I started playing fantasy football this year and I’m finding that I need another reality check. Rooting for your fantasy team takes watching football to a new level and puts a whole new spin on it. If you’ve read my posts, you know I’m not a big Philip Rivers fan. However, he’s my fantasy quarterback so I find myself actively rooting him on. And I feel like a traitor the whole time, but I’m competitive enough that I’d rather win my week in fantasy, albeit with a player I despise. One of the pluses that has come from my foray into fantasy football? I now watch games I wouldn’t have cared about before. And because Rivers is my QB, I’m watching him more closely and realizing that he’s got some talent. Still hate the attitude, but he’s got some talent.

So, I’ve been criticized for caring more about my fantasy team than my reality teams. This season in particular, I’m grateful for the distraction. Had Tom Brady gone down last year, I would have been devastated. It would have been the horror to end all horrors. I’m not going to say I barely noticed when it happened this year, but the level to which it crushed me was lessened by the focus on the fantasy team. And while I watch games with a different perspective, I haven’t abandoned my first love, the Patriots. Now, I still root for them to win but if one of my guys is playing against them, I root for my guy to also have a good game. I believe the two interests can co-exist. Just don’t let me make the playoffs and have Phildelphia play NE in the Super Bowl. I have Philly Defense. I’d have to root for the final score to be NE 3, Philly 0…

It seems as though I’m not the only one in need of a reality check already at this point in the season. Brett Favre appears to need someone to remind him that he’s almost 39 and that he probably should have stayed retired. And the San Diego defense seems to be all-too-willing to serve as that reminder. Favre has made some terrible throws tonight and has gotten sacked a few times. I literally watched him botch a 2-point conversion after benefitting from 4 SD penalties that actually placed the ball on the 1/2 yard-line!! As if I needed more of an argument against those who feel he had plenty left in the tank. Favre needs to remember that, while he will occasionally throw a frozen rope that will land neatly in the hands of his receiver, ever so slightly in front of the defender who has his hands all up in the receivers face, the reality this season is that this throw will most likely be a pick. 

As I write this, I’m watching my fantasy team wrap up the week with a W. Rivers got me almost 20 points and, more importantly, LDT and Vincent Jackson helped one of my friends win their week by beating a guy who was 2-0 on the season. My friend was 0-2 so while he picks up his first victory, he’s also prevented this other guy from being 3-0. Fantastic for me since I’m 2-1 (well, technically in 1:48 I’ll be 2-1). So the Patriots lost their game this week. To the Dolphins. By a large margin. With Ronnie Brown scoring 4 times and actually throwing for a touchdown. And to borrow the title from a great Gen-X movie–reality bites. But with fantasy this good? Who needs reality?

The regular season technically kicked off on Thursday with the Giants-Redskins game.  I couldn’t tune in for the kickoff and when I picked up the game, it was 16-7. And that didn’t change for the rest of the game. Not exactly the blockbuster match-up I’d be hoping for as the season opener but hey, it was football. I’m not complaining too much! Especially since I have Brandon Jacobs on my fantasy team. He rushed for 116 yards, though he didn’t score any touchdowns. Stupid Eli Manning. That kid is bound and determined to screw me over, season after season! He couldn’t have handed off to Jacobs for the only TD of the game, could he? No, Eli’s Coming had to run it in for the 1-yard score. And my dislike for him continues to grow, no matter how many Manning brothers commercials they run on TV.

So now’s a good time to mention that I’m playing fantasy football for the first time. I certainly watch enough football, I figured I may as well put that attention span to good use and join a league. My league was supposed to do a live draft (which I pushed for), which then got cancelled, and we then had an auto-draft at 5 in the morning the other day. I wasn’t happy. I got my quarterback in the very last round (round 15) and the computer drafted me Trent Edwards. Really? The computer thinks I wouldn’t have drafted a QB until the very last round? I mean, I know I’m a girl, but even I would have known to draft a QB by, oh I don’t know, the 3rd or 4th round!! Who waits til the last round to draft a QB? Apparently, ESPN’s auto-draft, that’s who. I made a trade for Phil Rivers, since I had about 12 RB’s to deal, and I now have to root for a quarterback that I despise. I know he’s got the question mark of the knee injury but you know, Luis Castillo certainly thought Rivers was brave and who I am to disagree with that?! He’ll be fine. 

