Both Saints and Vikings Get What They Deserve

"Who had no interceptions or gray stubble and is going to the Super Bowl? This guy."

What did you think was going to happen, Vikings fans?

Yesterday's NFL conference title games could not have gone better, at least for me (and, really, isn't that what's important?). The Jets were finally beaten (seriously, they didn't even belong in the playoffs), the Saints -- led by our favorite guy -- made their first Super Bowl, and Brett Favre reached into the hearts of every Vikings fan out there and tore their hearts from their bodies. Simply awesome. I dine on your tears, Vikings fans. They are my sustenance.

Now, I really have nothing against Vikings fans. Actually, I don't really know any. But any time you welcome in the guy you fricking hated for 16 years and lots of you begin wearing that guy's jersey... well, you're asking for karma to kick you in the nuts. Idiot Minny fans are getting exactly what any sentient person with a functioning brain knew they were getting when they signed up for a season of Brett Favre: some exciting plays, countless features on the guy, gray stubble, stupid commercials, probably more wins that Tavaris Jackson gets you....oh, and a crushing, devastating, backbreaking interception at the absolute worst possible time.

I don't care that he had only seven INTs this year. That is indeed damn impressive. I admit I was shocked he stuck to their gameplan. Part of the reason he was so good this year was that he had some amazing weapons and actually let them work as they should. But when those weapons began misfiring and spilling footballs all over the Superdome turf? Well, Favre did what Favre always does -- tried to "make something happen." And he did. For the Saints.

The Saints, meanwhile, did their best to give this one away, being outgained by 200+ yards and by Reggie Bush deciding to not call a fair catch when he was about to be mowed down by a Minnesota special teamer. Bushy fumbled and then it took Adrian Peterson's fumbleitis to give it right back. Seriously, what the hell was that all about? How often does a team turn the ball over a half-dozen times and still be able to make a claim they should have won? The Saints not having a clue as to how to fall on the ball is a part of that. Seriously, the Vikes might have had eight turnovers if the Saints had run a fumble recovery drill at all this season.

As some of you know, I was manning the BS Twitter feed and Seth Meyers of SNL made some smart-ass remark late in the game about how he figured the Saints were re-thinking their defensive game plan of blitzing the hell out of Favre since they had no sacks to that point. Um, they had caused six fumbles and two picks. So, uh, yeah, Seth, their defense was doing something right. Oh and they beat Favre into a bruised mess. Stick to late-night comedy. Oh, wait, you don't do that well, either.

We'll have more wandering thoughts at the Super Bowl approaches, but for now, let me get back to some examples of the idiots I was discussing up above.

The Idiot Brigade

--Deion Sanders tried to defend the move last night on NFL Network. Ah, no, Deion. No, sir. Even Michael Irvin knew it was a terrible move and Irvin's probably on heroin.

--Peter King made it clear to everyone that he thought the "high-low" hit on Favre should have been flagged. Okay. What does that have to do with how bad Favre sucks when it comes to late-game decisions? King also said not to blame Childress for this loss, then proceeded to name a bunch of boneheaded decisions Childress made. The full evisceration of King's column is done here. I especially like how King complains again about the overtime rules of the NFL and how it didn't give poor Farvey "a chance." Uhh, Peter, he had his chance, at the end of regulation. If he does basically anything else other than what he did, the Vikes are probably going to the Super Bowl. Way to see the big picture.

--This guy and his kid (I guess) encapsulate being a Vikes fan this year: Probably not really being 100% on board but trying to talk yourself into it, including with a Favre jersey. I could watch this clip over and over:



--This idiot, who won't shave his beard until the Vikings win the Super Bowl. You sir, are a moron. And that's not even the worst part of the story. No, the worst part is how he grudgingly allowed his mangy, disgusting beard to be trimmed for his granddaughter's wedding, but wanted "Favre" stitched on the back of his suit. This kind of a-hole makes me even MORE glad, if that's possible, that the Vikes lost in such crushing fashion.

--Favre, himself. I love that he claimed during the postgame press conference that he hadn't even seen the INT yet, so he doesn't know exactly what happened. Watch this video and tell me how he "didn't see it yet"?



