My thoughts on sports and life

OK, so last week, due to technical difficulties, the Top 10, Bottom 5 article I wrote disappeared and didn't get published. Trust me though, it was brilliant. Too bad you'll have to settle for this, most likely inferior, article this week. As for this week's games, the word "ugly" could be used to describe a lot of them. Week 15 was bracketed by a Thursday game full of mistakes by both sides, and a Monday game that nobody seemingly wanted to win. In between, there were blowouts and snoozefests. If you were looking for excitement, you probably wanted to just sleep through last week. Here we go: TOP TEN 1. Denver-Is anybody surprised that Peyton Manning managed to wind up quarterbacking the best team in the league? 2. Houston-If JJ Watt doesn't win defensive player of the year, the entire award should be done away with. 3. San Francisco-They almost got Frank Reich'ed. 4. Atlanta-To say that the Falcons made a statement would be like saying Fai...

The university of Notre Dame, by virtue of a 22-10 victory over rival USC, have finished their regular season at 12-0, and clinched a spot in the BCS National Championship game with a chance to win their 12th recognized Championship. The Fighting Irish haven't won it all since 1988 under Lou Holtz, and haven't been in the title picture this late in the season since 1993, also under Holtz. One of the more recognizable teams in all of sports, the Irish have spent the better part of the past two decades dwelling in realm of mediocrity and have found themselves, more often than not, playing in either lower tier Bowl games, or not playing in a Bowl game at all. Furthermore, they had been all but dismissed as irrelevant in the national title race by most of the college football world, though they have managed to retained their cache. Now, after a Saturday night in southern California, they are certainly relevant again. It's common knowledge that football is currently king in th...

I'm once again pressed for time, so I won't go into a long introduction. It was a bad week for QBs, with concussions abound. Fantasy players, adjust accordingly, after crying of course. Here we go: TOP TEN 1. Houston-I'm taking full credit for calling Houston. Please address all apologies can be emailed to vancetradamus@irule.com 2. Atlanta-I'm only docking them one spot. The Saints offense can still play with anybody. Matt Ryan is still MVP. 3. Green Bay Packers-A week off to get healthy might spell trouble for everybody not named Green Bay. 4. Baltimore Ravens-Fake kick, up by a few hundred? Yep. Stay classy Baltimore. 5. Denver-I don't even have anything else to say about Peyton Manning. Amazing doesn't do him justice. 6. Pittsburgh-Byron Leftwich is starting his windup now, that way the release will be ready by the time the game starts. 7. Chicago-If Culter doesn't play, who will I make snarky comments about during the game? Wait, Jason Cam...

Week nine of the NFL season came and went without a whole lot of drama. There weren't any major upsets, or a whole lot of heroics to win close games. It doesn't mean that there weren't storylines however, as there were some great individual performances, as well as some nice headlines. The most heart-warming, of course, was Chuck Pagano delivering an emotional post-game speech to the Indianapolis Colts after their win on Sunday. If you haven't seen the video, do yourself a favor and find it. A tip: grab a tissue. As for the other happenings around the league, here we go: TOP TEN 1. Atlanta Falcons-Didn't have to rely on Romo INTs or terrible game management by the Cowboys staff. They just lined up and beat them. I'm sold. 2. Houston Texans-The biggest surprise of the week? Houston didn't score 40 points on the Bills D. 3. Chicago Bears-If defense wins championships, go ahead and give them the trophy. Yikes. 4. San Francisco 49ers-I shudder t...

After six weeks of action, over a third of the league (11 teams) is sitting at 3-3, with another five teams at 2-3, having already had their bye week. Can you say parity? I knew that you could. The entire entire AFC East is tied for 1st at this point. Around the rest of the league, the bottom teams aren't separated from the top teams by much. The best team can easily be beaten by the worst team any week. This should make for an interesting remainder of the season, and a difficult proposition to provide any type of proper rankings. However, in the interest of banging my head against a wall, here we go. TOP TEN 1. Atlanta Falcons-I don't know if I really think they are the best team, but they are undefeated, and winning close games, and the Falcons fans who read this will lynch me if I don't put them first..both of them. 2. Houston Texans-This is what happens when you have the bad luck to play Aaron Rodgers when he's ticked off. 3. Chicago Bears-They retu...

