SportsGirl

I am all for a good celebration. In life in general, there’s so much doom and gloom, that I think everyone is entitled to celebrate a little when they can find a reason. In football? It’s gone too far.  

I’m impressed with Junior Seau. As with so many other players that no one wanted, he joined the Patriots and is actually making a contribution at the ripe old age of 38. However, this past Sunday against the Jets, he lost some standing with me. It seems that every tackle he made, he felt the need to thump his chest and flail his arms in the air, as though it was the game-winning stop. I watched him miss quite a few tackles too. Which made the excessive celebrations all the more exaggerated. A lot of refs will throw a flag on you for excessive celebration, but he somehow managed to escape their ire. It’s shocking that Belichick hasn’t put the kibosh on this display of emotion.

Then we have the Miami Dolphins. My congrats to them on winning their first game of the season. Truly, a great accomplishment and a monkey off their collective backs. But come on guys, to have tears in your eyes because you won a game? Act like you’ve been there before. Sure, you haven’t been there this season, but this is a fairly winning franchise. I mean for goodness sake your winless season is constantly being contrasted against your ‘72 undefeated season. That wasn’t that long ago. I know the players were glad to have won the game, in overtime none-the-less. But again, tears? That just underscores why it was so difficult in the first place for this team to get their first check in the W column. When your mentality is that it’s a miracle to win a game, one game, then you’re killing yourself before the games even start. How would you like to be Baltimore this week? Not only did you blow your opportunity to crush an undefeated team’s perfect season, you also served as the backdrop for a winless team’s first win. Wow.

So enough with the celebrations. I know, I’m sure I sound hypocritical because I’ve been on record as having stated that I like the end-zone celebrations. But scoring a touchdown is a bit different than making a tackle. Especially when you make a tackle but it’s only after a guy has rushed for 30 yards and a first down on 4th and 1…Those are the celebrations that kill me the most. Seriously, act like you’ve been there before.

Originally, I was going to post my thoughts under this header about Terrell Owens’ running commentary on how Bill Parcels under-utilized him in the offense. Specifically, I wanted to address his reaction to Keyshawn Johnson’s semi-attack on him. But then the Mitchell Report was released. And while it doesn’t shock me to read some of the names that are tied to that investigation, I am interested that only one person has reacted to the report.

I’ve never been a huge Roger Clemens fan. He’s a helluva ball player but a jerk in regular life. Normally, I’d say the jerk part is overshadowed by the numbers he’s put up over the course of his career, but those numbers are now going to be scrutinized closer than a 32-year-old man looking over his beard to see if those hairs are gray or clear. Now everyone will come out of the woodwork to say they knew it all along. But Roger has struck first in the press, issuing his statement that he never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Forgive the cynic in me for not believe this vehement defense. Isn’t that what Marion Jones said? I don’t believe the “I never tested positive” defense is a strong one. That basically means, I’ve never gotten caught. Now in Clemens defense, he is staunchly stating that he never used the drugs but then the fall-back evidence of that is that he never tested positive. But part of his statement is spot-on. His attorney argues that, since the burden of proof in a slander/liable case is difficult to overcome when you’re a public figure, Clemens basically doesn’t have any recourse. He’ll have to bank on the court of public opinion voting his way and not believing the “facts” of the report. In as objective of an opinion as I can muster, I just don’t know why McNamee would lie about this. You can say he’d be trying to make a name for himself, and maybe it’s the naive person in me that’s thinking here, but what name would that make? Baseball is still a fraternity and if you’re helping to “out” the brothers, you’re persona non grata. So at best you’re looking at a book deal, which is great for a few million maybe. Is that worth it? It makes me tend to believe that McNamee is telling the truth. And there is a paper trail on some of these guys, though it looks like the bigger names were smart enough to pay cash in their dealings. (Aside: how hard is it to know you probably don’t want to buy illegal performance enhancing drugs with a check? Honestly…)

This topic will be the topic of on-going discussion, no doubt, and if any new points are made, I’ll certainly weigh back in. I found it amusing that President Bush felt the need to issue a statement and encourage baseball to take the report seriously but not to punish players without sufficient evidence. You’re the President now, W, you’ve got to leave the baseball owner in you behind. It will be interesting to learn about MLB’s plan for all of this because I think they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t. And honestly, I think most fans at this point are probably jaded enough that they’re surprised that more people weren’t named.