Okay, that was just an excuse to enjoy the Favreplosion again. Seriously, nothing better encapsulates his career than that -- getting his team to big games, but almost always pooping the bed once he gets there. In fact, all but once.

Delicious.

Drew versus Brett: Some Thoughts

I know we're predisposed here at BS to being hypersensitive to perceived lack of respect for our Boilermakers. However, I think it's interesting just how under-the-radar Drew Brees is, given how spectacularly he has been playing for years now. Yes, I know he gets some ink and people who know him love him. But he doesn't get the attention or respect bestowed upon other elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Part of that could be the lack of Super Bowl wins. Okay, fine, I can buy that, but you still hear more about guys like Phil Rivers than you do about Drew Brees, and Rivers is far less successful.

As for Drew, take a look at his career statistics. Do you realize how awesome a career he is building? Let's not forget -- this is a guy who was considered undersized and had a knee injury coming out of high school. Nobody in Texas (his home state) gave him a sniff. And here he is, throwing for 4,000+ yards for four straight seasons, including 5,000+ (!!) last year.Want to compare him to Brett Favre? Crazy talk, right? (Right, Peter King?)

Drew has played, essentially, eight seasons at this point. (Not counting the one game he played in '01 -- also worth noting he only played 11 games in '03.) Comparing these eight seasons to Favre's first eight seasons (not counting the two games Favre played for the Falcons in '91), we learn that Brett Favre -- he of the all-time passing yards record -- had 30,894 after those eight seasons. Drew's total? 30,646, a mere 248 yards behind, which he clearly would have surpassed had he not missed those five games in 2003. So is that to say through this point in his career, Drew Brees is a more prolific passer than Brett Favre? It might be.

TD passes over that same period: Favre leads, but not by much, 235-201. Of course, Brett also leads in picks, 139-110. Just saying.

Am I trying to say Brees is a better quarterback? Well, not exactly. I'm simply saying he's on the right track and should already be considered in Favre's league. If Brees plays another ten years to get to the number of seasons Favre has played, and averages 3,800 passing yards a year (as he has for the past eight), he'd be at almost 69,000 passing yards. Brett Favre current passing yards: 69,329. Incredibly similar track.

Of course, Brett Favre has that one lone Super Bowl win (though it would seem he has about 15 based on the media's love for him) and Drew currently has none. However, that could all change in the next two weeks.

Big Weekend for Former Boilermakers

No kidding, right? Unless you live under a rock (okay, or if you're not an avid Purdue follower), you know that there are Boilermakers on every team left in the NFL's final four. So while we do sometimes talk NFL around here, we've been doing less of it lately -- however, over the next couple weeks, I think you'll be hearing a little more about it. Let's look at the combatants and the games this weekend. Because, hey, everyone else is.

New Orleans Saints versus Minnesota Vikings


One of Purdue's proudest sons is one win away from the Super Bowl for the second time in his four seasons with New Orleans. People forget that in Mr. Handsome's first year with the team, in 2006, they lost the championship game to the Bears. This was the year after they won only 3 games while playing their entire season away from New Orleans following Katrina. I remember this vividly because Drew had just gone to New Orleans and that August I was in Las Vegas and I put down a bet on the Saints to be NFC champs -- at 35-1. I was a believer in Drew. And I remember not telling anyone I had done that until they were eliminated, so as not to jinx it. Alas, the sucko Bears managed to Rex Grossman their way into the opportunity to get waxed by the Colts.

I'll be pontificating/hero-worshipping Drew a little more in a separate post later today, but for now let's get to this game.

I'm worried, and I'm not afraid to admit it. The Saints biggest weakness has been their run defense. And what is one of the Vikings strength? Of course, Adrian Peterson who, make no mistake, is an animal. I love this guy and let's all just agree that he's the reason Brett Favre has had an admittedly terrific season. Brett, to his credit, bought into the Vikings plan to run the hell out of Peterson until other teams committed to stopping him -- and then they'd punch 'em in the throat with a Brett Favre pass. This of course only works if Favre avoids his trademark crippling interceptions (all-time leader in INTs, by the way, though I don't recall them stopping the game for any ceremonies for that), which has done an amazing job of. This is Favre's lowest interception season ever -- EVER. And he still quietly threw for 4,200 yards. So as much as we collectively dislike this disingenuous hillbilly, he's playing possibly the best football he's ever played -- or at least his best in ten-plus years.

