Starship 7

Starship 7...that's the name that ESPNs Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden gave to Eagles QB Michael Vick. Not exactly catchy, but does get your attention. That's exactly what Michael Vick did on Monday Night Football this week, got a lot of sportsfans' attention! I think the word I completely abused during the game against the Redskins was "Wow". Seriously, that was one heck of a performance. Vick did something that no QB in the history of the game did, and it was on national TV on one of the biggest stages there is in professional sports. Vick threw for over 300 yards, threw 4 TDs, 0 INTs, rushed for over 50 yards and 2 TDs. He was a one-man wrecking crew as he led the Eagles to blowout the Redskins, on the road, 59-28. I felt like I was watching a real-life version of a Madden Football game on my TV. This stuff only happens in video games. It was something extraordinary to witness, and you know that's the case when the NFL Hall of Fame wants a part of that history. This week, the Hall of Fame has requested the game jersey worn by Vick during this performance to showcase. That's pretty special all by itself. Vick's road back to the NFL was a very difficult one, and he's making it count. I read somewhere today that some members of the Giants' defense respects Vick, but is not all that intimidated or scared to take on Vick this coming Sunday at Philadelphia...well, they really should be! I think some of the Redskins' defense is still having nightmares.

This sunday is the NFL game of the season, Colts visit the Patriots. This is the #1 game on my preseason list of Must-see NFL games for the 2010 season, and it is every year. The two best QBs in the league Manning and Brady will add another chapter to their rivalry and it will be a ton of fun. The Colts aren't what they used to be this season with a number of injuries and Manning putting up non-Manning numbers, while Brady's Patriots are coming off their biggest win of the season at Pittsburgh as Brady played like his old Super Bowl MVP version. It's always a great game when these two get together and this sunday should be no different. Last season's game went down to the wire, and I'm guessing this one will too. Who knows, this could even be an AFC Championship preview. Let's buckle up and enjoy.

Midseason

It's been another fun season of football so far, really a bit surprising, and is going WAY too fast! It feels so wide open this year for both college and NFL football for who could come out on top. It seems like there isn't a clear favorite in college football right now, although both Auburn and Oregon have very scary offenses. Still, I get the feeling we may end up getting at least one team that has 1 loss in the national championship game. For what it's worth I really hope we don't get Auburn vs Oregon in the title game, because to me that's just not an exciting matchup. There would probably be a lot of points, but the matchup isn't great.

Looking at the NFL at the midway point, it's even more wide open as to who is the best team in the league. In the NFC, the Giants are the hot team right NOW but I can't count out the defending champion Saints. I'm still pulling hard for the Vikings to get out of their funk, but it doesn't look good so far at 3-5. However, I will NEVER count out a Brett Favre-led team. The AFC seems to have the usual suspects in contention with the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts all leading their divisions, but no one is the clear favorite at this point. All that being said, it's GREAT for football, the unpredictability being even higher than usual.

Going back to Favre for a moment (because I can), I am convinced that it will take a SWAT team to get that guy off a football field. This guy is amazing. This season alone he's fought through elbow bursitis, TWO fractures in his already surgically-repaired ankle, and TEN stitches in his chin to keep showing up every Sunday for the Vikings. Favre is an absolute warrior, and the day a SWAT team finally does keep him from playing football, it will be a VERY sad day in the NFL. One of the "geniuses" at NFL Network decided to ask Favre if he will be back for another season in 2011. REALLY?? Even if he were going to consider this, it's about as bonehead a question as you can ask this guy. Every sports reporter in the world needs to realize you don't ask this til PRESEASON comes around. You've gotta be out of things to say if you are asking Favre what he's going to do NEXT season when we are only halfway thru this one! Wow. For what it's worth, I do believe this will be the last season for the ultimate Iron Man. His body is finally telling him he's had enough. It's a real shame, he will be missed. Hopefully the Vikings make one last run for #4.

The NBA season is underway and the Heat have turned out to be overhyped. They are playing pretty well vs teams they SHOULD beat, but are already 0-2 vs at least one team that will be in their way of a championship, the Celtics. The Celtics in two games have looked and played like the much better team. Meanwhile the defending champion Lakers are off to a fast 8-1 start. So far, Lakers and Celtics are still the teams to beat.

A Team Game

At this point it's hard to find any other players on the Patriots roster other than Tom Brady who remain from their three super bowl teams. Monday night, I was reminded of how they won their super bowls...as a complete team. I had a big flashback to when the Patriots requested to be introduced as a team in Super Bowl XXXVI vs the Rams when they were big underdogs. Monday night vs the Dolphins, that's exactly how the Pats won, as a TEAM. Tom Brady really didn't do much at all and didn't need to. He had 153 yards passing and 1 TD pass. Meanwhile, their special teams were a beast. One kickoff return for a TD to start the second half, a blocked punt which resulted in another Pats TD, a blocked FG returned for a TD, and an INT-return TD for the defense. It was really impressive as the Pats rolled over their rival Dolphins 41-14. The Patriots may not be the most impressive team in the league anymore, but they still know what it takes to win as a team in the ultimate team sport.

I did get a chance to see a little bit of the new Miami Heat's first preseason game. Basically the excitement was over before it began as Dwyane Wade was hurt in the first 4 minutes of the game, so really we still have no idea of how this will work yet. Those first few minutes were sloppy at times, and I think it will take awhile before they really play well together. LeBron James looked pretty good in his debut with 18 points and a nice dunk. For now it's too early to say what they have in Miami though.

