GarageGabs

Our Denver Correspondent, Ruben Romero chimes in with some Allen Iverson “man love” and the impact Iverson will have on the Denver Nuggets

Allen Iverson

What does he bring to Denver?

I think A.I. will bring leadership and intensity to the Nuggets! Yes Leadership!!! I know what your thinking, Doesn’t Carmelo lead that team? Yes, but in a different way…Carmelo leads by example (With the exception of one sucker punch). Allen Iverson will be the vocal leader of this team. I believe that A.I. wants a championship more then ever now and is willing to do whatever it takes to win one. For example: Allen Iverson was willing to go play for George Karl who is a Larry Brown guy…These two are very close and coach very similar…For those who have been on Pluto (which is no longer a planet) for the last five years A.I. and Brown could not stand each other in Philly. Also he wants to play with Carmelo so that everything is not on his shoulders. The buzz around the Denver area is ridiculous….even more ridiculous than the Blizzard we just had!!! I am exited about these two greats playing together, it’s just too bad we have to wait 14 more games. Thanks Isiah!!!

Anyone that reads my blog knows I am a Cowboys fan.  This is my own personal blog, and in my opinion I am not binded by your normal journalistic code of ethics.  The National Sports Media used to have a code of ethics as far as team allegiance, but things have gotten all out of whack in the past few years.  Big time media is starting to report sports from VERY slanted angles.  Why do I get the impression that much of the national media will be pulling for the Eagles on Christmas day vs. the Cowboys?  Maybe because they just come out and say it…..Boomer Esiason has gone as far to say that he hopes the Eagles can beat the Cowboys Monday….so poor Jeff Garcia can get the last laugh on T.O.  Hey Boomer, you can call your content a “blog” or “special feature” but it doesn’t change the fact that you are SUPPOSED to be a NON BIASED NFL Analyst…not only do you work as a television analyst but you are submitting your “special feature” to NFL.com, not IHATEDALLAS.com.  It’s fantastic that you have some sort of hidden love for Jeff Garcia, and of course an inner hatred for Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys, but as a professional that is information that you should keep to yourself.  Esiason goes on to explain that the spitting incident was another cry for help from Owens and that at some point Owens is going to kill the Cowboys.  Is it me, or have analysts been saying that T.O. was going to tear apart Dallas all year?  I’m wondering when that is going to happen…..maybe come playoff time??  Funny, Dallas sits at 9-5 and has an opportunity to lock up the NFC East this week….yet all you hear is how the Eagles have this wonderful opportunity to dethrone Dallas.    John Clayton goes on and on about a Dallas loss being another dagger in the heart of T.O. and his future with the Cowboys….Clayton is quick to note that Owens was behind Drew Bledsoe being benched in favor of Tony Romo….Uhhhh, THANK GOD!  John, not sure if you checked, but benching Bledsoe for Romo was the best thing to happen to Dallas all year.  I just don’t get it…..the whole impending doom for the Cowboys, vs. wonderful opportunity for Philadelphia.  Ugggh.  I sit here and remember back to back to back 5-11 seasons and figure a trip to the playoffs would be anything but gloomy.
Meanwhile you have articles like this that continue to tout Tiki Barber as some sort of saintly team leader.  Clarke Judge goes on to write that Barber has been handicapped by a “team wide slump” as the Giants have lost 5 of 6.  So, let me get this straight….Dallas makes a QB change and promptly wins 6 of 8 (after starting 3-3) and it is IN SPITE OF Terrell Owens, yet the Giants lose 5 of 6 (interestingly enough after Barber announces he will retire at the end of the year AND criticizes the play calling) yet it is the Giants that handicap Tiki.  Seriously folks, I know you are sick of me heralding Owens as some sort of savior (which is part true and part not true) but at least I look at things with some perspective.  I’m not saying that Barber is the sole reason for the Giants slide, but if you want to look for some locker room turmoil, look no further than Barber. Judge also comments that the Giants should appreciate what Barber has done for them during his career in what could be his last home game….I know Barber has been an Stat-hog during his blank year NFL career, but where exactly has he gotten the Giants during his 10 year career?  In 6 post-season games Barber has averaged less than 3 yards per carry, with only 1 TD, and just one 100 yard game.  In the Giants lone Super Bowl appearance with Barber he was made into a non-factor as the Giants fell behind quickly to Baltimore before losing 34-7.  He’s mouthed off more than once about coaching decisions, has his own radio show on Sirius (with his brother) where he openly talked of retiring next year,  (this, smack dab in the middle of this season) and has routinely disappeared in the playoffs, yet is touted as some sort of classy leader?  Huh?  Just because Barber speaks properly and dresses like he is auditioning for an OLD NAVY commercial doesn’t mean he emanates class.

