My Fearless Super Bowl XLVI Prediction

Here we are on Super Sunday and I have to watch the f-ing Giants play in it once again. I guess I should be used to it since the damn Eagles only make to the big once ever quarter century or so. Add to that we're stuck with fat-ass Andy Reid still and I''m gaining a respect for how the Cubs and Maple Leaf fans feel.

I'm not even a little bitter though.

So, after that digression, here's what I see for today.

Brady is healthy even if Gronkowski isn't. But a 75% Gronk is better than most other TE's on the receiving end. The question is will he be able to block because the Giant front four will be bringing it. If Pierre-Paul, Umenyiora and Tuck can get to Brady, game over.

Belichick is a great coach, as is Coughlin, but the Pat's leader is more imaginative than his opponent. Give hoodie man two weeks with input from Brady and you will come up with something the Giants didn't think of. Coughlin doesn't have to be imaginative, he just needs his team to execute what he calls. Believe me, as an Eagles fan and a fan of a team that beats the Giants routinely, I can tell you exactly what the keys are to the game and they all involve proper reads, timing and maintenance of areas of responsibility.

With that said, I will go with the Patriots. I do not see the Giants getting to Brady like they did in their last SB meeting. Brady will be able to maneuver better and pick the DB's apart.

Patriot 27

Giants 24

MVP Brady

Top Banned Super Bowl Commercials of All Time

Over at HuffPo they have them.

This will still rank among the favorites:



The best ad ever shown during the SB had to be this:



26 years ago when the internet we know today wasn't even a dream.

Pro-Abortionist's Pissed About Super Bowl (TM) Ad

Tim Tebow recently ended a stellar career at the University of Florida. He won the Heisman and led his team to a national championship under unbelievable pressure. He will be a first round pick in the NFL draft and he's been one hell of a good role model--something we can't say about everyone in pro sports.

Tebow is starring in an ad to be aired on CBS during the big game where he is pretty thankful that his mom didn't abort him:

Tebow and his mother, Pam Tebow, appear in the advertisement, which was financed by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. In the expected ad, Pam recounts how doctors recommended she have an abortion after developing complications while pregnant with Tim. The ad also shows how Tim went on to become one of the most successful college quarterbacks in the country.

"I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe," Tim Tebow said.

Women whose husbands have wronged them and they're still pissed about it because they can't get another date from groups like NARAL, NOW and something called Women's Media Center are a bit upset that Tim would celebrate such a thing like, well, being born. For the same reason they hate Sarah Palin for carrying Trig to term knowing he had Down Syndrome, these group despise Pam Tebow because she sold out their agenda and actually went ahead and gave birth to a future Heisman winner. I mean, how dare she? Plus she was a missionary and home-scholled her kids...what a rube.

I'm no major anti-abortion supporter and hardly a church-going Christian but the pro-abortion types irritate me by defending the indefensible.

I leave you with the semi-literate words of the leader of NOW:

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women disagrees, saying the commercial is "not being respectful of other people's lives."

"It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else's," she said.

And abortion is totally "being respectful of other people's lives" right That is except those that aren't actually born to live them because their mothers listened to you. I find you "offensive" Ms. O'Neill. Being alive is infinitely superior to the alternative.

The noted eugenicist and Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger is probably looking up with a proud look on her face although she only advocated aborting minorities.

NFL Week 13

A big one for a few teams.

Here's my picks for select games:

Dallas at the NY Giants-The Giants can't afford to lose this game and have any reasonable chance of making the playoffs. Romo has been decent of late but always seems to tighten up in big games. The G-men are without some studs and Eli is injured but I think they nut it up and pull out the win.

Giants 23 Cowgirls 20

Philly at Atlanta-The Eagles need to keep winning and the Falcons are without Matt Ryan while their backfield is beat up. The Eagles are without deep threat Desean Jackson but Jason Avant stepped up his game nicely. Brent Celek is crucial to Philly as he suffered from some greasy fingers last week.

