CSzem:
In lieu of a podcast this week (since neither Gretzpo nor CSzem is capable of figuring out that technology), let’s try a new format: a brief e-mail exchange discussing the news of the day (if that doesn't work, we're going "Scandals and Animals").
OK Gretzpo, start us off: I’ve got a few questions, and I want answers:
1) Who had a worse day on Sunday, the Black Eyed Peas, or me as a gambler? (Or O-Szem, since Community College becomes more and more of an option with every passing NFL season?)
2) Is Aaron Rodgers the best QB in the NFL? I say yes, but I got a lot of push back in the room on Sunday.
3) Is Christina Aguilera’s career ruined? Or did she still have a career to ruin? And more importantly, should Vegas void the bets on the length of the National Anthem, since, y’know, she didn’t sing the whole National Anthem….?
Gretzpo:
1) Here's the thing about the BEP ... I was in a bar where people weren't really paying attention to the halftime show, so I would glance up from my conversation every now and then, see a bunch of people with what looked like blocks of ice on their heads, and think, "this is pretty cool." And then Usher did a running jump over over Will.I.am and did the splits... which I also thought was cool.
But from people who were actually listening, the feedback has been very bad.
Which begs another couple questions:
Were our halftime show expectations raised because last year's show was The Boss? OR should we give BEP a little more credit since it was very clear that they weren't lip synching?
O-Szem may end up going to Tufts ... "It was my safety school!"
I too lost money on the Steelers ... but to be honest I don't feel that bad about it. They were an underdog who had the chance to win on a last minute drive ... and when you're betting on the underdog that's all you can really ask for. I have a feeling you're going to strongly disagree with that though.
2) Unequivocally yes. I'm not a numbers guy (read: I don't do any research for these things) but if you look at the non-football side of his success (coming out under Favre's shadow, delivering a Super Bowl to probably one of the league's most maniacal fan bases) he has to be mentioned as the top QB in the NFL right now.
3) Christina Aguilera looked terrible. She looked like a stressed out former CEO who just checked into rehab for a crystal meth addiction...
Americans care about two things: football and patriotism. To screw up the anthem at the Super Bowl is tantamount to kicking Uncle Sam in the groin. This mistake will not be forgotten ... her best hope is to take the self-deprecation route, throw $25K to some American Institution Charity, and accept that she's not what she used to be.
I mean... remember the video for "Dirty"? Is there anything sexier than a girl taking part in some sort of underground fight club, and then concluding the night with some groupie shower love? 18 year old me says no. And now, it's hard to believe that that was the same girl.
CSzem:
I had extremely low expectations for the halftime show, and they were not even met. Our key points of discussion during the show were “How high is Slash right now?” (Consensus: “Very”), and then we digressed into whether or not Axl would have had to agree to Sweet Child ‘O Mine being played (Consensus: “No way in hell he would have, so the answer must be no”).
Usher’s involvement was entirely awkward, although, he is an obscenely cool guy, even if he’s not the same level of “cool” that he used to be. To a room of about 17 people (with MAYBE 5 women) last night, I remarked that everyone in the room would have sex with Usher. I know what I said.
Given our mutual love for The Boss, your supposition seems reasonable, except for the fact that he performed two years ago, not last year. Last year was The Who (“I’ll take Pete Townsend to go over 7.5 guitar windmills”).
Regarding the game, the fact that the Steelers were even IN IT was completely remarkable. Three huge turnovers, and an early 18 point deficit, should be enough to result in a blowout, but they were right there at the end, largely a result of a boatload of dropped passes from the Packers. All of those drops make my argument about Aaron Rodgers that much stronger. 300+ yards, 3 TD’s, no picks, and that was basically the WORST his numbers could have been….and it was only the biggest game of his life.
Weren’t there two r’s in the title of “Dirrty”…? I mean, she was REALLY dirty. But maybe you’ve inadvertently made a salient point (it must have been inadvertent): that song came out when we were 18! We’re talking almost 10 years ago. 10 years in “celebrity years” is an incredible amount of time, especially when we’re talking about someone like “X-Tina”. The window to be young and nubile doesn’t stay open forever. She’s one of the few that seemingly has (had?) the talent that could soften the transition, but it seems she’s gotta reinvent herself, ditch the bleached blonde hair, and embrace the fact that she’s not who she used to be.
