to be a close game.

Sure, you can convince yourself that the New York’s front-seven will but enough pressure on Thomas Brady to force some bad throws. Sure, you can convince yourself that maybe Thomas won’t be at 100% because of his ankle injury. You can also try talking yourself into Elisha Manning turning the corner and becoming the quarterback the Giants expected him to be, or that New York’s thunder-and-lightning running game can wear down the Pats even to control the clock and game. Gambling-wise you can also remind yourself that the Patriots have won three Super Bowls by a total of nine points and that they’ve only covered two spreads since Thanksgiving Thursday.

But then you have to remind yourself that you’re wagering on Eli Manning and in the Super Bowl. Remember how Eli has those up weeks where everybody forgets that he stinks up streaks of games at a time? This is happening right now. Just earlier this year Elisha tied a record for interceptions returned for touchdowns in a game. Are we sure enough that we want to put our money on a hot quarterback who just had a week off to possibly cool down?

Another key factor is where the Big Game is being played: sunny Arizona. The past few games have been in poor conditions; in rain, wind, sleet, snow and generally cold weather. This greatly affects passing teams, even the best of passing teams. In relatively good conditions, the Patriots are set to have a great day passing the ball, despite the Giants fabulous d-line play.

And how dare Plaxico Burris make a prediction – that slowly turned into a guarantee by the media – that the Giant would win 23-17. Did he really need to fuel a team that was already hungry? It makes no sense. Don’t poking the sleeping bears you moron! And then missing two days of practice really helped back up that statement, which also gave your defence way to much credit.

Lastly, the fact still remains that for this cycle of the universe, Boston teams rule over New York teams. It’s just plain dumb to take a New York team when these cities match up any more. The Red Sox are going to be great for a long while, the Celtics and Knicks don’t even have to be discussed because Isiah Thomas is involved and then there are the Patriots. The NFL’s New York teams (Giants and the Jets) have less wins combined than New England. I think the pick here is obvious, but if you bump the line to Pats minus-22, I’d give you some action.

Congratulations New England on your undefeated* season. May you live with that asterisk forever, cheaters.

Dan’s Pick: New England (-12) over New York.
Dan’s Score: New England 38, New York 21.
Dan’s MVP: Asante Samuel

The playoffs: 3-4-1
The season: 111-117-10

And just for fun:
The tech guy: New England 24, New York 17.
The Intern: New England 35, New York 3. MVP: Randy Moss.

A big ol' non-story

Really? We're all supposed to care and focus intently for two weeks on Thomas Brady's right foot? Just because he was seen with a walking boot on it the other day? it makes no sense and it's not even worth thinking about. He was obviously well enough to continue playing throughout the AFC championship game and he'll definitely be able to play on it in two weeks time in Glendale for the most important game of the year.

And, of course, nobody will be talking about his foot and if he's actually injured. This will only fuel speculation that really has no business taking up space in the paper or pages on the internet. A sprained ankle (which is what it is) is just a sprained ankle and even the slowest healers can fight off that annoyance in two weeks.

Talk about heart

Criticize Philip Rivers all you want for his play against the Patriots on Sunday but when you're doing so, keep in mind that he was playing with a torn ACL for the entire game. That's right; many people would be screaming in pain with an injury like that but Rivers gutted out an entire game against the Patriots and if their red zone offence had clicked a bit better and hadn't settled for field goals, the Chargers might be taking on the Giants in XLII.

In fact, he actually went under the knife earlier in the week just to be able to play in Foxboro. That takes a lot of guts and when you figure in how much long-term, even career threatening, damage could've happened to him, you have to credit the kid's heart and desire to play the game.

Elsewhere, Tony Dungy is returning to coach the Colts next year. Since he's already enrolled his kids in school in the Tampa area, you have to wonder how much his head will be in the game next season. If the Colts get hit with injuries next year the way they were this past season, Dungy may not have the right mindset to guide his team the way he did. If he's not going to give 110% to Indianapolis, it might actually be better to step aside and let Jim Caldwell take over now instead of waiting for Dungy's exit.

XLII: Pats and Elisha?!?

For the third week in a row, Elisha Manning and the New York Giants faced a tough adversary on the road in the playoffs and won. I don't know if I'm more shocked or disappointed or both at the same time. It wasn't even as much as his effort as it was the effort of Plaxico Burris absolutely schooling Al Harris and the two-headed monster of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw tearing up the Packers front seven.

And what a way for Lawrence Tynes to make up for his previous two missed field goals, especially the possible game-winner with time expiring in the fourth, by hitting the first ever 40+ yard field goal in Lambeau's history. He's severely lucky that Brett Favre gave the Giants the chance with that weak overtime interception.

I do know this though, I'm more sure that the Giants will lose their next game more than any of the previous three. The entire North American media scene is going to be criticizing his composure, softness and the dumb look always plastered on his face for two whole weeks. Not to mention how many references to his brother's past success and failures against the family rival, Tom Brady.

I tell you what: If the Packers' Atari Bigby keeps up his hard-hitting ways and continues playing the way he has been since late in the season, he'll become the next very good safety that everyone touts. He also has a great name.

