Ok here it is:
Tim Tebow from all appearances is a man of good character, integrity and will power. His charitable contributions are to be commended as is his willingness to display and discuss his faith in God. He ranged anywhere from "great" to "amazing" while playing in college for the Florida Gators.
It is time however, to call a spade a spade. Football teams win football games. Not one man. Peyton Manning being on injured reserve is not the reason the Colts are 0-16 anymore than Tebow is the reason the Broncos are 7-1 under Tebow. The Colts have mismanaged their team from a personnel perspective and they have been consistently out coached. The Broncos, on the flip side, have played great to fantastic defense during these last eight games and have seen a rejuvenated (my word for the night, see my FB post) Willis McGahee power the ground game and keep defenses honest while facing Tebow.
McGahee's contribution cannot be understated. If you have no running game outside of Tebow, teams are going to dare you to throw and make you beat them through the air. McGahee has ensured that defenses have to play the run and allow Tebow to do what he does best.....scramble and improvise. Playing the Bears through three quarters Tebow was a horrific 8-23 for 106 yards, 2 turnovers and a whopping FIVE...yes five passing first downs. Through THREE quarters. In the final three drives Tebow was 13-17 for 130 yards, as the Bronco's scored 13 points versus the zero the first 12 drives.
This is NOT an NFL quality quarterback. Tebow's ability to improvise gives defenses a reason to pause but why the Chicago Bears pulled up their skirts and peed on the turf at the site of Tebow in the 4th quarter is beyond me. Tebow did nothing differently through 12 drives than the last 3. Chicago simply decided to rest on their laurels thinking the game was over. It was late in the game and to that moment they has shut Tebow dow...and they relaxed. The Bears have no excuse and if anything they now have to "bear" the burden of adding to the urban legend of Tim Tebow.
I'll give Tebow this. He does not throw interceptions. This is crazy to me for as much as he scrambles and ad libs but this makes him a mobile version of Neil O'Donnell and Trent Dilfer, not Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers. This season Tebow has a 38.7% completion percentage. 38.7%!!!! Ridiculous by the lowest of NFL standards. You can argue that Tebow is legitimately killing the Broncos through three quarters of the game. John Elway is not sold on Tebow as his QB of the future and I can almost guarantee that while Tebow will be on an NFL roster nest year, it won't be with the Broncos.
I know I'll have Tebow fans "crucify" me over this and I am prepared for that feedback. At the end of the day, the Denver Broncos are winning DESPITE Tim Tebow and not because of him. The Broncos on the season are 31st (31st!!!!!) in passing yards, and (wait for it...wait for it......) 1st in rushing yards. In Tebow's eight games as a starter they have beaten Miami (4-9), Oakland (7-6), Kansas City (5-8), the Jets (8-5), San Diego (6-7), Minnesota (2-11), and Chicago (7-6). Only 3 of these 8 teams have winning records and the Broncos were destroyed by the Detroit Lions and in Denver's house. Two of those eight teams are BARELY over .500.
Tebow has only FIVE more completions through eight games than Kyle Orton had through four. Tebow only has three more TD's through those same 8 games than Orton did through his 4.
Bottom line: Randall Cunningham could come out of retirement and run this team as well as Tim Tebow if not better. Cunningham has the same faith, professes it loudly, has overcome adversity and can throw the ball a hell of a lot better (oops. Sorry to Tim and Randall for the slip up) than Tebow. The Broncos will continue to win despite Tebow and not because of him.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
First sports blog
Going to give this a shot and try to keep this as original as possible. It'll be a work in progress.
Headlines:
Kansas City Chiefs fire Todd Haley. I've done some reading on this. GM Scott Pioli and Haley reportedly have had some heat for a while now. Not sure why Pioli is pissy as this was his first hire as new GM for the Chiefs. Unless he's pissy that his first hire didn't pan out the way he wanted. This bears a striking resemblance to how Bill Belichick got started with the Cleveland Browns (not the new Browns, the old pre-Ravens Browns owned by Art Modell). Here's the thing, Haley won the AFC West with that team last year. I know, I know it's the AFC West. It's still a division title. This team has been ravaged by injuries. Even the late Col. Harry Potter said this team should have copyrights to "walking M.A.S.H. unit". Star safety Eric Barry, all-world RB Jamaal Charles, Tight End Tony Moeaki, and QB Matt Cassel all have season-ending injuries. It was a miracle Haley got them to 5-8. The Colts are 0-fer and only lost one impact player.
