posted by Caleb on May 20
Indianapolis has been awarded the 2012 Super Bowl. My city beat out Houston for the bid. More details as I get them.
Side note: it’s fun getting these stories up before local media.
Archive for the ‘football’ Category
posted by Caleb on Jan 22
Is still an idiot. I’m listening to him on Mike and Mike in the Morning right now; and he keeps saying that the ‘07 Patriots will be the “2nd best team in football history”; and that the Dolphins record “can never be broken”.
I have a newsflash for you Mercury - you went 17-0; if the Pats pull this off, they’ll go 19-0. Not only is that two more games than your team won, but I’m only 100% certain that the ‘07 Pats would pound the ‘72 Dolphins into sand.
Anyway, he’s still an idiot.
posted by Caleb on Jan 21
Wow, what a day yesterday. Two good games, although the first game was overshadowed by the NFC Championship, which was quite simply epic in terms of the game itself. On to the wrap-up!
NFC Championship
First off, I’d like to state that I sort of actually picked the Giants, even though I picked the Packers. Reference my quote from my preview:
I would like to point out, that I have picked against the Giants in every single one of their playoff games, despite the fact that I like Eli Manning and that Giants RBs carried all three of my fantasy teams this season; I keep expecting them to implode. But I actually want them to win, so I’m going to pick the Packers.
Since I had picked against the Giants, and they kept winning, I didn’t want to throw a jinx on them by picking them in the NFC Championship. So Giants nation, you owe me one. Beyond that, the NFC Championship was a fantastic game. Any time a playoff game goes into overtime it makes me happy, and the fact that it ended with Tynes redeeming himself by making the longest field goal in Lambeau playoff history only solidified this as one of the best NFC Championship games in history.
Brett Favre displayed his class and poise as usual, in being the first person to congratulate Eli Manning on the win, he literally ran across the field to shake Eli’s hand. I’ve never consumed the Eli Hateraede, so I hope that the young Manning takes Favre’s display of sportsmanship and class to heart.
Despite the fact that I’m a Red Sox fan, I’ve organically developed a soft spot for the Giants; which probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve had at least two Giants on every fantasy football team I’ve owned since 2004. That’s a lot of Giants, so because I like my FF teams to win, I would end up rooting for the Giants. I can’t bring myself to hate them like I hate the Yankees.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to be cheering for them against the Patriots. Soft spot or no, it’s certainly not something would get me to root against the Pats.
AFC Championship
Early on in this game, I thought the Chargers had a chance, I really did. Then the 2nd half started, and the Patriots clamped down. Actually, they looked like the Patriots from 2 or 3 seasons ago (in the second half) just smashing the Chargers defense in the face and destroying them with the run. Fun stat - in the 4th quarter the Pats held the ball for 12 of the 15 minutes.
I think the Patriots’ O-line enjoyed getting down in the mucky-muck and playing a smashmouth football; near the end of the game they really seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing in the huddle, and just having a good time knocking the Chargers around.
Also, did anyone else see Philip Rivers talking smack to the Patriots’ fans? What the hell is wrong with that kid? Did he miss the day of school where everyone else learned “sticks and stones and 250 linebackers may break my bones, but words from a drunk fan really shouldn’t get under my skin because I’m a damn professional athlete” (ed - I think the rhyme is a little different from that)?
I liked the game plan the Patriots had; they knew that they weren’t going to get anything downfield, so they just played dink-and-dunk for 4, 5, 6 yards and then ran the ball. It was great.
Super Bowl
I will of course do a full Super Bowl post before the actual game, but I did want to comment on one thing - I don’t believe that the Patriots should be the 14 point favorites that they are. The Giants played them tough, and should provide them with a lot better game than Vegas seems to be thinking. I don’t think the Giants would win, but 14 points is a lot of points. Pats win, 30-24.
posted by Caleb on Jan 20
The Giants are going to the Super Bowl. I bet Countertop is happy.
