Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009...1:41 pm
The One Where I Just Cannot Leave The Superbowl Alone
The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team in MLB this off-season who have not added a free agent with a Major League contract…more T Dot woes - ESPN let the Judas kitty out of the bag with their revelation that Chris Bosh has made his 2010 intentions clear to Toronto Raptor GM Bryan Colangelo; he’s heading out of the Big Smoke. With organizations cognizant Colangelo must peddle his star, the odds of getting a fair return are diminished. All the damage control won’t change that fact. I have felt for quite a while, through the things Bosh was not saying, that he was determined to leave. The confirmation only adds to the sorrows of a franchise that has struggled from it’s inception to attract quality players…the New York Daily News is reporting that, after an altercation in a restroom at the Superbowl Sunday, a man purposefully urinated on New England QB Matt Cassells. Sure hope it wasn’t Tom Brady…Dave Perkins of the Star has joined the queue proclaiming Sundays Superbowl, “the best ever”. I enjoyed the hard hitting, defensive battle of the Steelers - Baltimore Ravens AFC Championship match to a far greater extent. In the Superbowl the Steel Curtain morphed into a “two tone, cotton-polyester mix curtain” by opting to play the Cover 2 defence in the fourth quarter. The two safeties were dropped downfield, opening the middle for the surgical passing of Kurt Warner. As I have noted for the better part of six years (six long, lonely years), this is the absolute worst way to defend Warner. Any incorporation of the “Prevent” defence stokes Warner’s strengths while alleviating pressure on the weakest part of his game; his limited play making skills while under pressure. The Steelers had the Cardinals stifled for three quarters but radically changed the alignment of their defence in the final quarter. This lead to the dramatic revival of the Cards, 224 yards in the final quarter alone. It is a deadly form of “groupthink”, or mental “communism”, which leads coaches to believe the best way to defend a lead constitutes moving safeties and corners twenty, thirty yards off the line of scrimmage. Coaches do not want to be embarrassed by giving up the big play, the highlight reel indictment, but they effectively adopt tactics that directly contradict strategies employed while generating a lead. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, circa 2002, blitzed to protect advantages and it appeared a fundamental change was taking place in NFL defensive philosophy. Wrong. A QB like Kurt Warner will always thrive when chunks of territory become vacant without a corresponding increase in pressure on the line. I do not think Warner is a Hall of Fame QB, nor do I enjoy games when poor strategy enables an inferior team to stagger back into contention. Best Superbowl ever? Bite me…wondering what happened to Troy Polamalu on Sunday? Pittsburgh defensive co-ordinator Dick Lebeau had the safety in tres conservative mode, especially in the latter stages of the match, and the all-star was prevented from flaunting his prodigious talent…the Tampa Tribune is reporting the Bucs will cut wide receiver Joey Galloway this off-season. Tampa desires a rebuilding process and the 37 year old is on the downside of a memorable career. Galloway can barely walk without icing his fragile knees and has been one of the bravest players I’ve ever observed. I just hope the gallant gentleman does not spend his late forties and fifties in a wheelchair…the Los Angeles Dodgers have offered outfielder Manny Ramirez a one year 25 million dollar contract. Agent Scott Boras immediately squelched any notion that Manny will sign for a short term…Blue Jay first baseman Brad Wilkerson is reportedly close to signing a deal with the Boston Red Sox. The player is described by Rotoworld as “useless”…Canadian bred Kentucky Derby hopeful Square Eddie scorched five furlongs in 58.4 yesterday at Hollywood. Jennifer Morrison hints on her blog that the colt will be named favourite for the 2009 Queen’s Plate when she releases her odds next month…the Canadian Para-Mutuel Agency announced that they will begin steroid testing in Canada on June 1st. You can read that again. June 1st. If that doesn’t make you cynical, they are clearly giving stables time to make some adjustments, then your name must be either Dutrow or Mullins…the Vitali Klitschko - Juan Carlos Gomez title fight on March 21st will be shown on ESPN. That’s as close to “free” TV as Heavyweight Championship boxing has been since Larry Holmes knocked out Earnie Shavers in prime time on ABC…Mike Tyson’s fight on Fox against Buster Mathis Jr was a non-title fight…Tommy “The Duke” Morrison won a fight in Laramie, Wyoming on Saturday night. Morrison has never clarified his HIV and Hepatitis C status to the satisfaction of impartial medical practitioners and is reduced to plying his trade in obscure locales. That don’t have boxing commissions, ’nuff said. Morrison was a heavy steroid user during his years as a contender and it would be interesting to hear his thoughts on the longevity enjoyed by some of our current champions, namely the admitted abuser at welter…
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