Think About It for One Second

The talk of the last couple of days in NFL circles has surrounded Jay Cutler. The questions are plentiful and they all revolved around the knee injury that took him out of the NFC Championship game. Was he hurt so badly that there was no way that he could return? Did he choose not to return despite being healthy because he was struggling? Did he quit on his team in the biggest game of the season?

There are a lot of current and former NFL players that believe that he was more than capable of staying in the ball game and were quick to call him out via any type of media that was readily accessible. Most chose Twitter to spew out their attacks on Cutler in 140 characters or less and a few even went to more traditional forms to voice their concerns, but were any of them really fair?

My answer to all of them would be no. Only Jay Cutler could truly know whether or not he had enough ability to play in that second half. Only he truly knows if the pressure of the moment got to him and he quit on his team because he was playing so poorly. I think it’s unfair to question a man’s commitment to a team because of injury. People have different pain thresholds and his may just not be high enough to live up to football standards.

I also think that a lot of people are forgetting the idea that it’s not Jay Cutler who ultimately decides who ends up on the field, but it’s Lovie Smith, the head coach. It was clear from the beginning that something was bothering Cutler and that he was not going to be his best that day. Whether it was the pressure of the moment, the Packers stifling defense or a combination of the two, don’t tell me that you weren’t thinking of who the Bears’ backup was even before Cutler got hurt?

If we were all thinking it as we watched that game, then Smith had to have been thinking about it as well. Of course, his options of Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie have very limited skill-sets and experience, but in a winner-take-all game, you look at all your options when faced with a major problem. So, if Smith is already thinking about pulling the plug on Cutler’s day and then he finds out that Cutler may have a problem with his knee, maybe all the pleading in the world would have fallen on deaf ears and Jay wouldn’t have made it back onto the field.

All I want to try and convey is that before you decide to hang Jay Cutler by the thumbs and pelt him with rocks for a lack of toughness, just take a moment to think of all the other factors, scenarios and elements in play for Cutler, Smith and the entire Bears team in general. If you do that and still feel the same way, then I feel really bad for the future of Jay Cutler.

Athletes will be Athletes

Steelers vs. Packers

I was able to predict it, but the Pittsburgh Steelers came to represent the AFC and the Green Bay Packers representing the NFC was something that we couldn’t have predicted. Both teams had to fight to the very end and fight off attempted comebacks by both the New York Jets and Chicago Bears respectively. However, both held on and are now on the road to the Super Bowl.

A couple of quick thoughts on each game starting with the AFC Championship. It was really a tale of two halves as the Steelers completely dominated the opening 30 minutes and the Jets responded with a good final 30 minutes of their own. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for the Jets that have now been disappointed two years in a row as they fall one game short of the ultimate game.

I’ve said it all year long and I’ll continue to say this about Pittsburgh. They aren’t the flashiest bunch, nor do they have the best talent on paper, but what they have an abundance of over everyone else is the amount of winners within that 53-man roster. For all the off-the-field trouble that he has put himself through in the past thanks to some poor decision-making, Ben Roethsliberger is very much underappreciated for how well he can do in the clutch and how often he comes up with winning plays or drives for his football team.

The defense came up big yesterday on a couple of dangerous drives by the Jets in the fourth quarter. With the Jets having the ball at the 1 yard line with two chances to punch it in, the Steelers held their ground and forced them into a turnover on downs. To me, that two-play sequence just epitomizes just how this franchise is full of winners.

As for the New York Jets, it’s another learning experience for a team that has some big names, but don’t necessarily have the winning pedigree. This experience will be huge for Mark Sanchez. A year ago, he was overwhelmed as a rookie playing in the AFC Championship game and clearly struggled. This time around, he struggled in the opening half only to have an epiphany and find himself in leading his team back to respectability in the second half.

As for the NFC Championship game, the Packers found a way to win when Aaron Rodgers wasn’t at his best. I think this is so important for this team ahead of the Super Bowl because they can feel confident now in themselves even further knowing that they aren’t necessarily a one-man team. The defense deserves a lot of credit as well for making Jay Cutler look bad and forcing backups Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie into costly mistakes.