Long story short?  The media is just like you.  They all have favorite teams and favorite players…..they pull for teams and players.  Then they write about it and try not to seem slanted, while constantly steering you in the direction THEY want.  I’m not trying to steer you in any direction.  I know I’m a homer.  I embrace it.

  Oh Tiki, you’re so great!!  

Deion Sanders talked DeAneglo Hall into joining a 3-way phone conversation with Terrell Owens during which Owens and Hall put the whole spitting incident behind them.  That’s great that the two finally spoke, but there are a couple inconsistencies:  Hall was quick to mention earlier in the week that Owens had yet to apologize to him.  However, now he says Owens had been trying to call him for the past couple of days.  If Hall were so upset about the lack of an apology….why not take the call?  Also, Hall ends things by saying that “For me to be able to keep my cool for the sake of my team and my teammates speaks volumes”-  Ok, this is true, it does speak volumes that he was able to control himself….but message to Mr. Hall, the term “speaks volumes” isn’t often used to describe yourself.  Allow other people to speak positive of you rather than doing it for them.  Of course, many athletes do this (including Owens) but most of them don’t go around whining for 2 days because someone spit on him…..Hall LOVES to toot his own horn but wants to act like an innocent choir boy.  I’ve heard Hall say too many times how Champ Bailey anointed him the best corner in football.  Also, it would have spoke more volumes if Hall could have covered T.O. for the sake of his teammates, huh?  Anyway, it appears this story is finally behind us….Hall hopes to meet Owens again in the playoffs.

By the way, how about Deion Sanders acting as the moderator in all this??  Makes you wonder if Deion is trying to become the Jesse Jackson of sports??

     =         ??

A pretty funny cartoon about the state of the New York Giants. Lots of good inside jokes, especially in relation to the Mannings. If you remember this post, you know why I’m getting a kick out of all this. Just click the above photo to view the cartoon on bang.com.

Turns out Ruben Romero (Our Denver Correspondent) was right.  Ruben posted on late Sunday night that Iverson was headed to Denver .  I also spoke to Ruben on the phone yesterday and asked him was he serious….he told me Denver would move Andre Miller, Nene, and some picks for Iverson.
Well, a couple days later and it appears to have happened…Denver is apparently giving up Joe Smith, Andre Miller and 2 first round picks next year.  Personally, I think this works out pretty well for both teams-
Philadelphia is able to dump Iverson’s fat contract and will have THREE first round picks in next years draft.  The Denver picks are projected in the 20’s and their own pick should be lottery.  Joe Smith’s contract is expiring, so it is pretty logical to assume he won’t be a Sixer next year.  Andre Miller, in my opinion, is more than serviceable  at point guard, and if the Sixers can put some serious scoring talent around him (which is pretty likely with 3 picks in a very deep 2007 draft) they shouldn’t be on the downside for long. Seriously, 2 first round picks and Andre Miller is a  MAJOR land for Philly in this deal, especially considering the situation.
As for Denver….not to be funny but…..could Iverson be the answer?  Iverson was 2nd in the NBA in scoring to only Carmelo Anthony.  Adding Iverson kills 2 birds with 1 stone for the Nuggets.  1. They are probably able to keep their heads above water as Anthony serves out his 15 game suspension.  2. Once Anthony returns, they have perhaps the most potent 1-2 scoring punch in the NBA.   It will be interesting to see if Iverson and Anthony can co-exist on the basketball court, AND if Iverson can co-exist with Nuggets coach George Karl.  I believe both things can happen, and I think you have to consider Denver as a contender for the West now.  Only time will tell, I’m hoping Ruben chimes in on this subject and gives us more of an inside scoop.