Eagles 30 Falcons 20

Other games:

Vikings 24 Cardinals 21
Titans 35 Colts 32

Goodbye and Thanks, Brian Dawkins

Anyone who has read this blog more than once knows I'm a dedicated Philly sports fan. Until last October/November (when the Phillies won it all), this region was a football region through and through. The old joke is that in most places, a kids first words were "mama" or "dada" while in Philly it's "Cowboys suck!". We're passionate to say the least.

There was one man who epitomized Philadelphia Eagles football and always gave 110% when he stepped between the line; that man is Brian Dawkins. B-Dawk was the team leader not only because he expected the best from everyone on the team but because he demanded he himself give much more than anyone else. The man was an absolute force roaming the D backfield at Lincoln Financial.

Those days are over now as Dawkins signed a four-year deal with the Denver Bronco's after Eagles management slapped him in the face by not offering him a new deal. As with all decisions made by the Birds front office, they also gave the fans the finger by letting Dawk get away. The guy is a veteran and has meant more to the Eagles than Joe banner or Andy Reid will ever know. They may have ensured that Philly remains a baseball town for the foreseeable future with this stupid and shameless move. They ran another icon right out of town.

Just as an aside, I don't generally wear a players jersey but I have a Dawkins jersey and will continue to wear it until he gets in the Hall of Fame.

Dawkins took it like everyone expected him to; with class and dignity.

Thanks for all the good years, B-Dawk.

Fearless Super Bowl (TM) Prediction

Cards 27, Steelers 24.

Warner with orchestrate a late drive and win it in the fourth cementing his position in the Hall of Fame. Fitzgerald will be doubled so Boldin or Breaston will have big games. James rushes for 80-yards.

On the Steeleres side; Big Ben will have an okay game but Hines Ward will make a couple of crucial catches to sustain drives. Parker will have a nice game and maybe go over 100-yards.

Thursday Night News and Notes

I'm feeling pretty good tonight. Finally the GOP stuck together and gave obama the finger on the anti-stimulus bill. Republicans essentially said to Obama: "You now own this bullshit bill and you, Pelosi and Reid will suffer because of it". Plus, by Obama passing this bill, he effectively cut any lifeline he had connecting Bush to the recession. A good day all around.

Here's some news from around the web:

A great take on global warming alarmism from a San Diego meteorologist.

It may well be time for Royal Dutch Shell to do to the steelworkers what Reagan did to the air traffic controllers.

A recent study yielded some shocking results: the majority of commercials shown during NFL games feature alcohol, sex or erectile dysfunction. Shocking. I for one think they don't show enough sex and am now on record as saying so. I think there should be more hot chicks shown on a more regular basis and then the ED ads will not be needed.

Keeping an eye on Google.

Frank J being, well, Frank J.

An All Pennsylvania Superbowl

I like the Eagles over the Cards 24-20 and the Steelers over the Ravens 20-17.

Eagles Roll On to Arizona

An interesting weekend of football to say the least. I liked the Ravens and they won with stats that were shocking. It will be a tough offseason for the Titans.

The Steelers were flat out a better team against San Diego without LT.

In the biggest playoff upset in a decade, the Cardinals put the wood to the Panthers.

And of course, my birds whacked the Giants at home. McNabb was good enough, the defense was stellar and Eli Manning was simply horrid in the wind. What an astounding run by the Iggles.

Odds to win it here in a humorous format.

NFL Recap: Both Underdogs Win

In what has to be a first; every home team was an underdog going into the weekend. Yesterday, both home teams won.

In the Cards-Falcons game, QB Kurt Warner led the Cards to victory and showed that the old man can still play against the Rookie of the Year. Matt Ryan looked nervous from the outset and Atlanta never could get the ground game going with Michael Turner only able to accumulate 42 yards on the ground. The Cards defense was able to key on Ryan and was all over him notching three sack and numerous hurries. Larry Fitzgerald had his coming out party yesterday playing in front of a national audience and the world got to see what fantasy players have known for awhile, Fitz is a stud.

