The Super Bowl that could've been

Even though the Patriots aren't in the Super Bowl this year, I'm still very excited.  The two best teams all year are playing in the final game and that is how it should be. I've said all year that if the Pats didn't win I'd want the Saints. Hopefully they can pull out a victory in Miami.  It's safe to say I'm very relieved the Vikings decided to fumble away(literally) the game yesterday.  Now I don't have to avoid SportsCenter for two weeks.

As great as this match up should be it could've been better if both teams were undefeated.  I think it's probably for the best each team lost because the pressure of an undefeated season can wear on you.  But just think of what kind of excitement there would've been if both teams came into that game with no blemishes on their record.

The games itself were up and down yesterday.   Even with the Jets up 17-6 I kind of knew the Colts had that game in hand. As much as I dislike them, they had a hell of a post season run and should be a great rival to the Patriots next year. Peyton Manning is an incredible quarterback. As much as I hate to admit it, he's the best we've ever seen and though I will be rooting hard against him in the Super Bowl it would be hard to bet against a team led by him.

The other game was just plain weird.  Both teams kept trying to give the game away whether it was the Saints with penalties or the Vikings with fumbles.  The Saints had a chance to recover two of those fumbles but the Vikings were able to recover.  Adrian Peterson is going to have a hard time sleeping for awhile.  Without his fumbles the Vikings probably win that game.

As great as Brett Favre has been in his career he's not very clutch.  The last two NFC title games he has lost for his teams with dumb interceptions.  You never throw the ball across the field especially in that situation.  Plus, the fact that he could've scrambled for about 10 yards instead.  I think all the hits he took during the game really influenced the decision.  As much as I've hated on Favre this year for being a sellout I kind of felt bad for the guy afterward.  He's been remarkable in his durability and is very entertaining player to watch.

All in all very satisfied with this match up.  I don't see how any person who isn't a Colts fan would not be cheering for the Saints in this one. This city deserves a champion and what a moment it would be if they were able to win.  I think it will be a close game throughout but in the end destiny prevails and the Saints win.  It's silly to bet against Peyton Manning but I'm going to do it.  Let's go New Orleans!

What in the Jets?

Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Mark Sanchez. Wait, Mark Sanchez? Yes, somehow the Jets  are in the AFC title game and I'm still trying to piece together how this happened.  I thought this was the only game that would be a blowout all week. As it turns out, the other 3 games, which I thought could go either way, weren't even close.  I guess in retrospect it makes sense. 

The Jets matched up very well with the Chargers, as the Chargers can't run and the Jets have the best pass defense in the league.  Still, I thought Mark Sanchez would find a way to blow it, yet it was the Chargers that choked.  I don't know how their kicker is going to recover from that. Also, LT needs to retire, like right now.  He never runs for more than a 2 yard gain and it is just sad to watch one of the best running backs ever be so plain average.

The Jets win sets up a lose-lose scenario for any Boston fan. Colts-Jets is as bad as it gets, so I guess I'll just root for a tie(just kidding.) Thankfully the Saints are still in it. Everyone who doesn't have a team left in the field should be cheering for New Orleans. The city needs something positive to happen and that team is very likeable across the board.

I loved the Cowboys getting crushed yesterday but I wish it wasn't to such a sellout like Brett Favre.  Anyone who has ever loved a team shouldn't respect a selfish person like Favre no matter how good he is. I'm hoping the Saints blow them out of the water next week in New Orleans.

All in all I guess it could be worse.  With the Cowboys losing, it makes the nightmare of all scenarios, a Cowboys-Colts Super Bowl(which I would not watch) impossible.  The Jets getting to the AFC Title game makes the Patriots loss seem even worse.  There is no way Belichick lets that Jets team beat them in the playoffs. Oh well, I guess maybe the Jets fans deserve something good to come their way.  Hope everyone had a great weekend and go Saints!

