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We All Say Dumb Things…

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
dumb 300x240 We All Say Dumb Things...

Dumb

As the headline suggests, we all say dumb things. That certainly includes me. I’ll even say them on the radio.

Last week, on the Rise Up Show with Big Will and Miss Melissa on Streetz 104.7, I said three really dumb things. I didn’t say them all at once. I spread them out over the week so I could sound even dumber, more often.

I don’t normally say really dumb things, but when I do, it eats at me for days. This time, dumbness has eaten at me long enough. I said it, it was dumb, and with that, let me apologize for…

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Another Jose Calderon brick.

1. On Tuesday morning, I said I liked the way the Toronto Raptors played basketball. I said that. I said it out loud to a listening audience on Streetz that really likes basketball and knows a lot about the game.

I had just watched the Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-87. Man they looked good. Amir Johnson beat up Kevin Love and had 11 points and 19 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani scored 31. Jose Calderon ran the offence and shut down Ricky Rubio on D and he didn’t even throw up too many of those Jose Calderon clang-bang bricks. It was a nice effort.

So I went on the radio and said that the 4-5 Raptors were playing “good basketball,” and should break out of their early-season struggles.

Yeah, right. What a bonehead.

The Raptors proceeded to lose 93-78 to the dog-ass Washington Wizards, 98-91 at home to the D-League level Sacramento Kings, 95-90 at home to Indiana, 77-64 in Chicago and 93-84 to Atlanta (which really isn’t embarrassing at the worst of times). In that entire stretch of five straight losses, the Raptors had, maybe, three good quarters and Bargnani, clearly their best player despite those stupid spaghetti commercials he does, injured a calf muscle and missed three games.

When I said I liked the way the Raptors played, they were 4-5. By today’s admission that I was really dumb to say that I liked the way they played, they are now 4-10.

So dumb.

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Buck's Re-signing is not so obvious.

2. On Friday morning, I said two really dumb things. The first one was a doozy:

I said, “Blue Bombers general manager Joe Mack held a news conference yesterday to say that his off-season priorities were to sign a new offensive coordinator, quarterback Buck Pierce and offensive lineman Brendan LaBatte. Thank you Captain Obvious.”

Well, after a sober second thought, it wasn’t so obvious. The offensive coordinator part is obvious and Brendan LaBatte is really obvious, but Buck Pierce? Not so much.

Pierce wants big dough to return. Mack doesn’t really have to pay him big dough. With the seven other CFL teams set at quarterback next season, no other team is going to sign Pierce for the amount of money he wants ( a base of at least $200,000). Meanwhile, Mack knows that Pierce had virtually the same numbers as Michael Bishop did back in 2009 and we all remember that the local mainstream media laughed at Michael Bishop. There is no need to sign Pierce for more than he’s worth with Alex Brink and Joey Elliott ready to go.

In fact, you could argue that if Mack signs LaBatte and the offensive line continues to get better, Brink and Elliott could provide head coach Paul LaPolice with a great training camp battle at the QB’s position.

Joe Mack was not Captain Obvious because Buck Pierce, for too much money, is not an obvious signing.

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Tom Brady: Shoulda had more faith.

3. Also on Friday, I said the New England Patriots would beat the Denver Broncos by two touchdowns. What an idiot.

Sure, I picked New Orleans and Green Bay to win on Friday morning during our weekly Streetz NFL picks with Tahl East, but we both hedged those bets. Neither one of us was quite convinced that the Packers or Saints were a guarantee, and we both said so. In fact, we both took New Orleans while holding our noses.

But New England? I came right out and said “the Pats win by two touchdowns.”

Wrong. They won by five touchdowns. And if Tom Brady and Bill Belichick hadn’t called off the dogs late in the game, it could have been seven or eight. New England was so much better than Denver it wasn’t even a fair fight.

I should have known better. And, yes, it was dumb to think that Denver could finish within two touchdowns of that New England team.

