Derrick Rose can dunk
Monday, February 8th, 2010 | NBA | No Comments
I can’t stop watching this dunk, Derrick Rose is a mad man. This guy is only 20, what is he going to do at 24?
Saints Top Colts 31-17 to Win 1st Ever Super Bowl Championship
Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Sports | No Comments
The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win the Super Bowl crown on Sunday in Miami. The Saints used the steady play of Quarterback Drew Brees and a confident defense that held the Peyton Manning and the Colts offense to just 1 score in the final 3 quarters of play to ride to victory. The Saints and their fans are sure going to be celebrating big time in the Big Easy over the next few weeks.
Drew Brees was named the game’s Most Valuable Player – 32 of 39 passing (82% completion rate), 288 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns – all good for a 114.5 QB rating.
Manning had similar numbers (31 of 45 passing, 333 yards passing, 1 passing touchdown – all good for a 88.5 QB rating), but his costly interception at the end of the game sealed the Colts’ fate. As the Colts marched down the field trailing by 7 points, it looked like Manning would be able to lead his team to a game-tying touchdown drive. Instead, Tracy Porter made a great play to pick off Manning’s pass intended for Reggie Wayne, and Porter raced the final 74 yards to paydirt to clinch the Super Bowl win for the Saints.
Some interesting tidbits from the game:
The Saints risky onside kick to start the 2nd half was the 1st time that a team had ever tried an onside kick in a quarter other than the 4th quarter in a Super Bowl. It was also the 1st ever career onside kick attempt by Saints punter Thomas Morstead. Saints head coach Sean Payton had hinted all week that the Saints would play aggressive – even in the biggest stage of the Super Bowl – and he did not disappoint with that decision. After recovering the onside kick, Brees connected with Thomas Pierre on a 16-yard catch and run, giving the Saints their 1st lead of the game at 13-10 (erasing what had been a 10-0 Colts lead). The momentum clearly shifted from that point on. Payton had this to say about the play and his team’s victory: “We knew we were going to call it at some point. At halftime I told them, ‘We’re going to open up the second half with this. Let’s go make a play’… We really felt as underdogs we had the better team. To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in.”
Saints kicker Garrett Hartley connected on 3 field goals from 40 yards or more – 46, 44 and 47. The 23-year old also kicked the game winning kick in overtime of the NFC Championship Game against Minnesota Vikings to send the Saints to the Super Bowl. Hartley only played in the final 5 regular season games for the Saints and he was 9 of 11 in field goal attempts. During those 5 games, he never even tried 1 field goal from the 40-49 yard range. To go from that to kicking 3 field goals in the Super Bowl is simply astounding.
To keep going with kickers, Colts kicker Matt Stover became the oldest player to ever play in a Super Bowl at the ripe old age of 42 years and 12 days (his birthday is January 27, 1968). Stover only got a chance to play this season because the Colts regular kicker – Adam Vinatieri – was injured. Stover connected on 9 of 11 field goals during the regular season and 6 of 7 field goals during the post-season (including 1 of 2 in the Super Bowl).
This Super Bowl turned out to be the most-watched U.S. television event of all-time – over 106 million people tuned in to watch the game. The previous “most-watched” program was the finale of the television show M-A-S-H back in 1983.
Congrats to Payton, Brees and the rest of the Saints. You guys and the city of New Orleans deserve the big win. Boy would I like to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday next week!
Colts, Saints Set to Face Off in Super Bowl Today!
Sunday, February 7th, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Sports | No Comments
The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints are set to play in the Super Bowl later today. Will it be Peyton Manning leading the Colts to a 2nd Super Bowl in 4 years in Miami? Or will it be Drew Brees bringing an NFL Championship crown to the city of New Orleans for the 1st time in franchise history?