So not only does the NFL season really get going in a matter of minutes, but so does my first fantasy football match-up. It’s a big day! Some may say I take these games too seriously, but I say pooh-pooh to that notion. You can never take football too seriously. And if any of my neighbors ask you that question, just back me up because I’m sure they get tired of listening to me yell at my TV. Football baby!! I’m a happy girl.

Yes, it takes one of the greatest players making one of the largest mistakes to draw me out of relaxation mode. I can’t seem to wrap my brain around what Brett is doing with his current stunt. Two seasons ago, when he hemmed and hawed for months during the off-season about whether or not to return, I was annoyed but figured he had earned the right to take his time with the decision.  I thought it was fairly clear at the end of last season that he was going to retire, and retire he did. And at the time I thought “good for him! It was a heck of a career and you ended it in good fashion”. Why, then, dear Brett, have you decided less than 6 months later that you still have the competitive drive and want to play the game? Really? You miss the game that much based on 6 months of off-season? You miss it more now than when you ended the season with a loss in the NFC Championship game? One would think that the ubiquitous fire in the belly would burn strongest right after a loss like that and would die down the further removed one got from that game. Apparently Brett defies logic. He’s decided he wants to come back and has been officially reinstated by the league.

That alone is enough to draw my ire and place him atop my “persona non grata” list. What earns him a life-long space on the list is the fact that he’s even considering taking the “marketing agreement” he’s discussing with Green Bay brass, where he would receive approximately $20 million over the next several years just to remain retired. If the whole point of this dramatic exercise is that he just can’t stay away from the game, then this wouldn’t even be on the table. If what he really wanted was to play the game he loves so dearly, he would have requested a trade at the end of last season. But to allow Green Bay to go through the draft and get nearly to the beginning of training camp and then decide it’s time to think about coming back is just poor taste at best. I might even deem it calculated and malicious. And thus, if he does come back to play this season in the NFL, I will actively root against him and will hope he shows his age with every throw.  

Another person on the dislike list is Manny Ramirez. I can’t stand that guy! Yes, he’s an amazing hitter and a pretty good outfielder. He has won the Red Sox more than a few games this season. What I dislike the most about him is that you can actually see that he’s bought into his own hype. He stands and admires his handiwork when he knocks one out of the park. He apparently finds it acceptable to knock down the support staff of the team when he doesn’t think he’s getting the star treatment. And he speaks out publicly to air his grievances with his team instead of keeping them a private matter. I guess Boston finally took the Roberto Duran route and said “no mas”. Because Ramirez is now in Hollywood, which really is a good fit for him, and Jason Bay has replaced him on the team. I’m frankly a little surprised at that move. Most of the analysts figured the Bo Sox would deal him when the season was over so they could get more for their money. I guess the situation deteriorated faster than expected and the deal is now done, making Manny persona non grata in Bean Town. 

Watching the Hall of Fame game brought me a surprising amount of joy this evening. Normally in a Colts-Red Skins match-up I’d be pulling for the Colts but since Manning wasn’t playing past minute 2, my interest swung to a different colt–watching Colt Brennan lead the Skins.  He looked surprisingly sharp! I think out of the group of QB’s from this year’s draft, Brennan’s stock dropped the most at the NFL Combine. I really figured he’d be a bust, and not the kind you find in the Hall of Fame there in Canton. But tonight he ran an efficient offense and completed some impressive passes. Granted, that was while facing the second-or third-string Indy defense, but a good pass is a good pass. Last season we had a bit of a Todd Collins resurgence there in DC which, by law, I should support seeing as how he played his college ball at U of M. With the Brennan performance tonight, you can’t help but wonder if Collins won’t become persona non grata in our nation’s capital. 

