GarageGabs

Thanks to the guys at The Big Lead I came across this fantastic YouTube video of Shawne Merriman at a Chargers rally before they played the Patriots this weekend. With all the talk of class, this video is very fitting. I think it’s time for San Diego to stop whining, as J.C. would tell me…..”You reap what you sew”

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Stay Classy, San Diego (Literally!)  (The Big Lead)

I felt pretty good in picking 3 out of 4 NFL winners this weekend and only narrowly missed a Seahawks win as well. Peyton Manning didn’t deliver the 3 TD’s I predicted, but the Colts were able to out field goal the Ravens Saturday 15-6. Seriously, has their ever been a kicker that’s more deserving of a roster space than Adam Vinatieri? How ironic would it be if this was the year the Colts make the Super Bowl…the year of a new run game, and an extremely porous defense….well, at least it used to be porous. The Colts D came away with 4 Turnovers Sunday and held the Ravens run oriented offense to just 83 rush yards. To think, just a few weeks ago, Ron Dayne had everyone predicting the Colts would be one and done.

The late game on Saturday produced a lot more offensive fireworks as the Saints held off the Eagles, 27-24. My game ball in this one has to go to Deuce McAllister. Duece has been all class, all year as he watched his role become somewhat diminished with the arrival of phenom Reggie Bush. The guy was total blood and guts on Saturday as he ran for 143 yards and a TD, and caught 4 passes for 20 yards and another touchdown. Not to mention, it was McAllister who iced the game with his tough running late in the 4th quarter. Congrats to the Eagles on one heck of a season, they overcame some serious adversity this season…however, for anyone that wasn’t able to watch the game, this girl was able to make it on to live television for about 8 seconds:

So, with 2 wins already in hand, I felt pretty confident rolling into Sunday….well, not really, I picked both road teams to win on Sunday. Seattle really should have beaten the Bears. Instead, they lost 27-24 in overtime. They had chance after chance at or past midfield and just couldn’t make that one play to get them over the hump. I gotta put the loss on Matt Hasselbeck and his bobbled snap on a 4th and 1 play late in the 4th quarter. Interestingly enough, the one game I missed on the weekend, was the one I cared least about, so lets move on.

Never count out the Patriots in the playoffs….never, ever, ever do it. That’s why I picked them to win vs. the favored Chargers. The Patriots rally from a 21-13 4th quarter deficit included a Tom Brady TD pass, a tricky 2 point conversion, and a field goal by a guy named Stephen Gostowski, and ended in a 24-21 win over a team that many felt was the class of the NFL. Another funny thing about my prediction was the last line I typed…“You stay classy San Diego”. Honestly, I had no idea much of the post-game talk would involve class.

LT, man, I love you to death, you are a classy guy, but give me a break. I can understand him being upset at the way the Patriots celebrated but I don’t understand him saying it was the whole Merriman thing that pissed him off. I mean, lets be honest…Merriman did his “sack dance” after each of this NFL leading 17 sacks….was he acting like he had been there before? Was he showing class? Did Tomlinson rush onto the field and stop Merriman from taunting opposing teams? As for Tomlinson taking a stab at Belichick, I don’t know….maybe he knows something we don’t. Like I mentioned before, Belichick doesn’t emit niceness. Long story short….Wanna run out on the field and bust up a group of guys that are celebrating on your logo? Fine by me. Wanna blame the behavior on the coach? Again, ok in my book. Wanna say you were defending the honor of someone taunting someone else’s taunt? Nah, that doesn’t work.

Stay tuned for picks for this weekends Conference Championship games.

Personally, I think this is a fantastic idea.  Nothin like hearing the whiney Patriots fan declare that this is an illegal practice.  Of course this won’t limit the sales from ticket brokers and person to person sales, BUT it will reduce the amount of Patriot fans in what will be a sold out game.  Don’t know if you’ve ever been to a big playoff game, but road fans tend to lead to lots of fighting.  Drinking+Tailgating+Road Fans don’t mix.