Stay tuned today – it should be a fun and entertaining game to watch…
Sills, 13 will be USC quarterback
Friday, February 5th, 2010 | NFL, Sports | No Comments
The title is right, Lane Kiffin got a verbal commitment from 13-year old quarterback David Sills. “His skill set is off the chart” said Steve Clarkson his personal coach. “I’ve never seen anyone at his age do what he’s been able to do.” Sills is already six feet tall at the age of 13. Check out a video of this kid at 13 he is the Tiger Woods of football. Maybe that is not a good comparison.
T.O. had a pool party in Miami
Friday, February 5th, 2010 | General, Sports | No Comments
T.O., Chad Ochocinco and Ludacris had a little pool party in Miami and the women involved in a custody battle with Dwight Howard showed up to dance a bit for the party. Hey, if you can’t play in the Super Bowl you should at least have some fun.
Home “Not So” Sweet Home for Bulls & Blackhawks
Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, NBA, NHL, Sports | No Comments
Chicago NBA & NHL fans were eagerly awaiting the return of the Bulls & Blackhawks to the United Center this week. Unfortunately, while each team played a game at home in front of their raucous fans, the desired outcome – a win – didn’t happen as both teams laid eggs in their home court/ice.
Coming off a 5-game winning streak on the road against teams with winning records – the 1st time a team has ever done that in NBA history – the Bulls looked lethargic in their 90-82 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night at the UC. The Bulls shot just 38% from the floor and pretty much trailed the entire game. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 18 points, while Derrick Rose chipped in 16 points. To put the loss in perspective – the Bulls were 14-7 at home during the season entering the game and the Clippers had won just 6 games all season long on the road. Not good. The Bulls get another shot at redemption at the United Center against Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
Although the Blackhawks had lost the final game of their 8-game, 5-3 road trip all over the country, the Hawks were poised to make a good showing at home and improve upon their 21-5-1 record at the UC. After taking a 1-0 1st period lead, the Hawks collapsed in the 2nd period, giving up 3 goals to the Blues in a span of 8 minutes. Marian Hossa’s 16th goal of the season brought the Blackhawks within a goal with over 15 minutes still to play in the period, but the Hawks never tallied that final goal to send the game into overtime. As usual, the Hawks outshot their opponent by a wide margin – 34-19 – but in this instance, it didn’t equate to a victory. Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 22nd goal of the season in the loss. Luckily, the Hawks only have to wait 24 hours for a shot at redemption in front of the home town crowd when they host the Phoenix Coyote on Friday night at the UC.
Mike Tyson from champ to chump
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | General | No Comments
Mike Tyson was once the most feared boxer in the world and could have been the best of all time, if it wasn’t for going to jail for rape. As most people know he hasn’t been the best money manger over the years and I guess that is why he is doing Dancing With The Stars in Italy. You just have to see the video, I won’t even try to explain it.
Reggie Bush – Super Bowl Ring or Engagement Ring?
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Sports | No Comments
Saints running back Reggie Bush finds himself in a little pickle heading into this Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts. Bush is dating reality TV star Kim Kardashian, and supposedly the 2 have a bet that if Bush and the Saints win the Super Bowl, he will wed Kardashian.
Bush has denied those rumors, but it didn’t stop reporters from asking Bush about the potential marriage during Media day yesterday in Miami. Bush replied: “No, there’s no truth to that… I think it would be backwards if I were getting the ring from her. I’d rather get a ring from Commissioner Roger Goodell.” Ouch.
Now I know that Reggie was only trying to be funny, but I hope he was prepared for a rough time from Kardashian when he got back to his hotel room last night. The 2 have endured rough patches before, so not sure it was the best idea for Bush to rock the boat just 5 days before the biggest game of his career. We’ll keep you posted if Bush shows up at practice with a black eye or other signs of a tiff with Kardashian.
Super Bowl Sunday is just 4 days away now – don’t wait too long to get your tickets if you’re still planning to go down to Miami for the weekend. It is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated Super Bowls in recent history.
