Thursday, February 12, 2004
Life has been far from satisfactory as far as sports are concerned. What with my boys conceding six goals in the last two games to scrape a last minute win over Everton and an unlucky loss to Middlesbrough I'm, like, here...and happy is, like, way the fuck over there, a long, long way away.
footy
P3, W2, D0, L1, F9, A8, GD0, Pts6.
That's United's League record since Rio Ferdinand started his suspension on January 20th.
Prior to that United were:
P22, W16, D2, L4, F40, A15, GD25, Pts50.
And with only counting the games Rio played in:
P20, W15, D2, L3, F39, A14, GD25, Pts47.
Of those 20 games, nine of them were clean sheets for Tim Howard, who Rio apparently gets along famously with.
This is terrible. I'm, for the most part, a realist, and I can see United losing two, possibly all three points to Fulham, City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Blackburn and Chelsea before the season's out; not to mention Cup games against Porto and City in the next two weeks.
You can close my season now, I'll take third at this point.
beisbol
Ah, the Braves, surely there must be some joy to be had with the mighty twelve-in-a-row Braves...
As it turns out, not so much of the having of the joy.
Right now we have Ortiz, Hampton, Ramirez and...who...? We've got another two starting pitchers in there somewhere, haven't we...?
Sure we have - we've got Jaret Wright who's had two separate operations on his shoulder. That won't change his pitching, though, will it? And we have John Thompson, late of errr...no-one, who says "I'm not here to replace Greg Maddux". Well, John, you just better be here to replace Mad Dog because we need a pitcher who can win fifteen games this season. I'm not expecting the same range of pitches, but I'm expecting that you're going out there to win with whatever you have in that throwing arm. Then we have the unremarkable Trey Hodges, Paul Bird and last (and least) Jung Bong whose ERA is consistently over 5. And all of those guys blew leads as middle relief last season.
So we have some choices for starters, but the bullpen is, if it were possible, even weaker than last year. The only highlight for me is that Will Cunnane signed a one-year deal which should see him take over from John Smoltz as the guy to close the coffin on a great many teams.
Come April 6th we'll see if the Braves have the right stuff to finally get back to post-season success or if this will be another season of being the big fish in a very little pond.
pucks
The Thrashers continue to free-fall.
After his crash in September, it was January 22nd that Dany Heatley next put on a pair of skates. On Boxing Day he watched the team for the first time this season as they beat division leading Tampa Bay 3-1 in Atlanta. They've only won twice since.
Two wins in twenty-one games. Two wins since Boxing Day and a winless streak of ten games. No wins in seven since Dany started playing again. They're all but out of the playoffs (even though it's still a statistical possibility).
There are twenty-four games left in the season. I don't want to think about it.
But maybe the EA Sports curse isn't done with the Heater just yet. Perhaps it's working its voodoo on the rest of the team. Who knows...
hoops
Finally....
A week ago the Hawks logged wins against Boston and Minnesota. Consecutively. They become the final team (by several weeks) to record two victories in a row, putting to be a terrible, terrible record.
They're still second bottom of their conference and don't look like getting above that position.
shortball
For those who are uninitiated, the Arena Football League is like a minime for the NFL.
Imagine a 50 yard field (inside, of you would) and a smaller line of players, but everything else more or less the same.
Scores can be incredibly high. On opening day, the Georgia Force lost 54-28 against the New York Dragons. Tomorrow there's a game against Tampa Bay Storm. I'm going to try to get to a game or two before the end of the sixteen game season in late May.
So, as you can see, my sporting life is a bed of roses right now. An inordinate number of pricks and it stinks of shit.
footy
P3, W2, D0, L1, F9, A8, GD0, Pts6.
That's United's League record since Rio Ferdinand started his suspension on January 20th.
Prior to that United were:
P22, W16, D2, L4, F40, A15, GD25, Pts50.
And with only counting the games Rio played in:
P20, W15, D2, L3, F39, A14, GD25, Pts47.
Of those 20 games, nine of them were clean sheets for Tim Howard, who Rio apparently gets along famously with.
This is terrible. I'm, for the most part, a realist, and I can see United losing two, possibly all three points to Fulham, City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Blackburn and Chelsea before the season's out; not to mention Cup games against Porto and City in the next two weeks.
You can close my season now, I'll take third at this point.
beisbol
Ah, the Braves, surely there must be some joy to be had with the mighty twelve-in-a-row Braves...
As it turns out, not so much of the having of the joy.
Right now we have Ortiz, Hampton, Ramirez and...who...? We've got another two starting pitchers in there somewhere, haven't we...?
