Manning's a Bronco, Tebow's a Jet, NCAA Brackets Bust

I know I'm a little behind on all the juicy sports news from this week, but better late than ever!

Peyton Manning is officially the new quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Wasn't surprised by this choice, I had a feeling it would be the Broncos or Tennessee. While there was a bit of speculation that he could end up on the Niners I had a feeling Peyton would stick to an AFC team. Peyton doesn't want to have to go up against his brother Eli any more than he has to, and plus Peyton knows the AFC a lot better than the NFC.

Plus it seems that Elway and Peyton are a good match. Elway is a former quarterback, and he must have reassured Peyton that he would accommodate the team to play Peyton's way of football. That meant of course, that Tebow would not be sticking around Denver.

Pretty much knew that Tebow would be traded if Peyton went to the Bronocs. Tebow can't really be a back-up to the type of football Peyton plays. The offense would have to completely switch gears if Tebow were to take over should Peyton be out, and that's not good.

So, immediately after Manning mania ended, Tebow mania started. Fortunately for us watching at home, it didn't last long. And now we can look forward to Tebow's future as...a New York Jet?

This move had many scratching their heads. The Jets had just signed QB Mark Sanchez to a 3 year extension. Does this mean Sanchez is in the hot seat? Will Tebow just be used for certain plays, or is the quarterback job up for grabs? The drama that is the New York Jets continues, and it will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out.

As for this Peyton fan, well...it was so awkward to see them roll out that bright orange #18 jersey, I admit. I will always prefer Peyton in Colts blue, but what's done is done and Peyton has a chance to start over and maybe win another championship. Good for him. I will continue to root for Peyton and I suppose be a temporary Bronco fan (as long as they aren't playing the Rams). As for the Colts...I was always a Peyton fan first. The Rams are my home team and I was a Rams fan LONG before I ever became a Colts fan. If Peyton hadn't been a Colt I might not have become a fan of the team, and it's the honest truth. The Colts have to win me over again with their rebuilding to remain my AFC team of choice.

The NCAA tourney did what it always does...feature surprising upsets and bracket busters. I had picked Missouri, Florida State, Georgetown and Kentucky in the final 4. Well, got 1 right. Even the president had Missouri in his final four. No one expected them to lose in the first round to Norfolk State. But that's the NCAA tourney. I will say I was impressed with the St. Louis Billikens. They played a very close and tough game against Michigan State but it ran away from them in the end. Hope this means good things in the future for them going forward and we'll see them in the tourney again next year.

This year's final four will be: Louisville, Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio State. It's a Midwest thang, y'all. This final four really shouldn't surprise anyone. These are schools that have consistently had excellent basketball programs and are no strangers to the NCAA tourney. As to who wins? I honestly have no idea. These are going to be 2 excellent games and an excellent championship game. I cannot find it in me to root for Kansas as a Mizzou fan, so maybe I'll root for Louisville. They're the underdog of the 4 so I guess I can go for that.

Congratulations to the St. Louis Blues to being the first team in the NHL to secure a playoff spot! Due to Manning-Tebow-NCAA madness I don't think this got much coverage outside of St. Louis sports. Other teams have since secured spots as well but it's quite an impressive year the Blues have had. I will look forward to following them in the playoffs, as long as baseball doesn't occupy most of my time.

Baseball. We are getting closer to opening day and I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to this season and getting the chance to go to some games. The Cardinals received a bit of bad news with pitching ace Chris Carpenter. He seems to be suffering from not only a bulging disk, but nerve issues. Not good. He is out indefinitely, no one can say for sure. Only good news is, he doesn't seem to need surgery. But he could be out for weeks or months, we just don't know.

Is it too much to ask to have Wainwright and Carpenter healthy together for a season? Please? Despite this set-up the Cardinals rotation seems to be doing pretty well in spring training. Wainwright has been stellar, and Lohse, Garcia, Lynn and Westbrook seem to be doing well also. I feel confident that it will be a good season for the Cardinals. They still have every bit of a chance to win the NL Central. Of course if Carp were in the mix that would make that chance just a little stronger but it's a long season. It's so hard to predict what teams will make it to the playoffs at the beginning of the season. Last August, no one thought the Cardinals would make it and they shocked everyone by gaining momentum at the end of the season to comeback and make the playoffs and eventually win the World Series. So, anything can happen.

I'm also kind of interested to see how Albert Pujols does with the Angels. I don't have any ill will towards him, I'm disappointed he couldn't stay a Cardinal but that doesn't mean that I wish bad things. It will be interesting to see how Angel fans embrace him and how he does this year. There are very high expectations for the Angels this season with all of the changes the organization made in the off season.

Well, that's it for this week's wrap up. More on my thoughts in the world of sports coming soon!

Playoffs, Part Deux

The divisional playoffs are now behind us and I am proud to say that I accurately predicted every winner this weekend - 49ers, Ravens, Giants and Patriots. Not too many people wanted to bet against the Saints or the Packers, and understandably so, but I liked the 49ers chances at home and I just can't seem to bet against the Giants right now - they are on fire.

The magic ended for Tebow and the Broncos this week. As I had said, I just didn't think there was any chance that the Broncos would beat the Patriots. The Broncos got lucky that their first playoff game was at home and they were playing a beat up Steelers team. The Pats were healthy and ready for them. Tom Brady threw a record 6 TD passes and even punted the ball during the game (which was really stupid, I thought. No reason to get too cocky Brady. You haven't won anything since 2007).

Earlier today the Broncos organization issued a statement saying that Tebow would be the starting QB next season. I think he's earned that right. They should at least have the opportunity to work with him in the off season and see what they can do next year.