Patriots fans deserve an apology

Yesterday's Patriots loss to the Ravens was embarrassing and unacceptable. Give the Ravens credit for playing a pretty solid game, but the Patriots simply did not show up. It's not the loss that makes me mad, because without Welker the Pats weren't going to win it all anyway. Rather, it is the fact the Patriots were so unprepared and out coached. I've defended Belichick over and over again this year, but I can't this time. I am finally at the point where I think he might have lost his touch. While I still think he's a good coach, he's no genius anymore.

Randy Moss is the laziest player in the NFL. Seriously, for all the great he did in 2007 we don't need players like him on this franchise. I can't remember the last time I saw a player put in so little effort in a game this big. He could be catching 3 touchdowns a game, but chooses when he wants to play. If he had half the heart of Welker he’d be unstoppable. Instead he just jogs around disinterested for most of the game. At this point, I say get rid of him. During our Super Bowl run we had Troy Brown and other role players as receivers and beat teams with our defense and coaching. I don't care if the Patriots don't win as many games. It makes me sick watching a player as talented as Moss play like such a coward.

This "is the Patriots dynasty over" story the media is conjuring up is crap. What is the definition of a dynasty anyway? The Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since 2004 so if your definition of dynasty is winning titles then they haven't been one for a long time. The NFL is a fickle league, and just because the Patriots played one terrible game doesn't mean the franchise is done. People put way too much stock in one game and don't look at the body of work. Please also remember Brady just came back from knee surgery this year and had about 3 broken ribs for most of the season.

All in all it was a pretty terrible way to end what was an up and down type of season. The Patriots lacked heart and were unprepared; two things I never thought I'd ever say about a Bill Belichick coached team. All I can say now is, go Celtics.

NFL Playoff Preview

It's that time of year again. The holiday season is behind us and it's time for playoff football. Three of the four first round Wild Card match ups will feature rematches from Week 17 games, and the fourth will be a rematch from earlier in the season. I was excited for a possible Patriots run until the news of Wes Welker's season ending injury.

First off, Welker should be a legitimate MVP candidate. He had 123 catches this season, even while missing almost 3 full games. He was by far the MVP of the Patriots, and is one of the toughest players in football. For those people out there saying Belichick was stupid to play his starters, I will say this. It's very easy to say things like that after the fact. But the truth is this was a freak accident and could've happened the first play of the playoffs too. I'd rather have a coach that takes risks and wants to win every game, than someone like Jim Caldwell whose team might as well have not shown up yesterday.

Let's not complain Boston fans because we've still had it pretty damn good the last decade. Even though there have been some really crappy injuries (Brady and now Welker), the fact that we have been consistently a top tier team during the post-free agency NFL is pretty remarkable. Plus, even if the Pats lose, at least we get to root against the Colts, Cowboys, and whoever is playing Brett Favre.

Though the Patriots are going to need a miracle to win the Super Bowl this year, I still think they can beat the Ravens. While they've lost Welker, they have all their running backs back and I'm not sold on the Ravens being that good. The Jets lucked out that they got to play the Bengals to get in the playoffs, and then get to play them again in the first round. The Bengals look to be by far the weakest team in the playoffs, and I expect the Jets to win an incredibly boring and ugly game.

The Dallas-Philly match up is intriguing and could be the best match up of the weekend. Dallas hasn't won a playoff game in 14 years. Let me say that again, Dallas hasn't won one single playoff game for 14 years. I would love if that streak reached 15 Saturday night, but sadly I think this could be Dallas's year to get to a NFC title game. I think Dallas wins a close one 24-20.

In the final game of the weekend I see Green Bay winning an exciting game against Arizona. My reason for this is simply because I have no idea what Arizona team will show up on any given week. Arizona could win the Super Bowl or lose to a JV high school team, you really just never know.