Because Baltimore won’t, either.

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With Huge Upset, the Saints Beat Indy 31-17 to Capture First Super Bowl

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Aints aren’t the Aints anymore. It took 43 years but the New Orleans Saints are finally champions of the football world. And to think, Mardi Gras starts in just eight days…

Drew Brees played brilliantly, the Saints defence came up big when it had to and cornerback Tracy Porter returned an interception 78 yards with just a little more than three minutes to play as the Who Dats upset the favored Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV.

With the score 24-17 and the Colts rallying, Porter picked off the great Peyton Manning on the Saints 22-yard line and returned it untouched to the end zone as the NFC champion Saints shocked the football world.

It was an amazing victory considering the Saints were lucky to beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 at home in the NFC championship game. Even though the Vikings had five turnovers, the Saints still needed overtime in the din of the Superdome to get to Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.

Then, last night in New Orleans, the Saints fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter, 10-6 at the half, and still stormed back to win going away.

Heading into the game, the Colts were five-point favourites, but many, including both The Coach and Dr. Sports here at www.rivercitysportsblog.com, believed the Colts had far too much firepower for the Saints and their No. 25-rated defence.

However, it was a timely defensive play that ultimately gave the Saints the victory.

“The interception was a result of great film study,” said Porter after the game. “We knew that on third-and-short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant. It was great film study by me, a great jump and a great play.

“This means so much for New Orleans and the Saints organization. Words can’t describe how much this means for New Orleans. I’m a Louisiana native and this is big.”

The game MVP was, obviously, Brees and what a return to glory this was for the Saints QB. Given up by the San Diego Chargers three years ago, Brees joined the Saints and after putting up huge numbers for the past three seasons, he finally won a championship.

In the biggest game of his life, Brees went 32-for-39 for 268 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer’s rating of 114.5.

“I always kind of dreamed of this moment,” said Brees, as he accepted his MVP award. “I believed it would happen and I knew that if we played as well as we could, we were prepared to be successful. This is so big for the community and for me and my family, I can barely put it into words.

“This means everything to New Orleans. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought for the past few years. They’ve given us so much support, we owe it to our fans.”

The Colts put up more yardage (432 to 332) and had more first downs (23-20), but also had more penalties for more yardage (five for 45 yards as opposed to three for 19 for New Orleans) and Manning threw that one dagger-through-the-heart interception.

Manning finished 31-for-45 for 333 yards, one touchdown, one INT and a passer’s rating of just 88.5.

“I know how we felt three years ago when we won,” said a disappointed Manning afterward. “We’re disappointed but this is their night. This night belongs to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. It’s their field, they deserve the victory and they should be proud of what they’ve done.”

It was also another big game for Saints kicker garrett Hartley. The man whose field goal beat the Vikings in OT, became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to kick three field goals of plus-40 yards in a single Super Bowl. He had three-pointes of 46, 44 and 47 yards.”

There were 74,059 spectators inside Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, about 25 miles north of Miami, and the vast majority of them were Saints fans. Amazingly, four hours before the game, as Saints fans walked the final three miles to the Stadium in a huge congregation, all you could hear was the cheer: “Who Dat?! Who Dat?! Who Dat Who Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints!?”

After the game, it was a din, sheer bedlam, as New Orleans fans basked in the Saints first championship in 43 years of existence.

“This is a blessing to the City of New Orleans,” said Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who also had family caught in the recent earthquake devastation in Haiti. “I am so happy we were able to bring it to them.

“It is a dream come true. I cannot express what it means to win this game. It is absolutely a dream come true.”

Must admit, it was great just being in Sun Life Stadium (BTW, why doesn’t a Canadian company like Sun Life ever sponsor sports in Canada?), watching history.

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Final Numbers and Final Thoughts Before Super Bowl XLIV

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH, Fla. – As Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the Barenaked Ladies and O.A.R. rocked the beach at Super Bowl Saturday Night, the ticket scalpers and bookies did what it is they do.