At some point soon, I will post my thoughts on the TO/Keyshawn “feud” because so may people are defending TO and I can’t let that happen. We knew it was coming with him…

Well, well, it appears that the Patriots are continuing down the yellow brick road towards achieving a perfect record. The Steelers were supposed to be the last test for the Pats before the playoffs, and last night, the Steelers looked worse than the Ravens playing against New England. Now, I don’t know if that’s a testament to how well the Patriots played, how badly the Steelers played, or how gritty the Ravens are. Though the Colts kind of made the Pats look stupid in the way they man-handled the Ravens in the Sunday night game. I’m choosing to believe that last night was a display of how balanced the Patriots are and how well they’ll match up with their remaining opponents. I had a few hodge-podge thoughts to throw in this post in regards to my Pats.

Thought 1. It continues to be stated that Bill Belichick lacks respect for his opponents  by running up the score in games that they’ve already won. Clearly, they hadn’t had the opportunity to run up the score in their previous two games before last night. To me, that gives credence to the fact that they’re not, in fact, running up the score in their games, but rather they’re playing to win for all 60 minutes. Whether that means they’re clobbering their foe or barely scraping by, they play the entire game at the same speed, for consistency’s sake. 

Thought 2. I listened Keyshawn Johnson on Monday Night Countdown tonight discussing what he thinks will happen next week when the Pats play the Jets for the second time this season. Now, I think it’s pretty well a given that the Jets will lose, though no game is a gimme to me. So no one is really talking about whether or not the Jets stand a chance (caution: see the Ravens game and the Eagles game). Keyshawn was basically pardoning the Pats in advance for actually running up the score in this impending contest and said that since Mangini blew the whistle on the whole CameraGate incident, that he would deserve whatever the Patriots want to dish out. Sorry, Keyshawn, but that sounds like the most faulty logic I’ve ever heard. I’m definitely not defending the whole video taping incident, and I feel like it’s been blown a little out of proportion (even I had a knee-jerk reaction before really processing the whole situation). But actually, intentionally running up the score on your opponent because you’re pissed that they called you out on your spying techniques? Not classy. I know, some would argue that Belichick is anti-classy in everything he does. I disagree and if it appears he really is running up the score just for spite’s sake I will be disappointed. I actually think the best revenge the Pats could exact would be to wrap the game up in the first quarter, then put their subs in and cruise to an easy victory. That would be the ultimate “I didn’t need to cheat to beat your crappy franchise” statement.

Thought 3.  ESPN’s bottom line now contains a section all about the Patriots. So in between the NCAA Men’s Basketball scores and the latest on the MLB trades, you have a whole bottom line item devoted to the pursuit of perfection. How cool is that? I don’t remember the Colts ever getting that kind of recognition!

So once again, I will state that I don’t believe that Belichick and the team are actually chasing the perfect season just to earn a place in the record books. Would it be nice? Of course. But his main goal is to win every game. Not to have your name etched with the ‘72 Dolphins, but because that is perfection. And that is what Belichick is all about. It’s just how he rolls. 

It’s all about the collegiate efforts today. With the Heisman Trophy being awarded last night for the first time in history to sophomore Tim Tebow, and with college basketball being in full swing, I find it appropriate to record some thoughts on the amateur sports ranks.

First, we’ll start with Heisman presentation. I knew Tebow would win, and really, he deserves to if you’re awarding the trophy to the best college player, which is how it’s supposed to be decided. Chase Daniels played himself out of contention by losing twice to Oklahoma. Patrick White did the same, losing to Pittsburgh in the final game before the votes were tallied. Now, granted, White was hurt in that game and the loss doesn’t sit squarely on his shoulders; if anything his absence in that game underscores his importance to the team, but the Heisman is not the MVP award. Injury is the same thing that prevented Dennis Dixon from getting more attention. Colt Brennan didn’t really ever seem to stand a chance. It was almost as if the Heisman voters felt badly that they knew Hawaii would get left out of the BCS Championship game so they decided to throw Brennan’s name into contention as a consolation prize. This year’s Heisman was always a contest between Tebow and Darren “Run DMC” McFadden. McFadden would hands-down win the award for best nickname in football, but sadly, that’s not a category in consideration for the Heisman. McFadden will be an excellent running back in the pro’s, despite the knock on him that he runs too vertically, but you can’t ignore Tebow’s touch down numbers, especially when you think about how many of them were rushing touch downs. So he is the victor and has earned a little breathing room. Which, after that speech last night, it sounds like he needs!

