Feb 3 2009

The Tuesday Aftermath

Quackster

No, no I’m not referring to Dr. Dre’s record label, but since we’re on the subject, this label has produced some noteworthy singers of the current decade such as Emimem and 50 cent.  Hey don’t they have a new single out?

Anyway, what I’m really discussing in this “aftermath” post is the analysis of the spectacle that is known to be called the Super Bowl.  So my predictions, er I mean Lucky’s predictions were close but alas I did not end up with the cigar.  I guess I’ll have to try my luck in basketball then.  Not to give an overly blatant excuse in support of the prediction but, if you looked at the Las Vegas odds hovering around 6 to 7 points this past weekend in favor of the Steelers, you’d say my prediction was on cue.  Since the game ended with a 4 point victory by the Steelers, people betting on the Cardinals actually won.  In essence, the predictions were actually projected for the betting cr0wd..hehe.

Okay despite my efforts to mold the results in my favor, the predictions were actually pretty good. If you look back at the “SuperBowl Sick’ems” post, you’ll find that I did say Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu would not have effective games and that foresight came true.  My only downfall, ahem I mean Lucky’s downfall is that I forgot to factor in James Harrison, only the NFL defensive player of the year, and Santonio Holmes, now known as the Super Bowl MVP.  I guess defense indeed wins champsionships and a good team has players to always take over the game when their stars are injured.  Hey what’s going on with the Steelers and their recievers getting MVPs at the big game (Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes)?  Is this a conspiracy?  Are they actually better then Randy Moss and T.O.?

As for the game itself, it was Super Bowl worthy.  It was a delight that we would have such a good game right after last year’s momentous Giants vs Patriots  game.  As I was referring earlier about Super Bowl MVPs, it reminds me of last year’s award recipient, Eli Manning. He did not deserve the MVP trophy, rather it should have been awarded to the Giants Defense or at the very least, David Tyree with his incredible catch.  Hey that catch was better then Holme’s catch and that netted Santonio with the MVP trophy. (Plus, David had 2 TD touchdowns in last year’s game).  As you can see, I believe the NFL has a consipiracy to mold its image in a certain manner by interfering with the game (see Karlos Dansby’s supposed Roughing the Passer Penalty).

As for the entertainment outside “the game,”  I’d say with the economy tanking, the commercials generally tanked as well.  Some were funny (see CareerBuilder’s spot:

), but most were a big disappointment.  The trailers for some upcoming movies such as GI Joe and Star Trek looked too good to be true (and might still be when they come out).  Here’s the trailer for GI Joe again for those who like me thought that trailer went too quick, you can find it here.

Bruce Springsteen probably played a good show, but he looked old and tired on stage.  At least he didn’t make it “too” boring like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (truly heartbreaking).  I guess the NFL is playing chicken and putting old acts out there for its halftime event, thereby completely ignoring the 18-25 crowd.  I know, they’re scared from what happened with the “Janet” incident, but at least make the show relevant to the fans that will make their enterprise grow for the upcoming generations.  Now that’s true marketing.  That is the coveted age group.

Well that is my aftermath analysis of the past Super Bowl.  I hope you enjoyed the season as I did.  I look foward toward next Fall (and not the fake football of the Pro Bowl), but for the time being, let’s hope Andrew Bynum recovers soon for the Lakers.  We need a championship in LA.

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Jan 27 2009

Superbowl Sick’ems

jadamusss

cardinal-in-tree

If you have been following our Sick’ems then you will know the record stands at Jadamusss 1-1 and Quackster 0-2. It appears that I was right that Lucky isn’t so lucky and Quackster will need to do some real analysis if he hopes to pick the Super Bowl winner.

Jadamusss’s Super Bowl Sick’em

On paper, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the clear favorite even without Hines Ward. They have a superior defense that crushes opponent’s will. Their offense can move the ball through the air and on the ground. The Arizona Cardinals supposedly can’t defend against anyone and they have a 37-year-old quarterback named Kurt Warner. Even with the odds against them, I like the Arizona Cardinals and they will win by 4 points. The Cardinals will execute a similar game plan that they used against the Eagles. Edgerrin James will bust out for 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Kurt Warner will be consistent and throw for 250 yards and two touchdowns. At the end, their offense will have done just enough to pull out a win. Kurt Warner will have a fourth quarter scoring drive that will win the game and he will be name the Super Bowl MVP.

Quackster’s Super Bowl Sick’em

First of all, you can’t kick a dog when he’s down yo!  So Lucky was run over by a car in an accident, but somehow he survived with some relatively minor gashes.  Nevertheless, he was able to stay upright and still yearned to play catch right after the accident as if nothing happened.  This reminds me of the Jeff Garcia game at then end of the regular season where he got clocked by Quentin Jammer resulting in a bloody face.  So you’ve got to give the dog a break since he may have envisioned an alternate reality when he got clocked by the hit and run car.  At the very least, he’s alive and getting better.  With this improved health, he has viewed the future and his tail wag toward the west indicates that Arizona will win the Super Bowl, but only by a tail wag.  Why?  Kurt Warner plays in only close Super Bowl games.  This revitalization of The Greatest Show on Dirt (formerly Turf of St. Louis) sports three 1000-yd receivers (Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston).  This triple threat will be hard to defend.  As for the Steelers being the favorite, you’d think they’d knock this game out of the ballpark against a 9-7 Cardinal Team, but injuries in the past few games to Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu affecting their movement will hurt the team.  Without a true go-to receiver and a devastating safety at full health, dropped balls on both sides of the ball will spell doom for the Steelers.  To add to this, the flavor of the season is the underdog winning (Barack Obama coming from relatively no where to lead the free world).  I guess both of jadamusss and I agree on this pick.  Enjoy this barn burner of a game!  Finally the end of a championship drought for the once-lowly Cardinals.

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