Manning, HDTV, Barbaro and other spiteful ramblings
By Greg Wiley
And down the stretch they come...
No this is not a bad lead into a Barbaro eulogy, rather it refers to the week-long media pounding the Colts and Bears players face leading up to Super Bowl XLI this Sunday.
The two teams were scheduled to arrive in Miami on Monday and the questioning will begin soon thereafter. You already know that Peyton Manning will be the center of attention for the Colts. He is a continuous sound bite and rarely backs down from any question. Remember his rant about then-teammate Mike Vanderjagt, who had earlier questioned Manning's ability to play in the clutch, at the Pro Bowl a few years ago? Expect a Chicago defensive player to lay into the Colts offense and Manning should have a response. If not, running back Joseph Addai is wet enough behind the ears to foolishly give the Bears bulletin board material.
For the Bears, I expect Rex Grossman to take a pounding from the sports media.His play most of the season has been up and down and his performance in the Super Bowl will be interesting to see unfold.
The real question this week, however, is which player will fall into an abyss and be absent from the big game. We've seen it a number of times in the past.In Super Bowl XXXVII it was Oakland Raiders center Barrett Robins. Years earlier it was Bengals fullback Stanley Wilson, who missed Super Bowl XXIII following a cocaine relapse the night before the game.
I hope nobody has any problems leading up to this game, but I bet the Bears are hoping Manning suffers a "promotional overdoes" and misses the game in favor of doing DirecTV commercials...
Speaking of DirecTV...Last week I mentioned I was getting a High Def TV. Well, it arrived on Thursday along with my DirecTV HD service (I refuse to give my money to Comcast) and boy what a difference. In the short time I have had HDTV, I have fallen in love. I can't imagine how I survived without it for so long. I was cheating myself. The clarity is unreal. I watched the Buick Invitational in HD on CBS and you could see the ball marks (no jokes please) on the green. I've never watched golf this early in the season before, but if other tournaments are in HD I'll be compelled to tune in again. I also flipped over to the NHL game on NBC, and I never watch hockey until the playoffs. If it was broadcast in HD I would have stayed. It wasn't (typical for hockey), so I switched to Discovery HD. That channel is awesome. I enjoy the nature shows in HD. When I was at the Cape May Zoo this past summer I didn't see animals this clear. Of course, that could have more to do with the Jersey air rather than anything else. I can't wait until the Super Bowl. I highly recommend HD to everyone. Oh yeah, get the DVR/TiVo. That is the best invention ever!...
I guess I need to mention Barbaro. He was a horse headed for history until that fateful day at the Preakness. It's a shame that happened. It was a wonderful story for horse racing that he made it as long as he did. Barbaro was obviously a fighter. It was great that the owners tried to keep him alive for so long. If it was any other horse, he would have been euthanized a longtime ago. But if I had the chance to make millions if Barbaro went to stud, I would've kept him alive a lot longer. Heck, I might even had tried to pass off another horse for Barbaro for the pay day...
How fitting was it that Tiger Woods and Roger Federer won their respective tournaments on Sunday? The two most dominant players in sports today showed what made them special. Federer coasted through the Australian Open, failing to lose a set on the way, while Woods lurked the entire tournament and then made his trademark move on Sunday to earn his third straight Buick Invitational crown.
Regarding the growing debate as to who is more dominant in his sport, I tend to slightly lean towards Woods. There doesn't seem to be a major flaw in his game he can't overcome and more importantly there isn't a course that can control him. On the other hand, Federer has a major problem on clay. How can I rule in favor of Federer when he has never won the French Open, one of the four Grand Slams in tennis? Woods has won each of the majors in his sport and has proven that climate isn't a factor either. Similar to the U.S. Postal Service, he delivers in wind, rain or shine. If he had to play in the snow, I would also bet on him. Now if Federer wins in Paris, I will probably rule in his favor. Federer's competition is slightly better than Woods'...
The Phoenix Suns are on some run. Closing in on 20 straight wins is simply amazing. This team is a fabulous regular-season squad, nearly unstoppable when playing a different opponent each night. Their running style is tough for any team to stop. The question, though, is can this team survive a playoff series against a top-flight Western Conference squad. It seems teams have answers for the Suns over a seven-game series. They become a lot more defendable. The Suns are a fun team to watch. Let's hope they can finally show up in the NBA Finals...
The surprising baseball news of the week was that the Red Sox are in serious discussions to acquire Todd Helton from the Rockies. Red Sox fans have to be happy to hear that. J.D. Drew looks a lot better behind Manny when Helton is waiting on deck...
I took some slack for touting Abreu as a fantasy baseball stud last week. So, I felt the need to provide a true sleeper this week. Oakland's Bobby Crosby is headed for big things. If he can stay healthy, expect him to put up career numbers. He is 27, the prime for hitters in the majors, and the Athletics should again vie for the AL West title. Expect to get Crosby in the mid rounds during your draft...
Anyone watching the X-Games? I have a problem getting into an event created by ESPN for ESPN...
Oh yeah, by the way, the Colts win the Super Bowl 27-17.
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By Greg Wiley
And down the stretch they come...
