If you have a weak stomach don't watch this video but here's the tackle by Birmingham's Martin Taylor on Arsenal's Eduardo Da Silva for anyone that hasn't seen it. The tackle left Eduardo with a broken leg and there's no timetable for his return.
I don't think Taylor had any intent to hurt Eduardo but he definitely wanted to come in hard and these things happen in football. It's a real shame.
Wish Eduardo all the best and hope for the Gunner's sake he comes back fit and healthy again sometime next season.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The NBA's Wild Wild West
I can already see the title of a post in June.
How the West was won.
But right now the question is...what team will I be writing about. And to be honest...I have absolutely no idea.
After watching Shaquille O'Neal's debut with the Suns (which the Suns lost to the Lakers) and Jason Kidd's Mavs debut (which the Mavs lost to the Hornets), I'm still just as confused as I was before all the big trades of the last 2 weeks were made.
Lets take a quick look at the Western Conference standings. (I'll spare you the bottom 6 because barring a small miracle none of them will be in the Playoffs come May.)
W/L GB
1. New Orleans 37-15 0
2. LA Lakers 37-17 1.0
3. Phoenix 37-17 1.0
4. Utah 35-19 3.0
5. San Antonio 35-17 2.0
6. Dallas 35-19 3.0
7. Houston 33-20 4.5
8. Denver 33-20 4.5
9. Golden State 33-21 5.0
Thats 9 teams separated by only 5 games with less than 30 games left to go in the season. It's gonna be a wild finish to say the least.
In a race that's so close its inevitably going to come down to the individuals who step up. The problem is that every team in the top 9 has AT LEAST one NBA Star.
My pre-season prediction for the finals was Boston-Denver. Yes, that's right Denver. I thought with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony together for a full season and Kenyon Martin coming back from injury that they would be the team to beat in the West.
Unfortunately, all the league's general managers must have got wind of my prediction and went out and stole a whole bunch of superstars from the East to try and prove me wrong.
So with that said, even after watching the Lakers beat the Suns tonight in Shaq's debut...I'm gonna flip-flop. Make a new prediction. And i'm hopping on the bandwagon and I'm going with the Suns. Once Shaq gets a couple games to adjust to the Suns (and the Suns get a couple of games to adjust to Shaq) I can see that team gelling at just the right time (as long as the Big Diesel stays healthy). And I don't see many teams in the West that could beat them in a 7 game series-maybe the Lakers, maybe the Spurs, but that's it.
I mean who is dumb enough to bet against this guy anyways-
But as I said before it's anybody's guess who's gonna be the Western Conference champ when the season ends. One things for sure. We're in a exciting rest of the season in the NBA. And I have to admit I'd fallen out of love with the NBA in the past couple years...I found myself watching a lot of college basketball and not much NBA. The NBA lacked it's excitement..that excitement I remember when I was younger and 23 was more than a shoe.
But at least for now...the excitement is back baby!
How the West was won.
But right now the question is...what team will I be writing about. And to be honest...I have absolutely no idea.
After watching Shaquille O'Neal's debut with the Suns (which the Suns lost to the Lakers) and Jason Kidd's Mavs debut (which the Mavs lost to the Hornets), I'm still just as confused as I was before all the big trades of the last 2 weeks were made.
Lets take a quick look at the Western Conference standings. (I'll spare you the bottom 6 because barring a small miracle none of them will be in the Playoffs come May.)
W/L GB
1. New Orleans 37-15 0
2. LA Lakers 37-17 1.0
3. Phoenix 37-17 1.0
4. Utah 35-19 3.0
5. San Antonio 35-17 2.0
6. Dallas 35-19 3.0
7. Houston 33-20 4.5
8. Denver 33-20 4.5
9. Golden State 33-21 5.0
Thats 9 teams separated by only 5 games with less than 30 games left to go in the season. It's gonna be a wild finish to say the least.
