My doctor happens to be located near my folks and as I recovered at my folks place from the flu and sinus bug that's been going around with a fever as high as 103.4 I came across a PBS advertisement for the show Nature. I typically don't scan through PBS at home because it's not in the path of my usual sequence of channels that I scan that does include HiDef PBS but not low def. Believe it or not my folks don't have cable. The show would be about Polar Bears, as well as, how the grizzly is infringing on the polar bear's territory. I couldn't help but think that this would be a good show to watch and really see who would win in that showdown.

This prompted a conversation at the end of the work day with my boss. He firmly believed that a polar bear would win. Another co-worker stopped by before leaving so we asked him and as he thought the question was out of the blue he replied I don't know I guess polar bear. Well after searching on the information super highway and sifting through rumors and blogs my boss said...well before I reveal the answer I'll let everyone ponder this question. Please imagine some fine elevator music playing in the background. Much like the Olympics, please don't click any further if you don't wish to know the results.

To pick up where we left off, my boss said well he's wrong. Apparently after finding some scientific sites a grizzly would win due to its larger paw and claws. This spawned an even more ridiculous conversation including nature. Speaking of an animal matchup I recalled a moronic fox reality show some years back that included a world class track sprinter and either a horse or giraffe. What made it more interesting was the fact that the athlete involved won a medal at the Olympics some years later. As one of my co-workers recalls that he was eventually accused of using steroids. All I could recollect was a post race interview where the interviewer recounted the program and mentioned that he's probably better known for that show. The athlete then regaled everyone with how if not for an early and false start by the animal he would have won. He never had his re-match. After all how are you going to tell a wild animal to get back into the blocks you've false started.

With the recently ended writers strike I find it odd that this type of show wasn't re-installed. I'm not saying that I'd watch an hour of a man racing a giraffe and to be honest I really don't care if he's on steroids. It's not a sanctioned event. It's about pure animal pride. I'll go a step further and say anyone that can win a medal for the old U S of A should be awarded a re-match.

Much like in "Dodgeball" I'd watch this race on the Ocho because "it's the leader in seldomly seen sports and because if it's almost a sport it's on the Ocho." Heck if it was in the DC Metro Area and I had nothing better to do on a nice day and happened to be in the vicinity, I'd pay five bucks to see a guy on or off steroids in a race like this. Make it like the SNL sketch in the all drug Olympics where anything is legal. Can a human run faster than a giraffe. I don't know because they'd both need to start at the same time. Let's see firsthand.

Oh and we've since had a follow up on the polar bear debate. Did anyone consider if the two bears met in the water? Who'd win then?

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Maryland is working hard late in the ACC season to move up in the seeding to perhaps as high as the third seed in the ACC tournament. After back to back losses to Virginia Tech and Miami, the Terrapins won 74-70 tonight.

James Gist had a double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Terps to the win. This brings a showdown on Sunday with Clemson coming to the Comcast Center. A win in the home season finale will help inch the Terps up their position in the ACC.

If they continue the hard work, they can make it and hopefully get an at-large bid for the Big Dance.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In what might be the surprise move of the offseason, the Redskins released Brandon Lloyd. Note to those not familiar with the Redskins situation, that's a bit of scarcasm. Lloyd caught a total of 25 catches over his two season here. Well worth the 2nd and 3rd 3rd and 4th round draft picks we sent to San Francisco*. I think the 49er front office is still snickering about that.

* - Sorry for the error, I guess I had it in the back of my mind the trade was worse. However, 3rd and 4th didn't make it much better. It was still awful.

This move helps the Redskins moderately, since they are already over the cap for the upcoming season. But restructuring of contracts is making some room available.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 03:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Party like its 1999 may be a Prince song but for all intensive purposes it could be 1998. The Caps acquired Sergei Federov & Cristobal Huet along with Matt Cooke and re-acquired Alex Giroux Caps Trade Recap. How times have changed for Federov. What Caps fan wouldn't want to see Sergei in a Caps uniform, but too bad it's
ten years too late. It would have been great to have Sergei on the Caps roster ten years ago wearing the red white and blue in the Finals or even five years ago, but alas the Caps were able to acquire him for the mere price of a 19 year old defensive prospect (Ted Ruth.)

