Tagged: Steelers

Dazed, Confused, and Defeated

                As
I sit here writing, I am still trying to figure out exactly why the New England
Patriots had to lose to the New York Jets. I mean any team but the trash
talking, cocky, annoying Jets. I would have rather gotten killed by the Steelers
next week, murdered in the Super Bowl by the Packers or Bears, heck even lose
in the divisional round to a team like the Seahawks then lose to the foot
loving Jets.

Now I know that when I turn on Mike and
Mike tomorrow, Mike Greenberg will be sitting there saying how much he loves
Mark Sanchez and how good the Jets are.

Any team but the Jets. Any team. Any
team. I would have just loved the Jets to shut up. I mean after the week
thirteen loss, the Jets actually shut up! That was arguably the best two days
of the football schedule, the two days when the Jets were absolutely quiet.

 

 

But now though I think I’m beginning to
understand why exactly the Patriot loss still stings so badly and why it is
still keeping me up at night, two nights later.  My conclusion is, Boston sport fans have been spoiled since
2001.

Name one other city with just one NFL,
NBA, and MLB with stars like Tom Brady, Paul Pierce, and David Ortiz. You just
can’t.

Since 2001 the Patriots have won three
Super Bowls (2001, 2003, 2004), The Red Sox have won two World Series (2004,
2007), and the Celtics won the NBA Finals back in 2008. That’s six
championships out of the possible twenty-seven, or over 22%, of all the possible
championships in the NFL, MLB, and NBA, since 2001.

 

Red Sox Tickets: Red Sox 2007.jpg


No offense to anyone, but many Boston
sport fans, myself included, can be brats when it comes to sports.

 Oh this guy isn’t doing good trade him. We have a weakness at
this position, so we have to get the best guy out there. When we don’t get what
we want, we let people hear it. Same thing for New York, Philadelphia, Chicago,
etc. fans. Again, no offense.

However, that’s part of the “beauty” of
large marker sports. In Kansas City and Baltimore fans are more laid back for
the most part. Again, no offense. Fans are so dedicated and passionate about
winning. They accept nothing but the best. Look at the crazy fans at football
games that paint their whole body. They are either Raider fans, or fans of the
Patriots, Jets, Giants, Eagles, Bears, etc. When you grow up around a winning
culture, you don’t know how to deal with defeat. Do you get angry or sad? Does
it last a few days or a few weeks?

 


Recently though, I’ve been learning how
to deal with defeat (unfortunately). The Celtics lost game seven of the NBA
Finals, the Red Sox didn’t even make the playoffs, and now the Patriots are
potentially “done” with their dynasty.

When you’re a kid, you can’t imagine that
your team will lose. I mean they’re your team.
When your team does lose it teaches you a great lesson in sportsmanship and how
to deal with defeat. I am just now getting that lesson though.

I have a friend who is a Cleveland sports
fan and trust me he has got that lesson . . . big time. Today though, I realize
that when I’m practically screaming at the TV after a Kevin Garnett alley oop,
or a Tom Brady touchdown, or a David Ortiz home run. There is some ten-year-old
kid either upset or mad that that had to happen against his team. But he doesn’t know that he is learning maybe the most
valuable lesson in sports.

Looking back, I wish there was a time
when I was that ten-year-old kid. I wish I had learned that lesson sooner then
latter. The “bad” news is that the Celtics look to be making another title run
and the Red Sox have restocked to win another ring. On second thought, I think
that lesson can wait another year. J

When you don’t know how to deal with
defeat and accept nothing but the best and you don’t get the best it stings more
then anything.



