Monday, 31 December 2012
Friday, 28 December 2012
What we learned in the NFL week #16
What we learned this past weekend!
That the Giants don't have a defense anymore!! This is as bad as we ever seen this defense! You know you have problems when Joe Flacco picks apart your secondary!! The Giants D is really messed up physically and the pass rush is non-existent. Don't be shocked to see the Giants part ways with DE bookends, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora! New York is the type of team where we got used to their "flip the switch" at the right time.... Well, seems like someone forgot to pay the electricity bill, because the power never came on!!
Adrian Peterson runs for less than 100 yards for the first time in over eight weeks and the Vikings still managed to play a wonderful game and slap the Texans right in the face in their backyard!!! The Vikings showed me a whole lot in the last month! That week number eight upset loss to the Bucs, at home, was a huge sign that troubled waters were ahead, and two months later the Vikings are sitting in the sixth seed. They came through in December unlike Tampa Bay!! Unfortunately for the Vikes, they have to play the red hot Packers, who still has something to play for!! Win or lose, this season has been a successful one for the Minnesota Vikings, just Adrian Peterson alone, with the opportunity to run for 2,000 yards and maybe pass Eric Dickerson's record!!
Hopefully we will witness more history this upcoming weekend, as last weekend we saw at least three records fall!! Calvin Johnson surpassing Jerry Rice for most yards in a single season for a wideout, one of the most difficult records to knock off!!! Will Megatron be the 1st WR with 2,000 yards receiving?? We also witnessed TE Jason Witten breaking Tony Gonzalez's record for most catches by a tight end in a single season and QB Andrew Luck breaking Cam's 1 year-old record for most yards thrown for a rookie quarterback!
I hope most of you saw the first half between the Seahawks and 49ers last Sunday night!! After that blocked field goal returned for a score, you knew right there it was over!!! San Fran never had a chance from the get go! The Seahawks have been plain out balling the last three weeks!! I hope people take this team seriously... I know I have!! The opportunity to make a strong playoff push is there for Seattle, but I guess we can say this for the Washington Redskins as well, no?? Atlanta better show the proper respect to both of these teams, as both of them have what it takes to beat the Falcons, in Atlanta!!
Last Sunday we also saw the Steelers fail to make the playoffs! Big Ben again cost the game with a late INT! The offseason in Pittsburgh will be an interesting one! How will the aftermath of this mess play out? What mess?? Hmmm... Big Ben and offensive coordinator Todd Haley... Mike Wallace and his contract demands?? Steelers better be very careful, as this organization could descend rapidly!
I've said this a once or twice, that the Houston Texans will not win... Now we know 99.9% sure they won't win the Super Bowl...not with the way that secondary is playing right now!!! Also, all star running back Arian Foster looks tired... This is a cause for concern since the running aspect of the game is the centerpiece of the Houston offense!! A loss on Sunday could shatter the psyche of the Texans.... And we get the feeling it's already in a fragile state!!
That the Giants don't have a defense anymore!! This is as bad as we ever seen this defense! You know you have problems when Joe Flacco picks apart your secondary!! The Giants D is really messed up physically and the pass rush is non-existent. Don't be shocked to see the Giants part ways with DE bookends, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora! New York is the type of team where we got used to their "flip the switch" at the right time.... Well, seems like someone forgot to pay the electricity bill, because the power never came on!!
Adrian Peterson runs for less than 100 yards for the first time in over eight weeks and the Vikings still managed to play a wonderful game and slap the Texans right in the face in their backyard!!! The Vikings showed me a whole lot in the last month! That week number eight upset loss to the Bucs, at home, was a huge sign that troubled waters were ahead, and two months later the Vikings are sitting in the sixth seed. They came through in December unlike Tampa Bay!! Unfortunately for the Vikes, they have to play the red hot Packers, who still has something to play for!! Win or lose, this season has been a successful one for the Minnesota Vikings, just Adrian Peterson alone, with the opportunity to run for 2,000 yards and maybe pass Eric Dickerson's record!!