It looks like Brett Favre will have a little bit of help coming his way in Minnesota with the pickup of Randy Moss on Wednesday. I am cautiously optimistic about this though. It really depends on how fast Favre and Moss can click on the field, but even more it depends on what Randy Moss the Vikings get. Monday night, he clearly had no interest in his last game as a Patriot. Too many times I saw him barely jogging during a play. If he can play at the high level he's capable of on a regular basis, the Vikings might have something. I hope he has the right attitude going to Minnesota because Favre and the Vikings deserve nothing less. Monday night's Vikings vs Jets matchup will tell us a lot about what the Vikings have. They gotta get it right pretty fast because the Vikings October schedule leaves no room for a bad day. Good luck to the Vikings.

Some Saturday Football

I got to watch my Huskers play their first road test of the season at Washington and I was impressed! The Huskers reminded some of us diehard fans of the glory days today with a rout of the Huskies 56-21. Even better to see was the crazy sea of RED at Husky Stadium at Seattle...WOW. That was a reminder of how GREAT Big Red nation is! That's amazing to almost make that a neutral field. The Huskers showed their appreciation by dominating the Huskies and making a statement that the Huskers have some offense to go with their great D now. FUN TO WATCH.

Apparently Reggie Bush made the decision to turn in his Heisman trophy from his amazing 2005 season, with the reasoning being that it seemed like the right thing to do. I'll just say, all the controversy aside of him accepting whatever inappropriate gifts at the time, there's no doubt in anyone's mind who was the most talented player in college football that season. Reggie Bush is one of the most talented college football players I've ever seen. He absolutely deserved the Heisman, because he was the best player on the field during the season and that's what the Heisman is. Still, it was good to see him trying to do what he felt was the classy thing.

It's almost time for one of my Must-See football games of the season. This Sunday night, it's Manning Bowl II with Peyton Manning's Colts taking on Eli's Giants. The first meeting was great and I expect more of the same from this one. Good choice for a sunday night game!

Football season

It's the most wonderful TIIIIIIIIME of the year...

YES!!!! Football season is back. As Al Michaels put it tonight before the NFL opener, it's the best reality TV there is!! NICE. The only reality TV I'll watch for that matter. Only problem with the game tonight is that it darn near put me to sleep, just like all other reality TV! Wow. It's like nothing really happened in this HUGELY anticipated NFC Championship rematch. I mean, that IS what that was supposed to be, right? Yikes. It's like neither team REALLY wanted to win it, the Saints just happened to score enough to win 14-9. The Vikings did absolutely nothing after the first half, except giving us a clinic on punting. What a shame. I mean, that's what you come up with when you get a second shot at the team that crushed your dream of a super bowl back in January? A disappointing game to say the least. The Vikings need to wake up quickly and remember that the games count now, preseason is over.

Meanwhile, the college football season got rolling last weekend and it was pretty fun. Boise State proved again that they can play with the big schools as they came from behind to beat Virginia Tech monday night. I still have the feeling that the Broncos will again be left out of the championship game if teams like Texas, Alabama, Ohio State, or Florida go undefeated. There's such a big weekend for college football coming up this weekend with exciting matchups like Oklahoma vs Florida St. and Ohio State vs Miami and Penn State vs Alabama...lots of good stuff and a time where I'll have to make tough choices on what to watch. Sometimes it hurts when you don't have DVR or Tivo. Still, it's a FUN problem to have! :)

Favre is back

Favre made it official today that he's back for another shot at the super bowl. All I can say is YES!! It just feels like all is right in the NFL again for another year. When it comes to watching NFL football, it doesn't get any more fun that watching Favre on Sunday. No one has more fun and makes it more fun for his fans than Brett Favre. I can't wait to see what he does this season. He also hinted that this 20th season is likely going to be his last, and that no matter what he will feel like he's going out on top. I guess we'll see if he can stick to that, but it feels a little more likely this time that this will be it. I hope he goes out in style with a super bowl win. It couldn't happen to a better guy. Let's go Vikings...this one's for Brett!

Rivalries

The Yankees and Red Sox are doing battle again this weekend at Yankee Stadium, arguably the best rivalry in baseball and one of the best rivalries in sports. That got me to thinking about other great rivalries in sports. The Red Sox and Yankees are pretty good, but not my favorite. There are other pretty fun rivalries out there that are entertaining just about every game. Duke vs North Carolina in college hoops comes to mind. Being a big Duke fan, this is one that I pay pretty close attention to. That's fun for any sportsfan to watch and they always seem to play a little harder in those games. Rankings are always out the door when those two play. There's Michigan v Ohio State in college football, also has a great atmosphere every season even when one team is clearly superior at the time. That's just one example though of a LOT of great college football rivalries. I gotta say though, right now, there's one particular rivalry that I will ALWAYS make sure I see every season. This rivalry tops all current rivalries in sports in my opinion...Colts vs Patriots in the NFL. Manning vs Brady. That is just AWESOME stuff every single time they play. That is the one game I MUST SEE every time they play. These are the two best QBs in the game playing at the highest level in the best sport in the world. Seriously, that is absolutely FUN every time it happens. I can't wait to see what they do this year.

Another note on college football, the preseason college football USA Today poll is out. Defending national champion Alabama is at the top and should be. They are bringing back most of the same team from last season so they will be the team to beat this year. I was a little surprised to see my Huskers at #9. To me, that's a little too high going into the season before they have proven themselves. I think somewhere between 15-20 would have been a bit more realistic. That would give them a chance to fly under the radar for the first month. I think it's going to be tough to win at Washington in game 3 and I barely want to think about what Texas might do in October. That being said, let's hope they pick up where they left off in the Holiday Bowl and somehow can fill the big void left by Suh going to the NFL.