Sure we have - we've got Jaret Wright who's had two separate operations on his shoulder. That won't change his pitching, though, will it? And we have John Thompson, late of errr...no-one, who says "I'm not here to replace Greg Maddux". Well, John, you just better be here to replace Mad Dog because we need a pitcher who can win fifteen games this season. I'm not expecting the same range of pitches, but I'm expecting that you're going out there to win with whatever you have in that throwing arm. Then we have the unremarkable Trey Hodges, Paul Bird and last (and least) Jung Bong whose ERA is consistently over 5. And all of those guys blew leads as middle relief last season.
So we have some choices for starters, but the bullpen is, if it were possible, even weaker than last year. The only highlight for me is that Will Cunnane signed a one-year deal which should see him take over from John Smoltz as the guy to close the coffin on a great many teams.
Come April 6th we'll see if the Braves have the right stuff to finally get back to post-season success or if this will be another season of being the big fish in a very little pond.
pucks
The Thrashers continue to free-fall.
After his crash in September, it was January 22nd that Dany Heatley next put on a pair of skates. On Boxing Day he watched the team for the first time this season as they beat division leading Tampa Bay 3-1 in Atlanta. They've only won twice since.
Two wins in twenty-one games. Two wins since Boxing Day and a winless streak of ten games. No wins in seven since Dany started playing again. They're all but out of the playoffs (even though it's still a statistical possibility).
There are twenty-four games left in the season. I don't want to think about it.
But maybe the EA Sports curse isn't done with the Heater just yet. Perhaps it's working its voodoo on the rest of the team. Who knows...
hoops
Finally....
A week ago the Hawks logged wins against Boston and Minnesota. Consecutively. They become the final team (by several weeks) to record two victories in a row, putting to be a terrible, terrible record.
They're still second bottom of their conference and don't look like getting above that position.
shortball
For those who are uninitiated, the Arena Football League is like a minime for the NFL.
Imagine a 50 yard field (inside, of you would) and a smaller line of players, but everything else more or less the same.
Scores can be incredibly high. On opening day, the Georgia Force lost 54-28 against the New York Dragons. Tomorrow there's a game against Tampa Bay Storm. I'm going to try to get to a game or two before the end of the sixteen game season in late May.
So, as you can see, my sporting life is a bed of roses right now. An inordinate number of pricks and it stinks of shit.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
gridiron
Superbowl was today. Pats vs Cats. North vs South. New England vs Carolina.
After a disappointing first quarter and the majority of the second quarter with both teams playing to 3-and-out before punting on too many occasions (the Patritots had a chance for a field goal on thier first posession of the game and sent it wide to the right, then had another field goal chance charged down), it was New England who put a touchdown on the board first.
With 27 minutes elapsed and still no score (a Superbowl record) Deion Branch caught a five yard pass in the endzone and we were, at last, out of the blocks.
On the next drive Carolina were stuck with the ball on their own five yard line. A minute and fifty five seconds later Steve Smith is catching a 39 yard Jake Delhomme pass to make it (with the point after being good) 7-7. The second longest drive in Superbowl history.
So there's a minute left on the clock. You'd think it was good for a half-time score. But no, it wasn't done yet. The Pats drive down the field and wonder of wonders, with fifteen seconds left David Givens is catching another five yard pass from Tom Brady in the endzone. 14-7 for the Pats. Got to be half-time now, right?
Nope. Jake drives down to the 35yard line and with no time left on the clock, John Kasay kicks a 50 yard field goal to make it 14-10 at half time.
Then there was the half-time show. It was a dull and uninspired affair that prompted the NFL to make an official statement about the half-time show. It read:
"We were extremely disappointed by elements of the MTV-produced Halftime show. They were totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the show. It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime."
So they didn't get that P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and Kid Rock would be possibly terribly bad and, more likely, potentially inappropriate. And that last thing happened right at the end when Justin, doing a duet of some kind with Janet, pulled a flap on her costume to expose one of her breasts. Not to be prudish about it, but these artists appeal mostly to an 8-17yr old demographic, many of which would be tuning in for the game or just for the half-time show. Having a middle-aged never-was sister of a child molester show her boobies is not really entaertainment, prime-time or otherwise.
So, the second half...
Both offenses went to sleep for the third quarter, but in the fourth Antowain Smith ran in to complete a 70 yard drive and put the Pats further into the lead at 21-10
The response? DeShaun Foster running 33yards to get it to 21-16 and Jake failing to make a 2-point conversion pass.
