Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Willie Colon: Out for the Year

Steelers right tackle Willie Colon injured his achilles tendon working out Monday. He's reportedly scheduled to have surgery today and will miss the entire 2010 season.

A lot of fans are panicking about how this injury will hurt the offensive line.

Panic about Roethlisberger missing the first month. Cringe about Holmes getting traded. Worry about the running back depth with Parker gone. Maybe even hire a Priest to remove whatever spell seems to have been placed on the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, but don't worry about Colon being out.

He's not the second coming of Art Shell. I've never been a huge fan of his work. I was surprised to hear that other people don't share that opinion. Matt Williamson, an expert scout that is always on ESPN radio, said that Colon is one of the top dozen right tackles in the league. If that's the case, I'd hate to see the bottom two dozen.

But who am I to question people like Matt Williamson? If he says Colon is an above average tackle, then he must be.

Not just Williamson, but the Steelers coaches have always liked Colon. They've always been high on him, even back during the Cowher regime.

One of these days, I'd just like to see some proof of his great skills.

All I hear about is how nasty he is, but I never see him dominate the person lined up against him. Instead, I usually see him baffled when two defensive linemen run stunts on him. Blocking air must be his assignment on those types of plays because that's what he seems to do more often than not. And lets not forget about the many crucial holding and false-start penalties he likes to commit on a fairly regular basis.

I think this could open the door for this year's first round pick, Maurice Pouncey. Trai Essex is expected to move into Colon's position and Pouncey could be in line for the right guard spot. I think that would be an overall upgrade.

Of course, this all depends on how well Pouncey and Essex perform in training camp, but I'm betting that Pouncey is the real deal and Essex has filled in at tackle before and the team didn't appear to suffer at all.

Pittsburgh is also reportedly talking to free agent lineman Flozell Adams, the 5-time Pro-bowl tackle who was recently released by the Cowboys. From what I understand, he was released mainly for salary reasons although he is 35 years old.

We'll see how this latest bit of bad news turns out for the Steelers but I'm thinking it could be a blessing in disguise.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

My Battle Against the Legendary Quinn Mankowski

I wasn't expecting to be in an epic athletic battle Wednesday morning, but there I was on Dickens street in a drive-way playing in a best-of-three foul-shooting contest against the legendary basketball phenom, Quinn Mankowski. Maybe you've heard of him.

He had all the advantages: His drive-way, his hoop, his street, his talent, his charisma, and his fans, but I was pretty confident I could take him.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I was willing to go the distance.

Each game was 4 rounds of 5 foul shots.

I'll admit that I was a little star-struck in the first game. I didn't have my shooting touch at all, but he did, making 14 out of 20.

If I didn't get my act together in the second game, I would be swept right off of Dickens street. I wasn't about to leave with noting to show for it.

That second game didn't start out much better but by the end of the first round, I started rolling. I didn't stop rolling until I made 16 foul shots in a row and won game two rather easily. I had Mankowski on the ropes at that point. I could see it in his eyes. I was going to beat him in his backyard and leave with the belt. I had never felt so confident in my entire life.

I wasn't as sharp in that third game, but his touch was still cold. I had him going into the last round. I was up by 2 shots and the way he was going, I figured he'd be lucky to even make one. Well, he not only made one, but he made all five shots.

Even though I wasn't as perfect in game 3 as I was in game 2, I was still feeling pretty good. At that point, making 4 out of 5 shots to claim my title seemed like a real possibility. At the very least, I knew I would tie him and send it into overtime.

I made 2 of my first 3 shots and was right on the cusp of greatness. I knew I was going to be next free throw shooting king.

Two more shots, that's all I needed.

I missed the 4th shot, but it was ok. I knew I would make that 5th shot and send the epic battle into overtime.

I took a deep, cleansing breath. I could do this. I knew I had it in me.

I bounced the ball a time or two. Bent my knees. Had my elbow in the right position. I let the shot go. It looked good. It was going to go in............clang! Off the side of the rim!