The 44th Super Bowl game for the championship of the National Football League will be played at 6 p.m. (EST) on Sunday evening as the NFC champion New Orleans Saints take on the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts. It’s Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning. It’s 4,388 yards vs. 4,500 yards. It’s the No. 4 offence in the NFL against the No. 2 office in the NFL.

Taking everything into consideration, the Colts should win this football game. They have the better offence, the better defence (18th vs, the Saints at 25th) and, of course, Manning at quarterback.

And while we’ve selected the Colts to win by two touchdowns, we do have some concerns.

As we pointed out earlier this week, Scott Greene was named the head referee for this game. He’s been known to tinker, shall we say, with the outcome of games. The officials will play a major role in the game’s outcome.

As well, Vegas will have a say.

Clearly Vegas wants a close game. The point-spread runs from Indy minus-4 to Indy minus-5. So far, 70 per cent of the money bet on this game has been bet on the Saints. If the Colts win the game, but fail to cover the spread, Vegas stands to make a bundle.

As our Las Vegas gambling expert, Fort Rouge Ted, pointed out yesterday, “The Vegas books get to keep all the M/L wagers on the Saints (70 per cent) and P/S wagers on the Colts (66 per cent) and only pay out 30 per cent & 34 per cent respectively, all the while keeping their vig.  And if the defenses keep the score under 56 (that’s the current over-under), Vegas will make hundreds of millions of dollars.”

If the boys in Vegas want a close game and the head referee has been know to “keep it close,” in the past, it might not matter how much better than Colts are. This game just might be close.

* * *

TWO NFL LEGENDS IN TROUBLE AT WORK

Michael Irvin and Warren Sapp are having a bad weekend.

On Thursday, Irvin was charged in a civil law suit with the alleged rape of a woman at the Hard Rock Casino near Fort Lauderdale. It is not a criminal charge, but it was enough to force ESPN to dump Irvin from his radio show at ESPN 103-3 in Dallas.

He’s still working with the NFL Network and has filed a $100 million countersuit in Dallas County, Texas.

Meanwhile, another NFL Network star, former Tampa and Oakland defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, was arrested on Saturday afternoon and questioned by Miami Beach in an alleged domestic violence case at a Miami Beach hotel.

Sapp will not appear on the NFL network until network brass “review the matter.”

* * *

VIKINGS FANS URGE FAVRE TO COME BACK

After visiting with the greatest Viking fan of them all, Winnipeg’s Syd Davy, this afternoon at the Renaissance Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, it came to light that Vikings fans are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

The fans rented a billboard in Favre’s hometown of Hattiesburg, Miss., with the following message on it:

“Hey #4, do Minnesota fans love you and want you back next year? You Brettcha!”

“I had no idea what to expect,” Vikings fan Jay Tappe told the Hattiesburg American, after staring the campaign on Facebook. “We have enough to keep the billboard up for at least another week. We’ll try to keep it up for about a month. It’s crazy.”

Favre, 40, still hasn’t decided to return to the Vikings next season. He does have one year remaining on the two-year contract he signed with Minnesota. If he returns, it will be his 20th NFL season.

Meanwhile, Davy, 51, who is known as “100 per cent Cheese Free,” attended the annual Lee Steinberg Party yesterday and will be in full regalia with two of his lieutenants, at Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLIV.

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Dr. Sports Likes it Close. The Coach Likes Colts by Two Touchdowns.

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — There is an old story about former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Thomas (Hollywood) Henderson (there were a lot stories about Henderson), who played in three Super Bowl games.

Henderson was at a Cowboys practice in 1978, the year Dallas whipped Denver 27-10, when he turned the tables on the media.

“Hey, you guys,” he summoned. “Why do they call this the ultimate game? They’re going to do it again next year.”

