| Sunday Sportsfest: Manning Grounds the Jets, Raptors Bite the Lakers and Brett Favre Falls to the Sa | ||||
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| Robert Elkhorn |
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An afternoon of NFL playoff football with a Lakers game sandwiched in-between sounded like a day made in couch potato heaven to me.
The wife and I got up early (at her suggestion of course) and took a bike ride so I wouldn’t feel like the day was completely wasted on being mesmerized by the sports on my television screen...Yeah right.
Peyton Manning and Mark Sanchez provided ample entertainment for game one of my Sunday triple header. The ever efficient Manning predictably lead his Colts squad to victory over the upstart Jets proving once again that he is worthy of his status as one of the all time greats. Sanchez, the USC product that angered his coach at the time, Pete Carroll, by leaving the school in favor of going pro after his sophomore season. Carroll remarked at the time that Sanchez simply wasn’t ready for the NFL…turns out he was.
Despite some dramatic ups and downs through the course of the season, young Sanchez not only proved he belonged but that he could excel at the professional level. Who knows what might have happened had he stayed and played for the Trojans this season. In retrospect, it’s safe to say that he made the right choice in elevating his draft status by leaving early due to the fact that Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford and now, Jimmy Clausen will head a crowded QB class in the 2010 NFL draft. The Jets can be confident that they have their franchise QB of the future and Mark and his NY teammates can be proud of their effort Sunday in falling to the well oiled machine that is the Peyton-led Indianapolis Colts. Despite the high hopes of Jets fans, the loss is not really a surprise to anyone. With game one of the trifecta in the bag, my attention turned to the Lakers-Raptors game. After a hugely disappointing loss to the Cavaliers in Cleveland, the Lakers bounced back with a victory against the lowly Knicks in New York behind a strong 4th quarter performance on Friday. The opposite was true this afternoon in Toronto.
This time the Lakers fell flat on their face in the 4th. Kobe Bryant finished one assist shy of a triple double to go along with 16 rebounds and 27 points but his two desperation three pointers late in the game were not enough to get the win. With two losses in three games on the current eight game road trip, the purple and gold seem to be lacking the sense of urgency that carried them to the NBA title last season. Though they still have the best record in the NBA, the air of invincibility is suspiciously absent from this defending championship squad.
Next up was the heavyweight bout that I was all geeked up to watch, the NFC Championship game featuring the Minnesota Vikings vs the New Orleans Saints and it didn’t disappoint…the Brett Favre show rarely does.
Hold on to your 401K because the annual Brett retirement circus starts NOW. Brett may rival Susan Lucci in terms of always being in the thick of all things drama but I am never let down when I watch this man play the game of football. Today my only disappointment was that the Vikings lost. For that, they have no one to blame but themselves. There is no shortage of blame to go around. In looking at the numbers, the Vikings SHOULD have won this game. The two-headed monster of Favre and Adrian Peterson was running at full throttle, the defense was hitting hard and they were piling up first downs like Rain Man stacked chips in Vegas. Only problem was, they coughed up the ball nine times and Favre tossed two interceptions, including a timely back-breaker late in the fourth quarter that likely would have been a field goal attempt by Minnesota had Brett simply slide for a small gain rather than try to force the issue through the air, but that’s the way Brett lives and dies on the field…He goes for it. The post game interview had a subdued and obviously disappointed Favre looking like a battered boxer with red marks on his forehead, a dejected look in his eye and a somber tone in his voice at the podium. He looked every bit of his 40 years at the postgame press conference thanks to the swarming defensive effort of a fired up Saints D that put the screws to the veteran all game long. From my living room in Southern California I could faintly hear the collective sigh of relief all the way from Green Bay Wisconsin. Outside observers such as myself can only imagine how painful it might have been for the Packers faithful to see their rival Vikings carried to a Superbowl victory on the shoulders of their former favorite son. The whole Packers angle is consistently downplayed by both sides but... This wasn’t just another player switching teams, Brett Favre is the biggest rockstar Green Bay has ever known.