Amid all the transactions that included the Washington Capitals as the NHL Trading Deadline approached, it's interesting to interpret the Capitals plan for the season and in the long term. If the Caps season holds course and they're not able to make the playoffs by winning the Southeast Division, the Caps could conceivably have the sixth pick in the draft. By making the playoffs as the Southeast Division winner and potentially losing in the first round the Caps could then see themselves drafting in what's regarded as a deep draft year on talent by falling back to somewhere near the 22nd Pick.

No one is saying that the Caps shouldn't try to move forward or put their best foot forward to make the playoffs, but having a successful and long term strategy is imperative. Stan Kasden and the Washington Nationals seem to understand and implement a sound strategy better than any local sports team. The Caps have essentially added some players as rentals that aren't brought in to help contend for the Cup but to merely make the playoffs.

Although making the playoffs is a nice first step it's a huge set back to not make the playoffs the following year and building off of any progress made. When the very players brought in disappear the following season what's one to expect. The Southeast Division is a disaster when looking at total points. Players that are brought into the fold during the season and offseason should have the same goal in mind which is does bringing in a particular player improve the team in the long term and help the team gain contender status. Players such as Federov and his current age are usually acquired by teams looking for a specific role the player can provide that should cement their ascent to the Finals. The Caps aren't in such a position so how does giving up picks and or prospects for such players that won't help bring home a trophy in the current season or be in the long term plans help the team other than as a feel good transaction to show that the team is willing to move forward as a sign to players and season ticket holders. This seems to be in conflict to a more of a standard strategy for teams moving forward.

Federov is 38 years old and recovering from a concussion and a charlie horse. His skills are still evident even at his current age, but the very low price also illustrates Federov's worth and his current skill level in the market at this point in his career. Sergei's contract expires at the end of the season. How much help can Federov possibly provide for a team just desperate to make the playoffs only to unload and most likely not re-sign him and similar older players would only set the team back in the development process.

It's nice to have quality goaltending, but how much is too much? No one goalie appears ready to claim the mantle of stopper. Kolzig at 37 has shown stretches and Huet is a steady goalie but neither at this point in their career leads anyone to believe that they are a stopper. The era of platooning goaltenders during the playoffs and moreover the regular season ironically coincided with rise of Olie as the Caps starting goaltender. Gone are the times of the backup goaltender spelling the regular goalie for a game or two in a playoff series. The acquisition of Huet only sets up a murky situation and difficult decision for a team with a proven goaltender that can dominate games during stretches with a track record of showing strong performances in the post season. It's no surprise that Kolzig isn't the same player as ten years ago but his skills are still sharp enough for a winning team much like Hasek. Decisions by the Caps will have to be made going forward regarding the long term direction behind the net for Kolzig, Huet (turning 33 in the final year of a contract), Brent Johnson, and the two top goaltending prospects.

The Caps appeared to have made a decision to no longer wait for Pettinger to jump to the next level as they traded for a more proven role player in Matt Cooke. The Caps also re-acquired Alex Giroux for Motzko.

For a team looking to bolster its Stanley Cup Trophy prospects today's trades would be heralded, but for a team scrapping to make the playoffs among a weak field within the division the trades really showcase the organization's decision making process.

Plenty of players were moved as the trade deadline approached and yet no players that would have an immediate and long term impact were brought to Washington. The Penguins acquired Hossa for talented prospects and draft picks. To acquire such talented players in their prime you have to give up something to get something. At the end of the day the Caps gave up very little...enough said.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's been reported that the Redskins will remain quiet during NFL Free Agency this year. Maybe in this first year without Gibbs the organization will have learned to concentrate on activities during the season to bring a Lombardi Trophy home to DC Redskins Free Agency. Finding quality players in the draft that can step into roles and eventually a starting position in the future should be the primary focus.