I pick the worst times to take breaks from posting, the only thing I know to do at this point is take a quick look back at the last week or so.

First off, I have yet to mention the BCS National Championship Game.  Just think, all the fuss was about who got the opportunity to totally wax Ohio State.  Honestly, the best thing I’ve found to come out of this game is this wonderful YouTube video  showing the agony of Ohio State fans/players/coaches during the contest.

The rest of this weeks sports nuggets are not so much to do with games in particular, but those involved:

Barry Bonds apparently tested positive for Speed (during the 06 season, it leaked somehow this week).  The New York Daily News first ran the story saying that Bonds implicated teammate Mark Sweeney, saying that he had obtained the drugs from his locker.  Bonds never really confirmed or denied the statement about Sweeney, but did apologize.  He also never denied testing positive.  Sweeney later insisted that he had nothing to do with the whole matter and seems ready to put it behind him.  I’m still waiting to see Bonds directly quoted as putting this on Sweeney, every article I’ve read just implicates that he said it.

TheBigLead  discovered that Sean Salisbury was briefly suspended by ESPN for taking a picture of his penis with his phone, and then showing it to females in the office.  No joke on this one, you really need to check THE STORY out.

The whole Duke Lacrosse thing has gotten way out of hand.   Seriously, it’s time to throw this one out.

The Sixers waived Chris Webber.  Excellent move in my opinion, I said earlier in the year that cutting ties with Iverson and Webber was their best bet.

Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken made the HOF, but Mark McGwire was held out.  My good friend Ajit told me today that guys like McGwire and Bonds are the reason players like Bernie Williams don’t make the HOF.  According to him, guys like Bernie labor on year in and year out drug free and are overlooked because stat mongering steroid stars put up extremely inflated numbers.  So, I’ll ask anyone reading this…..Is Bernie Williams HOF worthy?  Act like McGwire and Bonds never existed.

Jason Kidd filed for divorce from his “abusive” wife.   I bet a lot of people hard that and laughed;  how can a man be abused by a woman?  Well, it can happen, I’ve dated deranged women before; Jason’s only problem was that he decided to marry one.  Seriously, who knows what the deal was, but it is sad that these things are discounted simply because of male/female stereotypes.

Randy Johnson is headed back to Arizona:  I give this one a “who cares” the guy is done anyway.  26 million for 2 years….the guy had a 5+ era last year……wow.

Gone to the pros:  Calvin Johnson, JaMarcus Russell, Darius Walker, C.J. Gaddis, Zach Miller, Darrell Revis, Chris Houston, Jamaal Anderson, and Sidney Rice are all heading to the NFL early.  It was reported that Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson was going pro as well, but Peterson is now saying he is undecided.

Last but not least, the NFL playoffs resume tomorrow…..Due to my severe time constraints I’m gonna spare you my exciting commentary and just give you my picks.

Indianapolis @ Baltimore:  I imagine most folks are picking the Ravens in this one.  Baltimore has more to play for than just a Super Bowl, a win over the Colts would exact some revenge for the still angry fans of Baltimore….remember, it was the Baltimore Colts that packed up and left in the middle of the night over 20 years ago.  This will be the first time the Colts have participated in a playoff game in Baltimore since a 1977 double OT loss to the Raiders.  I don’t think any of this will matter because I’m an irony thinker.  I think it would be ironic if Peyton Manning won this game,(ironic because he isn’t exactly known as a playoff success) and I think he will.  I’ll take the Colts (of Indianapolis) 27-17.  Three TD’s for Manning.

