Who do you think you are Rodgers, Keith Hernandez?
Okay, well...it's a close one.
I don't know if Rodgers has the stache because of prostate cancer awareness month, aka "Movember," or if he just likes it. But seeing it in action on Sunday night definitely brought back memories of some of the great 80's baseball staches, such as Keith Hernandez's.
Sports fans, I apologize for my last post because it didn't have much substance and was more of run on of random thoughts. I've been meaning to post more often but for whatever reason, I caught November-itis. Good thing it's almost December so I can put that behind me.
Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Why?
1. I love spending time with family and friends and sharing food, fun and memories together.
2. Once Thanksgiving is over, I can officially put up my Christmas tree.
3. A LOT of football.
We were treated to 3 NFL games on Thanksgiving Day, had college football to carry us Friday and Saturday, then more NFL on Sunday through Monday night.
Before I get to my thoughts on the NFL at this point in the season, I'd like to take a moment to talk about BCS Bowl Madness.
I am one who has never really been a fan of the BCS. Main reason? Whoever goes to the national championship game shouldn't get there based on voting, but based on winning games to get there. The BCS poll is very subjective though it doesn't take super mathematics to figure out how the standings fall. I know we'll be moving to a playoff format soon but I wanted to state that I've always hated the BCS rankings deciding the national title game matchup.
But I have to say, seeing Notre Dame rise to #1 and clinch a trip to the national title game this year was pretty exciting. I've always liked Notre Dame. I didn't go there, but I'm Irish and Catholic, so there's that. But also growing up my family always seemed to like Notre Dame. My mom even has a button that plays the Fighting Irish song. I've known how that song goes since as early as I can remember.
Are they the best team in the country? It's debatable. They beat Oklahoma, Stanford and USC - all good teams. Alabama and Georgia are both great teams - maybe even better than Notre Dame, but they lost games. Now those two teams will play for the opportunity to play Notre Dame in the national championship.
Based on what I've seen from Notre Dame this year, I do believe they can compete with Alabama or Georgia. However, I think a match-up against Alabama favors them a bit more, because Alabama tends to win games with their defense. Notre Dame-Alabama would be a close game.
Georgia, on the other hand, could be more problematic for Notre Dame if ND's offense can't keep up with Georgia's. Not saying they couldn't win, but I think if you're a ND fan right now, you're probably hoping Alabama wins this game this weekend.
I'd like to see Notre Dame win a national title. It's a great story. And anyone who doesn't think Brian Kelly should win coach of the year? Tell me who else. Maybe Bill O'Brien from Penn State, who took over the Penn State job after all of the scandal, lost a ton of players, and the team finished 8-4. But I still think Brian Kelly should win - no one expected the Fighting Irish to have a shot at the national title game this year, except Notre Dame fans of course.
So, NFL. Week 12.
Calisportsdiva's Top 10 NFL Thoughts of the Week
10. If Norv Turner and Andy Reid still have their jobs at the end of the season color me surprised. Want to know a crazy stat? The Eagles have not won a game since September 30th. The Philadelphia Phillies last win of the season was on October 1st. That means, the Phillies have won a game since the Eagles last won (granted, by one day. Thanks DC for pointing out the stat). Nevertheless, that pretty much sums up just how bad the Eagles season has been. I think there is still a shot that they keep Reid, but not likely. Probably time to clean house. Michael Vick is an inconsistent injury prone mess and Foles could have potential, but we just don't really know yet. As for San Diego, it's looking like another disappointing season. How any defense can allow a team to get a first down when the game is on the line on a 4th and 29 play is beyond me. That Ravens-Chargers game this weekend, IMO, sealed the impending fate for Norv Turner.
9. Houston, we have a problem. Okay, so the Texans are still at the top of the AFC South and still hold the best record in the AFC, but what was considered one of the top 2 defenses in the league at the beginning of the season is starting to look a bit circumspect after 2 near loses in a row to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions - and in reality, Houston should have lost both of those games but managed to hold on. Houston will make the playoffs, no doubt. But if I was a Texans fan these 2 games would have me seriously concerned about how they may perform in the playoffs.
8. Welcome back New England (*insert golf clap*). The Patriots we've all grown to love and hate, are back. They had some early losses this season but have been pretty strong the past several weeks, in fact, garnering some criticism for running up the scoreboard in games that they clearly had won, particularly against Indianapolis and the Jets. I'm not surprised, it's Belichick and he's done it before, with the Pats. I'm not a fan though. I just don't see the point in shoving it down the opponent's throats. Plus, risking your starters getting injured as the opposition gets more angry and frustrated with you running up the score. Gronk's injured now because of that. Well, all I can say is, karma will get you if you get too greedy.