In a race that's so close its inevitably going to come down to the individuals who step up. The problem is that every team in the top 9 has AT LEAST one NBA Star.
My pre-season prediction for the finals was Boston-Denver. Yes, that's right Denver. I thought with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony together for a full season and Kenyon Martin coming back from injury that they would be the team to beat in the West.
Unfortunately, all the league's general managers must have got wind of my prediction and went out and stole a whole bunch of superstars from the East to try and prove me wrong.
So with that said, even after watching the Lakers beat the Suns tonight in Shaq's debut...I'm gonna flip-flop. Make a new prediction. And i'm hopping on the bandwagon and I'm going with the Suns. Once Shaq gets a couple games to adjust to the Suns (and the Suns get a couple of games to adjust to Shaq) I can see that team gelling at just the right time (as long as the Big Diesel stays healthy). And I don't see many teams in the West that could beat them in a 7 game series-maybe the Lakers, maybe the Spurs, but that's it.
I mean who is dumb enough to bet against this guy anyways-
But as I said before it's anybody's guess who's gonna be the Western Conference champ when the season ends. One things for sure. We're in a exciting rest of the season in the NBA. And I have to admit I'd fallen out of love with the NBA in the past couple years...I found myself watching a lot of college basketball and not much NBA. The NBA lacked it's excitement..that excitement I remember when I was younger and 23 was more than a shoe.
But at least for now...the excitement is back baby!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
So thats where all that stuff goes...
If you didn't already know when a Super Bowl happens or any other championship game for that matter...that league has to make up shirts and hats for both teams that say super bowl champions. So I always wondered what happened to the shirts and hats from the teams that lose? Did they get thrown in the garbage? Salvation army? What?
Well I read something this week that all the unused Pats merchandise has been given to charities that clothe people in Africa. Boy would I be surprised if I went on a trip to somewhere in Africa and saw everyone wearing"New England Patriot Super Bowl XLII Champions" or "Undefeated Season- 19-0" shirts and hats. I might think I entered the Twilight Zone or something. Good for the NFL making good use of the stuff and not just leaving it in a dumpster outside the stadium but I still thought it was interesting.
Well I read something this week that all the unused Pats merchandise has been given to charities that clothe people in Africa. Boy would I be surprised if I went on a trip to somewhere in Africa and saw everyone wearing"New England Patriot Super Bowl XLII Champions" or "Undefeated Season- 19-0" shirts and hats. I might think I entered the Twilight Zone or something. Good for the NFL making good use of the stuff and not just leaving it in a dumpster outside the stadium but I still thought it was interesting.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Perfection! Almost....
18-1.
I don't think anybody in the world that wasn't a Giants fan would have bet on a Giants win over the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII with any sort of confidence...but lo and behold: The New York Giants are your World Champions.
Although I wouldn't quite call it the greatest upset in Super Bowl History its got to be pretty damn close. How did the Giants, 12 point underdogs in Vegas and even bigger underdogs in the eyes of the general public, beat the "dynasty" that was Bill Belichick's New England Patriots??
Not one team had been able to get consistent pressure on Tom Brady all season. Coaches were too afraid to bring blitz packages because of the skill of New England's WR's and Tom Brady, they were afraid to get beat deep.
But the Giants front 4 on defense was good enough that Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo didn't need to bring blitz packages. Michael Strahan, Jay Alford, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck in particular, harassed Brady and his weak ankle all night so that the Patriots could never really settle into their rhythm.
But late in the 4th quarter Tom Brady looked like he had done it again...escaped with a win...engineering a late 4th quarter drive capped with ANOTHER TD pass to Randy Moss. The Giants had 2:52 left on the clock to put the ball in the end zone.
Emmit Smith said something in the Sportscenter post game coverage that I totally agreed with. The Giants defense had set the tempo and the intensity of the game at such a high level...that the offense HAD to match it. And Eli Manning came out and did just that. If anyone hasn't seen the 3rd and 5, 32 yard completion to David Tyree yet (well first of all I don't know what you were doing not watching the best Super Bowl since the Rams-Titans in 2001) here it is. Probably one of the top 5 plays in Super Bowl history.