Bottom Line: Haley deserved to finish out the year. GM Scott Pioli will take a lot of heat for this and barring rehab setbacks the incoming coach will have a lot of talent at his disposal. I am, and have been, on record as stating that QB Matt Cassel was the product of an amazing offensive scheme in New England with a TON more talent than is available in K.C. Cassel will be gone soon and the Chiefs will be on the hook for his salary.
CP3 seemingly untradeable. At least according to the NBA league offices:
New Orleans Hornet PG Chris Paul, one of the premier players in the league, has apparently been traded twice within the last 72 hours, only to have league commissioner David Stern step in and block one trade and sabotage another. The "man behind the curtain" of the struggling, NBA owned, New Orleans Hornets has apparently decided that he'd be a much better General Manager than say, gee, someone designated to resolve labor disputes with his players and union. Paul was set to be traded to the Lakers (which caused me to flip out btw. It may as well have been Paul being traded to the Yankees.) but Stern had a bunch of whiny, small market owners (see Cav's owner Dan Gilbert) in his ear screaming about how unfair it was.
The problem is that Stern doesn't know a good trade any more than Val Kilmer knows to avoid the buffet. The trade would have garnered several top flight players for New Orleans, and at least one top draft pick if not more. Apparently the fear of L.A. getting Paul was so great that Stern was convinced to step in and squash the deal. This despite Hornet's G.M. Dell Demps being told he both authority and autonomy to do what was best for the Hornets.
Paul was then set to be traded today to the L.A. Clippers for a bevy of talent. Stern again made his presence felt, indicating that the Clippers should trade center Chris Kaman, an unprotected 1st round draft pick acquired from Minnesota, 2 prospects, AND franchise player Eric Gordon. This along with 3 parking lot attendants, a cheerleader to be named later and the Clippers insisting that the Hornets take owner Donald Sterling as part of the deal. The whole thing is ludicrous. Stern has no business interceding here. He has no experience as an NBA GM and it makes the owners look even worse, if thats possible. It's also indicating to any other team interested in dealing for Paul that they'll have to give up half of their franchise to get him.
Bottom Line: Sell the Hornets to a legit owner and let Paul play for the Hornets until this can be worked out. Paul is not staying in New Orleans after this season regardless. The NBA has a serious conflict of interest here as it appears they're trying to dictate where Paul gets traded to. And I thought the NBA couldn't possibly look worse after the lockout....
Headlines:
Kansas City Chiefs fire Todd Haley. I've done some reading on this. GM Scott Pioli and Haley reportedly have had some heat for a while now. Not sure why Pioli is pissy as this was his first hire as new GM for the Chiefs. Unless he's pissy that his first hire didn't pan out the way he wanted. This bears a striking resemblance to how Bill Belichick got started with the Cleveland Browns (not the new Browns, the old pre-Ravens Browns owned by Art Modell). Here's the thing, Haley won the AFC West with that team last year. I know, I know it's the AFC West. It's still a division title. This team has been ravaged by injuries. Even the late Col. Harry Potter said this team should have copyrights to "walking M.A.S.H. unit". Star safety Eric Barry, all-world RB Jamaal Charles, Tight End Tony Moeaki, and QB Matt Cassel all have season-ending injuries. It was a miracle Haley got them to 5-8. The Colts are 0-fer and only lost one impact player.
Bottom Line: Haley deserved to finish out the year. GM Scott Pioli will take a lot of heat for this and barring rehab setbacks the incoming coach will have a lot of talent at his disposal. I am, and have been, on record as stating that QB Matt Cassel was the product of an amazing offensive scheme in New England with a TON more talent than is available in K.C. Cassel will be gone soon and the Chiefs will be on the hook for his salary.