However, the playoffs are when the wheels often come flying off for Fav-ray. So we shall see.

Both sides have pretty decent defenses, but certainly their defenses are not what the teams are known for. On the Minnesota side is our old friend Ray Edwards, who terrorized Tony Romo, much to my delight. Seriously, is there anything better than seeing the Cowboys lose? Jerry Jones deserves nothing. He had one of the best coaches in the game, but his ego forced him to hire a series of bozos (not including Parcells, who eventually had enough on his own) and make himself the GM. Yes, a rich doofus owns the team and makes himself the GM. Even Mark Cuban's not that arrogant. But I digress.

Ray Edwards has blossomed into a hell of a defensive player. He's actually missed some practice time this week due to injury and while I never like to see a Boiler down, I'm okay if he doesn't make it out there to pressure Drew.

The Saints offense, as we've seen over and over this year, is explosive. And they're playing in one of the few home venues that truly can be considered a home-field advantage. I've seen games in the Superdome and it's a pretty great experience -- I can only imagine how deafening it is in the playoffs. And deafening is when opponents make mistakes, run the wrong route, etc. Here's hoping.

Saints 38, Vikings 34
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Indianapolis Colts versus New York Jets


Alright, let's get something straight -- the Jets aren't even in the playoffs if the Colts and Bengals don't lay down for them the last two weeks of the season. Sure, they've played very well and very opportunistically in the playoffs, but they shouldn't even be here. And let's make mistake -- no matter how much the Jets push their "Are they trying now?" motivation tactic (as they did against Cinci), the Colts are just as pissed off about that previous matchup. The Colts players were not pleased with the decision to lay down -- and that's what you expect out of competitors. I expect the Colts to want to win, and win big, showing everyone that they are indeed better than the Jets when they try for four quarters. Given that, I'm thinking Peyton Manning may get more snaps than Curtis Painter in the second half this time around. Going out on a limb here.

As for the Jets, I don't want to completely minimize them. They have a coach who has convinced them to truly believe and they have. Reportedly, at a team meeting on January 5, Rex Ryan mapped out their daily obligations, meetings, practices, etc., all the way through the Tuesday after the Super Bowl. On that day, the board said "PARADE." I give the fat man credit -- he's pushing all the right buttons.

And who has had some of the most critical catches for the Jetties? None other than Dustin Keller, former monster Boilermaker. Have you ever noticed how whenever they need a critical catch, Keller makes it? Can you remember any drops, legitimate or otherwise? And finally, is it me, or is Keller already one of the best YAC tight ends in the NFL? The guy turns short crossing patterns into 50 yard gains. I love the guy and wish he was on my team.

BUT.... let's look closer at the Jets success. Sure, the Jets have the number 1 rushing offense in the NFL. But that's skewed, because they also have an interception factory in Mark Sanchez. When you have a guy you don't trust to throw the ball, you run it incessantly and hope your defense makes some plays. Many teams have ridden this formula to success, usually with shoddy quarterbacks. And it's worked for the Jets because of the teams the Jets have played.

The Bengals looked listless and the Jets were ahead most of the day -- perfect formula for them. And the Chargers? Well, is anyone surprised the Chargers choked early again? I mean, when can we start piling on them as chokers and underachievers. I'm really tired of hearing about how "this is the year" for the Chargers. They've been good for essentially the entire LaDainian Tomlinson Era and, yet, they almost always seem to fall short of expectations. Cool, calm Phil Rivers leads them to one TD in the first half and winds up throwing a Farvian crippling interception that the Jets returned to the SD 16 yard line.... to a place where even Sanchez couldn't help but score. Suddenly, the pressure was on SD and the Jets ground them down. My point? I'm not impressed with the two teams the Jets beat. How they beat them? Yes, I'm impressed with that. But I don't think the Colts are like either of those teams. Coffee is for closers. The Colts are closers.

Colts 23, Jets 13

Brett Favre is Flamboyant

So says Fran Tarkenton. As reported by Sports Radio Interviews and Deadspin yesterday, Fran thinks Brett is a suckhead for what he's done to the loyal Packers organization.

