Ketchup

I am really sorry that I left you all hang for like a month but snowboard season kinda took over. Oops. So lets us catch-up. Or if you like it Ketchup (it's good on fries.)

You would think that I would have learned by now that hardly anything I hope to happen in the world of sports happens. To start off, things became less clouded around Payton Manning and where he was thinking of heading to for next season. It came down to the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, and the Tennessee Titans. You want to take a guess at who he choose? The Broncos, for a five year deal that's worth $92 million. Mind boggling for a guy who still has a gigantic question mark floating above his head with neon lights, and for a guy who maybe has three years left. Oh but this story gets better, I thought (and a lot of people I talked to agreed) that it would be smart of the Broncos to keep Tim Tebow but apparently they didn't like that idea so much. Now what on earth are they going to do when the neon sign flips over and say: Sorry! I Can't Play Anymore! Where's My Money? When that day comes I will not be surprised. Tebow on the other had I think got a really bad deal. He was traded to..... none other than the New York Jets (of all the teams in the NFL!). The foul mouthed, dirty, vile Jets. Franky the attention that Tebow got in Denver was doodly-squat to what he is now going to suffer in New York, yes I said suffer. It's a NEW YORK TEAM; of course he's going to suffer. Unless you're a fan of New York sports teams; otherwise they are generally despised by most other teams and their fans. I found this article about Tebow and it has to be one of the longest articles I've read. Ever.

New York sure to test Tebow, on and off the field - MyVerizon.com

In other football news that has been floating around for a while, there has been a bounty hunting scandal in the NFL involving the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins. The common factor: Gregg Williams. Essentially how it worked was that players got money bonuses for hard hits that put opponents out of the game. Commissioner Roger Goodell gave out one year suspensions to two New Orleans coaches, the general manager, and a former coach for running the program. But the Redskins got off with no penalties for now, even though Williams worked for the Skins under Joe Gibbs from 2004-07 running the program. Several players have come forward saying that they were paid extra money for hard hits that put the opponent out of the game. I think even though the NFL and Goodell have 'closed' the 'case' because there isn't enough evidence, they should still look into it. I love the Skins but really, this isn't right. Players did get really hurt and it's just against ethics, paying someone to hurt someone else is what it boils down to. The suspensions should deter any other plans like this from popping up again but it might not. Some coaches will do what ever it takes to win. I'm not saying that Sean Payton (head coach of the Saints, one of the suspended) was doing that but other coaches might have done that for the wrong reasons. I still have a lot of respect for the guy but this was wrong and I agree with the penalty they gave him. Back to the Redskins, they should get a penalty of some sort, a fine or something, anything. But they shouldn't have gotten away with it then and they shouldn't be like "Oh, that happened in the past." It was the past of YOUR TEAM. Fine Synder, he has enough money to cover it.

Ok I'm done ranting for now. Next week (and it will be next week not next month) I'll have a post on what the Capitals have been up to.

Super Bowl 2012

Guess what, New York's heads just got bigger. The New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI Sunday night. As much as it pains me to say this the game wasn't half bad. Yes, the Pats lost again and yes, there were mistakes but even so the game was good. To start it was very hard not to think about the fact that the Pats released Tiquan Underwood (a wide receiver) on the eve before the biggest game in football. Who knows, maybe he would have helped get the win. At least Underwood doesn't seem to be holding it against the team, wishing the coaching staff and teammates good luck. They sure needed it after the Giants scored a late touchdown, but I'm ahead of myself. Oh, well I could tell you now. Late (and I mean really late) in the fourth quarter Eli Manning passed the ball to Ahmad Bradshaw who tried hard to stomp on the brakes and sit down on the one yard line but fell into the end-zone. I do have to say that it was very funny watching him try to stop but failing; even if that did mean that it was the game winning touchdown. All night the Pats players (except for a few times) seemed to have replaced their gloves to help grip the ball with butter sheets to help drop the ball. I understand that Welker has made that catch a million times and that it should have been easy but he didn't and I'm sure he heard it from his teammates and his coaches so he doesn't need to hear it from the media. Or Tom Brady's wife for that matter, who had some choice words for a Giants fan. Most of which shouldn't be repeated. Maybe if the Brady had thrown to someone else instead of Hernandez we might have tied it or even won it. But history does repeat itself and unfortunately it happened again. To the same team, in the same way. There's always next year, I hope.

I'm with Ovie

Sunday when the Capitals played the Penguins, Alex Ovechkin  landed a hard hit on Zbynek Michalek. The league though it was a dirty hit and gave Ovie a three game suspension, way to much for two reasons: 1. Michalek didn't get hurt and 2. he saw the hit coming and ducked. One game makes total sense but three, its not needed. Yes, it was a hard hit but it's part of what makes hockey so great. As you would think, Ovie wasn't very happy with the call. He was set to go to the NHL All-Star game but has now taken himself off the roster, saying, "I'm suspended." That move has made most everyone in the reporting world blow up saying he's acting childish and needs to grow-up. WHAT?! I think it's a very grown up decision to make; if you have been suspended then you shouldn't play, be that with your team or at the All-Star game. It would be nice to see Ovie at the All-Star game but I still think it was the right decision. If it turns the reporting world against him then fine. But there's bound to be a few people (like me) who still have an idea about staying true to your morals. Ovie could grow-up in some ways but not in handling suspensions.

Ovie isn't the only hockey player making the news. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas didn't go with the team when they went to the White House to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup. Another decision that I agree with. If Thomas doesn't think that he can behave or respect where his is, then he shouldn't go. Just another player standing up for what he believes in.