Chicago Bulls Back @ United Center to take on L.A. Clippers
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bulls are happy to be back at the United Center despite their recent road success. The bulls finished up their 7-game road trip with an amazing 5-game winning streak over 5 Western Conference teams with winning records. Not sure if the Bulls have ever done that before, but it is shocking to think that Head Coach Vinny Del Negro was able to orchestrate that feat. The Bulls got a little lucky on Friday night against the Hornets in New Orleans, as David West threw an errant pass to Chris Paul with less than 10 seconds to play that gave the Bulls another shot at tying the game to force overtime. After Derrick Rose’s shot was partially deflected, Luol Deng knocked home a “putback” with just 0.2 left on the clock, and the Bulls took care of business in overtime. Deng led the Bulls with 26 points; Rose chipped in 18 of his own; Joakim Noah scored 13 points and grabbed 18 boards, while rookie Taj Gibson scored 8 points with 8 rebounds to boot. Del Negro continues to get a balanced attack out of all of his players each and every night.
Deng summed up the Bulls renewed sense of urgency and confidence best: “When you’re winning, everything is positive. We’re going into games expecting to win. A game like that, if we had lost four in a row, we might have lost it. But the mentality right now is we can win every game.”
The Bulls are back home for a game against the Clippers on Tuesday night at the United Center. They go back on the road for quick trips to Philadelphia and Atlanta after that, but then return home for a big game against the Miami Heat on Saturday night. Four games in 5 days is never easy, especially with travel mixed in there, but if the Bulls can go 2-2, that will keep them over .500 as the All-Star break approaches. I’m not quite sure how Del Negro is doing it, but he appears to have his team focused and ready to take their play to the next level. Let’s just hope they can keep it going for the final 2+ months of the season!
Chicago Blackhawks Back Home after Successful 5-3 Road Trip
Monday, February 1st, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments
Although it ended with a loss to the NHL’s 2nd worst team (the Carolina Hurricanes), the Blackhawks could not have been happier with their 5-3 eight-game road trip away from the United Center in Chicago. The Hawks started it off with wins over division rivals – the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings. After a hiccup in Ottawa with a loss to the Senators, the Blackhawks soundly defeated the playoff-caliber Flames in Calgary. After another bump in the road with a bad loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks took it to the lowly Oilers in Edmonton and then showed why they are considered a Stanley Cup title contender with a big win over the Western Conference points-leader Sharks in San Jose in overtime. Although the Hawks blew a 1st period 3-0 lead, the team never lost hope as regulation ended, striking with Troy Brouwer’s game-winning goal just a minute and a half into the overtime period. This team is built to win, and they proved it will a big road victory over the Sharks.
After playing 7 games in a 13-day stretch, you couldn’t really fault the Blackhawks for dropping Saturday night’s game in Carolina. Knowing they would be heading back home after that contest, it’s not surprising that they laid an egg against one of the worst teams in the NHL (who have been playing better as of late). On the bright side – they rallied to tie the game at 2 in the 3rd period and they outshot the Hurricanes 41-24. Huet didn’t play his best game – stopping 20 of 24 of the shots on goal.
Now it’s time to finish strong over the next 6 games before the Olympics start. The Blackhawks play 4 of 6 games at home at the United Center where they are 21-5-1. The play the St. Louis Blues twice, the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets – 3 teams towards the bottom of the Western Conference. With 2 other home games against the Phoenix Coyote and the Atlanta Thrashers – 2 potential playoff teams – the schedule is set up nicely for the Blackhawks. Winning 4 or 5 of these games is a must for the Blackhawks. Then it’s a sprint to the finish with 15 games in March and 7 games in April before the playoffs start.
Patrick Kane still leads the club with 60 points (21 goals). Duncan Keith (11 goals, 38 assists); Jonathan Toews (18 goals, 26 assists) and Patrick Sharp (16 goals, 27 assists) aren’t too far behind. The Hawks are primed to try to steal the #1 West seed from the Sharks. They trail by only 3 points and would love to be able to get home ice throughout the entire playoffs. That makes each of these games so important – even the “easy” ones. Coach Queneville will have his club ready for this next 6-game stretch – look for the Blackhawks to get off to solid start with a big win over the Blues on Wednesday night…
