Colts Give Up Perfection

Apparently the Indianapolis Colts are so good they can afford to give games away. & in doing that, they stole something from fans, their players, & the history books, while complicating the playoff scenario for various teams. What the Colts also gave away, was respect for the game.

It's one thing to get out played, but it's another thing to wave a white flag in the middle of the game basically giving your opponent a win & a chance at the playoffs that they likely didn't deserve. Last week Rex Ryan basically said the Jets playoff chances were dead (& they were). Little did he know...little did anyone know, that Colts Coach Jim Caldwell would gift wrap him a win, disrespecting the tradition of the game in the process, & foolishly giving up on a once in a lifetime opportunity. With 5:36 left in the 3rd quarter & a 15-10 lead, Caldwell turned his back on perfection. For the Jets, it was like taking candy from a baby. Scoring 19 unanswered & through no fault of their own, being credited with the most disgraceful win in NFL history.

If you watched the game, Manning & Co had the Jets defense on their heels, even Darrelle Rivas looked confused. It was a very winnable game. But Jim Caldwell, being precautions I guess, decided to punt the game. As if to say, "we'll get em next week guys." In an era where guys like Randy Moss get eaten alive for not giving 100% on the field, I'm not ready to forgive a coach who basically decided to do the same & disgracefully lose purposely. I've seen plenty of players lay down, but nothing compared to the disgust I felt Sunday, as I saw Peyton Manning standing on the sideline as Curtis Painter took snap, after snap, after snap. After the 3rd quarter ended, my viewing of the game ended. Hey if the Caldwell gave up on the game I figured I could as well.

I understand that you need to protect players from injury, but didn't Tony Dungy do this with the Colts in 2005? The Colts started out 13-0 & after a loss to San Diego, Dungy basically decided to give Manning the rest of the season off. The Colts then met the Steelers, who quickly ended their season, giving them the rest of the year off. Now I'm hoping history repeats itself & the very same teams Indy foolishly gave a glimmer of hope in the playoff race, comes back to haunt them in January & eliminate them. Because they aren't worthy of wearing a Super Bowl ring this year.

Giant Disappointment

When a respective teams starts 5-0, you expect them to make the playoffs. But not so for the 2009 NY Giants. In the end, they close The Meadowlands with an embarrassing 41-9 loss to the Panthers, a team familiar with dashing the hopes of NY fans hopes, much like the Panthers did in the 2006 Divisional Playoffs.

For the Giants it was supposed to be a Super Bowl contending year. With an improved defense that was getting Osi Umenyiora back, in addition to acquiring guys like Rocky Bernard, Chris Canty, & Michael Boley, the Giants defense was supposed to overcome the perceived lack of firepower they had with the absence of a big time WR. Their pass rush was supposed to dominate opponents every week. It seems unreal how the complete opposite happened during the season, and that the Giants are eliminated from playoff contention going into Week 17 at Minnesota. The defense has to take the brunt of the blame, allowing the 5th most points in the NFL. Umenyiora couldn't stop teams from running it to his side for huge yards, likely slowed by the last years knee injury, Michael Boley had nagging injuries all year, & Chris Canty missed half the season on his way to accumilating 12 tackles & 1/2 sack. Many fans put the blame on Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan, who never seemed to efficiently use his gifted personnel.

In my opinion though, you have to wonder what happened to Brandon Jacobs? Last season Jacobs was signed to a 4 year $25M extention following two 1000 yard seasons. This year he followed that up with his worst yards per carry output since his rookie season (3.7) plummetting from his 5 yard a carry average from the past 2 seasons. If you look at the first half of yesterdays game, it was a microcosm of the season. The Giants defense couldn't stop the Panthers on 3rd down, they couldn't create a single turnovers, while their offense made numerous. 5 of the 6 Giants first half possession ended in turnovers or in 3 & outs. The one possession that didn't end in a turnover or a 3 & out was a 4 possession drive. Jacobs had 5 rushes, for a total of 1 yard. The Giants abondoned the run, while Carolina wore them down & ran it to the tune of 247 yards. The game was over, & so were the Giants playoff hopes.

Orange Blush

Was I dreaming or did John Elway make a comeback without me knowing. Did the Broncos really start the season 6-0? The Broncos' miraculous start to the season was a mirage, we knew that. But the 6-0 start gave fans a realistic expectations. The expectation was to make the playoffs. Afterall, no team in history has ever started 6-0 & NOT made the playoffs. The Broncos are gonna be in, Josh McDaniels will look like a genius, & everyone will be in a festive mood. It's not like a team that has quality wins like the ones Denver had is gonna suddenly fall apart right? They'd have to lose something like 7 of their next 9... & that's just crazy!!! RIGHT?!?!?

7 losses out of their next 9 games later, the Broncos are looking to out do the Giants, for most pathetic team to close the season. If you take a look at 4 of the teams Denver beat during the 6-0 start, you'll see that 4 of those 6 victories came against playoff teams like Dallas, New England, @ San Diego, & @ Cincinnati. So how do you go from 6-0 to not even controlling your own destiny to reach the playoffs? By losing 7 of 9, including 4 straight following the hot start. With humiliating losses to the turmoil ridden Redskins & a home loss to the hated rivals Oakland Raiders. The biggest difference between the Broncos start & humiliating finish is their defense. While 6-0 they allowed less the 12 points per game, while dismantling teams in the 2nd half of games. During the 2-7 free fall the defense has allowed nearly 24 points per game. While the Broncos can still get in, they don't tiebreakers over the Steelers or Ravens (because of head to head losses) & need the following to happen:

• A Ravens loss at Oakland and a Texans win vs New England.
• A Ravens loss and a Steelers loss at Miami.
  
• A Jets loss at home vs Cincy and a win by the Texans.
• Or a loss by the New York Jets, along with either a Ravens loss or Steelers loss (not both if the Jets loss).

In 3 of the 4 scenerios, the Broncos need the Raiders to Just Win Baby. Nothing says desperation like the phrase "we need a Raiders win." What is likely to happen is Al Davis will order the Raiders to loss on purpose, to eliminate Denver out of spite. It's not so far fetched. Afterall, we've already seen the Colts throw a game this year.

Pac Man's Power Pellets

The title is an absolute cheap shot I know. But it's not like we aren't thinking it. Maybe you aren't giving it a 2nd thought, but get ready...because it will be the new topic of the conversation. When Floyd Mayweather Jr asked for & agreed to Olympic Style drug testing he did what he's always done in the ring vs his opponent. He gets in their heads, corners a fighter, make him feel uncomfortable, & then proceeds to dominate. Manny Pacquiao's camp did what we've seen every other opponent do in the ring against Floyd...backpedal & puts up a lame defense that any half skilled technician can pick apart. So this isn't something we haven't seen before. What is surprising, is that Pacquiao, seemingly invincible, didn't agree to the test & the fight which I said wouldn't happen for another 18 months, may be in jeopardy.

What angers me most is that Manny himself hasn't addressed the situation. His camp, Bob Arum, Freddie Roach & company have been the only one saying why Manny won't agree to it. Here are the list of lame excused from Top Rank Boxing

• Manny is superstitious
• He doesn't want to be severely weakened during his training camp
• He doesn't like needles
• Manny gets "freaked" out when his blood is taken
  

