Change: YES WE CAN!

(Picture from http://www.freep.com/ and obamame.com)

Is change possible for the Iowa Hawkeye basketball team? This is a question that the president himself can't answer. And if you would have asked me a few weeks ago, I would have rolled my eyes and said no. I would have sent you on your way with a few unfriendly facts about the coach that was supposed to turn this basketball team around. I would have complained about how I thought Lick didn't adapt to this players, instead it seems that he makes his players adapt to him (something completely against my personal beliefs in effective coaching).

I would have continued by comparing him to a bad high school coach and a "wannabe" cake boss look alike. I would have yelled about how much I hated his offensive style, and his lack of recruiting. And as you walked away, I still would have continued talking to my self, saying how bad I wanted a coach that could recruit well with some sort of fast break/pound it down low offensive scheme.

Curling? Yes Please

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

One of us in Canada, one of us is not. One of us is working for a living, one of us is not. One of us is sick of hearing about curling, one of us is not. Guess who is who.

According to wikipedia.com, Curling is "a team game with similarities to bowling and shuffleboard, played by two teams of four players each on a rectangular sheet of carefully prepared ice." That it is, and after spending some time facebook chatting about our website, and watching epic videos on Youtube.com on curling, I think I might be in love.

The View From Above (On a Map Anyway)

(Picture from http://www.media.timesdispatch.com/)

As you may now know (if you’ve been so generous as to read the Mad About You! Post), I am in Canada. Have been for the last two weeks and will be for the next four weeks. I’ve already taken the time to rant a little about the things that are close to putting me over the edge, but recently I’ve managed to keep things in perspective and have now stepped back away from the ledge. However, what I saw this weekend was nearly enough to put me back over. I’m not kidding when I say that I very seriously considered (as in I thought for a moment how funny it would be to hear on the news, not that I would ever actually consider this) throwing myself from the top of the CN Tower in protest of Canadian television. I must say, I knew a lot would be different up here and I’ve already let you hear about some of the biggest things that are driving me crazy, but I never in a million years thought that I would see a Super Bowl without a single funny commercial. That’s right, not one. Not only that, but I only caught one beer commercial. Contrast that with the 2010 Olympic commercials that both began and ended EVERY commercial break, and you have the makings of an American sports fan splattered all over Front Street below Toronto’s iconic tower. If you are feeling slightly jealous, don’t you worry, I will be posting a quick little video of one of the commercials (as well as some pics of downtown Toronto for those of you who REALLY don’t have anything better to do) so you can get in on the excitement too. I will also be doing some homework, trying to catch up on all the best commercials I missed. If you have any favorites, be sure to comment below and let me know what I should be looking for (better yet, post a link to it and save me some time). But that’s enough of the complaining (for at least a few seconds), let’s get on to some observations from the game.

We Want You: To Play Us in Fantasy Baseball

(Picture from http://www.rofl.wheresthebeef.com/)

We here at The Manchise want to extend a personal invite to you, our fans.  We will be hosting our own Fantasy Baseball League, something we take very seriously.  The two of us would love for you to join and let us kick your asses.  If your interested please email us at themanchise@gmail.com, with the heading reading FANTASY BASEBALL, with your name and possible team name.  After recieving the email, we will send you a conformation email back with the league name and password.  We will be using ESPN for our league, so an account there will also be necessary.  We will be posting the draft, teamnames, weekly interviews, updates on the standings and more.  So please be sure to email us your information and take us on!

Devin Hester and Mike Martz Perfect Valetines Day Couple?

(Click the Headline if video doesn't come into view)

Well Mike Martz isn't Hitler, but he was the Bears original choice for offensive coordinator and I'm ecstatic with what I'm hearing. I was a fan of the Martz hiring, believing that he was a good fit for the weapons the Bears have offensively. With the new gun slinger, two speedy receivers in Devin Hester and Johnny Knox, a rising stud in Devin Aromashodu, Matt Forte who is as versatile as any runningback in the league, and Cutler's college teammate Earl Bennett, the pieces seem to almost be in place. And considering how this offense started to click towards the end of the season, I think Martz' style should give Chicago fans the offense they thought they would get with the acquisition of Cutler.

In a Q &A on the Chicago Bears website, Martz had this to say about one of many key questions Bears fans have this offseason; what is Martz going to do with Devin Hester?

"I think he’s still the best special teams return guy in the league, period. We have to be careful about how much we ask him to do on offense. That’s really a reason the Bears have won some games is because of Devin and what he does in the return game. So we’ll be very judicious in what we ask him to do offensively. But he’ll be very involved and we’ll ask him to do some really dynamic things where we can get him isolated in [favorable] personnel match-ups."

I'm Coming after You: Dan Shaughnessy

(Picture from http://www.gambling911.com/)

I’m not a columnist (yet), but sometimes I feel as though the ones in my life push and press a topic so much that they lose their sensibility as a writer and transcend into a moronic fan with a keyboard. It is their job, and they get paid to do it, but does that mean they have the responsibility to suck a topic dry, or turn on a guy quicker than Tracy Porter ran Peyton Manning’s interception back for a touchdown? I don’t think so.

A Toast to You Hank Baskett, from Who Dat Nation

The drunk couple dry humping in the middle of thousands of people in this clip is a huge indication that Mardi Gras has come early for the people of New Orleans this year. Drew Brees, Tracy Porter, and Sean Payton have brought undeniable joy to the entire WHO DAT NATION, and especially to the male Saint fans (who now owe those three men their lives for getting them all laid last night). People are still going crazy on Bourbon Street and will most likely continue up and past the parade Tuesday. Seeing these people hug eachother, cheer and scream crack me up and fill me up inside. All of the liqour, all of the boner holding Saints fans, all of the drunken hot messes makes me want to take a plane ride down to NOLA right now. Who wouldn't want to be them (my personal favorite from this video besides the drunk couple having sex is the lady that is on someones shoulders that looks like she might puke into the camera [she comes into the screen at about 1:48])?

Reggie Bush, Brees, Porter, Payton, Pierre Thomas, Jeremy Shockey, Lance Moore and Hank Baskett (for messing up the onside kick) are now the most important Saints to ever grace the world. Nobody missed this game. It was the most watched TV show ever with an estimated 106.5 million viewers. The team that was never supposed to win, the team that was supposed to take a back seat to a previous Super Bowl winner, the team that was a brilliant story but not a true contender, is now celebrating with their fans. It was a true David verse Goliath battle and it ended with a great come from behind victory led by New Orleans very own David, Drew Brees. Congrats to the Who Dat Nation, and they thank you Hank Baskett, winner for the Super Bowl Goat, for your wonderful pan hands.

Won't Get Fooled Again

(Picture from http://www.static.guim.co.uk/)

After a couple hours, I'm still not sure what to say about this years Super Bowl. Was it a life changing cure for those people still suffering in New Orleans from the tragic hurricane that crippled their proud state? Was it finally an opportunity for an athlete to transcend into the pantheon of absolute sports greatness, only to miss by a long shot? Was it a game filled with higher purpose for those devastated in Haiti? Was it a game showing that the tides are changing in the NFL, and offensive minded coaches are going to grab the attention of GM's and owners around the league for the next decade? Should a runnigback that never eclipsed 100 yards in any regular season game have got the ball more? Was there to much talk about Peyton Manning being the best quarterback of all time? What is with the continual decrease in quality of Super bowl commercials? Is Jeremy Shockey destined for the WWE? Was this years halftime show the death of The Who? Can Drew Brees finally step out from behind the ginormous shadow of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady?