Sports/Music Crossover: Aerosmith

Well, it was a bizarre day in the Music world as it was reported that Steven Tyler is leaving Aerosmith. I decided the timing was ripe for a sports/music cross-over posting to use some Aerosmith songs to talk about random sports-related stuff that is on my mind.

"Dream On" -Allen Iverson

The A.I. era in Memphis seems to have ended before it started. Despite obvious evidence (last year in Detroit) A.I. seems to think hes still an elite player and is above being a 6th man. When your not even starting for Memphis...the evidence is definitely working against stardom.

"Same Old Song and Dance" - Michael Redd

Redd has been the #1-guy on the Bucks for the last few years. He also has been highly injury prone and played a full season 3 times. New year...same ol result...Redd has already had his first injury and its not even mid-November.

"Make It"- Tyreke Evans

If his recent performance holds up, it looks like Evans will make it in the NBA barring injury and legal trouble. Evans has helped Sacramento not totally embarrass themselves thus far and helped the Kings improve slightly since losing Kevin Martin to injury.

"F.I.N.E"-Chris Kaman

Before the season started, Blake Griffin injured himself and hes expected to be out for another month. Kaman has been the winner (and my Fantasy team) in this situation as hes off to the best start of his career and busting out a 23-10 so far....

"What It Takes"-Cavs

What Cleveland needs to do to keep LeBron James on the Cavs. They do have a couple advantages. LeBron is a local kid and may not want to leave his roots. Also, the Knicks/Nets are both terrible teams. The Cavs may not have the best supporting cast but its an improvement from a couple years ago and the Knicks as a team are so ravaged beyond belief that not even LeBron can help them.

"Crazy"- Warriors

If championships were won on internal chaos, bad D and inflated egos...the Golden State Warriors would be defending champs. Last year Golden State was anything but golden regressing deeply from the team that upset Dallas a couple years ago. Looks like some things never change.

"Draw The Line"-Sammy Sosa

If your drawing the line between normal and bizarre, the recent Sammy Sosa pictures definitely cross that line. It already was a bad year for Sosa as a positive steroid test was revealed this summer. Its definitely taken a bizarre turn the last few days with pictures coming out with his skin appearing to be bleached....definitely falls under the category of if they wrote about it but didn't show any pictures, I probably wouldn't believe it....definitely one of those you couldn't make it up type of things....also the first and last time I mention it

"My Fist Your Face" John Riggins/Dan Snyder/Redskins

As bad as the Packers have been....I can at least think to myself things such as "At least i'm not A Redskins fan". In addition to routinely losing to the worst teams in the league (The Packers are at least 2-1 in this department).

Their coach, Jim Zorn defines ineptness. Their owner, Dan Snyder spends money in all the wrong places. One of their ex-players John Riggins has openly ripped Dan Snyder. I say they settle their differences and have a Family Guy-style fight (either in the veins of cleveland vs. quagmire or in the peter griffin vs. the giant chicken vein)...my vote is for option B

"Train Kept A-Rollin"-Saints/Colts

While both games were a bit close for comfort, the Saints and Colts kept a-rollin towards possible 16-0 seasons and their inevitable match-up in the Super Bowl.

"Rag Doll"-Packers O-Line

Cause, the Packers O-Line has been chewed up like a rag doll. Seriously, at this point there are probably high school teams in Wisconsin that could protect Aaron Rodgers better than the Packers. It reminds me of that NFL Draft commercial from a few years back where they photo-shopped the Texans "O-Line" out and showed footage of David Carr being sacked.

It was funnier a few years ago but considering ESPN will probably replace that footage with Aaron Rodgers getting sacked within a few months.....the comical value goes down. Through 8 games, Rodgers has been sacked 37 times...the single season record is 76.......this record could change hands by the end of the season.

Lots of stuff to talk about.....some NFL, some BCS, some Playoffs?!

Alright, so Saturday was a pretty busy sports day where the Angels-Yankees game overshadowed a pretty good slate of college football games. Today was a strong follow up to yesterday but with no one particular event overshadowing the crowd......my observations from the day in sports

The Saints can and will beat anyone in the league

Going into today, the one non-Packers game that I anticipated the most was the Giants-Saints game. Both teams were undefeated and the upper-hand in the NFC was at hand. The Saints ended up winning the game 48-27. The final score does not do service to how one-sided this affair was. Dree Brews and Marques Colston had their way with the Giants defense. It is scary how good the Saints are with their high-octane offense complemented by a competent defense. At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if the Saints go marching to their first Super Bowl this year.

The Vikings have got to lose at some point.......

The Vikings were thiiiissss close to choking in the 4th quarter against the Ravens. The Vikings D had a bad breakdown in the 4th allowing the Ravens to get back into the game. Joe Flacco had an excellent game and deserved to win this one. If only their kicker would have made the last-second field goal. Still, there is no way Favre keeps up his strong performance this year.....they've narrowly escaped defeat twice and their defense hasn't exactly been top-shelf.

