Official Super Bowl picks

Well this isn't gonna be a long one, but here are my picks for the super bowl:

New York Giants over Baltimore Ravens

A few quick thoughts: I would love to pick Green Bay, but for some reason I just can't (perhaps because the pick is so popular). I think the Giants might be the most underrated team coming into this year, their defense should be beefed up, and Manning has a talented crop of receivers to compliment the electric Ahmad Bradshaw. Baltimore is solid on offense and defense, and I see the AFC as a bit of a crapshoot anyways

Fantasy post

Ah yes, can you smell it? It's the sweet dewy nectar of fantasy football season in full swing. I have played fantasy football for many a years now (however only recently beginning to gamble on it) and have enjoyed relative success, but more so have grown to appreciate the greatest make-believe sport in existence. Anyways, this is not so much meant as a reflection of my fantasy nostalgia (ah the days of Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander and 27 TD's), but rather a brief guide to drafting this year.

For starters, I think the most important tip I could give this year is to wait on drafting a QB. For the last five or so years QB's have been steadily gaining in (somewhat warranted) popularity, however this popularity has become such a commonplace now that you see guys like Joe Flacco getting taken in the third round (rediculous!). Not only are top QB's being selected higher than ever before, but the depth of quality fantasy at the position is much deeper than in recent years. All of this is not to say avoid QB's at all costs, for instance Tom Brady in the third round, Tony Romo in the fourth, and Philip Rivers in the fifth would all be solid value picks; but rather that just because quarterbacks are getting picked like running backs in the second round, not to panic and take Matt Shaub. I think a team with either Eli Manning, Kevin Kolb, Matt Ryan, or Vince Young as a starter and Ben Roethlisber (Picked past round 10 in every draft I've done so far) would be a good situation for almost any team.

Now I will move on the players that I think are going to have big fantasy years, starting with those more obvious:

Ray Rice: in my opinion the number two overall player
Rashard Mendenhall: Is there really any legitimate reason he should be picked behind Frank Gore? The answer is a whopping no.

Shonn Greene: How can you not like Greene's fantasy prospects this year. His last name is Greene and he plays for the Jets, what a combo.
Beanie Wells: Tim Hightower, simply put, is not good, and Beanie Wells has every bit the size and power of Adrian Peterson--yea that's right I said it, Adrian Peterson is overrated; he had an incredible line his rookie year, and has simply been in decline ever since.
Greg Jennings: GJ is in for a big time rebound from a mildly disappointing season.

Jahvid Best: I really like Best, could be the next Chris Johnson
Jermichael Finley: I don't know if there's anyone I think is a better fantasy value than Finley, round 5 for the likely top tight end in the game, I'll take it, and all season long I'll be saying TGIF.
Kevin Kolb: This year's Matt Shaub (but we all knew that)
Joe Flacco: If you can get him in round six or later he's a steal
Brent Celek: If only I didn't like Finley so much I'd probably own him on all of my teams
Hakeem Nicks: If you've seen Nicks play, than you will probably want him on your team.
Jeremy Maclin: He's like Percy Harvin except without the migraines and generally better.
Mike Wallace: Absolutely LOVE Mike Wallace, if he's around in round Six or later, you must draft him.
Justin Forsett: Possible breakout, love the potential
Jerome Harrison: Remarkably similar to Jamaal Charles, yet consistently drafted five rounds later.
Ben Roethlisberger: Why would you not take big ben?

Sleepers: Donald Brown: I think he's gonna be better than Addai this year
Laurence Maroney: Why not take a shot on him?
Mohammed Masaquoi: Love the name, like the game
Eli Manning: Does everyone know that Eli posted 4000+ yards and 27 TD's last year?
Arian Foster: I guess he's not really a sleeper, but he's clearly valuable

Super Sleepers:
Legedu Nanee: watch out
Jordy Nelson: Just an injury away
Bernard Scott: ditto
Jason Avant: Who knows?
Josh Freeman: I like this kid, what can I say
Mike Williams: Best rookie wideout? good chance says me.
Devin Thomas: Mcnabb has to throw to someone
Laurent Robinson: Only if he can come back from his injury, but keep an eye out.

Overrated Players:
I don't like this part, and thus it will be a much shorter list than above, but it's still important.

