Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday's Thoughts
YUCK! That one word is what most New York Jets fans went through last night. The feeling was probably doubly worse this morning as they woke up realizing they couldn't even drink their way into thinking the Jets were still of any relevance and now not only had to deal with the hangover of all hangovers, but also the realization that they are a mess.
Last night Tennessee's nineteen yard punt from their own end zone essentially gave the Jets a golden opportunity to steal a victory and maintain any hopes of a play - off berth. Ultimately, Mark Sanchez, the worst QB in the NFL proceeded to fumble the snap and turn the ball over. All this after ending the previous two offensive possessions with interceptions, including one inside the Titan's ten yard line.
Mark Sanchez has never been good. He has never put up good numbers. The only reason the Jets made it to two AFC Championships in the last three years was on the shoulders of that defence. Rex Ryan thought bringing in Tebow would be a benefit to his club. All he truly accomplished was it forced Sanchez into competition with a guy who honestly and truly would be just as accurate with his right hand. That was the straw that broke the camel's relatively weak back. A bad QB became a horrible QB, all the while Rex Ryan maintained his faith and confidence in a guy while at the same time never once giving Tim Tebow a shot. News that Greg McElroy will start this week means a couple of things for me:
(1) Rex has finally admitted, or been told, he was wrong. His career with the Jets will come to an end shortly after the season ends in two weeks time;
(2) Mark Sanchez will not be back with the Jets. They will give him the 8 million guaranteed he has coming to him in 2013 but there is no way they can even hope to move forward with Sanchez under centre; and,
(3) Tim Tebow has presumably become irrelevant as quickly as he rose to stardom.
Never been a Jets fan, always disliked the cocky and brash demeanor of Rex Ryan. This could not happen to a better guy.
Sticking with the NFL, I don't know who the fellow was but an ESPN television host has been suspended after more or less shaming RGIII publicly for being seen with a white woman. Uhm, it's the 21st century, we (society)are ok with this. RGIII is not Uncle Tom; he is a great QB who has a bright future in this league and he may or may not have a white girlfriend. I forget who said it yesterday on OTR but he said it best, they were wrong to suspend him; he should have been fired. I can't say I disagree.
The NHL and NHLPA continue to act like a couple of three year olds arguing over the last cookie in the jar. Guys, you both have LOTS of cookies. Furthermore, continue to bicker for much longer and the amount of cookies available will be less than ever. Neither side seems to realize that many have become so disenchanted with this league that most rinks will be empty when, or if, they ever hash out a deal.
Kent Austin is back in the CFL. Plenty of debate amongst Rider fans on this hiring; some say they love the fact he is back in the league, some say they are heart broken. I could care less. Sure Austin coached us to a Grey Cup title and lead us to one as a player in 1989. That is all irrelevant. Austin chose to leave the 'nation' after 2007 and has now decided to return to the CFL. I think the fact Hamilton gave him complete control of football and presumably a healthy salary helped but regardless, Kent Austin owes the Saskatchewan Roughriders nothing, not one single thing. Those that bitch they would rather have him as their coach than Corey Chamblin, go cheer for the Ti - Cats. In fact move out east and stop belly aching.
BIG curling night at the Norquay Curling Club as the undefeated Evan Rostotski rink (a team more or less being carried by third Heath Morin, yes that's me) look to run their record to a perfect 3 - 0. First rock at 7:30, first pop at 7:15. Is there anything these guys can't do? I can see this rink becoming the New York Yankees of regular curling; love them or hate them, you all wish you were them.
OUT!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tuesday's Tidbits
Been a week but I haven't forgot about you my loyal followers.
Obviously the story of the weekend was the atrocity that took place in Kansas City with Chiefs LB Javon Belcher. I don't want to go into a lot of here as it is one of those things where really no matter what you say could be misconstrued and taken as something it was never intended to be. I will say this, Javon Belcher was obviously troubled somewhere. You don't shoot the mother of your child nine times and then go thank your bosses for all they did for you just to turn around and take your own life. A terrible series of events, the worst of which, that must never be forgotten is that the death of Belcher and his girlfriend made an instant orphan of a three month old baby girl.
If you watched Football Night in America Sunday, Bob Costas paraphrased an article from a reporter in Kansas City who more or less said that American gun regulations are partially responsible for this. While guns may provide you with a greater sense of security, they also lead to unnecessary acts of violence such as this one. Sad, unfortunate, unfathomable yet entirely real.
On to a more positive note regarding the NFL, I hadn't really had much of an opportunity to watch a lot of football this year but was lucky enough to catch the Redskins in Prime Time the last two weeks. RGIII is a stud! The kid has a lightning quick release, has the same acceleration as Adrian Peterson and is just an all around talent. He, along with Alfred Morris have helped pull the once might Redskins from the shallows of mediocrity to a relevance and a force to be reckoned with in the NFC. We all knew they were on the right track but they may even sneak into the dance this year. Good for Washington, that city has been craving a quality football team since the mid 90's.
If you want my personal take on the NFL; anyone can win the Superbowl. I see no clear cut favorite in either the NFC or AFC. Before you point the finger to the fact that both the Texans and Falcons are 11 - 1, I say the Falcons have stumbled in the play -off's the last three years despite good records and the Texans, for what it is worth have played a whooping two play - off games...EVER.
The greatest time of the year to be a hockey fan is nearly upon us. There is nothing better than to couple the Xmas season with a frosty brew and the WJHC. While we have to listen to Gord Miller (who personally annoys me by the three minute mark of the 1st period) the hockey is tremendous. I never think twice to be up at 5:00 to watch the Canadians lives. There is just something to be said about watching it while it happens. Sure one could watch the replay but by then the social media has inundated you with the score, stats and the number of gallons of water used by the zamboni.