My Super Bowl prediction is Chargers-Saints, though to say I lack confidence in this pick would be the understatement of the decade. My only hope is that it isn't Dallas-Indianapolis. I seriously would not watch the Super Bowl if that happened.

In any case, the football playoffs are bittersweet to me. Though I love watching the games, it also sadly signals the end of football season, and means it's a few months closer to Baseball season. I guess we should all enjoy this last month as much as we can. Thanks for reading everyone!

Dream Decade for a Boston Sports Fan

Ten years ago today if you had told me that Boston would be the most successful sports city in America going into 2010 I would have laughed. Then I probably would have gotten a little angry at such a cruel joke.  However, after 6 titles in the 4 major sports this decade, that is the reality.  We Boston fans love seeing the glass half empty, but we really need to recognize this past decade for what it was; the greatest decade for Boston sports ever.

Let's start off with Boston's favorite team the Red Soxxxxx. No fan base(besides maybe the Cubs) was more tortured than Red Sox nation up until 2004.  I was attending Umass at the time, and was amazed how serious and loyal people from New England were about the Red Sox.  You really need to be around it to comprehend the level of passion they have for their team.  When the Red Sox came back to beat the Yankees in the greatest come back in sports history, mass hysteria ensued around New England.  Sure, they had one more series to go, but nothing was stopping that train.  With another title two years later, the Red Sox were no longer the loveable underdogs, but a team expected to win a title every year.

Now on to the dynasty of the decade.  Say what you want about the Lakers or Spurs in the NBA, but everyone knows football is by far the hardest sport to build a dynasty.  Yet, the 2000's(what are we calling that decade anyway?) Patriots were just that.  Three Super Bowl wins in four appearances and a near perfect season made the Patriots the model franchise in the NFL.  Sure, a lot of the haters will remember them for Spygate and 18-1, but what the Patriots accomplished in that decade could never have been predicted.  Say what you want about Brady, but for a 6th round pick I don't think he's done half bad for himself.  As for that unfortunate Super Bowl game against the Giants, I'm still in denial about that one.  Patriots win that game 8 out of 10 but just got outplayed that day.  Anyway, whether you love or hate the Pats, the past decade put them in the national spotlight, which could not be said for any decades before.

Now on to my favorite sports team, the Boston Celtics.  Sure, until the 2007-2008 season the Celtics were mired in mediocrity.  However, the 2008 title victory over the hated Lakers was worth it.  The Celtics were the 3rd wheel in Boston with the success of the Red Sox and Patriots.  But on July 31,2007 that all changed. The addition of Kevin Garnett brought back Celtic Pride and that whole season was a magical ride.  My whole life I had heard about the great Celtics teams of the past, but had never witnessed more than a Conference Finals trip from my beloved team.  Winning a title that year was worth all the years of frustration. The fact that we beat the Lakers made it even more sweet.  That Celtics title was worth more to me than all the other Boston sports championships combined.

All in all I was ridiculously spoiled this past decade in terms of sports success. Along with the 6 titles my Boston teams won, my favorite college basketball team, the UNC Tarheels, won 2 titles and were in most people's minds the college basketball team of the decade.  People need to cherish their teams success. Too often we think our teams will always be good, but sports is cyclical.  The next decade my teams might be terrible but that will never erase the great decade that was the 2000's.

Happy New Year Everyone!

A quick recap of the last decade in sports(Part 1)

So much has happened in the past decade that it would take 50 pages to chronicle it all, but I will do my best. The decade started and ended in similar places. The Yankees and Lakers both won titles in the first and last years of the decade, Tiger Woods was the headline of every major sports news outlet, and yes the Cleveland Browns still sucked.  However, if I was to characterize this decade in sports it would be for the spectacular highs and equally spectacular lows.