Frank Gore: I just can't understand the love affair with this guy, he's been in decline for a while now.
Cedric Benson: A steal last year, but I just don't trust him
Jonathan Stewart: How long can this backfield exist for?
Jamaal Charles: Ridiculous potential, but i see that in a lot of later round backs as well. Thomas Jones isn't bad either.
Sidney Rice: Can you say one hit wonder? He's not gonna beat the double teams he will now soon face.
Jason Witten: On the decline, in my opinion.
Austin Miles: I just can't quite trust him
Peyton Manning: key word overrated, cannot be trusted in fantasy playoffs (but he is the best quarterback in real football.
Steve Smith (NYG): I think Hakeem Nicks will be more productive this year.

Final Mock Draft

All right here it is, don't have a lot of time for explaining, but who needs it anymore. I see some trades impacting things a little, but the top 10 seems fairly in order at this point.

1. St. Louis: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

2. Detroit: Ndamakoung Suh, DT, Nebraska

3. Tampa Bay: Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma

4. Washington: Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma. First shake-up here, indications seem to point to Washington favoring Williams over Okung.

5. Kansas City: Eric Berry, S, Tennessee. It also seems like KC is high on Berry here.

6. Seattle: Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State

7. Cleveland: Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech. Holmgren opts for his pick of the top defensive end.

8. Oakland: Jason Pierre Paul, DE-OLB, South Florida. Al Davis can't wait to snap up this athletic freak.

9. Buffalo: Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame. Bulaga is available, but the Bills are so desperate for a QB, I think Clausen has been their guy for some time now.

10. Jacksonville: Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama

11. Denver: Maurkice Pouncey, G, Florida

12. *TRADE* Philadelphia: Earl Thomas, S, Texas

13. San Francisco: Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers

14. Seattle: C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson

15. New York Giants: Joe Haden, CB, Florida

16. Tennessee: Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee

17. *TRADE* Green Bay: Brian Bulaga, OT, Iowa

18. Pittsburgh: Mike Iupati, G, Idaho

19. Atlanta: Brandon Grahm, DE-OLB, Michigan

20. Houston: Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State

21. Cincinnati: Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State

22. New England: Jerry Hughes, DE-OLB, TCU

23. *TRADE* San Francisco: Kareem Jackson, Alabama

24. *TRADE* Miami: Sergio Kindle, DE-OLB, Texas

25. Baltimore: Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma

26. Arizona: Sean Weatherspoon, OLB, Missouri

27. Dallas: Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland

28. San Diego: Ryan Matthews, RB, Fresno State

29. New York Jets: Jared Oderick, DT, Penn State

30. Minnesota: Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers

31. Indianapolis: Roger Saffold, OT, Indiana

32. New Orleans: Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida

why im so gay

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March Madness in Review: March Insanity

Well when you look at my bracket specifically, it's totally fallen apart. My elite eight was particularly ugly, and of course my national champion has been defeated. That being said, I think you can take some nice things away from my insight. Duke pretty much lived up to my billing, particularly the play of Nolan Smith, in advancing to the final four, and at least I have them in the championship game. My number two sleeper, Murray State, provided a nice first round upset over Vanderbilt, and in the second round nearly beat final four team, Butler, so I'll take that as a good call. Ohio State's top five didn't hold up against Tennessee, but Evan Turner certainly did his part. Pretty much no one has more than two final four teams left, and most have lost their champions as well, with all this considered, I think my bracket performed somewhat admirably, yet very average. But I think the biggest thing to take away from the first couple weeks as a whole, is the importance of seeding in a particularly week field, and the randomness of how easy one teams path might end up after the first weekend. Take Michigan State, a team that really isn't that good, having to beat no team higher than four, and winning all the games by extremely narrow margins. This team probably benefited from early upsets more than anyone else. Compare them to Butler, who took on a tough one and two seed, in making their final four appearance. Duke's only real test was Baylor and a hobbled yet feisty Purdue squad, and that was without any major upsets in the region (Villanova was vastly overrated). While Michigan State benefited from early upsets, Duke had an extremely favorable path. Meanwhile West Virginia and Butler were able to overcome the top seeds--who were not particularly strong this year.

