Just for Sport

Last night we were all graced with one of the great football games in recent memory.  It surely goes down as one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen.  If I had to choose the five greatest games in all sports in the last ten years without spending a bunch of time thinking about it or researching, they would go as follows:

5 - 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State over Oklahoma, 43-42 (OT).  This makes the list for me because (A) I hate Oklahoma - see sidebar, (B) Nobody thought Boise State would stick it to OU for three and half quarters, much less pull the upset, and (C) Those last couple of plays - The Hook and Lateral and The Statue of Liberty.  Instant classic.

4 - Super Bowl XLII, New York Giants over New England, 17-14.  Not many people predicted a low-scoring game, much less a close one.  The three lead changes in the 4th quarter plus Eli Manning’s escape/David Tyree’s catch (Do we have a name for that yet?) made it a great game anyway.  The storyline behind the game (destroying the perfect season, etc.) put it on the list.

3 - 2004 AL Championship Series, Games 4 & 5, Boston over New York.  Game 4: 6-4 (12 innings).  Game 5: 5-4 (14 innings).  I think it’s fair to lump these two together because it was really the series that was impressive.  Also, Game 5 started 16 hours after Game 4 ended.  These games were great not only because nobody had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit before, but because the Yankees had so thoroughly dominated the series up until that point.  The way they won those games was just fantastic.

2 - 2006 Rose Bowl, Texas over USC, 41-38.  This one was just like last night’s game, except with 4 times the scoring.  USC were the overwhelming favorites, and Texas overcame the odds in the Championship Game, with Vince Young scoring the winning touchdown on 4th down.

1 - 1998 NBA Finals, Game 6, Chicago over Utah, 87-86. Michael Jordan hits "The Shot" (Does that play have a name?  What is it?) in his last game in a Bulls uniform to cap off a 45-point performance and the Bulls 6th Championship.

There are some others that perhaps mean more to me than the greater sports world:

1999 Stanley Cup Finals, Game 6, Dallas over Buffalo, 2-1 (Triple OT).  Creasegate.  Modano plays 55 minutes with a cast on his arm.

June 29, 2007, Chicago Cubs over Milwaukee, 6-5.  The Cubs rally from a 5-0 deficit to win on Aramis’ walkoff home run.  This game also turned the tide in the division race.

2007 NL Wild Card Tiebreaker Game, Colorado over San Diego, 9-8 (13 innings).  This was a great game even before the 13th inning.  Plenty of offense early, followed by dominant pitching and stellar defense.  There was a grand slam and a killer error that allowed the game to go into extras in the first place.  The Padres got 2 in the 13th, and the game was thought over.  But the Cinderella Rockies beat the odds and killed Trevor Hoffman.  The play at the plate, which is consistently the best play in sports, capped it all off. 

2006 NL Championship, Game 6, Florida over Chicago Cubs, 8-3.  I hate this game, but for the Marlins, this was a GREAT game.  Cubs fans, please don’t blame Bartman.  Blame Baker.

2007 AFC Championship Game, Indianapolis over New England, 38-34.  If this game was the Super Bowl, it might have made the list.  The Colts looked dead in the water, behind 21-3, then rallied to beat the team that had been keeping them down in dramatic fashion.

Feel free to disagree or suggest some other games. 

I’m too dumb to embed YouTube videos, so here’s a couple of links:

Great Play

Best Commercial 

Terry Tate. Just kidding. But seriously, every year since 2003, I have hoped that Reebok will come out with a new Office Linebacker commercial for the big game. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m predicting a cameo by 55.

While I’m waiting for Terry Tate to grace us with his presence on Sunday, I will be rooting for the Colts. However, I have three reasons that I should want to pick the Bears: (1) It would be sweet if Danieal Manning could win one in his first season. (2) I’m ahead of my Dad by one game in our pick ‘em pool. He’s taking the Bears, so if I were to do so as well, I would automatically win. Kind of cheap, but so is kneeling the ball with time on the clock. (3) Everybody is picking the Colts to win. In this situation, it’s tempting to go with the Bears so that if they do pull it off, I’ll look smart.