So, while the vacation mode was nice, I’m all too happy to return to the blogosphere for another season of my favorite sport. I will be attending the Cowboys-Texans pre-season game on August 22 which should be quite interesting, since I may openly root for the Texans. There will be a full report as it will be my first change to get a feel for the Boys this season. Now let’s just hope I can manage to unpack my suitcases by the time the game rolls around! 

Let’s start, for proximity’s sake, with the picks made by the Dallas Cowboys. Overall, I’m pleased. I had a feeling they’d take Felix Jones and I’m glad that they didn’t trade up to get Darren McFadden. I know he’ll be an impact player, but the Boys already have Marion Barber and Jones will fill the role that Julius Jones was playing. I also had a suspicion that they’d look to take Mike Jenkins if he were still on the board when they had their second pick. The only thing that taints this pick is knowing that Jenkins will be playing along side Pacman Jones, assuming he’s reinstated. I questioned the Tank Johnson signing and things have seemed to work out so far on that deal. This one though? Whole other ball game. I don’t trust when Jones says he’s learned his lesson. I don’t trust that he’ll stay out of trouble.  The third player they drafted today was Martellus Bennett, the TE out of Texas A&M.  When I first heard his name called, I thought it was odd that they were drafting at that position in the second round, as they have quite a few options to go to. But then I remembered that they struck a deal with Miami to send Akin Ayodele and Anthony Fasano for the second and fourth round picks. And that got me thinking. Where is Jerry Jones’ head?

First he loses Tony Sparano to the Dolphins which, I suppose, is easy enough to defend because you can’t really hold a guy back from an opportunity to be a head coach. But wouldn’t you naturally be suspicious when the man who was coaching your team last year is now the VP of Operations there in Miami and he seems to be systematically stealing your staff and players? Does Jerry really have so little regard for Parcells’ football acumen that he honestly thinks he’s getting the better end of the deal on his stuff? I was impressed with Fasano this season. I think he’s going to grow into a really good player. And to only get two picks for those two players? Something seems strange. With the way Miami drafted today, and the players they’ve acquired this off-season, I honestly think things could be turning around for them. And Henne and Long are Michigan guys so I may just have to start paying attention to the Dolphins!    

For only having two picks in this first day of the draft, I think New England fared pretty well, which is par for the course for that franchise. With their first pick, they got Jerod Mayo, which led to one of my favorite moments of the draft. Chris Berman did his best deadpan when asking what other teams would get flagged for next season. The answer? 15 yards for holding the Mayo…classic. This is why I love Boomer! Everyone has mentioned that New England needs to get younger on defense so I’m not going to point that out. But I think Mayo is a versatile player who will work well in the New England defensive scheme. They also selected Terrance Wheatley who will compete to replace Asante Samuel, which is not a small set of shoes to fill. Ok, well, maybe size-wise they’re small shoes, I mean Samuel isn’t exactly the biggest guy, but still, you get my drift…All in all, it was a rather unremarkable draft for the Pats, but that’s just how they roll, so we’ll just have to wait until the season begins before we can evaluate if they made the right choices.  

A few miscellaneous highlights from Day 1. I was really pleased to see Arizona select Rodgers-Cromartie. I think he’ll be a good player and AZ could use some help on defense. I like Ken Whisenhunt and want to see him succeed. And there seem to be so many good pieces in place for them that I’d loved to see that all gel. There will be a debate raging up until the season begins, and likely well into it, on whether or not Matt Ryan was the right selection for Atlanta. I think Atl couldn’t win with that pick. If they didn’t draft a QB, who are they going to pick up to lead that team? If it wasn’t Matt Ryan, who would be a better fit for that franchise? Brian Brohm? Um, no. And with them drafting a QB to replace Vick, they have no room for error because they already failed once in that department. So really, because that franchise has suffered enough, I’m hoping Ryan pans out. I liked him at BC, I thought the drive he engineered to come back and beat Va Tech was fantastic, and all you hear on him is that he possesses the intangibles needed to win games on the field. I think Baltimore got it right taking Joe Flacco at the 18-spot and good riddance to Brian Brohm in Green Bay. That was maybe my least favorite move of yesterday’s action. He’s no better than Aaron Rogers. So now you’ve got two so-so QB’s vying to replace a legend. Great move Green Bay. 