It’s true. The winner of the Saints-Colts battle at Sun Life Stadium, just down the road in Miami Gardens on Sunday night, will only be champion for a year. This is, after all Super Bowl XLIV (44, for those who are tired of Roman Numerals). There will definitely be another one next year.

However, in order to keep up with the experts, we’ve called in Dr. Sports to pick us a winner. But as you’ll see, we don’t necessarily agree…

NFC Champion New Orleans Saints 15-3 vs. AFC Champion  Indianapolis Colts 16-2 (-5.5)

By Dr. Sports and The Coach

We’ll be shocked if the Saints come up with any way to contain Peyton Manning. He’s just on a completely different level right now. We’ve both been watching the NFL for more than 30 years (in the Coach’s case, more than 50 years) and we can’t remember any quarterback playing this well.

Making matters worse for the Saints, if they even figure out how to befuddle Manning for even a couple of series, they’re still going to have to worry about the run. New Orleans has surrendered at least 4.6 yards per carry in each of its past four games. Indianapolis, meanwhile, actually outrushed the Jets in the AFC Championship. If the Colts can get their running game going again, they won’t be punting much on Sunday.

There is a wild card in this game though. Scott Green is the head official on Sunday. He is the same crooked official from last year’s shady 11-10 San Diego at Pittsburgh game. Letting Green run this thing, is like letting Bernie Madoff invest your hard-earned cash.

For those who don’t remember, that game was one of the shadiest NFL games in league history. Pittsburgh, favoured by five, was up 11-10 when it kicked off to San Diego with a few seconds remaining. The Chargers, desperate to make a play, tried a few laterals. Troy Polamalu subsequently picked up a loose ball and ran it into the end zone, which would have covered the spread for Pittsburgh. As the players were running off the field, with the score 17-10, someone upstairs called for a review. The corrupt official then went to the replay “hood”.  When he finally emerged, he ruled that one of the laterals was an illegal forward pass even though it was clear that the lateral in question didn’t go forward, actually it went backwards by about seven yards (the NFL admitted as much afterward) which, according to him, meant that the play was dead and the points came off the board. I’m willing to bet – and I’m dead serious here – that someone from Vegas (or another outfit that had major interest in San Diego covering) told the official to leave the game as an 11-10 final.

What are we trying to say? Don’t trust the spread here.

Dr. Sports: Colts to win, but they won’t cover.

The Coach: (I don’t trust officials at all, but I don’t think they’re capable of fixing this one) Colts to win and cover — by two touchdowns.

The Doc went 169-97 overall on the season and 140-126 against the spread. The Coach finished 166-100 straight up and 142-124 against the spread.

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A Week In the Trenches at the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The weather has been marginal, the interviews have mostly been dull and unless you make millions, the parties are for the rich and famous, not for the anonymous and untanned.

It’s a Miami Super Bowl: plenty of limos, all sorts of private jets, traffic that can drive you insane and scenery that does, indeed, make you crazy… if you know what I mean.

We’ve been here battling the good, the bad and the beautiful of the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl Week since last Thursday. No better time than now to put a few things into perspective.

1) There was no doubt in Tony Dungy’s voice yesterday. When the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts was asked by radio host Dan Patrick if he thought his former team had what it takes to win Super Bowl XLIV, Dungy pulled no punches.

“I would be absolutely shocked if the Colts lose Sunday,” he said. “They haven’t lost a game yet this year that they were trying to win.”

I agree. I like the Colts by as many as three touchdowns.

2) There has only ben one actual “news” story this week and if it turns out that Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney can’t play on Sunday – although I still think he’ll play 15-20 plays, at least – Raheem Brock says he’s ready to step in.

In fact, Brock said on Wednesday that he and Rob Mathis will pick up the slack and fans won’t even notice that Freeney is missing.

That’s confident talk, but it just goes to show you the Colts are a very confident team.

3) New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was asked on Wedensday if there was an extra load of pressure on the Saints because the team was representing more than just the City of New Orleans.