Some excerpts:

"I understand he’s been glorified so much. He’s been a great player, there’s no question about it, but it’s all about him. It is supposed to be all about your team. If you’re going to be the quarterback of your team, you need to be there in the off season workouts in March and April. Peyton Manning’s there. Tom Brady’s there.”

“I think he has been a great flamboyant quarterback, but he has made more stupid plays than any great quarterback that I’ve ever seen. Look at his final game in a Packers uniform. He blew that game against the Giants. He’s playing against Eli Manning, I love Eli Manning, but he’s still not a great quarterback. He’s not Peyton yet, or Tom Brady. He’s just a guy. And they’re (Packers) are playing at home, and they’re in a tight situation, they went to overtime and he (Favre) throws the interception that allows them (the Giants) to come back and win the game. He has done that and driven his coaches crazy all of his career.”

I love it. Someone actually calling out Favre in a more public forum than all of us mere bloggers who think the guy's a fartface. Basically, Tark had the hat trick of Favre problems:

1) He's a self-centered prima donna.
2) He's terribly, terribly overrated and has cost his teams too many games.
3) He's a crappy teammate who only cares about his own glory.

Now I don't know how sorry I can muster up to feel for the Packers since they made their bed with Favre and let him basically call the shots right up until they got fully tired of it. They surely needed to go in a new direction, but that's a much more defensible position when you're coming off a 4-12 season than a 13-3 season that ended one OT win short of the Super Bowl, you know? After the 2007 season, I can see how Favre and his supporters might make the argument that one more season made sense. But if you'll recall, the Packers did try to convince him to not retire -- or at least flew down to Kiln, MS to get a final decision in that offseason -- and when Favre waffled, they made their decision. However, none of this justifies Favre apparently making it his mission to make the Packers pay. Though it'll be funny to see him throw 3 or 4 picks in his return to Lambeau.

I'm just glad he's off to ruin another team and it's not mine. Have fun, Vikings fans.

More on Favre's Overrated-ness

I was several hundred words into a comment on 'dowd's post below and decided to just wave my editorial magic wand and turn it into a post. What else are you going to go read about? The NBA playoffs? Phssaw.

Following up on the end of Boilerdowd's post on Favre....that's the thing... the media is still completely in love with this drama queen. Still making comments that sound like a parody, about how he has "childlike enthusiasm" for the game, continuing to only refer to him by both names, and so forth.

To think this guy is the answer for almost any team right now is complete lunacy. He hasn't been good for years, his last season in GB was an anomaly -- look at his two seasons before that and the one after it. He's not been good for a while... sure, he can sling it. So can a lot of other guys. But crushing interceptions are the norm with Fav-re and he's not got the ability to win games by himself anymore -- if he ever did.

He won ONE Super Bowl. So did Trent Dilfer. By the way he's talked about, you'd think he'd won 3 or 4. He won ONE and choked in another in which he was heavily favored.

Yes, he leads in all-time TD passes. He also leads in all-time INTs.

When it comes down to it, if you could have any of these guys in their primes -- for one game or for a career, take your pick of which hypothetical -- would Favre be near the top of the list?

Peyton Manning
Tom Brady
Dan Marino
Dan Fouts
John Elway
Joe Montana
Steve Young
Donovan McNabb
Troy Aikman
Warren Moon

Okay, there's ten QBs I'd rather have. And that was easy. Sure, I've got no doubt you could argue some of them, but is Favre the clear cut number one on this list... in any scenario? I don't think he is. When he was at his best he was among the best... but he was always a disaster-risk, always a risk to throw a backbreaking interception.

I'll give him some credit -- looking at that link of his career, a critical thing you notice is that he really only had one truly bad season, record-wise (4-12 in 2005 with GB). But if ever there was a somewhat misleading statistic, that's it, isn't it? On the surface, that seems to support him being an all-time great, but when you then consider how many times those good seasons ended with disappointing -- and often premature -- playoff losses, you begin to get the full picture.