Hopefully the Skins can also find some role players to step into some of the secondary positions during the free agency period. All during the 80s the Redskins under Gibbs and Beathard were able to find smart and athletic players that could step into a starting role when injuries struck during critical points of the season. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Skins front office will perform in this first year without Gibbs influence.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What kind of an apology is it when someone doesn't even say what they're sorry for especially when they say "c'mon bro" when that very question is posed to them Lo Duca. What kind of comment is that?

Isn't anyone else tired of players paraded around and being forced to tell what they've done wrong? Is Pettite such the honest man when compelled to tell the truth. He may have confessed his soul, but after an inquiry. All of these players are now tainted, but the attitude Lo Duca has could spell disaster with such young players like Dukes on the roster. Whatever happened to being humble and trying to correct a mistake? Could the signing of Dukes who could be a changed man be the better signing than Lo Duca who already has an attitude over what he perceives to be something in the past?

A misjudgment and error in thinking that irreparably harmed himself and the game would have been a more appropriate ending to the discussion for Lo Duca, but instead readers of the "fireside" chat with Lo Duca had to settle for indifference. This is strike one for Lo Duca in my book. Bob could be right in his assessment of Lo Duca.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It was the end of August as Stu, BMT, Q, & I were driving down to Charlotte, NC where our 2007 Keeper Fantasy Football Draft was held. Every year twelve of us get together for a weekend at one FFL Owner's house for draft weekend festivities that have included in the past such items as a grill out, pool, Phillies Game, Pat's & Gino's Cheesesteak, Tony Luc's, all night poker, a bachelor party, minor league baseball, Chinese food cooked by a fabulous chef, and Sonny's sweet bbq.

Somehow along the long drive out of Virginia traffic on a Friday night we stopped for gas and stopped in to use the restrooms. This was not the cleanest of stations, so when Stu went in first and I heard some extremely loud leaf blowing machine or something emanating loudly from the restroom for nearly a minute I wanted to yell - Stu are you ok?!

Stu, came out smiling and said don't worry go in and feel the power. As I went in being sure what tiles to step on and which ones to avoid (for obvious reasons) and then proceeded to hit the hand blower machine labeled Feel The Power. This was a G Force of all hand blowers. Held to close to the machine you can see the skin on your hand raise up and move as the air dries your hands in just seconds. Everyone was very impressed by the machine, so when I walked into restaurant in the area and felt the power again I realized that this could be the wave of the future as it makes it from gas stations to restaurants. I wonder if this will appear in the new Nationals Stadium.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It looks like Jim Zorn gets to choose some of his staff, as Sherman Smith, currently of the Tennessee Titans is expected to join as Offensive Coordinator. Yesterday Zorn chose Stump Mitchell as the Running Backs coach. So he got to choose two of them.

While I would like to bash on Snyder for hiring all these coaches before hiring the head coach, it's good that the staff is finally "complete". They can get on the task of planning and coaching.

While some are still uncertain about Zorn, I point to Joe Bugel. Last week, he noted the criticism of Zorn by stating that there was once an unknown coach in San Diego named Joe Gibbs who was given a chance to be head coach of the Redskins. That fellow didn't do too bad.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I didn’t watch all of the congressional hearing yesterday involving Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, but I saw the nearly half-hour of highlights on SportsCenter. The biggest thing that now strikes me is the fact that it might be possible that both men are telling the truth as they believe it. I don’t necessarily believe that, but I have to admit it is a possibility. Clemens admits that McNamee injected him on multiple occasions. The disagreement is about what the substances in those injections were. McNamee says it was HGH and winstrol, Clemens says it was B12 and lidocaine.

So if I were one of the Congressmen at the hearings yesterday, I would have asked the following questions to each man to try and get closer to the heart of the truth:

-Did you ever inject/were you ever injected by the other party?

-What was the substance being injected?

-How many times and approximately when did said injections occur?

-Can you describe the circumstances around the reasons for the injections and any conversations that took place before the injections?