Now, onto the college basketball season. In an attempt to fill the void left on Saturday afternoons for me now that college football is on hiatus, I watched a little b-ball. Michigan was playing Duke yesterday and I had hopes that maybe someone had re-wound the time to 1989 when U of M actually had a decent hoops team. Alas, I was sorely disappointed. I remember the announcers yesterday commenting that it was somewhat impressive that Michigan was only 5 points behind Duke, at Cameron Arena, and that was maybe 5 minutes into the game. Then I watched Mich miss about 5 shots in a row, completely fail to rebound on offense or defense, and the lead widened to about 20 points without blinking. At that point, I changed the channel. Looks like the basketball season will be even less kind to U of M than the football season, if that’s even possible. Although, the hoops team does have a coach, which at the moment the football team can’t even say, so they do have the leg up there. 

Every year, the college coaching carousel begins to make another spin around the park. Some coaches hop off, or are pushed off depending on the school, and some hop on to take a ride. Every year I think, man that’s a lot of coaching changes, but seriously, this year there seems to be an inordinate amount of changes being made. It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read this blog before that the change I’m most interested in is the vacancy in Ann Arbor, MI.

It’s been reported that LSU has granted Les Miles permission to interview with U of M after the SEC Championship game this weekend. It’s also being said that LSU will hold their own set of talks with Miles to convince him to stay put in Baton Rouge. Personally, I hope he ends up making the move north. With the lack of success that Nick Saban is having at ‘Bama (which I don’t entirely blame on him in his first season) I think it’s become clear that, while Saban is a good coach, maybe he wasn’t the only reason LSU found success. I think Miles could bring some needed passion back into U of M football, though I think anyone could do that after Lloyd Carr. Nothing against Carr, I just think he had lost his spark. Probably stayed on a season too long, maybe two. So reviving the excitement around that program hopefully won’t prove too arduous a task for his successor.

One thing you know Miles learned from watching Saban flounder in the press is that Miles has NOT denied that he’s interested in the Michigan job. Smart man. Judging by the fact that there’s a clause in his current contract that explicitly lists U of M as the one school he cannot leave to go coach lest he want to pay a $1.25 mil buyout, it sounds like LSU must have known that the Michigan job was one that would always be on Miles’ radar.  

On a separate note, I feel the need to reiterate my growing excitement over tonight’s contest between Green Bay and Dallas. As predicted, I have heard countless details about the comparison between Favre and Romo and how everyone respects the hell out of Favre, yada, yada, yada. Enough with the chit chat. I am ready for the game. I think it’s going to be a close, high-scoring game, but I really think Dallas will come out on top. Not because I’m a homer, which I am quickly becoming when it pertains to the Boys, but because I just think Dallas has the better team. I think Marion Barber will have a phenomenal game and I’m betting on at least two touchdowns thrown to TO. Final score? Green Bay 31, Dallas 38. Here’s hoping I’m right!

This year, I’ve got a lot to be thankful about, in terms of sports. The BCS title of #1 seems to be a curse more than a blessing, the way it’s been passed from team to team to team. The Patriots are 11-0 on the season and I believe locked up the AFC East division with Buffalo losing today. The Peyton Manning “Priceless Pep Talk” commercials from Master Card continue to make me laugh. And the Cowboys have not-so-quietly achieved their best start in franchise history at this point in the season. I say not-so-quitely as a jab at all the sports talking heads that like to say things like “Seattle has quietly taken the lead in their division”, like that’s some sort of indication that Seattle is actually good this year. Really that’s more of an indication that they’re in a crappy division because, for goodness sake, a team like Seattle is tops!

But Seattle is not the point today. Today, the Boys are the point. I’d love to discuss the Thanksgiving day game between the Jets and the Cowboys, but that would take up all of about 2 words–Boys win. That’s all you need to know. It was a one-sided contest, as it should have been, where Terrance Newman returned an interception for a touchdown and Romo had a decent game. I know most would say he didn’t have a great game, but to say that would almost be to forget that last year, Jerry Jones was mad that Romo was getting playing time ahead of Drew Bledsoe. So I won’t go that far…

And that’s really the story on the Jets game. And I, like most, am already setting my DVR to record what should be an excellent match-up on Thursday night between the Packers and the Cowboys. I’m guessing that there will be clip after quote after sound-bite of Tony Romo confessing how much he admires Brett Favre and how he grew up loving the Packers. This will likely get spun into the “Past vs. Future” game between the quarterbacks. The gunslinger veteran vs. the gritty newbie. I just think it will be good football. The two offenses are ranked #1 and #2 in the NFC, with the edge going to the Cowboys. The Boys have a better defense, but the Packers aren’t too far down there. And I think this will be the NFC version of the Patriots-Colts game with similar stakes. Homefield advantage, mental advantage, etc.

