Rose in Full Bloom

(Picture from http://www.blogs.hoopshype.com/)

The Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is now an NBA All-Star. Rose joins the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Zach Randolph (who is having one hell of a season), Rajon Rondo, and Chris Bosh as All-Star reserves (tell me how Allen Iverson is starting for the East, and Nowitzki, Durant, and Bosh barely get on?). Rose is the first player on the Bulls to be an All-Star since Jordan was the All-Star MVP in 1998, a long drought for Chicago fans. He is also the youngest Chicago Bulls player to get an invite, beating Jordan by 226 days. Rose, in typical fashion made this humble statement, "I want to thank the Eastern Conference head coaches for selecting me to represent the East. It's an honor to represent my hometown Bulls in the All-Star Game, and I couldn't have done it without my teammates. Basketball is a team game, and without them I would not be headed to Dallas."

Rose and his teammates know how much her deserves this honor, especially as of late. Rose has lead a team that seemed down and out (and I wanted them to tank for a chance at the John Wall sweepstakes) back to .500 and within a game of the 5th seed in the East. In the last five games, Rose is averaging 25.6 points per game, alot of those coming during pivotal moments in the fourth quarter. The Chicago native is absolutely compelling to watch, and he has truly grown right in front of our eyes. He has progressed and learned on the fly, and at this very moment could be playing the best basketball of his young career (something that makes me extremely happy because he is nowhere near his prime yet).

Not to rain on Rose's parade but I would still argue that Joakim Noah deserves a spot on the All-Star team as well. He is second behind Dwight Howard in rebounding with 12.1 a game, 11.3 point per game, and almost 2-blocks. Noah is averaging a double-double for god sakes, and is the true emotional leader for the Bulls. He is shooting almost 50% from the field, and is leaps and bounds better at the charity stripe (76.9%). If he doesn't get Most Improved Player of the Year, I will go ballistic.

But, hey, finally getting a player on the All-Star team is enough for now, and I expect the voters to start giving Rose the respect he deserves. He is stud, a shining star, a kid that is humble and plays the game right. Hopefully Rose gets some good time, plays well, which will get NBA fans focused on the Bulls and the other guys such as Noah and Deng (who is finally looking like a true ten million dollar man). Here's to you D-Rose, congratulations!

Remeber Me, Gregg Williams!

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Gregg Williams, the New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator did a wonderful job at getting licks on Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. But now he has jumped ship, and is now trying to bully a different kind of quarterback. A franchise, multi Pro Bowl, MVP quarterback. Gregg Williams is calling out the dogs in search of Peyton Manning's head (or ACL).

In an interview, Williams spoke of giving Manning a few "remember me" shots. When asked about an excessive amount of penalties that could come with a mentality like this, Williams mentioned that he wasn't to worried about it. He even goes as far as saying, "...if it happens you hope he doesn't get back up and play again." Stupid or smart? I have no idea but I do have a few comments.

These comments show either one of two things: 1. You are incredibly stupid and you don't mind messing with fire. Peyton Manning has one of the fastest releases, a hidden time clock in his head, and doesn't take hits. When a defense does get to them, he crumbles, protecting himself from a "Tom Brady" type future. 2. You are extremely scared of Peyton Manning, and he now knows it. Sure, Curtis Painter's entrance into any NFL game means an easy win, but calling out the dogs to hurt Peyton Manning? Are you stupid? Manning is going to be using this as fuel all week. There is no one else like Peyton. He has been studying you non-stop, going through reads, and developing the perfect game plan against your defense (that gave up over 400-yards to the Vikings) that is the 26th ranked passing D in the league.
Defensive Coordinators have all tried this before, and while I don't know how often they win, or accomplish their goals, I guarantee they weren't calling their players to injure a quarterback that has the capabilities of Peyton Manning. Plus, the officials are already there to protect the quarterback and now the Super Bowl officials are going to be watching even closer while you blitz Manning's back side. This seems incredibly stupid to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the fire and passion of Williams, it is football that we are talking about, and I don't know if this is supposed to be a two week mind game or what. But believe me, you, Peyton Manning will be saying "Remember Me" at the end of that game.

At Least it's not Turkey.....

Well folks, I've done my fair share of complaining about Canada lately, but today I just want to say this, "At least it's not Turkey..." So there have been 14 deaths of pedestrians who were nailed by traffic when they were crossing a street in and around downtown Toronto over the last week or so. Now, the police are trying to crack down by writing more tickets. But at least here, they aren't coming after the folks using foot bridges. Take a peak at the video above and you'll know what I mean. Apparently in Turkey, they just don't make 'em like they used to (the bridges that is). Not a lot of time for anything else, but just wanted to let everyone know that it could be worse. YOU could be the person on the left of the bridge trying to cross when this all goes down. Until next time.... have a good day, eh.

A DMB Summer

So have we mentioned before that we are not just a sports blog? Well if we havn't, now you know. If you have been following us from day one (which is more than likely impossible) you would have seen our disclaimer that gives some rousing information about each of us. In that little glossary of "all things that make us tick", you would have seen that I am a Dave Matthews Band groupie (and God knows I'm not the only one). I'm an active member in the online community AntsMarching.org, a Warehouse member, and I see (along with my loving girlfriend, her gracious mother, and her little sister) anywhere between 5-7 shows a summer. So with the release of the upcoming Summer tour, I can't stop thinking about the best couple months of the year.

Mad About You!

I know, I know, I said I would be back, writing feverishly (again) and I have failed. But, this time I honestly have a legitimate excuse (as if to say my previous excuses were anything less than legitimate). So here goes: Blame Canada. Much like in the classic South Park hit, I too believe that Canada can officially be blamed for all my problems (at least those that fall between January 18 and February 26). And since I finally have a little bit of down time (yet no internet access) for the first time since I landed in the Great White North (which is actually warmer and has less snow than Iowa City at the moment), I thought I would try to get back into the swing of things by giving you a little taste of Canadia (well, that and the fact that I haven’t actually seen a sporting event from start to finish in nearly a month making it impossible to write about anything you care about). So these are the 10 things that have driven me nuts the MOST over my first two weeks. These are the things, Canada, that have me Mad About You!


10. 13 Hour Days

I’ll begin with the obvious. I have been working 9 AM to 10 PM for the past week and a half. That’s 13 hours a day folks. I don’t like to complain a whole lot, but when you are used to working 40 hours a week, 60 is a ton. Throw on travel time and you’re gonna want some rope, a razorblade or any sort of firearm.

Let the Favre Mind Games Begin!

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Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, oh how the Ol' Gun Slinger hates those NFC Championship turnovers. If you don't some how remember, Favre threw an interception in overtime in the loss against the Giants in the 2007 NFC Championship game. Today, Favre threw another interception in the closing seconds of regulation deep in New Orleans territory that could have sealed the game for the Vikes. But instead the two teams went into overtime, the Saints won the toss, Garrett Hartley hit a game winning 40-yard field goal and Dem Saints are heading to their first Super Bowl in franchise history. So now we have two number one seeds, two "almost perfect" teams, two high powered offenses, and two of the leagues best quarterbacks going face to face in Super Bowl XLIV.

Roddick Survives Thriller

(Picture from http://www.nbcsports.com/)

The word "Thriller" is used a lot in the sporting world but this afternoon's tennis match between Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez was nothing but. Roddick and Gonzalez' match was as nerve wrecking and frustrating as playing golf on 90 degree afternoon in the middle of July, and every drive slices into the next holes fairway.