I honestly did not watch a lot of the Ravens-Texans game, as I was at church when the game started so I missed most of the first half.The Ravens did what they do best: forced turnovers and made the day very difficult for young TJ Yates. Arian Foster surprisingly ran the ball for 132 yards and got a TD, which is a rarity against this tough Baltimore defense. Unfortunately for the Texans, that was about all of the offense they could get going and Baltimore was just the better team.

The 49ers-Saints game was exciting. At first it looked like the Niners might run away with the game, but Drew Brees was not about to go down with a fight. When the game turned into a shoot out, it looked like the Saints would pull off the win. Apparently, if you give Alex Smith 1:30 to score, that's more than enough. An exciting finish with the winning TD pass to Vernon Davis and wow, how key was he to this game? Note to the NY Giants: find a way to cover Davis if you want to win next weekend.

Finally, the Giants pulled an upset win over Green Bay in Lambeau. As I saw some people tweet following the game "Discount Double Choke at Lambeau." For those who don't know, this is referencing the State Farm commercials that Aaron Rodgers is featured in. I am not sure what happened to Green Bay. Perhaps the 2 weeks off was bad, or sitting Rodgers in the last game was bad, they just looked out of synch. So many dropped passes which is so unusual for this team. The Giants have just simply been on fire on all ends. Eli had a great day with 3 TD passes, Nicks had a spectacular day catching 2 of those TD passes and though Rodgers have 2 TD's the Giants defense was able to get to Rodgers with 4 sacks and an interception.

Before the playoffs began, I predicted the Super Bowl would be Giants-Baltimore. I'm sticking to that prediction.

This weekend will feature the 49ers-Giants, and the Ravens-Patriots. I realize I have picked 2 teams on the road to win.

Here's my thoughts. First, the 49ers were able to pull off an impressive win last weekend. However, the Saints should have not been able to come back like they did and still almost win after committing 5 turnovers. The point being, while San Francisco was able to get turnovers, they struggled with capitalizing on them and points out the one thing they've had trouble with all year: scoring in the red zone.

The Giants have a tougher defense than the Saints, especially lately. They will go after Alex Smith and if the Giants can create turnovers they will score points. I think the game will be close, but I just think the Giants are unstoppable right now.

With the Patriots and Ravens, my initial thought prior to this past weekend's game against Denver, was that if these two had to match up, the better defense wins. I still think that, though New England's defense was impressive against the Broncos. New England has one of the worst defenses in the league, and though Tebow and co couldn't product offense, Baltimore will. And the Baltimore defense is not going to let Brady throw 6 TD's. I also think this game is close, but I think Baltimore can pull off the win because if they can get to Brady and create some turnovers, that will place them in a good position to win.

So there you go, we'll see if I'm right next week. And I do pick the Giants to win the Super Bowl, if they make it.

In other news Jeff Fisher finally announced that he accepted the head coaching job for the St. Louis Rams. The speculation surrounding his decision was a bit ridiculous at times. I think this is a good move for the Rams. They need something, change is good. Fisher has already selected former Saints DC, Gregg Williams as the new DC. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow to announce the new head coach. It is reported that Fisher signed a 5 year contract with the Rams, but again, I'm wary of speculation. How many experts in the sports industry were sure that Pujols was going to stay a Cardinal? Right.

I know there is a lot going on in the NBA and the NCAA, I will try to get to my thoughts on basketball soon.

Tebow Time

It seems that everywhere you turn someone is talking about Tim Tebow. Every sports talk station I listened to this past week was talking about Tebow. Every interview with coaches, former NFL players, etc. all talked about Tebow.

The Tebow phenomena has seemed to take the country by storm. It is a nice story, very Disney-esqe. In fact, my opening to my fantasty football recap last week was "Coming soon to a theater near you, by Walt Disney Pictures 'Angels in the Endzone' starring Tim Tebow and the 2011 Denver Broncos."

It's so true, right? Hollywood has written this script over and over again. They guy no one thought could have the talent. The team everyone dismissed. Then all of the sudden they have a miracle year and prove everyone wrong.

And it's hard not to like Tebow. He's a very religious guy, but I don't feel like he shoves it in anyone's face. He just is very devout, and in a league that's full of players who accidentally shoot themselves in the foot with a gun in a club (see Buresss, Plaxico), or run a dog fighting ring (see Vick, Michael) or kill someone in a drunk driving incident (see Little, Leonard) it is refreshing to see someone who really seems to have good ideals and values. Someone that we would actually be okay with our kids looking up to and admiring.

Tebow's luck ran out today against the Patriots, but honestly, did anyone really believe that the Broncos could outlast Brady and co? The Pats defense has been atrocious, but the reason the Pats are still able to win is because their offense is so explosive. And while the Broncos defense is pretty solid, after about 3 quarters they started to get tired, and Tebow and co. just couldn't keep up with the Pats explosive offense.

Of course, we knew they would lose. Jesus took the day off. At least, according to SNL he did:

The Broncos still look poised to make the playoffs. Their last 2 games are against Buffalo and Kansas City. Both winnable games (although KC just ended Green Bay's winning streak today so don't count the Chiefs out. Fortunately for Denver they will be playing at home).

Odds are, Denver will make the playoffs. Will they may it to the Super Bowl? Never say never, but it would be a tough road. They'd have to beat the Patriots, Ravens or Steelers. Not an easy feat. But Tebow has God on his side, right?

One thing is for sure, the Broncos are fun to watch and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season turns out.