And Then There Were Two

The Super Bowl match up has been decided. The Atlanta Falcons will face the New England Patriots in SB LI in Houston Texas. Both teams won decidedly continuing the theme of these NFL playoffs. Except for one game these playoffs have been a disaster. No losing team put up a fight except for the Dallas Cowboys who lost to the Green Bay Packers by 3 points and the Kansas City Chiefs, who lost their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers despite the fact they didn't allow a touchdown. The loss by the Cowboys may have been the biggest upset in these playoffs. Considering that going into the game the Cowboys were favored to come out of the NFC as champs.


The Patriots had an easy run through these playoffs. No real team in the AFC stood up to the Patriots as they cut through their opponents like a warm blade through butter. The Steelers were supposed to be their biggest obstacle, but once LeVeon Bell got hurt it made it easier for Belichick to lock down star wide receiver Antonio Brown and that ended their run at Super Bowl glory. This Falcons' offense is supposedly the biggest obstacle for the Patriots, but that was said about the Steelers. I believe the Falcons have too much on offense and will overwhelm the Patriots to the score of 42-21. The Falcon defense has been playing better as of late and will disrupt the flow of the Pats offense by focusing on the slant receivers which have been what has really been the difference in these games for the Patriots.

Second Round with the Save

As America's favorite sport starts its playoff rounds there has been nothing but disappointment. Blow outs in the first round has made these games almost unwatchable (even though I did sit down and watched the majority of these games). Six of the eight games that have been played in these playoffs have been won by over 13 points and the closer games were close because of garbage time points. The problem I see goes back to the overexertion of players. Thursday night games can't help players be ready when needed. This is watered down football and even so the amount of damage players are going through has to effect these playoff games. The short turn around from Sunday night/afternoon to Thursday night  has to take an immense toll on players and since the NFL is making bank on the Thursday night game those games are not going anywhere.


The games between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys may have saved these playoffs. Both games were tight, full of drama and going for it on 4th downs. Compared to the blowouts of the first round these two games have given validation to just how good the NFL can be. The problem I see is with how much the NFL wants to increase its exposure it's all at the cost of the player. Between midseason trips to Europe and games on short rest the toll on the player is at an all time high. A team has the potential to go from California to London to play a Sunday 1pm game to then travel back to play a game in a random city in America and then play a Thursday game after that with just a bye week (rest week) between those 3 games. That's going to hurt the game, the playoffs, and the player, but as long as the NFL cashes in there's no rest for the weary.

Do it For the Fans

Professional sports rely on fans buying tickets to the games, buying concessions, and overall fan attention. Now imagine you buy tickets to your favorite team to go see your favorite player and it turns out that the 24 year old superstar is not playing because he needs "rest". Why does a 24 year old need rest in December? The NBA season is 82 games long a player that young shouldn't need rest 20 or so games into the season. The number of players that have played 82 games has dwindled from mid-50's to about 8 to 10 and considering how the rules have changed and the advancement of the modern athlete one would think that more players would be able to play all 82.


San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich started this by resting his players, but they were older players who had more than 10 years in the association. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker can be argued needed the rest. Kyrie Irving doesn't. This generation of basketball player has been described as "soft" by some of the legends of the game and more proof of that keeps being evident. If 40 year old Michael Jordan played 82 games when he played for the Washington Wizards why can't Irving play through his "tired legs"? I heard an interesting solution from Tracy McGrady on ESPN, if a player is out because of "rest" they shouldn't get paid for the game. Fans go to watch the stars shine, not sit on a bench in an expensive suit.

Cowards Everywhere..

The ratings for the NFL have been down this season and the blame is going around as to why, but my opinion is that the sport is suffering from a major crisis in confidence. Coaches in every game, or at least it seems like are passing up opportunities for the big play down field for these miserable check down passes to running backs or tight ends or any eligible player that stays closer to the line of scrimmage. No team is more guilty of that than the Kansas City Chiefs. If Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith throws a ball passed 12 yards down field that's considered a hail mary for him. It has to be frustrating for most wide receivers in the NFL this season. Only about a handful of teams try to eat yards over the air most coaches would rather "play it safe" and be cowards than make a worthwhile play down field.