The last two questions obviously wouldn’t be meant to get exact dates and word spoken, but my thinking is that you don’t just walk up to someone and inject them. There has to be conversations and discussions about what is being injected, why it is being injected, and how it will be injected. I think if that last question could be sufficiently answered, we’d know a lot more about the truth of the situation.

Posted by Bob at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Redskins could be after Chad Johnson as rumors and articles are a flutter as seen in a Washington Post article. Giving up a 1st and 3rd or two 2nds in a time when the team has more needs than just one position to solve all problems to win a Super Bowl. Is Ocho Cinco one of the best receivers in the NFL? Yes, without questions he's one of the top receivers but as he approaches 30 how effective can he be two and three years from now? Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison (who's on the decline), and TO are the only great receivers still producing huge numbers in their career well into their early and mid 30s so taking on a most likely long term contract for a player that could have his decline in DC rather risky. The three receivers listed appear to be the execption and not the rule of thumb for great receivers in their 30s.

Again the Redskins appear to be interested in the big name for a big splash and quick thrill than assembling a team for the long term to contend every year and build a dynasty. The team lacks true pass rushers and has missed a legitimate threat in this regard since the early 90s. Wilson appears ready, but will the skins finally give him more time? Dexter Manly started as a pass rush specialist but was so effective despite his lack of discipline on 1st downs stopping the run that the team couldn't keep him off the field. Wilson needs to get to the point where he forces the team to play him more.

Besides the need for a bona fide pass rush specialist, the Redskins need help along the offensive line. As the OL starts to see 30 far in the rear view mirror the team needs to invest more heavily along both sides of the line. The Giants showed just how important a pass rush is and to win the team also needs to run block better and stay healthy to keep the pressure off of Campbell.

What's disheartening to hear is the speculation that the team could even think about cutting Jansen if not for the salary cap hit. Jansen is one of the leaders on the team and has actually been more steady then Samuels and is one of the most underrated linemen in the NFL. Jansen's injuries have all been freak ones at that and may even prolong his career. Why might this actually help Jansen because his knees have not been problem. He's had thumb, shoulder, ankle, and achilles issues. Its knees that usually cut a players career short. Would Snyder have cut Joe Jacoby when he had elbow and hand issues around the time he was 30?

With the Redskins it's always about churning and trading up never being truly satisfied and always looking for the more sexy and attractive move rather than the ones that position the "team" for the long term. Drafting an offensive lineman and defensive lineman with the first two picks should be the primary focus.

The Briggs trade is also a topic of discussion with the Redskins name mentioned in a Washington Post article. Despite the possibility of McIntosh's possible chronic knee problems the possible trade and what is impacted in the future is not the wise trade. Unless it's a trade for an injured Rocky and low draft pick for Briggs this would be disastrous. Giving up critical draft choices will haunt the team over the next couple of years and well into the long term.

The team continues to miss the big picture. How does getting a healthy LB a few years older bring the trophy home? It doesn't - plain and simple. A consistent pass rush from the front four makes everyone look better from the LB's to the secondary. Likewise a strong OL makes everyone look better in both the running and passing game. It's not sexy but taking care of these needs strengthens the team in the long run. It's finding the receivers, linebackers and cover corners in the second round and later if lineman aren't available that the Redskins haven't been able to accomplish other than HB Blades.

Let's hope reason and logic in the upcoming draft and that the Redskins "choose wisely" as the knight said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I am not a doctor, nor do a play one on TV. Wharton professors refute the Clemens' team analysis of his later career years. I was a business major and had to take business statistics in my college years, but this is all Greek to me. Besides, as the Sports Freak can attest to, our stat professor was the cure for insomnia.

"Selection Bias" sticks out in the report. While I couldn't make heads or tails of 18,000 word report (which I fully admit I did not read in it's entirety), I did think Clemens' legal team might sway the stats in favor of him. Now some Ivy Leaguers seem to think that.

Still not proof that Clemens was dirty, but it does not help his case.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In an odd twist to the Redskins Head Coaching story, Jim Zorn will be announced as Head Coach on Sunday.