CP3 seemingly untradeable. At least according to the NBA league offices:
New Orleans Hornet PG Chris Paul, one of the premier players in the league, has apparently been traded twice within the last 72 hours, only to have league commissioner David Stern step in and block one trade and sabotage another. The "man behind the curtain" of the struggling, NBA owned, New Orleans Hornets has apparently decided that he'd be a much better General Manager than say, gee, someone designated to resolve labor disputes with his players and union. Paul was set to be traded to the Lakers (which caused me to flip out btw. It may as well have been Paul being traded to the Yankees.) but Stern had a bunch of whiny, small market owners (see Cav's owner Dan Gilbert) in his ear screaming about how unfair it was.
The problem is that Stern doesn't know a good trade any more than Val Kilmer knows to avoid the buffet. The trade would have garnered several top flight players for New Orleans, and at least one top draft pick if not more. Apparently the fear of L.A. getting Paul was so great that Stern was convinced to step in and squash the deal. This despite Hornet's G.M. Dell Demps being told he both authority and autonomy to do what was best for the Hornets.
Paul was then set to be traded today to the L.A. Clippers for a bevy of talent. Stern again made his presence felt, indicating that the Clippers should trade center Chris Kaman, an unprotected 1st round draft pick acquired from Minnesota, 2 prospects, AND franchise player Eric Gordon. This along with 3 parking lot attendants, a cheerleader to be named later and the Clippers insisting that the Hornets take owner Donald Sterling as part of the deal. The whole thing is ludicrous. Stern has no business interceding here. He has no experience as an NBA GM and it makes the owners look even worse, if thats possible. It's also indicating to any other team interested in dealing for Paul that they'll have to give up half of their franchise to get him.
Bottom Line: Sell the Hornets to a legit owner and let Paul play for the Hornets until this can be worked out. Paul is not staying in New Orleans after this season regardless. The NBA has a serious conflict of interest here as it appears they're trying to dictate where Paul gets traded to. And I thought the NBA couldn't possibly look worse after the lockout....
Friday, October 21, 2011
Bats
If you're any kind of Batman fan, even casually there are some things you owe it to yourself to read and view. I am going to list them in no particular order. There are so many opinions as to what is the best that I am leaving to you to decide. If you've not read/viewed these....well get moving:
The special features on the new DC Universe Blu Ray release of Batman: Year One were worth the entire price of the Blu-Ray if you ask me, which is what prompted this blog.
- Batman: Year One - Really a retelling of sorts of Batman. This was Kane and Fingers original vision of The Batman. Also really brings you who Commissioner Gordon is as well. The premise of Batman Begins.
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Yes both of the first two on this list are Frank Miller products. Many people say Miller single-handedly saved the Batman franchise, along with Denny O'Neill.
- Batman: A Death in the Family - The first really legitimate loss in Batman lore. DC announces that fan vote will decide whether Robin lives or dies. This is not your father's Robin. Dick Grayson has grown up and moved on to become Nightwing and Batfans had a notable disdain (see outright hatred) of the new Robin, Jason Todd. You do the math.
- Batman: The Killing Joke - Another very human look at Batman, but an equally human view of The Joker. In as much as The Joker continues to be a psychotic murderer as he guns down Barbara Gordon (then Batgirl) the story ends on a decidedly realo ( and yes even funny) moment.
- Batman: Hush - Drawn by one of my all time favorite artists, Jim Lee, this 2002 story is as much Batman being the World's Greatest Detective, as he is The Dark Knight. With a jaw dropping ending it's one the best contemporary Batman stories.