Philadelphia @ New Orleans  No matter who wins this game, it’s a feel good story.  I haven’t picked the Eagles yet, and I’m gonna stay with that course.  Too many offensive weapons on a rested Saints team.  Philadelphia 24 New Orleans 31

Seattle @ Chicago   I’m gonna get railed for this pick, but Chicago’s defense is hurting, and Rex Grossman is a time bomb.  Seattle will run the ball on the Bears, and keep it for a long time….Sexy Rexy will get frustrated, leading to turnovers….Seattle 17  Chicago 10

New England @ San Diego  Like I said, I’m an irony kinda guy, and I think it would be ironic if New England and Indianapolis met in the AFC Championship Game.  That’s right, I’m about to pick against San Diego.  New England 28  San Diego 24.  You stay classy San Diego.

That’s all I’ve got for now, I’m going to try and get busy again posting this week.

New York Jets 16  New England 37 

Not a lot to say other than I told ya the Jets would be one and done.  I wasn’t exactly going out on a limb in making that prediction, but it’s cool to be right from time to time.  The real story out of this game was Patriots coach Bill Belichick shoving a camera man (youtube video) so he could get his man-hug on with Eric Mangini at the end of the game.  I will admit, he shouldn’t have shoved the guy, but people comparing this to the Kenny Rogers shoving a camera man thing are going a bit to far.   Also, if you’ve ever seen Bill Belichick, is there little doubt that he is a jerk?  He doesn’t come off as the coolest guy on the planet.  Anyway, Belichick did apologize for the incident.

*MAN LAW ALERT*  

I would like to institute a “man law” that coaches can no longer hug and or kiss other players or coaches.  It always turns out badly.  Handshakes, Jersey Grabs, and Facemask Grabs are accepted.
  NO 

  YES 

  DEFINITE NO 

  YES 

  NO 

  NO 

  YES
New York Giants 20 Philadelphia 23

  Kickers are allowed to do this 

Finally, from the world of irony.com Philly continues to win, without the services of Donovan McNabb.  The irony in it all?  Jeff Garcia, the quarterback Terrell Owens first scorned, is leading the team Terrell Owens secondly scorned, while at the same time Owens is sitting at home, and the quarterback he secondly scorned watches from the sidelines.  No Owens….No McNabb….no problem.

Probably the biggest news out of this game was the Giants granting Tom Coughlin a one year extension despite the tailspin.  Maybe they figure that no Tiki Barber will mean less distractions next season?

I’ll go through these games in chronological order:

Kansas City 8 Indianapolis 23
That loud noise you heard Saturday was the Kansas City Chiefs offense crashing to planet earth.   1 of 11 on 3rd downs, 126 total yards of offense, and just 32 yards rushing from Larry Johnson provided the Chiefs a one way ticket back to Kansas City after making an improbable playoff appearance.  The Chiefs did manage to pick Peyton Manning 3 times, but it really didn’t matter with their grounded offense.

Dallas 20 Seattle 21 

You know it’s getting bad when I start posting jokes on the Cowboys.  I’m not going to go into a lot of detail over this game, everyone saw what went down.  Tony Romo has become the butt of everyone’s jokes, and to be quite honest, well…SO WHAT?  The guy was anointed a hero for several weeks and  didn’t seem to mind that, let’s see how he handles some negative press.

So, just in case you live in a cave….here is a video of what happened to Tony Romo:

Now that you’ve seen the moment…..here are all the jokes I can find mocking it:  (It takes moments like these to remind me just how much people love to hate the Dallas Cowboys)

Every Romo Hurts   A youtube video composed of pictures of Romo’s rise and fall from grace along with some fitting music.

Romo Reenactment    Some guy that appears to still live with his parents does a poor rendition of the play.

Jesus Inspirational Statue:  Gotta thank the guys over at DEADSPIN for coming up with this gem of an idea!

Custom Tony Romo McFarlane Figure:  This is a for real item up for bid on E-bay.  Once again, gotta thank DEADSPIN for finding this auction.  I’d love to own this piece of history, but the bidding has already reached $108.00, which is too rich for my blood.  Seriously though, you should click on the picture below to check out the rest of the photos of this rare item.

Of course, Tony Romo wasn’t the only story coming out of Dallas.