And now, the things I didn’t like from yesterday’s coverage. I didn’t like how ESPN essentially ruined the element of surprise on some of these picks. When Matt Ryan was taken, about 2 minutes before the announcement the cameras were focused on him as he was taking a call on his cell phone, then he hung up, hugged his mother (who was tearing up) and hugged his dad. Gee, let’s see, maybe he just saved a bunch of money by switching his car insurance to Geico, but I’m thinking the more realistic answer in that case is that the Falcons called and said they were taking him. So then we had to wait another 2 minutes while the analysts pretended to debate who Atlanta was going to take.  And this happened on quite a few occasions. I was already disappointed that we knew who the #1 pick was, even though I was ecstatic that it was a Michigan guy. For ESPN to ruin the picks multiple times was poor. They even managed to do that with players that weren’t sitting in the green room! I would think to retain maximum viewership, you’d hold everyone in suspense as long as possible. But alas… 

I also was nearly blinded by the atrocity that was Keyshawn Johnson’s outfit. It was bad enough that I had to text my best friend to see if he was watching and was as blown away as I was. And the combined verdict was that Keyshawn has lost it. I’m all for pushing the fashion envelope, but that green checked shirt was just bad, no doubts about it. We did however both  enjoy the hostility between Keyshawn and Steve Young. The dislike between the two is palpable and makes for quite an interesting time. Keeps things lively! On a separate note, I am officially hoping that we had a preview to next season’s MNF booth combination with ESPN pairing Tirico and Jaws with Kirk Herbstreit. Don’t know if Herbie would leave college ball to step up to the pros, but I think it would be a great combo. Anything would be an improvement over Kornheiser, but Herbs would really be a good addition. 

Who knows what Day 2 has in store. Mario Manningham is still on the board so I’d like to see where he ends up. We’ll see if the Cowboys pick anyone up to improve their offensive line. Day 2 is never as exciting as Day 1, but at least when the draft is done we can start looking ahead to the new season. It’s definitely going to be a good day! 

The baseball season is tough for me. My favorite way to watch a game is in person, but I can’t quite bring myself to root for the Rangers. I’m really an Astros fan but ever since they welcomed back Roger Clemens with open arms, I question their leadership. Well, actually, I questioned their leadership well before that, but whatever. I question the Rangers front office even more. The Rangers had one good season about 5 years ago where everyone really believed that they could make the post-season. After that, they haven’t been close. Maybe I’ll wait until a good team comes to town and then I’ll get tickets. I’m not the biggest baseball buff to begin with, so watching a crummy team doesn’t help matters.

I hate to say it, but I don’t honestly care about women’s basketball. I’d sooner watch the Rangers play the Kansas City Royals than watch a women’s game, college or pro. And I realize that’s probably traitorous to my gender, but I can’t help it. I don’t find the level of competition to be nearly as compelling. I fully support the womens’ programs and i don’t discount that those women are excellently conditioned. But it doesn’t capture my interest. Sorry.

Is it wrong of me to be excited about the NFL draft? I’m positively giddy to see who ends up going #1. Mel Kiper and Todd McShay keep moving that projection around. Maybe Jake Long, maybe Glenn Dorsey, maybe Matt Ryan. Forget about NBC’s line up, the draft is what I deem must-see TV. This year’s NCAA tournament has been the most exciting tournament in my recent memory. So many of the games went down to the final seconds, even in the early round. When filling out the bracket every year, I try to anticipate the upsets. Like most, I think I hold the crystal ball when it comes to predicting the Cinderella story. I will pat myself on the back for taking Xavier down to the Elite 8, especially considering that I seriously toyed with the idea of picking Georgia over them in the first round!