Everyone has heard the phrase "win one for the Gipper" at some point. It began as a motivational ploy by Knute Rockne to his Notre Dame team against Army in 1928, and has since been used in speeches, in movies, and even in political campaigns. Any time a team, or person, is in need of a big win, the expression comes immediately to mind. So, this past Sunday, while I sat watching some of the NFL's week five matchups, one game in particular caught my attention and the classic line came to mind. As was sadly announced recently, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with Leukemia, and the treatments he will be undergoing will likely result in him missing the remainder of the season. The loss of a head coach for any reason can have devastating effects on a team, and such a tragic illness can drastically alter the emotions of the players on a team. This emotional frenzy, coupled with a high profile team, the Green Bay Packers, coming into town combined to c...

Week five was headlined by Brady vs Manning, but there were a couple of other anticipated matchups. The game of the week, however, wound up being in Indianapolis (more on that later). The week didn't have many surprises. Blaine Gabbert still stinks. Mike Vick still enjoys giving the gift of fumble. Chris Johnson still hits a hole like a limp noodle. On the positive side, Arian Foster is good. The Bears defense is a scoring machine. Tony Gonzalez is ageless. And Andrew Luck...well, more on that later. Here we go: TOP TEN 1. Houston Texans-J.J. Watt is the unstoppable force AND the immovable object. 2. Atlanta Falcons-Welp, that's one way to slow down RGIII. The Falcons offense is scary, and not just because Michael Turner might suddenly eat you. 3. San Francisco 49ers-There aren't enough words to describe the domination on both sides of the ball in this game. Alex Smith Rulz! 4. Chicago Bears-I would never throw a pass against them. Ever. 5. New England Pa...

Week 2 has come and gone, and helped clarify....nothing. The Patriots, Ravens, Cowboys and Jets all looked like world-beaters in week one, yet lost this week. The biggest story might be the replacement referees, whose constant reviewing and discussing have led to every game lasting slightly longer than a trip to a buffet with JaMarcus Russell. They're also losing complete control of games, and each contest winds up looking like a tour of the Jets locker room. The new hottest stat this season should be the blood pressure of the coaches, and I'lll be shocked if we don't have at least one head coach go on a murderous rampage before the season ends. Anyway, here are the week 2 (and sure to drastically change next week) rankings. TOP TEN 1. San Francisco 49ers-Come one. Come all. There is plenty of room on the Alex Smith bandwagon. Side note: Aldon Smith needs to find some new friends. 2. Atlanta Falcons-Their defense made Peyton Manning look like, well, Eli Manning. 3. Hous...

Week 2 has come and gone, and helped clarify....nothing. The Patriots, Ravens, Cowboys and Jets all looked like world-beaters in week one, yet lost this week. The biggest story might be the replacement referees, whose constant reviewing and discussing have led to every game lasting slightly longer than a trip to a buffet with JaMarcus Russell. They're also losing complete control of games, and each contest winds up looking like a tour of the Jets locker room. The new hottest stat this season should be the blood pressure of the coaches, and I'lll be shocked if we don't have at least one head coach go on a murderous rampage before the season ends. Anyway, here are the week 2 (and sure to drastically change next week) rankings. [B]TOP TEN[/B] 1. San Francisco 49ers-Come one. Come all. There is plenty of room on the Alex Smith bandwagon. Side note: Aldon Smith needs to find some new friends. 2. Atlanta Falcons-Their defense made Peyton Manning look like, well, Eli Manning. ...