Brees said no, but I sense the Saints might be a tad nervous on Sunday.

“We don’t look at it as pressure,” Brees sad, trying to deflect the tone of the question. “We feel like we are playing for so much more than just to win a game for our organization or team, we’re playing for an entire city and region.

“And you could say for an entire country because there are still so many New Orleans natives who had to evacuate after Katrina who have not been able to move back yet. We know we have fans across the country who are pulling for us and rooting for us, fans who will eventually come back to New Orleans, but are just waiting for the right time. Whatever we can do to give them hope and raise their spirits, that’s what we want to do.”

4) New Orleans defensive co-ordinator, Gregg Williams, has apparently put a bounty on the head of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Williams said his defence will go after Manning, hit him late if necessary, hope to hurt him and if not, put fear into his mind.

“When you put too much of that type of worry on a warrior’s mind, he doesn’t play all out,” Williams said. “If it happens, it happens.  And the only thing you’d like for me to say is that if it happens you hope he doesn’t get back up and play again.”

Huh? Wha? “…you hope he doesn’t get back up and play again?”

Manning almost choked, laughing at the comments. On Monday night, during his news conference at the Marriott Harbour Beach Spa and Resort, Manning said he had no opinion about Williams’ comments.

“No, I don’t have an opinion at all,” Manning said. “Actually, until now, I hadn’t heard his remarks. I guess I’ve been playing long enough that I don’t have any reaction to comments like that.”

5) Colts QB Peyton Manning and Saints QB Drew Brees will get contract extensions before training camp starts in July.

Here’s what will likely happen. Brees will sign first. He’ll et a four-year $68 million extension, making him the highest-paid player in football. Then, Manning will sign a five-year $100 million deal.

Many experts feel that Manning will get less than $20 million per season. We believe otherwise. $20 million a year is the benchmark for Manning, the best quarterback today.

6) There is nothing we love more at Super Bowl time than proposition bets and a new series of props have emerged for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIV.

Among them: How many times Reggie Bush’s girlfriend Kim Kardashian will be shown on the TV broadcast; How many times the broadcasters will refer to Hurricane Katrina; and an over-under on the number of players who are arrested the night before the game.

The big game goes Sunday at 5 p.m., CST. In Canada, it’s on CTV.

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Will Favre Stay or Will He Go?

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

The talk in Minnesota has just begun. Will 40-year-old Brett Favre return to the Minnesota Vikings in 2010 for a 20th NFL season or will he call it a career?

Before Sunday’s game with the New Orleans Saints, Favre told broadcaster Pam Oliver that he’d “probably decided” what  he was going to do next season, but wouldn’t say anything publicly.

Yesterday, the Vikings came together at their Eden Prairie, Minn., practice facility and had a final team meeting with head coach Brad Childress and the rest of the staff.

Favre didn’t attend the meeting on Monday. His teammates told him on Sunday to go home to Hattiesburg, Miss., and take all the time he needs to decide what he’ll do about his future.

The media outside Minnesota believes he’ll likely retire, but those close to the Vikings feel he just might return. He said after Sunday’s 31-28 overtime loss to New Orleans that he wanted to go out on top. Considering his final pass was an interception, he certainly didn’t go out on top. As well, he has a second year on a $25 million two-year contract with the Vikings that’s worth $13 million.

If Favre decides to retire, the Vikings do have options at quarterback. They already have contracts with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels although neither of those quarterbacks seemed like a good idea this year. They could go after Michael Vick or Donovan McNabb, depending on what Philadelphia coach Andy Reid decides to do next season, or perhaps they could coax a trade for Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck (new head coach Pete Carroll has not decided what he wants to do at the quarterback position). The Vikings could also use the 30th pick in the NFL draft and hope Tim Tebow or even Colt McCoy is available, although all signs suggest the Vikings are going to try to draft a big defensive lineman with their first pick.