Now onto my final four picks. I always thought it was unfair how analysts got to make new picks every week, even though their earlier picks had all ready lost. But here I am providing my insight, on some other person's bracket. Anyway, with Michigan State against Butler, I simply have to pick Butler here. Butler's defense is better than Tennessee's and really Michigan State could have easily lost to Tennessee. People are trending to look at Butler as the surprise team in the tourney, but I think MSU's final four inclusion was much more unlikely, especially considering the loss of Kalin Lucas. This considered, I view Butler as the favorite, and even though Tom Izzo is a NCAA tournament wizard, I think his magic stops short here. Butler is certainly an underdog in general terms, but they really have a solid team, that plays very good defense and also shoots the ball extremely well. As for Duke against West Virginia, I won't stray from my initial pick of Duke to go the championship game. This pick is fairly simple: Duke is like Kentucky in that it can defend and rebound well, but different in that they can also shoot well. That will be the difference, and not Joe Mazzula, again.

As for the championship game, I think this will be incredibly hard fought. Butler and Duke, both have strong winning mentalities and neither team is going to give this one up. Both teams have good guard play, and a slashing forward in Kyle Singler and Gordon Hayward. I think Ronald Nored is an underrated player for Butler, and I can feel him playing well in the final four. Ultimately I think Duke gets a few breaks from the refs, and uses their inside advantage to squeeze out a narrow victory. I think Butler could win the championship, but it would almost be too good a story, and so I pick NCAA giant Duke. At least you feel more clean about Coach K. winning it than if someone like John Calipari were to do so.

Pick Insight

All right so let me offer a little insight on my picks here, starting with my sleepers. I really have not seen many of these teams play, but I have seen many box scores from their games, and accordingly, they made impressions on me, and now they are my sleepers.
1. "Ol' Dirty" Dominion (or Old Dominion): How can you not like the Monarchs this year? Seriously I don't actually know, because I don't know this team all to well. But this I do know, they won the regular season and and post-season tourney in the Colonial conference--home to former sleepers George Mason and VCU--and this is their third consecutive NCAA appearance. My gut, as well, is telling me "George don't you think about overlooking 'Ol Dirty' this year," and so I guess I really have no choice but not to.

2. "Flip" Murray State: Another team with another good nickname, that I have yet seen play. I like the Racers a lot this year, not more than ODU, but a lot. Why, you say? Well Why not? It's Murray State, their the Racers, they play Vandy in the first round, I can't really say anything else other than, to quote a song, "I'm hooked on a feeling."

3. Gonzaga: Sorry don't have a good nickname here. Sure could have done Bongzaga, or Schlongzaga, or Gonschwaga, but isn't Gonzaga a goof enough name on its own? This team I have seen play, on multiple occasions, and you what, that's right, I like them a lot. They have experience at the guard positions, and enough size down low. This team is gonna make a run... or lose in the second round, but they won't go down easy.


Obviously I have other sleepers, but they are all fairly banal at this point (San Diego St., Utah St, Cornell, Richmond, BYU, etc.). At this juncture I will try explain much of the rest of my bracket.
Every year you sit down and watch all the college analyst essentially pick three number one seeds and one two see to make the final four, with the favorite usually winning. Because of this, in spite of the past two tournaments, I cannot follow suit.
Kentucky will not win the championship, this I can guarantee. I don't even think they'll make it out of the sweet sixteen, however this I cannot guarantee. They're too young, and too many of their players are freshmen pricks. Kansas probably has the best team in the country, and has a very good chance of winning it all. That being said, the number one overall seed rarely lives up to its billing, and I think Kansas goes down to a lesser team that has a great game. Syracuse must play Gonzaga, my aforementioned sleeper, and thus will be bumped early. Are the Orangemen a good team? Yes. But still I'm just not in love with them, could happen, I don't think it will. Not only does Duke have an extremely easy path to the final four, but I think this team is really underrated. Forget Singler, forget Scheyer (however this is more difficult), but check out Nolan Smith, or Brian Dawkins, this team is loaded with smart guards and good size, not a bad combination to make a deep run in a weak region. Finally my pick to win it all is Ohio State, that's just how it kind of shook out. I think Ohio State's starting five can match up with anybody in the country, the question is going to be whether their lack of depth comes back t0 fuck them. But they have been playing well this way all season, and know how to play smart. Evan turner is the best player in country, and now those apart from the Big Ten will understand why.