I blew it. I blew the game. I had the champion on the ropes in his own backyard and I let him off the hook. I could not believe it.

I have never felt so dejected in all my life. I've heard of these epic championship battles before and wondered what it would be like to be involved in one. Even if someone loses a battle like that, it's still something to be proud of, right? Well, I now know first hand that it's not.

It really is more painful to make it that far and come away with nothing.

I guess the moment was too big for me, but not for Quinn Mankowski.

The legend continues to grow.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Part Five of the Ten Greatest Super Bowls of All Time (part five)

2. Super Bowl XXV
Date: January 27th, 1991
Location: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida.

"WIDE RIGHT"
The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills, 20-19.

Super Bowl XXV was a contrast in styles between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants. The Bills, led by quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas, used a no-huddle offense to rack of the most points in the NFL in 1990. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Giants, led by strong-willed head coach Bill Parcells, countered with a ball-control, time-consuming offense. With that offensive philosophy and a very stout defense, New York led the league in fewest points allowed in 1990. The Bills were a 7-point favorite in this game and were expected to give the city of Buffalo their first Super Bowl title. The Giants were a cinderella story of sorts despite their 13-3 regular season record. They lost a late-season game at the Meadowlands to Buffalo and lost starting quarterback Phil Simms in the process. Simms was replaced by career back-up Jeff Hostetler for the remainder of the season. Hostetler managed the Giants to an upset victory over the heavily favored San Fransisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. San Fransisco was going for their 3rd straight Super Bowl victory. Despite the Bills potent offensive machine, the Giants controlled the tempo of the game and were only down 10-3 mid-way thru the 2nd quarter. A turning point in the contest came when Hostetler was sacked in the endzone for a safety by Bills' defensive lineman Bruce Smith. Hostetler kept his head on the play and didn't cough up the football as it looked like he would. Instead of being down, 17-3, the Giants only trailed 12-3. After a free kick and a Buffalo punt, the Giants got the ball back with 3:43 left in the half and drove down field and scored a touchdown to make it 12-10 at intermission. The Giants got the ball to start the second half and went on a record-setting, clock-eating touchdown drive to take a 17-12 lead. The Bills explosive offense finally bounced back and Buffalo scored on Thurman Thomas' 31 yard touchdown run on the first play of the 4th quarter. New York responded with another time-consuming drive which ended with a Matt Bahr field goal and a 20-19 Giants' lead. With 2:16 remaining, Kelly marched the Bills down field and put them in position to kick a game-winning 47 yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for the Bills, Scott Norwood's kick sailed infamously wide-right. The Giants captured their 2nd Super Bowl title in five seasons. This game was played during the Gulf War and is fondly remembered for Whitney Houston's incredible rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Despite New York's victory, the legacy of this game is probably most shaped by Scott Norwood's failed kick. Starting with Super Bowl XXV, Buffalo played in 4-straight Super Bowls and this was their best chance at a title. The Bills suffered lopsided losses to the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys in the following three Super Bowls. Sadly, nobody really talks about what a tremendous accomplishment it was for Buffalo to make it to the Super Bowl 4-straight seasons. Instead, they have forever been labeled "losers."

Sunday, June 13, 2010

I Think We Know Who the Top Dog Is

Last week, I was pretty excited to sit down and watch Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers on NBC. I was recently downgraded from expanded basic to basic cable and I don't get to watch too many sporting events these days so when one comes along, I embrace it.

I was disappointed to discover that the game wasn't on NBC that night. They had some show on. I don't know what show it was. If it was on NBC, chances are it wasn't very good.

But I digress. The game was on Versus, the cable network that owns the rights to most of the nationally televised NHL broadcasts.

Versus is a sister network of NBC who are both owned by Universal. Over the past few years, NBC has televised some of the Stanley Cup games.

I just assumed that since Friday nights aren't usually big for television, NBC would throw us sporting fans a bone and broadcast the game. But I was wrong. This means that if the Finals were a sweep by one team or another, the league's showcase event, it's championship round, would have been shown entirely on a cable network (the first scheduled NBC broadcast wasn't until game 5.)