I don't know much about Zorn other than him being the first ever Seattle Seahawk quarterback, but I know one thing on his resume that stands out. He's not Jim Fassel. I'm sure we'll find out more about Zorn in the coming days.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Erik Bedard has finally been traded to the Seattle Mariners, in exchange for 5 prospects. At least one of them will be starting on Opening Day. But that's not saying much for a team who traded away their only two "names" this off season. Of course, Miguel Tejada may have drawn unwanted attention to Baltimore. Still, some argue an everyday player vs. a starting pitcher is better...to some degree.

What's amazing about this is maybe Peter Angelos is trying to "out-Angelos" and "out-Snyder" Dan Snyder. As Q mentioned in his post a couple of weeks ago, Snyder is morphing into Angelos. Apparently the Empire Strikes Back as Angelos has now resorted to 2 weeks of talk before the trade occurs. His timing rivals Snyders amount of time spent jerking around Head Coach candidates.

Ahh, just what we need, another DC-Baltimore fight.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This story has been so interesting. Interesting enough that I didn't really care who Daniel Synder interviewed for 62 and 3/16 of an hour. The question is why did Kevin Hart go so far with the lie?

I'm not a college football fan one bit. The only reason I consider season tickets to Maryland football is that it helps me get a bit closer to basketball season tickets. But this is just sad. Will we see the same thing occur with a basketball "recruit" sometime in the next few years?

Hart got more publicity than if he was actually recruited by the schools. Too bad it was negative. The kid has heart, but apparently does not have game. He told a little lie months ago, possibly because he thought he might actually be recruited later; probably told the lie because he wanted to be the big man on his high school campus. This hype about "National Signing Day" is good, because the great coaches and assistants get the players they want. The bad in the extreme would be this.

So another reason for me to not pay attention to college football. Bowl games, BCS, coaches jumping ship when his "dream job" is available. All reasons not to watch.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's about time that someone recognized Boudreau's great work with the Capitals ESPN - Boudreau. Caps fans have longed for someone to step in and make the necessary changes needed to right this ship. It's amazing the luck the Caps Organization has had. The Caps are like Inspector Clouseau. They can bungle all types of decisions and still come out smelling like roses. Much like Abbott & Costello movies, if the Caps were going to make a movie this season it would be Boudreau meets the Pink Panther.

Boudreau restored discipline to the lines and line changes. He implemented a more aggressive offensive and defensive scheme. He's the first coach since Wilson to understand the importance of rolling out two scoring lines and maintaining balance. He even added a more defensive forward to the 2nd line to improve Semin's psyche to not feel as though his line is always scored on.

As Hanlon coached the team Backstrom was slided to the wing position and away from his natural and future center position. What a bungled decision. Why have someone that will be playing their entire career at center begin to learn a new position in a new league when he'd learn quicker and be move productive at his natural position and even more productive at the end of the season approaching the playoffs for the time well spent at the start of the season. If not for injuries and a fortunate series of events that brought Boudreau to DC, Backstrom may still be mired down at the wing. Luckily Bruce knows hockey and makes the right decisions for all of the wrong decisions that have been made. Backstrom's dazzling skills continue to grow with every game as his stats under Boudreau have flourished. Not since Wilson coached the Caps have so many coaching decisions been so right.

Bruce has lifted the mired down Caps from bottom dwellers in the Eastern Conference to the Southeast Division leaders. All be it that the division would otherwise facing a fight for the last playoff spot if not for the third division in the conference.

So far the Caps have removed Ron Wilson whose players were beset by a team record high number of games lost to injuries by players. Wilson migrated to an extreme defensive scheme that gave the team the best chance to win. It was ugly but the Caps were winning again. They may have called Wilson a player’s coach but until Boudreau at least he was an NHL Head Coach. That was arguably one of the best coached season's to come within a couple of points of the playoffs for such a poor and injury riddled team.