March Madness

I've been feeling rather feverish lately and all signs point to an extreme case of March Madness. Looks like I will be having to stay at home the new couple of weeks and rest up.
That's right, the brackets are out, and so too are my picks, so without further ado, I offer my bracket in a nutshell, I'll post a few comments after I make my picks.
Teams in the second round (in order of bracket):
Midwest
1. Kansas
9. Northern Iowa
5. Michigan State
4. Maryland
11. San Diego State
3. Georgetown
7. Oklahoma State.
2. Ohio State
West
1. Syracuse
8. Gonzaga
5.Butler
13. Murray State
6. Xavier
3. Pittsburgh
7. BYU
2. Kansas State
East
1. Kentucky
8. Texas
12. Cornell
4. Wisconsin
6. Marquette
3. New Mexico
10. Missouri
2. West Virginia
South
1. Duke
9. Louisville
12. Utah State
4. Purdue
11. Old Dominion
3. Baylor
7. Richmond
2. Villanova

Sweet Sixteen:
1. Kansas
5. Michigan State
3. Georgetown
2. Ohio State
8. Gonzaga
13. Murray State
6. Xavier
7. BYU
1. Kentucky
4. Wisconsin
3. New Mexico
2. West Virginia
1. Duke
12. Utah State
11. Old Dominion
7. Richmond

Elite Eight:
1. Kansas
2. Ohio State
8. Gonzaga
7. BYU
4. Wisconisn
3. New Mexico
1. Duke
11. Old Dominion

Final Four:
2. Ohio State
8. Gonzaga
3. New Mexico
1. Duke

Championship:
Duke Vs. Ohio State

Winner: Ohio State

Mock Draft

Ok so I've been meaning to post a mock draft for some time now, and I have made a number of revised drafts at this juncture. But since the draft is only a few weeks away now, it's time to really start mocking. Actually my mocks have not changed much from a couple of months ago, but a few things have been recently cleared up. For one, it seems certain at this point Bradford will go to the rams at number one. This will allow Detroit to select Ndamakoung Suh, and Tampa, Gerald McCoy, with the next two picks followed by Russell Okung to Washington (since they sured up their QB spot). Anyways lets get to the mock all ready.

1. St. Louis: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma. This pick is obvious; St. Louis needs a QB, and Sam Bradford fits the bill as the number one pick. He probably would have been first overall last year, had he not returned to school, and scouts still like him just as much. I think he'll be a franchise quarterback for the rams, I like him a lot.

2. Detroit: Ndamakoung Suh, DT, Nebraska. This pick is not quite as obvious as many consider Russell Okung to be the Lion's best option here. I think either would add a much need boost to their respective positions, but drafting Okung over Suh would clearly be reaching for a positional need. Suh is a once in decade type of defensive lineman prospect, and I think the lions pounce on him here.

3. Tampa Bay: Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma. This one you can pencil in with near certainty. McCoy is a great DT, and a huge need for Tampa Bay. Even if the Lions don't draft Suh, the consensus seems to be that the Buccaneers favor McCoy--perhaps to due his penetrating abilities. It's tough to argue with this one, the only other possibility I can see here is Eric Berry, but that is really unlikely.

4. Washington: Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State. The only thing between the Redskins and the draft's top tackle prospect is the possibility he ends up in Detroit. As I said earlier I find this unlikely, and Washington, like Tampa, finds another heavenly matching of need vs. best available player. I think Okung can start right away, and should provide immediate help for a team looking to make an immediate turnaround.

5. Kansas City: Eric Berry, S, Tennessee. This is where things start to become a little murky. Kansas City can go in two directions here: Offensive tackle, either Brian Bulaga or Trent Williams, or the best available player, Eric Berry. While tackle is more difficult need to fill later in the draft than safety, Eric Berry is a very, very good prospect, and certainly worthy of a top five selection. Pioli did take Tyson Jackson last year (a truly awful pick) so don't count anything out. If the chiefs want to take the best player, that also fills a need, they take Berry. If their sole focus is on solidifying the o-line, then they take an OT.