The First BCS Standings are out.....

The top 3 are Florida-Alabama-Texas as expected. While the voters are stretching to place less deserving one-loss teams to pass Boise State on a weekly basis (USC replacing Virginia Tech in this regard)....I was glad to see Boise State being 4th in the BCS standings.....they were dropped to 6th in the AP despite winning their game last week......seriously if two of the top 3 lose, Boise stays undefeated but Boise gets passed up by a 1-loss team...that will only escalate the calls for a playoff.......weak conference or not...if a non-BCS team is one of two teams to run the table they at least deserve a chance to prove they are worthy of winning a national championship....

Whatever dignity the Titans had left is gone....

The first few weeks of the season the Titans were 0-3 but they were at least competitive in their losses. The last couple weeks, things had gotten progressively worse. Today, they bottomed out. I didn't know it was physically impossible to give up 5 touchdowns in a quarter in an NFL game but the Titans proved it was possible today. This is the thing you normally see when Florida schedules some cupcake 1-AA team...........seriously, when I saw that New England went up 45-0 scrolling across the bottom of my tv....I pretty much did a double take.....this goes to prove that any given year a team can go from 13-wins to a laughing stock and vice versa.....

At least today...the Dodgers weaker pitching staff is coming back to bite them

When I previewed the Dodgers-Phillies NLCS series, the one thing that stuck out to me is the discrepancy between pitching staffs. The Dodgers had been getting by on Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla, etc. However, when your facing Cliff Lee in the playoffs, you can only go so far. The Dodgers started Hiroki Kuroda started and abruptly got rocked for 6 runs in 1 1/3 innings....as a result, the Dodgers have had no realistic shot to go up 2-1 in the NLCS...that combined with the Dodgers offense no-showing leaves the Phils up 8-0 in the 8th and the Dodgers moving one-step closer to having their season ended by the Phils.........

What is it with NFC teams losing to the laughingstocks of the NFL

This is something the Redskins have turned into an art-form. They have found ways to lose to the Chiefs, Lions and Panthers.........not exactly the most imposing schedule. But their divisional rival Eagles one-upped them this week by losing to the Raiders. The Raiders haven't shown this much fight since Tom Cable confronted his assistant in the pre-season. The Eagles may still have a winning record at 3-2 but any team that loses to the Raiders can NOT be taken seriously and from here I see the Eagles joining the Redskins in irrelevancy this year......and for the Redskins, their bad loss puts Jim Zorn one step closer to getting fired........

Flash Forwarding to Week 3 NFL Action

For the second straight week, I am writing my NFL preview post in context of a season premier of a TV show. This week i'm multi-tasking between this post and the series premier of Flash Forward. Not even 10 minutes in and everything has delved into chaos (there was even a billboard for oceanic airways in the background)

Anyways, i ain't here to talk about the island (tonight) 8 15s or synchronized blackouts.....its time to talk about some football.

Packers 1-1 vs. Rams 0-2

I'm still trying to figure out how the Packers lost to Bengals of all teams. How did Cedric Benson manage to have a good game? How did Chad Ochocinco (or whatever he's calling himself this week) manage a successful Lambeau leap? What happened to the good old days (2006) when an opposing player attempting to pull this stunt got pushed back onto the field.

As bad as things were for the Packers they have at least one thing going for them, they're not the Rams. This is a golden opportunity for the Packers to add one to the win column before their Monday Night showdown against the hated Vikings.

Colts 2-0 vs. Cardinals 1-1

The Colts are coming off a thrilling late win over the Dolphins on MNF. It hasn't been pretty or dominating but the Colts still look like they're going to be strong even with a change at head coach.

The Cardinals were able to bounce back with a win over the Jaguars. The Jags look like they're heading for a terrible season. Pretty much, this game will do a lot to determine if the Cardinals still have some of that mojo that almost got them a Super Bowl win (and the Armageddon that would have followed) or if they're going to be amongst the many Super Bowl-losing teams to not even sniff the post-season.

Redskins 1-1 vs. Lions 0-2

Well, the Redskins about as little as possible to beat a pathetic Rams team last week. Lucky for them, they get to play the one team that's even worse the Detroit Lions

The Lions are only 14 games away from being the first team to have two straight 0-16 seasons. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen. Point being, the Redskins could be one of the most uninspiring 2-1 teams in NFL history after this weekend is over.

