Just one more reason to hate the Yankees

As if we couldn't come up with anymore. We thought that A-Hole would be reason enough(or 275 million depending on who you talk to). Or maybe you just hate the Yanks because their all-knowing fans boo anyone that performs below par(Roger Maris' 61 taters in 1961). Well now we have our latest batch of fuel for the fire. Daddy has given the keys to the Roll Royce to his spoiled brat. Hank Steinbrenner has started off his reign of terror in the Big Apple with big talk and no walk. When pops was in his early days he said what he felt and acted along those same lines. So far sonny boy Hank has swung and missed twice. It started soon after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs. The main subject was A-hole and his opt out situation. The Boss' son laid down the gauntlet and said if he opts out he may as well pack his bags and leave town. A-hole did during the World Series. Hank signed him back for a record deal a few weeks later. 0-1 count. Next he gave a deadline on the Johan Santana sweepstakes. The deadline passed and they are still in the runnings for the best pitcher in the A.L.. 0-2 count. Not a solid leadoff at-bat in your rookie year. Most likely he will give us more stupid tabloid outbursts and ESPN will give him the platform to be a windbag. Baseball season is just around the corner and hears to reviving old hatreds.

Super Bowl 42 Preview

Alright, Alright I'll use the old "sleep on it" tactic. Let's take an honest look at the SB match-up of New England Patriots v. New York Giants. The search for 19-0 v. Proving everyone wrong. Brady v. Manning(no...not that one). Evil Genious Belichick v. Lost in the Woods look Coughlin. You could match-up all the big names, but does NY have answers for Faulk, Watson and Gaffney. Can the New England secondary keep Burress, Smith and Toomer in check? Tons of questions that will be answered when the bell is rung on Feb 3rd. You hope the game lives up to the blah-blah-blah over the next few weeks.

New England
Coach Belichick will have his team prepared. There will be no surprises on the field. Every play and formation will be burned into each players brain. The execution will be the difference. So far Randy Moss has been quieted by two playoff opponents. Laurence Maroney has stepped it up with consecutive 122 yard efforts behind the always impressive O-line. These following names will be the keys to the Super Bowl: Dan Koppen, Matt Light, Nick Kaczur, Logan Mankins and Russ Hochstein. If these gentlemen delivery the solid performance in protection and run blocking that has led to an 18-0 season they will hoist the Lombardi trophy. Tom Brady had 3 picks against San Diego, but he is still the best in the business. He will be ready. The receiving core of Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth and Moss will be busy. The banged up NY secondary will be playing catch up. Kevin Faulk will be the X-Factor as he was this week(and pretty much his whole career). His knack for big 4th quarter runs and catches is just as much a part of the Patriot Dynasty as a certain 6th round pick. On the Defensive side of the ball a bend don't break approach will do them just fine. Giving up yards outside the Red Zone is fine as long as you stoenwall Brandon Jacobs near the goal line. Look for a ton of pressure to rattle Brother Eli since I am convinced that Belichick is not ready to hold him in the same light as his brother. Although I was definitely perplexed as to why there wasn't a hail of blitzes on the obviously immobile Philip Rivers??? Junior Seau will make himself a factor. His veteran wisdom and hunger for a championship will propel him over the "age factor" that has been labeled on he and Tedy Bruschi. Asante Samuel will shut down Plastic-Ho Burress and Rodney Harrison will give up his body for the chance at immortality.

New York
It all starts on defense for the Giants. Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck will need to be in Brady's grill all afternoon or else it could be a long day. Sam Madison and co. will have a tough time keeping up with the complex schemes and personnel that NE throws at 'em. If they can keep the Patriots from quick strike scoring and scoring 30 points they may have a chance. Of course they will have to put points on the board. Brother Eli will have to keep from turning the ball over. Plaxico Burress and Steve Smith will have to stretch the field. Chewing up the clock with Brandon Jacobs is another key to victory. The longer they keep the NE offense off the field the more of a chance they have to keeping up with them. By no means will Lawrence Tynes be as big a factor on this game. If he ends up lining up for 4 or 5 field goals means the Giants offense hasn't been able to crack the vault. The NE defense hasn't allowed a TD in 6 quarters. Those are playoff quarters by the way. Jeremy Shockey's replacement Kevin Boss will need to step up and become that surprise weapon the Giants need to throw the Patriots off balance.