In the nightcap, the Chargers seemed doomed from the beginning with an injured LT and a banged up defense. Season MVP Peyton Manning was good but the bolts defense seemed to have a fix on what was coming and stopped the Colts streak. Amazingly, it was the Chargers punter Mike Scifres who was the key to the win averaging 52.7 yards per punt and continuously pinning the Colts back deep in their own end. Darren Sproles came up big as well at least figuratively. The 5' 6" all-purpose guy stepped in when LT didn't return and ran for 105 yards while amassing 45 receiving yards. He combined for more than 300 all-purpose yards.

Predictions for today:

Both road teams will win and set up some great games next week.

Ravens-Dolphins
I like Pennington and the Dolphins story this year was great but the Ravens defense will win it for them. Raven 20 Fish 14

Eagles-Vikings
Which birds team will show up? If it's the team that crushed the Cowgirls last week, they'll win convincingly. If it's the team who lost to the Skins two weeks ago, Adrian Petersen will run all over them. Brian Dawkins has been an unstoppable force of late and will be flying around as usual. Note that the Vikes had trouble selling out and of this moment the game will be blacked out in the Twin Cities area. I'm predicting the former: Iggles 31 Vikes 20

Eagles Put 44 Up on Cowgirls

And a sweet ass-kicking it was ending an inexplicable day for the Birds:

"Yeah, I feel kind of revived, I guess," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said yesterday at the end of a freakish day that saw his left-for-dead team rout the Dallas Cowboys, 44-6, at Lincoln Financial Field and claim the final wild-card playoff spot in the NFC.

It was a warm day in December, but this sequence of events went way beyond the unusual.

"I've never been part of anything like this," safety Brian Dawkins said. "For the guys to pull together the way they pulled together after a tough loss in which we were basically left for dead . . . it speaks volumes about this team's character."

Now the Eagles, who finished the regular season at 9-6-1, have an afterlife that begins Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in a wild-card playoff game against the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. The Cowboys, 9-7 and perhaps the NFL's most disappointing team, were left to deal with questions about next season.

Unbelievable to say the least. The Bears lose and the Raiders beat Tampa Bay. I've never rooted for the Raiders and feel dirty for doing so but they came through for us.

The player of the game was Brian Dawkins who was an animal flying all over the field forcing fumbles and generally tearing into every white shirt he saw.

Awesome.

Plaxico Burress Shoots Self in Leg

Nice team you have there, New York North Jersey:

New York Giants star wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg Friday, according to multiple media reports.

Burress was hospitalized with gunshot injuries Friday night that were not believed to be life-threatening, FOX Sports.com reported Saturday.

A spokesman for the Giants on Saturday told PA SportsTicker that the team had no comment, although they acknowledged they are aware there was an incident.

Burress has not practice all week due to an ailing hamstring and already had been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins.

Citing sources familiar with the situation, the New York Daily News reported that Burress was shot late Friday night, but no further details of the incident are available.

Something ain't quite making sense here. Burress has had several domestic violence issues and they are acting guarded when discussing this incident. Was the gun registered? Did he own it? Why was it out?

Hey, the Eagles may suck and will probably miss the playoffs but at least we don't have derelicts like Burress under contract for the long term.

H/T: AoSHQ

Update: This report says he was in a club when he was "accidentally" shot.

Eagles/Cowgirls Renew Rivalry on MNF

The Eagles and Cowboys both won convincingly last week over weak opponents. Now they face each other in that shithole of a stadium down in Texas.

It's been a typical Eagles/Cowgirls week with T.O. spouting inane drivel from his piehole about McNabb and the irritating Dallas fans acting like the a-holes they are.

Let's get it on and watch the birds beat the scrubs like they seem to do whenever pretty boy Tony Romo is forced to face the Eagles intimidating D. Here's to hoping Jessica Simpson shows once again and is left with that same long face she's sporting at right.

Prediction: Eagle 27, Cowgirls 21

Hated Giants Shock the World

I hate the Giants. No, hate is too subtle, abhor would be better. Not quite the hatred I have for the Cowboys but close.

Anyway, they played an excellent defensive game last night and Eli Manning did what he had to do to win it. Note that it was the Eagles and Giants who gave the Pats their two biggest scares this year and the defensive schemes were nearly identical.

Congrats to the Giants (said through gritted teeth).

Playoffs Baby!

Bolts in an upset 24-23. LT romps.