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook know that I write for the Cincinnati Bengals fansite stripehype.com, and as such, have moved my writing there, and a few other places. However, I wanted to dust off my blog for this one (It may wind up elsewhere at some point too). I try to keep things on the positive, lighter side on stripehype, and this post is about a subject that is anything except positive. It's a deeply personal subject that I feel very strongly about, and feel as though I should keep my thoughts here, where it won't be construed as a collective opinion. It's just my own, thought I do credit CBS's Gregg Doyle for inspiring me to write it. Read his own thoughts here: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19668160/goodell-needs-to-deliver-message-before-drunk-nfl-players-kill-again This has been an extremely disappointing NFL offseason. It's not a reflection of the Bengals, the usual source of dissatisfaction this time of year, nor the Reds, who a...

In the world of sports, we, as fans, are always looking for the next big story, the next phenomenon, the next hero. This is true now, in the age of the internet, more than ever. It could be a cinderella team making an unexpected run, such as Virginia Commonwealth's unlikely run to the Final Four in 2011. It could be a particular player, who comes from nowhere to grab center stage, like Victor Cruz from the New York Giants. These, and other examples come along every year, in every sport. However, from time to time, a story comes along that rises above just being a great story, and becomes a media juggernaut, dominating headlines, sports talk, and social media. During the 2011 NFL season, Tim Tebow took over as the starter of the Denver Broncos and the NFL was turned on its head. The world watched every move he made, wanting to see what he would do next. His team kept winning games, and the fervor grew. Twitter exploded with record setting mentions after his 80-yard game-winning to...

All sports fans have a favorite team. It's who we root for year in and year out to win championships, and we're emotionally invested in everything they do. We follow even the smallest bits of news that concern our home team, reveling in the good news, devastated by the bad news. We also have favorite players. They might be members of our favorite team, but they don't have to be. Barry Sanders is my favorite football player of all-time, and he never played for my Bengals team. The reasons for liking them could be nearly anything, but once we become a fan, we usually stay a fan no matter where they go. Likewise, there are teams and players we dislike for varying reasons. So, I'm going to do something a little different. Here are my least favorite players in various sports of all-time, in no particular order. Christian Laettner-To begin with, he plays for Duke, which automatically puts him in a hole, but it goes beyond that. In the 1992 NCAA tournament, Duke met my Kentu...

Super Bowl XLVI is now in the books with the New York Giants besting the New England Patriots 21-17. As usual, there are lots of what-if's, should'ves, and hindsight. Praise and blame are passed around in equal distribution, and, as always, the quarterbacks take on the lion's share of both. Eli Manning, a year after being ridiculed for the amount of turnovers he had, has placed himself squarely in the elite category with his 2nd championship, and 2nd Super Bowl MVP award. He deserves all of the accolades and attention being heaped on him for the way he played. On the other side of things, Tom Brady is being knocked by some for failing. As the QB, he takes some blame, but in this instance, I believe he's taking more than he should. Brady went 27 for 41 (completing 16 straight passes at one point, a record) for almost 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. His game-opening safety hurt, but it wasn't the deciding factor. To me, there were a couple of big aspects of th...

     A debate has begun this postseason. Both sides of the debate have good points, and plenty of evidence to support their positions, as well as plenty of support. It could be a discussion for the ages; one that continues on for years, with no clear winner. Lives could be changed forever and families divided. Ok, maybe not that. It's not offense vs defense, or AFC vs NFC, or even Patriots vs Giants. This controversial and colossal clash is...Peyton vs Eli?      Peyton Manning is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks to play the game of football in history. He led his team to the playoffs 9 straight seasons up until this year's injury. He won a Super Bowl and made it to another. He is an 11-time Pro-Bowler, a 4-time league MVP, and a sure-fire 1st ballot hall of famer. Yet, there is a large faction who will tell you that Peyton withers in the playoffs, and that his younger brother is the better of the two once the postseason starts. ...