Hopefully we will witness more history this upcoming weekend, as last weekend we saw at least three records fall!! Calvin Johnson surpassing Jerry Rice for most yards in a single season for a wideout, one of the most difficult records to knock off!!! Will Megatron be the 1st WR with 2,000 yards receiving?? We also witnessed TE Jason Witten breaking Tony Gonzalez's record for most catches by a tight end in a single season and QB Andrew Luck breaking Cam's 1 year-old record for most yards thrown for a rookie quarterback!
I hope most of you saw the first half between the Seahawks and 49ers last Sunday night!! After that blocked field goal returned for a score, you knew right there it was over!!! San Fran never had a chance from the get go! The Seahawks have been plain out balling the last three weeks!! I hope people take this team seriously... I know I have!! The opportunity to make a strong playoff push is there for Seattle, but I guess we can say this for the Washington Redskins as well, no?? Atlanta better show the proper respect to both of these teams, as both of them have what it takes to beat the Falcons, in Atlanta!!
Last Sunday we also saw the Steelers fail to make the playoffs! Big Ben again cost the game with a late INT! The offseason in Pittsburgh will be an interesting one! How will the aftermath of this mess play out? What mess?? Hmmm... Big Ben and offensive coordinator Todd Haley... Mike Wallace and his contract demands?? Steelers better be very careful, as this organization could descend rapidly!
I've said this a once or twice, that the Houston Texans will not win... Now we know 99.9% sure they won't win the Super Bowl...not with the way that secondary is playing right now!!! Also, all star running back Arian Foster looks tired... This is a cause for concern since the running aspect of the game is the centerpiece of the Houston offense!! A loss on Sunday could shatter the psyche of the Texans.... And we get the feeling it's already in a fragile state!!
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Blame The Peacock and Liz 2 For The NHL Woes
Well, it is the end of December and still no NHL. No Hockey Night In Canada and RDS is rebroadcasting games from the 80's. Sad state of affairs for pure hardcore fans and individuals that have employment related to the NHL.
At the start of the lockout and even now, fans are playing the 'blame game'. Blaming the owners, the players and even themselves. Well my friends, I win the 'blame game' because I know the parties responsible for the lockout: The Peacock and Liz 2. Who, you may ask?
The NHL and NHLPA are in the dispute are ultimately fighting over potential "growth" of the league in terms of future revenue; however, we have to take a look at the two root sources that have fueled the growth over the past two to five years. Growth that I really think is artificially inflated thanks The Peacock and Liz 2.
The Peacock (aka, NBC Sports) - In April 2011, NBC Sports signed a 10-year TV rights deal to broadcast the league's games on various digital platforms for a reported, $2 billion. The last time I looked, the ratings for playoff hockey (which the league promotes as "the best type of sports tournament around" was pulling in a tiny average of 1.2 million viewers for the entire 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 1.2 million? Man, even ESPN could do better by re-airing the second half of a last NFL preseason game and that why the network was not prepared to shell out a dime for carrying NHL games but NBC did. Big mistake. Investing $2 billion for NHL rights, NBC just gave the league a false sense of importance on the North American sports media landscape and an over valuation of pro hockey broadcast content. As a result, the $2 billion is just a part of the pie that owners and players are quibbling about.
Liz 2 (aka, The Canadian Dollar) - In several interviews, Gary Bettman has gone on record to state that there is no link between NHL's revenue growth and increase in value of the Canadian dollar. Really Gary. Anybody with an understanding of economics can tell you that growth in the Canadian currency does contribute to the success of the NHL. If you don't believe me, remember the context in which the "old" Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques closed down shop and moved to "Phoenix" and Denver. Plus, why is it that there are arenas being built in the Greater Toronto Area and Quebec City. Imagine, if the value of Liz 2 dips to $.60 American (just like in 2006) during in the next CBA time frame. You can safely expect that owners will be looking to claw back more of the revenue that will not be over-inflated by a Canadian dollar.
NHL fans can expect a season starting in mid-January 2013. Once the press conferences from both sides are over to announce that a new CBA has been signed, the promotional spin to win back the hearts of fans will start. Fans are going to hear, see and read that they are the "best fans in world" and other crap but I hope that fans will realize that they are going to be apart of a 48-game "cash grab" scam. Yes, owners and players are going to say, "Finally, the game is back on the ice for our fans to enjoy". That's the farthest thing from the truth. It's more like, "Finally, the game is back on the ice for us so fans can pay an insane amount of cash for tickets, jerseys and bottled water to enjoy".