Then, five minutes later in the play of the game, Muhsin Muhammed rounded out an 85yard passing play (the pass was about 50yards) to get the Cats ahead 22-21 for the first time in the game. Again, Jake tried a 2-point conversion and failed.
Then, on the next drive, Tom Brady makes a short pass to Mike Vraebel and a 2-point conversion run by Kevin Faulk puts the Pats back in front 29-22.
So what happens now, with two minutes left on the clock...?
Jake drives the Cats 80 yards makes the TD pass to Ricky Proehl, Kasay gets the point after and, with 1 minute left, we're tied at 29.
And so we're thinking it's probably going to be the first Superbowl ever to go into OT.
Until the (thus far) disappointing Adam Vinatieri steps up with four seconds left in the game. The kick, from 41 yards, sails through the uprights and breaks the hearts of confederates everywhere, despite making the game the highest scoring 4th quarter in a Superbowl.
32-29.
I really wanted the win for Jake. He was responsible for some great pass plays. That's not to play down MVP Tom Brady's part in the game. Sure, he was good. But DelHomme was better, even if the numbers don't seem to bear it out.
But, like the commercial during the game said, as of tomorrow, we're all unbeaten again.
Superbowl was today. Pats vs Cats. North vs South. New England vs Carolina.
After a disappointing first quarter and the majority of the second quarter with both teams playing to 3-and-out before punting on too many occasions (the Patritots had a chance for a field goal on thier first posession of the game and sent it wide to the right, then had another field goal chance charged down), it was New England who put a touchdown on the board first.
With 27 minutes elapsed and still no score (a Superbowl record) Deion Branch caught a five yard pass in the endzone and we were, at last, out of the blocks.
On the next drive Carolina were stuck with the ball on their own five yard line. A minute and fifty five seconds later Steve Smith is catching a 39 yard Jake Delhomme pass to make it (with the point after being good) 7-7. The second longest drive in Superbowl history.
So there's a minute left on the clock. You'd think it was good for a half-time score. But no, it wasn't done yet. The Pats drive down the field and wonder of wonders, with fifteen seconds left David Givens is catching another five yard pass from Tom Brady in the endzone. 14-7 for the Pats. Got to be half-time now, right?
Nope. Jake drives down to the 35yard line and with no time left on the clock, John Kasay kicks a 50 yard field goal to make it 14-10 at half time.
Then there was the half-time show. It was a dull and uninspired affair that prompted the NFL to make an official statement about the half-time show. It read:
"We were extremely disappointed by elements of the MTV-produced Halftime show. They were totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the show. It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime."
So they didn't get that P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and Kid Rock would be possibly terribly bad and, more likely, potentially inappropriate. And that last thing happened right at the end when Justin, doing a duet of some kind with Janet, pulled a flap on her costume to expose one of her breasts. Not to be prudish about it, but these artists appeal mostly to an 8-17yr old demographic, many of which would be tuning in for the game or just for the half-time show. Having a middle-aged never-was sister of a child molester show her boobies is not really entaertainment, prime-time or otherwise.
So, the second half...
Both offenses went to sleep for the third quarter, but in the fourth Antowain Smith ran in to complete a 70 yard drive and put the Pats further into the lead at 21-10
The response? DeShaun Foster running 33yards to get it to 21-16 and Jake failing to make a 2-point conversion pass.
Then, five minutes later in the play of the game, Muhsin Muhammed rounded out an 85yard passing play (the pass was about 50yards) to get the Cats ahead 22-21 for the first time in the game. Again, Jake tried a 2-point conversion and failed.
Then, on the next drive, Tom Brady makes a short pass to Mike Vraebel and a 2-point conversion run by Kevin Faulk puts the Pats back in front 29-22.
So what happens now, with two minutes left on the clock...?
Jake drives the Cats 80 yards makes the TD pass to Ricky Proehl, Kasay gets the point after and, with 1 minute left, we're tied at 29.
And so we're thinking it's probably going to be the first Superbowl ever to go into OT.
Until the (thus far) disappointing Adam Vinatieri steps up with four seconds left in the game. The kick, from 41 yards, sails through the uprights and breaks the hearts of confederates everywhere, despite making the game the highest scoring 4th quarter in a Superbowl.
32-29.
I really wanted the win for Jake. He was responsible for some great pass plays. That's not to play down MVP Tom Brady's part in the game. Sure, he was good. But DelHomme was better, even if the numbers don't seem to bear it out.
But, like the commercial during the game said, as of tomorrow, we're all unbeaten again.