Is Brett Favre an all-time great? Statistically, I suppose so... though I think you have to ding him some "greatness" points for how many picks he has thrown. If Hank Aaron held the all-time home run record but also held the all-time strikeout record, or all-time GIDP record... or hit .215 for his career....well, you might devalue it a little, right?

But if Brett Favre the unquestionable "winner" that his followers try to suggest?

I really don't think so.

Please God, let it stop!

There are two things in this picture. One is good, the other isn't. Hint, the one that's good is not Brent Fav-ray. It's the side profile of ESPN's Rachel Nichols.

Favre headed either to Bucs or Jets. His agent says Packers might trade quarterback as soon as Wednesday.

The sooner he is traded the sooner we'll stop with the constant Favre ticker on ESPN.

Breaking News! Brett Favre took a dump!

This just in, Brett Favre prefers panties over boxers.

The Pope seeks Favres advice. Should he excommunicate Mike McCarthy?

In rare double secret vote, Brett Favre is elected President.

PLEASE LET IT STOP!

The only good thing to come of this is the continuation of the Madden curse.

Football Jambalaya! Conference Championship Edition

Green Bay's Seinfeldian Strategy Backfires as Eli Enjoys Family Matters Instead -- Says That Urkell Guy "Cracks Him Up"

Now there's the happy face of a kid who has just won his eighth-grade football championship.

See, even I can't help but poke fun at Eli Manning. He looks like a kid. And maybe that's because he kind of is. Eli was born in 1981, folks. he just turned 26 a few weeks ago. And he's in the Super Bowl four years sooner than his more-famous big brother and, yes, I think that's worth noting.

This guy was written off many times in the last few years by the New York fans and media. There were always some who said he needed more time and that they weren't going to give up on him and I was one of those fans. But even I fully admit that I never thought the Giants would seriously go anywhere with Eli at the helm... not for a while at least. I looked at him like a lot of past Giants quarterbacks, kind of like Kerry Collins. At the end of the season, the guy has twenty-something touchdown passes and 3500-4000 yards passing and you go, wow, this guy must be kinda good. And then he'd absolutely fold under the pressure in the playoffs or a big spot and you'd realize that he just didn't "have it."

I never thought Eli was bad, mind you. I always felt like we were a little harsh on the guy. He has been a full-time starter for three seasons now and he's made the playoffs all three times. Do you realize how hard that is in today's NFL? He's 29-19 over these past three seasons and 3-2 in the playoffs. And now he's reached a Super Bowl. And they'll be underdogs... again. And against a high seed for the third week in a row.

I'd like to self-congratulate myself right now because I picked the G-men to win yesterday, 24-21...and they indeed won by 3, 23-20. The game played out exactly like I thought it could/would. The Giants D kept the pressure up and the Packers couldn't plow through them like they could against Seattle. And Brett Favre did what I've been waiting for him to do all year through this sham of a "storybook" season -- he reminded us that he's still the "gunslinger" who makes terrible decisions. His first pick should have cost them the game and his second did cost them the game. Not only that, but did anyone else notice Favre throw a Hail Mary at the end of the third quarter? He threw a bomb towards the end zone where he had one possible reciever and THREE Giants d-backs. Did he think there was another halftime coming up? Imagine if THAT one had been intercepted?

Here's another thing to imagine. Imagine if it was Eli and not golden boy Favre who threw that awful pick in overtime. Imagine how Eli would be absolutely crucified by the media and fans alike. He'd be the butt of so many jokes. But with Favre, we get these kinds of excuses:

In fairness to Favre, there were a lot of reasons the Packers lost Sunday.

But the biggest was a horribly-thrown ball in overtime that allowed the Giants to get the ball at about the 30. Horribly-thrown...by Favre. "In fairness."

They couldn't run the ball as they had in the second half of the season -- running back Ryan Grant finished with just 29 yards on 13 carries after gaining 201 in an NFC divisional playoff win over the Seahawks -- and their defense allowed the Giants to control the ball for more than 40 minutes.

Yes, the defense wasn't all that impressive. Yes, Ryan Grant didn't rush for 201 yards but it's hard to blame Ryan Grant only having 13 carries on... Ryan Grant. What is he supposed to do? Steal the ball out of Favre's hands and run away?