Pack over the Midgets 24-14. Eli tanks,

It's Always a Good Monday When Terrell Owens Cries

In a scene that is guaranteed to warm the hearts of all Eagles fans on this cold, wet, dreary morning. Not only did the Cowboys lose but T.O. cried about it.



There are some things in this world that just make you feel good: your kids smiles, a new kitten playing with a ball of yarn and the first warm day of spring. But nothing, nothing beats the fuzzy feeling we get when we see Romo throw a floater that gets picked to seal the game and then to see Owens crying like a little girl. Pure. Unadulterated. Glee.

The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in ten years and that leaves me with only one thing to say:

How 'bout them Cowboys!

NFL Playoffs Kick Off Today

The day starts with a yawner--The 'Skins and Seahawks, a game Seattle should win convincingly but the day gets better with the Steelers-Jags tonight. The Jaguars are a solid running team and will give the gold and black all they can handle. I like Seattle by 13, 23-10 and the Jags by three late 20-17.

Tomorrow we have San Diego and Tennessee as the late game and the Bolts should whoop up on the Titans. Expect L.T. to go for a hundred on the ground and 50 yards receiving. Tomorrow's NFC game pits the Giants and Bucs. The Giants are the worst team in the playoffs this year and made it in spite of Eli Manning, not because of him. I expect Jeff Garcia to once again own the Giants and go for at least 270 yards in the air. Predictions: Chargers by ten 20-10 and the Buccaneers by 14, 28-14.

It's all academic as the NFC is playing to see who gets beat by the AFC in the Superbowl (TM) anyway.

Update: Off on the score of the Skins-Seahawks but was close on the Jags-Steelers.

Kerry Threatens NFL

In a year where the Senate actually did less than in previous years (I guess I should be thankful), Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has taken Senate inanity to a new level:

With the New England Patriots now one win away from finishing the regular season undefeated, Sen. John Kerry is stepping up his campaign to get the final game broadcast on national television.

The contest Saturday with the New York Giants is to air locally in Boston and New York. But outside those markets it is scheduled to appear only on the NFL Network, a cable channel that reaches just 35 million households nationwide while the league and cable operators dicker over pricing and distribution.

Kerry asked football Commissioner Roger Goodell today to move the game to NBC – and threatened Senate hearings if he does not.

Even for a world class ass-kisser like Kerry, this is world class pandering. The threats of investigating the anti-trust exemption is about all the Senate can do but it would not be pleasant for Goodell and the NFL.

What Kerry fails to grasp--probably because he's a liberal--is that the NFL has a valuable commodity and Comcast and Time-Warner want access to that commodity. If they aren't willing to pay, they lose out. Hell, I dig the newest Maserati but I don't want to pay the $200K for it so I should have John Kerry call them to the Senate floor to explain themselves and why they charge so much.

The NFL Network is available on Verizon--a company who is eroding Comcast's subscriber base--and earlier games this season on the fledgling netword did surprisingly well. Verizon made a smart business decision by buying into the NFL package and the incessant whining of the big cable companies will now resonate well with subscribers who've faced incredible price increases while the cable firm's held near monopolistic power over the last two decades. I'm glad the NFL is taking them on and embarrassed for Senator Kerry that he's resorted to this.

That Sound You Just Heard Was Mike Vick's Career Ending

Just like that:

In nearly identical fact summaries, both Phillips and Peace stated that the dogfighting ring's "operation and gambling monies were almost exclusively funded by Vick." Additionally, both men fingered Vick in the execution earlier this year of about eight dogs that performed poorly in test fighting sessions. Phillips and Peace each told investigators that Vick participated in killing the dogs, which were hung or drowned, and that the animals "died as a result of the collective efforts" of the trio.

Vick's boys turned on him and he's left to fend for himself. I guess that"stop snitchin" thing doesn't extend to felony dog fighting charges.

These charges are just nasty and Vick has and will pay dearly. He's lost numerous endorsements and isn't expected to play a down this year.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has laid down the gauntlet and is enforcing the league rules with zeal. I would imagine that many NFL players will think twice about what they do and who they associate with from now on.