Finally, the Bears should hold their head up high in what was a year of over-achievement for them. No one expected them to be in this position at the start of the year and they can give the middle finger to anyone that had them as a .500 team or even worse (including yours truly). How they recover from the Jay Cutler controversy will be a hot topic as we head into next season. Speaking of Jay Cutler…trust me, I’ve got some thoughts on him…tomorrow…

It's a Ghost Ball!

Mascot Fights (Warning: One Bad Word towards end of First Video)

I Hate the Shootout

I apologize if I wrote about this before and I’m just repeating myself, but with all the talk about the shootout during the show today, I wanted to re-establish my position on how important shootouts are to the overall standings and how important they really should be. Simply put, the shootouts have way too much weight when it comes to point totals and can ultimately decide who gets into the playoffs.

I agree with everyone who says that the shootouts are nothing but skills competitions designed to give a false ending to a hockey game that should really end in a tie. However, everything is catered to Americans and with baseball and basketball never ending in ties, fair-weather fans and first-timers look at hockey ties more like soccer ties. So, a compromise had to be made between the players that didn’t want to keep playing overtime periods and the commish that wanted to see his American markets happier when leaving the rink.

What we get now is a watered-down version of the international shootout model with three skaters a side getting a shot before we go to sudden-death. But why stop there? That’s really only one aspect of the skills competition that we’re going to see the rookies take part in next weekend in Raleigh. While you’re at it, why not have a faster skater, accuracy shooting and puck control relay competition as well? That would be a full team competition and the winner of all that would certainly deserve the extra point.

I know I’m being ridiculous, but it should illustrate to you how much I think of the validity of having a shootout decides and games. As we saw last year, it even decided who got a playoff spot and who was able to book early tee times in April as the Flyers entered the Eastern Conference playoffs thanks to a shootout miss by Olli Jokinen.

However, I can’t see Gary Bettman ever bending on this subject. He’ll just throw a bunch of double-speak and legalese at me and I’ll end up falling asleep, therefore losing the argument. So, if you have no choice but to keep the shootout, I’ve always liked the idea of the 3-2-1 system which rewards teams much more for winning in regulation. Teams that rely on overtimes and shootouts for wins end up paying a small penalty for not beating their opponent outright in the 60 minutes allotted. They would still get 2 points if successful, the losing team in overtime or the shootout would get 1 and it would stay the same if you lost in regulation…zippo!

All I want as a fan is to know that the system in place for the regular season works well enough that it separates the winners from the losers, the contenders from the pretenders and the Top 8 in each conference are worthy enough of being able to move on and battle for the Stanley Cup. I just don’t think the system in place now allows for that to happen.

I Prefer the More Traditional Way

Best Corner Kicks Ever

All-Star Selections

It was announced today that Nick Lidstrom and Eric Staal would be the captains of the All-Star teams for their game coming up on the 28th in Carolina. As far as the captains are concerned, I have no problem with the choices. How can you really disagree with their thinking? Other than a formulaic and clichéd Crosby vs. Ovechkin matchup, they didn’t really have any other realistic choices.

Lidstrom has been in the league forever and has played at an elite level for so long that he has the respect of everyone within the hockey world and even those who are just casual fans. Of course, Staal is the captain of the hometown team and gives Carolina fans an extra incentive to cheer within the arena itself. It’s one of the few ways that you can create an excited atmosphere for a game that offers very little excitement.

I’m still very curious to see how the NHL decides to produce their all-star selection draft show because if they screw this up, it could be player/highlight pack/player/highlight pack and very boring to tune into. Sure, there’s intrigue on who the first picks will be for each team, whether Lidstrom or Staal will be pressured into picking players from their own team and of course, who’s going to be the Mr. Irrelevant of the draft, but in between, there could be a lot of dead time that could be blad and uninteresting.

Will there be time for interviews during the draft? How many of the players will be mic’d up for comments as the picks are being made? I could see this being a disaster, but then again, I had my doubts about HBO being able to make the Pens/Caps rivalry as interesting as their boxing 24/7 episodes, but they did an amazing job. I’m not saying this will be HBO good, but just giving credit to the NHL for shutting up a doubter once before.