That is unacceptable to me.

I'm not a huge hockey fan and I probably never will be. For a year or two, I thought that I would gradually evolve into this die hard fan if I just kept watching. But that's not how you become a die hard fan. It usually happens instantly. You don't have to put any real thought into it. It's not like when you first start dating someone and you're not sure how it's going to go. You start out as friends and over time, develop this great love for each other. You either live and die for a team or sport, or you don't. When it comes to hockey, I guess I don't.

Ok, so I'm not a die hard fan, but I do love to watch a good, exciting game, and I can appreciate a big event like the Stanley Cup Finals.

But how big of an event can it be if it's on a cable network?

I watched the NBA Finals on ABC the night before. Right now, on ABC, the World Cup is on.

You would never catch the Super Bowl on anything but the four big networks. The World Series is on Fox every year. The finals of Wimbledon will be on a major network, I can guarantee you that.

Now, I know these sports can't have every postseason game on a major network. They would never allow it because it would screw up their weekly schedules. The NBA and NHL playoffs, for example, each take two-months to complete.

But when it comes to the finals, a league should do everything in its power to make sure the signature event of their season is on a major network.

I'm not blaming the NHL, really. I'm sure it was NBC's call to not have the first 4 games on their network. And I'm sure Versus fought to have the games on their network, but that's the problem with the NHL. A cable network shouldn't even stand a chance when it comes to airing a championship.

There is no question that the league is a distant fourth among the major professional sports leagues in this country. And hockey is also behind college football, college basketball, golf, and NASCAR.

It's no secret as to why that is. Canada loves the NHL. They love hockey. It's like a religion to Canadians, much like football is here with us. The problem is that 80% of the teams in the NHL reside in America.

There are some nice hockey cities in this country. Places like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston are pretty good hockey towns.

But I wonder if they're good hockey towns are just huge fans of their teams. For example, is Pittsburgh a great hockey town or a great Penguins town? There is no doubt that Pittsburghers love their Pens. The string of sell-outs and huge ratings speak to that fact. But did we watch after the Penguins were knocked out?

I KNOW this is a football town, and a football region. Heck, with the exception of a few areas, it's a football country.

How many people play fantasy football every year? Millions. I've been playing for years and I'll continue to even though it frustrates me to no end.

I will sit around and watch a Browns/Lions game just because I am in love with the sport.

I'll watch a Virginia Tech/Clemson college game on a Thursday night if it's on. I just love football as do most people I know.

There is nothing they can do about the distribution of the teams in the NHL. There are only about 30,000,000 people living in Canada. If they put all the teams in Canada, there would be a team for every million citizens. Not going to do much for the ratings, that's for sure.

Speaking of ratings, if the Canadian ratings counted here in America, I'm sure the networks would be falling all over themselves to get hockey, but NBC doesn't care about Canadian ratings.

The NHL is the minority in this country, but try telling that to a real die hard hockey fan. I'm talking about someone that eats, drinks, and sleeps hockey. A person that thinks baseball and football are stupid.

They don't want to hear about ratings. They will tell you that hockey is the greatest thing on Earth.

If there is one thing I learned from the sociology class I took last year it's that minority groups are very vocal and passionate about their race, religion, or in a hockey fan's case, their sport.

You better not say anything bad about hockey in-front of a passionate hockey fan.

"Hey, essay, don't be bad-mouthin' the NHL. Viva la Raza! Viva la hockey! Viva la NHL! Viva la Gretzky! Viva la Lemieux! Viva la Crosby!!!!!!!"

Some older die hard hockey fans will even tell you that they were watching the Penguins way back in the 70's when there weren't many people in the stands. "I've been a season-ticket holder since 1975, chico! Viva la Raza! Viva la Mellon Arena!"

I'm not saying that hockey is a bad sport. I'm just saying that the overall majority of sports fans in this country aren't really that into it.

