When will the Sixers get some respect?

If anyone would have said the Sixers would be 20-9 and 3rd in the Eastern Conference 2 months into the season, you probably would have called them insane. Some of you probably don’t even know the Sixers are that good because they get talked about for about 2 seconds on ESPN only when they show measly highlights from their game, if any. Instead, ESPN would like to spend 20 minutes a day talking about a Blake Griffin dunk that was worth two points in a game that had 100 for each team. Get a grip ESPN. Who cares that much about a dunk, besides Lebron? Not to mention 8 of the top ten plays are dunks during the NBA season which maybe 1 of them should be seeing as guys in the NHL are doing things that require ten times more skill on a nightly basis. These NBA players are all 6’8, I hope they can put the ball in the basket with their hand on the rim. Anyway, the Sixers just got through arguably their toughest stretch of the season and came out of it 4-3. This stretch started with wins against Orlando and Chicago, a loss to the Heat, then wins against the Hawks and Lakers, and back to back losses against the Spurs and Clippers. Not too shabby going up against nothing but the best teams in the NBA for a week and a half straight. They have also done all this without their big man Spencer Hawes who, when healthy, has turned them from a good team to a great team. They are struggling on the boards right now but are still pulling out wins and they need Hawes healthy by playoff time to be a legit contender. Regardless, these guys need some respect. They have by far the deepest bench in the NBA with Lou Williams, Thad Young and Evan Turner. Any given night one of these guys goes for 20+ and most nights two of them will have 20+ points. Instead of talking about these guys who are giving great production night in and night out off the bench in about 25 minutes let’s talk about Jeremy Lin who has had one good game and a couple pretty good games on a team without their two best players which allows him to shoot the ball 20 times. Maybe it’s better nobody is talking about the Sixers. That way come playoff time everyone will be like, “who the hell are these guys, we are going to kill them”, and then be in tears when they get swept. I am also not worried in the slightest by the Celtics right now and the little stretch they are putting together. They still haven’t really beaten any good teams, they beat Chicago but they were without Rose and Hamilton. Unless the C’s make a couple big moves I don’t see them as a contender this year and potentially screwing themselves in the future. They need to break up the Big 3 before it’s too late and they lose them for nearly nothing. Ainge, you got what you wanted, you got your championship now try to put together a good team to win another one.

Final Word on NFL Season

I must start off by reiterating once again, that if you didn’t bet with my picks these playoffs than you suck. I nailed the Super Bowl picks, aside from the MVP pick which was a little far-fetched, though Manningham did have probably the biggest catch of the game on the Giants final drive. Plus I nearly nailed the final score if the Giants would have gotten the two point conversion, I had 23-17 but if anyone in their right mind can find me and tell me they believed the Patriots would only score 17 points I would love to hear from you. I don’t remember much from the game so I can’t really put my input on it other than I didn’t win any money and the outcome affected my life in no way, shape or form. Looking back on this 2011 NFL season as it has finally come to a close, I would like to note a few things to remember and a few things to look forward to.

First, the new rule changes have severely altered the game of football. When you have two quarterbacks in the same year break a record that hasn’t been touched in over 20 years, there is a serious problem. That just doesn’t happen. Not to take away anything from Brees or Brady but, with strict rules on roughing the passer and hits on defenseless receivers etc., today’s game can allow the quarterback to sit back and tear apart defenses through the air. Even Matthew Stafford threw for 5,000 yards this year, so the NFL needs to do something and I think I have the solution for them. I think they should allow defensive contact 10 yards downfield instead of 5. It will give corners more room to be physical with the freakish receivers in the league now that are like 6 foot 5, 250 pounds and can run a 4.4 40. I think this will level the playing field, and it will slow the game down just  a little bit, and that is what the NFL needs. They wanted the game to be fast, and saw the consequences; concussions in every game. We saw James Harrison who had been fined multiple times in the new NFL for hits to the head and hits on defenseless receivers, and he made a scary hit which ended Eric Decker’s season in the playoffs. Instead of making a solid hit up high he had to go low at Decker’s knees and Decker felt the pain.

The next thing to look back on was my boy Tim Tebow. He wasn’t even in the Super Bowl this year and he was stealing the show. Seeing pictures of him “Tebowing” with supermodels and needing the most security at the Super Bowl just shows how bright his future is. He led a 1-4 Broncos team to an 8-8 record, and to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He has a full offseason this year to work with his wide receivers and offensive coordinator, which will make all the difference. The haters are always going to hate on him, regardless of what he accomplishes in his lifetime, so it won’t bother me anymore. If you think about it, he has done everything so far that people have said he couldn’t do. People said he couldn’t win a National Championship, he won two. People said he couldn’t win a Heisman, he won one (could have been two, screw you Sam Bradford). People said he wouldn’t sniff the first round of the NFL draft, he was drafted 23rd overall. People said he couldn’t play quarterback in the NFL, he won 8 games including a playoff game in his second season. I have faith that Tebow will put everything he has into becoming a better passer this offseason, and also in reading defenses. Those are his two biggest flaws, and he shows time and time again that he can identify his flaws and come back improved.