So the fact that I have this game to look forward to is what I’m thankful for. This, and the fact that TO was actually quoted as having said that it’s ok that he didn’t continue his recent 100-yard receiving streak because the most important thing is that the team won. What?! Seriously? And I thought Bill Belichick was the only coach in the league known for taming the savage beast. Wade Phillips may have given me a new reason to like him. Or really maybe the credit goes to Tony Romo and the Cowboys overall record. Maybe I’m still ok with my quiet dislike/distrust for Wade.

I’m jones-ing today for some good football. I was traveling yesterday so I did not get watch as much football as I was hoping. The game I did watch was the Texans versus the Saints, which was good because the Texans won. But bad because both teams are not what I would call great so the football itself wasn’t all that watchable, save for the Ron Dayne resurgence that I have been waiting for. Then I was in transit to the airport for most of the Cowboys game so I had to listen to it on the radio. I had forgotten how enjoyable it can be to simply listen to a game on the radio. It’s been about 6 years since I had to listen to a game instead of watch and there is a certain attractive quality to “seeing” the game that way. The only thing that ruined it for me was Dan Reeves being one of the broadcasters. Terrible commentator and half the time I can’t understand a word he’s uttering! The few plays I did actually get to watch were the plays in the sequence that led Wade Phillips to call for a 50-some odd yard field goal attempt in the first quarter on the first drive. Seriously, Wade, are you that confident now that you’ll pull a stunt like that? That was like toying with the other team. “Hey, if we miss and turn the ball over around mid-field? No big deal. We’ve got this one in the bag”. Now, I am all for that kind of confidence when deserved. And I think the Boys are on a roll and are probably only going to be seriously challenged when they meet Green Bay in the NFC Championship game. But that seemed like a stupid call. And the Redskins scored on the ensuing possession, most likely because they had a short field!

The one pleasant spot last night was when I powered my phone on, after landing in Dallas again, I got a text message from the ESPN mobile service letting me know the Cowboys beat the Redskins 28-23. That was nice. Knew the outcome before stepping off the plane. Lovely! But there was one problem I had with that game. Isn’t Cowboys-Redskins supposed to be on Thanksgiving day? Isn’t that written in stone somewhere around the ”Do unto others as they would do unto you?” kind of thing? It’s like Packers-Lions. I don’t care if both teams suck, I want to see that game on Thanksgiving day. And I want to see John Madden passing out the turducken after the game. It just needs to be that way. Can someone work on that?

So I’m gearing up for a great week of extended football viewing. Lots of games spread across lots of days. My version of heaven!

Today is a day of shame. Today was the contest between Michigan and Ohio State. This is a game we, as U of M fans, live for each year. Don’t get me wrong, the bowl games are great. But the Ohio State game is equally important, maybe more important in a crappy season where you know the bowl bid won’t be a good one. I knew that OSU would be favored this year. Heck, they have been for the last 5 years. But in this type of rivalry, it doesn’t matter how you’ve played all season. You always have a chance. Or maybe not, as the Michigan players seemed to prove today.

It was an ugly game from the beginning. Cold, rainy, and altogether unpleasant looking. Early in the game OSU quarterback Todd Boeckmann dropped the ball with no one even pressuring him so I was hoping maybe the weather would affect them more than it did us. But really neither team could get any offense going. Mike Hart and Chad Henne played, though I can’t help but wonder if Henne hurt their chances of getting a win more than he helped. What absolutely killed the Wolverines though is Mario Manningham’s multiple dropped passes. But I can’t peg the entire loss on him. Michigan’s defense apparently doesn’t realize that when you go to tackle someone, the goal is to bring them down to the ground! They seem to want to just bump their guy and hope he loses his footing and falls. Forget wrapping your arms around a guy and dragging him down to the ground; today the players seemed more concerned with trying to be Bob freakin Sanders and they just wanted to hit their man and hope they stunned him. Note to U of M defenders: you’re not Bob Sanders! That guy knows how to follow through on a tackle. And if he hits you in the middle of the field, you can be darn sure you’ll drop to the ground. So between the defense forgetting their sole purpose on the field and the offense never finding a rhythm, it was a tough game to watch. The final score was 14-3, Ohio State. Hence the reason I feel shame today. I was even heckled as I headed to the movies later in the day, trying to erase the bad memory of the game. Some guy told us he was sorry for what Michigan endured today, then said Go Bucks! as he was walking away. And all I could do was shake my head because he had every right to do that. I freakin’ hate bragging rights when I don’t own them.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s ashamed of today’s outcome. Lloyd Carr has scheduled a press conference for Monday and is expected to announce his retirement. So the speculation will swirl about who his replacement will be. Les Miles? Urban Myer? Perhaps Cam Cameron, who would probably accept a position at Notre Dame rather than staying with the Dolphins. It will remain to be seen.