No this is not a bad lead into a Barbaro eulogy, rather it refers to the week-long media pounding the Colts and Bears players face leading up to Super Bowl XLI this Sunday.
The two teams were scheduled to arrive in Miami on Monday and the questioning will begin soon thereafter. You already know that Peyton Manning will be the center of attention for the Colts. He is a continuous sound bite and rarely backs down from any question. Remember his rant about then-teammate Mike Vanderjagt, who had earlier questioned Manning's ability to play in the clutch, at the Pro Bowl a few years ago? Expect a Chicago defensive player to lay into the Colts offense and Manning should have a response. If not, running back Joseph Addai is wet enough behind the ears to foolishly give the Bears bulletin board material.
For the Bears, I expect Rex Grossman to take a pounding from the sports media.His play most of the season has been up and down and his performance in the Super Bowl will be interesting to see unfold.
The real question this week, however, is which player will fall into an abyss and be absent from the big game. We've seen it a number of times in the past.In Super Bowl XXXVII it was Oakland Raiders center Barrett Robins. Years earlier it was Bengals fullback Stanley Wilson, who missed Super Bowl XXIII following a cocaine relapse the night before the game.
I hope nobody has any problems leading up to this game, but I bet the Bears are hoping Manning suffers a "promotional overdoes" and misses the game in favor of doing DirecTV commercials...
Speaking of DirecTV...Last week I mentioned I was getting a High Def TV. Well, it arrived on Thursday along with my DirecTV HD service (I refuse to give my money to Comcast) and boy what a difference. In the short time I have had HDTV, I have fallen in love. I can't imagine how I survived without it for so long. I was cheating myself. The clarity is unreal. I watched the Buick Invitational in HD on CBS and you could see the ball marks (no jokes please) on the green. I've never watched golf this early in the season before, but if other tournaments are in HD I'll be compelled to tune in again. I also flipped over to the NHL game on NBC, and I never watch hockey until the playoffs. If it was broadcast in HD I would have stayed. It wasn't (typical for hockey), so I switched to Discovery HD. That channel is awesome. I enjoy the nature shows in HD. When I was at the Cape May Zoo this past summer I didn't see animals this clear. Of course, that could have more to do with the Jersey air rather than anything else. I can't wait until the Super Bowl. I highly recommend HD to everyone. Oh yeah, get the DVR/TiVo. That is the best invention ever!...
I guess I need to mention Barbaro. He was a horse headed for history until that fateful day at the Preakness. It's a shame that happened. It was a wonderful story for horse racing that he made it as long as he did. Barbaro was obviously a fighter. It was great that the owners tried to keep him alive for so long. If it was any other horse, he would have been euthanized a longtime ago. But if I had the chance to make millions if Barbaro went to stud, I would've kept him alive a lot longer. Heck, I might even had tried to pass off another horse for Barbaro for the pay day...
How fitting was it that Tiger Woods and Roger Federer won their respective tournaments on Sunday? The two most dominant players in sports today showed what made them special. Federer coasted through the Australian Open, failing to lose a set on the way, while Woods lurked the entire tournament and then made his trademark move on Sunday to earn his third straight Buick Invitational crown.
Regarding the growing debate as to who is more dominant in his sport, I tend to slightly lean towards Woods. There doesn't seem to be a major flaw in his game he can't overcome and more importantly there isn't a course that can control him. On the other hand, Federer has a major problem on clay. How can I rule in favor of Federer when he has never won the French Open, one of the four Grand Slams in tennis? Woods has won each of the majors in his sport and has proven that climate isn't a factor either. Similar to the U.S. Postal Service, he delivers in wind, rain or shine. If he had to play in the snow, I would also bet on him. Now if Federer wins in Paris, I will probably rule in his favor. Federer's competition is slightly better than Woods'...
The Phoenix Suns are on some run. Closing in on 20 straight wins is simply amazing. This team is a fabulous regular-season squad, nearly unstoppable when playing a different opponent each night. Their running style is tough for any team to stop. The question, though, is can this team survive a playoff series against a top-flight Western Conference squad. It seems teams have answers for the Suns over a seven-game series. They become a lot more defendable. The Suns are a fun team to watch. Let's hope they can finally show up in the NBA Finals...
The surprising baseball news of the week was that the Red Sox are in serious discussions to acquire Todd Helton from the Rockies. Red Sox fans have to be happy to hear that. J.D. Drew looks a lot better behind Manny when Helton is waiting on deck...
I took some slack for touting Abreu as a fantasy baseball stud last week. So, I felt the need to provide a true sleeper this week. Oakland's Bobby Crosby is headed for big things. If he can stay healthy, expect him to put up career numbers. He is 27, the prime for hitters in the majors, and the Athletics should again vie for the AL West title. Expect to get Crosby in the mid rounds during your draft...
Anyone watching the X-Games? I have a problem getting into an event created by ESPN for ESPN...
Oh yeah, by the way, the Colts win the Super Bowl 27-17.
Click here for copyright permissions!
Copyright 2007
The Phanatic
5 comments:
I agree. I love HDTV.
Bobby Crosby will be a star. Mark it down.
Bobby Crosby will miss 100 games. Mark it down.
Wait...so what are we marking down then?
Mark down Crosby missing 100 games, not the Phanatic writer.
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