All in all this NFL season was a pretty good one. We saw some records broken, Jesus was talked about every Sunday which he rightfully should be, and the Brady/Belichick era seems to have hit a brick wall. I would be worried if I was a Patriots fan. Another year ending in disappointment, and Brady’s girl is ripping the receivers for dropping passes? How about she rips her husband for getting intentional grounding in the end zone. If they don’t get those two points it’s a 3 point game going down the final drive, less pressure to score and you only need to get the ball to the 35 or so. I guess once you’ve won the Super Bowl three times it’s gotta be hard to have that same intensity as the previous 3 but Belichick and Brady have lost something. Maybe it’s because the Patriots are straying away from the “Patriot way” with players like Ochocinco and Gronk. I am surprised Bill is even putting up with Gronk, and if Gronk wasn’t such a fan favorite already, he would be packing his bags right out of New England. It’s pretty embarrassing to go out raging after you just lost the biggest game of your career, and to be dancing around on an ankle that you claimed to have suffered a high ankle sprain on, which looked affected during the game but not so much on the dance floor. So I will leave you guys with an over/ under on how many of the first round draft picks the Patriots trade out of, I will set it at 1.5 and I will pick the over. Yo soy Fiesta con Eli.

 

3 Most Overrated Things About the Super Bowl

You can’t have a list of the 3 best things of the Super Bowl without having the 3 worst. It’s like saying you believe in God but there is no devil. So I am going to do my best to fill you in on what I hate about the Super Bowl:

3. The Super Bowl- The actual game itself is always usually the last thing people talk about unless you are a fan of whatever team is in it. Most of the time the game is uneventful until the last 2 minutes or is never eventful at all. Once in a blue moon you will get an amazing game like the 3 Super Bowls the Patriots won but other than that it’s usually not exciting.

 

 

 

2. The Commercials- Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy most of the commercials during the Super Bowl, but honestly half of them suck. And to be honest I just don’t understand the whole concept behind paying that much money to have a 30 second spot during the Super Bowl. I get that the Super Bowl is the most watched event and you are going to get a lot of exposure but the going rate for a 30 second spot this year is about 3 million dollars. Think about how much a marketing department could do with 3 million dollars. The last time I spent that much money for 30 seconds it was illegal in most countries so I won’t talk about it but either way it wasn’t worth it. Honestly, I haven’t signed up for Etrade just because that stupid little baby makes me laugh or buy any Doritos because some guy licks the cheese off another guys finger. So be quiet during the commercials this year so I can hear them and let me enjoy them even though most of them will suck.

1. Resuming Normal Life on Monday- How in the world has the Monday after the Super Bowl not been declared a National Holiday. I guarantee you would get more people to appreciate the Super Bowl Holiday than lets say a Martin Luther King Day and I mean that with no disrespect. But let’s be real. Everyone with a job is getting drunk for the game, staying up late, and hating their life on Monday, which is, I am going to guess, the most unproductive day of the entire year for most businesses. People go to work and are hung over as shit and all they do is talk about the game, commercials and how they drank 5 wine coolers and passed out with their pants on. Come on Obama do something productive for once and declare Monday as a holiday.

 

Happy Kwanza

3 Best Things About Super Bowl Sunday

This post is inspired by my lack of blogging lately and I am going to attempt to write more than I have been. So Super Bowl Sunday is upon us and I am going to tell you what to enjoy today more than anything:

3. Super Bowl Squares- If you aren’t familiar with these or aren’t in any pools I feel sorry for you (unless you are a die hard Patriots or Giants fan, then its understandable). Nothing makes a game more exciting than being in a room with 20 people and everyone cheering for two safeties, a touchdown with a missed extra point and nine field goals. I have a few squares this year and my luck in the past hasn’t been too great so my numbers today will probably be 5-2, 2-5, 2-8, and 8-2 or something like that. So if you have any squares today I wish you good luck unless you are in the one I am in then I hope you just wasted all your money because I need to win.

2. National Anthem/ Halftime Show- MADONNA!!! I KNOW HER!!! I bet everyone is super excited about Madonna performing the halftime show and they should be. Actually I could care less but I love the halftime show because it gives you 25 minutes to make fun of how idiotic the people who put the halftime show on are. Thanks alot Janet’s boob, you ruined our ears during the Super Bowl halftime show for life. It’s bad enough we are probably going to have to listen to Joe Buck speak the entire time, now we have to look at old wrinkly Madonna sing like a virgin. Also, I enjoy the National Anthem’s as well because you can either make fun of the singer for lipsinging it or chances are they will probably mess up and embarrass our country. What is up with them having singers who used to be skinny and are now huge as our singers anyways? Chrsitina Aguilera and now Kelly Clarkson? I am not sure what happened to her but I saw her on Saturday Night Live the other night and almost threw up. She was my favorite on American Idol when I used to watch it and it used to be good but I might have to reconsider my loyalty to her. Bodog has the anthem over/under at 1 minute 34 seconds, but I have faith in Kelly Clarkson. I feel like she is going to win her fans back over by making it short and sweet.

1. Beer- This game has no meaning to me as my beloved Eagles and boyfriend Tim Tebow aren’t playing anymore so I will be enjoying beer beginning in about 20 minutes. And if the Eagles or Tebow were in it I would be watching the team in my room by myself in the dark 2 inches away from the TV. The beer of choice today will be Natty Light, and I guess I will give a special thanks to Mike Lydon and Villanova for providing me the courage to drink such a disgusting beer, but whatever. This will be my first ever Super Bowl enjoying adult beverages and I hope, above all, it drowns out Joe Bucks voice just a little bit. So everyone, enjoy your beer, enjoy making fun of the performers today and I hope you all have a great Super Bowl Sunday. Go Broncos.