2008 recap, part one - Tyree's catch

In a year most likely to be remembered for losses – on the stock market, of a home, etc – sports were not immune. And if anything, this year will be remembered for one big one, when the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl after a 16-0 regular season.

There were favourites going into the game, and early talk of a New York upset was taken lightly. The Giants had just squeaked into the playoffs and won close games against Dallas and Green Bay – the latter in overtime. Then Giants wideout Plaxico Burress predicted not only a Giants win, but a low scoring game (24-17), it was treated as joke. Tom Brady, for one, wondered why the Patriots weren’t spotted more points.

Vegas was spotting them more than a few points. On February first, the Patriots were 12 point favourites in some quarters. The money line on the Giants was a huge +325. And the over/under was 54 points. All indications were for a high scoring game – Tom Brady and Randy Moss had set scoring records throughout the season, as Brady finally had an elite receiver to throw to.

And through the playoffs – even the season itself – the Patriots were a juggernaut. They had not lost a game all season and only four of their wins were by less than a touchdown. They outscored everybody in the NFL by over 100 points and had the second best defence in the AFC (Indianapolis narrowly edged them out).

But Plaxico wasn’t that far off. The Giants won the game, 17 – 14, in what was one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. Overlooked, perhaps, was the week 17 game between the two teams, when the Patriots roared back from a 12 point deficit to win 38-35. There, the Giants showed that the Patriots were not an invincible team, one that could be beaten.

Using their defence to keep Moss and the Patriots running game at bay, the Giants were able to score early and led by a field goal after one. The Patriots answered back in the second and took the lead on a major early in the second quarter. The Giants had a chance to score later in the frame – a 3rd and four at New England’s 25 yard line – but nothing came of it.

After a scoreless third, the Giants had the ball on their own 20 yard line. Eli Manning, playing the game of his life, led an 80 yard drive that was capped with a short touchdown pass to David Tryee. 10-7 Giants.

But the Patriots weren’t out yet. Two series later, New England started a drive from their own 20 yard line. Making short, quick passes, Brady moved the Patriots downfield and wound down the clock. When the Patriots made it 14-10, there was just under three minutes to play. It was a script seemingly pulled from the other Patriot Super Bowl wins, when a late drive was what won.

And it was a late drive that won it. Starting at their 17, Eli Manning did almost nothing but throw the ball, challenging the Patriots secondary. It was halfway through this, on a third and five, that the most memorable moment of the game – and in retrospect, the year - happened.

Dropping back and under pressure, Manning was scrambling. Hands grabbed at him, pulling his jersey. A sack here, at midfield, this late in the game would be disastrous. But he dodged them and threw the ball up the middle, to a well-covered David Tyree.

The pass, given the circumstances (defence in his face, clock ticking down, the Super Bowl on the line), was well aimed; Tyree didn’t have to dive at it. But it was overthrown, sailing around Tyree’s head. Which was where he caught it. With one hand. While jumping.

Catching the ball and holding it against his helmet, pressing it there while he landed, Tyree moved the ball up, deep into Patriot territory, inside the 25 yard line. One of the best catches in football history, and perhaps the biggest since Jeffrey Mayer’s, this was the moment that’s engrained into memories about this Super Bowl.

But it was not a score, and the Giants would not score until later. Not until after Steve Smith made an 11 yard catch to keep the drive alive. Not until Plaxico Buress scored the game winner with :39 to play.

Three incomplete passes and one sack later, the game was over. 17-14 Giants. The upset was complete – and the Patriots dynasty looked in doubt. In the first game of the next season, Brady went down with an ACL injury and was gone for the year. Under backup QB Matt Cassell, the Patriots finished 11-5 but lost the division to Miami and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Wherein the AFC East gets a clearer, but only by a little - NFL Notebook

With their backs against the wall, the Patriots played dynamite, sharp and looked as good as ever - but it could all be for naught.

The AFC East is crowded and good, maybe the best division of the decade, and 11 wins could not even be enough now. Three of it's four teams played for their seasons today, all three tied with identical records - and the fourth had a chance to play spoiler, facing a team with the same record; the AFC West leading Denver Broncos.

At home, the Patriots took on the NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals. On paper, a good match for New England - the Cards were good, but not that good. They clinched their division with games to spare - but their division looked like this:

Arizona: 8 wins, 6 losses
San Fransisco: 5 wins, 9 losses
Seattle: 3 wins, 11 losses
St. Louis: 2 wins, 12 losses

The Patriots have a better, a more dynamic offence. A better defence, too: they allowed a little over 300 points so far this season, nearly 100 less then the Cardinals. They played better, too, putting on a clinic for the Cards.

In poor weather, Don DeLillo once wrote, always take the underdog. Poor weather neutralizes advantages. But during a snowstorm, the kind of weather that has always been an asset for them, the Patriots demolished the Cardinals. I can't stress this enough - it looked like a junior varsity team taking on a state champion at times. Not just big plays, either (although there was their share), but little ones, things that added up.

Item. Last drive of the first half. Less then two minutes left, the Patriots get the ball on their own 29 and lead 28 to nothing. Cassel passes quickly out to his left, a 14 yarder to Gaffney. Three plays later, another one up the left to Gaffney for 16. Both times, Gaffney was in single coverage and ran a quick route - a medium hook, with him turning around to meet the ball - and a step out of bounds. Simple, fast, smart football. Two after that, 20 yards to Welker, same idea on the right side. In about a minute, the Patriots have moved from their 29 to the Cardinals 20 - without using a timeout. They kick a field goal and go ahead 31-0 as the clock expires.

That was a perfect two minute drill, ran against a division champion. And the Patriots made it look easy, like it was an inter-squad game. It didn't even mean anything, really. The outcome wasn't in doubt by this point. It was practice for the playoffs. By a team that could miss them, against a team bound for them.

But getting there isn't just in their hands. If the Patriots are to sneak in, they'll need some help. All throughout this blowout, the ticker keeps flashing updates from the Kansas City/Miami game, which by all indications, appears to be a shootout. Tied as they go into the fourth at 31, this game is a surprise: have the Dolphins fallen back to Earth? They were six-point favourites over the Chiefs, a two-win team. And they're tied? At 31? The Dolphins would score a major about halfway through, though, and held on to win, keeping the deadlock on top of the AFC East alive.

So, as the Jets took the field in a snow-blown Seattle, they dropped to third, just a half-game back; the Dolphins surged to first, as they held the tiebreaker over the Patriots.

And it couldn't have looked good for the Jets. A cold, windy day is not ideal by any means, but for a quarterback like Brett Farve, it's even worse: inaccurate at the best of times, these conditions have to be be hell for the aging QB. Still, a win over a two-win Seattle would set up one final game for the season, played between the Jets and the Dolphins, a game that would almost be a title game in all but name, with the winner going into the playoffs.

But as the game - a mostly dull, defencive affair, dominated by the weather - winds down, I have only one question: does he have it in him? Does Brett Farve, who all but defined clutch quarterbacking in his career, have another comeback left in him?

Down by a major and at their own 12, the Jets get the ball back. They need a win, just to keep pace, just to keep their season alive. Herein follows the drive:

- Farve sacked. The pocket collapses up the middle.
- A quick reception up the middle to Coles, in a pass from the Jets own end zone
- Farve drops back in the shotgun, pumps, waits, moves, pumps again, has all kinds of time but can't get anything going and throws an incomplete pass
- 4th and four, on their own 20, the Jets go for it. Farve drops back, waits, dodges a hit, pump fakes, throws downfield, a long bomb into double coverage, Gus Johnson yells and... the pass hits Coles in the numbers, a perfectly thrown pass, but he can't hang on and it falls to the ground, incomplete

There goes the game, right? This is where it falls apart, isn't it?

Or was it earlier? When the Jets kicked a 45 yard FG that was called back on a false start, and instead of going for the kick, five yards longer but with a kicker who just nailed a kick up the middle, punts it away. Was it there, when the Jets could have made the game 10-6 but didn't, that the game ended? Perhaps not officially... but in an abstract sense? Well...

Maybe it was just a typical trap game. Holmgrin's last home game as a head coach. Held in a stadium where the Seahawks are said to have an advantage (the crowd's noise). With the weather in the Seahawks favor.

Remember DeLillo's advice on games held in poor weather.

Other notes: The season can sometimes be cyclical - the Chargers host the Broncos next week, a rematch of the week two game that the Broncos just barely won on a blown whistle... The Cowboys are in complete free fall after a loss to the Ravens on Saturday night - a game they should have won. They can still sneak in (a win over Philly is all they need) but at this point, can they do it? If I had to bet, they get in and lose in the Wild Card game... Atlanta soundly wins a pivotal one against Minnesota. They've clinched a spot - and if Chicago loses on Monday, so do the Vikings.

Early NFL Playoff Picks

So, it’s week 16 now. The NFL is pretty much set, but not 100%. So, here are some pretty much blind (only a look at the standings and schedule) pick of the playoff teams.

AFC playoff teams – New England (East), Pittsburgh (North), Tennessee (South), Denver (West), Baltimore (Wild Card), Indianapolis (Wild Card)

After nearly losing a home game to the Bills, the Jets are looking shaky. And with a tough end to their schedule, a home game to the Dolphins, I don’t know if they can pull it out. It feels too much like their season will come down to that game. But the Patriots are looking better as the season goes on, and they have a tepid schedule – a home game against Arizona and an away game in Buffalo. I like their odds more then I like the Jets.

Denver’s lead over San Diego seems to be enough for me, especially after the Chargers nearly lost to Kansas City. Even if the Broncos somehow let them back into the race, they’ll meet on the last day of the season, and they beat the Chargers once already.

Given the AFC East’s tightness, I don’t think any team will have a good enough record to emerge for the Wild Card since Indianapolis already has 10 wins. That leaves Baltimore as the other Wild Card, but they have a tough schedule – Dallas and Jacksonville. It’ll either be them or the Jets, but think the Ravens defence will carry them to the playoffs.

Pittsburgh and Tennessee have already clinched.

NFC playoff teams – New York Giants (East), Chicago (North), Carolina (South), Arizona, (West), Dallas (Wild Card), Atlanta (Wild Card)

Why Chicago? Minnesota has won four in a row, but I still don’t trust them. They play Atlanta, who seem to still be coming on, and the Giants, who are looking great so far. However, the Bears have an easier schedule: Green Bay and Houston. I like them to win the North by a game.

Carolina has a two-game lead in the NFC South, and although they haven’t clinched, they would need to drop their next two (Giants and Saints) and have either Tampa Bay or Atlanta win their next two, just to force a tie break. So, I like their odds.