Also, Brett Favre is a classy, classy guy. The way he reacted to Eli immediately after the game displayed the kind of class that makes him one of the all-time greatest players ever.
Congrats to Eli and the Giants, I hope you enjoy getting your head handed to you by the Patriots. More commentary in the morning.
posted by Caleb on Jan 18
Wow, I had a rough week with my picks last week. Who would have though that the Colts’ defense would just give that one away to the Chargers like that. I will admit that my pick of the Seahawks was based on regional optimism, so I wasn’t too surprised when the Pack took them down. I correctly picked the Pats to win; but then Eli Manning had to go and be the better Manning brother, which was FANTASTIC. Honestly, seeing the Cowboys lose almost made up for the Colts loss; cry, Tony Romo, cry.
Anyway, on to the picks.
AFC Championship
The matchup no one thought they’d see, Chargers-Patriots. So, here’s what happens. The Chargers’ luck runs out, and the Patriots stomp them into red paste. Honestly, I don’t think that this one will be close. Pats win by like 30 or something.
On a side note, the general consensus amongst all my “bleed Colts blue” friends is that they hate the Patriots so much that they want the Chargers to beat them, and then lose the Super Bowl to whomever.
NFC Championship
I would like to point out, that I have picked against the Giants in every single one of their playoff games, despite the fact that I like Eli Manning and that Giants RBs carried all three of my fantasy teams this season; I keep expecting them to implode. But I actually want them to win, so I’m going to pick the Packers. The weather in Green Bay is supposed to be cold and windy this Sunday, and while the cold won’t hurt Eli that much, he pretty much sucks in the wind. So I’m picking Green Bay and Brett Favre to return to the Super Bowl (where the Patriots will stomp them) by beating the New York Football Giants 30-14.
Since I’ve been consistently wrong this season, don’t be surprised when we have a San Diego vs. New York Super Bowl.
posted by Caleb on Jan 14
I have a question for you, my loyal Indianapolis Metro area readers.
For whom are you going to root in the AFC Championship game? Would like to see the Chargers lose as revenge for beating the Colts, or does your hatred of Tom Brady and the Patriots run so deep as to hope that the Chargers beat the Pats, only to be defeated by whomever the NFC throws into the Super Bowl?
So, who’s it gonna be, Chargers or Patriots?
posted by Caleb on Jan 11
It’s time to predict the big winners and big losers of the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. First, let us revisit my picks from the Wild Card round.
In the Wild Card round, I picked the Bucs (wrong), the Redskins (wrong), the Jaguars (right), and the Chargers (right).
I really didn’t think that the Giants would come to play like they did, and frankly after the first quarter I was really thinking that my pick would be justified. Oh well. Since some of the match ups have changed from my original picks, now it’s on to the picks!
NFC
Seahawks at Packers: Bucking the experts here, I’m picking the Seahawks. They’ve been playing well, and if their defense can get to Favre, they’ll cause big problems for the Packers. I think that the Shawn Alexander/Morris combo at RB is going to have a great day; and the Seahawks will avenge that OT playoff loss with a 24-20 win.
Giants at Cowboys: A lot of people are picking the Giants to win this one, in part because the last time the Giants lost a road game was…at Dallas in week 1. I will admit that the Giants have been playing well the last few weeks, and that Eli has looked pretty good. That being said, they’re not going to beat the thrice-damned Cowboys. Tony Romo gets his business together and the (spit) Cowboys win handily, 30-10.
AFC
Jags at Pats: I’m not changing my pick. I think the Pats win this one, but I think it’s a close game. The Jags are hungry, and will make the Patriots work for this win.
Chargers at Colts: Do you think I’d pick against the Colts here? No way. Without Antonio Gates, the Chargers get as one-dimensional as you can call a team with LT. I think that Bob Sanders spends a lot of personal time knocking the crap out of LT, and the Colts win. 28-17.