Following the departure of Wilson, the Caps have bungled their way through coaches as they hired a relatively unknown and unproven NHL Coach in Bruce Cassidy. His minor league teams were constantly stocked with up and coming talent for the NHL. Rumors were a flutter of his incompetence, lack of discipline, and ridicule of players and their family. The team was stagnant, spacing and skating with speed up ice was awful, and the treatment of Bondra disgusting. Moving Bondra, the team holder of multiple scoring records, to a lesser and fighting line for every two bit thug to finally take their shots at him was disgusting. At one point during the season, Bondra was on the second line and was a more productive line than Jagr's line. What did Cassidy do, but break up the 2nd line to produce a much better 1st line for Jagr and not understanding that forcing teams to choose which line to defend would allow one line to score and not completely dampen the scoring on other lines. Balance and roles/responsibilities are essential for a good flow and scoring.

Boudreau makes none of the mistakes of Cassidy and understands what's needed to coach a veteran team unlike Hanlon. Boudreau appears to have more in his magic bag of coaching tricks on all levels than Hanlon who ultimately replaced Cassidy.

The Caps have been lucky as they've moved onto their 3rd consecutive minor league coach. It doesn't appear that Boudreau was sought after or was always the man lying in wait as the team's next and greatest coach, but the right man in the right place at the right time. After all, if Hanlon was replaced at the end of the prior season would Boudreau be coaching right now probably not, but lucky for the Caps not having contingency plans for coaching and player scenarios has paid off well this time.

The Caps also were fortunate in their plan to "give up" making the playoffs and have a fire sale with the impending lock out and salary cap. Does anyone remember the year before the salary cap in the NFL? Most teams are prepared but someone hit the panic button and apparently the DC area must have a monopoly on the panic button as Casserly purged such players as Clark and Sanders to bring in Tim McGee, an aging Carl Banks, the leader of hurries and undersized Al Noga. All of these players were not what was initially invisioned and soon were released from the Redskins as disappointments.

Likewise the Caps purged and restocked the team with inferior talent giving up a most likely playoff berth where anything can happen. Abe Pollin may not have sunk the huge dollars into the team like fans would have liked, but once making the playoffs with Langway, he always did his best to green light trades to give the Caps help to make the playoffs in years the Caps may not have made it. Remember this is a league where half the teams make the playoffs and before expansion more than half made the playoffs. So as the Caps continued to surrender the playoffs for losses and if not for a lucky turn of events that occurred as a wonderful ping pong ball hit #1 in the year Alexander Ovechkin was available in the draft. What would have happened if the Caps hit #3? Who would there be to build around and how many more years would Caps fans suffer for a poor decision and a bungled history of drafting since the early 90s.

If considering statistical probability, the odds of drafting Ovie and having Boudreau work out so successfully must be pretty low so how far the team goes with Boudreau nobody knows. He appears to be doing everything right and the team has responded with winning hockey and worthy of making the post season. The only thing that is a given is that there'll be plenty of ups and downs as though Inspector Clouseau manages and owns the team.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Good news and bad news. The good, Steve Spagnuolo turns down the Redskins, pulls himself out of the running. It appears he was not offered the job, but still, he decided to go back to the Giants.

The bad...Jim Fassel is back as leading candidate. Geez, I hope Marriucci had a great interview with Snyder. I really don't want to see Fassel in burgandy and gold.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

With lots of sports recent sports topics to cover, here are some quick thoughts from the New York perspective.

-The Mets are now the clear favorite to win the National League pennant in 2008 with the addition of the best pitcher in baseball, Johan Santana. But a quick word of warning to Mets fans: Santana is notoriously slow to start the season. His career numbers in the month of April are 9-7 with a 4.23 ERA but in June he is 19-6 with a 2.63 ERA.

-Like it or not Skins fans, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is the clear front runner for the head coaching job. Other than the fact that he isn’t Joe Gibbs or didn’t coach under Gibbs, I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be a good coach in Washington.

-Who do we believe if Roger Clemens tells Congress under oath that he has never used steroids but Brian McNamee tell Congress under oath that Clemens did use steroids? I really don’t know.

-Note to Congress (and to a lesser extent, the media): Spygate is not the NFL version of the steroids scandal. No one dies from videotaping a football game.