Let’s take one more shot before wrapping it up:
1) Quick hit thoughts on the NFL Labour Dispute. Have we seen our last football for a loooong time?
2) If there IS football, who’s going to be in
Gretzpo:
My apologies on the Guess Who Super Bowl mix up ... I suppose it's just wishful thinking on my part: if it were up to me Springsteen would be crotch diving into my living room every year (hell... every day...)
We should probably try and include a clip here so people don't get the wrong idea...
As I mentioned before, football is an American institution - there's no way they'll be cancelling any games. However, I'm sure they said the same thing about baseball in '94...
This is where you're fandom / knowledge comes in: hasn't it been a long time since a SB champion has made it back to the big game in their defending year?
But let's not forget how Jermichael Finley was playing before he got hurt... he's going to have a huge year next year, and giving that offence one more weapon could be enough to break that streak...
I like bounce back years from both Indy and New England in the AFC ... and a full season of Vick is going to be huge for the Eagles. I'll predict a NE/Indy AFC Final, and a GB/Philly NFC Final ... with
We can't leave our faithful readers lurching with post Super Bowl drivel and outlandish playoff predictions (frankly, I almost had to look up that I had two teams from the AFC and the NFC).
In a little under a week comes the most important day for both married and single men alike: pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training on February 14th.
How do you think the Jays rotation shapes up? Both in terms of development and compared to last year? What do you expect out of JP Arencibia this year?
CSzem:
I love how in your apology for incorrectly referencing the half-time show, you once again incorrectly referenced the halftime show. You are aware that The Who and The Guess Who are different bands, right?
The last Super Bowl Champion to return to the big game was the Pats in 2004 (they won again). Since then, the Super Bowl hangover has been pretty significant. The following year's Pats team is the last defending champ to even win a playoff game. So it’s a tough road. You’re right in referencing Finley, and he’s far from the only one. The Packers had 15 players on IR, and set some kind of record for man-games lost due to injury. They seem to have the kind of structure in place that would lend itself to continued success, but frankly, I hear that about the champ every year.
I’m stunned that a casual, uneducated, fan expects Indy and
I like that we’re getting the first word in here for the upcoming baseball season. We’ll pontificate about the upcoming season while Tewks chases his dreams of actually trying to PLAY baseball. What a loser.
Romero, Morrow, Cecil, Drabek. There are very few teams out there that can match that purely from a talent standpoint. But that might also be the problem. I’m terrified that – as talented as that group is – there isn’t enough polish and experience. Maybe in 2012 or 2013 that’s a rotation you can compete with, but the AL East didn’t get any easier in the offseason.
As for Arencibia, I expect him to put up tremendous numbers throughout the summer. Of course, I’m talking about the
Gretzpo:
Dammit... I figured with the self-editing the medium provides, I'd be able to avoid screwing up like I do in the podcasts... I was wrong.
The worst part is I've seen Bachman/Cummings in concert... live... in
Agreed on the staff ... those who are whining about the loss of Marcum need to remember that Dana freaking Eveland was our fifth starter coming out of training camp. And then when he started to suck we marched out Brian Tallet's lanky corpse every fifth day. Rzepczynski lit it up in the Arizona Fall League (something ridiculous like 4-1 with an ERA in the low 1's). Also there's some chatter from some pretty knowledgeable people (Keith Law) that Zach Stewart should challenge for that fifth starter spot, creating a nice little story to watch during Spring Training. Litsch is in the mix as well, but I think we've seen the best of him ... whereas the other two haven't reached their potential yet.
In summary... Full years of (Morrow + Drabek) + Better Fifth Starter > (Shaun Marcum + Awful Fifth Starter)
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That wraps things up – thanks for allowing us to use material that’s pretty much lifted from our day to day lives and call it a column on a sports blog.
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