The Sixth Cents VII

I apologize for the tardiness of this post, I know it's Wednesday, I blame it on the long weekend and this nagging cold. As I mentioned last time, these posts will be limited to the first and third Tuesdays of the month due to a lack of messed up things in sports lately and the fact that January and February, on the whole, are two of the most boring sports months. Seriously, aside from the football playoffs and college bowl games, what is there? I'm not quite ready to dive into college basketball yet, although we're getting close. I'm still turned off by the NHL after the lock-out and subsequent collapse of the St. Louis Blues. And the NBA has always been my least favorite league among the big four, even when I worked for the Bulls. So without further ado, here are my six cents...
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1. Colts and Patriots and Bears...oh my.

I know the NFL is pissed off because they think their TV ratings will slip without these teams, but is anyone else REALLY upset that these three teams went down this past weekend? Seriously, besides their own fan bases of course. Frankly, I have grown sick and tired of hearing how invincible the Colts are, and how the Patriots are a dynasty and Bill Crapacheck is the greatest coach ever, and how the Bears defense is better than their 1985 Super Bowl shuffle version. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

The Colts aren't invincible because, once again, Peyton Manning has failed to win when it matters. MVPs, passing records, 14-2 season...big f-ing deal. Win in January and then we can anoint you the greatest thing since Kraft's Easy Mac & Cheese. And then he goes and shows his true colors by throwing his teammates under a bus (THE Bus?) and shoulders exactly ZERO blame for the debacle against the Steelers. Kudos of our Miami boy Ben Roethlisberger for one-upping the not so cheesiest quarterback around and even making a game saving tackle after the Bus fumbled at the Indy two-yard line. And a special F.U. to the referees for making it entirely too obvious that they wanted the Horse to win. Come on boys, this isn't the Gee Dee NBA here.

Then there's the Bears, my new hometown team, who I CAN'T STAND. I don't know if it's the Bears so much as their fans that drive me crazy. Let me tell you from experience friends, Bears fans are NOT like the Round Table of Bill Swerski, Carl Wollarski, Pat Arnold, and Todd O'Conner. They actually get annoying with how over-confident they are, not amusing like the old SNL skit. There was NO WAY that Carolina could beat them, not in Soldier Field, not with sexy Rexy back, not with this defense, certainly not since they already beat the Panthers here during the regular season. I'm positive that even the players bought into the hype. I'm sorry, but if your defense can't adjust and shut down their ONLY offensive threat, well, forget it. There is a difference between confidence and cockiness, and the Patriots of the past 4-5 years could help explain that to Chicagoans. No matter how confident the Pats have been, they were never boastful and arrogant, they just shut their mouths and played football. Then again, New England just got smacked too...

Speaking of which, the Patriots, as the Sports Guy mentioned yesterday, are not a dynasty. They are a damn good football team that has been extremely fortunate to always be healthy and rolling at the right time of year. This year, they just weren't good enough to win in Denver. As a Browns fan, I know exactly what that feels like. Nuf said.
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2. World Baseball Craptastic

I don't really give two shits about this baseball tournament. Honestly, how many nations actually play baseball? My guess is sixteen, since that's how many are in the tourney. However, Australia? South Africa? Italy? The Netherlands? Panama? How many players do these countries actually have that we've even heard of?

Something else bothers me about this...you can choose who you play for! So if I were a major leaguer, I could potentially choose between the United States and Italy since I'm of Italian decent. WTF? Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but don't you have to be a citizen to represent a country in the Olympics or the World Cup? That's the way it should be. I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Piazza has never even been to Italy. Really, I wouldn't. Granted, nothing in baseball surprises me anymore. Next thing you know, we're going to find out that Greg Maddux and Omar Vizquel are the brain's behind the steroid scandal.

And is it just me, or does A-Rod flip flop more than John Kerry? Unbelievable. Now he wants to play for the U.S. after going back and forth for months between playing for us, playing for the Dominican, not playing at all because he can't decide. I say screw him. No team has won a title with him anyways, so let him go play for Iran for all I care. Oh, and nice purse.
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3. The Sports Guy VS. Isiah Thomas

This is absurdity at it's best. And today, Simmons wrote a follow up article here. Isiah Thomas, who is clearly the worst GM in all of sports, has called out one of my favorite writer's, Bills Simmons, on an ESPN radio show hosted by the most annoying personality in sports, Stephen A. Smith. What's worse, Smith, had never even heard of Simmons. Are you kidding? He's only one of the 17 NBA fans left, a sport which you cover. And he works for ESPN. What a moron. It's a wonder why the ratings for his TV show are through the floor and it's being moved to a late night slot. As for Simmons, after continuously questioning move after move that Thomas makes as the GM of the New York Knicks, and rightfully so, Isiah went on air saying that if he ever saw Simmons on the street that there would be a problem.