-It was great to see the Giants parade up the Canyon of Heroes from the vantage point of my 31st floor office building located at Battery Park. The victory is even sweeter when it comes against a team from Boston!

Posted by Bob at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eli trumps the critics with an unforgettable Super Bowl ending as the Giants upset the Patriots 17-14 in Arizona. Much like Balboa in Rocky II, the Patriots and Giants traded TD's late in the game, but it was Brady and the Pats that couldn't get up before the ten count as the clock counted down to a stunning victory for NY.

The Patriots narrowly escaped the regular season matchup vs. the Giants in their 1st meeting, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that the game was so close. Yet with so many people feeling that they knew who the best team was and then they proceeded to discount the team that took the Pats the distance in Round One before the Giants fell to the Pats in the final regular season game.

The Giants felt they knew what they had to do to win. This Super Bowl wasn't about the return of Spygate, Tom Brady's ankle, or the most prolific scoring offense in NFL history, but the ability to stand tall vs. a tough opponent. Something should have told the Pats and NFL fans that the Giants match up well against the Patriots and in the NFL match ups count for something. Checking prior history during the '80s the Redskins had all kinds of difficulties with the Giants, but the Bears seemed to have all types of troubles with the Redskins when it mattered most in the post season.

The regular season meeting should have definitely alerted the Pats that this game would be anything but a cake walk. The Giants front four have carried the team to victory and lead the team in all respects. It was their ability to not only take a punch vs. the Pats in the first meeting but strike back. It was one of the few times a team was consistently able to move Brady and dictate where the Pats offense would be led.

Super Bowl XLII was slow at first but slowly and surely it became apparent that the Giants defensive line was dominating the Pats offensive line for which the Pats had only one late drive. This seemed poultry for such a high scoring offense. There were no big plays to be had by Moss or Stallworth or even Maroney. For all the high scoring games by the Pats in the early part of the regular season against teams without such a strong defensive unit, maybe a little more respect and much more smash mouth football against a team with pride who knows exactly what plays will be coming their way. What's more challenging - running up the score and going for it when you feel you'll make it or daring someone to stop you by running the ball? When they know you’re running plays and what plays you run. This is smash mouth football.

Unfortunately for the Pats they didn't practice smash mouth football which helped lead them to three Super Bowl wins. They encountered the only team that constantly fought back and sent them flying back as Brady was constantly pressured, knocked down, and sacked. With such a strong pass rush from only four players it allowed the rest of the team to cover and follow their assignments.

No one believed that the Giants defense could hold up over the entire course of a game let alone the often erratic play and timing of Eli Manning would disappear. Although it's unfair to Elway for what he accomplished in his career, Eil led an Elway like performance as he marched down the field, eluded pressure on the key drive and found a way to hook up for a huge first down play that set up the game winning touchdown. It's a play just like this when a player escapes a sure sack and finds a receiver down field for a big play that you know this is part of something very huge.

Just like in the Rocky series, the two teams traded blows but it was the Patriots that just came up short with time expiring. The real questions is do the Pats want a re-match just like in the end of Rocky?

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, the "Perfect Season" didn't end so perfect.

For the past two weeks, all I could think of was that this game was going to be boring. That I didn't care about either team. Well the latter was true. But it certainly was not a boring game.

Eli Manning put on a drive to score the winning touchdown. I don't know what they'll call it, but it was one of the greatest ever. Watching the game, I thought it might end like the St Louis Rams - Tennessee Titans game, where the Titans fell just short.

To the Patriots, 18-1 is not terrible, except that the loss was the Superbowl. I feel sorry for Junior Seau. Unless the Patriots make it again next year and win it, he might not get a ring. Randy Moss was the good citizen of the NFL in a season with the Vicks and Pac-mans mucking it all up. I was hoping he would get his just rewards.