Terrell Owens fired his publicist, Kim Etheredge.  Anything T.O. does is news. Everyone remembers Kim for saying “T.O. has 25 million reasons why he should be alive”.  To be totally honest, I’d have fired her as well as she was apparently the one that got all the suicide talk started.

The rumor bus has started up as to the fate of Bill Parcells and Terrell Owens:

AP Story, per ESPN 

John Clayton 

It’s early January, and unlike many people I care about the NBA.  Not in a motherly love type way, I’m just saying I enjoy watching the NBA every chance I get.  I especially like watching some of the younger, run and gun teams get out and play.  I don’t care for this Pat Riley situation and the stir it is causing…..or not causing for that matter.  I can’t believe more people aren’t pointing out the convenience of Pat Riley’s departure….or at least spinning it.
Remember, it was just over a year ago that Riley (who also happens to be Heat president) decided to replace Stan Van Gundy with none other than himself as the Miami Heat head coach.   It’s important to remember that Van Gundy had taken the Heat to the finals the year before, only to lose a game 7 to the Detroit Pistons without Dwayne Wade and Shaquille Oneal.  At the time Gundy left to “spend time with his family” (yeah right) he had the Heat at 11-10, and was just getting Shaq into the lineup.  (Oneal had played just three games)  It was a strange time to have a coach removed.  My friend Mac would later scoff at the move mentioning that Riley wished to hog the Heat championship spotlight for himself….in short, Mac felt Riley hopped aboard the Heat bandwagon at a VERY convenient time.  In fact, many speculated that it wasn’t some passion for coaching that brought Riley back, but a more prominent Miami Heat team.  Riley loves to be in the spotlight was the theory.
The Heat continued to win after Riley took over, rolling all the way to the NBA Finals where Dwayne Wade willed them to a Championship.  Funny, I never heard one thing about Riley’s knee during that time, but then again, I didn’t even know he had knees.  It just wasn’t a story.  Riley stepped in and saved a team that couldn’t find itself, and led them to a Championship.

WHATEVER!

Now, with the Heat stuck at 13-18, and an injured Shaq and Wade, Riley is taking a “leave of absence” to have his knee fixed.  He can’t bear the pain and meds anymore he says.  Give me a break!  Dude can’t stand losing is the problem.  He’s going to step away and you’ll see him back if and when the Heat get good again.  What’s good again?  Shaq and Wade in the lineup is good again.  I give this situation a little over a month.  This is the Eastern Conference…all the Heat have to do is get that combo to the playoffs for a legitimate chance at a Finals run.

I’m sure Riley’s knee really is bothering him.  It’s just a little too convenient for me that he decides to take the time off now.  Not only are the Heat injury riddled, but Nick Saban is stealing all headlines from Riley.  It really doesn’t matter.  It’s not as if anything Riley does will make or break this team.  I’m sure if the Heat were #1 in the East right now Riley could coach through the pain.  Now he has another chance to set himself up as savior.  In a few weeks the Heat will be picking up stride.  Around that same time Pat Riley will return to the bench.  They’ll play good basketball down the stretch and make the playoffs thanks to the old ball coach.  What a gamer!

ESPN Pat Riley Poll 

Vince Young has been awarded the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year in blowout fashion.  Young earned 23 votes out of a possible 50, which easily beat out second place Marques Colston and Maurice Jones-Drew who had nine each.  I’ve been on the Young bandwagon for much of the year, and although I personally felt Jones-Drew should have won the award, Young is deserving as well.  It was what you might call…a good year for rookies.

Now, I’m the first to admit that Vince Young is a huge talent, but I think a good dose of “whoa boy” might do Young, the Titans, the media, and his fans some good.  Let me make myself clear…..the same thing that scares NFL defenses about Young…..is what scares me; his feet.  Don’t worry, I’m not one of these people that worry about Young getting hurt because he runs around so much…nah, I’m more of a history buff myself, and you don’t have to go too terribly far back in history to find a quarterback that was hyped because of his running ability.  Rewind time back to 1997…..the NFL was being introduced to a 3rd year kid, nicknamed “Slash”.  That’s right, I’m talking about Kordell Stewart.