6. Seattle: Brian Bulaga, OT, Iowa. There is some disagreement about the second best offensive tackle after Okung. Some favor Bulaga, some Trent Williams, personally I prefer Bulaga (he actually had a good season) and from what I hear, so do the Seahawks. They could go defense or the Jimmy Clausen route, but something about the Charlie Whitehurst trade leads me away from that scenario. I think they try to sure up the tackle spot with their top pick, especially if Berry is all ready taken. If KC draft's Bulaga, however I think Seattle will have a tough decision, but ultimately choose Berry.

7. Cleveland: Jason Pierre Paul, DE-OLB, South Flordia. This is a very interesting pick. A couple months ago, Joe Haden was pegged here by nearly everybody, but a few things have since changed. For starters, Haden had a horrid combine performance leading a few scouts to question his NFL lock-down ability. Secondly the Browns have traded for Philli cornerback, Sheldon Brown, thus alleviating, to some degree, their secondary issues. Now I still think that Haden is an option here, but I think they go a different direction and try to snag a dynamic pass rusher in Pierre Paul. Paul is a bit of a wild card, but scouts love his potential, and Mario Williams-like athletic freakishness. Other options include, Derrick Morgan, Dan Williams, Dez Bryant, C.J. Spiller, perhaps more likely though Jimmy Clausen--the Browns did trade Brady Quinn, and if they might otherwise "reach" for someone else.

8. Oakland: Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland. Oakland's pick is another complete mystery, however with more clues this time. It's difficult to rule out too many candidates, but you can narrow down to those who had great combines and athletic tools. That considered the likeliest candidates are Campbell, Trent Williams, Jason Pierre Paul, not too many others come to mind here, but you have to through Jimmy Clausen into the mix, because of the Raiders dreadful QB situation. Last year I learned not to put anything past Al Davis, this year I follow suit by projecting them to take a late-first/early-second round prospect, at number eight. That being said, I think Campbell is a bit underrated, and is more a solid player than people like to give him credit for. Ultimately if fits into the right situation he could become the best tackle in the draft. If I can think this, then certainly Al Davis can too, that's why he's my pick here.

9. Buffalo: Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame. Nobody needs a QB more than Buffalo, that's the primary reason I have Clausen here. I don't know how much Buffalo likes (I personally view him as a bust) and their early indications have been that their looking at linemen, but I don't buy it. Every year teams all ways spread false rumors about "who they like" or what direction their going, and I think Buffalo has done the same. If they don't show much interest in Clausen, he might just fall to them at nine. That being said, maybe the Bills are smarter than I presume, and snap up Trent Williams here, looking for a mid round QB prospect like Colt McCoy or Dan Lefevour. Tough to say, but my gut says they pick Clausen if he's still around.

10. Jacksonville: Joe Haden, CB, Florida. I really think Jacksonville will trade this pick first of all. There aren't any prospects here that really fit their bill of need and ability, considering they signed Aaron Kampman, and are also lacking in many draft picks. That said, if they are stuck at ten, I think Haden makes the most sense, followed closely by Derrick Morgan and Dan Williams. The Jaguars had a really spotty secondary last year, and Haden is the best available defensive back here, despite what people make of his combine. Haden has proven himself on film, and at the very least could move to safety (however I find this highly unlikely). Morgan would be a good value here too, but they probably want to wait and see if Derrick Harvey develops a bit before they replace him. Earl Thomas would be another possibility, and I suppose you can throw Dez Bryant's name in there too, but his stock has really been dropping, and the Jaguars record with first round wide receivers compares to the Lions, so probably not.

11. Denver: Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama. It seems everyone is plugging in McClain and this spot, and really it makes sense. The broncos solidified their d line with free agent additions. They have two stud offensive tackles, as well as QB and running back for the future, they have two young outside linebackers as well. Thus their needs lie with, in order, wide out, inside linebacker and secondary. Dez Bryant might seem like the obvious choice here, but I don't think McDaniel's wants another Brandon Marshall on his hands. The secondary options this low would all be reaches, and McClain is clearly the best ILB prospect in the draft.

