Olympic Hiatus

Wow, the Olympics are really distracting, and time consuming. I have been attached to my TV at the hip for the past week, watching every gasp of every athlete who has either won or failed. So far, I've been quite impressed with our Canadian athletes, and impressed with my own ability to bet on sports I know nearly nothing about (most notably curling). I have gone a marvelous 29/50 in my picks so far these games and have given myself a little pat on the back for betting against Johnny Weir (mens' figure skating) and selecting Christine Nesbitt to win gold for our country.  Other than that, here are a few of my favorite moments from the competitions so far:

1. Alexandre Bilodeau wins gold on Canadian soil

As cheesy ans cliche as it is having this long-awaited event as my favorite moment so far... it is my favorite moment so far.  Not only because we finally won gold at home, but Bilodeau's reaction has to be one of my favorite of all time.  Dude was just sittin there, chillin on a couch, when all of a sudden he's like, 'hey, I won!'  Great celebration and genuinely heart-warming for an entire nation.  Isn't that what the Olympics are all about?

Oh Happy Day!

And so the Saints covered the spread...

Not a bad record for the playoffs. Either way you slice it, I went 7-4. Both in picking the winners and covering the spread. Plus, my prediction for Super Bowl champions at the end of last season came true. Let me gamble again and predict the 2011 game:

Colts vs. Packers*

Colts win. Manning won't let another year slip through his fingers.

*My pick of the Packers is based on the assumption that Favre will not be returning. Please also beware of a Saints repeat and the Titans

Farley!

Makin That Quarterback Money!

With his contract up next year, this season's MVP is looking for a raise. Peyton, by meeting playing time incentives set in his initial contract, has null and voided the final two years of his already healthy salary. What does this mean? Well, Peyton stands to make a shitload of money. His deal this summer, which will be orchestrated by agent Tom Condon, should be the largest in NFL history, worth probably in the ballpark of $18 million a year. So what does this mean around the league? Well, Condon is smiling because one of his other client's contract also expires next season... Drew Brees.

Brees stands to make nearly as much as Manning will, getting a raise from his current $10 million a year salary. Both of these contracts will clearly surpass that of the current highest-paid quarterback, Carson Palmer, who now makes an average $16.17 million a season.  Condon already negotiated a huge deal for Peyton's brother Eli last year, getting him a six-year, $97.5 million dollar contract, and stands to set the benchmark for what star quarterbacks should be paid.  All this is key because next season, Tom Brady also becomes a free agent and will also be after a monster deal, much like Peyton's and Drew's.  Unfortunately, Condon, you're not Brady's agent as well...  Too bad, but you're going to have to let someone else roll in the money for a bit.

NBA's lovliest voice

So the NBA is littered with terrible rappers, but what about singing talent? Well lets take a look.

Lebron James

Not a bad falsetto. Whats that move at :25?

Shaquille O'Neal

Mind of a 10 year old. Fingers always covered in melted chocolate I bet. Feel bad for that bus. Everyone's forced to laugh at his terrible jokes instead of giving him wedgies.

Ron Artest

Another prime example of Ron Ron`s wonderful wonderful insanity. Here`s another. And another.

Greg Oden

Nice to see him upbeat.

Maurice Cheeks

Warms your heart a little bit don't it. Flat out saves the day. The greatest pregame national anthem moment ever in my opinion. This comes a close second. And this a very close third.

Jerry Stackhouse

What a hunk. Stack`s a smoothie with a voice like butter.
We have a winner.

Super Bowl Extravaganza!!

We've been blessed with some great Super Bowls the past few years.  Last year's battle between Pittsburgh and Arizona will go down in history as one of the best of all time.  Eli's last minute efforts against an undefeated Patriots' squad was heart-breaking, but awesome to watch.  Even the halftime shows have been great, with Prince and the Boss both providing spectacular entertainment.  Will we be so lucky this year?  I think so.  I think the Saints will cover, lead for a big chunk of the game, and Peyton will win in spectacular fashion in the final plays (there's my pick, Saints (+6) over Colts).  Of course, I would love New Orleans to win more than anything.  I've never been a Colts' fan and would love to see them crumble at the hands of Brees and the crew, but in all honesty, it's looked the Colts' year.  They look like New England back in 2008, only I think they'll be able to finish things off properly.

With all this talk surrounding the big game, however, I'm reminded that it really isn't my favorite day of the season.  There's so much build-up and so often the game is a letdown, that I've gotten used to kind of brushing the day off as a day for non-football fans to watch football.  Factor in the week off between the conference championships and the Bowl, and I tend to lose a bit of momentum after steadily watching for nineteen straight weeks.  So what are my favorite days?  Well, I would probably have to rate them something like this:

Arenas' Letter to the Washington Post

Good to see Arenas taking some responsibility for his action.  He's been one of my favorite players for years and is someone who just seems to have fun playing basketball.  Despite the stupidity of his action, I always figured he didn't really understand the severity of what he had done.  So many kids look up to him, and with guns already being such a problem amongst youth in the DC area, he was really just furthering the "cool" image they possess.  Someone like myself can look at the situation and think, "what a stupid thing to do, why would he bring those guns to work," all the while kind of chuckling and chalking it up to another crazy stunt by Arenas.  Younger children may get a completely different impression of the event, however, and it's good to see Arenas recognizing this.  Here's the article he wrote, definitely check it out no matter what your opinions are on the incident.  Very well written and makes me hope his NBA career is far from over.

Arenas Op-ed Piece for the Washington Post

Just Sitting Here, Playing Live, Parts 1 & 2

Part One: Burn Victim Night Terrors



I've been playing NBA Live since 1998, when Tim Hardaway was on the cover. It was back in the day when computer games were packaged in huge cereal-sized boxes, and screen shots bubbled out to showcase the 3-D graphics. I specifically remember Allen Iverson hitting a leaner over a nameless whitey, while Mitch Richmond hoisted a fade away. Most importantly, I recall being jazzed about the graphics, Charles Barkley's face in particular. This was an era of graphics when players had scarecrow bodies and bulbous heads shaped like octahedron. To personalize the athletes, portraits were stretched over each head, and the resulting look was predominantly "burn victim." If you played sports games 12 or 13 years ago, you remember the burn victim era. It haunted me. Hockey games played a big part, and Ray Bourque was the worst. I had many night terrors about burn victim Ray Bourque. He'd skate over my fingers with his cruel and demented scarecrow legs. I did everything I could to cheer him up, but nothing could deter his steely focus. Every night Ray Bourque would appear, and every night he was burnt and angry.

In any case, the reverse side of the box looked promising. Charles' smooth, round, pot roast head was carefully polished, and more importantly, Mitch Richmond was shooting a fade away. Before Live '98, it was apple pie, and Steve Kerr jumpers that resembled set shots. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but when MJ is the dominant player in the game and you can't execute his signature move, it's like having access to a perfect set of tits with missing nipples.