I’m not going to pick the Bears. I just can’t. Brian Urlacher almost convinced me. Will he change the game? Absolutely. Will he make it hard for the Colts to move the ball and score? Absolutely. Will he be able to account for every single offensive weapon the Colts have? Absolutely not. Despite stellar play by Ray Lewis, Mike Vrabel, and, um…Who’s the Chiefs’ middle linebacker? Well, never mind about him. Anyway, Urlacher’s going to have to have a Triple T-like performance to have a chance.

Nick Harper almost convinced me. It looks like he won’t be able to play. Of course, last year, he got stabbed in the knee by his wife the night before the Colts played the Steelers and still played the whole game. But, then again, if he doesn’t play, at least it will be one of the other defensive backs running back a turnover. Note to Marlin Jackson: If you’re in the open field, and Rex Grossman is the last man left to tackle you, CUT OUTSIDE!

Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson almost convinced me. Surely, the Colts run defense will fold at some point. Right? Rob Morris, Booger McFarland, and Bob Sanders all appear to be healthy. It looks like Good Rex…oops, I mean the good Colts run defense will show up on Sunday.

Here’s what convinced me. The Colts ran through the gauntlet this year, while the Bears played six games against the rest of the NFC North. It seems that for the last couple of years, the Colts have been one of the couple teams that every league has that opposing teams throw everything at. They figure, if we can beat the Colts, we’ll make a statement. In the MLB, everybody wants to beat the Yankees and the Red Sox. In the NBA, they try to beat the Lakers and the Spurs. In the NHL, they try to beat the Red Wings. And in the NFL, the way to gain attention is to beat the Colts and the Patriots. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the Yankees, Red Sox, Lakers, Spurs, Red Wings, Colts, or Patriots are the best teams in any given year. It just means that teams rest their big players for those games, they prepare a little bit harder, break out the plays they’ve been saving in practice, etc. It means that the Yankees, Red Sox, Lakers, Spurs, Red Wings, Colts, and Patriots are battle-tested. They know what it means to win close games because those are the types of games they have to win. When you’ve constantly got a target on your back, you know how to play in the big game. On a stage this huge, there’s no holding back. The Colts are used to that kind of attitude from teams. I’m not so sure the Bears are the same way.

I’m taking the Colts, 34-21. That’s 55 total points, in honor of Number 55, Terry Tate. I guess I’m going to have to rely on a tiebreaker in our pool if the Bears win. Here’s what I think will happen: the Colts will get in front early, weather a comeback, then put the Bears away midway through the fourth quarter. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be nervous the whole game. But if Terry Tate makes an appearance, I’ll suddenly feel better about that other prediction.

Note: On Monday, I broke down the Colts and Bears by position. Today, I give five keys that must happen for each team to win. Friday, I will give my pick and make some other predictions concerning Super Bowl XLI.

Colts
1. Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes must be able to run inside as well as they run the stretch play.
It’s no secret that the Colts bread and butter run play is the stretch. The problem with that this week is that Brian Urlacher is arguable the most mobile middle linebacker in the league. The Colts were able to (somewhat) neutralize Ray Lewis by running straight at him. The good thing for the Colts is that they know they can do it; they just have to execute.
2. Peyton must spread the ball around.
There’s no question that the Bears will be ready for Harrison and Wayne. But can they be ready for all of the other weapons?
3. Bob Sanders must establish himself as a run stopper.
If he can do this, he will lift a mighty heavy burden off of the rest of the defense. If he cannot, the Bears will most certainly take advantage, run it down the middle all game, and chew up clock.
4. The defense must get at least two takeaways.
You almost have to believe that the Bears will be able to get at least two, so the Colts will have to keep pace and give Peyton enough opportunities.
5. Adam Vinatieri and Hunter Smith must kick away from Devin Hester.
There were at least two games that I can think of right now that Hester won for the Bears, simply because the opposing coach was too proud to tell his punter to angle the ball out of bounds. The Colts will not be able to afford to give the Bears any kind of momentum whatsoever, and kicking the ball to this year’s most prolific returner would do just that. Lost in all the talk about their defense is the fact that their special teams were pretty bad, too.

