Olympics

What a great Olympics! The biggest story was obviously Michael Phelps, winning a record 8 golds. The 100m fly win was amazing, and the photographic evidence was just released showing he actually did win. Being a swimmer in high school, I just think the guy is a freak of nature (as is Dara Torres).

Another favorite story of mine was the one of May and Walsh improving on their consecutive win streak. Now THAT'S a dynasty.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica left us wondering how fast he could have gone in the 100m. The guy practically trotted across the finish line.

Amy and I were wondering why the track and field athletes wore less while the swimmers wore more.

I conveniently "forgot" to watch men's basketball. I could really care less what a bunch of thugs like Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd "accomplished" in the name of representing the United States. It seems as though there was limited discretion in the selection of that team. Bring back the college guys.

Remember when the father came out of the stands in Athens to help his injured son complete his track run? I don't think there was really any story like that in this year's Olympics. At least I didn't see it. Prove me wrong in the comments section of the blog.

If you're wondering why there's some events in the Olympics that you don't think qualify as sports, remember, they're the Olympic "games", not the Olympic "sports"!! Bring on the competitive puzzle assembling people (just kidding).

I'm still puzzled by the Olympic Committee's decision to hold the games in Beijing (the whole committee should be fired, they're all paid off anyway). Everyone knew that they wouldn't improve China's way they handle human rights, and that they would break every promise they made. What next, Olympics in Dubai?

See you in London.

That's Why They Play The Game...

First off, congratulations to the New York Football Giants.

For those of you who know me fairly well, here's why I think football stats mean nothing (and I think stats in sports in general mean nothing). Stats always indicate something that has happened in the past. Everything resets to zero when the kickoff takes place. The media obsesses about stats, since they seem to think that they represent what will happen in the future. It sucks the humanity and life out of sports in general, in my opinion. I did not listen to, read, or watch any coverage for the past 2 weeks involving the Super Bowl. Why talk for 14 days about a 60 minute game?

Everyone predicted the Patriots to win the Super Bowl, and statistically speaking, they should have. Brady had the best year of any QB. The Pats were undefeated. The Giants went into the Super Bowl the lowest seed ever. Why does all of that matter? It doesn't. It doesn't matter one bit, and that was evidenced tonight.

The Giants' defense showed up to play, and play they did. They got to Brady on very many plays. If you would have told me one year ago that a Manning would have been Super Bowl MVP, I wouldn't have picked Eli to be that Manning. Peyton could only watch his little brother from afar. The Giants overcame some absolutely huge obstacles to get to Glendale. They beat Dallas and Green Bay in their respective stadiums in the playoffs. Eli Manning did something that Brett Favre has never done - win in Dallas.

It's too bad that we have to hear the idiotic 1972 Dolphins yack it up about how they're the best team ever. Shut up already, everyone thinks you're annoying (unless you're a Miami fan).

Joe Buck was his typical awful self. I cannot describe in words how terrible he is in the booth. I listened for him to say one thing insightful the entire game, and he failed me. Again. When the Giants had to go for it on 4th and 1 during their final scoring drive, Buck actually speculated whether or not the Giants would go for it or not. You think? Get off the air. I think I know ONE sports fan that likes him, but I think he gets Joe confused with Jack. Night and day. At least he's better than Gumball from the NFL Network, Buck at least knows what a football is shaped like.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers surprised me during the halftime show. They sounded really good, I've always enjoyed their music. The halftime shows haven't been good at all since U2 played a few years ago. The Rolling Stones were a trainwreck, and I won't even talk about Prince last year. This is probably the first time Tom Petty has played a concert where there wasn't the massive brown cloud hanging in the air. And, thankfully there was no wardrobe malfunction with one of those guys... It was nice to see Jordin Sparks (from Glendale) sing the national anthem. I do not watch American Idol, but I read that she seems to be a class act.

Overall, the game was a good game, which is way more than what could be said about Super Bowls in general for the past 15 years. There were few penalties and very few turnovers. So, media, you can stop criticizing Eli. If you want to criticize a quarterback, criticize Romo. Yeah, right, you can never do that, he's your darling.

Two weeks until Daytona!!

Colts, You Have To Want It...

The Colts suffered a disappointing loss for their last game played in the Hoosier Dome (sorry, I still can't call it by its current name). You can't win if your defense doesn't decide to show up and put pressure on an average QB like Rivers.

Admittedly, I was nervous in the last Colts game, when they got beat by the Titans. You have to establish some momentum going into the playoffs. You still have to play. And no, Cleveland fans, Indy didn't mess up your plans, you have to win to get into the playoffs - don't rely on other teams to lose. YOU are in charge of your playoff destiny. 13-3 in the regular season was a miracle in itself, as the Colts played some games with as few as 17 offensive players due to injuries.

All in all, the Colts season this year was a typical one for the past few years, getting more than 12 wins is very difficult to do in the NFL.

Kudos to the "other Manning" and the Giants' win over the Cowboys. The Giants defense was in Romo's face all day. And, that blonde girl wasn't there today, so there should be no excuses.

Fox Sports had a "stellar" crew in the booth as usual - Troy Aikman and Joe Buck (the only microphone he should be speaking into is a drive through mike at White Castle). Their announcing booth was conveniently placed above Troy Aikman's name in the Cowboy's ring of honor. Give me a break - so much for the "neutrality" in the booth. Oh, a little lesson in Football 101 for Buck - when a flag is thrown right at the beginning of a play, someone is offsides and the refs don't blow the play dead, it's typically on the defense and is otherwise known as a "free play". Apparently you don't know that, because it's not on your cue cards.

The Colts will be back next year - Go Colts!!!

My year end sports review (well, some sports)

Colts win the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning wins his first Super Bowl, defeating the rival Patriots on the way. Manning will no longer be in the same club with such people as Dan Marino and Patrick Ewing. All of the naysayers in the press are shut up, except for the ones this year that say that Manning hasn't proven anything until he has Brady's Super Bowl record. Dungy proves that nice guys can finish first.

NBA... Hmmm... Can I grant commentary space on my blog to a bunch of whiny, overpaid prima donnas playing a game that is much more entertaining at the college level? No.

Hendrick Motorsports simply dominates NASCAR this year, winning 50% of the races on the schedule (better than some teams' records in the NFC). Jimmie Johnson is completely on fire during the Chase, beating out teammate Jeff Gordon, who has a 5th place average finish. Junior leaves DEI (thankfully) to join the 48 and the 24. Maybe they can teach him how not to blow engines every other race. Kyle Petty proves he's worthless on the track yet again, finishing 35th in the points, while running 5 more races than Mark Martin, who finishes 27th in the points. The Car of Tomorrow proves to be a pile of junk, as I've never seen more parts fall of a car on a track. Plus, after watching some qualifying, the COT was qualifying at 3 mph slower than the Busch Series cars at the same track, the same day.

Notre Dame football. Ouch. Navy at home? But, I still support you, coach.

Red Sox win the World Series again! There must be a lot of band wagon jumpers, because I've never seen so many Red Sox shirts out in public. Never saw any before. I've only known 2 Red Sox fans in my entire life. Steroids take center stage in baseball, but players' actions don't have consequences as far as their MLB career is concerned since Bud Selig has never taken a stand for anything in his entire life. And, the Yankees lose - a wasted playoff spot yet again. I'd just rather see someone else there, someone who can make it past the first round.

The IOC is considering adding ballroom dancing an Olympic sport. Sound absurd? Why not? Poker is aired on ESPN after all, and I think that's more absurd.

There was a hockey season?