Congrats to the Giants and their fans.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Spygate has risen again during the pinnacle point of the season in the NFL as Super Bowl week concludes with today's game and ultimately crowns a champion. Rumors are fluttering about the news. Sen. Arlen Specter has requested Commissioner Goodell's presence after the Super Bowl. During a Mike & Mike interview Sen. Specter's eluded that his interest first was drawn regarding the Eagles Super Bowl appearance (after Spygate news was first alerted to the public.)

In ESPN articles, Kurt Warner also wants more information pertaining to the Rams Super Bowl. More information regarding how far back did the investigation go, who was interviewed, and why information was destroyed will most likely come to light as a result of Sen. Specter's request.

The timing of The Return of Spygate II isn't too surprising as the Patriots are about to write themselves into the record books (the perfect season.) The Pats pulled together as a team when the scandal first hit and proceeded to dominate the league until the last few weeks of the season. News of this magnitude is surely to fire up the Pats for another high octane performance.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Art Monk has finally been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After years of not being selected, it may appear that he got a boost as the voters also voted in teammate Darrell Green. I hope that was not the case. I may not be objective, but Monk deserves to be in the Hall on his own merits and should have been. As The Sports Freak mentioned in the post when the nominees for the 2008 were first inducted, Monk held many records in his day.

Michael Wilbon, the columnist for the Washington Post, co-host of PTI, and ESPN NBA analyst, had been campaigning for Monk all these years. I remember him discussing in the live discussions on the Post's website, as well as his TV appearances, including PTI, discussing Monk's candidacy in front of the voters, to no avail. While he suffered a heart attack earlier this week, I'm sure he's at his Arizona home happy that maybe, just maybe, he had something to do with it.

It's a great day for NFL fans, but especially us Redskins fans, who know this day for Monk should have happened years ago.

I'm not ignoring Green, it's just that he was lock. Then again, we thought Monk was too. Now, going out the door, should I wear my Monk or Green jersey this evening?

Posted by Big Money Tony at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Eli Manning has led his Giants to the Super Bowl and done so quicker than his older brother Peyton. At this point in time Peyton has a Super Bowl ring while brother Eli has just arrived to the Super Bowl, but let’s start to compare the two quarterbacks.

Understanding the Game:

There's no question that Peyton Manning can dissect and carve up any defense with patience and skill. The Colts allow Peyton to call his own plays. Eli can still be very erratic and throw passes into the teeth of the defensive coverage.

Advantage - Peyton

Leadership:

Without question both sides of the ball look to Peyton to lead them to victory. Eli is still finding his way. It's the Giants defense that carries the load.

Advantage Peyton

Battle of TV Ads:

This is a slam dunk for Peyton. How can you not like his "pep" talks, his mustache commercial, his advertisement for TV’s sitting on the couch, and even his sports center commercials? He also gets the last good shot on brother Eli in this sport center spot.

Advantage Peyton:

A Hypothetical Entourage Endorsement - Turtle & Drama:

Most likely Turtle would want to party with Peyton in the hopes of picking up some honeys. Johnny "Drama" on the other hand is very loyal and would probably side with Eli as he plays for his hometown Giants.

Advantage Eli - c'mon Johnny "Drama" helps make the show what it is.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Lakers traded Kwame Brown along with Aaron McKie, their first round picks in 2008 and 2010, plus the rights to Paul Gasol's brother, Mark. In return, the Lakers receive center Paul Gasol and the Grizzlies second round pick in 2010. Lakers Trade Kwame Brown

This is a phenomenal trade for everyone involved. The Lakers unload Kwame and pick up a play making center to add to Kobe, Bynum, and Odoms. They give up some first round picks that would most likely be late first round picks with anticipation that the trade will make them contenders for the next several years.

The Grizzlies add draft picks for the future. Kwame is in the last year of his contract, so Memphis will be able to clear some cap room for the future too. Even Kwame comes out a winner because he still gets paid as one of the biggest busts as the first pick overall in a draft.

The Wizards drafted Kwame first overall and were able to dump him on LA for Butler. This trade has worked out extremely well for Washington. Kwame Brown on the other hand has been a major disappointment for two teams and may soon find himself out of the NBA.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)