If you are from another planet you don’t know that suspensions were handed out today to the players involved in the Nuggets/Knicks brawl, as well as a hefty fine for Terrell Owens.

First, I’d like to deal with Terrell Owens getting fined $35,000 by the NFL.  Once again, I’ll say I don’t agree with spitting on a player.  However, no official saw him do it, and it isn’t on tape, so we really don’t know the severity of the spit….what I mean is, did he really hock one at Hall, did some spit just fly out of his mouth….just how bad was it?  We don’t know.  Owens said today that it wasn’t entirely intentional and that Hall was making a bigger deal out of it than it really was.  No one saw it, Owens said it was just a result of talking in another players face….and spit flying out…Sounds a pretty fishy, but  Owens has always been a truth-teller so who knows.  I just don’t get the amount of the fine.  Sean Taylor was fined $17,000 last year for doing the same thing and they SAW HIM DO IT.  I have to believe that Owens received a higher fine because he is Owens.  Does this mean fines are going to start growing for every on-field incident?  Of course, I could care less how much money they charge Owens, all I care is that he plays.
Now, do yourself a favor and click the link I provided above….First, read the nonsense that Joe  Theisman is babbling…I’ll print it here:  Theisman’s take:  Joe Theisman thinks T.O. should have been suspended for a minimum of two games for spitting in the face of DeAngelo Hall. He also believes T.O. will do something at some time to hurt the Cowboys during their playoff run. My god man, are you serious?  Yo Joe, no one has EVER been suspended for spitting on another player!  Why should Owens be the first?  I’ve always thought Joe Theisman was a first class idiot but this takes the cake.  This is the same guy that changed the pronunciation of this name so it would rhyme with heisman….from THEEZ-man to THIZE-man.  Joe, a lot of people probably agree with you about Owens, but you are a bumbling fool, no one respects you.  I wonder if it occurs to anyone that Joe was a Redskin, and naturally despises Dallas….Gee, I don’t guess a 2 game suspension during a tight playoff race would bother the Cowboys would it Joe?  Nothing Theesman says can get the Redskins in the playoffs….or Bret Favre, Joe’s lovechild.  I dare anyone reading this post to tell me they actually enjoy Joe Theiman as an NFL analyst.  Check out this post on Deadspin for some other Monday Night Football Rants.
Now, click the ESPN video and sit through  Merril Hodge and Sean Salisbury go on about the situation.  The bias of these guys is so obvious…..“when you have 25 million reasons not to commit suicide, 35,000 is nothing”.…Did Hodge seriously say that?  The way he says it is almost like he has a bone to pick…..I think Hodge is seriously upset about this….also, who in gods name cuts this mans hair??  Hell, who dresses him for that matter, he’s wearing a purple table cloth!   Salisbury went as far to say “the NFL would be a better place without Owens”…man, seriously, get a life.  Hey Sean…..the NFL is a better place without YOU and your 19 career passing Touchdowns! (and 19 picks)  Also, why is Salisbury trying to grow a goatee, it makes him look sick.  Salisbury says he would rather be sucker punched than spit on…..ha ha, I’d like to be the one to sucker punch him.  He always tries to be so “out there” with his picks and predictions that he comes off looking like a moron.  It’s no wonder the only person he can ever out debate is John Clayton.   The NFL is full of arrogant jerks, Owens just happens to be an attention wanting, dynamic wide receiver of a big jerk…and oh yeah, he leads the NFL with 11 receiving TD’s….funny, they mention all his drops, but I haven’t heard one analyst mention his 11 TD’s?? Big deal, he spit on a prima-donna corner back.  Hall should have waited for Owens after the game and settled the score on his own rather than whining to the media.

In case you were wondering, I used a debate technique that I learned in an English class a year or so ago…it is called “attack your opponent”….when your case is in need of help you can always attack the character of the person who disagrees with you to make their point of view seem weaker.  Politicians do it all the time, I’d like to officially welcome the tactic to my blog.

In conclusion, I liked Mike Ditka’s comments on the situation from today’s USA Today:  “If I was DeAngelo Hall, I would have gotten dressed real quick and would have gotten right in front of that locker room.  When he came out, I would have hit him as hard as I could”.   