I’ve got Memphis winning the whole deal, so I’m nervously watching to see if they can pull it off. The support I showed for Kansas in the football season is gone. I’m over the whole Roy Williams saga. And I’m over the multi-colored hanky he thought he could rock in the pocket of his oddly flecked suit tonight…

So hopefully the lack of blogging will be remedied by the ramp-up of the baseball season. I may not be there in person but baseball in HD is only a hot dog and cold beer away from being the real deal. And that’s close enough for me.

Speaking of SportsCenter, I tuned in for a late-night episode the other day and was struck by the number of things that just didn’t jive. There was a story running about Carl Edwards  being penalized 100 points for his missing oil tank lid, which caused him to lose his first-place standing in the Sprint Cup chase. ESPN had some guy, Marty Something-or-Other, on to discuss the harshness of this penalty. (shows you how closely I follow NASCAR when I can’t even remember the kid’s name) This poor fellow looked like he was about 12 years old, and his hair was coiffed in a way that created more peaks than the best of lemon meringue pies! And he was dressed in a suit. Now, at face value, I would have listened to him discuss how to punch up my bland living room on some home re-do show. But he was classic Texan in his speech patterns and something about that just did not match up to the appearance. Not to mention, in this same discussion, they had Rusty Wallace share his thoughts on the situation, also clad in a suit, and I found myself just shaking my head. Put these guys in some boots and jeans for goodness sake! It just wasn’t right.

Later in the episode, they showed highlights of that night’s Phoenix Suns game. Shaq Diesel in a Suns uniform? Not right! It doesn’t fit. And I don’t just mean because it’s difficult to find a jersey big enough to fit that giant beast of a man. I would have loved to see Shaq and Kobe bury the hatchet and re-team to win 3 more championships. Wait, I’m supposed to be a Mavs fan, right? Hmm, well that’s another thing that’s just not fitting this season…

I HATE the Kidd trade. I don’t see how it makes the Mavericks a contender for this season. I understand some feel that Devon Harris is overrated but I say he is every bit as effective as Kidd is at this stage of his career, only Harris is younger and you’ll get more years out of him. And really, the big shame of that deal was losing DeSagana Diop. He was a quality big-man who made a contribution. Plus all that cash…for Kidd? 5 years ago, not a problem. I understand the “win now” mentality that drives this NBA, (or really all sports leagues for that matter) but I can’t see how Kidd helps the Mavs win now. And because of that fact, I have boycotted my fan-ship for this season. And before you say it, I know, that ain’t right. But cut me some slack.

And alas, poor Brett Favre, we knew him well. But he has made the tough decision to retire. He says it’s for good. I believe him, for now. I don’t think it would be smart for him to retire now and come back in two years. But it wouldn’t shock me if he did. I know it’s cliche, but when I heard he announced his retirement, my mind immediately went to the infamous Monday night game right after he lost his father. Not too many games stick with me the way that one does. Even I teared up at the post-game interview. Favre is one of the greats, though I am shocked that some polls show him as the overwhelming fan selection for greatest of all-time. To see the Green Bay Packers led by their fearless starting QB, Aaron Rogers, just ain’t right.

I will say, as March rolls along, I am finding the excitement growing as the selections begin for the NCAA tourney. for the length of the tournament, I turn into a rabid college basketball fan. I’ll follow every game, eagerly watching my bracket. Invariably, the bracket is busted after the first two days, but it’s still so much fun to tune in. I’m a sucker for a Cinderella story, as I’ve discussed before. Is San Diego the new Gonzaga? I’d love to see a smaller school win this year as opposed to a Duke or UNC taking home the trophy. Of course I can’t actually pick a smaller school to win the tourney on my bracket, because, you know, that just ain’t right.