I mentioned the World Cup of soccer. Well, if we put a bunch of NFL teams in Europe where soccer is king, not too many people would care over there. They might watch it just for the heck of it. But it would be something to pass the time until the next big soccer game. And American football fans would get touchy about it. "Viva la Raza! Viva la NFL! Viva la football! Viva la Lombardi!!"

That's not to say that hockey can't become the dominant sport in America someday. You never know. Many years ago, baseball, boxing, and horse-racing were the sports that people paid attention to in the United States.

And in terms of football, college was more relevant than the NFL.

The NFL didn't become our passion until the late 60's when tv became more prominant. Football and tv have always been the perfect marriage.

Hockey is a hard thing to watch on television. It's much better in person.

I can understand a hockey fan's passion and why they're so defensive about their sport. When something you care about is overlooked by many. When you can't understand why others don't see the beauty in it that you do, you tend to be a little defensive.

That's how I am with Big East football. Don't disrespect the Big East in-front of me. I'll be all, "don't be sayin' nothin' bad about the Big East, holmes! The Big Ten is stupid! Screw the SEC, chico! Viva la Raza! Viva la Big East football!"

Thursday, June 10, 2010

NCAA Conference Realignment

Well, it looks like all the rumors of college athletics being turned upside-down are about to come true.

The Big Ten has been talking about expansion for months now, and today the first domino to fall was Nebraska all but agreeing to move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten Conference. That's pretty epic right there. And Colorado is reportedly leaving the Big 12, as well, and heading to the Pac 10. The Pac 10 didn't even appear to be a player in expansion as late as last week and now there is talk that they're going to lure 5 more teams from the Big 12, including the prized Texas Longhorns program. Everyone wants Texas because of their monstrous revenue-generating fan-base. The Big Ten is said to also be interested in Texas. And Oklahoma may go to the SEC. I don't know what's going to happen with all that but I know one thing: The Big 12 is all but dead.

I was of the opinion that the Big 12 was the second most powerful conference in college football behind the SEC so it's pretty stunning that the conference could completely dissolve in a matter of days.

The Big Ten might be satisfied with just Nebraska but I doubt it.

If the Big 12 is dead, that leaves 10 more teams looking for homes. Do you really think the Pac 10 or Big Ten would turn Texas down if they wanted to join either conference? What if Oklahoma really does join the SEC and they bring Texas with them? The SEC wouldn't just be a super conference at that point. They could petition the NFL to become their ninth division.

Geographically, not much of this makes sense. I mean, Texas in the Pac 10? They would look even dumber in the Big Ten. Geography has nothing to do with this, of course. It's all about money. Everything is about money.

The Big Ten wants to expand because they want foot-prints in untapped television markets. By landing Nebraska, they get a state that is nuts about their Cornhuskers. The conference can then go to the cable outlets in the state and tell them that they should put their network on their expanded basic package. I don't understand exactly how it works but from what I've researched, the network gets something like $2 per subscriber every month. Well, you expand that into a whole new region and that's a lot more money. The conference also wants to expand because 12 teams are required in-order to have a conference championship game. I don't know why a conference needs 12 for that. I'll have to ask my resident college athletics expert, Mike Strejcek. I'm sure he'll have the answer.

I'm sure the Big Ten would take more teams if the prospects were attractive enough. They would take Notre Dame in a heart-beat, of course, but as everyone knows, the Fighting Irish are too good for conference affiliations. Well, in football, anyway. They need the Big East for their other athletic programs. I guess "independent" doesn't suit the Notre Dame bowling team quite as well as it does the football program.

I know Notre Dame is all high-and-mighty about being a football independent, but I think they need a conference. I know the program still lands top recruits, but they're not getting the elite of the elite kids anymore. Schools like Texas, Alabama, Ohio State and Florida are landing the nation's top high school players these days. And I think part of the reason why is Notre Dame's insistence on being an independent.

What does a prospective football recruit have to hang his hat on at Notre Dame?