Whatever Favre decides to do, the Vikings brass would like him to make the decision BEFORE the NFL draft.

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Vikes Coach Brad Childress Dead Right in His Assessment of Sunday’s Blowout.

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Here is what our local football guru wrote in a Winnipeg newspaper this week:

“The Vikes have a lot of people thinking their Week 17 walloping of the Giants was a playoff primer. Not us. Their defence is suspect and their offensive line could prove porous to a big D like the one in Dallas.”

He went on to say: “The Vikings have lost three of their last five games and while many believe their season-ending thumping of the Giants was a show of strength, we believe it was smoke and mirrors. The Cowboys match up very well against the Vikings with a huge offensive line that can slow down the pass rush and move the ball on the ground. Look for the Dallas defence to push the Vikes around at the line of scrimmage.”

I wouldn’t bring it up if it had been a close football game, but like Vikings coach Brad Childress suggested on Sunday afternoon, it was so off-base it was hard to ignore. Now, to be fair, that’s just what was written in Winnipeg about Sunday afternoon’s game between the Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys. It wasn’t a whole lot different anywhere else. In fact, Childress heard the talk in the Twin Cities all week and it pissed him off.

So yesterday, after the Vikings drilled the Cowboys 34-3 here at Mall of America Field, Childress took a little time to go off on all those who thought Dallas was the be-all and end-all of professional football teams.

“I heard all the nonsense and all the hype about the Dallas Cowboys coming to town, the hottest team in the playoffs,” Childress said. “I asked my players this week to just choke it back and shut up. And we’ll play the game when they get here on Sunday.

“The game is always won on the football field so I’m tickled to death for our guys. I knew they’d play their tails off and dispel the myth about whoever was coming to town.

“All I heard all week was that the Tasmainian Devils from Dallas were coming in to bombard the state of Minnesota and were about to run through us like Sherman through the south. That was the aura that was left after last week’s games. Our guys had enough of it by Tuesday. They did a great job by shuttimng up because sometimes it’s hard to listen to that stuff.

“So that was a team victory. We were a good football team all season and a good football team today.”

You can check the numbers at www.nfl.com. Needless to say, the Vikings were much the superior team.

But while so many of the so-called experts were calling for Dallas to win easily on Sunday, it took former Vikings coach, Mike Tice, to assess the situation best.

On Friday, Tice was interviewed by Dan Barreiro on 1130-The FAN in Minneapolis. Tice said: “Under duress, Romo will revert, get sloppy and then go fetal.”

That’s exactly what he did. That’s why the Vikings had six sacks, why Romo fumbled three times, threw an interception and got his ass kicked. So much for “Their (Minnesota’s) defence is suspect and their offensive line could prove porous to a big D like the one in Dallas.”

Brett Favre was brilliant, Sidney Rice was unstoppable and the Vikings defence was a monster. 34-3. This one wasn’t even close.

But now comes the real test. Can the Vikings win on the road, in New Orleans?

Sure, But will they? Guess all the experts will know in seven days.

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Favre Spectacular. Rice Wonderful. Defence Solid. Vikings Ready for Post-Season.

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS — While the Indianapolis Colts were blown out again and the New Orleans Saints lost their third straight, the Minnesota Vikings prepared for the NFL post-season by destroying the New York Giants.

A final score of 44-7 is one thing. The surgical beauty of Sunday’s evisceration of the Jints was even more impressive, now that the post-season looms.

And there is no doubt that the Vikes are ready for the post-season. On Sunday, Favre completed 25 of 31 passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and an eye-popping 148.7 passer rating. He was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson with the Vikings leading 41-0 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

The four touchdown passes tied Favre’s season high, and it was the sixth time he’s thrown for 300-plus yards this season. Since the end of the first half at Chicago last Monday night, Favre put up 71 points in a little more than four quarters. He completed 46 of 62 passes for 601 yards, six touchdowns and no INTs.