To understand Favre's impact on the game, all you have to know are his stats before and after halftime. He completed 10 of 18 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He completed just nine of 17 passes for 73 yards with two interceptions in the second half and overtime.

I love this stuff. 90 of those 163 first-half yards came on one pass to Donald Driver. So take that away and he had exactly the same yardage in both halves. And did anyone else see why Driver was wide open? Because after he and his cornerback locked up, Driver flung the corner to the ground and sprinted downfield. That's actually not allowed but since it was in Green Bay I guess that rule was suspended. (Officiating was overall pretty piss-poor, by the way, and it's good that the officials didn't cost anyone the game.)

And this following line I can't quite follow... is the author trying to sort of semi-imply that the INT wasn't all Favre's fault?

In fact, he actually thought the pass was in trouble from the moment it left his right hand. Wide receiver Donald Driver was supposed to run a "shake" route on second-and-8 from the Packers' 28-yard line, but Favre's pass sailed behind the receiver after Driver made his out cut.

Hard to say.

And the piling on Eli even hasn't stopped. They even compared Favre's pick to something Eli would do, since he's, you know, such a f-ckup:

He got a reprieve in overtime after Corey Webster intercepted a struggling Brett Favre -- the kind of mistake Manning often has made before his recent turnaround.

Actually, Eli's never thrown a pick that deadly in the playoffs so knock it off.

The other guy I'm most happy for is Tom Coughlin. Tom has been under a lot of scrutiny as well, and again by the NY media and fans. And, like Eli, it's unjustified. Coughlin has taken the team to the playoffs three straight years, which is impressive, I don't care what happens after that. And Coughlin has survived near mutinies by his teams and he's also outlasted Tiki Barber. Ah, Tiki, the jerkwad who said he'd still be playing if not for Coughlin and who said Eli's attempts at leadership were "comical".... thankfully, the Giants were free of Tiki leadership and they've meandered their leaderless way to the Super Bowl! So good for Coughlin. He's a good man and a good coach. So he's a little intense. At least we got to see him smile yesterday. And who doesn't love smiles?

My last comment on the Giants-Pack game was the weather. I love how everyone assumed it was a huge advantage for the Packers. My wife even said, "I think the Giants are going to lose because the Packers are used to this weather." And that shows that that kind of thinking was girl thinking. See, everyone, both teams have to play in the same weather. It doesn't matter that it was the Packers home field. It was subzero for both teams and human beings get cold -- I don't care where they live. And as far as being used to it... well, this was the third-coldest title game ever so I doubt any of them have experienced this level of cold. And not only that, most games at Lambeau aren't played in mid-to-late January so it's hard to imagine it's ever typically that cold in, say, November. No, the weather doesn't matter, especially when you're playing a team from a somewhat cold, Northern locale like the Giants.

Some pics from the Giants-Pack game follow.

Brr! It's cold, ya'll! I guess you won't have to read stories for the next two weeks about how back in Kiln, Mississippi I sand down balsa wood using nothing by my manly whiskers! Yeehaw!

Archie Manning hugs Tom Coughlin. I guess Archie decided to use his "incognito Indiana Jones" disguise.

Lawrence Tynes leads the way to the bratwurst and jacuzzi tubs.

Patriots Win, But In Boring-Ass Game

Was it just me or was that a really boring game? I was honestly expecting the Pats to come out and bomb the Chargers back to California. I was thinking it'd be like 28-3 at the half. But the Chahjuhs defense definitely held firm and worked Brady over. Three picks, Tommy? Three? That's not so good. Try doing that against the Giants and see how it works out. He won't, of course, because Brady never has consecutive bad games, but if he did, it would hurt the Pats. Mainly because the Giants can score touchdowns and the Chargers couldn't do anything but knock some field goals through.

Which is why when the Pats went up 21-12 early in the fourth, me and the guys I was watching with said, "That's the game."And Mrs. Money said, "Wait, why is that the game? There's like almost a whole quarter left. I don't get why you guys say that." And I then explained why we all felt that way -- the Chargers didn't look like they could possibly pump in two touchdowns in the final quarter so there was no way they were coming back. It really was foregone at that point. And it turned out to be true.