Don't Worry

Some of you might be thinking that I fell of the face of the earth but I didn't so there's no need to worry about me. You may need to worry if you're a Capitals fan. They seem to be stuck on a roller costar with great wins and than dropping to low losses. I got to go to one of their games last week when they played the New York Islanders and unfortunately it didn't turn out how I would have liked. The Islanders got out in front and stayed there, they dominated the Caps all through the game. At one point the Caps began to look like they were hurting themselves drawing penalties that they should have now better than to do. Final Score: 3-0 Islanders. In the very next game (the first of a three game road trip) the Caps won over the Canadians by the same score they lost by to the Islanders. Two days later they lost again 3-0 to Carolina while on their road trip. By now you must be wondering if this could get anymore pain full... it can. Yesterday the Capitals played the loathsome Penguins. That game was an example of how this January has gone for them. The Pens and Caps went into overtime and yup you guessed it the Caps lost. To you it could get worst. As I write this the Caps sit in 8th in the East but that could change by tomorrow morning.

Everyone reading this needs to understand that I am a diehard Patriots fan. When I found out thatt my Pats where going to the Superbowl again my first though was I want a rematch. You have to remember the 2008 Superbowl when the Pats and Giants played. That Pats would have had a prefect season if the Giants hadn't won at the end of the game. Why I want a rematch for to reasons. 1. I want revenge and 2. I want the Pats to show once and for all that they are on a different level than the Giants. Than again I'm bias.

Wild Card Games Turn Wild

I really didn't want to write this blog but I must since I am a Steelers fan. Well, as most of you know the Steelers lost to the Denver Broncos, 29-23. It was an agonizing game to watch. The Steelers scored first with two field goals but Denver came back and by halftime were up 20-6. The old reliable Steelers fought back to take the lead but only managed to tie the game, 23-23 late in the fourth quarter. Into overtime we go. I really hate play-off games that go into overtime but when they include one of my teams then it's torture. The torture didn't last long. The Broncos won the coin toss and on the first play the game was over. In two plays, Tebow and the rest of the Broncos pulled out a miracle, getting a touchdown pass to finish off the Steelers. Final Score: 29-23. There's always next year. I have a soft spot for the Broncos, but I do want the Patriots win on Saturday.

The Saints are moving on as well. They played Saturday (I still think football on Saturday is weird) against the Detroit Lions and won. But unlike some would have thought, it wasn't a one-sided game. The Saints did win 45-28.

Hockey can be a very lopsided sport, for example the Bruins game on Thursday. Let me start with the final score: 9-0 Bruins. Yes, you read that right, for a Bruins fan like me it's a great score. But if you see it from the point of view of a Flames fan than it's not such a good game. In fact it's a really bad game. Seven different people scored on the Flames goalie. You just have to feel bad for him.

The NHL realignment has been postponed because the players union didn't agree with how it was going to be set-up.

Let the Postseason Begin!

Sunday's games were the last of the NFL regular season. Unfortunately, the Skins didn't end it on a good foot, losing 34-10 to the Eagles. They did play well if you consider that they were playing without a tight-end (Chris Cooley's been on injured reserve and Fred Davis was suspended for the rest of the season for using recreational drugs); Roy Helu was recovering from a injury and I'm most likely forgetting a lot of other injured players but back to the game. The point of me telling you about all that was my attempted at covering the fact that the Skins lost badly....34-10 to a team and a QB I loath whole heartedly. The win wouldn't have matter all that much except for bragging rights. There was no feasible way that they were going to make it into the playoffs, even if Grossman didn't throw 3 interceptions per game (that's an estimate, it's probably more). One bright spot for them was the D-fence. Yes, they did allow the Eagles to score 34 points but they did look good.

The Steelers had a late start in their game with the Browns but managed to win. I was beat after staying up on New Year's and was in bed while the game was going on. Big Ben did start the game and helped them win 13-9. They are in the playoffs, I don't think it would be the same if they weren't in it... just a thought.

The Pats won over the Bills and now have a nice bye week to rest and plan how they're going to crush their opponents. To their game, this was one of those games that made me glad that I wasn't watching it (I happen to know more about this game than the Steelers because I was watching the Skins game and they kept cutting in to show highlights of the Pats game). The Bills jumped out to an early lead with 21 unanswered points in the first and most of the second quarters. But to all those who doubt the comeback power of the Pats, well you may be thinking, "there's little chance that they can come back from that," well you would be wrong. They did come back with 49 points. Now it was the Bills turn to be stunned. Final Score: 49-21 Patriots.

By the way, the Jets are out of the playoffs.

To Hockey, the Capitals won again! Mike Green was back in the line-up for the first time in 20 games. Things are looking up for the Capitals.

Holiday sports in Fastforward

Seeing as how my holiday week was crazy I'll cover Christmas Eve's football games and the two Capital's games.

The Skins lost to the Vikings 33-26. The Steelers won over the Rams 27-0. Last but not least, the Patriots won 24-27 over the Dolphins.

On to hockey. The Capitals have a winning streak that includes a win away from the Verizon Center (finally). Right now the Caps are sitting in 9th in the East; they need to be in at least 8th to make it into the playoffs. So it's a good thing that they have a few more weeks to move up the list. Ovie, Semin, and Backstrom are warming up at just the right time.

I did warn you that this was going to be a fast blog. I'll have a post up about today's games later.