     Knute Rockne said "The essence of football is was blocking, tackling, and execution based on timing, rhythm, and deception." More recently, and more aptly, Gloria Estefan said "The rhythm is gonna get you." Momentum and rhythm are a huge part of football, and any other sport for that matter, turning the tide of games and even entire seasons. This has been on full display over the past several years in the NFL playoffs.      This year's Super Bowl will be played by the AFC's #1 seeded New England Patriots, and the NFC's #4 seeded New York Giants. The Patriots were one of the best teams in football all year long, and they are where most people thought they would wind up. Tom Brady leads one of the best offenses in the NFL, and with a head coach that pushes all the right buttons, they consistently are among the contenders for a championship.      The Giants, however, did not have a great season. After starting 6-2, they los...

Opening Statement: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I intend to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the city of Cincinnati and, more specifically, the fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, deserve a change at head coach, and that the Marvin Lewis era needs to come to an end. I will present evidence to show that the team will be better off, and thus the fans will be happier due to a more successful team. Mr Lewis has now been here for 9 seasons, with a little more success than his predecessors, but still not a lot of success when compared to most other teams. I know he's beloved by a lot of Bengals fans, but the facts will show that his success isn't as clear as it may appear to be, and that they could be much better off. Good people of this jury, I will now present my case. Exhibit A-The illusion of record.      If you just look at the record of the Bengals since Lewis was hired in 2003, you'd see that they only finished under .500 3 times. It should also be noted ...

     It's playoff time, and like any good fan, I've got thoughts about what will happen. I made a preseason prediction of Packers vs Steelers in a Super Bowl rematch. That prediction remains a possibility, but something has happened that I didn't expect. My team, the Cincinnati Bengals, has made the playoffs. Now, they haven't won a playoff game in a long, long time. They swept the AFC North two years ago, and then laid an egg against the Jets in the 1st round of the postseason. This year, they don't exactly go into the playoffs with momentum, and one beat one team with a winning record all season. So, odds are that they will stumble early again. To quote Lee Corso "Not so fast my friend". Here are my playoff predictions (as seen through my orange and black tinted glasses).      In round one, the Bengals draw Houston. Houston also backs into the playoffs, and are missing their starting QB. The Texans beat Cincinnati once this season, on a last se...

The regular season is over, and the playoffs are set. Some teams go into the playoffs with on a roll. Some teams are going in, well, not on a roll. This week Matt Flynn sees Rodgers 5 TDs and raises him 1, the Giants and Cowboys go all in with the Boys leaving the table, the Falcons get the luck of the draw and go to New York instead of New Orleans, and the Jets just decide to fold. Here we go: Week 17 Power Rankings: 32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-They should have cut about half the players at halftime. What an embarrassment. 31. St Louis Rams-At least they tried in their last game. 30. Indianapolis Colts-It's going to be an interesting off-season in Indianapolis. 29. Cleveland Browns-The offense in Cleveland is a travesty. 28. Minnesota Vikings-Joe Webb and Toby Gerhart on one side, Josh McCown and Kahlil Bell on the other. Talk about a lack of star power in this one. 27. Washington Redskins-Fitting end to the year, blown out by the Eagles. 26. Jacksonville Jaguars-Nothing to...

     Well, it's that time of year. It's time for us to make promises and set goals that we have no hope, or intention, of keeping or attaining beyond, maybe, a month. Yes, it's New Year's resolution time. Whether it's to stop smoking or drinking, or to lose weight, or to simply spend more time with the family, we'll all put in maximum effort in for a short period of time before they find us passed out, with a cheeseburger in one hand and a pack of Marlboro in the other.      This year, I'm foregoing this tradition, not because I don't need to improve on things (trust me, that's not the case), but because resolutions always seem so hollow, and therefore, easily broken. I mean, how can you take a person saying they're going to quit drinking seriously, when they make that promise while drunk? I do have some things that need working on,though, like everybody else.      I could vow to not be such a sore loser. I am the most compet...