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At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

NFL Playoff Picks: GoDaddy Please Go Away!

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Thankfully the NFL playoffs are upon us because I couldn’t take many more nights of the Under Armour High School All American Bowl.

SEATTLE (+10) over New Orleans: Strange things happen at Qwest Field (see Charlie Whitehurst leading team to division title last week). The home of the “12 Man” has a way of stirring the echoes of Seattle’s past.  When the great Walter Jones raises the flag before the game tomorrow, the crowd will respond and give their ‘hawks a distinct home field advantage.  New Orleans is the much better team, but they’re pretty banged up and 10 points is a lot of points for a road team to cover on the road in the playoffs.

New York Jets (+2.5) over INDIANAPOLIS: I fully expect the Jets to go into Indy and avenge their loss to the Colts in the 2010 AFC Championship game.  I watched some of Colts/Titans game last Sunday, a must win for Indy, and came away totally underwhelmed by the Colts.  Maybe if Peyton Manning hadn’t tried to kill Austin Collie a few weeks back I would feel better about the Colts chances Saturday evening. As a Patriot fan, getting rid of Indy, one of the two teams along with Baltimore who “matchup” well against New England, is just fine by me.

Baltimore (-3) over KANSAS CITY: Charlie Weis announcing that he’s leaving as the Chiefs OC to take over the same position for the Florida Gators next season has had an immediate impact on the way fans perceive the current situation in Kansas City.  How can his decision to leave NOT impact his ability to call plays? For all we know, during the game vs the Ravens Sunday afternoon he will be up in the booth diagramming screen option plays for the Gators big showdown with Alabama next fall (Roll Tide).

Green Bay (-2.5) over PHILADELPHIA: I swore I wasn’t going to be one of those people who jumped on the Packers late season bandwagon. But, Michael Vick is clearly hurt, and the Green Bay offense, led by the underrated(?) Aaron Rodgers, will put up a ton of points against an over-matched Philadelphia defense.  It’s also important to note that there is a chance of severe weather rolling through the northeast Friday night into Saturday which could very well cause Governor Ed Rendell to have an aneurysm as he reflects on all the pain and anguish that the Eagles/Vikings postponement caused him a few weeks back.

Share your views.

view of the GoDaddy.com Bowl courtesy of @bigdee163

Igloos Aren’t Just For Eskimos

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At some point, if the NHL wants to increase its popularity it’s going to have to do one of three things:

1)Move all regular season and playoff games outside.  Casual sports fans love outdoor hockey (just check the ratings for the most recent Winter Classic). Hockey purists/players love it because they all learned how to skate on the frozen waterways of Eastern Saskatchewan.

2) Contract and/or relocate 3-4 current franchises.  Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Miami, Nashville should become Winnepeg, Quebec, Hamilton, and Hartford (I live in CT so I would love nothing more than a return of “The Whale”).

3) Partner with HBO for a 24/7 style behind the scenes documentary on the 2011 playoffs.  The “24/7: Road to the Winter Classic” was exceptional television.  It was able to humanize the sport and its players better than any previous interview or retrospective.  I especially liked the scene in the series finale where Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury gave us his best Denis Lemieux impression.

Ultimately, television contracts drive professional sports and unless the NHL can alter its current deal (I heard somewhere that it may be expiring soon anyway) it could be sometime before the sport emerges as the Great Global Game once again.

Share your views.

view of the Consol Energy Center courtesy of @PDPHollie

Charge Those Tattoos to The Underhill Tab!

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I have no intention of going all moral police on the OSU/tattoo parlor scandal.  As far as I’m concerned, this type of behavior goes on throughout the country.  It doesn’t make what Terrelle Pryor did right, but it does prove that the current system is broken.

I will not profess to have any idea how to fix the problem.  Pay all NCAA athletes a stipend beyond the scholarship?  Who knows.  Point is, as I was watching the Sugar Bowl last night I couldn’t help but think that a good portion of the players on the Superdome turf were receiving some sort of “extra benefits”. With the amount of money these programs/players generate for their universities, maybe paying athletes isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Share your views.

view of the Superdome courtesy of @pug_huh

Andrew Luck Will Not Be Drafted By Any of These Teams

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For the playoff edition of our NFL Rankings I have enlisted the help of my old college friend Finch. Finch is a huge New England fan whose love affair with the Pats goes all the way back to the days of Andre Tippett and Irving Fryar.  As a high school quarterback, he even wore a neckroll just like his childhood hero Steve Grogan.

view of the Orange Bowl courtesy of @RuleofTree

1. Patriots (14-2) VMS: If 2008 taught us Patriot fans anything it’s that we are one Bernard Pollard hit away from Brian Hoyer and that wouldn’t be good for anybody.

2. New Orleans Saints (11-5) Finch: A wild card team will represent the NFC in the Superbowl. WHO DAT!

3 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) VMS: The 24/7 documentary on the Winter Classic was some kind of captivating television.  It’s such a good premise that I would even consider watching an HBO produced series on Stan Van Gundy.

4. Atlanta Falcons (13-3) Finch: The Dirty Birds three losses were to playoff teams.  That being said, Natty Ice, the cheap beer, wasn’t even that good when we were in college.

5. Baltimore Ravens (12-4) VMS: How is it possible that Ed Reed led the NFL in interceptions again this season?  Dude is like 40 years old and missed half the season due to injury. Must be something in the Chesapeake Bay water.

6. Indianapolis Colts (10-6) Finch: As long as Peyton Manning doesn’t try to kill another one of his receivers, this team could be very dangerous.  Plus, I can’t pick a Jay Cutler QB’d team.

7. Green Bay Packers (10-6) VMS: Aaron Rodgers seems like a real cool cat who probably has a smoking hot supermodel girlfriend, but man, does he sure have some huge nostrils.

8. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) Finch: I guess Tucker Carlson won’t be selling any of his pets to Michael Vick.

9. New York Jets (11-5) VMS: Listening to Rex Ryan talk this week you would think that they have already won the Superbowl. Relax Rex and “go have a goddamn snack!”

10. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) Finch: I still refuse to pick Jay Cutler and would have gone with KC earlier if their offensive coordinator wasn’t bolting to call plays in the SEC.

11. Chicago Bears (11-5) VMS: Are Jay Cutler and Phillip Rivers related? Can this be true?

12. New York Giants (10-6) Finch: Because I refuse to pick a 7-9 team. Hey, you gotta have some standards.

Share your views.

Admit It, Charlie Whitehurst Really Does Look Like Jesus Christ

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Now, to be clear, I’m not saying Charlie Whitehurst IS Jesus Christ but rather that the two share a similar coiffure. Also, to be fair, Jesus would have found a few more open receivers than Whitehurst did during the Seahawks triumphant 16-6 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Congrats to Seattle on clinching the NFC West and in the process becoming the worst NFL team EVER to make the playoffs.

There is a lot to like about Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks.  For starters, it’s the loudest stadium in the NFL.  The “12th man” is responsible for a minimum of two false start penalties a game.  It might be the one pro crowd that sounds and feels a lot like a big time college football stadium (think Autzen Stadium).

Whenever I watch a game from Seattle, all I can think about is Bo Jackson absolutely “truck sticking” Brian Bosworth on Monday Night Football. I was too young to remember the game myself but, to this day, my Dad swears it was one of the best individual performances he ever witnessed on MNF.  Seattle fans may disagree but honest football fans cannot dispute the pure brilliance of Bo.

So Qwest Field, speak up. Are you louder than a college crowd? Share your views.

view of Qwest Field courtesy of @GlobGlob