The Chargers couldn't get it done in the red-zone against the undefeated* Patriots and it cost them dearly. Settling for four field goals when the could've driven home touchdowns is precisely what cost San Diego the game and a trip to the Super Bowl. It may have been because the Bolts were just too banged up or it may have been the outstanding work of New England's defence but that was the difference to the AFC Championship in my mind.

And how about Brady, who only had two incompletions last week against the Jaguars, tossing three interceptions yesterday? You have to give credit to the Chargers front-liners for actually putting pressure on Brady as well as the d-backs for their coverage which — while overmatched by the Patriots depth of weapons — did a good job containing the receivers. Quintin Jammer had a great game and deserves a lot of credit for San Diego's defensive effort.

Oh, and the early line (as set by Michael Roxborough) and my early pick for Super Bowl XLII: Patriots (-13.5) over Giants. What, you thought I would ever take Elisha?

This week: 0-2
The Playoffs: 3-4-1

The week before the bye week

With the Super Bowl around the corner, I don’t think I’ve ever been looking past the conference championships more. Unless something happens and there is an upset, this week is a forgone conclusion with the favourites easily defeating the feisty underdogs.

PATRIOTS (-14) over Chargers
 
There is way too much going against the Chargers in this one. Let’s make a list:
—LDT, Gates and Rivers are all injured and won’t be at 100% on Sunday.
—If Rivers and LDT can’t go, or even finish the game if they start it, you’re looking at Billy Volek and the unsensational Michael Turner trying to guide the Bolts’ offence.
—Norv Turner is facing off against Bill Belichick.
—A southern California team is playing in New England in January weather.
—The Patriots beat up on the Chargers when San Diego visited earlier this season.
—San Diego’s strength in pass rushing could be negated if the weather and field are bad enough.
—The Chargers are among the worst teams in the league in covering slot receivers while New England is one of the best teams at hitting them.
And if those aren’t reason enough, do you not think that everyone will want to see the Brett Favre vs. Tom Brady Super Bowl? Of course they do, even more so than a Patriots loss this week.
 
PACKERS (-7) over Giants

Do you honestly, deep in your heart, believe that Elisha Manning can win in Lambeau against the immortal Brett Favre? Well I certainly don't. The Giants' run has been nice but seriously, the Patriots need some competition in the Super Bowl and the Giants would not be able to provide that. Also, I really do not want to read any Brady vs. Manning stories for the next two weeks even if it means an unfathomable amount of pieces comparing Favre and Tom and their places in history.

Last week: 2-1-0
Playoffs: 3-2-1

The blame game

Well division-playoff weekend was certainly a tale of two days. Saturday’s games went as predicted and had no real surprises while Sunday’s games were both upsets in the truest sense of the word. Now, in the case of upsets there’s only one thing a fan can really do over the next few days: assign blame.

So, to the start, the person most deserving of blame is Dallas’ quarterback, Tony Romo. I’m really starting to hope his late season meltdowns aren’t going to happen every year like they’re starting to. In the clutch, his failure to get rid of the ball followed by his intentional grounding penalty followed by the knife in the heart interception really killed the Cowboys.

Elisha Manning is getting some of my blame for eliminating my Cowboys as well. If he keeps up this roll, I might actually call him Eli instead of Elisha. One thing’s for sure though, playing in Dallas when they’re giving you the game is a lot different than playing in Lambeau. At least this Giants win insures a Brady-Favre Super Bowl matchup.

The other Manning, Peyton, doesn’t deserve as much blame as his receivers do. The running back who botched the goal line screen that would be picked off (One handed! While being blocked!) by a defensive lineman was a backbreaker. Dallas Clark’s drop to end the game was very bad as well. They did have some blind luck like Anthony Gonzalez not stepping out of bounds, but overall it was a bad day.

The Colts defence gets some blame too. How Darren Sproles can get loose like he did on that screen pass, I’ll never know but someone should have knocked him out of bounds.

As for Saturday’s tilts:

It may just be me (probably not though) but snow games are the best football games there are. It's certainly not because of the quality of play, which suffers because of the sub-par conditions, but because of the sheer aesthetics of the snow falling in the background. The beauty of a white-blanketed field is increased exponentially when it's Lambeau Field we're talking about as well. So, you've probably guessed by now that Saturday's Seattle-Green Bay tilt was one I rather enjoyed. And to match the serene beauty of the snow falling, Brett Favre and Co. (Ryan Grant in particular) had a great game and showed why they deserved their bye week. The worst part of the game was that I decided against picking Grant (201 yards rushing, 3 TDS) in a playoff pool I'm involved in.

Has anybody else noticed that the Patriots have turned into cowards and now play like nice guys by refusing to run up the score? What happened to their bad boy, F*** you attitude? Looks like they were just pretending to be bad asses. Maybe Belichick was acting like that to seem like a bad boy and try to steal somebody else's wife. The Jaguars did play them tough, but didn't we all figure that the Pats would win anyway? There were way too many articles floating around about how the Jags could win. Time to eat your words boys.

This week: 2-1-0
This playoffs: 3-2-1