Sorry, but that isn't gonna fly with me or with the court of public opinion. Top Rank was still trying to bob & weave Thursday, when Bob Arum suggested an alternative drug testing plan. He wants to employ the same agencies as the NFL, MLB, & NBA, while in the same breathe saying, "every doctor in the world would say doing such a thing is stupid and blood tests don’t prove anything." Really? Then if it doesn't prove "anything" why is your boxer running from it? Why would he agree to testing after the fight & not before it? With athletes getting popped left & right for PED's (from Marion Jones to Alex Rodriguez, to even former Boxer Fernando Vargas & current welterweight champion Shane Mosley) can you blame the undefeated Mayweather for wanting to make sure he's fighting on an even playing field? Cause I can't. Vargas was KO'd in the Sept 2002 fight by Oscar De La Hoya (the fight he tested positive for Stanozol). But the positive test didn't come until AFTER the fight. In Mosley's case, he admitted unknowingly to taking 2 designer steroids (while Victor Conti disputes the unknowingly part), & his victory over De La Hoya still stands. In Boxing, even if you are found to be guilty of taking PED's after the fight, the result of the fight will still stand...win, lose or draw. All Mayweather is trying to do is protect his ZERO loss record. Wouldn't you do the same?

While this style of testing is not mandatory for the fight to happen, it is mandatory if Pacquiao wants to salvage his near flawless stature in boxing. Mayweather has asked for more testing. Something the public will side with (to include myself). There have been rumors of Pacquiao & performance enhancers (most started by Floyd Mayweather Sr). Taking the extra tests will prove he's entire boxing career was built on hard work, not on a man made concoction. I'm not accusing Manny of taking anything, but now, with Manny not agreeing to random testing before the boxing match, I now have reasonable suspicion. Some of you may say "oh this is just Floyd's way of getting out of the fight, he wants no part of Pac Man's power." All Pac Man has to do, is accept. Show me Manny...prove your followers right, that Mayweather wants no part of you. If Pacquiao agrees...what stunt would Floyd have left to "duck" the fight? NONE!!!

According to his camp, Manny fights for the people...he fights for his legacy, while Mayweather fights for money. It's a good thing Manny fights for his legacy, because that's EXACTLY what's at stake here. The choice is simple for Top Rank & Manny Pacquiao. Agree to the testing. If you don't, get ready to enter the ring of public scrutiny. No matter how talented he is, this is the one fight HE CAN NOT WIN, but one he better not back down from.

Mercury Poisoning

Well it's December & there is not only 1 unbeaten team...there are 2. Going into week 14 the Saints & Colts are 12-0, so you know what that means. Mercury Morris makes his media rounds to tell us how great the 1972 Dolphins were & how no team will ever go undefeated. In fact, the only draw back from the Giants winning 2 years ago against the 18-0 Patriots, was that it guaranteed Morris more air time in the future.

Looking ahead, the Colts only real stumbling block (IMHO) is the road game at Jacksonville. Lately, the Colts have owned the Broncos, so I don't see a loss in that game. The Jets are inconsistent, & forget about circling the wagons like those Buffalo Bills. The Jags almost ended the Colts perfect season before it started in week 1. The Colts won a close 14-12 contest.

The Saints play the Cowboys in New Orleans on December 19, but the game that kind of scares me for them is this week in Atlanta. In week 8 Matt Ryan was picked & sacked 3 times while somehow amassing 289 yards passing yards. You can argue that if Jason Elam doesn't miss 2 FG that game may have had a different conclusion. If Ryan & Turner both play, the streak may unfortunately end. Which will bring upon more dribble from Morris.

Not sure if anything in sports irks me more, than when a back up RB mouths off about a team accomplishment from 37 years ago. 2 years ago we were treated to a platinum hit from Mercury in a rap song when the Pats threatened the perfect season. Morris went on & on on how it didn't matter if the Pats went undefeated since the Dolphins did it first. Actually Mercury it would matter because of a few points.

1. They play more games now, which means more possible landmines on the way to perfection
   
2. Competition now is immensely better than back then in good ole 72
3. It would permanently eliminate you from ever making a TV/Radio appearance ever again on this subject, making you as obscure as your short career was

Seriously dude, just GO AWAY!!! I am on my knees nightly praying to God that both the Colts & Saints roll into MIAMI (of all places) unbeaten. So it guarantees that someone will go undefeated, & that it is done in HIS OWN BACKYARD with what will be the rest of the 72 Dolphins on the sideline. So they can all watch what real perfection is all about. GO COLTS...GO SAINTS!!!