I can already see what people are going to say about this entry. Who cares about the All-Star game? The game is boring and no one should waste their time watching a highly-skilled game of shinny. I get those opinions and I’m not going to bother trying to come up with an argument for those people because I am one of those people. I won’t be watching the All-Star game because I want to.

However, there is a big part of me that wants to see the All-Star game become relevant and an important date on the schedule again. Maybe it’s the kid in me, but I remember how big of a deal this game meant to me when I was a lot younger. But I’ve aged and become a little jaded as the years have gone by and with that, my love for the game has gone away. I hope it comes back and with that, I wish the new All-Star format good luck. Nick and Eric, it’s up to you to make it as interesting as possible.

Who's More Angry?

Down to the Final Four

First of all, my apologies for being so sporadic with my entries lately. I’ve been working on a couple of ideas for the blog to start off 2011 right, so I didn’t really want to commit to writing and then looking bad by changing course all of a sudden. I can’t really get into detail, but let’s just say that I have a lot of options on the table right now and I’m trying to decide which way I want to go. I’ve got a great group of friends that I can rely on to sort of act like my team and we’re trying to evaluate the pros and cons of every single idea.

In the meantime, just wanted to throw out a couple of thoughts on the NFL games from the weekend. Who would have thought that we would have had these four teams left vying for the Super Bowl? Sure, it would have been easy to take the Steelers and some even would argue that it would be easy to take the Jets and the Packers to be in this position, but no one would have ever thought the Bears would be here.

I’ll stick with what I’ve said all along. The two teams that looked like Super Bowl winners to me throughout the regular season were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. With the Jets pulling off the upset and knocking off the Pats, I’m all in on the Steelers now. Quite frankly, it’s not a bad team to be all-in with. The key players for this team know what it takes to win and handle the pressures that come with the big games. They may not be the flashiest team, but they are simply money when it comes to time to win the big-money games.

As for the Jets, there’s been a lot of talk about how much the team talks smack. Rex Ryan leads the way in the talking department by calling every single playoff game personal to him. Because of his “me-against-the-world” mentality and personality, his team has become the new definition for arrogance and swagger. A lot of people are put off by it and some really love it. However, all the talk can’t cover up the inconsistencies of Mark Sanchez. For this team to succeed, Sanchez has to succeed. If Sanchez can duplicate his performance yesterday against the Patriots, the Jets have a much better chance of representing the AFC at the Super Bowl.

As for the Packers and Bears, they will need to rely heavily on the play of their starting quarterbacks. Both teams have made it abundantly clear that if their quarterbacks aren’t playing up to snuff, then these teams become mediocre very quickly. There haven’t been too many times this season where Aaron Rodgers has struggled, but there have been plenty of times where Jay Cutler has. Much like Sanchez, Cutler needs to continue his strong play in order to give the Bears the best chance to represent the NFC at the Super Bowl.

In the end, I think we’ll see a Steelers-Packers final, but we’ve got a long way to go before this weekend’s games and a ton of time in between now and the Super Bowl. As the playoff results will show, things can change in a heartbeat in the NFL.

Begin the Rebuild!

The inevitable is making its slow transition to reality for the Ottawa Senators. The team simply can’t continue to offer up the same excuse over and over again for a lack of production. The fan base has had enough and wants change. Well, if change is what they want, it looks as though change is finally what they’re going to get.

Based on the article by Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Sun today, Sens owner Eugene Melnyk has finally seen the light with this hockey club, has put the car to a complete stop, unbuckled himself and has cancelled the roller-coaster ride to the playoffs by making it clear to GM Bryan Murray that he wants salary shed with high-priced under-achievers shown the door.

Now, I can instantly see what some people are going to point to here. Some will be quick to point out that Melnyk is purely in it for the money and will do what it takes not to build a winner, but build himself a bigger bankroll. The argument will be made that making money is all that matters and that having a winning team is only a mere bonus for someone that looks at the franchise as a mere asset without worrying about the emotions that so many people in this city have for said asset.