The special features on the new DC Universe Blu Ray release of Batman: Year One were worth the entire price of the Blu-Ray if you ask me, which is what prompted this blog.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The story of Jitsu
We kind of adopted a stray cat that had been coming around for a couple of months recently. His pic is on my wall on Facebook. He was just sitting outside my slider door on the back deck one night when I came home (I work 5:30pm to 2:30am now at Charter). I walked out and sat down next to him and just let him get to know me. He was very pleasant and liked to be petted, although he was quite skittish at times. It became a nightly ritual with he and I visiting. I would sit out on the deck with it being so warm at the time with him for an hour or two some nights.
He started coming around in the morning while the kids were getting ready for school and they fell in love with him. They started leaving him cat food when one of my oldest daughter's friends had spent the night.They drove back to her house to get cat food from her friends house to bring back here.They were leaving food for him as often as they could. At some point they began sneaking him into the house for a few minutes here and there and I even caught my wife leaving a small dish of milk for him now and then and even a little tuna after she packed the kids' lunches. She denied it and played that tough, "I don't like the cat" routine with me which I found amusing.
I grew quite fond of our visits when I came home every night because all of my kids and my wife were all asleep. He began to let me pick him up and hold him and he would do that thing were he kind of kneads (is that the word?) where he kind of claws in a spot to make himself comfortable and then would lay down on me and fall asleep. He never came around during the day. He just disappeared and did his own thing and would come around at night or early in the morning.
Eventually I stopped at the store and bought some cat food and began feeding him every night. Sometime he would not come around for a couple of days and once he didn't come around for five. I actually posted on Facebook that he had been gone and that I was afraid something may have happened to him. About a month ago it got really cold and I began sneaking him into the house. I would stay up until 5 or 5:30am just so he could sleep safely and be warm and comfortable until I had to put him back outside. We are not supposed to have pets in the house and we didn't have a litter box. He was so smart though because he would let me know when he wanted out. He would just meow at me and when I would stand up he would run for the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen if I put my hand on the handle of the slier he would reach up and paw at the door and I would let him out. He never once went to the bathroom in the house. I came home one night and was looking out the slider door for him when I heard a "meow". He wasn't at the door though which was weird. I looked and listened and he kept meowing and it turned out that he gone into the side porch from our kitchen which has a curtain hanging to separate the rooms rather than a door. He couldn't figure out how to get back through the curtain which made me laugh hysterically. It turned out that Kristina had let him in and let him stay until I got home. She who did not like the cat (insert eye roll here).
We named him Jitsu (for my love of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and the kids loved it. My team at Charter actually named him which was really funny. He began to come around every night and most mornings and sometimes the little stinker made the kids late for school.
This past Sunday he came around late in the morning which he had never done before. As I mentioned he was quite skittish, except with me, and did not like to be petted by several people at once and some nights would not want to be petted at all. The kids let him in Sunday morning and he only stayed for a couple of minutes and then ran out. My two youngest (Isaiah and Trinity 8 & 7 years old) followed him outside and chased him trying to pet him. He ran across the road and was run over by a car.
I was hysterical and tried to call every damn vet in this town and no one would respond. I even called 911. My wife had run out there to him and came back and told me he was in bad shape and that she thought both his hind legs were broken. I ran to check on him and he had pulled himself across the road with his front paws and under a truck kitty corner from our house. It was not 15 feet from where my son was hit this summer.
He only survived about 15 minutes after being hit. My daughter and I had crawled under the truck with him but were afraid to move him. We both just laid there crying after he passed away. He's buried in the back yard now. The kids and I had a small ceremony and the babies made a makeshift headstone out of a plywood board for him. Alex goes out there most days and recently left cards for him.
It may seem silly to some to have this reaction over a pet but this whole summer has been pretty horrific. This was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. He was a really good friend.
He started coming around in the morning while the kids were getting ready for school and they fell in love with him. They started leaving him cat food when one of my oldest daughter's friends had spent the night.They drove back to her house to get cat food from her friends house to bring back here.They were leaving food for him as often as they could. At some point they began sneaking him into the house for a few minutes here and there and I even caught my wife leaving a small dish of milk for him now and then and even a little tuna after she packed the kids' lunches. She denied it and played that tough, "I don't like the cat" routine with me which I found amusing.