Meanwhile, LSU won their game, quite handily I might add and Oregon lost theirs. (Note to self…retract your statement in your earlier post where you said Oregon was a better team than LSU) Kansas won, and so did Missouri and as I’m typing this, Oklahoma is getting their butt whooped by Texas Tech, so it looks like the BCS will rank Kansas #2 and Missouri will likely move up to #3. Since those two teams play each other next week, it should be an interesting match up to look forward to. And this hot potato game of contending for the National Championship will continue until the regular season is over. I know the Big Ten won’t represent their conference there, so my support swings to the Big Twelve, since that’s the region I live in. And that leaves me with three words to close this post. Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk, baby. Ok, that was four…

For anyone who has read any of my previous posts, it’s not a secret that I love the Patriots. So it should come as no surprise that I have to weigh in on their pursuit of the perfect season. So many people hate them this season, while I feel more inspired than ever to cheer them on and do so loudly. Love the column posted by my favorite sports writer Bill Simmons where he discusses his unbridled passion for rooting the Pats on even when they’re running up the score on someone. Yes, I know, it’s unsportsman-like, and according to Gregg Easterbrook, the Patriots have no right to be upset that so many people are questioning their ability to win. Sorry, Mr. Easterbrook, but I completely disagree with your Good vs. Evil depiction of the Colts-Pats match-up. Yes, the Patriots were found to have illegally taped the other team’s signals in the Jets game. And yes, I know you believe in some big grassy knoll theory that they’ve been doing this for years, are still doing it, and will probably have secret intel on the outcome of the up-coming elections for President. I, on the other hand, think that they got caught illegally videotaping the Jets sideline and were in possession of materials that weren’t going to be of use to the team until they sat down and reviewed them, so truly there was no competitive advantage gained. Not that I condone or excuse what they did, and I’m not going to get into the “they’re not the only team using this type of tactic” argument, but seriously. We’re talking about them having this material in a game that they were winning without it and the tapes were destroyed before they could use them to game plan for the next meeting with the Jets.

So I don’t view the Patriots as evil. I don’t view them as good either. Great, would be more like it. Dominant. In your face, even. And I love every minute of it. So much of the discussion about this team has been about whether or not they’ll actually pursue the perfect season. Or if they’ll play it safe if they’ve locked up everything for the playoffs, which it seems likely they will. I say they’ll pursue the perfect season, but not because they want the record. They want to win every game just like every team does. And the argument goes something like “once home-field advantage throughout is locked up, why not rest your key guys to make sure they’re fresh for the post season?”. To not rest your guys would be arrogant, unsportsman-like even, or so the argument goes. I would suggest that there’s evidence that the opposite is true. That by resting your guys, or by altering your normal routine in a dramatic way, you’d be ultimately hurting your chances of reaching your ultimate goal, which is without question a win in the Super Bowl.

Look at the last two World Series. One team had their LCS wrapped up well in advance of their eventual competition. The team that finished the LCS early went on to lose the World Series, in ugly fashion I might add. It’s like my dad always says about being in law school. The kids that got straight A’s in college never did as well in law school because they weren’t used to having to work for it. The kids that got B’s and C’s in college did great in law school because they knew how to apply themselves. They already had a routine down of how to juggle all the priorities and get their study time in, etc. It’s the same concept in sports.

And this is the same reason why I’m not bothered when the Pats seem to run up the score. What would you have them do? Stop calling effective plays in favor of allowing their opponent the opportunity to come back and make it a close game? In a league where San Diego can give up almost 500 yards of offense to Minnesota one week and then next week they can pick off Peyton Manning 6 times, I’m not going to try to figure out which teams I can afford to slack off against, and which I can’t. And isn’t that almost more offensive and insulting to a team? “Hey, I know you suck and we’re up 20 points in the first quarter, so I’m just gonna put the ship on autopilot right now and let my guys cruise. You’ve got no chance of winning this thing!” Are you supposed to tell your defense to stop trying to make plays? Or to stop pass rushing quite as effectively just so your offense stays on the sidelines a little longer?

