Driven By Sports

As we all know Peyton Manning officially became a Bronco, joining the team on Monday. He was deciding between the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos officially choosing the Broncos. Personally I feel that he made the right decision, the ex. Colt had already built a team from the ground up, and I think that choice of the Broncos includes a team that already had a strong foundation, regardless of Mr. Tebow. One of the top subject reason for Manning choosing the Broncos though, has to be the Elway factor. That is to say that Manning wants to remembered as the greatest quarterback, and as things are now he is remembered as the second greatest quarterback in the league. The Elway factor is John Elway himself quite possibly the greatest Broncos quarterback of all times. Elway was considered a great quarterback before he left the Broncos howeve, he had not won a Superbowl. However, in his last two years as a quarterback he won two Superbowls. This is how Peyton wants to go out, thus eliminating any questions of who the greatest quarterback of all times is.

As for Mr. Tebow, it looks like he will be traded to the New York Jets. Maybe he can pull through for them in the fourth quarter and show the Broncos what they gave up. 

I am born and raised just a mere 30 minutes outside of Chicago, so it should be no surprise to anyone that I am a massive Chicago sports fan. With that in mind I am a huge Bulls fan. With that I am also a Blackhawks fan, and the BIGGEST EVER BEARS FAN!!!!!! However, I would like to talk about Derrick Rose and Da Bulls. (I think that is only appropriate for the Da Bears, awkward.) I have been curious for a while whether or not the hype for Rose is well deserved. My family splits season tickets at home games and let me tell you he is a very entertaining player to watch, but sis he deserve to win MVP last year? Do the comparisons to Michael Jordan make sense? Or all we all excited to have one quality sports team in Chicago that we want to find a superstar too? 

I think that Derrick Rose, the 23 year old Chicago native, is as good as the hype. It has been a while since the haloed Michael Jordan wore the number 23 jersey and take the Bulls to the promised land, and the Bulls were in need of a new superstar. When one came that was born and raised in our city, it was almost too good to be true. As a rookie he posted impressive numbers and took the Bulls to the playoffs. Derrick received 111 votes for rookie of the year with the second place finisher only earning 5 first place votes. In his rookie season he scored on average 16.8 points per a game. 

Since his rookie season Derrick has taken the Bulls further into the playoffs each year. He also continues to score on average in the double digits. Rose only further proved his strength on the team when he won the MVP award last year. It is clear that when the Bulls do not have Rose, that they are at a disadvantage. He continually is proves himself to be as good as his hype and I do not think that anyone questions his skill. Derrick Rose continues to bring the Bulls to the playoffs and goes farther each year. The Bulls have a strong team regardless of Rose but it is clear that he is missed when he cannot play. He is not Michael Jordan nor does he try to compare himself to Jordan, he just goes out and gets the job done, and at the end of the day thats all that Chicago sports fans want from him.  

Well I guess I am not good at picking the right team so I hope no one put money on the game based on my opinion because if for some reason you don’t know, the Patriots lost. However, we all knew we were in for a treat after the first score in the game came from a safety, not the most typical way to begin a game especially the Super Bowl. But that is how the Giants began and then they came right back with touchdown. The Patriots then answered with a touchdown of their own and a field goal going into halftime with a one point lead by the Pats.

The excitement came at halftime…. joking sorry Madonna I was bored at best.

The excitement came in the second half. The Giants scored six points and the Patriots held on to their lead scoring seven points and extending their lead to two points. Then came the last four minutes of the game. Tom Brady threw an interception near the Giants 20 yard line. This gave the Giants the much needed energy to take the ball down the field. Eli Manning handled himself like a true Super Bowl veteran when taking his time to work down the field and run the clock out, giving Brady the ball with only fifty-seven seconds left on the clock. He would have had a better shot at scoring if his teammates could have held on to the ball. In a final hail mary attempt Brady lofted the ball into the end zone but Gronkowski was unable to get a hold of the ball, and Hernadez dove just a little too late. But in the end did Tom Brady really lose if he gets to go home to Giselle? I kid, but congratulations to the New York Giants who truely fought to be the under-dogs, and then win the Super Bowl.  

nfloffseason:

The play (that wasn’t made) of the game

The good teams find a way to win

(Source: theagonyofdefeat)

Super bowl XLVI:

This Super bowl proves to be an exciting one what with all the new commercials that people will be talking about. Remember the Eminem commercial that people went crazy for last year. However, I think that the game will go to the Patriots. They have shown time and again that when it comes down to it, the Patriots find a way to win. With Tom Brady, arguably the best quarterback in the league this year, it seems like the obvious choice to me to pick the Pats. The Giants however, are always a good underdog, beating the Packers and then the 49ers to make it to the Super bowl this year. They had to win their last regular season game to even make it into the playoffs this year. If the Giants play tuff defense, and dynamic offense they may have a chance at beating the Patriots. However, as we learned on SNL if Jesus is God’s son then Tom Brady is God’s nephew, and Belichik is working the other Guy, so the Giants will be getting it from both sides. But if they get lucky, maybe Jesus will be with them for more than the fourth quarter.

The Giants 49ers game was one to watch. It was exciting to the very end. The game was full of back and forth scoring which led to an ultimate tie at the end of regulation. The real excitement came in overtime when after each team had possession, Jacquian Williams was stripped of the football by Kyle Williams after catching a punt from a failed run by the Giants. After a short run by Eli Manning, Lawrence Tynes kicked a 31 yard field goal to win the game and the NFC title. Manning threw for 32 of 58 for 316 yards, and he and the rest of the Giants will take on the Patriots in the Superbowl for the second time.   

So at least I went 50/50 for predicting the outcome of last sundays two games. I did correctly predict the Patriots winning over the Ravens however, I think most people will see the game as the Ravens losing and Patriots getting luck on a fumble and a missed punt by their opponents. 

Tom Brady had one of his notably worst games last sunady with a QB rating of 57.5 and throwing for 239 yards versus Joe Flacco’s rating of 95.4 and throwing for 306 yards. Tom Brady did however, score the final point by running the ball in the from the Ravens one yard line. This proves that when his team needs him Brady is there and will pull out the win this is why I am more then confident that the Patriots will pull out a win on Superbowl sunday. Tom Brady was quoted as saying, “Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us, I’m going to try to go out and do a better job in a couple of weeks, but I’m proud of this team, my teammates.” This proves Tom Brady’s commitment to his team. (side note: men if you do not like Tom Brady ask yourself, is it because you feel completely inadequate when compared to him?)

As the Ravens received the ball back Joe Flacco worked his way down the field. Flacco then tried to connect with Evans however the ball was stripped by Sterling Moore of the Patriots. Moore came up big twice forcing the Ravens to make a 32 yard field goal attempt. 32 yards is usually a no brainer and pretty consistent three points. Cundiff of the Ravens would be the one who would attempt to make the field goal. The ball would be in somewhat good form however, the laces were not facing completely forward. This really should not have been a factor though figuring in that it was just a 32 yard field goal. Cundiff did not make the 32 yard field goal and ended up crossing the entire face of the goal posts and then veering off to the left. This field goal would end up costing the Ravens the game and send the Patriots to the Superbowl. 

To me this game could go either way. The 49ers have been proving themselves to be quite the contender this year with their hard nose defense and there well driven offense by Alex Smith. This is not the 49ers of the past couple of years. I really think that they will be able to beat a overly confident Giants team. There might be hope for at least one Harbaugh brother. 

The Giants have seemed to be a lot more confident after their win against the Cowboys three weeks ago. They have been red hot ever since, even beating last years Superbowl champs the Packers. However, I am one of those people who think that they will be over confident and end up losing to the 49ers. 

So this should be a pretty interseting match up on Sunday. The Patriots and Tom Brady have had a power offense that has been winning them game after game this season. The Patriots also have a defense that was ranked among one of the worst defenses in the NFL. However, the Patriots defense has looked sharper since entering the playoffs, but the Ravens will definitely test them more than the Broncos did. 

The Ravens on the other hand have a very strong defense that will get right up in front of Tom Brady’s face and challenge him to make mistakes like the interception he threw in the game against Denver. The Ravens offense however did not score many points against the Texans, leading many people to question whether or not they will be able to score against the Patriots. 

I for see the Patriots beating the Ravens in a tight match-up. I think the power of Tom Brady to find Wes Welker and Gronkowski will be too much for the Ravens to handle regardless of having previously beating the Patriots in the regular season. Unfortunately I do not for see a re-match of a Harbaugh bowl in the future, but something about the possibility for a brother’s Superbowl melts my heart.