And the reality of the moment is that our US Senate is actively involved in the sports world. This is not a good thing. We are embroiled in the Spygate controversy and are also being treated to the hearings on the steroid issue as it pertains to Roger Clemens. It’s a stretch, but I don’t begrudge Congress for investigating the steroids issue as much as I whole-heartedly resent any investigation into the Patriots taping mess. And before you start saying that if it were any other team being investigated in the Spygate debacle I would support the Congressional intervention, let me dispel that myth.

My annoyance over the Congressional involvement in dredging up an issue that was dealt with stems from the rest of the pressing issues that our nation faces at the moment. It’s only a matter of technicality that we can’t officially declare the economy to be in recession; there’s this small thing called the Economic Stimulus Package that has been put together to help pull the struggling credit lenders out of the depths of despair they’ve been mired in for the last 6 months; there are a myriad of other issues I’m sure to which our Senate could devote their attention. Consider this bullet point taken from Mike Fish’s column on ESPN.com in regards to Sen. Arlen Specter’s interest in the video taping practices of the New England Patriots–”Specter is particularly concerned about how the taping might have affected New England’s games involving teams from his home state in the 2004 postseason. ” Since when can the Senate use their elected position to settle a case of sour grapes? Give it up Specter! Your Eagles suck! That’s not Bill Belichick’s doing. I don’t buy his excuse of the NFL receiving special consideration on the anti-trust/monopoly laws as the impetus for the witch hunt.

And just what is his overall vision here? What is Specter hoping to accomplish that hasn’t already been achieved? The franchise being publicly embarrassed? Check. The coach known for being a student of the game having to squirm uncomfortably in his press conferences while dodging questions about his involvement in this? Check. Both coach and team paying dearly for the frowned-upon practice? Check. So in my book we’re done. And I don’t say that from the perspective of a Patriots fan; I say that from the perspective of someone who feels the matter is closed and now it’s time to move on!

Speaking of moving on, at the moment, I feel for Andy Pettitte. He’s reporting to Spring Training today and will have to contend with the barrage of media that he is sure to face, this being his first public outing since he gave his deposition for the steroids investigation. I know Clemens is on record as saying that they’ll always be friends (this is a good thing?!) but the word strained comes to mind. Pettitte should be the example to any athletes who are implicated in the scope of this investigation. He admitted, almost immediately after the Mitchell report was released, that he took HGH to rehab from an elbow injury. The fever pitch died down. It comes out that he took it a bit more frequently than first confessed. He cops to it and once again, the questions he dodges pertain to Clemens’ use, not his own. Anyone else taking note of this point? Sounds to me like admitting what you’ve done is the way to go.

I predict that Bobby Knight takes a moment to at least consider returning to Indiana to coach the rest of the season (and possibly beyond) once/if Kelvin Sampson is dismissed. That seems like an inevitability at this point. The minute the story broke that the NCAA was charging Sampson with 5 recruiting violations, my first thought was that this may answer the question of why Knight retired so suddenly from Texas Tech. Let’s face it, that was not a characteristically Knight kind of move to quit on his team. And from what I’ve heard about the Sampson saga there at Indiana, it was known that the NCAA was going to accuse him of these violations prior to the story being formally released to the public. Coincidence? Perhaps. Who knows…maybe the House of Representatives will feel behind the times and will decide to hold some hearings on the matter.

Pitchers and catchers have officially reported to Spring Training. The Mavs and the Nets finally appear to be close to a deal to send Kidd to Big D. We’ll all be paying close attention to see if Kobe decides to have surgery on his pinkie, thus putting him out of commission for 6 weeks or so, or if he’ll gut it out and play through the pain, and what effect each choice will have on the Lakers’ chances of making the playoffs. Todd McShay just shook up his draft board (thank goodness for Insider access on ESPN!) and now shows Matt Ryan going #1 to Miami. So you see, I’ve got plenty to hold my attention without worrying about the fact that the Patriots let perfection slip through Asante Samuel’s fingers. In fact, I won’t even give it another moment’s notice.