I’m not going to use my time to argue those people because it would naïve of me to think that this isn’t a distinct possibility. Let’s not forget that a lot of owners made their money being shrewd businessmen and enter everything they do with the idea of making money at the forefront. Melnyk is well within his right to try and make as much money as he can with the business that he owns.

However, I don’t see him asking the GM to shed salary as purely a selfish move on his part to get closer to the break-even point and help himself out in the short-term. Sure, it will help soften the blow for this season, but by getting rid of higher-priced players on this hockey club, he’ll also be doing a great service to the fans of this team that want to see the rebuild started immediately.

It would be one thing if the Sens were near the bottom of the list when it came to roster spending, but they’re not. To his credit, Melnyk has been willing to spend to close to the cap on a team that plays in one of the smallest markets in the NHL. So, the drop-off in salary shouldn’t automatically suggest that selfishness is the only rationale here.

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of frustrated people in this town about where this team is going and Melnyk hasn’t done anything to try and get people on his side during these down times. He would be better off making an appearance or two and making a statement or two on the direction, look and feel of this franchise, but all I’m saying is: Let’s not get on Eugene Melnyk now that he wants to start the process that everyone wants in the first place.

Great Runs in Football History (well, one anyways...)

Roger Federer is at it Again and an Older Shot

NHL Commercials

This is ESPN

More of NBA Best of 2010

NFC Playoff Preview

It’s time to look at the NFC now. We’ve seen a major shift in the NFC where half the teams in this year’s playoffs weren’t around for the post-season a year ago. There was so much talk about Dallas and Minnesota re-tooling to go after the defending champions, but the season never materialized that way. The Saints made it in, but instead of the Cowboys and Vikings, we’re talking about the Bears and Falcons.

Atlanta Falcons

At 13-3, the Falcons were the best team in the NFC this season and played like the most complete team. Each week, they found different ways to win. Whether it was Matt Ryan leading a pass attack with Roddy White, or Michael Turner running the ball up and down the field or even the defense dominating a game, the Falcons showed versatility. The question is: Will they show nerves now that the games mean so much?

Chicago Bears

Another newcomer to the party makes it to the second seed with an 11-5 record thanks to a rock-solid defense. The biggest concern has to be whether or not they can get enough offence from Jay Cutler and Matt Forte. Cutler is the NFL’s version of Jekyll and Hyde because he can be great for one half and be dreadful the next. They need consistency from him especially if they have any chance of winning.

New Orleans Saints

The defending champs jumped the first hurdle of defending their crown by just making it to the playoffs. It seems a given that the Super Bowl winners from the year before should be able to make it to the tournament again, but just ask any of the other past winners how difficult it is to go from being the hunter to the hunted. In order to win again, they need a consistent rushing attack to give the offence more balance.

Philadelphia Eagles

Their fortunes have relied solely on the left arm and two legs of Michael Vick. He’s played so well that he was even being talked about as an MVP candidate halfway through the season. However, in the second half of the year, opposing defenses were doing a better job of containing Vick and forcing him into mistakes. Will we see the MVP-like Mike Vick or the Mike Vick that had his struggles in Atlanta?

Green Bay Packers

Everyone who says that the Packers have a chance point to their defense as the catalyst. They may have given up the 2nd least amount of points in the NFL, but a deeper look inside the numbers will tell you that they don’t have as good of a defense as the points against number would suggest. The numbers will also tell you that they better be able to find a rushing attack to go alongside the threat that is Aaron Rodgers.

Seattle Seahawks

If ever there was a team that could pull out the “nothing to lose” card, it would have to be Seattle. After all, they are the only division winner in NFL history to finish 7-9 and make the playoffs. But all you have to do is get in to the tournament and get on a roll. If the Seahawks could ever do that, it would be one of the best sports stories we’ll see in our lifetime.

AFC Playoff Preview

Two-part post today as I wanted to break down the AFC and NFC teams vying for the Super Bowl. Many people have come up to me over the past week or so and called me crazy for thinking that New England and Pittsburgh have distanced themselves and have the best chance at winning the Super Bowl.