Bears
1. Lovie Smith must run the ball early.
Let me temper this: don’t be too stubborn. That’s the mistake Herm Edwards and Brian Billick made. Not only must Lovie call run plays, but Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson better get in there and break some tackles and gain some yards. If the Bears can’t establish the run, the Colts will get the ball more, which is never a recipe for success.
2. Rex Grossman must protect the ball.
If Rex turns it over, the Colts will capitalize. I don’t care how confident the kid is on media day, if he coughs it up, the momentum will be on the Colts’ side.
3. The defense must put pressure on Peyton.
The tried and true way to beat the Colts is to force Peyton into mistakes. The Bears run a pretty basic defense with not very much blitzing, so the front four will have to do the job.
4. Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman must contain Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.
If they can’t, it won’t matter if Peyton spreads the ball around. If you allow these two to run free, the Colts will win 9 times out of 10.
5. The Bears must get on the board first.
We saw the Bears come back on the Arizona Cardinals, but they were the Cardinals. If you give points to the Colts, they will step on your throat and finish you. “If you want to crown ‘em, crown ‘em!”

For the first time in my memory, two teams that I have followed closely will meet in the Super Bowl. Since I know both teams fairly well, I thought it might be fun to do a position-by-position comparison before the big game. For those of you who haven’t made your decision on the winner yet, this might be helpful. In a couple of days, I will post what I see as keys to the game for both teams, and a day or two after that I will make several predictions, one of which will be the winner of the game. Let’s get started with the most important position on the field…

QB
P. Manning
Grossman

The last time the Bears were in the Super Bowl, the opposing quarterback was Tony Eason, who isn’t exactly Peyton Manning. Manning, whose playoff shortcomings have been well-documented (and exaggerated), is capable of beating any defense. Of course, the Monsters of the Midway were able to make Drew Brees look foolish, and it’s possible they could do that to Peyton, too. The way to get to Manning is to effectively blitz and frustrate him early with takeaways. The Bears are capable of both, but Peyton looked pretty unflappable against his long-time nemesis last week. In Chicago, the question will always be, “Good Rex or Bad Rex?” The Bears defense is good enough that they can get by most opponents without needing a big game from their quarterback, but this is the Super Bowl. Yes, Trent Dilfer won one with the Ravens, but they were also playing against Kerry Collins, Jim Fassell, and the rest of the Giants. The key for Rex has always been getting the run game established. This is very doable against the Colts, but if they can stop the run and the defensive ends start flying around, it could be a long game for Rex. This is one of the more bipolar QB combos in recent Super Bowl memory. If there ends up being a noticeable difference between these two on February 4, it will be because Peyton will know the Bears defense much better than Rex knows the Colts defense.

RB
Addai/Rhodes
Jones/Benson

Despite opposition from their respective fan bases, each of these teams has stubbornly stuck to their platoon of runners. Both have obviously been successful. This is a growing trend in the NFL, and I won’t be surprised if almost every team is doing something similar in years to come. I think that most fans of the Colts (including myself) believe Joseph Addai should be the guy, but Dominic Rhodes has proven to be a good change of pace when Addai needs rest. The same thing applies to Jones and Benson. These two platoons are going up against two different run defenses, though, and it will be interesting to see how the running game gets used. In the Championship game, the Colts used the running game to grind out the clock in the middle of their comeback and keep the Patriots defense on the field. The Bears have a better run defense that New England, so that strategy may not be on the table. On the other side, Lovie may try to open up the game with a heavy run attack to see which Colts defense has shown up.

FB
Mungro
McKie

Both of these fullbacks are great blocking backs who have been utilized by their teams in the passing game. Either can be used to keep the defense honest, and one of them will probably be a target in the red zone. If you had to bet on which one would be used more, I would take Mungro, simply because he’s been utilized on a more consistent basis. Lovie might have a hard time trusting McKie with the ball in such an important game, but you never know when a defense is going to overlook somebody.

TE
Dallas Clark
Desmond Clark

The two Clarks (no relation) are two of the best tight ends in the league. Dallas has been criticized recently for his willingness to stay in and block, but unjustifiably so. He is often one of the most important people on the field for the Colts, namely when they run the stretch play. Desmond is also very important to his team, for much the same reasons. What’s intriguing is that Dallas is generally more of a nimble guy, while Desmond is just a hulking presence. Both will probably be utilized quite a bit, especially early. Desmond will be called upon to take on Bob Sanders, while Dallas will try to get one of the safeties in single coverage.