12. Miami: Sergio Kindle, OLB-DE, Texas.

Snake.. the video game

I will use this post to inform my readers about my uncontrollable snake addiction. Yes the simple electronic game where a snake chases after apples and in consuming them grows in the confined space. Most of you probably encountered snake through your cell phones, however the snake I am referring to exists online, and I play it on my computer. Why is this game so consuming you might ask? Well I think the answer is obvious, it is simply so impossible to win, yet you still get closer and closer the more you play, and your skills show noticeable improvement as well. True this can be achieved in many video games, but few so concretely as in snake.
I only started to play snake about one and three quarters years ago, but starting immediatly i began to it compulsively. Now, to give you an idea of exactly how much snake I play regularly, and further to the point, have played regularly. Almost everyday that I do play snake, at www.neave.com, I end up in the top five or three, and can fairly often achieve one (today i am at 3 with the score of 5897) on the high score list. If you do play snake regularly on neave, and check the high scores accordingly, you might then recognize such alias' of mine: NAPOLEON BONERPARTY, HUGH LIVES, SHARPTOOTH, MAN ZONE, MAN ZONE NORTH, BONERTIME, BONERZONE, and many other boner, men or bong related names. My all time high score came last year, during the peak of my time spent playing, and was 7891 (for those of you who have ever played snake on neave, you will know this is quite a difficult score to achieve). Last year I even began a log in which I kept track of all my snake games played, their scores, mode of death, and whether or not I was high, for merely purposes of curiosity (this log ended up being rather extensive and is now likely destroyed with little to nothing resulting from it). Around the time when I played most consistently last year, I would estimate that I played about 1.5 to 3.5 hours a day. Ridiculous yes, but stimulating all the same. Now I share this information with you, not to brag or boast on my ridiculous snake abilities (yes, these are apparent), but rather to elaborate on something that has played an extremely crucial role in my life, as well as occupying a drastic amount of my thoughts over the past two years. I have recently tempered my snake addiction, I don't even play every day, and those days that I do, it rarely exceeds an hour. I'm not sure how long this temperament will last, as I simultaneously hope to reach 10,000 points someday (this indeed will only come with further honing of my skills). To further emphasize my obsession I made a video about my relationship with snake, which I will upload separately (because my computer was inexplicably turned off as I attempted to upload it in context when I went to class) shortly after this post.

For the record: Rap names

Well, like the title says, I am here to set the record strait, in terms of my rap names. So there are some old ones, G-dizzle, G-fizzle and so forth, but those have been long since fazed out. More recently when I rap I usually am referred to as one of the following, Wireless G, Fresh Squeeezed, Napoleon Bonerparty, Young GIZ (George Ian Ziegler), and (the most reknown name) Sharptooth. You might expect some sort of proof I'm an actual rapper now, but I will not concede; stop frontin'.