 I knew the danger in my ways of thinking. But, I mean, come on. You get to 18-0 and you’re entitled to a little bit of confidence, right? I mean, if you haven’t earned that, what have you earned? Especially when you faced this foe in the last week of the regular season and beat them. But we got cocky. Damn you Bill Simmons! You made us believe it was ok to breathe a bit. You, with your column on whether the ‘86 Celtics or the ‘07 Pats were the better team.  You did this to us! You are the biggest Pats fan around and even you had the “we’re gonna win this thing” swagger.

But alas, I can’t actually blame this on Simmons or myself or any other fan who thought, stupid us, “we’re 18-0 and have already beaten the Giants recently, this is a no-brainer”. I can, however, lay some blame at the feet of Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator for the Patriots. What was with the play calling? Randy Moss was actually having a decent game getting open. I suppose it wasn’t McDaniels’ fault that Tom Brady did not have a Tom Brady game. That ankle must have been more of a factor than we thought. But man, he was lofting passes above his receivers heads or 15 yards in front of them. Truth be told, all of the Patriots just looked lifeless. It’s almost as if they didn’t care who won. I’ve said it before, this is a team that thrives more than anyone else on being the underdog. They play that “they all disrespect us” card with more pizzazz than the rest of the league. (except for maybe the Giants now) When you’re 18-0 and have won 3 Super Bowl rings in the past, how do you motivate yourself? The fan base might not be able to cuddle up with the previous SB rings when the game is over, but the players can. And we all know who Tom was cuddling with post-game. So how do you make yourself care when you’re tired and injured and have broken almost every single-season record there is? Apparently? You don’t.

You know the worst consequence of this? It means that I will have to avoid all things ESPN today at a minimum and possibly the rest of this week. I cannot stand to read about how the Giants vanquished the big, bad dragon that was the ‘07 New England Patriots team. And it means that we’ll all be treated to the requisite Gregg Easterbrook column in his TMQ feature about how good triumphed over evil and I just don’t have the stomach for that. I mean, seriously, “you ain’t nuthin but a hound dog” Eli Manning beat us for goodness sake. Plaxico Burress wide open in the end-zone at the end of the 4th quarter when a field goal won’t win the game, for goodness sake. David Tyree hauling in that catch above Rodney Harrison’s head during the final two minutes, for goodness sake. No more football, just an entire off-season of highlights from this game, for goodness sake.

Last night, I was simply ill. Today, I feel numb. Bring on the sweatpants and the headphones. The SportsGirl is officially in mourning.

I’m desperately trying not to be over confident. I find myself defending Eli Manning in casual conversation just to cover my bases, while secretly I’m thanking Plaxico Burress for making his idiotic prediction that the Pats will only score 17 points. You’re one of the biggest stars on the team and you have post-season experience and yet you apparently are the only guy who doesn’t realize exactly what the Patriots can do when you give them “bulletin board” material like this.  I’ve gone over every angle of this game in my head and 1+1 is still equaling two. I just don’t see how the Giants will win. My fav, Bill Simmons of ESPN fame, is not only predicting the Pats victory, he’s predicting that the Giants are cruisin’ for a bruisin’. And he’s a cya kind of guy when it comes to not jinxing your team. So I’m feeling more confident with these feelings of excitement for the game tomorrow. If it turns out that these feelings were completely unwarranted because New England loses, it will be a sad, sad day for the SportsGirl. 