Funny, but it appears the mainstream media has forgotten the bullshit story it created two weeks ago, suggesting there was dissent in Minnesota. The big numbers have chased the fiction away.

Meanwhile, Favre’s brilliance — along with the brilliance of Chester Taylor, Visanthe Shiancoe, Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian, the offensive line and a defence that appears to be adjusting to the loss E.J. Henderson –  provided the Vikings faithful fans, the 65,000 that sell out Mall of America Field at the Metrodome every single week, with something to get all giddy about.

Now that’s professional sports.

There was no coaching scared, no worry that precious Brett might get his undies dirty. This wasn’t the candy-assed approach of the lily-livered Indianapolis Colts (have they returned the ticket money from Week 15′s dishonorable debacle yet?). Vikes head coach Brad Childress sent the playoff-bound Vikings out to win a football game on Sunday and he got all $12.5 million worth out of his 40-year-old quarterback.

“It would appear that we picked up right where we left off (in the second half in Chicago),” Favre said during his post-game news conference. “I thought that what we did at the start of the game was what we needed to do. I think it’s proof of what we are capable of doing. For whatever reason we have been inconsistent at times. I think there were 20 first downs in the first half and 22 in the second half of last week’s game. That’s 42 first downs in a game or so. Not that you would expect that all of the time, but that’s what we are capable of doing.”

Nobody is quite sure what some of the other playoff-bound teams are capable of doing. The Colts, the team that threw Game 15 and allowed the New York Jets to eliminate the Houston Texans from the playoffs, were just brutal for the second straight week. Fact is, the Colts were  lucky to get past such powerhouse teams as Jacksonville (the Colts beat the Jags 14-12 and 35-31), Miami, Baltimore, New England and San Francisco, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be ready for anyone in two weeks time.

In fact, by the time the Colts play a post-season game (on Jan. 16 or 17), they will not have won since Dec. 17.

Of course, it could be worse. The New Orleans Saints have lost three straight and when they play again on Jan. 16 or 17, they will not have won a game in five weeks. The Colts and Saints will essentially be starting a new season (and not just in the hyperbolic sense) when they play their next game.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Arizona were dreadful this week, but while Arizona played nobody in the butt-kicking they took at home against Green Bay, the Eagles went all-out in the 24-0 shellacking they received in Dallas while the Bengals played all their stars in that 37-0 whooping they suffered in New York.

Right now, the best teams in the NFC are Minnesota, Dallas and Green Bay while the best teams in the AFC are San Diego, Baltimore and the Jets.

And if anybody suggests even for one second that the signing of Brett Favre was a mistake — no matter what happens in the playoffs — then that person knows absolutely nothing about football or professional sports. Favre is spectacular and the Vikings are great to watch.

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It’s Week 15 in the NFL and it’s Already Crazy.

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It was quite a Saturday night in the NFL.

After three quarters, the Dallas Cowboys held a 24-3 lead over the unbeaten New Orleans Saints, but when you’re trying to get to 14-0, there is usually no give-up in you.

So the Saints put up 14 unanswered in the fourth quarter and were driving for the tying touchdown when the Cowboys brilliant outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware stripped Drew Brees of the football, ending the Saints dream of 16-0.

It was a pretty good football game other than the NFL Network’s coverage of it. Technically, the telecast was weak (the Superdome P.A. announcer was louder than NFL Network play-by-play man Bob Papa) and the commentating was just annoying. In fact, it was another night of football with the mute button on.

It’s great that every NFL game is on television. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t enough quality broadcasters to go around. Matt Millen? Simply grating. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. Why doesn’t the NFL just showcase the home radio crews. I’ll guarantee most of them are easier to listen to than the alleged “national” broadcasters.

More thoughts from a wild and woolly week:

1) On the afternoon that Lyle Bauer announced his resignation as CEO of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, CJOB radio’s Geoff Currier made the most insightful comment of the day.