Let's forget about going for it on 4th and short. When it would keep their team on the field and help the team win the game, these cowards would rather punt the ball away or kick a field goal instead of trying for the fresh set of downs and potentially ice the game. Nowadays unless you're watching coaches with tenure a la Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin, who are the only coaches who I've seen take risks on 4th and inches or 3rd and long, these highly paid cowards are going to dink and dunk to "line up the field goal or punt" this is why some folks are changing the channels or not even turning on the game in general. If your quarterback isn't good enough then bench him for one that has the skills to make the plays necessary for exciting football. Making football exciting again shouldn't be a term for the most popular sport in America.

Way to Stay Classy San Diego

One of the surprising results from this past election was not only a new president chosen, but San Diego shot down the measure to increase taxes to pay for a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers. Public funding should not be used to build for-private use structures. Patrons who have had their taxes raised shouldn't have to pay for tickets to games. They already paid for their tickets. Helping billionaires pocket money by having the middle class or lower cough up money to a stadium which they might never step into isn't fair. Ticket prices continue to increase and the financial help for the broke never arrives.

The backlash of the vote may be stiff. The Chargers may now look to move to Los Angeles where there's a facility that already holds an NFL team (the recently re-minted Los Angeles Rams). The Rams and Chargers can share a stadium just like the Giants and Jets do in New Jersey, and that would mean a lot of lost revenue for the city of San Diego, but that's better for the people of San Diego than would be a tax increase to save a billionaire money. You can still be a Charger's fan without having to pay an increase in taxes just to sit in some crummy seat that is going to be destroyed in about 10-15 years. More states should follow in San Diego's footsteps and make these billionaires come outta pocket if they want a brand new state of the art facility.

Congrats, but...

Last night Golden State Guard Stephen Curry broke the record for the most three pointers made in a game with 13. A record that I believe will be broken soon. The NBA game has changed a lot throughout the years with more emphasis on the three pointer than any other time. Stat geeks have made the three pointer the most precious thing in the game which is why I've seen traditional big players, who usually play in the paint, and have never even thought about chucking a three putting up shots from the arc. Sacramento Kings Center DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins has been shooting threes because the old school big man game is no longer an efficient way to score points. Why would you want two points when you can have three? It's a new world when you watch Memphis Grizzlies Center Marc Gasol throw up air balls from the arc.

Stephen Curry is the best shooter in the game, and he's going to break this record once again. Coming off an 0 for 10 shooting night the night before Curry came out on a mission and once Curry gets going he's damn near impossible to stop. And the poor Pelicans were the unfortunate team to get slaughtered. The game has changed three pointers are now the norm and every team is trying to find their own version of a consistent presence from behind the arc. The big man game in the paint is a thing of the past and the evolution of round ball has gone to the geeks and behind the arc.

Is it Really a Two Horse Race?

It's hard to consider that the NBA season is already over. The first ball hasn't even been tipped and if you ask most folk the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are destined to be there at the end facing each other (again) for the championship trophy. Maybe they're right, but with Pau Gasol going to San Antonio and the maturity of Toronto I don't think it's going to be so easy for the Cavs and Dubs to make the Finals. Chicago has arguably gotten better, the laughable Knicks have made an attempt to make a difference, I think the Toronto Raptors are going to make things interesting in the Eastern Conference. The Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, and others will make the Western Conference tougher than people think.

It's hard to bet against Durant joining the already deep Warriors and betting against LeBron James is never smart, but I can't come to the consensus that the season is already over. Will they meet up at the end like Vegas thinks, maybe, but there's too much parity in the Association to decide it in October.