Dallas is coming on strong as the season progresses, but their locker room drama could scuttle their season. They have two tough games coming up (Baltimore and Philly). I expect they’ll win at least one of those and sneak into the playoffs with a 10-6 record, just beating out Minnesota.

Atlanta is a sentimental pick. I like Matt Ryan and they have an easy schedule: Minnesota and St. Louis. If they beat the Vikings, I like them to make the playoffs. If they lose that, though, they’re finished, and Minnesota might even win the NFC North, pushing the Bears to the other Wild Card (or even Tampa Bay, if they can stop their free fall).

I suppose that makes Atlanta / Minnesota the game to watch next week. The NFC playoff picture kind of hinges on it. Still, I’m taking the Falcons. Their offense is looking dynamic and they’ve just come off a gutty win over the Buccaneers.

NFL Notebook, Week 15 – Was it a miracle in the Meadowlands?

The AFC East has been, without a doubt, the best division in football this year, perhaps this decade. For most of the season, all four teams were thick in the race, although on Sunday one was officially eliminated.

The New York Jets, led by a resurgent Brett Farve, needed a win on Sunday about as much as they ever had, as there was a three-way tie for first between them, the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.

And with the Patriots playing a limp Oakland team and Miami playing an underwhelming San Francisco 49ers, the Jets really needed a win, just to keep pace.

They got it, but just barely.

Before we get to that, we should look at their opening drive. Football played to it’s finest by the men in green. A quick pass to the sideline, for a first down. Draw runs up the middle, for gains of four or five. Farve’s passing was crisp and sharp and opened up the secondary early on, giving Leon Washington and Thomas Jones space to run.

Their opening drive was 72 yards in just over three minutes. Their second drive was 70 yards in eight plays, taking only four minutes. Before the first ended, before Buffalo knew what hit them, it was 14-3.

Which isn’t to say the Bills were limp, either. In between those two scores, Buffalo ate up the clock on a four minute drive of their own, getting a field goal.

What does that mean? Simple: a first quarter without a punt, without a turnover. Both sides were playing for their playoff lives – if Buffalo lost, they were officially out of the playoffs. Thusly, they played like their season depended on it: two quick majors in the second and they led 17-14, before the Jets retook the lead on a Leon Washington score late in the half.

So, early indications were for a shootout, the kind of game the Jets are suited for: they have a better quarterback and more weapons downfield to throw to then the Bills.

But throughout the second half, both defences settled down, and the match got quieter for most of the half. After starting the game five-for-seven, Farve would finish .

So in a game where the defence clamped down, it seems fitting that it would win the game: with the Bills leading 27-24, JP Losman dropped back to pass on a second and five, was sacked at his own 16, fumbled, with the ball falling into the hands of Ellis, who ran it home for the game-winning major.

Not exactly how you plan to beat a six win team, sure, but the Jets will take what they can: both the Patriots and Dolphins won too: nothing was really settled in the AFC East, at least not yet. Had Losman held on the ball, the Jets season could well have ended.

Still, the Jets showed they are a sharp team, at least sometimes. They can stretch a decent defence thin early on and get on the board quickly: come playoff time, that will count.

But their defence was, for most of the game, subpar. Against a lackluster Buffalo team, who started a backup quartberback, they had a hell of a time stopping the run. While Losman was picked off three times, none of those came in the first half, when the Bills scored two majors in the second – one on a Losman pass, the other on a Losman scramble. That doesn’t bode well for their playoff hopes.

In two weeks, the Jets are at home against the Dolphins. Already it looks like their season is all but leading to that match. If they want to stop the vaunted Wildcat offense, they’ll need to stop the Dolphins early and often, which they didn’t do on Sunday. And it nearly cost them their season.


Later on Sunday, the Baltimore Raven / Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry flared up again, this time with the AFC North on the line.

Two fairly evenly matched teams, their previous game went to overtime, when the Steelers won 23-20. That was week three, though. When the Browns were still a team to beat. Before the division came down to the Ravens and the Steelers.

Needless to say, with two of the best defences in the game, this was bound to be a tough, physical game – if you’ll excuse the cliché, smashmouth football.

The Ravens spend most of the game stacking their defensive line, with five or six men right at the line of scrimmage. Granted, they usually went with a three-man rush, but this pressure hurt Pittsburgh’s offence. Their running game was going nowhere fast and Ben Roethlisberger was hurrying his passes. As it was, Big Ben was sharp and accurate, if his timing was a little off.

He would finish with over 200 yards and was 22 of 40 – but had it not been a few drops here and there, for a few jarring hits that dislodged balls, it’s likely he could have completed 25, even 30 passes. Against a great defence, then, Big Ben raised his game – when the Ravens blitzed, Ben answered with a quick outlet pass into the holes the linebackers left.

But on the other side, Ravens QB Joe Flacco was also under pressure. His line gave him great protection and all but shut down the Steelers James Harrison, who had been averaging a sack a game – and had two and a half when he last played the Ravens.

But the Steelers secondary had him over a barrel. Flacco was having a hard time completing passes, especially in the red zone, and the Ravens never once got into the end zone, kicking three field goals from less then 30 yards out.

This isn’t to say that the Steelers clearly outplayed the Ravens. They had no luck in close either, and their two field goals were from about the same distance. Instead, the Steelers needed a little help to win: two controversial calls helped buoy them to victory.

One was for a first down that kept a scoring drive alive: despite never appearing to cross the first down line, officials on the field gave the Steelers a first down. And when challenged, the call was upheld.

The other was for a touchdown. When Santonio Holmes scored the game winning TD, he made a catch at about the goal line, his feet behind it but the ball obstinately in front. But an official review gave the Steelers a touchdown; Holmes had possession with the ball breaking the plane.

By getting this tough win, the Steelers look as good as anybody going into the playoffs. This was, more or less, a playoff game in all but name, and the Steelers played great, with a final drive for the ages. This win has to make them preemptive favourites for the AFC title game; if they can beat this Ravens team on the road, they’ll likely to beat whomever they face when they play at home in the playoffs.


Other notes: The Jets had the toughest win in the AFC East, but the other two had wins of their own. The Patriots are still as good as ever, as Cassell seems to be growing into his role as starting QB. The Patriots win over Oakland was nowhere near as close as the 49-26 score shows. Should the Jets flounder, don’t be surprised to see the Patriots make a run for the title game… By beating Tampa Bay in overtime, the Falcons kept their playoff hopes alive, and helped the NFC South leading Carolina Panther. Tampa has dropped two of their last three and looks to be falling back to Earth fast: those two losses were to division rivals. And the Panthers have a two game lead over both the Falcons and Bucs… Houston’s stunning win over the Tennessee Titans wasn’t really all that stunning of a game – one touchdown, neither team having 400 total yards, and neither offense looked as dynamic as they had all season. But with the division already wrapped up, I wouldn’t take too much away from the Titans losing.

What to watch for this weekend, Canadian Edition - Dec. 14

Lots of football, a good baskeball game and a few odds and ends. Not a bad day. What I'll be watching is, as always, bolded.

11:00am: EPL Soccer - Chelsea vs West Ham United
12:30 pm : NBA - New Orleans Hornets @ Toronto Raptors (CBC)
1pm: NFL - Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets (CTV, CBS)
1pm: Auto Racing - Baja 1000 (NBC)
3pm: PGA - Merrill Lynch Shootout final round (NBC, TSN)
4pm: NFL - Denver Broncos @ Carolina Panthers (Rogers Sportsnet)
4pm: NFL - Minnesota Vikings @ Arizona Cardinals (FOX, City TV)
4pm: NFL - Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens (CBS)

Tonights will be up later

What to watch for this weekend, Canadian Edition - Dec. 13

The first weekend after college football ends is always a bit of a killer; Saturdays get pretty barren pretty fast. Fortunately, CBS has kickstarted their NCAA Basketball coverage, which opens with a doubleheader this weekend (too bad it's two lackluster matchups). I've bolded what I'm going to watch.

Saturday:
2:00 pm - NCAA Basketball: Memphis @ Georgetown (CBS)
2:30 pm - Ironman Triathlon (NBC)
3:00 pm - Figure Skating: ISU Grand Prix (CBC)
4:00 pm - NCAA Basketball: Indiana @ Kentucky (CBS) (30 years ago, a final four matchup)
4:00 pm - PGA: Merrill Lynch Shootout, Second Round (NBC, TSN)
7:00 pm - NHL: Washington Capitals @ Montreal Canadiens (CBC) (What's this? A Saturday night game that's not in Toronto?)
7:00 pm - EPL: Hull City vs Liverpool (Rogers Sportsnet, same-day tape)
8:00 pm - Boxing: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman (TSN)
10:00 pm - NHL: Vancouver Canucks @ Edmonton Oilers (CBC) (An early look at a playoff matchup?)
10:00pm - MMA - Ultimate Fighter Season Finale (Spike)

Elsewhere, TVO is showing the best cop movie of all time, Prince of the City, at 10 pm. Tomorrow's listing will show up later.

Dolphins swim past sinking Bills - NFL Notebook

How did that Smashing Pumpkins song go? The end is the beginning of the end? Well, week 13 is the beginning of the end of the NFL season and is a good time to see when teams are for real and when an easy schedule has inflated them.

Anyway, I only watched two games this week, so here’s my take on them, plus a few notes on games I only saw highlights of.

Eagles/Giants:

For a team that’s supposed to be the best in the NFL, the Giants couldn’t get anything going against the Eagles. Early on it was all going their way – Eli was making passes and Eagles defence was playing loose, getting called for penalties.

But early on, two plays went bad for them. Opening drive: on a second and five the Giants tried to stir things up with a reverse, but lose 12 yards in the process. They made it a fourth and four after a nice quick pass to the side, but when Eli went for it, the team looked confused. An Eagles blitz threw off Eli’s timing and he dumped an incomplete pass.

The other came a bit later. Early in the second quarter, Manning tested the Eagles secondary, aired out a long pass for Hixon, hitting him in the numbers. But Hixon couldn’t haul it in.

Thing about this game was that the Giants couldn’t, didn’t take advantage of their chances. After that long bomb, Eli missed his next five of six and the Giants found themselves down 10-0.

It’s a cliché to call a low-scorer a defence battle, but that’s what this was: each defence blocked two field goals (the Giants scored their first major returning one of them) and neither QB got more then 200 yards passing. Manning was held to just 123 yards and a 48 per cent completion rate, both his lowest of the season.

On the other side, McNabb threw for more yards and completed more passes, but you can’t say he outplayed Eli by much: his 191 yards were the second lowest of the year and after his picking apart the Cards last week, he seems to have drifted back down to Earth.

