Well, If Not the US....

Let me make this perfectly clear....I was pulling for the USA as hard as I've ever pulled for any team I squeeze for, in any sport, in Sunday's Gold Medal game against Canada. That having been said, this is infinitely better than letting the Swedes, or Czech, or the other Czechs (Slovakia) or, God forbid, the Russians run off with the Gold. And the manner in which the Americans battled, scoring with :25 left to send it to OT, peppering the net, Ryan Miller standing on head, and the poster boy for the NHL, Sid the Kid getting the winner, made it OK...sorta....Would be having a sleepless night if that was Ovetchkin...but the Canadians? Well, they're kinda our cousins....we drink their beer, catch their fish, and how could we have an Egg McMuffin without Canadian Bacon? Plus, this is their thing, this thing of there's. And can you imagine the turmoil this would have caused throughout the great white north? No, this is OK, let them have Gold, we'll take White Gold....besides, we've got a World Cup to win in South Africa this summer! Now that would be a "Miracle on Grass!"

Did he Nail It? Or Shank It?

So Tiger Talks. And at first blush, those of us in the gullible camp want to believe it will all be OK now...I want to think this was a huge moment in time for Woods. I did see a guy own it, and speak to many of his transgressions, including his boorish behaviour on the course. But then there is the other side of me...the one that wants to know just how scripted this whole thing was. The ques to look into the camera on certain statements, the constant review of the notes/script. The lack of facial emotion...from a very emotional guy. Body language expert Janine Driver even implied he may have been doped up...Watch it, then watch it again...was it real? Or is the only thing about Tiger that's real is a 170 yard 8 iron to 3 feet? And why do this DURING the Accenture Match Play event. Accenture was the 1st sponsor to drop Woods...Good faith? Or showing them up? And when will he return? Master's? US Open at Pebble? The Open at St. Andrews? And what about that hug with Mom? Was that on the script? Seems like a lot more questions than answers...

Daytona Delight!

Take away the Rush Hour construction crew, and the little 2 1/2 hour delay, and that was one whale of a Daytona 500. 21 leaders, 52 lead changes, a popular win by an emotional Jamie McMurray and a final lap charge by Junior that would make Senior proud. NASCAR got this one right. The cars stayed pretty much bunched, but throttle was there when needed and the rubbin' was back...and as we know, Rubbin' is....well, you know. Now the question is, can the left turn circuit keep this up when they head west and get off the restrictor plate? And is Junior for real, or was that just a mirage? And is Earnhadt-Ganassi, with Juan Pablo Montoya, McMurray and Childress engines ready to become a real player? All of these things will be revealed as the season unfolds, but one thing is certain...NASCAR is off to a tremendous start to the 2010 season!

Who Dat Indeed!

The knee jerk reaction to the Who Dat win would be to look at the Colts and say, "What Dat?" And to look to Peyton Manning and ask, "Choke Dat?" But in reality, we need to focus on what the Saints did and not what the Colts didn't. The Saints out hit, out coached and out played the Colts in pretty much every aspect of the game after falling behind 10-0. It wasn't quite the 35 point 2nd Quarter Doug Williams and the Redskins put on the Broncos after going down 10-0 in Supe XXII, but it was a 31-7 thrashing and not one, but two comebacks to win. And make no mistake about it, Drew Brees totally out played Manning and now has exactly the same number of Championships as the former Vol.
This game also points up the fallacy of the way defenses are ranked. We heard plenty made about the Saints 25th ranked pass defense. And, true to form, they gave up 333 yards through the air to the Colts. And Joseph Addai chipped in 77 on the ground...the Saints defense is a play making unit that completely pounded Indy into submission in the second half. And finally, their coach, Sean Payton, dared to win. Going for it on 4th and goal from the 3, undeterred after getting stuffed, the defense honors the move with a stop, and the offense scrounges up 3 anyway. And then the onsides kick...really, it fooled no one. Hank Baskett for the Colts was in perfect position, he just let it go off his head...and how the Saints Jonathan Casillas comes out of that scrum with the ball, we'll never know. And even after the Colts bounce back to take the 17-13 lead, New Orleans wouldn't fold. I'm not one to get all caught up in the Katrina effect and try and tie acts of God to a football game, so lets just tell it the way it is....the Saints are the better team...How about Dat!