WR1
Harrison
Muhammad

Marvin Harrison is one of the greatest wide receivers to play the game. To compare him with Muhsin Muhammad is ridiculous. I haven’t made my pick yet (honestly), but when you line up the positions and compare them and find that most are pretty equal, the following positions jump out: QB and WR. That’s pretty dangerous if you’re a Bears fan. Still, Muhammad is capable of production, and you can’t totally write him off.

WR2
Wayne
Berrian

Reggie Wayne is probably the best number two receiver in the league. In fact, you could stick him on the Chicago Bears, and he would probably be number one. What’s amazing about both Harrison and Wayne is that they are quite willing to give up touches for the sake of the team. The reality is that by playing unselfishly, they both benefit. Wayne will probably line up against Nathan Vasher, which is as much of a mismatch that you will find in this game.

WR3
Moorehead
Davis

The one thing lacking for the Colts offense this year has been a solid number three guy. Moorehead is one of those guys who was supposed to be really good by now, but hasn’t quite broken in. He shows flashes of brilliance, but he’s not exactly the model of consistency. Davis, on the other hand, is a viable option for Rex Grossman. He will likely line up opposite Marlin Jackson, a terribly underrated player, so both of the third receivers figure to have to work very hard to make any kind of difference in this game.

OL
Glenn/Lilja/Saturday/Scott/Diem
Tait/Brown/Kreutz/Garza/Miller

Here’s a fact: You must have an outstanding offensive line to make the Super Bowl. This year’s teams provide no exception. I know little to none about the offensive line, but I know that based on reputation, Jeff Saturday and Olin Kreutz are the two best centers in the league. Both lines are outstanding in run and pass protection, and both will need to be this week.

DT
McFarland/Brock
Harris/Idonije

I know I’ve been praising Bob Sanders for boosting Indy’s defense, but Anthony McFarland is probably the best thing that happened to the Colts this year. He came in mid-stream and picked up on his old coach’s system in time to do what a defensive tackle needs to do in the Cover 2 – clog up the middle. There hasn’t been anybody capable of that job in Indy in the Tony Dungy era. The Bears, on the other hand, used to rely on Tank Johnson, who is under “house arrest,” but can somehow attend the game in Miami. Idonije and some other guys have been rotating through and done a very good job. I wonder if he’s seen an offensive line like the Colts’.

DE
Freeney/Mathis
Ogunleye/Brown

Not long ago, I listed Dwight Freeney on the NFL All-Overrated team. Why? Because he doesn’t stop the run. That doesn’t mean that he’s not a great pass rusher. He’s fast, and for some reason, tackles don’t seem to know how to handle his spin move. Ogunleye, however, is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. He can get down the field and put pressure on the quarterback, but he can also pursue the run like most ends can’t.

LB
Morris/Brackett/June
Hillenmeyer/Urlacher/Briggs

The Chicago Bears have the best linebacker corps in the league. You can take the Ravens, I want the Bears. Ray Lewis is nasty, but so is Brian Urlacher. He can pursue sideline to sideline, and on the next play he will be double-covering a tight end with Danieal Manning or Todd Johnson. Urlacher is the single biggest obstacle to the Colts hoisting the Lombardi trophy, and he is the sole reason I still can’t decide who I’m going to pick. In other news, the much-maligned Rob Morris is actually part of the solution to Indy’s most recent defensive woes after being switched to starter in the playoffs.

CB
Harper/David
Tillman/Vasher

Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher get a lot of press – much more than Nick Harper or Jason David. I’m not sure Harper was in the national consciousness until his wife famously stabbed him the night before the Steelers game and Nick infamously didn’t cut outside on Ben Roethlisberger during that game. Still, he’s a very good corner. I understand the hype that Tillman gets, but I don’t quite get Nathan Vasher. If you remember, neither one of these guys could cover Steve Smith in last year’s playoffs, and if you ask me, Vasher hasn’t been the same since. Usually one of the other members of the secondary bails him out, or you would see a little more about him in the Chicago media and perhaps a little less about Rex Grossman.