I grew quite fond of our visits when I came home every night because all of my kids and my wife were all asleep. He began to let me pick him up and hold him and he would do that thing were he kind of kneads (is that the word?) where he kind of claws in a spot to make himself comfortable and then would lay down on me and fall asleep. He never came around during the day. He just disappeared and did his own thing and would come around at night or early in the morning.
Eventually I stopped at the store and bought some cat food and began feeding him every night. Sometime he would not come around for a couple of days and once he didn't come around for five. I actually posted on Facebook that he had been gone and that I was afraid something may have happened to him. About a month ago it got really cold and I began sneaking him into the house. I would stay up until 5 or 5:30am just so he could sleep safely and be warm and comfortable until I had to put him back outside. We are not supposed to have pets in the house and we didn't have a litter box. He was so smart though because he would let me know when he wanted out. He would just meow at me and when I would stand up he would run for the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen if I put my hand on the handle of the slier he would reach up and paw at the door and I would let him out. He never once went to the bathroom in the house. I came home one night and was looking out the slider door for him when I heard a "meow". He wasn't at the door though which was weird. I looked and listened and he kept meowing and it turned out that he gone into the side porch from our kitchen which has a curtain hanging to separate the rooms rather than a door. He couldn't figure out how to get back through the curtain which made me laugh hysterically. It turned out that Kristina had let him in and let him stay until I got home. She who did not like the cat (insert eye roll here).
We named him Jitsu (for my love of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and the kids loved it. My team at Charter actually named him which was really funny. He began to come around every night and most mornings and sometimes the little stinker made the kids late for school.
This past Sunday he came around late in the morning which he had never done before. As I mentioned he was quite skittish, except with me, and did not like to be petted by several people at once and some nights would not want to be petted at all. The kids let him in Sunday morning and he only stayed for a couple of minutes and then ran out. My two youngest (Isaiah and Trinity 8 & 7 years old) followed him outside and chased him trying to pet him. He ran across the road and was run over by a car.
I was hysterical and tried to call every damn vet in this town and no one would respond. I even called 911. My wife had run out there to him and came back and told me he was in bad shape and that she thought both his hind legs were broken. I ran to check on him and he had pulled himself across the road with his front paws and under a truck kitty corner from our house. It was not 15 feet from where my son was hit this summer.
He only survived about 15 minutes after being hit. My daughter and I had crawled under the truck with him but were afraid to move him. We both just laid there crying after he passed away. He's buried in the back yard now. The kids and I had a small ceremony and the babies made a makeshift headstone out of a plywood board for him. Alex goes out there most days and recently left cards for him.
It may seem silly to some to have this reaction over a pet but this whole summer has been pretty horrific. This was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. He was a really good friend.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
On hold
State of Illinois has the fix in to protect boxing and it's friends
I am obviously greatly disappointed with the new legislation, especially as it is basically written to protect boxing in Illinois from MMA and any other combat sport that might remotely compete with boxing. This legislation serves as nothing more than to be a vehicle to line the pockets of boxing promoters, boxers, and politicians who are associated with boxing. Despite the fact that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not a "competitor" of boxing, this bill in one fell swoop covers in a very broad stroke, any "full contact combat sport" which obviously would include BJJ.
The unintended consequence for the State of Illinois is preventing a large amount of income from entering the state. The IBJJF summer open alone would have garnered tens of thousands of dollars for local businesses like hotels, restaurants, parking venues and the like. Not to mention revenue on taxes for all of this. This is just for one event, in one location for this summer. Other events, like NAGA, and others will look to move their venues to other states (hopefully Michigan) like Indiana, Ohio or others.
I am obviously going to continue to train hard in the hopes that this legislation is repealed or otherwise modified in anticipation that the IBJJF summer open will be back on at some point. I'll also be looking for another tournament to compete in, in the interim. Here's hoping the State of Illinois, who has a long history of corruption behind it (three Governors in prison in the last 35 years and several others in some amount of legal difficulty), can come to it's senses in time for aficionados of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other grappling sports to avoid further negative impact.
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