In the past 2 days, there has been a renewed interest in the “Spygate” chronicles. This time, Sen. Arlen Specter wants an answer from Roger Goodell on why the tapes were destroyed. The senator even goes so far as to suggest that the destruction of those illegally-obtained tapes was obstruction of justice and that Specter’s interest in this matter stems from the protection against anti-trust/anti-monopoly laws the NFL enjoys. Give me a break. I find it highly suspect that Specter is also notably a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Congress can’t seem to figure out how to counter-act the effects of a tightening credit market in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage mess, but they have enough time to investigate exactly what was on the tapes that Goodell’s office destroyed? At least the steroids in baseball issue has a more direct impact on the youth of the nation and I can possibly justify the involvement of our Congress in the matter, though I still think it’s overboard.

But in a round-about way, I’m almost glad that there’s a renewed focus on the spying mess. We saw what happened in Week 2 after New England was caught spying on the Jets sideline. A definitive statement was made to say look, we don’t need no stinkin’ tapes to win these games. Our execution on the field is tops and that’s all that matters. If they can feel that same motivation tomorrow to show the world that they belong in the rarefied company with the ‘72 Dolphins, then more power to them! I’ll have to remember to send Sen. Specter a thank you note for lighting that fire. I had been wondering how they were going to feel like the underdogs when nearly the whole world thinks they’ll win the game… 

It all ends tomorrow. One way or another. I can’t say I’m excited about that, even if the Pats pull it off.  A life without football is just not as exciting a life as one with football. Alas, I have no choice. Let’s hope it ends on a good note. If the Patriots lose, it won’t just be like one team losing in the Super Bowl. It won’t be “eh, better luck next year”. This is the perfect season on the line. The chances of this happening again next season or even in the next 10 seasons are slim. The Giants have exceeded everyone’s expectations and Eli has found his game. They can have better luck next year. So let’s go Pats!!

I remember watching Super Bowl XXXVI, remember watching the pre-game analysis and remember thinking “Seriously, why has everyone decided that the Patriots don’t stand a chance?!” Every announcer had written them off before kick off even took place. I know the Rams were great that year, but all bets are off in a game like this. I just had a gut feeling that Belichick and Co. could rise to the occasion. (and before you say I’m making that up, let me state unequivocally that I actually had a feeling that the Patriots would win that game) So the fact that almost every guest I’ve listened to on Mike and Mike this week has laughed when asked who they’re predicting to win this year’s contest is quite unsettling. I’m seeing “Shades of 2001″, except this time it’s working against the Pats and that’s not a great sign. Because the Giants are a talented squad. Yes, the Patriots beat them at the end of the regular season. And true, the path to the Super Bowl in the NFC may not be quite the test that it is in the AFC. But any given Sunday…

So is this me being paranoid? Possibly. The one factor that calms my fears the most is this two-week hiatus in between the Championship game and the Super Bowl. As we know, the Giants had been trading heavily on the hot streak they had going. But that came to a halt when the seconds ticked off the clock in Green Bay. Now they have had 2 weeks to rest. We saw what that did for the Cowboys…Granted, the Patriots have had the same amount of time to rest, but they haven’t relied on being able to play the M card–momentum.

What does seem to motivate New England, however, is the “it’s us against the world” thinking. I realize they have been heavy favorites in every game they’ve played this season so they’ve some how managed to create that sense of a chip on their shoulder in spite of the odds being in their favor. But when Kurt Warner skirts the issue on Mike and Mike by saying, basically, “come on, I think we all know who is going to win…” it makes a nervous nelly. Couldn’t the Patriots pay some people to pretend that the Giants are going to knock everyone’s socks off and take the game? Or would that “tarnish the legacy” too?

I’m sticking with my prediction that the Patriots will win. I think Eli started to find a nice rhythm this post-season and it seems like he’s finally getting the other guys in the huddle to believe in him. I think next season he’ll likely keep on that path. But he lacks the experience that Brady has in big games and that will play a prominent role in Sunday’s contest. But mark my words, it will be a contest. I don’t see this as a gimmee game. What it should be is a great game to watch. The New England offensive line is finally starting to get the credit it deserves and I think the match-up against the Giants D will be a great one. And as long as the Patriots come out on top, a great game is all I want to see!!