SS
Bethea
Johnson

Andres Bethea has matured as the season progresses. In fact, opposing quarterbacks have often tried to pick on him, only to pay for it. He will have his hands full with the physical specimen that is Desmond Clark, but he seemed able to keep Todd Heap in check for the most part. Todd Johnson, however, had trouble with Jerramy Stevens in the Seattle game. Look for Peyton to go to Dallas Clark and Ben Utecht.

FS
Sanders
D. Manning

I have used this space to laud Bob Sanders for the impact he has had on the Colts run defense, but last Sunday, he proved that he is a boost to the pass defense as well. For my Dallas fans, I like to say that Sanders is Roy Williams, except that he can cover. Manning has also done a superb job this year. He made an impact early on in the season and has helped his team win a few close games. Playing for Chicago has allowed him to take calculated risks, most of which have paid off. He is a factor in the turnover game, and could play a major role.

Nickelback
Jackson
R. Manning, Jr.

Ricky Manning, Jr. was an adequate corner for Carolina last year, but has really flourished in his new role with his new team. The outstanding play of the rest of the secondary has allowed him to be in position for key interceptions throughout the year. Marlin Jackson received some attention last week for his fourth quarter pick of Tom Brady, which was the first time most people had heard of him. Actually, Jackson was drafted last year in the first round to help plug the holes in Indy’s soft defense. His presence has helped the Colts have one of the top passing defenses in the league. Both of these DBs are very effective and will help their respective defense in passing situations. If there are a lot of punts and field goals in this year’s Super Bowl, it will be because these guys were effective in shutting down multiple receiver sets on third down.

K
Vinatieri
Gould

Adam Vinatieri is certainly a very good kicker, but Robbie Gould is just about as good. Both can hit field goals from 45+ on a fairly consistent basis, and both are effective at locating kickoffs deep. When it comes down to a crucial situation at the end of a game, I’d feel better having Vinatieri out there, but that doesn’t mean that Gould couldn’t get it done, too.

P
Smith
Maynard

Let’s go with pure stats on this one. Hunter Smith punted 47 times in 2006 for a 44.4 average, with a long of 61. He was blocked once, had 5 touchbacks (10.6%), and 14 inside the 20 (29.8%). His net punting average was 35.3. Brad Maynard punted 77 times (much larger sample) in 2006 for a 44.2 average, with a long of 65. He was not blocked, had 7 touchbacks (9.1%), and 24 inside the 20 (31.2%). His net punting average was 37.6. Smith was not forced to make any tackles for his team this year, while Maynard was put in that situation three times. I couldn’t find any stats for this, but it doesn’t seem like either team gave up a punt return this year. Slight edge goes to Maynard for punting skills, although Chicago was forced to punt 1.63 times more than Indianapolis (almost an entire standard deviation, if I remember my statistics right).

On an unrelated note, I maintain that the best position to play in the National Football League would be punter. If you were to take the consensus best punter and consensus worst punter in the league (Can’t think of whom that might be? Point made.) and compared their statistics side by side, they wouldn’t be that different. They don’t have to deal with game ending situations like kickers do, and they maintain anonymity. I watched several Bears games this season and I still had to look up the punter’s name, regardless of the fact that he appeared 77 times.

KR/PR
Wilkins
Hester

To paraphrase that Bears radio announcer, Devin Hester is ridiculous. I don’t see Dungy giving him much of a chance. Lovie has no reason not to kick to Wilkins, but he has the capability of being a game-changer. Hester was drafted by the Bears in the hopes that he would be an effective returner, which makes this a good time to point out that both teams in Super Bowl XLI had very good drafts this year (and last year), coming up with guys who were able to have a significant impact right away. There’s no getting around it; teams must draft well (and not just early in the first round) to be successful in the NFL. By the way, if the Bears end up having to rely on Hester’s services in pass coverage, the Colts will have no problem putting six points on the board almost every drive. When he had to play nickel back for the suspended Ricky Manning, Jr. against St. Louis in Week 14, the Rams exploited the mismatch every time he was on the field.

There it is. Let me know if you disagree or if I have left anything out. Come back in a couple of days for more Super Bowl.

Well, we’re down to the final four. Three of the teams left are teams I’ve been cheering for this year, and the other one is one I can’t stand. One of these teams will be the Super Bowl champion, and I think I will vomit if it is the Patriots. This is a tough week for picking winners, as most Championship weeks are. There’s so much build-up this time around, especially in the AFC. It will be fun to find out if both games can live up to their billing. Let’s start in the NFC.