Let's discuss the good stuff first.  We saw Michael Phelps win a record 8 Gold Medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At those same Olympics, we saw Usain Bolt blow away the competition with flare and seemingly effortless grace. We saw Roger Federer win a record 15 Grand Slam titles and stay #1 in the world for 237 straight weeks. We saw Tiger Woods win major after major and literally carry the sport of golf on his shoulders. Boston fans enjoyed 6 championships in baseball, football, and basketball combined. This included the Red Sox breaking the 86 year old curse of the Bambino in style, coming back to defeat the hated Yankees from 3-0 down.

Memorable games and moments were aplenty. Who could forget the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the Statue of Liberty play to give Boise State the upset win. Or afterward when Boise State running back Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend in front of millions around the country. I still remember the deep pain I felt during the Patriots loss to the Giants in the greatest upset in Super Bowl History, only to be replaced by the immense joy after the Celtics victory over the Lakers 4 months later.  How about the 6 Overtime game between Uconn and Syracuse and the memorable run George Mason had in the 2006 Final Four.

However, with all the good that happened in the past decade, sadly some really terrible things happened as well. From the steroid scandal that rocked baseball, to the Tim Donaghy scandal in the NBA. You had the Michael Vick dog fighting ring and Kobe's rape allegation. Just recently the Tiger Woods scandal rocked the nation, leaving fans to question everything they thought they liked about the decade's most famous athlete. I'm not sure if there was just more bad stuff going on, or if the 24 hour news cycle and media overload led to more events being publicized.

Technology played a huge role in the changing of sports media.  People went from reading the sports page to reading sports blogs. People were able to watch games on their phones and rewind plays using TIVO.  HD TV made going to a game less appealing.  Internet chat boards became perfect sounding boards for angry and often ignorant sports fans across America.

Yes, sports in the past decade were anything but dull.  It certainly will be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years.  All I know is I will be watching every bit of it. In Part 2 I will discuss the great decade it was for Boston Sports fans. Hope you enjoy!

Treat Teammates Like Family

When it doesn't go perfect out there, everyone wants to jump on Randy. It's all of us, and we all have to do a better job."-Tom Brady

When I first heard the comments from Panther cornerbacks Chris Gamble and Chris Harris badmouthing Randy Moss for supposedly giving up in last weeks game, I knew how the Patriots would react. You can say what you want about the Patriots or Boston sports in general, but they will defend their teams to the death. Brady, Belichick, and even the owner Robert Kraft stood up for Moss saying it was unfair criticism and that Moss was still one of the most dominant players in the game. Moss certainly did not have one of his best games, and admittedly does have a tendency to give up at times. But a teammate should never call out one of their own.

This is how a class organization like the Patriots handle things. However, this speaks to a larger issue in sports. Too many times these days players use the media as a platform to discuss what should be a private matter. From Larry Johnson tweeting about his distaste for his head coach, to Heinz Ward calling out his quarterback, there seems to be less and less team loyalty these days.

So, why is this? It could be that in the era of free agency, everyone is out for themselves. Players hop from team to team trying to get as much money as they can. Winning is still the number one priority, but for some teams and players, making money is a close second. Or is it the media and technologies fault? If the Internet and the 24 Hour News cycle existed back in the day would we have the same type of problems? Would Larry Bird and Robert Parish be bad mouthing each other through Twitter?

I really believe professional sports players should treat their teammates like family. I mean in essence isn't that what they are? Players often see their teammates more than their own families. They have to trust each other and believe in each other to succeed. If one of your own makes a mistake, it is the responsibility of the teammate to forgive and back them up.

If you look at the successful teams in sports, they all have tight bonds. My beloved Celtics are a perfect example of this. Have you ever seen any tension on this team? They all seem to genuinely like each other and go about their business as professionals. Even if this isn't really how it is, perception is huge in life. If you can outwardly portray a certain image and deal with things internally you will be more successful.

Look, just like families, teams have issues too. The important thing is to protect your own and not throw one another under the proverbial bus. I was proud to be a Boston fan on Monday. By backing the Patriots it reflects the loyal city that Boston is.