I know I've already said this once today, but WTF!? Seriously, get a life Isiah. I've never seen an athlete, or former athlete in this case, get so infuriated by a sports writer. That's his job numbnuts, to write about sports and give his opinion. You don't like it? QUIT RUINING EVERYTHING YOU'VE TOUCHED SINCE YOU RETIRED FROM PLAYING. Isiah single-handedly brought down an entire league (CBA), caused a great team to underachieve and miss their only real shot at a title (Pacers) and now continually acquires untradable contracts and selfish, me-first players who give no effort and have little discernible skill outside of the "And1 Tour."
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4. Bouncing Souls, no one can beat us, we drink beer and wear adidas

The U.S. Men's National Soccer team moved up to #7 in the FIFA World Rankings this past week, now in a tie with Mexico. The top ten looks like this:

1. Brazil
2. Czech Republic
3. Netherlands
4. Argentina
5. (tie) France, Spain
7. (tie) United States, Mexico
9. England
10. Portugal

The Nats get back in action with a couple of friendlies to end the month after a training camp with mostly domestic based players in Carson, California. Sunday the 22nd they will take on Canada in San Diego and then on Sunday the 29th they will play Norway in Carson.
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5. NFL Conference Championship Picks

Here they are, since I haven't yet put them right out there for everyone to see this playoff season. Home teams are in CAPS.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+3.5) over DENVER BRONCOS
This is beginning to seem like a team of destiny. After going 15-1 last season, led by an undefeated rookie quarterback, they were beaten in the AFC title game by the defending champs. This year, they struggled to get rolling as Big Ben missed a few games with injury and they had to adjust to the loss of Plaxico Buress and the lesser roles of Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley (the true stars from 2004.) However, Ben got healthy and the Steelers started rolling again. They came into the playoffs as the lowest seed, but with strong momentum, having won four straight. The streak is now six after the Steelers won their first two road playoff games EVER under Bill Cowher. Roethlisberger will also become the first quarterback to lead his team to consecutive conference title games in his first two seasons. The Super Bowl just happens to be in Detroit, Bettis' hometown, and it would be a fitting end to the Bus' career to give him his first ring in his final season. I see the Steelers defense slowing down the Broncos running game and forcing Jake Plummer to beat them, which he won't do. Cowher will once again do his best Jim Tressell impersonation, getting a lead early and trying to blow it by getting too conservative. Ben and Bussie will hold on. Final, 23-17.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-3.5) over Carolina Panthers
Neither team has ever won the big one, and even though Carolina was here just a couple short seasons ago, this one is going to the Seahawks. Seattle is one of the toughest places to play with all the crowd noise, the cross-country trip and the weather. Let's not forget that it was the best team in the NFC this season and is stellar both offensively and defensively. Shaun Alexander will play after his concussion last week and Carolina's DeShaun Foster and Julius Peppers will not. Advantage: Seabirds. I don't think this will be too low in scoring despite two solid defenses present, and in the end, Seattle will be too much for Carolina to handle. Final, 27-20.
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6. Obligatory reference to The Miami of Ohio State University

Miami Hoops: 8-5 Overall, but 5-0 in the MAC and tied for first with Kent State. Five losses are all to quality programs in Alabama, Xavier, Wichita State, Michigan and Cincinnati. The Redhawks are at home against Toledo (8-5, 1-4 MAC) tonight and will be at Western Michigan (4-11, 1-4 MAC) on Saturday.

Miami Hockey: As I mentioned yesterday, Miami lost to Ohio State on Tuesday, tied Notre Dame on Friday and beat Notre Dame on Saturday. They currently remain #3 in the NCAA behind Wisconsin and Boston College with Minnesota and Vermont rounding out the top five. The Redhawks will be in action this weekend at the Goggin against Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday night. Western is just 5-14-3 overall, 5-9-2 in the CCHA and 1-8-3 on the road this season.

tOSU Hoops: The Buckeyes are ranked #19 in the NCAA in both polls at 12-2 (2-2 Big Ten.) Their losses were both tough, going down at #11 Indiana 81-79 and at home against #12 Michigan State in two overtimes, 62-59. They take on #13 Wisconsin (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten) tonight at home and will be at Penn State (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten) on Saturday.

Redhawks and Buckeyes in action this weekend:
Pittsburgh Steelers - Ben Roethlisberger, Miami, QB #7, 2nd Season
Carolina Panthers - Drew Carter, Ohio State, WR #18, 2nd Season
Carolina Panthers - Chris Gamble, Ohio State, CB #20, 2nd Season
Seattle Seahawks - Rodney Bailey, Ohio State, DE #95, 5th Season - did not play vs. Washington