Last week I went 50/50 on a split, so we’ll see how I do this week.
posted by Caleb on Jan 11
According to ESPN.com, Purdue will announce today that Joe Tiller will be replaced by Danny Hope (of Eastern Kentucky) following the 2008 college football season.
Hope went 9-3 with EKU last year, and won the Ohio Valley Conference with his team, going undefeated in conference play. He’s 35-22 in his five seasons with EKU and has never had a losing season.
From what I gather, he’ll spend this next season under the tutelage of Joe Tiller, who will step down after that. Purdue is essentially repeating what they did with Gene Keady’s replacement by having him work for the outgoing coach for a year in the hope of ensuring continuity.
I like fresh blood; I like this move. I hope that Danny Hope (ha) comes in with a sense of urgency, and a desire to make Purdue competitive in the Big 10 again. There is no reason that Purdue should not be able to at least compete with Michigan and Ohio State. I realize that we’ll never be a football factory like either of those schools, but we should be good enough to play with them, instead of getting housed by them all the time.
So, Regime Change at Purdue is going to happen, I just have to wait out another year of Tiller.
posted by Caleb on Jan 7
It looks like I may get my wish that I iterated in this post regarding Purdue football coach Joe Tiller.
Before you guys start pounding me, I have nothing really against Tiller, I think he’s a perfectly fine coach. My problem is that I don’t think the administration in West Lafayette has a sense of urgency about the football program, and Tiller is emblematic of that. We haven’t been competitive for the Big 10 title since 2002, and we’ve spent the years since our Rose Bowl visit (with Drew Brees) going to crappy little bowls, and even losing the Oaken Bucket to the (spit) Hoosiers.
That’s my problem - I feel like there is a sense of complacency with Purdue football, that Tiller is perfectly happy being a middle-bottom tier Big 10 team, going 8-5 and pounding MAC teams in the Motor City Bowl. I like winning records, and I want that continue, but I’d like to see winning records in the Big 10, I’d like us to beat Ohio State, I want the damn Bucket back. Sure, we lead the Bucket series 68-36 (with 6 ties), but it’s not enough to just pound IU every year.
Purdue could compete in the Big 10 again; but I just don’t think it’s going to happen under Tiller.
posted by Caleb on Dec 31
Following up my NFL Preview from many moons ago, I present Ahab’s Playoff Preview for the NFL. First off, a review of my picks.
AFC East: I picked the Pats, and I was right. I didn’t know how right.
AFC South: I picked the Colts, right again.
AFC West: Chargers, also right.
AFC North: I picked the Steelers, making me 4 for 4 on AFC Division winners.
AFC Wildcards: I didn’t do so well here, picking Cincinnati and Denver to win Wildcards; the actual wild card teams are Jacksonville and Tennessee.
NFC West: I picked San Francisco. So sue me, it’s my one loyalty pick. The actual winner was Seattle.
NFC East: I picked the Eagles - also wrong. I had no idea that Tony Romo and the (spit) Cowboys would be so damn good this year.
NFC North: I picked Chicago, wrong as well. Honestly, I don’t think anyone outside of Wisconsin picked the Packers to win their division this year.
NFC South: I picked the Saints. This (and Chicago) were supposed to be my “safety” picks, the easy ones. The Saints struggles coupled with a resurgent Tampa Bay (wtf) sort of put me in my place.
NFC Wildcards: Really wrong here. Although my Detroit pick was looking genius in the first 6 weeks, they flattened out midway through the season. And Arizona pretty much stank it up all over the place. The actual NFC Wildcards are the Giants and the Redskins.
Anyway, on to the matchups and predictions for the playoffs!
Wild Card Round
Jaguars at Steelers: The Steelers have limped into the playoffs, not looking sharp and missing their star running back, Willie Parker. Meanwhile, the Jags have pretty much flown under everyone’s radar while rolling up an 11-5 record in the toughest division in the NFL (the AFC South). Seriously, when you have to play the Colts and the Titans twice each, you are not in a cupcake division. I’m picking the Jags, 23-17. I think they’re stronger in the run, and have a real fire this year.
Titans at Chargers: The Titans made the playoffs by beating the Colts last night; admittedly it was a Colts team resting pretty much all it’s starters after the first half. I like the Titans, I think they’re scrappy and tough, but I don’t think they can overcome the Chargers’ home field advantage, or LT. Chargers win 31-20.
Redskins at Seahawks: My mom is going to hate me for this, but I think the ‘Skins are going to win this game. Seattle has really seemed to lack a sense of urgency on the field this season, and that’s going to carry into the postseason. Meanwhile, for the first time in years, the Redskins are playing with guts and courage. This one is pretty close, but I’ll give the edge to the Skins, 14-13.
Giants at Bucs: If you had asked me who would win this game before I saw the Giants/Patriots game, I would have told you the Bucs, hands down. Now I’m not so sure. Eli looked better than he had all season against the Pats, throwing the ball very well and looking very sharp. That being said, the Bucs are going to have Jeff Garcia back and healthy, and are at home. This is possibly the toughest game to call, because I don’t think that either of these teams has demonstrated the ability to straight blow the other out of the water. I’m going with my boy Jeff Garcia - he’s a winner. Bucs win with a late field goal, 24-21.
Division Round
My picks for the Division round are based off my picks for the Wild Card round - I’ll offer revised picks for any that I mess up.
Jaguars at Patriots: This is the match-up I want to see. Despite my love for Tom Brady and the Pats, I think a team like the Jags is exactly the kind of team that could go into Massachusetts in the winter and win. The Jags run the ball well, play tough defense, and don’t make a lot of mistakes. They’re built to play tough, smashmouth football. The same strategy that you use against the Colts (keep the ball out of Peyton Manning’s hands) applies to the Patriots and Tom Brady. If we get this match-up, this would be a fantastic game. I think that Pats will pull a win out of it, but not a by a lot. Call it 14-10.
Chargers at Colts: I don’t even have to think about this one. The Colts are the defending champs, and in the dome against the Chargers, I think this is a pretty lopsided game. Marvin Harrison should be back just in time to whomp the Chargers, and the Colts win in a rout, 38-21.
Redskins at Cowboys: As much as I hate them, the Cowboys win this one. They weren’t really playing for anything last night, and I think they come out firing and tear the Redskins apart. There’s not a lot of commentary to make here, the Cowboys are flat better than the Redskins. 31-20.
Buccaneers at Green Bay: This is the game the Bucs don’t want, at Green Bay in the winter. A rested and ready Packers team at Lambeau Field is not a team you to play, especially if you’re from Florida. The Packers will lay a beating on the Bucs, 24-7.
Conference Championships
AFC Championship: Oh look, I’ve predicted a Colts vs. Patriots championship game. What a surprise. You know, it’s funny. The Pats from this year look like the Colts from two seasons ago, that Colts team that lost to the Steelers. Meanwhile, the Colts run the ball and play tough defense…and they kind of look like the Pats from their last championship season. You could argue this one back and forth for hours, but despite all my desire to see the Pats go 19-0 and shut up the ‘72 Dolphins, I think the Colts win this one, with a last second field goal by Vinatieri; partly because I love irony. Final Score 31-30.
NFC Championship: I think I went with the easy pick here, the Packers at Dallas. I’m picking the Packers. My hatred of the Cowboys prevents me from even being close to rational when it comes to the thrice damned team from Dallas. Packers win in a close game, 26-23.
Super Bowl
Packers and Colts - this is a sportswriter’s wet dream. Brett Favre vs. Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl. You could write columns and columns about the matchup of two of the greatest all time quaterbacks, blah blah blah. It would go on and on forever, until I got to the point where I just wanted them to play the game so I didn’t have to listen to it. Admittedly, I would LOVE this game, because I really do like Brett Favre, and I really like Peyton. I think the Colts would win, they’re a better team than the Pack. Peyton gets his second ring and solidifies his standing as one of the all time best, 30-24.
Let’s see how right I am.