Broncos 2-0 vs. Raiders 1-1

I'm not sold on either of these teams. The Broncos 2-0 looks okay on the outside. However, those wins came against the Bengals and Browns. Also, with the train wreck circus revolving Brandon Marshall's legal troubles, the fact that Kyle Orton is their quarterback and whatever controversy Josh McDaniels finds himself in between now and Sunday, I don't see the Broncos winning ways holding up the rest of the season. (But they'll get to 3-0 before that happens)

Fortunately for the Broncos, they are playing the one team that has an even bigger circus surrounding their team. So the Raiders pulled out a win against the Chiefs, the Raiders team still looked like a train wreck even in this rare instance where they managed to not lose. I just can't take any team seriously that involves head coaches punching assistants, Al Davis involved in any capacity (let alone as owner) and JaMarcus Russell as a starting quarterback.

Falcons 2-0 vs. Patriots 1-1

So far, the Falcons strong 2008 seems to be legit. The NFC South is braced for an exciting 1-2 race between Atlanta and New Orleans.

The Patriots are coming off a loss to the Jets. They seem to have lost the mojo that they've had for most of the decade. They're one crazy comeback away from being in an 0-2 hole. Still, they are team that is not to be taken lightly. Tom Brady may have been injured all of '08 but he still needs to be taken seriously in opposing teams game plans. Probably one of the more intriguing match ups of the week.

Seahawks 1-1 vs. Bears 1-1

The Seahawks are coming off a bad loss to divisional rival San Francisco. Considering how mediocre the NFC West has been in recent years, it shouldn't be too hard to make up this early deficit.

The Bears seem to be pretty tough to figure out. Are they the sloppy team that played in week 1 or are they the team that's able to pull out a win against the defending champion Steelers? Well, they're playing another team that hasn't figured out whether they will be good or bad this year so this game is unlikely to reveal the answer, regardless of what happens.

Texans 1-1 vs. Jaguars 0-2

Still not sold on the Texans, especially with Steve Slaton off to a good start. Still, they have a pretty easy opponent in the Jags so they still have some time to get things together enough to contend for their first playoff bid.

The Jaguars.....look to be getting worse......absolutely nothing about this team inspires me.

Week 2 NFL Preview --- It's Always Sunny at Cheddar's Sports Blog

I'm chillin at home right now watching Grandma's Boy on FX, and sitting in anticipation for the season premier of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (as of this writing about 90 minutes away.

But that's then and this is now. Now is the time to preview some of the week 2 action in the NFL.

Packers 1-0 vs. Bengals 0-1

Two teams who had opposite endings to Sunday's game. The Packers rallied late to take the lead and pull off a massively epic victory over the Bears in front of a national TV audience. Their defense looked better, played better (with the help of Jay Cutler) and Aaron Rodgers took another step towards becoming an elite QB and quickly making his predecessor be nothing more than a distant memory.

The Bengals did the one thing they've done well in the last 20 years, find new ways to lose a games. Losing on an 87-yard tipped pass in the final seconds.......brutal times 10.

Patriots 1-0 vs. Jets 1-0

An early battle for AFC East Supremacy. The Patriots pulled a victory straight out of nowhere coming back in the final minutes against the TO-infested Bills.

The Jets had a strong week 1 in Mark Sanchez' NFL Debut. Whether Sanchez can keep playing well throughout his rookie season still remains to be seen but if nothing else he gives the Jets hope for the future (if not '09) and unlike his predecessor has never appeared in a Sears commercial.

Colts 1-0 vs. Dolphins 0-1

The Colts squeezed out a close win against a pretty bad Jaguars squad in Week 1.

The Dolphins did not start their follow-up to their break out season as strong as they hoped. I'm still holding out hope that they'll go outside the box and bust out a triple-option offense.

Seahawks 1-0 vs. 49ers 1-0

An early battle for supremacy in a weak NFC West. The Seahawks started out the Jim L. Mora era strong with a win over some CFL team in St. Louis called the Rams. According to cool-standing they have a 51.3 % chance to make the playoffs. You know what this means, a 48.7% chance of a sequel following up his father's Playoffs?!!!! rant.

The 49ers, coming off a strong finish after the hiring of Mike Singletary and the benching of ex-Aggie J.T. O'Sullivan. Pulled out a good road win against the defending Super Bowl runner-up Cardinals. While Hill hasn't gotten too much respect/publicity/legitimacy as an NFL Quarterback all he's done is quietly put up a 90+ passer rating and throw 2 TDs for every INT. Hill is a breakout year ready to happen.

Falcons 1-0 vs. Panthers 0-1

The Falcons didn't play out of their minds last week but they did more than enough to win. I have a gut feeling that regardless of how good or bad they are on Sunday they'll be 2-0 when the weekend is over.

The Panthers have Jack Delhomme who looks to be getting progressively worse with every start he makes. After single-handedly throwing the Panthers out of the playoffs last year, he started this season by pulling a Jay Cutler and throwing 4 picks, leading the Panthers to get blown out by the Eagles.