You can give me every point possible to argue in favour of the other 10 teams, but you’ll never convince me that any of the others belong in the same category. First up, let’s talk about the AFC.

New England Patriots/Pittsburgh Steelers

I’ll put them in the same category because I have them as my two favourites to win the Super Bowl. It’s a shame that they’ll end up facing each other in the AFC Championship game. Both teams have dealt with adversity so well and deserve to have the first-round byes. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have taken possibly their weakest team on paper and received the same results as any other year. Meanwhile, the Steelers dealt with the loss of Ben Roethlisberger to start the year and many injuries, but still grabbed the second seed.

Baltimore Ravens

Any time I hear this team brought up, I keep hearing Lee Versage telling everyone not to forget about this team. The fact that they finished 12-4 is great evidence that you should heed that warning, but I think the Ravens are a small step below those two teams. They have great talent on both sides of the ball, but as the statistics even show, they lag behind the Big 2 in the major categories.

New York Jets

Could you have a shakier 11-5 team than this year’s version of the Jets? No one can explain how this team got to 11-5 based on the way some of their top players performed throughout the season, but they’re in and now can prove to everyone that they are for real. Success or failure solely depends on Mark Sanchez. Can he be better in his second playoffs? He needs to be or it will be deja-vu all over again for Jets fans.

Indianapolis Colts

We’re used to seeing Peyton Manning and company at this time of the year, but the difference between this year and previous ones is the “company” Manning is bringing this time around. Injuries have ravaged this team and it’s a minor miracle that Manning was able to take a bunch of third-stringers and practice squad guys and win with them. With all the talk about the no-name offence, the Colts defense better step up if they want to make a run. They’ve been lackluster this season and have been exposed many times.

Kansas City Chiefs

The upstart Chiefs were certainly not expected to be here when the season started, but led by Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe, they managed to hold off the Chargers and win the division. The biggest question mark will be how they handle the pressure. The question also has to be asked: Will they walk into Baltimore just happy to be there?

You Crazy, Brett Favre

Happy New Year!

First off, Happy New Years! I hope you had a wonderful time last night and aren’t feeling too badly this morning after a good night of partying. I was reading an article that gave 5 tips on how to cure a hangover, so try and find these things if you’re in desperate need of help: Fruit, Carbs, Coffee, Liquids and most importantly, Electrolytes.

I’m sure a few of you were at a party where you didn’t really know a lot of people, so before the drinking really became a factor, you actually had to talk to people. The simple icebreaker would have been something like: What’s your New Year’s Resolution?/What are you wishing for in 2011? Even Rosalie and I had the conversation with each other last night.

I don’t really have any resolutions because I’ve never really believed in them. If you feel something is going wrong in your life or you need to change it up, why do you need an arbitrary day like January 1st to finally do something about it? As for wishes, I’m just hoping to get better every single day, make Sportscall better every single day and hope to reap the rewards of a lot of hard work. In the end, that’s all you really can ask for, isn’t it?

Of course with everything coming back to sports, I did have a few wishes for some teams and players that deserve a little bit of a better fate heading into the new calendar year. I also wish there were a few people in the sports world that would just go away, but who wants to start off the new year in a negative way? Well, maybe a certain co-host of mine, but we’ll let him be grumpy on his own.

I hope 2011 brings better fates for young and exciting teams stuck at the bottom of their respective leagues. Teams like the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Lions have dynamic players that you want to see, but just haven’t put it all together yet. I hope that the following year is the pivotal year in the learning curve for both squads and we get to see them near the top rather than the bottom.

I’m also cheering for individual players to bust out and become the big superstars of their leagues. It’s always refreshing to see a changing of the guard and players making a name for themselves. Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers is doing it right now and Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals was the talk of the summer before he was shut down until 2012 and forced into Tommy John surgery.

But most of all, I just wish that my favourite teams would actually win for a change. I amaze myself sometimes with the kind of patience I’ve shown for the Buffalo Bills, Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Mariners. If one of these teams can finish at 500 in 2011, I will say that the sports year will be a success. Good luck to you all in 2011 and thank you so much for supporting me in 2010. All the best!

Lebron James vs. Blake Griffin...Who You Got?