Overall you can see that I have no answer for how the New York Giants are going to stop the Patriots. Brother Eli will not be the one to dethrone Tom Brady from the top of the mountain. Tom Coughlin doesn't have the plan to defeat Bill Belichick. I will entertain any argument to these statements over the next few weeks. If I hear any that are plausible they will make it to this blog.

Screw Brother Eli

Once again a Sunday afternoon had to be filled with shots to the booth of Father Manning. Yes that Manning! The one who never had a winning season in the NFL. The father who had the nerve to steer his direction-less son Eli to act like a diva on draft day and say "No! My daddy says I don't have to play for you!" The inevitable barrage of Peyton commercials was pretty light, but I'm guessing the network sensed overload if the 3-headed Manning Monster took too much spotlight from Brett Favre at Lambeau. Of course over the next 2 weeks of over-hyped bull pucky there will be the angle that the family name will carry New York to its 1st championship since 1990. The berth in the 2000 Stupor Bowl is not recognized by this blog(Especially since Trent Dilfer was the opposing/winning QB). All the talk of maturity and growth for Brother Eli can be seen when his 3rd down passes drop to the field and he sulks off the field like a 4 year old who just dropped his ice cream cone. Although I doubt that ever happened since Daddy was probably there to tell him that cone didn't deserve him anyway.

Let's get the pleasantries out of the way. The New York Football Giants have scratched and clawed their way during a roller coaster season into the Super Bowl. Enjoy the next 10 minutes or so. That's about all you have until you realize that Bill Belichick has already dissected every nuance of your defense. He has planned for all your formations and is now probably pouring over your latest X-rays looking for that weak spot in your femur that will crack when supplied with enough pressure. Brother Eli will see plenty of blitzes and may become very familiar with the crown of Rodney Harrison's helmet. #10 true colors will shine through in the desert when Vrabel, Thomas and Say-Ow give him a collapsed pocket and hershey skids. Good luck Eli. Your ass is grass homeboy. I hope Daddy will be there to hold your hand when you are embarrassed by the Foxboro Dynasty in February.

True Colors

As the week progressed more talking heads were pondering ways the San Diego Chargers could upset the perfect season. Turns out they were all let down by the Chargers biggest star. The talk centered around how the big three(Tomlinson, Rivers and Gates) would recover from injuries sustained earlier in the playoffs. My opinion of one player sky rocketed while another's plummeted like the Dow Jones. Quarterback Philip Rivers showed heart starting and playing the entire game with a tore up knee. Ladanian Tomlinson played three downs and then sat on the bench with a jacket on and his helmet securely fastened to his head. WONDERFUL LEADERSHIP. The NFL uses every chance it gets to parade Tomlinson as the face of professional football. As the old school folks always say "Judge a guy on how he handles adversity NOT when all the breaks are going his way." LT(who is using the true LT's nickname) showed incredible sportsmanship last year as the Patriots celebrated their divisional round victory in San Diego. Trying to pick a fight as the Patriots stomped on their logo at mid-field and then trashing Bill Belichick in the post-game interview. Then came his injury a week ago against the Colts. Most speculated he would play and Rivers would sit out. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rivers gutted it out (19-37, 211 yds, 2 int's) while Tomlinson made an early exit and showed no emotion or interest in the remainder of the game. Injuries are never a reason to dis a player, but their reaction to said injury shows much about their team leadership. As Phil Simms said the Chargers were young and had the tools to contend I thought to myself that unless they plan on keeping Michael Turner and slowly phasing Tomlinson out there will be no return to the Super Bowl in this franchise's immediate future. There is a reason the Patriots and Colts are favored to go the distance every year. Their team leaders have the back of every player on the team no matter what their personal situation is.