Broncos 1-0 vs. Browns 0-1

The Kyle Orton led Broncos offense was downright terrible for 59 minutes on Sunday but since they were playing the Bengals and got incredibly lucky on one play, they did well in the one place that counts, the standings. The Broncos get another cupcake in the Browns on Sunday. Even without Jay Cutler and the yet to be determined genius/idiocy of Josh McDaniels, the Broncos may have be 2-o before having to play a halfway decent team.

The Browns, well they are the Browns. What's with these teams from Ohio and being totally terrible at the NFL. It was pretty sad how they got owned by Adrian Peterson, well at least in this game they'll only get moderately embarrassed.

Redskins 0-1 vs. Rams 0-1

The Redskins look destined to not make the playoffs again....they had an uninspiring game against the Giants but at least they get an even worse team in the Rams to play on Sunday. Best case for the Redskins is that they gain more confidence by playing inept competition and can gain enough confidence to play over their heads for at least part of the season.

The Rams........brutal team....if they're not careful they may join the 08 Lions as the second 0-16 team in history.

Week 1 NFL Preview---Lots of Questions--Too Early For Answers

Well, the 2009 NFL Season is upon us and it is time to preview some (but not all) of the week 1 games. The these previews are going to work is that the Packers get previewed first, followed by whichever games involve players on my fantasy football team (lame but whatever.....I do what I want)

Packers vs. Bears

I wouldn't want the NFL season to start any other way. I've been looking forward to this game since the schedules were released. Packers vs. Bears games are always intense and anything can happen regardless of where these teams are in the standings.

Also, this game will give us a glimpse of who gets first dibs on NFC North supremacy. It will also be the first game (of likely many) matching up Aaron Rodgers against Jay Cutler. For the Packers, we will begin to see how Aaron Rodgers follows up on his excellent first season as a starter. Also, it will be interesting to see if their defense improves from last year or if it's going to still be terrible.

For the Bears, is Jay Cutler their answer? Will he be the strong quarterback the Bears have been seeking since, forever? How will his play affect the balance of power in the NFC North?

Colts vs. Jaguars

How will the Colts play in Jim Caldwell's coaching debut? Will they still be the contenders they have been for the better part of the decade? Also, I am curious to see what number is higher....the amount of commercials starring Peyton Manning that are shown tomorrow or the number of passing yards he has.

The Jaguars are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2008. They looked to be on the cusp after a strong 2007, but it looks like they could just as easily slip back into mediocrity for a few years.

Falcons vs. Dolphins

The two most surprising teams of 2008 face off against each-other in this match-up. Will the Falcons and Matt Ryan follow up on a strong season or do they regress back into a non-playoff team?

For the Dolphins, does Chad Pennington have another career year and if not how much impact will it have on the Dolphins? Considering that they popularized the WildCat offense last year, what will the Dolphins do in 2009 that half of the league will inevitable rip off? Personally, i'd be cool with them bringing the triple-option offense back in style.

Broncos vs. Bengals

Will Brandon Marshall justify all his off-field arrests, shenanigans, etc. by producing on the field. How many more times does he need to get arrested to either a) get suspended or b) traded to the Bengals.

For the Bengals......will Carson Palmer be a factor for the Bengals and will they be relevant anytime soon? or ever?

Texans vs. Jets

Will the Texans make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history? Will Steve Slaton have the monster/epic season that I think he will have?

For the Jets, how do they recover from the mess that Mangini and that old guy from the wrangler commercials left behind? Will Mark Sanchez be the franchise quarterback that they hope/think that they are getting? Will the Jets ever get past their apparent 9-win glass ceiling?

Redskins vs. Giants

Will the Redskins on-field production match the ridiculous amounts of money spent on the team? How will the Giants be affected by the loss of Plaxico Burress? Will the Giants still be one of the elite teams in the NFC?

Seahawks vs. Rams

How will the NFL be without Mike Holmgren being a head coach? While he isn't THE Jim Mora, I like that there is A Jim Mora with an NFL head coaching job? This begs the question of how long until Jim L. Mora provides the world with a quote that can be repeated ad-naseum and never get old? On second thought, there is NO way to top both Diddly Poo AND Playoffs?!!.

For the Rams, outside of going 0-16 and/or hiring Matt Millen as a GM....there's probably no way this team can get any worse than they were in 2008....

Bills vs. Patriots

Will T.O. be the difference for the Bills and help them make the playoffs for the first time in years? How long before the team-cancer side of T.O. pops up and starts trashing Trent Edwards publicly?

For the Pats...it's a given they'll get back to the playoffs. The main question with them is whether Tom Brady will be able to replicate his record setting 2007 season? Also, will he get the Pats back to the Super Bowl?

Well as you can see, there are a lot of unanswered questions as we head into Week 1 of the NFL season. Some of them may get answered tomorrow. Most of them will probably go unresolved for awhile. This doesn't include yearly factors such as what teams will come out of nowhere to either play much better or worse. Either way this season should be a fun ride.