This is a place where cheese, milk, beer and Packers football are not only a way of life but a religion. These folks consistently brave subzero temperatures shirtless with nothing but a block of foam rubber cheese on their head to keep themselves warm to support their team at icy Lambeau Field. Season tickets are WILLED to family members. Last year when it was Bretty and the Jets, they could accept the fact that Favre had moved on, but when he jumped onto the Vikings ship all bets were off. He had slapped them in the face...instigated them even.
Now, it was personal. A line was crossed. This wasn’t simply Brett moving on, this was Brett purposely joining a bitter rival in order to stick it to Packers management for not giving him the respect he felt he deserved. He may have denied that this was the case, but let’s not be naive here…Brett wanted to stick it to Green Bay in the worst way and what better way than to exact revenge than to do it in Minnesota purple and gold? Take the two games Brett played vs. the Packers this season…Minnesota won both games. Coincidence?
I think not.
All looked to be going as planned for Brettadict Arnold’s Green Bay Payback Tour '2010 until a heavy dose of WHO DAT? hit hard and hit often on Sunday when the offensive juggernaut known as the Saints came marching in. The post hurricane Katrina ravaged city has been struck again.
This time in a good way.
Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and company have carried the Saints to their first Superbowl appearance five years after the worst natural disaster in American history. This proud city could use a pick-me-up of this magnitude after enduring such hardship. There’s no denying it, the Saints are looking good.
Congratulations to the city of New Orleans and the Saints.
The one person who has to be torn in two directions in this turn of events has to be Archie Manning. Not only is he the father of Peyton Manning, he is the legendary Saints quarterback of yesteryear. Who is he supposed to root for? His beleaguered, long-suffering Saints franchise or his eldest son?
Tough spot to be in, but also an enviable one. Kinda like Peyton here...
Superbowl Sunday is February 7th, but the hype starts today. Comments (5)
  written by Bolt Backer 21, January 26, 2010
Nice work Bleed. I'm still betting on the Chargers to go all the way!
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 written by BLOODMAN, January 26, 2010
I too watched all three games on Sunday sporadically.
The AFC contest was such a personal tribulation...cheering for NY? You guts to be crazy and yet there I was. Mrs. Smith had to wonder what in thee hale was going on? The Lakers game...I'm totally lying, this wasn't the game I was able to watch, though I do try to catch them as often as possible, just being a ball fan. Nuttin like the quick outletpass-pass-finish to keep this man at bay...for the time being... Could you tell Artest, should you "bump" into him that it aint the 80's anymore and Kid-n-Play haircuts have gone by the wayside. If you get the chance... O poor Bretty...the nightcap had America on both sides of the fence. It sucks that he'd come this far only to bow out on that play, specially when he could have bitten the bullet, slid for a few yards and then kicked the game-winner to advance. You are right, they certainly outplayed the Saints but perhaps your second point is even more valid, the city of New Orleans (cite Arlo Guthrie) deserve some good things... Be well brother. report abuse
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 written by Gene Haddock, January 25, 2010
Great stuff, Bleed.
Even I have to put down the Hater-Aid long enough to gloss Brett, a little. He left it all on the field Sunday. I just wish he would listen to Tracey Ullman. report abuse
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 written by Sportschump, January 25, 2010
Oh... very nice, Bleed.
Don't forget to swing by http://sportschump.net as I have a Brett Favre caption contest that's calling your name. We were finally treated to a great Sunday of football. And dude, come on. The Knicks? Did you watch all four quarters? You're a sick, sick man. report abuse
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 29 January 2010 20:18 ) |
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Thx...Good luck with that.
Blood,
A Bostonian rooting for NY?...What would Steven Tyler say?
If I bump into RonRon, I'll toss a beer on him just to see what happens,
deal?
-Brett's going to be running that in his headplay forever...or at least until he retires....Wait...that's an oxymoron isn't it?
Gene,
Wow.
Never thought I'd hear you propping up Fahvray, but game recognizes game...even through lenses blurred by hate.Brett took a lickin and kept on tickin...until that fatal mistake.
Chump,
Sick?
LOL...You have NO idea.
I'll check it out now.