Bears-Saints
I’ve been rooting for both teams this year, for very different reasons. ACU’s own Danieal Manning has been doing a great job in his rookie season starting at Free Safety for the Bears. One article I read at the beginning of the season (I’d link to it, but the article is no longer free) called him “a promising young player that covers like a cornerback and hits like a linebacker.” What an endorsement. I’ve also been cheering for the Saints because of the Katrina factor. When I was in the New Orleans area this summer, the fact that the team was coming back at all was a source of excitement. Nobody expected they’d do this well. Ultimately, I’d like the Saints to win because I think America needs to continue to hear stories from Hurricane Katrina. I think they will get it done. In a shootout, which is a possibility, the Bears won’t be able to keep up with the Saints. I’m not sure how high each team will go, but the Saints win by two field goals. Look for Drew Brees to frustrate Brian Urlacher.

Colts-Patriots
I’m scared about this weekend, for three reasons: (1) If the Colts can’t pull it off now, can they ever? (2) Earlier in the postseason, the Colts performed well partly because they felt they were underdogs. Now it might be tempting for them to come out and think that they deserve it. (3) Recent history aside, I’m still worried about the run defense. Having said that, I’m still confident. Even if Rodney Harrison is able to play, the Patriots’ secondary is still very beatable. I’m feeling a rant coming. If you don’t want to read it, skip the next paragraph.

It’s always driven me nuts that Tom Brady gets all the credit for the success of the Patriots. Weren’t they the team that chose to be introduced all together at the Super Bowl? Yet, when Adam Vinatieri or the Patriots defense win a game for the Patriots (or the ref calls a “tuck rule” or John Kasay kicks the ball out of bounds or Donovan McNabb throws up on the final drive), Brady gets praised. “His” playoff record is 12-1. After last week’s game, which was horrible, Scott Van Pelt was moved to say, “In the end, Tom Brady was just better.” The Chargers missed a field goal! Sean Salisbury, who has always slurped up to Brady said, “This game shows why Tom Brady is the most clutch quarterback in playoff history.” Are you kidding me? Read what I wrote last week, and tell me if I was right.

In any case, I’m taking the Colts. It will be close for a half, but the Colts O will come out and put it away sometime in the early fourth quarter, making the RCA Dome a rockin’ place. All of this will set up…

Super Bowl XLI: Colts-Saints
Inevitably, this game would come to be known as “The Archie Manning Bowl.” So much publicity would surround the Manning family even I would get tired of it. Media circus aside, this would be a great game. Both teams, if they won this week, would come in with all kinds of momentum. Both offenses would have field days. Most importantly, both teams would really, truly feel like they needed the win. What a dream match-up.

So I watched the Cowboys game last night. A few of us had a good time poking fun at the second-rate announcing team, etc. The best moment, though, had to be when the Idiot Kicker got up to win the game in overtime. I, being a bandwagon Colts fan, made a few disparaging comments about the last time ol’ Vandy was on the field (last year’s playoffs). I jokingly said, “I’m going to start calling him, ‘Wide Right.’” At that very instant, he pushed it right. We went crazy. He would go on to repeat the feat later on, and the Cowboys ended up tying. Sure, it was the preseason, but my Cowboy crazy friends were upset. The Idiot Kicker had stricken again.

Fast forward to this morning. I’m on espn.com watching the tiny little video they have in the corner, (I have no cable or anything right this second) and somebody’s interviewing Liquorface. The following exchange occurred:

Reporter: How long are you going to stew about these missed field goals?

(I’m secretly hoping that he breaks into tears, just like last year.)

Wide Right: I’m not going to stew about it; I’m just going to go out and kick a hundred field goals a day until I figure out what went wrong.

Whoa! You mean to tell me that professional kickers - people that kick a ball for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year - only kick 100 field goals a day?!? And that’s when he’s having problems and trying to fix them!