I don't have much else to say about this game because we all knew how it was going to turn out. I do give a lot of credit to the banged-up Chargers for getting this far and to Norv Turner for actually not appearing to be a terrible coach at all. Tomlinson, you're a sissy... saying you're 90% all week and then playing one series. Solid, man. Was it too cold for you in those mean Patriots' house? What a waste.

Pics from the fun in Foxboro...

Tom Brady reads a note left by last year's AFC champ QB Peyton Manning: "I still punked your ass last year, bitch."

The Pats are so good they give themselves challenges to keep the game interesting. Here, RB Kevin Faulk rushes with his eyes closed to give the Chargers at least a fighting chance.

More Proof That ESPN.com Polls Are Dumb

ESPN.com has a thingie up right now where you click on your favorite team and then vote for who you're pulling for in the Super Bowl. This is kind of clever but I'm not sure people get it.

I clicked on the Giants and it says, "Giants fans: Which team are you rooting for?" Now, shouldn't Giants fans be rooting for the Giants? One would think. And they pretty much are. But I was expecting it to say 98% for the Giants. No, after I voted, it showed 81.2% are rooting for the Giants and 18.7% for the Pats. What? What Giants fans are rooting for the Pats? If you're rooting for the Pats to have a perfect season, well, then you're not a Giants fan and I officially revoke your credentials.

Candidate For The Dumbest Thing I've Seen on Fox's Pregame Show:

Before the game started, we got to see the Fox team looking like frozen imbeciles (instead of room temperature imbeciles) because they thought it made sense to broadcast from the field at Lambeau. Somebody please explain to me what the point of this is. Do we care any more about what they're saying if they say it from inside Lambeau? Are they more credible? It's the same reason I think it's so stupid when a television field reporter is reporting on a hurricane and they go to the place where it's making landfall and stand in the storm. What's the point?

But no, just them being there wasn't the dumbest thing I saw. No, the dumbest was when Jimmy Johnson poured water from a bottle into a glass and said, "We'll see what this is like after the game!"

What? It's water, Jimmy. And we've already established that it's -2 outside. So it'll freeze. What's the point? To prove that water freezes below 32 F? Didn't we all learn this in Earth Science class? How frickin' stupid.

Candidate For The Dumbest Statistic I've Ever Heard:

After the game, Fox actually told us that the Giants were "the first team to reach the Super Bowl by beating three Super Bowl winners."

Wha?? The Bucs won their Super Bowl...when, in Jan 2003? Five years ago? With different players? The Packers won their last one, when, a decade ago? And the Cowboys won their last one even longer ago than that. Absolutely brilliant, Fox. You've found the statistic with the least meaning ever.

Stupid Michael Jordan-esque "Nobody Respects Us" Quote Of The Weekend:

After the Pats beat the Chargers to go to the Super Bowl and advance to 18-0 this season, super-sized idiot Rodney Harrison was interviewed after the game and said things about how "it's not bad for a group of over-30, washed-up, can't-run guys, huh? Not bad."

Yeah, um, Rodney? Come over here a sec. Yeah, nobody has ever said the Patriots defense is washed up. Nobody said it, nobody thought it, nobody thinks it, nobody would even dream of it. Your team is 18-0. You cannot -- I repeat, cannot -- play the "Nobody respects us" card. You simply can't. Everyone respects you. Everyone is afraid of you. Your team is a more than two-TD favorite in the Super Bowl. So shut the hell up.

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That's all for now.... but you know there will be more.

Now That's A Sports Weekend

It was such a tasty sports weekend, wasn't it Erin Andrews?

I don't even know where to begin with this smattering. (But it won't be with Purdue.)

The ALCS is looking to be a good series. The Indians put up 7 runs in the 11th inning to win Game 2 and that has to have Boston fans thinking now. Schilling was terrible, the Indians got very little from Fausto Carmona and still won. Uh-oh, Boston. Maybe this is punishment for disrespecting the Anthem.

The Rockies have are now 20-1 in their last 21 games and they're up 3-0 on the D-Backs. That's kind of ridiculous and awesome at the same time.

Brett Favre became the all-time leader in career interceptions just two weeks after becoming the all-time leader in TD passes. That's kind of amusing. I don't think they stopped the game to present him with a statue of him chasing a DB returning a pick, though. (But it would have been funny if they had.) ESPN is still finding new ways to slobber Brett's knob -- right now they have a "list of Favre's best games played right after his birthday." Seriously? Give it a rest.