-Photo Credits

1.) http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/tomase-pats-spied-on-the-rams-before-sbxxvi

2.) http://connect.in.com/red-sox-tickets/photos-1-1-1-                    72693d71aaca1b6b9cf5cbfeec0dac4d.html

3.) http://gallery.neoseeker.com/Lesley%20Pro_04/photostream/2020860158


P.S. Rex Ryan owes me for not making the title Dazed, Confused, and De-feet-ed

The Steelers and Big Game Ollie

Last night the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. I thought the score would be 34-21. I was pretty close. I don’t really like either teams but I kind of like Pittsburgh. If Arizona won then I could say my Patriots beat the NFL champions by 40! I was cheering for whoever won me money. I ended up making twenty dollars! In the first quarter Pittsburgh was very close to scoring a touchdown then the Cardinals challenged the play and got it so the Steelers settled for a field goal. In the second quarter Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns and two extra points, which are the stupidest thing in football. The Cardinals scored one touchdown and it would have been two if James Harrison, a linebacker didn’t intercept the ball in the end zone and then run 100 yards to score a touchdown with no time left! I think Harrison should have been MVP for that play. In the third quarter the only thing that happened was the Steelers kicked a field goal. Then in the forth quarter Kurt Warner and the Cardinals come back, scoring 16 points, two touchdowns, two extra points, and a safety. The Steelers though scored a touchdown in the last minute and Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers were off to Disney World and Antoine Homes won Super Bowl MVP.

yahoosports.com
Oliver Perez resigned with the New York Mets today one a three year, $36 million dollar contract. The deal is still pending a physical though. In 2008 Perez went ten-seven with a 4.22 ERA, 180 strikeouts, and 17 no decisions. His carer stats include a 55-66 record, with a 4.39 ERA, and 1,027 strikeouts. Big Game Ollie had 105 walks, the most in baseball last year. Perez has played seven carer major league seasons with the San Diego Padres, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the New York Mets. Perez has played the last two seasons with the Mets. I thought Perez would sign with the Brewers. The Brewers are a good team and lost both of their aces, Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia signed with the Yankees and Sheets is rumored to be going to the Texas Rangers. The Sheets move would be a great one by the Rangers. The Mets rotation looks like Johan Santana as the ace, Perez, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, and Tim Redding, Freddy Garcia, and Jonathan Niese will compete for the fifth spot in Spring Training. Redding and Garcia were signed this offseason. It is possible that the Mets will resign Pedro Martinez. That is a very unlikely move though. Pedro is old and doesn’t fit the Mets’ plans. If I had to rate the Oliver Perez move I wold rate it a 8 out of ten. Sure Perez is inconsistent but the Mets needed some help with their starters and Big Game Ollie could be that help they needed.
newyorkdailynews.com

Oliver Perez

diehardsportsfan.net 
Also tomorrow I have my play, The Magician’s Nephew so I might not have time to blog and Wednesday I have my championship basketball game so I might not have time then. Sorry.
-Bob

Random Junk

Okay it is really not junk.

1. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone. I think it is fitting to have Barack Obama go in to office the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I must say I supported John McCain, but we must congratulate Mr. Obama on his historical achievement. We also must support him on being the next president of the U.S.A. So congrats Mr. Obama I hope you do well.
Barack Obama
Martin_Luther_King_Jr by yaddab.

2. The teams for the Super Bowl are set. Yesterday the Arizona Cardinals upset the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25. The Cardinals were 9-7 in the regular season while the Eagles were 9-6-1. My Patriots were 11-5 and didn’t make the playoffs. The other team that got in was the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-14. A while back I said the Steelers would beat the Giants in the Super Bowl. I still think the Steelers will win it all. I can’t wait for the Super Bowl and the commercials!


3. The Chicago Cubs traded outfielder, Felix Pie to the Orioles. In exchange the Cubs got Garrett Olson and prospect Henry Williamson. I think the Orioles got the better of the deal. Last season Pie hit .241, with one home run, ten RBI’s, and stole three bases. Olson had a record of nine-ten, with a 6.65 ERA, and 83 strike outs. Williamson in A ball had a record of zero-one, an ERA of 3.72, with three saves, and 42 strikeouts. Olson could compete with Sean Marshall for the fifth spot in the rotation.