Of course, playing at South Bend in front of sell-out crowds and national audiences every week is awesome. But unless Notre Dame runs the table and gets to play in a national title game or even a BCS game, there is nothing else. A minor bowl for Notre Dame is considered beneath them. A kid will never have the pride of winning a conference championship at Notre Dame under their current independent status. Even if a team doesn't win a national title, they can still have a successful season by winning a conference title.

At Notre Dame, it's national title or bust. A college recruit might like the idea of playing in the SEC title game against Alabama better than the thought of a mid-November contest against Navy.

Where will a team like Kansas wind-up? There is talk of them moving to the Big East, which would be nice, at least for the already loaded basketball conference. But would that really make sense? Are they going to rename the conference "The Big East with special guest Kansas?" Sounds like a great concert from the 70's, but I don't know about a college sports conference.

The Big Ten was talking about raiding the Big East conference. They reportedly wanted Rutgers for the New York television market. I know they're not exactly crazy about the Scarlet Knights up in New Jersey, but that's not important. It's about getting their network into the New York cable market.

Schools like PITT and Cincinnati would make more sense competitively and geographically, but Penn state already provides the conference with the Pittsburgh tv market so there will be little use for PITT from that standpoint, anyway. And the Buckeyes already have the market cornered in Ohio so why bring in the Bearcats?

This is all so crazy. Being a PITT fan, I hope they wind up somewhere. Even if the Big East stays as is or they expand and bring in a Kansas or Maryland or even bring back Boston College, I'll be happy with that. If they land in the Big Ten or even ACC, I'll take that, too.

There will probably be 4 super conferences: The Pac 10, the Big Ten, the SEC, and maybe a hybrid of the Big East and ACC. None of this is really official right now and even when it does become official, it won't take effect for at least a few years. But make no mistake, the landscape is changing and things will never be the same.

PITT fans, be prepared to start up new rivalries with the likes of the North Carolina Tar Heels or Wisconsin Badgers. Texas fans, forget about Oklahoma. I'm sure that annual Longhorns/Huskies game will be very fullfilling for you.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Stephen Strasburg vs. the Pirates

Tonight, Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals young pitching phenom, will be making his major league debut against our Pittsburgh Pirates.

Strasburg was the number one overall selection in last year's draft and he's dominated his minor league competition from the start.

Some have called it the most hyped debut in baseball history. Reporters from all over are in Washington to cover this event. The MLB network is broadcasting the game. Imagine that, the Pirates will be part of a nationally televised baseball game.

1992 called and they can't believe it.

It's great that Strasburg is making his debut tonight and it's cool that the Pirates will be a part of it, but the whole thing just doesn't sit well with me. We all know that Washington hand-picked Strasburg's first opponent. They wanted to give him the easiest debut possible and what better team to do it against than the Pirates with their anemic offense?

What a slap in the face. I hope that some how, some way, the Pirates offense can find whatever it is that they need to find for one night and slap that kid all over DC for every camera to see. They shouldn't let the Nationals totally write them off like that.

Nobody likes being written off. It's like when you're picked last in gym class. Or like when Koko B. Ware faced Diesel in a tuneup match on WWF Superstars. Everyone knew Koko didn't have a chance. Diesel was just warming up for his big Summerslam match against Sid Justice. It was so sad to see Koko with that bird, knowing he wasn't going to win.

Please, Buccos, don't be the Koko B. Ware to Stephen Strasburg's Diesel.

Be the Rocky Balboa to his Apollo Creed.

Make us proud!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

They Don't Need Instant Replay in Major League Baseball

As I'm sure the entire sports world knows by now, Tigers Pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game because of a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce last night in Detroit's 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Cleveland's Jason Donald hit a bouncer that first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded and tossed to Galarraga who raced from the mound to cover the bag. The throw beat Donald by a full step but umpire Jim Joyce called him safe.

After the game, Joyce was pretty confident about his call even as some Tiger players and manager Jim Leyland were in his face telling him otherwise. When he looked at the replay afterwards, however, he realized his mistake.