This is why I’m all for what the Patriots are doing right now. You play to win each game. Not to shame your opponents, but to play your best each week for 60 minutes. To give anything less would be disrespectful to the sport and the other teams. And you keep pressing ahead even when you’ve locked everything up because you play to win every game. No one wants to be rusty when the Super Bowl rolls around. And let’s face it, the chances of your guys being “fresh” because they didn’t play for 3 weeks versus being plain ol’ rusty are slim. So I say pursue that perfect season oh proud Patriots. Not to shove it in peoples’ faces, though you know a little bit of that is ok with me because people are blowing this camera-gate thing way out of proportion, but because that’s the way you play the game. To win.

Here it is, another Monday, and we are getting set to wrap up Week 10 in the NFL. I can’t say that I’m particularly jazzed for tonight’s match-up between the 49′ers and the Seahawks, but hey, it’s football, so I’ll be watching. My condolences go out to Mike Nolan and his family at the loss of his father, and hats off to Mike for deciding to coach tonight’s game, even while coping with the grief. I know it will be said a million times tonight, so let me be one of the first, that it’s probably a decision his dad would support.

I stayed up and watched the entire San Diego/Indy game. Most people probably quit in the first half, thinking it was a sloppy, one-sided game. And it was. I’m not going to say that Indy had no business coming that close to winning the game because I actually think the opposite is true; San Diego had no business beating the Colts. It shouldn’t have even been a contest! The Chargers are not the better team. They played better than the Colts last night, but they are not the better team. They are the team that allowed one rookie phenom to gain almost 300 yards by himself against their defense last week. They are the team whose quarterback barely managed 100 yards passing in victory last night, even with a weapon like Antonio Gates at his disposal. So all the talk about Indy “not deserving” to get a win last night is bull to me. They absolutely deserved a win and I’m still shaking my head that they didn’t get it!

One interesting note that I observed while watching the NFL games yesterday. During the Dallas-NY game, one of the Dallas defenders got flagged for unsportsman-like conduct for after he taunted the Giant he had just tackled. I thought it was a little ticky-tacky, but whatever. Just make your tackles and move on and quit jawing on the field. Then I’m watching the Chargers game and Marques Harris makes a tackle and proceeds to literally do a back-flip on the field like he’s going for the Gold at the Olympics. Was there a flag? Nah. You know, to possibly have a slight bit of consistency throughout the officiating crews would be nice. Maybe too much to ask for? Especially when we have things like “inadvertent whistles” happening that can truly affect the outcome of the game. A big thumbs-up to Clint Sessions for knowing what the ref apparently missed–that the ball never hit the ground on that 4th quarter almost-incomplete pass by Rivers and that it was a live football ready to be run back the other way for a touchdown. You could argue that this botched whistle blowing by the officials severely impacted the game. Because with the ball on the SD 7 yard line instead of on their own 20 yard line is a completely different scenario for the Colts. And really if you think about it, Sessions may have run a little harder in that last section of field to try to score if he hadn’t been hearing all the whistles blowing, signaling that the play was dead when it wasn’t. Even Al Michaels was commenting “This is all for show, of course, as the call on the field is that it was an incomplete pass”. Um, no Al, it wasn’t.

I must say, I was crabby watching the first half of the Cowboys game. Too many penalties, not enough catches, not enough explosive running from Barber, etc. And FYI, to Patrick Crayton. When you’re freakin’ untouched by a defender and you’re streaking towards the end zone? Cross the bleeping line into the end zone before you set that ball down. That is hardly a novel concept. You know what, if you want to make a statement by firmly placing the ball on the turf once you’ve scored, fine. But people who want to showboat and high-step it into the end zone, holding the ball out in front of them as they clown around or who want to not cross into the end zone, just extend the ball across the plane and then plant it into the turf? Give me a break. Even when you’re on my team, I’m rooting for you to botch the play and end up getting the ball stripped or have the officials review and tell you the ball didn’t actually break the plane. I am a fan of end zone dances and celebrations. I think it’s a shame that Ocho Cinco can’t perform his any more, though I guess he’d have to score a touch down for my disappointment to really count. But only after you’ve run into the end zone, ball tucked firmly in your arm should you make your “I’m awesome” statement. Is that so hard? Please.

A look ahead to next week reveals that announcers and analysts are already trying to create some hype behind a New England/Buffalo game that, by all accounts, should be a fairly one-sided contest. Wait, wasn’t that what last night’s game was supposed to be? In the NFL today, you just can’t keep it straight on which team is supposed to be crushing which.