Stewart was in his 3rd year in the NFL but had only been used as a gimmick buy in the past.  Now he was a starter, had thrown for over 3000 yards, 21 TD, and ran for another 11 TD.  Stewart was being hailed as the “new breed” of NFL quarterbacks.  He could dominate a game not only with his arm…but with his legs as well.  He was as can’t miss as it gets.  65 Interceptions later he was out of the NFL.  You had to be around in ‘97 to understand the hype this guy was getting…..and you had to be around in ‘03 to see what a joke he had become.

Not to be redundant, but you can run the numbers on Mike Vick as well.  Great runner, but leaves something to be desired as a passer.  GROSSLY over hyped.  I’m not sure what happens with these young, fast guys…but it’s as if defenses “figure them out”…this is the NFL.
I’m not saying Vince Young isn’t good, or won’t be an NFL all-pro.  In fact, I think he will.  I’m just saying lets give this guy some time….when he struggles, lets give him some time.  Keep in mind he completed just over 50% of his passes…and threw more picks than TD’s.  It seems he has a bit of a flare for the dramatic….”clutch” I think is what it’s called.  Clutch, of course, isn’t easily relayed in statistics and it isn’t always a lock.    Early success has a bad habit of coming back and biting players in the rear.  Young is always going to be clutch…and a gamer, but it’s going to take more time for him to develop as an NFL passer.  Time and pieces around him.  It’s not as if the Titans are loaded with offensive talent.  Young worked his magic this year with empty top hats.  Give the kid time to mature….not personality wise, but on the field.  He already seems wise beyond his years, has a good head on his shoulders, and is grounded…but he’s still gonna need time.  People are going to expect Young to come out next season and continue to win games….I’m sure the Titans will be a playoff pick.  If Young begins to struggle and people begin to call him a bust, just slow down….and remember this post.  Kordell Stewart can happen to anybody.

Going into the 2006 season Miami Dolphins fans had high hopes. Miami was coming off a 9-7 campaign, during which they won their last 6 games. They returned future stud running back, Ronnie Brown who had a successful rookie season. They upgraded at quarterback, going from NFL journeyman Gus Frerotte to former All-Pro Daunte Culpepper. A solid, veteran defense returned along with team savior Nick Saban. Much of the hype surrounding the Dolphins involved them over-taking the New England Patriots in the AFC East.

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One story that hasn’t gotten a lot of ink this season has been Alex Smith’s growth from a historically bad rookie quarterback into a somewhat competent sophomore. One reason for Smith’s success: he isn’t fumbling as much as he did last year because he now brings his own footballs to games.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that an NFL rule change allows each team to bring a dozen balls with them to away games for use on offense. The balls must be examined by a referee, but they can be doctored to some extent to remove the slick waterproofing from their surface. Smith and Niners equipment supervisor Steve Urbaniak give Smith’s balls a good working over during the week, running them under some water, scrubbing them with a brush, and drying them with a towel. “I’ll go through them and check them to where they’re feeling decent,” Smith said of the process. “From Alex’s standpoint, he’s very happy with it,” Urbaniak said. “.”It gives him confidence going in knowing he doesn’t have to worry about it.”

Smith isn’t the only one who is happy after a thorough ball-buffing. Frank Gore had some fumbling problems early in the year. But Gore doesn’t seem to have any trouble holding onto Smith’s balls. The Broncos, who come from the capital of ball-doctoring, may want to keep Jay Cutler’s balls in a humidor so the rookie’s passes don’t sail on him. But the Broncos backs and receivers may have trouble grasping soggy balls.

Ok, I didn’t make this up, the full story can be found HERE.  Scroll down to the Niners/Broncos preview