But it was cold and windy in Jersey on Sunday and it reminded of an old line by Don DeLillo: when it’s bad weather, favour the underdog.

The Giants were eight point favorites. The Eagles won by six. They’re seven and five now and are still alive. Don’t count them out yet.

***
Miami / Buffalo

In the first regular season game to be played in Canada, fans paid through the nose, with about $183 Canadian the average price for a ticket. Expensive, yes.

Worth it? No.

What all of the paying fans saw was the Bills –and not even their hometown Bills, a neutral crowd if anything - look listless and flounder against their divisional rivals.

They saw a game with only one touchdown and one that resolved almost nothing in a crowded AFC East. The Bills, at 6-7, are done. Finished. The Dolphins are 8-5, tied with the Jets and Patriots.

Lost in this, though, was Pennington throwing a great game – nearly perfect at 23 of 29, for 181 yards and a major. Maybe it’s come to be expected of him, though: this was his fifth game where his QB rating was in triple digits and the fourth where he completed at least three-quarters of his passes.

It’s got something to do, I’m sure, with their receiving corps; yet their starters include Anthony Fasano and Devone Bess. Those who know not those names are forgiven. The more highly regarded Greg Cahey

Nonetheless, this match meant a lot less then it should have: the Bills who started off so hot, have fallen off the map. The Dolphins, who won only one game last year – in overtime, no less – could win 10 this year and could find themselves in the playoffs.

Not all of this is on Pennington, yes. But what a difference he has made from Trent Green, from Cleo Lemon and from John Beck. His sharp and accurate passing has made all the difference for the Dolphins.

****
Assorted notes:

Another week, another close game for the Texans. This time, though, they pulled one out, winning on a last second field goal over Green Bay. But don’t read too much into their stats: it was another time where the Texans couldn’t put it away and this time they got lucky. Matt Schaub shouldn’t throw for over 400 yards and only barely win…. The Falcons had their first major test of the year on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. How did they fare? Not badly; Matt Ryan threw for over 300 yards. And they kept in the game, which wobbled back and forth. It’s a loss, yes, and it could hurt them in a busy NFC South. But as far as losses go, it’s a good one: it showed the Falcons can keep pace with good teams playing for their season. … I know it’s late to the party, but this years Lions team is maybe the worst I’ve ever seen. Last year the Dolphins almost went 0-16, but a few breaks here and there, they could have been a three, four game winning team. That’s not even close to the case with the Lions.

Avery is Hockey's Heel

When Sean Avery shot his mouth off a couple days ago, he wasn’t just slamming Dion Phaneuf – or even his ex girlfriend. He was carving his niche, building his role as hockey’s heel.

Heel, as in wrestling villain. He’s the player that you want to root against, that you love to hate.

It’s a role he’s been carefully cultivating and it’s one that shows in the media’s treatment of him.

For a player in what is maybe the fourth-popular league in the states, Avery is getting attention is above and beyond the rest of the league. Columns are written about him on Fox Sports, his quotes appear on SportsCenter, and people who don’t follow sports know who he is.

Even those who disagree with what he does have to at least admit that he’s good for the league.

Why? There’s a school of thought that says any press is good press; this is to say that Avery is getting himself out in the media spotlight, and hockey will inevitably follow.

In this sense, Avery is filling a good cause for the league. Superstars like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Jerome Iginla are positive models for the league, sure – but they’re boring.

They’re almost in the Michael Jordan school of superstardom; be on TV, but don’t offend. Don’t be controversial. Don’t stir up any debate. As Jordan once said, Republicans buy shoes too.

But Avery doesn’t seem to care about selling shoes, only selling himself. He’s the guy who puts himself out there by acting out and acting controversial.

He may pay for it, sure. He’s been fined and suspended by the league. Reportedly, he’s worn his welcome out in more then a few dressing rooms.

Avery’s not the first guy to fill such a role: Ulf Samuelsson and Claude Lemieux were both reviled for parts of their careers.
They were heels too. They, like Avery, drew people to cheer against them.

In that sense, Avery’s what hockey needs to stand out from the pack. He’s marketable, he’s noteworthy and his quips can fill notebooks and blogs. For better or worse, he’s perhaps the most marketable player in the NHL today.

So, in a way, the NHL needs Avery more then Avery needs the NHL. He’s the one who appears on both gossip blogs and ESPN. If the NHL wants to stand out in a crowded sports market or attract more then just niche fans, they should learn to use him.
Not just shut him up.

Quoth the Ravens? - Weekly NFL Notebook

Forgive the cliche, but these Baltimore Ravens, they're a weird team and they've got me all muddled up. First time all season I've seen them play and they disappoint, albeit against one of the best teams in the NFC, the Giants.

The phoneme rookie Joe Flacco, who was perfect for a stretch these past few weeks, came fast and sudden back to Earth, throwing two picks (one returned for a touchdown) while the vaunted Raven defence looked old and decrepit against the continual running attack of the Giants.

Take that 77 yard rush by Ahmad Bradshaw against at the start of the fourth: Lewis over-attacked his man and was woefully out of position. Bradshaw got a nice block and boom, hit a seam (or daylight, or whatever cliche you like most) and it was damn close to a touchdown.

So what happened to the Ravens defence? Up until that game, they were good against the run... but they couldn't make stops. The Giants line was carving into them, opening holes for both Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Their linebacking corps was thusly overworked - sometimes it looked as if they didn't know what to do. They bit early and found themselves attacking the line earlier.

Which helped him had a solid passing day (13 of 23, for 153 yards, one TD and one INT), but remember - it was the rushing that decided this game. It gave the Giants an early lead, helped them keep the Ravens off the field and was the major reason they won.

Where do they go from here? Down, way down. They’re six and four, but a bad six and four. They’ve already gotten to beat up on helpless teams like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Oakland and Houston. To my eyes, their only solid win was over Miami, back in October. One gets the idea that maybe they've already peaked as a team.

We'll soon find out if they're wheat of chaff, for here comes the hard part of their schedule: Philly, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Jacksonville. Four teams they'll be hard pressed to beat. It’s likely they’ll still finish second in the North, but it’s unlikely they’ll make the playoffs.

*****

Once again, Houston and Indianapolis had a wild shootout affair. And just like last time, it ended with a Houston miscue.

For reasons what I don't quite grasp, bottom-of-the-barrel Houston always comes out swinging against the Colts. In a game where defence meant almost nothing for the majority of the game, both teams racked up yardage and points: Houston had over 350 total yards and Indianapolis had 474 yards, with Payton Manning throwing for 320 of them.

Think about that: 320 passing yards. That's more then Oakland, Chicago or Cincinnati managed all day. That's a monster day, yet he only had two majors. One might think that he would have had more scores... but one would be wrong. You don't get that many yards without a strong running game, one that makes the linebackers cheat up and plug holes. And Joesph Addai's line for today (105 yards, one TD) reflects this.

Houston, on the other hand, had a more balanced game: 177 on the ground, 179 in the air. And although Rosenfels had a quiet day, he played well - except for his last drive. He completed 70% of his passes and helped engineer a good game for the Texans: they were outplayed on the other side of the ball by a wide, wide margin (nearly a ten minute difference in time of possession, for example) yet they were in the game right until the end.

But the end was the same as last time, although not quite as heartbreaking for Texan fans. Rosenfels was picked off, for the first time in the game, with just 38 seconds on the clock. But other then that, it was a good drive - quick outlet passes, moving the chains, not eating a lot of time of the clock.

All in all, it was fun game to watch. I like the Texans; they're a lot better then they get credit for. At least sometimes, anyway. In a year or two they could be a team to watch. And the Colts look like they're back. Forget the Titans being undefeated, the Colts have a good shot at the division in my books.

*****

A tough, physical game in Pittsburgh came to an odd close, with the league’s first 10-11 score. Pittsburgh looked good throughout, and the final score doesn’t reflect how well they did actually play.

It’s odd. With a low score, it’s easy to think this was a defensive battle. But it really wasn’t. It was a slogging kind of game, one where both teams went on long marches.

Ben Roethlisberger looked great for the first half, at one point throwing for something like 10 of 11. He finished the game with 31 completions and 308 yards.

But yet, their passing game was lacking: he didn’t throw for a major and was under constant pressure: he was sacked four times. The majority of his completions went to (no surprise) Hines Ward, who finished with 11 catches and 124 yards.

One might think that when the Steelers dominated so much that they’d have won easily. But it was a weird game: Pittsburgh was able to move around the field with ease, but didn’t get into the end zone all game, unless you count an early safety.

No, it was San Deigo, who despite having half the yards the Steelers did, a six minute difference in time of possession and a lousy game from Phillip Rivers (15 of 26, 159 yards and two INT) led for most of the game and led late.

It was all about LT on this snowy, ugly day in Pittsburgh. He scored the lone touchdown of the day, a three yard score up the middle, and it was the most important score of the day. LT spent a good chuck of the match pounding the ball up the middle, never for much, getting chunks of turf stuck to his helmet.

This was latest in a string of odd games for the Chargers, who seem to be getting more then their share of bad breaks this season. That missed call against Denver; a heartbreaking comeback by Carolina in week one; that surprising Miami upset, when the Dolphins broke out everything in the playbook.

The Chargers are now four and six, second in the AFC West. That’s two wins behind both Denver and anybody likely to win the wild card. But don’t count them out: they’ve only lost one game at home thus far – and four of their next six are at home. They can still bounce back.

*****

Other Notes: After jumping to the Cincinnati/Philadelphia game, Fox cut away again from an overtime game. When will the NFL realize that cutting to a close game, then cutting away as per some anarchic rules, doesn't serve make any sense? What's the point of going to going to it, getting the viewer invested in it, then leaving them hanging? I suppose there's the bonus aspect of it - but wouldn't going to an extended postgame show serve the viewer just as well? ... The Seahawks didn't play well, but they certainly took advantage of their chances: they scored three touchdowns on drives of less then 20 yards ... Somebody on the Raiders has to, absolutely has to show Jamarcus Russell how to manage a game. The Raiders last drive, where Russell hung around and watched time tick away was maybe the worst clock management I've seen this year. If the Raiders want him to pan out, they should really look to finding him a mentor, since he doesn't seem to be learning on the job… Can the Titans go undefeated? Who knows – their rushing game is looking atrophied, but their passing game is dynamic. Just when one thinks they’ve got them figured out (a clock controlling team that outsmarts you), they shift gears and become some other beast entirely. If I had to bet, though, they’ll lose two of their last three, when they let Collins rest up for the playoffs.

Abbreviated NFL notebook

Green Bay / Tennessee

The first real contender the Titans faced turned into their first real tough match, one that sent them to overtime. Their two-running back system (Johnson and White) helped them move the ball, but the Packers were smothering.

But they kept pounding and pounding, chipping away (okay, too much cliché). They moved down the field, a few yards at a time, moving quietly into FG range.

This is why they haven’t lost a game yet: they don’t need to air the ball out to move around. They can run the ball, run it well, and grind down the defence, tiring out the front four and the linebackers. They can control the clock this way, and with a quarterback who knows how to call a game, they can win games they otherwise wouldn’t.

I’m as big a fan of Vince Young as the next guy, but this is what separates him from Kerry Collins. When he played for the Longhorns, he was their running game, for the most part. He didn’t have to worry about controlling the clock, or at least not as abstractly; Young’s sheer athleticism was enough that he could often scramble out of bounds and stop the clock if need be.

But that doesn’t work in the NFL. The lines are too big, too powerful. I’m sure it was overwhelming, especially now that defences are keyed into what he can do. He’s going to have to learn to call games if he wants to excel at his position, and there aren’t many people better to learn it from then Collins.

Cleveland / Baltimore

Last year, we saw one of the best games of the season between these two, one that featured a kick bounce out of the season. An instant classic, perhaps.

Sunday, we saw Derek Anderson lead the Browns back, moving them deep late in the game – and getting picked off, cementing the Baltimore win.

It’s a neat change from the usual rivalries, and one that’s especially fitting: the old Browns moved to Baltimore.

Anyway, this game most likely marked the end of the Derek Anderson era in Cleveland – one that had it’s highs (a playoff appearance last year, a couple thrilling shootouts) and some lows (an 18 of 32 and two interception night against Pittsburgh earlier this season).

Anderson, when he appeared last year, was a bit of a bright flash. After Charlie Frye flopped in the season opener, Anderson took over and made an immediate impression in a shootout against Cincinnati: over 300 yards in the air and five majors in a 51-45 win. From there the Browns tore it up, finishing 10-6, same as the division-winning Steelers.

But since then his stock has been dropping like a rock: the Browns lost their first three games and Anderson’s numbers are down across the board. It doesn’t help that the Browns are looking more and more like a team headed to the cellar – so why not give the rookie some time?

Other notes:
This week seemed to be the backup’s revenge week: Backups had big days in Pittsburgh and Chicago, while it looks like starters in San Francisco, Detroit and Cleveland may be gone. Have to wonder though – after a solid game against the Bears, is it fair to yank out Orlovsky for Culpepper? Remember, Culpepper hasn’t been effective since he blew out his knee… What’s happened to the Raiders? They’ve fallen so far, even from last year. Against a decent Falcons team they looked like a bunch of scrubs – only 77 yards! Indescribably awful.

Raiders outlast Longhorns in a Texas shootout

Back and forth, back and forth. It was a see-saw-like finish on Saturday night, when the Texas Tech Red Raiders outlasted the Texas Longhorns in an instant classic.

There was a comeback, a controversial call, fans all over the field and a finish which I believe may already be airing on ESPN Classic.

Early, the matcgh was all Raiders, with them getting on the board every way they could: a safety, a field goal and a major. Their defence held the Longhorns offense to just three yards after the first quarter and held them to only two field goals at the half – but the game quickly turned into a Graham Harrell/Colt McCoy duel, the kind football doesn’t see nearly enough of.

Down 22-6 at the half, Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy led his team to a near improbable comeback, driving down the field with seeming ease: 58 yards in two and a half minutes; 91 yards in 14 seconds; 80 yards in just over four minutes. McCoy was airing the ball with ease, making huge plays and spreading the Raiders defence thin. He would finish the night with two touchdowns and almost 300 yards passing, the majority of them in the second half.

That 91-yard touchdown seemed to send a message: Texas was still in this game, and the Raiders pounded back in response. They moved to the Texas 12, where a touchdown would have sealed the win. But after a 15-yard penalty and three straight incompletions later, they settled for a field goal. 32 – 26, for Tech.

So the Longhorns were still in the game, then. McCoy passed and ran them all the way down to the Texas five-yard line, where Foswhitt Whittaker ran in the go-ahead major: 23-22 Texas, with just 1:29 left. Then Harrell took the Raiders on his back.

Four straight passes led the Raiders to the Texas 28. Game over, right? After all, they needed just a field goal, something they had been hitting all game. Simple, no risk involved. But on Harrell’s next pass, the ball took a funny deflection – one that was almost picked off by Texas. A lucky break for the Raiders.

Harrell followed it with a pass to his right, to Michael Crabtree along the sidelines, who ran it in for a touchdown with only a second to play. Fans come pouring onto the field from all over, crowding the players and forcing the goalposts to get lowered. All the while, the replay booth is checking the catch: did Crabtree step out of bounds?

As it turned out, he didn’t, the extra point was good and the field had to be cleared again. One second left… Well, stranger things have happened. But not tonight: the kickoff was lateralled, then fumbled and Tech came up with it and the win.

Brent Musburger, one who has been prone to hyperbole, called the finish unbelievable. Indeed, it was one of the better – the best, even – finishes so far this season.

Plus, it was both a huge upset and a huge night for the Raiders. Just look at the numbers: 579 total yards, with McCoy throwing 474 of them. Two recievers with over 125 yards reciving. Nearly 37 minutes of possession. 32 first downs. One turnover. One hell of a finish.

And a win over the number one ranked team in the country.

Cole's calls

I was struck by a thought early on Saturday evening: there is an uncanny amount of Bob Cole in CBC’s new intro the Hockey Night. His calls seem omnipresent, yelling names from hockey’s modern age: Yzerman, Gretzky, Lemieux. He appears more, perhaps, then any other of the long list of Hockey Night personalities, but there’s one key difference: he’s the only one who doesn’t say his name.

Perhaps this is because his voice is so well-known among hockey fans. Perhaps it was a slight oversight. But perhaps – and this is my point today – the CBC is quickly moving towards the post-Bob Cole era.

For almost all of the 1980s and right up until last year, Bob Cole was the voice of Hockey Night In Canada. He called most of the Islanders four Stanley Cups, as well as all of the Oilers (in an oddity, the only year he didn’t – 1986, when CTV broadcasted the games nationally – the Oilers were upset by the Flames in the second round).

His streak at the microphone is not something altogether unheard of at the CBC. Foster Hewett called games for 40 years, for example. But in an age where announcers quickly become media personalities or spokespersons – one need only to look at John Madden or Marv Albert, for example – Cole remained primarily a hockey guy.

Not to say he didn’t dabble. He called Olympic events (including hockey). Curling.

But he never did anything self-promotional: there was no The Bob Cole Interview. No Bob Cole Hockey, though he did voice over work earlier this decade for 2k Sports. No books. Not even a radio show.

Granted, Cole was far from universally loved. Often criticized as a homer for the Leafs, the team whose games he usually broadcasted, Cole remains an enemy to a segment of devoted Habs and Senators fans. Fair enough. Others cite his tripping over names – Sedin becomes Sundin, etc - as a peeve.

But then, if some announcer from the past, like the always-objective Ray Scott, replaced Cole, these same fans would be complaining about the dry commentary: “Starr… to Dowler … touchdown” doesn’t sell like it used to. Fans love colour, they love subjectivity: this is why Gus Johnson is popular. This is why Chuck Swirsky is popular.

It’s why ESPN Classic used to use a Brent Musberger soundbite in its ads.

Anyway, just a thought about Cole.

Another NHL team in Toronto? No thanks!

It’s a juicy rumor, one that’s been reported by media outlets all around North America. The NHL, looking to expand, wouldn’t mind putting a second team in Toronto.

It’s just a rumor, but it’s the kind you just want to believe: Toronto, for all of it’s teams woes, is supposed to be a good hockey town. It’d be a good way for the NHL to increase its profile in Canada.

I’m not sold on it quite yet.

For all of the pomp and pageantry surrounding the Maple Leafs, Toronto is not a good hockey town, just as how New York is not a good baseball town. A Leafs town, yes, but not a Hockey town. Big difference.

Take the Toronto Road Runners for example. A minor league brother to the Edmonton Oilers, they were to take the old Maple Leaf Gardens as their home rink upon moving to the city in 2003. Blocked by the Leafs. They ended up in the Ricoh Colliseum instead and were forced out after a dispute with management of that rink – some say so the Leafs could move their own team, the Toronto Marlies, into the rink instead. The Roadrunners moved to Edmonton the next year.

Take the city itself: where would another team play? The only arena big enough to house a team long-term would be the Gardens, a decrepit, crumbling mass that the Leafs refuse to let anybody use for anything, ever (except to make a supermarket, in a plan that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere).

Take the NHL’s state of affairs: the NHL would like to expand again, but this time into the United States: Kansas City, Las Vegas and Oklahoma City seem likely, and one can’t rule out AHL cities like Houston or Seattle.

But with the NHL running like it is now – Forbes reported that 14 of its teams had a negative operating income in 2007 - expanding would not be a wise idea. Indeed, relocation would be wiser, so the NHL can move teams from poor markets (Long Island, Nashville, Phoenix, etc) to better markets (Hamilton, for example).

But herein lies the rub: there aren’t many untapped hockey markets left. You could even argue there aren’t any. Hamilton and area could support a team, or leech fans from the Buffalo Sabres. Houston could support a team, but it’s unlikely the Dallas Stars are missing any hockey fans in Texas.

So maybe instead of dropping more teams in cities that don’t care about hockey and instead of shuffling teams around from city to city, maybe the NHL should begin to consider eliminating some teams. Buy out two or four owners, dissolve the team and disperse the players in a common draft.

The quality of play will likely rise. The debt load of the league will likely drop. In the short term, it may make the NHL look even worse, but in the long run it could seriously help the league out of the hole it seems to be buried in.

The decline and fall of Torry Holt - Tuesday NFL Notebook

The decline and fall of Torry Holt as a top tier fantasy player and other NFL notes

One friend of mine summed it up best: What happened?

The Dallas Cowboys, who had resided in the top ten of nearly everybody’s power polls, rankings and charts were beaten – soundly, at that – by the Rams, the hapless St. Louis Rams.

A monster day for Stephen Jackson (Three touchdowns, 160 yards) and a big day for Donnie Avery (65 yards, one touchdown) and a solid day from Marc Bulger (14/19, 173 yards).

But another tepid day for Torry Holt.

Once one of the most dynamite receivers in the league, and almost always a early-round fantasy pick, Holt has been quiet all season and looks to going downhill fast. At least on fantasy boards.

Only once this season has Holt caught a touchdown, and only once has he had more then 75 yards receiving. And according to ESPN’s stats, he’s on pace for just under 700 yards this season and only three touchdowns. This from the guy who just two years ago had 10 majors and 1,100 yards. What happened?

The double team and the collapse of the Rams offense happened.

With Isaac Bruce having left this offseason and the emergence of Stephen Jackson, the Rams offense has shifted from the long threat, the “Greatest show on turf” from the early part of this decade, to that of a running (and making short passes when needed) based set.

This fits the skill sets for most of the team: Marc Bulger is only throwing 20 or so passes a game now, often short, quick throws, and has found his groove. Stephen Jackson is running with success, especially against Dallas, and gives the team it’s scoring spark.

This leaves Holt as it’s major downfield threat. Thus the double team: for the most part, defences have been keying in and shutting down Holt with two defenders and haven’t had to worry about the rest of the receiving corps.

But this could change soon.

Donny Avery has emerged in the past little while as a threat. His numbers reflect his status as a number two wideout (at least), but he’s picking up solid yards and maybe some coverage. It’s not Bruce and Holt, for sure, but doesn’t Avery and Torry have a better ring to it?

Speaking of rings (or at least missing rings), I saw a show on the Buffalo Bills 1990 team the other day. Ahh, the glory days of Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas, when the Bills were a great team to watch and played maybe the greatest Super Bowl of all time.

Right now in Buffalo, 1990 is suddenly back on a lot of peoples minds, I’m sure: the Bills have their best team since that season.

They’re five and one, lead a messed-up AFC East and are already the favourites to win the division. No longer are they posting comebacks – they handedly beat San Deigo on Sunday, 23-14.

Trent Edwards is throwing often and accurately: 25 of 30 for over 260 yards on Sunday. Marshawn Lynch is looking solid in the backfield and both Lee Evans and Josh Reed are downfield threats. They’re picking apart good defence while elevating theirs: on Sunday they shut down the Chargers: while Phillip Rivers threw for two scores, Ledanian Thomlinson was held to just 41 yards on 14 carries.

This wasn’t a fluke game for the Bills. They’re 10th in yards allowed right now, with just under 300 a game – a lower number then Dallas, Chicago or New England. Against the pass, they’re even better: eighth in the league: better then the Giants, Redskins or Buccaneers. The have the best point differential in their division

As we approach the halfway point of the season, the Bills are looking more and more like a contender: if not for the AFC East, then surely for the wild card. It’s not as if the competition is stiff: The Jets are floundering and the Dolphins have dropped their last two (so much for them being a sleeper).

Other notes: Tennessee is unbeaten and over-reported. I’m not sold on them yet: they haven’t beaten anybody that’s sitting over .500 after week seven. But next Monday’s game, at home against Indianapolis, will be their first big test… If the NFC South is the best division in the NFL (and it is), it’ll be neat to see who comes out of it: Tampa and Carolina are sitting on top, but don’t count out Atlanta yet: they’re young, feisty and they don’t have the same pressure the other teams do… Has there been a season where both Green Bay and Chicago are this good?

The new Boston Massacre

Call it the Boston Massacre, part two.

The first came some 30 years ago, when the Yankees rolled into Boston and demolished the Sox, outscoring them 42 to nine and taking the AL East lead. It directly led to the infamous Buky Dent home run and one of many Red Sox heartbreak.

The past two ALCS games have been the latest Boston Massacre.

Outscored 21 to five, and now down three games to one, the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of elimination after looking like a champion caliber team for most of the season.

After all, how many people were looking for a Boston / Los Angeles World Series? Those are two cities that are natural enemies. Sure, there’s Yankees and Red Sox… but there’s also the Lakers / Celtics rivalry, renewed this past June. And with the trading away and villainization of Manny Ramirez, it would have been a marquee match.

But that’s not going to happen now. The Phillies were too much for the Dodgers to handle and made short work of them. And Tampa Bay… Oh, Tampa, how you’ve changed. You’ve burst into Fenway and embarrassed the Sox, humiliated them. Two games, two blowouts.

Rocco Baldelli, who looked like he might retire at one point this season, has bounced back, hitting a three run homer in game three. In game four, Carl Crawford went five-for-five, and is hitting .500 in this series. The numbers are all in Tampa’s favour.

This isn’t because of a total Boston collapse, though. Indeed, in the biggest series he’s ever played in, Jason Bay is looking great: he’s hitting .400 with 4 RBI. His OPS for these playoffs is 1.268. That’s Jason being Manny: Ramirez hit .409 last year in the ALCS.

Flash forward to game five, the last home game for the Red Sox in this series. It’s a must-win for them (what series isn’t?). But they’ve got their best pitcher starting for them and the only one who has been able to hold the Rays scoreless this postseason: Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Dice-K only has a career record of two and three against the Rays, but in game one he pitched seven solid innings, striking out nine. He confused the Rays batters and held them hitless through the first six innings.

If Boston wants to advance, he’s their best bet right now. They’ve done it before… but this year? They’d be lucky if the series goes to seven games.

Attack of the moderately-effective Quarterbacks - Tuesday NFL Notebook

Jason Elam, the hero, had a day to remember. Five of six, including the game-winner from 48 yards out with no time left.

Shouldn’t have gotten that close, though. The Bears should have had that game wrapped up. The Falcons should have, too. Let me explain.

For all of its offensive heroics, the Falcons and Bears played one of the sloppiest games I’ve seen in some time on Sunday. Elam missed a chip shot that could have sealed it; Orton couldn’t score from the Atlanta 14 and they had to settle for a field goal. Both quarterbacks threw for about 300 yards, but each for only one score.

Plus the squib kick. Oh man, that squib. Worst case it costs you the game. Best case it… well, I guess it runs out the clock, but still gives the other team good field position.

And the Bears most definitely got the worst case scenario. The Falcons got the ball at their own 44, got a quick 26 yard pass in and won the game. All within six seconds.

And again, it’s something that shouldn’t have happened – the Bears shouldn’t have had so much time left on the clock, ideally. Their last drive was all passes, eight of them from the shotgun. I understand, they only had one timeout left. But you can afford to let a little time run off the clock, especially on a 3rd and 10 with under 25 seconds remaining.

Anyway. An ugly win for the Falcons, who are now four and two in a tough NFC South: Tampa Bay and Carolina have the same record, with a better point differential, and New Orleans is right behind them (more on them in a second).

They’re a team that’s succeeding because of a lack of pressure. After what the team has gone through in the past two seasons, simply going .500 would surely be a good thing. But they might yet surprise some people.

Their schedule isn’t terribly tough, with games against Philly, Oakland and St. Louis. Granted, their in-division schedule looks tough (they’ve lost two of those games already, their only losses so far), but even then, a 9-7 record doesn’t look too far out of reach – wins against the Rams, Raiders, and Eagles all seem probable and I’d be surprised if they lose all of their divisional home dates.

But in the NFC South, this might not be enough. Tampa Bay and Carolina are hot and look to complete for the division. New Orleans is good too – each of their losses is by less then a touchdown and Brees is throwing over 300 yards a game. Forget the NFC East, this is the division to watch.

That’s right, forget the NFC East. It’s a slugfest, sure (holy hell, am I going heavy with the metaphors or what). But it’s getting a little clearer. The Cowboys have lost Tony Romo for four weeks with a broken finger (doesn’t pinkie sound too informal for an injury report?) and a tough overtime loss to Arizona, their second in three games. So much for their 3-0 start. Thankfully, it comes at about as good a time as it could for the Cowboys – they face St. Louis next week and should quickly find a rhythm with their new QB in time for Tampa Bay the week after.

So it doesn’t look like they’ll miss Romo all that much. There are whispers out there that paint him as the most overrated member of the team, ahead of even Adam Jones. Is it fair to cite him for two consecutive playoff losses? Perhaps. If Dallas flails here, though, it’s more then fair to blame his absence.

Over in the AFC, the Dolphins are flipping the bird (flipper?) to the haters. they’re 2-3, but that’ll correct itself soon enough; their point differential is better then New England’s and they’ve allowed the points in the division. Forget their loss to the Texans, it was almost a fluke.

Look at the numbers instead: 19 of 25, for 284 yards. Only one turnover. There are some other, uglier numbers. Four penalties; 485 total yards allowed; a five-minute difference in time of possession. To me, this speaks of a good offence, but a bad defence – the Dolphins can score, but they kept the Texans in the game, and it bit them in the ass.

But there are some positives to take from this. Pennington has been improving each game, finding targets all over the field. They have a stable of receivers that aren’t great, but are more then capable. They have a solid running game. Five of their next six are at home. They should be posed to strike and make a run at the AFC East… but not unless they improve their defence.

Against the rush, they’re an okay team, in the top third of the league even. It’s their secondary that’s killing them: on a per-game level, you could make a case they have the worst pass defence in the NFL. Worse then Oakland and Seattle. Not much better then Detroit.

In a pass-happy division (three of the four teams are in the top half for passing yards) this can and will hurt them. Perhaps it’s why they’ve gotten the breaks they have. Still, you have got to give them a puncher’s chance – New England is going to sink in the next couple weeks, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Jets fall below the Dolphins.

Other notes: How about those New York Titans throwbacks? The Jets keep wearing them and they seem to keep winning in them: they’re 3-0 in them. The Titans themselves? They went .500 wearing them in 1960. … I was told it was a thrilling finish in Minnesota. The line score suggests it was exciting – a one point game decided at the end. Looking at the box score and the highlights, though, paint a picture of a dreadfully dull affair that picked up late in the fourth, and even then not really. Can’t the Lions do anything, including drama, right? … The Torry Holt era may be drawing to a close in St. Louis – held to 23 yards, Holt is effective mostly as a decoy now, as he draws at least a double team each game. Too bad that doesn’t count for my fantasy team.

Why the AFC East is upside-down - Tuesday NFL Notebook

Call me crazy, but from here it looks like the best team in the AFC East are the Miami Dolphins.

Sure, easy enough to say after a huge - slaughter is not too strong a word - win over New England. Easy enough to say after Ronnie Brown’s five touchdown game. And it is easy to say it, too.

Because their already tepid schedule just got a whole lot easier.

The Dolphins’ schedule is by no means completely lame – they play the suddenly surging Chargers in week five and the Broncos in week nine – but it has a few easy games: The Rams in week 13; The Texans in week six; Kansas City in week 16.

For a team that suddenly looks like it’s found it’s rhythm, those games could be huge.

Down the stretch, let’s say that Maimi has managed to keep pace with whomever is in the lead – most likely New England, or perhaps the Bills. Thanks to their early-season win over a division rival, they’ll almost have a half-step towards a playoff spot.

By beating New England like that, the Dolphins have made a statement to the other teams. They’re not the hapless fins of a year ago. Chad Pennington is throwing the ball well, Ronnie Brown is running (for now) exceptionally well – ending any controversy for who should be their featured back – and their defence, 28th in the league last year, held one of the great receiving corps to just over 150 yards and a single major.

It’s a statement. The Dolphins are back. And in a mess of an AFC East, they could just end up on top.


Speaking of the AFC East, how about those Bills?

Undefeated yes. But overrated?

Sure, they have yet to lose a game. They sit on top of their division – in wins, in points, in total yards, in defence, etc, etc. The rest of the teams in the AFC East are far, far back of them.

But I’m not sure if they’re as good as they seem so far.

For three quarters, they were outplayed by the Raiders. Their running game wasn’t getting them anywhere, and Jamarcus Russell, who looked competent in stretches, picked their pass defence apart.

Okay, that’s a lie. He was overthrowing, wildly throwing, throwing it away for most of the afternoon.

But still, the Raiders were the ones getting downfield – the Bills punted their first four possessions. Remember, going into this game the Bills were eight point favourites. But the Bills only won with a late-game rally, scoring on their last three possessions.

This is nothing new for the Bills, who had a similar comeback the week before against Jacksonville, with a 10-point fourth quarter.

This marks two comebacks for the Bills. The Bills! Remember the old line, “nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills”? Remember their history of faltering late in games?

To some extent, I’m willing to say they’ve turned a new leaf. Their point-differential is the best in the AFC East (the only positive one, at that). They’ve scored 78 points, third in their conference. And they have an easy schedule, to boot.

Normally, perhaps, they’d be a sleeper team. But in the AFC East, which is so messed up right now (I know I’ve already said that, but bear with me here), they’re hidden no more. They’re marked as one of, perhaps the, team to beat in the AFC. And of the teams to beat, they look like the most beatable.


Finally, the Chargers look like a powerhouse.

They decimated, chrewed up, ran up the score on the New York Jets, in what was admittedly a pretty uneventful game.

The Jets fell behind early and spent most of the game in catchup mode, going for fourth downs, going to two-point conversions and trying the inside kicks.

Naturally, these never seemed to work as often as Greg Esterbrook loves to say they would, but that’s life for you. Sure, you may get only a few yards each play – and need less then those on a fourth down – but not every play will work.

But enough of that.

The Chargers were the story Monday night. They roared back to life, thanks to a two-touchdown night from LT (who only had 60 yards – and an average carry of less then three). They intercepted three passes, even running one back for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

After a bad loss the week before, when Denver pulled out a tough one (with a little help from an errant whistle), this was the kind of win they needed. One where they power over their opponent – one that seemed kind of good, too. The kind of win that can mark a change in the way season is going.

One writer said after the game that if the Chargers make the playoffs, thanks should go to that referee. Perhaps. I’d mark the season change to Antonio Cromartie’s interception-return touchdown as the turning point, though – it gave San Diego a 10-point lead, and seemed to wake up the team. By the end of that half, the Chargers had a 31-14 lead and were firmly in control of the game.

It’ll be neat to see if they can keep that momentum going next week.

Broncos pull out a win with help - Monday NFL Notebook

With the score 38-31 against them, and the clock under 90 seconds, the Broncos could see their game slip away.

Quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back, rolled to his right and – horror of quarterback horrors – whiffed on the pass. He didn’t fumble the ball; it slipped out of his hands, fell to the ground and was scooped up by linebacker Tim Dobbins. The Chargers get the ball back, run out the clock, win the game.

But wait – the referee, prematurely blew his whistle, which means the ball is dead at the Charger 10-yard line.

It also means that Denver gets a second chance. It should have been a fumble, perhaps, but that’s how it sometimes goes.

Two quick passes later, it’s a one-point game. And even more prematurely then the offical’s whistle, Dick Enberg yells the game is tied and headed to overtime. Both Jay Cutler and head coach Mike Shanahan disagreed and went for two. The Broncos nailed it, on a short pass to Eddie Royal, the same man who caught the touchdown.

It’s a shame that this game will likely me better remembered for botched call then for San Diego’s comebacks from being down 21-3 early on – and 31-17 at the half.

All in all, both quarterbacks were firing on all cylinders. Cutler passed for 350 yards and for four touchdowns; Phillip Rivers for 377 and three majors. However, LeDainian Tomlinson toe was a constant bother, and he only had ten rushes, just 26 yards.

A great game, yes, but only the tip of the weekend’s matches. An overtime finish in Seattle. Aaron Rogers leads the Packers to his first comeback win. Matt Cassel wins his first pro start since high school. The Colts come back after looking dead in the water. An overall great weekend of matches.

And as the afternoon comes to a close, it raises a series of questions: What happened to Detroit? Is Aaron Rogers better then Farve? And what teams are for real – and what teams are faking?


Let’s go to Detroit first, where the Lions seem to be in self-destruct mode. At this point last season, the Lions were 2-0, Kitna had passed for 3 touchdowns and over 500 yards. Granted, they were on their way to a season where they finished 7-9, but at least they seemed like a good team at the time.

Now, they seems like a team that can’t do anything right. Not only are they 0-2, but also they’ve already allowed 82 points firmly showing that they have the worst defence in the NFL thus far. Keep in mind, only one team has allowed over 70 points and none have scored more then Green Bay’s 72 (more on that later).

This isn’t an area where they show many signs of improvement. Their defence is letting other teams dominate the clock – against Green Bay, for example, they gave up an eight-minute drive in the first quarter and had less then 25 minutes of their own.

Looking at game charts on ESPN, the Lions offense seems to have a tendency to run plays out of the shotgun set, which to my mind speaks of a lack of faith in the offensive line. I suppose the 62 total rushing yards also does, too. Remember – you need a running game, and thusly a good offensive line, to control the clock. For a team to be successful in the NFL, they must control the clock.

Granted, teams have been successful without one in the past. The Oilers of the early 1990s were one. Their Run-N-Gun offense emphasized the pass, thanks to the arm of quarterback Warren Moon. But they were a team who fell apart in the playoffs year after year: in 1991 to the Broncos, in 1992 to the Bills in a memorable collapse and finally in 1993 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

So take from that what you will – you can get to the playoffs with passing, but that’s about all.

On the other side of the game, the Packers are finding themselves in the best case scenario. Aaron Rogers, for all the talk that surrounded him, has played exceptionally well this year and is leading the team that could be the best in the conference.

Granted, they haven’t beaten anybody of substance yet – just Minnesota and Detroit, two teams that missed the playoffs last year. The big game is next week, then they play Dallas in a game already scheduled in prime time. But right now, they are the favourites for their division. Rogers looks better then Farve did all last season, and has already had a monster, 300+ yard, three touchdown game against the Lions.

It’s early – too early for me to make this call, really – but he’s looking like he can take the Packers to the playoffs. Granted, he’s in a weak division (Detroit is soft and I’m not sold on Chicago) so it’s not a really outlandish statement, but there you go.


It’s early in the season, which means that time is ripe for trickery and fakery in the standings. The Giants and Cardinals are 2-0, while Seattle is winless.

Of all these teams, the Giants are looking the most like a contender. Their defence, which has allowed just 20 points against so far, looks like the best in the NFC – even without Michael Strahan. Granted, they’ve played two fairly weak teams, the Rams and Redskins. And the bulk of the schedule is daunting: two games against Philadelphia and Dallas, an away game in Cleveland and an early bye week could all prove to be problems. But they’ve got a good opening slate, and could end up 4-0: next up for them are the freefalling Bengals and the collapsing Seahawks.

Who are themselves in a state of flux. A heartbreaking loss at home to San Francisco, where they lead 14-3 after the first but couldn’t stop a newly-high powered Niner offence, is only the latest of their woes: Hasselbeck is battling a bad back; Julius Jones is struggling to fill the hole left by Shaun Alexander; a porous secondary that allowed nearly 300 yards of passing on Sunday.

Even their vaunted home-field advantage wasn’t much help – maybe it rattled the Niners at then end of regulation, but it sure didn’t in overtime when Joe Nedney nailed his third kick of the day (he had missed only one) to win the game.

This is new for the Seahawks, who have feasted on a weak division for the last several years. Their defence, which was seventh in the NFC last year in total yards, eighth in passing yards, and second in points allowed, feasted on the weak offences of San Franscisco and St. Louis. But this year, with Arizona and the Niners looking better then they have this decade, they’re slowing down – giving the Cards a chance to catch up.

Which they finally should be doing. After a couple seasons as a trendy sleeper pick that never panned out, the Cards were an afterthought after the preseason, when Matt Lienart lost his starting job to an ancient Kurt Warner. But they’ve snuck up on unsuspecting teams – granted, two easy ones in San Franscico and Miami. But with Anquan Boldin set to build on a nine-touchdown, 850+ yard 2007 and Edgerrin James as a solid, grinding running back that can help them control the clock, they appear set to make a solid run. Finally.

Of course, all of this is barring injuries.

The most (Blank) Olympics ever

Michael Phelps is the most dominant swimmer ever. Canada is having the worst Olympics ever. The opening ceremonies were the most fake ever. Etc, etc, etc.

Seems like these, the 2008 Summer Olympics, are the most (blank) Olympics ever.

No mattr where one looks, seeing or eharing about how dominant the Men’s swimming team is cannot be overlooked. And while they are doing exceptionally well, one wonders if the media – especially the US media – has gone more then a little overboard in their touting of Micael Phelps as the greatest ever.

Really, he is? Better then Jim Thorpe? How about Babe Dickerson? Are you telling me that because he has shattered records while wearing a swimsuit that dramatically cuts friction, because he has training regime that was unthinkable 20 years ago, because he has better dietary habits then any Olympic athlete before him…

Are you honestly saying with a straight face that he is the best ever?

True, he is shattering records. And yes, he has gone undefeated thus far in the Olympics. His team had a dramatic come-from-behind win over France a few nights ago.

But is it really fair to say he’s better then Jesse Owens? He succeeded in harsher times, with less training, less-advanceed equipement and under more pressure - the middle of Nazi Germany in 1936. A country where he couldn’t sit on a bus wherever he wanted? Where he was called an ape by the national press?

Did you really think that the US was under any kind of pressure when they beat the French a couple days ago? That’s not pressure. Jesse Owens winning in Nazi Germany was pressure. Mark Spitz competing in Munich after Israeli athletes were abducted and killed was pressure. If only they just had some trash talk directed at them.

A less pressing topic, Canada’s fruitless Olympics. No medals yet, behind countries such as China, the United States and the Netherlands. This could go down as Canada’s worst summer Olympics ever, one supposes.

But it’s not a huge deal. For a country of our size and population, competing with China or the US is entirely the wrong idea. They have more money, more people – more talent, if only by sheer numbers.

Besides. Canada has never been much of a summer games country. Only once has Canada won more then 20 medals (the 1984 Olympics don’t really count because of the Soviet boycott which resulted in over 400 people representing the country, a number that is rarely approached since then).

No, Canada should be comparing itself to countries like Morocco or Kenya, countries with similar populations. To Belgum or Austria, which have similar GDP. To Finland or the Netherlands, which have similar total medal counts. They should be the competition, if Canada really needs one.

A more superficial matter, the opening ceremonies and the seats. Two girls, one ceremony, as it were. Does it matter that one girl lipsynced and the other sang? Or that the firework display was a CGI production? Only about as much as the other falsehoods in China, and perhaps less.

The internet sites are blocked by the Chinese government are blocked because they make China look bad. Rules recently put into effect – no spitting, keep it quiet, etc – are to keep China from looking bad.

Basically, China is an insecure country with an image problem. All these creations from the opening ceremony, as well as the problem with nobody getting to the games, stem from this. China doesn’t ever want to look bad, espically not to it’s own people and espically when the whole world is watching.

But does it ultimately matter? One would assume that no, it does not. It means nothing at the end of the day. What does matter are actions of consequence – if their athletes are clean, of legal age and the like. That matters – it cheats people out of a medal.

You could say it’s the most pressing Olympic issue ever.

Is Farve to the jets nothing more then a PR move?

The temptation to keep playing is a strong one for some athletes, who linger on well past their time. Perhaps it derives from the same drive that propelled them to stardom; sometimes it comes from a need to make money.

If the athlete is lucky, his final years can be overlooked as people remember the glory days. Bobby Orr retired as a Blackhawk. Joe Namath as a Ram. Michael Jordan as a Wizard. They are almost never remembered as playing for these teams, but they are the lucky ones.

For every Jordan-like comeback, there is a shambling Ricky Williams in an Argos jersey or an Ali getting battered by Larry Holmes.

And now, since it looks like Brett Farve will retire as a New York Jet, I find myself wondering what the legacy will look like.

Now that Farve has found a home, replacing Chad Pennington, Farve seems to have jumped from the cheese pan into the fire.

IF he thought the media in Milwaukee was tough, he’s got another thing coming. If he found the Vikings or the Bears tough, he’ll have a hard time on weeks two and 13, when they play the Patriots? Or San Diego on week 3?

It’s not like he’s going to a contender, either. Offensively, the Jets are in the basement: 26th in total yards. 25th in passing yards and points scored. The Jets main back, Thomas Jones, didn’t score a rushing touchdown until week 13 last season. There was even a six game losing streak for the boys in green last year to boot.

Had it not been for the Miami Dolphins, a team that redefined the term “cataclysmically awful”, the Jets would have been the stinkers of the AFC.

Look, I’m not knocking the guy. He wants to play another season, fine, okay, go do it. It’s just that there had to have been a better, less played-out way to do this. There had to have been a better team that wanted him – The Vikings? Tampa Bay?

It just looks more and more like Farve will be heading into a no-win scenario. He’s going from a good team that was a score away from going to the Super Bowl, to a team that lost to Buffalo twice last year. He’s going to a team that needs his leadership, yes, but to a team that needs his publicity even more.

After all, the Giants won the Super Bowl last season. They’re not only riding on top of the NFL, but on the city of New York as well. And by bringing in a legend, the Jets can take back some of the Giants press. But is that all the Farve deal is? A PR move to siphon attention away from the Giants?

Look at what happened in the other comebacks: Jordan, for example, helped put the Wizards in the collective consciousness, something their NBA title couldn't do in the 1970s.

Hopefully, Farve will help the Jets to a decent finish this year.

Hopefully this is more then just a PR move by New York’s second-place football team.

Hopefully our last memory of Farve won’t be him overwhelmed by a bad team.

An open letter to Brett Farve

Brett Farve, I’m tired of you.

Granted, it’s not as if I was ever a big booster of yours; quite the opposite, actually. Normally I couldn’t have cared less about you. I don’t really follow the Packers, or any of the NFC North teams. I watched your last game, yes, but before that I can’t remember the last one of yours I watched.

So what? I can’t remember the last Tampa Bay I’ve watched, either. But it’s not the team you play for, Farve – I’d feel the same way if you played for the Steelers, the Raiders or the Toronto Argonauts.

See, the reason I’m so tired of you is that I’ve heard all this before, and it’s getting dumber and stupider and it keeps getting worse, much like Waynes brothers movie.

A couple years ago, when you cried on national TV, I assumed that was it. Here is his farewell tour, a chance to say goodbye to an icon of the 90s. I was okay with that, even if it was a bit trite.

But then you came back. Again, fine – a year of farewells, capped off with a dramatic overtime loss to the Giants in the snow. Not the best way to go out, sure, but a memorable one.

But now you want to come back once more, for the third time, by my count. You saw how close you were to another title, you saw how the only difference between you and the Lombardi trophy was the foot of Lawrence Tynes, splitting the uprights in a freezing cold Green Bay night. So close you could almost feel the trophy, couldn’t you.

Hate to burst your bubble, Brett, but that isn’t how it went down and that’s not likely to happen again.

If it wasn’t for a memorable catch, the one where David Tyree held the ball to his head, the Giants wouldn’t have won that game. They basically lucked out in that bowl. I’m not sure you would have.

The Packers are a team in transition. They’re moving on, rebuilding, and they don’t look to compete like they did last season.

But then again, Brett, I hear you don’t want to play for the Packers anymore. The Vikings, maybe. Or the Jets. Perhaps the Buccaneers. Makes no difference.

The Vikings are a possible threat: a weak division, an okay defence (20th overall, but first in the league against the run) and a great running back. You could work there. They wouldn’t need you to pass too often, just hand the pig to Purple Jesus. But would the Packers trade you to a division rival? I doubt it.

How about the Jets? Rumors had you going there for a while, although they’ve seemed to quiet down a little. But they’re a bad team, worst of the bunch. They already have two good quarterbacks and you don’t want to be a backup. If you think this is drama, Brett, just try this act with the New York press.

That leaves the Buccaneers. Like the Vikings, they’re a team built around a running back: in this case, Cadillac Williams. But he’s hurt and on the comeback trail. It’s a team where you’d have to throw the ball a lot, maybe take a few hits – Garcia was sacked 19 times last year while splitting duties. That’s as many sacks as the Packers took last year as a team.

Maybe that $20 million to retire was a pretty sweet deal after all.

Look Brett, I’m nobody to tell you if you should or shouldn’t come back. It doesn’t really matter to me. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. But I don’t want to see you tarnish your image either. That’s what all these comebacks can do.

Ali couldn’t pull off the comeback and he was the greatest. Magic Johnson was just a shadow of his former self the second time around. Roger Clemens’ comebacks – one or two, depends on how you count them, with the Astros and one with the Yankees – helped to ruin his image.

Just be careful Brett.

Canada needs to change Olympic priorities

Gearing up for the Olympic there seems to be a number of suprises: no smog, the USA basketball team hasn’t been upset (or even challenged) yet and there’s a slim, slim chance that Canada may win a medal of some kind.

In most countries, that would be seen as a disappointment; most would rather try and rake in the medals, to win as many as they could. But this is Canada, where the 2002 Olympics are fondly looked back upon, even with 17 total medals.

But this year, it looks like the current trend will continue: Canada has been winning less and less medals in the summer games since a high of 22 in the 1996 Atlanta games: in the last summer games, Canada won just 12 medals.

So this could be why Canada has all but thrown in the towel in some events. Only one boxer has made the cut, Adam Trupish. The women’s archery team only received a quota spot because the Netherlands pulled out. The women’s soccer team, perhaps the best Canadian team in the Olympics, is only ranked ninth in the world.

And those are the teams that qualified for the Olympics: the basketball team, for one, didn’t.

So perhaps the Canadian Olympic Committee should revamp their look at the Olympics. Maybe they should not worry about the summer games and instead focus on our specialty: the winter games. After all, the next winter games will be held here, in Vancouver, and the whole world will be watching, as it were.

It’s a point that has been increasingly raised lately, most vocally by Prime Time Sports. And it’s a point that makes more and more sense the more I think about it.

Up here it’s winter from November until April – if not longer. The national sport is hockey, a game best played on ice. We know cold, it’s in our collective wheelhouse. So why focus on it?

Add to that our population, about 33 million. That’s the same as that other Olympic powerhouse…

Nobody.

Canada’s population is about that of Morocco, Algeria and maybe Kenya. None of those countries are powerhouses: Algeria has won five medals this decade, Kenya four and Morocco eight. Compared, fair or not, Canada does well above the norm.

But there’s something to be learned from them: they don’t overextend themselves. Morocco hasn’t participated in a winter Olympics since 1992. They harbour no attempt to compete with powerhouse countries like China, Russia or the United States.

Those countries, with many more people and considerably more resources, always contend for medals and almost always deliver, as they should.

But Canada cannot. We don’t have the same money to pour into our Olympic programs and don’t have the same amount of raw talent to compete with. As a result, we overextend ourselves and as a result, disappoint.

Look up the last two Olympic games held by Canada. Look at the medal count: underwhelming, isn’t it? Look at the last time a Canadian team won a gold medal in the summer games. Sad, isn’t it?

Look at how much better Canada already is in the winter.

That’s why Canada needs to re-evaluate it’s Olympic programs and focus on what we do best – the winter sports. Because at the current rate, we’re already better at the winter games. Because the next games are in Canada.

Because it’s about time Canada started to contend.

The Sonics? That team doesn't live here anymore.

It was a dark night, chilly and damp, when the stranger came back to town. Looking for something to do, he wandered into a nearby Starbucks, hoping to shoot the breeze with somebody.

Sitting down next to a jowled man in a king Felix jersey, he asked: “Hey, how about those Sonics?”

The man looked across, a scowl on his face. “What Sonics? You mean that restaurant?”

“No, no,” replied the stranger. “The Supersonics. The basketball team. You know, green jerseys, 1979 NBA Champions.”

The scowled man shrugged and went back to his mocha frappuccino. So the stranger moved on along the Starbucks, asking about the Sonics.

“They played in the ’96 Finals, against MJ and the Bulls.”

“Was that the first year the Jazz collapsed, or the second?”

“They beat Houston in overtime of game seven in ‘93”

“I thought that was Phoenix.”

“They went to two finals in a row in the 70s!”

“Yeah, the Blazers were a good team back then, eh”

He kept moving, asking, getting nowhere.

“Shawn Kemp?”

“Wasn’t he that bum in Cleveland?”

“Jack Sikma?”

“He was that Milwaukee guy, right? The one who broke McHale’s foot?”

“Ray Allen?”

“Yeah, the Boston guy. Good outside shooter.”

Exasperated, he hailed a cab and went downtown. The arena was down there; maybe he’d find a fan or two hanging around.

“Take me to KeyWest.”

“Key what? You mean the office complexes downtown? They’re closed, but it’s your dollar, chief.”

The stranger got no relief downtown. No arena, no basketball fans, not a sign of the Sonics. Just a bunch of tall buildings, coffee stores and the needled tower.

Finally, he walked over to a homeless man, lying on the curb, covered in a dirty green and gold blanket. Throwing him a nickel, he asked what happened to the Sonics.

“The Sonics? That team doesn’t live here anymore.”

“What happened?”

“Coffee man sold them to a man who traded away the stars, bought out the lease, moved them to Oklahoma. All that’s left now is a box of jerseys and a handful of bitter fans.”

“And nobody did anything?”

The homeless man shrugged. “What was there to do? The commish let it happen. The owners let it happen. All the fans got was to keep a name.”

“That’s horrible!”

“That’s progress, baby.” The homeless man rolled over and covered his head with the blanket.

Dejected, the stranger walked back to the Starbucks.

“How about those Mariners?”

Was game six rigged? 82games finds out

The most infamous game of the past 25 years - and maybe ever in the NBA - was played a little over six years ago and prompted allegations that it was rigged by the NBA; even Ralph Nader called for an inquiry (he's gotta keep himself busy between doomed election campaigns, one assumes).

It was game six of the 2002 Western Finals between the Lakers and the Kings. Most remembered for the Lakers 40 free throws and Kobe hitting Mike Bibby with an elbow and Bibby getting the foul.

And it's divided people unlike any other game in the history of the NBA. Mike Wilbon of the Washington Post called it the worst officiated game he had ever seen. Bill Simmons called it the most disturbing subplot of the postseason: "from an officiating standpoint, the most one-sided game of the past decade".

This past post-season, when Tim Donaghy said that this game was determined by company men, it took on a life of it's own.

But now Roland Beech, the founder of 82games.com, has broken the game down, call by call by call, in excruciating detail. And he's found out the game may may have been unduly effected by the officiating. It's a long red but it's worth it.

One unaddressed point, though: as Bill Simmons pointed out in 2002, Dick Bavetta was also involved in several other controversial games:

1999, Knicks-Pacers, Game 3 ... 1999, Knicks-Pacers, Game 6 ... 1999, Spurs-Knicks, Game 3 ... 2000, Knicks-Heat, Game 7 ... 2000, Lakers-Blazers, Game 7 ... 2002, Celtics-Nets, Game 4

Now, if only 82games.com could break down some other games and settle some other debates, for once and for all.

Angels pitch a no-hit, still lose (Sunday Links)

it's only happened five times, and last night was the fifth: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had two pitchers combine to throw a no-hitter - but they still lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0.

How does this happen? Two errors, a steal and a sacrifice fly, that's how.

In the fifth inning, Dodgers Matt Kemp reached on a fielding error by Jared Weaver, stole second, advanced on a throwing error by Angels catcher Jeff Mathis and then scored from third on a Blake DeWhitt sac fly.

It's the first time this has happened since 1992, reported the Elias Sports Bureau, and the fifth time since 1900.

Predictably, this is the lead in most sports sections - but go with the AP recap of the game, which interviews everybody from the pitchers to the managers to even the official scorer.

Over in the opinion pages, the Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock brings up Brandon Rush as an example why NCAA schools should have athletes - in particular, basketball players - major in the sport they play. It's an interesting point, and it's not one without it's merits.

"A kid who wants to be an architect can study architecture, a musician can study music. But a basketball player can’t study his discipline and receive academic credit for it. And we wonder why so many of these kids have no interest in school.

You can teach all the educational disciplines — math, English, science, etc. — through athletics. You can teach kids to think critically by properly teaching them the sports world. All the responsibility of preparing Chalmers and Arthur for the NBA (and life) should not have fallen on the overworked shoulders of Bill Self and his coaching staff."

William C Rhoden goes on a similar path in the New York Times with a column on Joe Dumar's return to and graduation from college and asks why more players don't do the same in a one-and-done era.

"One year in college isn’t the answer either, and a growing number of people inside the lawyer-run N.B.A. know it.

They know, as Dumars came to understand, that it’s fine to have photo ops in which players read books to young people. But how can you preach the value of an education if you don’t value it enough to return to college to finish what you began?"

Elsewhere, Mike Lupica joins the LeBron-is-headed-to-New-York party, over half a year since LeBron wore a Yankees hat to an Indians/Yankees playoff game. But here, he uses it - and one fan's reaction to the 2008 Draft - to show the state of that franchise.

"So now everybody plays Fantasy Basketball with LeBron. You want to know how far the Knicks have fallen? The pipe dream about LeBron - and that's all it is right now - is how far. The Knicks aren't just the worst team in town, they are the one furthest from being something."

But what if LeBron jumps to the Nets? What then, Lupica? Anyway.

Finally, the blogs: Deadspin's new editor starts on Monday, and it's a familiar face. But it's got nothing on the latest from the Stephen A Smith Hecking Society of Gentlemen, who are back and better then ever.

O'Neal for Ford deal works both ways for Raps

Taken at face value, trading away a starting point guard, a good backup centre and a first round draft pick for an oft-injured centre doesn’t seem like a great move.

But trading away TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the 17th pick is a shrewd move by Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Coangelo.

For most of last season, but especially in the playoffs, the Raptors found themselves with two glaring problems. First was the lack of a solid big man, which centre Rasho Nesterovic was not, Andrea Bargnani did not want to be.

Sure, their outside shooting style worked well enough for most of the year: they won 41 games and the sixth seed in the playoffs. They even won against the likes of Orlando, Portland and Boston.

But look a little closer at those box scores. For example, in that 114-112 win over Boston, the Raptors shot an exceptional 15 of 21 from outside, with Carlos Delfino hitting five of five. But their inside game was the opposite – they only grabbed four offensive boards, the same number as Ray Allen.

In the playoffs against Orlando, this was especially obvious. All throughout those five games, Toronto had no answer to the Magic’s Dwight Howard, costing them the series. Their outside shooting was matched by Orlando and they didn’t have the inside game to compensate.

Surely, this is one of the major reasons that the Raptors underachieved. If you go by their Pythagorean record, a tool that goes by points scored and allowed, the Raps should have won 49 games, not 42.

That was major fault number one. Number two was their point guard situation.

When Atlanta Hawks centre Al Horford knocked Ford down on a drive to the basket in December –injuring Ford enough to be removed on a stretcher - it looked like the Raptors season could be hitting an unfortunate and early end, say nothing about the long-term effects the injury would have on Ford.

But a funny thing happened. Backup Jose Calderon, who by that point was splitting time with Ford and coming off the bench, blossomed as a starter. While he may have lucked into a starting role, he seemed to be a linchpin for the Raptors, who began to thrive.

They won three of the next four games, and went on to win eight games in January, including a dramatic double overtime win over Portland. Calderon, he with the deft outside touch and the great passing skills, had improved dramatically from the previous season and was a major part of the Raptors success.

If Ford didn’t come back, the Raptors might have been okay. But he came back, and it threw the Raptors off their game.

When the Raptors traded for Ford, he was supposed to be the starting PG and he was paid appropriately: to the tune of $8 million, says basketball-reference.com. But with the great play of Calderon, would it be fair to immediately stick Ford back in the starting position?

But that’s what the Raptors did. Not starting put Ford in a funk, and it was the last thing the Raptors needed late in the season, when they were battling for a playoff spot.

Both Ford and Calderon was a logjam, and an especially bad one to have. Ford had become temperamental, had a reputation for taking bad shots and was an injury risk. Calderon, who was again coming off the bench, but looked to be the better point guard, was a free agent after the season.

Both wanted to start, and the one who didn’t was likely gone. What to do?

A couple days before the draft, trade rumours began to fly. One was TJ to the Suns for Boris Diaw, a trade that wouldn’t have fixed much. Where would Diaw, a combo forward-guard, fit in the rotation? And what of his reputation for vanishing in big games?

Another was TJ going to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford. This trade would’ve helped the Knicks, who need a point guard, but not the Raptors, who don’t need another swingman.

But the rumour that became fact was Ford, Nesterovic, a player to be named later and the Raptors first round pick to the Indiana Pacers, who would send Jermaine O’Neal in return.

In the past three seasons, O’Neal’s stock had fallen considerably. While he had played in six all-star games and had made three All-NBA teams from 2001-02 to 2003-04, he had now played a full season since 2003-04. Plus, he still had the stigma from the Brawl at the Palace, which helped foster a reputation as a hothead.

In 2007-08, his numbers looked like this: 1206 minutes played (his lowest since becoming a starter), 225 FG (same), 283 rebounds (the same, and close to his lowest ever) and 87 blocks (he once had 228 blocks in a season).

So, what was Colangelo thinking? Surely, he could get better value for TJ, couldn’t he?

But, the more one thinks about this deal, the more sense it makes – since it works both ways.

First off, if O’Neal stays healthy, he dramatically improves the Raptors frontcourt. Instead of playing centre, Bosh can move to forward and Bargnani can come off the bench. Suddenly, the Raptors starting five will likely be this: Chris Bosh, O’Neal, Calderon, Delfino and Anthony Parker.

That means they have an inside game that matches against Orlando – by putting O’Neal in the low post against Howard. And they still have a good outside game with Delfino, and Calderon.

That means their bench improves too: Jamario Moon becomes their sixth man, and the pressure of Bargnani is turned down considerably. Plus, it solves their PG logjam, too.

But, like I said before, it works the other way too: if O’Neal isn’t healthy.

Why’s that? His salary, which maxes out at $23 million in two seasons, expires in 2009-10.

That’s the year that more then a few marquee players – such as LeBron James – become free agents. And while it doesn’t give the Raptors a lot of wiggle room now, it gives them the space to make a big splash in a couple seasons.

Remember, it was big, hefty deals that helped a lot of teams make big splashes this season with trades. Like Keith Van Horn’s expiring contract, which helped to bring Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks.

So if O’Neal’s a bust and the Raptors are in good shape, his expiring deal could be worth a lot to a rebuilding team, and bring in some young talent. Or they could hang on him and sign a major talent or two.

Simply put, this trade works both ways. It’s a slick move by Colangelo, and it’s one the Raptors will be glad to have made, no matter what happens.