Boxing Trumps MMA This Saturday

December 5th marked a big day for combative fighting. UFC had the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 10, while boxing had a match up between 2 of boxing's most avoided fighters, Sergio Martinez vs Paul "The Punisher" Williams. Having the advantage of TiVo, I watched both events extensively. And in the end, Boxing had more action in 2 bouts than MMA had in 6.

Before the night began I was leaning towards UFC than boxing. Lets face it, if you are a real Boxing fan, you were upset that Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik was ghost & bailed out twice on fighting Paul Williams. But Sergio Martinez actually turned out to be more than a fitting opponent. In the 1st round BOTH fighters scored a Knock Down, but Martinez's was more convincing. During the first 3 round the underdog Martinez dominated a close match, including the CONVINCING knock down over the favorite Paul Williams in the 1st. Going into the 4th round, Williams was starting to land his vicious left hand. Both fighters went back & forth for a full 12 rounds, but in the end Paul Williams landed the majority decision, 114-114, 115-113, & 119-110...wait...119-110!?

Yes, 2 of the 3 judges had the fight close & one had an unexpected blowout. This marked the first night women were able to judge a fight better than men...Amazingly, there were 2 female judges who scored the fight correctly, while 1 male judge had the fight scored dramatically skewed. Pierre Benoist (the Judge who scored the bout ridiculously) somehow saw the bout 119-110 favored towards Williams. If you saw the fight, there was no way Martinez won just won 1 round (as Benoist scored it). Especially when everyone else on Ringside saw the fight more evenly matched. This is the problem that haunts boxing, that feeling that the fight 'might' be fixed occasionally. The fight was a close toe to toe bang out. Every round was close, but you couldn't have possibly give every close round to Williams. Williams was undoubtedly the busier fighter, he threw more & landed more punches overall. But Martinez landed at a higher connecttion rate across the board on jabs (Martinez 37% to Williams 27%), power punches (Martinez 41% to Williams 33%), & total punches (Martinez 40% to Williams 31%). In all but 3 rounds Martinez landed at a higher percentage & landed more punches in several rounds (2, 3, 4, & 10). So how can Benoist just give him one round? Benoist should be banned from ever judging a prize fight again.

I then tuned in to MMA, the Finale of The Ultimate Fighter 10, which was full of surprises. Matt Mitrione vs Marcus Jones ended in the 2nd round, when Mitrione landed a devastating punch that put Jones out. But the fight everyone was waiting for (at least those watching the UFC event) ended in a surprising disappointment. Kimbo Slice vs Houston Alexander was as eventful as reading the Dewey Decimal System at your local library. Kimbo & Alexander went a full 3 minutes (in a 5 minute round) without landing anything significant in round 1. Alexender threw a few kicks, Kimbo threw a total of 3 punches. & the most hyped fight in MMA history started with more questions than answers. In the 2nd round, Kimbo dominated with a powerful SLAM, that shook the Octogon, then passed to a FULL MOUNT on Alexander, but did little damage. The 3rd & final round was also uneventfully, as Kimbo landed the unanimous decision for his first UFC win.

The Ultimate Fighter main event was Roy "Big Country" Nelson against Brendan Schaub, which ended late in the 1st round with a Nelson (former IFL Champ) KO of Schaub, winning a 6 figure contract for the UFC. In the end, Dana White's plan to steal viewers from Boxing might have worked in the box office, but failed miserably in action. In fact, I can argue that the most drama was provided by a bunch of UNPAID athletes in College Football in the Big 12, Big East, & ACC Championships...but I digress.

In the end, I believe that the UFC will overtake Boxing sooner or later...or will they? Regardless of what the "ratings" tell you, boxing wins yet another head to head battle with Mixed Martial Arts.