Football fans get so upset with kickers sometimes. Seriously, when it’s your only job, you should do it well blablabla…how many times has that been said on Sunday afternoon? I think these guys are taking advantage of everybody. Let’s see…got a big game this weekend. It’s possible that my teammates will sacrifice their bodies, beat each other up for 59 minutes, and then the whole thing will come down to my ability to kick a ball. I think I’ll kick about 50 times or so and call it a day. Gotta be home when the exterminator comes over, and there’s some cleaning to do…

Obviously, that’s an exaggeration. However, I think it points to something that a lot of football fans actually believe, but won’t admit because they’re afraid of change. The kicking game (at least the field goal part) has got to go. This is the one point I agree with Skip Bayless on. I understand why the kicking game is the way it is. If you can’t get into the end zone, at least you get rewarded with three points (assuming your kicker doesn’t boot the ball into Ohio. No, I’m not going to leave it alone.). But why are we so intent on rewarding mediocrity? Shouldn’t a defense that makes a stand in the red zone get more than, “Well, we limited them to three points.” This argument doesn’t hold just a ton of water, but there’s still an element of truth to it. If there was no “celebration of mediocrity,” as I like to call it, there just wouldn’t be enough variation in the point system. If a team wins solely on the number of touchdowns they score, why not value them at one point each?

Instead, I would like to propose an alternative that still rewards a team for marching down the field, but doesn’t rely on one man’s ability to kick a ball far and straight. The first step is to identify a threshold, such as the opposing team’s 35 yardline. If the team on offense passes this threshold, they have a choice to make on fourth down. In the past, the choice would be to go for the first down or kick a field goal. Under the new system, a team could choose to attempt the “four-point conversion,” where the ball is placed on the 5 yardline and the offense has one opportunity to get the ball into the endzone. The try would be worth four points because (1) it would be successful less often, and (2) because teams would be forced to try a two-point conversion after touchdowns, making scores in multiples of seven virtually obsolete.

I understand that this would drastically change the game and its strategy. The team’s punter is probably going to be the kickoff starter, making kickoffs more interesting. As said before, two-point conversions would be mandatory. I believe that it makes the two-minute drill much more interesting. Defenses will have to decide how to guard the 35-yard threshold. Do you load up the line when a team gets close to defend against the four-point possibility, leaving you vulnerable to the more valuable touchdown? Entire new formations would be developed on both sides of the ball to try to adapt to these new, packed with pressure situations. Best of all, a game will never be decided by an Idiot Kicker who got liquored up and forgot where the goalpost was.

There are probably problems with my system. For instance, a 25 yard field goal is easier than a 50 yard field goal, so maybe the ball should be placed in different places close to the goal line based on where the offense stalled on the drive. Maybe my point system is a little simplistic and idealistic. Maybe I’m bitter because of last year’s playoffs. Maybe football fans like having a scapegoat such as the Idiot Kicker when they know their team never should have been in a situation to send the game into overtime (There’s another rule in professional football that has to be changed. Ugh. Take a cue from the college game). Maybe you’re too opposed to change. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s better than the one we’ve got now. You might not agree with me yet, but I think you will in Week 15 when your team’s playoff chances are doused by its own Idiot Kicker, who decided that 100 field goals a day was just too much for him.

1. Everybody has an agenda, including Barry himself, about Barry Bonds.

I usually have a Tuesday night class, so tonight was the first time I was able to catch “Bonds on Bonds.” I wasn’t impressed. There are two things you have to say when talking about this show: (1) like any controversial issue, everybody, myself included, has a preconceived notion about it. More on this below. (2) Barry Bonds has complete creative control over the project, which means that every single second, from Barry comparing himself to Mohammed Ali to Mark Grace sticking up for an old friend, has been through the spin cycle. It’s like the SportsCenter commercial where Dwyane Wade gets to edit his own highlights. “Can we add a couple more defenders in right here and make it look better?” I have to admit that I turned on the show expecting to be cynical because I have already convicted Bonds in my mind. The fact that he is trying to cover up and suck up to the media and the fans after years of being a jerk makes it that much worse. To some extent this isn’t fair. I have certainly made my share of missteps, and it would be completely justifiable for some people to get on a blog and rip into me. The difference is that I haven’t betrayed the trust of a nation. There’s a scene in “The Great Gatsby” where Jay Gatsby introduces Nick Carraway to Meyer Wolfsheim, the gambler who fixed the 1919 World Series. Carraway narrates the following reaction:

The idea staggered me. I remembered, of course, that the World Series had been fixed in 1919, but if I had thought of it at all I would have thought of it as a thing that merely happened, the end of some inevitable chain. It never occured to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people - with the single-mindedness of a burglar blowing a safe.
“How did he happen to do that?” I asked after a minute.
“He just saw the opportunity.”

