Championship Game Recap

Okay, so a Super Bowl of the Pittsburgh Cardinals vs the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers are obviously the favorites, but should they be? The Cardinals are on a roll, and I predict the Super Bowl will come down to the performance of the Arizona Offensive Line versus the Steelers Pass Rush.

So, questions I have from the game:

1) What does making a "catch" entail in the NFL?

In baseball, you need to secure the ball and keep it secure if you run into a wall or another player or fall. So if an outfielder lunges to catch a fly ball, takes two steps after the ball goes into his glove, falls to the ground, rolls over, and drops the ball in the process, it's not a catch. For it to be a catch, the release of the ball has to be "voluntary and intentional".

In the Steelers-Ravens game Sunday night, Santonio Holmes made a reception, took steps while being tackled, and when he extended the ball towards the goal line while going down, he lost control of the ball. It was ruled incomplete. In my mind, I separated the two actions. Holmes caught the ball, was contacted by a defender, had two feet down, was disengaged from the defender (completely), and then, in a later action of his own volition, pushes off with a leg and lunges, extending the arm he had the ball secured in, and lost possesion. According to Mike Periera (Head of NFL Officiating), he still hadn't completed the "catch".

If Holmes were an outfielder, the batter would have been safe. But should the same standard apply? I'll try to find video to illustrate my point.

2) Helmet-to-helmet hits?

Steelers S Ryan Clark was not flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Ravens RB Willis McGahee, a hit that put McGahee into the hopsital. It was argued that he was trying to lead with the shoulder, but I think it doesn't matter. One of the truisms of refereeing is that you don't consider intent. Their helmets hit, which is Clark's fault for taking the risk of that when he went for the vicious highlight-worthy "kill shot", but even if he didn't intend to, the contact still occurred. Throw the flag. He doesn't deserve a fine, since it was a fluke combination of leading with the shoulder and McGahee bracing himself by lowering his head, but it deserved to be flagged.



Matt Snyder of AOL Fanhouse disagrees with me. Thoughts?

3) Is it possible to cover Larry Fitzgerald by less than four defenders?

NFL Playoff Picks

Ok, so here are my playoff picks for the AFC and NFC Championship games this weekend. Right now my record for the NFL playoffs stands at 3-5. So lets see how bad I can get them this weekend.

NFC Championship Game Sunday @ 3:00 PM

Arizona 24 Philadelphia 20

AFC Championship Game Sunday @ 6:30 PM

Baltimore 17 Steelers 10

I know that I have chosen both of the underdogs for these games but I think destiny may be on Arizona's side this year. And I have picked them to lose twice and they have won both times. The Ravens-Stealers (I know I spelled it wrong) game is going to be all about defense and it could go either way, but I hate the Stealers and I don't want to see them and that smiling bitch, Hines Ward in the Super Bowl again.

A-Rod Has Nothing on Rice and Rickey

Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson appeared on Letterman last night to do the Top 10 list. Things got pretty funny when both men jokingly claimed to have slept with Madonna. Somewhere, a lone tear falls down Guy Ritchie's cheek, and Vanilla Ice reflects on the "Sex" book and the good ole days.

Braves sign Derek Lowe

According to baseball sources, ESPN has announced that the Atlanta Braves and P Derek Lowe have agreed on a 4 yr/ $60 millon contract, pending a physical. This comes on the heels of Atlanta signing Japanese All-Star Kenshin Kawakami to a 3 yr. contract. Lowe and Kawakami join Javier Vasquez and Jair Jurrjens in the Braves' new look rotation.

Waiter, Take Back The Steamed Rice

After 15 years, Hall of Fame voters finally decided to send Jim Rice to Cooperstown in his final year on the ballot. He received 76. 4 percent of the vote while Hall of Fame shoo-in Rickey Henderson received 94.8 percent on his first ballot.

It is perplexing that voters would ultimately decide to enshrine Rice on his 15th try. Why now and not before? What changed voters minds? The answer is three fold. First, fans and voters must consider the era a player plays in. Rice's numbers are not staggering based on our criteria for today, but, in his day, he was one of the elite power hitters. Second, Rice should thank the steroid bums because their embellished numbers make his real but less daunting numbers look even better. Third, Rice should bow before former Red Sox public relations director Dick Bresciani because he made it his mission to convince the local New England media to vote him in after many probably shunned Rice on their ballot because of his "ill" treatment of the local media during his career.

