Pro Bowl Proclaimed

Ok, like many of you, I can’t get enough football. I love free agency. I love the Combine. I love the draft. I love training camp. I love the regular season. I love the post season. I love playing Madden. I love fantasy football. (Please note that I did not say I love the pre season. An article to follow on the subject.) But as much as I love the game, as much as I love everything about it and can’t get enough, I can’t ever seem to bring myself to watch a Pro Bowl. I am sure most of you know what I am talking about. And I hate that! I want to like the Pro Bowl! However, the NFL has done its best to make it a meaningless game. And I’m not talking about the critics that say fan votes shouldn’t count because too many times deserving players get left out because of pure volume of Dallas and New York fans. Fans are what make this game great. I am talking about the venue and the rules.

First off, Hawaii? What about the rest of the fans that would love to see all of their favorite players in person. We might be able to afford a ticket, but a plane trip to Hawaii too? Don’t think so! So hats off to the Commissioner this year for bringing the game back to American soil (yes I know Hawaii is a State, but come on, it’s funny and we were all thinking it.

Next, the rules. Can’t hit quarterbacks. Can’t blitz. Can’t use trick plays. Can’t run any type of Defense or offense you want. ??? Make it a real game or make it a fund game. The NFL has taken both those away, and with it any reason for watching.

Then there is the problem of the game having no meaning. Look at what Baseball has done giving home field to in the World Series to the winning league. That is meaning. And who doesn’t like seeing Kobe and LaBron going at it in the NBA All Star Game. It’s just more fun this way.

But, once again, congrats to the commish for correcting the venue and getting it into a time slot when you average fan still cares about the game. Great job!

By: Matthew Walden

Imperfect Saints

Let me start by saying congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for their advancement to the 2010 National Football League World Championship. Their efforts all season have been nothing short of amazing. The transition they made from the less than inspiring performance of the last couple years into a true juggernaut was testament to the incredible players and coaches there. Lead by maybe the rightful Most Valuable Player Drew Breeze, and a next generation Dick Vermeil in Shaun Peyton, I felt honored to watch you all season. But with that being said, allow me to also say that the best team is not advancing to the Super Bowl in Miami. I know a lot of people would argue with me about the two points that I am going to make, but I think it gives justification to a point I made in an earlier blog I wrote “Super Bust”.

The first point I will make is that it took five turn overs by the Minnesota Viking, including two fumbles they manage to recover, and overtime to win a playoff game at home. I know most of you are screaming that “that’s part of football, not turning the ball over”, and I agree. But if you have a plus four turnover margin at home in the playoffs, you should crush the other team. Not narrowly win in overtime. But I see your point.

Next, I will cite the atrocious calls in during the last drive. It took a questionable spot and a phantom pass interference call, to name two, just to get the Saints into scoring position. How is that possible considering the above mentioned turnover ratio. That’s two merciless in one game.
And my last point. As mentioned above (“Super Bust”), my article addresses the issue of the NFL being the only major group sport in which there is a single game played to decide the champion, not a series. If the same game was played ten more times, the Viking win. It took all the saints had, and some help, to beat the worst the Vikings had to offer.

By: Matthew Walden

Less than Expected

I started this blog as an assignment for a class. I didn’t really think it was going to be that much work. I love football. All me and my boys do is talk football. I just have to write some of these pearls of wisdom down right? Get on the old HP a few times a week and spew out a plethora of football knowledge. And really that is all it takes. I have been openly critical of almost every major sports analyst and network. I have bastardized their work as elementary and un insightful. Save Carucci, Jaws, Sporting New, and a few select others, I still believe that to be true. However, I more than underestimated the amount of work that it takes, not only to compose a sports article or blog, but to create an insightful piece of writing. Something that goes a little deeper than scores and big plays. Something that goes further than simple analysis. I figured a few minutes a day, and two or three hundred words later, I would have a master piece of fact and figures to woo all, and put those professionals to shame. The sad truth is that I do already rival most of them. But that’s like saying my garbage is better than your garbage. It takes real dedication, insight, knowledge, understanding, time, hard work, research and much more to write a truly good blog. I wish that wasn’t the case. I have to write one of there about every day. I could spend the next month just researching and talking about the sham MVP award. But instead I have to write mediocre article to fulfill a requirement for class. No I am not blaming the professor, I just shouldn’t have taken on such an overwhelming task of becoming the next great sport analyst. So, in short, I apologize for less that inspiring work, but I hope you can take my ideas and expand them.

By: Matthew Walden