“If you look at the record, the most successful Blue Bombers coach during the Lyle Bauer Era was Dave Ritchie,” Currier said. “And Dave Ritchie was the only coach Lyle didn’t hire.”

It’s true. Bauer inherited Ritchie and never much liked him. Bauer did hire Jim Daley, Doug Berry and Mike Kelly, all, in the end failures. Although Kelly has left the Bombers with the best team they’ve had since 2000.

2) CBS Sports is promoting its 2010 PGA Tour golf coverage without using any images of Tiger Woods. Wow! Can’t wait for that showdown in the final round of the FedEx-Accenture-Buick-Ford-Disney Invitational Open World Golf Classic between Jerry Kelly and Zach Johnson.

Thrilling? No, sleep inducing. Pass the remote.

3) Although Mike Babcock has done a terrific job as head coach of the beaten-to-a-pulp Detroit Red Wings this season, there is very little doubt that the coach of the year in the NHL right now, is Nashville Predators boss, Barry Trotz.

Trotz, who came out of Dauphin, Man., to start his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Manitoba, has made the no-name Predators one of the top teams in the NHL this season, In fact, after Saturday night’s 5-3 win over Calgary, the Preds are now 22-11-3, tied with power-house Chicago for first in the Central Division.

While Babcock, who will do a tremendous job as head coach of Canada’s 2010 Olympic team, has kept Detroit in the playoff hunt despite the fact the Wings are currently without top line players’ Dan Cleary, Johan Franzen, Valterri Flippula, Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams, Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, and now Henrik Zetterberg, what Trotz has done is nothing short of remarkable.

He’s taken a low-budget team of has-beens, never-weres and not-likelys and turned them into one of only six NHL teams with at least 22 wins. He is a brilliant coach and the man Winnipeg would need if the NHL ever returned.

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How Good is This Guy?

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I knew it when I declared back in July that Brett Favre would indeed sign with the Minnesota Vikings (which, of course he did), but I must admit, after Sunday afternoon’s performance against the Seattle Seahawks not even I thought he’d be this good.

Sunday at Mall of America Field, Favre completed 22-of-25 passes (88 per cent) for 213 yards, no interceptions and four TDs as he led the Vikes to a 35-9 shellacking of the Seahawks. Those numbers are beyond remarkable. Eighty-eight per cent is the highest single-game percentage in Favre’s career. He threw touchdown passes to four different receivers — Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe, Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin.

NFL.com reported that Favre’s previous career high was an 85.2 percent completion mark against Detroit on Sept. 20 of this year. But, amazingly, he has only completed at least 80 percent of his passes in a single game, two other times in his previous 18 seasons in the league.

Having had the opportunity to interview Favre (albeit in news conferences and scrums) on a number of occasions this season, I’ve concluded that the 40-year-old quarterback has reached a stage in his career in which every down is a bonus. As a result, he’s become more likable, more respected (if that’s possible) and perhaps even more skilled that he was when he was leading the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl.

In fact, on Sunday, Favre set an NFL record with his 22nd career game with at at least four touchdown passes. He and Dan Marino were tied at 21 each.

When Favre’s achievement was announced to the sellout crowd during the fourth quarter at the Metrodome on Sunday, he received a standing ovation and yet looked like a guy who had no idea what he’d done.

One gets the sense he no longer cares. At 40, he’s playing on perhaps the best team he’s ever seen — let alone been part of. In fact, if you base greatness on the number of weapons a team has, then Favre’s Minnesota Vikings might be the greatest team in the NFL today.

Frankly, it’s extremely unlikely even the unbeaten New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts can claim to have seven of the most potent weapons in all of football, but Bret Favre can. In fact, does any team have more great offensive players than Minnesota: Favre, Harvin, Rice, Berrian, Peterson, Taylor and Shiancoe. No team in the NFL can touch that group.

The post-season is going to be fantastic.

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