Vikings lose; Free at last

Yes that's right, I am finally free from the ever encompassing fear that Brett (sith lord) Favre might actually lead my arch nemesis, the Minnesota Vikings, to the Superbowl or worse yet a Superbowl victory. If you happened to be lost in the wilderness or trapped in some sort of avalanche, then you may have missed the Vikings losing in epic viking-fashion to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC title game, and therefore--regardless of what any denying Vikings fan might tell you--rendering their season a failure and accordingly setting the stage for an undoubtedly tumultuous off-season to come, sure to be ripe with unanswered questions for an aging team that may have blown its best shot at a title for years to come.
If you did miss the game, then you should know that the vikings out-gained the Saints by a whopping 200 plus yards, only to loose in overtime in heart-breaking fashion on a 40 yard Garret Hartley field goal. What stings even worse than the close defeat in such an important setting, was that the vikings star players were largely responsible for the loss. While Adrian (fumble mcgoo) Peterson fumbled the ball thrice himself (however only once recovered by the opposing team), the blindly revered Favre was the true goat of the evening--and accomplished this in true Favre-fashion. With the game tied at 28, the vikings had the ball in field goal range on the saints 33 yard line and faced a third down and ten with approximately :18 seconds remaining. Because of an extremely stupid illegal substitution penalty, the vikings were pushed back five yards, and now presumably had to throw the ball, resulting in one of the all-time dumbest decisions that will forever haunt vikings fans and redeem those of the packers. Rolling out to his right, Brett Favre had an easily enough room to run safely into field goal range, but instead inexplicably heaved an ill-advised through across his body to the middle of the field and ultimately into the hands of a saints defender, sufficiently pushing the game into overtime, and finally defeat.
Now, those delirious supporters and defenders of Favre will fervently point out that the vikings lost the game after the errand interception and because of it, but anyone who has watched Favre play for the last 17 years (so mostly packers fan) are more than accustomed to these horrendous mistakes in crucial points of playoff games, and well know the resulting momentum of such passes almost all ways leads to defeat. In fact it's difficult to remember the last close playoff game Brett Favre played that wasn't decided in large part to one of his late mistakes. Favre threw away the NFC championship against the Giants in overtime in 2007, and made a similar mistake just years before in the divisional round against the Eagles. Well they did defeat the Seattle Seahawks in overtime, but that was due to a defensive touchdown, and not Favre's heroics. While many continue to mistakenly tout Favre as a clutch game-winning quarterback, his playoff record more than disproves this notion, and now Favre has left yet another team in the limbo of his incessant off-season flip-flopping and diva-dom.
After 17 weeks of over-rated hype, the vikings yet again enter the off-season with a sour taste in their mouth, and this was evident in their post-game comments, lamenting the refs and discrediting their opponents. Although their was one admittedly, likely wrong, pass-interference call against the vikings in overtime (this was also on first down, so the significance of this penalty was surely not to grave), for the most of the game the refs called it pretty evenly, even giving Favre the benefit of the doubt on a couple of roughing penalties and missing an obvious offensive pass interference on Sidney Rice that effectively halted the defensive back from an interception. Vikings outside linebacker even went as far as question Reggie Bush's conclusive touchdown run (one of the more obvious calls in the game) saying, "I'll have to see that replay again," Leber said. "That's another one I don't really agree with. I thought TJ did a good job getting the guy out of bounds, but we'll deal with it."
Although I had my doubts I am assuredly relieved and happy to be a packers fan in light of the Vikings devastating loss and congruent whinny-ness. While the vikings have questions to answer at the quarterback and running back positions, as both Favre and Peterson remain relative enigmas in their own right, the Packers have a young pro-bowl quarterback to anchor their young and talented nucleus for years (and undoubtedly division titles) to come. Whew, that was a close one.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1001/brett.favre.worst.moments/content.1.html

Martin Luther King Day.. Thoughts

Well today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day celebrated by most adolescent Americans as a valued and rare three-day weekend. I cannot lie, for I have mostly celebrated in similar circumstances for the majority of my life, but today the ignorant and self-serving celebrating comes to a halt and I, subsequently, share my thoughts on this day--dedicated specifically to a man, and more generally to a civil rights movement paramount to the society of America since its inception, and with grave importance still today. When I think about MLK, I think about the paper I had to write about his "I have a dream" speech three years ago, I think about his "I have a dream" speech, I think about civil rights, and I guess pretty much anything that most people come up with when thinking about MLK. But as I try to reflect deeper within myself, more thoughts arise: Isn't it interesting we have come so far in terms of civil rights over the past 50, 100 even 150 years, yet still live in prejudice-dominated society strongly fearing of diversity and change? Whats going to happen in the next 50 years? Are we going to become a free-loving equality-preaching utopia led by the next MLK, or will some toned-down-pseudo-Hitler bring us right back to were we started, after there's a nuclear holocaust? Or are we most likely going to travel along the same inefficient road we've been on since the revolution, more laws passed and more insecurity growing among those fearful of change and needy of power? Well certainly MLK was quite the guy, perhaps not more deserving of his own national holiday as many other qualified individuals, but symbolism of what he fought for cannot be denied, and I think that this symbolism is important upon acknowledging the holiday, as perhaps there is not so much celebrating to really be done.

More Posts to come.

Well I know I haven't really kept up my postings too well since that second post, but let this post serve as an indication that more posts are actually to come, about actual subjects in fact. Well i realize that by posting about only future posts and not anything real in this post, it might seem improbable that I actually follow up on my word of promised posts revolving around actual subject matter, but I hope you can take my word for it, because, truly, I do plan on posting quite regularly on a vast array of subjects. Well until then.

George