As a hockey fan and a Canadian, I would like to see the plug pulled on the 2013 NHL season. A lot of NHL insiders on television, radio and in print say that the conflict over the CBA has nothing to do with economic issues but I beg to differ. Along with the two aspects that I listed above, there are aspects of the NHL salary floor / cap system that are not being addressed and will lead to more trouble down the road for teams that are not making money. See Columbus, Phoenix, Florida and St. Louis. It is time to let the bottom fall out of these franchises to either fold or move them to other markets. The time is now to scrap the season and fix the NHL (aka, Niche Hockey League).
Final Taughts:
Want Gary Bettman To Leave? Here's How. Many people think that if the season is cancelled under the watch of Bettman, he will walk away. No dice. The only way to see Gary Bettman out as commissioner is to have "traditional" hockey markets show a lack of interest in the NHL even if it means not tuning into local broadcasts on television and on radio, especially come playoff time. You think you can do it?
Your 2012 NFL MVP is... RGIII. Forget Manning. Forget Luck. Forget Wilson. The Redskins will come back from the basement of the NFC East and win the division all because of the starting rookie quarterback. Enough said.
Follow me on Twitter : @sportstaughts
At the start of the lockout and even now, fans are playing the 'blame game'. Blaming the owners, the players and even themselves. Well my friends, I win the 'blame game' because I know the parties responsible for the lockout: The Peacock and Liz 2. Who, you may ask?
The NHL and NHLPA are in the dispute are ultimately fighting over potential "growth" of the league in terms of future revenue; however, we have to take a look at the two root sources that have fueled the growth over the past two to five years. Growth that I really think is artificially inflated thanks The Peacock and Liz 2.
Liz 2 (aka, The Canadian Dollar) - In several interviews, Gary Bettman has gone on record to state that there is no link between NHL's revenue growth and increase in value of the Canadian dollar. Really Gary. Anybody with an understanding of economics can tell you that growth in the Canadian currency does contribute to the success of the NHL. If you don't believe me, remember the context in which the "old" Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques closed down shop and moved to "Phoenix" and Denver. Plus, why is it that there are arenas being built in the Greater Toronto Area and Quebec City. Imagine, if the value of Liz 2 dips to $.60 American (just like in 2006) during in the next CBA time frame. You can safely expect that owners will be looking to claw back more of the revenue that will not be over-inflated by a Canadian dollar.
NHL fans can expect a season starting in mid-January 2013. Once the press conferences from both sides are over to announce that a new CBA has been signed, the promotional spin to win back the hearts of fans will start. Fans are going to hear, see and read that they are the "best fans in world" and other crap but I hope that fans will realize that they are going to be apart of a 48-game "cash grab" scam. Yes, owners and players are going to say, "Finally, the game is back on the ice for our fans to enjoy". That's the farthest thing from the truth. It's more like, "Finally, the game is back on the ice for us so fans can pay an insane amount of cash for tickets, jerseys and bottled water to enjoy".
As a hockey fan and a Canadian, I would like to see the plug pulled on the 2013 NHL season. A lot of NHL insiders on television, radio and in print say that the conflict over the CBA has nothing to do with economic issues but I beg to differ. Along with the two aspects that I listed above, there are aspects of the NHL salary floor / cap system that are not being addressed and will lead to more trouble down the road for teams that are not making money. See Columbus, Phoenix, Florida and St. Louis. It is time to let the bottom fall out of these franchises to either fold or move them to other markets. The time is now to scrap the season and fix the NHL (aka, Niche Hockey League).
Final Taughts:
Want Gary Bettman To Leave? Here's How. Many people think that if the season is cancelled under the watch of Bettman, he will walk away. No dice. The only way to see Gary Bettman out as commissioner is to have "traditional" hockey markets show a lack of interest in the NHL even if it means not tuning into local broadcasts on television and on radio, especially come playoff time. You think you can do it?
Your 2012 NFL MVP is... RGIII. Forget Manning. Forget Luck. Forget Wilson. The Redskins will come back from the basement of the NFC East and win the division all because of the starting rookie quarterback. Enough said.
Follow me on Twitter : @sportstaughts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)