4. The World Baseball Classic Rosters will be announced this evening. Some players who will play for team U.S.A. are Dustin Pedroia, Derek Jeter, Roy Oswalt, Jake Peavy,  Brad Hawpe, Grady Sizemore, Ryan Braun, and David Wright. For team Canada Justin Morneau will play. I think Jason Bay will play for team Canada too. For team Dominican Republic  Alex Rodriguez will play and David Ortiz will try to play. For team Japan Dice-K and Ichiro will play. The classic looks like a good one. I think team U.S.A. will win though.

WBC -- USA USA USA

5. Today in the NBA America will find out who will be the forth dunker in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk challenge. For the first time ever America got to vote for who should be the forth dunker, Joe Alexander, Rudy Fernandez, or Russell Westbrook. I voted for Russell Westbrook because I think Alexander needs to work on just being a better player than a better dunker. Fernandez plays on the Portland Trail Blazers and I don’t like the Trail Blazers that much. Another reason I voted for Westbrook is because the team he plays on, the Oklahoma City Thunder, as of January 19th has a record of eight-34. I think it could make the Oklahoma City Thunder feel a lot better. The winner will face off against Rudy Gay, Nate Robinson, and defending dunk champion “Superman” Dwight Howard.


NFL Playoff Predictions

Yesterday was a slow news day, but MLB Network did show the 2004 World Series along with part one of five Red Sox memories.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will win the Super Bowl. They have lock down defense and defense beats offense (most of the time). If the don’t get Big Ben then well they will lose in the first game. Here is my bracket.
Colts- The Colts will beat the Chargers because Peyton Manning is riding high after winning MVP and they will beat the Titans because the Titans don’t have that quarterback that can handle Peyton Manning. They will lose to the Steelers because defense beats offense most of the time.
Chargers- The Chargers shouldn’t even be in the playoffs.An eight and eight team shouldn’t even be in the playoffs. LT is great and same thing with Rivers but an eight and eight team shouldn’t be in the playoffs.
Titans- I still don’t think the Titans are real. They don’t have a pro bowl QB like the Colts which in the playoffs you have to have a great QB to survive.
Steelers- The Steelers have one of the best defenses ever thats right ever. They have Big Ben at QB which also helps. If Big Ben is out his back up isn’t that bad, but then the Steelers will lose to the Colts.
Dolphins- The Dolphins are young and haven’t been in the playoffs much. They don’t have enough experience to be a real contender in the playoffs but hey look at the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dolphins had the easiest schedule in the NFL, because they did so badly last year.
Ravens- Baltimore has Michael Phelps, the Ravens, and some really bad teams. The Ravens have a great defense just not as good as Pittsburgh. Look for Ray Lewis to have a big game against the Dolphins and the Steelers. In the game against the Steelers it will come down to offense.
Cardinals- The Cardinals are pretty good. They have a .563 winning percentage. They shouldn’t be in while Tampa Bay, Chicago, Cowboys, and the Jets have the same record and play in a harder division and the Patriots have a better record and blew out the Cardinals when they played them. Kurt Warner has to have a big game if they want to beat Matt Ryan.
Falcons- Matt Ryan is the next hall of fame quarterback. When the Falcons lost Vick it looked like they where going to need a few years. When they started Ryan it was a huge gamble that payed off. Ryan needs a HUGE game to upset the Giants though.
Giants- Eli is no long Peyton’s little brother, Eli is Peyton’s little brother. (Okay maybe that’s a little far.) The Giants have a great offense and have been here before. They have a good punter and a good kicker along with a pretty good defense.
Panthers- The Panthers are the most over rated team in the NFL. They will get “upset” by the Eagles. If they don’t want to get upset then they need to have a huge game from Steve Smith, the Pro Bowl Wide Receiver.
Vikings- Minnesota is like Baltimore. They have a good baseball and football team while they have a bad basketball and hockey team. The Vikings will get upset by the Eagles. If they want to avoid getting upset then they will need to have a big game from Adrian Peterson and great defense from Jared Allen.
Eagles- The 2008-2009 Eagles are last years 2007-2008 Giants, unless they face the New York Giants. The Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL. They have a good QB being Donovan McNabb and pretty good defense.