The Patiots absolutely pasted the Cowboys (in Dallas, no less) yesterday. I don't think I've ever been happier about a Boston sports team winning. The Cowgirls are not nearly as good as their 5-0 record suggested and the Patriots completely de-pantsed them and exposed it for all to see. Tom Brady is having a superhuman season right now, and the Patriots haven't scored less than 34 points in any game this season.

George Steinbrenner is apparently "ceding" control of his Yankees to his sons. Okay, then. Does anyone still think George is running the show? He doesn't appear in public anymore, he's never at Yankee Stadium... it's kind of silly at this point.

Vinny Testaverde is still alive. Who knew? The Jets probably should have re-signed him.

The BCS Standings are out (and, really, doesn't it make sense for all polls to start around this time?) and Ohio State, amazingly, is #1 despite being in what they were even admitting was a rebuilding year. Get ready for more insufferable tOSU fans and shirts that say, "We don't rebuild -- we reload!" But it's pretty damn amazing to look at the BCS as well as the other, more traditional polls. South Florida is #2 in the country?? They've only existed as a D1 program for like a decade.

Once again, our friends over at Hawaii almost blew their chance at a perfect season, narrowly beating San Jose State in OT. And yet they find themselves at 18 in the BCS and 16 in the AP. Completely ridiculous and unjustified. I know this is the voters humoring Hawaii/WAC supporters because it is indeed hard to say a D1 program that is 7-0 shouldn't be ranked. But they're really not even as good as their ranking suggests. Just wait and see if they get into a major bowl against a big-time program. It might get embarrassing for them. Like, I'm talking 6 or 8 picks for pass-happy, overrated sexual assaulter -- err, I mean, quarterback -- Colt Brennan. Hell, he threw four picks against San Jose State! He threw for a ridonkulous 545 but also tossed the ball 75 times. Hawaii rushed for... 56 yards. Total. That's kind of... imbalanced.

Amazingly, I'm going to talk about the WAC twice in this post -- I actually watched the OTs last night in the Boise State-Nevada game. (Why college football is being played on Sundays now, I do not understand.) BSU won the game, 69-67 because Nevada failed to get the two-point conversion in the fourth OT session. I'll admit, I wanted to see them hit 70 points. But still, can you imagine your school putting up 67 points... and losing? One thing I also have to say about this game is that the combo of WAC offenses, weak defenses and tired players led to the offenses in the OTs being completely unstoppable. Just look at the OT scoring summaries... the first few were one or two play "drives" of 25 yards and, boom, there was your TD. What irritated me, though, was Bill Curry, who was supposed to be providing color analysis for the game, just wanted the game to be called a tie and wouldn't let it go. At about the third overtime, he began pointing out that these "kids" were "tired" and that "somebody could get hurt." Jeez, Bill, are you a cub scout den mother or something? It's (supposedly) big time college football. Don't give me this "the kids are tired" bullsh-t. They want to win as much as anyone. And ties were eliminated a while ago, Bill. Deal with it, or shuffle off to retirement. At one point, a Nevada defender twisted a finger or wrist or something on an awkward tackle and Curry acted like this proved his point. Like guys couldn't get hurt earlier in the game. Just intolerable to listen to. Shut up and call the game.

Hey, is anybody else tired of seeing Dane Cook pretend to be such a huge baseball fan and continually enunciating to us that "There's only one October"? Well, Saturday Night Live finally decided to have some fun with it and what bothers me about this sketch is that practically nobody laughs... maybe they don't get it because they haven't seen the commericals, or maybe they all just really love Dane Cook. Still, pretty funny and it's about time.

Last week, during the first couple games of the MLB postseason, you may have seen a few ads for Frank TV. Or like a few thousand. After about the 500th cutaway to a Frank TV ad, one of our readers and friend (when he doesn't do his disappearing act) sent me a text message that simply said, "Frank TV looks good." Sometimes it's the simple humor that makes me laugh most.

I'm sure there was more -- I know there was -- but that's all the time we have now, folks.