Now, on to the NBA suspensions.    Man, I really don’t know what else to say about this.  I think the entire thing is getting blown WAY out of proportion.  People are suggesting that Isiah Thomas should have gotten suspended for urging his team to foul Denver hard.  Well, I don’t see anything wrong with a hard foul, and although I think Thomas is a moron for complaining about the situation after the fact, the idea that his team fouled the other team while they tried to dunk is not that big of a deal to me.  I felt the suspensions were suitable but not equal.  A punch thrown is a punch thrown…everyone throwing punches should have gotten the same suspension.  Why didn’t every player that threw punches get the same amount of games as Anthony?  Yeah, his was a sucker punch, but fighting is fighting in my eyes.

I think that Carmelo Anthony, Nate Robinson, JR Smith, Mardy Collins, and Jared Jeffries  should have each been suspended 15 games for fighting.  Everyone else that came off the bench should have gotten a game  (which was the case).  Anyway, I believe our Denver correspondent Ruben Romero is going to have more on this story later, so I’m gonna end my rant here.

I’ve had a couple people ask me why I haven’t been posting so much….my only answer is life. Here’s what I mean-

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve had to take a few days off from posting. I’ve had pretty good reason, a lot has been going on.  In the past week I’ve proposed to my girlfriend (she said yes) and got a new dog (in the photo).  So, between teaching the dog to poop, spending some much needed quality time with my fiance, and living life as well, I haven’t had any time to update the site.  Anyway, I thought I’d put together one big post of the stories that I’ve been watching and talking about with my friends. I’m going to try to be candid with every story, you probably know the particulars and the statistics of most of them, but perhaps you have a different opinion than me. Also, as usual, some of these stories are more local, and interesting to me. So, check out the top 10 list, and if you’ve got a story of your own, let me know….. Read more

Sorry, no video this week….been a very busy week.  Here are this weeks NFL picks-

San Francisco @ Seattle- Obviously, I’m chiming in late on this one, I would have taken Seattle-

Dallas @ Atlanta- If you take a look at my NFC playoff picture post, you’ll see I was going with the Cowboys in this one.

Now on to games I can actually call:

Cleveland @ Baltimore- I’m taking the Ravens at home, 20-10.  Not much fantasy impact in this game other than the Baltimore Defense, and maybe a Jamal Lewis TD.

Detroit @ Green Bay- I’ve fallen off the Detroit bandwagon enough to pick the Packers at home, 27-17.  Should be a nice day for Ahman Green as well as Arlen Harris, filling in for an injured Kevin Jones.

Houston @ New England- New England will bounce back and win at home, 20-13, in a tougher game than some might expect.

Jacksonville @ Tennessee- Should be a really good game, I’m taking the streaking Titans, 23-20.

Miami @ Buffalo- Dolphins, 23-7.

NY Jets @ Minnesota- Vikings in a close one, 27-24

Pittsburgh @ Carolina- Steve Smith catches two TD’s from Wienke, Panthers win, 20-17.

Tampa Bay @ Chicago- Ouch.  Bears, 37-3.

Washington @ New Orleans- Drew Brees continues to roll, Saints win easy, 27-10.

Denver @ Arizona- The battle of rookie QB’s, Leinart wins this one, Arizona 24-20.

St. Louis @ Oakland- Bulger over 300 again, Rams win 28-17.

Philadelphia @ NY Giants- Elimination game, home team Giants take this one, 34-21.

Kansas City @ San Diego- LT vs. LJ.  The Chargers are too much at home, 27-21.  Both backs top 150 yards.

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis- Teams heading in opposite directions.  Everyone’s picking the Bengals.  Colts bounce back, 34-31.  Best Monday Night game all year.

I’m really starting to get irritated with this whole “nfl network” thing…..I won’t be able to watch the Cowboys play this Saturday…these games have always been on major networks!!  In it’s latest attempt to make the cable companies look like the bad guys, the NFL is offering cable 1 free week of nfl network programming.  Pretty much puts the cable companies in a lose/lose situation.  Take the offer and cable is forced to make a deal with the league, as fans are gonna want the opportunity to have the NFL network.  Don’t take the offer and fans will balk at cable companies skipping on a free week of coverage.

Read the story here