One more pass to Plaxico Burress and the rest was history.
But my question is how will these 18-1 Patriots be remembered?? I can't help but think that this loss essentially diminishes everything they accomplished in the regular season. The 18 wins. The undefeated regular season. All gone. Because they didn't win the big one. What could have been the greatest season in the history of the NFL is now just another season. When people talk about Super Bowl XLII and the 2007-08 season they won't talk about Tom Brady and all the records he broke. They'll talk about Eli Manning and that game winning drive. They won't talk about Randy Moss and the dominating force that he was week in and week out in the regular season. They'll talk about David Tyree (Who??), yes David Tyree and that catch. They won't talk about Bill Belichick and how he led his players through the cloud of SpyGate to a Super Bowl title...They'll talk about Tom Coughlin.
The Patriots have become an afterthought. I only hope that Spygate is over and we don't hear anymore information that would serve to diminish the legacy of what truly is one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. 3 Super Bowls in 4 years is impressive. But after last nights game, the dynasty is done. The allure is gone.
'Perfection' will not be synonymous with the 2007 New England Patriots.
But no one will ever forget...
18-1.
I don't think anybody in the world that wasn't a Giants fan would have bet on a Giants win over the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII with any sort of confidence...but lo and behold: The New York Giants are your World Champions.
Although I wouldn't quite call it the greatest upset in Super Bowl History its got to be pretty damn close. How did the Giants, 12 point underdogs in Vegas and even bigger underdogs in the eyes of the general public, beat the "dynasty" that was Bill Belichick's New England Patriots??
Not one team had been able to get consistent pressure on Tom Brady all season. Coaches were too afraid to bring blitz packages because of the skill of New England's WR's and Tom Brady, they were afraid to get beat deep.
But the Giants front 4 on defense was good enough that Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo didn't need to bring blitz packages. Michael Strahan, Jay Alford, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck in particular, harassed Brady and his weak ankle all night so that the Patriots could never really settle into their rhythm.
But late in the 4th quarter Tom Brady looked like he had done it again...escaped with a win...engineering a late 4th quarter drive capped with ANOTHER TD pass to Randy Moss. The Giants had 2:52 left on the clock to put the ball in the end zone.
Emmit Smith said something in the Sportscenter post game coverage that I totally agreed with. The Giants defense had set the tempo and the intensity of the game at such a high level...that the offense HAD to match it. And Eli Manning came out and did just that. If anyone hasn't seen the 3rd and 5, 32 yard completion to David Tyree yet (well first of all I don't know what you were doing not watching the best Super Bowl since the Rams-Titans in 2001) here it is. Probably one of the top 5 plays in Super Bowl history.
One more pass to Plaxico Burress and the rest was history.
But my question is how will these 18-1 Patriots be remembered?? I can't help but think that this loss essentially diminishes everything they accomplished in the regular season. The 18 wins. The undefeated regular season. All gone. Because they didn't win the big one. What could have been the greatest season in the history of the NFL is now just another season. When people talk about Super Bowl XLII and the 2007-08 season they won't talk about Tom Brady and all the records he broke. They'll talk about Eli Manning and that game winning drive. They won't talk about Randy Moss and the dominating force that he was week in and week out in the regular season. They'll talk about David Tyree (Who??), yes David Tyree and that catch. They won't talk about Bill Belichick and how he led his players through the cloud of SpyGate to a Super Bowl title...They'll talk about Tom Coughlin.
The Patriots have become an afterthought. I only hope that Spygate is over and we don't hear anymore information that would serve to diminish the legacy of what truly is one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. 3 Super Bowls in 4 years is impressive. But after last nights game, the dynasty is done. The allure is gone.
'Perfection' will not be synonymous with the 2007 New England Patriots.
But no one will ever forget...
18-1.
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