Joyce was pretty distraught and apologized to Galarraga. To his credit, Galarraga took it in stride. He had to be disappointed but took the high-road and accepted Joyce's apology with class.

Today, all I heard was talk of the need for instant replay in MLB. Well, expanded instant replay. They already review disputed home runs.

I can't see any benefit in having instant replay in baseball. I initially thought it was a good idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are just way too many variables in baseball to have calls changed on a regular basis.

For example, let's say that there is a runner on 2nd or 3rd base with less than two outs and a ball is hit towards the gap in left-center field. The left-fielder dives and the ball winds up in his glove but the umpire rules that he trapped it. The runner on base scores without tagging up. What happens if they review it and the replay shows that the outfielder really did catch the ball. Is the base-runner doubled-off for leaving early?

And what about the "neighborhood play" where the umpires almost always give the second baseman or shortstop the benefit of the doubt on a double-play or force-out at second base? There would be replay challenges every game because of that.

They have instant replay in the NBA and NHL, but there isn't as much to cover in those sports. All the officials mainly review in basketball is whether the shooter gets the shot off before the red light goes on. And in the NHL, they just review goals.

In the NFL, instant replay is necessary because the game is much faster, and there are many things going on at once.

Besides, there numerous camera angles to choose from in your average NFL telecast. That isn't the case in baseball where some games aren't even televised.

I just don't see the need for instant replay because of one bad call.

I know Galarraga would love to have a perfect game on his resume, but there have already been two pitched this season. Years from now, nobody will be talking about the perfect games pitched by Dallas Braden or Roy Halladay earlier this season. They'll be talking about Galarraga's miscarriage of justice.

He's now the biggest pitching martyr since former Pirate Harvey Haddix, who in 1959 pitched 12 perfect innings in a game in Milwaukee before losing 1-0. It's considered the greatest game ever pitched and it's not even in the record books as a perfect game or a no-hitter.

People are also clamoring for the commissioner to change the call and award Galarraga the perfect game. He's well-within his power to do-so, too. But if he does that, he might as well award the 1985 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals who were victimized by a similar call by first-base umpire Don Denkinger.

If I'm Galarraga, I wouldn't want the call changed. Everyone knows he pitched a perfect-game even if the record book says otherwise.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Super Bowl Paradise

In 2014, the Super Bowl will be played in the Jets/Giants new stadium set to open this year. The game will be played outdoors in a cold weather city for the first time in the history of the event.

It's obvious to anyone who knows anything about economics that the NFL is just throwing the New York market a bone so the league can generate even more revenue. It's the same reason they moved the draft to primetime and why they've considered moving games to pay-per-view.

I hope the ppv never happens and I hope the cold weather Super Bowl is a one time thing.

Maybe I'm just a traditionalist, but I think the Super Bowl should be played in a warm-weather climate in a beautiful city. I'm not saying New York isn't beautiful, but it's certainly not a tropical paradise.

Fans of the teams will go to see the game no matter what, but I just don't like it. I know it's not a strong argument on my part, but that's just the way I feel.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't even have any Super Bowls in domes with the exception of the Superdome because New Orleans is such a fun city and it's been a tradition since the 70's. But Indianapolis? Minnesota? Detroit? No way.

They should rotate the Super Bowl between California, Florida, New Orleans, and maybe Texas.

Speaking of Texas, the next Super Bowl will be played in Dallas. I was discussing the possibilities of the Steelers regaining their form and making it to that game. What if that happened and what if their opponent was the Cowboys?

I don't want to say exactly what I said, but let's just say that I can think of only one thing more exciting than that.

I don't think I'd be able to contain myself. The two week build up would just be too much.

I mean, the Steelers in the Super Bowl is epic enough. But then you add the Cowboys AND the city of Dallas as the host.

Beating the Cowboys in Jerry Jones' new palace with all those snobby Cowboys fans looking on? I think I'd retire as a sports fan. What could possibly top that?