7. The St. Louis Rams are undefeated against NFC West rivals (hey, a tie is a tie, not a loss). I know that may not seem like a big deal, but to a fan who has watched so many losing seasons it is nice to see this team start to come together. The Rams defense is becoming a force to recon with. Actually, the whole NFC West has really upped their defensive game. I've also seen a lot of offensive promise with the Rams. Chris Givens has so much potential at wideout. Danny Ammendola, when he can stay healthy, is a great offensive weapon. Steven Jackson's still got a lot of life and back up Richardson shows amazing promise for the future. The Rams, even at 4-6-1, could in theory have potential at a wild card spot. I think it's unlikely, but if they were to win the rest of their games this season they'd finish 9-6-1. And the rest of their match-ups are winnable games: San Francisco, Buffalo, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Seattle. Realistic? Probably not, because I think the wild card will go to whoever doesn't win the NFC North - Green Bay or Chicago. But it's nice to think you still could maybe sort of have a shot.
6. Speaking of Green Bay, wow did they look awful on Sunday night, and I'm not talking about Rodger's stache. Mr. Rodgers only gave me 5 fantasy points this week so you know it's a bad week when that happens. The New York Giants apparently awoke from their recent slumber and just completely dominated this game. I've said it before, but I have to honestly say this. I know the Giants don't always have an amazing winning record regular season. But when they get hot, is there any team that is more scarier than the Giants? I don't think there is.
5. QB controversy? In the infamous 49'ers-Rams game that resulted in a tie, QB Alex Smith left the game with a concussion and a young guy named Colin Kaepernick took over and was...surprisingly good. Smith needed another week off so Colin got his first start against the Chicago Bears and the Niners won 32-7. So this week rolls around and even though Smith is cleared to play, Colin gets the start. Niners win though New Orleans fought hard. The question now becomes: who is the starting QB for San Francisco? In my opinion, though Kaepernick has looked sharp, I think if Alex Smith is healthy he should get the start. He lead this team to the NFC Championship last year (and nearly won that game) and SF was certainly not having any problems winning games before he got hurt. Niners have no idea how Kaepernick will perform under pressure in a playoff setting. And if they continue to bench Smith, it's going to cause some animosity. And it can affect performance should something happen to Kaepernick and Smith is asked to go back in. I just think, we've only seen 2 starts from Kaepernick. But maybe Harbaugh knows something I don't.
4. Andrew Luck has been pretty amazing. To go from the abysmal Colts team from last season to be 7-4 and having a really good shot at the AFC wild card, is just simply amazing. Hearing interviews from Colts players about Andrew Luck, I hear a lot of comparisons to Peyton Manning. Taking charge of the offense. Learning quickly. This guy is special, indeed. The Colts also have developed a strong team vibe in supporting their coach, Chuck Pagano, who is fighting leukemia. Colts players shaved their heads in support of the coach. There is just something that feels good about this team. Could we see a Broncos-Colts AFC Wild Card weekend game? It just might be in the cards...
3. The Chicago Bears clearly perform better with Jay Cutler at the helm. Cutler was knocked out of the game with a concussion (same week as Alex Smith) and had to miss a game but was back last week and the Bears had a nice win against Minnesota. I like a lot about the Bears, and I definitely see them in the playoffs - they may actually win the NFC North. They have to keep Cutler healthy though, because without him well...see 49'ers-Bears game, week 11.
2. Peyton Manning is leading this Broncos team to the playoffs. It wasn't exactly a pretty win against Kansas City this week, but they have taken a commanding lead of the AFC West. It's not like Peyton's doing anything new - we know that he's competitive and will do what it takes to get the win. The Broncos will be an interesting postseason team to watch.
1. Apparently, running back Jamaal Charles asked Peyton Manning for his autograph after Kansas City's loss to Denver on Sunday. Read more about the story here. This lead to some discussion on sports radio today about whether that was okay or not. My thoughts? Peyton Manning is a hall of fame quarterback. He may play on the opposing team, but is it not okay to respect talent? If it was, oh, I don't know, Cam Newton, then yeah, that might seem silly. But when you're talking about top talent that's hall of fame bound? Why not get his autograph when you have the chance? I know I would.
That's all I have in the world of football.
Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni
Mike D'Antoni has officially taken over as head coach of the Lakers. A lot of fans were outraged by this hiring as they were hoping Phil Jackson would come back, but for whatever reason, it just didn't happen.
Here's the thing. The Lakers organization (and fans, for the most part) don't consider a season a success unless they win the NBA championship. And since Jackson has done that before, and D'Antoni, has not...let's just say there's a LOT of skepticism.
Coaching matters, that is for sure. But there is no way of knowing if Jackson could have led this Lakers team to a title. Maybe it's D'Antoni's turn to win a title. Maybe Lakers fans need to relax and be happy their team always has a shot as the playoffs, unlike Carolina or New Orleans.
Point is, it's HARD to win a championship. And it should be. If it was easy to win year after year and the same team kept doing it people (except for the fans of that team) would lose interest. So if D'Antoni does lead this Lakers team to a championship? Better give him credit. But for now, it's early, and there's a lot of season ahead of us.
All right, that's all I have for tonight. Promise to have more insightful posts soon!