I’m about two-thirds of the way through “Game of Shadows,” and though Fainawaru-Wada and Williams have a pile of hard, incriminating facts, it’s evident that there’s a touch of bias as well. There’s nothing wrong with that; we all have it. I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m not sure what to do about Barry Bonds just yet, but I am convinced that it’s important. I do know that you can’t trust “Bonds on Bonds” at face value though, and that’s my point at the moment.

2. The Houston Texans made the right choice by taking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush.

Tonight ESPN aired a draft wrap-up show, and the talking heads had Texans owner Bob McNair on to ask him some pointed questions. First of all, let me say that anybody who is aware of the media circus surrounding the NFL draft knows that any team that passed on Reggie Bush was begging to be crucified. (self-plug: I told you so.) That’s why I admire the pick of Mario Williams even more. McNair made three legitimate points about why they did what they did: (1) Last year, the Texans led at halftime 8 times (4 times going into the 4th quarter), and they lost every single one of those games. That’s not the offense’s fault; it’s the defense’s. They already have a 1,000 yard rusher in Domanick Davis; if Reggie even gets close to the hype and gets 1,500 it still wouldn’t have made a difference. The Texans need a playmaker on defense, not a guy who might be an upgrade over the one they already have. (2) The rest of the NFL has figured out that the way to beat Peyton Manning is to put pressure on him. Just ask the Steelers. The Texans have to play the Colts twice every year, and this pick gives them a legitimate chance to compete on the same field. (3) Barry Sanders only won one playoff game. To this day, the Detroit Lions continue to draft offense, and it hasn’t helped them yet. In the NFL, you have to be able to play on both sides of the ball. Ron Jaworski disputes this fact, but Jaworski has evidently forgotten two things: (1) he’s not dealing with his Arena team, where players play both ways, and (2) he has continually ripped the Indianapolis Colts for being all offense and no defense. For all of the talking heads, I have a prediction of my own: 2006 is the year that fans stop taking the “draft experts” seriously because Reggie Bush will be a big-time bust, and New Orleans will continue to be irrelevant.

3. Kobe Bryant is way over-hyped.

Today I sat around with some people and talked, in a positive manner, about Kobe Bryant. For those of you who know me and the people I associate with, this should be a surprise. I have never liked him, and it’s not just because he’s a veteran or has swagger. The main knock on Kobe has always been that he’s selfish. Whether or not you believe that he ran Shaq out of Los Angeles, it is an irrefutable fact that he hoists up way too many shots every game. Recently, however, he has been getting his teammates involved, which is an even bigger accomplishment when you consider his teammates. One of the talking heads on ESPN recently called him “the Mariano Rivera of basketball,” implying that he has an exceptional ability to close games. This is ironic if you consider that espn.com recently ran an article about clutch shooting. Much has been made of the Nike commercial where Michael Jordan states that he has let his teammates down 24 times. The fact is, Kobe has done the same thing many more times than that. In fact, with less than 24 seconds left and his team down by three points or less, Kobe has one of the lowest shooting percentages in the NBA. In a recent poll, 58.4% of fans said that Kobe had been the top performer of the first round of the playoffs. However, on the same page, there’s a link to a page that shows each player’s Player Efficiency Rating, or PER. PER is a statistic developed by John Hollinger to measure each player’s per-minute performance. 15.0 is supposed to be the standard average. For the 2004-05 season, Bryant finished a respectable 8th in PER with a 23.28. However, in this year’s playoffs, he is 39th with a 16.52, less than half of first-place Dirk Nowitzki’s 33.69. Supposed “slouch” teammate Lamar Odom is ranked 22nd with a 19.5. The only way the Lakers will continue to win is if Kobe continues the surprising trend of being a member of a team and doesn’t jack up 35 shots a game. Otherwise, the Los Angeles Kobes will lose to the team that plays in the Staples Center.