Archive for the ‘Why We Love Sports’ Category

I am still basking in the glow of another great Patriots victory, number 17 in a row. It was a fun weekend, and I figured it was a good time to add to our list of reasons that we love sports, because there were so many good things this weekend that happened during the NFL playoffs.

7. Tom Brady Is Tom Brady: Well it’s pretty self-explanatory, but Tom Brady just gets the job done. No quarterback has ever been more efficient in a playoff game than No. 12 was this weekend. I remember when Phil Simms hit 22-of-25 in the Super Bowl for the Giants and never thought I’d see a QB be more on target. Then we saw Tommy Boy this weekend, who completed 26-of-28. The funny thing is, he could have been 28-of-28. Both Ben Watson and Wes Welker could have made catches on the ones that got away.

8. Trick Plays: When Brady ran that fake I thought we were seeing the direct snap to the running back and that Kevin Faulk — who has been outstanding all year, very quietly — was going to run a sweep to the left. But, Tommy held on to the ball and then found a wide-open Welker over the middle for a big touchdown. A couple of weeks ago, against Pittsburgh, the Pats ran a great double lateral pass for a TD. Not only are the Pats great, but they also are fun to watch.

9. The Frozen Tundra: Unfortunately the one game I didn’t really get to see this weekend was Green Bay beating up on Seattle. But watching the highlights put a huge smile on my face. Is there a better sight than football being played in the snow, at Lambeau Field? If there is, I don’t know what it is. I love watching the Pats do the same at Gillette, but there’s something special about Lambeau and the Frozen Tundra. It just seems right.

10. Answering the Bell: Billy Volek might have taken 5-to-10 percent of the snaps during practice this week for the SD Chargers. He didn’t think he’d get into the game, we know that. But, when Phil Rivers got hurt, Volek went in and came through, leading his team to the AFC Championship game. Volek put together one big drive, scoring his only touchdown of the year on a dive up the middle to beat the Colts.

11. Rooting Against Teams: It’s not that I’m a big Chargers fan. Sure, I own a Phil Rivers jersey, but I bought that for my fantasy football team this year (one of my bigger mistakes of the last year), but I was rooting for them like I grew up in the 619 area code. The reason I was such a Chargers fan on Sunday afternoon is that I despise the Colts. They’re like the football version of the Yankees to me, which seems appropriate right now because the Red Sox got into the ALCS but the Yankees weren’t able to. The Pats held up their end of the bargain, beating the Jags, but the Colts let a beat up, inferior club come into their home and walk away with a win in the playoffs.

12. Dallas Cowboys’ Cheerleaders: Do I need to explain this one? They’re as big an American icon as Apple Pie. If you’re a red-blooded American boy, you love them, and don’t have to apologize for it.

13. Overtime: On Friday night I got to see an amazing basketball game between Falmouth and Plymouth North High Schools. The game was as good a game that I’ve attended in a long time, with FHS sending it into OT with a three with 13 ticks left before losing in a tight OT session. I said to a scout from U Mass Dartmouth during the final seconds that the game deserved OT, because it was so good. He turned to me and said, “no, they need to have two or three.” We only got one, but what a game.

14. Coors Light Commercials: Usually I hate commercials, which is a reason that I like to TiVo the games, start them late, and then catch up to the live action in the second half, that way I can fast forward past all the drivel between plays. But, I always watch the Coors Light commercials with old coach interview footage and those corny dudes asking them questions about beer and life. The new one with Jimmy Johnson this weekend, and all of the guys sporting his horrible hairstyle cracked me up. I also love the Denny Green “they are who we thought they were” one and any one that features Bill Parcells. Those commercials crack me up.

Saturday night was a great reminder of the reasons that we love to watch sports. In honor of that, and I do credit our hero Bill Simmons here, I have decided that when it is appropriate, we shall add to the reasons we love sports, starting a new list. If you have any additions, let me know and I will certainly throw it in, but starting today, this organic thing will grow. These are in no particular order.

1. See score, change channel: Twice tonight I happened to be cruising the net and saw scores that made me run to the TV. I got home late from the hockey game and forgot that the Celtics were having a showdown with the Pistons. I saw on ESPN.com that it was a four-point game with four minutes to go, and ran upstairs to watch the climactic end (take that Mr. Bosma).

Later on in the night I was back on ESPN.com and noticed that somehow the Steelers had come back on the Jags. I switched away from the game earlier because it was a blowout, but saw the last few minutes of another big finish.

2. Clutch runs: Somehow I know that plays like this will make an appearance quite a bit in this running feature. Fourth-and-two from just across midfield, season on the line, and David Garrard tucks it and uses a nice block by his left tackle. He puts on a nice shimmy move at the second level and busts it for 32, down to around the Steelers’ 10. That basically sewed it up for Jacksonville.

3. Uprights split: Admit it, you like me like it more — when our own team isn’t involved — when the kicker misses the big kick. There’s so much pressure, and a lot of these field goals should be easy, but they never are. You have to have a lot of respect for somebody like Josh Scobee, who sees only a few minutes of playing time per game, walk into the game, all 175-pounds of him, and decide the fate of all of his bohemoth teammates. That’s pressure, and his kick was right down the middle.

4. Our friends: Hey, I didn’t really care who won that Steelers-Jags game all that much, but several of my friends did. I have family in the Pittsburgh area, who I can’t wait to tease, and my college roommate is a HUGE Jags fan. If the Pats face Jacksonville next weekend there is a 45-percent chance that he flies up here to watch the game with me. He did the last time the teams met in the playoffs, two or three years ago. We had the time of our lives. I’m hoping he comes back.

5. Clutch rookies: Gotta love what Big Baby Glen Davis did for the Celtics tonight. He came up with 20 huge points against the next best team in the NBA and helped the C’s win back-to-back games, without Ray Allen. The Celtics needed someone to step up, and Davis did the job. He’s may new favorite Celtic.

6. Gambling: Okay, I really don’t wager on sports. But, my best friend — Eagle One — is in Vegas right now and I’ve been talking him through his various wagers all weekend long. As a matter of fact, I need to call him soon to make sure he stuck by his Jacksonville bet. He and I were both leaning towards Pittsburgh at the last minute, and I’m not sure which way he went, but he had gone out there in love with the Jags. Hope he stuck to his guns. You know that game tonight had gamblers all over the country on the edge of their seats, throwing up in their mouthes.