Sports Sports Sports Sports

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote. I wish I had an even remotely good excuse for that fact, but, well, not so much. Haven't had much time for reading or posting at work, and I've been busy having a social life. I can't really apologize for either, since I am being paid to work at work, and would really prefer fun nights with friends to sitting on the couch and posting to the blog.

So, you know. Deal. Like I tell my boss at work, if you want me to do better, start paying me more. Which, in this case, would mean 'any'.

Anyhow, what an exciting week in sports! I'm sad to have missed the Roddick/Federer match last night. I do occasionally miss having cable, especially nights like that. It sounds like it was pretty crazy exciting. Good to be able to read about Roddick playing so well, even if he lost in straight sets. 42 winners vs. 24 errors against the greatest player in the history of the game is pretty damn good, although of course not as good as Federer's 48 vs. 18.

I will not brook any argument about the question of whether or not Federer is the best tennis player of all time. Anyone making this argument is either being contrarian for the sake of argument, or a 'back in the good old days' kind of fogey, who is probably going blind and simply can't see the ball when Roddick booms a 142 mph serve right down the center line.

You can make your arguments about clay courts, and the fact that he hasn't won the French yet, but I call bullshit. The southern Europeans have become so specialized on clay, and are so good on it, that it's almost like a different game now (read this article to get some sense of what I'm talking about). I think a valid comparison is if the NFL champ had to go play a game on a sand field, against a team who trained specifically to play on sand. It just really changes the dynamics, much more than the grass/hardcourt shift.

In other sports news, baseball is still happening. Whoopee!

In other, actual, sports news, the NFL (a.k.a. Only Sport That Actually Matters) season kicks off tonight with a real humdinger, last year's Cinderella vs. the Galactic Champs.

I think the Saints are going to be right back in this thing this year. I like Payton as a coach, and obviously Brees is a money quarterback. If Bush continues to develop as the kind of playmaker they see him being, they could be the NFL's top offense this year. Hell, their top three offensive skill players (Brees, Bush, Marques Colston) were all new to the system last year, two of them being NFL rookies!

The Colts, on the other hand, are in for a fall this year. I think their defense will make a brisk return to the level of mediocrity that is their norm. Everyone forgets how terrible that defense was all last year, until suddenly discovering the concept of 'tackling' in Week 1 of the playoffs. I think they come back to earth this year.

Very quickly, my stock up/down ratings for the NFL, moving from west to east.

NFC West:
Up: Niners, Seahawks

AFC West:
Up: Raiders (as in, 'nowhere to go but up'), Chargers (if you can go up from a 14-3 season)
Down: Chiefs

NFC North:
Up: Packers
Down: Bears
Note: I want to pick the Lions to do well. But them, and the Cardinals, are in the 'I will believe in you after you win something. Anything.' file.

AFC North:
Up: Steelers, Bengals
Down: Ravens

NFC South:
Up: Falcons (I'm with Simmons here, I think they're a playoff team this year)
Down: Panthers
Note: I think the Buccaneers are the next-best sleeper team here. Their D is getting old, no doubt, but I really like Jeff Garcia playing under Jon Gruden. If Cadillac has a good season, that could be a point-scoring offense.

AFC South:
Up: Texans (see Raiders, above)
Down so far we'll be setting up candlelight vigils and taking the mine safety committee to task for letting this happen: Jags

NFC East:
Up: Fly, Eagles, Fly..., Redskins
Down: Cowgirls, Giants

AFC East:
Up: J-E-T-S-Jets-Jets-Jets
Down: Patriots. Every year, some team makes a big splash signing and is anointed the new favorite team (Miami in '06, for example.) I think the Pats are that team this year, with the troika of wideout signings. Just like taking Culpepper looked pretty solid, I can't fault, on paper, picking up Moss, Stallworth, and Welker. Besides, anytime I get to think about the face that Reche Caldwell had on when he found out he had been cut and giggle, that's good times. I can't say why the Pats are going to disappoint this year, but that new favorite team always does. Although, I do have to say that obviously Belicheck and Brady are much better than Saban/Culpepper, so don't be surprised if I've gotten this entirely wrong.

Playoff predictions:
NFC Divisions go to Seahawks, Saints, Packers, Eagles
Wildcards to Falcons, Niners

Championship game is Seahawks at Eagles

AFC Divisions go to Chargers, Colts, Bengals, Jets
Wildcards to Pats, Broncos

Championship game is Jets at Chargers

Super Bowl XLI (?) will be San Diego vs. Philly. I'll even predict a final score of 27-23, but I won't tell you who I think is actually going to win.