Looking over Rice's numbers I'm still not sure whether or not he belongs in Cooperstown. Honestly, the case could be made either way. These articles help illustrate the pros and cons, but, ultimately, Rice was an elite of the elite type of player for maybe five years, definitely not his entire career.

Therefore, voters have a problem. There is no Hall for the not quite elite but still better than most type of players. The line has to be drawn somewhere. I only ask that it is drawn straight. If you believe that the Hall should be home only to the elite of the elite then only a handful of players deserve to be there, such as players the caliber of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Ted Williams. That's fine and if you vote this way it is understandable why you would leave Rice out.

But it is wrong for voters who are not so elitist to vote in players like Jim Rice and then leave out the likes of Andre Dawson and other similar not elite but better than the rest type of players. If voters drew a check next to Rice's name then those same voters should do the same for players like Dawson, Tim Raines, Dale Murphy, Bert Blyleven, and Jack Morris.

These players may eventually have their day, but for now congratulations Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson.

Rickey Being Rickey

While we wait for the Hall of Fame's newest inductees to be announced, enjoy 25 hilarious Rickeyisms from Major League Baseball's all-time best lead-off hitter, and obvious first ballot Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson.

1) Rickey… on referring to himself in the third person:

“Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”

2) In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.

3) In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”

4) This one might be my second favorite. This wasn’t too long ago, I think it was the year he ended up playing with the Red Sox. Anyway, he called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

5) This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the
best.”

6) Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

7) Moments after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd, with Brock mere feet next to him, “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.”

8) Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite, which forced him to miss three games, in mid-August.

9) A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

10) Henderson broke Ty Cobb’s career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.

11) On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout: “It gave me no chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”

12) San Diego GM Kevin Towers was trying to contact Rickey at a nearby hotel. He knew Henderson always used fake names to avoid the press, fans, etc. He was
trying to think like Rickey and after several attempts; he was able to get Henderson on the phone.
Rickey had checked in under Richard Pryor.

13) I didn’t believe this one at first. However, I emailed a few contacts within the Sox organization and they claim it actually happened. This is priceless, it really is.

The morning after the Sox finished off the sweep against St. Louis last October, Henderson called someone in the organization looking for tickets to Game 6 at Fenway Park.

14) The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after
they arrived (again it was less than a mile) the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.

Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

15) A reporter once asked Rickey if he talked to himself, “Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?”

16) The story went that a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the Mariners, he walked up to John Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing.”

Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.”

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

By the way, according to numerous sports reporters, this story isn't really true. What makes it so funny is that it sounds like something Rickey would say.

17) Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

18) During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”

19) In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed.
Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman, then a low-level nobody with the organization, called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said,
“I’m just waiting for the money market rates to go up.”

20) In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team’s hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, “Who’s he?”

21) Rickey was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for speeding. As the officer was approaching Rickey’s car, the window went down a few inches and a
folded $100 bill emerged. The officer let Rickey and his money head home without a ticket.

22) When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”

23) During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson’s locker was next to Billy Beane’s. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, “Hey, man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

24) To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says,
“Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.

25) In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his ‘going-away’ gift. Henderson said he wasn’t going anywhere, but he would like owner John Henry’s Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and model in less than a week and Henderson said, “No, I want his car.” Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it
on the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, “Whose ugly car is on the field?”

25 Rickeyisms taken from http://jonrascon.blogspot.com/2008/05/25-rickey-henderson-stories.html

Damn, now I need another reason to watch the Australian Open!!

Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the Australian Open due to a slower than expected recovery from a shoulder injury. Damn, she was the #1 reason to watch the Australian Open. Damn she is beautiful. What was the #2 reason you ask, because I love tennis. Wait I just found another reason to watch, Ana Ivanovic.

Seriously, I am just kidding, both of these women are beautiful, but I watch tennis because I love the sport and out of all the sports I love, it is the only one I am any good at, the beautiful women are just a bonus.