So the invites are out, and as always I look at the list and to steal a line from the cinematic phenomenon that was Major League; the construction workers are reading the roster of the Indians and one say's "Who the F%#k are these guys?" Well that's me for most players outside of the WHL, and even then there are some questions. Regardless here is what you need to know no matter who makes the final cut. We will by physical, very physical. We will get called for penalties that should not be; just because a rugged D-man who spends the summer flipping cows and chucking bales catches little Mikko from Finland with his head down does not mean a two minute charging call is necessary. Inevitbaly one line will gel and absolutely scare the bejeezus out of opponents (See Tavares and Eberle; Heatley and Cammalleri; Lindros and Mike Craig, etc) and we will be there in the end. We will finish 1st or 2nd in our pool, play in a Semi - Final and walk away with a medal. That my friends is one of the perks of being a Canadian hockey fan; we seem to be the only nation who never struggles.
In my twenty plus years of watching this tournament, only once, 1995 did we struggle. That year we finished eighth, including a loss to Kazakhstan. That was terrible but had nothing to do with the talent on the ice, rather the chemistry that existed.
Oh and talks continue with the NHL in regards to their lockout; is there still even hope for a season? Walk away...scrap the season...teach them all a lesson. I said this months ago, Donald Fehr will ruin hockey as he nearly did baseball. Good hire by the PA...a guy who has no problems holding a season and a league hostage to make himself look good. For Christmas I hope he gets a big ol'.....waith this is PG 14. Use your imagination but he won't be recieving the family photo complete with Christmas card and letter from the Morin clan.
Later, must go prepare. Tonight is step #1 in my journey to the Brier. Regular Curling at the Norquay Curling Rink...Team Rostotski on the ice at 730. The arrival of Vic Rauter is still up in the air.
Obviously the story of the weekend was the atrocity that took place in Kansas City with Chiefs LB Javon Belcher. I don't want to go into a lot of here as it is one of those things where really no matter what you say could be misconstrued and taken as something it was never intended to be. I will say this, Javon Belcher was obviously troubled somewhere. You don't shoot the mother of your child nine times and then go thank your bosses for all they did for you just to turn around and take your own life. A terrible series of events, the worst of which, that must never be forgotten is that the death of Belcher and his girlfriend made an instant orphan of a three month old baby girl.
If you watched Football Night in America Sunday, Bob Costas paraphrased an article from a reporter in Kansas City who more or less said that American gun regulations are partially responsible for this. While guns may provide you with a greater sense of security, they also lead to unnecessary acts of violence such as this one. Sad, unfortunate, unfathomable yet entirely real.
On to a more positive note regarding the NFL, I hadn't really had much of an opportunity to watch a lot of football this year but was lucky enough to catch the Redskins in Prime Time the last two weeks. RGIII is a stud! The kid has a lightning quick release, has the same acceleration as Adrian Peterson and is just an all around talent. He, along with Alfred Morris have helped pull the once might Redskins from the shallows of mediocrity to a relevance and a force to be reckoned with in the NFC. We all knew they were on the right track but they may even sneak into the dance this year. Good for Washington, that city has been craving a quality football team since the mid 90's.
If you want my personal take on the NFL; anyone can win the Superbowl. I see no clear cut favorite in either the NFC or AFC. Before you point the finger to the fact that both the Texans and Falcons are 11 - 1, I say the Falcons have stumbled in the play -off's the last three years despite good records and the Texans, for what it is worth have played a whooping two play - off games...EVER.
The greatest time of the year to be a hockey fan is nearly upon us. There is nothing better than to couple the Xmas season with a frosty brew and the WJHC. While we have to listen to Gord Miller (who personally annoys me by the three minute mark of the 1st period) the hockey is tremendous. I never think twice to be up at 5:00 to watch the Canadians lives. There is just something to be said about watching it while it happens. Sure one could watch the replay but by then the social media has inundated you with the score, stats and the number of gallons of water used by the zamboni.
So the invites are out, and as always I look at the list and to steal a line from the cinematic phenomenon that was Major League; the construction workers are reading the roster of the Indians and one say's "Who the F%#k are these guys?" Well that's me for most players outside of the WHL, and even then there are some questions. Regardless here is what you need to know no matter who makes the final cut. We will by physical, very physical. We will get called for penalties that should not be; just because a rugged D-man who spends the summer flipping cows and chucking bales catches little Mikko from Finland with his head down does not mean a two minute charging call is necessary. Inevitbaly one line will gel and absolutely scare the bejeezus out of opponents (See Tavares and Eberle; Heatley and Cammalleri; Lindros and Mike Craig, etc) and we will be there in the end. We will finish 1st or 2nd in our pool, play in a Semi - Final and walk away with a medal. That my friends is one of the perks of being a Canadian hockey fan; we seem to be the only nation who never struggles.
In my twenty plus years of watching this tournament, only once, 1995 did we struggle. That year we finished eighth, including a loss to Kazakhstan. That was terrible but had nothing to do with the talent on the ice, rather the chemistry that existed.
Oh and talks continue with the NHL in regards to their lockout; is there still even hope for a season? Walk away...scrap the season...teach them all a lesson. I said this months ago, Donald Fehr will ruin hockey as he nearly did baseball. Good hire by the PA...a guy who has no problems holding a season and a league hostage to make himself look good. For Christmas I hope he gets a big ol'.....waith this is PG 14. Use your imagination but he won't be recieving the family photo complete with Christmas card and letter from the Morin clan.
Later, must go prepare. Tonight is step #1 in my journey to the Brier. Regular Curling at the Norquay Curling Rink...Team Rostotski on the ice at 730. The arrival of Vic Rauter is still up in the air.
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